Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Family Reunion
All the cousins were able to meet up and hang out with each other, Grandma, aunts and uncles this weekend. What a fun time for all!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
PaintFest 2011
Ava wanted to paint (Yes, we all know what that means...wait for the body paint pics, lol) the other day and we thought Griff could explore painting, as well. He was a little hesitant but had a great time trying to eat the paint. Once he saw it on his hands, he kept trying to bang his mouth to get it on his face, just like sissy.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
So much to ::LoVe:: at ONE year!
Griffin has become a little toddler right before our eyes. I can hardly believe it!
Griffin's Milestones and Mommy's Favorites:
From crawling to walking. Hearing pitter patter is one of my absolute favorite sounds. Oh how I love those tiny feet.
From listening to responding. Letting us know that he understands by pointing to his head or his tummy when we ask. Blinking his eyes when asked where his eyes are is one of my favorite responses. We laugh and laugh about that one, he is so proud.
From bobbing to dancing. Griff's got some moves. He loves music and he instinctively responds to it so wholly, pouring his entire body into the rhythm. My favorite is when he busts out with the dancing while we are out somewhere. Just a moment to stop and remind us all to slow down and listen to the music.
From accepting to initiating. Used to be that rocking and snuggles were just something we do at night night. Now he seeks out the snuggles and asks for them with his body language. Oh, my favorite, when he rests his head on my shoulder or chest after making his way over to "our" chair to be rocked.
From active to reactive. Starting to play with toys and knowing what to do with them, especially when they may or may not get taken away from a certain someone. He has always enjoyed playing and participating, he is just adding an element to play like placing appropriate items in a certain container or by pushing a button, a sound will be made. He has is first obsession. A snowman that sings "C'mon it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you". Throwing his hands up in the air when the snowman belts "I'm melllllllttttttiiiiiiing!" has to be my favorite.
From coo'ing to "talking". While I wouldn't say Griffin is talking, he sure makes a lot of sounds and almost-words. He CAN say mama and dada, just doesn't do it often at all. He makes sounds for kitty cat "kkkkeeee" and Boo "bbbbb" and almost everything is "gggeeeee" with a pointed finger. My all time favorite is his "Rrrroar" for a tiger, accompanied with a hand claw movement.
From smiles to flirting. I've said it before, but this boy loves to flirt! He eats up any and all attention he receives and will even seek out attention from passers by. My favorite is when he says "iiiiii" and waves to someone when we are out. Little do they know, they have just been lured in and he expects to be doted on from that moment on.
Stats:
Height, 30.5 inches (74th %)
Weight, 21. 8 oz (31st %)
Head, 18 (31st %)
Sleep:
Still at 2 naps, though slowly transitioning to one. Altogether, naps accounting for about 2-3 hours of sleep a day.
Goes to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 and wakes between 7:00 and 7:30 in the morning. Just bought some black-out shades because we've had some early early morning wakings as of late. Zzzzz!
Eating:
We've been doing great in this department. Griffin is on 100% table food and eats what we eat for the most part. He is still working with some texture issues. Some foods that are hit or miss are mostly chicken and beans. We are strong proponents of reintroducing foods over and over again until he'll eat them. A prime example is avocado. It's a must in our house b/c they are so easy and we eat them all the time. He finally caved and gobbles them up now.
He has fully transitioned to milk and almond milk out of the sippy. Once he learned it, it was smooth sailing. I fretted too much about introducing the sippy at the right time and he just wasn't ready until HE was ready. Well, recently he learned and it really made for an easy weaning transition. We are in the final stages of weaning.
Griffin is still nursing 1 x a day, the early early morning-like 5:00am. The weaning happened without a hitch. He just loves real food so much, crams it in and eats a ton, and drinks milk and almond milk that he can't really sustain additional BM, just not interested. So last week, I just went with it bc it's about that time for me where I feel comfortable weaning, and didn't offer the afternoon feedings because he had eaten so much! He didn't even notice. The one feeding that was difficult was the nighttime before bed. He is just so used to it, more of a habit. But again, I capitalized on him being full and not offering it and he did just fine.
So we are down to one feeding and I must say that he didn't wake this morning to eat and we might be all done. As always, it's just so bittersweet. How grateful I am that I was able to give my little boy a healthy start with essential nutrients and a bonding experience that will forever be ingrained in my memories. It's a lot of work and a big commitment, but I'm proud to have made it as long as I did. What a special gift for us both.
