Welcome to Griffin's Blog

A New Addition Comes a New Blog

2010-03-21T09:50:00.002-04:00

With the addition of Annabel Marie, we have created a new blog for Griffin and Annabel. Click the link below to go to our new website:

http://lyonsfamilyonline.blogspot.com/

Playing with Uncle Patrick

2010-03-21T07:39:00.001-04:00

Griffin loves playing with his uncle Patrick who he calls "Pat". Pat showed him how to do wheelies this weekend :)

Annabel's Newborn Pictures

2010-03-20T12:59:00.002-04:00

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=b99e7885-08bc-44c4-aaba-7aee47da5a95

Annabel Marie Lyons

2010-03-15T21:30:00.003-04:00

Born March 15th, 2010 @ 6:14 p.m.
6 lbs, 14 ounces

Body Parts

2010-03-13T14:32:00.002-05:00

This is a video that is about 6months past due since he has been doing this for that long. I just now caught it on video. He loses interest about halfway through because he remembers he was waiting for cookies to come out of the oven.

In other news...today is my due date but still no signs of a baby coming anytime soon. I have an appt on Monday where they will let me know if they want to let me keep going or induce me. I will do whatever they think is best for the baby but would love to go into labor on my own in the meantime!

Happy Birthday Papa

2010-03-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

Anytime Soon?

2010-03-09T20:48:00.002-05:00

I am finding it harder and harder to be patient waiting for our little girl to arrive. She is due in 3 days but I'm wondering if she might make us wait longer than that. I have been looking at pics of Griffin (this one was from the day he was born) and wondering if she will resemble him at all, too.

Bathtime

2010-03-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

Good friends

2010-03-03T07:07:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of Griffin with his friend, Olivia, from the sitter's house. Griffin thinks this book is hilarious when she reads it to him, as you can clearly see.

Many Emotions

2010-03-02T09:16:00.001-05:00

Griffin loves to make his sad face when you ask him to. He also has a mad face (which is the sad face with a grunt). He is also very ticklish, as seen in the last photo.

Happy Birthday Grampy

2010-03-01T09:16:00.002-05:00

The entire family got together last night to celebrate Grampy's birthday. We had a great time, although it wasn't the same without Grampy. Here is Cam and Griffin enjoying dinner at their table. In the first picture they are both saying "cheese"!

Tell theTruth

2010-02-28T08:10:00.002-05:00

Griffin sometimes has trouble telling the truth when it comes to whats in his diaper. He will often ignore me (like in the beginning of the video when he won't make eye contact), lie to me, or try and hide. My favorite part of this video is when he says "Move, please". Everything he says now has a
"please" at the end of it, which it makes it harder to say no to.

Watching Trains

2010-02-27T14:17:00.002-05:00

Griffin is not one to sit and watch television, actually he watches maybe 5 minutes every morning while sitting on my lap when he first wakes up. However, he WILL sit and watch Youtube videos of trains or videos of himself or his cousin, Gavin, for much longer periods of time. Here he is with his grandma before bedtime, watching train videos on the laptop.

House news: We closed on Friday for our new house and started doing all the necessary work for it. Carpet will be finished being installed this weekend in the basement and 2nd floor, cleaning of the kitchen and bathrooms is maybe halfway done, the hardwood floors are getting installed this coming week on the entire first floor and painting has been happening in the master bedroom, nursery and living room. Scott and I owe a HUGE thankyou to all those who have been helping out. We couldn't do it without you Mamoo, Mimi and Papa :) We are so proud of our new house and can't wait to start the next chapter of our lives there.

Buddies

2010-02-23T19:57:00.002-05:00

Griffin and Aidan have been become good buddies since going to the same sitter's this year. This was taken by their sitter, Laura, and I loved it :) In other news, I had a dr's appt today and am 2 cm dilated now (still 50% effaced). Could Annabel be coming earlier than we expected, or will she be just like her big brother and just make us think she is? I have been pretty uncomfortable lately: not sleeping well, having cramps and sciatic nerve pain so my body is definitely ready to meet her...we will be patient and wait to see when she wants to meet us though.

