our crazy weekend

I just typed a whole post about how crazy busy our weekend was, and it was boring to even me!  So I erased it.  Yesterday Marianna and I were together, so we gave each other a "pass" on blogging!  Here is the picture I previously blogged about - Garrison "covering his ears"!!

Cover your ears

When I make Garrison's smoothie, I always tell him to cover his ears. The blender is so loud! So this is what he's started doing...

Ok, so my phone won't let me upload a picture. And I'm determined not to lose this bet, so I'm posting this and will upload a picture tomorrow!!

(Marianna, I kind of feel like I'm cheating with this post!)

new website!!!

I mentioned a couple of days ago about our website designer having a contest last year.  Will won an iPad.  Well, this year we entered again and won a new website and $100 gift certificate to Nordstrom!  Here is the winning picture.

The instructions were to put shaving cream/whipped cream on your face and wear swimming goggles.  Will said I put the goggles on so tight he couldn't even open his eye.  It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Thanks bludomain!  Now we have to actually work and get the website ready!

our little artist

Yesterday Will went to Okalona to shoot a video for church.  Our church has adopted a family who lost everything they had in the tornado that went through Smithville, MS in April.  He went to film their story to see how our church can help them.  He said it was definitely like a third world country - they didn't have glass in the windows of their trailer, and they don't have air conditioning!  Can you imagine?  It's a furnace in MS right now!!  He said they didn't have much before the tornado, but they lost EVERYTHING.  So sad.

While he was gone, Garrison and I painted.  He really didn't like touching the canvas as much as he liked sticking his finger in the paints and mashing it around in his hands.  By the end, he had it all over him!  One time he even wiped his eyes like he was sleepy, and it got all over his face.  Sweet boy.  He never wears just a diaper - we always have clothes on him.  But I quickly realized I should probably take his clothes off - even though it was washable paint, I didn't want it to get all over his clothes.

I also realized that I think I'm going to be one of THOSE moms that frames all her kid's artwork!

will he be embarrassed of us?

Today I feel melancholy.  Borderline depressed.  Extremely overwhelmed.  I had no idea the studio was going to require this much work.  We rented a machine to chip up the old paint off the floors, and I'm not strong enough to use it.  I tried.  It flew across the room, and I knew if I kept trying I'd end up hurting myself.  That's frustrating.

Garrison has been whiny today.  I took him to eat at Zaxby's for lunch, and I couldn't eat fast enough.  He whined for the straw.  He whined for his water.  He whined when he threw the straw on the ground.  He flat out cried when I walked away to get another straw.  He whined when he spilled the water on himself.  I was exhausted by the time we left.  

Thankfully he actually is taking a nap right now (he's been fighting naps).  I wanted to crawl in bed too, but I'm afraid it will make me feel worse, so I was looking online at the designer of my website.  Their birthday is coming up in a few days and it reminded me of this picture from last year (we entered a contest, and Will won an iPad from it!).  It made me wonder if Garrison is going to be embarrassed of us when he becomes a teenager.

church

Will and I laugh that when things happen in our lives, they typically happen pretty quickly.  Everyone knows we had our house on the market.  Our plan was to sell and move to Oxford.  Obviously that was OUR plan and our plan only, because after two years our house didn't sell.  Our contract with the realtor expired during the middle of June, so Will and I decided to take it off the market for the summer.  Our summers are crazy with weddings, and it was stressful to think about trying to sell it by owner during our busy season.  Our therapist and friend Dr. Meek tells us that we have to live our lives in Columbus because this is where we are for right now - we can't live in Columbus with one foot and our hearts somewhere else.

Will had been praying that it would be a lot easier for us to live in Columbus if a certain family moved.  About a week after we took our house off the market, we heard this family was moving!!

And then we had the opportunity to open the studio downtown.

