Daddy and Garrett go to the Zoo

So, it's been H-O-T here in Texas. We're talking 28+ days of triple digits. Yuck. Despite the heat, my brave husband joined with a couple other families from church and went to the zoo last week. Garrett only lasts for a few hours at the zoo anyway, so we knew they'd be done after eating lunch. I was blessed to have a morning to myself while they had their male bonding. :) Garrett had a blast and all the talk around our house was about the ZOO for the next couple days. Here are a few pictures from their awesome outing.

"Beese Ball"

Garrett is in love with Beese Ball and his Daddy couldn't be any more proud. :) As everyone knows, Russ is a huge Texas Rangers fan. So when Garrett goes running around all anxious about finding his "beese ball love," Russ nearly fell over with excitement. The baseball bug has officially bitten our son. He wanted to throw his baseball. He wanted to catch his baseball. He wanted to hit it with his little bat. I tried my best to catch a few pictures of my boys playing baseball together during last night's Home Run Derby but since one of them (Hint: NOT the 30+ year old) moves very quickly and in fact, does not STOP moving ever...they're not the greatest of photos. :) But you'll get the idea anyway. So sweet to see Garrett and Daddy playing catch/throw/bat/run together. And I may not be an MLB pro or anything but I think our little man has a pretty good arm already. The aim? Eh. We'll work on that.

 Batter up!!

 

  Garrett is explaining some of the more difficult baseball concepts to Russ.

 Good catch, Daddy!

 Pitching him the ball.

 Running away with the ball.

 Awww, sharing is nice.

 Pitching him the ball...again.

And...SAFE!!

Kinsler!!

Russ and Hillary went to the Rangers game last night and--despite the heat and the sad loss--had a great time. The icing on the cake?? It was Kinsler jersey night for kids and they let Russ bring one home for Garrett!!! It's a wee bit big on him right now but he'll grow into it and it'll be fun for him to have his own jersey for the future. Go Kinsler!

Aunt Ta

My sister, Krista, came to visit last week and Garrett dubbed her Ta. So Ta she shall be. :) It's fun seeing him get excited to see her (and his Aunt Hillary--AKA Hi-Hee--who he got to see yesterday before the Rangers game!) and calling her by name. We went to the wave pool, story hour at the library, and of course, McDonald's playland. Never a dull moment when Ta's around! Here are a few pics of them playing with blocks and Ta being brave and letting Garrett brush her hair. Ouch!

I just love the look that he's giving her in this picture. He looks at her like that a lot. Especially when she's letting him climb on the bed or look out the window or brush her teeth...yes, I said teeth. She's a marshmallow. :) In the best way, of course!

Wordless Wednesday

Wedding and Turkey Festival Fun!!

This was the last looooong road trip that our family will be taking for at least another 6 months, if then. Between the two year-old crying when the dvd player's battery died and the 7 months preggo lady feeling mighty uncomfortable, it was a tough but well-worth-it drive. :) We got to be in IL for my brother Bobby's wedding to his sweet now-wife Kristi. And then Russ and Garrett both got to experience their first ever TREMONT TURKEY FESTIVAL!! Russ even ran in the 5k while we were there--so proud of him! As always, the trip was too short (although this time it really WAS short!) and we were sad to go, but we know that we'll be seeing at least a few of these folks in August when the newest addition to our family arrives. Yay!

Before the "show," as Garrett called the wedding, started.

We were thankful for a well-equipped toddler nursery at their church, Elevate. He needed to RUN!

It was a beautiful wedding and reception. Too bad Russ only got to see about 1/3 of the ceremony...Garrett decided to start yelling "Uncle Bob! Bob! Bob! Bob!"  And to the hallway they went.

At the Turkey Fest! Garrett's 1st carnival ride--the cars. :) I thought he might be scared to ride by himself but he surprised me and was fearless!

Going down the huge slide with Russ. Again, he was fearless!!

On the train. The lady running the ride told him not to move as she roped off the train car and he followed directions exactly--he didn't move an inch the whole ride!

Riding the Wiggle Worm (I think that's what it was called) with Grandma. This mini-coaster was so much fun for them both!

Russ is loving his first ever Turkey Fest turkey leg. Yummm...

Garrett was beyond exhausted by the time we ate lunch. He chose to nap on Grandpa's shoulder instead of eating any turkey. His loss. :)