Garrett's 2nd Birthday!

Garrett turned 2 on March 27th. We had a party and all the family and friends came. It was a great time as usual. I love it when my house is full of people who are enjoying themselves. I made Chili and hot dogs and it was fabulous... Have I mentioned how much I LOVE a good hotdog... you know.. the really cheap ones.. BAR S! Well, I do love them and I slow cooked them and they were great. Anyway, Garrett had a great time. He got a big wheel, a sit and spin, a bounce house, clothes, toys, toys, and more toys.... His cake was a football and all chocolate.

Garrett is becoming a little boy and I love it. This is by far my favorite stage so far. He is learning so much and saying new words all the time. He amazes me at how coordinated he is. He runs everywhere and can jump pretty high. I love how snuggly he still is and how much he still needs me but yet he is independent at the same time. However, teaching a 2 year old not to hit or bite can by trying at times...I am soooo glad this part is just a phase. I love you my crazy boy! You are so sweet and curious and silly. You love to tease your big sister and you already know what pushes her buttons. I LOVE YOU with all my heart little man and I hope you had a very special day! xoxo Mom

UPDATES.... Finally!

Wow.. its been a long time since I have been a part of the blogging world. Many updates, not much time.. here goes.

Garrett turns two on Saturday OMG... where does the time go? Really? I love that he is growing up and he has the cutest wild teasing personality and he is talking like CRAZY but wow... I didn't think time would go this fast! Here are a few things I want to remember about my kids and my world that have happened in the last couple months.

Garrett saved his own life a few weeks ago when he attempted to ride his bike down the stairs... somehow, someway, he grabbed onto the railing and his bike went flying down. I heard the ruccus and started freaking out and shaking immediately. I thought for sure he would be broken when I found him at the bottom of those long stairs... but instead, he miraculously grabbed onto the handrail and walked away with onlyl a scared little tender heart. God Bless our little guardian angels!

Gracie has a loose tooth.. her first one and she is soooo excited about it. it is the bottom left.

Garrett pooped in the potty yesterday and I couldn't be happier... I can't wait for the day with no more diapers.

I ran my longest distance ever yesterday of 7.22 miles and I did it in 1 hour and 13 minutes (on the treadmill - UGH!) I am training to run the Wasatch Back Relay again this year with the best group of ladies out there.... except Kim.. but I think we can talk her into it...if not this year, there is always next year!

Gracie started playing Baseball in the Riverton League and she is loving it. Garrett wants to be big so bad so he can play with the bat and the hat... he doesn't care much for the ball!

Gracie is doing so well in preschool. She is already reading and counting to well over one hundred. She is starting to understand simple math. I am proud of her. She is a huge help to me when I am working at home. She takes care of Gary and helps me with everything.

Garrett wants an Elmo, a tractor, and/or a football cake and he talks about his birthday every day.

Oh yeah, and how could I possibly forget to mention the most fabulous Dirty thirty cruise that we went on in January with the best people! I can honestly say that I have never had more fun ever. But I did gain 7 pounds and have not been able to lose it... all I have to say about that is ahhhh, but those pounds were totally worth it. Here's to looking forward to the "over the hill 40 cruise" as JR puts it!

I love my house and my adorable little family!

Jake and Sjon and Kory and Jeff built me a beautiful deck this past weekend and I could not be happier. I LOVE SPRING!

Christmas

What an amazing Christmas. We moved into our house only 2 days before Christmas and were able to get the tree up and decorated, the stockings were hung, and the elf even found us at our new home. We are loving it. It feels like home. WE. ARE. HOME.

I will post pictures soon. I promise. I just want to get the wall pictures hung....

Santa came and brought the kids oodles of toys and other junk that we won't remember in a month. But, it was fun nonetheless. Garrett was soooo excited and kept running to the window looking for Santa or "Bah" as he called him. The kid is pretty smart and knew exactly what was happening. He had sat on Santa's lap a few days earlier so he knew that toys were on the way. When Gracie woke up in the morning, she got Jake and they went to wake Garrett up. He was so happy that Santa had come he was shaking. I have never seen this reaction from a baby in my life. Talk about the good stuff. Anyway, the highlight were the Glitter balls that the kids got. When Gracie sat on Santa's lap, the only thing she asked for was a glitter ball and she did mention that she had a list.... but that seemed secondary to the ever facinating GLITTER BALL.... you know the ones full of water and glitter. They actually are pretty entertaining.

