g and e: the video

excuse the lack of editing at the end. just wanted to publish it fast! see how much fun they had?!

mghe meets efg

Friday night we got to see our friends, Kris, Amy & Eloise from Ohio. G and E are only 3 months apart, but Eloise has been walking for many more months than g. Anyway, K, A & E flew in from Ohio yesterday, to do some site-seeing. We were lucky enough to be able to have dinner together and hang out for a while in their sweet downtown hotel.

We ate a quick dinner at the Palace Kitchen, where they were super kind to us. They even made us a plate of carrots for the kiddos (that's service)! Garrison loved that you could see in the kitchen and he kept fussing to go watch the chefs at work. One of the chefs waved and garrison pointed back, as if to say "hey, dude, you rocked the potato fritters!"

After dinner we went back to the hotel and let the kids have some play time. At first it was mostly just walking back and forth in front of one another. Then eventually it seemed like they were playing together. G was really tickled by E and did a lot of giggling. It was so fun to see G interacting with another little person. This was really my first time seeing him play for a long sustained period with someone. It was just fascinating to watch how they interacted and how they made toys of everything. As we were leaving they walked us down to the lobby so we could get a picture by the xmas tree. (taken on Kris' camera, so I'll have to get copies before I post.) We let the kids just walk around the HUGE lobby. They just had a ball walking around. E would walk up behind G like she was sneaking, it was soooo cute. It was way too short a visit for the grown ups, but I think the kids really could have played all night. G, however was ready for bed when we got home and didn't even want a bedtime story.

I took lots of cute pictures and several cute videos, which I'll try to post this weekend. So, here are some pictures of G playing with his first friend. Thanks for coming out to visit, I wish we could see you more often, and I know G wishes he could play with Eloise every day. Hopefully we'll see you all again soon!

walking non-stop

so after my last post, the walking tapered a little bit. He got really into his push cart from ikea and he was "Hell on wheels," terrorizing the dog and running into feet. (ouch). He sped around the house like a crazy person. We had to take it away, because Miles just got no rest. Then he started to use his ride-on truck toy as push thing. That was almost as bad. When he tried to T-bone the dog it had to go away too. Since then he's been crawling a lot.

Then all of a sudden, this weekend he was on 2 feet all the time. Monday and today have been involved G doing circuits around the house and me following behind or sitting in a central location where I can see the action. Today he carried around two spoons and just walked. It was funny. We've been working on "happy feet" which is basically running in place. He's really good at it and it makes him giggle when you do it with him. He loves being chased and loves when you hide and jump out at him. He's kind of playing hide and seek with Amos these days, which involves G standing behind the arm of the couch and poking his head out on the side and laughing. He's really starting to get playing.

I'm not sure, but I think he might be working on his 2 year molars already. He's drooly drooly drooly.

Oh, and on the talking front. Taco is a new favorite word. I don't know if he knows what one is, but he sure likes sayin' it. Sometimes it comes out "kaco" though.

In a little over a week he'll be a year and a half!

big news--walking is happening, independently!

So, it's been a little quiet on the blog, but it's not that things aren't going on. My writing energy is all being focused on the dissertation, so as soon as that is done I swear I will write better, more often and longer AND with more pictures! For today, however a short little update plus video will have to suffice.

a) walking spontaneously happened this week, on november 9, 2009. I announced it on facebook. I'm counting it as first day of walking, because it was in no way parent coerced. YAY for G!! We've been anticipating this for a long time. He still likes his ikea push cart for getting around quickly, though and you have to watch your toes, especially if you have 4 legs. He is very slow without it, because he takes careful steps. (for the record, his hair looks a little red in the video, but it's just the magenta room being picked up by his blond hair.)


b) we're really into Dr. Seuss' ABC book. I mean he spends about 70% of play time with books, and it might be closer to 80% or 90%, so it's not surprising, but he is fixated on this book, and the letter D. He can point to it on the Daisy Rock guitar (it says "daisy rock" on it). No, he does not point at the D string.

c) G likes to go for walks in the stroller with me (we go to the PCC or the grocery almost every day 2-3 miles) and he likes to go for walks on foot with Daddy to the elementary school near the house. He never wants to turn around and come home, so you have to carry all 27 pounds of him back up the hill to our house.

d) whining is our favorite form of communication these days. (well, it's not really mine, but G seems to think it is effective).

e) apart from books G is really into yogurt containers, wooden spoons, old spice containers (and my spice drawer in general), snack traps w/ snacks, stuff he's not supposed to have, dvd player and iphones, remote controls, tv, cups, clothes and clothes baskets (likes to take stuff out, throw it on the floor and then put it back in).

f) is shy with strangers and people he knows that aren't amos or me.

g) is very very sweet and loves big, tight hugs. (one of my favorite things too).

you are an amazingly sweet, little boy.

