Griffin is 4 months old!

Griffin is 4 months old today!

The stats:

Weight: 12.8lbs (5th percentile)

Height: 24.75 inches (40th percentile)

Diaper: size 2

Clothes: I just packed up all the 3 month clothes this week. :( I was a little sad about packing up those sweet baby clothes...what if this is the last time I use little boy clothes?! You are wearing all 3-6 month & 6 month clothes now!

Eating: You are still nursing & are just a great eater! It's amazing how much easier it is this time around. You are still nursing every 3-4 hours during the day. We just started giving you a bottle at night before you go to bed to make sure you are getting that little belly full. You are taking about 6-7 ounces each night before bed. You are still waking up one time to eat in the middle of the night; usually between 3am-4am.

Sleeping: oh man. You're still not a fantastic nighttime sleeper, but we love you anyway! You start in your crib around 8:00 every night. However, we have multiple wake-ups due to my nemesis, THE PACI.  You got too long for the Rock 'n Play, you aren't a huge fan of the Pack 'n Play, so you typically end up in bed with us for half the night. By typically I mean every single night. ha! I'm still trying to figure out your nap routine. You take a morning nap about 2 hours after you wake up & from then on, it's just hit or miss. Hoping month 4 will bring us a steady routine!

Right now you are loving...

• your paci.
• your Angel Dear monkey lovie. You love to snuggle it up to your face when you are tired!
• Being worn in the K'Tan--specifically facing forward!
• Grayson. All of a sudden you notice your big brother and he makes you laugh so hard! You really love watching him play & you smile at him constantly. It's so sweet!
• Standing up.
• Sitting up. You are trying SO HARD to sit up all by yourself & often fall over when trying. 
• Bath time.
• Playing in the exersaucer. We just got it out a few weeks ago & you have had fun studying all the new toys! Grayson loves to help you play!

Don't worry, Griff was just upset because G was throwing a fit in his room. :)

Right now you are NOT loving...

• you HATE, HATE, HATE your infant carseat. We will be switching soon. Mama's ears can't handle the screaming every single time we go anywhere. 
• the bouncy seat. You've never been a fan!
• sleeping in your crib all night

Griffin, you are such a sweet & smiley baby. I have had so much fun the past few weeks really seeing your personality come out. You are such an observer. All is well if you are just outside watching all the kids play with us. You're still so laid back which I am very thankful for! You also started rolling from tummy to back this month. You really don't care for tummy time & that has become your solution to that problem! Problem solver! I love listening to you "talk" more now. You're getting very chatty!

I think the most fun development lately is your relationship with your big brother. You think he is hilarious! He can get you to laugh so hard, especially while y'all are taking a bath! I hope you boys always love each other the way you do right now. Y'all have a special bond already! Grayson asks about you first thing in the morning & first thing after school. I fear that you may be "Baby Griffin" forever.

Griffin, you are such a joy & have made the past 4 months so fun! We love you sweet boy!

Happy 4 months, Griffin!

a {week late} Thanksgiving photo dump

We spent the day in Alabama for Thanksgiving with Ben's family. Grayson was so excited to go to Mimi & Pops' house! G got to play with all of Ben's old toys, we had a great lunch, & we got to see the UNA lions! Grayson thought that was awesome! 

It was a great day & I have so much to be thankful for. I was so happy to be spending it with TWO little boys this year!
 

 This is the best I could get of both boys. We have joyfully entered the "I'm 2 and REFUSE to smile" phase. BUT, they were both wearing turkeys!

