Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. There’s something really magical about the mix of autumn, dressing up as someone else, and heading out into the night. I also have many fond memories of my mom’s handiwork throughout my childhood Halloweens, so I couldn’t wait to sew Griffin’s costume. I knew from the get go that I wanted him to be an owl. Even though he’s a good sleeper, the play on a baby night owl was just too delicious to pass up. It ended up turning out better than I expected, and Griffin made the cutest little owl.
Griffin tries on his owl costume for the first time.
We recently received an Exersaucer (yes, it’s actually called an Exersaucer) from our friends as a hand-me-down. It’s one of those baby things that’s really great to have for about two months, so we were glad to get one that had already been well loved. Dave and Nancy used to call theirs The Neglecter, and while Griffin does spend some time in it while I do other things during the day, I have really been enjoying watching him entertain himself after I plop him in.
It’s amazing to see him spin himself around, manipulate the toys (that, frustratingly for Griffin, do not detach from the base), and most recently, discover the joys of bouncing. Today I caught him in a particularly joyful moment, singing to himself, laughing when he’d catch my eye, bouncing, and making lots of noise. There’s nothing necessarily extraordinary about this video, but when I think about how much he’s changed in almost seven months, it’s really kind of breathtaking.
New for fall 2009, the most fashionable ladies are wearing this season’s hottest accessory: barf.
While our model doesn’t look particularly pleased with this season’s hottest accessory, it is her job as a model to look miserable.Our model’s creative director, however, looks quite pleased with himself.
If you’d like to recreate this look, make sure to get a six month old and have him barf on you without any warning. Extra hotness points if it gets in your hair and on your face.
We have a house guest this weekend named Roger. He’s the dog of our friends Yoni and Laura, and with all due respect to Dusty (may he rest in peace) and any dogs in my life presently, he’s the best dog in the entire universe. He’s patient, gentle, comes when you call him, likes other dogs, loves a good scratch, plays fetch, chases squirrels, and curls up in the cutest little ball when he takes a nap. He also likes to lick Griffin’s face, gets concerned when Griffin cries, and lets Griffin tug his ears.
Yesterday was our first full day together. Griffin met him after waking up in the morning, and much giggling ensued. Griffin was fascinated by Roger! Simply watching him walk around the room made Griffin laugh, and Roger seemed to like getting Griffin’s attention. I could tell they were going to be friends. We went for a walk, took naps, rolled on the floor, played fetch. It was a good day.
The afternoon is when the stare-down happened. While there are many of Griffin’s toys strewn about the house, Roger seemed completely uninterested in them . . . until Griffin started playing with Mr. Mushroom and Mr. Mushroom let out a squeak. Now like I said, Roger is the best dog ever, and being the best dog ever means you have manners. I stumbled upon this scene after starting to cook dinner:
Griffin thinks Roger only has eyes for him…But Roger really just has eyes for the squeaky toy between Griffin’s legs.
Roger resisted Mr. Mushroom all afternoon and into the evening. It was only after Griffin went to sleep that Roger dared to gingerly take it from Griffin’s play mat. He gently gave it up after I said no, but he still wanted to play with it thinking it was a toy for him. While Roger seems to understand much about the human world, he must find it rather confusing that babies get squeaky toys, too. With Mr. Mushroom out of commission, Griffin and Roger are back to finding eachother intriguing.
Much to our surprise, Griffin loves pickles. Andrew gave him a taste one night expecting to get a very dissatisfied (and very funny) face, but to the contrary, he started heartily gnawing away on it. Thus far, he really only sucks and nibbles on them without actually eating them (any time he gets a chunk, he spits it out), but I’d say overall they’re a hit.
