The Savage Family

Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T10:20:00.000-06:00

We had a great Valentine's Day. It is not one of those holidays that we really celebrate. Britt and I usually get each other a card and maybe a little something. The kids get overloaded with candy at school and everybody is happy. We do have one tradition that we have been doing since
Garrett was a baby. We go eat at Chick fil a for dinner. It is never crowded and the kids have fun playing while Britt and I get a chance to visit. We finish the evening with ice cream. It is really the perfect date with kids.

Gracyn and Emmy did get to Garrett's school Valentine party. They were very excited!

Garrett was such a good big brother and shared his candy with Gracyn and Emmy.

Chick fil a

My Valentine for the past 17 years. Wow!

Daddy Daughter Date Night and Fun Stuff

2012-02-13T21:10:00.000-06:00

Our church hosted its first Daddy/Daughter date night last Friday evening. Gaitley was so excited!! We told her about it a week before and she talked about her date with Daddy all day, every day until it was time for the date. On Friday she told me she better not eat too much chocolate that day because she didn't want to have a tummy ache on her date. She also said that she would be back around midnight. I loved how excited she was! They had a great time and even had a dance to end the evening.

Gracyn has really been interested in potty training lately. I hope she is ready. I have been buying diapers for the last 6 years.

Britt's parents were in town a few weekends ago. We took Carolyn to the American Girl store and then took the kids ice skating.

Lip suckers from Mimi and Pop.

Daddy/Daughter Date Night

A Beautiful Day at the Park

2012-02-03T13:58:00.000-06:00

The weather has been absolutely beautiful and we have been taking full advantage of it. We spent Thursday afternoon at the park. The kids ran and played for a full hour!

She has been giving me this look lately when she is mad. So funny!

She cheered up pretty quickly.

I did not tell her to do this. These poses are all on her own. She cracks me up.

Birthday Boys

2012-01-22T22:32:00.001-06:00

Both of my boys have January birthdays. On Garrett's actual birthday, Britt spent the entire day with him at school. He was a parent volunteer called the watchdog. The schools are trying to get positive male role models to help out during the day. I love this idea! Britt had a great day and Garrett loved having his dad up there. For his birthday dinner Garrett got to invite one friend to eat at Joe Willy's with us. All the kids love this restaurant. The food is good but they also have games. I think that is their favorite part. They each got a bag of quarters to spend while we were there.

The kids had their quarters and were ready to go.

Garrett and Jackson

Britt's birthday is two days after Garrett's. Poor guy! I always feel like we don't celebrate it like we used to. We had a little party for him and the kids helped me make a cake. Garrett decorated it. It was lovely. My parents did come into town for Garrett's party and kept the kids that night and we went out to eat. It was such a nice treat to have a sitter.

Happy Birthday Dad!

For Garrett's birthday party we went to Texas Skatium. There were so many parties going on and it was a mad house up there, but all the kids still loved it.

Happy 6th Birthday!

Gaitley loved skating too!

New Puppy

2012-01-18T08:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, we are crazy! We got a new puppy a few weeks ago. It seems like just when everyone is finally sleeping through the night we have another baby. Well, not this time! It's a new puppy instead. I guess we needed one more thing to keep us up at night. Actually, he is pretty good and was almost potty trained when we got him. He is a four month old Maltese and just as sweet as can be. Garrett named him Cash . Compared to our crazy, hyper lab this puppy is perfect. We still love Marley but she is still pretty crazy. The kids wanted a pet they could love on and Cash is perfect.

Spearman

2012-01-15T14:56:00.000-06:00

We were lucky enough to spend an entire week in Spearman during Christmas break. I absolutely love going home. It is a totally different world from where we live now. Things move at such a slower pace. I love all things my kids get to experience while we are there. My parents, Britt's parents and three of my grandparents still live there. I have such great memories of playing in the snow, going hunting with my dad and spending lots of time with my grandparents. I wish my kids were around these special people more often. But since we are not we take full advantage of it when we are there. Lucky for us, there was snow on the ground when we arrived. That made the trip even more fun!

Gaitley loved the snow!

Garrett did too!

Snow angels!

It was a little too cold for Gracyn. Brrr!

Garrett with his new bow and arrow.

Lance, my grandad, Garrett and Britt

Ice Skating

2012-01-13T17:01:00.000-06:00

We always try to take the kids ice skating sometime during Christmas break. This year we went to the Galleria. They had such a great time! It was Gaitley's first year. She was so excited at first but when she stepped on the ice it scared her a little bit. We finally convinced her to give it another try and she loved it. Poor Britt had a sore back for a few days from bending over to keep her up. Garrett was a pro. It didn't take him long to catch on and was so speedy I could barely get his picture. Gracyn had just as much fun watching from the side.

Christmas Dance Performance

2012-01-13T09:53:00.000-06:00

Gaitley had a dance performance at her dance studio a few weeks before Christmas. She did so great! She absolutely loves dance! I was so proud of her. I didn't really know what to expect. Last year when we went to watch her run at field day she completely froze and wouldn't do anything. I was really hoping this would not be the case this time around. Thank goodness it wasn't. She stood up there the whole time and did all the moves and was really pretty good. I definitely think I have a girly girl on my hands and we are going to have lots and lots of dance performances in the years to come.

Advent Calendar - Day 4

2011-12-05T22:53:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, the kids got to decorate gingerbread houses. Poor Gracyn missed out on this because we did it during nap time, but the big two absolutely loved it. Last year we just decorated one house, so this year I decided we would do a little village. Well, it was quite a mess. I think I will stick to just one house from now on or at least until they can build the houses a little better by themselves.

Gaitley liked eating the candy best!

Gaitley's finished houses

Garrett's finished houses

North Pole Breakfast, Visiting Santa and Advent Calendar

2011-12-01T22:59:00.001-06:00

I love this busy time of year. Our days are packed with fun, family traditions, new and old. We got our Elf on the Shelf, Elvie, last year and the kids were so excited for him to return. He came back the Sunday after Thanksgiving and even brought a breakfast straight from the North Pole with him. We had white powdered donuts, chocolate milk and Hershey Kisses. The kisses were from Santa of course. He even brought each kid a new pair of Christmas socks too. I got this idea from pinterest and it is definitely going to be something we do from now on. The kids absolutely loved it!

The set-up. I think I was just as excited about Elvie returning as the kids were.

They were so happy to see Elvie. After I took the pictures the night before I had to move Elvie to the light fixture above the table. I didn't want him to accidentally get touched and lose his magic.

Yummy!

Each kiddo got a letter from Elvie too. He told them he was glad to be back and reminded them that he was going to keep an eye on them until Christmas.

After our North Pole breakfast we headed up to Bass Pro Shops to get a picture with Santa. Two out of the three loved it. Not too bad! Our percentage is getting better each year. :)

Garrett was happy!

Gaitley was happy!

Gracyn was not so happy!

Advent Calendar - Day 1
We have been doing our Advent Calendar for a couple of years now. I had to change things up a bit this year. It was getting way too expensive. We are going to focus more on family fun activities than getting little gifts each day. They did get their Christmas pajamas in it today, but they were going to get those anyway. Here are some of the other ideas I have:
*watch a Christmas movie and enjoy a special treat
*make a Christmas craft
*drive around and look at Christmas lights
*write a letter to Santa
*make a Christmas ornament
*listen to Christmas music and bake Christmas cookies
*make snowflakes
*read the story about the birth of Jesus out of the Bible
*do a random act of kindness
*unwrap a new Christmas book to read tonight
*make a gingerbread house

Garrett has been waiting for December 1st for weeks now and it was no surprise that he woke up at 5:45 ready to find his surprise. I made him go back to bed and told him we couldn't do it if he continued to wake up that early. Hopefully he will sleep in a little later tomorrow. If not, it might be a long month.