Dear Garrison,
This week we've been visiting Grams and Papaw in Springfield. We've been having a good time, especially today, you seem to feel like your normal happy self. I think earlier this week your 16th tooth coming was causing you some discomfort. Not to mention the fact that you likely miss your dad and dog.

Anyway, I was having a talk with Grams and Papaw. Something to the effect of "I can't believe how lucky I am to have such great parents..." and I was a little emotional (yes, there were tears). You noticed my tears and you tried to make me feel comforted. You were on Grams' lap and you turned to me and reached up and smiled. I melted. I picked you up and you wrapped your arms around my neck and squeezed me tightly, like you do when I pick you up after a nap. Then after holding on tight for a long time you loosened your grasp long enough to lean back and look at my face. I had to smile at you and you, of course, smiled back with that wide toothy smile and those precious dimples you have.

How is it that you know, at the tender age of not quite 16 months old to be so sweet? How is it that I am so lucky to have such a loving child?

I will always remember that moment. It touched me so deeply, and, not to sound silly, but it reminded me so much of the sweet way that miles davis always tries to kiss away my tears and climb into my lap when I see a sad movie. (maybe you learned it from him, he did teach you one of your first words--ooof oof! HA!)

Anyway, thanks, my sweet boy. I love you to pieces.
mommy

garrison's big adventure part 3

Garrison and Amos had a good time on their trip. They arrived in TN on Monday after traveling Sunday and spending the night in a hotel that night (G's first).

They had an excellent visit in TN. They got to see Uncle Jon, Uncle Allen, Adrian, Seth, Ruth and of course, Grandmother, Granddaddy, Kate & Mr. B (who were most certainly chased about by Garrison). From what I've been told the boys enjoyed all the eating they did while there for the visit, Garrison loved the breakfasts. I know it was a good father-son experience.

As far as I'm concerned, the hug when G got back to Seattle was worth the week-long wait. I missed my boys.

And, now G and I will venture off to see his other grandparents. He'll already made way more flights than amos and I did by the time we were teenagers. (I'll add pictures when I've got a little more time and I'm not getting ready to travel myself! The life of a jet-setter's parents!)

garrison's big adventure part 2

Here is a picture from G's visit with his great-grandmother. (edited to add "great")

garrison's big adventure day 1

Last night I took Amos and G to the airport. They left for a big trip to see some important people.

They took the red eye flight to Chicago then a short flight to Little Rock. G slept most of the way, and I think Amos managed to grab some sleep himself. Then they picked up a rental car and headed to see Amos' Aunt Linda & Uncle Thomas. Amos told me that Garrison had a great time meeting them, and was really excited to see their dog. Garrison showed off how he can bark, "oeff oeff" and allegedly was caught trying to pull on Uncle Thomas' eyebrows (he kind of pinches faces these days, a weird new thing). After lunch there (thanks for feeding the boys, nice to know they didn't have to eat big macs on the road!)

Then it was back in the car to see Boochie. Amos also got to see his Aunt Mary, Uncle Fay, and Aunt Sarah there. Garrison apparently found lots of interesting stuff to "investigate" at Boochie's. He got to give her a big hug, and I know Amos enjoyed getting to see everyone.

After that Amos and G headed off to TN. They drove almost 3 hours and then stopped at a hotel for the night when Garrison started getting mad. Of course, now that they are stopped, G wants to play. They'll set off tomorrow and should pull into Oak Ridge in the evening.

Just typing all they did makes me tired. I think it is incredibly cool that Garrison got to meet his great grandmother. I never got to meet mine. I sure wish that my grandparents could have met G, I know they would have liked him. My Papaw would have liked his sense of humor. My Grammie would have knit him sweaters. My Grandmother would have filled him with delicious, lovingly made food, and my Granddaddy (who I don't remember myself) would have helped him open presents with his pocket knife.

Anyway, thanks, Amos, for doing all of this for G, it's really special.

garrison's new tricks

Lately Garrison seems to be blossoming. He has started doing a lot of new things all at once.
-he now can give 5! (it makes him very happy)
-said "go" and pointed to the door.
-waves
-daddy, says it like Da---dee.
-throws a ball from on the couch to you on the floor.
-climbs all over the furniture, a little too skillfully. We're trying to train him to get down feet first.
-he demonstrates some surprising ingenuity a couple of days we sat near him as he worked and worked to get a blanket piled on the floor by the couch. Then he grabbed a pillow and added it to the stack. Then he got on the couch and started to lunge face first off onto the pile. Obviously we stopped him as made the lunge.
-He ate his first pb&j
-He ate homemade chocolate chip cookies (by me)
-He gets that it is appropriate to clap when someone sings
-He can strum the strings on a guitar with his thumb
-He seems to have "sensitive" skin, we use a lot aquaphor healing ointment
-He can climb all over things, but can't walk yet, my theory is that he has his own priorities
-He wakes up every morning happy, until you try to change him. then he gets upset--not fun.
-And in the middle of all of this he's trying to work in two new teeth (the pointy ones on top) to add to the twelve (including molars) that he already has. These seem to be bothering him and he's drooling up a storm and wants to bite everything. He has a little biting ball that I try to get him to use, but pretzel sticks work sometimes too.

