Baby Carrot

As some of you know I am going to be participating in the 3 day walk. It will be a journey! It is a 60 mile walk over 3 days. I have felt the need to do something that will make a difference. I look forward to helping and supporting this great organization. In order for me to be able to walk I need to raise $2,200. That is a lot of money and I would appreciate any and all donations. Some of you may know men and women diagnosed with Breast Cancer and if you don’t chances are, you will. We need to work together to find a cure!

Please support me as I take an amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer! The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.

You can make an online donation on my 3 day web site.

http://www.the3day.org/Dallas06/cwilliams

Thank you for your support! You can feel great about yourself that you are helping to find a cure!

We are officially weaned. I am still ‘drying up’ but am not uncomfortable, which I am very happy about. I still have mixed feelings about the whole thing. On one hand I am so happy that my little guy is growing up and turning into a little boy. But on the other, I am sad for this chapter to be over. When he nursed that was our special time, the only time when he would stay still. Now I have to catch him and steal my hugs. He still enjoys rocking at night while he finishes his milk. So, we still get to snuggle at the end of the day. Garrett seems to be handling the weaning pretty well. There are times when he gets upset as we pass the chair while I carry him downstairs after getting him up. It is something that we both will have to get used to.

Other than that we are just moving along. Garrett is still not walking, he seems to be close. He will do it when he is ready; I’m not in any hurry.

We are recovering from our wild week with Teri, Abigail and Baby Sydney. Everyone had a great time! Although I do have to say that three kids really wear me out. We were very happy to have them and were sad when they left. Garrett crawled around upstairs looking for them. He would go to one bedroom look around then do his ‘running crawl’ to the next one and look around then he would get a sad look on his face when he did not find anyone. He loved having so many people to play with. He did say ‘Tia’ to Teri and we think he said ‘Mama’ but it was to Abigail so it does not count.

Branden and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary on Friday with a getaway weekend to Chicago. I have never been to Chicago and Branden has wanted to take me there for awhile. Garrett is going to stay with my sister and Abigail is very excited about that. We need a weekend away and since I am having surgery on Monday 3/27 we need to do it now. So we are.

Of course I am having mixed emotions about leaving Garrett. Branden leaves him all the time when he travels but I have seen him everyday since he was born. I know he will have a good time and he will be safe. It’s not that, it is my Mama instinct that is going crazy. I think that it will be hard to leave him but will get easier as I focus on our getaway.

We hope that everyone has a great weekend, we know we will!!

P.S. Garrett loves Sloppy Joes!

That’s right you can just pass that title on to us. We purchased a new jogging stroller and we look HOT! It has many features on it that Branden and I have decided should be standard on all strollers. It has speakers on it so we can plug in the IPod, or any other portable music player and listen to music. It has an odometer so we know how far we have gone. It also comes with a big weather cover so if it is windy, sunny or any other weather element our sweet baby carrot will be protected. Who can forget the 16 inch wheels with reflectors and the sporty gray and red design? We also have a rear-breaking system, trigger fold, height adjustable handle, reclining seat, snack tray, sun canopy, storage basket, many zippers and pockets, air pump for the tires. Need I go on? We were the envy of all the other parents as we were strolling down the side walk listening to music; Branden was drinking a Red Stripe and Garrett chillin’ in his new ride. The best part of our new fashion statement is that it is priced VERY well!! For those of you who are interested it is the Jeep Overland Limited Jogging Stroller.

Garrett’s 1 year pictures are under studio shots so check those out, which are on page 7 of the photo album. I have other pictures that I will put up soon. Tia and the girls are coming to stay with us this week so we will be having fun with them! Yahoo to Sydney who finally lost her cord at 3 ½ months!

Let’s go for a walk, we might let you drive!

New pictures are now up!!