New Christmas pajamas

So Thankful

2011-11-28T20:34:00.000-06:00

This holiday season I am reminded of how blessed Britt and I truly are. We have three wonderful and healthy kids. We have incredible parents and grandparents that love them so much and are always there for us. Britt has a great job and I am so lucky to be a stay-at-home mom. I couldn't ask for more.

The girls playing in the leaves.

Garrett with his goggles, he did this last year too. He says the goggles keep the leaves out of his eyes.

Sweet Gaitley looked so cute for her Thanksgiving Feast at school.

Garrett's Kindergarten Class

Kindergarten Feast

Mimi and Gracyn

My Nanny Gwen and Gaitley

I finally got all the kids to smile with Nanny.

Happy Thanksgiving - after about 15 shots this was the best we got. :)

Cayla and Gaitley

Sweet Garrett

Pop and Gracyn

Grandma and Grandad with the kids - Grandad was tired of taking pictures.

Grandma and Gracyn

My three sweet kiddos

The kids made these cute turkeys with Mimi

Our Week

2011-10-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

Here is our week in pictures.

My little diva. She wants to wear sunglasses, necklaces and bracelets everywhere she goes, even to sleep. Of course, she has to have all her purses close by too.

Garrett and Gaitley are making an afternoon snack. Garrett will eat about three sandwiches when he gets home from school. Growing boy!

Gaitley had more fun making hers!

Cowgirl Day at Weekday School

Sweet Gracyn scooping and pouring beans.

Not so sweet! She thought it would be more fun to dump them all over the floor.

Practicing t-ball, still in her sunglasses.

Big brother's turn

Gracyn enjoyed watching the kids play while eating an apple.

Texas Rangers

2011-09-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

The whole family enjoyed a day at the Ballpark in Arlington cheering on the Texas Rangers.

Gaitley had the best seat in the house - on Uncle Lance's shoulders.

Gracyn really had fun at her first Rangers' game.

Garrett and Britt - it is very hard to get a decent smile out of Garrett these days.

Lance and Taleigh

Gracyn loved watching all the people.

Family photo

The girls

Scott and Camille

Cayla and Gaitley

Flag Football

2011-09-10T22:42:00.000-05:00

Garrett had his first flag football game this morning. He has been wanting to play football since he saw a sign a couple of years ago advertising it. He knew he had to be five and has been anxiously waiting for this season to get here. Britt and I hesitated signing him up because of the cost and time commitment, but he absolutely loves it so I am glad we did. He is playing through the YMCA and plays with boys that go to his school and two other neighborhood schools. It is a great program and so far we have been pretty impressed. Our team lost this morning but played really well for their first game. It is going to be a fun season and we are all looking forward to next Saturday.

#28 - Garrett is in the orange, closest to us

Garrett's #1 Fan

Half-time - he is ready for his first water break

One proud Daddy!

2011-08-31T22:12:00.000-05:00

So much has happened since my last post. I don't even know where to start, so I will just put up some pictures and tell little stories along the way.

We tried to squeeze in some of Garrett's favorite things before school started. He loves to go fishing, so we went up to Allen and went fishing with my brother and his wife. It was so hot and we didn't have much luck, but the kids loved seeing Lance and Taleigh and running around the park.

My sweet Gaitley turned 3. We celebrated with a Hello Kitty party with a few of her little friends.

Gracyn loves to read and has become quite attached to her little baby we named Katie. Here she is sitting in Gaitley's chair with her baby singing Old McDonald had a Farm.

I started keeping another little sweetie about two weeks ago. Emmy is a few months older than Gracyn and they have become quick friends. It is going great! Both babies are on pretty much the same schedule and play pretty well together. We are enjoying breakfast outside before it gets too hot.

This Texas heat is horrible. We are so ready for fall. Everytime we go outside we usually end up playing in the water. It is the only way we can stand being outside.

My baby boy started kindergarten. He has had a great start and loves his teacher and all the new friends he is making.

Kindergarten Luncheon

2011-08-18T07:40:00.000-05:00

Our church puts on the best luncheon for the kiddos that are fixing to start kindergarten. Garrett has been so excited for kindergarten to start, but when it was time to leave for this luncheon he got a little nervous and did not want to go. This is the first time he has acted this way. I think he felt a little better after it was over and realized it really isn't going to be that bad. We prayed for our kids and the upcoming school year and then practiced going through the lunch line, making choices and carrying the big tray. The parents were told to step back and let the kids do it all alone. This was so hard. I was very afraid he was going to drop his tray and get so embarrassed. He did great though. Being the oldest of three, Garrett has really had to grow up and do a lot on his own this year. I was very proud that he made good food choices and was able to open everything on his tray. He will probably never eat a meal in the cafeteria, but if he does, this was great practice for him.

Sweet Summer Days

2011-07-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

I love staying at home with my kids, especially in the summer. We don't have much of a schedule and just get to sleep in and play most mornings. Today was just perfect. All three kids slept in, so I did too. Then we headed outside for our morning walk. It was surprisingly cool and cloudy outside, so we were able to take full advantage of that and stay out til almost lunchtime. Even some of the neighborhood kids came out to play too. My kids are usually out everyday, but a lot of the kids on our street are older and don't come out as often as they used to. It was such a nice treat to have friends to play with. Here are a few pictures of our morning.

Gaitley had fun with the chalk, as you can see.

Gracyn enjoyed a fun game of washers. Grandma, I hope you see this and show Grandad that we still enjoy his homemade Christmas present.

Garrett drove his remote control car.

The girls drank lots of juice.

Everyone enjoyed playing with Cate's dog.

Gaitley and her best friend, Cate.

Pool Time

2011-07-20T10:39:00.001-05:00

This has been a great summer for going to the pool. Garrett has turned out to be quite a little swimmer and once Gaitley got over her fear of getting her face wet, she is doing great. Gracyn just enjoys being held and getting wet. We had a family swim night on Saturday and this was such a treat for the kids. They love it when Britt comes to the pool with us. Daddy is so much fun! We can't wait to go back again.

Captiva Island, Florida

2011-07-18T17:20:00.000-05:00

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year and decided we would use up all Britt's travel points and go somewhere really fun. The kids voted on the beach and we picked Captiva Island, Florida. It was a great family friendly resort with lots of activities for kids. It rained half of the time we were there, but it was a little refreshing and didn't slow us down one bit. On our sunny days, we spent our time at the beach and the pool. We also went on a dolphin cruise to Cabbage Key, which is a 100 acre island with only one restaurant and not even a single paved road. I couldn't imagine living there.
If you are wondering where Gracyn is in these pictures, well, we decided to leave her here with my mom. She loved the one on one attention from Mimi and this allowed us all to have a little more fun. We had a great time and I would recommend this place to anyone.

What a Mess

2011-07-12T12:53:00.000-05:00

This baby girl loves playing in the sprinklers. Today she decided to get wet and then go play in my plants. What a mess!

Gracyn's One Year Pictures

2011-07-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

We finally got around to taking Gracyn's one year pictures, now that is it nice and hot. She did great, despite the heat, and really turned on the smiles for her daddy.

A Busy June

2011-06-23T20:53:00.002-05:00

We have had such a wonderful start to the summer. It has been packed full of activities. I am a little behind on my blog, so I am just going to post some pictures of the highlights of this month.

Gracyn started walking on her birthday, June 1st!

