Thursday, June 30, 2011

June 30 - 'Tis the Season


'Tis the season for pool time once again!  Our dear friends, Kenny and Shari, have a wonderful pool that they graciously allow us to use any time we like.  How amazing is THAT?!  With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees around these here parts, it's so nice to be able to still be able to enjoy the outdoors without sweating buckets.  Plus, Griffin and I get to hang out with our friends!  Today, Anna and I took Griffin and Sully to the pool, hence the photo above.  In other news, Griffin is now wearing a 3T or 4T in pjs.  So, I made a trip to Once Upon a Child for some much-needed new jammies, and guess what I found?  Cars pajamas....and he absolutely LOVES them!  I had to include this picture of his joy in his new pjs as he went to bed for the night.  What a ham.  Because he was just being so ridiculously cute and excited, I opened the curtains and did an impromptu photo shoot.  I couldn't resist.  Needless to say, it took a bit longer for him to fall asleep tonight hah.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

June 29 - Spoon Feeding

The day has come, folks!  I can now give him a bowl of applesauce, oatmeal, etc., and he can eat it with a spoon all by himself!  He has been using a spoon for a long, long time, but he's finally motivated to use it to eat effectively....rather than using it to smudge food around, stir things, etc.  He's loving his new-found ability and is rather proud of himself, I believe.

Monday, June 27, 2011

June 27 - "Sleeping"

Lately, Griffin has begun fake sleeping, complete with closed eyes and fake snoring.  That's what we're doing in this picture.  I just love cuddling my boy... if only he would let me cuddle him more often!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

June 26 - Choo Choo

Griffin had his first train ride today at the zoo!  The ride had actually closed for the day just as we arrived, but the very kind ride operator offered to take us for a free ride anyway!  How great is that?  Griffin has been saying "choo choo" and signing "train" a lot lately, so this train ride had him almost frozen with pure joy.  It was adorable.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

June 25 - Repairs

Fi.as.co.  That's what the chicken coop has turned out to be.  This afternoon was spent repairing the structure since the wood has bowed and expanded in many places.  The doors have swelled probably a quarter to a half an inch, making it impossible to close or open them, one board split down the middle leaving a 3/4" gap, and the roof bowed out so much on the ends that it pulled the screws out.  And these issues only scratch the surface of all the issues we've had.  It sort of makes me wonder how on earth anyone builds anything out of wood and has it turn out all right, with all the expanding, contracting, warping, and bowing wood does in different environments.  I'm realizing this may be the most boring post I've ever written..HAH.  But, in all reality, I've enjoyed having a constant project to work on with Oliver to help get my mind off this transition time we're in and the anxiety issues I've been having.  This picture was taken of Griffin as he was watching Oliver and I work on the coop.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

June 23 - At the Table

We've made the switch from highchair to booster seat at the table, from putting food directly on the tray to using a plate like a civilized little toddler :), from not bothering with silverware most meals to using forks and spoons each meal.  Most of the motivation for all of this is to get the monstrosity of a highchair out of our kitchen, but also Griffin is showing a lot more desire to use a spoon and fork to eat.  Tonight, we had pancakes and eggs for dinner, and our little man was clearly pleased as punch about the menu choice, even in spite of having come down with a bothersome cold. 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

June 22 - Classics

A couple very different classics are being read in the Thompson household these days.  Oliver is reading Moby Dick again, and I just found Love You Forever at a thrift store for Griffin.  Tonight as I rocked him and read to him before bed, I totally lost it and went into a full-on weep.  Seriously...I was prepared and fully planned not to cry.  Alas, I was no match for the maternal heartstrings that book pulls.  Beware, moms.  It'll get you every time.

Monday, June 20, 2011

June 20 - C'est Fini!

