Finally, a haircut

As attached as I have been to Gus's hair, I decided it was finally time to give him his first real haircut. In addition to the fact that I just wasn't cutting it because I've been in denial about him not being a baby anymore, a number of people have referred to Gus as 'she', so I figured it really must be time. Either that or I need to buy Gus some more manly clothes. But anyway. My mom cut our hair most of the time growing up, so I figured how hard could it be? So I bought a pair of barber's shears and gave Gus a sucker, and we were ready to go. Kevin took these pictures, so generally you can't see exactly what he meant to show you.

Here Gus is, ready to go.


This gives you and idea of how long it was in back.... pretty long.


Halfway done......


Rat tail - almost done!


Done, for the most part. Kevin never did take a decent picture of him after it was done, so you'll just have to wait and see for yourself. I think I did an ok job, but in hindsight it would have been a better idea to have my mom do it and me observe or something. Whatever. We'll see what happens when he needs the next haircut.


Aside from getting his first real haircut, this weekend we also went to pick out our Christmas tree. Kevin always likes to go to Daniken Tree Farm near Greenville to cut down the tree himself, so that's where we went. We were looking for a short-needled tree (I guess a fir of some sort?) but the first place they took us had almost none left, except for really big trees. So we talked to the guy that dropped us off, and he took us to another place that should have more. And there were none there at all. So we kept walking and finally found another area with some and I finally convinced Kevin to settle because Gus was frozen and it was lunch time. Then when we went to pick up the wreaths we had picked out beforehand, one was gone. All in all, we were fairly unhappy with our trip and probably won't be going back there next year. Sadly, I didn't even realize just how small our tree was until I got home later that night and saw it. It is so small it is not even funny. That just goes to show how cold and miserable it was, and how bad the selection was out there. So depressing. Nonetheless, it's a cute small tree, so it will work.

But here are Gus and Uncle Matt searching for a tree.

Here we are in front of the tree we chose. It should have been a hint when you couldn't even see the tree behind us. Alas.


So the tree is up, some of my shopping is done, and now Gus has a haircut worth of his Christmas pictures.....hopefully we can get those done soon! Also on the to-do list, figure out a picture for the Christmas card. It was so much easier when we only had Satchel to pose......

Thanksgiving, Carolina style

It had been a long long time since Kevin and I had made the 12-ish hour trip to North Carolina to visit Jenny and family. So this year for Thanksgiving, I convinced Kevin we should try our first long roadtrip with Gus. And so we went! We left Tuesday morning, and made it there pretty late Tuesday night. One highlight of the trip there was Gus's first happy meal.....I'm pretty sure he just ate a few french fries because we kept giving him snacks in the car to shut him up until Kevin would stop for lunch, but oh well. He enjoyed the toy that came with the food, so it was worth it.

While we were there, the cousins enjoyed playing with each other (for the most part). There was a lot of one boy mocking the other, be it 'words' or actions, and it was pretty entertaining. I think there were no major meltdowns, so that was good. Jenny and I worked to make a decent Thanksgiving dinner....she and Charlie brined a turkey that ended up being amazing. I made rolls and a chocolate pecan pie, Jenny made dressing. These were the most important things. Everything turned out pretty well. My biggest lament - no pumpkin pie. I guess I'll have to wait for Christmas.
Jenny and I made a few shopping runs, Kevin and Charlie and John drove up to the mountains for a Christmas tree, and we ate lots of good food. But as usual, the highlight for me was tasting some new wine. We went to a place Jenny and Charlie had never been before called Flint Hill - good stuff and a neat old farmhouse!

Flint Hill grapevines


Flint Hill winery....yes we were brave to take two little boys!


The Thole's in front of Pilot Mountain (at Ragapple Lassie)


When we went to Ragapple Lassie, Jenny and Charlie watched the boys while Kevin and I did the wine tasting. Possibly my favorite part of the trip! I just love every single wine they make!

So the majority of the pictures I took out there were just of Gus and John together. They had the same coat which made for some good pictures.

Playing in the back yard


Sharing a chair


Escape!


They love their tractors (or four-wheelers, in Gus's case)


Being calm?


