What Garrison's Had to Say Lately

Before getting into the actual post, I thought I'd share a few pics of my guys from our visit to the park last Saturday morning.

Garrison has been cracking us up lately with the things he says. I know parents say this all the time and whenever I hear it I know the answer is typically them of course... but where does he get this stuff from? Ha! Sometimes it's obvious where it came from but sometimes I'm totally clueless. Anyway, I've been working really hard to keep up with his funny little comments and collecting them here for a blog post. I know most of these are probably "you had to be there" comments, but they are still priceless and funny to his mama, therefore they are blog worthy. So along with some background to help them make sense, here's what Garrison's had to say lately~

While Garrison was having his snack one afternoon and I was feeding Austin in the living room he walked over to me and said in a slow somewhat dramatic fashion, Mama, I haf a tell you somethin. A question. pause for emphasis... The wind is blowin. I immediately started cracking up and of course couldn't bring myself to correct him. The wind was most certainly blowing and he wanted to tell me, but in question form. I think.

A couple of week ago Terrell had an early morning meeting at the Social Circle branch of the bank and then later in that same week had a night meeting near Social Circle. So, after hearing about daddy having to go to Social Circle for work and spend a little more time away from us than normal, he tells Terrell, I wanna go to Social Circle when I get big. Bless his heart. Wherever daddy is, Garrison wants to be too.

On the way home from our shopping trip with my mom, Garrison was playing with my phone when out of the blue he says, Somebody gave me a text. We have never heard him say the word text before. Ever. So we were all laughing and then asked him what it said... Welcome to your promise. No idea where that one came from. Seriously, it makes no sense. Nonetheless, that's what it said mama.

When my mom came over before our shopping trip, Garrison showed her his Halloween costume. Then he asked, Granna, what you gon be for Christmastime? After we corrected him and while Granna was thinking over her answer, he says, What Papa gon be? I want him to be a giraffe. (Pause to ponder over what Granna should be) You be a elephant. If you can't tell, lately we've gotten into the Christmas spirit around our house (by singing Christmas carols at bedtime and watching Rudolph occasionally), hence the confusion. First funny. Then we laughed again when he decided Papa should be a giraffe and Granna should be an elephant!

The other night my dad called Terrell and as soon as the phone rang I said, "Is that my daddy?" (I knew it was him because of the timing of the call... he needed to vent following a tough Georgia Tech loss). So Terrell confirmed that it was and answered and started talking, all the while Garrison is taking it in. Finally he said, He talkin to your dad, mama? I told him he was... he was talking to Papa. Garrison got the most confused look on his face. Too funny. He didn't know Papa was his mama's dad! We laughed again... and tried to explain. Still don't know if he believes us.



The other day Garrison saw a Geico commercial for the first time and asked what the "thing" was. I told him it was a Gecko, kind of like a lizard. He responded by saying, Wizards don't walk mama, they jus crawl. And they don't talk. He's so smart. Guess he told me. =)

The other night we were saying prayers before bedtime... and normally he just listens to me and sometimes repeats what I've said or occasionally chimes in with something to pray for all on his own. Right in the middle of our prayer he said, And help Ausin not spit up on mama. So sweet.



Earlier this week Garrison and Austin got Halloween cards in the mail along with a little something for their "banks". Can you tell my babies are spoiled?? So when he called to say thank you Papa answered the phone... so he talked to him for a minute, then Granna, then AnAn, then he asked to speak to Granna again, and Papa... you get the idea. Finally he said, I want to talk to Emma. That's my parents' and sister's dog! It was pretty funny. He didn't want to leave anyone out. =)



This morning I was feeding Austin and Garrison came over and gave him a kiss on his arm. Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am that he loves his brother so much? Anyway, since I normally say something like, That was so sweet. You just loovve your little brother, I thought I'd change it up. So I said, Oh how sweet. Austin loovves Garrison so much! And not skipping a beat he says, Yeah. He shore does. Not modest at all. Love him and all his little sayings that keep us laughing.

