1 Year!

I really love how I completely drop the ball on G's FIRST BIRTHDAY. I can hit each minor monthly celebration, but I hit an actual birthday and... nothing. Awesome.

Anyway... we did, in fact, celebrate the loin fruit's day of birth. It wasn't anything crazy (and let me tell you, six months ago, I was gearing up for crazy), but we had some friends over for a bbq. There were Ugly Doll decorations and cupcakes. Here's proof:



There was also a ball pit (courtesy of my sister). Here's proof:



Unfortunately, by the time we got around to actually eating the cupcakes, it was bedtime, and G wasn't really picking up on the cupcake vibe.



Not to worry, though, being the Type-A personality that I am, I made G his own special little cake so that we could have a little cake smash when he was more awake. It took him a bit to warm up to the situation, but I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it all... including getting sprayed off in the bathtub afterwards ;)

By the end, he was explaining all of life's mysteries to us

Having a 1-year-old has been a delight. We're still working on that whole "night time is for sleeping" thing, and he's been hit be another bout of allergy insanity. Otherwise, though, this kid is absolutely hilarious, and he makes everything just a bit more fun. 

I still have every intention of writing a real update post on him soon, but right at this moment, I need to go make sure the tiny isn't destroying anything that can't be replaced.

 

11 Month Update

G and I have been enjoying a fairly mellow month. I mean, as mellow as it can be with a tiny person who can't seem to sit still or keep his hands to himself. He's emptied all of the kitchen cabinets approximately 2,678 times a day, and thinks it's hilarious to zip towards things that he knows he shouldn't touch (all the while looking back to make sure I'm chasing him and giggling until he can't breathe).

11 Months is all about growing and learning around here. G doesn't seem capable of sitting still, and can't keep his hands to himself. Everything brings with it a new adventure, and he loves inspecting things that he's never seen before (from a menu at a restaurant to a cardboard box).

He officially has five teeth (with two more on the way), and he's thrilled at the chance to eat new foods. In the past month, we've loved string cheese, ravioli, grapes, peaches, peanut butter sandwiches, and goldfish crackers.

Our 11 month photos were taken a bit late (err.. a lot late), but we got them (the ugly doll just barely fit on the chair with him).

And then he decided he was done:

10 Month Update

So this is quite late. It's been a bit ridiculous around here. We got back from Great Britain on the 23rd (it was amazing):

 

Two days later, J took off for some training in the states. Since G has recently discovered that the entire world is interactive, my days are pretty much filled following him around, making sure my house doesn't become a complete disaster and we don't end up in the ER.

Anyway... all of that to say, 10 months is a blast! This little person is absolutely hilarious. He's cheeky, and I can't help but laugh all day long. It makes discipline a bit of a challenge, but we're working through that ;)

9 Month Update

Whew... I'm sure I'll eventually get tired of saying this, but this month has been a whirlwind! This past week was full of car buying and selling, and we're gearing up for Josh to go to some training as well as a nice jaunt to the UK. Add in regular work and whatever else the Griff Monster can throw our way, it's been full of fun :)

I couldn't quite convince G to pay attention to the camera. Josh was sitting off to the side, and since he's the most wonderfully interesting person EVER, G was either trying to get his attention or talking to his UglyDoll.

I did manage to nab one picture of him facing me and smiling, and boy oh boy does this little person look like his daddy!

He's quite the little explorer, having finally figured out how to crawl on hands and knees instead of the slightly more difficult army crawl that he was doing for so long. His fascination with drawers doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. I'm not sure there's anything else that he'll sit and play with for 20 minutes straight, but put him in front of a drawer, and it'll be opened and closed until he realizes there are other drawers in the room to open ;)

At his 9 month well baby visit, his doctor confirmed that he has pretty intense allergies, which explains why he sounds like a little bulldog all the time. Unfortunately for him, we live in the middle of flowering trees and hay fields, so he'll probably just need to get over his aversion to handkerchiefs. I'm sure Mr. Chatty McChatterson will gladly tell you all about it ;)

8 Month Update

Just a quick post today since the tiny is insisting on helping with everything I do.