Enjoying their sippy cups in the recliner


We had a great time out there, although we were glad to get back home to our dogs....and I'm sure Jenny was glad to have her house back in order, and lacking a bad-languaged lump on her couch.....
So glad they'll be here to visit in just a few weeks!

Halloween, a few weeks late

Last year for Halloween, Gus was the cutest little elephant ever, courtesy of the amazing costume Aunt Jackie made for him. I'm not the most creative person, so when people started asking me what Gus was going to be for Halloween this year, I figured I ask Jackie and see what she came up with. Her response - he should be a greaser! And so it was....I figured this was easy enough - white shirt, rolled up jeans, something rolled up in his shirt sleeve, hair slicked back - I could handle this. But to top it off, Jackie actually found a motorcycle jacket for Gus. This absolutely made the outfit.

I really thought Gus looked like his Grandpa Ken with his hair slicked back like this. Here he is at his day care Halloween party. He is very proud to be sitting in a big chair.All of the day care misfits. There are some gnomes (twins), an owl, a lion, a giraffe, Minnie Mouse, and maybe there were more not in this picture. I CANNOT believe these kids sit there in these chairs and are so good!


After the day care party, Gus and I headed to my mom's, where we got to see Jenny, Charlie, and John, who had flown in for the weekend! Then we headed up to the square in Highland for the big trick-or-treat thing. Here we are with Jenny and John the mechanic! Check out Gus's sweet coat! Without it, he either would have been 1. freezing, or 2. looking like he wasn't dressed up but had weird hair wearing a normal coat. Thanks Jackie!

We also briefly saw Max, who had a cute owl costume!


John really enjoyed getting candy. Here he is being a good boy, eating a Tootsie pop on his mom's laugh. This is the perfect smile!


On actual Halloween, we hit a few grandmas/aunts in the area. Then, the HPFD was having an open house, so we went there to eat hot dogs and let the boys check out the fire trucks. Here is the second incarnation of John the mechanic and Gus the greaser!


And now, a few other random pictures.
I love when Gus drives two things at once....here he has his tractor and his bulldozer.


Gus loves animals. Aunt Jess brought in a baby kitty for him to visit with!


This past weekend, I wanted to enjoy the nice weather despite being able to pull my husband off the couch. So Gus and I went to the gardens for a stroll. Here are a few of him with the sheep.



Gus just had pictures taken at day care too. They were pretty good, but they weren't cheap and I figured that I'll be getting Christmas pictures taken in about a month. So I didn't buy any (sorry Jenny). But I'll take the pictures from the proofs and keep it in the scrapbook as his first school pictures! If anyone sees this and just dies because I didn't order any, I think I theoretically still could.

Gus has recently been a lot more noisy. He still doesn't say much that makes much sense beyond mom, dad, and the occasional tractor. But when he makes noises he is moving his tongue around a lot more making new sounds. So last night we were playing with his little people barn. He knows what all the animals are (except maybe the sheep?). But when I was talking about the cow, he said cow, and kept saying it I think because he was tickled he was able to say it. He was also saying ooooo when I was saying moo. Pretty damn cute! So maybe some more real words will be coming soon!
He's also been a lot more picky about food lately. Usually he LOVES bananas and yogurt, and I can only get him to eat about two bites of banana, and he completely refuses the yogurt. I'm not sure if Halloween candy ruined him, or if it's just his age. We have had a few candy-related tantrums though in the past two weeks. Kind of funny, kind of annoying. I just have to keep moving the candy so he doesn't know where it is and doesn't see the bag and start pointing and whining.
Not much else exciting is going on. This week was busy because I was guest lecturing for my friend who is a professor at Webster University - it was enough work to do that I didn't get much regular work done. But I got to teach introductory biology for the first time, which was a great opportunity and experience. This week I also went to see Joshua Radin at the Pageant with Jackie. He was ok, but I don't love the stuff on his new album and that's what he played the most. But the opener, Good Old War, was amazing! I loved them, and actually just bought their most recent album, and it is great stuff! Highly recommended....
Today just might be the last day it's in the 70s before it cools off for good. The weather has been amazing this week - I just wish I could have had a hookey day to enjoy it! Just one more full week of work, and then we'll be off to North Carolina for Thanksgiving! Can't wait!

