Getting Ready for the Holidays

A few new tricks...

At 3 1/2 months old Griffin has a few new tricks ...

We have been itching to put the bouncer together for Griffin for months. And even though it said 4 months, he is so 'advanced' that we put it together a few weeks early. He really likes it and will entertain himself for a while and stretch out those strong legs. His favorite sides so far are the frog that spin and the happy sun.

Btw, we really don't think he's any further along than other babies of his age, but we do get a laugh out of of all the parents who think their kids are doing things faster than any other baby in the history of babies!!





The latest way to make Griffin smile and giggle are a few songs from one of my favorite childhood movies: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I even had to sing it this week in public to get him to smile while on Santa's lap. Here's a happy boy at home.



He has found his thumb and his toes! He really only sucks his thumb when he is sleeping but we captured this moment right after he woke up. It must be so frustrating that his thumb has been there this whole time and he just found it.





The morning nap seems to have finally fallen into place too. Since we got home from Thanksgiving he naps in the morning for a good hour or hour and half. I usually nap too :) Any sleep is good sleep.

And finally, Gary gave him a new hairdo after a bath this week...a mohawk! Clearly he was quite enthused with his new do!

Thanksgiving in PA

We spent Griffin's first Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania. And that meant his first airplane ride too. It was so much fun to see lots of family and friends. We are so happy that he was able to meet everyone.

Some memorable comments from the week:

"Now I understand why they make baby combs!"

"He's about half the weight of Aunt Juliann's turkey!"

"The poor little guy woke up from every nap for the last week in a new house!"



He earned his wings on his first flight ... and lucky for us slept the whole way to PA, and most of the way home.


Oma at Aunt Bekah and Uncle Ben's dancing under the caribou!


Grandma at Aunt Sylvia's -- one proud grandma!


Aunt Amanda and Grand B at B's house - he clearly loved the living room fan! :)


Great Grandmother Nicki in Philadelphia having a heart to heart talk


Great Papa Don at Papa's house
He loved sitting in Papa's lap and Papa couldn't get enough of holding him!


Uncle Bill trying to feed him just one more leg of turkey!


Family Picture on our first Thanksgiving at Uncle Bill and Aunt Juliann's house ... yes Griff's french giraffe, Sophie, is a part of the family too!

Fun with Vowels Video

Please don't ask why I was saying the vowels to Griffin but he loved it. I come up with lots of ways to entertain us both throughout the day. These were some of the best laughs he has had yet.

Week 11 Video...Poconos (Poke-A-Nose)

We have a new game we play with Griffin and we call it 'Poconos'. It started out, as you may have guessed, with poking his nose. Now we poke everything to get a smile or giggle. I know I sound ridiculous on this video but I'll do anything to make him smile.



And after a few not so consistent nights earlier in the week we have decided to begin the process of helping Griffin learn to sleep a little better. We are easing into Baby Boot Camp and making some good progress. Hopefully in a couple months he will be a great little sleeper.

Week 10

This week is the very first week that we started to see some consistency with Griffin's sleeping. Most nights (5 out of 7) he slept for about 6 hours. After almost 3 months of little sleep 6 hours was a dream. It still started very late but we'll take it when we can get it. We'll see if this trend continues or if Griffin is just teasing us. Other than that, the smiles continue and although we don't quite have a real laugh yet he squeals with delight when we play with him.

Just hanging on the couch with mom


Tummy time pictures are some of Mom's favorites


He's got a way to go to fit into Dad's shoes.


Although he found his hands awhile ago he just realized he can fit his entire fist in his mouth. We now know why babies don't have teeth...he would gnaw his little fingers right off.

Thursday Afternoon Smiles Video

First Penn State Game

We had an exciting adventure this week when Griffin went to his first Penn State game. The Shiels came back to Chicago for the weekend and although we missed Ronnie it was great to have them here for the weekend. Griffin was a champ and slept through most of the game. It was pretty chilly so we were all bundled up, especially Griffin. He loved being nice and warm and cozy with Mom in the Bjorn for a few hours. Another win for Penn State!

Happy Halloween

8th Week-Two Months Old Already

Two months old already and life has changed forever but in a good way as we never knew we had so much love to give. Good news...Griffin now thinks bedtime is 12:00 midnight most nights. That is progress from 2 am a few weeks ago! He usually sleeps for about 4 hours (has even done a few 5 hour stretches) starting at midnight. Eats and then a few more hours of sleep. Progress! Even better than a few hours of sleep is that he wakes up with a smiles on his face. We are going for his two month check up this week and we are guessing that he weighs over 12 pounds already. Amazing how he is growing.


Still in his PJs and smiling

All dressed up for the Penn State game (yes, hat, shirt and booties)

Yes I do!

Griffin wore his new hat this weekend when we were out and about. I know that all parents think that their kid is the cutest child ever and we are no exception. But people were actually coming over in the store saying they heard they had to come and see the adorable baby. Glad a few people agree with us.





And although life is all about Griffin now, as it should be, I am shocked and amazed to share that I now fit in my regular, pre-pregnancy, jeans again. It is great to have some actual wardrobe options. Still a few pounds and squishiness to lose but again...more progress.

Our 7th Week and a visit from Aunt Bekah

Our 7th week was cold in Chicago so we got to use our new 'cookie monster' outfit and our 'Kiddopotamus' that that keeps Griffin nice and warm. They will be sure to come in handy with the quickly approaching winter.
And since Gary was in Florida for a friend's wedding this weekend Aunt Bekah came out to visit. We missed Dad a ton and made sure to send him lots of pictures throughout the weekend. Once again Aunt Bekah was a tremendous help and even though she has only been gone a few hours we miss her so much already. An extra set of hands makes everything so much easier and we had so much fun.

A few of our favorites from the first few days

Since Griffin is now almost 8 weeks old (cannot believe it!) we find ourselves looking back at the first few days when he was teeny tiny and are amazed that he has grown so much already.