Bentley's Baby Blessing

Yesterday we had Bentley blessed. It was such a nice day! Despite our church starting at 8am, almost all of our family was able to make it! After the block, we had a yummy lunch at our house. Thank you to everyone for helping with the food! Bentley was a doll the whole time and enjoyed all the attention. I'm not being cute, he really did love all the attention he got... I'm pretty sure he's convinced that we don't hold him enough. Here's a few pictures from our day. He was cranky and ready for a nap by the time we thought to take some pictures of him in his blessing outfit; we'll have to try some again sometime when he's not so tired!

Driving to Grandma's House

It's frustrating when my kids throw tantrums, but on occasion it is more funny than annoying. This was one of those times. On an hour drive to Grandma's house Taft, who usually does fine in the car, had had enough. He was being a stinker; pulling his arms out of the straps and trying to get out. He was so cute I couldn't help but laugh at him (and take pictures). He didn't like being laughed at. He was sick of his car seat and he wanted out now! Can't you tell?!

Proud Big Brothers

A Family of Five!

Here is our latest family picture. I think it turned pretty great. I'm pretty proud of the outfits I pulled together... without buying anything (well, my dress was new, but it was a "because I just had a baby and don't fit into anything" purchase.)! I don't think we'll ever be able to get our boys to smile "normal"... but I think I like real life pictures more anyway. Don't they just look darling? It has really helped me today to sit down and look at these handsome boys. They don't feel like my little sweethearts today! They are such sweet little boys, but they are exhausting! Taft and Brigham get into everything; I've been spending my whole morning going from kid to kid to kid, cleaning up the messes they made and calming a very fussy baby. On top of that, our phone won't work, I'm sick, and I can't figure out how to fix this post so that the font is not blue or underlined! (sorry about that, I know it's annoying!) Oh well, this terrible day just means tomorrow will most likely be much better. That's how it goes for me.

Introducing Mr. Bentley Garrett

After four weeks I am finally getting around to posting about his arrival. Bentley was born October 3, 2010 at 8:28 pm. He was 8 lbs. 2 oz and 21 inches long.

Bentley has been such a fun addition to our family. The boys are absolutely smitten, and so are Tyler and I! Bentley is such a sweetie pie. He loves the fan and the sound of his brothers voices. I've never heard Bentley cry. He doesn't cry, he screams! He can go from content and happy to screaming like a maniac in just an instant. It's quite fun to wake up to.

I am slowly getting the hang of being the mother of three. It's been a little overwhelming! Getting things done with a preschooler, a toddler, and an infant in tow takes a lot of planning and scheming; And even then, sometimes things just don't get done. I've learned I can't do it all, and that just has to be okay (can you tell I'm a bit of a perfectionist?!). It used to bother me when mothers of more than a couple children acted like it was just impossible to do certain things (keep the house clean, craft, take the kids shopping or to the mall play place, attend church activities, etc.) because they had too many kids. I had the opinion that a woman shouldn't exclude herself from an activity or fail to do a chore and blame it on her kids. With the right amount of planning ahead, you can pull anything off, right?

I have to say I am a little embarrassed to have judged them so. After just four weeks, I finally get it. Some things just aren't worth it! I've learned to write shorter "To Do" lists, plan more mellow days, and enjoy my boys. I still, occasionally attempt outings that end up being pretty crazy. I'm a proud mama when the kids are good and it all goes well, but often I come home thinking, "I'm never doing that with these three again!" For example: Mother Natures Pumpkin Patch. Brigham, Taft, Bentley, and me... don't ask, I'm not ready to talk about it yet, just know it was more than exhausting. :-)

I can't believe Bentley is my third child. I am the mother of three little boys. I knew this would happen one day, but for some reason I am caught off guard. I guess I am (and feel) a whole lot younger than I thought I would be once I reached this point. I mean, having three children is so many! I now, at 24 years old, have more kids than most people. I am doing it all times three. I am now a super busy mom. Busy wiping noses, changing diapers, scolding, dropping off and picking up, driving a MINIVAN (awesome by the way!), making forts, making dinner, kissing owies, remaking forts, pushing trikes, cleaning up "accidents", packing picnic lunches, and rocking babies. I'm busy and I'm loving (almost) every minute of it!

Joy At School

See my post for my turn at teaching preschool!

