Kangazoom!

Last Monday was a yucky day, so I decided to have a day of inside fun with Griffin.  I just used a coupon to buy 10 visits at this Kangazoom place near us.  It's basically a "bounce house" place with lots of inflatables.  We've been talking about taking Griffin there since before he was born...so, we finally tired it out.  Griffin loved it!  I think he has as much fun just walking around and pointing at things as he did on the bouncy things. 

It was so cute...Griffin was afraid of this car (I have no idea why) for the majority of the morning...until this cute little brunet was in there.  He joined her and then her friends joined them.  They were going to the "beach" and they just looooved Griffin.  Such a ladies man!

After Kangazoom, we headed to Burger King for a quick lunch. I knew I was pushing it on time and that he'd be ready for a nap soon.

The car ride home wasn't fun for anyone....

But once we got home the little man passed out!  It was a fun day!

It was so fun, in fact, that we decided to take Dada back on Sunday!  A good time was had by all.

...and this time, the ride home was much more enjoyable!

On This Day in History...

I will look back on yesterday as a day for the history books.  Why, you ask?  A very simple reason, but one that literally has never happened before.  If you've followed the blog at all or met Griffin in person, you probably know that he is a busy body and does not. sit. still.

Well, yesterday I got a full twenty minutes of CUDDLE TIME with our little busy body!  It totally made my day.

Sure it helped that he was worn out from a morning at church.  Sure, it helped that he hadn't napped yet.  Sure, it helped that he was mezmorized by Thomas and Friends on TV....whatever, I take what I can get!
(Obviously, I made Chad go get the camera to document the occasion.  He was shocked too.)

Shortly after the photos were taken, I took G up for a nap where he proceeded to sleep for over 2 hours.  He was a sleepy, sleepy boy.

Video Update: 13+ Months

Just wanted to share some videos of our little rascal these days.  I swear, he's turning into such a big boy!  He talks a LOT...just can't wait until we know what he's saying!  You can hear him jabbering away in this first video.  I shot it one morning this week and he didn't know I was filming.  Mornings have been fun lately because after breakfast we come in the living room and play and watch some baby TV shows.  He is just starting to show an interest in a few of the shows (the ones with trains, cars, etc) and is having fun entertaining himself.  I have fun just sitting back and observing most of the time.

In this video he is running around with diapers in his hands having so much fun!  Every once in a while he'll decide to pull all of the diapers out of the caddy and he thinks it's so funny.  He really thinks he's getting away with something.  He'll get my attention and then start giggling and run away from me with diapers in hand.  Such a booger!

Griffin is definitely getting more and more adventurous.  As I was typing this post I had to take a break and focus my attention on the little man as he figured out a way to use his car (that you saw him playing with in the first video) as a step stool to get up on the sofa all by himself.  I looked over to find him on the couch, with his paci in his mouth (which was up on the couch), standing up and leaning against the back of the sofa watching TV.  When he saw that I noticed what he'd done, he smiled and started laughing and attempted to straddle the arm of the couch.  I immediately took a break from blogging and went and tickled him to death.  He's so fun.

Here are a few recent pictures:

Griffin had a ball on this bouncey thing at his friend Henson's 2nd birthday party.  He had no fear!

Into the diapers again....

This is kind of gross, but G's hair was really greasy because he stuck his fingers in his hair after eating buttery noodles...we decided to give him a new hair-do to show off his long locks.

He crawled into the toy chest and played in there for a while.

Look closely and you can see those 2 top teeth popping through!  (finally)

12 Months (and Counting) of Sheer Bliss

Griffin's baby book wouldn't be complete with out a post about his 12 month stats and an update on what he's up to these days.

Weight = 19lbs. 10oz. (12th percentile)

Height = 29.5 in. (50th percentile)

Head Circumference = 46.5 cm. (60th percentile)

Again,  his doctor's visit went great and Dr. B couldn't say enough good things about our boy.  We were worried about his lack of weight gain (again), but she said his height/weight ratio was perfect and that it's okay to be a skinny minny!  