Teeth:
Still hanging on to the 4 top front teeth and 3 bottom teeth. Having been quite cranky lately, I asked the pedi to check his ears for an infection. No infection found, but she said all 4 molars have dropped and are about to break through. Well, one has broken through. Poor guy. So, 8 teeth have emerged, but more are coming anyday now.
Griffin's Milestones and Mommy's Favorites:
From crawling to walking. Hearing pitter patter is one of my absolute favorite sounds. Oh how I love those tiny feet.
From listening to responding. Letting us know that he understands by pointing to his head or his tummy when we ask. Blinking his eyes when asked where his eyes are is one of my favorite responses. We laugh and laugh about that one, he is so proud.
From bobbing to dancing. Griff's got some moves. He loves music and he instinctively responds to it so wholly, pouring his entire body into the rhythm. My favorite is when he busts out with the dancing while we are out somewhere. Just a moment to stop and remind us all to slow down and listen to the music.
From accepting to initiating. Used to be that rocking and snuggles were just something we do at night night. Now he seeks out the snuggles and asks for them with his body language. Oh, my favorite, when he rests his head on my shoulder or chest after making his way over to "our" chair to be rocked.
From active to reactive. Starting to play with toys and knowing what to do with them, especially when they may or may not get taken away from a certain someone. He has always enjoyed playing and participating, he is just adding an element to play like placing appropriate items in a certain container or by pushing a button, a sound will be made. He has is first obsession. A snowman that sings "C'mon it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you". Throwing his hands up in the air when the snowman belts "I'm melllllllttttttiiiiiiing!" has to be my favorite.
From coo'ing to "talking". While I wouldn't say Griffin is talking, he sure makes a lot of sounds and almost-words. He CAN say mama and dada, just doesn't do it often at all. He makes sounds for kitty cat "kkkkeeee" and Boo "bbbbb" and almost everything is "gggeeeee" with a pointed finger. My all time favorite is his "Rrrroar" for a tiger, accompanied with a hand claw movement.
From smiles to flirting. I've said it before, but this boy loves to flirt! He eats up any and all attention he receives and will even seek out attention from passers by. My favorite is when he says "iiiiii" and waves to someone when we are out. Little do they know, they have just been lured in and he expects to be doted on from that moment on.
Stats:
Height, 30.5 inches (74th %)
Weight, 21. 8 oz (31st %)
Head, 18 (31st %)
Sleep:
Still at 2 naps, though slowly transitioning to one. Altogether, naps accounting for about 2-3 hours of sleep a day.
Goes to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 and wakes between 7:00 and 7:30 in the morning. Just bought some black-out shades because we've had some early early morning wakings as of late. Zzzzz!
Eating:
We've been doing great in this department. Griffin is on 100% table food and eats what we eat for the most part. He is still working with some texture issues. Some foods that are hit or miss are mostly chicken and beans. We are strong proponents of reintroducing foods over and over again until he'll eat them. A prime example is avocado. It's a must in our house b/c they are so easy and we eat them all the time. He finally caved and gobbles them up now.
He has fully transitioned to milk and almond milk out of the sippy. Once he learned it, it was smooth sailing. I fretted too much about introducing the sippy at the right time and he just wasn't ready until HE was ready. Well, recently he learned and it really made for an easy weaning transition. We are in the final stages of weaning.
Griffin is still nursing 1 x a day, the early early morning-like 5:00am. The weaning happened without a hitch. He just loves real food so much, crams it in and eats a ton, and drinks milk and almond milk that he can't really sustain additional BM, just not interested. So last week, I just went with it bc it's about that time for me where I feel comfortable weaning, and didn't offer the afternoon feedings because he had eaten so much! He didn't even notice. The one feeding that was difficult was the nighttime before bed. He is just so used to it, more of a habit. But again, I capitalized on him being full and not offering it and he did just fine.
So we are down to one feeding and I must say that he didn't wake this morning to eat and we might be all done. As always, it's just so bittersweet. How grateful I am that I was able to give my little boy a healthy start with essential nutrients and a bonding experience that will forever be ingrained in my memories. It's a lot of work and a big commitment, but I'm proud to have made it as long as I did. What a special gift for us both.
Teeth:
Still hanging on to the 4 top front teeth and 3 bottom teeth. Having been quite cranky lately, I asked the pedi to check his ears for an infection. No infection found, but she said all 4 molars have dropped and are about to break through. Well, one has broken through. Poor guy. So, 8 teeth have emerged, but more are coming anyday now.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Kai-Ya!
