Garrett: Two Years!

Looking dapper on his birthday!

Height/Weight: At 24 pounds and 2 feet, 8 inches, it comes as no surprise to us that he is down in the teens (or lower!) for percentiles. He may be a peanut, but he has more than enough personality to compensate for his small size!

Helping Mommy with Christmas cookies

Wearing: Our peanut is still pretty consistently rocking 18-month clothing. Some of it is finally starting to get a little small, but he's still swimming in most of the 24-month/2T stuff. He's also wearing size four diapers, although I feel like maybe they are starting to get a little small. Which is perfect, since we just bought another box. Oh well. It's not like he's been growing quickly or anything, so I'm sure we'll manage to squeeze into them.

Marshmallows around the fire

Eating: Getting this kid to eat isn't the issue--it's getting him to stop that is the problem. He continues to gobble down pretty much everything we put in front of him, and he even gobbles down things we don't intentionally put in front of him (like the onions on the cutting board that we are prepping for dinner. Never ever did I think I would have a kid who ate raw onion--and go back for more). He'll occasionally get moody (aka act like a normal toddler) and refuse something solely for the sake of exercising his opinion, and sometimes we have a hard time keeping him at the table if William finishes before him, but for the most part we have no issues when it comes to this kid and food.

Getting salads ready for dinner

Sleep: Ugh. At some point, our goal is to have the boys sharing a room (we didn't buy bunk beds for William for nothing!), but the fact that Garrett still does not consistently sleep through the night worries me. It's one thing to deal with one kid who wakes up--I don't want to have to deal with two. I do honestly think part of the problem is teething; Garrett has always been a terrible teether and I swear his night wakings increased when he started cutting his two-year molars... But Darrell tells me that I'm just making excuses and refusing to accept that he may just be a terrible sleeper (at least overnight--he still naps like a rock star 90% of the time). I guess time will tell; two of his molars are most of the way in, and once the other two come in we'll be done with teething (at least for a good while!), so we'll see if things consistently improve after that. He also lost his pacifier last weekend, which has definitely caused his sleep to take a hit. I'm hoping that once we get through this "hump" (and likely doing some sleep training in the process) his sleeping habits will improve in the long run.

Silly boy needing a few "sucks" on his pacifier and cuddles with his taggie at the park

New Stuff: Oh boy. I don't even know what to consider "new" anymore--or how I could possibly remember everything to include. Here goes...

--He's a nurturer. In hindsight, some of this was evident when he was younger because he would cuddle and hug stuffed animals (which William never did) but especially since cousin Jonathan was born, we've been seeing a lot more of it. He loves making sure Jonathan has his blanket and at least one toy to play with, he's gotten William his stuffed puppy when William is sad, and he'll even try to give cousin Rose her pacifier when she is crying. He's also gotten very good at the soft, comforting pats on the back (or occasionally the head, because, well, he's still just a two-year old).

"Reading" to cousin Jonathan at church

--He loves animals. I know this isn't entirely new because I've expressed his obsession with dogs here before, but lately that interest has carried over to all animals. Dogs are probably still his favorite, but there are a few places we visit that have caged "pets" (mostly small reptiles and fish) and he just loves watching them all.

Collecting eggs from the hens at the Children's Museum

--"Tackle" is his favorite game ever. I bet at least once every waking hour he and William engage in a full-on wrestling match. And to his credit, Garrett has definitely been able to bring William down a time or two. This has led to many a conversation about places where it is unacceptable to play "tackle" (like church, the library, on the stairs).

Strong man moving around the ladder golf game

--He loves the sound of his voice. At least I assume he does, because he is always talking. Or singing. Or babbling. Basically anything where is mouth his open and his vocal chords are working. Don't get me wrong, for the most part we love it (especially considering how little William was talking at two), but man, sometimes a little quiet would be nice. And maybe some better pronunciation--bless his heart, sometimes Garrett tries so hard to tell us something (and he definitely knows exactly what it is he is trying to tell us) but we just can't understand him

Morning tantrums. Always fun

--In that regard, he is also starting to "read" and count. His reading is mostly just describing pictures in books or reciting the few words he's memorized from the (countless) times we've read the story, but still. It's adorable hearing his little voice talk through stories. He also knows his numbers, up to ten at least, although he doesn't always execute the whole "counting" thing very well. Sometimes he just likes to point to the same item over and over again until he gets to whatever number it is he wants. And just because this is as good a spot as any to throw it in, he also knows the majority of his colors.

