Buy Buy Baby!

I forgot to post this, so I'm backdating this post to June.

Griffin's Buy Buy Baby ad came out in their national mailer for the month of June.  It arrived electronically and then via snail mail.  Woohoo!  Man, I really want to buy a penguin pool...

Griff's Magazine Collection

Griffin's Oreck ad appeared in 2 more magazines this month in addition to it's first appearance in the November 22, 2010 issue of People Magazine, page 32. We found it in the January 2011 issues of Oprah (page 93) and Better Homes & Gardens (page 34). Eee!! Let us know if you see it anywhere else..

Griffin's Big Break!

I am shaking I'm so excited! Here's why:

On this big and wild Saturday night, Tom and I found ourselves with a sleeping baby upstairs, 2 cats lounging in their beds on the kitchen table, and a half baked episode of Cougar Town playing on our DVR, while we flipped through magazines together on the couch. Tom was enveloped in Motorcyclist while I caught up on my Hollywood gossip in People magazine. All of a sudden, I found myself screaming in disbelief (almost wetting myself) when I turned to page 32...
Griffin's photo shoot from a few weeks ago turned into a full page ad in the November 22, 2010 issue of People Magazine (pg.32). I can't believe it! He's also on the website at http://www.lovemyoreck.com/. Too crazy. Totally surreal. To think that 10 months ago, Griffin was hibernating in my uterus and now he is on a magazine... Wow.

Ready, Camera, Action, Meltdown!

It's official: Griffin is a star (in my eyes at least), and he was one of the breadwinners of the family today as he had his very first baby model job! He auditioned last week and landed the part of the "Asian Baby". So we went on an adventure this morning to Quixote Studios in Boston, where Griff was photographed for a national print ad for Oreck Vacuums. The part of Griff's Fake Asian Mom was played by the lovely Michelle, who ironically looked more like his Mom than me. Tara, the wardrobe lady dressed Griff in a striped blue long sleeve shirt and some blue PJ bottoms with stars. Griff was shot (eek, that sounds so violent.. restart: Griff was 'photographed'...) being held by his Fake Mom who was told to smile and act like she "loves her baby and her vacuum". Poor Michelle- I could only imagine the pain she must have felt in her arm, as she had to hold our 25 lb(?) sack of potatoes on her right side for about 10 minutes straight while they shot some pics (a vacuum would be pictured in her left hand). Once Griff started melting down, we took a break while Michaela, the backup Asian baby did shots as well. We played and did our thing until we were up again. It was then time to shoot some video, which by the way I was only told we were doing still photos, so this came as a surprise. Funny story.. P.S. Did I mention that Griffin is terrified of vacuums (when they're on)? So, the intended video was to consist of the Fake Asian Mom putting Griff into a high chair, where he'd get excited as he had 2 big bowls of Cheerios to play with/eat and spill everywhere; then the Mom would let him continue to snack while she happily vacuumed the floor. Remember I said Griff was scared of vacuums? Well, here's the video they actually got... (Ready, Camera, Action) Fake Asian Mom put Griff into the high chair, and instead of immediately digging into the majestic piles of free Cheerios in front of him, Griff gave the bowls his classic furrowed brow stare. Even the "baby wranglers" couldn't get him to smile. He eventually picked up a single Cheerio and put it into his mouth. The director then instructed the Mom to just spill the Cheerios onto the ground so they could continue on to shoot the vacuuming part. Disaster ensued! As soon as Griff heard the vacuum turn on, his lower lip trembled, he started miserably crying, and he just lost it. (End Scene) All in all, it was quite hilarious to watch, though I felt bad that Griff got scared, and the crew didn't get the shot they were going for (hopefully the backup baby nailed it). I'm not sure if advertising vacuums that frighten little babes would help the Oreck business prosper.

The day was long but it was good overall. We'll find out if the client chooses Griff or the backup baby's shots to end up in the ads (not feelin' too confident at this point:) ), but it was a fun experience, good to make a few bucks for Griff's college fund, and interesting getting a peek into the advertising/production world. This was definitely a first, for both of us!

