Update

Elias on the balance beam at the Tumble Gym.

Garrison helping Mommy cook.

Sweet brothers. I promise Elias was not trying to poke his brother in the eye he was just rubbing his face.

Garrison chillin in the tent at the beach.

Elias' second birthday!

So, it has been quite a while since we last posted. Our boys have grown and changed so much.

Elias turned two in June and is now potty trained. Praise the Lord we only have one in diapers! He learns something new every day. He can count to ten most of the time, uses words in sentences, is a great big brother, can melt your heart when he smiles and says "Lub you" (love you), is really good at finding hidden pictures in the find it books, loves to fight and is very dramatic when he gets knocked down (look out Hollywood this boy has got some skills), likes to paint and write, wow let me stop because I could go on all day. I hope that shows you a little about what he is up to.

Garrison is now four months and is so much fun! He smiles, laughs, rolls over (from his belly to his back), puts everything in his mouth, loves his big brother, and likes to watch our fish. We took him for his check up last week and here are his stats: weight= 14lbs 13oz (50%) length= 25in (50%) head= 43.5cm (75%) still right in tack with where Elias was at this age.

We love our boys and thank the Lord everyday for what a blessing they are in our lives. We did get to take a family vacation to Emerald Isle and had an amazing time. The boys were great and of course the beach was fun. Elias liked the ocean until he got taken down by a wave. He enjoyed the pool as well and was even brave enough to jump in to us a few times. Garrison just liked being in a different place and having new things to look at. I hope this updates where we are now and what we are up to. Enjoy the new pictures!

First Smile

I know it has been a while since our last post, but I wanted to let you see Garrison's first smile. It was a few weeks ago when we took this. I am pleased to say that this wide open mouth smile was given to me (Tara/Mommy). He is such a precious little boy. He gives smiles all day. He loves to smile at his daddy and big brother as well. He even smiles at times when he is not the happiest. We can't wait to hear his little laugh, I am sure it will not be to much longer as there is always something or someone to laugh at in this house.

Brothers

Here are a few pictures of our two little guys! It is fun to watch Elias do big brother things with Garrison. He really tries to be sweet to him even if he accidentally pokes him in the eye. Just the other day we were playing in Elias room and Garrison was crying. Elias went and got his "gigi" (blankie) and gave it to Garrison. My heart melted. He is a great big brother!

Garrison James Thomas

He is here! Garrison James Thomas was born on April 3, 2010 at 12:40am. He was 7lbs 13oz (exact weight of Elias at birth) and 20 1/2 inches. Friday was quite a busy day with two trips to the hospital. Our first attempt we were sent back home. After being home for only a few hours we were back on our way to Rex. We got there around 9:00pm and as you can see he was born at 12:40am. Praise the Lord for our precious son Garrison!

Big Boy Bed!

Several weeks ago we got Elias' new big boy bed! Thank you Marian for being so generous. My mom and Dad drove with Elias to pick it up and bring it to its new home. Thanks guys! He was very excited about it when his Pop Pop was putting it together. He actually helped put screws in the holes and tried to use the wrench. Anytime his Pop Pop has his tools out his little shadow is right by his side. It is priceless. We got it all put together and then put on his cute bedding. Thank you Nana and Grandaddy! I don't know if you can tell by the pictures, but it has monkeys on it. Monkeys are one of his favorite animals. The next day we put him down for his nap in his big boy bed and he did great! After two or three days of naps he was sleeping all night in his bed. Such an easy transition! We are thankful that he is ready in some ways to be a big boy since his little brother will be here in a little over a week. Hope you enjoy the cute bed pics.

Big Brother

Today while I was giving Kathleen's little Charlie his bottle Elias went into the kitchen to find one for his "dog dog". He has been showing lots of nurturing to his stuffed animals and his glow worm. It is too cute!

Snowed in Fun!

Fun times in the snow!

A sippy cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows in front of the fire. He did not like the hot chocolate, but marshmallows are always a favorite.

Helping mommy make brownies.

The boys watching a movie together! Is this not the best ever!

So a little out of order, but here he is picking up some snow and throwing it at his daddy!

A few weeks ago we got several inches of snow and were stuck inside for a while. We really enjoyed our time together as a family! We baked, played games, and just enjoyed being together. We did go outside in the snow some. Elias liked it when the snow started falling on Friday night, however, Saturday our trip outside was cut short due to the sleet coming down. He did not care for that. The next two days he had fun throwing snow balls, crunching snow under his feet, and just playing around. Hope you enjoy the pictures of all of the fun we had!

Christmas Fun!

Opening Presents!

In awe over his stocking!

Family shot. Sorry we look a little sleepy. Someone wakes up early.

Making a Birthday cake for Jesus!

Elias had an amazing Christmas this year! He got to celebrate twice. Matthew's parents came the week before Christmas and we had Christmas with my family on the actual day. It was so fun to watch him open his very first present from Matthew's sister. We had been telling him for so long that he could not touch the presents that he was a little confused when we told him it was okay. He did what we call his "happy feet" dance. Too cute! He really racked up on presents and has just now started to settle in to having so many new things. Some of his older toys are now in hiding only to return when these new toys don't seem so new anymore. Our favorite part of Christmas would have to be making a birthday cake for Jesus. In effort to make the holiday what it is truly about we had Elias help to make Jesus a birthday cake. While we were making it I was telling him it was a cake for Jesus and on his own he started to sing Jesus Loves Me.

It can't get any sweeter than that!

Not only did Elias have a great Christmas, but Matthew and I did as well. On top of all of the wonderful gifts from friends and family our parents went in together and surprised us with a brand new 40" flat screen HD tv. Wow! We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were reminded as well of the great love our Father has for us in sending his son!