Stair Snake

2010-02-22T17:51:00.002-05:00

Last Days of the "Only Child"

2010-02-18T09:12:00.003-05:00

We have been trying to spend as much time doing fun things with Griffin as we know he won't be getting the same amount of attention when we add another child to the mix and when we move out of grandma and grandpa's house. Going to the museum a couple times these last weeks was one of the ways of doing this. Nobody else in the city braved the snowy streets so it was pretty much Griffin's Museum for the day.

Big Brother

2010-02-17T09:13:00.001-05:00

As we are preparing for a big move and for welcoming our daughter in a couple weeks, Griffin is preparing to be a big brother. He painted a picture for his little sister yesterday and when I asked him what it was he said, "paintbrush". I think he thought I asked what he used :) We are going to hang this in her nursery as it matches the colors in her room.

Sledding

2010-02-16T13:25:00.002-05:00

Since Scott and I were both off work yesterday we took Griffin for his first sled riding trip at Ault Park. We ran into a couple of problems: it was REALLY cold with the wind blowing and snow never letting up, there was SOO much snow that the sled barely moved down the hill without being pushed and Griffin let us know that 21 months is not quite old enough to enjoy what we thought would be a ton of fun :) Maybe next year.

36 weeks

2010-02-15T13:16:00.002-05:00

I had my 36 week appointment today and everything went well. Everything with my weight, blood pressure, measurements, and other tests went wonderfully. More importantly, Annabel is measuring right on track, her head is "pretty low" (doc's words), her heart beat was perfect, and I am 50% effaced. No dilation yet though :) Every day we are getting closer to meeting our little girl and every day it seems more real and exciting.

Valentine's Party

2010-02-14T08:47:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics of Griffin's Valentine's Party at the sitter's house. There were lots of kids to play with as a couple different sitters got together for the party. There was pizza, cupcakes, goodie bags, and Valentines. Although he is the only one not smiling in the picture, we were told he had a good time :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T08:30:00.003-05:00

Griffin made his mom and dad a Valentine at the sitter's Valentine party this year. We both agreed it was our favorite Valentine ever...
G

Oatmeal Fun

2010-02-11T18:40:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when you give Griffin oatmeal when he is not hungry and then walk away for 3 seconds. He didn't spit it out but rather smeared it all over his pajamas with his hands.

Another Snow Day!

2010-02-09T15:30:00.002-05:00

Griffin didn't like the snow very much this time around. Not sure if it was too cold or the fact that there is so much snow he can't even walk. However, we were able to get some cute pics before Scott had to go to work.

Stinkface and Bedhead

2010-02-06T16:11:00.004-05:00

This is how I am greeted after Griffin's nap in the afternoon. For the first time he got a bad report this week from the babysitter (he was grumpy and hitting others). We have cut him a little slack since our lives have been turned upside-down recently but I was really upset to hear that about him. Must be the teacher in me:) All things considered he has been a very sweet little boy lately and generally pretty happy. We also love his RAPIDLY developing vocabulary. Just this week he said "Mickey Mouse", "Grape Nuts" and "big truck".

Although Annabel doesn't have nursery ready yet, she has some cute pictures I hand-painted for her (her middle name will be Marie). We can't believe that she will be here in about 5 weeks. This pregnancy has FLOWN by!

Grandpa Lyons

2010-01-31T09:56:00.002-05:00

Safely Home

I am home in heaven, dear ones;
Oh so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,
Every restless tossing passed;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in heaven at last.

Did you wonder how I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh, but Jesus' love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.

And he came himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus' arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still;
Try to look beyond earth's shadows,
Pray to trust our Father's will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now, while life remains,
You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
Oh, the joy to see you come!

Please pray for us today as we prepare to say goodbye to an amazing husband, father, grandfather and friend. We miss Tony "grandpa Lyons" so much already.

For love, which is timeless, Never ceases to exist

2010-01-27T22:35:00.004-05:00

Practicing

2010-01-25T08:52:00.002-05:00

Sick Days

2010-01-18T16:07:00.003-05:00

Griffin came down with the stomach flu over the weekend and as soon as he started feeling better his mom and dad came down with it. In order to help us feel better he made us some alphabet soup with his blender.
It was such hard work he lost his pants (that and I swear he lost some weight with the flu).

New House

2010-01-16T08:14:00.006-05:00

Griffin's bedroom.

