Hungry, Hungry, Hippo!

Cookie monster strikes again~ boy vs. Halloween Oreo cookies



Sign of a good meal~ beans covering your face and hair!

Concentrating on using the spoon~ yeah!

I took a few pictures of Griffin during snack and dinner time today. For an afternoon snack I gave him an Oreo cookie with an orange cream center for Halloween. He "worked" on that cookie for the longest time. Apparently he received the memo to lick the center first before eating the cookie! He had a ball and made the biggest mess with his cookies! By the time it was over he looked like a little pumpkin face! Apparently he also LOVES watermelon. No pics to prove it, but trust me when I say he wanted MORE, MORE, MORE! He had watermelon juice dripping all over the place. For dinner tonight he had white beans and rice with sausage. Apparently Big Poppa's beans were a hit with the little guy. He ate THREE BOWLS and refused any assistance in eating his beans. After his first bowl I looked over to see him actually licking the bowl! What can I say the boy likes to eat!

Just a boy and a box

Thinking outside of the box!


Putting on his shoes and socks.

Hello?!?

Watching his Daddy cut the grass from the window.

Taking a little reading break.

I have not been taking pictures as much as I used to. Saturday morning I pulled the camera out and took a few pictures of Griffin playing. He had a such a good time playing with the box that his diapers came in. Time after time parents ask themselves, "what is the point of buying toys when all that want to do is play with an empty box?!?" So true....

Busted chinny chin chin!

I took this picture seconds before the incident.

Band-aid boy the morning after. (Notice paci in the mouth and another in the hand~ I SWEAR we are working on this!!!)

Well, we had another first on Friday evening. That would be Griffin's first trip to the emergency room. Everyone who has a toddler knows that if you would like to have a "peaceful" meal in a restaurant you must go with the early birds and that is exactly what we were intending to do. We were all dressed and walking out the door when Griffin tripped and fell. What's new?? He falls all day long. I did not see him fall, but I heard his reaction and knew that it was serious. Kenton saw the chain of events go down. He was running with a sippie cup with a straw. When he fell his chin hit the cup and he let out a scream of pain. When Kenton picked him up he was bleeding upon closer examination the gash was pretty wide open. Being first time parents we had NO IDEA what exactly was stitches worthy? As a matter of fact we had no idea what to do OR where to even take him. Kenton walked outside with Griffin to calm him down and I called St. Charles General Hospital. They told us to bring him in. Before admitting him they would give it a look. So we did. The ER doc said that it was a pretty tough call. Regardless of what we decided to do he said that it would scar. When he pushed the wound together it didn't close the gap all the way. Thank God he advised against stitches. He then offered to glue the wound back together, BUT that would involved admitting him and all of that rig-a-marole. He then admitted to us that if it were his child he would take him home and keep antibiotic cream on it. So that is what we did. In spite of the gash it did not bleed all that much and it is healing pretty nicely. Before I conclude my story I should probably admit that I was a total bafoon. I am so thankful that Kenton was home when the incident happened. This was really the first time that I saw Griffin's blood and freaked! Not only was I on the verge of throwing up, but I was on the brink of passing out. I did my best in the ER to make it all about Griffin and worked VERY hard not to embarrass myself. Kenton on the other hand acted in a calm and cool manner. This will probably be the last time that Griffin injures himself and I can assure you that this is something that I will NEVER get used to. His pain also physically hurts me. No one ever said that being a parent would be easy...

Ya heard me?

All dressed up and dancing to the Wiggles!

Griffin started speech therapy a few weeks ago. He always has so much to say, but we are having a little problem understanding him. He really like his therapist~ Miss Shiela. He always greets her with a big hug! She comes over once a week and basically plays with him for an hour. This past week he has really had a break through with his speech. All of a sudden his words are coming out a little clearer. Funny story..... He has been saying "wee-ooo, weee-oooo" for a while. We finally figured out he is saying Wiggle, Wiggle. He is calling for THE WIGGLES. When he says "wee-oooo" he also dances and it is really cute. He also started saying ohhh-ohhhh when he falls, boo (book), uice (juice), ooes (shoes). Tonight we were eating dinner and he wanted something. He became a little frustrated when I didn't know what he wanted. I realized he was pointing to a banana. I said "oh you want a banana" and he responded clear as day "yeah." He is working so hard and I am so proud of my little man!

Road trip

Vroom-vroom....

You talking to me?

The Griff at his command center.