Pumpkin Fun

This year it didn't work out for us to go to a big Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze. The weather and our schdule just never did cooperate. We wanted to go on Columbus Day when Terrell had the day off, just like last year, but it wasn't open this year... and it was raining. So, we opted for a small church pumpkin patch last weekend. Garrison loved it, we got some pictures, and found a good pumpkin. So all in all I was satisfied. =)

This weekend we carved our pumpkin! We moved Austin into the kitchen so he could be a part of everything, but as you can see, he wasn't impressed and decided to sleep instead. We also took Garrison's shirt off and prepared ourselves for him to get really messy like he has in the past
but instead he kept saying it was "yucky" and mainly watched Terrell do all the work. Haha!
I loved watching his face and seeing him so fascinated and curious. I know I've said it before, but passing on a tradition is so fun!

Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite Fall traditions, but this year it wore us out! (I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately.) Terrell had to work really hard on the actually carving part because the pumpkin was SO thick. It took forever. Garrison didn't understand why he couldn't help daddy the whole time, which meant keeping him entertained and out of Terrell's way as much as I could. And Austin's bedtime arrived before the pumpkin was finished, but he didn't want to go to sleep. So things were kind of crazy and the pumpkin carving this year made for a late night and a very tired mama and daddy. But, the most important part is that we got it carved, had fun, and Garrison Cade was super impressed. We'll always remember this "pumpkin carving" as the one that made daddy work the hardest, mama the most tired, Garrison the most curious and therefore at times frustrated, and Austin the most sleepy.... until it was actually time for bed. Good times. =)

Another 1st for Me & the Boys

I took both boys to Chick-fil-A all by myself yesterday! It only took me 6 weeks to attempt it, but I finally did and we survived! Garrison was on Fall Break from school so I decided to use his day off as an opportunity to get out and do something fun. He loves eating and playing at Chick-fil-A so he was thrilled! We had talked about it earlier in the week and when I brought it up yesterday morning and asked if he knew where we were going, he guessed "Barnville". It cracked me up. I love that he loves going to the hometown! He was just as happy about "Chicken Flay" though and we decided that if Barnesville had a "Chicken Flay" he'd definitely want to live there permanently!

We had a really good time and I definitely enjoyed being out of the house for a little while (even if it was somewhat exhausting going solo). The toughest part, other than getting us out the door, was getting both boys in and out of the car in a busy parking lot. After that, everything went great. Garrison enjoyed his fruit cup and had a ball running and climbing and sliding. One of his little classmates from school was there too. I remember the days when he would hardly do anything on the playground there. He used to sit and watch other kids for several minutes before he warmed up to the idea of actually participating in the fun. Now he's right in the middle of it! He even made a new friend named Emma who was 6. I couldn't believe he wasn't intimidated by her. I guess he really is growing up.... and it's time for me to accept it. =)


Austin enjoyed himself as well and took a nice little nap...

Our outing was almost perfect. Almost. Garrison had fun, Austin slept the whole time, Garrison listened when I said it was time to go, Austin didn't spit up. Things were totally drama free... until we got to the car. My poor little man (Garrison) was carrying a cup of ice water and quenching his thirst from playing hard, when somehow, some way half the cup of water spilt all over him. (Come to find out later, there was a little hole/snag in the cup that must have occured somewhere between Chick-Fil-A and our car) He was sitting in his car seat when it happened but wasn't strapped in yet, as I was getting Austin strapped in first. That's when I heard the gasping and him yelling at me that his water spilt and it was cold! Poor thing. He was pretty drenched. So I get him out of the car and quickly take off his shirt as the wind is whipping around us (can't imagine what the on-lookers thought), and I'm cold, so I know he's cold. Then I wrap him up in Austin's blanket (the first thought that came to mind). His car seat was also wet and cold so I used his jacket for him to sit on and unfortunately he just had to deal with his lap being wet and cold the whole way home. But at least he had Austin's thick warm blanket around him. It was crazy. My wonderful husband met me at the house to help out. After Garrison was stripped down and dressed again in warm, dry clothes all was well. Another first in the books. Never a dull moment around here...

Pajama Day!

