Baby Carrot

We had a fabulous trip to Brazil. I had no problems getting there by myself. One of my flights was delayed but no other issues. Branden picked me up from the airport and I was very happy to see him. We hadn’t seen each other in over a week. James was there who was working in Brazil as well. It was great to spend time with him. During the day while Branden worked I walked around the shops and enjoyed the sights. We were in the city, not in the Amazon or on the beach. Picture San Francisco with a foreign language with the weather like it is in Austin in the summer and that is where we were. We did have issues with the language barrier but they were very patient with us as we flipped through the translation book. I would love to go back to Brazil and visit another area. There was a soccer game, they call it football, in Tokyo on Sunday. The celebration started around 5am with fireworks in the park across the street from our hotel. Thank goodness the game ended around 11am and Brazil won. There were people hanging out their car windows waving the soccer flag yelling and honking their horns. They had to shut down streets from the traffic jams. Everyone was very excited. We shopped at a market on Sunday and got to mingle with the locals. We enjoyed the park that was in the middle of our neighborhood. They section off the city in neighborhoods. So, there are lots of pictures of the park. Brazilians are very laid back people, they are not in a rush. It was nice to slow down. But, we are all happy to be home.

Garrett did great at Tia and Uncle’s house. But by Saturday he was ready to come home. He is adjusting well back at home and is ready for Christmas.

I posted my pictures they are under Vacations and Branden has a few to post, so watch for those.

Thanksgiving, it was wonderful. We ate too much and had a great time spending time with family.

Baptism, yep finally did that. We have been attending an Episcopal church and really like it. The only problem is that the priest is left and started a new church. We will most likely follow him. Garrett was very brave during the ceremony. He did not get upset at all. Garrett was looking at the water but when Father Henry raised the dish to pour the water on him he looked up. Branden took Garrett from me since he is taller and it was easier to lean him over the basin. I was very proud of him for being so brave!

Snow Day, Yahoo!! Garrett loved the snow and said that it was cold outside. He did not want to come inside but his little nose and cheeks were very red. It was great watching him discover something new. I wish he could play in it more often. But, we will take it when we can get it.

Brazil, I am on my way. Garrett and I took Branden to the airport on Sunday. He left for Brazil and will be gone for 16 days. It was very hard for him to leave Garrett. All the way home from the airport Garrett said, “Bye, Bye Daddy”. Then when we arrived back home he ran around looking for him. He was sad when he didn’t find him. But if you ask him where his Daddy is he will tell you, Daddy went bye bye on airplane. I will meet Branden in Brazil on Tuesday. Well, I leave on Tuesday I won’t arrive until Wednesday. I am looking forward to getting away for a week. I don’t want to leave G-Man for that long but I know I will enjoy the trip. He is going to stay at Tia and Uncle’s house and play with Abigail and Sydney and will have a great time.

Garrett is talking up a storm theses days. He is a little mimic. I can usually understand him but sometimes it is hard. He loves to sing. It is too cute. He likes to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, This Little Light of Mine, His A B C’s, Happy Birthday and the song on The Little Einstein’s. Potty training is still going. I am not pushing it too hard. We have a lot coming up and I don’t want him to regress. After his birthday we will start pushing it a little harder. We are not in any rush. He won’t tell me when he has to go but if I ask he will go to the potty if he needs to. We will get there. I’m not worried.

New pictures are up!!

Check out Branden’s Blog and keep up with what is going on in Brazil. www.brw.net

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything. We have been crazy busy over here, as usual. I will try to sum up what is going on in our world.

Garrett will have surgery in January for his hernia. I posted a few months ago that he had a hydrocele. We went back to his Urologist and he said that it is a hernia now and needs to be repaired. It is a day surgery and he will have a fast recovery. I know that it is a routine surgery and he will be fine. But I am his mother and I don’t like the idea of him have surgery. We will get through this and he will be better for it.

We had a great time on Halloween! Garrett did not go trick or treating this year. He does not get to eat very much candy. If we went Branden and I would be eating his candy. So we stayed home and let him answer the door and help pass out candy. He had a great time dressed as a monkey. Good times!!

Branden has been traveling a lot! He was in Mexico City this week. And Garrett really misses him when he is gone. He asks for his Daddy and looks for him around the house. He is going to be traveling to Brazil in December for 2 weeks. I am going to join him during his last week there. I am very excited about going but not so much about leaving Big-G for a week. He is going to stay at Tia and Uncle’s house. I know that he is going to have a great time! Branden and I are going to have a great time too. I just have to make it to Brazil by myself in one piece.

I enjoyed the Breast Cancer 3 day walk! There are pictures up under the Vacation album. I sent out a very detailed email with the events of the weekend. If you did not receive the email please let me know and I would be happy to send it to you.

