Pumpkin Patch

This morning I loaded up the boys and heading over to the pumpkin patch. Thankfully MiMi and Big Poppa were able to join us! It should be of no surprise that Griffin had a ball. He was in a wide open field and felt the need for speed! He ran from one activity to the next. This place had lots for families to do. Tons of places to take pictures in the pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, face painting, duck races, a bouncy thing, and lots more! Roman watched his brother from the comforts of his stroller. We all took turns chasing Griffin around to make sure that he didn't get himself into too much trouble!

And we're off!

Roman~ the smiling pumpkin!
This is as good as it gets for a family picture. Griffin is too cool for posed photography!

Roman enjoying the scenery

Take 578 of a family shot. Apparently Griffin only does candid pictures. Oh yeah, his mouth is bleeding from the crazy/dangerous slide that he flew off of!

Roman and MiMi
Mommy and Roman~ it is not that I love Roman more than Griffin. It just so happens that he is the only one that will take a picture with me!
It should be of NO surprise who is in the drivers seat!

WHAT?!? I can't believe that you actually put me down!

Well.... I guess it isn't too bad down here.

Poppa and Roman discussing life.

Poppa and Griffin enjoying the duck races.

Griffin giving someone the "stank eye."

Thanks for chasing me around today.... I had fun!

Mummmm carrots

Mom... what's for dinner?

What? Carrots!!

I don't know.... maybe?

Kinda yummy!

All in a days work.

So our day started at 4:15 a.m. to the sound of, "Daddy....where are youuuuuu?" Yeah, now that Griff is no longer in his baby bed he sometimes wakes up at obscene hours and calls for the person who last put him to bed. We have found him in the kitchen, the living room, and this morning it just so happens he was standing in the hall way that leads to our bedroom. For whatever reason he does not come into our bedroom~ which is a good thing. It will totally freak me out to wake up with Griffin in my face. Anyway, back to our day. We believe that 4:15 is entirely too early to start the day so Kenton walked him back to his bed and got him to lay for a bit longer. I would say the party started more like 6:00 a.m. when Roman joined in. Thanks to my lovely husband for letting me sleep in a few more hours. Remember my day didn't really start at 4:15. I have no idea when my days start and end. By that point I had already woken up twice with the little guy.


For some reason Griffin insisted on wearing his bathing suit to bed last night. We have learned to pick our battles and wardrobe is not a fight worth fighting. This morning Kenton changed Griff out of his "night time bathing suit" into his "day time bathing suit?" Yes, wardrobe was 100% picked out by the G-man. He hauled out a table and his shopping cart and was doing what looked like a Sam's Club cooking/sample demonstration.

Next on the agenda was a little dancing. Nothing like getting your heart pumping early in the morning!

Roman giving me a look of, "Lady, would you please get me out of this cage?!?"

Jumping in the Spiderman bounce house at a class mates birthday party.

Taking a little water break under the tree.

Romancing the ladies...

Playing with play dough with the big kids.

Roman enjoying himself at the party.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...."

And to all a good night...

Out with the old and in with the new.

Another sad day for a mother. My baby is no longer in his baby bed and has moved onto a mattress on the floor. Griffin has been climbing well before he crawled or walked. It is truly amazing that he stayed in his baby bed for 2 years and 7 months. We have been waiting for him to take the plunge. In anticipation of it we even had something on the floor as a crash pad. He always put a leg up to the rail, but never gave it the little bit of "umph" that is need to go overboard. We thought about moving him months ago, but with a new baby in the house there just never seemed to be the right time. We also secretly liked him "caged." Sorry folks, but it is a great feeling to know exactly where your child is! We were as scared to death of what he would do without the rails. Would he wander around the house while we slept, would he go in and wake up his brother, would he sneak out and go joy riding in the car? Who knows with this guy?!?

Griffin was always a great sleeper. As a baby we would just put him in his bed for naps and he would play and eventually just fall asleep. He has been sleeping solidly through the night for a LONG time. It was just such a beautiful thing that we didn't want to mess with. About a week ago all of this came to a crashing halt. All of a sudden it was nearly impossibly to get him to nap and an ordeal to get him to sleep at night. Because of this we decided to give a mattress on the floor a try. His sleeping issues are getting much better. I guess he was just ready to ditch the rails and didn't exactly how to break the news to his folks.

Tomorrow Kenton will move Griffin's crib to Roman's room and hope that some of the good sleep mojo wears off on the little guy. A mother can dream..... right?

Hey Ma....what's for dinner?

Roman is now right over 5 months old. To this point he has been exclusively breastfed. I know, I know, everyone has an opinion on this subject. I was trying to make it to the 6 month mark before introducing solids to him, but he has really been watching us eat. I mean REALLY watching so because of this I decided to give oatmeal cereal a shot this week. The first bowl he really seemed to enjoy. As soon as the first spoon went towards his mouth he was like a little bird waiting for a taste. He gagged and made funny faces through the first attempt, but despite the funny faces he really seemed to like it. He ate the entire serving. Yummy.....


First bite..... kind of curious?

Mummmmmm..... I kind of like this stuff

Going...

Going...

Gone!

Reasons that I smile

Reason #1

Reason #2


I have so many things in my life to be thankful for. Here are just a few of the reasons that I smile:

*Everyday when I pick up Griffin from the sitters house he runs across the yard at top speed yelling MMMMOOOOMMMMMMMMYYYY! He runs over and greats me with a huge smile and the biggest hug.

*Griffin has been humming the tune to Jingle Bells. Why? Who knows, but I love it!

*Roman laughs to get my attention.

*Griffin grabs a newspaper and puts on MiMi's reading glasses before reading the paper. Can you say monkey see, monkey do?

*Griffin's uncontrollable dancing when no one is watching. I truly can not get enough of this!

*Rocking Griffin before bed time and singing Twinkle twinkle little star together.

*Sweet open mouth kisses from Roman.

*The kids have a new thing at school. When I pick up Griffin they all line up to give him a hug before he goes. Talk about a heart warming moment for a parent.

*Unsolicited pleases and thank-yous.

*Griffin always grabs something from the house every morning and brings it to school. I believe it is a comfort thing for him. Yesterday he grabbed his guitar. Griff walked in and had his first rock star moment. The girls saw his guitar and went wild. They sat around him for him to play a song.

*The uncontrollable belly laughs that come from Roman when I tickle his belly and feet.

Fall is here! Freret St to Storyland... (minus the fairy tale ending!)

Yesterday the weather was just perfect! We decided to load'em up and head OUTSIDE to take advantage of the gorgeous weather! Luckily for us it was the 1st weekend of the month~ Freret St Market! Pre-children we used to live a few blocks from this cool little street market and we love to check it out when we get the chance. Griff went between the stroller and walked with us. We woke him from a nap and he was in good spirits. Roman was in heaven as I carried him in the carrier. He enjoyed being outside and taking in all of the sights!

After we finished shopping at the market we still wanted to enjoy being outside so we took the boys over to Story Land. Needless to say Griff was a total wild man. He loved everything and just couldn't control his excitement! We really had a hard time getting him to leave one area to enjoy the next. It was all fun and games until it was time to leave. I am not going to lie~ he had a full and total body melt down. Probably one of the worst to date. After it is all said and done I am actually glad that this happened. Recently we have let our house rules slide a bit and it was time to get back on track. Last night Kenton and I had a discussion about discipline and what we want for our family. We have agreed on different techniques that we will try. Nothing unique, but just time to get back to the basics. I am happy to report that we had a great day today. I know that we will still have our ups and downs, but I am very encouraged by the start!