This past weekend we loaded up the RV and took a road trip to Auburn, Alabama. It isn't all that often that Kenton gets to see his beloved West Virginia University play so anytime they are within driving distance we try to cheer them on. We left on Friday morning with MiMi and Big Pop. Griffin was fascinated by the "big truck." He immediately got into the drivers seat and made vroom-vroom noises. Once we were ready to take off he sat shot gun and reached for his seat belt like he was in place and ready to go. With a little convincing we got him into his car seat set up at the dining table. He had a pretty sweet set up. It was like his command post. He had his little portable DVD player right in front of him loaded with all of his favorites. He was able to travel in style with his TV, snacks, and juice all within arms reach! He was great on the ride up. I was a little worried about the time involved, but luckily he proved my worries unfounded. Unfortunately the weather was pretty yucky the entire trip. I am talking from the ride up to the ride back. Between the rain we took Griffin out in his stroller so he could take in the tail gating sights. Our man is always up for a party! Friday night "someone" accidentally locked the keys in the RV. We were lucky enough to be wearing WVU gear rather than LSU and the Auburn Tigers were more than happy to help us back in. After a little effort we were back in! Kenton and Big Pop went to the game while MiMi and I stayed back to hang out with Griffin. The weather was so bad that the game was delayed for about an hour. After a hard fought showdown WVU lost the battle. Regardless of the outcome a good time was had by all!

Tiny Tiger/Who Dat

Checking scores?


Want my autograph?

Pre-game munchies

Who dat!

This was the first fall football weekend of the season. Regardless of the game Griffin was dressed in the appropriate "colors" to cheer on his team. He donned his purple and gold to cheer on his Tigers on Saturday. He had a ball until he about 7:30 and he just couldn't go anymore. He must have had sweet dreams about a Tiger victory! Today we watched the Saints game at church. They had the game on the big screen and a good time was had by all in attendance. Griffin was dressed in full gear. He had on his jersey with gold uniform pants. Kenton said, "don't you think that the pants are a bit much??" I responded with, "He's the Griff and that is how he rolls." Congrats to both the Tigers and the Saints for victories! Griffin has more colors tucked away in his closet. This weekend he sported his Mom's favorite colors, but we can't forget about his Daddy! More to come.....

18 month update

Loves to play ball.

I love my big red car!

Monkey Boy!

My handsome little man.

Sweet...

"Momma, I WANT TO GO THE OTHER WAY!!"

Reading a book.

Playing peek-a-boo in the tent. The tent is his "new" favorite toy!

Just when I think that Griffin CAN NOT possibly get any smarter, faster, and cuter he does! This past month has been a month of many changes and a lot of growing! Griffin must have recently gone through a growth spurt. As of last week several of his outfits are now too short and his toes are poking out of his sandals. Looks like Momma needs to do a little fall shopping for her ever growing boy. Griffin is now obsessed with books! He is constantly bring me books to read to him. This makes me so happy that he is taking an interest in books and learning. He also loves to play with cars and make the appropriate "vroom" sounds as he pushes the car around the room. Another favorite of the moment is DANCING! I am SO excited about this and constantly encourage his mad dance skills. He dances all the time to WHATEVER sounds like music to him. If I simply say "dance, dance, dance" he does. It is adorable! This month also included a not so positive new skill known as the temper tantrum. If things are not going as he thinks that they should he will throw himself down, kick his feet, and even cry BIG crocodile tears. He has also developed a little separation anxiety. All is good in his world as long as he is surrounded by all of those that he loves! Many thing have also stayed the same. He is still into climbing and digging. Griffin has really started something at school. He enjoyed playing in the toy kitchen area. He would open the fridge and climb the shelves so he could climb into the sink. He taught all of his buddies to do the same. Because of my little dare devil the fridge and sink are sealed shut with duct tape. That is my boy and I LOVE his adventurous spirit....

The small things...

I don't know about you, but this is a symbol to me of God's beauty in all things. This must be a sign of good things to come. There is nothing like a rainbow shining over your home....

"Ain't nothing but a G thang baaaaaaby"

I can not stop giggling. Tonight while Kenton and I were getting Griffin ready for bath and bedtime we were all playing around on the floor in his room and had the radio on. Superfreak by Rick James came on and it must have been music to G's ears. He stood up and danced like a mad man. It was like the song took over him and he just couldn't control it. Yes, I did say it was Superfreak! In the grand scheme of things not really sure what this means, but it was just way too funny not to mention. The boy is a dancing machine and I LOVE IT!

On the go Griffin...

Cookie monster strikes again!


Outta' my way folks!

Griffin on his tractor

Alex~ 11.5 year old beauty...

Helping Kenton assemble the grill.

When did my baby turn into a little boy?!?

Yelling at Al to COME HERE!

Nothing fancy just a typical afternoon with the little guy! Daddy stayed home to work on the honey-do list and Griffin came with me to the grocery store. He was really good for me so I rewarded him with his first Chips Ahoy cookie. Thank goodness it was only a mini cookie! I can not imagine the mess that he would have made with a regular size cookie. I gave it to him while driving home. When I looked at him in the rear view mirror he was rubbing the chocolaty goodness all over his face?!? Once home we ate a delicious meal prepared by Kenton. Philly cheese steak sandwiches! Kenton fixes this on occasion when he wants to taste a little piece of his childhood! We wrapped up the day in the backyard. I pulled out Griffin's fleet of cars and he played around in the back yard. He even threw in a helping hand to his daddy who was trying to configure our new BBQ grill to natural gas. Needless to say it is a little before 8pm and the little guy has been in bed for about half an hour.