Naptime Fun

Today while Garrett was supposed to be napping...

He took off his socks and pants (we had no idea he knew how to take off his pants), threw everything out of the bed, and folded up the mattress...and then laughed, played, and had a grand time.

We could hear him in there laughing, but figured he'd go to sleep eventually because he usually does. Not today! In fact, we tried putting him down THREE different times for a nap, but each time ended with pretty much the same results.

This is slightly disturbing--Garrett usually has about a three hour nap every afternoon. This time has become sacred to me. I know it won't last forever, but I'm not sure I'm ready to give it up yet. Let's hope today was just a fluke!

One good thing did come out of the no naptime, though. The poor kid was so tired tonight that he climbed onto my lap and cuddled with me while I rocked him and sang to him. I honestly can't remember the last time he slowed down enough to let me do that, so it was really sweet. In fact, we both dozed off and it felt so good to just have my little buddy snuggled up against me, just like when he was a tiny little guy.

Now if only I could get him to do both: Naptime in the day and Snuggletime at night! (Surely I should have my cake and eat it, too. Right?)

Deer Camp

Well crap. I’m sitting here watching BYU get spanked by TCU. Not pretty, so let’s go back to some happier times earlier this week – our annual October pilgrimage to deer camp. As always, a good time was had by all, specifically Garrett.

It took Garrett all of 30 seconds to find the fire. Thankfully, Aunt Chelsea took right over and helped him find a nice fire stick. He couldn't get enough of it! His face was bright red and he had tears running down his cheeks from the smoke, but still got mad when we would pull him away.
My cousin Jan made her first trip to deer camp. Here she is hanging out with Rickey (her dad).

Chelsea, Garrett, and Pops

Brett got back from hunting and did some fabulous Napoleon Dynamite impressions for us.

Garrett LOVES horses and was itching to ride as soon as he saw Brett. (At least it got him away from the fire for a few minutes...)

It was a day of "firsts" for Jan. Her very first horse ride--and she did great!

We went in the sleep tent and Chelsea and I cracked up to see this on one of the cots. Hmmm...wonder what the hunters talk about when there are no women around...

Garrett loved helping Pops cook us a delicious turkey steak dinner.

Of course, it was a delightful evening and it wasn't even too cold this year. Thanks to all for a great time!

Another happy note...the Aggies actually squeaked out a victory today! HOORAY! Now let's just hope things go better for the Cougs next time.

Rambunctious Junction Jr.

I was getting ready today in the bathroom while Garrett was playing in the bedroom. (I usually try to get ready before he gets up, but today it didn’t happen. It definitely will tomorrow--as you will soon find out.) I could hear him playing and just messing around and everything was fine until it became WAY too quiet. I went in to discover the little man had emptied some of the shoes out of my closet. Minor irritation, but not a big deal. In addition to that, he had taken apart the vacuum and had dumped the dirt from it all over the floor (and my shoes).

He was quite proud of himself for his accomplishment and was a little TO’d when I put him in his bed so I could start cleaning it up. Eventually I got him out and had him help me, which he thought was a whole lot of fun. (Not quite what I had in mind…)

This little fellar definitely keeps us on our toes! So much spunk and mischief in one little body. (Greg likes to remind me that when he was a kid he told everybody to call him “Rambunctious Junction.” I like to remind him that I was a very sweet little girl who did everything my parents told me the first time and never caused any problems at all. :) Garrett obviously gets his craziness from his dad.)

After we got the mess cleaned up, I was getting him dressed and went to get his pants out of the dryer. During that 30 seconds, he climbed up on the table (another no-no) and got the remote. When I came back, he was just lounging around in his undies watching TV. Such a little man...

While we’re at it, here’s another Garrett moment. I have a Scentsy candle warmer on a shelf up high in our living room. I use it quite often and it’s never been a problem, until yesterday when I looked and he had climbed up the couch and was holding it. (Luckily it wasn’t on…) I gave him a pretty good scolding and moved it back even farther out of his reach. A little while later, I was in the kitchen doing dishes and heard Garrett saying, “No, no, no, no.” I looked over, and he was climbing up the couch again and reaching for the candle warmer. I love that he was telling himself “No,” even as he was doing it. I could just picture the angel and devil above him trying to persuade him…

If you don’t have kids, you’re probably thinking I’m a negligent mom and wondering how hard it could be to keep my eye on him at all times and out of trouble. Trust me, I used to think the same thing all the time about other people. I’m realizing now how judgmental I was towards others and how hard it really is to be a parent and keep your kids safe and out of trouble.