Pumpkins and buggies and horses, oh my!

As most of you probably know, Kevin never really wants to do anything. So when he mentioned he wanted to go up to the Amish country in Illinois to visit the Great Pumpkin Patch, of course I said sure. And so we went. It was a relatively short visit - we went to the pumpkin patch, walked around awhile and bought some pumpkins. Then we drove into Arthur assuming we'd find somewhere to eat (we found one place that closed the second we were done eating). Then we visited a few little shops and were on our way back home. I tried to talk him into going up to Chambana for some Papa Dels, but no luck.
Kevin said next year he'd be ok with just going to Eckert's.
Anyway, here are some highlights.

Gus's response when seeing his first horse and buggy:


I think he has this funny smile because it was kind of windy. I wish he was looking at me.


Checking out all the pumpkins. He didn't try to pick up any for some reason.


Ok, maybe it looks like he's trying to pick this one up.


With dad after the pumpkin selections.

I'm a Horrible Mother

So I realized the other day that I hadn't taken a picture of my kid since September 12. Ouch, that was a long time ago. In the meantime, I guess stuff happened. We even went to two weddings in one day. I took ONE picture....and it didn't include any of the brides or grooms, or my kid, or me. Here it is:
Kevin and Matt, his cousin Amy, and Aunt Mary at his cousin Jeff's wedding.


Anyway, I hope to get a bit better about taking pictures. So I tried to take a few this weekend.

This is Gus playing with his tractor - it was mine when I was little and mom sent it home with me. It scares me because he likes to try to pick it up, and it's heavy and solid metal. I'm sure our heart pine floors already have a few dents from it.


Like father, like son. Gus can't open his eyes for pictures either.


Playing on the couch with dada.


Gus has a box of triangular crayons from his Aunt Jess. Thankfully he doesn't really know what they are yet, but he's obsessed with them.


Playing on the couch with the dogs. And my iPhone.


So there you go, a few pictures. Gus had his 15 month checkup recently....if I remember correctly, he was 27 lb, 32 inches tall, both of which were 75th percentile. He had his lead levels rechecked because they were borderline at his 12 month checkup, but they were fine (phew....).
He is attempting to say more words. I've heard Lucy, tractor, banana and a few others, but almost everything he says sounds like 'ba'. He loves playing with the dogs....Satchel has become less tolerant of him, while Lucy has become more tolerant. Yesterday I stayed home with him because he had a fever, and he learned first how to use Satchel as a step while climbing up the back of the couch to the windowsill....then he was able to get up there without Satchel. THEN he decided to simply lunge forward while sitting on the windowsill. This kid is frighteningly fearless.....
Other than news about Gus, I think everyone knows I don't have a job after April? My boss is leaving St. Louis and so I won't be able to work for him anymore. Unfortunately his timing was bad as far as applying for teaching jobs, but so far I have a couple things figured out for the spring....I have a course to teach for Wash U's U College (plant physiology and biochemistry) and one lecture, two labs to teach for Maryville University (microbiology). I'm hoping my boss will let me change my hours to around 30 and keep benefits through the spring, but we'll see. And beyond the spring, I have no idea what will happen.
Only a few things I can think of for Kevin....he's pleasantly surprised with how well the Rams are doing so far this year, which is a little disappointing for me because it means every Sunday revolves around him watching the football game. And Blues hockey has started which further compromises our tv schedule. But the biggest most important thing - Kevin has one chicken now laying eggs! He is beyond proud! We found the first egg last weekend, and since then that chicken is now up to about an egg a day. So it won't be long until we're sharing eggs with people! The other two chickens are the giant chickens, and they still aren't mature for a few more months.
So there you go. I'll do my best to take more pictures in the coming weeks! These might include a family visit to Amish country, Halloween with cousin John, and (gasp) perhaps a real haircut soon?