It’s potty time at the Williams’ house!! Yes, that’s right we are potty training. This morning Garrett went to the potty and lifted the lid and said, “Tee Tee in the Potty”. So, I freaked out for a minute and while at Wal- Mart today I bought him a potty seat that fits on the big potty. I showed him where it was this afternoon. We played for a bit then he came up to me and said. “Potty, Potty, Potty”. So away we went and it took him a few minutes but he went poop on the potty!!! His first time on the potty. I’m sure this is a fluke but oh my gosh!!! We made a HUGE deal about it and he got 2 skittles for going poop. He loved it and was asking for more candy. I don’t think he understood our explanation about when he gets more candy. We were so proud of him. Before I put Garrett in the bathtub I put him on the potty. I told him to go Tee Tee and he did! Now we have to wait and see if it happens again. I hope it will before he turns 5.
Check out the new pictures!

We have had lots going on lately and there is a lot of things coming up. Garrett had his first sleep over at his best friend Jack’s house last week. He did great! He had no problems sleeping and enjoyed playing with The Pottebaums. Branden had a company event at the Ghost Bar in Dallas. He wanted me to meet some of his coworkers that are out of state and the CEO. We had a great time. I would recommend the Ghost Bar to someone who wants a fantastic view of the Dallas skyline. But it was very dark and loud. I guess we are getting too old for that crowd. We stayed at Hotel Za Za. Erin took the boys to Kara’s house to play and I met them there. Garrett just smiled at me when I he saw me, like, “Hi Mama, I’m good”. I was very happy to see him so comfortable with our friends.

Branden was home for a few weeks and we loved it! He did leave us this week and Garrett is very sad. We have gone down to the park to play but he misses his Daddy. He will get home tonight after he teaches. Unfortunately, Branden will not get to spend much time with him tomorrow. We are having Bert and Peggy’s birthday dinner tomorrow night at Cool River. I am taking Garrett to Abigail’s house to spend the night. He is going to have a wonderful time. We will pick him up Saturday afternoon. Then I am spending the night with my friends in Sundance Square for a Mama’s night out. So, Branden and Garrett will have plenty of time to catch up while I am gone.

We met some friends at the pumpkin patch today. It was very windy! We did not do costumes this time. The boys were not happy with the wind and Garrett just wanted to run. We will go back next week and try again. They had fun running around.

Garrett is a little parrot these days. He is talking up a storm. He knows most of his letters and his shapes. He loves to count and will show you anytime. We are having a lot of fun!

Have a great weekend!

My mom came over today to play with Garrett while I ran errands. When I got back she asked me how long Garrett had been counting to 10. I told her she was a crazy old lady and didn’t know what she was talking about. She stood firm and told me he was counting his gummies at lunch. I just said whatever and went on with my day. When I got Garrett up form his nap I decided to see if my mother was indeed crazy and started counting to G. I started with 1 he said “tuuuuu, tee, tee, tee” I said four he said, “ive, sis, sesen, eigh, nigh, en” I was FLOORED!! He kept doing it, no prompting. Then he was counting his pretzels by himself at snack time. I stared in amazement. We went on with the afternoon and he was looking at a picture of my sister, brother in law with me and Branden and I was about to tell him who the people were and he pointed to them and said their names. Again I just looked at him and said, “What?” Then we went upstairs and were playing with his shape puzzle and he took them all out and started to put them back in, which he has been able to do for awhile, but this time he was saying the name of each shape like I do when he puts them in their place. The kid was trying to say octagon, pentagon, diamond, trapezoid and all the others. I could make out what he was saying and he just kept on going like he had been doing that forever. I had to call Branden who is out of town after he did that. After Garrett’s bath we sing songs and are silly while I put his lotion on and get him dressed. One of the songs we sing is his name song that my sister came up with for him. It is ‘G, A, R, R, E, T, T Garrett, Garrett, G, A, R, R, E, T, T Garrett is your name.” It is to the tune of “Mary had a little lamb”. And yes you guessed it, he started singing with me. I can not believe that he is doing these things! I told Branden he better hurry up and come home because I don’t know what he is going to be doing next. Branden thinks it will be him finding a cure for cancer, I on the other hand will be happy if he sings his ABC’s.

I heard that kiddos have a language explosion at 18 months but I had no idea it would happen all in one day! He is also replacing his baby words with real words. He did not say ‘Ducka, Ducka” when he wanted his cup this afternoon he said, “Mama, Drink” and pointed to his cup. I almost cried at that one.

He is turning into a real like toddler before my eyes. He continues to amaze me everyday, and I can’t what to see what he has in store for me tomorrow.

P.S. I did call my mother and tell that she was correct about Garrett counting, but she is still crazy.