I Love NY

A few pictures are posted below as a preview, but CLICK HERE to be directed to my picasa web album for more..

This past weekend the Hendrix Family of 3 went on a road trip to New York. Our destination was Albany, but we took a quick 5 hour detour through the Big Apple on our way, to bring Griffin to his first gig. It was the first audition we'd gotten a call for, so we thought we'd give it a shot- Griff was handpicked by BabyGap to attend a casting for their holiday shoot. All very exciting, though ridiculously slim chances he'd get chosen of course. But hey, as Tom put it, "you gotta roll the dice". We used it as an excuse to go on a fun family adventure to the city before we headed north to Albany to visit Grandpa, Uncle Alex and Aunt Anny.

NYC highlights: beautiful weather for a picturesque morning drive on the parkways to NYC, Griff was a champ in the car, our picnic stop at a playground along Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side, Tom got to drive in Manhattan for the first time, Griff did great at his audition, we got to visit Ashley and play/walk/laugh for a bit, Tom ogled at snowboards at the Burton NYC store, Jamba Juice,

Albany highlights: 11pm scallion pancakes that my family had put in the freezer just for me, dim sum with all the usual favorite dishes, seeing Alex & Anny's new amazing house, meeting Brownie the cat, making birthday cupcakes for Grandpa with Anny, singing "Happy Birthday" to Grandpa and at the end when we cheered, Griffin burst into tears from the loud sudden noise (hysterical), catching up with Lisa & Nora at Barnes and Noble, delicious sushi buffet dinner, white rice cake dessert (a childhood favorite), family photo shoot, a stop at the cemetery in the morning for a few quiet moments to bring Griffin to "meet" his Grandma (though he slept through it), visiting Grandpa at work on Monday so he could proudly show off his grandson to Dr. Pierce and Dr. Champa (P.S. Growing up, my dad was so not a fan of me visiting him at work, but I think he loved that all of his kids and grandson stopped by), eating a "1/2 pint clams and large French" at Bob & Ron's Fish Fry (my favorite!)

The Stars Are Aligned

What a day full of good news and exciting surprises!

1. So, I got infamous "call" from The Dynasty Talent Agency and it turns out that Griff successfully charmed yesterday's judges and smiled his way into getting representation (if we want to pay the $160 management fee that is, hmmm). 7 diapered beauties got calls of the 45 babies that attended the open call. I think many of the 'pageant moms' will be highly disappointed that their little princesses with painted toe nails, pierced ears, and professional photo books didn't make the cut. Is this the start to Griff's glamorous career as the new face of The Gap?

2. 513-701-1264. This is one of the few numbers I instantly recognize on my caller ID, and each time it appears on my phone, my heart rate skyrockets, and I get nervous, flustered, and stressed. I have to take a deep breath before answering to gather myself and put on my professional hat & filter. Scott Garula, the Top Dog & CEO of Cintas First Aid & Fire called in a (desperate? hopeful?) attempt to recruit me back to my old ranks as a Cintas partner. He paid me a few compliments and said he is" thinking out of the box". He essentially offered me the opportunity to "paint a blank canvas" of what a perfect job would be. Part time, consulting basis? It's a very enticing offer to entertain, but will I come out of my blissfully wonderful retirement?

3. And the most exciting of the day, Griffin popped his first tooth!!! Auntie Chris made the discovery when Griff was gnawing on her finger and his drool had pooled onto her lap. Sure enough, I verified that he has just the slightest grain of front tooth poking from his right bottom gum; it's sharper than I thought it'd be. (My boobs are terrified.) I haven't gotten a glimpse of it yet (only ran my finger along the pointy ridge). Griffin's crazy tongue sticks out every time you try to pull open his bottom lip, but I will be sure to post a picture of his new and improved smile when I can capture the Kodak moment. Time to call Grandpa Liang to schedule Griff for his first tooth cleaning.