Tag Archives: Griffin

Griffin

Visiting Gustavus

Leave a comment

Â

Dear Griffin,
Bert and I went to college this week, and we had an admission interview for next year.  Rich Aune evaluated our transcript.  We were hoping to get transfer credit for our work on Sesame Street.

Did you know that your aunt Alli is a graduate of Gustavus?  She walked up these stairs many times on her way to the “caf”, and down these stairs to the Diversity Center and mailboxes and Courtyard Cafe.  Your Mom and Dad were married in the “Arb” on the south end of campus, and they had their reception and dance right behind us.  We snuck into the banquet room and pretended we were at that dance – Tee Hee!  And your grandpa Jeff works at Gustavus.  Grandma Pam also worked at Gustavus for a short time as well. Your mom was 10 years old when they moved to St. Peter.

We love to see you on iChat but we are really excited to see you in person!

Love,
Ernie

Griffin

Visiting the Judge

Leave a comment

Â

Dear Griffin,
Happy New Year!  Imagine, that in a few short months you will be one year old!
We wanted you to know that we visited with a judge yesterday.  He told Ernie that he shouldn’t be feeding pigeons in the park, something he learned from his friend Big Bird.  Or at least, he shouldn’t be feeding them pepperoni pizza!

The judge admonished us.  (That’s quite a compliment, don’t you think?)  Maybe I should look that word up in the dictionary.
Love,
Bert

Griffin

Dear Mom,

1 Comment

Dear Mom,

Daddy’s new laptop is pretty cool.  Please don’t tell him that I snuck out of my crib last night to borrow it.  I only chewed on it a little bit, and I had to write you this message.

Happy birthday!  I can’t really comprehend how old you are, but you’re probably at least 18 or 19 months.

You’ve been a pretty good mom during these first nine months.  (I’m practicing my midwestern understatement… Dad would say you’ve been “dreamy” or “incredible” or “frickin awesome.”)  Plus, I’m told you were taking good care of me for the previous nine months too.  (I like my new, roomier crib better.)

In any event, before Dad catches me drooling on his precious keyboard, I wanted to mention a few specifics.  Thank you for forgiving me when I smashed your beloved french press.  (You have to admit it sounded pretty great when it exploded!)  Thank you for taking me swimming every week at the Y.  And storytime at the library… that’s the best!  Thank you for taking me canoeing, camping, and hiking in my first four months.  The other kids never believe me when I tell them that I’ve already hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail (but I got pictures to prove it).  Thank you for accepting my bizarre culinary tastes (pickles and oatmeal, yum!) and not getting too upset when I throw all the food on the floor.  (Daddy told me that in high school he used to fling pudding onto the ceiling of the dining room… so I’m just honoring my heritage.)  Thank you for having the most humongous library of kids’ books in the universe.  I’ve tasted most of them and they are delicious.  Thank you for comforting me when I’m hurt but reminding me that I can handle most bumps and bruises.

Thank you for reminding me to save my big moments for when Daddy’s around.  I gotta remember to save my first steps for him.  (Maybe we can fake it if I forget?)  Speaking of Daddy, you can let him know that I think it’s pretty nifty that you both laugh so much and have so much fun.  I am, occasionally, embarrassed by your juvenile senses of humor, but I cut you some slack because you’re both so old.

All in all, you’re a pretty cool mom.

Love,

Griffin

Griffin, Photo

He Crawls! He Stands!

Leave a comment

We’ve been neglectful blogging parents lately, but Griffin’s been making so many leaps developmentally, we can hardly keep up. Over Thanksgiving break in Santa Cruz, despite the slippery tile floors of the rental house, Griffin learned to crawl. Andrew was witness to the first official crawl (and burned his Thanksgiving cheesecakes in the midst of the excitement), as well as the first official pull-up-to-standing. It’s so amazing that Andrew has been around for these developmental milestones in spite of the fact that he’s working full time!

We had only one week between Griffin’s crawling victory and pulling up to standing, so we’re frantically baby-proofing much higher than we thought we’d initially have to. Actually, I think baby-proofing is a misnomer. It should be baby-not-going-to-get-hurt-too-badly-if-he-comes-into-contact-with-this…-ing. Thankfully he’s not very fast yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Watch out world, here comes Griffin!
First on the knees…
Then to the toes…
He stands!!

Griffin

Griffin is Famous!

Leave a comment

GreenHalloween

Griffin and I recently went to Seattle to visit my uncle Bob, aunt Carol, Mom, and sister Alli. In addition to lots of good conversation, food, and laughs, we attended an event at the Woodland Park Zoo called Pumpkin Prowl. Griffin dressed up in his owl costume and was met with lots of oohs and ahhs for his Halloween debut. I was one proud Mama. As we were browsing the booths, we were approached by a woman named Corey who, along with her mom, manages two websites called Celebrate Green and Green Halloween. [Both sites are no longer live as of 2022.] They’re both devoted to eco-friendly ways of celebrating holidays. Corey just loved Griffin’s costume and wanted to feature him in an upcoming newsletter! I took her card, emailed her the pictures, and the newsletter was sent out today. Click here to see the newsletter. [Newsletter is still there, but it looks like many of the embedded pictures and links are dead as of 2022.]

Griffin, Photo

Messy

Leave a comment

Griffin has eight teeth already. Since he started teething at three and a half months, we definitely have our fair share of things for him to chew on. I’ve been reluctant to give him teething biscuits because of the concern that he might bite off a piece and choke on it. But lately as he’s been working on tooth number eight, he has been gnawing and biting things he shouldn’t. Namely me. That kid can chomp! My shoulder and arms have been receiving the brunt of it, and it seems like his desire to bite is increasing. More teeth on the way?

With a little reluctance, I picked up some very healthy looking teething biscuits at the store today. I took one out of the package and clunked it on the counter. Definitely hard as a rock. With Griffin sitting in his high chair, I handed it over. He immediately liked it and started gnawing away. He attacked it with gusto, and since he was such a mess and seemed to be enjoying eating, I decided to feed him some some squash and yogurt, too. Definitely the messiest feeding to date!

Griffin's first taste of a teething biscuit. I think he likes it!
Griffin’s first taste of a teething biscuit. I think he likes it!

Add in some squash and yogurt for a yummy mess!
Add in some squash and yogurt for a yummy mess!

This kid's a ham.
This kid’s a ham.