While GWE was out of town and Justin was at a sleep over, I had Garrett all to myself. We decided to have a Guys’ Night Out – just the two of us! I scooped him up in one arm, grabbed the diaper bag in the other, and we were off for an evening of debauchery!
I decided that our first stop should be the toy store. Because Garrett is the second child, he suffers from a very real and debilitating sickness called “Toy-Hand-Me-Downtitis.” At our house, there are (literarily) hundreds of toys within his grasp! Yet, only a handful of them were purchased specifically for him. Most of the toys started out as Justin’s. So, not only does Garrett have to decide which toy he would like to play with, he also has to decide how much of Justin’s wrath he’s willing to put up with in order to play with that toy. We’ll be starting a telethon for his “disease” next year.
As we stood in the toy aisle, I told Garrett that he could have whatever he wanted…within reason…under the certain amount of money…as long as it didn’t require assembly…or forty batteries…
The first toy he found was a Red Fire Truck. Two problems: 1) The truck was two feet taller than Garrett, and 2) It would have required a small business loan. The second toy he choose was much better. It was a blue and white police car with three different sirens. He wrapped his arms around the Tonka police car like it was a teddy bear and never let go. Sold!
As we were driving to our next destination, I heard the sound of emergency vehicles quickly approaching so I pulled over to the side of the road. After a few seconds, the alarms faded and we resumed our adventure. Several minutes later, I heard more emergency vehicle sirens and pulled over to the side of the road again. This time, the sirens seemed even louder – but the vehicles never passed me.
Two minutes later, I heard the sirens again and pulled over for the third time. I was concerned that we were near a fire or possibly a car accident, so I lowered the windows and the moon-roof and began looking around for signs of an emergency. I saw nothing…and the sirens faded again.
I remember there being a long moment of silence and then I felt something hit me in the ear….which was followed by ANOTHER SIREN BLAST!! I quickly realized – IT WAS GARRETT’S TOY!!
Unbeknownst to me, Garrett (who sits in a car seat behind my seat) pulled his toy out of the bag and had pressed the siren a few times. Each time he pressed it, I pulled the car over thinking it was a real police car! It wasn’t until he became frustrated by not being able to get the toy out of the box, that he threw it at my head…which set off the siren again!
Hey Tonka – maybe your toys don’t need to sound THAT realistic! Whatever happened to “Wee-ooo-wee-ooo?!?!?!” Think I’m kidding about the sound? Watch this:
Garrett is now one step closer to Graduate School, Medical School, or Law School! I’m not sure which one Garrett will choose. But, as long as it’s not Clown School, I’ll be happy. 
A few weeks ago, Garrett was miserable. He had a runny nose, terrible cough, and (after a quick doctor’s visit) we discovered that he had an ear infection in his right ear. He was not happy! GWE and I did the best we could to handle the situation, but a cold is a cold and at some point there is not much a parent can do but simply hold your ailing child and wait for the medicine to “kick in.” Justin knew that his brother wasn’t feeling well, so he decided to stay away.