I enrolled Gaitley in dance class and she absolutely loves it.

Gaitley also took swimming lessons. She was a little scared at first but now loves the water and is very proud that she can stick her face in and blow bubbles.

We went to the the lake with some good friends a few weeks ago. My kids turned into little lake rats. Garrett keeps begging for a lake house and all of Gaitley's Barbie dolls have been taking trips to the lake. I hope we can go back soon.

We had a Big Apple Adventure at Vacation Bible School.

Can you find Garrett in this picture? This was the most amazing swing. The boy has no fear.

Taylor Family Reunion

Gaitley with my sweet grandad

Happy Father's Day!!!

Gracyn's first make-over. Gaitley finally found someone who will let her cover their face in make-up.

Garrett lost his first two teeth!

Gracyn's First Birthday Party

2011-06-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st birthday to my sweet baby girl! I can't believe this year has flown by so quickly. We celebrated Gracyn's and Ellie's first birthdays together and I hope we can continue to do this for many years to come. The theme was lady bugs and everything was pink and green. The party was at Camille's house and she did such an amazing job decorating. It looked like something out of a magazine. The girls loved opening their presents but weren't too sure about their cake. Neither one of them wanted anything to do with it so everyone else got to eat a lot of delicious cake. Overall, it was a fun party and it is still hard to believe that both of them are one year old.

Camille's pretty table

The birthday girls

Happy girl

Not so sure about the cake

Garrett and Gaitley are trying to show them how delicious the cake is.

Opening presents with Mimi and Pop

Gracyn and Pop

Last Day of School and Pre-K Graduation

2011-05-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

Garrett and Gaitley finished school last week and it was a little bittersweet. I loved having my Tuesdays and Thursdays with just Gracyn, but I am ready for summer and no schedule. Both kids loved school so much and are really going to miss their teachers and friends. Gaitley has already said several times that she wants to go see Ms. Suzann. She is going to be heartbroken when she realizes that she will have a different teacher next year. Garrett's class had a little graduation ceremony and it was so sweet. All his little classmates have been going to Weekday School together for several years and have really formed some great friendships. I can't believe he will be going to kindergarten next year.

Graduation Ceremony

Garrett S. and Garrett M. - Best Buds

Party at Chuck E. Cheese

Spring

2011-05-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

These pictures are from a few weeks ago. Britt had a work picnic at a beautiful park in Richardson. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground and flying their kite with Daddy. I am so thankful that we all love the outdoors so much.

Gracyn is not quite ready to walk on her own, but loves to walk around with a little help.

A Few Pictures

2011-04-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

Britt has been in San Jose all week and we are so ready for him to get home tonight. This was his first time to travel since Gracyn has been born. I was a little nervous, but it turned out to be a great week. We were so busy and this helped the time pass quickly. Here are just a few shots of the the things we had going on this week.

Fun Baths

Playing with all our stuffed animals

MOPs Easter Egg Hunt

Kindergarten Round-up

Love Those Curls

2011-04-05T12:51:00.000-05:00

Britt has really curly hair, and I always hoped I would have a curly headed baby. I think I finally got one.

A Busy Saturday

2011-03-27T13:42:00.001-05:00

This weekend started off great! Garrett had his first t-ball game of the season. He is on a wonderful team with several of his friends from church. They are all obsessed with Star Wars, so their team name is the Jedis. I was very proud of Garrett. He hit the ball great and played pretty well on defense. He did get caught kicking the dirt a few times and let a couple of balls go past him. There were some other boys on his team that were hilarious. This season is definitely going to be fun!
After the game, we rushed home and ate lunch and then it was time for our second activity. I was going to take Garrett and Gaitley to a birthday party and let Britt stay home with Gracyn while she napped. We got about five minutes down the road and Gaitley was already asleep, so I turned around and dropped her off with Britt. She needed a good nap and I knew she would be cranky if I woke her up. This was alright with me. I actually got to sit and relax at the party. They had a bounce house, so Garrett was happy.
Right after the party we met our Sunday School class out in the country for a bonfire and hayride. The day was so hot and when we left the house my car still said 85 degrees, but by the time we made it to the bonfire it was freezing. We all had on shorts so I rushed back home to get some warmer clothes. Thank goodness I did because we wouldn't have made it very long. The kids had so much fun running and playing in the country. Of course, all the boys had their light sabers and played Star Wars. Garrett enjoyed this much more than the bonfire and hayride. Gaitley loved the hayride though. She just kept telling me how much fun she was having. Gracyn had a great time too. She got to eat Doritos and Cheetos off of Garrett and Gaitley's plates. Even though our Saturday was completely full, we had so much fun. As the kids get older I am guessing we will have a lot more weekends like this one.

Go Jedis!

All the Jedi sisters.

Oops!

Made it home!

Sunday School class Bonfire

Yummy hotdogs!

Hayride

Spring Break in Arkansas

2011-03-23T21:21:00.000-05:00

We spent part of our spring break visiting Britt's sister, Misty, and her boys in Arkansas. Garrett was in heaven! The boys woke up and hopped on the four wheeler first thing every morning and either went fishing or went to work on their tree house. I felt like I didn't see Garrett for two full days. One night Britt took all 5 boys camping at Woolly Hollow State Park. It was close enough for the girls to drive over for hot dogs and s'mores. Gaitley was so sad she didn't get to stay and sleep in the tent, but I don't think she would have lasted very long in the dark. Gaitley and Gracyn loved looking out the window and seeing all the cows and baby calves. We had a great time and it really made me miss small town life. Garrett was so sad when we left. He is already counting down the days until we get to go back.

So Far Behind

2011-03-12T20:27:00.002-06:00

I am so far behind on my blog, so I am just going to skip what has happened during the last two months and just move on to what is going on now. Spring is here and suddenly we are so busy. I have spent the last two weeks cleaning out the attic getting ready for a huge consignment sale called Just Between Friends. It is a lot of work but definitely worth the effort. My bedroom is a disaster and I am so ready to drop this stuff off and get it organized again.
Garrett has started playing t-ball and I am so excited about it. I love baseball and hope he sticks with this sport. He has had two practices and the games start at the end of this month. So far he has really enjoyed kicking up the dirt and trying to throw the ball over the coach's head, but when he focuses he actually does pretty good. He is all into rollerblading, skateboarding, riding his bike and just being a boy. He had a bad wreck on his skateboard last month and one of his top teeth turned gray. The dentist said it was fine. I know this is just the beginning of what is to come with my little daredevil.
Gaitley is my little girly girl. She wants to be decked out from head to toe in jewelry, make-up and fancy clothes. She could care less about learning how to ride her bike, she just wants to look pretty. This reminds me a little of her Aunt Cayla. She is pretty much potty trained and this has been a little more difficult than I expected. It has taken awhile but I think she finally has the hang of it. She wore panties to school last week and surprisingly came home with the same clothes on that she went in.
Gracyn is 9 months old and I can't believe it. She is crawling and cruising all over the place. She can even stand alone for a few seconds. She is eating everything and loves any food that I give her. Right now, her favorites are strawberries and blueberries. She has learned the phrase "uh-oh" and repeats it all day long. Her hair is starting to curl in the back and I love it. She just melts my heart!
My first few months with three kids was crazy and so hard. Things are so much better these days and I feel so lucky to have such wonderful kids.

Gracyn's 8 Month Picture

Picture Day at School

Garrett's 5 Year Pictures

2011-01-30T21:11:00.000-06:00

We took Garrett out to the railroad tracks for his 5 year pictures. I thought they turned out great! He is turning into quite the poser.

