Nothing like Christmas through a child's eyes...

Merry Christmas y'all!

I love my little boysie...

The family

Let the fun begin!


Griffin and Big Pop

Nona, I just love it!


Everyone, including Griffin, supports Nanny Lissie in her fight against breast cancer.

Nona~ I love you. Thank you for my Elmo airplane!

Can you say ham?



I love my little family.


Love...

Kenton and Al having a moment.

Flying to bed in his new Elmo airplane.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

I have heard it so many times, but was blessed enough to witness it tonight for myself. The heart of a child enjoying the spirit of Christmas. We started off the evening perfectly with a church service that made everyone stop and think. The pastor spoke of simply taking the time to experience life and just live in the moment. Taking a second just to say "WOW!"

After Church we headed down the bayou to enjoy our annual Christmas Eve celebration with Big Poppa's family. The food was delish and it is always fun catching up with everyone after our daily lives take us in so many different directions. Griffin was in HEAVEN! The boy just loves a party and had a ball. He was so friendly and good spirited. He truly loved being around his family. He quickly got into the present opening thing~ he was a pretty fast study. Thanks to Ari-Anna Griff is now the proud owner of his own Elf on a shelf!" Once he opened his present from his Nona it was all over. She gave him an Elmo airplane. You could tell on his face how much he loved the gift. We had to take it out of the box so he could take off on his maiden voyage. He was adorable. After he would open a gift he would walk around and show people his new treasures. He had so much love, hugs, and kisses for everyone tonight. He is now sleeping sounding in his bed dreaming sweet dreams. Santa I promise he has been a good boy treat him right!

In my absence...

Building blocks with Big Poppa.


Wiggly Time!


Griff and MiMi on the Christmas train. Griffin liked the train about as much as he liked Santa~ not so much!




I just started a new job and had to go away for training to Montgomery, Alabama for 10 days. Yes, 10 days without my boys! The longest that I have been away from Griffin has only been 3 so this was quite a big deal for me. It made it a little easier to leave because I knew that he would be in the best care. He was able to stay home with his Daddy and MiMi Kat and Big Poppa came over to man the ship. I was told that daily he would go into our bedroom to look for me. He also walked around the house with the remote control to his ear calling for his "Ma-ma." Reports like this were enough to break my heart. I am so happy that Griffin was able to stay at his house in his comfortable surroundings with some of his favorite people to keep up with his routine. Griffin had a ball while I was gone. He was able to hang out with his MiMi and Poppa and get his fill of The Wiggles. I was updated daily of all of the fun things that they were doing. He learned sign language from his Baby Einstein DVD and added several new words to his vocabulary. Funny story~ he had his Christmas party at school. MiMi and Poppa tried to take him, but due to the massive amount of rain school was closed for the day. The children were instructed to wear their jammies to the party. MiMi followed the directions and dressed him in his Christmas jammies for the shin-dig. Griffin was very unhappy about this. She told me that he kept trying to take them off to put on his clothes. He just didn't think that it was right to wear his jammies out of the house. PJs are to sleep silly goose!?!

Being away for 10 days was ALMOST worth it just for the homecoming. Griffin was so excited to see me. I honestly do not know who was happier. He saw me through the door before I saw him. He had the biggest smile on his face when I opened the door. He hugged my neck so tight and could not get enough! He pulled away about 3 times to look at me to make sure that it was REALLY ME!

A huge thank you to Kenton, MiMi Kat and Big Poppa for taking such great care of Griffin and the house. I am so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family. I would not ask for more...

PS~ Yes, I have a couple of habits to break this week like the PACI that I noticed in every single picture and the TV. Isn't it funny how grandparents operate. They come over and shower the grand child with love and bad habbits and sneak away for Mommy to handle it. I guess that is their job~ right?!?

Happy birthday Da-dee!

Yesterday morning Kenton took his boys outside to enjoy the cold weather. Kenton was raised in PA so this brought back many childhood memories that he wanted to share with his sons. He bundled up Griffin and they took it outside! This southern girl watched them from the window in the nice and warm house.

Happy Birthday Satch!

Satch,

I just want to wish you a happy birthday. It gets me every time seeing you with Griffin. Watching you around the house. Feeling your kiss on my cheek. I've got a heart full of these little everyday moments that remind me of why I am so proud to be your wife. Happy birthday to the best husband and father in the world!

All my love,
Ayia

Baby to boy in a matter of minutes...

Here is a before pic. Because the past few haircuts have been such a challenge I didn't bring in my camera today.

After pictures of the scalping, oops, I mean haircut!

Griff's new smile for the camera "cheese" face!


Griffin got another haircut yesterday so he automatically went from baby to boy in minutes! I am happy to report that the haircut was painless for all. The past 2 haircuts have been pretty brutal and resulted in Griffin and Mommy walking out a snotty, sticky, hairy and frazzled mess, but this time proved different. He was such a little angel. He just sat there and let the hairdresser do her thing. Oh the little blessings in life!

21 month update

I thought about using this pic as our Christmas card because it is the REAL DEAL!






This one cracks me up.


This picture is so Griffin!

Griffin with his MiMi Kat and Big Poppa.