All in all time is whizzing by, just like garrison was in the picture above. I rarely have a moment while he's awake that we're not laughing and having a good time. He's still got a great sense of humor.

almost 15 months, really?!

So, Garrison is 14.5 months and I feel like I barely have time to post anymore, because he's just so much more active than he used to be. First of all it seems he has officially become a one nap kind of guy. Now he makes it until about 11:30 and then naps for a couple of hours, then up until 7.

Last night he went to Tom's bday party and stayed up LATE! He had such a good time, though. He got to see lots of people and he really liked watching all the cats. He got a little freaked out when a three month old who was there cried. He's kind of sensitive.

He seems to really be getting the hang of some communicating stuff. He says (in his own way) dog, that, go, dada, mama, and, of course uh-oh. Mostly, though he uses the typical toddler point-n-grunt to let us know what he wants.

I read that this is really when the terrible twos start. It's not at 2 like most people assume. I think what it means is that kids this age finally are having opinions, and can't get their needs/wants across because of the communication barrier. I notice it with Garrison lately. He clearly wants something specific, but can't get across to me what it is. It makes him mad. You know what else makes him mad?--having to go to bed when he wants to play.

We're convinced he can walk, but he's just not that into it. He can go all over the house pushing his little ikea push-cart, and let me tell you, it is light and without good balance you'd seriously mess up your front teeth on the push bar. So, I am convinced that he is far too practical to waste his time with walking when he can crawl almost as fast as I can walk (seriously, this kid has some jets!)

happy birthday, Eloise

Our friends, Amy & Kris are celebrating daughter Eloise's first birthday today. It's been fun watching Eloise grow this year virtually. She and G are so close in age I can't wait for them to meet in person some day. I think they'll be great friends. I remember waiting anxiously to see pictures of little Eloise a year ago. She was cute when she was born and she just keeps getting cuter. Happy first year, little Eloise!

hot outside, but cool in the pool

during our week-long heat wave (which included Seattle's hottest day EVER) we set up a pool on our deck. Garrison loved the pool.

likes: books, hates: shoes.

Garrison is really into board books lately. I've started putting some in his crib for naps and this is what he likes to do before dozing off...


Saturday he got his first "big boy shoes." They're stride rite, because they were only $30 at nordstrom and Garrison didn't scream when I put them on (not too much). The shoe guy said he looked like he needed a wide. Goodness, his little feet maybe are a little bit "thick," but I'd never really thought of them as wide. We got him 5 wide. He got brown shoes. There just weren't any cool ones in black. There are thousands of cute girl shoes, but only a few shoes worthy of a hip little dude like Garrison. Anyway, he's still not walking, so he's not wearing them too much. But, he's wearing them a little while each day and it kind of makes him frustrated when he's crawling. He can't flip over to his stomach fast enough, because the feet get tangled. It's cute. Anyway, here he is in his spiffy new kicks.

garrison at 13 months

we're a couple of weeks past it, but here is G on the day he turned 13 months old. He's such a happy guy.

garrison's vancouver adventure

Amos got a floating holiday for the 4th, so we took it on the friday after. We thought it would be fun to go to Vancouver, because Amos and G got their new passports (A had to renew). We took the GPS, which took us some crazy way downtown. It did a better job getting home. We drove around a bit and stopped by the mall to get a dvd set of a canadian tv show that we like. Then after looking around a bit we turned around for home. On the GPS it says it will be 117 miles to where we want to go, but it takes like 4 hours or something to drive it. We thought we'd have some time to go to a park, etc., but no way. The return trip was even worse, because the wait at the border was bad. We had to stop for gas after we got across the border and when I turned the car over it didn't start. We tried having it jumped by a guy with SUV to no avail. He happened to work at the Bellingham airport and knew a hertz rental guy. He drove Amos to the airport (totally nice guy) and G and I waited at the place where we'd pushed the car--a strip mall parking lot. G and I went to the Ace Hardware and shopped, then started calling Geico (we have roadside assistance--which we've used 2, maybe 3 times). So the thinking is that we'll get the rental car and the tow will be to closest mechanic about 100 miles away from home. Amos returns. We wait for the tow. Adonis & Rali go over to let miles out. When tow guy comes he tries to jump us, and it starts! Luckily we have already gotten gas and just have to drive it home.