Ava has been asking us if she could take karate, so she started Martial Arts about a month ago and so far, she is loving it. They do everything from karate, to bully-proofing, to stranger danger to exercising. She also is motivated by a reward chart that they incorporate for behavior at home so that they can earn stripes on their belts. She is always trying to earn checks for her chart.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Earth Day Fair
A few weeks ago (obviously) we went to Frisco's Earth Day Fair and enjoyed the kites, the plants, the info and the performance at the new black box theatre. They had a medley of performances from the children's theater and Ava was in Heaven. She saw "Belle" and "Captain Hook" to name a few.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Spring Dance and Theatre Recital
Theme: 'Punzel Goes West written by Mrs. Misty, Ava's homeroom teacher
Characters: 'Punzel, Teddy Tornado, Cowboy Prince and Bessie Big Boots--Ava said she chose Bessie because she becomes nice at the end and everyone wanted to be Rapunzel. 'Atta Girl!
Skills: Line Memorization; Finding their spot on stage and various tap, jazz and ballet skills. At parent teacher conferences, Ava's dance teacher told me that Ava was selected to be a line leader which is an important role, her classmates follow her lead onto the stage and depend on her to find her mark, so they can as well.
We were front and center to watch her and that turned out to be a bit of distraction as all she wanted to do was make sweet googly faces to baby brother. Ha!
Characters: 'Punzel, Teddy Tornado, Cowboy Prince and Bessie Big Boots--Ava said she chose Bessie because she becomes nice at the end and everyone wanted to be Rapunzel. 'Atta Girl!
Skills: Line Memorization; Finding their spot on stage and various tap, jazz and ballet skills. At parent teacher conferences, Ava's dance teacher told me that Ava was selected to be a line leader which is an important role, her classmates follow her lead onto the stage and depend on her to find her mark, so they can as well.
We were front and center to watch her and that turned out to be a bit of distraction as all she wanted to do was make sweet googly faces to baby brother. Ha!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Time Flies: A First Birthday Party
We had a great celebration with dear friends and Gigi and Poppy. We'll get to see more family for birthday wishes in a few weeks, so we kept the party small. We had a bright decor with an airplane cake...time flies. Mommy made the birthday banner and overall, our little boy just felt so loved and special.
Griffin tore up his carrot cake! He was unsure at first, but once we showed him how it was done, he couldn't get enough. He just grinned ear to ear as we sang Happy Birthday and loved on everyone. What a fun day to commemorate ONE!
Griffin tore up his carrot cake! He was unsure at first, but once we showed him how it was done, he couldn't get enough. He just grinned ear to ear as we sang Happy Birthday and loved on everyone. What a fun day to commemorate ONE!
Behavior Management Chart
The other day Ava decided that she wanted a hula hoop. I told her that she could sure earn her way to getting one. She drew up a plan in her head as to how she would get the hula hoop. A "calendar" as she called it. It will have a picture of the hula hoop in the middle with squares around it to try to earn x's for a good attitude.
I really just pulled the "oh, that's a good idea" and "uh huh....great!".
To my surprise when we got home, her mental blueprint came to life and she created her own behavior management chart. She asked me, I had nada to do with this chart, if I would draw the pictures of what she wanted to work on.....hands for no hitting, feet for no kicking (yes, we've got some physical behavior to curb), smiley face for a good attitude, etc.
She really wants to earn that hula hoop, so we'll see....
I really just pulled the "oh, that's a good idea" and "uh huh....great!".
To my surprise when we got home, her mental blueprint came to life and she created her own behavior management chart. She asked me, I had nada to do with this chart, if I would draw the pictures of what she wanted to work on.....hands for no hitting, feet for no kicking (yes, we've got some physical behavior to curb), smiley face for a good attitude, etc.
She really wants to earn that hula hoop, so we'll see....
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Marriage Thought by Ava
:::snuggling with cat:::
"I feel like I'm going to marry Boo. Well, at first I'm going to marry my brother and he'll be my wife. I mean, he'll be my husband and I'll be the wife. Then I'll marry my cat."
"I feel like I'm going to marry Boo. Well, at first I'm going to marry my brother and he'll be my wife. I mean, he'll be my husband and I'll be the wife. Then I'll marry my cat."
Friday, May 13, 2011
Happy FIRST Birthday, Griffin!
You woke, as usual, with a smile on your face. Love that smile. We sang Happy Birthday to YOU and you just ate it up. What a wonderful day. A day that sure doesn't feel like a whole year has passed since we met you.
Happy Birthday my Beautiful Boy!
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