Countdown to a year

In one month it's hard to believe that Griffin will be a year old. Especially since about this time last year we were scheduling a c-section and it just seemed like he'd never come. I had hoped he'd come in time for Christmas just because I was a bit miserable, but no such luck. Just 12 days later!
He now has 2 teeth on the bottom and 4 on the top. So, at any given moment this is what he's doing...looking like a little puppy dog with his chew toys.
Everything he encounters is a wonder and he must touch it and lick it.
He has been fighting a little cold for a few days and he's also managed to get an infection under one of his fingernails and he completely lost that fingernail Friday. But as always he's such a sweet little guy and never really lets you know he's feeling bad unless he's not moving and laying in your lap.


We keep calling you our little baby, but I guess that title is only true for about a month more and then you'll be our little toddler!

So ready to just let go

Griffin started standing unsupported over the holiday weekend. It only lasts for about 3-5 seconds, but you have to start somewhere! So maybe my hope/wish that he walks well before his first birthday might come true, keep your fingers crossed. I know that this isn't the best picture, but look at how it's almost like he's holding on with one finger.
Let the fun of chasing him everywhere begin!

The return of buddy

To act like Greyson is some horrible little child is an overstatement, but unfortunately his behavior lately has been less than angel like. We'd already been scratching our heads about how to deal with his behavior and then when he chose to act out by drawing on the couch Monday night we realized it was time for Buddy the Elf to return. I had mentioned this to Greyson last week when he was having some trouble at school. But I realize you can't just tell a 4 year old something, you have to actually take action. Buddy is our "Elf on the Shelf" and he came to live us with last December and he reports back to Santa every night how Greyson has been behaving. Each morning you must find where your Elf is hiding because he moves around, never to be in the same place. Christmas Eve he goes back to the North Pole to live with Santa until next year. It's really quite a cute idea and for those that do Santa with their children it's just a fun interactive tool that you do every day. After we put Greyson to bed last night we started the task of holiday decorating by starting with our tree. So, when he got up this morning, front and center was the tree and then Buddy was in there with his ever watchful eye.

Here is the start of our tree. Most of the decorations have been placed a little higher this year so that Griffin doesn't go after them. I ran out of steam after a little bit so I didn't finish. It's hard to navigate around a tree when your belly gets in the way! We still need something to top it off and I never know what to do? For the boys we've got a little tree that I think we'll put in the middle of their train table. There won't be anything breakable on that tree and they can rearrange the ornaments however they chose, because that is certainly one of Greyson's favorite activities.

Life lesson #32

When buying furniture as newlyweds keep in mind that while you may not have children at the time, or even be thinking about having children in the near future...your couch more than likely will still be around 7 years later when your child decides that white just isn't the right color.

Birthday Camping

There's no delaying it any longer, we are all about to start turning 30...and perhaps some of us have already hit that milestone! Wesley, Candice's husband will be 30 on November 25th. Candice planned a wonderful surprise for him and I believe we did actually manage to keep it a secret. If he knew what she had planned he did a very good job of hiding it. She found a very secluded cabin up in NW Arkansas and invited his 2 very best friends (and spouses) for a weekend of...nothing. For Daniel and I, this is so rare and was such a treat to be away from work and children and to just relax for a moment.
The cabin was located on someones 130 acres so it literally was just us and the people who own the land. However, it was the opening of modern gun season so shots could be heard at all times of the weekend. Thus...the awesome orange vests were worn while we hiked. Daniel the redneck gangster.
This place was right up the eagle scouts alley (Wes and buddy Matt are both eagle scouts and well, we all know that Daniel is not!). It had trails to hike, a fire pit outside a fireplace inside but we did have some modern comforts - dial up internet which was awesome because I don't think any of us had heard that sound in years. The kitchen was completely stocked with all pots and pans needed to make yummy meals all weekend, minus a dishwasher though. They even had satellite tv but much to several people's dismay, the Razorback game was not aired so we just listened on the radio while playing games, which did include one round of the silliest game ever - Pass the Pigs. We hiked both days and had a fire going literally at all times. Both inside and outside, simultaneously. We found this little guy on the 1st day of our hike, very random. He was in a tree on the trail. Wes thought I would fit in the tree with the little gnome, but my belly wouldn't let me squeeze in!
We ventured out looking for a waterfall the 1st day. This was what we found. A bit more of a water trickle. This happened to us in Hawaii a few years ago so we weren't too disappointed. The hike in Hawaii was insane so this leisurely stroll was ok to find only a water trickle. We discovered we had cell phone reception here, not at the cabin. So I did take a moment to call my mom and check on my kiddos, in the middle of the forest.
The next day we found the real waterfall after talking with the owner and while it wasn't a huge Niagara falls type waterfall it was pretty.


