Happy Birthday Garrett!!!

I can't believe it's been three years since Garrett was born! He bring such joy and excitement to us that it's hard to remember our lives without him. Since February is a hard month to plan an outdoor party I thought bowling would be a fun indoor party to have. So that is what we finally decided to do.

Garrett had never been bowling like this and at first wasn't too sure what we were going to do. We kept telling him his friend Dylan was going to be there so he would be excited. Off to the bowling alley we went...




This is Dylan, Garrett little friend from school. I'm not big on inviting friends at this age, but these two are seriously inseparable at school. They have been together at school since they were 3 or 4 months old and I swear have a love/hate relationship. One day they are fighting and hitting each other and the next they are the best of friends. Even when they are picking on each other you can't keep them apart. So I decided one friend would be fun and it was!

Gannon loved the party because he got to do his two favorite things - hangout with Grandma and eat! Now that he is walking he thought that should have been good enough to bowl. He wanted so bad to walk around where all the big people were.

Garrett and Dylan were very patient and took turns to bowl. They of course had bumpers and there were a few times that Dylan's mom or I would have to throw a ball so that their ball that was stuck would go the rest of the way. A little more muscle was needed!

Kendra made Garrett another amazing birthday cake. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse of course. Garrett loved it. Well actually, everyone did.

Daddy told him to say "cheese" so he did!

Garrett was opening his presents with close supervision by Gannon!

Thomas the Train

For Christmas we bought Garrett a Thomas the Train train set, but did not buy a table for it. So for the past two months our coffee table has become a train table. This works great for Garrett, but Gannon is quite the destruction derby and comes right behind me as I put the tracks together and tears it apart!! It's kinda funny the way he does it with a little smirk on his face, but of course this isn't ever funny to Garrett.

So for his birthday Papa made him his very own train table. We were all excited when Grandma and Papa brought it over on Monday night. They set in down in the living room first and we made the mistake of setting up a track and then explained to Garrett that the table was going to be put in his room. He was not happy, but got over it and loves the table.

So excited about his table! He went straight to his bins to get the tracks to set it up.
Since Garrett was about 18 months old he has been sleeping in his big boy bed. Well, the trundle part anyway. When bed time came around we explained that with his new table in his room he needed to sleep in the big bed. He again, was not happy about this. He even tried to with all his muscles to give the table a big push and it wouldn't budge. Dave and I tucked him into the big boy bed and told him we would leave the trundle out just enough to be a step. We left his lamp on so he could fall asleep and we left the room. About a half an hour later Dave went back in to turn off the lamp and this was what he found.

So, I guess we will need to work on sleeping in the big bed. Poor guy was sound asleep on this tiny section of his bed. We moved the train table over and pulled his bed out so he could get a good nights sleep!

Shell Beach with Aunt Shannon

On our way out of town we stopped by Shell Beach for one last visit with Aunt Shannon and Uncle Joe. Garrett of course wanted to go back to the beach so we sent the men to go get the trailer and Shannon and I took the boys to play. Thanks Joe for helping, that is my least favorite part of these trips. I suck at helping Dave hook up the trailer. I guess I better work on that.

Garrett had a great time with real bubbles on and Gannon just loved the sand. What he thought was so funny about shoveling sand is beyond me, but I love to hear his little laugh. Enjoy.

Taking a Stroll

Now that Gannon can walk, he would rather do just that. He loves to explore so on our walks to Pismo this weekend he had a great opportunity to stretch his legs. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Garrett was very into the beach this trip so he also had a great time running on the sand. We were a quick walk into Pismo from where we were camping so in the morning we took a walks and the boys loved it. From the pier Garrett loves to watch the "bubbles" or waves, whatever you want to call them. Gannon didn't quite understand that the pier was a little to uneven for his walking, but he was determined to walk so we were catching him a lot as he explored.

Gannon taking a stroll
Enjoying the beach

Gannon striking a pose

Can you tell he was trying so hard to get away

Super excited to be walking on the beach, clenching his hands!

Daddy and Gannon and Garrett in the background watching the "bubbles".