That is right, Big G turned 18 months old on the 2nd. We went to the doctor and had a great check up. He did not need any shots this time so it was pain free. He still screamed at the nurse while she took his measurements and did not like the doctor touching him. But he forgave them and was passing out ‘high fives’ on the way out. He weighs 24.3# and is 33 ¼ inches tall. His doctor said it looks like his is going to be tall and skinny. Who does that sound like? He still has the hydrocele, so it is back to the urologist for us. http://www.webmd.com/hw/raising_a_family/ug1045.asp?pagenumber=1 We went a year ago and were told that if it was still there when he turned 18 months that he would most likely need surgery. We have an appointment on October 16, hopefully he will tell us that Garrett will grow out of it and he won’t need surgery. That is what I am telling myself anyway.

Garrett and I are back to walking now that it is cooler in the morning and are up to walking 1 mile in 15 minutes. The Breast Cancer Walk is in 7 weeks and I have about half of the money that I need to participate. We are having a garage sale to help us raise more funds. I hope that I get there! I will be very disappointment if I don’t raise enough money and can’t walk.

New pictures are up!

We survived our beach vacation. Garrett did very well considering that he will not sleep in the car. On the way there we left at 2am and he slept off and on for a total of about 2 hours of the 14 hour car ride. On the way back we left at 5am and he slept for 30 minutes. We gave him benadryl to make him sleepy and it did not work. He was not really cranky just a little fussy at times. I sat in the back seat part of the way on the way back and Garrett and I watched videos on Branden’s laptop. He was SO happy when we got home. He ran around and played with all of his toys.

Garrett loved the water at the beach. He would stand at the water and have the waves crash on him, he would just laugh and wait for the next one. He learned how to walk in the sand and did not mind it on his hands if he was playing with it. If he was walking and fell he did not like to put his hands down. We took a baby pool to the water and it was the best thing that we did. He loved it!

He slept great! He took 3 ½ hour naps during the day and wanted to go to bed early. The sun and constant stimulation wore him out. We only took him to the beach in the morning after breakfast. We would go back to the house after lunch and he would nap. When he got up he would have a snack then we would go to the swimming pool or just play at the house. He was such a good boy!

The house was great. We were east of Destin on Sea Grove Beach near Sea Side. We had very few neighbors on the beach and did not have to deal with the crowds of Destin, it was very peaceful. www.seasidefl.com

The only member of the King’s that went was PamEla. We loved having her join us. And Garrett loved playing with her. Pam, Ashley and Wade were very generous and gave up a little of their time in the sun and volunteered to stay at the house while Garrett napped so Branden and I could have a little time on the beach together without chasing Garrett. We needed that. We also were able to go out twice while Mimi and Papa watched Garrett. Since he was going to bed early one of the times we put him to bed then went out. We found a really cool place that Branden and I fell in love with. http://www.graytonbeach.com/redbar.html We will defiantly go back.

Branden has wanted to go sea fishing for awhile. So, he talked Wade and Bert into going with him. They did not have very good luck. Branden did catch the first mackerel but it was 1 inch too small. Bert caught a keeper and we had it for dinner. I had not had mackerel before and it was good.

It was a good vacation but we were all happy to be home. The pictures that we took are up. http://www.brw.net/gallery/v/vacation/destin2006/

I am looking forward to vacation, the sun, sand and surf. I am just concerned. I am a new mother and I have new concerns daily. When I wrote my past blog those were my concerns at that time. I was having a moment. I reread the post and it sounded like I didn’t want to go. That is not the case. I know that we will have a good time and look forward to playing with Garrett on the beach and showing him the things that I loved when I was a child, and still do. We will have a wonderful family vacation that we will all remember. And you know that we will have pictures.

This past weekend we went back to the lake. But this time Branden’s parents joined us for a weekend of fun. They brought Miss. Montana their lab that is a crazy dog about water. We pulled the boat without incident this time. It was a rather boring drive. Garrett enjoyed sitting in his chair in the water throwing rocks and dumping water out of his watering can and bucket. Branden and I did decide that we can not go to the lake without my mom. She takes care of Garrett so I can have a break and spend time at the water. Garrett had fun with all four of his grandparents there to play with. All of us enjoyed the weekend.

We painted with finger paints today and Garrett loved it! I wrapped his highchair with plastic wrap and put a bib on him and let him go to town with his paints. He painted two masterpieces then he was finished. He did wipe his face with his messy hands but no worries. We used non-toxic washable paints. Let the creative juices flow. Of course I took pictures of the event.

Branden is home for the next two weeks and we are happy about that. We leave for our vacation in about 4 weeks. We are driving to Destin, Florida which is about a 13 hour drive. I am not looking forward to it. We have made the drive several times but not with G-Dog. I have received several pieces of advice and welcome anything that might help us out.

