Favorites

Griff definitely has shown a preference for certain toys...most of the time, if it's big or makes noise, he's attached (like his Silly Town or laptop). But he does have his smaller stand-bys as well...two of his favorites are his "Who Loves Baby" book of pictures and his glitter/confetti bottles (which he has more than one of, so I guess that's more than two). He will drag his "Who Loves Baby" book all over with him...and quite often he just lays down and thumbs through the pages...studying the pictures we put in. Ms. Nikki said she even put it in his crib to sleep with when he was with her, because he loved it so much. It's a toy that is always sure for a smile.

And, he also really enjoys his glitter bottles...I got the idea from school (where they have a few). All you do is get bottles (I used Fiji water bottles because they are square and interesting to him, and the corn syrup bottles because they are super-thick) and fill them 2/3 with light corn syrup and fill the rest with water. Then you put whatever you want to in them and super-glue the top back on. He loves to turn them and look at the colors, bubbles, and sparkles.

I found a big bag of sequined confetti at Michael's that is all different colors, shapes, and figures

This is one without water or corn syrup...it's just beads with the alphabet on them...Griff loves to shake it

Glitter and the confetti

And the beads also work in liquids

Let's Ride!

Watch out, Zobelle! G Pooch has joined the CLUB and he is one tough cookie!

(for those who don't understand....the Sons of Anarchy is one of our fav shows)

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Relaxing Weekend

We had a very low-key weekend...finally! I guess this was the "calm before the crazy holiday party schedule" begins weekend. On Saturday we cleaned, organized, and played with Griffin for the bulk of the day. Sat. night we headed over to our friends the Castros for pizza, drinks and conversation. We really enjoyed hanging out and playing with their cute kiddos (and enjoyed meeting another couple and their daughter, as well). And the bonus of the night was the Castros' pack-n-play...so Griff could go down and we could stay a little longer. We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.

Today, after taking fantastic naps (all three of us...or I should say all five of us as the dogs of course joined in), Ben finished the outside illumination and I finished some projects inside. And, Ben and Griff watched football. Yes, Griff just sits there with Ben and watches football. Scary.

Still in pj's!!!

The stockings are hung! And I even built that fire all by myself, I am proud to report.

Reindeer stockings! Daddy (Blitzen), Griffin (Rudolph), and Mommy (Vixen).

Tree is Up!

Last night we decided to get out the Christmas decor...outside and inside. Ben did a great job (almost) getting the outside lights finished...but after last year's December and the heavy snow and ice it looks like we are going to need a few new strands (as some are fried) so the job is still unfinished and we'll have to purchase a few more strands of lights to complete it. Inside, we got the tree out and all of our special ornaments, new and old...put on some Christmas music...and decorated our tree. Griffin was fascinated with the tree and the lights, and, even though (as the post below indicates) he didn't nap much yesterday, he refused to go to sleep until after his normal bedtime...he was such a happy boy so we let him stay up a bit. We had a lot of laughs and we are happy with the result.

Tug of War

Below is a cute video of Griffin and Tucker "playing tug of war." Griff definitely gets the concept...and I think it's especially cute when he gets the rope away from T and then tries to get T to tug on it again. Pretty sure Tuck can look forward to a lot of games of fetch, tug, and whatever else Griff decides to play, because Griffin follows the dogs around like a magnet.

Zonked

Yesterday when I went to pick Griffin up from school, I was informed that he decided not to nap...at all...yesterday afternoon. This is very unlike our sleep-loving son. His teacher told me that what he really wanted to do all afternoon was play...with Ty, of course. She said that the two of them had their afternoon bottles sitting next to each other...and that Tyler finished first, so Griffin decided he didn't need the last ounce of his bottle and threw it to the ground. He already has a drinking buddy. :) Then they continued crawling around the room, together. She said that the two of them are definitely drawn to each other...I see some play-dates in Griff's future. She also mentioned that Griffin is getting very good at communicating his needs. When he is hungry, he crawls to the gate that leads to the kitchen. When he is tired, he crawls to the teacher and pulls on the leg of their pants. And if they don't listen, he crawls to the door to leave (no kidding). She, again, stated that he has a very distinct and strong personality. I think we have quite a few interesting years ahead of us!

So, without an afternoon nap, you can bet G fell asleep on the short ride home. He looked so cute I thought I would snap his picture.

Go Fetch!

Griffin's new favorite game? Apparently, it is fetch. Griffin was calmed by the Tiffany's rattle that we got as a gift when he was first born...but now it's taken on a new use and it's become one of his favorite toys (maybe he's more like his momma, after all!). This morning, he crawled into the kitchen while I was making his breakfast with the rattle in his mouth, and tonight he kept putting it in his mouth and crawling all around. After all, he needs his hands free to move...and he loves to watch Tucker fetch, so I guess he decided he'd try it for himself.

By the way, it is CRAZY how the lighting in pictures makes his hair look so red...in person it's more blonde...I guess we just can't really tell what his true hair color IS at this point(more like his momma again)???