VBS

Ok you’re probably going to see several posts within the next couple of days.  I’m realizing that my “family blog” that was intended to keep up with the fun happenings of our family, has turned into the monthly Garrett post blog…and that’s it.  I’ve been so busy and just haven’t made updating the blog a priority.  I’m trying to do better so I’ve made a list of all the things that have happened to our family that I need to update on so I will be working on completing that list over the next couple of days.  First up-VBS!

If you haven’t heard of VBS, it’s Vacation Bible School.  Lots of churches host these “schools” in the summer to keep kids interested in the Bible and also still doing fun crafts and things like that.  Technically, Carter isn’t old enough for VBS at our church.  He’s supposed to have completed 3k (he starts 3K next month) but he was able to do it because I volunteered.  I worked as a crew leader for the 2K/3K kids so that I could have Carter in my group.

It was held at our church from Sunday night through Thursday night from 6-8:30pm.  We began each night singing in the sanctuary and learning the songs that they would perform at the parent concert on Thursday night as well as for our entire church congregation the following Sunday morning.

The theme we used was Mount Everest.  Several churches used that theme this year.  Mrs. Kristi did a FANTASTIC job decorating the entire church to look like Base Camp!

These three LOVED the music part!  May or may not have had something to do with Nana’s involvement in the music…

I probably shouldn’t have been taking pictures during prayer time, but I couldn’t help it.  Watching him pray just melted my heart!!!!

After Music, the kids went to the gym for some playtime.  They did all kinds of things that revolved around the Mount Everest theme.  Carter’s favorite day was the last day that included a silly string fight and some time playing with a big parachute and some balls.

This was one of the games we played.  Where the adults “rescued” the kids (they were supposed to be hikers in trouble) and carried them back to base camp.

This is me and Jamie and Jordan.  We’re all in the same Sunday School class and Jordan’s kids were in the same group as Carter.

We couldn’t believe Mr. Jeff could get that many kids to sit on the curb and listen to his instructions!

Of course he picked the blue silly string.  Didn’t expect anything less!

Papa came by one night to check on his grandkids.  Their faces say it all.  They adore their Papa.

After some games in the gym, the kids headed to the “Imagination Station” which was basically arts & crafts. 

These are ravens.  The kids learned about how God fed Elijah by having ravens drop food.

The second night we talked about how God comforts us so we had them spell comfort in cotton balls.  The next night we talked about how God forgives us and we ripped up pieces of paper and for each piece we said something we do that’s bad (our sins) and then we washed them away in a bowl.

After that, the kids headed over to Bible Time where they heard Mrs. Lisa tell stories about the prophet Elijah each night.  These kids were completely captivated by her!  It’s not easy to get a group of 25 3 year olds to sit still and listen to a story but they did for her!!

After Bible Time they went to snack time where they got a different snack every night and watched a DVD about Mount Everest (it was a cartoon with characters that talked in 3 year old terms…not something you and I would see on the Discovery Channel).  The crew leaders took a break during the snack time and that’s when we went to eat dinner so I only have one picture of snack time.

On Thursday night was the concert for the parents…

Carter had SOOOOO much fun and I’m not kidding when I say that the dang VBS CD hasn’t come out of my CD Player in my car in two weeks.  He requests to listen to those songs over and over and over and over.  Momma is beyond tired of these darn songs, but he loves them and I love hearing him sing about God and how powerful he is so I put up with it!

Garrett - 9 Months

Diapers

Still in size 3’s.  I feel like we’ll be in these for a while!

Shoe Size

He doesn’t wear shoes yet so I have no idea!   I bought Carter’s first pair of shoes around this time, but I think I’m going to hold off with Garrett until he actually starts walking.

Clothes

Either 6-9 months or 9 months.  Some 9 month stuff is a little too baggy, but he still wears it.