Finished part of basement.

Office in basement.

One half of Griffin's bathroom.

Nursery on first floor.

Guest bedroom on second floor- it is actually 2 rooms combined with an attached full bathroom.

Our new deck to grill on!

Dining room looking into the kitchen which goes pretty far to the left.

Master bedroom on the first floor.

I took these pictures at the inspection of our new house, which ended up going very well. I wanted to show these pictures as our "before" shots, although it may take a year for the "after" shots. In about 6 weeks we have the closing and occupancy, 8 weeks makes us a family of four and yesterday we decided we were getting a new car, too. Crazy life but we couldn't ask for better.

Soo sweet

2010-01-10T21:23:00.002-05:00

Griffin now has added three very sweet things to his vocab. He says "Pease" when he wants something and "Daydoo" when it is given to him. He also says "I yu you" when he is going to bed at night. Hearing that will NEVER get old. It makes up for the "butt" and "asses" that we hear all the time. BTW- he helps his grandpa build a fire every night and he helps shovel the ashes, which is what he is trying to say.

Sledding

2010-01-09T08:46:00.002-05:00

Here is Griffin sledding for the first time. He went by himself a couple times too! As long as he could stay in the upright position he was happy.

Snow Day

2010-01-07T18:48:00.003-05:00

This was the first day that Griffin actually got to go out and enjoy the snow. The other times it has snowed, it hasn't been enough. We went sledding, made and threw snowballs, ate snow, researched icicles and also went on a long walk with Griffin in the sled. At least a dozen times during the walk I would look back and see what you see above. No complaints from him but he couldn't get back to sitting position when he fell over. So I would sit him back up and we would be on our way :)

2 word Phrases

2010-01-06T19:06:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things about having a 20 month old is getting to observe the language development that occurs so spontaneously. Griffin has been talking a LOT lately and putting words together. My favorites have been:
"eyow bus= yellow bus"
"pry snow= pretty snow"-which you can see in front of (hopefully) our new house :)
"two choo choos"
"I need dat" instead of "I want dat"
Lastly, he says "bye-bye" to everything now. When he leaves the clerk at the grocery store, when he leaves the trains to play with some other toy ("bye-bye choo choo") and when he doesn't want me to change his dirty diaper ("bye-bye Mommy").
Another fun thing is getting to see his sense of humor maturing. I love getting to experience what he thinks is now funny. For example, he knows when he says nonsense words that they don't make sense and so he will say them and then laugh. He also thinks bodily function noises are funny, like when he laughed after belching this afternoon. Trying not to encourage this one too much but its hard not to laugh at the fake-forced laugh that he does :)

New Fun at the Old Museum

2010-01-03T20:02:00.004-05:00

With the temperatures being in the teens for this last week we have headed to our favorite place, the Museum a couple times. Griffin decided he was big enough for the tunnel/cave/crawling area and I decided being 7 months pregnant has even more perks since dad had to do the crawling through the tunnels with him. We also went up to the tower of the museum to see the real trains in the back of the museum (there are dozens lined up and dozens more coming and going as we were there). It was pretty cool...although Griffin once again decided that train tables are more interesting. You can see the trains out the window behind him if you look closely.
Also, while we were there we had lunch, and at the end of the meal Scott had to use the restroom. When Griffin asked where he went ("Dada?") I told him and then he proceeded to use his new screaming voice to say "Dada pee-pee" over and over. Although, slightly embarrassing it was pretty funny. On that note, he has really found his voice these past 2 days. He repeats EVERYTHING we say. Some classics from JUST today "big butt" (thanks grandma), "Geez","Gosh", "Play-doh".

Patience has Paid off!

2010-01-02T21:18:00.002-05:00

Our patience in purchasing our dream house has finally paid off. As of 2 hours ago we found out that a house we put an offer on got accepted. Pending inspection and closing, it is all ours! We are in love with this 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bedroom house with an open floor plan, partially finished basement, huge deck, great neighborhood/school district, the list goes on. It does need some work (new kitchen, new carpets, new windows) but we are even looking forward to making it even better and making it all ours. We are hoping to be in this house by March, probably after our daughter joins our family. Thank God for parents who have let us live with them for the past 6 weeks and for another couple months. We owe it all to them!