Unbelievably, this little person is 8 months now. As proof of his constant need  to wiggle and explore, I'd like to show you what most of his pictures look like now... a little blurry ;)

Roly Poly Ollie

It's pretty common for me to look around for Griffin and find this at my feet:

I'll put him down in the middle of a room, then walk to whatever I need to work on (cooking, sewing, etc...). By the time I get settled, I have a little bug at my feet. More often than not, that little bug is also babbling and grabbing my feet (bonus points for buttons or laces on my shoes).

G's mobility seems to have exploded overnight, along with intense curiosity and a growing mastery of fine motor skills. Sometime between him destroying a grocery store display from his perch in the cart and a broken mason jar in our kitchen (no babies were injured in that incident, but it sure did startle him and get my adrenaline going), I realized that we have left behind the days of him happily playing on his playmat while I cook dinner. His jumperoo(s) has increased in value exponentially, and I will most certainly be honing my spidey-sense and reaction times :)

7 Month Update

If February wasn't so short, I DEFINITELY would have gotten this in before the month was over. 7 months seems to be a magic number for this little boy. He officially has 2 teeth (a significant upgrade over 1), he's very good at rolling to get where he wants to go, his new name is Grabby McGraberson, he sits for good chunks of time on his own, and he's popping up onto his hands and knees as much as possible. This last development has only started within the last few days, and it's completely adorable to watch as he wills himself to move forward. The coordination isn't there yet, but he KNOWS he's so close.

I can tell I'm in trouble as this little person gets more mobile. He's adorable, but he's more than happy to distract you with his babble and dimple as his little hands reach out to snag whatever you've left within arms reach (glasses, bowl of food, pens, diaper...). Goodness, he's lucky I like him so much ;) 

On second thought, I'm pretty sure I'm the lucky one in this relationship.

6 Month Update

See that smile up there? That's for J, who was standing behind me for this little photo op ;)

So this update is a bit late. We were actual on holiday for G's 6 month birthday. I'm pretty sure he had fun anyway:

Since we were gone, we didn't have G's 6 month check up until last Monday. He seems to have slowed down growing a bit (according to the charts), but J and I still think he's HUGE!. As far as what he's up to... G has become quite proficient at rolling over, and he's realized that rolling can actually be used to get from place to place (eep!). He's also EXTREMELY vocal and is so excited to babble back to anyone willing to talk to him. We haven't seen any hint of him not liking strangers. In fact, he's quite a huge flirt! Everywhere we go, he smiles and watches everyone, hoping to find someone who will smile back. Though he's still overall very mellow, he's been a tad sick the last week and a half, and he's teething, so we've seen a fussier/clingier side of him than ever before. The fun side of that, though, is that he has one little tooth:

5 Month Update

I promise this post was actually started in December... it just took a few days to finish :)

The past month has been a bit of a whirlwind, as the holidays often are. I was able to grab G for a few minutes to take some shots with his Ugly Doll, though.

We're really starting to see his personality more and more. He continues to be a wonderfully mellow, social baby. In fact, he's pretty much happy as long as he's with people. Alone play time is not something he enjoys just yet. He rarely cries when we're out and about (even though we have definitely dragged him ALL OVER in his short little life), but it's not uncommon for him to cry the whole way home once we leave wherever we've been (a party, the bx, a market). He's quite giggly, and is already showing signs of being quite a ham to get a laugh.

Sleeping through the night still isn't happening, but we're getting closer!

The biggest milestone for this month was starting "solids." He's had carrots, oatmeal with blueberries and pears, broccoli and spinach with apples, peas with pears and spinach, and squash with bananas. So far, once he adjusts to the odd sensation, he'll happily gobble up whatever you give him.

Here's hoping the next month brings some hair!!!