**We got our first “haircut” this month.  I use the air quotes because it was more of a trim than an actual haircut.  He doesn’t have enough hair for that.  But what he did have was falling into his ears so I had my mom trim it up for us.**

Feeding/Solids

He is still eating 4 times a day.  For the majority of the month, those feedings were either nursing or a breastmilk bottle, however we did begin to give him formula towards the end of the month.  I’m still planning to nurse as long as possible, but my supply is definitely drying up and I’m not making enough for him at certain feedings anymore.  At this moment, I nurse first thing in the morning and then the two feedings after that are either breastmilk bottle or formula and then I will nurse the final feeding of the day.  I still plan to nurse him at least once if not twice a day until he turns 1 and then I plan to wean off all together.  I’m hoping my supply will hold out that long, but it’s not looking good right now.

For his solid foods-we have been mixing in meats with his veggies.  He’s had turkey, grilled chicken and ham mixed with things like sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, brown rice or green beans.  He also eats bananas, peaches, pears, apples, prunes, etc.  I haven’t noticed a particular preference for one food over the other.  He seems to like all the foods equally.  He’s still a tad messy when he eats because he’s always putting those two fingers in his mouth in between bites which causes the food to get on his face.  I’ve been working on tell him “no hands Garrett” and tapping his hand so that he knows he has to move it.  He doesn’t like it when I do that at all!  We also began giving him foods to eat that haven’t been blended.  He’s eaten pieces of banana, peaches, bread and peas.  We’ve introduced the ever so famous ‘mums’ that all kids love so his snacks are typically one of the mums or some puffs.

This was both boys first time to Chuck E’ Cheese.  Carter was invited to a birthday party there and he has never been before.  He loved it, obviously! 

Schedule

For the most part, he’s still doing a 4 hour schedule of feed, wake, sleep.  This means he takes 2 naps a day that last anywhere from 1.5-2 hours each.  At the end of the month he got sick and had a massive runny nose for what felt like 2 straight weeks.  The runny nose made it hard for him to breathe so he was waking up out of naps a little earlier than he usually does and he was waking up for the day earlier than normal too.  We have had several things pop up that we’ve had to rearrange his schedule around and he frequently ends up only getting one nap that’s about 2-3 hours long.  I don’t want that to become the normal because he still needs two naps at his age.  School starts in the last week of August and then he will be in school 3 days a week from 9-1pm.  This means that he may have a quick little catnap at school, but will mainly just have one nap a day.  He still goes to bed around 7-7:30, depending on when he woke up from the last nap. 

Sleep

Still my perfect little sleeper, what can I say?  If he takes two naps, they’re between 1.5-2 hours each.  If it’s one nap, it’s between 2-3 hours.  At night he sleeps anywhere from 12-14 hours.  Most days we have to wake him up.  We’ve introduced a stuffed animal for him.  It’s a blue rabbit that the Easter Bunny put in his basket.  He has really long ears and G likes to play with them.  We call him Peter.  Get it?  Peter Rabbit?  Anyway…it’s the only stuffed animal in his crib and that’s the way I want to keep it for a while.  Carter was insanely attached to Henry at this age and it was adorable so I do want Garrett to have something like it too, but I would rather him not require 75 animals in the bed with him like Carter does.  Just like brother, Garrett is able to wake up and kind of play and keep himself entertained for a while before we go upstairs to get him.  That being said, the last week and a half has not been the normal because he’s been sick so his naps haven’t been quite as long and he’s waking up a little earlier than normal in the morning.

Waketime

He typically does the same kinds of things he has been doing.  He plays in the exersaucer, watches Baby Einstein DVDs, plays with various toys in the floor, etc.  He has now become super interested in a Cookie Monster/Elmo kitchen set that Carter got at his 2nd birthday party.  He loves standing up and holding onto it and listening to Cookie and Elmo sing songs.  He rarely uses his ocean play mat or his piano mat anymore.  I may pack those up soon and put them in the attic.  I brought a couple of toys down from the attic that are for kids learning to stand up since he really enjoys standing up.  We had to get something to put underneath our rug in our living room to give it some extra cushioning because when Garrett would fall over his head would hit the floor and it was LOUD and he would cry and cry and cry.  What we got seems to work pretty well and it doesn’t hurt as much.  He absolutely loves chasing balls around a room.  He will crawl after a ball and touch it with his hands, but when he touches it, the ball tends to get even further away from him, so he keeps crawling and repeating the process over and over.  This can take up a solid 20 minutes of his waketime.