In Love with Trains

2010-01-02T08:09:00.002-05:00

Lately, I feel as if my life has revolved around "choo-choo"s. Griffin LOVES trains and we must play with them the moment we get up, all throughout the day, before we go to bed and then one has to go to bed with him. In the first picture he is making Grammy and Grandma sit at ONE of his train tables to play with him. The other picture is of the train set Santa brought and grandpa set up in the living room. I'm pretty sure we will never be able to take that one apart.

Day after Christmas Bowling tradition

2009-12-27T15:27:00.003-05:00

s
This was the first time Griffin has actually bowled. No pins were knocked down, but he didn't care. He loved getting another chance to hang out with his "cousins" and eat as many french fries as he could.

Christmas Day

2009-12-26T14:14:00.004-05:00

And this was only half of the Gunderson grandchildren...

Livi the fairy princess

Griffin got a "choo choo" from Santa

And he also got Playdoh which was promptly tasted!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T14:43:00.003-05:00

Best family picture we could get :)

All the Lyons women- Olivia, Megan, Camryn, Pam, Erica and baby Lyons

Griffin' sporty look...minus the bead necklace.

Can you find the little boy amidst the presents?

He literally threw himself into the unwrapping this year!

'Tis the Season...

2009-12-20T10:06:00.001-05:00

...for naps on the couch at 9:30 AM.

Brunch with Santa

2009-12-19T11:51:00.002-05:00

Griffin, mom, dad, grammy, grandma and uncle Evan all went to have brunch with Santa today. We missed the other half of the family who was home sick with the flu. As you can see Griffin has no trouble sitting on Santa's lap but isn't 100% sure about his scratchy beard. Afterwards we went to the Duke Energy train display, which he loved even more than he did last year when we took him :)

Brownie Baking Mishap

2009-12-16T19:04:00.003-05:00

Tumbling Class

2009-12-15T17:16:00.004-05:00

Popping all the bubbles.

Hanging on the bars.

Practicing the balance beam.

Doing sommersaults.

Griffin started his tumbling class last week at the Cincinnati Sports Club. By far his favorite part is the fact that his friend Maya (My, as he calls her) is in the class with him.

Proud Laugh

2009-12-12T07:28:00.003-05:00

Griffin has many different kinds of laughs but I think this one is his proud laugh, for when he does something we should praise him for.

Little Helper

2009-12-09T09:35:00.004-05:00

Griffin loves to help do dishes (he even says "dishes" now). He will stand and rinse dishes for an hour if you let him. This usually results in an outfit change but well worth the "extra help". He looks like he is getting in trouble in these pictures by the look on his face, but he's not! In other news, Scott is out of town this week in Knoxville and we miss him like crazy. I am about to enter my third trimester of pregnancy which is CRAZY. This one has really flown by. We still have not found our ideal house but remain hopeful :) Happy Holidays!

One Year Later

2009-12-08T08:09:00.003-05:00

Here is Griffin with Snowmen at the zoo two years in a row. So neat to see the changes :)

Festival of Lights 2009

2009-12-06T20:41:00.003-05:00

...and somehow we didn't lose any of our fingers and toes to frostbite :) JK, we had a ton of fun with Grammy and Grampy this year at the Festival of Lights.

Ring-Around-the-Rosie

2009-12-05T08:31:00.002-05:00

Griffin loves to play Ring-Around-the-Rosie but it makes his mom, aunt and grandma very sick (none of us do well with circles) so we taught him how to do it himself. I promise this is the only game we make him play by himself, and as you can see he loves being the center of attention.

Still Look a lot alike!

2009-12-02T13:48:00.003-05:00

Megan and I used to joke that our children (only 4 months apart) looked a lot alike as babies. Even though they are a little older there are still a lot of similarities :)

Early Christmas

2009-11-30T17:24:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Christmas early with the Moore family since they won't be on town for it. Big G and little G both wore their sweater vests for the occasion.

Grandma's Lap

2009-11-29T08:11:00.003-05:00

Gavin and his mom and dad left today to head back to California... we miss them so much!

Family Pics

2009-11-28T07:57:00.003-05:00

These were taken when we celebrated Thanksgiving.

