26 Years!

So today is my 26th Birthday!

 My whole little family is sick which kind of stinks but thankfully its just a little cold.  

Grayson is pretty much all better except for a few sniffles but the hubs is sick (and he doesn't really do sick well if you know what I mean.....love you babe ;)) so we will probably have to postpone celebrating until the weekend. 

I am so blessed by all the love I have already received through texts, calls, Facebook messages, cards, and presents in the mail.  Birthdays are pretty wonderful but I was telling my mom on the phone earlier that since becoming a mom, it really changes everything.  It's no longer just about me- I have this little person who is a joy to take care of.  The Lord shows me 5 million times a day through Gray that it's not an option to be selfish anymore because his needs HAVE to come before mine.  I am still very sinful and a lot of times choose myself over others, but I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a precious little reminder that my life is not about me- its all about Jesus and serving him through honoring and respecting my husband, taking care of my baby, and serving others.

I'm looking forward to a great 26th year...I am so thankful for everyone and everything the Lord has placed in my life.  Cheers to 26 years!

Monday Morning Ramblings- A little date, a sick buddy, and bread that changed my life

Good morning!  Can you believe that I am blogging AGAIN after just blogging a couple of days ago?  I can't but I'm not going to let it stop me....I think I might just be getting excited about blogging again. ;)  

 How was your weekend?  Ours was pretty low key but we had some high points and a pretty low one as well.  Friday night was pretty normal- we did have some plans with friends but they got postponed for another weekend.  Saturday was fun because we got to hang out with a pretty precious little 5 month old.  Sawyer is my sweet friend's little baby girl and we hardly ever get to see her so this was a special treat.  Grayson decided he wanted to take her to his favorite restaurant- Chic-fil-A of course. :)  She came over to our house afterwards but little man missed out on the fun because of his afternoon nap.  I was blown away by this little cutie's personality- she is SO happy, sweet, content, and literally can sleep wherever!  She was getting a little fussy and Cacey put her in her carseat in my living room, rocked it for .2 seconds, and she was fast asleep and slept that way until they left.  Meanwhile my little man pretty much loves his crib, with his black out curtains, fan, and noise machine.  At least he is pretty amazing at putting himself to sleep and doesn't need help. (Well, at least he didn't until what happened the remainder of the weekend...)

Saturday night before bed Grayson started acting fussy and not like himself.  I laid him down in his crib and usually he will fuss for maybe .2 seconds, and then roll around, stand, and play with his blankie for a few minutes before settling down and falling asleep and then sleeping 12 (or more) glorious hours.  Well, little buddy pretty much was crying the ugly cry when I laid him down, so I rocked him for a little bit and laid him down.  He woke up an hour later crying so I knew something was up.  I gave him some tylenol and rocked him a bit more and laid him back down.  Then I think 3 more times he woke up during the night except when I tried to rock him and sing for a little bit, then lay him down, he SCREAMED. :(  It was SO sad and it resulted in me getting pretty much no sleep whatsoever.  He had a 101.6 fever when I checked it in the morning and had a really stuffy nose and a little cough.  We had to skip church and pretty much did a lot of snacking on puffs, cuddling, and watching tv. (Grayson hardly ever watches tv except for our signing time video so this was a rare treat and daddy and I were kind of loving the snuggles because usually he won't sit still for more than 5 seconds.)

Praise the Lord, buddy slept 12 glorious hours all last night and woke up mostly happy with a stuffy nose and little cough still, and a very low grade fever- no longer high.  He seems to be more like himself and not quite so pitiful but we will still be laying low on this Monday.  It was 65 degrees out this morning so I took him on a short little jog.

Oh, I almost forgot- the bread that changed my life.  Don't you love the dramatic flair? It didn't really change my life, but oh my gosh is it good.  I'm not talking like homemade baked bread, but just simple everyday sandwich and toast bread.  Publix had a BOGO free sale on Rudi's gluten free bread so I thought I would try some because usually it's kind of expensive.  It's the kind thats in the freezer aisle.  I tried some yesterday and made some cinnamon toast and WOW- it was SOOO good.  I think I may have to make the switch- plus you can actually pronounce every single ingredient in it!