One more thing…the doctor’s office called me today to tell me they had gotten some blood work back and I am anemic and need more iron. (Not a big deal yet, but I just need to stay on top of it.) Guess what a major symptom of anemia is??? FATIGUE! And I just thought I was worn out trying to keep Rambunctious Junction Jr. in one piece!

Garrett and the Witch's Brew

Cousins Guillermo and Willa were in town (along with their mommies), so we had our traditional get-together at Paula's house. As we're moving into the Halloween season, Brooklyn had requested my cousin Jan make her famous "Witch's Brew" (aka--homemade root beer.) It's always a hit and the kids love it, but I don't think we've ever had anybody as excited as Garrett was this year. As you will see from the videos, he climbed right up on the table and took a front row seat to enjoy the show.

Funny story: We didn't end up leaving Paula's until about 10:30. We live about 30 minutes from Paula's house and I followed my mom home. We were about the only cars on the road, but a cop turned and got between us while I was stopped at a stop sign my mom had already gone through. We were driving through a pretty rural stretch that is infamous for deer in the road, so my mom was driving slowly (about 45-50 in a 55 MPH zone). The cop was following her, and I was following him. As we were pulling into town, the cop flashed his lights and pulled my mom over. I couldn't figure out why and drove slowly by and around the neighboring blocks a few times waiting to see what was up. She called me laughing and said he had wanted to know why she was driving so slow and said she had crossed over the white line a few times. I thought it was hilarious and we got a good laugh about my mom getting pulled over for driving TOO SLOW! We're guessing he probably thought she had been drinking and was quite surprised to find my sweet and sober mother behind the wheel, just driving like a granny so she wouldn't hit a deer. She was humiliated and said she was really hoping nobody she knew would drive by and recognize her. Please make sure to give her grief about this if you happen to see her in the next few days. :)

A Big Helper

The house is moving right along! The framing is done and we are now working on the plumbing. Garrett LOVES visiting the job site and we usually make several field trips up there every day. Little G is the self-appointed assistant contractor on the job and thinks he needs to be right in the middle of all the action. His latest favorite thing to do is charm anyone who might happen to be working there with any sort of machinery into giving him a ride and letting him "drive." He has been in multiple tractors, skidsteers, and other machines that I have no idea what their official names are. Luckily, most of the people who have been helping us are friends, so they've all been great about letting Garrett "help."

The funny thing is that Garrett takes his "work" very seriously. He will run around and laugh and play in the house, but the minute he gets into a machine, he is ALL BUSINESS. He gets the most serious look on his face and there is no messing around with him!

Taylie -- An Easy Way to Help

I heard a few weeks ago about a sweet little four-year old girl in my friend Shelly's neighborhood who is battling cancer. Obviously, the medical costs are overwhelming and the entire community is coming together to help her family. You can help too, and it's super easy! All you have to do is post a link on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter page and a generous friend is donating $2 for every link. I've copied the instructions below from Shelly's blog. (This really is legit--not like the emails you get saying Bill Gates and Microsoft will give you $15 for forwarding a stupid email.)

From Shelly: Well here is another great chance to help. My friend Kylene (I told you my friends are awesome) has come up with a great idea! She knows a generous man who will donate $2 for every person who posts Taylie's link http://www.tayliebug.com/ on their blog, face book or twitter accounts. At the end of the weekend they will see how many people spread the word and how much money we all helped make for the Abbott's, and we sure hope it's a lot. And maybe by visiting Taylie's site you can see other fundraisers you can attend or other areas you could help and maybe the spirit will give you or someone you know a light bulb moment. So get on your blog, face book and twitter away, easy peasy. And when you're done you can say, "I have done something good in the world today," and won't that feel good.

Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed indeed. Has anyone’s burden been lighter today because I was willing to share? Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way? When they needed my help was I there?

Oh and if that ain't motivation enough, you'll be entered into a drawing for a Prada purse. You better hurry, I'm just say'in! Go here http://www.adashofseason.blogspot.com/ to see the lovely that could be yours and get all the details.