Monday, February 28, 2011

Feb. 28 - Potty

Griffin has made a habit of using his nightly bath for his nightly #2.  It has gotten so predictable, and I definitely know when it's about to happen.  Last night, I got the idea of putting his little potty seat on the toilet and sticking him on it when the time came.  Well, the time did come, as usual, and Griffin went to the bathroom on the toilet for the very first time!  I, of course, made a huge deal of this, and we celebrated by waving bye-bye and letting Griffin watch the miracle of flushing (which he is SUPER interested in and constantly trying to sneak into the bathroom to flush).  Tonight I was prepared again.  The time did not come, though, and I wound up setting him on the pot post-bath with no result.  I plan to make this routine so he can slowly get used to using the toilet.  We talked about the potty while he was sitting there, and he was signing "poo" and "potty."  How cute is this little guy atop his very own potty seat?

Shortly after putting him to bed tonight, the tornado warning siren went off at CIU.  I quickly checked the news, and, sure enough, it was time to evacuate the Village.  Problem was, Oliver had the car delivering pizzas out by where the tornado was spotted!  After making some calls, our dear friends, Colin and Rachel, were on their way to pick us up.  We went to the appointed evacuation "spot," the CIU Student Center, along with every man, woman, child, dog, cat, etc. in the entire neighborhood.  What a zoo!  We were there a little over an hour, and Oliver was on his way home when the warning and watch were both over.  Whew!  We are so grateful to the Lord for protecting us, along with all our neighbors.  These are the days when living in a trailer doesn't sound like such a great idea.

Feb. 27 - Miss #2

Missed day #2.  But you know, there just hasn't been enough energy around here to be using any taking pictures haha.  Well, all is not lost.  There were plenty fun zoo pictures from Friday to go around...  We all enjoyed a little snack break mid-zoo trip, and Griffin was treated to his first Icee and some fries by his Gigi!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Feb. 26 - Miss

Today was the first day that I did not take a picture since I began this "photo a day" project.  I had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep a couple of nights ago, and I had planned on putting myself to bed at 9:30 or so last night, feeling like the zombie I did.  But, alas, one thing after another happened, and as I lay down to go to sleep at 12:00am, my poor sweet boy woke with a 102º fever!  He was shaking and crying, and we were up until about 1:30 together, giving him a lukewarm bath and waiting for the Tylenol to kick in while we read books and watched a bit of his latest obsession, Finding Nemo.  So, 6:45am came quickly for me this morning, and it was all I could do just to keep my eyes open and attend to Griffin's needs.  I'm not sure if he's full-on sick or if this fever could be somewhat related to the fact that he is getting so many teeth at once (8 total-4 have cut in slightly, 4 are on their way) that the teeth he already has are getting swallowed up by the swelling.  Poor fella.  Needless to say, a picture was the last thing on my mind.  So, I'll post another picture from yesterday's zoo trip!
Griffin's 1st carousel trip!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Feb. 24 - Grandaddy-n-Gigi

What a lovely Friday.  The weather was absolute perfection, and Griffin's Grandaddy and Gigi came into town to visit.  We went to the zoo all together, and it was just a blast.  We had a couple of harrowing run-ins, but these just enhanced our zoo experience :)  Griffin had a bird jump on his shoulder and cling to him, in spite of him trying to push him off.  This was quite the traumatic event for the poor dear soul, and I think we might just need to avoid the bird feeding area for a little while.  Also, Bill took Griffin on his first carousel ride!  It went a bit faster than expected, and both were a bit unsure about the whole carousel experience.  I think we were all completely exhausted upon returning home, especially "Grandaddy," who wound up carrying Griffin around almost the entire time!  He is going to have sore arms tomorrow!  Griffin has developed quite an attachment to his Grandaddy, and it is so sweet to watch.  All day, Griffin was signing "grandpa," saying "nah-nah-nah" (which apparently means "grandaddy," and looking for/reaching for Bill!  When we got back home, Griffin was able to play with his new, red bouncy ball with his grandaddy and with Rigby the dog.  Wow.  Now there is Griffin's perfect trio right there!  He was in seventh heaven.  I'll be posting more pictures of our day at the zoo on our family blog later tonight, if you're interested.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Feb. 24 - Wagon Friends

This lovely afternoon, Griffin and I took a walk over to enjoy the sunny, 75º weather with my friend Anna and her son, Sullivan.  The boys took a wagon ride, shared books and balls and bubbles with one another, played in Sully's new ball pit, and went down the slide.  They aren't quite at the age yet where they will really engage with one another to actually "play," but they sure do study one another and try to interact here and there.  So cute.  I this picture, Sully is about to share the book with Griffin, and Griffin will "share" his bubbles with Sully (even if it was by shoving the bubbles bottle in Sully's face...We've found this is Griffin's primary method of "sharing"...shoving whatever it is into your face/mouth.  Haha).

