1 year check up

Okay so I didnt take the camera to the doctors office, I was probably too stressed with my misbehaving childredn and HUSBAND, to take any photos.

So here is a short post.

Parker gained 1 pound over the last 4 months - he is 21 lbs 2.5 ounces - still only 28 inches long and his head didnt grow either!
They said this is normal lol, I said not normal considering my chunky monkey over here that is almost 2 1/2 and gains a pound a month - not really - actually Braden is weighing 36.6 pounds - which is where he was last summer - so I guess we arent feeding the kids enough around here!

Look for posts during our vacation which starts in the morning. HOpefully I'll have an internet connect sometime during the week or can figure out how to use Brants phone and post things.

Vacation Notice

Hey everyone! We are leaving for the Lake tomorrow. We will be out there for a week! We are looking forward to spending time with family. Relaxing, napping, playing in the water, relaxing, napping, four wheeling, relaxing, napping.
We've been doing the july fourth vacation now for 5 years minus last year since we just had a baby!
We will be celebrating Parkers 1st birthday while we are there, and again when we get back with my side of the family. He spent his birthday playing over at grandma and papa b's. I think he had a decent time. He did keep slipping on the patio and conking his head. We go to the doctor today for his 1 year check up. I'll post his stats and a photo, maybe from the visit lol.. i think my doctor will want to check my head for wanting to take photos. But it might pass the time along cause they arent the most prompt office. What do you all think he will weigh? I'm thinking around 23 pounds... I might be way off but the child stil wears 6-9 month onesies, one he has wore since he was around 3 months old! I do think it is cool that he isnt as big as Braden was at this point cause since my first was a winter baby I didnt have large clothes for Summer, so it is all working out. YEAH!

Momma did it...

Okay so I was cleaning out the laundry room since we are moving stuff around the house, I was putting the clippers for the dog back in he box and thought - Lets cut parkers hair LOL... so yeah I did it... he thought it tickled so he laughed alot....

I still need to use my little tiny scissors to clip some of the fly aways. But I think I did as good as the barber shop - score one for momma I saved 6 dollars today!!! ha ha ha

Why do hair cuts always make babies look older?

So I have to give a talk on Sunday - our ward only gives you one week notice which when you have two little kids means you'll get about three hours to research and write it.... So everyone say a prayer for me LOL.... wait pray for the ward.

Almost a year...

Last post for the night! I've been slacking. We've been trying to get the house all organized cause we have all rooms usable now. I feel like I've been in a state of moving for, oh 3 years! We have too much crud. I'm thinking about having a dumpster delivered, the trash men are not going to like me (they dont like me already) cause I'm gonna tackle this office this weekend I hope - there is probably four cans worth of papers I dont need anymore!

Anywho... to the point of the post. Parker will be One in ONE week! This year has been so awesome. Brant has been working for Conoco and it is just so wonderful to have him home with us as often as we get him. The stress level for him has been dramatically reduced which has done wonders health wise for him. Parker is a special little guy with a glowing personality. We are so blessed to have two healthy, sweet, charming little boys. Parker is the type of kid that makes you want a whole house full. This house is pretty full, might have room for 1 more in a few years!

Okay so I did this photo of a side by side of Parker at 11 months and one of him at 5 weeks. He's a looker!!! Doesnt really look like the same baby to me. Doesnt really look like his brother to me either!

Okay so dont you think Parker looks like his momma?

The Boys...

Thought I should get some updated photos of the boys, still waiting on nana garrison to get me some from the swimming pool.

Parker's new fun thing to do is to go through tunnels - he thinks this is HILARIOUS. When he starts to giggle it usually makes me giggle too. I couldnt get braden out of the way tonight as I was trying to get some photos so they arent really of him doing much.

Braden in all his Cheesiness. This child has this smile down to a science. Just say CHEESE and you get this every time.

This bites this one was blurry but he was coming at me so quickly through the tunnel i had to click fast without focusing! Didnt know I should of had it on the "action" mode.

This tunnel we had when Braden was a baby - he didnt understand the tunnel so it never really got used. About three weeks ago Brant was playing with Parker on the floor and made a tunnel with his body (like a bridge) and Parker would crawl through, laugh, and then dart back through, he would go through his arms, his legs, anything that he thought he could fit through and just giggle. It was late and Brant was not in blog appropriate attire so I didnt get the photos or video ... but it was the cutest thing I had ever saw. Afterwards I was like hey I have a tunnel, next day he was hooked. Of course now Braden thinks the tunnel is cool and hogs it most of the time. We are trying to break Braden of his greed. Its a daily battle right now. Bubba (Parker) mostly gets to play with a tooth brush or whatever toy is near by when I tell Braden to share.