Santa

2009-11-27T08:27:00.004-05:00

This was Griffin's 2nd time meeting Santa and Gavin's first. They both told Santa what they wanted for Christmas and promised to be good little boys. For Gavin, this means sleeping more than 2 hours at a time at night and for Griffin it means not whining to try and get what he wants.

18 month appt

2009-11-25T09:07:00.002-05:00

Griffin had his 18 month appt last week so here are the updates from that and from everyday life in general:
*He is in the 3rd percentile for weight (yay! still on the charts) and 25th percentile for height. Neither of these are due to him not eating either. He eats constantly, probably 5 meals a day.What is even better is that he isn't a very picky eater. He eats whatever we eat now, no separate meals for him anymore. I hope this statement doesn't come back to hit me in the face :) He especially loves pasta, pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, casseroles, oatmeal, yogurt and any and all fruit.
*He is consistently saying about 10 words now but has probably said close to 40 words ever. His favorites right now are boo-boo, baby, juice, shoes, choo-choo, yellow, two (when he counts everything is 2) I-want-dat, momma and dadda.
*He is doing everything an 18 month old should be doing according to the development charts. Stacking blocks, feeding himself, running, etc.
*He is truly a momma's boy. Only mom can put him down at night and get him up in the morning. This has its ups and downs for both mom and dad :)
*He loves his cousin Gavin, whom he refers to as his baby. He cannot control himself around him though yet so we can't leave them alone together ever. Gavin would be kissed/hugged nonstop.
*He has discovered his whine and how to use it. This may have something to do with all the changes in his life lately but we are hoping it gets better but scared because he is about to get hit with new changes shortly (another new home-hopefully and a baby sister in March). His sister, by the way, is about 1-1.5 lbs and measuring ahead of schedule. I feel her move all the time, especially at night.

Grandpa's Little Helpers

2009-11-22T19:29:00.004-05:00

Grandpa stayed home on Friday work from home, and thanks to his grandsons he got a lot done :)

Holiday Junction

2009-11-21T13:30:00.003-05:00

Griffin loved the train table, train display an train ride at the Museum Center. Even more fun was enjoying it with his mom, grandma, aunt and cousin Gavin.

Not a Baby Anymore

2009-11-20T14:28:00.004-05:00

Seeing pictures like these makes me realizes how big our little "baby" is getting...

Fun with "baby"

2009-11-19T08:16:00.003-05:00

Griffin has a newfound obsession/love for his cousin and doesn't let him out of his sight. He calls him "baby" and loves to help do everything for him. He helps change his diapers, plays with him, gives him pacis when he cries, hugs, kisses, squeezes him, helps give him baths, gives him toys, and so on. He is really going to be a great big brother in a few months.

Dizzzzyyyyy!

2009-11-18T08:27:00.004-05:00

My favorite part about this is the progression of faces as he spins...

Sooo Much Love

2009-11-17T10:29:00.004-05:00

18 month Photo Shoot

2009-11-16T20:07:00.004-05:00

Griffin's wonderful aunt Shell took some pictures for his 18 month photo shoot at the park. She did an amazing job and I think we will use one of these for our Christmas card soon. Coming soon are the pictures of Gavin and Griffin together. Griffin ABSOLUTELY loves his cousin and jumps at every chance to hug, hold and kiss him.

Zoo Trip

2009-11-15T09:06:00.004-05:00

Griffin, Scott and I enjoyed a day at the zoo yesterday. His favorite parts still have nothing to do with the animals but rather the ramps he can run up and down, the merry-go-round and the train ride.

Mardi Gras?

2009-11-14T08:03:00.002-05:00

The amazing thing about these pictures was the Griffin individually put each one of these on by himself.

Cooking Lesson

2009-11-10T19:08:00.004-05:00

Griffin got a lesson in cooking desserts (peanut-free) from grandma today. In one picture you can see the close-up look of concentration, in another you can see him breaking the butter apart by hand, mixing the batter in another and enjoying the fruits of his labor in another.

Still Talking!

2009-11-08T12:53:00.002-05:00

Today Griffin said to me "I want that Momma"...no joke. He has been saying "I want that" which actually sounds more like, "IWanDat" and this morning he added my name to it. I think we will mark that down as his first sentence. He also said, "Tickle Momma?" after he had been tickling his father. It takes everything we have in us not to drop our jaws to the floor in shock and excitement. Language development is my new favorite thing. Sorry not to have any pictures, I promise that once we are settled in to my parrents' house to get some put on. Plus, there will surely be tons when Gavin comes to visit with his mom in 6 days!

