Birthday Fish Fry

On Saturday we all went down to my parents house to spend the day in B'ville and enjoy a "birthday fish fry". There are about 5 birthdays on my mom's side of the family between February 18 and April 4, so a few years ago everyone started trying to get together sometime in March to celebrate all of them. This year a fish fry was planned at my parents' house. I think I counted a total of 26 of us there and tons and tons of fish. Terrell and I aren't big fish eaters so we had a special menu of grilled chicken. =) At that point my appetite was finally returning and I was actually able to enjoy my grilled chicken, peas, french fries, hushpuppies, and pickles.

My little man had a ball that day. My grandparents and aunt and uncle arrived while Garrison was supposed to be napping. Since he pretty much refused a nap (a definite trend away from home), we got him up early and let him play outside. He ended up staying outside the rest of the day and evening, only coming inside to have supper and later for cake and ice cream. His favorite older cousins were there as well to entertain him and he was like a little shadow to them. Whatever Meghan and Carter did, Garrison did.

Before his cousins arrived, Garrison enjoyed looking at the water and throwing in a few rocks

Looking for the rock he threw in and some fish

Hanging out with PawPaw

One of the only times I saw the 3 of them inside... right after Meghan and Carter arrived

All the kiddos playing outside

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday (I think about half the group is to my left. I tried to fit everyone in, I just couldn't figure out how to do it)

After having cake and ice cream it was still light outside so off the little man went following Meghan and Carter. We let him play a few more minutes before making him come inside and get ready for a bath. By that point he was so tired (and flithy dirty) that he just couldn't hold it together any longer. He had a huge meltdown that lasted throughout bathtime. He just cried and cried (the screaming, mad, tired, exhausted, don't know how to calm down cry). Bless his heart. I just felt sorry for him. Such a long day of playing the hardest he had ever played I think. Finally everyone started to leave and Meghan came in the bathroom to tell Garrison bye. He couldn't seem to get himself under control at first and continued with his screaming fit, but finally he managed to get out of the tub and got wrapped up in a towel so he could give Meghan and Carter bye hugs. So sweet.

After everyone left we started to gather up all of our things to get ready to head home. That's when Garrison pulled Granna back to the rocking chair and requested that she rock him and read to him. After she read a couple of books and we told him we had to go, he went over and tried to open the door to the room where his crib is so he could go night night. Poor baby. That was a first. He was SO tired.

He slept almost the whole way home and woke up as soon as we pulled in our garage. It was a late night for the little man but he slept really good Saturday night and even slept late Sunday morning. I think the birthday fish fry was Garrison's favorite thing ever!

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Big announcement.... Garrison is now sleeping in his big boy bed! We tried it out Friday night once I felt up to putting him to bed and things went great. He was so excited to be in his new bed and he did such a good job. I read 3 books to him and sang a couple of songs and said a bedtime prayer before moving to sit on the end of his bed for a few minutes before leaving. I sat there about 30 seconds before he told me to leave. I was pleasantly surprised. He told me goodnight and bye bye and slept all night. =) So far bedtime has been great. I think our challenge with the new bed will be naptime. I've mentioned before that in the past the guaranteed way for Garrison to take a nap would be for me to stay in his room in the rocking chair until he fell asleep. If he kept playing and talking to me while I was in there I would go ahead and leave and he would play sometimes for 30 minutes to an hour before laying down and falling asleep. Well, things aren't that simple with the new bed. I have to sit on the end of his bed or possibly the floor and he just can't "play" in his new bed like he could in his crib. I've got to come up with some naptime strategies soon I think. This afternoon was a test, but thankfully he never got out of bed, he only called for me once, and he eventually did fall asleep. But I know I need to be more prepared next time. I may need some advice from moms of preschoolers. Hmmm, I'll just have to think on it.