Loving on some books!

--He's starting to use the potty. He never really initiates using the bathroom (and certainly doesn't keep his diaper clean/dry), but if William goes potty he usually likes to follow suit--and pretty consistently manages to get something out. Not sure when we'll tackle potty training with him though, especially with summer right around the corner.

My fearless boy. So fearless.

--I'm not especially proud of this one, but he can maneuver the Wii remote pretty well, which takes some decent fine motor skills. The boys insist on watching a show every day after naps, and I make them take turns with the remote, so not surprisingly he's gotten plenty of practice.

Twinning!

--He has a crazy strong independent streak and loves (ahem--insists on) doing things himself. Fun stuff like putting on his own clothes and shoes, which of course takes forever. He's also taught William a thing or two, more fun stuff like taking a cup and a chair over to the fridge and filling it up.

Fun at the park during family camping weekend

 --Despite never really getting that into his Kindermusik classes, he seems to have quite an affinity for music. He likes to sing and play all varieties of musical instruments, and he was even able to carry a rhythm on the xylophone while Darrell sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Daddy's little buddy

--And I know this last one is super random, especially without a video, but he has the cutest little head bob that he does when he says "yeah". Just didn't want to forget that :-)

So I know I've already massively overloaded on the photos (#sorrynotsorry), but I just can't resist throwing a few more in. Especially since I've been terrible at keeping up with the blog and most of them haven't made it on here yet.

This is what happens when we let him eat a cookie in his carseat

Apple Orchard fun

All dressed up for a wedding!

Getting a special treat with Mommy

Big boy on the Fire Engine

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!! We love you!

Photo Every Hour: February 21st

Well, after a rough (rough) week of being trapped in the house due to a stomach bug, I happy to say we've fully recovered. Which is good, because this would have been a very boing series of pictures if I had been taking them the previous week.

Rise and shine! (And yes, I know I'm long overdue for a new phone background)

7:00 My kind of kid--puzzles first thing in the morning :-)

8:00 Prepping dinner--love me some Crockpot meals! 

9:00 Honestly, this room was clean (and vacuumed!) yesterday. Sorry you missed it!

10:00 Getting ready for story time at our favorite toy store

11:00 When the temperatures are in the sixties in February, you play outside. No questions asked

12:00 Doing some coloring (and snacking on a plastic ice cream cone) after lunch

1:00 Lunch time for Mommy

2:00 Working on Garrett's two-year blog post (coming soon!) and watching "Friends" because I can

3:00 Boys are still sleeping, so more "Friends" while drooling over the gorgeous sunshine outside 

4:00 More dinner prep while the boys have their snacks

5:00 Apparently telling William that dinner is almost ready is code for "go ahead and get out another puzzle to work on"

6:00 Gymnastics class for William (usually both boys have a class at this time, but Garrett's was cancelled because his instructor couldn't be there, so he "got' to stay home with Daddy) 

7:00 Bathtime! 

8:00 A random picture to symbolize what we were doing at eight, which was reading bedtime stories to the boys 

9:00 Darrell's got work to do, so Facebook and more "Friends" for me!

10:00 Look at me getting ready for bed by ten! And yes, I actually did floss--a bit of a rarity around these parts, but I have an appointment in a few months so I'm trying to get better about it 

Car Rental PSA

Dear Friends and Family--

If you are looking to rent a car, and if there is any remote possibility that you may come in contact with an animal during the time the rental car is in your possession, DO NOT rent your car through Avis. Or if you do, invest in a high-quality lint roller and get used to using it regularly. Because apparently, if you are around pets and some of the pet hair happens to get on your clothes and subsequently into the vehicle, they will slap you with a $250 cleaning fee. I'm not even kidding.