 Now I feel caught up:)

So What! Wednesday

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I consumed 2 huge double doozie cookies within 24 hours?
• I am definitely having more fun with our Elf on the Shelf than G is?
• There are already things in Grayson's stocking? I figure this is the last year I can get away with that...and I don't want to lose his stocking stuffers! 
• my baby still ends up in my bed in the middle of the night? I'd rather him sleep in his crib...but? At this point in time, sleep wins.
• no matter what time G wakes up in the morning we don't go get him until 7am? I'll have you know he woke up at 4:55 yesterday. Cock a doodle doo.
• I have a slightly guilty feeling that the dog stockings no longer fit on our mantle? Don't worry, they will still hang...just on our banister. 
• Griffin almost hopped right out of his lamb seat onto the kitchen table last night? Is THAT why they make straps for those things? I kid. Sort of. Who knew he could sit up and nearly dive forward?

a mommy tantrum

Yesterday was one one those days.  The kind of day where I want to throw myself face first onto the kitchen floor and throw a tantrum worthy of my 2 year old. 

I was SO INCREDIBLY tired. Griffin still isn't sleeping well at night & always ends up in bed with me (hello, half sleep) and G thinks he needs to wake up at 5:45. Not only does he wake up at the crack of stupid, but lately he has also been Sir Grumpsalot. 

The whining was out. of. control. A teething Griffin was screaming a whole lot more than usual.  I figured surely I could make it to nap time.  We did make it. Except G took a really short nap. oy. 

So, I packed the boys up so we could run some errands. Griffin needed to sleep so bad & I was crossing my fingers he would fall asleep in the car. Have I mentioned that Griff loathes the car? Well, needless to say, he didn't fall asleep. In fact, he screamed his way through our Goodwill donation drop-off. 

Next stop was a return to a local baby store.  Griffin was screaming. Grayson was crying because he couldn't sit in the stroller. I was carrying a massive toddler bed rail. 3 women sat behind the front desk that is directly by the front door and not a single one offered to help me open the door.  I was sweating and probably looked like a deranged SAHM. 

As we all 3 sat in the car about to drive off I almost joined the children. In crying, that is.  I was on the brink of a meltdown. It had been a hard day. I told Ben that I was starting to think I may never sleep again. 

Thankfully, my husband is awesome and brought home mini Christmas trees (I love me some Christmas decorations!) & TWO double doozie cookies. Yep, he's mine. You can't have him. 

So basically, today I am thankful for double doozie cookies, a glass of wine, Christmas decorations, & preschool. Here's to a better day today!

a thankful Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. Partially because of the food, partially because of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but mostly because it's a time to stop & really be thankful for everything we have.

I have been having flashback moments this week. Little flashbacks to last Thanksgiving. I had a very active 14 month old boy & I was sick as a dog.  We started our Thanksgiving week in Atlanta with my family & the last morning we were there I started getting sick. I was so nauseous & felt terrible.  We drove to Alabama to spend Thanksgiving day with Ben's family. Again, sickness continued. And I mean can't-get-out-of-bed-or-be-around-food sickness. Do you know how AWFUL that is on Thanksgiving?! I could barely eat. Talk about a first world problem. 

I started wondering if I was pregnant. We bought a cheap-o test at their grocery store & I took it Thanksgiving morning. Negative.

Well, then. I must be dying, I thought. (I swear I'm not dramatic.)

 I put on my happy face, ate a little bit, & played with the boy.   We went to the park and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. We even took a picture of our little family of 3.

Little did we know that this would be our last picture before we found out about Griffin. The day after Thanksgiving I took another test. I'm pretty persistent. It didn't come up positive right away so I put it to the side & forgot about it. A few minutes later I walked by & there it was. Clear as day. A positive. A new baby would join our family. 

So, this Thanksgiving I am feeling extra thankful that God chose me to be the mama of 2 precious boys. That after 5 months of waiting, I got the best Thanksgiving gift...a positive. I'm so thankful for little Griffin & all that he has added to our family. We've had quite a year!

 Happy Thanksgiving!

The moments I never want to forget

I've told Ben a few times that sometimes I worry Griffin is my last baby. I'm not sure why I worry about that considering we have both said we aren't done--but, sometimes I do. 

I find myself a lot of times literally just soaking up all of his sweet 3-almost-4 month self. I kind of feel like I rushed things with Grayson. I was always looking forward to that next milestone & pushing him to get there. This time, even though I get excited about reaching milestones, I also know that they mean my baby is getting older. I'm not rushing through. I'm enjoying it a lot more. 