Saturday amos gets a new battery, installs it, but getting the old one out was a chore in itself. After Amos does all the car stuff, we have to go back to bellingham airport to return the rental car. So, G, MD A and I all head north. We drop off the car, pick up some food at the Fred Meyer and head home. Miles Davis loves rest stops. The car is running fine with the new battery, but we'll probably take it in for a check up soon. So, our short little day trip turned into a two day adventure. Thankfully we had some nice people help us out along the way or things could have been a lot worse. My advice to anyone traveling by car with a kid...always have a full weekend's worth of diapers and food, a stroller in case you get stuck somewhere and have to walk and plenty of sunscreen.

catch up vol. 1

I haven't written in so long I figure I've got lots of stories to tell, so I'll try to get started and fill everyone in one the comings and goings at casa del pequeno g (really, he answers to that better than he does garrison.)

We had a nice time with my mom and dad here. Garrison got to spend a lot of quality time with his grandparents, and I got some writing done! We had some good food and nice walks. As always, the visit was too short. I'll put up a slide show from the visit in another post.

So quitting bottles hit a snag the week of my last post. I didn't think G was getting enough to eat or drink, and he was crying all the time. The last time he did that was when he was essentially starving when he was a baby--I knew his cry was out of hunger. I had saved one can of formula, and I made an executive decision to use it. I realized that he had a fever at some point on like Friday, so we canceled band practice and stayed home and took some baby tylenol. That helped, as did watching like 3 or 4 straight episodes of hola bebe. Then he got this rash. It looked like german measels (not raised bumps, just red spots). So we figure he's reacting (not allergy) to the MMR shot. It gets worse over the course of a couple of days, and spread down his tummy, as it said it would. His eyes were red and swollen. It was a little unnerving. We didn't take him into the doctor, because as the rash got worse, he seemed to feel better. I was just giving him bottles first and then solids, and I think that helped rehydrate him and just made him more comfortable. After he recovered we got back on a more moderate weening schedule. We try to limit bottles to morning (before 9 am), and eat 3 meals + 2 snacks. We're transitioning to milk from formula gradually too. I think that was too abrupt for him. All of a sudden it's 6:30, he's hungry and he has to have cold milk from a sippy cup?

Fourth of July was quiet, but Rali and Adonis stopped by for a while. G slept through the fireworks. We listened to lots of them going off in our neighborhood. Even thought he felt kinda poopy he dressed for the occasion. G's a patriotic little fellow.

G has lots of new teeth. He's got one molar (lower right) and is working on at least 1 or 2 others. Finally the 3rd and 4th bottom front teeth are coming in. He's had 2 bottom teeth for the longest time. His smile is wide and getting very toothy. Note the new molar coming in on the lower left side (his right) in the picture

1 year appointment

ETA: I wrote this on 6/30, but didn't publish it for some reason. Here it is after the fact...

Yesterday we took G in for his 1 year appointment with Dr. Okorn. While we were waiting G thought it was cool to sit in the toy box. It was funny. He liked stepping into it.

He is growing well--weighing in at 23 pounds (~50th percentile), measuring 30 inches long (~50th percentile), and with a head circumference of 19 inches (~90th percentile).

We got the green light to stop bottle feeding cold turkey, which means when he wakes up hungry in the morning I've got to be ready with something good to eat. This morning I started some oatmeal in the rice cooker when I got up to see mom and dad off for their 6 am flight at 3am. What am I going to do when I don't have to get up in the the middle of the night?! He's becoming a champ at drinking out of a straw and from sippy cups. He even has his own Camelbak bite & sip water bottle that he loves.

At one year he is not walking yet, but not for lack of trying. He's a little bit timid, and would much rather hold onto two hands when he's trying to walk (or better yet, be carried where he wants to go as he points the way). He doesn't stand without leaning on something, again he seems a little frightened about the whole thing. He is incredibly mobile nonetheless. He's crawling all over the place now and rides his truck all over the house. He's funny on the truck--when he wants to turn, instead of using the steering wheel and turning, he just uses his legs and pivots the whole thing. Miles doesn't seem to mind the truck, despite a few near crashes--for an eleven year old he's quite nimble. Garrison still thinks that Miles is the greatest thing ever. By my count he can repeat 3 words--uh oh, da da & dog (sounds like "dat" with a really soft t), although I think that he only really gets dog. He's a really jokester. He likes to play this coughing game, where he fake coughs with you. I'm a little concerned that he'll start doing it in public and cause a panic about him being ill or something. He thinks it's really funny, though, and I like that he has a good sense of humor.

happy fathers' day

An especially happy fathers' day to Amos on his first fathers' day. You're a great, great daddy. Garrison's lucky to have you for a dad.


And to G's wonderful grandfathers and our own dads, thanks for being such great role models for us and such great fun! We love you.





And some other Garrison fathers of whom I happen to have pictures.

g's first birthday party

It's been a busy week here at casa de Garrison Etheridge. My mom and dad got here on Tuesday for the big first bday, which was actually on Wednesday (but we saved most of the celebrating for Saturday). We (mom, dad, g and Rali) did go to EMP to see the jim henson exhibit, which was great. I really enjoyed seeing all of his sketches (designs for muppets, storyboards for sketches, flyers for theater productions). He was an incredibly talented artist, which I did not know! Then Adonis came over for dinner later that night. So, it was a low-key bday.

