chubby chin

 

brian was playing with garrett...after work on monday.

the luckiest

there are moments in life that you find yourself consumed, simply overcome, with emotion. this weekend i found myself in several of those.

it is not often that garrett will fall asleep on us. he takes 2 naps a day, but sometimes needs a little catnap in the late afternoon, for 15/20 minutes, just to make it until his 7 pm bedtime. saturday was one such day. he squirmed around on me...sucking his thumb, rubbing his head - which is his way when he's trying to get comfortable...until he finally dozed off for about 20 minutes. there's simply nothing sweeter than feeling the weight of a sleeping child against your body. their little breaths, sighs, movements...in these moments (& then later watching garrett playing with brian), i was so grateful that "these are the days of our lives".

i am grateful for a sweet sitter who came to watch garrett early on saturday so brian & i could have a much needed breakfast to reconnect & catch a movie. i'm grateful for a healthy & happy little son who finds joy (so far!) ;-) & comfort in being with his parents. i am grateful for a husband who adores our son...who will talk to him, do anything to make him laugh, & who revels in the small things we watch garrett do. there is nothing about my life i would trade. i am grateful for the grace that God's bestowed on my life to bring me to this place. i am unworthy of the blessings that present themselves to me daily. & i am overcome with love & happiness towards my little family. in the words of ben folds, i am the luckiest. :-)

oh happy day!

 

one of my favorite parts of every day is in the morning, just after garrett eats. he's usually very happy after his bottle & he sits on our bed playing with his toys while brian gets ready. some mornings i read or sing to him, or sit & play with him too. he's also very talkative during this time (go figure!). he's becoming so adept @ "crawling" though, that i have a feeling we'll soon have to move to the floor for a *safer* play time!

yesterday i decided to try & capture some of the *spirit* of these mornings. this is what my little guy gave me. i laugh so hard every time i look @ this shot. hope that it will make your day too!

cal ripken, jr.

 

are you kidding me? one of the biggest legends in the game of baseball (& hottest players, ever) & my husband gets to meet him? (seriously...check out the blue eyes on that man!)

brian was in DC a few weeks ago for a client (holiday inn) event. cal ripken, jr., has been a "spokesperson" for holiday inn (appearing in ads & such) for a couple of years. HI is also the official hotel of major league baseball. so brian was stoked when he found out CRJ would be speaking at this event!

PLUS...brian was able to chat with CRJ afterwards about baseball in general...as well as the braves, specifically about jeff francoeur's recent stint down into AAA, as well as chipper jones' stellar season. how cool is that?

our miami getaway

ok, ok...geesshhhh...susan, this post's for you, girl!

our trip to miami was precisely what we needed. several friends (who have multiples) had received some good advice & passed that along to us...no matter what - when your baby's 6 months old, you simply must get away as *just* husband & wife. & despite their triplets & twins they all managed to do it, so we figured we could too! my mom agreed to come stay with our little man & our plan was put into action...

we set off for miami in late june...i was apprehensive about leaving garrett for a few days, but knew this time was crucial for me & brian! so after a few tears when we took off that morning, i did just fine (&, incidentally, so did garrett!). we landed early, arrived @ our hotel (the palms, south beach) & were on the beach by lunch. lovely.

what did we do? hhhmmmm...read, slept, went to a movie, ate out every night, lounged at the pool & beach, sipped cocktails...read, slept, talked about our baby, did not talk about brian's job (way to go, honey!), laughed...it was phenomenal. check out the size of those crab claws & the way yummy pizza (we didn't eat them in the same night!). we are obsessed with trying pizza everywhere we go (& ssshhhh, but we would love to have our own place one day!). so if you have recs for pizza in our area OR in a city/spot that you love, let us know!

our trip to Miami was so phenomenal that we're being brave enough to go away again in august! brian's parents are going to come watch G for us & we're heading to NYC...going to hit a Yankees game & see the Braves take on the Mets! since it's the last year in both stadiums, we wanted to see both teams play while we're there. any recs for a great show/place to stay/restaurants while we're there? i know some of you have been there in the last year or two & i'd love to hear your thoughts (my heart is set on seeing 'wicked' while we're there, but i haven't even looked into it, yet).

all this to say...if you have kids (or think you will one day in the future)...go away for a few days alone (repeatedly)...our marriages are just as important to our kids (& each other) as being good parents are! you'll have more fun than you might think; you will miss your baby/babies & be happy to get home; but it will be rewarding time...very well spent!

we didn't take many pictures, so this is one of the only ones i have of me & brian...in the back of a cab on our way to dinner.

a view of our pool & beach from the room.

pizza party - fantastico!

check out the size of those...crab legs!

our little guy gave us a big pout when we first walked in & then burst into a giant smile. here he is with grandmom just before she left.