Big Stuff for a Little Boy

Garrett has had a big week--we're talking lots of excitement for a 3-year-old!

First, he got to pick tomatoes with Grandpa Willy. If you don't think picking tomatoes is that exciting, then you don't know Garrett. The kid LOVES tomatoes and has been waiting (very impatiently) all summer to pick them. He was so thrilled when we visited last week and the tomatoes were red and ripe for the pickin'. Happy, happy, happy Garrett. (And yes, he eats tomatoes like most folks eat apples.)

Then, we headed to the Capitol Theater to see the traveling Broadway show of "Mary Poppins" with Eric and Gini. Garrett is a big-time fan of everybody's favorite nanny, and we were so excited when Eric and Gini had a few extra tickets and invited Garrett and I to come to the play with them.

I am the worst ever self-pic taker. (Greg takes great selfies so I usually don't have to worry about it.) This is the best I could do.

We got in trouble for taking these pictures inside the theater...OOPS!

The show was truly spectacular and we had such a great time. I was nervous about taking a 3-year-old to a Broadway show, but he did so well and I had such a fun time with him. He loved the music and the dancing and was completely mesmerized by Mary Poppins herself. The special effects were awesome and Garrett loved it whenever Mary Poppins would fly with her umbrella. I will never forget the look on his face when they sang "Let's Go Fly a Kite." It was so sweet and as corny as it sounds, it was magical just being there with him and seeing him so excited. My favorite number was "Step in Time." I'm a sucker for a good tap-dance routine and this one was absolutely incredible! They even had Burt dance up the walls and across the ceiling. A-MAZ-ING! Garrett has been dancing around all week and loves to turn anything he can into a stage for him to perform. (I realize this is the part where his uncles start cracking jokes about certain family members who may or may not have taken dancing lessons, but trust me, it's cute when Garrett does it. And remember, Garrett's very manly father was indeed in "The Sound of Music" and "The Wiz," so I think Garrett comes by performing naturally. It's in his blood. Oh yeah, and I stood on the back row of "Brigadoon" when I was in high school, so I think he's golden.)

As an added bonus, we got to walk by the 2News studio on the way back to the car after the show. I'm a big fan of Mark and Shauna at 10 and it was fun to see them in person. Greg likes to tease me that I have a thing for Mark, so I snapped a picture just for him.

They were in the middle of the weather segment and Mark and Shauna were just hanging out and waiting to come back on air. I pulled out my camera to take a picture and Shauna turned around just in time to wave. Mark also waved, but it was right after I had already taken the picture. Sad. :(

Almost as exciting as seeing "Mary Poppins" and Mark and Shauna in the flesh, Garrett started pre-school!!! Hooray for our grown-up little boy! He was so excited for his first day that he hardly slept the night before--like we're talking it was after midnight when he finally fell asleep and he was up during the night and then up at 7 AM and ready to rock. Pre-school doesn't start until 9:00, so we had plenty of time to get ready and even take a few pictures.

Check out that awesome backpack--Garrett is pretty fond of it.

Gracie also started pre-school on the same day, so we met for lunch at McDonald's after to celebrate. Garrett was thrilled to show off his monster.
Gracie also had a few things to show off...

Aren't they cute?

Greg has been out of town for the past week participating in his yearly "hunting and gathering" pilgrimage. He was pretty bummed he missed Garrett's big first day and called us multiple times throughout the day to check in and get all the highlights from Garrett. Garrett was excited to tell his dad all about the monster he made and the water table he got to play with. He was totally exhausted after his big day and was out for the count at 7 o'clock that night and slept until 9 the next morning. That is one tired little redhead!

The next morning, he told me he would get his own breakfast and he wanted it to be just like dad's...and then he got out the Oreos and milk. Awesome.

And just when you think his little life couldn't get any better, our awesome friend Jake offered to take Garrett for a ride on his tractor.

Not just any tractor, but a combine with a discharge auger. Yeah, Garrett knows his tractors--and their parts--and he was thrilled.

Poor Abby, on the other hand, was devastated. I kind of forgot that she loves tractors every bit as much as Garrett and she was absolutely heartbroken when she didn't also get to go. Jake is great, but sending both of our rugrats with him on a tractor would fall somewhere in the cruel and unusual punishment category, so Abby just had to cry. Poor little thing.

And just for your pleasure, here's Garrett doing his "Step in Time" routine at Fredrico's Pizza. He's good.