WHY- WHAT- HOW (the many stages of garrett)

about a year ago, garrett was completely a WHY kid.

it was both funny and annoying all at the same time. we could say anything to him and he'd respond with "WHY?"

me: garrett, use the bathroom before we leave the house.
garrett: WHY?
me: because we are going to the store.
garrett: WHY?
me: because we need milk.
garrett: WHY?
me: to put on our cereal.
garrett: WHY?

this would go on and on and on...
and often times it still does.

about 6 months ago, garrett entered the WHAT phase.

me: garrett, get your shoes on.
garrett: WHAT??
me: get your shoes on.
garrett: WHAT??
me: get your shoes on.
garrett: WHAT?? say it in my ear.

that phase went on for a while.
after an ent/audiologist visit, it was determined that garrett hears perfectly :)

and now... it's time for the HOW phase.
the big difference with this phase is that it's all about God.

here are a few of the discussion we've had in the past few weeks...

garrett: HOW did God make that place that he lives?
me: you mean heaven? well, i don't really know HOW he made it. but he's really powerful.
garrett: well, where did he stand when he was making heaven?

garrett: HOW can God hear us?
me: he's really powerful and can hear everything.
garrett: but HOW?

garrett: HOW can God see us?
me: he's really powerful and can see everything.
garrett: but HOW? and HOW does he see us when we're in the car?

garrett: when we die, HOW do our bodies get up there with him?
me: well our bodies get buried in the ground at a cemetery, but our soul goes up to heaven. (like a 3yr old knows what soul means!)
garrett: but HOW does it get up in the air?



with all these questions, i feel like my answers are so lame. garrett is a curious kid who wants to know how things work. heck, so do i. as much as it pains me to say this (ha ha, just kidding), garrett is a lot like me. i love facts. i'm all about concrete information. (have i mentioned my love of encyclopedias as a child - i'm totally serious. sad, but true. but that's another post!)

unfortunately we aren't given too many facts as to exactly HOW God does things. HOW do i explain that to a 3yr old?

life lesson (as learned by ryan)

when you're watching your older brother pee on a tree in the yard, be sure not to stand too close.

especially if that brother does not aim well.





it never fails. we are all outside playing. i'm sitting comfortably in a chair feeding josie. that's precisely when garrett needs to use the bathroom. he can't open the back door himself.

hence the tree.

garrett loves it.

ryan is curious.

man, i could video some pretty funny stuff in our yard!!

8 years + 1 day

happy anniversary to a pretty cool guy :)
love you!




and today...
happy birthday to my dad

and later this month...
happy anniversary to my sister, emily
happy anniversary to my brother, matt
happy anniversary to my brother, mark



july is popular month around here!

happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear ry ry
happy birthday to you

ryan you're one awesome kid!
everyday you crack us up and even drive us a little nuts :)

you're favorite things include:
dora
diego
super heroes
chuck e cheese commercials
mickey, donald & the gang
getting out cups for juice (all day long!)
eating anything involving sugar or chocolate
playing with "the big kids"
checking on josie (who you call "jo jo")
taking off your clothes
taking off your shoes
playing outside
snuggling with your mommy or daddy before bedtime
pretending you can play the wii

we can't wait to see how you'll change this next year.
i'm guessing you'll be talking tons before too long and showing us more of the little person inside of you :)

we love you, ryan!!!

love~
daddy, mommy, olivia, garrett & josie

shhhhh (and adios!)

yup, she can finally get herself to sleep :)

we're still working on keeping the other 3 quiet so she can stay sleeping.
one step at a time...

and i think she's going to be a thumb sucker. no pictures of that yet, but it's super cute to see. plus it keeps her happy :)



in a few hours i'm off for a long weekend without ANY kids. i can't believe it!! my college roomates are all gathering for a long weekend of catching up, lots of fun & lots of memories. girls are flying in from california, pennsylvania, florida, maine, massachusetts & minnesota. the last time we were all together was july 2002 in boston, when i was ginormously pregnant with olivia. and if you're wondering if this will be a wild & crazy weekend, just remember that i'm lugging my breast pump & car power adapter with me. crazy times for sure! ha ha!!!!!

3 smiles & 1 "yikes i have a crazy brother!"

s'more of our weekend

happy birthday :)

happy birthday, tim!!!

we love you :)

you're an awesome friend, husband & daddy!



click on the picture to see the garrett's new "smile"
and his little copy cat side-kick.

cheese, please

i was snapping pictures of josie this afternoon.
garrett walked in and i asked for a smile.

here's what i got.

definitely a 3r old!

5 months old

josie knows she 5 months old.
she knew it was time to change things up in her world.

out of the blue, we have a whole new baby.

up until now, josie was our little sleeper. she was awake only to eat. people would ask us if she could smile yet. the doctor asked if she could turn her head to noise. i could only shrug my shoulders and say "i don't know." she was never awake enough to notice what she could and couldn't do. don't get me wrong...the sleep routine was great. especially at disney world. josie truly slept through that trip (thanks to my awesome hotsling!)

but now she's 5 months old.
time for a change.

josie has no need for sleep.
except for when she's in the sling (but that's getting kind of hot!) or at night when she totally zonks out (horray!)

but she can finally smile :)
and turn her head to noise (no shortage of that here!)

since josie felt it was time for a change, so did i.
today is day #1 of crying herself to sleep at naptime.
hopefully by this time next week i'll have a baby who takes naps again :)