We had an equally amazing New Years... the big night consisted of a house full of good friends and family for food, games, fireworks, and noise. The kids ran wild and we gambled with the ladies coming away as winners. Woo Hoo for 2010!

First Haircut

Josh gave Garrett his first haircut and it was badly needed. His mullet was coming on strong. I kept trying to trim around his ears and neck with the scissors but he would just run from me. It did no good.

Josh was an expert... I had no idea you could do that kind of stuff at home. I am going to buy myself a set of clippers and attempt this myself. Garrett did really good. He was a little scared at first but by the end he was fine just very itchy!

My baby looks like a little boy now... he is growing up so fast!

Garrett....

Have I mentioned that my son is a wild man?

We have lived in our house for one week and one day and so far we have been to the Instacare once because Garrett Superman dove off the barstool and landed on his hands and knees. He wouldn't walk on his leg so we thought it could be broken... luckily, it's just sprained. And tonight we found a piece of dog food shoved up his nose. The poor kid sneezed about 10 times in a row. I had no idea but when I made Gracie clean the dog food that they spilled playing ball he decided to put a piece up his nose. Sick!

Update

Garrett has been talking like crazy for about the past two weeks. I was getting worried because he didn't say anything but mom and dad for the longest time... but now, he repeats everything we say. He Calls Gracie Doo Doo and he says shoes, juice, bear, ball, no, baby, ba ba, car, tractor, more, mama (grandma) and Bob (Grandpa). I am sure there are a lot more words that I don't understand quite yet. ha ha! Garrett was asking for juice the other night and I was too lazy to get out of bed so I told him to go ask grandpa for some juice. He ran out of my room and yelled "BOB, Juice" It was the funniest thing... I didn't even know he knew my dad's name. His hair is finally growing and will become a full mullett shortly. Sooo Excited about that. I tried to cut it around his ears and in the back with no success. Oh well.

Gracie is wonderful and is behaving well for Santa Clause. There is still the occasional melt down but that is expected. She is only five... at least that's what I keep telling myself. She is writing and coloring all the time. She made her Christmas list and just needs help with the spelling. She is learning a ton in school and loves it. She was sick yesterday and cried because I wouldn't let her go to school. What an over achiever.

Jake is sooo busy building our new house. He is gone almost every night doing something. We are hoping to be in on the 23rd of December... just days before Christmas. I pray that we can pull it off. The house is coming along and I am loving it. Painting starts this week and I think stucco goes up Friday.... YAY! I have been choosing colors like crazy and although overwhelming... I still love it. I hope it all comes together. I tend to go with simple choices so hopefully it will all flow.. I did not choose any chandeliers for this house. Only can lights and ceiling fans. Did I say Simple or what?

I am doing well. I just had surgery last week and I feel good. LOVING my kids and my wonderful parents for helping out so much. I am soooo grateful for my full life and all the amazing people I love.

Another Fabulous Weekend!

It all started Friday morning with a trip to the pool with Kim, Jenni and all the kids in tow. Wow, talk about not relaxing.... I had Garrett remember. I honestly felt like I didn't even get to visit with the ladies. Garrett loves the water and has absolutely no fear of it. SCARY! Anyway, we enjoyed the water and then we were off to lunch at Zupas - which was cut a bit short thanks to Garrett... LOL! I can't take him anywhere! Then we headed home for a long, much needed nap and a shower. (that was relaxing... Garrett and Gracie slept too!) I woke up around 3:30 and thought I was short on time to get to the parade. Needless to say, I rushed for nothing. The parade didn't start until 6:30 and I arrived at 5:00. That sucked! So I headed up to Herriman for Turner's all star baseball game (which he won.) I was there just long enough to see him hit a triple and bring 2 people home. Then the kids and I made it back to Riverton for the parade. Garrett almost got ran over by Murray City when he ran into the street. Once again, no fear. Crazy kid!

