HAPPY EASTER!

Well, life just keeps getting better! We have put out about 13 flyers in front of our house on the "for sale" sign and so far all of them are gone and a few people have even stopped by and we just put the sign out on Friday! Easter was so much fun for us- as you can see I got a little "creative" and crocheted some bunny ears for Kolton and the weather was so nice yesterday that he even got to go outside and watch the easter egg hunt! It was his first time going to any type of family party besides a shower, and of course everyone wanted to hold him and love on him. He is so smart! He got this fun little ball that is made out of a bunch of soft rings and he will stare at it for a long time and then reach out and grab it and lift it over his head. I am pretty sure he is over 7 lbs by now and he is also starting to sleep for up to 5 1/2 hours at a time! (celebration!!) We are nothing but smiles in this house and I am so excited to feel the warm weather--SPRING IS FINALLY HERE!! Hope everyone who reads this is doing as great as we are!

With love,

Wes and Tabitha and Kolton-the-Great

Family Update!

Hello to all once again! Kolton had his two week check-up (at age three weeks!) on Monday and the Dr. says all is great! Kolton now weighs 6lb 10oz! He is eating and eating and sleeping and growing. I can't believe he will be a month old next Tuesday! He has started giving kisses and I can't get enough of them- they are the kind where they open their mouth and shake their head back and forth (and don't tell me it's rooting, because he does it even when he's not hungry!) He is also starting to smile and coo a bit (though it mostly comes out as grunts!) He also LOVES music. We like to lay him down for his nap with my headphones for my MP3 player on either side and it puts him right to sleep (see picture). Wes and I are not getting much sleep, but we're not complaining. Every day I have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming that something THIS great has happened in our lives. Kole is such a little miracle. Wes and I are putting our house up for sale next week so if anyone is in the market.... :) We hope to build this summer right behind where we live now so it should be quite an adventure! Hope everyone is well.

Love,

Tabitha and Kolton (who is with me as I type this)

Belly Button

I didn't have the belly button picture yesterday, so here it is!

February 22, 2008

Well, it has been a bit of an eventful morning. Wes was getting ready for his first day back to work and picked up Kolton to change him (what a man, right?!) and I heard him say "congratulations!" and I thought maybe he had pooped again (he did a lot of that last night) but I came out and saw that he now has a little belly button! His cord fell off sometime during the night! Wes was so happy to have discovered it. He went grudgingly to work today (he wants to still stay home with us) but he took several blue bubblegum cigars with him to pass out to "the guys" he works with. Kole has his first Dr. appointment today at 12:00, so I am excited to see how that goes. Thankfully, Wes is taking a couple of hours off so he can go with us. Another exciting event: We got a full eight hours of sleep last night! We went to bed at 10:30 and he woke up at 2:30 and then again at 6:30. It was bliss- for us and him, I am sure!

We are finally PARENTS!!

Well, where do we start?!? At 6:00 Monday morning (Feb 18) we received a call from Cori saying that she was pretty sure she was in labor and that I should "wake Daddy up and head over!" Needless to say, a frantic scramble followed while we threw some last-minute stuff in the car (we have been packed for a while now!). About an hour later we received a call from a friend of Cori's saying that Cori was dilated to a 10 and she didn't think we would make it on time! (We were about five hours away from where she was having him). About two minutes later I got a call on my cell phone and what should I hear on the other end but this teeny but strong cry! I immediately started bawling and Wes couldn't hear what I was telling him (we were driving through a canyon and his ears were plugged up). So, sadly, we missed seeing him come into this world, but, thankfully, Cori wasn't alone. So basically from her first contraction to when he made his appearance was just over an hour and a half! He came out at 7:28am weighing 5 lbs 2.8 oz and measuring 19" long! When we finally arrived (around 10:30) it was obviously very emotional for all of us. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had no idea that babies can come out that perfect. I always scoffed at love at first sight until I saw his sweet face looking up at me. Unfortunately, all of the meeting and hugging and "figuring out" had to happen while Kolton (that's his name!) had to get a series of tests done. He got poked and prodded and was not super happy about it! After that we were able to go into Cori's room and get re-acquainted with her and get newly acquainted with Kolton. There is a 24 hour legal period in which the birthmom has to wait to sign the relinquishment papers (it is a Utah State law) and Cori was amazing during that time- handling it much better than I think I would have. Finally, yesterday at around 6:30pm we were able to meet with Cori and her case worker to finish the placement process. I'm not going to go into that too much because it was probably the most sacred experience of my life. I don't even think words could express how incredible and hard and emotional it was. We left the hospital with Kolton safely in his car seat (per the nurse's patient instructions!) around 7:30 last night (on the 19th). They let us discharge him 12 hours earlier than they normally would since he was doing so well, even for his small size, and also since we had such a long drive ahead of us and a storm was going to be coming in the next day. After a couple of stops (WHY do gas station bathrooms have to be so COLD?! He did NOT like getting changed in there!) we finally arrived home around 1:00am. We were in bed by 2:00am and he woke us at 4:ooam and then again at 8:00am, so it was actually very nice (the first night in the hospital he didn't want to sleep at all!). We will see how things go tonight. Right now he is watching a basketball game with Wes and his eyes are wide open and alert! He hardly ever cries and has the sweetest disposition. We really don't think life could be any better at this point for us- we are so very blessed. Thank you all for your support and love. We had many MANY visitors today and so many people who have shown excitement and love for our little family. We want to do a "shout out" to Cori, whom we dedicate this entry to. We love you and hope the Lord blesses you as he has blessed us through you!

Love,

Wes, Tabitha, and Kolton

We send our love to all!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone yesterday! Wes and I took advantage of our last Valentine's Day at home alone by watching the movie "Invasion" with Nicole Kidman (we give it two thumbs up!) and ordering pizza and lounging in our PJ's all night! It was actually quite romantic and very relaxing. We have both been pretty busy what with getting ready for the baby and working as much as we can so we can easily transition into parenthood! I have been sewing a bunch (see picture) and am making all the bedding for the nursery, so that is giving me plenty to do and Wes finally got the bulk of the wood for the crib (oak!) so he can keep on going with that. I finally got my camera cord to fit so I could download some pictures from my camera to my computer. I normally use CD's but my CD drive refuses to work, so I have to do it this way! I just found out that my 10 year reunion is coming up **scary!** and it is pretty crazy. Guess I'd better start doing those "Biggest Loser" workouts my hubby bought me for Christmas! Hope everyone had as splendid a Valentine's Day as we did! We send our love to all. We hope to have some "big news" to report soon, so stay tuned! :)
Best Love and Wishes,
The Garners

Here we are again!

Hello to all who read this! Things have never been bussier in our house as we are preparing to welcome our new baby in the next few weeks! We had the incredible opportunity of meeting our birthmom this last week and we haven't been able to stop smiling since! She is an incredible and strong person who has not had an easy life, but still manages to have an awesome sense of humor. She is also a very open and honest person and we can't say enough good things about her! We are going to post some family pictures on this blog for her benefit and anyone else who hasn't seen our family in a while. We have many pictures from my (Tabitha's) family and are working on getting some from Wes's family, so stay tuned! Hope everyone is doing well- we know we are!
With love,
Wes and Tabitha