Sweetness

I've got a lot of things to blog about, but I wanted to make sure to get this picture on here. I just think it's such a great photo of Griffin and his Great Grandma Herring.

It was taken a few weeks ago when we were all up in Rock Spring, GA for Natalie's baby shower. It was fun seeing everyone and celebrating baby Blake!

Excuse You!

This video is just so fun, I have to share.......

....he still thinks me saying, "excuse you!" is really funny.

Monday Night at the Herring's

In case you aren't keeping up, we now have an 8 month old in our house. I'm not going to lie, the 7th month was probably the most challenging thus far. Lots of....whining? I'm not sure if that's the right word, but I do know that our happy-go-lucky boy was not around as often this past month. Don't get me wrong, I think we're TOTALLY lucky and most people would die to have a son with Griffin's disposition, he was just a little bit "off" this past month. I'm going to chalk it all up to teething. I've heard it's really painful for the kiddos.

Anywho...just thought I'd document a typical night in the Herring household. Also, Griffin has been LOVING his baths lately, so we wanted to get that on camera too. We've got a new strategy for bedtime (since the fussiness has increased while changing diapers and putting pajamas on - I really think he just can't stand to sit still). We are now doing bath time / diaper time / pajama time BEFORE we feed him his bottle. This way, when he falls asleep while eating (which he often does) we don't have to wake him up to do all of the above.

Here's a glimpse into bath time!



And now here is a glimpse into how much Griffin dislikes getting ready for bed...

(No, Chad isn't torturing him, he's putting lotion on him! haha)

So once he is dried off, diapered and lotioned, it's time for jammies....ugggg.....

But after that, it's usually smooth sailing. Griffin relaxes while Dada feeds him his bottle. More often than not, he is asleep as soon as he finishes.

This way, we can just go put him right in his crib. If he's not asleep, we read to him before putting him to bed. I will say, Griffin has always been GREAT at going to bed at night. He just rolls on over, snuggles with his doggie blanket, and drifts off to sleep. Nothing sweeter!

Teething Biscuits: A Blessing & a Curse

Well, Griffin is definitely teething. Poor guy seems to be in a lot of pain, especially at night! (....no fun for anyone involved.) A friend told me about these teething biscuits and I figured I'd try them out. I bought them in the store and gave him one while I was shopping. It was WONDERFUL and TERRIBLE all wrapped into one hard biscuit.

These things are wonderful because he loves them and it takes him a good 15 minutes to eat (gnaw) on it. (I'm a fan of anything that keeps him occupied for an extended amount of time.)However, these things are also terrible because they make the BIGGEST. MESS. EVER! I've decided that he will only get to enjoy a biscuit when he is trapped somewhere (the high chair or his car seat). ....and the mess is hard to wipe off...not sure why? It's also a bit worrisome that the box has a warning saying that the child should be sitting up right and eat only with parent supervision.

Good thing he's so cute.....

Here is video evidence of the wonderfulness and the terribleness.......enjoy!




Time elapsed between the two videos is about 30 minutes (jk...I wish...probably more like 5).

Oooops! I literally JUST noticed, as I was looking back at this post, that the box says "for babies 9 months and older,".................oh well, even the doctor says G is advanced, right? haha...(oops).

Fall is Here!

This week we saw our first glimpse of fall here in Atlanta and it was WONDERFUL! I am so looking forward to cooler days so G can spend more time playing outside. It's great timing because he is at the age now where he loves being outside and is getting adventurous enough to explore the outdoors.

We decided to go play outside for a bit this week. G was not so sure about the grass at first (I think it was pretty itchy on his sweet, sensitive skin), but he warmed up to it pretty quickly and decided that it looked good enough to eat! (We've got to work on that...I'm trying to get him to understand the phrase "NO EAT!")

Oh, were you wondering if I took pictures of our outdoor adventure? Of course I did........

One of Griffin's new favorite "toys" is my cell phone (or Chad's...he's not picky). On this particular day he literally spent 45 minutes crawling around with my phone, eating it, dropping it, picking it up, etc... I have noticed that some buttons work better than others now, but if it makes him happy...by all means...slobber on my phone all you want son.

Today, Chad had a tennis match at home and since the weather was just about perfect, G and I spent the morning at the courts with him. Griffin had a great time exploring and everyone on the team couldn't believe how much he'd grown since the last time they saw him.

(Doesn't he look adorable in this outfit?! This is the first time he's worn overalls and I think they make him look like such a little boy.) The rest of the day was spent at home...as usual, G was in constant motion and got a really nice bump on the head (also fairly common around here).