Saturday night we were cooking supper, and Will asked me if I've thought about joining First Baptist.  That is where we've been going to church.  The pastor, Shawn Parker, is amazing.  And our friend, Alex Holliman, is the worship pastor.  When we are in town, Will plays guitar with Alex in the band.  When Will asked me that, it was just confirmation in my heart that we were supposed to join.  A few weeks ago I almost went down front during the invitation to join, but Will and I had not talked about it (and Will was playing that Sunday and would not have had a clue as to why I was going down front!).  So yesterday we joined First Baptist Church Columbus.  When we walked down front during the invitation, Will told Dr. Parker we wanted to join.  Dr. Parker said, "I have been praying for that!"  How awesome is that?  And he also told us he saw the article in the Columbus Dispatch about the studio and was also happy about our business.

I was trying to explain to Garrison what it means to join a church.  I know all the "church" words to use, but using plain words is kind of hard. 

It is a place to serve.
It is a group of people who accept us - flaws and all.
It is people we can worship with.
It is a group of people who are also trying to raise their children to know Jesus.

For now, for the time we do live in Columbus, we are happy to be an official part of First Baptist.

Yesterday was very redeeming for us.

sleepy baby

Sometimes Garrison refuses to take a nap during the day.  It doesn't matter what we do, he won't give it up.  Saturday was one of those days.  Instead of fighting with him to take a nap, we just let him play.  Around 5:30 I was cooking supper, and he was sitting in his high chair.  Will was playing electric guitar in the dining room, with his amp on, so it was LOUD.  I had just given G a cracker and thought, "He sure is quiet."  I turned around and this is what I saw....

Guess that's what happens when you don't take a nap!

days like today

I absolutely LOVE days like today....days that we just spend together as a family with no agenda.  I know that's crazy because we spend EVERY day together.  But today we spent time together and didn't work.  It's rare that we have a Saturday off and are actually in town. 

We started off the morning with French toast and a waffle and then just ran errands all over town.  I have a crazy idea about using an old clawfoot bathtub as a couch in the new studio, so we were looking for a bathtub.  We were also looking for the correct wiring/attachments to make new light fixtures out of mason jars for the studio.  We went to Lowe's and Marvin's (home improvement stores)...most women would hate going there, but I love going (probably even more than Will!).

Our last place to look was Military Hardware, and I cannot say enough about how great and helpful they were!  We should have started off there - after all, they are just a block from our house!  My dad walks down every time my parents come to Columbus, so when I told them who I was, they were excited to see us.  AND it ends up that they keep G in the nursery at church.  Mr. Bill said, "I think he was the one I held the whole time a couple of Sundays ago."  Yep, he would be the one who screams every time we drop him off! 

When we were getting ready, we tried to put Garrison's New Balance tennis shoes on him and realized they are almost too small.  So we broke out his Chuck Taylor Converse shoes.  He and Will matched!

I love days like today...just spending time with my boys!

happy baby

Garrison is normally a very happy baby.  He smiles A LOT and just has a great disposition about him.  But he's not extremely vocal.  The only word he really says is "Da."  But today he was hilarious.  He was walking around with his eyes closed just babbling.  It's the most vocal I've ever heard him.  It was as if he realized he could put all these noises together.  (Please excuse our laundry room).

swimming in winter clothes!

Today was a tough day at swim.  Today he had to wear winter clothes...long sleeved shirt, sweatshirt hoodie, jeans, a regular diaper (not a swim diaper), socks and shoes.  I bet he weighed 10 pounds more when all those clothes got wet. 

There haven't been many times that I've gotten nervous watching him, but for some reason I think Will and I were both nervous today.  That added weight is tough for a baby!  Sweet boy - he did so good!  But boy are we glad tomorrow is our last day!

swimming in summer clothes!

Today was a big day at swim lessons!  Garrison had to swim and float dressed in summer clothes.   Tomorrow he will have to swim in winter clothes (shoes included).  Because if he were to fall in a pool, he would most likely be dressed, not in a swim diaper!  And the purpose is for him to SURVIVE!  I've heard too many sad stories lately about children drowning.

