Keeping up with Garett

Our youngest is 10 months old in two days, I can hardly believe it! He is definitely showing more and more personality. Garett is such a hoot and his face lights up when he smiles. He has become more of an adventurer, wandering around the house on his own. Sometimes Wyatt is tasked with keeping up with his baby brother... we have come close to purchasing bells for Garett to wear! :)

We recently figured out that we need to keep the bathroom doors shut at all times as Garett enjoys playing with the roll of toilet paper. We took one of the doors off of the kitchen when we moved in but are about to put it back up. Garett will wander into the kitchen and play in the dogs' water... another favorite past time of his.

He is completely on table food. He does a great job of feeding himself and the dogs LOVE cleaning up after him. There are seven teeth in his mouth right now, and we think he is working on number 8 (he's been biting a lot and fussing in the middle of the night). Garett is furniture surfing and walking behind his lion walker. When we hold his hands for him to walk, his belly gets too far in front of him and he can't catch up!

I can't believe in two more months he will turn one! It seems to have gone by quicker this time than with Wyatt, but we have enjoyed it.

Go Diego Go!

Our neighbors put up a tire swing in a tree between our houses. They had taken the tire down when it was their son's birthday and replaced it with a pinata. Once the pinata was broken open and the party had ended, Wyatt's imagination took flight! I found him swinging from the rope, yelling out, "Go Diego Go!" In his mind, he was soaring through the jungle with his backpack on. I love a child's imagination!

Haircut

Instead of shaving off all of Wyatt's hair (like Jake usually does), I decided to do some simple trimming of the ears, front, and back. Here's the fine looking boy with less of a mop!

In two more months, Garett will get his first haircut (we do it to celebrate one year). Yet, we are not very sure what hair we will be cutting... a strand here, a strand there!

*Wyatt recently was taught by daddy how to peel an orange. He has yet to copy the "remove with one peel" technique; instead, a million tiny pieces of orange are found as a Hansel & Gretel breadcrumb trail. So now he must remain at the trash can during the peeling stage! :)

Pool Time with Grandma

Focusing all of his efforts on standing!

Wyatt's first car

Don't let my brother spin me too fast, mom!

Crazy boys (Grandma B is helping hold Garett ... we were ready to get going and they kept wanting to play)

Jake's parents were in town recently -- Joe came for about a week and a half, and Andy was here for a weekend. It was great to have them visit and play with the boys (Jake is included in that statement as his dad and him went fishing almost every day that Joe was here).

One of the days Andy was in town, her and I took the boys to the pool. Wyatt is doing so much better in the water -- he will swim with floaties on and is not afraid to hold his breath and go under. He will even open his eyes under water... a bit freaky to me but Jake said he remembers doing that a lot. Garett is not afraid of the water one bit. If the kiddie pool is the right depth, he will crawl around in it all day long, playing with a water stick.

Coocoo for Cocoa Puffs

I don't know about you, but I LOVE this cereal! Its tasty, chocolatey puffs are so yummy. And who can't forget the catch phrase: I'm coocoo for Cocoa Puffs!

When Wyatt was about 4 months old, I started dealing with some anxiety. After reaching my breaking point, I saw the doctor and began taking some anxiety medicine. I was worried I would deal with the same having another baby but thought that since I knew what this condition was and that it was treatable, I could make it through. After about 9 months and not having too many issues, I thought I was in the clear. Turns out, women are not that lucky (or I am not that lucky!).

I am grateful for my husband for being my rock and helping me work through some issues. Thank you to my family for offering support long-distance. Thank you to our friends and neighbors for their support with the boys and prayers. Thank you to my doctor for listening and offering sound medical advice (and some funny stories, too). And, thank you to God for always listening to my prayers, giving me strength when I feel weak, and surrounding me with people who support me even in my "crazy" moments.