Fathers Day

Fathers day was this weekend and I have to say I think Brant scored big time. Not only does he have two adorable boys and a lovely wife (you know its true) he got two pretty cool gifts.
Brant has been wanting an LCD TV for a while now. While shopping for miter saws he found this Sony Aquos TV on clearance at Sears. It fits in our current entertainment center and will eventually find its home in our bedroom once we find and can afford the kind of entertainment center we want. It really is a pretty tv that we all will get to enjoy. Movies on it sure are pretty - we were watching "Finding Nemo" today and noticed that when the physco little girl is pounding on fish tank at the end - trying to get the star fish off she leaves a finger print on the glass, we can see that! We never saw it before.

Yes Brant is grilling, OUTSIDE. The earth must be coming to an end!!! Nah, he actually said he wanted it! I'm all for him grilling!!! I love me some pork chops or burgers or tomorrow STEAK!!!

I'm rather lucky to have such a wonderful husband. We have been married for 6 years, we've had our moments that I wasnt sure we could make it through but we both have a goal to make "us" work. We dont like to give up in anything. I'm so happy that we have always came out of every issue stronger and really more in love. He is a special father to the boys. I truly think they are blessed having him and his example in their lives. Brant works very hard for us. Allowing me the time with the boys to watch them and nurture them as they grow is so important to me and he makes sacrifices so that I am able to stay home with them.

Incase you didnt know I love this fella *wink*. Hope you had a decent fathers day - even though you had to work.

Play Ball

Okay so Church softball season started a few weeks back, the guys are 2-2. Brant, my Father and my brother are all playing on the team. Which has called "ball fever" around here. Daily Braden is asking to go play ball with Papa B. Never daddy, always Papa B. Last Wednesday night while I was at mutual the guys stayed over at my parents to practice throwing. Grandma got the camera out and got some good snapshots. Please ignore the dates on the photo... someone didnt reset the calendar on the camera after recharging.... (probably was me).

Tagged - All About Me Alphabetically!

All About Me Alphabetically!
A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached for 6 years
B. BEST FRIEND? Husband and Mother
C. CAKE OR PIE? Pie (apple and ice cream)
D. DAY OF CHOICE? It rotates =-) my husband does shift work
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Ice Water
F. FAVORITE COLORS? Yellow
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Worms - sour ones
H. HOMETOWN? Ponca City
I. INDULGENCE? Digital Scrapbooking, Banana Split
J. JANUARY OR JULY? July (even in oklahoma)
K. KIDS? Gary Braden 2 1/2 Parker Wayne 11 months L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? My family, friends, and the Lord
M. MARRIAGE DATE? 02-20-2002
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 1- Jay O. ORANGES OR APPLES. Love both - my fav right now is Pink Lady Apples
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Spiders in the dark, death of a loved one
Q. QUOTE: Indifference not hate is the worst enemy of love. CS Lewis
R. REASON TO SMILE: My many many many blessings
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Superman (old superman)
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE: Melanie, Kendra, Angie, Crystal and Emily
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I probably know every Conway Twitty song lol
V. VEGETABLES? Most I enjoy
W. WORST HABIT? Worry Wart, Pick at my nails
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Ultrasound - who doesnt like looking at their baby!
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Grilled Pork Chop
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Libra

Summer Time Helps

Okay so I am up going through my office – wait my new office – we are making progress people!!!! – anyways back to what I found. I was thumbing through and cutting out things I wanted to keep out of my parenting magazine – probably a good two years old… but came across
So Long, Summer Stains – and thought I would share the information. I know with my two boys it is amazing the stains they get and I am not the best at getting them out, mostly cause by the time they are out of their clothes mommy doesn’t want to think about laundry. But for all you that alert thought I would pass this along.

Grass – lightly dampen the stain. Pour on a bit of liquid dish soap and gently rub it in. Let it set several hours, rinse, and wash.

Kool-Aid, Grape Juice, or Popsicles – Soak the stain in hydrogen peroxide for an hour and rinse with cool water. Repeat if necessary. (Not – once you open the bottle, peroxide loses its potency within six months) side side note from Jill – This works for blood – too – just repeat until it is gone – where there was blood it will bubble and bubble till you got it all.

