...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...

From My Heart

It's probably no surprise to any of you that motherhood has, for me, been an incredible experience, and "incredible" probably isn't an adequate adjective.  I remain on the fence about whether or not to try to add to our family of three.  (Nathan will tell you he's comfortable on this side of that fence, but he also said that on the other side of the fence we named "Garrett".)  I know that climbing over the fence I'm sitting on involves a whole lot more than merely wanting to.

Lately, I've struggled with the temptation to diminish my experience as a mother because there obviously isn't as much to juggle as if we had another child.  I wonder if I'll ever be able to really relate to my friends who have two or more children.  I imagine other moms - none in particular - looking at my life and thinking, "She has no idea.  One child?  That's a walk in the park!"  While there's certainly truth to that - our job as Garrett's parents has been relatively easy so far - we'll never again not be his parents.

I suppose I'm seeking some encouragement.  Can anyone relate?

Garrett Meets Madison

Last weekend's trip to the Riddles' in Madison was Garrett's first.  We hadn't seen Mike, Karyn, Owen, and Elliot since last September when we met them in Peoria.  We had planned on driving to Madison Saturday morning, but Mike talked us into heading their way Friday night.  We expected Garrett to sleep most of the way there since we were in the car for more than three hours past his usual bed time, but Garrett had other plans.  He may have slept 45 minutes during the entire four-hour journey, but aside from a few, brief fussing episodes, he was a happy traveler.  Just when we thought he was drifting asleep, he'd point out the window and say what we understand as "BIG TRUCK!".

Saturday, we went downtown to Madison Children's Museum.  What a wonderful place!  I could have easily spent an entire day there - by myself!  I loved the quotes on the walls throughout the museum.

"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons." -Author unknown

"Love all children of all species for all time." -William McDonough

Garrett's favorite exhibit was the water dome in The Wildernest, an area designed for children up to five years of age.



(Don't worry.  The water wasn't hot, as it appears to be here.)

A future scientist?

Sunday, we went to Henry Vilas Zoo - another first for Garrett.  We got to see a polar bear, a grizzly bear, prairie dogs, bison, otters, flamingos, giraffes (my favorite!), camels, and much more.

We finally found a place where we belong - the zoo!

After wandering around the zoo for a couple of hours, we enjoyed a delicious lunch nearby at ZuZu Cafe, where Garrett 'painted' his face with the peanut butter from his sandwich.  (Yes, that's Nathan using a potato chip to scrape some of it off!)

Between our excursions to the museum and the zoo, we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Mike and Karyn, watching our boys play happily together, playing Catch Phrase and Family Feud after the kids went to bed, and reaping the benefits of the Riddles' expert hospitality.

We're back to our reality now, which really isn't bad at all.  Looking forward to this Fathers' Day weekend!