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 ;)

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 :)

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!!!

3 Month Update

This is the first in what will (hopefully) become a series of update posts on the life and times of the Griff Monster. Thus begins my stint as a "mom blogger"...

Griffin turned 3 months old last Wednesday. Overall, he's been one of the sweetest, happiest, easiest babies I've encountered. Everybody loves him, and I'm pretty sure he knows it. He doesn't get upset easily, and he (usually) calms down quickly once his problem is solved. It would appear that he inherited his dad's temperament :)

He's been hitting some pretty obvious milestones recently, including:

• reaching for and grabbing various objects and toys
• mimicking voices and mouth movements
• laughing and interacting more
• getting stronger and working on sitting up
• (very occasionally) sleeping through the night

Magic

So it's a new year, the time when all delinquent bloggers write a post vowing to blog more in the coming year.

This is not that post.

I simply want to log a moment of magic from last night, and I figure this is as good a place as any to do so.

My New Year's Eve plans consisted of a sweet party involving Netflix and Sloppy Joes followed by a bedtime of 10:00.

While snug in my bed, I was awoken at about 20 till midnight by a crazy raucous happening outside. I lay there for a while, listening to the noise, thinking it would soon die down again. The last thing I wanted to do was get out of my warm nest. At midnight, I decided to check out what was happening outside, so I put my slippers on, opened our rouladens, and stepped out onto our balcony where I was greeted with a sky full of fireworks and the sound of church bells being rung quite intensely.

Here I need to add a couple notes. (1) We do not live in a large city. In fact, what we live in is much more village-like than anything else. (2) We do not live in the center of town. We are definitely on the outskirts.

That being said, I was extremely amused by the exuberance with which my neighbors were celebrating. I counted at least four houses in our little neighborhood shooting off all kinds of fireworks. Added to that were some campers in the mountains with their own pyrotechnic display as well as (what I imagine) was our village's own sparkling celebration.

I stood out on the cold balcony in the misting drizzle for a solid 20 minutes, soaking in the celebration, and sending out my own New Year's happy thoughts. When I did crawl back into bed, it was with a smile. Those moments out on my balcony were magic, and I want to hold on to that feeling of complete, loud, uncontrollable excitement that I was a part of last night.

Here's to 2012 and many new delightful adventures.

Settling

Well, it's been 2 weeks, and I finally feel like I'm settling in to life here...

I've officially been on German time for at least a week now, and I'm definitely (mostly) comfortable driving everywhere (be it the autobahn or the tiny itty-bitty streets in town). I'm getting into a routine. I'm drinking tea and cider while wearing wool socks and three shirts to keep warm in my fairly chilly home. Photos are being hung on the walls and the organizing has begun in full force.

Job hunting is not so much going super fantastically, but I did have one interview last week (woot!). While I'm waiting to hear on that, I've been working on my next project... quilting.

I've completed one quilt since being here, and I'm currently working on my second. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this in the near future...

Now, since no post is complete without a picture, Gneville presents Our Balcony View:

Well, it's official... I now live in Germany.

The past few months were some of the best I've ever had. Living with this girl...

was completely fantastic. Staying in the states for an extra few months gave me time to not only work/save some extra money, but also a chance to really go out big. I really took the time to make memories that I will cherish. From the beach weekend in Virginia Beach to the Hurriquake party, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people.

Of course, my time there culminated with the party of the century at Jen & Dan's wedding.

Seriously, all the time and energy that went in to that shindig was TOTALLY worth it (in my opinion!). I'm so happy for my wonderful friends and pray that their love continues to strengthen them.

When the candles were all blown out and the gifts were all packed in the cars, then it came time to think about moving. The wedding was Saturday and I flew out Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday nights were (of course!) going away gatherings. After all was said and done, though, Steph drove me to the airport where my new adventure began. To help me tell this part of the tale, I'd like to introduce Gneville, my Gnome away from Home...

I got the airport ready for a long flight (mini-reese's? check!)

After checking both of my barely-under weight suitcases (thanks Lufthansa lady for giving me that second one for free!!!), and making it through security, I made it to my gate.

Once there, I was promptly informed that my flight would be delayed due to a bird flying into one of the engines of my plane on its last descent. So I did the only thing conceivable, I got a good-bye dinner at Chipotle.

Then I waited.

Once on board, the flight was pretty smooth. I had a window, so I actually slept for a good portion of the flight.

Our friend Lesli picked me up in Frankfurt, and drove me home. Once I got to the house, I emailed everyone to let them know I'd made it ok, and then I crashed for close to 5 hours.

After five days here and MANY cups of tea and coffee (it's COLD in my house!!!), I'm still having trouble getting used to the time change. I'm sure I'll get there soon, though :)



Though all of this is good, the one thing that's keeping me down is having Josh so far away. We had a plan. He was supposed to be here when I got here, and he's not, and that's tough. I suppose it'll just make our reunion that much better.

Wonderland

I've been feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland recently.

As though I've fallen down a rabbit hole and things are passing by me very quickly. I'm also quite sure to see and experience some rather fantastical things once I land.



We're moving... fairly soon (at least Josh is). He's been accepted to the program for flight nursing and must report to his new base by July 15.

His new base being Ramstein AFB in Germany.



I'm excited, most certainly, but I'm not entirely sure what we're getting into. I feel as though I have all the time in the world (I won't be permanently joining him until early October), yet at the same time it's as though I just got to DC and I'm not quite sure where the time is going.

I need to learn German. In between packing. And seeing all the places we were supposed to see while stationed in the national capital region. And doing all the things that I want to do in the district. And working. And job hunting. And all of the million other things that are going into this.



I'm absolutely positive that I am simply seeing a curve in the road of this rather extraordinary adventure that I find myself on. So it's definitely good.

Simply a little like Wonderland.

Look, there's a Colonial!

Last Friday after work, I jumped in a car with five lovely ladies (ok, we had two cars) for a weekend full of awesome.



We got a really great rate on a fantastic condo just outside Williamsburg



Saturday morning was spent in Colonial Williamsburg followed by a relaxing afternoon and an awesome dinner.




There were many photographs taken between the six of us, and tons of laughter.

 

It was definitely a fantastic breath of fresh air before the holiday madness begins :)

I Heart Faces Contest // Silhouettes

This past weekend, I hopped in a car with my friends, and we took off for Williamsburg. While there, I just so happened to shoot this silhouette photo...

just in time for this week's I Heart Faces challenge. Hop on over there and check out the rest of this week's awesome entries :)

Crab Cakes and Boogie Boards

To get out of the city for a bit, to shake things up, to enjoy the end of the summer, to check somewhere off of our list of places to go, and to celebrate our impending 3rd anniversary, Josh and I took off early on Friday afternoon and hit the beach this weekend.

We stayed Friday and Saturday, and headed back after lunch and a movie on Sunday.

Between the awesome food and the gorgeous weather, it was a fantastic weekend.

We whipped out Yelp for every meal, and I for one was never disappointed.

Our hotel was situated right on the boardwalk. We could literally walk out of the lobby and onto the beach. It was WONDERFUL.

I think that we both needed a weekend away.

With Josh on a rotating night schedule, we often end up missing each other, and it's tough for us to spend real time together.

I'm pretty sure the only downside was the traffic... but it's definitely a price that I'm willing to pay ;)