Griffin is 2 Years Old

My sweet boy is two.  Yep - I guess he might as well be in college.  Haha.  I know.  Just kidding.

I feel like he's doing so much now so I'll just point out the highlights:

- 37 inches tall, 98th percentile

- 31 pounds, 75th percentile

- if forgot his head circumference but it was in the 80th or so percentile

- diapers are size 4 and 5

- shoe size is 9.  That't right people.  9.

- clothes are 2T, except some pants are kinda short.

- Griffin loves to tell everyone and everything, "bye bye."  He sounds so twangy when he says it and he'll get right in your face.  He's in the habit of telling the door, the rocks, the grass, the car, everything "bye bye."

- Griffin can tell me pretty much whatever he needs.  It's really difficult for most other people to understand, but I know most of his words.

- Griffin is really funny about picking his clothes and his pajamas.  He's got quite the sense of style and will tell me, "I want shirt off/on." Or, "woo woo (firetruck) shirt, mommy, " etc.

- Griffin loves his shoes and boots, too.

- Griffin points out trees as "hi-ya biiiig"(big stick) often.  It's pretty funny.

- He knows most of his colors and gets them right most of the time.  He has absolutely no interest in numbers, still.

- He loves animals, too.  He can name all kinds of animals and their sounds.

- Griffin still likes to read.

- Griffin answers "two" when asked how old he is.

- He makes the biggest splashes in the bathtub.

- Griffin is an expert sneaker-upper.   He loves to tap someone and then run and hide.  It's really cute.

- Griffin likes to wash his hands

- Griffin can master most playground equipment independently.  He really has been able to for a while, I just couldn't back away.  So really, this is a mommy milestone. I've backed away, folks. :)

- Griffin is a very generous kisser. ;)

- Griffin said "love you mommy!"

- He still loves to color, play trains and or trucks, he's gotten in to play-doh thanks to my friend, Jamie's, suggestion, still like Pooh, Muppets, Backyardigans - oh - and the opening scene of The Lion King.

Hard at work in the car...

Eating a favorite snack of ice

If you look closely, you'll see the deer he's yelling at. :)

oh the trains....

play doh!

These next few are from his super cute Pooh birthday party that we had at my parents' house.  They have a spectacular yard with a great play set.  It was the Hundred Acre Woods. :)

climbing up all by himself!

BooBoo pushing and Yogi watching

You can't tell, but there's a mad game of Hundred Acre Woods poke going on at that table.  Complete with Orange Crush. :)

My mom ordered these super cute cupcakes and cake!  Aren't they great?

Griffin ate the ears off of Pooh first, then took the 2 and chowed down. :)

I think we have already read this book Big Green Monster, 50 times in the last week and a half. Thanks Wells Family!

another book!

The big surprise:  a Thomas train table from Nana and Papa, Yogi and BooBoo and Mommy and Daddy!  He. has. not. stopped. playing. with. it.

Griffin, we love you so much and think you have such a fun loving and rambunctious personality.  You are keenly observant both in sight and sound for a little guy and we can't wait to see how God will use you!

just me

So, is it okay to write a post with no pictures?  Just to log some feelings? Anyone?

Okay - here goes.

Whew!!  So, we moved.  If you don't know the whole story - that was sort of kept under wraps for a while, here goes:

Chris got a new job - a great, wonderful, exciting new job - that is part time.  Yep.  All the things that go along with part time work.  The good news is, he loves it, they love him, and we are praying (join us, won't you?) that this will be made into full time work (and pay) soon.

So - We loved our house in Cresson.  Love the house.  The location?  Well, we drove.  A lot.  And having an almost two year old, we learned that spending entire afternoons in the car just to run a few errands is not that fun.  So, we decided it couldn't hurt to put our house on the market, right?  Just to see what would happen?

In the mean time, a dear friend introduced us to a new little neighborhood in Fort Worth where we would be about as close to my work as we could be and NOT be in FWISD.  It is new homes, ONE-stories available (which I love) and in our price range.

This is getting crazy, right?  So, we gave it to God.  Chris and I held hands and prayed the night before we decided to put our house on the market and said, God if you want us to make this move, our house will sell for at least this ** amount.  If not, we'll walk away from this opportunity and keep our lovely home in Cresson.  And God, so we don't go crazy, if you want this to happen, sell it quick.

Next Day:  Sign goes up.  Family comes and looks.  Family makes an offer.  Three more families come and look in the next three days.  Two more offers.  Bidding war.  First family offers $1000 more than we were asking.  Wham Bam.  House under contract in FOUR days.