 I'm excited because this week is my birthday, we are celebrating one of Grayson's best little girl friend's birthday party on Saturday, and Grayson's Nonna and Papa and Aunt Kelly and Uncle John are coming this weekend for Labor Day.  

Here's to a great week! :)

Five on Friday!

I'm really excited to be participating today in this fun blog link up.  I want to start doing more of these because they are an easy and fun way to blog about the little things going on in the Garlich life as of late. :)

1. I am in the middle of turning our hot mess of a bonus room into a playroom for G.  I have been pinning like mad and have just started decorating a bit.  We already have the white expedit shelf from Ikea (see below) and I just bought this really cute duvet from Target to go on our double bed in there.  I have started making a fun little pennant banner and am planning to diy something chalkboard-y and maybe even make him a little tepee.  I just want it to be a cute (in a little boy way), colorful and whimsical space that's all his. 

 2. Some of my best girl friends have started a small accountability group and we are doing this study.  It's been so refreshing for my soul to have time away from our families (we meet in Dunkin Donuts so that's not so refreshing for my body but it is pretty delicious :)) and just talk about what we are struggling with, pray for each other, and dig into God's word together.  I am so thankful for my sweet girls and I know the Lord is using this time to sharpen me as a daughter of him, wife, and mom.

  3. Um, I think this face deserves a spot in Five on Friday.  He is such a little ham and cracks me up constantly.  We went to Target yesterday and he literally stopped no less than 10 people to get them to pay attention to him.  Once they were looking, he would bat his little eyes and smile so big that they couldn't help but smile too.  I love that he is such a little extrovert (but a little worried he may be too much of a flirt.)  According to my MIL, his daddy was pretty much just like that and used it to get out of trouble many times.  Should I be worried for my future?

4. My birthday is NEXT WEEK!  It's kind of crazy this year because now that I'm a mom, I really haven't thought about it as much as I usually do.  I've actually been thinking way more about Grayson's 1st birthday (which is in a little over a month!!! Ahh!!) than my own.  I'll be 26 and am pretty excited about it.  I feel like it's going to be a pretty great year.

5. Lastly, I have been pretty obsessed excited about this coffee creamer lately.  I have just started drinking coffee again after almost 2 years of not being able to (Pregnant for 9 months and nursing for 10 months (coffee hurt little man's tummy and now he's officially weaned)) and boy am I living it up. :)  I know this is probably not the healthiest of coffee creamers but it's pretty stinkin delicious. 

So Five on Friday was pretty fun....I think I will join in next week! :)  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! :)  Love, love!

Holy Cow...We're 10 Months!

Our little buddy is 10 months old...we are in the double digits!

He turned 10 months old on August 4th...just 2 days after his daddy and I's 5th Anniversary!  Life is speeding past us at record speed.  I am realizing the saying is true that the days are long but the years are short because we are really close to one entire year that our sweet angel has been here, and that just seems impossible to me.  Before I start to lose it, let's get on with our sweet little man's 10 month post which covers from July 5th to August 4th.  (Disclaimer:  these pictures are a bit of a hot mess because it is pretty darn near impossible hard to get a good picture of little G lately.  If they seem fuzzy to you, they are because is is moving constantly and it's hard for my iphone to get a quality picture.  He is all boy and SO VERY ACTIVE.  This is pretty much how he feels about staying still for more than .2 seconds lately ;): 