Snow!

2011-01-22T10:39:00.000-06:00

We got a little bit of snow on January 9th. It was freezing outside but that didn't hold Garrett back. Poor kid does not have the appropriate clothing to play in the snow, so he was an icicle when he came in, but I don't think he even noticed. He played in our neighborhood most of the day and then went sledding by CVS with our neighbor, Brooke. Gaitley stayed outside just long enough for us to take her picture and then she was ready to come back in. I was glad she didn't want to play because Britt had a photo shoot that afternoon and I really didn't want to be outside. This is the second year in a row it has snowed in Rockwall. I'm not a big fan of the snow and the mess, but I am glad the kids got to enjoy it.

Garrett's 5th Birthday Party

2011-01-18T22:42:00.000-06:00

Garrett is five years old! Wow! Where has the time gone? This was a big birthday for him and for me. Five is the year of many changes and the biggest one is that he will start kindergarten in the fall. I still can't believe it. Anyway, I could go on and on about him being five years old, but I'll just skip to the party.
He had an awesome 5th birthday party at ASI. We had two coaches that were amazing. They ran those kids for an entire hour. I know mine were exhausted after the party. He picked superheroes for his theme and this turned out to be pretty fun. I decided to make blue velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing and I even made some cupcake liners to make them look extra fancy. The cupcakes were very blue and delicious. The icing on the other hand was a disaster and I have to give my husband full credit for saving the day. I could not get the icing thick enough. It was too runny. I sent Britt to the store 30 minutes before the party to buy new supplies and he came home and made the new icing while I got ready. I didn't sift the powdered sugar and that was the key. I will know next time, if I there is a next time. I should have just bought them like I do every year. In the end, they looked great and tasted pretty good. All in all the party was a success and I would suggest ASI to anyone who is looking for a fun and easy party.

My very blue cupcakes.

The finished product.

Happy 5th Birthday!

All Garrett's friends were trying to tell the coach that it was his birthday.

They played this game forever. The kids ran and ran and ran.

Gracyn is 7 months old

2011-01-10T22:26:00.000-06:00

Gracyn turned 7 months old on New Year's Day. She has had a very eventful month. She has her first two bottom teeth, she started crawling and pulling up, and she has had her first really bad ear infection. She started crawling when we were in Spearman for Christmas and hasn't slowed down since. We finally lowered the mattress in her crib and thank goodness we did because the past few mornings she has pulled up to her knees in bed. She has even managed to pull up to standing a few times. She has the sweetest smile and loves to cuddle. I am thankful for the nights that she goes to sleep on her own but do love to rock her when she lets me. Gracyn is such a happy baby and will give a smile to just about anybody.

Christmas

2011-01-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

We had a great Christmas holiday. This post is pretty much just pictures. We got to celebrate Christmas three times! We are so blessed to have such wonderful families.

Santa visited our house a little early because he knew we would be out of town on Christmas day. Garrett was so pumped about his transformer mask.

My three sweet kids.

Gaitley was so proud of her new stuff.

All Garrett wanted was a pogo stick. I really didn't think he would be able to do it, but boy was I wrong.

He also got a shaving kit. He has shaved almost every day since he got it. He told me his face was getting a little hairy. Ha!

Christmas Eve in Spearman

Gaitley loves her new Barbie bicycle, especially the basket in the front to hold all of her goodies.

She also loves her new pillow pet.

Garrett and Cooper

Gracyn and cousin Ellie.

Uncle Lance and Gracyn. She absolutely loved him!

Christmas morning

Nanny Gwen helping the kids open their presents

Cowgirl Gaitley. Yeehaw!

Sheriff Garrett

Mimi and Pop with the grandkids.

My Grandma Patty and Gracyn

Gracyn doesn't quite know what to think about Grandad Bert.

Seeing Santa

2010-12-08T22:38:00.002-06:00

We started off our day super early for some reason this morning. All three kids were up by 6:30. I usually have late sleepers, but they have all turned into early birds lately. It really is kind of nice to get things going a little earlier, take earlier naps and have earlier bedtimes. We'll see if this trend continues.
Since Gracyn woke up so early she was back down before 8 for her first nap. The big kids made some Christmas cards and played and then we headed to the library for story time. We have not been to the library as often as I would have liked to these last few months. Our librarian is wonderful and they kids really enjoy it. Today she read Owl Babies. This was a perfect story for Garrett to hear. It is about three owl babies who miss their mom and are afraid she is not going to come back and of course in the end she does. Garrett has been so worried about me leaving him lately. He is scared to death that I am going to forget about him. We had a surprise visitor come after story time to make some balloon creations. He was incredible. I have never seen such amazing balloon animals. Gaitley got a kitty cat and Garrett got a really neat sword.
After the library we headed to Sonic for Wacky Pack Wednesday. This has become our new thing. We don't eat out very often anymore and on Wednesday Sonic Wacky Packs are only $1.99. You can't beat that!
After lunch we played outside and then came in and both girls took really long naps. Garrett and I played and rested and then he helped me clean the kitchen. He thought it was a treat to get to mop the floor. I enjoyed the help!
Our day ended with a trip to Bass Pro Shops to see Santa. Santa left a note in their Christmas calendar this morning and asked them to come. They had been looking forward to it all day. My sister and Ellie met us there. We have been going to Bass Pro Shops for the last three years to see Santa and have never had to wait in line. We got there tonight and it was packed. We had to wait about 40 minutes to get our pictures taken. I was shocked! Garrett has never sat in Santa's lap before and I was really not expecting him to do it tonight but he did. I really thought Gaitley would and the closer we got the more she didn't want to. Oh well, two out of the three is not bad. Then of course after we took our pictures we had to shoot some guns and bows and arrows.

Fun December Weekend

2010-12-06T22:03:00.000-06:00

December is always such a busy month but so much fun. We started off the weekend with our Sunday School class Christmas party on Friday night. We had a delicious dinner catered by On the Border. It was so nice to drop the kids off at the church nursery and not have to worry about getting a babysitter or paying for one. We had a great time visiting with friends.
We got up Saturday morning and went downtown to watch the Christmas parade. It was the largest I have ever seen it. There were over 100 floats. The kids loved it. Garrett 's favorite part was seeing Santa on the fire engine and Gaitley talked nonstop about the cheerleaders. Saturday night we bundled up in our Christmas pajamas and went to look at Christmas lights. It is so exciting to watch the kids light up when they see all the decorations.
Our weekend ended on a good note with the Hanging of the Green at church. All the kids' choirs sang Christmas songs. Garrett has been practicing for this for months and he was so cute to watch. I don't know if he knew any of the words but he stood up there with his hands in his pockets and smiled and waved the entire time. Both my sisters were able to come and that really made it special.
We can't wait for the rest of the fun activities we have planned for this month.

So Thankful

2010-11-30T16:03:00.000-06:00

We had such a fantastic Thanksgiving. My entire family came to Rockwall. It was so nice not to have to drive all the way to Spearman. I did miss seeing Britt's family and my grandparents, but Christmas is only a few weeks away. This was my first year to host and my first time ever to cook turkey and dressing. I handed the hard part over to Britt and he fried the turkey and it was absolutely delicious. I tried to copy Britt's mom's fantastic recipe for dressing and I think it turned out pretty good. Now that you know it all turned out ok I will tell you how Thursday morning started out. It was time to start cooking the turkey and when I took it out of the fridge it was still frozen. Yikes! It had been thawing for days. We did the quick thaw method and soaked it in the sink. Then Britt had the fryer all ready to go and it started pouring rain. We moved it into the garage and just prayed we wouldn't have a big fire. After all our morning drama everything turned out just fine and we had a great Thanksgiving dinner. It was so nice to have everyone together.