I know I complain about my lack of sleep & pacifier woes; but, the other night when I was snuggling Griffin in our bed around 4:00am, I thought to myself, "may I never take these moments for granted." 

I know how fast they grow up. Trust me, 2 years went by in the blink of an eye.  I know Griffin won't always want to snuggle with his mama or be worn in my K'Tan. I'm trying my hardest to slow down & just really enjoy the way things are right now. I don't want to forget these moments.

pacifier woes

I have a strong love/hate relationship with Griffin's most prized possession. 

The Nuk pacifier. 

I remember getting so frustrated when Grayson was a baby because he refused any & all pacifiers.  I was pretty excited when Griffin took a paci right away in the hospital because I thought it would work wonders for self soothing. 

See? It all started with the Soothie that the nurses gave him in the hospital. We used it for about 2 weeks but he had a hard time keeping it in his mouth. That is when we spent a huge chunk of change buying every.single.brand. of pacifier out there.

Well, the Nuk won Griffin over & it quickly became his favorite thing in the world.

Here is the issue: during the day, I absolutely LOVE the paci. It helps in the car. It helps me get ready for the day. It helps Griff fall asleep. Overall, it just makes my littlest guy happy. And when the baby is happy? EVERYONE is happy. trust me. 

However, at night? That love quickly turns to hate when I have to go into the nursery about 6-7 times a night just to put the darn thing back in his mouth. Seriously.  He has become so attached to it that he screams when he realizes it has fallen out of his mouth.   The more he screams, the wider awake he becomes. {Trust me, I know.} Basically, even though I am only feeding Griffin once at night now, it feels like I have a newborn again. The constant interrupted sleep is driving me a little crazy & makes me need an IV drip of coffee. 

I've gotten so desperate that 2 nights ago I set the Pack 'n Play back up in our room so that I can just reach over & re-paci the baby instead of walking across the house to his room. You may call that taking a step backwards; I call that survival mode. 

Mamas of paci babies: does this get better anytime soon? I can handle waking up to feed Griffin at 4. That isn't so bad. It's the 5-6 other times that are turning me into a crazy person.

On the bright side, at least they come in a variety of patterns, no?

a little roadtrip

Last Thursday we picked Grayson up early from school & took a little roadtrip to Atlanta to see my family.  Ben had to work all weekend so my mom made the trip with me. This was Griffin's first long car trip & I was dreading it. He hates his carseat. Well, Griffin proved me wrong & instead of screaming, he slept the entire 4 hours! 

Grayson had a great time in my parents backyard.  He helped rake the leaves & jumped into his first leaf pile! 

We spent Friday enjoying the beautiful weather. My mom & I took the boys on a picnic by the Chattahoochee River and then we went to the nature center nearby.  I swear G is the Bird Whisperer. He can always get so close to birds...it's so funny! He thought feeding the geese was really fun but he wasn't so sure about them walking towards him!

The main reason I went to Georgia was so my grandparents could meet Griffin & spend some time with Grayson. They all came over on Saturday & I love that they got to see both of our boys. Grayson got to show his great-grandparents how he mows, weed eats, & rides his plasma car. I wish we could see them more often! 

The boys with Papa & Carol. G insisted on holding Griffin, of course. 

The boys with Grandmother & Granddaddy. Griffin loved Grandmother! 

On Sunday morning we went the Georgia Aquarium. I hadn't been since it opened in college & was so excited to take G! He loves animals and was so excited to see dolphins and penguins. We had a great time & the boys were so good! Even Griffin loved looking at all the lights. We went to the dolphin show and it was awesome. I have never seen my busy 2 year old sit still for that long. He loved watching the dolphins jump! It was so fun.

I'm happy to have the first road trip out of the way. I'm even happier that it was a success--both ways! It always feels good to go "home" but it makes it even more special to bring my boys to the place where I grew up.