Mother’s Day Out

No MDO this month.  School starts back August 20th for him so I have a little bit longer with these two kiddos before I will finally have some time to myself!  You know those momma’s that post on facebook about their kids first day back to school and how sad they are that summer’s over??  Yeah I’m not that mom.  Bring it on school….I’m ready for some ‘me’ time!

Statistics

Due to extreme busyness at the pediatricians office with people needing back to school vaccinations and immunization forms, Garrett’s 9 month appointment didn’t happen until he was almost 10 months!   At that time, he was 19lbs, 13oz (50%) and 28 inches long (30%) with an 18 inch head circumference (70%).  Doc gave the go ahead for most foods that adults eat, they just have to be chopped into insanely microscopic pieces since his trachea is about the size of his pinky finger.  So I’ll be introducing chicken nuggets, grilled cheese and some sliced turkey soon.  He also shocked me when he told me that the rules for peanut butter have changed.  He said that now the APA is saying that introducing high allergy foods later may predispose kids to developing an allergic reaction.  He gave me the ok to give Garrett peanut butter and eggs now!  So crazy to me!!  The only thing he can’t have right now is fish.

Abilities

When I wrote his 8 month post, I said that Garrett was very good at turning in circles on the ground but that he wasn’t really crawling just yet.  Not long after I posted that, he began crawling!  He’s still working on the concept of one knee in front of the other while also moving one hand in front of the other.  As of now he jumps up on his knees and rocks back and forth and shoots himself forward and then does it again.  He can get across a room lickity split doing this.  So he’s definitely crawling, he just has to work on his technique.  I also mentioned in his post last month that I thought that he has been saying “mamamama” but wasn’t sure he was truly doing it intentionally.  Well he’s done it a ton since then so I’m gonna go on a limb and say that this kid has said his first word and his first word was “mama”.   All my time spent saying “mama” and pointing to myself has paid off.  He has also begun to say “da” and “ba” and “pa”.  He is definitely experimenting with his voice trying to say things!

**One of the things Garrett has been doing a lot lately is lifting things over his head to observe them.  He does it with almost everything he picks up.  See all the pictures below for what I mean:**

Teething

Garrett got his first tooth when Justin and I were vacationing in Puerto Rico.  He was right at 8 months when he got it.  The other bottom central incisor popped through this month too, so now he has TWO teeth, both on the bottom.  I expect to see the top central incisors next, just not sure when they will come.  No signs of teething right now.

Discipline

I still say “no” to Garrett, but now a days, he laughs at me when I do it.  Which is frustrating.  The only times I say no are when he’s eating and trying to put his hands in his mouth and when I’m trying to change his clothes or a diaper.  Have mercy y’all….I have no idea where this came from, but this kid will NOT let you change his diaper.  You have to be a serious ninja to get it changed fast enough before he rolls over.  The second you put him on his back he starts rolling to the side and it takes so much of my energy to try to pull him back down so that I can change him.  I usually give him something to play with to keep him distracted and on his back so that I can change him.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  Needless to say, it is difficult to change this kid’s diaper these days.  I say no to him, but like I said, I think he thinks its funny.  I’ve used the serious tone and face and elevate my voice just a little bit to where I’m not yelling at him, but it’s not my normal tone either.  None of this has worked.  He just laughs.  He may be my stubborn one.

Playing with his younger cousin Charlotte.

Other Notable Things

Likes

• Sleeping
• When Carter “talks” to him in the car.  Carter will look at him and say “tickle tickle tickle tickle” and Garrett laughs hysterically at him.  He loves watching Carter while they’re both in the backseat.
• The cover of my phone.  It has a little band on it to put around my wrist and he’s constantly trying to put it in his mouth.
• Chewing on board books.  I’m ashamed to say that I barely read to him right now because every time I try to, he just grabs the book and puts it in his mouth.
• Playing with Gizmo’s collar.  She has two tags on her collar so they make noise when they cling against eachother.  Garrett’s always crawling over to her and playing with them.  She’s such a good sport to just sit there and let him play:

• Still obsessed with sucking on his fingers – he prefers the index and middle finger of his right hand and as weird as this sounds, he prefers to suck them upside down.  He did begin experimenting with his thumb this month.  However the favorite is still the two fingers upside down.
• The toy that is connected to his crib.  It lights up and plays lullabies for a few minutes and then it turns itself off.  Now that Garrett is getting more and more mobile, he’s figured out that he can put his hand in between the crib rails and the toy and bang them together.  I think he likes the noise.  Gizmo, on the other hand, goes crazy because she can hear the noise but can’t see where it’s coming from.
• When you shake your head against him stomach.  It makes him laugh hysterically.
• Standing up.  He has begun to experiment with pulling up.  He’s not an expert yet, but we did go ahead and lower his crib mattress.  We did this after we put him to bed one night only to hear him screaming and when we looked at the monitor he had pulled himself up on the crib rail, but one leg was between two rails and the other was behind his booty.  Basically in the “hurky” position if you have ever been a cheerleader in your life.  We put in the mesh bumpers too.

**This month, we also did our first “side by side” in the shopping buggy.  We can’t do this at Publix because Garrett isn’t coordinated enough just yet to sit in those racecar buggies.  But at Sam’s they have spots for two kids to sit in a normal buggy so that’s what we did.  I told Carter to protect his brother and make sure he didn’t fall over.  That sweet boy had his arm around Garrett THE ENTIRE TIME we were at Sam’s.  God love him!   He’s such a good brother!!

Dislikes

• If you put him in the middle of a room and walk away, he will be fine.  But if you’re within eye sight, he will cry because he wants you down there with him.  It’s the funniest thing.  We’ve tested this theory several times and the result is always the same.  If he even spots you around a corner, the flood gates open and the tears start falling. 
• Being kept awake for too long
• Bouncy seat.  It may be time to put this bad boy away.  He tries to sit up and when he’s strapped into the seat that doesn’t make sitting up easy.  Sometimes he wants to play with toys on the floor too so he will try to lean down and he’ll get stuck in the seat.
• Pacifiers-we don’t even try with these anymore
• Rocking-I’ve tried so many times to rock this kid and he just won’t have it.  He would rather you just put him in the bed and leave him alone.

 

And this also happened this month.  Garrett turned 38 weeks old, which also was one of the last pregnant photos I took of me pregnant with him.  So this side by side comparison is when he was 38 weeks inside my belly and when he was 38 weeks old outside my belly!

Carter - 3 1/2 Years Old

Potty Training
In his 3 year old post, I mentioned that Carter was tee tee trained 100% and that we were working on pooping in the potty.  My big boy is now completely trained for everything!  I also mentioned in that post that even though he was tee tee trained I was still having to help him put his clothes back on.  He used to be big into completely taking off his pants/shorts and underwear instead of just pulling them down so I was constantly having to help him put them back on.  He’s been doing this all on his own for a while now.  These days, if Carter does have to go poo poo, he will literally go into the bathroom and close the door and turn on the fan.  Such a boy.  We do still leave his little Elmo potty in his bedroom with him in case he needs to go in the middle of the night or something.  He’s not allowed to leave his room once he’s in there (we have a child-proof lock on the door).  We do this because Garrett’s room is right across from his and I just don’t want him going to check on his brother without my knowledge.

Shoe Size
Last time we got him measured he was measuring around a size 9.  His foot is also narrowing too.  Some of his shoes are still wide, but some of them aren’t.  It just depends on the brand.

Clothes
At his last doctor appointment at 3 years old, Carter was 50% for weight and 40% for height.  As of now, he’s wearing 3t shirts and pants/shorts (though some shorts are still 2t-depending on the brand).  We’re even starting to buy some 4t pajamas because his 3t ones are getting a tad snug already. 

Eating
Carter’s always been a picky eater, but everyone has told me that as he grows up he will be more willing to try  new things and will like them.  I have found this to be true.  In his 3 year post, we mentioned that he just started liking pizza.  Carter will eat pizza under the right conditions, but he just really doesn’t like it all that much.  I’m sure this is definitely one of those things that he will learn to like as he gets older.  Pizza is what most kids have at birthday parties and what kids order when there’s a large group.  So I do think that he will eventually hop on board the pizza train.  He recently tried a hot dog for the first time and liked it.  No bun on the hot dog though, obviously.  The kid still doesn’t like bread.  He loves lunchables though, even the ones with meat.  He used to only eat the ones with cheese, crackers and oreos, but now he really loves the ones with ham, turkey and bologna.  It’s usually what we send him to eat at school.  He also has tried pork chops and liked that too.  We do still have to try to convince him to eat the pork chops though.  He’s also eaten roast!!  And one of his favorite breakfast meals now is oatmeal (I’m still working with him on eggs-as of now I think it’s a texture thing for him).  All this to say that he’s becoming more and more open to trying new things.  But he is overall a big health nut!  He’s not doing it intentionally, but he prefers lean meats with veggies and fruits.  He’s not big into things like bread, macaroni and cheese and pizza and hamburgers.  I’m still hoping he gives those things a shot in the future but we’ll see.

**This was the first time I’ve ever let Carter help me make a cake.  It was for Justin’s birthday.  Carter picked out the flavor (blue of course-it’s still his favorite color) and he also decorated it, as you can probably guess by looking at the picture.**
Sleep
Everyone told me that age 3 is when they drop the nap.  Carter isn’t even close.  He loves his nap…and so do I!!!!  He still takes a solid 2 hour nap every day!  Some days I will let him skip the nap, particularly if there’s a reason we need to skip it.  On days that he takes a nap, we still put him down for the night around 8pm, but he usually won’t fall asleep until closer to 9.  On days he skips the nap, he goes to bed right at 7:30.  He wakes up anywhere from 7am-8am most days.  Our night time routine hasn’t changed much.  He still loves to read books except now he actually points out words that he recognizes.  We’ve been working on spelling and reading and he’s already picking up on it and can point out words he knows in books.  We pray with him every night before bed.  We usually ask him to tell us 3 things he’s thankful for every night and we incorporate that into the prayer.  At naptime he says the “As I lay me down to sleep” prayer all on his own.  Carter is still in his toddler bed that has a rail.  Not sure when we’ll give him a twin or full size bed yet.  My guess is that we’ll go straight to a full size bed so that we don’t have to buy another one.  No plans to do that on the horizon though.  He’s content with his bed right now.

Mother’s Day Out
Carter is out of school for the summer.  He was in the Older Two’s class last year and went to summer school for a month but is now out of school until September.  Also, he “graduated” from Mother’s Day Out and will begin preschool in the fall.  I can’t believe he’s already had his first graduation!  He got a diploma and everything! 

I will say this-my kid is really smart.  And I know most parents say that about their kids, but mine really really is.  He can already spell so many words that I can’t even count them all.  One day I came up to his room and he had used his letter books and spelled the word “Washingto” on the floor.  My jaw just dropped when I saw it and he looked at me and said “I only had one ‘n’ mommy, I need another one to finish the word”.  He’s three y’all.  Three.  He’s known the alphabet for over a year now and he can count up to 40.  Carter has an extreme interest in learning new things, particularly spelling.  He’s always asking how to spell stuff.  Well one day I saw a preschool packet for sale on Zulily that had flashcards and DVD’s and everything so I bought it because I wanted to encourage his desire to learn words and be able to read.  Well come to find out, some of what I bought is for kindergartener’s, not preschooler’s.  Didn’t stop my kid though.  He knows about 60% of the sight words by heart already.  Where we do need work is writing.  He’s really good at tracing letters, but struggles to write them on his own without a template to follow.  So we’ll have to work on that, however none of that is expected by preschoolers.  I’m just trying to work with him while he’s showing interest.

**Carter demanded taking a bath with Garrett one time.  He didn’t realize how cramped the quarter would be so he hasn’t done it since then!**
Statistics
Carter won’t have another official appointment until he’s 4 and I’m dreading that because that’s when he’ll get his first tetanus shot.  Eeeeeeekkkk!!!!  As of now he weight roughly 34 pounds and is about 39 inches tall.  This puts him in about 50th percentile for both height and weight.

Chore Chart
I was in a mom’s bible study on Wednesday nights at my church and the book we were reading was about parenting (duh) and in the book it suggested doing a chore chart for kids Carter’s age.  So I started one.  They weren’t hard chores, but more like things I wanted him to work on personality-wise instead of physical labor.  So his chore chart included things like manners (saying yes ma’am and no ma’am and please and thank you), being kind to others, sharing, trying a new food, obeying mommy and daddy (this means no time-outs), cleaning up toys before naptime and bedtime, cleaning up after he eats a meal (putting plate and cup in sink), etc.  He had to get so many checkmarks at the end of the week for doing these things in order to get a surprise (a doughnut from Krispy Kreme, cookie from Great American Cookie company, a trip to Yogurt Mountain, etc.).  It has worked REALLY well.  He loves the challenge of trying to get checkmarks!  I highly suggest this for anyone who has a kid preschool age!

Other Abilities/Random Things to Note

• He still loves the states.  He can look at a map and tell you where the vast majority of them are and can even tell you some capitals.  Like I said, he’s kind of a genius.
• When I say this kid is obsessed with cars I don’t mean the little hot wheels cars (though he is obsessed with those too) but he’s really obsessed with pointing out cars on the road while we’re driving.  He can identify Buicks, Toyotas, Hondas, Jeeps, Chevy’s and Mazda’s.  Worthy to note:  Justin has a Chevy Tahoe.  So Carter would look at the Chevy symbol and call it the “dying cross” (because it looks like a cross and Jesus died on the cross…you know…a conclusion any three year old would come too!).  So we did have to teach him to call it the “Chevy Bowtie” which is what he now calls it.

• He can put all of his clothes on and off by himself.  Sometimes he struggles with putting on the shirt and getting his head in the hole, but most of the time he can do it.  He also sometimes struggles to put his socks on by himself. 
• He’s gotten several big boy haircuts at Sports Clips.  He’s no longer scared to get his hair cut because he is ALL ABOUT the sucker he gets afterwards!

• As far as drinks goes, he still likes applejuice, milk (we don’t heat it up anymore thank God), Hawaiian Punch (he drinks all of the flavors of HP but he doesn’t call it that, he calls it “red drink” or “orange drink” or “blue drink”…whatever color it is).  Any juice that we give him is 50% diluted with water.  Overall we’re lucky with Carter though because he loves water and will frequently just ask to drink water instead of some sugary drink.
• ADORES his baby brother y’all.  I’ve listed so many things with Carter in this post but in the past 8 months I think what can define Carter is being an amazing big brother.  He loves Garrett so much and is always wanting to be with him.  If Garrett cries, Carter will drop what he’s doing and run to him saying “it’s ok brother.  I’m here!!” (As if the reason Garrett was crying had to do with not being able to see Carter instead of the fact that he had a diaper full of poop).  Garrett is the first thing Carter asks about when he wakes up every morning and he requires giving brother a kiss and a hug before every nap and bedtime at night.  He talks to him in the backseat of my car all the time and I find it incredibly heart melting.  He is so kind to Garrett and to me when I’m dealing with Garrett.  He’s a great helper!  He gets me diapers, throws things in the trash, puts Garrett’s clothes in the laundry basket, puts Garrett’s bottles in the sink…he does so much for him and I love it!

• He remembers EVERYING.  And I mean…EVERYTHING.  We can’t promise him something and not follow through because he will totally call us out on it.  He also repeats absolutely everything he hears so if you come around my child and curse, be prepared to see the bad side of this momma!!  **This bullet point was on the three year post and I’m leaving it here because this is still so incredibly true!!  He absorbs EVERYTHING you tell him.  Everything.  He asks questions all day long about random things and I think most parents brush it off when their kids start asking questions non-stop.  Sometimes I do that if I’m really busy trying to get something done, I just tell him we’ll talk about it later and I end up forgetting.  But most of the time, I try to take the time to answer his questions.  And I can tell that he listens and remembers for MONTHS. 
• He is now riding a big boy bike with a helmet and loves it!  By big boy bike, I mean that it’s not a baby radio flyer, but that it does have training wheels.

• He still likes Elmo and Cookie Monster, but just not quite as obsessed with them.  We have Brighthouse Cable at our house and they just picked up this channel called Baby First Channel.  We let Garrett watch that a lot and Carter is now hooked.  He is WAY more interested in it than Garrett is.  So Carter now watches this Baby First Channel more than he will watch Sesame Street.  I actually can’t remember the last time we watched Sesame Street!