Saturday was super relaxing. I made Jake go on a short run with me in the morning. It was the first time I had ran since my race and it was hard. Jake did better than me and he does NOT run! Oh well, I will get back into it soon. Back home for pancakes, a nap for Garrett, and a quick shower. Then we decided to head over to Riverton park for the festivities. Garrett and Gracie had fun riding the rides but it was stinking hot. They went on the ferris wheel with my mom and Garrett screamed the entire time. He hated it but he liked the small kid rides. Back home to pack, eat and let Garrett have another nap. Then we were off to the store for fireworks and food for the lake. Jason and Aubrey came up and we lit a few fireworks for Gracie, got attacked by June Bugs, and enjoyed watching the city fireworks in the valley off the deck.

On Sunday we headed to Yuba with Rakel, Kory, Jenny, Kim, JR and all the kiddos. It was so much fun. We had a blast wakeboarding, tubing, knee boarding, and swimming. This time we took Garrett with us and he loved it. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded. Gracie kneeboarded all by herself. She was so proud.

G-Man

I love this kid.... He thinks he is part of the team already!

Summer Fun!

Here are the kiddos running through the sprinklers one HOT day! Oh how we love summer!

1st set of stitches

Garrett had his first set of stitches last night. 5 total...Mommy is sad!

It was just after 9:00 and we had just returned home from my brothers house. I was getting Garrett ready for bed when he took off running. He tripped over a ball on the floor and fell into the stone fireplace. It was sooo sad. The cut was really deep but it didn't bleed much. He only cried for about 3 minutes. Then he drank his bottle and returned to his normal self.

Of course, I was freaking out and overreacted. We rushed him to the ER and waited about 30 minutes to go back. The Doctors had to strap him to a board in order to stitch up his eyebrow. It was traumatic. He was screaming and gagging, and turning red. It took 3 people and a lot of velcro to hold the little guy down. By the time it was all over with... he was a sweaty mess! I felt so bad for him. The nurse could not stop telling me how strong he was.

The sad part is, just last week Jake and I were saying how surprised we are that he hadn't had stitches yet.... I guess we spoke too soon.

Here is Garrett strapped to the board before he really knew what was going on.

Blessing Baby Garrett

We finally blessed Garrett a couple of weeks ago at my in-laws house. It was so quaint and nice with only family present. My father in law, Lenny, gave the blessing. Thank you so much Lenny. You are so great. Actually, I must say that I have married into one of the best families out there. All of Jake's family is amazing. Talk about the most unselfish people I know. So, here is a shout out to the Thomas family! I LOVE YOU GUYS! ALL OF YOU! XOXOXO



And, now for the blessing day photos....

*EASTER*

Easter was fabulous as always! We were able to celebrate with both sides of the family. We had my favorite brunch and the biggest treasure hunt ever at Auntie Ya Ya's house. Then we had another egg hunt and dinner at Granny Goose and Papa's house. So much food and fun. The kids scored. I swear we had more candy after Easter than after Halloween. Love it!

Garrett did really well gathering the eggs and dragging his basket all over the house dumping the eggs out along the way. It was cute. The Easter Bunny brought Gracie a new "bra" swimming suit and the game of Sorry. She was one happy little girl.

Happy Easter to all and to all a good night!

Party Pictures... Finally

Gary turned one and we had a party!

I am finally posting pictures from Garrett's first birthday parties. The first party was on a Saturday at my parents house. He loved the balloons but wasn't sure about the cake at first. He seemed to like the paper more than the gifts. He got a lot of clothes, balls, toys and a kid leash so we can keep track of him this summer. As you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed the cake once he got used to it. Chocolate Cake was everywhere.

The second group of pics is from the second party on Sunday with Jake's family. Garrett was too busy playing with the kids to even realize the party was for him. He really had no interest in the cake either but, he had a great time anyway. Love the swim suit....

Sick, Sick, Sick!

Since we have moved into my Parents house, someone has been sick at all times. I am laughing now but it has not been fun.