He always gives Mrs. Jala a big hug when we get there...

 Floating...

signing

We have taught Garrison a few signs so he can communicate with us.  He mastered "milk" when I was nursing, but I don't dare sign that one now - he kind of freaks out a bit.  But he still signs, "Please," "All done" and "More."  We have also realized that if we aren't consistent with asking him to sign, or if he is with someone besides us who doesn't ask him to sign, he whines a lot instead of signing. Here are two videos of him signing.  (Dad, this post is for you!)

reality check

 Several things have happened that made me realize I have a child....he's MINE.  I'm not just babysitting.  The first time I changed his diaper in a public restroom was one of those times.  This weekend we had another reality check.  His forms for "school" came in.  We are starting him in a Mother's Morning Out program at a local church in August. 

When they said August, I thought they meant the end of the month.  Nope!  It starts August 9!!  That's so soon.  I'm not sure I'm ready.  I'm not sure he's ready, either.  I know he's going to cry when we leave him.  He cries every Sunday when we leave him in the nursery at church, so I know school is not going to be any different.

There are only 4 kids in his class.  We already know one of them, Ethan.  Will and I are friends with Ethan's parents, and Ethan has been in our Kindermusik class.  Ethan and Garrison are both only children, so that should be interesting - neither have ever had to share!

He has to have a nap mat.  Seriously?  Until about three weeks ago he took naps on our bed.  And now he's going to lay on a mat on the floor?  I wish his teachers good luck with that one!  My mom and I are going to make his nap mat, so I've spent several hours online looking for just the right material.  I know I want the blanket part to be minky.  But finding a cute material for the mat part has proven harder than I thought.  I'll see something cute, show it to Will, and within two seconds I know if he thinks it's too girly or not.  The only material he's approved so far has guitars on it....go figure!

The program is from 9am - 2pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We can't drop him off before 8:55, and if we are late picking him up, we get fined.  Will and I are not the most punctual people.  Giving us a 5 minute time frame is going to be challenging!

We also have to pack Garrison's lunch every day.  He's such a picky eater.  I can't send him a smoothie every day to school.  Are the teachers going to help him eat?  They can't expect a 17 month old to feed himself.  And what if I send something and he refuses to eat it?

Let the adventure begin...

babiators

A couple of weeks ago I bought Garrison a pair of Babiators.  He doesn't leave them on all the time, but he looks pretty cute in them!  When I first put them on him, I'll say, "oh, you're such a cool baby," and he just smiles! 

Please ignore that he still has on his pajamas in these pictures.  We were going to the Riverwalk to run!

G and his daddy!

Garrison LOVES will.  I mean absolutely adores him.  Will can walk in the room, and Garrison yells, "DA!!!!"  And almost always, Garrison will choose to go to Will over me. 

We had a wedding in Florida the last weekend of June, and Garrison stayed with my parents.  When we got back in town, I walked in my parents house first.  Garrison smiled and started walking towards me.  And then Will walked in.  Garrison turned, went around me, and went straight for Will!

One day last week one of Will's friends was at the house at bed time.  Usually Will rocks Garrison to sleep, but that night I rocked him.  For 15 minutes he said "Da" over and over.  I tried everything I could to distract him.  The conversation went something like this:

G:  "Da"
Me:  "Light?"
G:  "Da"
Me:  "Truck?"
G:  "Da"
Me:  "Tree?"
G:  "Da"
Me:  "Daddy?"
And Garrison started whining and signing please.  I know he thought, FINALLY lady, I've been trying to tell you I want my Daddy.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Will and Garrison.