We went to the doctor yesterday for Garrett’s 12 month check up. He is 30 ½ inches long (50%-75%), 19.6 lbs (10%-25%), Head Circumference 18 ½ inches (50%-75%). He dropped a little bit below his weight curve but his Doctor is not concerned. She said that he is probably going to be tall and skinny. Imagine that, just look at his Daddy. He is also battling a cold, again. Branden and Garrett keep giving the same cold back to each other. She looked in his ears and said that he has fluid in his right ear. Not an infection right now but she said that in a day or two it would turn in that direction. So, she put him on amoxicillin. We also have to go back in 3 weeks to make sure that everything is cleared up. If it isn’t cleared up then she thinks that it could be allergies. Other than that he looks great!

We have been very busy this weekend!

Garrett’s birthday was on Thursday and so was Ashley and Wade’s rehearsal dinner for their wedding. Garrett’s roll in the wedding was the ring barer he practiced riding in his wagon down the aisle. He loves his wagon! We had the dinner at Macaroni Grill in Grapevine. It was very nice. We also turned Garrett’s car seat around so he now gets to face the front like a big boy. He loves it! He tries to sit up as much as he can so he can see over the dash board.

On Friday I had the bridal luncheon to attend so my mom came to stay with us. Branden had many assignments as well so he was with his Dad most of the day. Branden’s Aunt and Uncle and his 2 cousins came from Chicago for the wedding. We had dinner at Bert and Peggy’s and got to visit with the Grandmothers and the family. Garrett learned a new trick form Uncle Mike. He taught him to bang his cup on the table. It is pretty funny.

Then on Saturday we had the big wedding. I had appointments for my hair and makeup so once again Nono to the rescue. Garrett really enjoyed her staying with us. We would not have been able to be so involved with the wedding had she not stayed the weekend.

The wedding was very pretty! Garrett rode in the wagon like a champ. I can’t wait to see the pictures! I was with the other bridesmaids on the stairs so I couldn’t see. Branden was up front with the groomsmen so he couldn’t see anything either. We heard that he was very sweet. But we already new that. I fed him dinner at the reception and he danced with us Nono took him home. He was SO tired and he started showing signs of Branden’s cold. He needed to get home. Branden and I had a great time dancing and talking with good friends. It was just what we needed. We are out of practice staying up late; it really was not that late. We were in bed by 12:30am.

We met the family and King’s over at Bert and Peggy’s again for lunch today. It was nice to see everyone one last time before they all left. Once again Garrett was great. We went down to the park and played on the swings. Then we came home for a well needed nap.

Branden left for a conference in San Antonio this afternoon. He is giving a presentation in the morning and should be back tomorrow afternoon. I hope Garrett is not going to be sick. As I am typing this he is coughing.

We wish Wade and Ashley a great honeymoon in Jamaica!

Whew, what a year! I can’t belive that it has been a year (and one day)since he was oh so tiny. I love being his mother. There were many times when I questioned myself and methods but I stuck to my instinct and so far it has worked out. I’m sure that I will question myself many more times in the future. I find myself comparing him to other kiddos around his age and none of them are the same. That is what makes this so interesting, everyone is different. I would not trade my little guy for anyone else.

He is able to do so much! Right now he has one finger up his nose and the other in his ear. Oh well, he is a boy. We are going for his 12 month check up next week. I put it off incase he has a reaction to his shots. We don’t need to deal with that during Ashley and Wade’s wedding on Saturday.

We are having fun and I can’t wait for our adventure to continue.

Today Garrett was moderately happy. He did not want to touch his grilled cheese for lunch but would eat it if I put it on the spoon and put canned spinach on it. Yummy. We played with his new toys that he got at his party on Saturday, and I pulled him around the house in his new red wagon.

While we were playing upstairs he wanted to look out the window in the front room. The windows are very low and he can pull up and check out the view. He has done this many times but this time he slipped and hit his mouth on the window sill. OUCH! He was VERY upset! It took awhile to calm him down. Once I calmed him down he did not want to be put down, he didn’t want to play he only wanted to be held. He even got upset when I passed him off to Branden so I could finish dinner. He was better after he nursed but was cranky about eating his solids. He even was a little whiny during bath time and he just got worse after that. I gave him his Sudafed for his runny nose and Tylenol for his teeth. He has about 4 teeth coming in at the same time and they are mean!

