Baking Soda Blast!

The kitchen was quiet....which means Garrick was up to something! Apparently Baking soda tastes ok, and is even more fun to play in. Too bad I didn't get a picture of him when the box ran out, he was so mad!

Utah Vacation

I became six months pregnant on this vacation....and I felt it! Luckily, I knew that was going to happen, so we didn't plan anything too crazy and we really had a great time! We piled into a mini van with my sister and her three kids, drove through the night and headed to Rexburg, Idaho. We visited some old friends and I met a whole Fillmore side of the family that I never knew existed! They are awesome! I met cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma Fillmore for the first time. I was really happy to learn how awesome of a family I'm a part of!

We then headed down to Brian Head, UT where we went to the Rire Family Reunion...where there were even more people from the Fillmore side of the family to meet. It was very high in the mountains, but the views and atmosphere were breath taking (both figuratively and physically...we were at 9,200 feet elevation, I didn't breathe much while I was up there). Garrick got sick on the last night we were there....which was not so much fun, but we got through it.

After a great stay at the reunion we went to Orem where we stayed at my Uncles house where Garrick fully recovered before our drive home (thank goodness!)and Matt got a chance to meet and hang out with some cousins from my side of the family. After a few days of Matt and my Uncle Pat planning hunting trips and talking about civil war tactics, we headed home.

With only a few stops because of puking children (ok...child, not Garrick thankfully--I was really tired by then and don't know if I could have handled it) and Matt driving mostly the whole time, we made it home! But unfortunately our house was 89 degrees! Our air conditioning had broke while we were gone. After a few calls we got it fixed and by that evening we were comfortably home again!

So after 10 days of vacation....we were exhausted, but it was so worth it!

Rambo

Need I say more?????

Sock Soup Anyone?

Garrick likes to take cups, bowls, or pots that he has pulled out of the cupboards and "cook" with them. He'll stir up air and make me eat it. He in turn eats it as well. His new favorite thing is to go into the laundry room and get any piece of laundry he can find and then in turn bring it to his dish of choice and shove the clothing item inside of it. Sometimes it's shirts, sometimes it's pants, but most often it's socks. Of course he at times chooses items of clothing that are too large for the baby jar or bowl he's using and he get's really upset that it won't fit. He hands it to me like I can fix it, which upsets him even more when I can't. Life of a mother I suppose????

He then will put the sock (for instance) in the pot, hand it to me, and wait for me to pretend to drink it. I of course tell him how yummy it is....don't worry, I have made it a habit to wash my pots and pans right before I use them to avoid the chance of having any underlying sock flavors come out in my cooking.

My Piano Man

No!

Garrick really likes to stand his ground. He tells me "no" about six hundred times a day...and counting! The best is when he knows we are going to take him away from something (like when he goes and tries to eat the dog food), he will yell, "no" and run away from us. Though, when we turn away because we think he's leaving the dog food alone...alas, he is there, trying to get another kibble into his mouth (so gross!).

Also, if I have just upset him because I want to change his diaper or I take scissors away from him (or something else terrible like that) he will sometimes start to cry and yell no at me and run away from me. Then I usually offer him some water by handing him his sippy cup. He will start to grab for it, then remember he is mad. He'll stop himself from taking the cup and you can see the confusion going on in his head, "should I take it from her? I'm mad at her, is this a peace offering? I'm not ready to let her think It's all ok..." He usually then says "no" again and runs only a few steps away. I will then put the water cup down on the ground so he can then slyly pick it up on his own, with no help from me.

It hasn't made a difference how many times I've tried to teach him "yes" he still insists on telling me "no!" I hope this is not a foreshadowing of my life for the next 17 years!


note: as Garrick is extreme with his "no's" he can also be extreme in his love. He'll tackle us (dog included) with hugs and kisses, he'll walk around the house and just start laughing at nothing, he will blow kisses, and started even giving real kisses when you ask for them. So if I'm looking forward to 17 years on "No's" then I should be looking at 17 years mixed with a lot of love and fun too!

Oh Where, Oh Where????

Garrick loves to play a game called "take everything out of the cupboards of my kitchen," like most 16 month old kids do. It was really no big deal to me, he was being relatively safe when he went about the whole matter. I knew there were no sharp objects in the drawers he can reach into, and even though I was starting to get annoyed that I have to pick up the kitchen floor 100 times a day, hey, at least he was being entertained for free!

Now, he has taken up putting things back....awwwwwww that's so cute and helpful right????? Maybe. Now when I cook it's my turn to play a game called, "Oh where, oh where did Garrick put my......" (you fill in the blank). From pots and pans to measuring spoons and cups I have to look through the bottom two drawers, lowest cupboards of my whole kitchen, and sometimes underneath the living room couch to finally find what I need. I suppose I should be glad that for the most part, my kitchen supplies stay in the kitchen or living room, and at least he only manages to get the crock pot out of the cupboard, and not dragged somewhere else!