I usually can’t wait to go on vacation but not this time. Branden will get away from his job and will be able to relax. But for me, my job is coming with us, so I guess it will be a working vacation. I know how much time everyone will be spending on the beach as we have vacationed with Branden’s family before. And I am usually one of the first ones on the beach with them. But I am thinking to myself, I am not on vacation just on a business trip. Garrett will love the beach and water I have no doubt about that. Where is my time away? While he is napping? Three full hours, if I am lucky? Calgone take me away. I wish that my mom was coming with us. Then, I would truly have the best of both worlds. My baby would be with me and I could enjoy myself and relax knowing that he was taken care of.

I know that when we get there everything will fall into place. Garrett will adjust well and we will all be able to enjoy the beach and recharge. Or at least that is what I am telling myself in my daily affirmation.

Get in touch with your creative side this week, or just eat non toxic paint. Evidently it tastes pretty good.

New pictures are up. Enjoy!

We had a wonderful holiday! The 4th of July party that we had on the 1st was fun as always. The final head count was 37 people and 7 of Garrett’s friends. We had people waddling around everywhere, and we loved every minute of it. There was not a volley ball game this year but there were lots of swimming babies.

We attended the parade and picnic in Double Oak again this year. It is always a good time. Garrett enjoyed watching the parade go by. He was very interested in the tires of the fire trucks. We rode the Boogie Woogie Choo Choo he thought that was very fun. He also rode on top of the fire truck this year. He was okay until they blew the horn then he was very clingy. No crying but he was ready to get back to Daddy. We did get hot, but had some ice cream and drank lots of water. We did not watch fireworks this year. With Garrett having a 7:45pm bedtime it would have been a long day for him. When we arrived home from lunch the Pulk’s we all took a good long nap. We woke Garrett up at 6pm, let him play, then fed him dinner and he was ready for bed again.

Branden and I went to the Fort Worth Symphony Concert in the Gardens 7/3 with my cousin and Branden’s friend Russ and his wife Crystal. They go every year with his fraternity brothers and invited us this year. It was a lot of fun. I was worried about rain but it held off. They did fireworks while the symphony played patriotic music. It was very moving. So, since we saw those it didn’t bother us that we missed the festivities on the 4th.

We LOVED having Branden home this past week. Garrett enjoyed playing with his Daddy and I loved a much needed break. One night I went with the ladies from our playgroup and we laughed so hard it hurt. We closed down the restaurant and can’t wait to do it again.

It was back to reality today when Branden left for the airport. He will return on Wednesday which is nice. Branden had a late morning flight so Garrett was able to see him before he left. Garrett did not understand why his Daddy could not play with him when he waddled into his office this morning after breakfast. I guess I’m not the only one that liked our new schedule. Garrett cried when Branden left us upstairs when he left for the airport. I took Garrett to the window in the upstairs front bedroom to watch Branden get in his Tahoe. He waved and said, ‘Dye, Dye, Dada’. He moved along the window as he drove away. When Branden didn’t come back he just sighed and walked away. Garrett and I will get back to our old routine soon.

And that leads us to getting kicked out of the church nursery. Okay, so we haven’t attended as regularly as should but Garrett was doing very well in the nursery. (They did officially kick us out but that is not as dramatic.) Last time when we walked in he started getting upset right away and was fine after we left. But, but this time when we walked in he was fine. So he should have been fine right? Wrong, oh so wrong. He sat down and started playing with one of the teachers we gave him hugs and kisses and he watched us leave. I waited outside to see if he started crying and I didn’t hear anything so I left. About um, 20 minutes later the nursery pager started going off. I went back to check on him and there was a teacher in the hall waiting for me. She said that he was very upset and they could not calm him down. I asked if he had been upset the entire time and she said no that he would be fine then get upset and did that a few times. She did say that a lot of the babies were upset and that they were feeding off of each other. I was not the only mom that was paged. It was a bad day in the nursery and they did not have enough teachers. I took him out in the hall to talk and was able to calm him down. I went back in the nursery to get his bag and he started up again, he was frantic. I have never seen him that upset before with us leaving him. Branden and I tried to listen to the sermon in the lobby but Garrett was ready to go home. When we started driving off Garrett started talking and clapping, he was very proud of his victory. I’m not sure what we are going to do about this. I don’t want him to get in the habit of screaming so we will come back but I don’t want to traumatize him either. I have received great advice from my friends with kids. The teachers in the nursery don’t need to be punished while we ‘work this out’. Oh, the pains of growing up!! He is old enough to know that we are gone but too young to participate in Sunday School.

And on that note…. There are lots of new pictures up, some of the 4th of the July pictures I stole from Branden’s father. Branden said it was okay, thanks Papa.