Griffin's days

When I started this blog, it was to keep in touch while we lived in CA and share our adventures out west. We moved back to Louisville and I didn't write as much and then Griffin came along and I thought this would be a nice diary of his activities but I found I am usually too busy to get to it so today before my 36th (GASP!) birthday I am actually making note of the first time Griffin climbed the stairs.
G. Paul and I had just discussed the need to put in the baby gates on the stairs and he started working on it this morning while Griffin and I napped. When Griffin woke I set him on the stairs to see what Daddy was doing and about two seconds later he was up three steps. He may have had this skill earlier I just have not really let him test it out so now we know.
The other funny detail of Griffin's life this last week is his clear obsession with a circle and oval from his foam shapes book. He carries these two wherever he goes and ignores the other two shapes completely. We took video last night to demonstrate and I will try to add it at some point. He crawls around with both in his hand and if he loses one, he stops to find it. G thinks this means that Griffin is a free thinker because he has chosen the circle and oval as opposed to the triangle and star :)
One of Griffin's new meals this week was pasta with a little Parmesan cheese and it went over well-Brussel sprouts are still liked least (I don't blame you kid) but he will eat them if they come first before something tastier.
We still haven't been around much of Charlotte as far as downtown which they call Uptown here. We did take Hana to a nice dog park yesterday that also has a huge playground when it gets warmer hopefully we can take both kids. Luckily we have seen our friends the Moore's and the Harper's (other families that left ELAN to work at Snap) a few times and I was even able to spend time with a sorority sister who used to live in Charlotte but unfortunately just left the area. As always we look forward to visitors and already have a few on the calendar so let us know if you want to use us as a stop over on the way to the beach. It looks like Griffin and I might be back in KY in the fall for a visit while G travels to Indianapolis for a show.
Until next time!

8 months of Griffin

We say it almost everyday- we can't believe how big our baby boy is getting!
I am sure every parent must say it in the first year as they change so much, but with G. Paul gone for the last two weeks it was more evident all the ways Griffin was changing. Unfortunately his sleep pattern was part of that and almost drove me crazy! I guess he is too busy practicing all his skills and must do it at 4 or 5 in the morning and last night he didn't go to bed until almost 10 because he was cruising around his crib.
He still won't crawl forward, only backwards and just rocks when he is on his knees to go forward but he is already standing up by himself for a few seconds and can really cruise his crib and most furniture without help from us and only a few falls when he is tired- like in the middle of the night which has me running in scared when he hits his head on the crib. He must have a hard head though because not too many bruises and he doesn't seem to mind :)

We closed on the house this past Tuesday and feeling very bittersweet about it all of course. G has loved this house and we love our friends and park out back, but we are excited to start the new year in a new city and meet new people. Plus the man we sold the house to is getting his first house and we know he will take care of it and has been so appreciative of G's hard work on the house.

G really is enjoying his new job though it was so hard for him to be away from us and knowing we were having a hard time getting rest or exercise (in Hana's case) without him. Not to mention the early cold December brought!
So Christmas will be brief because the movers come on the 27th! But we are going to enjoy Griffin's first Christmas as he is already in awe of the tree and lights.
Until next time- happy holidays!

WOW!

Things are moving fast around here so I thought I would add another post. After having our house on the market for a week and a half we are already in the process of closing. Inspections happened yesterday and went well so now we just have to wait for the buyer's financing to go through! This means that we are on schedule to close Dec. 8th and hand over the keys on Dec. 29th arriving in Charlotte, NC on Dec. 30th.
The movers will be here on Dec. 27th so the Christmas decorations will be coming down the day after Christmas this year. We are excited that things seem to be falling into place and hope they continue to go well- we have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!
Everyone has had good things to say about Charlotte and G. Paul is beginning to get excited about his new job. Hopefully our kids (Hana and Griffin) will adjust well. They have both made good friends here that we will miss, not to mention being so close to family but it is time to start the next chapter of our family's journey. :)
More updates to follow once we know where we are moving!

How did it get to be November already?

I am late on adding Griffin's 6 month stats but as usual it is hard for me to get much done when I have a baby to hold way more than I should. Especially as heavy as he is-coming in at a solid 18.5 lbs and 26 3/4 in.; according to the dr. As of 7 months and our at home scale we have him at 19.5 lbs. and over 27" but the length is pretty rough since Griffin thought I was being mean by trying to make him lie still for measurements.

This picture was taken on Oct.10, 2010 in the park behind our house. He has been busy sitting up since he was 5 months old, trying to pull up and in general scooting around in a circle when on his tummy or back. He doesn't really want to roll over but does seem interested in crawling from a sitting position so we have to watch that he doesn't bang his head on the floor when he launches himself forward. When he is on his tummy he goes backwards and screams about that too, which really makes me laugh and I hope it doesn't hurt his feelings.

Halloween was short but sweet due to Griffin and I having a bit of a cold though he recovered much quicker than I - thankfully so! His costume was a dragon and did get cool enough for him to wear it even if we have been blessed with a warm October. This is Griffin's first friend, Eva, who is exactly a month older than him. We try to have weekly play dates more for her mom and I than for the kids. Although the last couple have been more fun as Griffin and Eva attempt to talk and touch each other.


Happy belated anniversary to my parents, my brother and sister in law, and happy belated birthdays to my college roomie, Christina, and the newest 40 year old on the block, Brennon! :)
Among other reasons that blog updates take so long, it is the constant question about our living situation. Most of you know that the move to KY was possibly temporary and ELAN allowed us to stay here longer when I was pregnant with Griffin. After Griffin was born and changes occurred within ELAN, it was time to move back into the territory and we had many debates about whether that would be back to San Diego or Denver. After really deciding that San Diego was where we wanted to be, G was offered a position in a different company and he has decided to take that job which now means we are headed a different direction, towards the East Coast and will make our new home in Charlotte, NC. This move will still happen quickly as G begins his new job after Thanksgiving and hopefully Griffin and I will join him shortly after Christmas. Our house has been on the market for just over a week with several showings just today but we already have a deal on the table so keep all fingers crossed that inspections go well. It would be nice to have this settled before the holidays because I can't keep a house clean with Hana, Griffin and the holidays coming up.
I would expect the next update to be around the holidays once we know where in Charlotte we are moving and lots of pictures with Griffin's 1st Thanksgiving and Christmas.

4 month update

Griffin was 4 months last week but we just went to the Dr. today for official weight and height.
He is still in the 90th percentile for both- weighing in at 17.8 lbs. and 26"; whew! I was beginning to think he was already 20 lbs.

He celebrated his 4 month birthday by finally pushing up on his arms when doing tummy time as opposed to just making his neck do all the work. Tummy time has become more fun and he seems quite determined to figure out how to move. Griffin loves to stand in his exersaucer and on my arm, you can see on his face how proud he is to be so independent.

We went to our first music class last night and although he is the youngest by far (even though it is for 0-18 months most are closer to the end of the spectrum) he had a good time and was exhausted when we left. I like having someone else come up with ways for me to entertain him one evening a week.

I am going back to teaching one yoga class a week and while G travels, Linda will help watch him on those nights. G's work has been very stressful the past couple of weeks with layoffs. We will have more about our future in regards to that in the next couple of weeks so check back. We are heading to OH this weekend to see sorority sisters and going to a birthday party so we will have lots of pictures to post next week. Hopefully I can get to it- I am so thankful Linda took Griffin this afternoon so I could write this update and vacuum :)