Berries – Pour baking soda onto the stain, dilute with hydrogen peroxide, and let it set an hour – the bubbling action from the peroxide and baking soda should erase the juice

Sunscreen – Gently blot the stain with foam shaving cream (not the gel kind) If that doesn’t work, lightly dampen the stain with water, pour on liquid dish soap, then treat that with straight hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes.

Also for you bubble loving mom’s – we cant get enough of the bubbles at the Garrison house hold – in a pinch and want the recipe for homemade Bubbles – here ya go.

Homemade Bubbles
¾ cup liquid dish soap (dawn ultra works best)
6 cups water

Fun things to blow through.

Plastic cookie cutters
Fly swatter (a new one lol)
Slotted spoon

Memorial Day Weekend...

So I'm a slacker - how terrible am I. Two weeks and no post. Slap my hand. So let me tell you all about the week before and the weekend of memorial day and then I'll post again tomorrow about the progress of the house.

Wednesday the 21st I got my contacts. Yeah me!!! Since we are remodeling I dont really have a place in the bathroom to call my own or a vanity in our bedroom yet so I decided in all my "smart mommy" wisdom to use the kitchen table. So things went well for the most part, still taking me a long time to get them in and out but oh well... I'm learning. Braden has been on a kick of waking up and messing in the kitchen. Friday morning I'm asleep and have Parker sleeping on my arm, i hear a cabinet door close, I kick brant trying to not yell to wake up the baby but to wake up my log of a husband.... braden is in the KITCHEN.... finally woke up and found the mess thta braden had left.... Brant then makes the most ridiculous comment... I hope you have your contacts in... when you know there is no way i would have them in ... I dont sleep with them in... dork!
Well we found both of them cause they were color tinted blue - but they were in garlic salt and seasoning salt.... he had empty a whole bottle of opti-free...... also squirted the botanical bug spray in his eyes... I washed my contacts... smelt them to see if maybe he sprayed bug spray on them.... kept trying to put them in but i couldnt tell which one is which or if they were so dirty that was the reason my eyes couldnt do it... I called the nice ladies at the doctors office and proceeded to tell me to bring them in and they would check them out..... when I walked in they said... we dont even want to look at them... we are throwing them away... They didnt have the tinted in my toric lens (i have one eye that has astigmatism)... but this way it has made it so easy - I've asked them to see if they can keep doing that cause it will sure make half of my stress go away - now all I have to figure out is if they are inverted before I blink and create a river of tears!
SOOOOOO... that episode put a dent in our time schedule but we knew the trip could only go better cause it sure started off with alot of yelling and me screaming....

Yes that is Braden all by himself in the swimming in his life jacket. We had a very fun time at a friends house for memorial day weekend. We traveled to lawton oklahoma. Our friend has a nice setup and even hired a baby sitter that is a life guard to watch the pool in case us adults werent paying attention.
What was so odd about this swimming adventure... Braden has always loved the pool... and I mean LOVED the pool. The last time we had him at nana and papas he was extra clingy but the water was little chilly so I chalked it up to that and it being the first of the season.... We got down to lawton and hadnt gotten his life jacket yet for the year... that night he wouldnt really get in the water - he would ride in the "boat" (raft) and if he was out of that he was clinging on for dear life... not like my usual water bug. Friday night we went and got him his life jacket (water coat as he calls it). Saturday he still didnt want anything to do with the water... would just sit over on the steps and watch..... we forced him into the water and he was clingy for a good 40 minutes... then finally he let go long enough to see he wouldnt sink..... then the game was ON.... The photo above of him in the deep end was basically the next 4 hours of him in the pool just spinning around and doggy paddling around the pool...

I think Parker felt alittle left out... he really wanted in that pool.

Yep this is my water bug... this is how he was the entire time... didnt need anyone even near him to have a good time.

Parker trying to figure out how to get into the fence!

This was our friends backyard. Yes the brick building was the pool house that had a shower and a toilet and if you wanted air conditioning and didnt want to go to the house he set up his fifth wheel... Braden fell in love with the sand box and loved the play house.

It was a good trip. The boys were robots that wouldn't sleep. Mommy and daddy were exhausted and sun burnt. But we had a blast.
We got home and have been working on the house mostly. I will post a thread about the progress once I go upstairs tomorrow and put the drawers in the dresser lol... and make the beds... things are still sparse but the trim should be done soon... Windows and all doors except the master which has to be redone have been completed... so now it is onto the baseboards. We've been sleeping upstairs since the Memorial Day (Monday) and it has been a total blessing. No more kitchen episodes and the contacts have stayed safe since then.