This day in history

Two years ago on August 12th, mommy and daddy got married and legally began their life together. This glorious day is what eventually led to my existence, so I say, "Well done you guys!" I hope you have a great day, and I know that kind of depends on me....so I'll try to be extra adorable.

Pic of the Day

It's hard to argue with it...

LaPointe

So as I was sitting around (lying on a pillow) the other day, watching our new driveway dry, there came a knock at the door. A strange man and his wife entered. I was unaware of any visitors for that day so I was curious. Mom and dad were very friendly with them so it seemed OK, and then I realized that I knew that voice. But where did I know it from. And then it hit me....It was the voice that I heard, although muffled, almost every day while I was in mommy's belly. It was usually shouting and directing orders at little kids, so it was strange to hear it in this context.

Then Mark LaPointe came over to meet me. He had been telling mom that he and Sandy would babysit me if they needed them to, so I guess this was their interview. I usually know right away if I like someone or not. If I poop or pee on them that's a dead giveaway. A smile is a pretty good tell as well. They were pretty excited to see me and said I was so adorable....kissing up always helps.

Happy birthday, Nana

Today is my Michigan great-grandmother's 85th birthday. That makes her 30,984 days older than me. I can't even understand what that number means, but there's a lot of them. Mom and dad packed Gaspar and I up for a trip to the MI grandparents' house so we could see her. Mom's cousin Mike was in town too, so more people got to check me out.

Mike brought me a Cubs outfit too, so I could celebrate their rare 2nd half of the season success. That's cool because the Cubs were one of my dad's favorite teams back in the day when they had Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg and Andre "The Hawk" Dawson. Get back on the bandwagon dad...

Bro makes nice

As part of my daily activities, mom and/or dad get down on the floor and spend some tummy time with me. For those of you not in the know, tummy time is a good way for me to work on strengthening my neck and forearms. It's also a good time for me to see what the floor smells like...I'm basically on the floor and on my belly instead of my back and wiggling around. You get the idea.

Gaspar had been trying to steal some of my attention lately, so there was a slight rift between us. He decided to do the noble thing and beg me to forgive him, and also hung out with us on the floor.

I know we make an adorable team when we're together.

We had a good time and he liked it when I petted him. He even kissed me a couple of times. That's what mom and dad called it...felt more like I was stamp getting ready to be put on an envelope. I'll take it I guess.

Pic of the Day

When it comes to thumbsucking, I prefer the open-handed technique over the closed-fist approach. I find that this allows more circulation to the appendages and gives you a constant temperature to work with. Just my opinion.

Ever wonder how I got my name?

You probably thought mom and dad came up with it all on their own since they are so cool. Not true. Garrett Matthew Meeks has much relevance with both of their families. Garrett is my GA grandmother's maiden name and what my late great-grandfather was called by his friends. Mom and pops thought this would be a good way to keep the name in the family and honor "Pop" Garrett at the same time. Plus, BabyNames.com gives the meaning of Garrett as "Spear Ruler"....nice, huh? Matthew came about because it is my MI grandfather's middle name and his father's as well. The Meeks part is pretty self-explanatory...

So this week, some Garretts from Georgia made the trip up to meet me for the first time. My great-grandmother, Mamay Garrett, and her son and other daughter (GA grandmother's twin), Ben and Nette...which would be great-uncle and great-aunt, respectively. I'm going to need a flow chart to keep all these people straight. I am Mamay's first great-grandchild, so she was pretty excited to say the least.


As you can tell, I was pretty excited myself. Dad told me about all the goodies she makes in the kitchen; chicken & dumplings, sausage balls and pinwheels, pound cake, etc...so I thought I would do some kissing up. It couldn't hurt, right?

Here are some pictures from dinner at MI grandparents' house.

Mom and dad busted out the UGA attire for the occasion.

Yes, I'm looking at the Bud Light. I know I've got to wait a few more months...

Ben and I admire the ceiling fan. It doesn't take much.

I'm pretty sure they enjoyed their trip as Mamay offered dad a chicken & dumplings pie in exchange for taking me with her. He thought about it for a minute or two, but then declined.

We made it

Yes, everyone survived Saturday night's babysitting experience. Mom and dad got a quality 1.5 hours out of the house and my MI grandparents got 1.5 quality hours with me. Walt and Mary were able to feed and change me without any problems (that we know of). He didn't even need his tool belt.

On Sunday, my GA grandparents got in on the action by setting up a web cam so that we could talk and see each other over the internet. Technology is amazing. I guess this means we'll be spending more time in the office. Maybe I'll have to start my own weekly web chat like that kid on the E*trade commercials. Eight times the national average my dirty diaper...

Of course Gaspar was jealous of all the camera time I was getting and decided to do something about it. Punk.

TGIF!

Finally, the weekend is here. I don't know why it really matters to me since every day is the same. There's just a different buzz about everyone getting to sleep in the next two days...but we'll see how that goes. My schedule is anything but consistent. I usually don't go to bed until after 11 PM (and much effort from mommy). I then wake up around 3 or 4 AM and dad gets up to change and feed me. We usually find some quality programming on the History Channel at those times. Did you know that Trajan was a Roman Emperor (from Spain) who reigned from 98 until his death in 117 and is best known for his extensive public building program, which reshaped the city Rome and left multiple enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Tower? True story.

So hopefully everyone catches up on a little sleep this weekend.

Last night was pretty exciting. One of mom's friends that she used to play soccer with was in from out of town so she came over to see her (me).

Her name is Carrie and she used to help coach the Michigan women's soccer team, so she brought me a gift that I will certainly be using soon.

Mom's friend Nikki and her son Easton also came over to join the party. Easton hung out in my crib as he remembered the good ol' days and Nikki held me while trying to forget some of the good ol' days....

Big night coming up for mom and dad as they get their first night out without me on Saturday. Wish grandma and grandpa Michigan good luck...Hopefully I'll be around to tell you how it goes.