I Can Pretend

Do Fun Stuff for SMS

I'm making a presence. But, I promise it'll be short and I won't do it that often (I know you're really here for Misty and our awesome boys). I only want to share this with you...

I follow a blog called Pacing the Panic Room, mainly at first for the photography and his Walk to 40 Maternity Series, but now it's all about Do Fun Stuff. Bryan Marshall set the whole thing up with friends he knows to raise money for a very rare genetic disorder called SMS that his son has (he calls him Littlest Buddy on the blog). All the money goes towards a grant foundation to be used for case studies for the purpose of learning more about SMS (nobody's getting paid for their work on the project). On it first day after release, it was the #1 album on the children's music charts in iTunes. And that's not only because it's a great cause, but also because the music rocks. Use the above widget to play any song. My favorites are "Potty Time" and "Hooray, it's my Birthday". Enjoy.

You Know, We Used to Have a Different Blog?

We used to do our blog in a different place and finally got around to transferring them to blogger (nap time is a very productive time). If you love us (an we know most of you do), then you'll check out all of what we moved over. :)

TYLER’S REUNION WITH ELDER DAYTON 7/14/09

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS BEFORE?! 7/14/09

BEST FRIENDS 10/14/09

BEST FRIENDS PART TWO 10/14/09

INTERVIEWING BRIGHAM 10/14/09

BATH TIME WITH THE BOYS! 10/22/09

BUSY SATURDAY! 10/25/09

HALLOWEEN: THE YEAR OF THE PIRATES! 11/0/09

TAFT AND THE PUDDING CUP 11/9/09

DISNEYLAND PREVIEW 11/9/09

DISNEYLAND 2009 11/14/09

RANDOM PICTURES FROM OUR TRIP 11/15/09

SMITH FAMILY PICTURES 11/23/09

THANKSGIVING 12/19/09

HAPPY 8 MONTH BIRTHDAY TAFT! 12/19/09

COLD AT THE CABIN 1/1/10

BUSY BABY BOY 1/1/10

Signed: Tyler Garrett

Pretty Boys

Here are a few random pictures I just came across that I can't help but share. I have to say, Tyler and I may not be very good at creating girls but we can certainly make beautiful little boys!

Maternity Picture Preview

It's quiet time. I should be napping, or better yet, working on my long "To Do" list but I am too good at wasting time on the computer. I finally realized, I might as well at least do something productive on here, like blog! Yesterday Tyler and I dragged ourselves outside in the nasty heat and had a little photo shoot. We like to take photos in front of the cornfields that grow around our neighborhood. This time we tried some belly shots and let the kids throw dirt clumps and eat handfuls of the stuff (Taft!). They had a marvelous time and didn't seem to notice that it was a billion degrees out! Tyler hasn't had time to edit the photos yet, so I'll just post a couple of my favorites.

One Project Down... Too Many To Go!

We finally finished our bookshelves! Well, Tyler finished them. And started them. I mainly kept little boys out of the paint. Brigham and Taft did contribute a little by helping with the clean up - sweeping and vacuuming. Anyway, I just wanted to show you our now finished "loft". (I feel a little silly calling it that, it might be more of a landing. And our neighbors call it a foyer... what would you call it?) Here it is!

Oh, and we also made the bulletin board too. We got the plans from Knock Off Wood. If you haven't read that blog, READ IT! You'll end up wanting to make all kinds of furniture! Anna White is my hero.

New Nephews!

I came across these pictures and realized I never posted about my two new little nephews! Shame on me, they're so adorable! Porter (the one stretching) belongs to Amber and Randy, and Chandler is the son of Jason and Jodi. Welcome to the family boys... it's going to be a wild ride!

Cowboy Brigham

Brigham recently went to a Cowboy/Cowgirl birthday party. The day of the party, Autumn came over to hang out with me and Taft while he was at the party. By they way, having a kids old enough to be dropped off to a party is awesome... free time for mommy! Brigham had so much fun with his friends and was very proud to bring Sophie (the birthday girl) a present that he picked out (with a little help from me!). We were asked to send Brigham in his best cowboy attire. It was so cute to see him and all his little cowboy and cowgirls friends! We had fun picking out some fun things for him to wear. Before I had kids I swore I would never let my children have toy guns. But how cute is that gun holster?! I rationalized that they are orange. Real guns aren't orange, so it's okay... just agree with me... Anyway, Brigham is excited to be a cowboy next Halloween and I am happy to have that dilemma figured out four months early! Hopefully it won't be so hot then and we can put him in jeans, boots, and a cute cowboy shirt as well!