Then Saturday was the big party. Thanks, everyone, for making g's first birthday so special. He had such a great time yesterday, and was so excited he had a hard time taking his afternoon nap! It was so nice to see everyone. He's really into the cool toys he got for his birthday!

G also had fun playing with bubbles with Maddie & Lucy, and he got to dive into his own personal cake.



Hope you had a good birthday, G. It's been a great year. We're lucky you're our boy.

i spy someone snoring

we've been using our network cam a lot lately to check in on g while he's napping. it feels a little big brotherish. Sometimes we'll be watching him and say something and he'll stir, like he can hear us. It's weird, because we know he can't.

shopping for a new car on saturday

As the title says, last saturday we went looking for a car--no, not for us, for G! Before we went to the toy store, we went out to the Cheesecake Factory for some belated Mother's Day cheesecake (too many people there on mother's day). Anyway we got a nice booth by the window, and they brought G out a baby plate (bread, bananas cut for little people).

Garrison enjoyed the booth, especially because he could look out the window.

After he tried a few bites of mommy's cheesecake we went to get G's new car. This is what we came home with.


I've got some decent video of him rolling around with it, if I ever move it from the video camera. It has noises on it, one is a truck starting noise, one is a horn, and one is a backing up noise. (the noises are a very nice volume!) you can make it into a dump truck or some sort of pulling thing (looks kind of strange like this). And it was "Made in the U.S.A." which is what sold us on this model. I think it's pretty fuel efficient too.

Oh, and here's one more silly bonus picture for you all. (can you believe he'll be 1 in a WEEK!? doesn't seem possible!)

the chi-town crew pay a visit

As I mentioned on Monday, Greg and Shelby came to visit for a long weekend. We had such a great time with them. It had been a while since they'd been out here, and Shelby didn't really get to see very much when she was here last time. So, we played tourists and ate at a lot of great places.

Sunday we ate at Ama Ama in West Seattle. We had great food. They have poutine!! YUM!

Monday we went to Oly, and that night Amos, Greg & Shelby went out to eat while I put G to bed (I put myself to bed shortly after!). They ate at a favorite of mine, Shadowlands.

On Tuesday A, G & S went to Alki and ate at Cactus for lunch, then we headed out Redhook Brewery for the tour. I've been on the tour 3 times, but this was the first I've been when they've been bottling. COOL! That night we got a bunch of food at the grocery and grilled. The Copper River salmon are in season, so we had some of that. My favorite were Greg's scallops and Shelby's potatoes--YUM!

Wednesday we took the water taxi to the city and walked to the market. We ate at a French place called le Pichet. Oh, it was soooo good. We had planned to go to the pink door, but it was too long of a wait for we hungry people. We hung out at Luna Park outside for happy hour. G napped in the stroller.

It was so much fun, and over too soon. Garrison really enjoyed hanging out with Greg and Shelby, and I think he had a bit of a crush on Shelby. Thanks for the visit. We miss you already.

uh oh.

I don't know if this counts as a first word, but he's definitely starting to imitate sounds.

oh, olympia!

Our friends Greg & Shelby are here visiting from Chicago for a couple of days, so we took them to Olympia for the day. G had a snooze in the car (aided by my big hat).

Jenn, Vance & Lucy met us there this morning at the children's museum, which is really more of a place to play. They have lots of fun things to do, and I saw a a lot of the adults (me too!) messing around with some of the activities.
I really liked this magnetic table with gears. You can set up the gears to make bells ring, then there's a ball wall, where you can create your own chute for a ball to travel down the wall. Tres cool.


And they had a giant version of those little things with the pins in them that you can press stuff into so that it makes a 3-d image of something. They used to be a big seller for Spencers, as I recall (do they still have spencers? as a preteen I loved that store!) G and I tried it out. here's G's profile.


Another big hit was the water table. G and Lucy (and we adults) spent a pretty good amount of time arranging walls to change the flow of the water on the water table. It was so fun. Here's my favorite picture from the day. And another picture that has a better view of the table (note adults playing too!)




There was a room for babies too, with a padded floor for little ones to crawl around on and lots of stuff for younger kids. On the other side of the building there was a whole wing of rooms for pretend play--a doctor's office (complete with xrays, a lighted thing for looking at the xrays (what are those called, Yvonne?), a dentists office, a store (with cash registers, and lots of play food), a delivery truck, a house...If I lived in Oly I'd get a membership and take G there once a week just to play. We thought it was really cool.

After the CM we went down to the water front for lunch and then went for a long walk. We walked on this paved trail through the woods. The trail led right right by a little babbling brook. The walk was shady and relaxing. Just what we needed after a nice lunch. Before we knew it, it was already 4 and time to go home. It was great to see, the Portland crew, but the visits always end too soon.

guess who's 11 months old?