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Feb. 22 - Seeing Red

Another beautiful day!  We got outside a bit with Griffin's new, red bouncy ball, soccer ball, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk.  He is so in love with this ball, and it is so fun to watch him try to carry it around, bounce it, and run after it.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Feb. 21 - Meow?

The beautiful stretch of weather continued today, and Griffin and I took advantage of it by playing out on the porch, going for a long walk, and taking an outing to Target to get him a ball to play with.  I can pretty much guarantee the ball (actually balls...I wound up getting him 2...a soccer ball and a big, red bouncy ball) will make many appearances in future "One Photo a Day" posts.  While playing on the porch, Griffin decided to concentrate all his efforts on messing with and trying to eat the cat food.  Eventually, I decided that possibly the best way to solve the cat food issue for good was to let him eat a little piece.  Welp, that backfired!  He actually liked it!  Go figure.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Feb. 20 - Zoo

I love our family time on Sunday afternoons.  This Sunday, we went to the zoo.  Each time we go, Griffin is more and more interested and more and more capable of walking around on his own.  The theme of today's trip was, "Don't touch me or try to keep my from falling, Mom.  I'm doing this on my own."  What an stubbornly independent little man!  He did great, minus several falls on concrete that made my heart leap into my throat but did not result in head bumps.  Whew!  The issues at this point with just letting him run, willy nilly, are 1.  that he could get going fast and have a bad, face-plant fall and 2.  that he's so focused on staying balanced and moving that he doesn't watch where he's going, so he's always running into groups of people and whatnot.  I mean, no one gets mad about it, and they usually think he is quite adorable, trying so hard to be a big boy.  So, it really does no harm.  Anyway, it is an exhausting blast taking him to a place where he can walk walk walk and see all kinds of amazing animals.  The fish were the big hit this time around, so he really could not get enough of the aquarium section.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Feb. 19 - Bookworm

This lovely Saturday afternoon found us on Griffin's first trip to the library!  After the boring adults grabbed up a few much needed books on utterly dull topics like philosophy (for class), healthy crock pot cooking, biblical parenting, and household management/organization, the kiddo got to explore the truly amazing children's "section."  I have the word "section" in quotes here because, although that is the word we use to describe a portion of a library, it is most certainly not just a "section"; it's much more like an entire floor with its own little fantasy land.  There are (real) trees growing up out of the floor, outdoorsy tile flooring, little clusters of couches and benches filled with stuffed animals ranging to from itty bitty to twice the size of Griffin, craft tables, puzzle tables, a padded floor baby section, and (most obviously from this picture), a gigantic, full wall mural of Where the Wild Things Are.  It's hard to explain, but half the ceiling is open to the other 3 floors above and a wall to the outside that is completely glass.  So, the trees grow up through the ceiling and into the shared atrium of the upper 3 floors.  What a wonderland.  Griffin enjoyed pulling books off of shelves, the stuffed bird, and the gigantic stuffed snake.  We came home with exactly 38 books and 3 DVD's...Apparently we wanted to get enough books to never have to go back or something.  Hah.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Feb. 18 - Resilient

Trying to be a big boy and play basketball today :)  This kid is nothing if not resilient.  He fell approximately 30 times today in the park trying to both walk and carry this ball, but he never cried, never got frustrated, never hesitated a second in getting back up and moving on.  Love him.

Feb. 17 - Ball

Today was a rough day, and I didn't wind up taking any pictures.  So this picture is from the 18th [tomorrow].  It was 80º and sunny with a gentle breeze.  Days like this don't come around often for the seemingly either humid and sweltering or raining and frigid.  So, Griffin and I played around in the park.  He is getting so much more stable on his feet!  There were older boys playing basketball, and Griffin was just absolutely enamored with them.  In fact, he marched straight on over to them, and it seemed as though he was just going to insert himself into the game!  In the interest of his safety, I grabbed an flat, obviously unused soccer ball and let him play with that while he watched the boys.  He wasn't really content to just play on his own...He wanted to be a part of that game, but alas...he is only 1 year old.  A quick mention of the sopping wet shirt and foot long strain of drool in this picture is necessary.  Our poor little Fin cut 3 teeth last week and is cutting what appears to be at least 3 more teeth that are visible, although I'm suspecting an additional 2 more quickly approaching 1 year molars.  This, in short, means that he is basically getting 8 teeth at once.  At this point, no bib can sop up the amount of drool this boy can produce, no one shirt can last all day long, no parental clothing is safe from large pools of drool and snot, no object small enough to get an edge into his mouth is exempt from potentially becoming his next favorite chew toy.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Feb. 16 - Management

