March Madness

Along with the rest of the country, we've been enjoying March Madness at our house.

We cheered for the Aggies on Friday. Too bad they lost, but at least the kiddos looked cute. :) Check out the Aggie bow! My dad bought it for Gracie and it's now been passed on to Abby.

We were so proud of BYU'S 2OT win on Thursday and were bummed they couldn't pull it off on Saturday. We were just glad it gave us another chance to dress up!

Garrett had his first McDonald's experience on Saturday. My mom told him we were going to McDonald's and he got it in his mind we were going to see Donald and Mickey Mouse. Luckily, he forgot all about his favorite Disney friends when he saw the giant playground. He sized it up for a minute and then climbed right in and up to the very top to go down the slide. He had a blast and I have a feeling we're going to be making many visits there in the very near future. He woke up this morning, climbed out of his bed, and said, "Donald's...fun." You can imagine how excited he was when I told him we were going to church today and not McDonald's. :)

In the words of Garrett, "Abby baby...cute!"

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, it's over--Garrett's birthday week has officially come to an end. I think we've done it up good for the little guy.

Before we move on to Garrett's final celebration, here's an added bonus for your viewing pleasure. I know I'm looking quite stunning here, but I'm talking about Abby. Could she be any cuter? Don't think so. :)

We headed to SLC on Sunday for a little fiesta. Greg was lying on the couch and Garrett brought a book and sprawled out on top of him. No nap for daddy today!

We had been there about ten minutes when Garrett spotted his presents. The little party animal tore into them before anybody could stop him.

The lucky little guy got a remote control airplane with a track for it to fly on. He was in heaven!

How many men does it take to put a present together for a 2 year old?

The event doubled as a birthday party for Garrett/coming out party for Abby. We loved showing her off to Greg's family.

Garrett and Annabelle were definitely spoiled with some fun new toys.

Check out this killer cake. Willy has discovered the picture cake and birthdays will never be the same at the Phillips' residence.

The airplane in action!

Next up...birthday week for yours truly! My big day is Sunday--bring on the fun!!!

The Big Day!

Well it's official...the big man is 2! We spent the day doing Garrett's favorite things. (Awesome that 2 year olds have cheap and simple tastes!)

They must have been really excited for the upcoming day of fun, because neither Garrett or Abby was very interested in sleeping last night. It was about 10:30 this AM when the kiddos and I finally rolled out of bed, so we had a nice brunch of Garrett's favorites: milk, cupcakes and "noonels" (aka--Mac and Cheese). (He gets so excited when he sees me cooking his "noonels" that I have to give him the box to play with to pacify him until they are done.)

We watched "Snow White"--Garrett's current favorite movie--and waited for daddy to get home early so we could party.

As previously mentioned, the kid loves airplanes. Greg had the brilliant idea to take him to the airport to see the planes. We couldn't get very close to any of them (compliments of a nice barbed-wire fence), but Garrett loved it anyway. We watched a couple of planes take off and land, definitely a highlight for the birthday boy.

Then we headed to Sonic for a little ice cream treat before a much-needed nap.

We had planned to take Garrett on a horse ride, but the weather kind of went south on us while Garrett was napping, so that will have to wait for another day. We did go to the barn to check out the cows and tractor before we rode into town and got pizza--another of the little man's faves! (Today was definitely a 5-Star nutrition day.) Garrett had a few birthday visitors and we just hung out and played. After singing his favorite songs and reading his favorite stories, Garrett is in bed and we really hope it lasts!

It was a perfect day and so much fun. Poor Garrett is going to wonder what happened when it's back to normal life/food tomorrow!

How to Party Garrett Style: Part One

I am a firm believer in the "Birthday Week." Birthdays are far too wonderful to only be celebrated for one measly day. As a kid, I would fully capitalize on this by getting out of chores or anything I didn't want to do by saying, "It's my birthday week." It was also a good excuse to talk my parents into later bedtimes, sleepovers, and pretty much anything fun I wanted to do that week.

We started Garrett's birthday week on Sunday with a little cake and ice cream social with the Petersen side of the fam.

The cakes--and my cousin Jan!
My Aunt Paula made this darling cake for the birthday boy.

Cousin Gracie was a huge help in opening presents.

Garrett was ready to dig into his cake immediately. Blowing out his two candles was a bit of a nuisance and a mere formality before he could get onto the sweet stuff.

This pic shows his cut pretty well. I'd say Greg and I did a fairly decent job closing it up.

Garrett was somewhat overwhelmed by everybody's generosity and was a busy boy trying to get everything adequately played with. He loved the toy airplanes from his daddy.

Uncle B and Miss Abby. She was definitely a party animal.

More airplane fun!

And just because they're so cute--Grandma and Abby Baby (as Garrett would say.)

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to... What good is a two-year-old birthday boy if he can't throw a fit? I was trying to capture his killer dance moves. Of course, he quit when I got out the camera.

We'll be continuing this party Phillips style in SLC next Sunday.

Airplane: The Horse Edition

Oh Airplane the Horsey--how we love you! Thanks for braving the mud and muck to make these kids smile. It was worth it.

Little Charmer

I had to put Garrett in time-out today (a few times), which consisted of him going to his room and sitting in his bed for two minutes (or until I went and got him). The last time I went in to get him, I talked to him for a few minutes about being nice and not screaming. I told him he could go back out and play if he would be nice and then I told him how much I loved him and what a good boy he is. He looked right at me and said in the sweetest voice you can imagine, "Thank you so much, Mama." Then he turned around and walked out the door. My heart went with him.

Mr. Mischief Strikes Again...and Draws Blood!!!

Because two calls to Poison Control weren't enough to complete our weekend, Garrett decided to add an injury to the line-up on Sunday night. To make a long story short, he climbed up on a chair and it tipped over, causing him to do a nice faceplant into the kitchen table before he crashed onto the floor.

Of course it had to happen at 8:00 on a Sunday night, so our only option would have been the ER. We weren't sure if it needed stitches or not, so we consulted with Rosemary--our wonderful neighborhood nurse. After much deliberation, we decided not to take him to the ER and Rose showed me how to close the wound with adhesive tape. He wasn't wild about the idea, but I managed to get the tape on. His eye is a bit swollen and bruised, but it seems to be healing pretty well.

Oh little Buster--you are my greatest joy--and my biggest stress! :)

We made a quick trip to Provo Monday afternoon to celebrate Miss Annabelle's first birthday.

Party Animals!

Greg was really glad (aka embarrassed) he had grabbed a BYU shirt out of his closet on the day we went to Provo. Eric, Mal, and honorary Aunt Becky took Garrett on a tour of campus while Greg and I ran some errands. Garrett came back with a new hat.

The birthday girl!

Abby-Cakes got some good snuggle time with Grandma and was looking oh-so-stylish in her mini skirt and boots.

Annabelle was so funny and wanted nothing to do with her birthday cake. She dumped it out and just glared at it. We all got a good laugh.