And they lived happily ever after...

We're married! I graduated! Can you believe it? I don't know if I can, but I did it, we did it. The wedding was gorgeous and fun and went by entirely too fast. We had an amazing time! It was great looking around and seeing all our friends and family enjoying themselves. There were many faces of loved ones we missed, but we were blessed to have so many special people in our lives with us on our important day.

Garrett stole the show-- no surprise there. He had perfect timing, as usual, and waved during our vows to him. He is so cute and sweet; it's ridiculous! We were very impressed at what a charming trooper he was during the wedding. On a side note, Garrett has said his first words! He can say mama, hi, dada, uh-oh. During his bath yesterday, I think he said quack-quack at his rubber ducky-- so cute!

Husband and wife! We still get used to our impressive new titles, but married life feels great. We are going to Florida at the end of the month--all three of us! We're excited to take Garrett to the beach. Vacation will be awesome. We also plan to take Garrett camping soon (car campin', of course).

Little Man's New Skills

Over the last couple months, Garrett has blossomed into the older baby world. He is animated and charming and full of beans.

Just the other day he clapped his hands together for the first time. I have been playing patty-cake with him for a quite a while, and before he clapped, Garrett would push my hands together to make them clap. He has recently started waving, not always at the appropriate times. It is so darling! He waved to himself in the mirror--so cute.

Garrett makes a wide array of sounds, some very word-like and others sound like precious goblin sounds. Brendan and I call him our little monster. Garrett will grab at and tackle us, playfully. I am trying to teach him the word gentle, because that kiddo can pull your hair hard.

He isn't completely crawling, but he can get around. He can crawl backwards, roll in every direction, and squirm. Garrett has made his way under the couch and coffee table.

Brendan and I always say that we have the sweetest man. There's nothing more precious than Garrett's smile.

Lil' G's World

Garrett is increasingly full of beans! He's curious about everything and is very observant. He loves to make sounds by banging spoon on the high chair, banging to toys together, smacking his lips--you name it. I like to tell that he's making music. Garrett enjoys listening to music.

He can roll all over the room, in every direction. We think he is on the cusp of begining to crawl. We are baby-proofing the house. Garrett has a look of mischief about him or just intense curiosity; whatever you want to call, he'll definitely be trying to get into everything he possibly can.

Garrett loves taking baths now. Not long ago, he transitioned from infant tub to big tub. He wasn't thrilled with the big tub at first, until Brendan got in there with him to make more like playtime. Now Garrett loves to splash and play with his rubber duckies. The other day, he kicked his feet; I think it bodes well for future swimming.

He's making more word-like sounds. He's seems to be more verbally communicative. He will definitely let you know when he's not pleased or when he wants something.

Garrett is one sweet little man. Brendan and I always comment on how we have the sweetest little man. Garrett loves to smile and laugh. He laughs at Mommy and Daddy for being silly; he laughs when he surprising Mommy with a pee pee fountain; he laughs when he makes loud banging sounds. He's just a happy baby.

Mr. Personality

Garrett's personality is in full bloom. He is such a sweet and happy little man. He loves to smile and laugh; especially with someone to share it with. Last week Garrett did the funniest thing. I was making dinner, and he was sitting in his chair, blowing raspberries-- one of his favorite past-times. He blew a raspberry and made a funny noise at the end. He looked at me, and I smiled and laughed, and he laughed. Then for the next five minutes, he kept trying to make noises after blowing raspberries, and would laugh and laugh.

Garrett's getting new skills all the time. He has begun eating fingerfoods; he loves Cheerios. He is very active on his belly. I think he is on the doorstep of crawling. Garrett's top front teeth are starting to poke through, also.

He is very observant, and enjoys people watching. He finds it amusing to wake up some place new, after falling asleep in the car-- most times.

My good friend, Casey, gave Garrett a gift certificate to Build-A-Bear Workshop. I took him last week, and I helped him build a velvety brown bear. Garrett enjoyed picking a sound for the bear (giggling), and liked the stuffing machine. We named him Baboo Bear. Garrett makes a big smile when I say Baboo. He likes to chew on his ear.

We've said it before, but Brendan and I think he gets cuter everyday. It doesn't seem possible, but it's true.

Vincent's One- Month Birthday

A couple weeks ago was Vincent Ralph Stephens, one month birthday, and we went down to Raleigh to celebrate. Everyone gently rolled a special hard-boiled egg on Vincent's forehead and made a wish. Garrett was very interested in all the little kids running around; I think he was a little envious.

He had sweet moments with his cousins, Mia and Vincent. Vincent is such a cutie with his jet black tufts of hair. Garrett enjoyed the company of his Grandma Judy and Great-Grandparents, Papa Ralph and Nanny.

We had a fun day. It will be great when Garrett and Vincent can run around together. Hannah looks so good; you wouldn't know she just had a baby.

Hiking Fun!

We went for a hike at Pilot Mountain with our new baby backpack. Garrett had a great time. He took in the terrain with his big, beautiful eyes. He especially enjoyed being hoisted up on to Daddy or Mommy's back. Let me tell you, hiking with the backpack is a workout! We had a great time, and we plan to do a lot of hiking in the future.

Fun with Bean!

Garrett is a man who likes to have fun, lots of fun. He likes to play in his new exersaucer. One of his favorite past times is pulling Daddy's glasses off his face and chewing on them. He loves to laugh and grab and lunge at Mommy or Daddy.

Other fun past-times are rolling, from side to side and back to belly. He's mastering new skills all the time. You can really see his wheels turning. Recently his babbling seems to have taken on real meaning; he look at something intently and babble, like he knows what he's talking about. I'm sure he does, in his own language.