This was one of those rare days in which I did not take a single picture of Griffin!  After he went down for bed, I pondered just what might constitute today's photo that would sort of capture what I've been up to lately.  As boring and terrible as this picture is, it is the result of that pondering.  Several weeks ago, God began to convict my heart concerning how I use my time and, therefore, manage my household as a stay-at-home mom and full-time homemaker.  It has been a very good but very difficult season in which I've been realizing the value and necessity for organization, scheduling, planning ahead, etc.  These are all things that do not come naturally to me; but what comes even less naturally to me is actually following through on what is scheduled and planned.  Flying by the seat of my pants worked fine up until Griffin was born, and that is when I found that the fruits of that method, at least for our family, was bad bad bad.  Actually, looking back at college, I can see how I could have been a much happier, less anxious person had I made the switch to organizing then.  So, I've been researching other homemakers' methods of keeping their household organized, running smoothly and efficiently, and as free as possible from the tension, stress, and conflict that result from an unorganized family.  The method I'm seeing a lot of moms use is the family management binder method.  This method uses a binder and/or day planner to keep close track of each family member's schedule, daily and day-by-day chores, meal planning, finances, vehicle, pet, health, etc.  This has binder has been my project over the course of the past two to three weeks, and I can say that it is much more fun to do the organization and planning than it is to actually do what you have scheduled for yourself.  But, Oliver and I both really believe that having more structured lives will help our family to become healthier, more productive, and happier....And who doesn't want that?! 

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Feb. 15 - Transfixed

I recently ordered the first DVD in the Baby Signing Time series, and it arrived today!  Griffin was (clearly) transfixed.  I must say, I'm very impressed with the method (using songs, video clips of the objects/actions, adults, and babies signing, etc.), the songs (catchy, fun, not super cheesy and annoying), the repetition (again, without being annoying), and the overall quality of it all.  We watched the video twice today.  Although Griffin wasn't able to focus for the entire length of it, he would come and go and wound up picking up several of the signs he didn't already know!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Feb. 14 - Our Valentine

Me and one of my two Valentines on a walk today in the woods behind our house.  I cannot imagine my life without either one of them and am so grateful for them.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Feb. 13 - Warm Day=Zoo

Oliver's parents got our family a zoo pass to Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo for Christmas this year, and we've already gone more than enough times to more than cover the cost of the pass...and it's only February.  Hahah.  What a great gift!!  Our zoo is amazing for many reasons.  1)  It's just the perfect size, not too small and not too big.  2)  It's only about 10 minutes from our house!  3)  They have a petting zoo area.  4)  There is a kangaroo "walk-about" where you go in this special, closed-off area and there are no barriers between you and the kangaroos.  5)  You can buy nectar in cups and feed it to the birds in this one bird terrarium thing, hence the photo. 

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Feb. 12 - Nothin' But Blue Sky

After what has seemed like weeks upon weeks with no break in the clouds, rain, and gray, today we had nothing but blue sky.  It was lovely.  In this photo, Oliver and Griffin are talking about birds and making the sign for "bird."  Right now, Griffin's sign for "bird" looks a lot like his sign for "orange," but I always seem to be able to determine which he is talking about.  Mother's instinct?  Mmm...maybe more context.  His pointing to the sky also helps :)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Feb. 11 - Birds and Words

Be still, my beating heart...  He has got to be the most beautiful child ever to live!  We spent a lot of time outside today, and Griffin is in awe of nature.  He picks up, studies, tries to taste pine cones, grass, sticks, etc. and attempts to walk everywhere.  The past several weeks have been like a sudden language explosion for Griffin, and he is picking up multiple new signs every single day now.  Today, he started getting really into pointing, making a questioning sound, and waiting as I told him what it was verbally and through signing.  Words he learned and can now sign today:  bird, tree, water, and movie.  The highlight of the day:  birds!  He is actually pointing in the sky in this photo because I asked him where the birds are. 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Feb. 10 - Oranges

There has been substantial fuss in the Thompson household as of late over oranges.  I discovered a while back that they are a favorite of Griffin's, and I keep them in a bowl on the table.  Well, they just happen to be in Griffin's sight during mealtimes, and it is tough to keep him focused on eating anything else when he can see a bowl of them sitting right there.  I might have to hide them.  He learned how to sign "orange" today, in an attempt to teach him how to communicate his desires more effectively than whining.  Lately, he has begun to understand that in order to get something, he simply needs to tell us what he wants (through signing) and sign "please."  This is starting to sink in, I believe, and it's just in time; he's at the age now where whining and throwing fits is the natural method of getting what is wanted, and we're wanting to give him another, more preferable method of communication.  Oh, and super cute sidenote...Yesterday, Griffin walked up to Oliver, who was standing at the sink, and he pulled on Oliver's pants and signed "please!"  We realized he was asking politely to be picked up by his papa, and it was the most adorable thing ever!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Feb. 9 - Book Charge

