18 months

Really?  A year and a half? It's so hard to believe!  I loved this age with Raleigh because she was exploring new things, learning to say words, and just cute.  Garner is cute and definitely exploring new things, but it's totally different.  He's all boy!  Raleigh is our more cautious child and Garner doesn't have a cautious bone in him.  He's more physical than Raleigh ever thought about being, but he doesn't say as many words as Raleigh did.  They look alike, but are very different and I love it.  While I still love this age with him, it's so different and more challenging to keep up with Garner.  Garner is very consistent in his words although we are the only ones that can understand him.  For his milk or water cup he always says ba ba and stands at the refrigerator for us to get it.  It doesn't matter that we consistently tell him cup or milk, he still calls it ba ba.  He will say ball and LOVES a ball.  He tends to throw the balls with his left hand for now.  I'm curious to see if he ends up being a lefty or if he switches as he gets older.  He can say cheese and did when I got the camera out with the cutest squinched up face.  He also loves to eat cheese!  He still says mama, dada, rahrah, and papa pretty well.    Bye bye is what he says best.  He loves to wave to people in stores or restaurants and most of the time has a smile.  The boy LOVES being outside and will bring us his shoes if he wants to go out and cry when we make him come in.  Garner also loves to aggravate Raleigh just like brothers do!  He knows when she wants to sit in her chair and he runs to sit in it and of course she whines.  Her toys are always more fun than his...it's a constant battle some days!  Garner has definitely made life more interesting for us and I wouldn't change it for anything.  Hoping life can slow down a little...he's growing too fast!

Garner's New Ride

This is what happens when you have a sister and she's playing with a friend.  Garner ends up driving a Barbie car!  :)

Summer Fun

What is summer without homemade ice cream and playing in the yard with a water hose?!?!

Father's Day

We enjoyed celebrating our daddy's for Father's Day!  We are blessed with wonderful daddy's.  I'm so thankful for the wonderful daddy that Jason is to Raleigh and Garner!

This is what happens when you just grab a bag out of the box.  :)

Gatlinburg and Dollywood

When Grandma and Papa get suckered into visiting a timeshare and listening to the whole spill we tag along for a fun weekend getaway.  When we left out we had to stop by Krispy Kreme for our free doughnut on National Doughnut Day.  I think it's safe to say we all enjoyed them!

The place my parents got in Gatlinburg was at the very top of a mountain with lots of sharp curves.  I may not have been feeling great by the time we arrived.  Dollywood offers a special if you enter the park after a certain time you can go back the next day for free.  We took advantage of that offer and went for a little bit on Friday night and then went back on Saturday.  Not sure if we had a celebrity encounter or not, but lots of people were saying that the guy we saw was Jack Nicholson.  If it wasn't him, he was a great impersonator.  However he's not someone I'm dying to ever meet so I could have cared less.  Raleigh rode her first roller coaster and looked terrified, but said she loved it.  Jason's happy that he finally has someone who loves water rides and I'm happy I won't have to disappoint him anymore.  :)  Raleigh was also happy she got to enjoy the pool while Grandma and Papa went to listen to their talk about buying a timeshare.  Garner enjoyed walking around more than swimming.

We also saved some money on the entrance to the park with a large cup from McDonald's.  Garner thought he was going to get some sweet tea.  :)

 Waiting patiently to ride the cars!  Of course they broke down while we were waiting.

 Garner was able to get a good nap while Jason and Raleigh rode a ride

 I can't believe Raleigh actually wanted to ride this!  She loved it!

 Garner enjoyed some rides just his size!

Before we headed home on Sunday we ate at Apple Barn, enjoyed a little time at the river, and shopped a little at the outlets.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, rain, go away! Garner wants to go out to play!  I don't think we'll have a drought this summer with all the rain we've had so far.

Despite the rain, Raleigh has had a fun week going to VBS at Union Grove Baptist Church.  Several of her friends went and they have all had the best time.  I'm glad she got to experience a VBS at a small church...they're just different.  They even had a little program to end the week!

17 months

Garner is 17 months old now and constantly moving!  Pictures are getting very, very difficult!  Garner is Mr. Independent!  Raleigh didn't mind letting us do things for her at this age, but Garner wants to do things on his own.  He hasn't been eating as well lately.  Sometimes I think he's just being stubborn (not sure where he would get that from) and wanting to do it himself and other times I think his teeth are bothering him.  His cuspids are all trying to come through and look so close, but aren't breaking through.  Every once in a while he'll have a random fever and we know it's teething.  He hasn't added any new words which concerns me a little, but at the same time he's very physical.  I think it's just a difference in boys and girls.  He may not say much, but he understands a lot!  We'll ask him to do something and he'll do it and know exactly what we're talking about.  It's pretty cute and for right now he's somewhat obedient, but the more independent he gets I'm sure that will change.  Garner enjoys playing with Raleigh's dollhouse.  His favorite thing is the mop.  Maybe he's going to like to clean...or maybe it just feels good on his gums.  I'm going to hope he enjoys cleaning.  :) He's so funny and cute with little things he does that it always make us smile.  He's going to be a difficult one to discipline with that cute smile!