Griffin Eats Shave Ice

Over Father's Day weekend, while we were down in Bethesda for Ella's first birthday, Tom found a shave ice stand and got a large cup of green apple/grape. We figured as the responsible parents we are, shave ice would be an appropriate second food to give to our five month old. (Grandma Hendrix let Griff lick a lemon back on 6-6-10.) Click here to watch the video: "Griffin Hendrix Eats Shave Ice"

Skippers, Shrimp, Kipper, Inia, Perch 1

"Skippers, Shrimp, Kipper, Inia, Perch 1"- the name of Griffin's infant swim class at the Y. It's technically for babies ages 6-30 months, but we managed to sneak Griff in a few weeks early. Saturday was his first class with Tom. I know I'm biased, but I thought they were the cutest parent-baby combo ever! While Tom worked on molding our son into the next Michael Phelps, I hung out pool side soaking up the adorable-ness, feeling slightly like an Asian tourist/paparazzi, snapping pictures and shooting videos, trying to capture every splash, paddle, and kick. I think Griff is a natural!

The Pirate Ship Ride

Megan (Johnny's mom) and I witnessed history today. Though Griff spent the weekend teasing Tom and I with partial rollovers, he officially rolled over from his back to his front this afternoon (and managed to successfully get both arms out in front of him). Whoohoo! He is 5 months, and 17 days old. Griff has been eagerly attempting this new trick for a few weeks now. He recently mastered getting from his stomach onto his back, and over the last 2 weeks, he slowly conquered turning from his back onto his side, but the weight of his big ham legs would inevitably rock him back over. Mark the date as today was the official rollover.

It's funny, the whole process of learning to roll reminds me of that pirate ship ride at Six Flags where you swing back and forth, higher and higher, until you're dangling upside down, teetering at the top, just waiting for it to happen, then finally, the pirate ship makes it all the way around, and you scream for your life (in this case, we smiled, eagerly clapped, and in unison exclaimed "yaaaaayyyyyyy!")

P.S. Some say that as babies work on reaching developmental milestones, they can sometimes start waking up in the night. PLEASE let those people be right, as that would explain why Griff has been waking up once a night for the past few weeks. Maybe I can blame those 3am feeds on him mentally processing his rolling skills. We'll see!

Pacified!

Griffin slept in until 8:30 this morning! He must have been recovering from the busy weekend we had in Maryland with Brian, Ali, and Ella, or trying to catch a few extra zzzz's since he was up twice in the night (very unlike him). Anyway, this morning we had another "first": sometime in the night, Griffin found his own pacifier (I left 2 in his crib), and he managed to get it into his mouth all on his own. He woke up sucking on it. In the past 2 weeks, Griff has been practicing taking the pacifier from my hands and getting into his mouth.. I guess the practice has paid off!

Rolling Over, So Far

Just to document these exciting occurrences: Griffin rolled over from stomach to back for the first time during our family trip to Las Vegas. Last Sunday, Griffin rolled over in the company of Grandma & Grandpa. Griff's 3rd performance was for Auntie Joyce, just a few minutes ago.

Chatting with Johnny

Today while Johnny was over for a play date, he and Griffin chatted up a storm. It was the first time, from what my mommy-brains can remember, that Griffin interacted with another baby in such an adult-like way. It was the beginning of his ability to have a conversation. Griffin and Johnny took turns talking to each other, each mumbling or squealing while the other listened intently. It was extremely funny to watch them. It was as if in their foreign baby language, they were discussing the disappointing performance of the Celts in Game 6, or commenting on the oil spill in the Gulf and the turmoil (pun intended) that all of the failed solution attempts have caused...

"Shade Shack" Review

Our "Shade Shack" pop up tent arrived in the mail the other day.  I bought it off of Amazon.com for $49.95 plus $11 shipping, and so far so good.  It popped open so fast in my living room, that I was actually startled by it.  Folding it back down for the first time took me about a minute, and will get faster with practice.  Favorite features: it's almost tall enough for me to stand in, will easily fit 4-8 people, has an open floor so babies can still dig and play in the sand, has metal stakes instead of plastic ones, and is $20 cheaper than the One Step Ahead version.  The 2 biggest differences when compared to the One Step Ahead tent are that it is only rated SPF30 versus SPF50, and that the carrying case can't be used like a backpack, so you carry it like a purse.  Our first day at the beach with the tent is tomorrow!

A First: Raspberries

Griffin's newest activity has been blowing air out of his mouth.  He gently purses his lips and with a very concentrated look on his face, he makes a "bpppfff" sound over and over. I saw him do it once the other day, but today is the first day where he is actively practicing the art.  I think he's working his way up to raspberries, but I'll take little repeated blowing noises for now.  Practice makes perfect, Griff!

Thought of the day

Working out and dancing makes me a better mom.  Sometimes it's hard to get motivated in the morning, and it's an effort schlepping the baby to the gym, but every time I do it, I feel satisfied, and I recognize that I'm a better mom to Griffin after a good work out.

"Lift & Sniff"

I just love how it's become completely normal for me to lift Griffin's diapered butt right up to the tip of my nose and give it a big sniff in public. Sometimes I get lucky, the coast is clear, but other times not so much- my gag reflex engages when I sniff a little too hard.  Today, when a diaper change was obviously in order, I found myself immediately regretting having just bounced Griffin up and down on my lap like he was on a galloping horsey at the Kentucky Derby.  Thank goodness for no blowout, but man, the poop was everywhere!  Whoever said that breastmilk poop doesn't stink should "lift and sniff" again, and what the heck am I in for when he starts solids?