This guy!!


It was a nice Sunday for us. G slept in until sometime after 6, and then got in bed with the rest of us and we hung out--watched news and ate breakfast in bed. G was very cuddly and put his head on my shoulder for a long time while we were relaxing. I love moments like that.

The other highlight of our Sunday was a long walk to the grocery store. We've had a lovely weekend, and as you can see from the picture it's shorts weather. We stopped at McDonalds on the way back and got an ice cream cone (the kid loves vanilla yogurt, so vanilla ice milk is a natural hit). G had a little to celebrate turning 11 months old. Can't believe he'll be a year soon.

happy 11 months G!

garrison trying out life on two feet

garrison and the carrot

to my sweet boy on mothers' day

I told your Daddy last night that I had come to understand what mothers' day is all about for me--it's not about being celebrated (although, when you're older I'd love any picture you could draw, song you could sing, etc.), but it's a chance for me to celebrate the wonderful chance I've had to become a mother. Every day I do motherly things, but I don't always take the time to think about how fortunate I am to actually be your mother.

I'm sure most mothers (and fathers) feel the way I do, but I just feel like the luckiest mom in the whole world to have you for a child. At your tender age of almost 11 months (man, I can't believe that) you have already brought me so much joy.

The best days are the ones I get to spend hanging out with you. Nothing makes me happy like seeing your wide smile when I go in to pick you up out of your crib when you wake up. You're always at your most huggy when I pick you up. After you get up at about 6 or 6:30, daddy and I like to put you between us in bed. Miles climbs up at your feet, you have a morning bottle and we curl up next to you and catch up on the news for an hour before daddy starts work.

You and I have some toast or some oatmeal and play for a while, then when you get sleepy you crawl over to me and put your head down on my chest. That's my cue to put you down for your morning nap, but I like to get some good cuddling in before I tuck you in.

When you get up we have some lunch (you really like anything with tomato sauce and love vanilla yogurt) and play until daddy's done working. Most days we read some Dr. Seuss or other cool stories (you really like my boris the whale voice) or watch some Hola Bebe to practice our Spanish.

When daddy gets off work, some days we'll pack up the stroller and take you and MD for a walk. Then we'll come home and you'll have a nap. Then when you wake up we have dinner. Then some more playing and then it's time for bed. We get you ready for bed, read your goodnight seattle book, sing you the song daddy wrote and kiss you goodnight.

Then daddy and I stay awake for a few more hours, mostly talking about all of the cool new things you are doing, and what you seemed to like eating that day. Before we go to bed, we check in on you and leave your door open, so we can hear you in the next room. You look so cute when you're asleep.

I feel so special on my first mothers' day to have you for a son. Sweet dreams, mommy loves you.

thanks, mothers.

new drum sticks

here's a video to accompany the picture in the last post. I think we've got a budding Stewart Copeland on our hands.

g at 10 months old

well, he's actually past 10 months old, but getting ready for the trip meant I slacked off on the 10 month old post. Anyway, what's new with G at 10 months?

-he's a big clapper now
-he definitely expresses his opinion/preferences
-still likes eating, and now will eat bananas
-likes to play ball
-talks a lot
-would really, really like to walk
-is outgrowing his 6-12 months sleepers
-smiles at people in certain commercials (like the lipitor dude and the progressive girl)
-still naps 2 times a day, gets up at 6 or 6:30 and goes to bed at 8pm
-is very huggy
-likes to try to drink from a glass (he's not so good at this, but he tries really hard)
-likes to be read to, especially when you use voices
-is a super happy, gregarious guy, who has the best laugh I've ever heard

here's a picture of g with his new "junior" drum sticks--he loves them.

our trip to oak ridge

Wow, it's taken me a long time to write this up! It's been hard to find a stretch of time that is big enough to write about all we did AND we've just been so tired after we got back. The flights back just killed us. Flights that leave at 6 am are to be avoided at all cost in the future! Or at least we'll only do one in a trip. I can see why those were the only super saver freq flyer tickets we could get. The worst part was getting home at 11 am Seattle time and having a wide-awake 10 month old who was ready to play after sleeping the whole way from Chicago to Seattle.

We managed to travel with very little stuff for ourselves, but Garrison is at an age when he needs lots of junk on a day-to-day basis. So, we each had a carry on suitcase + personal item. Then we checked G's gigantic car seat and even more gigantic bob stroller. We got a bag for the bob, but on the trip back from TN it got a rip in the seam, so it's going back to REI this weekend. Other than the rip, it was great for the bob. We stuffed some diapers in with the bob, so it wouldn't be lonely in the cargo hold. Then I wore G in the ergo, which was a lot easier than trying to deal with a stroller with the really short connections we had. Really the way there was pretty uneventful, aside from the no-changing-table-diaper-change on flight #2.

