Griffin told Sarah recently that he wanted a new haircut, short on the sides and long on the top. He was inspired by Brooke Allen’s illustrations of Mal in the Lumberjanes graphic novels (one of our family favorites).
We’ve had some poor cuts recently for him, so Sarah made an appointment at Moxie on Grand. See below for the results.
I think it is pretty cool that he came up with this on his own, though I’m not sure we’ll be able to keep that wave action going on a daily basis.
This morning, after Griffin returned from working out with Sarah, I mentioned that I was going to mow the lawn. It took me a while to get Oliver up and settled, but eventually I made it to the garage to get the mower. As I opened the door, Griffin said that he had already pulled it out to the front yard. I thanked him for helping me get started. Then I came ’round the corner of the house and discovered that he had not only pulled the mower out, but had mowed the entire front lawn by himself. Note that this is a manual mower, so it takes real effort to move the thing around, especially when the grass is long and still moist from yesterday’s rain.
Pretty proud of this guy!
PS: Yes, we have discussed the potential consequences of spinning blades encountering bare toes.
We enjoyed a few days with away from the end-of-school rush at the cabin over Memorial Day weekend. Our friends Jess, Murray, and Olive joined us. (Sadly, Kevin couldn’t make it this year.)
The trip included a number of notable events:
Change is afoot in Oliver’s world.
First, as mentioned on Monday, Oliver is now sleeping in his new crib in the kids’ bedroom. We were planning on a more gradual transition, but Griffin and Maggie were so excited to have him move in that we went for it. It’s been pretty miraculous so far. Every night this week, they’ve all gone to bed at the same time, with no special rituals for Oliver. We generally hang out near the crib for a little bit while he falls asleep, but it’s pretty quick. Honestly, the whole thing is a bit spooky; he just lies down and falls asleep. Crazy!
Oliver has been out on a couple of bike rides now in the iBert seat on Sarah’s bike. He loves it, and we love the fact that we have a new way of getting around town with him. The older kids enjoy riding their bikes, too, so this increases the whole family’s range of car-free transit. It’s hard to believe that this little guy will be riding his own bike in a few years.
This one might be better titled “Grasping” or “Manual Dexterity,” but they don’t have the same alliterative pizazz. Oliver has been getting better at using his little hands over the past month. He reaches for things intentionally, grasps objects we put in his hands, and likes to touch things within reach. (I like to walk around with him and let him touch different things—the bark of a tree, a smooth stone, a fuzzy towel—and watch him react to the different textures. On a more practical note, he can hold his bottle when he’s in his bouncy chair. He drops it frequently, but he loves trying to hold it and it gives us just a bit more leeway when we’re prepping a meal or trying to accomplish other tasks that require our hands.
We celebrated Maggie’s fifth birthday today at Highland Park. Maggie is a brash, confident, dynamo at this stage in her life. Her party, at her request, featured rampaging around the park, pin-the-horn-on-the-unicorn, various unicorn- and rainbow-themed crafts, cupcakes, and then more rampaging. I love this firebrand who believes absolutely that princesses can save themselves. Happy birthday, Maggie!
It’s this kiddo’s EIGHTH birthday today! This sweet one, who made us parents, who makes his brother and sister feel loved, who more often than not has his nose in a book these days, whose energy is palpable, who loves snuggles before bed, who is gracious and kind…fills my heart to bursting to be his mom. Happy birthday, Griffin!