Whew!  What a fiasco this coop has turned out to be!  Finishing up the paint was no problem, but the final assembly of the ramp, pulley system, and doors was way more difficult than we imagined.  I suppose that the 100+ degree temperature factored into it a bit.  Why do we live here again?  Hah.  This coop is actually called a chicken tractor because it's portable.  Actually, this specific design is called a chicken ark because you carry it using the handles like an ark.  Cute, right?  Anyway, the way the coop works is that you move it around every so often to keep the chickens over new parts of the lawn; that way, the chickens get to fertilize a new plot of land and eat more bugs and whatnot on the new plot of ground, but it also lets the previously inhabited plot of land get rain and sun to stay healthy.  This way, you can keep the coop from becoming this crazy stinky part of your backyard that you just have to avoid.  There are two doors that open on each end of the coop; the bottom door opens to the "run" (where the chickens peck around and walk around during the day) to access the chickens and their food and water.  The top door opens to the nesting boxes for easy access to the eggs.  Also, the two big roof panels come off, exposing the entire roosting and nesting area for easy cleaning!  At night, the little ladies will naturally climb up the ramp into the roosting area to go to sleep and lay their eggs, and we will go out and use the pulley system to close the ramp/roosting area, protecting the chickens further from nighttime predators.  The girls love their new home and are happy as can be. 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

June 19 - Father's Day

For Father's Day, we went out to eat together as a family, went to Lowe's, and did not do a photo shoot of Oliver with Griffin.  After all, it is Father's Day, and the father in this family really, really does not like photo shoots.  Oliver and John finished building the chicken coop last night, and we were able to get most of the painting done on it today in the blazing, ridiculous heat.  It was a lot of fun, though, to work together on a little project like this.  We obviously went with a barn red and white color scheme for the coop and look forward to finishing it all up tomorrow! 

Saturday, June 18, 2011

June 18 - 4 Weeks

The chickens are over 4 weeks old now, and they are looking quite "in-between."  Every single day, I notice new feathers, new changes to these ladies.  Shortly after this picture was taken, Attila flew and landed on Griffin's shoulder/back.  He did not like this one bit, and I think he was even a bit traumatized.  Poor kid.  Oliver finished building the chicken coop today, and we plan to paint it and move the girls in tomorrow! 

Friday, June 17, 2011

June 17 - Birdbath

We all headed to Goose Creek today to stay at Oliver's parents' while Oliver did some painting at their house.  Griffin's Granddaddy and Gigi had a pool and toys all set up for him to play in the backyard, and he had a blast!  He wound up really loving splashing around in the birdbath with the hose and a rubber ducky.  Watching Griffin play in their beautiful backyard makes me really look forward to the day when we will have a nice backyard for him to play in.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

June 16 - Brrrrrm!

This is one happy boy!  Our sweet friends, the Millers, just moved up to Virginia this week, and they were unable to keep their son's cozy coupe.  So, they gave it to Griffin, and we are so thankful!  (Thanks again, guys!)  It has been a favorite of Avery's, and I can already tell it will be a favorite of Griffin's.  He spent a good 30 minutes today just getting in and out, pretending to drive, honking the horn, pushing the car around from the outside, putting objects into the car and taking them out again, and making a lot of "Brrrrrrm" sounds.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

June 15 - Practice

My friend, Kristin, and her son, Asher, met up with Griffin and I at the zoo today.  Kristin and I walked a few loops around the zoo (me for my anxiety and her to walk little Emerson Jude out-she's 40 weeks pregnant).  The boys sat patiently in their strollers while we walked and talked, and they were thrilled when we finally "released them" to play in the barn.  This cow just so happens to be in Griffin's top 3 favorite zoo "sights."  I know...It makes no sense, but he loves it!  You can actually sit on the milking stool and practice milking a cow (with water, thankfully).  Oliver and I always dream about having a small hobby farm one day with a milk cow.  I suppose Griffin is just practicing for his future chore around the farm!  :) 

Monday, June 13, 2011

June 13 - Guess Who's Visiting

Our sweet Eleanor Rigby is staying with us for the week, and we could not be more excited to have her (especially Griffin)!  Is she not the most sickeningly adorable dog in the universe?  Look at those seal pup eyes and little, circular, tan eyebrows....Who can resist? 