The best part is that their rental agreement doesn't even specifically forbid pets in their vehicles (which--for the record--we never had a pet in the vehicle); it just states that if there is excessive stains, dirt, or soilage that you will be subject to a cleaning fee. So apparently whatever small amount of pet hair was tracked into the vehicle via our clothes was enough to be excessive and warrant the cleaning fee.

Needless to say, we won't be renting a car through Avis again, and I strongly suggest you follow suit, especially if you'll be around animals of any sort while you have the rental.

Love,
Jess

(Failed) Preparations for Real Life

As a parent, one of the things we want to do for our children is prepare them for the issues and obstacles they will face in their lives (notice that I didn't say we were trying to prevent them from having any difficulties in their lives... But that's a whole separate post). And sure, our boys are young and really haven't had to deal with much of anything, but I like to think that we're doing a pretty good job.

Until the other night. When William woke up in hysterics. Because his hand fell asleep and was subsequently waking up. Apparently we had done nothing to prepare him for the pins and needles feeling that happens as a result of a body part falling asleep. And he was not okay with that--or the "owie" that he had in his hand. Of course, we tried explaining to him what was happening, but in the heat of the moment (and the middle of the night) he was not having it. So we just sat there with him. While he screamed and cried and rubbed his hand against his stomach like somehow that would make the sensation go away. And considering we forgot to discuss the situation with him in the morning when he was calm and more likely to understand what we were saying, I imagine we'll have a similar response the next time that happens.

Oh well. I guess we can't win them all.

Bad at Winter

So here's the deal. We live in South Dakota. It's winter--complete with snow on the ground--for nearly 50% of the year (or at least that's what it feels like). And aside from a short stint in Iowa for college (which let's be honest, is pretty much the same as SoDak anyway), I've lived in South Dakota my whole life. So you would think I'd have this whole winter thing down. But to be honest, I don't. In fact, I'm pretty terrible at it. And that's been increasingly evident as the boys have gotten older. William will be four in April, and he has never been sledding. He's never skied (downhill or cross country), never ice skated, never snowshoed, never really spent any extended time outside in the winter for any reason. And before you think that he's too young for those "sports", rest assured that I have friends who have taken their kids William's age (or younger!) to do all those activities. Meanwhile, William doesn't even have a proper pair of snow pants. Or gloves, for that matter. The only ones he has are unlined fleece ones that get wet pretty quickly. Which we've discovered the handful of times we've played out in the front yard. And by "we" I usually mean Darrell and the boys, because I usually find a reason that it makes more sense for me to be in the house getting something done than outside playing. Which is weird. Because I grew up sledding. I grew up downhill skiing. I grew up having snow ball fights. And for the most part, I'm fairly certain I enjoyed all of those things. But as an adult, going to play outside in the winter seems like a chore. There's so many layers to put on (and no matter how many I layer on I always seem to get cold!), there's snow that gets everywhere, and there's always (always!) a mitten or a boot falling off. Plus there's all the wet stuff that gets dragged in the house and makes a mess. Not to mention the fact that buying decent quality outdoor gear isn't exactly cheap--especially with as quickly as the boys outgrow stuff.

I don't mean to be a fun-hater in the winter. In fact, I pride myself on finding lots of fun (indoor!) activities to do with the boys. But thankfully Darrell (the North Carolinian, of all things!) seems to have a better tolerance than I do for playing in the snow or my boys might really never get to experience at least a fraction of the fun that can be had in the snow.

Photo Every Hour: January 21st



For what it's worth, I've had some other posts that I've been meaning to write in between these Photo Every Hour posts... But, well, clearly that hasn't happened. There's always next month, right?

 



It's a Saturday and the boys slept in until after seven. Win! 