Where's that professional photographer to tell us a branch was running across Matt's face?

So, the footprint I mentioned in my previous blog, we assume belongs to this giant dog. I know the lady said it was a breed of many different things and one of those breeds did include a wolf. So while we thought some giant animal was roaming around with us, it probably was this dog. Which was comforting, but then again it took away from the initial excitement of bears or wolves running around. And I don't really know that this picture does this dog justice. His or her name was Monk and he brushed up against me and I easily was knocked off balance. I would bet that he weighed more than I did. And I'm not sure if it was a boy or girl cause it had a bright pink collar around it's neck.
Our little cabin in the woods.


Overall it was just a wonderful weekend that hopefully made the birthday boy very happy. Because while it was nice for a weekend away, the main goal was to do something that would make Wes very happy and to make his 30th birthday memorable. What more could you need than your 2 best friends, a fire, complete seclusion from the world around you, and excellent food cooked by a bunch of women? I on the other hand could handle a little Vegas or the Bahamas for my birthday. Oh wait, I'm having another baby for my birthday!

Is this a place you would want to visit?

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend away with a few friends while we celebrated an upcoming 30th birthday. Just wanted to share a few of the highlights that made this trip quite interesting. I'll share pictures of the fun things we did tomorrow.

If you saw this, what would you think the meaning is? If you get near the bear's mouth, possibly this is the route you will travel while he's digesting you ....or the bear stock market?

Has Travelocity been here? Maybe if you take this path, you'll find a 5 star rated hotel? The roaming knome located literally out in the middle of nowhere.

If you can make it out, the print on the left is Daniel's size 11 shoe print. What do you think the print to the right side of the picture belongs to?

And have you ever played this game? Is it a real game?

How we're doing at 10 months and 5 1/2 months

Should those 2 words be uttered together when talking about the age of one child and how pregnant you are with the other child? It still makes me laugh. And what makes me laugh even more is the amount of people and who will say to you "do you not know what causes that?" A few weeks ago, my optician was blown away by the fact that I was pregnant again and blurted out that statement. My optician, really?

I think I'm about 5 1/2 months pregnant, I never really understood how the months and weeks correlate with each other. I'm about 24 weeks along at this point. Luckily the sickness has subsided. I thought it was never going to end and that the weight gain would never begin, the latter part of the statment is so not true now! Little boy #3 is already a mover and a shaker and can not only be felt by me but by Daniel as well. I just passed the gestational diabates test and don't have to go back to the doc until Dec. 14th to get the green light to go to New York on the 19th. Let's hope no issue pops up that would change him saying I could go, fingers crossed. We are nowhere closer to a name. Maybe we're just out of ideas.

And as for the little guy not in my tummy, Griffin is just a mover and shaker himself at 10 months old. He would love to just take off and walk but doesn't have that coordination or skill just yet, but he tries so hard and lots of bumps and bruises are the result. He likes to climb the stairs in our house, but it will still be quite a while before he can come back down properly. He will follow you and/or big brother anywhere, don't expect him to stay put if you're leaving a room. We have slowly started feeding him real people food. He's bit of a carbaholic. He likes bread and potatoes a lot, he even ate a pumpkin muffin the other morning. He has 5 little chompers just ready to start devouring food. He loves to wave, all the time. It doesn't matter if you're saying hello, goodbye or just talking to him...he thinks he should wave at you.
And this is just a funny face, made me laugh a little...hope it does the same for you.

We look forward to this holiday season and watching the wonderment in his eyes as he takes everything in. I had been debating whether we would even decorate this year for Christmas as we have a trip planned at the end of December and this little guy will probably pull the tree down on top of him, but I think we'll brave it and just say "no-no" a lot as he heads to all the lights and glittery decorations.