Where Did Taft Go?

There he is!

I swore I wouldn't let my children play in my drapes but Taft's new hiding spot is just too cute!

How I Met Your Father

(Two weeks after our wedding... Aren't we cute?!)

I recently have gotten in touch with a friend I knew in middle school. Hi Tiffany! She asked me to tell her the story of how I met Tyler and how he proposed. I had so much fun writing some of my memories down and thought it would be fun to share our story with you. If you're not into love stories or long posts then disregard this whole post and stop reading now!

Our story begins before Christmas of my senior year of high school. One sunday, I was outside the Stake President's office, my mom and I were waiting for my dad to come out of a meeting so we could go home. I was looking at a bulletin board full of pictures of the missionaries from our stake. I noticed that I knew or knew of all of them, except for one handsome missionary, Tyler Garrett. I remember thinking how sweet he looked, I feel silly actually saying this, but I felt his goodness radiating out of his picture (cheesy alert! cheesy alert!). Side note: I often liked to tease my mom that I was going to get married just as young as she and my older sister did, at 18 years old, just to freak her out. Secretly I thought it would be fine if I happened to meet the right guy so soon, but I didn't think there was a big chance of that happening. So, upon seeing Tyler's picture, I said something like, "Mom, look at this missionary. He's cute. Hmmm... Misty Garrett, I like the sound of that!" Instead of reminding me that I don't need to get married right out of high school like she usually would, my mom said, "Oh, I know his mother. She's the stake Relief Society president and a great lady." I was a little surprised by her quick acceptance of him. His mother must be really great I thought! I mentioned all this to a friend of mine from another ward and she told me he was from her ward. He was to return from his mission pretty soon.

Time went by and I forgot about this incident. Around Christmas time my parents received a wedding announcement for Tyler's older brother. I immediately remembered Tyler Garrett and told my parents I wanted to attend the wedding reception with them to "check out the decorations and get ideas for my future wedding". That was only half true! When we got there, Tyler was at the door greeting guests as we walked in. He shook my hand, said hello and looked right through me (to this day, Tyler has no recollection of this)! I was a little disappointed, but knew that he, as a 21 year old returned missionary, shouldn't be interested in high schoolers anyway. I decided it probably wasn't "meant to be" and proceeded to admire the reception. We ended up sitting at a table with a very talkative woman from Tyler's home ward. I don't know how it came up, but she told my parents (and me) all about how Tyler is deaf in one ear. Some of you may not know this, but I am hearing impaired and wear hearing aids in both ears (currently they're PINK! Love it!). It's so silly but I was so excited to hear he was hearing impaired too. He was one of "my people"! It was meant to be!
After the reception, I didn't see Tyler for months. Surprisingly, after all that, I didn't really think much about him either. In my mind I was too young to date or hang out with him and he didn't even notice me at the reception anyway. After graduating, I started attending our stake's Young Single Adult Ward. I had a whole lot of fun in this new atmosphere and met some fun people. Almost right away, I noticed Tyler once again. He came to almost every activity there was. Most of the time he sat either alone, or with his friend Richard, who happened to be the older brother of a guy friend of mine. I was impressed that he didn't seem to be chasing after girls and making a fool of himself like some of the guys. I could tell he was reserved. I knew he wouldn't go out of his way to meet me and become friends and I wanted to get to know him desperately! I was not the type of girl to chase after a guy. I had never had to in high school. (I wasn't popular at all, but I got enough attention from guys that I never felt I had to go looking for it) So, I came up with a scheme that I am still very proud of. I decided I would introduce myself to Tyler's friend, Richard (while Tyler was with him) and tell him I knew his little brother, Dusty. Then, I would invite them to come to a game night that my friends were hosting. I figured if they came, it would mean they didn't think I was a total loser and I would have a chance with Tyler. My plan totally worked. I invited them to several game nights, and they came to each one. Richard started inviting me to activities that he, Tyler, and some other guys were doing. I was quickly welcomed into their group. We went four wheeling a lot, played volley ball, and played pool in Richards game room basement. I was usually the only girl in their group of friends. I had so much fun, and felt that every night, Tyler and I had one or two little "moments", I knew he'd eventually figure out that I was interested. And hopefully he would be interested too! About four weeks after this all started, Richard went out of town for two weeks. Since he had been the one inviting me to things, I knew I wouldn't see Tyler unless he invited me to do something. Luckily, he realized this too and asked me out! Poor Richard was so confused when he got back two weeks later and Tyler and I had been on three dates and were basically together. We were inseparable the rest of the summer. We went to movies, lots of church activities, a ball game, a chili cook-off, swimming, out to eat, Baptisms at the Temple with the young adults, and more movies! We never talked about marriage, but I would have married him immediately if he had brought it up! That fall, I went to school three hours away. I came home almost every weekend to see him. It was the longest semester of my life! Tyler proposed over Thanksgiving weekend. We had already been talking about marriage, and planning it (for Spring Break). It was so exciting! The day he proposed, I went wedding dress shopping with my mom, little sister, and my older sister who was in town (we went shopping before the proposal because I wanted my older sister to be there!). I spent all day trying on dresses and talking a mile a minute. We found a beautiful dress for $99 (I'm so proud of that!) and I bought it right then and there (I had a feeling he would propose that night!). By the time Tyler came to pick me up for our special date I had no voice. Between being slightly sick with a cold and talking and shopping all day, I sounded terrible. I was mortified! Luckily, he was a sweetheart and pretended it wasn't that bad. Even so, we didn't talk too much during dinner; I was worried about how I sounded and he was nervous about proposing to me soon! After dinner we went to the temple to walk around. We liked to do this and did it often. I had hoped he'd bring me there to propose. He brought me to our "spot" and said some beautiful things. Amazingly, I was able to say "yes, I'll marry you" without sounding like a wounded man! So there it is! The End!