We were greeted in TN by Young and Katherine, and G was happy to see them (as were we). We picked up our rental minivan (our first!) and headed to Oak Ridge. It was HOT, did I say that yet? In Denver there was SNOW! Freaky. As we drove home we saw all the boats on their trailers for a big crew thing that was taking place on the river. It was cool noting all of the different schools...Michigan, Florida, ...who were there to compete. We had some good bbq that night. Garrison enjoyed the food.

The next day's highlights were going on a driving tour of Oak Ridge. Garrison fell asleep, but I enjoyed it. Our friends Amy and Eloise were going to fly down from Ohio, but the flights were too full (she gets to fly for free, but scheduling can be tough!). There just aren't that many flights into knoxville. Then later that day Uncle Allen, Aunt Suzanne, Adrian & Jacob came by. Garrison had a great time meeting his cousins. He also met his cousin, Ruth one day after school. We got to see her gorgeous prom dress. Uncle Jon was there a lot working on a big project for Young and Katherine, so we got to see a lot of him. Jon is great fun to have a political discussion with--he is a thoughtful debater. Garrison also got to meet John Krewson. We had dinner with him in Knoxville at the MS4 Cafe--YUM. Ever since we ate there when I ask amos what he wants to eat he mumbles something about chicken and waffles. Garrison enjoyed the food.

So, we also drove to Chattanooga to go to the aquarium. It was a nice day for a drive. Garrison fell asleep in the car both ways. He stayed awake the whole time we were at the aquarium, and when we were at lunch. Garrison enjoyed the fish and the food.

On our last night we went over to John Krewson's cool house in Knoxville to do play a little music. It was a good time. It had been a long time, so long that I wasn't even playing bass then. Amos and John were very good, and I did my best to keep up. While we were gone Garrison stayed home with his grandparents and was fast asleep when we returned.

Good visits are always too short.

why no pictures?

It's been an eventful week here, but not in a good way. We've all been sick, and G's had his first semi-uncomfortable illness--bronchiolitis. It's not bronchitis and there's just a lot of snot and it lasts FOREVER! Anyway, he's been looking pretty pathetic, so I tried to wait until he looked a little less sick.

Last Friday we had a plumber come out, because we suspected we had a leak in our waterline. Our water bill said we used 500 gallons of water A DAY! There is no way I'm doing that much laundry!! Yep. We did. That meant a patch or a replacement. There was only $1200 difference in replacing it, so we had it done. It's not like that pipe was getting any younger. The guy who did it looked just like Sam Etheridge, and I just wish we could have gotten a picture of him. He was very nice and I found him on the internet. Replaced the waterline by himself on saturday--didn't charge any extra for saturday. I'm guessing that this has been around for a little while, we always thought our front yard had a drainage problem, maybe not!

Also on saturday Garrison and I went to the children's hospital after hours clinic about the sickness--it's like urgent care, but just for kids AND you can make an appointment. WE thought it might be a sinus infection, so we wanted to get him checked out before we flew. That's where they told us it was bronchiolitis. So much fun. There wasn't really anything we could do for him medicine-wise, so he just has to suffer through it, poor guy. He's on the mend, so I got him a ball at target. He seems to love it. We sat on the floor and rolled/passed it back and forth for a long time. I'm always looking for fun things to do with him that will work on his motor skills and that he doesn't hate (like tummy time, which is still hated even though he sometimes sleeps on his tummy), so the ball was a big winner in that department.

g's new bunny

thanks for the bunny, Grandmother & Granddaddy!

all tuckered out

Garrison has had the craziest sleep schedule lately. He usually naps twice a day, but he has been not into his afternoon nap the past two days. I know he's tired, but he just cries when you put him down (that is so not how he normally is). Skipping the afternoon nap just sets him up to be tired way before his 8 pm bedtime. Anyway, last night he was so tired he fell asleep mid-bottle on the couch. I loved the way he had his hand on his cheek.

breaking: G has mastered reading

APRIL FOOLS! Seriously, though it kind of looks like he knows what he's doing in this picture. And Paddington Bear seems to be enjoying the reading as well.

future lead guitar

Garrison playing with mommy's guitar. He's a natural. I swear, we did not position his hands at all, just propped the guitar up for him to examine.

future world traveler

Amos needs to renew his passport, so we decided to go ahead and get G's done too. That way if we ever want to dash up to Vancouver this summer we can. G & A had their photos done at Costco this afternoon. Here's G's picture.

6 teeth

I've been trying to get a good picture of the new teeth, but they're still little nubs, so it's hard to capture. This was the best I could do.

what's new in G-town--clapping!

When we were at the doctor on wednesday Dr. O asked us if G could clap. We said, "no," because he hadn't done it yet. Well, later that afternoon Amos caught him doing it. A few hours later I got it on video.

9 month appointment with Dr. O

Today we went to the doctor for our 9 month visit. G likes Dr. O (that's Dr. O in the picture), and always smiles and shows off for her, because she's really sweet with him. We like Dr. O too. She has twin girls about a year older than G, so she gives good, practical advice.