Another First!

2009-11-02T19:32:00.003-05:00

Griffin said his first two words together a couple days ago and I was so excited. He said, "Buh-bye Dada" when Scott left for work in the morning and has said it every day since then. When I left to get something out of my car this afternoon he said,"Buh-bye Momma". His language development is really cool to watch/listen to and it has really taken off lately. Just yesterday he said 3 brand new words, hello ("ello"), pickle ("pi-ill") and yellow ("elyow"). He is blowing us away and I can't wait to have a "conversation" with him one day.

More Halloween/Birthday Pictures

2009-11-02T09:28:00.004-05:00

These were taken on Halloween before trick-or-treating happened. Do you think we have enough leaves in the backyard? Griffin loved playing fetch with the neighbor's dog, Basil, who blends into the leaves very well. Did you find her?

Halloween '09

2009-11-01T07:57:00.005-05:00

For Griffin's 2nd Halloween he dressed up as a monkey and was able to walk to all the houses on our street to get candy. He carried his pumpkin very proudly and walked right up to strangers to take their candy (half of which had peanuts in it so it was given away later). He did manage to get animal crackers, Starburst, Skittles, Oreos, and suckers. He got to show off his costume to both sets of grandparents that stopped by with treats, too. Thanks to cousin Livi for letting us borrow the costume, it was a hit! Lastly, as we were sitting around the campfire with neighborhood friends we are going to miss sorely, he learned a new word...beer.

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-31T08:44:00.005-04:00

Happy 29th birthday to the best "Dada" in the world!

First Dress!

2009-10-27T17:09:00.004-04:00

My good friend from work, Elizabeth, gave me little girl Lyons' first dress today as a gift and upon opening it I got very emotional! Its pink and it has little bloomers! I can't thank E enough, it was very sweet of her. As you can tell by his big smile, Griffin thinks so too! Thanks again Elizabeth!

ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-26T17:39:00.002-04:00

Shocked, estatic, elated...to name a few emotions. We cannot wait to welcome a little girl into our family this Spring and feel incredibly blessed. Happiness is the best way to describe it I suppose. We couldn't believe it when we saw the images this morning and most importantly she is developing wonderfully and right on track. Happiness....

So Sweet

2009-10-25T07:49:00.002-04:00

Griffin watched a video of his cousin, Gavin, on the internet with me yesterday and started kissing him through the computer without any prompting. He is very excited to be able to live with him for 2 weeks next month when they are in town!

Wipeout

2009-10-24T07:58:00.002-04:00

This video is a little dark, so sorry. Griffin was having a very fun time chasing his dad around the moving boxes we have all over our house. No one was injured in the wipeout at the end!

Kisses

2009-10-22T08:27:00.002-04:00

In this video you will see how Griffin has learned that he wants his "boo boo"s kissed. It doesn't matter to him that these injuries have long since passed and healed, he still remembers them! You can also see him give his little brother/sister a kiss, which he does every night before bed now.

Changing Seasons

2009-10-21T18:43:00.003-04:00

Burger Farm

2009-10-18T13:30:00.003-04:00

We went to Burger Farm to pick some pumpkins today. They had their fall festival happening so we also rode some rides, took a hayride and had lunch there. Griffin's favorite part was enjoying the sucker he won while screaming at the cows. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that!

Serious Work

2009-10-16T09:00:00.004-04:00

Griffin and his mom got an easel for $2 at a rummage sale last weekend and we have been putting it to good use lately. He is very serious about his work and rarely smiles or laughs while painting. He calls it "draw"ing which is pretty cute. Please excuse the moving boxes behind him, although there will be more of those to come!

Day at the Farm

2009-10-11T21:03:00.005-04:00

The whole Gunderson crew headed to the Crittenden family farm to celebrate Griffin's great grandpa's 80th birthday today. We all had a blast. Griffin took his first tractor ride, we took a long hike to the river, played in the creek, roasted marshmallows, played tackle football with the cousins and ate lots of wonderful food. Griffin didn't even make it to the end of the driveway before his eyes were shut. That is always a good determinant to whether it was a fun day or not!