So...
Cocoa Puffs comes into play as an inside joke with my husband. When I am a little coocoo, I have my Cocoa Puffs to lean on! :)

Running a Roach Motel

Seriously! My classroom is FULL of roaches. The principal today told me to invest in roach kill spray and roach motels. Another gal told me to use tape (something like roaches are attracted to the glue on the tape). This one obviously works as evident in the posters I pulled off of the wall -- the tape was COVERED with roaches.

I NOW HAVE A ROACH PHOBIA!!!

Once I finally left my room after a few hours of cleaning up the mess the last teacher left me (including half-eaten Taco Bell) and sorting through some curriculum materials, I stopped at a gas station for water. As I was drinking the water, I kept looking down at the bottle to check if there were any roaches on it! Obsessed, yes. Horrified, yes.

I told my principal that roaches are delicacies in some countries -- we could eat for weeks on these things if we lived in those countries. She told me to collect all the roaches I want and enjoy! :)

A Day of Fishing

Jake used his four-day pass to allow us some alone time on the boat this past weekend. The boys were still in daycare for a few more days so we thought it was a fool-proof plan. Turns out, you get cell service on the lake. The daycare called to tell us Wyatt had a temp of 101, and by regulations that means he must leave. I left the boat to get Wyatt and since his temp was holding steady and his mood still pleasant, he joined us on the boat. He did a great job floating in the tube we borrowed from friends while I read my book and daddy fished. *Don't worry, Wyatt's rope from the boat to the tube was about one foot long so he wasn't going anywhere!

The beginning to our day on the water... kid-less!

Jake is focused on fishing... I'm about to focus on sun tanning!

That wee little fish in between Jake's fingers, that was his first catch of the day.

Somewhat proud

This is more like it!

Fish kiss

Trying to get a pic together... thanks for the effort, Jake.

Wyatt was such a good boy on the boat!

Thank you, Jake!

This all took place on Friday. Monday, we did the same thing but at a different lake. We had some good fun then too. We both caught a few fish. Two we kept, mainly because they swallowed the hooks and did not survive. So we have a few "fish sticks" in the freezer. Jake needs to catch a few more fish before we can have our fish fry! :)

Go Green

We have attended two birthday parties in the past week. Instead of wrapping the presents in store-bought wrapping paper, I decided to use brown paper bags decorated by Wyatt. Our first attempt was a bit pathetic, but the little boy still enjoyed tearing into it!

Our second try at it, I ironed the paper bags after cutting open. Then Wyatt fingerpainted. One bag, he stamped his handprints; the second bag, he smeared colors all over. After they dried, I taped them together and wrapped the gift. Unfortunately, scotch tape does not hold bags closed very well so I used double-sided sticky tape (carpet strength). The birthday boy had a hard time opening the present!

I figured why should I spend money on wrapping paper when brown bags are given for free at the grocery store and the decorating is a fun craft for Wyatt? The brown bags that I collect that aren't used for wrapping paper will be cut open and used in my classroom. We don't get much (if any) budget money so I have to be smart about my supplies.

Yay for GOING GREEN!

Russ Pond Fishing, Take 2

Russ Pond is the kiddie pond on post that is for 15 year olds and younger. We took Wyatt there tonight to try our luck again, this time with less people around and hopefully keeping his interest on fishing, not the sandbox!

Daddy getting the rod ready for the first cast of the night.

What a big boy, doing it all by himself!

Garett being extremely patient in his stroller... for once!!!

Checking out the water temperature!

They got tired of standing. At this moment, there was a bite... notice Wyatt's face as the line started "dancing"!

Smiley boy!

The solo catch (by mommy). These little guys kept nibbling our worms off and we finally hooked one... right behind the gill. Not the best catch but at least we didn't get skunked!

The only pic of mommy tonight... notice Wyatt in the background. Cutie pie!

My New Classroom

Today, I started moving my teaching things to my new classroom...
... but as you can see, I don't have much room to put my boxes!