Fun Fall Days

2010-11-19T16:53:00.000-06:00

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately. It's a little chilly but so enjoyable. We have been able to spend so much time outside playing. If it is a little too windy for Gracyn, I have been able to leave the doors open and keep her in the playroom while the big kids play out front.

Gracyn is such a happy baby these days. Excuse the bad hair. I never notice how crazy it looks until I see it in a picture. Some lady told me she looked like she had a mohawk. She has rubbed it nearly bald on both sides.

Garrett and our neighbor raked up all the leaves and buried each other. I thought the goggles were a good idea. :)

With the time change we have been getting ready for bed so early. We have been able to spend some time playing games before it is actually time to go to bed.

This is random, but my kids (mainly Garrett) thought these would look great on the door. We turned some free address labels into stickers and he thought since they had our address on them we should tape them to the front door.

When Garrett was two, the first thing he would do when we went outside was run around in a circle yelling, "it's a beautiful day!" The tradition has stuck and now he has passed it on to Gaitley. Silly kids!

Having fun in the gator and then the wagon.

Now I am off to enjoy an evening with just my baby girl. Britt took the big kids to watch our nephew play football and they are spending the night. So far my free time (her nap time) has consisted of blogging and cleaning the windows. Fun times!

Family Pictures...Enough Said

2010-11-12T15:33:00.001-06:00

Last Friday night we got the kids all dolled up and met our friend Allison out at White Rock in an attempt to capture the perfect picture of our little family. The kids looked adorable in their red outfits and we had the candy ready for bribes. We were going to meet her around 5 which meant we needed to leave our house a little after 4. Of course, this is the day that Gaitley needed to take a really long nap and we had to wake her up in order to make it on time. Well, she never got in a good mood and pretty much cried the entire time we were taking pictures. It was a disaster! She didn't want to walk and wouldn't get down and had red, watery eyes in all our pictures. In the few that she was smiling, Garrett wasn't or Gracyn was not happy. We left the photo shoot and felt completely exhausted. Poor Allison! I do think we got one good shot out of the 300 she took. I guess one is all you need though.

Now it is time for the fun part; picking out the perfect Christmas card. It is fun but also so hard. There are so many beautiful cards. One of my favorite places to look is on Shutterfly. I absolutely love their Christmas cards. I have ordered from this site in the past and have been very pleased. They have such a variety of cards to choose from and you can always make yours unique by picking out the number of pictures you want on your card. I love this because it is a lot easier to get a one good picture of each child than one good picture of the entire family together. I am pretty sure I will be buying a card with enough spots for one picture of each child. The quality is great and the delivery is always speedy. Here are a few of my favorites this year.

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Faith Hope Family Religious Christmas Card

Elegant Cranberry Damask

I am always looking for a deal and if you are too you might be interested in this. Shutterfly is offering a deal this holiday season. If you have a blog, Shutterfly is offering bloggers an opportunity to earn 50 free cards just for blogging about their site. Just go to this link: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Sweet Mess

2010-11-11T22:02:00.000-06:00

Gaitley has entered the phase of absolute sweetness. She is starting to pretend and and make up stories all the time. Her imagination is running wild and it is so fun to watch. She loves to play kitchen and baby dolls and get all dressed up in jewelry and make-up. She is constantly talking to herself or pretending to have a conversation with someone on the phone. Maybe it is a boy thing, but I don't remember Garrett ever really doing this. He is just like his daddy and me and we sometimes have a hard time pretending. We like to stick to the facts. I am so glad Gaitley is different and has a great imagination.

Don't let this post fool you. She is still my mischievous, middle child. I found her like this the other night while I was cooking dinner.

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween

2010-11-07T22:14:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to a local pumpkin patch to pick out a few pumpkins for Halloween. Their favorite part was running through the hay maze. Gracyn is at an awkward stage for pictures so she looks a little uncomfortable in all the ones with the kids. Garrett had to hold her and she didn't like it too much.

Halloween was also a success. Garrett is really into guns, knives and swords. He decided to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pretty much because he got to carry some swords with him. I thought it was fun because this was one of my favorite shows growing up. He couldn't believe I knew all the words to the theme song. Gaitley was a ballerina. She didn't really care what she was but enjoyed putting on some fancy clothes and getting to wear a little glitter on her cheeks. Gracyn was a little pumpkin and was absolutely perfect while we took the big kids trick-or-treating. We went to about twenty houses and then headed to our neighbors for a little Halloween party.

Fair Day

2010-10-13T11:06:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday we took the kids to the State Fair of Texas. It was quite a day. Garrett was so excited he could hardly stand it. The first thing he wanted to do was go find the rides, of course. The tickets were so expensive, so they only got to do a few things, but still had a blast Every time we drive down I-30 he says he wants to ride the Ferris Wheel. I am scared to death of that thing, but lucky for my kids, Britt is not. I had a good excuse because Gracyn was asleep, so I got to stay on the ground with her. Britt said the kids absolutely loved it! After the rides we headed to the car show, petting zoo and the BMX bike show. By this time, Gaitley had fallen asleep and Gracyn was waking up so we decided it was time to go. It will be nice to be able to go one day with no diapers to change or strollers to push, but we still had a great time.

Their first ride

This is how Gracyn stayed the entire time we were at the fair.

Waiting in line for the Ferris Wheel

I love this one! Garrett is in awe at how high they are and Gaitley is just having run on the ride.

Big Tex

Feeding the goats

Two tired kids

Gracyn is 4 months old

2010-10-05T21:41:00.001-05:00

Gracyn is now in my favorite baby stage. She is four months old and so sweet. She is getting on more of a schedule and is sleeping better at night and when we are lucky, all night. She loves to sit up (with help) and watch what is going on all around her. She absolutely adores Garrett and Gaitley. She smiles and laughs every time we talk to her. She still stays in the same place, so I can put her somewhere and come back and she is in the exact same spot. I just love this age!

4 Month Stats
Height: 24 1/2 inches (50%)
Weight: 13 lbs. 15 oz. (50%)

Just a few sweet pictures of the other two kiddos.

A Little Bit of Everything

2010-09-21T12:59:00.001-05:00

Here is a little bit of what has been going on with us in the last few weeks.

My brother is getting married in October and we flew to Spearman two weekends ago for the shower. It was a quick trip, so just Gracyn and I went with my two sisters and my niece. I wish I had some pictures of us trying to get through the airport. Camille and I had our babies in baby bjorns, but we still had to lug two car seats and carriers and our luggage. Thank goodness Cayla was with us. I don't think we could have managed without her help.

I love that Gracyn and Ellie are so close in age. They are going to have so much fun growing up together. Camille and Scott went to a wedding last weekend and we got to babysit Ellie for the evening. Both babies were good, but it was wild. I cannot imagine having twins.

Gracyn has started loving her tummy time.

Garrett passed his soccer shoes down to Gaitley because they were too small for him. She was so excited and wore them all over the house.

Poor Gaitley has been exhausted lately. She fights naptime and bedtime. She is usually the last one down and the first one up and wakes up several time during the night. I don't know what is going on. Hopefully, this stage will end soon. She finally passed out in the living room.

Garrett has been into obstacle courses lately. He makes them for himself and for his toys. He had all these things lined up outside his bedroom. He had it where the first toy did something to make the next toy move and so on. It was pretty neat.