Here are some of the things you're up to these days (at about 13 months):

• You are walking like crazy!  As mentioned in a previous post, you started toying with the idea of taking a few steps here and there, but much preferred crawling to walking.  Well, as of last week that has changed.  You have decided that you like walking and you're pretty good at it!  You walk with your arms straight up in the air (for balance, I guess) and a huge smile on your face (because you're proud of yourself!).
• You still have 2 lonely little bottom teeth!  Haha...you've got two top teeth trying to poke through, but they are in no hurry to arrive.  Because of this, you tend to swallow most of your food whole...makes Mama nervous!
• Speaking of food, you are eating pretty much anything we can cut small enough for you.  You LOVE hot dogs (okay, turkey dogs), grapes and pretty much anything with cheese on it.  You also eat veggie burgers, pasta and do pretty well with fruits and veggies.
• You're drinking whole milk now and really seem to like it.  Well, let me clarify.  You love it out of a bottle, but when I try to give it to you out of a sippy cup you make a terrible face!  I don't get it, but I'm happy to give you a bottle for a while longer - it's about the only time I get to cuddle with you since you're always on the move.  I'm not ready to give up that sweet cuddle time just yet!
• You're talking up a storm, though we have no idea what you're saying most of the time.  We can take a guess as to what you're talking about based on what you're pointing to or doing at the moment.  Most things still sound like "dada," but you definitely know who your Dada is and I even get the pleasure of hearing "Mama" every now and then. 
• Riding in the car has gotten a little more enjoyable since your car seat is facing froward, however you're still not a huge fan of being strapped in that thing for long periods of time.  You love seeing trucks and school busses on the road.  I know this because you scream at the top of your lungs and point to them and don't stop until someone acknowledges what you see.  "Yes Griffin, that is a BIG truck!"  Papa Charlie said he might have to start turning his hearing aids off when you are in the car because you're so loud.
• You are a book worm!  You like to pull out every book you own and flip through it.  At this point, you're way more interested in turning the pages (all by yourself), than you are us actually reading the story to you.
• One of your favorite times of the day is when Dada gets home from work.  The second you hear the garage door go up you smile and crawl over to the steps of the basement and wait for him to come up.  You use to just sit there and wait for him, but now you've started crawling away and laughing once you hear his footsteps.  You know he's coming to tickle you and the anticipation just kills you!  (Dada gets the best laughs out of you with his tickles.)
• Bath time is another favorite time of day.  You love to splash around but still hate it when we pour water on your head to wash the shampoo out.  We'll have to get you use to being "dunked" in the pool this summer.
• We're having fun trying to decide what your personality is going to be like.  When you're at home and in your comfort zone, you are a total goof ball, laughing all the time and you like to interact with us.  When you're in a new setting, you tend to stay to yourself more and just explore.  You're really curious and like to take everything in before you make up your mind about something.  I love that about you!

I could go on and on.  We are so proud of you and amazed at how much you have grown and learned in 1 short year of life!  Your dad and I love you so much and we're thrilled to watch you continue to grow into a little boy.  We're anxious to see what plans God has for your life and feel honored to be a part of it.  As you grow up we hope you always know that you are surrounded by people who love you want the best for you.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Our Baby's 1st Birthday!

I've been avoiding this post because I feel like it marks the end of something.  The end of my baby's first year of life.  The end of being able to call him a baby.  The end of my "baby book." 

No wonder it feels like a daunting task, huh?  So, I've decided to treat it as it should be treated...a celebration of Griffin's first year and a way to preserve the memories of this fun day!

Griffin's actual birthday was pretty low key - a typical Thursday at home with Mama - but we had the treat of meeting Dada for lunch at Chick-fil-a!  Griffin even got to eat some chicken nuggets and french fries.  Then we played on the playground before Dada headed back to work and we headed home for a birthday nap.  (As I wrote that I laughed to myself because on G's birthday, everything was a "birthday something"...birthday breakfast - same blueberry waffle as always - birthday nap, birthday lunch, birthday bath.  Things just sound more special if you add the word birthday in front of it!  haha.) 

It was fun thinking back to "a year ago today" and saying things like, "a year ago today Chad was eating a McDonalds breakfast in the delivery room with my dad, while I looked on (unable to put anything in my body except for ice chips) and waited for the nurses and midwife to say we were ready to start pushing."  Or, the absolute best was when Chad called me in the car after we had just left from lunch and said, "It's 12:34.  A year ago today Griffin was born!" Sure enough, the clock read exactly 12:34.  I lost it -thinking back to all of the emotions that were happening at that exact moment in the delivery room.  I just love looking back on that day...nothing but fond memories and I hope those memories never fade.

