Love Bug

I didn't have to go into work today (or this upcoming Friday...love this three day work week)... so I was very lucky to get to spend all day with Griff. We didn't really do anything crazy, but it just happened to be one of the best days I've had in a while. Griff and I ran out to get a big-boy booster seat for the table...while we were in the store Griff said "Mama?", reached out and put his arms around my neck and pulled me in for kisses and hugs, for no apparent reason other than he just felt like it. And this is not unusual with Griff...this is just a small display of his personality. He has such a big heart...it doesn't take much at all to get some love from him. And if I don't get unsolicited lovies, all I have to do is make a pouty face and he immediately comes over for a tight around-the-neck hug. And after dinner tonight Griff spent a few minutes walking back and forth between Ben and I...giving us hugs & kisses with each lap. Griffin is absolutely amazing; there's nothing else in the world like hanging out with him and we wouldn't trade it for anything!

Couple More Pics

Auntie Honey sent some pictures from Christmas Eve/Day (I haven't posted our "Day" pics yet but will get to it soon). Thought some of them were pretty good, especially this one below of Sam, Griff and Nick. Lots of cheese from these handsome boys!

Candid shot from Christmas Eve...lots of pics going and Ben was instructing here....

And Griff (a.k.a. Cookie Monster) REALLY and truly enjoyed his Christmas cookies this year. Just when you think he's totally ignoring you...he hears the c-word and he's all ears!

Christmas Eve/Morning 2010

We had a fantastic Christmas Eve and morning...we had a great dinner on the Eve at our house with family...and we woke the next morning to find tons of surprises from Santa! From the looks of it, Santa had Griff very high up on the "nice" list! I apologize...the pics are in reverse order. :)

One of Santa's surprises for Griff? A Radio Flyer horse that ROCKS (literally). :) He loves it. He makes noises as you ride him...first walking, then trotting, then running! And when you feed him his carrot he munches and whinnies. These are all action shots...Griff & Bullseye were moving quite quickly...so they are blurry here & there. His crazy giggles cracked Ben & I both up


Some of the aftermath of Christmas morning (after Bullseye moved to the foyer)

Tucker enjoyed watching the mayhem

Griff "wowing" over one of his new toys

The calm observer

Griff is very meticulous when he opens gifts....strip by strip...and when he is done he wants to inspect or play with what he has just opened. We have to convince him each time to open another gift....needless to say it was a bit slow-going. :)

Yee-haw!

Auntie Honey, Nick, Sam & Griff on Christmas Eve. Griffin was obsessed with Nick & Sam; he watched their every move and whenever he did anything he kept glancing up to see if either of them was watching him. Too cute.

Grandpa Tom, Ben, Griff, Julia & Grandma Kris on Christmas Eve

Nick, Auntie Lisa, Uncle Bill, and Sam on Christmas Eve

Griff wanted to sit between Sam & Nick and have some drinks, too.

Santa Griff "helping"

CHEESE-ing

Wearing his tool belt & operating his new drill from Gma Kris & Gpa Tom

Doing some work

Apparently the drill just wasnt working right

Merry Christmas!!!

We hope you have a safe & happy holiday!

Elf off the Shelf

Griff might not have been too keen on wearing his Pilgrim hat that he made at Thanksgiving....but he has a definitely different opinion about his elf hat that he made with our nanny. He loves it and I love my adorable little elf.

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Santa Brunch

After we got back home...to the COLD and SNOW...it was more than appropriate that we headed to the Club to see Santa and have some brunch this past Sunday. The food was yummy, and Griff did get to see Santa - Santa even had an early gift for him which was really awesome. Did Griff enjoy meeting Santa? Well, see below for yourself...he wasn't afraid...but he certainly harbored a sincere and general dislike for Santa on Sunday. Hopefully the elf that has been visiting our house since we returned from Florida (yes, we have our very own Elf on the Shelf this year) will be able to smooth the Griff-Santa rift before Christmas Eve!

p.s. Griff decided to name his Elf "Nono". Maybe something Griff has been hearing a lot of lately? Just sayin'. :)

Family pic in front of the Christmas tree at the Club

Griff's first (our first) try to get Griff to chat up Santa...unsuccessful.

Try #2...equally unsuccessful :(

What a difference a year makes! Griff didn't mind Santa at all in 2009.

Thank goodness Santa doesn't hold grudges...Griff scored this awesome puzzle...every piece has a door with a different type of "lock" on it...and he loves it.

Hannah and Claire enjoyed brunch with us, too. Looks like they also enjoyed Santa and Mrs. Claus' company!

West Palm Zoo

When we were in Florida we hit the West Palm Beach Zoo. It was small but a really fun zoo, and we had a great time. All of the animals were up close, so it was cozy & easy to see them. And we got a special treat: the day we visited just happened to be the first day that they had put a new female tiger in with the male who had already been at the zoo for some time. Thus, the tigers were very active...and it was really interesting to watch their interaction. The tigers were beautiful, and HUGE; Ben took some awesome pictures, many, however are too explicit for me to post. :)

Just one of the 'gators we saw in FL...though this one was MUCH bigger than the ones we saw on the golf course from the golf cart, and much more real than Griff's favorite alligator: the stone one hiding in the mulch at Grandma & Grandpa's house! That one's name is Russell, and Griff loves to find it and always says "hi" and "bye" to Russell.

Daddy's as tall as a grizzly!

The two tigers (Rated PG)

The male tiger

Who was NOT shy in the least - he was climbing on the fence right by where one of the zookeepers was watching them closely. This move took us all by surprise!

Griffin and the Frog

Griffin and Grandpa Tom found a frog on the lanai yesterday and Griff was EXCITED. He followed it around, talked to it, and was just enamored with the little guy in general. The best part? The frog was found before dinner, and apparently the slider was left open while we got ready for dinner. And when we got home, Griff and I went to the lanai to search for the frog. We didn't find it....but as we were searching Grandma Kris was none too happy to find the frog in the family room! He must've jumped in the door before dinner and hung out until we got back. Glad we found him then instead of someone finding him in their bed in the middle of the night. :)







100% boy

Beach Boy

We headed to the beach today...not for any swimming (a bit too chilly for that even though it was pretty warm today) but just for some strolling. At first Griff was very apprehensive...it was high tide and there wasn't a ton of walking space. Once the tide washed over his bare feet a few times, however, he warmed up to it quite a bit and kept moving closer and asking the ocean to get him "aa-gin" and "aa-gin".