First Gracie and Garrett both were coughing with Runny noses. They passed it onto Grandpa but Gracie didn't get better so off to the Dr. we went. Turns out she had a mild case of Pnemonia which went away with antibiotics. Garrett felt better but Grandpa was still sick. Then it came around again, Garrett's nose started running again and Gracie complained of a sore throat. Oh no, now I have a scratchy dry throat. Grandpa gets it again - the poor old man can't catch a break. Grandma has knee surgery on Thursday. Then on Friday we were out and about... everyone feeling great! And then...Gracie gets a tummy ache in the car and throws up everywhere. It was soo sad. We pull over and do our best to clean up and drive home. Of course she slept with us and once again puked all over my bed! YUCK! change the sheets, give the poor girl a bath and try to go back to sleep at 2:00 in the morn... Today, ALL IS WELL!

HOORAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARRETT!

Our little guy is one today! Garrett Bud Thomas was born March 27th some time in the evening, I think around 7:40ish... sad that I can't remember. He was named after Jake's Great Uncle Bud. I remember him being a wild firecracker in my tummy and he hasn't stopped yet. He definitely keeps us on our toes. He is sooo busy and into everything all the time, if I take my eyes off of him for a half second he is either hurt, climbing on something, or getting into the dog food or anything else that makes a mess or is dangerous. Poor Kid has the most energy and the shortest attention span I have ever seen. He moves from one object to the next in a split second. Although he is the wildest baby on the planet, I love him more than anything and he makes me smile every day! He is so happy and smiley most of the time and he thinks he is so funny - which he is... and we love him SO much. Happy Birthday little guy... we think you are fantastic and we LOVE having you around! But, we also love that you go to bed at 7:00 each night and don't wake up til the morning. Yay!

We are celebrating twice this year... Garrett's first party is on Saturday with my family and the second one is on Sunday with Jake's family.

Edward Cullen.... Watch out!

You've got some COMPETITION!

We seem to have a little vampire of our own! Isn't that the best smile... I love that his fangs came in before his front teeth.

Never to sit down again....

Wild Boy Garrett is officially walking! Everywhere. I'm scared. I don't think that he will ever sit still again. He is soooo proud of himself and he just waits for approval. He still can't get up to standing from the floor so he uses the couch and then walks around until he falls and crawls back to the couch to get up again smiling all the way. It really is so cute. Just way too early.

baby steps...

Garrett took his first real unaided steps on Christmas day... he turned nine months old on the 27th of December and will be fully walking very soon. I knew he would walk early but not this early.... Gracie walked at 10 and a half months. We don't know whether to be excited or not. He already gets into everything and is a very busy 9 month old boy. He is a champ at the stairs now because I still haven't learned to keep the gate up...oops! It's really cute because when he sees me coming he tries to go up or crawl as fast as he can... he crawls on his hands and feet so he can go faster. We also think he is a lefty like his daddy... how sweet.

SLEEPING.THROUGH.THE.NIGHT!

Garrett is finally sleeping through the night.

HALLELUJAH!

It only took him 8 months... he actually has been sleeping through the night at least 4 times a week for that past few weeks but I didn't want to jinx myself by blogging about it.

Needless to say, I am one happy momma!

STAIRS...

So, this morning I was working on the computer while the kids were playing on the floor. Gracie came into my room and was there with me for about 10 minutes playing her Leapster. She said, "Mom, I am going to check on Garrett." What!!!!!! I totally forgot about Garrett....At that point I realized how quiet the house was. I jumped up and started running frantically through the house searching for him...I had forgotten to put the baby gates up so he could be anywhere. Gracie ran up stairs while I searched the main floor. Much to my dismay, he was upstairs... he had climbed up 16 stairs all by himself. When we found him, he was in the playroom playing with the toys as happy as can be. Wow! That scared the crap out of me. I am just glad he made it without falling. Silly Boy!

This is a perfect example of Garrett's Personality. He is determined and Strong. He has tried to climb the stairs before but we usually stop him before he gets too far. Now we just have to teach him how to get down the stairs safely.