***Pause to take a deep breath and wipe my tears as I'm writing this.  Motherhood has made me an emotional basket case!***

Okay, on to the party weekend!  Gram and Grandpa came in town on Friday so we could all go out to dinner for Chad's birthday.  I think they wanted to make sure that their baby's birthday didn't get overlooked.  Sweet Chad...I think he's more than happy to give Griffin the birthday spotlight! 

Once Saturday came, I was in full "party planning" mode.  Everything was pretty much in order, just had to finish decorating and pick up a few things from the grocery store.  Most of the day was spent with me sending up silent prayers that Griffin would take good naps and be a happy boy for his party! 

Once the house was ready, the guests started to arrive!  It was just a small, family event...perfect for a small birthday boy.  Thankfully my prayers were answered and G had good naps.  Though he was a little thrown off when he woke up from his afternoon nap to find all these people at his house, he warmed up pretty quickly and was a perfect party host.

I'm pretty sure one of his favorite parts of his birthday was the balloons.  He had fun playing with them for days after the party was over.

After opening his great gifts, it was time for cake....

He was NOT too fond of his birthday hat.  I kept trying, but he wasn't having it. (Though it made for great photos.)

So, of course we all gathered around to sing Happy Birthday to Griffin, anxiously anticipating what he would do with his smash cake!  I think most moms secretly hope for a good show...you know, face first into the cake; a messy chow down as he shovels cake into his mouth...but I wasn't really expecting that from Griffin.  He pretty much did just what I would have predicted.  He liked the taste of the cake, but was thrown off by the texture of the icing all over his hands.  (Or was he thrown off by all these people standing around staring at him?)  He kept squishing and squeezing the icing in his hands.  haha...it was cute.  He eventually put a few bites into his mouth...

....and he even shared a few bites with Dada.  See the icing all over his face? 



I love everything about this picture.  GinGi's 85th birthday was just 3 days after Griffin's 1st birthday.  A perfect picture of young and old, in deep conversation, no doubt.


After everyone enjoyed some cake and Griffin took a dunk in the bathtub, he had fun playing with his new toys and we all had fun watching him.

A perfect birthday celebration for a perfect litte baby boy.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GRIFFIN!

First Steps!

Exactly a week shy of his 1st birthday, Griffin took his first steps!!  He has been practicing since Christmas with the help of his friendly green dinosaur (which he L.O.V.E.S...evident by the picture of him kissing it), but on February 3rd, Griffin got the nerve to try a few steps on his own!  

It all came about very naturally and unexpectedly.  I was playing with G up in his room and set him down on his feet and then sat right in front of him.  He was balancing really well and then just took some steps towards me!  I'm talking like 2 or 3 steps, but he knew he was doing something new because he had a huge smile on his face!  We did the same thing 1 or 2 more times, but then he'd had enough.  I immediately e-mailed Chad at work and told him we had a new trick to show him when he got home.  Luckily, G felt like making his Dada proud and took about 7 or 8 steps for him!  He was great!

Sadly, I don't have pictures to post (shocker, I know), but we did catch some steps on our video camera.

Since the big day Griffin hasn't shown much interest in walking much more.  He's so fast with the whole crawling thing, he probably doesn't see the point yet.  Until then, we'll enjoy a few steps here and there and will be cheering him on every step of the way!

A Day at the River

This weekend we had amazing weather with temps in the mid 60's, a much needed break from the cold, January weather.  I think all of Atlanta took the opportunity to get out and about, and we were no exception.  G had spent the night at GiGi and Charlie's the night before, so when I went to pick him up on Saturday, we decided to go spend some time at Jones Bridge Park.  Fun times!

Griffin liked being pushed REALLY high!

Then he had a lot of fun playing in the tunnel.  He crawled back and forth and liked looking out the holes in the side.

Peek-a-boo! 
(I am in love with this picture...and this little boy!)

Then we headed down to the water to check out the ducks.  It was so beautiful out there!

Some kids beside us shared their bread so G cold feed the ducks.  He couldn't quite understand that the bread was for the ducks...he kept eating it himself!  haha.

Such a fun day in the sun and warm weather!  Come on Spring...we're ready for you!