Shaving Cream Fun

2009-10-10T15:15:00.003-04:00

I let Griffin play with about one half of a container of shaving cream the other night before bathtime. He had fun but after about 10 minutes he asked me to turn the water on (by grunting and pointing to the water since he cannot say that word yet) and he then rinsed himself off. Apparently it wasn't too fun!
In house news...our house is pretty much finalized as sold. The inspection was done, we are doing what needs to be done, and the appraiser came today. In one month we will be moving out!
However, where we are headed is yet to be determined. More than likely to my wonderful parents' house who offered us a place to stay until we can find a home of our own. We are being slightly picky right now as we want to find the "perfect" place for us since we know we will be there for a while. We have gone to many showings and open houses but very few have met the standards of our family. I will keep you updated :)

Funny Guy

2009-10-09T08:13:00.002-04:00

Here is the fake laugh in action, complete with the nose crinkle and and all.

Cousinly Love

2009-10-07T20:33:00.002-04:00

Smiley

2009-10-06T20:05:00.002-04:00

Griffin has been extra smiley and giggly lately and we have loved it. EVERYTHING is funny to him, and he either laughs for real or does his fake laugh. Either way it has made us pretty happy lately, too.

Falloween at Coney Island

2009-10-05T08:08:00.003-04:00

Jammin'

2009-10-04T07:55:00.003-04:00

Griffin now wants an I-Pod for Christmas.

Fall is Here!

2009-10-02T08:26:00.002-04:00

Griffin enjoyed sitting by the fire, drinking his milk before bedtime last night. As it gets colder outside this is one our favorite "chilly weather" activities.

Update

2009-09-29T18:51:00.003-04:00

I had lots of requests for updates today from those who heard how we spent our day yesterday. Thanks for all the kind words and prayers, Griffin is getting better.
After a sleepness night, two nights ago, due to nonstop coughing, trouble breathing, and 3 breathing treatments at home we went to the doctor's in the morning. His pediatrician checked him out, gave him a breathing treatment and noticed it wasn't doing anything, just like we had noticed. So she sent us to Children's ER. Apparently, they place being able to breathe at the top of their list of kids to see first, because we only had to wait in the waiting room surrounded by people wearing masks because of H1N1 for about 10 minutes.
They gave him a dose of steroids and three consecutive breathing treatments of the "hardcore" stuff. This did just enough to let us go home at night. We did one more treatment before bed, he slept well and then did one in the morning. He hasn't had to have one since then! We are continuing the steroids and maybe one or two treatments per day until this virus is gone. The doctors aren't sure if he has asthma or reactive airway disease but more than likely he has one of those because whenever he gets a cold it goes straight to his lungs. It was WAY scary for the breathing treatments not work, and the doctors said it was because his airways were so restricted they basically closed off and the medicine couldn't get to them. Time and steroids might be the best solution.
Spending the day in Children's was not fun, to say the least. However, we are very grateful for all the doctors and nurses who helped us out and for the fact that this is something that is manageable, albeit scary. I remember getting breathing treatments when I was younger in the hospital and being terrified so my heart went out to our little guy. What I would have paid to take his place...

You are Getting Very Sleepy!

2009-09-27T08:46:00.002-04:00

This is the aftermath of the zoo visit. It seems inhumane but if you let him fall asleep in the car for even 1 minute he won't take a nap when he gets home, and as you can tell he really needed some good sleep.

Zoo Trip

2009-09-26T13:07:00.005-04:00

We decided to take a trip to the zoo today. It was actually the perfect day because it was cloudy so it was not crowded at all. The first picture is of the lion taking a nap and I couldn't resist- they are such beautiful animals.
On another note we have the inspection for our house on Wednesday, so say some prayers that everything goes well. In the meantime, until the deal officially goes through we are still having an average of one showing per day. I consider myself a clean person but the clean you need for a showing is totally different, I am quickly learning.

The House is SOLD!!