Grayson is mostly wearing 9 month and 6-12 month clothes.  He is wearing a size 3 diaper.  Little buddy has been eating and sleeping like a little buddy pro.  When we came home from Pensacola, his little teeth finally had broken through all the way and were growing so cutely.  By the end of this month, he had four teeth (his top front two and bottom front two).  His medicine for his tummy was working so well and I really feel like something just finally switched and life got SO much better.  Gray has been eating and loving the following foods (in pureed form still):  apples, blueberries, bananas, oatmeal, spinach, peas, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and green beans.  This month he finally wasn't waking up with tummy issues, hunger, or teething probs and slept 12 hours almost every single night.  Hallelujah thank you Jesus.  He still loved nursing this month but because he was eating so many more solids, we finally went down to four liquid feedings each day.  He has been using his sippy cup for water, though, and loves it!  Usually during dinner time he lets us know when he would like to have some water out of his sippy.  He is OBSESSED with his puffs.  I think he would eat a million if I let him.  I bought organic cheese puffs for the first time this month and oh my goodness, he devours those things like he's never eaten...it's hilarious.  We have to make sure he only puts one in at a time because he tries to fit like six in his mouth at once.  He Our schedule has been SO glorious and I am so thankful that he is healthy and oh so precious.  

Wake up: 7:00 AM
Nap: 9- 10:30 AM
Nap: 1:00- 3:00 PM
Bedtime: 7:00 PM

Little man has been constantly on the move this month- never stopping.  He crawls ridiculously fast but he LOVES to stand.  Usually every time he crawls he goes over to something just to pull himself up and stand.  He has started getting braver and taking one hand off, then the other and standing for several seconds at a time.  He looks over at us like the proudest little thing and it's SO CUTE.  

Speaking of cute, the obsession and love for Lucy just continues to grow every month.  She is the one constant that can make the little man laugh like no other.  I was getting his food ready a little while ago and heard him cackling up a storm while he was sitting in his highchair.  I looked over to see him teasing her with a puff.  He would put it up to her and she would almost take it and then he would take his hand away, cracking up each time thinking it was the most hilarious thing he'd ever seen.  He tries to climb up, pull on, you name it on poor sweet Lucy girl 5 million times a day.  She loves to be in the action and is such a sweet girl but really doesn't love to be pulled on all the time, so if she sees G making a bee line for her, she'll just get up and move to another part of the floor.  The funny thing is is that she will usually only move just a few feet away from where she was, so the cycle of him chasing her & her moving lasts about a billion times every day.  I love watching their interaction..it's so cute.

Grayson still wasn't a huge talker this month, but definitely started to talk a little bit more.  I have tried to get him to say mama so many times, but I think he will say it in his own timing. :)  The closest he has gotten is "ma"....I've decided I will take it. :)  He has said dada just a few times and loves making the "bahhh" sound.  He loves to say "Aghhhh" in this cute little raspy voice almost like he's grunting but he really is more of a mover than a talker right now.  His motor skills are pretty impressive...even his fine ones.  He can pick up such small things with his sweet little chubby hands, turn pages of books, open flaps, crawl under, over, around...just all like he's been doing it his whole little life. 

Likes:
 Baby animals touch book
LUCY!
When daddy comes home from work- his whole face LIGHTS up
When mommy and daddy run around the house with him and Lucy chases us
 Crawling around in only your diaper
Giving us high fives

Dislikes:
Being taken away from the dvd player/cable box in the entertainment center
Diaper changes- its getting SO hard for him to remain still

Oh my little munchkin,
You are so very dear.  I love you to the moon and back.  We read that book together a lot and I can SO relate to Big Nutbrown Hare. ;) Every day with you is so fun.  I really, really like this stage because I feel like we are seeing so much of your personality blossom.  We took you to your very first Cardinals game this month and you were SO good.  You loved it because you could socialize and get everyone's attention around us (that sounds much more like mommy than daddy but I know eventually you will care less about that and pay attention to the game :)).  After the game you were SO silly on the way home...just thinking everything I did was hilarious.  My heart pretty much was close to bursting and I told your dad how much I love you just how you are now.  But I know that you are going to continue to grow, bigger and stronger which is wonderful, but a piece of my heart gets a little sad because I'm afraid I won't remember you just how you are now.  I try SO hard to just etch it in my mind but I know that time goes on and memories fade.  I am so thankful for your life and couldn't be more filled with joy that you and not anyone else were the baby that the Lord has for us.  You are the most perfect addition to our family and your daddy and I couldn't be prouder of you.  You are my little lovey!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy