tag....i'm it!

Well, I can't believe I am doing this, but thought it would be fun. I have been "tagged" and I am finally going to "play" along and not "run" the other way! I hope to "catch" some of you and hope you'll join the fun too!

I have had some comments about our blog being "only about Garrett" and it bothering some that it doesn't have more about "us". I figure that Garrett is what our lives are mostly about right now and we enjoy sharing the love we have for him with all of you! I have to admit that it would be nice to know what is going on in our lives too. For all of you recent bloggers, WE (Colin and I) have had a blog since 2005!!! It was all Colin's doing with him being into computers and all and I thought he was silly to have one! But since practically the day we found out that we were pregnant, Colin started this one about our precious baby boy. Now that I am the main author of this one (hint, hint honey!) I am thinking I will still update this one until Garrett is a little bit older and then we'll start using our family blog more. There is no use in having two blogs...right? I can hardly keep up with this one! Now Colin thinks I am the silly one because I could look at blogs all day! :) So, if you want to know what we did in 2005 and 2006....look at our posts here!

Anyway, here is a peek into the life of GARRETT'S MOM!!!! Thanks Linds for the tag and I apologize to all of you for not doing other tags in the past. I love reading them on other people's blogs and getting to know all of you better....

5 TV shows I love to watch:
-Dancing With the Stars (I wish I could dance)
-So You Think You Can Dance (NOPE, just wish I could)
-Opportunity Knocks (a fun new family show)
-American Idol (wish I could sing!)
-I can only think of FOUR (that's a good thing...right?!)

5 Favorite Restaurants:
-ZUPAS (did someone say FONDU?)
-Olive Garden
-Cafe Rio
-Kneaders
-Crown Burger

5 Things that happened yesterday:
-I hung out with my good friend Kaycee and her darling girl Mea!
-Was crafty and made a cute polka dotted pumpkin (Thanks Kaycee!)
-Fed Garrett some "Gerber finger foods" and he loved them!
-Picked up Colin from work
-Gave Garrett a bath and took cute pictures of his naked chubbiness!

5 Things I look forward to:
-Having a clean house.....ONE DAY!
-Colin getting home from work each day!
-Going to Island Park this weekend
-Watching Garrett learn new things
-Getting our family pictures taken

5 Things I love about fall:
-Colorful leaves
-Decorating for the holidays
-Wearing sweaters (yeah for no maternity clothes this fall and no more stinky swamp cooler!)
-Spending time with family during the holidays
-Getting Garrett dressed up for Halloween


5 Things on my wish list:
-To dance!
-Have a clean home!
-Garrett to be healthy and happy...ALWAYS!
-Go on a cruise
-Spend more time with my family

5 People I am tagging:
-Anyone out there LIKE ME who hasn't done a tag before!
-Anyone out there who wants to do another tag!
-Anyone out there who wants to do something "different" on their blog.
-Anyone out there who is bored.
-Anyone out there who thinks it would be fun.

p.s. Coming up with 5 things for each category was harder than I thought it would be, but I survived and did it!!!!

8 months!

Garrett is now eight months old! He sure is growing and his personality is coming out more and more each day. He loves to play with his toys and has fun throwing them when he is "done" with them. He also has definitely found his vocal chords and loves to scream when mom leaves the room! He mostly is fine if he is having fun with his toys, but as soon as he is bored, he lets us know. Garrett likes to imitate his dad too in his squeals and "fake coughs". It is hilarious to watch. He is liking baby food more and more and has added chicken and vegetables to his favorites list! Garrett also tried some cheerios and loved them. He's his mommy's boy ( I love cheerios too)!! Baby food sure gets messy, but it is fun to watch him get excited to eat. I had to put this picture in to show the cute rolls on his legs! He is getting two more teeth on the bottom (4 total) and one more on the top (3 total). It seems like it is making him a little more cranky than usual, but he sure is adorable and we just love him so much! He brings a smile to our face everyday!















Tubby Time with Mr. Monkey!

Open wide!

Here are the photos of the licorice! I know some of you thought I was joking, and I wasn't (please look at previous post for the full explanation). I feel better about it with the comment left by my great friend Lesley...and I quote, "I think the licorice shows your creativity and fine talent as a mother!" Thanks for the support!!!

It is amazing how smart kids are...Garrett likes to use the licorice as a whip now to hit himself, his dad, or his mom! He occasionally will still put it in his mouth, but not as often as he used to because he knows that we are coming with the spoonful of food as soon as his lips touch the licorice. (You can't get a more classic face than this...he knows the baby food is coming!) It still is cute and funny that it worked to help him be a better eater! Oh the things you'll try to get your kids to do something...

Yummy in my Tummy!

If you have talked to me lately you probably know what I would say if you asked me how Garrett is doing...."He's doing great, BUT doesn't like to eat!" To be honest, he has always struggled with eating. I am not sure why, but it has always been difficult for him. As a result, it has made it extremely difficult for me. No one believes me that he struggles when they look at his fat rolls on his legs. Amazingly enough, I "think" we are getting over the throw-up stage which was one of the hardest things! That is a definite relief. Now that he is over 8 months old you would think that he would love baby food....well that is not the case. He is doing better, but still has his days that he refuses it! He doesn't do well when I feed it to him. He definitely seems to enjoy it a lot more if his daddy is feeding him!

IF you have talked to me recently about my ways in trying to get him to eat, you'll know that I am a bad mom. I have tried to "bribe" him with licorice! I know it sounds horrible, but it has worked pretty well. I give Garrett a piece of licorice to hold in one hand. As he is trying to get the wobbly thing into his mouth by aiming with his mouth wide open, I hurry and stuff the baby food in! I have gotten over 10 more bites of baby food in him that way! We take a break after a couple of bites and I let him "gnaw" on the licorice (kind of like a teething toy) and then it is back to business as I try and get the rest in while he is distracted with the licorice! No worries, he hasn't bitten any licorice off or choked or anything. It was just one of those desperate attempts to get him to open his mouth...and it worked. I don't use it every time, just when he wants to purse his lips after only two bites!

WELL, something big has happened this week! I ACTUALLY GOT GARRETT TO EAT BABY FOOD! This time it was without licorice too! I can hardly believe it! He has done so well the last three days. He is just scarfing it all down. I want you to guess what it is he loves so much, so take a look at the poll on the side to make your vote. Check back soon to find out what his favorite is! I am crossing my fingers that we make it another few days with good eating! Look at the cute picture of his messy face for a clue! I will post more cute pictures of his eating adventures soon...including the one with the magic wand (licorice)!!! :)

Lions and Tigers and Bears....OH MY!!!

WE had a fun weekend! We have been wanting to take Garrett to the zoo all summer! We finally had a chance to go as a family last Saturday. We have been a couple of times since we have been married, but enjoyed it a lot this time with Garrett. It was a perfect day for the zoo...not too hot, not too cold and not too crowded! He seemed fascinated with the animals (as much as an 8 month old can be fascinated!!!) We went to the bird show and he definitely followed some of those birds across the theater. He also enjoyed the bears, zebras, giraffes, and elephants! Unfortunately, he fell asleep before he could meet the monkeys! I was sad that we couldn't take a picture of him by them with Garrett's silly monkey shirt that he had on. Oh well, a nap is more important than a picture and we will definitely have to go again soon!

We also decided it would be fun to go the state fair on Monday night for FHE. There is nothing like the sights, sounds, and smells of a fair. We got a foot long "sausage on a stick," some sweet potato fries and a funnel cake for dessert! They were delicious. Of course it was Garrett's nap time, but he didn't want anything but to watch everything around him. He was interested in the cows, sheep, and pigs that we saw. One of the sheep put it's head through the bars and got pretty close to Garrett. That was a little scary By the end of the night, we think Garrett was a little "over stimulated" as he was squealing and shaking his arms and legs vigorously! Needless to say, he slept great that night! Enjoy the pictures!

New Tricks!

I can't believe my baby is seven months old! (well, almost 8 months now because this is a little late!) He sure is adorable and seems to get cuter every day! He has learned some new tricks this last month. It is silly how excited new parents get over little things! It is also funny when people ask how old Garrett is and after my response they ask..."is he crawling yet???" My reply is...."UM...NO!!! And we're OKAY with it!" That means that he still stays where I put him and I don't have to worry too much about him getting hurt or being in danger! I know my time is short before he will be on the move and won't stop, but for now...we enjoy his occasional roll over. He used to hate to roll over, but if you look at these pictures you'll find that he is now giving tips to his best friend, Mr. Monkey!!!









Here is a video of the little fella rollin'!



Last, but not least....this little boy is getting more teeth! The two on the bottom have now been joined by two on the TOP!!! One is a little slower than the other, but we think he is the cutest bunny ever! It sure is hard to get that kid to open his mouth when you want him to!

Are you sleeping.....are you sleeping.....Baby Garrett???

Garrett has always been a pretty good sleeper! He has had his struggles, but I can't complain because I haven't fed him in the night since he was two months old! If he wakes up in the night, I admit it, I don't even hear him! Colin is the best dad and gets up to help him go back to sleep by playing the what we like to call...."the binkie game!" Morning comes and I wake up and say...."Wow Colin, Garrett slept great last night! I didn't hear him once!" Colin then replies, "That's weird because I got up two times to put his binkie back in!" ha ha ha Thanks honey!


The "swaddle me" blanket was definitely one of the best things we have used for our son since he was born! We were so grateful that a great mom gave me one as a baby gift. It was so helpful for her that she wanted to share it with me! That is one of the best things about being a mom is getting ideas and tips from other great moms on what worked for them. When Garrett was first born, we would just swaddle him with a "regular blanket!" He did not last long and would kick his way out. With the special blanket, it is shaped just right for swaddling and has velcro fasteners to keep it tight! WELL, our little magician managed to escape almost every time we would put it on him, but it sure helped him calm down and go to sleep! We tried to squeeze him into the size small (up to 14 lbs.) when we knew he was well over in weight and length! We gave in and got a size large and have been using that for the last few months!

Well, after escaping multiple times a night we figured that he was trying to tell us that he was a "big boy" and didn't need to be swaddled every night! So, we are proud to announce that he is sleeping without it and has been for over a month now! He has done really well! I noticed that when he was getting tired and I would try to lay him down, as soon as I would lay his back down on his mattress he would squirm and wake up. I decided to try and lay him on his side like I was holding him...I quickly put some pillows behind him to help prop him up and "viola" he stayed asleep! He eventually rolls to his back and is fine! What a cute little bug! This is definitely a perfect model pose! I don't think many can sleep like that, but he does! Babies are sure cute when they sleep and I must admit, I love going in to check on him to see his cute positions and faces!















Is that a smile? He must love how comfy his
Mom and Dad's bed is!
















No binkie...I've got fingers!





















Snug as a bug in a rug on our first
camping trip!




















Those are some strong legs to help
him escape!