Today my little man had his first "Pajama Day" at school. So fun. He didn't really get it at first but once we tried to explain that it was a special day at school and that everyone got to wear pajamas and take a blanket and favorite "stuffed toy", he was excited. The paper that came home last week explained that this "Pajama Day" would go along with their unit on Nocturnal Animals. Too cute. (I'm really thinking that teaching preschool is in my future.) After school today Garrison couldn't tell me much about nocturnal animals, but he did tell me about the movie they got to watch... "Buzz Lightyear". =)

And just because it was too sweet to pass up...

Garrison Cade loves his little brother! I can't wait to see their little relationship grow and a special friendship form as they get older. God is good and I am grateful.

1st Shopping Trip

We made our first shopping trip as a family of 4 (plus Granna) yesterday. And let me tell you, it wore us out. Who knew that taking 2 babies 2 and under out for a day of shopping would be so exhausting and draining? Well, we kinda knew. That's why we decided to ask Granna to join us... and thank goodness we did.


Before I share some of our adventures from the day, I'll explain why we went shopping in the first place. Next weekend we're having our annual family pictures done. I'm really excited because these will be the first professional photos of our family since Austin arrived and we're going to get some similar pictures of Austin that we had done of Garrison at this age. Sooo, everyone needed an outfit or shirt (or scarf) to wear for the pictures. And, since we knew we'd have to take 2 strollers and our shopping experience could turn into a nighmare if we attempted it on our own, we made the decision to ask my mom to come along to help and be an extra set of hands.


My mom came over before 9:00 and we were out the door by 10 after and headed to the mall closest to our house (but prepared to travel further if we couldn't find everything we needed at our first stop). We arrived at the mall around 9:35 and parked upstairs at Macy's (where we usually park because of the children's departement being upstairs plus the Food Court). We found a great parking spot and unloaded 2 strollers, got 2 kiddos situated in strollers, and began the short walk inside.... until we noticed the bar thingys behind the door signifying it wasn't open yet. Great. We quickly decided to just walk around Macy's to what we thought was the entrance to the Mall instead of packing up the strollers again and getting back in the car only to have to start over again. Our walk was pleasant, but not short. We had to walk all the way around an entire building and parking lot only to discover we still weren't at the "Mall Entrance", just the other side of Macy's. So we walked across another parking lot to JCPenny. Thankfully they were open and we finally made it inside, to a quiet mall with no stores open. Ugh.


While we waited for stores to open my mom strolled Austin around and we let Garrison play in a designated play area. He was the only one there so he had a ball.





So right at 10:00 we're ready to go into our first store of choice and it isn't open. So we go next door to have Garrison's foot measured and to look for shoes. Check the store again, still isn't open. Somebody was late to work. Anyway, then we decided to go to Macy's to look around and more importantly find me a dressing room so I can feed Austin. So I feed Austin while my mom entertains Garrison and Terrell looks for a shirt. Things go great with feeding Austin, Terrell finds a shirt, and then we're back on an elevator to go back to the store, the one where somebody was late to work.


The store was open so we began our quest for cute, semi-matching, picture perfect outfits. After searching through piles of shirts and sweaters, plus trying a shirt, vest, and sweater on Garrison (which he was only semi-cooperative about) we made our choices and purchases and went back to the play area. (Part of the reason Garrison didn't want to cooperate was because he kept saying he wanted to go play.) Garrison played and chased a new little friend and watched the mall choo choo train before we went to lunch (which meant getting back on an elevator with strollers in tow).


Lunch went good except for the fact that Garrison took forever to eat, not that that's anything new. He takes his sweet time and enjoys every bite at every meal. He also tried getting up from the table once and ignoring me. After taking care of that little issue he finally ate his lunch, just really slowly.


Since seeing the mall train and hearing it off and on while were at lunch, Garrison changed his mind and decided he'd like to ride it after all, and so we headed back downstairs so he could ride the train after lunch. Time for another elevator ride. Shopping with strollers is one big hassle.

He was very apprehensive about the train ride, and the conductor, but since Granna was with him he decided it was safe and he could handle it.

Finally enjoying himself. =)

After the train ride we decided to go ahead and leave the mall to go to another shopping center for some stores the mall didn't offer. Once we reached our destination, it was time for me to feed Austin, but this time in the backseat squished between two car seats. That was interesting. Meanwhile my mom and Terrell were struggling to keep Garrison under control since the full day of shopping was taking it's toll. We finally managed to get the rest of the things we needed before heading home.

