My Little Monkey is 2!

   Garret turned two yesterday! We thought about taking him swimming because he loves that so much, but the day before his birthday it started snowing and just didn't stop. It has been a really dry winter so far so we thought we'd better take advantage of the snow and so we went sledding. Garret loved it! Ace and I would have loved it more if Garret could have carried himself up the hill each time:-).

    One thing I've realized about myself is that I like when people think Im funny. And so I think to myself, is it funnier to hear stories about other peoples kids when they are naughty or nice? Naughty wins hands down. So I feel I tend to share stories of Garret being sassy or ornery (which he can be) but he is also very very NICE and I don't want people to miss that side of Garret simply because his mom doesn't know how to be funny.

   Garret is so clever. He can build things and push things in order to reach or get his goals. He is just so smart. He has a great sense of humor. He is always laughing at things he does and laughs during movies at really funny things to. My favorite joke of his is when he sneaks up to Ace when he is sleeping on the couch and growls in his face. Garret and I bust every time; Ace never seems to laugh. He is adventurous. He loves jumping off things and LOVED sledding faster and faster down the big hill. Cold water, cold snow or simply the common cold can't stop Garret from getting out and exploring the world around him. He is so genuine and sweet when he says "Thank you."

   Garret is ALWAYS asking "why" and I try to give him my best answer but then it becomes answer after answer and I usually try to somehow pull it back to Jesus. Seems like a good answer to me when you actually get to the root of most things. Anyway the other night Garret just kept asking "why" and I was too tired to continue to answer so finally I just said "why do you think?" He was silent! I was so excited because I thought I'd confused him enough or lost his interest, but after a few seconds he sweetly said, "Jesus." Good answer little boy.

   Garret really can be sassy and aggressive and is very clear about when he wants to talk to someone or be talked to or even looked at. When he gets embarrassed he doesn't cry or shy away. He gets mad and usually has to yell at someone before he feels better. BUT, I really do see positives with most of these things. As soon as he has better social understanding and a social filter securely in place, I think these seemingly less attractive traits will serve him well. For example, I think his sass  is just him being a leader without the grace yet. He knows what he wants and what he likes and stands up for that. Like the other night when he kept asking for his "football paci." I couldn't find it anywhere but I told him he could have his orange paci. I started loosing my patience when he continued to ask for the football paci so finally I said "Garret you can have your orange paci or nothing." He growled back "nothing" and stopped asking. I thought that seemed kind of sassy and rude but later I smiled thinking he knows what he wants and no replacement will do. He won't be bullied or pushed around because he knows who he is and will definitely stand up for that. He might seem too aggressive now, but when he gets better boundaries that aggression will become a strong work ethic and desire to get things done. He won't be afraid of new tasks and will instead be eager to jump in and get things done. 

    He is better than I could have ever hoped for and I just hope that I can somehow, someday prove that I deserve him.

   I didn't get a single picture of Garret's birthday party. Im lucky that Kali was there snapping away pictures so I can maybe get my hands on some of them sometime.

   For those of you who don't get to see how awesome Garret is, I hope you got a better glimpse into the reason the past two years have been some of the best years of my life.