First Christmas; The Trilogy ends

Yes, I know there is only one Christmas Day and that day is one of the most special of the year. I couldn't help the fact that it would be the third time that I would be opening gifts from loved ones and Santa. Blame my travel agent.

My Georgia grandparents had a beautiful tree with plenty of wrapped accessories around the bottom. Some for me, perhaps. And then some just magically appeared Christmas morning like they were waiting on me. Thanks Santa!

Here are our stockings...I'm on the left. Why's mine gotta be the smallest?

One of Santa's gifts was a singing lion that I could ride or push. More on that later...

Next was a basketball hoop that I could dunk on. It's only a 8" goal but I can raise it to 16" once I get some hops.

Me, dad and mini Elmo

But I think all would agree that the greatest gift this Christmas was me...

The Garrett went down to Georgia

After we recovered from our trip, which was easier for some than others..., there was much play time. Grandma and grandpa Georgia were very excited to see me again (and hopefully mom and dad too). They had a blanket for me to play on, and check this out, it belonged to my dad. Can you believe it? It's amazing it survived for such a long time...

Here's me about to slam that huge, orange donut in to my mouth.

As you can tell, dad's old blanket may not be the original color it once was. Whatever, I played just fine.

Even mom got it on the blanket action.

The big story with this trip to Dalton was that most of my dad's family would finally get the chance to meet me in person. The blog can only do so much, ya know?

On Christmas Eve, grandpappy GA's family came up for lunch so I was able to see his mom (great-grandma Macon) and I think she was eager for this day. She walked in the door and immediately asked, "Where's Garrett?" Unfortunately I was eating at the time so they had to wait for my grand entrance.

Great-grandma Macon didn't have to wait long though.

Dad's aunt and uncle, Brenda and Sherman, and cousin Matt and his wife Nikki were also there. I was passed around like the ham we had for lunch, but you gotta suck it up sometimes. My 2nd cousin Matt was a pro since he has two daughters already. A third may be in the works after my cuteness rubbed off....

Grandma GA's mom, great-grandma C-Town, heard there was a party so she came up to put in some face time. There I am on the loveseat with over 160 years of ancient history.

My Michigan grandparents also got in on the action as they were driving down to Florida and decided to take a tour of the Carpet Capital of the World. They had a late lunch and chatted with the family. I think they needed an interpretor to decipher all the Southern speak...

I have a lot more to tell but I think I'll space it out over this week to give y'all (Southern speak) something to look forward to.

First Christmas; Part Deux

This past Saturday mom and dad decided to clean up around the Christmas tree and get rid of all the presents...by opening them. Yes, it was my second Christmas celebration before our trip to Georgia and I was ecstatic. Apparently Santa had a special on free shipping and everything got here early...or that's what they're telling me. I didn't care, I just wanted to open everything up the best way I knew how.

I went after present number one mouth first, so mom had to help me out a little. Once we got the paper off, it was right back in my mouth. Tasty.

One of my presents was a piano-like toy that could also teach me Spanish and French. All I knew up until now were burrito and retreat....hee, hee, hee. We'll see how this works out. It lights up and makes lots of noise, so it's good in my book.

Next was a ring stacking apparatus. They looked like colored doughnuts, so you know what I did with them. Yep, that's right.

I did stack them after a while, but I had to taste them first. It may be a few days before I master the tossing skills.

Mommy and daddy exchanged some gifts too, but I wasn't paying any attention to them. Who cares what they got...? After I spent some time checking everything else out, it was dinner, bath and bed time. Except this time there was a twist. Instead of going to sleep in my crib, they put me in my car seat. Huh?

Ten hours later I woke up in Georgia. They sneak attacked me! It was like we magically teleported there, even though mom and dad probably don't think so.

Snow Day

If you live in the upper Midwest, then you probably know there is a major snow storm sweeping across the area right now. If you don't live in the upper Midwest, turn on the Weather Channel and share in our pain. Because of this, school was cancelled and mom and I have a snow day. Dad got up early to blow the driveway and said, forget this...I'm staying home too. There was like four inches already on the ground with maybe 6 more on the way. So dad cleared it all so it wouldn't be that bad later. Good thinking.

Mom and dad had to wake me up and tell me the good news and this is how they found me.

Yep, I rolled over to my stomach and fell asleep. Who knows how long I was like that, but I put up with long enough to get some quality zzzz's.