The previous teacher has not removed her materials so I'm hesitant to start unpacking mine. I don't want to mix things up, but at the same time I don't want to sit around waiting for her to remove her stuff all summer long.

I moved about 3/8 of my supplies (not quite half... that's the fraction we came up with! :)) and Jake is going to help me tomorrow to finish it up. I am looking forward to making this classroom mine for as long as we are in the area!

Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Picasso... Barnoski?

Here is a video of Wyatt demonstrating his artistic abilities for all of us to see!

Pictures Galore!

A few weeks ago, our family went to the reopening of the Russ Pond and Pool, where kids 15 and under can fish... and have lots of success. Wyatt wanted to play in the sand...

... while Jake wanted to fish!!

Garett absolutely LOVES standing at the screen doors, looking outside, and smiling!

What seems a little OFF in this picture???

Oh, how Wyatt has on GARETT's shorts! Skinny little boy, chubby little baby!

Garett's teeth are coming in quickly now. The other day, one popped through that I didn't even see coming. Now, our baby boy has 7 teeth, four on top and three on bottom. He's about ready to take on his first hamburger with those choppers! (he is eating table food pretty regularly now since he is determined to feed himself)
*We know he looks like Sloth in this picture (from the Goonies) but he's still cute to me!

Nakey boy! Oh, and did I mention he is standing on his own?? He'll pull himself up and then release, just standing there for a little bit!! And he's starting to climb. He was "helping" me at the dishwasher last night and he climbed up on the door and stood up (I grabbed him pretty quick so he wouldn't break the door -- or fall).

Dressed for success! For a few days while my mom was in town, Wyatt was set on wearing his tie with everything! Gotta look good for the ladies.

My charmer!

Giddy up, cowboy! I don't know what that is he is using for a whip but he has quite the imagination.

The Boat

At long last (actually, not that long really), Jake has a boat. It's a bass boat, not my top choice, but he got it for a great deal. It's a 1987 Stratos (for those of you who know boats) and can get going pretty fast so I could ski/tube behind it.

We went on our first family outing yesterday ... it may be our last! Garett absolutely HATED the baby life jacket and Wyatt, already scared by daddy with the "alligators in the water" talk, screamed and cried, shouting, "We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" as daddy took off, trying to work the accelerator and the trim at the same time. It was so hot out, that didn't help at all. We were out for probably less than 10 minutes when I told Jake I couldn't handle it any more. He dropped us off at the dock, where Wyatt continued freaking out and shouting, "I'm gonna fall in!" *He was in the middle of the dock, nowhere NEAR the edge. Wyatt calmed down once in the truck and Garett chilled out the second the life jacket came off. Jake went back out for a couple of hours while I took the boys to the pool -- there's no alligators there! Jake is going to take Wyatt out on the boat soon, just them two, so Wyatt can see how much fun it can be. Daddy got better at the driving once we all got off. Garett, on the other hand, might be staying with our neighbors while we three go out for rides and fishing. Uncontrollable screaming and wiggling doesn't make for a fun ride for mommy... and I don't think the fish respond well to that, either! :)

More Thrift Store Finds

While at the Thrift Store on Saturday, I picked up a few more items for the boys (well, mostly Wyatt but Garett will grow in to them). This Spider Man couch is a great seat for enjoying a wonderful Cars book...
... and it conveniently folds out to a bed (that our son barely fits in due to his monstrous size!).

And this chalkboard is definitely one of his favorite things in his toy room now. He is a very abstract artist and does a good job of depicting those around him in a very real way on the board (blah blah blah!!!). :) It does get a little dusty -- but he is sure having fun!

I don't have a picture of it but I also picked up a new bike trailer for the boys. Our other one we had for over two years (bought at a resale shop for $50) but the straps were starting to shred. Not much longer and the boys' butts would be on the ground! This new one (only $45) is in good shape and has a plastic bottom so there's no sagging. It's a little heavier to pull but, hey, it's a workout! Plus, the boys have a bit more of their own space, not sitting right on top of each other.