Gannon being a goof ball

Time Around Pismo Coast Village

On Saturday we hung around Pismo Coast Village with the boys and thought it would be a great opportunity to try out the monkey leash on Gannon. We bought it last year for Garrett and he was not a fan at all! I thought if we started to break Gannon in at a younger age we would have a better chance of liking it. He was so preoccupied with exploring that he really didn't care that a monkey was on his back and someone was holding the least!!! Maybe it'll work with him.

We also thought it would be fun to rent one of the bikes the had available and go for a cruise. Little did we know, those suckers are really a workout. We rented it for 30 minutes and really didn't think that would be long enough - it was plenty! Garrett loved wearing the helmet and Gannon as you can see in the pictures didn't like it so he didn't have it on. I am all for safety, but really all we did was ride around the trailers so I wasn't too worried about him. Plus he was screaming so the ride would have been really short if he was forced to wear it....whatever.

Trying out the monkey leash

Garrett wanted to be in charge and Gannon really didn't care

Our workout machine

Papa Dave came to visit

Gannon wasn't really into the bike ride

Dinner with the Family

Dinner at Alex' is a favorite for us while in Pismo so we met up with Shannon, Heather, Dante, and Toni for dinner. It's always fun to hang out with Dave's family. Dante is so quiet compared to our boys! We can't wait till they all play together.

The boys waiting patiently for their food - what do we do without these blankets!
Cute Dante

Half of the table

The other half - Toni was obviously taking the pictures

Uncle Dave and Dante

A Walk on the Beach

Dave had a conference this past Friday in San Luis Obispo so we took the trailer down for the weekend. We stayed at Pismo Coast Village for the first time and it was a great location, just on the other side of the beach and a quick walk to town.

Friday the boys and I took a walk on the beach and Garrett wanted to play with his sand toys. This is the first trip that he has been so determined to play in the sand. There was no stopping him! Trust me I tried!

Packing his gear to the sand
Gannon's ride

Gannon loved walking on the sand too!

Some nice lady offered to take our picture

Yeah, finally he gets to play

But not for long...Gannon thought every shell was a snack. So after he ate pounds of sand it was time to head back for a real snack.

Passing the Torch!!!

Or should I say vacuum! Gannon has taken over as Mommy's cleaning partner. He has discovered the small vacuum that has been hiding in the closet for a while and was so happy to push it around just like Mommy does. He not only helps with the vacuum, he likes to sweep, and will wipes up snots just like Mommy does. It is so fun to watch the little sponges soak up all they can and repeat what they have learned! Well, at this stage it's fun anyway!!!

Sacramento Zoo

Day 2 of our Sacramento weekend we took the boys to the Zoo. We visited the zoo last year and had a great time so we decided to go back. Garrett loves all the animals and Gannon enjoyed his first trip. Garrett knows most of the animals now so it's fun to watch him run around checking them all out. There is a kiddie land spot next to the zoo and of course we had to ride a couple rides prior to heading home. Garrett rode the "big" roller coaster for the first time and was so funny. He was screaming, but out of excitement. When we were on the slower parts he was fine, for the big dip he would let out a little scream!!!

Tractor at the Zoo
Garrett and Daddy checking out the snake

Mommy and Gannon checking out the snake, neither of us were very excited about this.

Gannon so excited to see his brother

Fun little log ride

Mommy and her boys on the train

Waiting for our turn to ride the "big roller coaster"

Disney on Ice

According to Dave, this was a night of fate! We were in Old Town Sacramento and we hoped on the freeway toward our hotel and the GPS "wasn't working" according to Dave. We actually just weren't far enough away so by the time I programmed in the address we were past the exit and just happened to be at the Arco Arena exit. We had looked at tickets prior to our trip and had decided not to go. Since "fate" took us to the Arco Arena exit Dave wanted to look into tickets for that nights show. The show was to start in three hours and we got great seats for a way better price than they had online!

We ran to the hotel to take a little rest and eat a quick dinner. On the way to the show we asked Garrett if he would like to see Mickey Mouse and he answered, "that would be great Mom". SO CUTE!!! He is in love with Mickey these days and loved the show.

Yeah, they were really there.
Goofy is another of Garrett's favorite

Oh, Towmater is my favorite from Cars

The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney Movie

Lion King music was the best