So, we got Griffin this awesome foam sword in the dollar bins at Target about a month ago, and he loves to raise it in the air when we say, "Charge!"  You can't see it in this picture, but the sword was laying next to him; I was attempting to get a picture of him raising the sword in the air, so I said, "Charge!"  But, instead of picking up the sword, as I had intended, he raised his book up in the air!  This little fella loves him some books. 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Feb. 8 - Slide

Griffin loves the playground in our neighborhood but not for its playground equipment.  The swings are a no-go right now, and he prefers that neither Mama nor Papa swing either.  The slides...eh.  Sometimes he's down for a sliding, and other times he is not.  This is the only shot I got of him on the slide today because, well, he was absolutely terrified while this picture was being taken.  For now, the park is a relatively clean, cleared off area for him to run wild, and he is a big fan of that!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Feb. 7 - Bed


Man, I've been tired lately.  This is my side of the bed, and it is basically all I've been thinking about.  It seems as though I just lay my head down on my pillow, and it's time to get up again.  Oliver can operate pretty well off of limited sleep, but I am a 9 hours of sleep a night kind of girl, who, incidentally, never gets 9 hours of sleep.   I'm such a night owl, and Griffin is up by 7:30 or earlier.  So, as with many, many other things in my life, I need to get this sleep thing figured out; if I don't, I'm just a walking zombie...or a grumpy zombie.  Wait.  Aren't zombies typically both walking and grumpy?  Ok, so I'm just a zombie, period. 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Feb. 6 - Tunnel

This was my view of Griffin this afternoon at the park.  Seriously, how adorable!  He could not get enough of the wide open spaces to try out his new walking skills.  Although he fell approximately 1400 times, it never phased him.  He just got right back up and continued to run away from me.  I'm beginning to realize that he has a determined independent streak forming!  There is this concrete tunnel for kids to play in/on down at the park in our neighborhood, and Griffin had the great joy of running through it for the first time.  He thought that was just fabulous :)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Feb. 5 - Quesadilla

Oliver's family visited this afternoon, and we were so excited to show off all of Griffin's new skills!  We're really blessed to have them near, and it makes having my family so far away a bit easier.  Uncle Bubba, Cat, Grandaddy, and Gigi all came over and played with our cutie, and then we all went out for a bite to eat at Moe's, where Griffin had his first quesadilla!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Feb. 4 - Saucy

...but only in the spaghetti sense.  For the past couple weeks, Griffin has been determined to feed himself using a spoon or fork.  Mealtimes have been...long.  trying.  He doesn't want me to help him or feed him, but I sneak in bites here and there when he isn't paying attention or if I make a gigantic game out of it.  That being said, it is so fun to sit and watch him develop right in front of my eyes!  It's hard to believe that my floppy, helpless newborn has turned into a walking, self-feeding, self-entertaining toddler.  It's just mind blowing to me.  I'll try to post the other pictures of him trying to feed himself spaghetti with a fork on our family blog, because this is, after all, One Photo a Day :)

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Feb. 3 - Drool

Although this picture is terribly grainy, I had to go with it for several reasons.  #1-Who wants to see everyone smiling in every picture?  I mean, if aliens tried to figure out what we humans were all about solely based on photographic records, they would think either our faces were fixed in a smile as our default or that we were the happiest beings to ever live.  #2-Griffin has been s.l.o.w.l.y. getting his eye teeth and 1 year molars over the past....couple months, hence the drool.  None of them are in yet, but they continue to wreak havoc on all of our schedules daily.  #3-Little Fin loves to play in our bedroom and especially on the bed.  His favorite is to stand up, holding the headboard or footboard, and babble incessantly.  He also likes to pull out all our extra hangars, open and close all the drawers, pull all the frames off the end tables, and test all the different items out with his plastic hammer. 

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Feb. 2 - 67º

While my beloved friends and family back in my homeland had to stay home from work and school today, due to the 20" or more of snow a blizzard dumped on them last night, we left the front door open and the fan on all day since it was 67º!  It was glorious.  Griffin and I spent some time on the porch, and I snapped some pictures while he played with the rocks we collected from the creek bed near our house last summer.  He also got some much needed sweeping done, along with a check of the cat food, which he tasted while I wasn't looking.  He wasn't a fan and spent the next several minutes examining the spat-out piece of cat food.  [I can't resist posting more photos somewhere, and if you would like to see photos of today's happenings, visit our family blog.]

Tuesday, February 1, 2011