Sunday, June 12, 2011

June 12 - Griffin's Favorite Place on Earth

So, this might be the worst picture of the bunch today; however, I just had to use it because this might be Griffin's favorite place on earth right now.  At our zoo, there is an aquarium, and this is the main tank.  There are a couple sharks in there, and Griffin kept running up and down, chasing after them, trying his hardest to say "shark," along with a plethora of other things we could not understand.  He is just so animated and excited the entire time we're in here.  We could seriously sit in here for hours and watch him be thoroughly entertained, and we're totally okay with that, seeing as how this aquarium is air conditioned. 

Saturday, June 11, 2011

June 11 - Wonder

No picture today, unfortunately, so I'm using one from tomorrow.  Yes, I'm a time-traveler.  Now that that's settled... :)  Today, Griffin and I went to a goodbye dinner for friends of our who are moving out of state.  They're a sweet family with two little ones, and they will surely be missed.  All the kids played in their little pool and sandbox, which kept things interesting.  I cannot believe that I didn't take one single picture, but I suppose I was too busy keeping order in the backyard with the other moms.  It's a whole new ballgame with predominately selfish-by-nature toddlers interacting, needing to learn the art of sharing, and learning how to treat one another.

Friday, June 10, 2011

June 10 - Too Many Giraffes

Even though it's hotter than the surface of the sun around here these days, we ventured outdoors today for quick trip to the zoo.  Of course, we had to feed the giraffes, and I'm beginning to wonder if Griffin will grow up to believe that giraffes are about as commonplace as dogs and cats!  This child has made more trips to the zoo in his 17 months of life than most people ever make in their lives.  Yes, I realize that I have used a few too many giraffe feeding pictures for the photo-of-the-day, but they're just so darn, stinkin' cute that I almost have to.  I mean, what took place today that is more interesting than Griffin hand-feeding a giraffe?  Nothing.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

June 9 - One More

Ok, this is the last photo I'm going to post of the Thompson family vacation.  I promise.  Today was a photoless day, and I just couldn't resist posting this adorable picture of the proud grandparents with their grandbabies!  It's just too cute, right?!  We weren't sure we were going to be able to pull off this shot, as the baby situation was rapidly deteriorating with distractions and tiredness at the end of another active day in the sunshine.  But we got one, and it's priceless.  Thanks, Mama and Papa T. for another awesome family vacation!  It was perfect!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

June 8 - Time for Toddler Bed?

I just have to smile when I lay my boy down to sleep these days...He's just so BIG!  I mean, he literally takes up more than three-quarters of his crib already!  Really, I better convert his crib into a toddler bed soon so he has a chance to use it before we need to get him a regular twin bed!  Big boy.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

June 7 - Potty Training Day 2

I love this picture.  After a loonnnnnngggg day of attempting potty training, Oliver and I put Griffin in a diaper, put him to bed, and went out on a much-needed date.  We've had so much to discuss, process, and decide lately, and it was nice to have a special time out together to do that.  About potty training...  Things seemed to go okay yesterday, but everything took a turn for the worst today.  Accidents=too many (7+), potty successes=ZERO!, 3 carpet stains, 2 changes of clothes for Oliver, and 1 diaper at the end of the night when we just couldn't take anymore.  That was our day.  Griffin would cry and try to run away every time the timer went off (every 15 minutes) and I said it was time to go potty, even though I tried to keep potty time positive, relaxed, fun, and rewarding, with lots of books to read and raisins for treats.  What we discovered today is that he refused to go at all on the potty and would pee on the floor a few minutes after we took him off the potty.  Also, we noticed that he really has no clue when he is peeing.  On our date, we stopped by Barnes and Noble and checked out different books on potty training (ah, the super exciting dates of parents hahah).  Basically, experts say that children should go 1-2 hours between pees and have dry diapers after naps occasionally before they potty train.  Griffin is clearly nowhere near this, as we discovered that he urinates about every 15 minutes, conveniently in between potty times.  Also, I think that the focus on the potty situation changed Griffin from going frequently on the potty to not going on the potty at all.  So, I think we're throwing in the towel for now, depressurizing the situation, and giving Griffin a bit more time before launching back into full-on potty training. 

