Disney Cruise Cont.

Day 2: I thought you said our room would be big enough for a pack 'n' play...

Boarding the ship was super easy this time. No lines, we got right in and up to the deck for lunch! Griffin rolled around in a little umbrella stroller, and he thought he was the cat's meow: he could see everything, turn around and look and us, and swing his legs. What more could you ask for?


Brian and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon, as well as a couple more before this one. We have a tradition of taking pictures in the life vests and, of course, we had to include Griffin in this pastime. The following is the progression of the Life Vest Photos.

Honeymoon Cruise:

First Vore Family Disney Cruise:

Merkley Family Thanksgiving Cruise:

Second Vore Family Disney Cruise:

Dinner went pretty much like last time: I got sick, went and threw up in the room, and came back. The ship was extremely rocky. 

The cool thing about traveling on a Disney ship is that they provide lots of things for babies. Griffin had a high chair at dinner and we had a Diaper Genie and a Pack 'n' Play in our room. Our room was for 2-3 people, with a king sized bed and a pull out couch. Our third person, while small, takes up room for about 4 large adults. His formula and bottles covered the desk/vanity, the couch housed all of food, clothes, and toys...and then that Pack 'n' Play took up the rest of the room. Literally. It was an adventure!

Disney Cruise

Prologue: 

Every year we go on a vacation with my family. This year, we took a Disney Cruise to St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Disney's island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay (key? there is some debate). We had taken this same cruise two years ago and a great time. We were kid free, and took advantage of the "Adult Only" pools, restaurants, shows, etc - it was wonderful. We looked on with pity at the poor parents wrangling their screaming children in and out of the crowded pools, and quickly put in our earbuds on our iPods.

Well...we had it comin'.

Day 1: Did you bring the passports and birth certificate?

No. We didn't. We left them carefully packed in Brian's "Friends of Scouting" backpack, at home on the bar. We could've lived without our passports, but we needed Griff's birth certificate. Brian had to turn around...and so he missed the flight.  Luckily, Nate was there to help me and be Griffin's second dad. Nate became a pro at folding/unfolding the stroller and giving Griffin his arm so the arm hairs could be pulled and his watch played with. Brian made it to the hotel a few hours later. He took a cab, and it cost somewhere around $145...turns out there was a shuttle for $30.

Griffin with his two dads :)

This was the death baby crib that the hotel brought us. It totally looks like it should be in a horror movie.

Griffin was tuckered out from his day a traveling. He was a complete angel.

After a long day, we were ready to get to bed and get ready to get on the boat the next day!

Halloween Giraffe

I cannot believe I have not posted about Halloween yet. Griffin was the absolute, hands-down, most adorable giraffe. Ever. Ever.

Griffin and I had just flown in from Odessa, he hadn't napped all day, but I was determined that he was going to put on that costume and "help" pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters. I could hear Baxter laughing while I stuffed Griff into the costume, so happy that it wasn't him this year.

 I ordered the costume in a size 6-12 months. I know my son has a big, round face, but I really wasn't expecting his face not to fit into the pre-made hole...but it didn't. Long story short, I decided the best route was to snip it underneath his chin(s).

I had to get a shot of his little tail and hooves :)

The best picture I got were, of course, on my phone...

We only got 5 knocks on the door, two of which happened after he went to bed. He didn't have to suffer much :) He is a trooper!

Little Monster

He really is so cute. Like, really. A few weeks ago, he was all ready for bed, smelling wonderful and feeling so snugly in his monster pj's. Brian wasn't home yet and I needed to make his bedtime bottle. I sat him in his bumbo (on the island...this was pre-escaping the bumbo days) to get all the stuff out. When I turned around, he had the sweetest little look on his face. Griffin is not usually patient when he knows food is coming, but this night he waited quietly and calmly.