So What! Wednesday

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I went a whole week between posts? We've been busy, busy!
• G requests to do "Gangnam Style" at least 5 times a day? 
• I ended a tough toddler/baby Tuesday with a big glass of milk & homemade chocolate chip cookies? Sorry, Weight Watchers.
• watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills makes me sad for the Maloofs? Obviously I am too invested in reality tv. 
• Magic Mike was finally watched....with my husband? I have no words.
• I am SO SICK of people talking about the election? Seriously. It's over. It is what it is. Be thankful you even have the right to vote. 
• it's been almost 5 months since my hair has seen a salon? 
• I keep certain people around on facebook simply for entertainment purposes?
• I still have pumpkins out on my porch but want to bust out my Christmas stuff too?

So What! Wednesday

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• all the election night coverage made my head spin?
• when I looked at the ballot I had NO EARTHLY IDEA who the random presidential candidates were? VIRGIL? Who is that?!
• I started the 30 day ab challenge 2 nights ago and nearly died? I am SO out of shape. It's sad. Also? It's weird feeling your stomach muscles getting used again after being sliced open. tmi? 
• my toddler has a nicer winter coat than me? for real. It has to be dry cleaned. My coat doesn't even need to be dry cleaned. 
• we run our dishwasher every other day simply because of sippy cups? I refuse to wash all those parts by hand. 
• I have been watching marathons of "Beyond Scared Straight" at night? I'm kind of obsessed with watching those out of control teenagers visit a real jail. 
• I nearly mowed over a parent-less, snot-nosed, coughing child at the library this week when he kept getting in Griffin's face? ew. I'm not a germaphobe until you throw your germs in my kid's face. and you grab his paci.

life as of lately

• We made a successful transition into the dreaded Daylight Savings Time. Before kids, this time change is AWESOME. After kids? Usually it is frightening and means an extra early wake up. Grayson & Griffin actually did fine & I was pretty pumped that we didn't lose any more sleep than normal.
• I've decided that the age of 2 reminds me slightly of bipolar disorder. Some moments these days I am sure that this stage will send me to the looney bin & other moments I want to freeze time and keep my 2 year old like this forever.  Despite the tantrums, we are at a really fun age right now. Grayson is talking so much & he says the funniest things! I really need to do another post on "Graysonisms." 

•  I am a straight up slacker right now with WW. Can I blame it on the fact that I'm sleepy? or lazy? I don't know. I'm trying really hard to track EVERYTHING but sometimes it is more fun to eat oreos. I also started the 30 day ab challenge last night. 
• It's election day, people.

 

I am SO READY for this election to be over. Have you voted?

 we did!

• I am having a hard time comparing sleep patterns between the boys. Grayson started sleeping 12 hours a night right at 13 weeks. (we will pretend that he totally missed that AWFUL 4 month sleep regression 2 weeks later) Now, we did some sleep training. He was formula-fed *gasp* & we just slowly decreased the amount in his nighttime bottles. He weaned himself pretty easily and we got a full night of sleep! Griffin is different. He is so inconsistent. Sometimes he will sleep from 8pm-4am without needing to eat. Other nights he will be up at 1:00 & 4:00ish to eat. Griffin is now 14 weeks old and I am really contemplating some sort of sleep training. Also, I don't think I know anyone that has nursed a baby that has slept through the night. Please say it ain't so!! I need a success story. PLEASE. 

 

 At least I get to look at this smiley face in the middle of the night, right?!

 

A fireman & his dalmatian

I'm not a huge Halloween fan, as in I don't enjoy dressing up & going to parties, BUT? Halloween with your kids is so much fun! This year I wanted to pick a costume that Grayson would really enjoy. We all know that Grayson loves any sort of truck, but he specifically loves fire trucks. We got G a fireman costume & I made Griffin a dalmatian costume! 

How cute are they?! G was so excited to wear his costume!

 Ben & the boys before we went trick-or-treating

my favorite little guys! 

 Grayson, Gray as Cinderella, & Eli as Captain America

Reed came as Clark Kent (hilarious!) and went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood!

 This crew had a blast going door to door & getting candy. Eli led the pack! We had so much fun this year!

Halloween 2012 was a success!