sick baby

Things have been a little crazy around our house this week.  (Well, let's be honest - when are they NOT crazy around here?)  Tuesday morning Garrison woke up with a fever.  We alternated Tylenol/Motrin, but he still had fever Wednesday morning.  Will's parents had already planned to come Wednesday for his dad to help us with the studio and his mom to keep Garrison.  So Will and his dad worked, and Beber and I loaded up Garrison and took him to Amory to the doctor.  Our regular dr wasn't in town, so we saw Dr. Buckle.  The nurse swabbed his throat, and thank goodness he didn't throw up on her!  They ruled out strep, so they had to prick his finger.  He didn't like that AT ALL.  They determined he has a bacterial infection and started him on a round of antibiotics.  He's been on medicine before, but he's never had a fever.  It was awful.  He was lethargic and not expressive.  The one good thing is they weighed him - 26 pounds.  We have a big boy!

Sorry...I know that's a boring post, but I wanted to document his first fever.

letters

The A says, "ah."  The A says, "ah."  Every letter makes a sound, the A says, "ah."
The B says, "b."  The B says, "b."  Every letter makes a sound, the B says, "b."

If you've been at our house any length of time, you've heard or watched Leap Frog Letter Factory.  Garrison LOVES it.  He can be in another room, hear the music come on, and crawl as fast as he can to the TV to watch it.  If we start singing it, he dances.  And if we quit, he signs "more."

We also have magnetic letters on the refrigerator that are Leap Frog.  If you place the letter in the holder, it will sing the song for that letter.  Garrison knows how to press the letter to make it sing, but he also likes throwing the letters on the floor.

clean fun

Garrison LOVES to watch the washer and dryer when they are running.  And oh, boy, I had no idea how many clothes a little person could dirty!  A couple of days ago, I realized we had changed him 4 times that day!  So it seems like our washer and dryer are always running.

studio space

When Will and I dream about our business, it always included other things besides photography and video.  It was bigger than that..bigger than just working out of our house.  And that dream is coming true!  We have decided to rent a space in downtown Columbus.  It's 1600 square feet, and it's PERFECT for us!  Before you look at the pictures and think, "Oh, my, it's a dump," know that there is going to be some manual labor involved in getting it ready.  But we have a great vision for it!

We want to use the space not only for a studio, but to have art shows and small events.  I will probably have my small group meet there.  And I want to teach a photography class there!  We are extremely excited!!

So here are the "before" pictures.  I'll post pictures after it's complete.

"Sleep and Dreams"

One of Will's mentors is Charlie Hall.  Charlie and his wife Kimber have both been great friends and have shared their lives with us.  We will be forever grateful to them for their friendship.  This is a picture I took of Charlie when his band was in Oxford last year.  Garrison LOVED it!

One of my favorite songs on Charlie's latest CD is called "Sleep and Dreams."  I sing it over Garrison every time I rock him to sleep.  Here are words...

Close your eyes it’s time to sleep 

The day is done and it’s the time to breathe and dream

I pray that bands of angels fill your room 

And the songs of God would come consume you
 

Rest your head on hallelujahs 

Rest your head on all God is

Rest your head the day is done 

And now its time to sleep

Put your mind on things above

Let your heart be filled with faith and hope and love

A couple of nights ago I was singing it to Garrison, and he just laid his head down on the arm of the chair and went to sleep.  So sweet.

the circus!!!

Yesterday Will and I took Garrison to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Circus in Tupelo.  We weren't sure how he'd react - he doesn't love crowds (he gets very overwhelmed at the grove!).  But he really enjoyed the circus!  He loved the big animals - elephants, camels, horses, even the mini horse!  He didn't really pay attention to the cats (Will and I didn't either!).  We enjoyed bbq nachos and a funnel cake (me and Will, not Garrison).  

It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday with no wedding!

Running

Will and I have started exercising. We both started out running, but Will ran throughout high school and his knee bothers him, so instead he now swims. I've tried swimming on my off days, but feel like I'm going to drown. As my friend Jenifer said, I'd rather float. On a raft. I've stuck with running and am actually training for a 14.2 mile race in September. I'm sure many more posts will be about that!

