"It's okay Vera. I'm here."

Said Griff after she started crying when Dad left the room.  He gave her a hug too.  He's a really good big brother.

Griff's Parental Feedback

I took Griff out for frozen yogurt last night.   Between bites I asked if there was anything mom and I could do to be better parents.  He thought for a second, swallowed a big bite of brownie flavored froyo, and said,

"Maybe more higs and kisses would be good"

Swimming on a Monday

We (all four of us) went to the ymca for family open swim last night.  From 5 to 6 pm.  It was Vicki's idea and it was a good one since I am travelling for work the next three days.  Griff enthusiastically swam up to me and said "dad can we play Simba and Raffiki?"  Anytime little man.  Anytime.

Turning a Bad Day Good

Vicki and I lose our tempers with Griff sometimes.  Sometimes he's just crazy.  Sometimes, like saturday morning, he starts off whiny and it just gets worse.

Vicki woke up early and thought it would be nice to  take Griff to Starbucks for a little mommy/son time.  His clothes weren't laid out so he had to get some from the dresser and that set it off.  He wanted the shirt that was in the laundry.  He didn't want to get dressed.  He didn't want to go to Starbucks.  Well, so he said in his whiniest voice, which is a pet peeve for both Vicki and I.  After some threats to leave without him, Vicki left without him (good move sweet angel!).  I got out of bed and tried to be calm.  He finally got dressed and cleaned up his trains so that he could come down for breakfast....45 minutes after Vicki went in there.  I thought i was going to keep it together.  Three whiny comments into breakfast, I did not.  "But I don't want honey bunches of oats" (total BS - he loves them).  Now it was time for me to follow through on my anti-whining threat.  Upstairs with screaming kid on shoulders.  Place him in bed.  Walk away.  It was a new record in frustrated parenting.  Both of us in under an hour.

We turned it around.  After Vicki left for girls day out, he went for another time out.  I told him (amongst other things in a very two-way, very grown up conversation about his motivations) to think about what we were going to do to turn the day around when his time out was over.  When I came back five minutes later, he was more calm and said "Daddy can we build a fort please?"

So we did.  Big time.  It was the best one we've ever made.  I set it up so that we could watch TV in there, but we never did.  Music lesson on his keyboard.  Puzzle.   A long game of SpotIt.  We ate lunch in there.  And Vera and I hung out in there for a few hours while Griff was napping.  Success.

Bear Wearing Underwear

This was the adorable craft Griff made at library story hour this week.  Yep, it's a bear wearing underwear.

Home Depot Kids Workshop Project #1: A Tall Wooden Ship

What an awesome new Dad-Griff Saturday activity... approx once a month, the Home Depot offers an ingenious and totally adorable kids' workshop (for free!..though of course we walked out of the Depot with $100+ worth of paint and supplies).  T & G worked together to glue, hammer (there was lots of hammering), and paint a wooden ship.  Griff got a bright orange kid-sized Depot apron with his name on it, and then received a pin for completing his project.  What an awesome morning. Tom was totally in heaven working and teaching his little man to use tools. Griff loved it too.

Heart Melt at the Library

The kids and I went to story/craft hour at the library yesterday to see Miss Alicia, who in Griff's eyes, ties for #1 best/favorite book reader ever, along with Dad, who is our household reigning champ. Part way through the stories, Vera got super wiggly in her stroller, so I sat her down next to her brother on her own carpet square with all the big kids. Griffin immediately put his arm around her and cuddled her a bit while they listened together. It was so cute and endearing.

Show And Tell: Letter C Week

Griffin had show and tell at school last week.  It was "Letter C" week, and with just a little prompting, Griffin came up with the idea of telling his class about his Cousin Cameron from Connecticut.  I printed a few pictures for him to bring in... so cute.  I love how at the young age of 3.75, he is learning to speak in front of an audience.  It's also so adorable that he is sharing about his little cousin. Awww.

Letter A:  Griff and I made "an alien out of aluminum foil, who ate apples".
Letter B:  Griff brought in a stuffed bear named Davis.
Letter D: (today) A dinosaur, "a ceratosaurus who is orange on top and yellow on the bottom".

Backfired.

It's this kind of morning. Tom is away until Friday. Is still still only Wednesday? After Griff was allowed to squeeze 2 spoonfuls of honey into his oatmeal, he pushed away his breakfast staying that he couldn't taste the honey because I didn't let him mix it in. (For the record, I did let him, and instead of mixing it in, he ate it.  Also for the record,  I already pre mixed a little honey in as I anticipated this exact scenario happening and yet it still somehow backfired.) Darn 3 year olds.