After we read him his stories I rock him in the glider with all of the lights off. Usually this lasts only about 5 minutes and he tries to get down. But not tonight. He always sits on my lap facing out and I am reclining slightly. Tonight he wanted to snuggle. He sat there and chewed on his cup and his teething toy. He wiggled until he got it just right and just relaxed. It has been a long time since he just wanted to sit with me. Needless to say I loved it! It was already passed his bedtime but I didn’t care.

We sat there and enjoyed this rare moment. He turns one in a few days and he won’t be a baby anymore. Tonight he needed me and I needed him. I am his mother and these are the moments that are engraved in your mind.

What a party! Garrett had a great time. We had a small party for Garrett and only invited his close family and his best friend Jack. And we still had 20 people at the party. He was a little over stimulated but handled everything beautifully. We decorated the house with seagulls, balloons and portholes. We are going to keep the decorations up until his birthday on Thursday. We ate pizza, salad and fruit. We of course had cake and ice cream. I cut the cake to make a sailboat and iced it. Branden outlined the sail and put a ‘G’ on it. The cake turned out very cute! Garrett was not interested in eating his cake, he wanted to throw it. I put gummies on it to entice him but that did not work. He did not want to eat the gummies with icing on them. So what did we do, you ask? Tia (my sister, Teri) painted his face with icing so it looks like he made a mess of himself. Mimi got in on it too and used blue icing. He looked very cute but did not want to have his face wiped off. Garrett received a ton of great stuff! He is going to enjoy playing with it all.

After the party we took his 12 month pictures and we will have them up very soon. He was a very tired little guy and was very happy to go to bed. Branden and I are tired as well and look forward to bedtime, which is right now. Thanks again to everyone who made this special day even better. Check out his party pictures and other recent pictures.

Since Branden is out of town this week Garrett and I spent Valentine’s night with Jessica a sweet 13 month old from our play group. Jessica’s mom is pregnant and due in May and they needed a date night. So, we had a great time. James, my other valentine joined the party and brought me Sonic for dinner. He was great as we did tag team baby watching as I got them fed and Garrett in the bathtub. Branden did send me flowers yesterday and we had our annual pizza and beer on Sunday. Oh well, someone has to bring in the money. Garrett is trying to sprout more teeth and is drooling up a storm.

We went to my parents on Saturday for dinner. Garrett was pushing his favorite car around in the kitchen and my mother said, ‘he does that just like a little boy’. Well, he is growing up fast; in fact his birthday is in 15 days. Yicks! He was bound to turn one sometime I just did not know how fast it would come.

We are having more fun everyday. He still is satisfied with crawling but I don’t think that will last too much longer. Things are getting easier for him. His is able to get his tiny hands to do what he wants and that makes him happy. He says words when he wants to, we are able to communicate. He has started to say, ‘Cack, Cack’ when he sees a duck it is very sweet.

We hope that everyone had hugs and kisses from the tiny loves in their life.

Cows, horses and rabbits Oh, My!! We took the Ft Worth Stock Show and Rodeo by storm. My family has gone to the rodeo every year since I can remember. We had to continue the tradition and take Garrett and Sydney this year. Garrett loved watching the horses in the rodeo. He was laughing and clapping his little hands. It was great! I think we may have a future cowboy on our hands. Pop will be so happy; a boy and a cowboy, Wahoo! Garrett did get to try new things today. He had funnel cake and cotton candy for the first time. Yummy! He sat on a John Deer tractor with Pop. He did very well at the Rodeo, it is 2 hours long. He just ate a lot of snacks and drank a bottle. We got home around 6pm so I gave him a bath, fed him dinner and put him to bed. He was asking to go to bed right when we walked in the door. “Nigh, Nigh”, “Nigh, Nigh”. He missed 2 naps today but did sleep about 45 minutes in the car ride home. He was in bed 10 minutes ‘till 7pm. Branden and I ordered dinner and I took a bath and we enjoyed our ‘night off’.