...and though his nap wasn't very long this afternoon (not nearly as long as mom and dad would have liked), he zonked out pretty hard for a little bit.....

Doesn't look very comfortable to me, but the kid was out! (That other leg you can't see is underneath him with his foot right up by his ear.)

So, fall....WELCOME and thanks for finally making your way here.

Cheerios are Magic

Just look at that face. This boy loves his Cheerios...and so does his momma! They are seriously like magic. The boy cries - give him a Cheerio!

When he's got a big tray full he usually just puts down a wet, slobbery hand and picks up about 10 at a time to shove in his mouth (and usually ends up choking and scaring me to death). However, when he gets down to the last few, you can see him really concentrate to get them in his hand and into his mouth. It's so cute (and he's really good at it)!

I use to think that Cheerios were a "clean," non-messy snack...........not true.

I'm often amazed at how FAST the Cheerios dissappear, but then I pick G up and see that they are just hiding.

In addition to the wonderful introduction of Cheerios in our life, a lot has been going on lately and I just haven't had the time to sit and write about it - so here goes - a few tid-bits of information for the memory books so G will know what he was up to as a wee young lad:

• As of 6 months old, you started experimenting with crawling and within the span of a week, you had MASTERED the art of crawling and pulling up. You are on the move and definitely keep mom and dad on our toes! We can't wait to see what happens this month! You seem to learn something new every week.


• You are a good eater and love sweet potatoes and apple sauce (..........and Cheerios, duh).


• You are starting to grow some hair - it sticks straight up - but it looks good! You love to feel your hair (actually, it looks like you're pulling your hair) when you're tired and do it all the time when you are eating your bottle or about to go to sleep. It's really sweet.


• You like to pick things up and drop them, just so you can bend down and pick it up again.


• You are ALWAYS on the move. If you're awake, you're moving. I'm hoping that one of these days you'll learn to just sit and relax for a few minutes (and cuddle with mom while you're at it).


• Oh! I almost forgot....YOU'VE GOT A TOOTH!! Your 1st tooth started poking through right before you turned 7 months. It's still just a little thing (hasn't fully come through yet), but it looks like you're about to get another one as well. Teething has not been very fun for you (or us)....you usually wake up crying at night, which is rare for you because you are such a good sleeper!


• You love beign outside. If you're upset, it instantly calms you. You are really starting to notice all the different sites and sounds out there....and you love to watch cars drive by.


• Your personality is just AWESOME. You're a funny and sweet little boy and everyone just loves you. You are a total flirt when we're out in public (mostly with the elderly women) and you always make strangers smile.


• No words yet, but you're definitely talking to us. Lots of sounds, giggles, grunts, etc...


• You LOVE the owl painting in your room. It makes you smile when you're crying.


• You're such a big boy that you don't have to sit in your car seat while you shop anymore! You sit in the cart just like all the other big kids!


• You're growing like a weed and growing out of your clothes like crazy. Good thing the seasons are about to change so you can move into your new wardrobe (I'm really good at buying clothes for you - I'm sure you'll appreciate that as a teenager).

That's all I can think of for now - I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but there is just so much going on around here that it'd be impossible to write it all down. So fun!

Here are some pictures of our big boy from this week:

This "no spill" cup has got nothin' on Griffin....he can find a way to make a mess!

Griffin is a good shopping buddy, however, I have now learned to NOT let him be the "list holder" anymore. I turned my head for about 20 seconds to pick out some sweet potatoes and WHAM! he has eaten my list! I had to fish it out of his mouth and make due with what was left of it.

Griffin's favorite store is Hobby Lobby. Luckily I'm such a nice mom that I make sacrifices for him and take him often. (hehe...)

A Mover and a Shaker

This video is a few weeks old, but I wanted everyone to see how great big G is doing with crawling and pulling up! Since the video was shot, he has gotten the hang of getting back down once he pulls up on something. It was so fun to watch him teach himself how to do it. I could see the the wheels in his brain just a turning. He started by trying to bend at the waist and would NOT bend at the knees (even when Chad and I tried to bend them FOR him). He has made progress each and every day and now seems pretty comfortable doing it! Sometimes he bends his knees, sometimes he doesn't....good thing he's really flexible. Now he entertains himself by stand up, dropping a toy, bending down to pick it up, and getting back up...he repeats this over and over. Makes momma nervous and proud at the same time!