I hope I never forget...

...the pure joy I see on Garrett's face when I walk into Ducky Day Care at the end of my work day.
...Garrett's air guitar.  (Picture a 2-year-old holding his right arm straight up into the air while his left hand tickles his right armpit.)
...how much I enjoy rocking and reading to Garrett before putting him in bed.  When I'm done reading, he says, "Sing songs."  His favorite these days is "It's Time To Go To Sleep", sung to the tune of "The Farmer In The Dell".
...that, when he's ready to end a telephone conversation with any of his grandparents, he hugs and kisses the phone.
...the image of my husband running around on a stick horse to amuse Garrett.
...any of the things he does to amuse Garrett, for that matter!
...his current fascination with "The Wizard of Oz".  Every. Single. Day.  He repeatedly asks, "Where's the 'weeitch'?" or "Where's the Wizard 'uh boz'?"
...that, the morning of Christmas, packing peanuts were more entertaining than any of the toys they may have once protected.

 

...how rich life is.

Grateful...

...for the opportunity to gather with more than twenty members of my extended family in West Virginia last week.

...for time to play at the park on a sunny day in late November.

 

...for the comfort of crowding said family members into my grandparents' home for fun and food that was created by many hands.



This was actually taken the day before our Thanksgiving meal, but Garrett shared that small table with Grandpa Horton whenever it was time to eat.

...for the foundation that sixty years of marriage between Grandma and Grandpa Horton has created.

...for a blond two-year-old who went with the flow of later-than-normal bedtimes, his first stay in a hotel, and sharing his Papa Mark with Stan.

...for whiskey-glazed carrots.  (Thanks, Alice!)

...for returning home again.

...and just like that... (Version 2.0)

Our household is now occupied by a 2-year-old!

We celebrated Garrett's 2nd birthday last Saturday with a house full (well, not as full as last year) of doting grandparents, aunts, uncles, a cousin, and dogs.  However, our celebration wasn't limited to Saturday.  I picked Garrett up from Ducky a little earlier than usual on Thursday to take him to Dairy Queen for a pre-birthday treat, an M&Ms Blizzard.  (What?  How dare you accuse me of using my precious son's birthday as an excuse to get my DQ fix?)  My mom, a.k.a. "Grandma Friday", a.k.a. Garrett's personal photographer for the weekend, arrived late Thursday evening.  She, The Birthday Boy, and I found some bargains Friday morning at some of Monticello's rummage sales - a $5.00 tricycle, some Elmo slippers that Garrett didn't take off until several hours later, and some other fun stuff.

Friday evening, Nathan and I twisted Mom's arm to stay with Garrett while we went out for dinner at Minneci's to celebrate our 8th anniversary.  (As you might suspect, no real twisting was required.)  If you haven't yet experienced Minneci's, go there this weekend!  Good.  Stuff.  Maynard.

As for Garrett's actual birthday party, no Pinterest-worthy decorations were necessary.  The best decorations were the love and laughter that filled our home for a few hours Saturday evening.  And what kind of mom would I be if I didn't encourage my son to paint his face with blue icing?

Happy birthday, Little Prince!

 

"Zee-bah?"

Last Saturday, we met 3/5 of the Losher family - Sam, Annabelle, and Elaina - at Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington.  It is the third park Garrett has visited this year.  On our way there, one of us asked Garrett what kind of animals he thought we'd see.

"Zee-bah?"

(Oh, my heart.  There you go again.)

Well, there were no zebras this time, but we did get to pet some goats under the watchful eye of The Alpha Male, see a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch, laugh at some singing dogs, and see some frogs publicly displaying their affection for each other.



The aforementioned Alpha Male is at the top of this photograph.

Apparently, Garrett posed no threat to these kids.

I would normally be "working outside the home" today, but Garrett has croup, so I got to have the day "off".  Until next time...