Christmas 2014

We have had a good time celebrating Griffin's first Christmas.

Christmas Eve we opened presents at home before we went to the Christmas Eve service at church. After the service, we loaded up and headed to Quanah. Since we were not going to be home for Santa, we sent a note with Bubbles with elf letting Santa know he could just leave our stuff and we would get it when we returned home. (I sure hope he got the message!)

Christmas morning Santa brought a few things for Hadley to Mimi's house, and then we opened presents. I think Griffin had more fun with the paper and bows than anything else!

We have had a good break from work and school so far. Tomorrow is my birthday (38!), and then we will celebrate the new year next week. Time is going by so quickly, so we are trying to soak up every moment we can with our precious kiddos!

8 Months

Griffin Jane,

Every time I turn around it seems we are celebrating another month of your life. Slow down, baby girl!

This past month was full of more growing and changing for you. You are so close to crawling, and it is hilarious to watch you try. You know what position you need to be in, you just can't seem to figure out how to move once you get into that position. So, you do more of a "scoot" or roll to get where you want to get. The crawling is coming though...I'm guessing within the next week or two!

You have started throwing little fits when you get frustrated, which make everyone else laugh, which then causes the fit to escalate. Funny now, but probably not so funny in years to come! Lately you have also seemed to sense when you are told "no" and that word seems to hurt your little feelings. You especially don't like for daddy to tell you "no" to anything, and you stick out your lower lip before the tears come. I probably shouldn't say this, but that little "trick" might work in your favor in years to come!

We celebrated your first Thanksgiving this past month with a trip to Abilene. You were loved on by everyone there, especially your big girl cousins!

You are now eating formula and baby food (no more breast milk from mama). The transition to all formula didn't seem to phase you, so that was helpful. As far as food, you will pretty much eat anything, but you definitely prefer fruit rather than veggies. We'll just keep tricking you by mixing the two!

You still don't have any teeth, but it seems the drooling and chewing on things has increased exponentially lately so maybe a tooth will pop through soon. (I'm not in any rush for that however!)

Probably my favorite new trick of yours is all your "talking." You have so much to say these days, and always with such cute, funny expressions and attitude. You seem to talk the most when no one is paying attention to you, as if to say, "look at me...pay attention to me...do you hear me?" Hilarious! And A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E. little miss! Yikes!

I can't believe how much I love you, sweet girl. You are my favorite little girl, and you absolutely have my heart. Thanks for making me a girl mom! I love you always and forever!

Mama

7 Months

Griffin Girl,

Here we go again...I can't believe you are 7 months old! Time is flying by so quickly, and I am reminded to treasure every moment with you.

This past month was full of big changes for you. The most note-worthy change involved your sleeping. You are now successfully...wait for it...sleeping in your crib in your own room!!! Yippee!! Yahoo!! This is a huge deal as it was a looooong time coming! You have had some super successful nights (like this past week when you slept 9 straight hours!), and some not so successful nights (waking every two hours), but overall it has been a great change (especially for mommy and daddy!).

This past month also saw the incorporation of food on a regular basis. We tried food a few times previously, but you were not very interested. Since then, you have become a pretty good (and super messy!) eater. Mama spent a Saturday this month making lots of baby food for you and so far you like most of it (except the green beans). You like any kind of fruit the best, so we have learned to mix that into the less desired veggies and you seem pretty content. You really like the little "puffs" that you can pick up yourself, but you tend to choke on those every now and then (possibly because you shove more than one into your mouth at a time!) We are working on using a sippy cup, but so far you just like chewing on those!

You have started playing with toys a lot more lately, and will sometimes sit for long periods of time (either alone or with someone) playing contently. Your playmate of choice is, of course, Hadley. Brother gets more full-out laughs from you than anyone, and it is the best sound ever!

I can't wait to see what you learn next, sweet girl. Thanks for making me a girl mom! Mama loves you forever and always!