Ready to sleep in his big boy bed for the 1st time. March 18, 2011

14 Weeks

Yesterday marked 14 weeks for us! I am hoping and praying that week 14 is WAY better than week 13. Let's just say the 2nd trimester did not get off to a good start. Somehow, out of the blue, I got really sick starting on Tuesday morning and couldn't keep anything down. It was bad. All I could do was lay around and feel nauseous and miserable and occasionally find relief after throwing up. The toughest part for me was not being able to be there for Garrison and help take care of him. It made me feel helpless and frustrated. Something else I hated about being sick was feeling so hungry during the night, to the point of feeling nauseous, but not wanting to eat anything. It was so weird. I had absolutely no appetite even though it felt like I was starving. One night I got up at 3:00 in the morning and ate a banana and some dry cereal because I was so desperate. Thankfully I managed to keep down bananas, granola bars, toast, and a tad bit of soup to get me through the week. After throwing up my breakfast on Thursday morning, I gave up and called the doctor. They prescribed some medicine for me and I finally felt some relief on Friday. I am so grateful for Terrell taking Garrison to school Tuesday and Thursday plus taking off the afternoon on Thursday just to be with me and for my mom coming over Wednesday and Terrell's mom coming over Friday. I couldn't have made it without them! Now on to week 14...

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 14 weeks

Size of baby: 3 1/4 to 4 inches long and weighs 1 ounce. Still about the size of a lemon. =)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm not really sure because I actually lost weight this week

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but should be ready for them soon

Gender: Still waiting and excited to know

Movement: I thought I felt a couple of little flutters yesterday but I can't be sure. It took me quite a while to feel Garrison so I'm sort of doubtful...

Food Cravings: Last week I didn't have an appetite for anything. This weekend I'm craving a milkshake.

What I Miss: Feeling normal! Thankfully "normal" is in sight and I think I'm almost there.

Sleep: I slept a lot during the day last week just from feeling terrible and weak. I haven't been sleeping quite as good at night... I think it's due to resting/napping so much during the day, waking up hungry, still having some crazy dreams, etc.

Symptons: I'm feeling so much better that I can't even think of any particular symptons I've had for the past couple of days

Best Moment This Week: Being able to take medicine that made me better!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Things getting back to normal around our house!!

Really Rough Week, Really Great Weekend

Last week was rough for all of us. Terrell worked lots of hours, the most he's ever worked I think... so many they decided to give him the day off Friday if he would stay on stand-by and keep his phone close. I tried to have a good attitude, but all those hours he was away took it's toll on me. Terrell had to be in Elberton every day which meant he had to leave every morning before Garrison and I woke up and he didn't get home until after supper. I think we all got to eat together on Monday, but every other night he wasn't home until almost 7:00 (or much later one night) which is when Garrison's bathtime and bedtime routine starts. I had moments throughout the week of being understanding and supportive, and then I had moments of complaining and being ill and feeling sorry for myself because I didn't have any help with Garrison. I'm not proud of those not-so supportive moments, but thankfully I have a really understanding husband. My favorite part of the week was Thursday morning when I was feeling extra sick and trying to get Garrison ready for school. When I eventually did go to the bathroom to get sick, Garrison tried to tear down the door having a fit to come in. All the banging and yelling "MAMA!! MAAAMA!" just made me feel worse, so I let him in with me... yuck.



I think I realized a couple of things this past week... #1. I am definitely spoiled. I'm so used to having Terrell work the regular 8:00/9:00-5:00 hours at least a few days a week that I completely take it for granted. I'm also used to him being able to take a lunch break at home a couple of days a week. And, when he's working in Social Circle, I can pretty much call him anytime if I need him. I try not to call, but if I need to ask him something really quick he can usually always answer or at least call me right back. When he's in Elberton, he can't really answer the phone or give me a call unless he's on his lunch break. That was really hard for me this week. Just knowing he was two hours away and wasn't available to talk made things tough on me. The second thing I realized this week is that I depend on Terrell for a lot. Not just help with Garrison, but help with supper/cleaning up the dishes, his listening ear at the end of the day, him taking care of little chores when I'm not feeling well, help with taking Bailey out, etc. I was forced to be independent while he was working so much, which was good and bad. It was good because I learned that you do what you have to do when you have to do it, and I was fully capable of it all by myself. But the bad part was that I didn't enjoy having all the responsiblity on me and would much rather be dependent than independent I think.



Anyway, on to the really great weekend. First of all Terrell had the day off Friday so we were able to take care of some errands together and get Garrison's matress for his new bed. After Garrison's nap that afternoon we headed home to Barnesville to spend the weekend with family. We grilled hamburgers with my parents and sister and enjoyed a relaxing Friday night together. Saturday we all woke up and went over to the Wild Animal Safari at Pine Mountain. We took a picnic lunch and had the best time!