 Lately, he does not want to be snuggled; no rocking, no holding like a baby,etc. I read a quote that said:

"Rocking a baby is less like a Johnson&Johnson commercial and more like wrestling a 20 pound bag of snakes."

This has become so so true. Bedtime is now my favorite time because he usually falls asleep drinking his bottle, which means I can lay him over my shoulder, snuggle his body close and rock him to my heart's content. I love that baby so very much.

p.s. Those eyes? Seriously??

Griffin Hearts Food

I don't know if all babies enjoy food to the extent of giddiness, or if it's just mine...but, holy moly, Griffin sure does love food! He gets so excited (and a little hysterical) when he sees me getting the containers out. He has yet to reject anything, although I can tell that green beans aren't his favorite, but he lets me shovel them in anyway.

Today, I bought some bananas. I mashed a piece of one up for part of Griffin's lunch. You would have thought I gave the child chocolate. His eyes got really big as he felt the texture and moved the little chunks around in his mouth - then he started giggling. He giggled after each bite. It was precious. We had to FaceTime his Daddy :)

Every night when I swab out his nose with a Q-tip, it comes back slightly tinted in whatever color of food he ate that day....



Phone Photos II

This is one of my most favorite pictures in the world. Ever. I think it is hilarious. Griffin could see himself in the phone and he was very curious as to how this all worked.

He is the happiest little guy. He is always smiling :)

This was right after his first taste of baby food. Squash. I think he liked it.

He makes the best faces. Sometimes, I swear, he is smarter than us.

It has been said that "it is not official until it's on Facebook." We posted this to Facebook on Brian's birthday!

Griffin and I went to Odessa for 4 days. This kid missed his daddy!

Scott and Cherie have a big, sectional-like kitchen table. We put Griff in his bumbo, and he just hung out happily with everyone, like a regular person :)

I love this baby boy so much. Everyday he makes me laugh, out loud, with his emerging personality. I think he is going to be funny...

Concentration

Toys have become the hot thing at our house lately. Griffin loves to lat under his mat and grab his toys, roll across the blanket to reach his farm book, etc. He has an "On the Farm" themed jumparoo, and let me tell you, he takes his role as farmer extremely seriously.

No cow is left unattended, and the ducks are not left to wonder if they are going to take a roll in their plastic ball. The tomato, carrot, and corn are uprooted from their holes every time. The cat (I was very confused as to why a cat was a main feature on this product. Brian informed me that every farm has a cat...who knew?!) always gets to take a spin. He is very thorough, and doesn't play favorites, with the exception of the pigs.

Lately, the challenge has been reinserting the Bink into his own mouth. He very slowly and carefully reach out for it, try to maneuver his pudgy fingers around it (which takes awhile) and then guide it back to his mouth. In these pictures, he concentrating with all his might to get the Bink.

It is so amazing to see him learning new things every day! We love him so very very much.

Footie Pajamas

The days of Griff being swaddled are over. He was busting out consistently and then started rolling over in his sleep. The video monitor is a blessing and curse...

He has never worn official pjs - only onesies, since he was tucked so snugly in the swaddle. Therefore, it was time to get some real pjs! Off to Sam's we went (Brit had said that they had some) and purchased 3 little zippy suits. I love them. Monsters, doggies, and dinosaurs, with the corresponding creature's face on the feet. Adore.

He is just so, so big. It hurts my heart. But, I am so proud of him for learning new things and thankful for his healthy, strong body. And he looks ridiculously cute in the footie pjs. When all you see is a big, round face sticking out from something cute and colorful, it makes you swoon :)



Food

The kid loves him some "real" food. He prefers baby oatmeal over the rice cereal, but has recently decided that rice cereal is fine in addition to squash. Squash changed his little life and I cannot wait to introduce him to carrots this weekend!

This picture was taken in the early stages of solid food intake. He is still a little messy, but has mastered the trick of opening his mouth wide for the incoming spoon full of goodness.