We got the green light to do all kinds of food now--cheese, stuff with eggs in it (like pasta), breads. That's very exciting. Maybe I'll have to make him a horseshoe (well, he could start with a ponyshoe, which is a one piece of bread horseshoe!)

It was nice to tell Dr. O what G's been up to. He's doing lots of stuff now, and summing it up for someone kind of puts that in perspective. When she looked at his teeth, she seemed to think that it won't be long before he's gone from being 3-toothed to being 6-toothed. All the top ones look like they're ready to pop out.

Anyway, she told us he was perfect, and to keep doing what we're doing. As any parent who has dealt with weight-gain problems ever would likely agree, hearing something like that is like winning the lottery. Speaking of his weight, he's now a whopping 20 lbs 3 oz (45th %ile), and still has a giant head (80th %ile). I didn't trust the nurse's height measure, so I'll do it sometime later today myself. And here's a little graph of his progress (I think it's CDC standards not WHOs, cause that was the one that I found that I could use to track myself that worked on a mac!)

He had to have some blood drawn, but no shots today. He didn't cry at all over the blood (well, we did have a pacifier in his mouth, which we use to stop the horrible tooth grinding.) He was mostly just annoyed that someone was holding his hand and keeping him from moving it--he's very independent.

it's G's 3/4 birthday & St. Patty's Day!

Wow, it's hard to believe at this time 9 months ago G wasn't even born yet. Right now he's taking a nap. He's been sleeping in a full-sized crib in his own room for several weeks. We realized that Amos and I were actually disturbing him at night, so we thought he'd sleep better in his own room. He loves his big bed. He does a lot of crib gymnastics these days, and likes to use his legs in the slats to move himself. Here's how he fell asleep for his morning nap today (see picture). And last night he slept on his tummy a good chunk of the night (boy, it made me nervous).

And then there is the mouth just erupting with teeth. He's got 3 now--the second bottom one finally made its appearance a day or so after the top right tooth. Now he's grinding them, though. It's awful. Here's a picture of the new bottom teeth.

He talks a lot. Da-da-da-da-mmbaa. All day long. He's pretty good at sitting, but randomly he'll just tip over. And he saw his first movie, Marley & Me (well, he did sleep through the sad ending). We walked to the admiral theater last thursday. They play second-run movies for $5.50, which beats normal prices. Having the stroller with us was great, so G could comfortably catch a snooze.

Anyway, we thought G would like the movie because it had a dog in it. He, in the last month or so has developed a serious infatuation with miles davis. Every time G notices MD, G will smile. When Amos plays ball with MD, G laughs like crazy--like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. He's very gentle when he gets to pet MD, which we keep to a minimum, so miles davis can have some peace!

Well, happy day, little dude. We love you. I leave you with a cute picture of G from this weekend and a slideshow from his first month.

g's trip to AZ

Here are some photos from our trip to AZ. We had a great time. Garrison really took to the water. He liked both riding in his littl boat and standing on the step. We got to see a lot of my Aunt Leora and Uncle Jim, tried out a couple of things in the neighborhood park, and G got to wear shorts. The time flew by, but we managed to squeeze in one last dip in the pool before we left on Friday. We need to get that boy in swim lessons. Thanks for a fun visit, mom and dad!

g likes to do things his own way, even teething.

Most kids cut the bottom two front teeth first, as you all probably know. Well, not G. He's got one tooth on the bottom right that is almost all the way in. Now, instead of the bottom left, he's cutting the top right!

(It also kind of looks like the one to the right (his right) of the one he's cutting is coming in too, maybe?)

li'l g's first trip on a plane

So, yesterday Amos took G and me to the airport, so we could go see my mom and dad in AZ (more about our visit in a future post). Luckily I asked if amos could help us through security (they actually let you do that if you ask a check-in agent), because it took me forever to pull out the stuff they had to screen, get his sweatshirt of, take him out of the ergo carrier, etc. You could tell I was a newbie at the whole flying with a kid thing. Anyway, we flew southwest and lucked into boarding with another woman and her 3 week old, who asked us if we wanted to sit with her (if you've never flown southwest it's a free-for-all on southwest for seats). Her son's name was Ethan, and he was very cute with beautiful black hair. It was her first time flying, not just first time flying with a baby, but first time flying, period. The two of us snagged a row in the back. I took the window, and she took the aisle. No one attempted to sit with us, but perhaps the prospect of sitting on a 2.5 hour flight trapped between 2 babies did not thrill the other travelers. We used the seat in the middle for baby stuff. The boys did a great job--barely a fuss (until garrison got over-tired from the lack of nap). All in all it was a pleasant experience--the worst part was going through security (although that was SO much easier since amos came with us). At least when we fly home I have some ideas about how I can make the security thing a little less painful.