the 4th of july

 

the white crew had a great 4th of july weekend...brian's sister (julie) & her boyfriend (brandon) came to visit us & it was fun just hanging out & catching up with them...in addition to eating well, taking garrett to the pool for the first time (he loved it!) at our friend's (dustin & kelly jo), going to a braves game (despite their poor performance & loss on saturday night) & downing some homemade peach ice cream with our newly-returned-to-atlanta friends (the bolden clan).

hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend...now back to the grind, eh?

my new boss drools

so...after a not so long stint back into my life as a career woman, i finally put my job to rest on june 13. my heart was being called home...to brian & garrett. knowing that - for me - being the wife & mother of excellence i desire, was simply not possible as a working girl.

the decision, in many ways, was very simple. and in other ways it has presented me with a new set of *issues* to work through in my identity, in my relationships, in my beliefs, etc. i am suprised (though most have said you are not!) at how i am already relishing my new roles. the ways i am finding myself more fulfilled and at peace. i have found a renewed energy that seems to come with the start of a school year, a new job, moving into a new place...whatever the change is.

and already i've experienced the questioning about my new roles...ignorantly, i am sure i've asked this question of other women before i had kids, but...people are already saying "what are you doing with all your time?" are you kidding? what's funny is how many of my stay @ home mom friends have said people ask them the same things...one friend has twin 3-year-olds & people *still* ask her what she does all day! WHAT? some days are so busy i couldn't begin to list it all out. and some days are so amazingly peaceful that i'm able to watch the *small* developments in garrett occur right in front of my face! i am grateful for brian...that we've chosen this path for our family. i'm grateful that he supported my "being happy" & would've encouraged whichever way i went...

so below you'll see some recent photos of "what i do all day"...my new boss is great, though...big blue eyes, approximately 19 pounds, drools, only 2 teeth, can't feed himself...& btw, if you read our blog - ever, basically - please let us know. just click on comments & leave us a little note...we'd love to hear from you!


see - he does cry! a not so happy moment in garrett's life!


my parents came for a visit over father's day weekend & to watch garrett as i ended my last week of work.


brian's parents came for a visit during my last week of work...to watch garrett (we really had to twist their arms to come!).


crawling could be close? i walked into the family room for a minute & came back to find him far away from the pillow on the right where he'd been sitting when i left!


yesterday garrett ate sweet 'taters for his afternoon *meal*...in the midst of this, he found his hands quite fascinating & kept sticking his hand in his mouth after a bite of food...he then ended up rubbing his hands all over his face - love it!

happy (belated) father's day

this is a little late...we're behind on our blogging these days; i'm trying to catch up...

but, i did want to *publicly* wish brian a happy father's day...the picture above was taken in february, but it's one of my favorite photos of brian & garrett.

brian, you've become such an amazing dad...everyone warned us that you'd have a tough time with the first 6 months - in reality, you've been a champ! our rock! i watched you enjoy nearly every minute of this transition...not wanting garrett to grow so fast & simply get onto the next "stage" - you've truly relished the *baby* part of his life. in all of this, i've come to love you in new ways...respecting even more your character & desire to raise a child who loves God & puts others first. i'm happy to be on this journey with you. i love you & thank you for being a wonderful father (already!) to garrett!

some more recent shots of my two boys...

on father's day...garrett was only paying attention to huckleberry & NOT the camera!

garrett's new thing is grabbing brian's face (he only does it to him!) and twisting his nose or mouth, ear, whatever!

brian had come home early one friday & was checking email on his blackberry. our smart son thought he'd try to swipe it away!

so special

i love the above photo for many reasons...the smile on garrett's face being one of them! the other is that garrett's being held by his great-grandmother. one of two great-grandmothers he will have seen and hopefully know in his life. this is brian's maternal grandmother, margaret snodgrass (that's right, people. snodgrass!).

nanny barkie, as we all call her (the "barkie" name goes way back), is one of the strongest women you'll ever meet. life did not deal her the easiest hand...helping support her mother & younger siblings after her father walked away from their family...losing her husband when brian's mom was only 4...raising martha alone while working in another town every day...she is a woman of incredible faith & fortitude. a testament to the fact that grace - if we allow it - is so very amazing in our circumstances.

we love you, nanny barkie! thank you for coming to visit & we'll see you soon!

this photo of barkie & garrett was taken on her recent trip here (with brian's parents). they came & watched our little guy while i finished out my last week of work (that info for another post).

happy 6 month birthday, baby garrett!

 

it's hard to believe that 6 months ago today our little man came into this world. revealing a love so amazing in our hearts that words really can't describe. my mother-in-law used to say, "you won't understand the love until you have a child yourself"...she was right. even when i was pregnant, i didn't. you don't. you can't. it's simply not possible. my heart now lives outside my body - garrett carries it with him wherever he goes.