Wednesday, April 3, 2013

13 Months and Easter

March 24: Griffin turned 13 months!

So what is he up to these days?

He is still such a good baby. I feel more like a parent though these days. I have started disciplining him when needed. He recently decided to start biting me. He hasn’t shown interest in biting anyone else but me, which is a good thing I guess. I’m to blame… I play like I’m biting him when playing. He thinks it’s hilarious. Now I’m reaping the repercussions. I spank his bottom and tell him no very firmly. It hurts his feelings and just bawls. He’s pitiful.

He’s also been more clingy to us when we’re around new people. He used to go to anyone anytime. Now he is starting to act more shy. Thankfully he warms up to people very quickly and won’t cry if they just snatch him up!

He is a picky eater. He LOVES carbs!! He will eat bread all day long if I let him. Vegetables are not his favorite. However, he loves pineapple, strawberries, and bananas. Grilled cheese sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, chicken nuggets, applesauce, sweet potatoes, popsicles, puree vegetable pouches, and waffles are on his favorite foods list as well. He is drinking from his sippy like a champ still. He is probably drinking way too much milk because he loves his cup so much! It holds 9 oz, and he drinks between 3-4 cups a day.

When G wants down from his high chair, we make him say “down please.” He doesn’t say it correctly, however, he gets pretty close! We know what he means. He also says, “What is that” all the time as well as “belly button.”

He squeals when he gets tickled!

I just LOVE this kid sooooo much. I know he is going to keep me on my toes for the next several years.

This is the end of his laughing fit. He did this for like 5 minutes straight. It looks like a temper tantrum, but he was giggling.

Griffin goes to bed between 7-8 each night, and wakes up between 6-7 in the morning. He takes two naps. His first nap is from 9-10:30 and his afternoon nap is from 1-when he wakes up…. usually around 2:30-3. He drinks a glass of milk when he gets up, eats breakfast at the babysitters at 8, lunch at noon, a snack around 3:30, dinner at five, and his final glass of milk before bed. He’s on a great schedule! I love knowing exactly what he needs when.

He can now climb up on the couch by himself. He is more steady now when he walks. Bath time is still his favorite. He plays in his cozy coupe allllll the time. If there is something that has buttons, he’s pushing them. Whether it’s the remote, iPad, phone, picture frame, cable box… it doesn’t matter. If there is a button, G is pushing it!

Griffin is absolutely precious! I’m not biased or anything….

On to Easter!

Navy and orange was the color scheme this year. I wish I would’ve gotten the front of Griffin’s shirt! It was monogrammed with a little chicken on his tie. Too cute!

The play was a tremendous success this year! We had four performances, plus a dress rehearsal, and over 200 people were saved!! God is soooo good! Brandon did an amazing job as usual portraying Jesus. I stand in awe of him this time of year. The stress from the play can be overwhelming at times, but we have an amazing church family that held us up in prayer, especially Brandon, and he always handles everything with so much class and grace. I so blessed to come home to such a great guy!

Griffin made it to two of the performances. Oh. my. word. He’s still a little young to be included. He was all over the place. In fact, he yelled “Dada” during on of Brandon’s monologues. Talk about embarrassing!

You can see that I don’t have many pictures these days. Videos are so much easier.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Spring Break Part 2

I’m so very sad that my Spring Break is over… Sad smile
Wednesday
Griffin and I traveled to Conway to pick up a table from Marvel’s Second Time Around. This was the first table I picked up this week for my master bedroom make-over. The redo is going to take awhile because Brandon and I are back on a pretty tight budget. After we found out we were pregnant, we got away from the envelope system. However, we are back on track now! In fact, we mapped out the next six years…. where we want to be, goals and such. It was wonderful to sit down with Brandon, figure out a debt repayment plan, and dream big for our future. This can be a whole post on it’s own, so I’ll save that for later. Back to Conway, after I picked up the table, we went to Old Navy to return a skirt I bought online, then we were off to Target. A Conway trip is not complete unless I go to Target! We ate a bite there and did a little bit of looking around. I bought a pair of nude flats that I have been wanting for a long time.
Thursday
It was cold and dreary. Griffin and I just stayed inside, did some cleaning and some laundry. I should have graded some papers, but I didn’t. It was great! Wednesday and Thursday I ran. But again, that’s another post! I’m training for a 5K! I know that’s not a lot, but for me, running 3.1 miles is huge. I’ve never been a runner, and quite frankly, I really don’t like running. But I’m trying!
Friday
Griffin and I ran a few errands, but mainly had another relaxing day at home.
Saturday
I ran again. Amazing I know. ha! Brandon, Griffin, and I ran back to Conway to pick up another table for the sweetest lady ever. We had a delicious lunch at Chilis. We tried to go look for Brandon’s Easter shirt and tie, but Griffin was exhausted, so we just went home. It’s hard to travel and do things out of the norm with a baby that needs a naptime!
Sunday
We went to church this morning. Our preacher spoke a wonderful word on this Palm Sunday. Tonight, they had a prayer meeting for the Passion Play. This is by far the craziest week of the year for Brandon. We have performances on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Yikes! I’m still trying to decide what to do with my sweet baby boy.
Tomorrow is Monday. Back to the daily grind. Thankfully there are only a few more weeks left of this school year! I’m ready to spend the entire summer with my little boy!