First Day of School

2010-09-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

Garrett and Gaitley started school last Tuesday. For Gaitley it is more of a play time for her and a break time for Mommy, but for Garrett it is the real deal. He is in pre-K this year and it is all about getting ready for kindergarten. He absolutely loves everything about it, from the computers to the secret signal you give the teacher when you have to go to the bathroom. We have been working a lot at home on letters and numbers and things like that, but all of a sudden he is really into it. He wants to know how to spell everything. This makes me so excited! Gaitley likes it too, but she is not as thrilled to go in the morning. She cries at drop-off, but I know this will end soon. She is always happy at the end of the day and her teachers say she did great. It is just getting there that is hard. I love my Tuesdays and Thursdays. I get to spend some one on one time with Gracyn and get some things done around the house while she is sleeping.

Pictures at the Park

2010-09-07T12:52:00.000-05:00

Sweet girls!

All three kids looking at the camera!

Sweet Gracyn!

Gaitley loved running barefoot at the park.

Garrett striking a pose.

The kids got a little treat for being so good during the photo shoot.

Gracyn is 3 months old

2010-09-06T08:51:00.000-05:00

Gracyn is now three months old and things have gotten so much easier. Bedtime is still a struggle, she is going to be a night owl, but the rest of the day she is happy and a very good baby. She has even gotten a little better in the car. She still cries, but can last a little bit longer before that starts. She talks all the time and just squeals with delight when we talk to her.

Birthday and the American Girl Store

2010-08-13T22:58:00.000-05:00

I have been looking forward to going to the American Girl store ever since it opened up and am so glad to have a little girl and a reason to visit it. I was the biggest tomboy ever and never really played with dolls. All I can remember having was a boy Cabbage Patch named Wallace Randolph and the American Girl doll , Molly. I loved Wallace and think I was really in love with all of Molly's little accessories, but do remember playing with her too. It was so neat to see Molly in the store with the same desk and bed and outfits that I remember having.
Gaitley got a Bitty Baby for Christmas and she absolutely loves her. She is definitely not a tomboy and loves all the girly stuff. I have to admit that I am having fun with it too. We decided to take her to the store for her birthday and let her pick out a new outfit for Bitty. It was so fun to watch her reaction when we walked in. She loved looking at the dolls and all the stuff she could get for Bitty. All she kept saying was, "I want this Daddy! I want this!" We are in trouble!

The morning of Gaitley's real birthday. She is enjoying a cinnamon roll and blueberries for breakfast and practicing holding up two fingers.

Outside the store

I love how she is standing on her tiptoes to see better. Garrett will hate to admit this, but he enjoyed the store too.

Gaitley with her purchase. The store really makes the kids feel special. It is all about them and their doll.

The girls - we are posing with Molly.

Enjoying a birthday dinner at Mi Cocina

Gaitley's Birthday Party

2010-08-10T23:17:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night we celebrated Gaitley's birthday with an ice cream sundae party. She loved being the center of attention and getting lots of new toys to play with. My parents, both my sisters and my brother got to come which made it even more special. After the party we headed to the Shores Park to get a family picture since we were all together.

Gaitley loved her new beauty shop stuff from Lance and Taleigh.

This jewelry box from Camille and Scott was a favorite too. She loved watching the ballerina dance.

Cute new clothes from Cayla and they go great with her Tinkerbell slippers.

A new kitchen!

Garrett gave Gaitley a manicure!

Dress-up clothes!

Make a wish!

Getting a little help from brother to blow out the candles.

Sneaking a piece of the cake!

Yummy cake and ice cream sundae

Mimi and Gaitley

Gracyn slept through the whole party.

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

Gaitley's 2 Year Pictures

2010-08-09T23:40:00.000-05:00

Britt was so excited to take Gaitley out all by herself for a photo shoot. He took Garrett to gymnastics and I got Gaitley all ready and then we switched. Gracyn and I went to watch Garrett and Britt and Gaitley headed downtown to take some pictures. I was expecting this to take about an hour. After gymnastics, we went straight home and we were still getting out of the car and Britt and Gaitley pulled up. Their photo shoot was cut short. Poor Gaitley fell down the stairs and that was the end of it. She had a fat lip and her face was a little scratched up. She was so upset too. She had been looking forward to taking pictures in her little tutu. Luckily, Britt got some good ones in the short time he had.

Sweet Kids

2010-08-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

Here are just a few pictures of the kids. We haven't been doing much lately. Gracyn absolutely hates the car, so we really just stay home most of the time. We have been having some sweet moments here though.

Sweet girls

Gaitley's first time to ride bikes with Daddy and Garrett. She loved it!

I love this picture!

Gracyn loves to be held. She just falls right to sleep like this.

Gracyn on her playmat.

Daddy and Gracyn

Taylor Family Reunion

2010-08-03T14:34:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, we went to Abilene for the Taylor Family Reunion. My grandma was one of eleven, so at one time this was quite a big event. When I was a little I remember going to Robert Lee, where she grew up, and getting to see all her sisters and hearing wonderful stories about their childhood. My grandma is a great storyteller and I still love listening to her stories. Just a few years ago we started having the reunions in Abilene at my Aunt Debbie's house. They are a bit smaller now, but it is still fun to see all the family.

Garrett enjoying the swing.

The Sheppard Family

The Smith Family

4th of July

2010-07-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

We attended the annual 4th of July parade in Spearman. The kids always have so much fun and I love being able to catch up with old friends. We decorated Garrett's scooter and he loved riding it down the street. He was really wishing he had his bike because it goes so much faster, but we ran out of room and had to settle for the scooter instead. Gaitley loved playing and getting her face painted. Gracyn pretty much slept the entire time and was absolutely perfect.

New Posts

2010-07-08T22:08:00.004-05:00

Scroll down. I published three new posts. I am a little behind on my blog.

Trip to Spearman

2010-07-08T22:06:00.000-05:00

We loaded up the car last Thursday and made the eight hour drive to Spearman to spend the 4th of July with our families. The ride there went really well and all the kids did great! We are a little spoiled when we go see our parents because Britt and I grew up two houses apart and our parents still live there today. Our kids are able to just run back and forth and spend as much time with each grandparent as they want. Our weekend was filled with frog catching, fireworks, riding the lawn mower and seeing baby puppies. The kids had so much fun! Our trip back to Rockwall was not so successful. We decided to go a different way and it ended up taking us TEN hours. We got stuck in traffic on I-35. I don't think we will go that way ever again.

Gaitley and Mimi watching Garrett catch frogs.

Catching frogs

Got one!

I can't believe my four year old was lighting fireworks.

My mom's parents with Gaitley and Gracyn.

Mimi and Gracyn

Playing with the puppies

Papa and Gaitley riding the lawn mower.

Our last stop on the way home. You can't drive through Texas and not stop at a Dairy Queen.

One Month Old

2010-07-08T21:45:00.001-05:00

I can't believe Gracyn is already one month old. This last month has gone by so quickly. It just seems like a blur. I'm a little sleep deprived but making it. I had to publish this picture because I wanted everyone to see Gracyn's one month outfit. You put these stickers on your babies' onesie each month on their birthday. My sister told me about it and I had to buy them. I thought it was such a great way to document their growth. The website is www.pickysticky.com.

Swim Lessons

2010-07-08T21:36:00.000-05:00

Garrett took swim lessons for two weeks from a lady who teaches at her home. He learned so much and loved going. Each day after swim lessons I would ask him what he learned and I was very impressed with what he was telling me. He knew all the details and could explain it very well. I could tell his teacher made sure each child listened to what she was telling them. He even told me he could jump off the board and swim to the other end. I was not sure if he was telling me the truth but got to see that he was the last day of class. He got up on the board and showed us.

