We are really trying to keep the house in relatively good order since it’s still on the market, but it’s nearly impossible with our little helper.
Kitchen Helper
Tag Archives: Griffin
Griffin the Puppy
Revolution
Today I made banana walnut muffins with Griffin, and it was truly a transformative experience. This may seem like the beginning of a silly anecdote, but I am totally serious. It really opened my eyes to the fact that my child is ready for things I didn’t know he was capable of.
The idea of involving him in making muffins (which I was going to do regardless) transpired after reading a book called Sign With Your Baby and watching the corresponding DVD. I’ve been working on signing with Griffin since returning from full time work, and already he’s picked up more, milk, and all done. I wanted a little more guidance, though, and so turned to these resources. The babies in the video were communicating on such a sophisticated level that it motivated me to first, learn more signs so I can introduce them to Griffin, and second, really involve Griffin in everyday experiences so we can have more opportunities to communicate and experience things together. Muffin making this afternoon seemed like the perfect chance to start. I thought at the very least he’d be fascinated by the mixer!
I put him in a little apron and pulled the step stool up to the counter. He watched me measure the flour, sugar, and other dry ingredients and put them into the mixer. He listened to my warnings not to put his hands near the moving parts, and was indeed taken with the sound and movement. Next, we worked on the wet ingredients, which were set aside next to another bowl. This is where the magic started happening. I was standing behind him while he was standing on the step stool: I cracked the eggs in front of his face, which elicited an excited, “ooooooooh!” I brought out the egg beater, and we spun it together, hand over hand, to beat the eggs. He giggled. He poured in the milk and yogurt without spilling! We stirred it together with a wooden spoon. I showed him how to mash the bananas with his hand and put them in the bowl, and to my amazement, he did it unaided. This was by far his favorite part. He was laughing with every squish and signed more! when he was done. I crushed the walnuts, and he dutifully put the walnuts in the batter, one by one, after I’d combined the wet and dry ingredients.
He did get banned from actually filling the muffin tins since he wanted to stick his hand in every single one, but this is only the first of many collaborative cooking efforts; I’m sure we’ll get to a point where he will be able to help every step of the way.
Minnesota Progress
A lot has happened in the past four days:
- On Wednesday we flew to Minnesota, duly documented via iPhone.
- On Thursday morning I met with the principal of the St. Paul Open School.
- Then we had lunch with Maddy and Zoe and I visited Laura Jeffrey Academy, an all-girls middle school in St. Paul. I toured the school with some prospective parents and then had a great meeting with the educational director (their equivalent of a principal).
- Somehow in the midst of all this Sarah and I drove around various neighborhoods in St. Paul and Minneapolis to start thinking about where we might want to live.
- On Thursday evening we celebrated Griffin’s first birthday in Courtland with a whole passel of Stocco family friends. It was fun and festive, and the cake was delicious.
- Friday morning began with a somewhat strange meeting with the principal of a progressive charter school in Minneapolis. Sarah and I participated in their “morning meeting” and then chatted briefly (and awkwardly) with the principal who basically said he doesn’t have any job openings and has no ideas about where one should look for teaching jobs. Weird.
- Then we raced over to Crosswinds Middle School in Woodbury (east of St. Paul) and met with a friend of a friend who has been teaching there for a bunch of years. She was great and introduced us to her principal who was similarly great.
- The sum of all the meetings was that budget cuts will make the job search very challenging. On the bright side, I got many useful tips on how to best market myself and where to focus my efforts most productively. At this point I’m focusing on charter schools and will start checking out possible private school options.
- On Friday afternoon Sarah and I met with a realtor and started looking at houses and exploring various neighborhoods in St. Paul. Our first foray was a bit underwhelming (but things got better later).
- On our drive back to Courtland that evening we realized that we were utterly exhausted. We called the realtor to reschedule our Saturday tour to Sunday morning.
- Saturday was our spring break! We had a leisurely breakfast, napped, took long hot baths, and walked to the local park where Griffin loved the slide. (First time he has ever been really into it — he just kept diving down this one, head first! Pictures will be forthcoming.) I also wrote thank you cards to the various people I had met with during the week.
- This morning (seriously, I can’t believe this was today) we raced back up to the Cities to meet with our realtor. Today’s tour focused mostly on Minneapolis and was much more positive. We saw a fabulous house in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood and a couple of other cool contenders in Southwest and near Lake Nokomis.
- Then a picnic lunch by the lake with Pam and Jeff who had just picked up uncle Bob at the airport. Fun in the sun, and great to overlap with Bob for an hour.
- Then back to the airport to fly back to SFO. Griffin had a harder time on this flight. He’s got a molar coming in and was tired but couldn’t fall into a comfortable sleep. Still, he handled it pretty well and is a pro at airplane bathroom diaper changes.
- When Ed picked us up at the BART station he handed us a bag with three English muffins from our favorite bakery. He figured we might not have breakfast organized for tomorrow. Is that not the sweetest thing?
Whew. We would never have been able to get this much done if Pam and Jeff and Alli hadn’t handled Griffin during most of our trips to the Cities. It was a win-win for everybody: we got a lot done and Griffin got to bond with his grandparents and auntie!
Here’s what Griffin thought about all of this on the BART ride home:
I can’t believe I have to work tomorrow!
Happy Birthday Griffin!
SFO->MSP
Had a great flight! Griffin was squirmy but generally polite. (And who isn’t squirmy when they have to sit in a tiny seat in a noisy tube packed with strangers?)
( I probably could have skipped these posts, but I am addicted to my new phone. Love the wordpress app!)
BART
On our way to SFO. Griffin is incredibly curious about everything.
Griffin Walks!
Griffin has been experimenting a lot with walking lately: letting go of the coffee table, taking one step and then falling to his knees in a crawl, cruising all around a chair, or holding on to a finger to barrel across the room. But TODAY he full-on walked for the first time!
I had just gotten home from work, my arms full of baby and bags. I put Griffin down on his feet next to an ottoman and threw my bags to the floor. Just as I was about to drop to the floor and join him, he turned around and walked seven or eight steps to a pile of boxes that have been waiting to be put in the storage shed. He did it all by himself!
I tried to get him to repeat his wondrous new abilities once Andrew got home from school, but the G-man still prefers crawling. It will only be a matter of time before he’s confident enough to try it again!
Spring Morning
I’ve been meaning to post this series for a while… Griffin made the most of our first full-on warm, sunny weekend back in February.
10 Month Stats
Griffin will be 10 months old on Monday! Whew. We went to his pediatrician on Friday and have his latest stats. All in all, Dr. Junge is happy with his growth and progress and thinks Griffin is an all-around swell guy. Also of note is Griffin’s latest tooth count, which stands at an impressive 13.
Weight: 20lbs (31%)
Height: 2′ 3.5″ (13%)
Head Circumference: 18.27″ (72%)
By the way, Bert and Ernie: No fears. Griffin and his mommy and daddy have been vaccinated for H1N1.