Catching up on some reading IN his bookshelf.

What a month Griffin had~ it truly seems like he is growing and developing by the day! I don't know for certain it he grew or not, but he sure looks tall! Griffin's speech is improving by leaps and bounds. He is mimicking our every action and somehow just seems to know things. For example on Thanksgiving day he went to the drawer and pulled out a big spoon then walked over to the oven to "help out" with the turkey. Seriously?!? He just wants to help us with everything. He has also taken over the daily responsibilities of Alex~ the dog. Every morning after Griff finishes breakfast he immediately goes over to feed Al. Tonight Al was punished while we ate dinner. Griffin couldn't wait to get out of his chair so he could release his brother. It is very sweet to watch. Griffin is also still very interested in helping out with daily chores like: putting clothes in the washer/dryer, throwing away dirty diapers (and clean ones for that matter), vacuuming the floor, pushing the mop, and making a mess just to help clean it up. Griffin is at such a fun and curious age. He has such a love of life that it is contagious to all who he touches. His favorite game right now is ring around the rosie. We play it over and over and over as he echoes out "din" each time we finish. I will leave you with something that he did tonight that was so sweet and melts a Mommy. During bath time Kenton bent over to kiss me. Griffin was giggling in the tub. He thought it was really funny. He then stood up and gave me the sweetest kiss and best hug ever. He came back for more no less than three times. I will never tire of these precious moments...

Bright lights big city....

Outdoor ice skating rink


The Times Square ball drop

Enjoying Central Park

Andrew~ lives in NY, but his heart is still in NOLA

Broadway

The Hotel~ added bonus for numerically challenged room number was Kenton's birthday;)


The trip wouldn't be complete without a cameo from the Naked Cowboy!


Romancing at Rockafeller Center.


Gotcha! Enjoying a cupcake from a cool market.

Quick trip on the subway

Dinner in Little Italy~ yummy!


Last weekend Kenton and Andrea (not to be confused with Daddy and Mommy) hit New York City for a nice adult weekend. Thanks to MiMi Kat and Big Poppa for watching Griffin. I must admit I love to travel with my husband. He take on protector mode when we are away. I just sit back and enjoy and he navigates our way through foreign land. This is just another fine quality of this wonderful man. We flew into NYC on Friday evening. We stayed at a swanky little boutique hotel~ The Dylan. The location was perfect. We were about 1 block from Grand Central Station and about 2 blocks from Times Square. This was our first time enjoying New York during the holidays. We were very excited to take in all of the sights and sounds that give the city its pulse. About five minutes into exploring the streets we soon realized that we were no longer in sleepy New Orleans! We were crossing the street and another pedestrian yelled at a car trying to turn, "no left turn STOOPID!" Soon after we happened upon this great outdoor ice skating rink. We sat back and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and some Christmas tunes while watching the skaters on the ice. A few minutes later a street fight breaks out with no less than 20 kids. The situation was not contained in a timely fashion so we quickly left the scene. We just moved along and enjoyed the bright lights of Times Square. It was still bursting with activity at 1:00am.

Saturday morning we woke up and hit the street for a much anticipated NY bagel. We took the subway out to FAO Schwarz. The entire time dreaming of how much Griffin would love all of the stimulation in the store. We then sat back and relaxed in Central Park. How often in our busy lives do we take the time just to sit and enjoy the people and beauty all around? I realized that we were in a totally different world when we passed up two old ladies taking in their morning walk in evening gowns. This certainly is a sight that we do not see back home! We then met up with an old friend, Andrew. A trip to NY just wouldn't be complete without enjoying PIZZA! We enjoyed our time catching up with Andrew~ our resident tour guide. After lunch we went to Times Square to scout out Broadway show tickets. We decided on Oleanna starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles. The play was a bit on the controversial side and was the ultimate he said she said drama.

Sunday we decided to take the train down towards SoHo/ NYU area. We just walked the streets and did quite a bit of window shopping. The economy did not seem to slow down people and their shopping. Wow! We then strolled through Little Italy and China Town. Sunday evening we enjoyed a great meal at a restaurant in Little Italy. What a perfect way to end a great weekend! *I have to throw this in. Remember earlier in the post when I mentioned Kenton's keen sense of navigation? When we returned to Little Italy for dinner Sunday night Kenton was a little disoriented when we got off the subway. Have no fear I saved the day. The entire time there I had no idea which direction I was heading, but I do know my shopping. I recalled earlier in the day our location based on Old Navy and Steve Madden. I got us back on track and gave the lead back to Satch!*

It is always so nice to get away, but always nicer to come back home. We enjoyed spending couple time together and it was very nice NOT to be on a schedule. The big city made me appreciate my simple little life back home so much more. I like the pace that we live. I can't imagine living such a fast paced lifestyle. I also can't imagine not having a yard for my child to play in and having to ride his bike on the street. I couldn't help but notice as I walked the streets I never looked into the faces of the people that I passed by. I don't know if I took the cue from the locals, but it was really sad that in a city of so many people no one had a face to me. Different stroke for different folks I guess? Give me the bright lights and big city for a quick get-away every year, but I love my life in the suburbs...