What We Have Been Up To

2010-06-23T08:35:00.004-05:00

Going to church with Daddy - Gaitley thought she needed some lipstick that morning

Teaching Gracyn all about dinosaurs

Cuddling on the couch

Taking some great naps on the couch

Doing some tummy time on Daddy's chest

More snuggling

Admiring Gracyn's curly hair

Enjoying our first bath

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-21T14:28:00.003-05:00

We had a fantastic Father's Day. We started our day at the movies. All five of us went to see Toy Story 3. It was Gaitley's first movie and she did great. She loves Woody and Jesse. Gracyn was perfect too. She slept the whole time. After the movie, we went to On the Border for some yummy Mexican food. We couldn't believe how well all the kids behaved. It was so nice to finally get out of the house.

Happy Father's Day, Britt! You are the best husband and daddy. We are so lucky!

One Week Old

2010-06-11T22:01:00.005-05:00

One week has already passed and it seems like we have been busier than ever. Gracyn is a wonderful baby and has adjusted well to being poked and messed with constantly by Garrett and Gaitley. They love her to pieces and want to hold her and touch her all the time. We have been lucky enough to have had my parents and Britt's parents here to help us, mainly with the big kids. Everyone left on Wednesday, so it's just us now. It has been a little crazy, but not too bad. Britt goes back to work on Monday, so we'll see how I can handle it alone. Here are just a few pictures of what we have been up to this past week.

Gracyn - One week old on Tuesday

First Bath - Not a great picture, but look at that curly, dark hair.

Mimi with Ellie and Gracyn

Mimi with all the grandkids

Camille, Ellie, Me and Gracyn

Garrett and Gaitley at the Dallas Aquarium with Britt's parents

Garrett having fun in the backyard.

Look how hot and sweaty the kids were after playing at the park.

Gaitley trying out the swing

Gracyn Jan Savage

2010-06-05T19:17:00.004-05:00

Gracyn was born on Tuesday, June 1st at 6:31 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long. We feel so blessed to have three healthy children. We are all doing great and are so glad to be home.

Mimi and Pop

Proud Big Brother Garrett

Garrett couldn't wait to hold Gracyn.

Gaitley loves her baby sister.

Aunt Cayla

Going home
Welcome home Gracyn!

Meeting Cousin Ellie

2010-05-26T21:40:00.003-05:00

Garrett and Gaitley got to meet their first cousin on my side of the family on Monday night. Ellie Claire was born at 5:33 and she weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. and was 18 3/4 inches long. Camille and Scott are going to be wonderful parents to this sweet baby girl.

Garrett loved watching Ellie through the window.

Gaitley with Mimi and Pop

Gaitley is not going to want to share her Uncle Scott. She loves him so much!

Sweet Ellie

Garrett and Gaitley with Aunt Camille and Ellie

Spray Park

2010-05-21T21:23:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week we headed out to Harry Myers spray park to cool off in the sprinklers. I figured we needed to get in as many fun things as we could before baby Gracyn arrives. We met our good friends there and all the kids had a blast playing in the water. Gaitley surprised me and absolutely loved it. She is a little hesitant about water getting in her face, but she didn't mind one bit.

Garrett and Jacob

Gaitley checking out the water.

Garrett was hard to capture. He didn't slow down the whole time we were there.

Garrett's Last Day of School

2010-05-13T21:20:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, today was Garrett's last day of preschool. I sure could have used a couple more weeks, but I am also ready to get into the summer routine of staying up a little later and sleeping in. After drop off, Gaitley and I ran a few errands and then came home to play and enjoy our last few hours of girl time. Garrett got out of school at noon, so I picked up Sonic and we headed to the park to meet some friends from school. We had a great time!

He has grown up so much this year!

First Day of School

Last Day of School

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-10T20:39:00.005-05:00

We had a fantastic Mother's Day weekend. My parents came into town on Thursday and we had so much fun. Garrett had a soccer game on Saturday and then the boys went to a Texas Rangers game. It was my dad and Garrett's first major league game. I think they both took it all in and loved every minute of it. We spent Sunday in Dallas with my sister and her husband. We ate lunch at Ozona's. It was so nice to be able to spend Mother's Day with family.

Bluebonnet Pictures

2010-04-18T16:37:00.000-05:00

Dallas Zoo

2010-04-16T06:37:00.000-05:00

We went to the Dallas Zoo on Monday with the Rogers family. All the kids had such a great time seeing the animals, riding the monorail and riding the carousel. We went early in the morning, so it wasn't too hot and all the animals were active and awake. The monkeys were a little too loud and active. Gaitley has been scared ever since. She keeps saying, "monkeys loud." They were really loud though, so I guess I don't blame her. Garrett and Jacob even got to touch a snake while we were there. Brave boys!

Ty, Garrett and Jacob enjoyed walking while Gaitley got pushed around in the wagon.

Best buds!

Garrett and Jacob listened so well to the man telling about the snake.

Brave boy!
Gaitley loved the carousel.

First Camp Out and First Swim of the Summer

2010-04-12T20:50:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, Britt took Garrett out to Lake Lavon for his first overnight camping trip. Last summer they spent several nights in the tent in our backyard, but this was their first time to go somewhere else. I have never seen Garrett more excited about something. He couldn't wait for Britt to get home from work on Friday afternoon. They got out to Lake Lavon around 4:00 and spent the afternoon exploring, fishing and setting up the tent. Gaitley and I joined them for hot dogs and s'mores around 7:00. Garrett was ready for us to go home because he didn't think the girls belonged out in the woods with the boys. Britt said he did great and even slept until 8:00 the next morning. He is already excited about their next camping trip.

Yummy s'mores!

Gaitley loved hanging out by the fire and exploring in the woods.
The true campers!

Garrett spent all day Sunday playing in the water. He started out with water balloons, then moved to the sprinkers, and then finally the neighborhood kids convinced our next door neighbor to let them go swimming in their pool. It was freezing, but the kids loved it.

Trying to warm up after swimming in the freezing water. He didn't want to take his goggles off.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T21:11:00.001-05:00

We spent Easter in Rockwall this year. I was a little sad about not going to Spearman, but we had a great time with friends here. We went to the early church service this morning and then Britt took the kids out for a little photo shoot while I got things ready for lunch. We went down the street to a neighbor's house for Easter lunch and an egg hunt. There were four families in all, so the kids had a great time playing and hunting eggs with their neighborhood friends.

Easter Egg Hunts

2010-04-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

We had our first Easter egg hunt on Sunday with our Sunday school class. We about blew away because it was so windy, but the kids enjoyed it. Garrett knew all about the candy and was ready to go. Gaitley quickly learned and was excited to fill her basket with eggs as well.
On Wednesday, we had our second egg hunt with our MOPS group. It was a lot of fun too. We are so lucky to belong to such wonderful groups.

Sunday School Class
MOPS group

Soccer

2010-03-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

Garrett had his first soccer game at Lake Pointe on Saturday. It was freezing and so windy, but he didn't mind one bit. Our team hadn't had a real practice yet because of all the rain, so it was really funny watching them play. They had no clue what was going on but got better as the game went on. We lost 4 to 1 and the only point our team had was scored by the other team. My mom and sister got to come and Garrett was so excited when he spotted them in the stands. Gaitley enjoyed staying warm in Mimi's lap and digging through her purse the entire game. This soccer season is going to be a learning experience for all of us because Britt and I know nothing about the sport. We are looking forward to a fun season!

This picture cracks me up.

So happy!

Garrett spotted Mimi and Aunt Camille in the stands.