Whoa.  Got it, God.  You want us gone. :)

So, we were thinking about building, right?  So no house to live in once said house is sold...where will we live?  After apartment hunting and wondering and a few gray hairs, we were made an offer in Burleson.  We decided to live in a trailer there - the one my sister lived in for a while with great landlords.  It's awesome to be so close to Rachel and family - and Jodi and family.   There's still a creek, there are still lots of bugs, it's really not too bad.   We are projected a move again to our new home in January or February.

My sweet Griffin is finally getting adjusted to his new home.  Rachel so wisely said, "Now he'll be an ol' pro when it's time for you to move again!"  Ha, we can hope!

I turned 30.  Thirty.  I have so much to be thankful for as a thirty year old and I'm trying to dwell in that gratefulness.  There are some empty holes in my heart that continue to try and rain on my grateful places, but I mostly dwell in sunny, dry gratefulness.  Praise God.

Oh - and Chris kept a secret from me on my birthday!  He had a surprise gathering of my family - including his parents! - at BJ's on Saturday night.  It was a lovely end to a trying day with my little almost two year old.  Thanks everyone!

In other news, Griffin is a delight.  He's starting a new school again in a couple of weeks but this is the one right across the street from Cook's and I think it's gonna be great.  Hopefully no more jumping around for this little guy.

That's about all I can handle for now.  But these are all important life events that should be logged it this thing is gonna continue to be called a blog. :)

23 Months

I. can. not. be. lieve. this.

Seriously.  How did I get such a cute kid?!  And how did he get to be SOOO big!!??

My baby is 23 months old.  I cannot believe it - and at the same time I can.  He is totally a two year old.  I say this everytime, but Griffin is understanding so much and putting so much together.  It is so amazing to watch.

Since I wrote the last post so late, there’s not much that is really new.  Griffin wakes up and talks about his Lala (Yogi) most mornings these days.  When he sees a quarter, he puts it in his ear.  Thanks, Yogi. ;)

No, really.  Griffin dropped one of his quarters for Jesus at church a few weeks ago and went looking for it not on the floor, but in his ear.  Too, too cute.

Griffin has a love hate relationship with Ollee.  He tells her to “go home” but he is trying to play with her. In the evening when he watches TV, he tries to go sit by her and pet her.  She’s a little leery of him, but getting better.

Griffin loves to dot dot (draw on paper), look a books, play trains and trucks, loves animals, loves to ride on the lawn mower with Chris, loves to play hide and seek or “sneak up.”  He loves to help, too.  If I just at the word help to something, he usually will come do it when he wouldn’t before.  He has recently fallen in love with our neighbor's blue heeler, Nick, and 104 (okay, 8 years old.  but he moves like he is soooo old!) year old black lab, Bart.  He talks about them all the time and runs across our yard to go pet them when he sees them.  It's really sweet.

He puts two and three words together and occassionally says a whole sentence like “I want shirt off.”  He loves for me to roll the windows and sunroof down in the car.

Oh! and the deer.  We have few deer in our back yard, oh, ya know - every day.  And by few, I mean sever, eight, eleven.  Ha!  Griffin LOVES to go look at them.  We tell him “shhhh” and he says “shhhh” back and we go outside get a closer look.  Then Griffin takes off running and screaming “aaaaaaghhhhh.”  It’s so funny.  I think he must feel powerful that he can scare them all away.

Griffin says "hi" and waves "bye" to everyone and everyTHING.  It’s really sweet.  He sounds so Texan when he says “bye byeeeee.”

Griffin dear:  We love you so much and feel so blessed that you are the way we get to experience parenthood.  We would never trade you and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for your active, sweet, strong little personality. 

I know this pic looks like it's of me, but it's the only one of us together this month.

Mom.  Seriously.  This phone call is private.  (He is really talking to Chris on the phone there.)

He is trying to squish a grasshopper with his Hi-ya

"Bird"

Can you tell we had fun outside this day?  I took a ton of pics... sorry.

right before he fell....

I just think this picture is funny because my feet are in it. Ha!

My child will not be one of those kids who watches a movie with his mouth open. (?!)

This was taken on our first cool fall morning this season.

oreos?

Can you see the deer way back there to the left?

Chris sharing the oreos...

the goodbye kiss. (they'll hate this one day!)

By the way, he make sit to the top all. by. him. self.  It scares me so!!

I remember this day well.  We tried to play outside several times and he got bitten by aunts, fell and scraped his knee, and was sweating to death.  We finally took comfort in Winnie the Pooh.

His train at Yogi and BooBoo's.  I used to play with this toy!