I ran my first race ever this past Monday. It was Oxford's stars and stripes 4th of July race to benefit the local animal shelter. My friend Carla agreed to run it with me. I've never run with anyone before so I was a little apprehensive. We ended up being great running partners.  We kept the same pace and would take walking breaks when needed.  I was glad she didn't want to talk the whole run - we both listened to music. I listened to Allison Krauss' version of "I'll Fly Away," and Carla listened to Mumford and Sons as we crossed the finish line!

I told Will I hoped to finish in 35 minutes. I'm a really slow runner. And it was super hot. And there wasn't much shade. I didn't keep up with our time, so I was happy to find out our official time was 32:17!!

Smoothies

I know it shocks a lot of people that I make Garrison's baby food. I don't cook a lot for Will and me, so taking on the task of making ALL of his food was a little overwhelming.  But I love it!  Because I've tried to make his food healthy, he sometimes rebels against it. (I have a lot of frozen eggplant/butternut squash that he won't eat). If he doesn't like something, he just spits it out. It's pretty funny.

But one thing he absolutely LOVES is a fruit smoothie. Every day after swim we make him one. And usually he drinks two 8 ounce cups of it! This is my made up recipe...

1 banana
5-6 strawberries
(a peach, mango, blueberries or any other fruit I may have)
1 avocado
1 Tablespoon almond butter
2-3 Tablespoons vanilla low fat yogurt
Milk

This was him eating it yesterday.  I love those big brown eyes - he will look at us over the rim of his cup.  And look at how his feet are crossed!

30 day blog challenge

So my friend Marianna emailed tonight and asked if I wanted to do a 30 day blogging challenge with her. I immediately said "Yes!" I need all the motivation I can get to blog every day. The loser of our challenge has to buy the winner dinner. If we both complete the challenge, we will just buy each other's dinner!

I guess this post wouldn't be complete without telling you a little about M. We met my sophomore year at Ole Miss through the Baptist Student Union. That was 15 years ago!!!! That Spring Break we wet on a mission trip to Honduras. She was dating this guy named Robert... and several years after college they married! They have an amazing son, Tripp. 

One of Marianna's favorite jokes is:

Knock knock
Who's there?
Impatient chicken
Impatient chi....
And before you can get out who, she says bagock

It's hilarious!

One of the things I love most about Marianna is her honesty. She is not afraid to tell the truth. She is also very loyal. She has stuck by me throughout our friendship. She knows all about me - my victories and failures.

Thanks for your friendship, M! And no matter who wins, at least we will eat dinner together!

Swimming

Our days this summer have been consumed with swim lessons.  Garrison is enrolled in a program called Infant Swim Resource.  It lasts 10 minutes a day for 6 weeks.  (And it's a 20 minute drive one way to West Point).  But it is worth it!  It teaches him to swim for a couple of seconds and then roll to his back and float to catch his breath.  Then roll back over and swim until he gets to the side.  It's not swimming lessons - it teaches him to survive if he were to ever fall in a body of water.

Most days he falls asleep on the drive to West Point and then wakes up and fusses throughout the whole lesson.  A couple of days he has signed "all done" while floating.  He definitely likes to float more than having his face in the water.  And every day he will burp like there is a monster in him.  Our sweet teacher Jala is so patient with him. 

Family Blog

I know so many people who have family blogs.  It's hard enough for me to keep up with my photography blog, but I'm going to attempt a more personal one.  I want a place I can share things Garrison does, thoughts on life/marriage/parenting, recipes, and the funny things that happen at weddings that I can't post on my professional blog (Renee Reedy Photography)!

Since I never did a baby book for G, hopefully this will serve to document his little life.  As my friend Marianna said, it's better late than never!

This is what Garrison did yesterday...

He LOVED it!  He didn't want to get out.  I tried to get him out, and he would laugh and crawl to the other side so I couldn't reach him.