My Cute Boys

Baby Number Three...

I've taken so long to post this announcement that most of you probably already know that we're having another baby boy! Despite my expression in the picture above, I really am excited. It just took me a while to get there! It's not that I didn't want a boy, I love boys, (especially mine!) but it would have been so new and exciting to have a girl. If all goes as planned, this will not be our last baby and I still have a chance to get a little girl too.

Anyway, it's sooo nice to finally know the gender of my little baby. He finally feels real to me, and we can start calling him by his name which is better than "the baby". We've decided to name him Hunt William Garrett. I'm so in love with his name!

Now that school is out and we know Hunt is a boy, Tyler and I have been working on all of the projects we've been wanting to do to get the house organized and ready for our family with three kids. We are creating an office space in the loft upstairs, adding shelving in the laundry closet for my crafting supplies, updating Brigham's bedroom, and putting together yet another little boy nursery (it's going to be simple, but awesome!). I will try to post some braggy pictures of our finished spaces as we complete each project, so stay tuned!

What a Mess!

I just had to post these pictures of my two mischievous little boys. We made the mistake of giving Brigham a taste of brown sugar and now we have a sugar addict on our hands! I don't blame him... that stuff is good! He has gotten into the brown sugar before; he once ate it in the living room and spread the mess all over! I was so mad. This time though, he brought Taft into the fun and all I could do was laugh. I should have known that they were up to something by the

absolute silence I heard as I descended the stairs to check on

them. So the sugar has been relocated and we're rethinking our baby-proofing methods, but you know they'll just find something else to get

into. I must sound like an absolutely absent mother who never watches after her children... it's not true! My boys and I are together about 99.9% of the day, but a girls gotta shower! Any ideas on how to keep these stinkers out of trouble while I bathe?

BINK

This is a funny video of Brigham's imaginative side.

He's asking me to take a picture of something...

On Sunday, Brigham asked me to take a picture of something.

It may be gross to some...

He asked me to take a picture of his stinky.

Can we do it??

We are going to attempt to build this.... It's a knock off from Pottery Barn from a website called ... you guessed it ... knockoff wood. Do you think we can do it? Wish us luck!

Out Little Boys' Easter Outfits

Misty scored on finding some great deals on some ties and a sweater vest for the boys. Here are some pics, enjoy! (Oh, and Brigham fell and bonked it head at one point, so he was only happy for the first bit.)

Here's some more.