Garrett,
Today you turned one. I was reluctant to have today come. I put off all birthday planning and gifts until the last possible moment. It was not that I didn't want you to have the most perfect day of your life but I just couldn't bring myself to admit that I would no longer have my baby.
You learned to walk so early that you have just bumped right up to toddler. In my mind I was okay with that because at least you were still under one so clearly you had to still be my baby. With you actually getting to one I realize that I no longer have anything that will hold you back and keep you in my arms.
You are determined to discover the world. It is so rare that I get snuggles. You are clearly too busy. I have however convinced you in the last few months that snuggles aren't so bad right before naps and bedtime. I treasure those seconds. Each day those snuggles are a reminder that I have an angel in my arms and if I hold tight enough time will stand still.
When time isn't standing still this would be a typical Garrett exploration:
*The toilet. Something about it just excites you to put your hand in it. Gross!! Actually it makes me want to gag when Kendrick forgets to flush and you still enjoy sticking your hand in it.
*Your room when Kendrick is trying to take a nap. If you aren't sleeping then no one should be right (my motto too buddy)?
*Toys toys and everything boys. I think balls might be your favorite. You especially love it when we hold you while standing in the kitchen and you bounce the ball while we catch it and hand it back to you. The ball just bounces higher with an adult so it makes sense. I think cars, trucks, etc are a very very close 2nd and maybe even a tie with balls.
*Your constant need to clean. You are the first to start putting away toys and once when I was particularly mad at Kendrick for not picking up toys you quietly snuck into your room and picked up his blocks for him (like 10+ blocks). It was seriously the most angelic moment I have ever witnessed. -Today we gave you a box of Kleenex for you to enjoy pulling all the tissue out of. Once the box was half empty you stopped pulling them out and starting trying to put them back in. Thanks buddy! You somehow already know that cleanliness= calmness.
-Tuesday I found at least 4+ items shoved into the hamper. They weren't clothes but at least you found a soft spot to put things away in.
*Food. Oh how you LOVE food. You only have 2 bottom teeth and you can eat like a man. You will eat anything and everything. The only food you used to dislike were eggs. I then discovered that you like the yolks in eggs just not the egg whites so back to eating EVERYTHING. Food is when you become vocal. You are so calm and chill unless food is involved and then unfortunately you become hangry like your Mamma. I understand though so no worries.
*Pens and socks. If you don't have a toy currently in your hands these are your go to items. You can find pens out of thin air and if we take away your treasure oh boy does that make you sad. Socks are stashed in your drawer and Kendrick's so you switch off between drawers. You will walk around with the socks for 10 minutes or so just grasping your soft love.
*Kendrick. I'm not sure if this one counts as an "exploration spot" but you sure love him. You just love having him as your best friend. You may not talk much but you have learned vehicle noises. You follow him like it is your job. He has been more aggressive toward you lately which has been rough on you (sorry buddy). Don't worry though the moment you are out of his line of sight he always misses you too.
So you turned one despite me wishing I could have a baby forever. This is what our day today looked like:
7:30 Woke up to Kendrick sliding down the table slide we got you. You were all shy when I walked in singing Happy Birthday to you. You and Kendrick played for awhile on the slide and occasionally touching the wrapping on some of your other gifts.
8:30 You and Daddy headed to Walmart for b-day balloons while I started breakfast. I tried making blender pancakes but apparently if you blend to long the blender thinks it is soup and will start heating it up. I was hangry at this point and did not appreciate having my breakfast half cooked but not edible. We ended up having homemade applesauce and cereal. As long as I fed you bites fast enough I don't think you cared a bit.
After breakfast was nap time. You slept 3+ hours while Daddy and I caught up on bills. The garbage truck passed by without picking up our trash and we soon realized we somehow missed a payment (Thank you auto pay for preventing future repeats of this incident. Why didn't we get an e-mail? Sheeseh!!). Kendrick enjoyed playing with your toys and getting out the fishing game during this down time.
12:30 We were going to go to the zoo but decided to save it for next week. We like stretching out birthday activities and enjoying them all month long.
1ish - 4ish We headed for Lowes. We got some hardware to fix the riding dump truck. You will now have a vehicle to drive and try to keep up with K on his plasma car. We then searched for a cupcake shop with no such luck (Sweet Tooth Fairy in Ut now makes sense). We tried to get the foam tires for your balance bike replaced with new ones at a bike shop but apparently 10 in diameter tires are not common.
4ish We headed to Red Robin for a birthday dinner. It was easy to decide on a place because as long as where we were going had food we knew you would love it.
5:45 Went to Walmart and bought you your next car seat and some cupcakes. I also got my flu shot from Daddy. I was holding you in my arms and you were so wiggly that the needle moved far more than necessary. My arm is sore but now I will remember to give you extra kisses next week when you get your shots. No fun!
6:50 Driving home just seconds away. Your new car seat was in the front seat so luckily I got to sit in the back next to you and reminisce about the time you entered this world and brightened my life by so much.
7:05 Cupcake time. You love food so yes you shoveled it into your mouth loving crumb you catch. I think you especially loved the icing. Daddy had to blow out your candle quick because you really really wanted to touch it.
You are now in bed snoozing away. Kendrick put himself to bed saying he was tired. You were happily enjoying cleaning up your tissues that you had pulled out earlier and then went to bed without a peep. You don't cry much and I'm starting to see why... life is meant to be happy right? You and Kendrick know that. Well buddy thanks for always reminding me. You and Kendrick are the happiest reminders of why life is truly a blessing with angels all around us.
I wanted to write you this letter because I need you to know that I love you. You are a very special boy Garrett and you have a lot of places to run. I know you won't always be my "baby" but you will always be my boy. Explore little buddy! I don't want to stop you I just want to cherish it and you are moving faster than I can keep up with sometimes. I'll try to keep on journaling so just maybe I can keep these special moments close. Love you little love, angel, Garry berry, Gar bear!
***I have stepped away from blogger for awhile because I keep a journal calendar by my bed and I can usually only focus on one social media site at a time. Recently it has been fb instead of blogger. I haven't been great at keeping up my other journal this past month so I have just had a lot on my mind about my sweet little man. I thought it would be easier to type than hand write so bravo if anyone other than a future Garrett reads this.