Monday, June 6, 2011

June 6 - Potty Training Day 1


It's so strange to think this day has arrived already.  It seems as though Griffin was born a few weeks ago, in so many ways, and here we are; we've survived our first day of potty training, and so did [most] of the furniture/carpet.  For quite some time now, Griffin has been telling me he needs to go potty about once a day or so, usually at night right before bed.  After thinking on it and talking it over with some ladies at church, I decided it was time to give potty training a go.  My method today has been to keep him in just a shirt and "big boy undies," other than for nap and bed times.  I take him to use the potty every 15 minutes and encourage/reward him for dry underpants, sitting on the potty, and going potty with raisins as a special "treat."  Hah.  I wish I could think of raisins as a special treat!  Anyway, the idea is to switch to undies and never go back to awake-time diaper-wearing.  I've read and heard that it can take anywhere from 3 days to a week for it to "sink in," but most kids around Griffin's age are trained in 3 days.  We'll see.  The first part of the day went super well, with only one small accident and several successful trips to the potty.  The second part of the day, well, it didn't go as well.  Griffin has never had very obvious clues that he's about to go #1, so it's been difficult to know when he's needing to go.  Although I took him to the potty every 15 minutes (and he did go to the bathroom several times, including two #2 successes), he peed 5 different times in his undies.  I wonder if he even notices or cares that he feels the wetness.  Also, he's not communicating to me that he needs to go potty.  I'm assuming that is because he can anticipate that he needs to go #2 but cannot yet anticipate that he needs to go #1.  I've heard this can be true of boys, and they tend to be a bit harder to potty train because of it.  I'm doubting my sources a bit and wondering if he's too young to understand all of this.  It's difficult to tell if he's hearing and/or understanding what I'm explaining to him and what he's expected to do.  One great benefit of potty training (which is, otherwise, pretty draining [pun intended!!]) = my little munchkin in his big boy undies! 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

June 5 - Pitiful

Oliver and I are thinking that it might be time to dive into the wild world of potty training.  So, we got him a little potty and some big boy undies.  He had a blast playing with the potty while we were getting it set up, but this was his reaction to sitting on it...  Absolutely pitiful!  He looks just horrified that I would make him sit on this thing with no pants on!  Looks like we might be sticking with the regular toilet with the toilet adapter seat hah.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

June 4 - Porch Pool

So, we have this little plastic pool, and I decided it would be a great idea to put it on the porch, put a bit of water in it, and have a place for Griffin to play in the water out of the sun, dirt, sand, and mosquitos.  It's been ridiculously hot (the thermometer on my car is regularly in the triple digits), and it's almost necessary to be in the water if we're going to play outside.  He loves it; however, there are certain flaws in the plan.  First, the water that gets splashed around makes the porch pretty slippery, which can be more than a bit hazardous for a 1 year old.  Second, I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to drain the water out of it to put fresh water in.  Hm.  Quandaries.

Friday, June 3, 2011

June 3 - Gigi

Oliver's parents stopped by for a bit today, and Griffin and his Gigi got a great picture taken of them together.  Griffin loves his Gigi!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

June 2 - Teenage Chickens

They grow up too fast...  [tear]  But seriously, these chickens were just little balls of fluff two weeks ago, and now they're gangly, scruffy teenagers!  Since coming home with us, they've grown wings with feathers, gotten about twice as tall, and lost about 3/4 of their fuzz, replaced by fancy, new feathers.  Love those ladies!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

June 1 - A Boy and His Shovel

If there was one hit toy of the vacation, it was this shovel.  Oh my goodness...Griffin was absolutely in love with it!  He was completely entertained as long as we stayed on the beach and he had that shovel.  He would carry it around the beach, stick it in the sand, pull it out, and move on to another location.  And that is basically all he did every time we were on the beach...the whole time...and He was totally enthralled with it.  So, we could basically sit back, enjoy the sunshine, and watch him carry around his little shovel!  It was fabulous, especially because he's at the age where he is not so easily entertained.