8:00 Seriously. These boys and their "show". At least they are cute while insisting to watch a show every morning

9:00 Coloring has become a pretty serious pastime in this house. I mean, at least for the past three days. They'll be bored with it and not pick up a crayon for three more months #toddlers

10:00 Jonathan may only be able to hold one ball at a time, but don't worry--Garrett has two more ready in case he drops that one

11:00 The ladies ready for some freezer meal prep at my sister's Wildtree party

12:00 Lunchtime!

1:00 Getting settled down for nap time

2:00 When you have a friend who is trying to learn Italian (like--wants to pass some language test to eventually get certified to lead tours in Italy) what else is there to do but buy her some Dr. Seuss in Italian?!

3:00 Again with the coloring. And they're weirdly obsessed with coloring with highlighters. We'll find out later this week if they are washable. Good thing I buy their clothes cheap

4:00 Reading a story downstairs with William while Garrett does, well, something else

5:00 My little laundry "helpers"

6:00 Dinner is a wrap. With plenty of leftovers to spare (for now. I'm convinced that with as much as the boys eat we're going to have to start doubling recipes)

7:00 Nothing says calming down for bedtime like playing tickle monster on the couch

8:00 Ugh. Putting away the laundry is the worst part of doing the laundry

9:00 We're super awesome. Sometimes we actually talk to each other... And sometimes we just need some down time. Even from each other

Lest you think we spent the whole night checked out from each other and checked into our devices, we did eventually turn on an NCIS episode and cuddle a little bit. So there's that. And there's the whole forgetting to take the last few pictures. Whoops.

Photo Every Hour (December 21st)

The fact that it's taken me a week to get this post up should be pretty indicative of how life has been lately: Crazy. Some days I'm not even sure what exactly we're so busy with, but it seems like everyday is just constant from sun up to sun down (and beyond, since let's be honest, the amount of sunlight we get this time of year isn't exactly anything to brag about). Since late is better than never and something is better than anything, here's my measly December contribution to this poor, neglected blog!

7:00 Totally spaced on taking my "wake-up" photo, but I was up at 6:10 and this boy was up at 6:50. Up and ready to build with Playdoh, apparently

8:00 Nothing says helpful like a little boy who pushes a chair around the whole kitchen so he can get into (and usually empty) all the drawers

9:00 A brief moment of peace and quiet. Time for me to run and get ready quickly before Garrett starts stealing William's puzzle pieces or William starts taking Garrett's books

10:00 Puppet show at the Outdoor Campus. Every month the have a (free!) class for 3-5 year olds where they learn about a different animal through stories, crafts, a puppet show, and other materials. Garrett usually goes to my mom's house so William and I can have a little one-on-one time, but today my mom had a conflict so Garrett got to come to class with us

11:00 Class is over, but we can't leave without saying goodbye to all the animals they have inside! (It's hard to see in the picture, but there are two turtles in that tank.)

12:00 One boy is done with lunch and ready for a nap but...

12:00 (continued) The other boy clearly is not

1:00 Quiet reading time so he will (hopefully) settle down and take a nap

2:00 Successful nap time so far--both boys are sleeping and I'm getting bills paid

3:00 And this is why I normally don't light candles before the boys to go bed--Garrett wanted to blow it out as soon as he saw it

4:00 They were begging for more to eat after their snacks, so I gave them each a candy cane. It kept them busy and didn't fill them up (because they didn't exactly eat them), so it was a success in my book

5:00 Surprise birthday party for my dad. Because our family has nothing better to do than plan more parties during the already busy holiday season.

 

6:00 A happy (and surprised!) Grandpa with his four grandkids

 

7:00 Someone is a little partied out

8:00 Running late with bedtime due to the party. And did you know that is physically impossible to get a one year old and three year old to move quickly when it's late and already past their bedtime? True story

9:00 Baking a cake to be served a funeral at church. And yes, I cheated and used a boxed mix. I really wanted to do one from scratch, but the time I saved was totally worth it

10:00 Totally forgot to take a picture. Spoiler: We were watching NCIS

Bedtime. Much too late, but that's been par for the course lately