Even though we totally underestimated the craziness that would occur from shopping with both boys, I think the trip was a success overall. But only because Granna was there. Seriously. Terrell told my mom afterwards that we would have been at each other's throats if she hadn't been there. He's right! The stress and craziness of 2 strollers, 2 boys, elevator rides, train rides, trying on clothes, feedings, diaper changes, potty trips, etc, etc, would have definitely caused us to turn on each other. For sure. Haha. Granna's presence kept us sane and made for a much more fun and successful shopping trip. Thanks a bunches Granna!!! We couldn't have done it without you!

Birth Announcement (and other happenings...)

We were so excited to send out Austin's birth announcements last week... and we love how they turned out! Once again Megan did an amazing job for us!! If I'm remembering correctly this was her 5th "project" for us and everytime she exceeds my expectations. Thanks again Megan! This week has been good and crazy and tiring all at the same time. We'll start with the good. For one thing, my oldest little man has been the sweetest big brother ever. I am SO thankful for how well and how quickly he adjusted to having a little brother and how he's embraced just about everything that goes along with having a baby in the house. This week he started kissing Austin at random times, checking on him for me when I was in different room (and reporting on whether he was awake, asleep, upset, okay, or if he'd spit up), gently bouncing him in his bouncy seat if Austin got fussy, saying things like "I love my big brother" (he gets it mixed up sometimes and forgets that he's the big brother), and just being my little helper with his baby brother. Austin is definitely blessed with a big brother who loves him and looks after him. My heart has melted several times this week watching them together.

Switching gears now to the crazy and not so good.... Garrison hasn't exactly been the sweetest boy to mama and daddy this week. We have had some for sure terrible two espisodes and been tested lots lately. For some reason he's had a lot of trouble listening and obeying recently. And it's driving me crazy. Either he hears us and ignores what we said basically doing the opposite, or it just takes us telling/asking him 5 times before he obeys. So frustrating. We've decided that we've just got to be really consistent with him and work hard on "requiring" his obedience the first time we ask. Which is very time consuming by the way. I mean when I'm in the middle of making our lunch and Garrison is running around with a crayon (that's supposed to always stay with his paper and coloring books) and I tell him to go put it up and he just keeps running around chasing Bailey with it.... well it would be much easier to deal with that after I'm done making lunch (because he'll be more willing to cooperate since lunch is ready). But, I take a deep breath and stop what I'm doing to physically "intervene" and address the fact that he ignored me, plus discuss the reason he can't run around with a crayon.... which may or may not lead to a meltdown. Ahhhh. Talk about wearing on my patience. It's definitely been a challenge but one we're determined to stick with. I'm trying to remember that he's only 2 so my expectations should reflect that, but I'm also keeping in mind that if we don't nip this in the bud it's only going to get worse and we'll just regret it later. So we'll keep on keeping on even though it leads to meltdowns and time-out and not being able to go outside. Being a mama can be so hard.

Now on to the tiring part. Mr. Austin has had himself a couple of rough nights in a row this week and we are sleep deprived big time. The beginning of week was going great because he was sleeping til about 3:45 every morning. The past two nights I've been up and down with him. Part of it is him spitting up and needing to be changed which makes him wide awake. Part of it is him falling asleep and me coughing and waking him up. And the other part I'm not sure. Ha! The great thing about this time around is that I know it's temporary and one day we will actually get to sleep all night long. I remember with Garrison not being able to see that light at the end of the tunnel. But this time I know it's there. =) The other thing is that Garrison literally keeps me going and gives me energy. I don't have time to have a pity party over my lack of sleep or to even feel that sleepy during the day because I'm always busy and always have someone to keep me on my toes.