Garrett's biggest fan applying her chapstick.

Gaitley's 18 month Pictures

2010-03-11T12:21:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we ventured up to Frisco to the Town Square to take Gaitley's 18 month pictures. She wasn't too interested in smiling for us, but we did get a few keepers. It is really neat there, so if you are looking for a fun place to take pictures I would definitely try it out.

Gaitley's 18 month stats:
Weight: 23 pounds
Height: 32 inches

At 18 months, Gaitley surprises me with her vocabulary. She can say a ton of words and has started putting together two to three word sentences. She is working on her ABC's and counting. She can verbalize almost everything she needs or wants. She loves to sing and dance, play babies, read books and of course play with her big brother. She still seems like such a baby to me. I can't believe that in 12 weeks she will be a big sister!

Front Flip

2010-03-04T13:22:00.000-06:00

Garrett mastered a front flip on the trampoline. The weather has been so beautiful lately and he has been able to spend a lot of time on the trampoline he got for Christmas. We were out there one day and I asked him if he could do a front flip. He started trying and would jump and then stop and just do a front roll. I kept trying to explain without showing him, which was very hard to do. I was a little tempted to get up on the trampoline myself but didn't think the baby would like that too much. Then finally he just did it. He was very proud of himself and couldn't wait to show everyone his new trick.

Hockey with the Big Boys

2010-02-27T06:35:00.000-06:00

We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood with wonderful kids and parents. Garrett is one of the youngest and all the big kids are so sweet and patient with him. On a rare sunny day last week, the big boys decided to play hockey and let Garrett jump right in their game. He had so much fun with them! Gaitley enjoyed playing outside too and loved riding the Gator with Garrett when the game was over.

Tyler, Garrett and Cameron playing hockey.

Two New Posts

2010-02-22T13:41:00.001-06:00

Make sure you scroll down to see both new posts!

Basketball

2010-02-22T13:22:00.001-06:00

We signed Garrett up for basketball with the city of Rockwall. It is a six week long program, with the first four weeks focusing on drills and the last two weeks are games. Well, he had his first game last week and it was hilarious! He spent most of his time rolling around on the floor and doing cartwheels, but did get to shoot the ball a couple of times. We still need to work on remembering to dribble. Every time he got it, he just tucked the ball and took off down the court. He had fun though and loved every minute of it.

Getting ready for the game
Running with the ball
Nice pass!

Almost made it!
Running with the ball again
Wide open lay-up
Jacob, Kaden and Garrett after the game.

Garrett's 4 Year Pictures

2010-02-22T13:11:00.000-06:00

Britt and Garrett went to Fair Park to take Garrett's four year pictures.

Sledding!

2010-02-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to a little hill over by CVS this morning and had so much fun sledding. Garrett had a blast, but Gaitley got a little scared and only did it once. It made me miss growing up in the Panhandle and doing stuff like this every winter.

Snow Much Fun!

2010-02-11T18:41:00.000-06:00

Seeing snow on the ground this morning was such a fun way to wake up. Garrett popped right out of bed and was ready to go play in it. He had school at 9:00, so I let him get it out of his system before we got ready for the day. He loved it! Gaitley had fun in it too, but realized it was a little cold after she fell down a few times. We played a little more after school and then enjoyed a little treat of snow ice cream. I pick up two little girls after school and they enjoyed playing in the snow too.

Super Bowl

2010-02-09T12:12:00.000-06:00

We went to our annual neighborhood Super Bowl party this year. We had such a great time watching the game and visiting with friends. Garrett had a blast! He loved hanging out with the big kids and even learned how to play a racing game on the Play Station. All he can talk about is going back to Cameron's to play that game. Gaitley had a wonderful too! She loved being passed around and held. The big girls played babies with her. I think she was the baby but didn't mind one bit. She even got to play Barbies for the first time too. It was so nice this year to relax and visit and know the kids were happy and being looked after.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2010-02-04T12:11:00.000-06:00

This has been the yuckiest, wettest winter that I can remember since we moved to Rockwall. I am so ready for it to stop raining and for our backyard to dry up, so we can go outside and play. This week we have enjoyed staying in and spending most of the day in our pajamas. We have done lots of crafts, puzzles and reading. Garrett has finally taken an interest in coloring. For the longest time, he would just pick one color and scribble all over the paper. I guess it's a boy thing! He just started wanting to make the pictures look nice. He is very interested in space and planets right now, so maybe it helped that I found a picture he really wanted to color. I was also so proud of how he wrote his name. I even attached a picture, so you could see how good his pictures were.

Helping with the Laundry

2010-01-31T22:06:00.000-06:00

Gaitley is such a good little helper when it comes to the laundry. She loves to help load the clothes and take things from the washer and put them in the dryer. She loves to tell me who the clothes belong to and she even tries to sneak some of her dirty clothes in with the clean ones. I had just taken a load of clothes out of the dryer and was getting ready to put a new load in when I found her sitting in the dryer. She thought it was hilarious!
Oh, and I know her hair is long and is hanging in her eyes. I'm trying to let her bangs grow and she had just taken a bath, so it wasn't fixed. Poor thing can't even see!

Bounce Town

2010-01-31T21:59:00.000-06:00

On Friday we went to Wylie to Bounce Town with some friends. The kids had a blast running around, sliding and playing games. Gaitley loved the slide and Garrett loved everything there was to do there. Friday was such a yucky, rainy day so this was the perfect activity to burn some energy.

Garrett took a break from bouncing to play a little air hockey.
Gaitley went down this slide a hundred times, first with me and then all by herself.

A Few Fun Pictures

2010-01-27T13:04:00.000-06:00

Here are just a few recent pictures of the kids playing around the house. Garrett has always been very independent and able to play by himself. Gaitley has just started to enjoy doing a few things with out me. She loves Mr. Potato Head and feeding her babies. Garrett loves playing with his tools. He says that he and Britt are the Toolbox Twins. Britt loves the fact that Garrett wants to be just like him.

Garrett's 4th Birthday Party

2010-01-13T20:21:00.000-06:00

Garrett turned four on January 10th. I can't believe he is getting so big. He is big into dinosaurs these days and his only request for his party was a dinosaur pinata. Luckily I found a really cool t-rex one at Party City and we had a fabulous dinosaur themed party. Britt ordered some fossils off of Ebay and we had a dinosaur dig. It was so cold on Saturday, so we filled up two swimming pools with sand and buried the treasures for the kids to find. They absolutely loved it! They dug for about 30 minutes and I had to drag them away to do the other games and eat cake and open presents. The pinata was a hit too. All his little friends were so sweet and good. It was a fantastic day!

Garrett and Gaitley tested out the dino dig before all the guests arrived.
Garrett and Jacob digging for fossils.
He couldn't wait to smack that pinata!

Garrett's Birthday!
Happy 1st Birthday!
Happy 2nd Birthday!
Happy 3rd Birthday! He was a little shy at his party, so it was very hard to get a picture of him smiling.

Christmas

2010-01-06T15:15:00.000-06:00

I am a little behind on posting our Christmas pictures, so I am just going to do them all together. We first celebrated Christmas in Rockwall. Santa came to visit us a little early because he knew we would be in Spearman on Christmas day. On the Tuesday before Christmas, we loaded up and headed to Spearman for two more with my parents and Britt's parents. We had a wonderful time spending the holidays with our families.

Garrett loved his new trampoline from Santa.

Gaitley's new rocking chair and baby bed.

Garrett enjoyed Gaitley's doctor kit more than she did.

Gaitley's bitty baby.

Smith family