December Monthly Update

The holidays are behind us. I'm kind of glad. Last year was a lot of craziness and stress, sadness. 

We are confident 2016 is going to be a great year. I'm ready to get it started. 

But first, a December recap. 

Griffin had a MAJOR upgrade, in that Santa brought what he asked for......a big bed! His room could no longer hold his glider chair that we've used since his birth. Since Cooper's had broke at the base, we switched them out. I couldn't decide whether to take Griffin's pictures on his new bed, or in his original chair (now in Cooper's room). Neither felt exactly right, so I did both. We'll get it figured out in January. 

Griffin enjoyed Christmas and all of the events/fun. He told me last night that he would like to start making a Christmas list for next year. The weather has been mild but colder, and that has led to us being in the house a lot. He has plenty of toys to play with and things to do. He has really taken to drawing/coloring lately. One night this week, he randomly brought me from his room, this piece of art:

"It's you Momma! I gave you 3 legs, and 3 shoes!" He was pumped, and I was super impressed.

Following that, was our whole family. Drew is below me, Griffin is next as an "octopus", and Cooper is last with the 2 long legs.

 
 Griffin also visited the dentist in December and found that he has 2 cavities. Bummer. He does pretty good on brushing his teeth, so I hope hasn't inherited his mother's terrible tooth enamel. He thinks he can brush them away. I'll let him think that until the day comes when we go to the pediatric dentist in Springfield.  

Cooper baby is still as sweet as can be at 16 months old. Aunt Shiloh decided at Christmas that Griffin was our diamond in the rough, and that with 18 years of pressure, he's going to be great. But Cooper........he's already a gem! Disclaimer: I know that she loves both of my children equally.

He is running around full speed now. He likes to stand waiting, with a smile on his face while you say, "Ready, Set, GO!" for him to take off like a bullet. He also loves for his brother to drive him around on the battery powered four-wheeler he got for Christmas. He can drive it, but just straight, in short bursts. 
 
He has become pretty vocal. He says uh oh, ball, look, Duke, and shakes his head yes/no. There may be a few more words here and there, but those are regulars. 

We also are on new ground watching real brother interaction. Griffin will make a masterpiece lego creation, and little Godzilla will come running in to destroy it. We are trying to teach Griffin to share and have patience, but at the same time, Cooper knows he is being ornery and I get Griffin's frustration. 

Cooper had a check up with the Pediatrician and got 2 more shots. He did really well, but he is terrified of the doctor's office and pretty much cries as soon as anyone enters the room. 

Height: 31.5" - 44th percentile
Weight: 20lbs 6oz - 2nd percentile
Head: 48 cm - 65th percentile

Christmas posts coming soon!

Best friends in the making.....

One of my best friends from high school, Trevor, came out yesterday to take our Christmas card photo. Griffin and his son Chase go to the same daycare, and get to hang out when we have get togethers. With 2 little girls born recently, and another on the way in our group of friends....these two are quickly becoming outnumbered. I look forward to watching them grow up together and many more pictures. 

hey buddy!

just hanging out

I'm not going to last like this long....

do I need some gum?

discussing foreign policy

16 Months Old

Griffin is becoming quite a little person. He's making more sense with his words and really amazing us by following simple commands: "take this to daddy", "put your toys in the basket", "turn it off", "kick the ball", "brush your hair". Last night I think he nodded his head "yes" in response to a question. We are in awe of the things he can do. 

• he loves to draw....pen, pencil, crayon--he makes scribbles with them all
• he plays really well and can entertain himself for quite a while
• he has the cutest little run and is moving so quickly now that he tends to create many accident reports at daycare
• he is still long and lean and has trouble keeping his pants up (should probably look into adjustable waist pants)
• he is working on 2 more teeth (#7 & #8)

And a couple videos......

Road trip!

Griffin experienced his longest car ride yet this past weekend. We journeyed to Topeka to see Great Grandma Delores before her knee replacement this week. Griffin fell asleep shortly after leaving our house Friday night around 7:30.......and then woke up shortly after picking up Aunt Shiloh in Joplin 2 hours later. He was awake for the entire drive. He mostly snacked on cereal, played with a beef stick bought at a Quiktrip in Lawrence at 1am, you know, the usual stuff a small child does in the middle of the night. It didn't take long to put him to bed (about 2:30am) and he made up for it by sleeping in until almost 10am the next morning.

We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal and spending time with 2 family members we rarely see--not pictured is Aunt Kittie. Photo session before heading home......

Four generations

The trip home took a lot longer with many stops: horse shopping, furniture shopping, Griffin clothes shopping, urgent care, dinner. We left about 10:30am and got home around 9pm. Griffin did really well once again, but was definitely ready to be out of the car. 

And of course, anytime Aunt Shiloh is around we have to take some silly reverse camera shots.

He's baaaaack!

We had a mommy/son day in Springfield last weekend. It was nice to get out and run a few errands: car cleaning, haircut for Griffin, a tiny bit of shopping at the mall. To our surprise, Santa was there ready to take pictures and listen to children's Christmas wishes. I was not prepared with a cutesy little outfit, but I had to go ahead and get it done when there was NO LINE. Last year we waited (for the same Santa, see blog posts tagged 'santa' for last year's photo) a little over an hour......Drew begged me to do it without him this time. The result was just what I expected of my little man.

Griffin is a little shy, but more so just needs a good 10 or 15 minutes to "warm up" to people. The young girl running the cash register for Santa asked me if I wanted to re-take the photo and try a different approach. Absolutely not! We love it.