I pretty much roll around like it's no big deal now. I know you're jealous.

I even got some time in with the soccer ball. I know....no hands.

Well we're off to Georgia tomorrow so this may be my last post before the big day. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. See you soon.

First Christmas; Part 1

Even though I don't fully understand it yet, I do know that Christmas rocks. Apparently, it's some big celebrity's birthday that most of the world parties for like a whole month for. And on the big day, there's lots of presents = cool. I'll worry about the meaning of Christmas later. I hear Charlie Brown is good for that. For now, it's presents.

Since my family is kind of spread out, I get multiple Christmas celebrations. On Sunday, we had Christmas with my Michigan grandparents and Nana. Let's say I did pretty well.

A little pre-game activity on the coach.

Dad helps me open my first gift. I went for the mouth approach.

One down, many more to go.

Here's my camouflage beanie so that I fit in down in Georgia...

Another noise making gadget that everyone will enjoy listening to.

Nana dressed me up like a little elf. Of course I'm adorable but that hat was a bit snug.

Since we're traveling down to Georgia for the real Christmas, mom and dad will have their Christmas next weekend...and then the real one in GA...and then a trip to see more family after that. That's like four Christmas's. Awesome. I know every year won't be like that, so I'll enjoy it while I can.

Jumper

On Saturday night, mom and dad watched the movie Jumper. In the movie, Anakin Skywalker (really Hayden Christensen) has the ability to teleport himself from place to place while Mace Windu (Sam L. Jackson...sorry, I relate everything to Star Wars) tried to track him down and kill him. Thrilling.

On Sunday, I starred in my own version of Jumper.





Clearly my version is more believable....and entertaining. I can't wait until I'm a little taller and I can start getting mad air, or something like that.

Hello sweet potato

So I've been eating rice cereal for a few weeks now and you remember how I first took that? Now I've moved on to fruits and vegetables. Change is something that I take a little getting used too, let's just put it that way. I mean, how would you react when someone shoves an unknown substance in to your mouth?

Mom and dad thought sweet potatoes would be a good introduction into the herbivore lifestyle and it wasn't half bad. I may not be the neatest eater, but it eventually gets to where it needs to go. I've got carrots, sweet peas, applesauce on deck. Yummy.

Video of the week

It's an on going theme here that I like to put things into my mouth. Here's a first hand look at how it happens. It's like the Garrett Witch Project.

Stuff from the weekend

This weekend was a blast, as usual. It was highlighted with a visit from my Aunt Melissa and a trip to go see my great-grandmother, the Nana. They don't allow cameras at her assisted living apartments due to strict security guidelines and their treatment of the elderly. OK, so I made that part up...we just didn't take the camera.

And speaking of cameras, this is what happens when you let me get my hands on it...

I think I actually took a couple of these pictures. Not my best work, though.

Here's me head-butting the dog....


I blame it on gravity and my lack of balance. But mostly gravity.

My new chair

Now that I am mostly sitting up by myself, mom and dad decided it was time for me to get into my new high chair. It was a little big for me, but I'll make it work. It came with an activities tray which I will be exploring (with my mouth) over and over. As far as eating in it goes, that is just around the corner. They better have the wipes handy...

Sleep update

8 PM - 6:30 AM.

Yes, it is third shift for many factory workers, but for me, it's the time I went to bed and when I got up this morning. Nothing in between.

Mom and dad had this to say about it:

Dad: "Did you get up with him last night?"

Mom: "No. Did you?"

Dad: "No, I don't think so... Are you sure?"

Mom: "My boobs are sure."

Dad: "He did it...he finally did it."

I'd like to give all the credit to the rice cereal. Without it, I'd be nothing.

Back to the grind; Turkey recap

After a very relaxing break, it's back to daycare and the daily routine. We had a good weekend after Grandma and grandpa Michigan had us over for Thanksgiving on Thursday. I mostly played in my saucer and was stared at for hours. The usual.

Me and the ladies

During dinner, they decided to make me the center-piece. I got a birds-eye view of the spread and I'm guessing it was pretty good because there wasn't much talking.

Grandma and the boys. Which one of us is the attention whore....? Toss up.

Me and gramps

He snuck me a beer when no one was looking...except for the camera, obviously. I was going to shotgun it, but decided just to sip a little.

Afterwards I did what most people do after Thanksgiving dinner. I passed out. Hopefully next year I'll actually be able to participate in the festivities instead of just being a decoration.