This is where we are...



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Spring Break Part 1

I don’t think I’ve looked forward to a Spring Break more than this one. I needed some down time SO bad. Spending an entire week with Griffin… Well that is just heaven! He is so entertaining and fun to be around.
Thursday
So I know Thursday wasn’t really Spring Break, but we had an awesome parent night this night! My students wrote their first five paragraph essay complete with subheadings, photographs, and a bibliography. Then they completed their planet research by building models and/or making posters. We set our classroom up like a “Solar System Museum” complete with a big sun in the middle. The students stood behind their projects “asleep” and they woke up to tell about their planet when a parent pushed their button (which happened to be an interlocking cube). It was an easy and successful parent night. I will do it again next year since I’ll be in third grade again. Everyone LOVED it!
Friday
In fourth grade, we had a district wide track meet. In third grade, we have a district wide kickball game. WOW. I miss the track meet. The kickball game was fun, but eh…. track meet is where it’s at.

Saturday
Griffin got his first haircut! I was so surprised how much it changed his looks. He seriously looked like a different child.
Before:
pony tail
After:
He’s a little boy now. My baby is gone.

Jason’s sweet girlfriend, Felicia, cut it. He absolutely hated the chair. We tried to get him to sit in it by himself, but there was no way. I had to sit in it and hold him. There was hair everywhere! The sucker afterwards was his favorite though.
Sunday
Sunday was low key. We just went to church. Can I just say I love our church! It’s the best. We’re gearing up for the Passion Play again.

Monday
Griffin and I had a lunch date at Chick Fil A. Can I just say again… I love, love, love my son!
Spring Break Day 1
He ate his little chicken nuggets and flirted with anyone and everyone that flashed him a grin. We had to go get groceries afterwards. I made spaghetti squash alfredo that night. It was… eh… ok. The spaghetti squash looks just like noodles, but the texture is way off. Bran and I ended up eating cereal for dinner.
Tuesday
Let’s just say…. I’m still in my pajamas! haha! Today has been great. I wanted to head up to Omaha to store some of Griffin’s things at my parent’s house, but sickness is still rampant up there, so we stayed home. I did a few loads of laundry, and cooked another new dinner. It was absolutely delicious. I made buffalo chicken and potato casserole. Bran gave me permission to make it again. lol My Easter dress came in that I ordered from Old Navy. I have my Easter outfit and Griffin’s, so now I just have to find Daddy something to wear.
IMG_20130316_193843
Griffin has started to put on Bran’s hat and wears it around the house. It is way to big of course, so he ends up running into everything.
Spring Break Day 2(2)
I gave him an entire box of Kleenexes today. He LOVED pulling them out one by one. He made a huge mess.
Spring Break Day 2
Here he is with his new sippy cup eating some animal crackers. Oh, by the way, he’s completely weaned from the bottle now. I knew I just had to find the right cup! Once I did, it has not been a problem whatsoever. He hasn’t had a bottle in over a day, and is drinking just as much milk if not more! I went and bought him two more cups at Wal-Mart.










Griffin has been so giggly. He is testing his boundaries for sure. I can just look at him when he is inching towards something he knows he cannot touch, and busts out laughing. Seriously, one look and he is grinning and giggling. It’s the cutest thing.
He also loves to be chased. He will run and squeal if you even act like you’re coming for him.
He’s learning so much so fast. He stands on the tips of his toes and goes around the end of the hallway trying to open each and every door. He hates to be left alone in a room. He will play by himself just fine, but he doesn’t want to be the only one in the room. He likes when someone watches him play. His newest thing is putting on him sunglasses, taking them off, and saying “boo.” It comes out with a very thick, country accent. So cute.
He’s also walking more. He made almost all the way across the living room today.
So basically, he’s weaned, he’s walking, and he’s the cutest thing alive. The end.

And I wish I could stay with him all the time! The end. For real.

Griffin and Daddy

Look what they left me! Love those two more than I can express!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Weaning

When Griffin was 11.5  months old, it was time to wean him off his formula to whole milk. I shuddered just thinking about it. The week spent transitioning him from breast milk to formula was AWFUL! But he did it and survived, so I knew that we could make it through this transition as well.
The switch actually wasn’t too terrible. We quickly figured out that he wanted his milk at least room temp and not freezing cold. After we started nuking his six ounce bottles for about 20 seconds, all was well.
Now, I am facing the weaning battle. I’ve tried this for a few weeks now, but lacked consistency which is a prescription for failure. Now that I’m on Spring Break though, I am confident that I will prevail! haha!
I’ve come to find out that finding the right sippy cup is essential for getting rid of Griffin’s beloved bottle. We have tried no less than eight different cups to no avail. But yesterday, God was directing me to TJ Maxx where I found THE cup!

Behold! The Munchkin Straw Cup!
Words cannot begin to describe how much G and I love this cup!!! First, I paid only $8 for three, adorable cups. Second, it’s super easy to clean and assemble. That’s a huge plus! And finally, Griffin loves drinking out of it. He doesn’t have to suck so hard to get his milk to come out, and it doesn’t leak. That is an amazing sippy cup! I’ll let you know at the end of my week how the weaning is going. I have high hopes.

Saturday, March 16, 2013