Garrett's 9 month Stats =)

Houston...we have lift off! Garrett has graduated to crawling "army" style into a full hands and knees and this boy is FAST! Almost in an instant he went from pulling himself up on toys and tables to walking along the tables and last night I even saw him transition from the table to the couch!! He is on the move and it is all we can do to keep up with him! Turns out he loves the vacuum now too - just this weekend he followed Matt (and the noise) all around the house!! We've barricaded off most of the living room - the rest of the house is another story =) Garrett strolled (literally - I pushed him in the stroller) with three teeth on the bottom and two just breaking in on the top! He thinks it is really funny to "mouth" my hand! He is picking up his food (he prefers raking over pinching - those with small children know what I'm talking about) and is ALL about the Gerber Puffs! I'll have a photo to follow soon but for the time being know that on September 25, 2009 Garrett tipped the scale at 23lbs 6 oz (above 90%) with a height of 31 inches (97%)! He is sporting some bigger 12 months clothing but mostly 18 months!

Garrett 9.24.09

Good Harbor

Wow - Sunday turned into a fun-filled family day! We traveled out to cross off another beautiful path from our "have to hike" list! The Good Harbor Bay Trail was a good all around hike (easy on me since I carried Mr. Man in the backpack) but wasn't as scenic as we would have liked. There are nine total paths listed on our map - we've been able to check three off! Madison was even brave enough to jump into the lake after our hike - we stuck Garrett's toes in the water and he didn't like it one little bit! We had a great time and look forward to getting out for another hike again soon!

MSU Babies =)

We were lucky enough to travel down and spend the weekend with Greg, Angie & William Schaefer. Greg and Matt were roommates (yes, Cedar Village) at Michigan State and have been the best of friends ever since. William and Garrett are just one month apart and their Dad's are already making plans for MSU!

Congratulations Tony & Denise Darin!! Their wedding was what sparked our trip down and Matt attended the wedding for all of us! Angie & I snuck away for a kid-free lunch and Babies R Us shopping (my first time ever - I could spend days in that store)!

A HUGE Thank You to the Schaefer Family for putting up with us, er, putting us up =)

William (9 mo) and Garrett (8 mo) 09/11/2009

William was a fan of Garrett right away, took a little longer to

like the strange lady with the camera!

Future Spartans!

"What?!? William said I could play with all of his toys...while he took a nap!"

Funny Finger Boys!

Yep, Angie with 40+ pounds of cuteness in her arms!! We are blessed with BIG, healthy boys!!

5 Step Meltdown

Step 1: The warm-up....he isn't quite sure if he is made yet

BUT he knows he isn't happy...

Step 2: the good ole' "Laugh Cry" - he knows he's upset

but he still thinks me taking a picture of him is funny...

Step 3: Losing it....nothing can help you (the Mommy) now...

Step 4: The Break - he takes a break just long enough to

see if your still watching (or in my case, taking pictures)...

Step 5: Pouty baby, this is a break in the screaming but if you don't

do EXAXCTLY as he says the WHOLE cycle starts over again.

Oh Happy Days!

In all fairness Garrett has been teething like crazy and feeling pretty darn bad...he was at his wits end and I couldn't help but take pictures of it.

He is fine - and so am I!

Madison is a 3rd GRADER!

First Day of School 2009
Sassy pants waiting for the bus!

Garrett waiting for the BIG YELLOW bus!

My babies <3

Madison -BEST looking 3rd Grader around!

Labor Day Weekend 2009

Aunt Lynn & Uncle Bob spoiled us - again =) and invited us to stay on Black Lake for Labor Day weekend! We were able to enjoy family and took an afternoon to visit friends at Shupac Lake. Madison and I took a couple of bike rides but I'm sure the highlight for her was horseback riding at Grandpa Russell's farm (a HUGE Thank You to Carlene for inviting Madison to ride), riding the mini-quad at Uncle Bob's and jumping into the falls with Matt (no, Matt did NOT jump)! We also took part in the Annual Schell River Walk party - complete with our own bridge walk! This was the first Labor Day weekend with both kids and what a great experience it was for our family - bugs and all!

Trailer Baby =)

Madison and Mini - her new BF

Mini was quickly replaced by Moon @ Grandpa Russell's

Madison & Moon

Grandpa Lee hanging with Madison & Moon

Garrett is on the move AND pulling himself up!! Big boy!