Happy Birthday, Garrett!

I can't believe Garrett is already two! I catch myself calling him my "baby", but when I look at him I can't deny the fact that he is growing up. He is talking like crazy, singing songs all day (humming the words he doesn't know, emphasizing the ones he does), and teasing Cole whenever he gets a chance.

Here are a few fun facts about Garrett: he loves the nursery rhyme, "Hey Diddle Diddle"; his favorite books are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Alphabet Rescue; he knows all of his letters (capital and lower case) and can recognize numbers 1-10; he loves to stick out his tongue (which is embarrassing when he looks at a stranger and instead of saying hello sticks out his tongue!); he loves going to the children's museum and exclaims, "Balls at the museum! I want to go!"; he loves pushing buttons -- any where, any time and usually pushes things he shouldn't be touching; he loves his chocolate milk (instant breakfast) and raisins (but doesn't eat much else!); he loves reading books and will sit and listen as long as I will read; he is full of life and spunk and keeps us laughing!

Garrett's birthday was pretty low key. He opened gifts from his grandparents in the morning, played at the children's museum in the afternoon, opened presents from us before dinner, had pizza for dinner, and finished it off with "snake cake" and ice cream. We are so lucky to have Garrett in our family and look forward to many, many more years with our special little guy! We love you, Gary-Beary!!

Opening his present from Grandpa and Grandma Jake (thanks for the outfit and book!)


Sitting in the blanket that Grandma Guymon made, holding the Great Outdoors DVD she sent, while talking to her on the phone!


The "Snake Cake" - Garrett was so excited about it and loved blowing out the candles (we had to light them twice it was so much fun!!)

Water Weekend

One thing that our family wanted to do before we moved was to visit Wisconsin Dells and swim in the indoor water park. We went with my brother's family and stayed at the Kalahari Resort. We shared a hotel room, which was fun for the kids to play together. Russ got the 24 hour flu bug, so he spent a lot of time in the hotel room (and bathroom!). The kids slept great to my surprise -- I was worried about getting four little ones to sleep at the same time. I think we wore the kids out in the water, so they were ready for their beds (plus it was at least 10:30 PM when we got them to bed, so being tired and worn out helped a lot!).

The indoor resort was amazing! There were several play areas for the kids, including small water slides that Cole absolutely loved, and small slides that were perfect for Garrett. Cole is like a fish in water and can't get enough, while Garrett is a little more hesitant and doesn't like water spraying on him. The first night we went down the "Lazy River" on tubes (a small water way that moves along with a man-made current and you sit in tubes) - Cole was splashing and loving it, while Garrett sat on my lap, covered his eyes, and cried! Garrett did warm up to the water because the second day we went down the Lazy River and I heard him singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Because Russ was so sick, I was with the boys by myself most of the time, so I didn't get a chance to go down any of the big water slides. Russ' stomach didn't feel up to being tossed around on a water slide, so he didn't go either.

There was also a small indoor amusement park that we went to with a Ferris wheel, carousel, play area, miniature golf, go-carts, and other games. We spent a little time there and had fun, but enjoyed the pools so much more.

It was a great weekend and I'm so glad we went. It was a great break from the cold -- we almost felt like we were on the beach!

Cole zipping down the water slide (with a huge smile!)


Garrett sliding down the elephant and feeling so big!


Mom and Garrett on the go-carts -- he was mesmerized by them!


Garrett and cousin Sarah sitting together on a go-cart


The cousins getting ready for bed