Garrison getting ready for his 1st ever picnic lunch

Finishing up lunch. The little man took his time and was the last one to leave the table.

Our ride for the safari... An old, beat up, zebra striped mini van!

Getting ready to go see the animals

Daddy drove us and Anna sat in the front with him, while Terrell and I sat in the middle and mama held Garrison in the back. The seating arrangement worked out great for everyone I think. Garrison didn't have to be too close to the animals sticking their heads through the front windows and we could all turn around and get pictures of him.

This picture was taken at the very start of the safari. A really big cow or mix of a cow and buffalo stuck his head right inside Anna's window looking for food... and at first Garrison seemed amused.

After Anna and I start screaming and hollering at the sight of this and Terrell and daddy start being loud and laughing, the little man got a tad bit scared. Bless his heart, he probably thought we were being attacked or something.

After we made our way through the initial group of animals that tried to get in the car with us, Garrison kept his distance for little bit.

It didn't take long though before he was ready to throw out food to the animals and watch them eat.

A lot of the animals would just put their heads in and open their mouths and wait for you to throw a piece of food in... Terrell got this hilarious picture.

Here is an ostrich coming in my window... It was a little evil looking. Terrell was actually brave enough to let it eat out of the palm of his hand.

I loved the zebras. They didn't seem quite as greedy or demanding as some of the other animals. We actually had a cow at the start of the safari that followed us and followed us and at one point starting running to keep up with us. It was so funny!

Having fun and ready to throw out more food

After we finished the safari part, which took over an hour, we got out and went to the gift shop and then the "zoo" part where you could just walk around and see different animals. Garrison seemed to really like both parts. Once he got over the initial shock of animals trying to get in the car, he loved the safari and throwing food. He kept calling the animals by name and making the sounds they make. And he seemed to enjoy the zoo part because he could see the animals up close but they were all safely caged behind something. =)

Our family standing in front of the entrance

We had such a great time and owe a big thank you to Granna and Papa for treating us to a super fun, wild safari and picnic lunch! Once we changed Garrison's diaper and all got something to drink, we got in the car to head home. The little man was asleep in about 5 minutes and slept all the way home. I have a cute picture of him sleeping in his car seat that I guess I accidentially deleted from this post because it isn't here anymore. Oh well. When we got to Barnesville we went straight to Terrell's parents' house because his dad had finished Garrison's big boy bed and wanted us to see it. It turned out perfect and we fell in love. We were so excited to see the finished product! After we left there we went back to my parents to change Garrison's clothes and unload the car before meeting Terrell's parents at Slices for supper. Afterwards, Terrell and his dad took the bed apart and loaded it up so it would be ready to go to Covington after church the next day. =)

Sunday morning I woke up with major allergies and Garrison had similar symptons. We weren't feeling our best but were determined to go to church since we're pretty sure we won't be back at church in Barnesville until Easter Sunday. Thankfully my mom was able to stay in the nursery with Garrison and keep his runny nose from getting all over everything. After church we immediately got ready to head to Covington and get the little man down for his nap before Terrell's parents arrived with the bed! Garrison took a really good, long nap while Terrell and his dad installed the ceiling fan, put together Garrison's new dresser, and got the bed inside and set up.

Garrison sitting on his new bed for the first time. =) He loved it and when we asked whose bed it was he said, "Garrsin bed".

A few minutes later we threw the comforters on on top of the matresses just for pictures and to get a preview of how the bed will look really soon. We absolutely love this bed and it's super special since Terrell's dad helped design it and make it after one I picked out from Pottery Barn. Everything about it turned out perfect and we're hoping the little man will get to try it out this week. I still have lots more decorating to do, things to hang on the walls, Garrison's clothes to move, etc. but the bed is ready to go so we're going to get ready to try it out! Huge thanks to Pops for all his hard work on the bed, plus installing a really difficult ceiling fan! We are so appreciative for all of your contributions to Garrison's big boy room!

Even though last week was really rough, last weekend was really great and it's all thanks to Garrison's extra special grandparents!!