Another thing that's made me so, so tired was Terrell having his first night meeting with work last night. Being on my own during the day is one thing. It's something I'm used to now and feel comfortable with and up to everyday. On my own in the evenings (after being on my own all day), not so much. Supper, bedtime, and bath time are challenging with 2. Austin had a rough time while we were eating but slept through Garrison's bath and bedtime routine. So things weren't super crazy, it just exhausted me and completely drained me to do it all by myself going on very little sleep the night before. Single moms amaze me. Anyway, I think that recaps our week so now I'll share some pics of my 2 favorite boys~

Garrison has discovered that bouncing Austin's seat with his foot is not only fun, it makes him stop crying =)

Birthday Celebrations

My 28th birthday was Thursday the 6th and I enjoyed several birthday celebrations with family. My birthday week kicked off on last Sunday when my in-laws came over and took us out to eat. I am super blessed to have great in-laws who love me like their own! Garrison had a ball playing with Allison and seeing Nana and Pops and we enjoyed a delicious lunch together at a new Italian place Terrell and I have been wanting to try out. Austin did great and slept in his car seat the entire time. =)

Before we left for the restaurant we got creative and attempted a few pictures of all the cousins together. We knew Austin would have to be sitting in something and that Shannon would probably have a hard time standing in one spot, so this is what we came up with. In most of the pictures everyone is looking at a different camera/person but we got a couple of good ones and I think we'll always appreciate these pictures because it captures this point in time really well.




Even though I was sick on my actual birthday, Terrell and Garrison made sure my day was special. They sang Happy Birthday to me before breakfast and everything! Then while Garrison was at school, Austin decided to spit up on me and pee all over me. I think it was his way of wishing me a Happy Birthday! Terrell brought home Long Horn take-out for supper and then him and Garrison gave me the sweetest cards... and some shopping money! When the boys were asleep we watched TV and ate blizzards. Yum. This year was different because of having a 1 month old and not being able to go out or plan a date, but I loved my birthday and Terrell's hard work to make it special anyway.

Then on Saturday we made our first trip home to Barnesville. Other than packing up the house and feeling crammed in our car, the trip down went great! Austin was introduced to his great-grandparents and some cousins on Saturday. My parents grilled out at lunch and we loved having some time with them. We actually hadn't seen them in a few weeks and hadn't been to Barnesville in over a month!

Nanny & Austin

Granny & PawPaw with Austin

Austin with 2 of his cousins, Kelly & Meghan

Garrison had lots of fun playing with his cousins and the grown-ups had fun catching up and holding Austin (who by the way, slept all day long... literally). We were so nervous about a rough night because we just couldn't keep him awake. Garrison never slept this much as an infant.

After Garrison's nap and the great-grandparents and cousins left to go home, Garrison got to help Papa on the Little Debbie truck. He finally knows what's on the truck and that he can make a request and Papa will oblige. We're definitely in trouble. Then, after being Papa's helper on the back of the truck, a dream was realized. The little man got to go for a ride in Papa's Little Debbie truck. Whoa. It was a BIG deal and he was so happy and thrilled I think his little face probably hurt from smiling. Terrell ran outside to get some pictures before they rode around the neighborhood. I would have loved a video of his expression and conversation with Papa while he rode around. I'm sure it would have been priceless. He also discovered a Tootsie Roll in Papa's truck and had a mouth full of chocolate by the time his 5 minute ride was over. Oh dear.

We went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant for supper and came home to ice cream and cake and presents. My mom even got "crayon" candles for Garrison... who just couldn't resist the temptation to touch the cake while he waited.

While everyone sang to me... Garrison loved that part.

AnAn and Austin

Helping open mama's present

Lovin on AnAn

I had a fun birthday with my family and I think Garrison enjoyed everything as much as I did. And even though we were almost dreading the night with Austin, he did GREAT. He had a little trouble going to sleep after I fed him at 10:30, but after that he slept until almost 4:00. Who knew he could sleep so much!? That's the longest stretch of uninterrupted sleep I've had since Sept 1st, the day before going to the hospital!

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for our first outing to church as a family of 4. Things were very crazy getting ready (mainly because of everything revolving around me feeding Austin) but thankfully my mom was there to help! We are always spoiled by famiy when we're home. I wonder if that will stop if we live there one day??

We managed a couple of family shots before leaving for church. Thanks Granna!

I had lots of fun celebrating my birthday this week! Our families really spoiled me and made me feel special with some of the sweetest cards! I'm so thankful I could celebrate with everyone and we're all so close. It's definitely a blessing and one of the best gifts every year.