Wednesday, October 27, 2010

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!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Joy At School

See my post for my turn at teaching preschool!

I Can Pretend

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

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.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

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.








Monday, July 19, 2010

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.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

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!



Friday, June 18, 2010

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!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

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!
 

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