Some new-ish videos

I put some new videos on youtube....so if this link works....
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhum

if it doesn't, just search for jmpgarnet.....

iPhone Pictures

Sometimes it's impossible to have your camera there when something interesting happens. But thankfully sometimes my phone is close enough....

Here are some recent random highlights.

Miss Anna June antagonizing Gus while the girls eat at Zapata's

Gus and Lucy playing on the bed....Gus is laughing like a maniac.


Cousins in grandpa's big blue tractor


Practicing sitting in the wagon before the wedding


Passed out cold literally minutes before the wedding started....it's a good thing Gus is almost always happy when he is woken up!


Chef Boyardee night.


Gus can now reach every countertop in my kitchen. He saw this peach and decided to eat it. I was sad, I no longer had a peach to eat for lunch the next day.


Going for a walk down our street.

Absentee Blogger

Wow, a lot has been going on. And I've been too busy/lazy to blog about it. Sorry. Here is my attempt to catch up.

First and foremost, my seester Jessica got married over labor day weekend! It was an amazing and beautiful day and I'm so glad I could be a part of it. Somehow I didn't manage to get a good picture of the newlyweds actually looking at me, but here is their first dance. Congrats Jess and Todd!!

Mr. Gus was one of three ring bearers. He was super spiffy in his vest and tie.

Cousins!!

Seesters and mom!

Me and Jess at the Marx Bros. stop before the reception.

While Kevin, Gus and I were all looking our nicest, there was a total fail in terms of a decent family picture. I wasn't even attempting one here, Kevin just decided to join in. It was more entertaining than the actual failed attempts. Alas, the curse of being grotesquely non-photogenic.


There were tons of other wedding pictures. If you didn't see my snapfish album, and all the other albums on facebook, then you're just missing out. It was a great wedding!

The best part of the wedding was that Jenny, Charlie and John were home for a few days. Gus and I spent a lot of time at the farm with the family, and we did a lot of walking around and exploring. Here Gus is checking out one of the cows.


Gus is obsessed with any kind of animal and always wants to hug them. Jenny is trying to stop him from squeezing the baby kitties to death.


The weekend after the wedding, we were back at the Latzer homestead for Harvest Days. Kevin always takes his dad's old Minneapolis Moline out there for the antique tractor show, and this year was no different. Our friends Erin, Mike, and Max also went out there to check out the tractors.....here Gus and Max are hanging out on the tractor.


Family picture.




Aaaaand, most recently was the highlight of our September - the annual Schlafly Hop in the City. After a week of gorgeous weather with highs around 80 every day, the day of the Hop had to be 90 degrees. On top of the crazy hotness, I think they had way more people there than ever before. So it was a little disappointing. But the Dirt Cheap Chicken made an appearance, which marked the only use of my camera that day. Sigh.


Many many other things have been going on. I've been fighting with a stupid experiment in the lab for the last few weeks - something I've done plenty of times before and is simply not working without explanation. I'm about to give up for the time being.

In addition to keeping my eye open for jobs and trying to do the job I do have, I got my first freelance writing job - writing a short press release for an engineer at Wash U. Hopefully it will be online soon....nothing too exciting, but it was fun. I'm also TA-ing a class this fall at Wash U - a freshman seminar called Problem Based Learning where I run a discussion of about 6 students. Well, after the first class, about 50% of the students dropped. So for my second class, I had TWO STUDENTS that were supposed to discuss stuff for 2 hours. HAH! And then, after that class, one of my two students emailed me that she was dropping! So they took my one student and put him with another TA for these first couple weeks and I haven't had to teach. Starting next week, the groups rotate to new TAs, so I will be teaching again then. Hopefully everything goes ok, and it was just my random group of students that dropped and not a reflection on me. I'm also guest lecturing for a plant development class on monday (about stomatal and root hair differentiation - woohoo!), so hopefully that will go well and be a good experience.

The next exciting events coming up are my cousin Amy's wedding and Kevin's cousin Jeff's wedding. Unfortunately they are the same day, so we'll be splitting our time between the two weddings. Other than that, there isn't much coming up that is too exciting.

Coming soon - chicken pictures, a video of Gus blowing kisses (if I'm lucky), and who knows what else.....