12 Weeks

Saturday marked the 12 week point for us, but I didn't have my 12 week appointment until today. Thankfully everything went great and I'm so proud I didn't gain anymore weight! Between my very first appointment at 5 weeks and my ultrasound appointment at 9 weeks, I gained 4 lbs... so I was a little nervous about weighing today. It's crazy because this time around I feel like I've started showing immediately, but I'm also trying to eat healthier and be more active with this pregnancy. I guess we'll see how things go as the baby grows. I think I'm going to do one of these "updates" with a picture and everything, every other week. That way I'm not overwhelmed trying to keep up with doing it every single week (and writing a lot of the same things over and over again), but I can still track my pregnancy and look back and remember everything. So, here's my first one:

Thanks for taking the pic Anna!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along:12 weeks

Size of baby: 2 and 1/2 inches long and weighs about 1/2 of an ounce. He or she is about the size of a lemon!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 4 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: We don't know yet but we can't wait to find out! This week I think we're both sort of thinking girl, but we don't have a strong feeling either way.

Movement: I can't feel anything yet but I'm definitely looking forward to it. =)

Food Cravings: None that I can think of, but I'm loving snacks (peanuts, almonds, crackers, grapes, bananas, chips, etc)

What I Miss: Energy! I'm hoping I get it back starting next week with the 2nd trimester! Sometimes being busy with Garrison makes me forget that I'm feeling tired/sleepy/drained but sometimes all I want to do is rest on the couch while he plays.

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good... but I rarely sleep all night long without waking up. I've been having crazy dreams that wake me up every night and I usually always wake up before my alarm goes off because of my full bladder.

Symptons: I have to go potty a lot, my appetite has been a little weird (I'm tired of eating what I normally love to eat), occasionally I feel light-headed/dizzy, an empty stomach makes me feel sickish (but I really hesitate to refer to myself as ever feeling "sick" because I've only experienced true sickness like 3 times this entire pregnancy.)

Best Moment This Week: Hearing the heartbeat! The sweetest sound ever!!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Just being pregnant and starting the 2nd trimester

Friday Lunch Date

Friday, the little man and I got a special treat. AnAn came over and we all got to go out to lunch together. Anna was off all week so she was able to come over yesterday morning and we drove to Snellville to shop a little and have lunch with one of her best friends from college, Lauren, and her seven week old baby girl, Avery. We made a quick stop at Hobby Lobby and I found a couple more picture frames for Garrison's big boy room and the cutest lamp. I was so excited. We have struggled big time with finding a lamp. I loved the sports lamps at Pottery Barn, but Terrell Selph just would not pay over $100 for a lamp for our two year old's room. (I didn't like the price either, but was starting to think it was our only option because we just couldn't find anything else to match the "theme" of the room and be reasonably priced... no way I was going to pay a lot for something I wasn't completely satisfied with). All the lamps at Hobby Lobby were 50% off so I knew I found "the one" when I really liked it, plus it was on sale! Anna also found a cute lamp for her living room.

Garrison and AnAn before leaving for our outing

Anyway, after shopping at Hobby Lobby we made our way over to Chili's for lunch. We all had a great time and baby Avery was just perfect! Garrison has been talking about her off and on since yesterday. He calls her baby Avy. He's also still talking about Lauren too since they sort of go together. He even told Terrell about Lauren and baby Avy Friday afternoon when Terrell got home from work.

Anna and Avery

Garrison checking her out... he's still really fascinated with babies and has no signs of jealousy... yet.

These aren't the best pics of me (I feel like my face already looks fat) but I love how sweet Avery looks! Isn't she adorable?!

Somehow we managed plenty of pictures of Avery but none of her mama. Sorry Lauren! We had a great lunch and I definitely ate too much but loved getting to eat out for lunch during the week. It was a treat! It was also fun catching up and having some time away from the house with someone other than just the little man. =)

Garrison's Famous Sayings

Garrison has been talking a lot for a while now, but recently I've noticed how he has a few favorite "phrases" that he likes to say quite often throughout the day. I started writing them down yesterday because I just don't want to forget them... so of course they had to make it to the blog because that's the safe way to guarantee that I won't forget them or lose them.

By far the most popular right now has to be "Garrsin do it!" I probably get to hear this 10 times a day. He's not ugly about it (although he can be demanding when he wants to be) but he just insists that "Garrsin do it" and usually likes to say it a little loud. Most of the time it works out to my advantage because if I'm asking him to do something and he's stalling or not listening I just say, "okay, I'll do it" or "I guess mama will do it" and that gets him every time because it's always immediately followed by, "Garrsin do it!". =)

Another famous saying is "Read mama, read mama". He loves being read to (which I am quite thrilled about) but during the day he typically wants me to read to him while I'm changing his diaper, or getting him dressed, or making his breakfast, or driving in the car. I hear this over and over again. He is very persistent and most of the time I do attempt to read to him even though I'm doing something else.... except when I'm driving.

