First Day of "School"

No, our child is not some kind of  Einstein and entering preschool or kindergarten way way early. "School" is actually a Parents Day Out program at a local church, but it's too much of a mouthful so I just call it Garrett's school. He'll get to spend two days a week with his handful of classmates--playing, painting, snacking, learning and sleeping. And I'll get some free time. :-)

Even though I was really looking forward to Garrett getting more social interaction and even though I know that it's the best thing for us, it was still hard to let him go! He cried when I left but had a FANTASTIC day!! He was all smiles and wasn't all that eager to leave when I picked him up. Hearing his nonstop babble all the way home was music to my ears. Here are some pics I took here at home with him looking all big-boy with his lunch box backpack.

Ready to go!!!

Game Time

Tonight is Cowboys night in the Wells house. Yes, it's a preseason game but you wouldn't know it by the way my boys get excited. They've both been running around in their Romo jerseys all day and doing the touchdown pose. Here are a few of my favorite pics of Garrett in his game gear. 

We had been playing with Play-Doh at the table until Garrett decided he needed a snack. He loooves graham crackers! Snack of champions. Wonder if Romo had any today.

Fun New Trick

Okay, it's not so much a trick. But he's awfully proud of himself every time he does it.

Garrett had been alone in his room for a few minutes and I decided to check on him...this is what I found. He's climbed up onto the glider and is messing with his cd player and the baby monitor.

He finally noticed I was there and taking pictures. He knows how to press the play/pause button and does it over and over and over again. We may be buying a new copy of his bedtime cd soon.

The get-away. He's pretty quick at the whole climbing up and climbing down process...I wonder how long he's been doing this??

18 months old!

Yes, our baby boy is 1 1/2 years old. Technically he hit this milestone last week, but I didn't blog about it until today so I could give you his current stats. It's hard to believe that it's been a year and half since Garrett entered our world. I can't imagine life without him now! He's sweet, active, smiley, independent, stubborn and smart. Just like his parents. :-) The only question is...where did our baby go??

February 4, 2009

7 lb 6 oz

20 1/2 inches

August 4, 2010

21 lb 14 oz

32 1/2 inches

This is what happens in his room if he's left alone there. First he plays with his toys then he climbs on the glider. And glides. And glides. Then he hops to the ottoman. Then back to gliding. Such a boy!

Teething and Traildust and Cowboys...oh my!

Today was our first day of "vacation" and we took advantage of the free time together. I was a little bit nervous how our outing would go today because Garrett's been gnawing at his fists like they were Laffy Taffy's or something. Oh, teething, when will we be done? But he surprised me and was happy but drooly all day. First we went to Traildust, a fun steakhouse in Arlington where Russ used to hang out during his college years at SMU. It's got a very country feel to it and it has a 2-story slide inside, next to the dance floor. Needless to say, our little daredevil was all about that slide. He wanted to go down by himself but I didn't feel like encouraging any brain cell loss today so he was stuck going down with Russ or myself. (He'll thank me for it later I'm sure.)

Going down with Mommy, then Daddy, then Daddy again...and again...and again...

After our late lunch at the steakhouse and many many MANY slides later, we headed over to Cowboys Stadium to see Russ's beloved Dallas Cowboys practice. This was my first time inside the actual stadium part and it's AMAZING. Jerry Jones dropped a load of money on this thing and it shows. Fancy schmancy eating areas, huge screens and Cowboys stars on every possible surface. It was hard to watch the actual football stuff going on since we had our 1 1/2 year-old wanting to run sprints up and down the stairs--the cement stairs. But Garrett had a blast and was able to shriek and yell just like all the other nutso Cowboy fans. (I say nutso with love...they're my team too!) He didn't stop moving, or trying desperately to get us to let go of him, the entire time we were there. But we got to see a bunch of our favorite players so we were content. As I type this, Garrett is asleep in his crib with his Romo jersey still on because he was so passed out when we got home tonight that I couldn't bring myself to wake him up to put on jammies. Anyway, big fun was had by all and we have so much more "vacation" left to enjoy! Bring it on. :-)

Garrett's first impression of the stadium...not so impressed.

Then he saw the BIG SCREEN. He is so much like his Daddy right now.

Throw the football to Daddy--check.

Inspect the stadium seats--check.

Run at every opportunity--double check.

And running again.

We got him to hold still for about 30 seconds here.

This was one attempt to keep him from escaping our row. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Then he was off and running again.

Two of my favorite Father & Son pictures from our outing.

The ONLY Mother & Son picture from our outing--I tend to be behind the camera. And I mostly like it that way. :-)

Here's a regular view of the big screen...

...and here's what you can see when you zoom a little bit onto the big screen. If I really wanted to, I could totally tell what play they're about to call! (Okay, that's a fib. But I could tell you if someone was picking his nose or not!)

Random picture: these are some of the light fixtures in Cowboys stadium. This was in the fancy schmancy part that I mentioned earlier. Very hip.

In a last-ditch effort to keep Garrett occupied (i.e. to be able to stay at the practice a bit longer without him melting down) we put him on Russ's shoulders. And gave him a snack. Which he ate off of Russ's head. Don't worry, I wiped his noggin clean when Garrett was done. I'm just that sweet.

Shopping Cart Fun

Garrett is finding new uses for all of his toys lately, including his little shopping cart. He's no longer content to push it around or just fill it up with other toys. Oh no...he's figured out a new way to have fun with it.

Apparently he wants to sit IN the cart now. He's gotta do it at home since this momma won't let him do that at the store.

 Throwing the football to Russ. I had to include these pics because he was training for the Cowboys big preseason game. Ha!

Ha ha ha ha ha!! He loves to laugh. Especially when he's climbing. Which he usually is.

Anatomy Lessons

No, this post isn't scandalous. Garrett has gotten pretty good at pointing out his various body parts and I was finally able to capture it on film. Yay! It's a fun game to play, especially in the car when he starts getting cranky about being strapped in. Ask him where his nose is and he perks right up!

Team Spirit!

I got Russ a new pair of pj shorts for Father's Day and a few days ago I found some that were Garrett-sized that are almost identical! Could I resist them? Of course not!! So now they can both have serious team spirit even while in dreamland. Go Rangers!

Aren't my boys handsome?

80s Night at the Harbor

Last Thursday night we went to the Harbor in Rockwall and listened to an awesome 80s cover band. We went with some friends from church and had a great time singing along to some classics. Garrett has to learn to appreciate his Mommy's kind of music somehow, right?

My little boy and me! (Hi Lindsey in the background!)

Checking out his pal Ashley's earring. I'm glad he didn't rip it out!

Garrett had fun leaning on Russ and head-butting his back. Not sure why...he just does that sometimes.