He had a bite on his toe that looked swollen and infected, so I took him in to the doctor. At 5 months, he weighed 17 lbs 5 oz. That is almost two whole pounds more than he weighed LAST MONTH.

I love my solid little guy, and his big cheeks. They are the best.

Hair

When Griffin was born, he had tons of hair...in the back. A long, luscious, mullet. Now, its still pretty luscious back there, however, we also have other issues going on. He has a few very long hairs on the top and right above his ears. The places on his head where he sleeps consists of short, fuzzy hairs that cannot be smoothed out. It is all very cute, in that "old man in need of a haircut" kind of way.

Sometimes, his hair in the back sticks straight out. Like a stick.

Then we have the issue of his double swirls on the top of his head. His cousin, Braddock, also has double swirls. I like that they both do :)  I guess he is destined for a tiny mohawk.

He really is the cutest.

Miss McLean

Our friends, Kendal and Tyler Simpson, were pregnant at the very same time that we were. In fact, Griffin and their daughter, McLean, were born the very same day, just a few hours apart.

Griffin and his girl-friend (friend who is a girl...) get together about once a week to "play." This week was the best play-date yet! The two babies actually were aware of the other ones existence - huge milestone.

McLean is a little-bitty girl (Griff has about 3lbs on her) with a sweet little voice (Griff is loud...). It has been a lot of fun for me and Kendal to able to compare and discuss things that have to do with the babies, since they are exactly the same age.

They were so cute playing on the blanket. They hammed it up for us, and we got lots of cute pictures. At one point, they were holding hands - things seemed to be going well, until Griffin ripped her bow off and it popped her in the face. All good things must come to and end, right?

Griffin has just started to roll from back to tummy, and decided to use his new found skills to get closer to McLean. Or to poke her in the eye. Or to grab her bow. Or to put his hands in her mouth. One of those.

Adorable video here.

We have a good time with good friends!

Florida

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Florida for the OU/FSU game and a mini vacation. We went with our good friends, the Brasher Family. Randi and Josh have a little guy who is two months older than Griffin, his name is Zane. Both babies did great on the plane, with only minor upsets. We had placed a bet: The parents of the kid who cries first has to sleep in the room with the smaller bed. (We lost...)

Griffin and Zane on the ride to the condo. Have I mentioned Griff hates the car?

In the mornings, we would lay out a blanket and let the boys play. Zane usually rolled everywhere, and Griffin watched him with envy.

We tried a couple of times to take them to the beach or the pool. Griffin was not impressed with the sand or the ocean, but had a good time in the pool with dad, and laying in the sun hut with Zane.

This is a re-texted iPhone picture...but you get the idea :)

We got a few good family pictures on the beach.

All in all, it was a fun trip. I will say though, it sure is different traveling now!

I hope my very cute, non-beach bum had a good time, too!

Baby, You've Got The Cutest Personality

As far as personality goes, Griff has got a lot of it. What did we expect? He has some of the funniest expressions, and will ham it up if you're laughing. He is also very stubborn and it can be pretty hilarious when he is disgruntled. He will glare around while furiously sucking on his bink. I love it!

He is starting to understand that he can move himself. Today I placed a toy just out of his reach and the next time I came through the room, he had inched 90 degrees another way and had the toy in his mouth.

Smart? I think so.
Handsome? Absolutely.
Funny? Yep.


Some (most) of these are blurry, but I don't care.

He could make somebody very lucky someday. Too bad he is staying with his mom forever.

The Miracle Blanket

Indeed, a miracle.

At first glance, it looks like a straight jacket. Maybe even the second and third glances also. It consists of two arm flaps that go over his arms and under his back. Another flap comes across his body and tucks in to his armpit. His little legs are tucked into a pouch, and to top everything off, a final long flap wraps around everything three times.

He loves it.

He starts smiling and holds still for you to wrap him up. He is adorable.

He goes to bed at 9pm and doesnt peep until (these days...) 6:30am. I'll take it!