2009-09-25T17:18:00.002-04:00

After only being on the market for 7 days we sold our house today! Scott has been out of town this week and Griffin and I stayed busy visiting with grandma and grandpa, going to Gymboree and also his new favorite place "Entertrainment Junction". However, I have been so consumed with showings and open houses that I never remembered our camera.
We are hoping everything goes well with the inspection and closing. Now we just need to find a house to move into!
This video is of Griffin "blowing" a whistle. He doesn't quite get HOW it makes the sound but he knows what sound it makes!

First Babysitting Job

2009-09-19T08:06:00.004-04:00

Griffin and I got to watch Ava, our good friend and neighbors' daughter, on Friday morning. She was soo sweet and easy tempered, even though Griffin was more than slightly jealous of everything she did. If I was holding her, he wanted to be held (that's hard to have a baby belly, hold one baby who doesn't quite have head control completely mastered on one side and a 22 pounder on the other side). If she was in the pack-n-play, he wanted to be in the pack-n-play. Kinda scared me for whats in store for us in 5 months. But...it was really sweet to see how he interacted with her, he never stopped smiling at her the whole time!

Our House is for Sale!

2009-09-18T20:31:00.000-04:00

http://comey.com/displaylist.asw?listnum=1191269&mls=cincy

First Haircut!

2009-09-15T10:46:00.003-04:00

Before picture

After Griffin was called the wrong sex numerous times over the past couple months we decided it was time for his first haircut. He did SOOOO well sitting on the animal and letting the lady cut his hair (she kept the curls, which I was adamant about). I got slightly teary-eyed afterwards because I realized he looked more like a little boy and less like a baby...

More Food Please

2009-09-14T20:47:00.003-04:00

It seems all Griffin does is eat lately. It doesn't quite show but he pretty much eats all day long. The first picture is him getting upset because he can't reach his goldfish crackers in the snack drawer even though he just ate dinner. The second picture is him enjoying an Oreo at the babysitter's (who we love) house.

Girlfriends and "Snacks"

2009-09-13T19:51:00.003-04:00

Griffin occupied himself by eating mud yesterday while mom and dad did yard work. It was promptly stopped once we realized it. If you click on the picture you can see the outline of mud on his cheeks....yum.
The other picture is of Griffin, Maya and Ava. Our street is filled with little girls for Griffin's choosing and we are going to miss all of them when the time comes to move.

Introducing Gavin Donovan Moore

2009-09-09T19:47:00.003-04:00

...The world's most laid-back baby (except when he's hungry!). I got to go to San Jose to visit Shell, Derek and my mom and meet Gavin. Oh, how easy it is to fall in love with a little one like that! I had a great time getting to know him and wanted to post some of my own pics of him here on the blog. Griffin cannot wait to meet him in November!

Yummy Popsicles!

2009-09-02T10:50:00.003-04:00

After uploading this video I realized how many of the videos we have of him are in his highchair. I think it's a combination of the fact that that is the only time he is sitting still to get a video of him and the fact that he spends a LOT of time in his highchair. He must have really liked the taste of this popsicle!

Using Utensils

2009-08-31T09:55:00.003-04:00

Griffin has been using utensils by himself for a couple months now. He is still working on it as you can see by the video but I wanted to capture it on camera. This may be one of those videos that is only exciting for his mom...so if that is the case, sorry!

Baby Brother or Sister

2009-08-28T08:10:00.001-04:00

Busy

2009-08-27T20:16:00.003-04:00

This week has been busy, to say the least. I started back to work, we have been trying to box up stuff we don't use frequently to be put in storage, Scott is getting ready to start another MBA class and Griffin has been busy getting some molars this week (2 just popped through and I think 1 more is close behind). He has let us know this is no easy job by not taking naps, running a fever and just being a little less happy throughout the day! All the while I have been exhausted from helping form Griffin's little brother or sister :) Sooo... no pictures to post and we have a crazy weekend (Happy birthday Patrick, Cam and Evan and congrats Danny and Kate= 3birthday parties and a wedding) Hope to have something soon!

Poor Neglected Child

2009-08-24T20:58:00.002-04:00

This is how we found Griffin tonight while we were painting the french doors in our living room. This poor kiddo has had to entertain himself a LOT lately, with us getting the house ready to be sold and his mom being so nauseous so often. When we found him he wasn't even complaining, just hanging out on top of a bunch of toys! I feel so bad because it isn't going to get much better with me going back to work next week :(