One of my personal favorites is "Silly _____ " ususally it's "Silly mama, or silly daddy, or silly Bailey. He sounds so cute saying it. Most of the time he's just done something silly and we've said it to him so then he says it back to us.

Another one he says almost every day is "Watch Elmo". He usually says it around breakfast or lunch so typically he gets to watch some of it when he's done eating. We try not to let him watch TV during meals. It's a bad habit I'd like to prevent and he has watched "Elmo", also known as Sesame Street, during snack time before and it took him forever to finish eating.

A really funny one he says is "Hush Bailey, Hush!" Clearly this is one he picked up from Terrell and I. He says it almost every single time she barks. He loves to run over to the front door where Bailey is looking out the window and shoo her away from the door saying, hush Bailey, hush! Bailey actually repsonds better to him sometimes than she does to us!

And finally, a most famous quote at mealtimes, "More ______" most of the time he says "more bread, more bread, more bread until we acknowledge him and give him more or explain that he has to eat something else on his plate first. But he's also been known to say, "more fruit... more cheese... more green beans". He really does love to eat. Even though we have seen a slight decrease in his appetite lately, he still can't get enough bread and fruit.

Here is my handsome, talkative little man yesterday before we got started on our walk. He requested to take his sunglasses outside since I had mine on. I started pulling him down the driveway and turned around to see him wearing his. =) They wouldn't stay on his face good but that didn't stop him from wearing them most of our walk.

Movie Time

One of Garrison's favorite books right now is a book called "Petting Farm". We have read it over, and over, and over again. He just never gets tired of it. The book has photos of real animals and he seems to really like that, and it came with a "Petting Farm" movie that we finally decided to try out yesterday morning.

Garrison sat on the couch and watched for a few minutes and then he got down and played and even left the room on his car a couple of times, but would always come back and watch a couple of minutes of the movie (which was only like 20-30 minutes long) and the animals before doing something else. He seemed pretty fascinated with the real animals (can't wait to plan our trip to the zoo!) and liked the movie, but he just doesn't sit and watch a lot of TV. (It will probably be a long time before we attempt to take him to see a movie at the theater.) It's sort of a good thing and bad thing. I like that he's not addicted to or sucked in by the TV or any other form of technology for that matter (although he does request to watch Elmo/Sesame Street almost every day... he just never watches it start to finish), he would much rather play or read or be doing something... which I think is a really good thing. As a former teacher, I know that too much TV isn't a good thing and it can have a negative impact on a child's attention span... but I definitely wouldn't mind if he could sit still on the couch for an extended period of time and watch an educational show start to finish.... not to mention the convenience factor. I know moms who let their toddlers/preschoolers watch cartoons while they take showers or go back to bed for a little while on a Saturday morning. I don't think I'd be that brave, but it's still a fun idea.

Anyway, now that I've gone way off on a tangent, I'll get back to the point. I do happen to have one child that can apparently watch a show start to finish without playing or anything. My fiesty, sweet (most of the time), four-legged baby, Bailey. When I started the movie, I believe she was laying on the back of the couch or about to get on the back of the couch as she prepared for her extra long morning nap. As I started pointing out the animals to Garrison and watching the movie myself, I noticed Bailey was sitting up and staring intently at the TV. It was SO funny! I thought, she must recognize these animals on the screen and they've gotten her attention. I thought she would eventually get bored with it and just lay down, but she continued to watch. I was sort of amazed. I had never seen her watch something on TV for such a long time. Finally Garrison got down and started doing something near the couch that Bailey wasn't comfortable with, so she jumped down and went and sat in front of the TV. Ha! I told Terrell about it on the phone and was saying how I wished he could see her and he reminded me to take a picture. I'm so glad he thought of that because these pictures are just too funny. I feel like the next time we leave the house for a long period of time we should put in that movie so she'll have some entertainment while we're out. Garrison didn't seem that surprised that Bailey loved the movie about the animals. I guess he thought it was perfectly normal for her to like it. =)