In like a lion, out like a WHAT?

DISCLAIMER:

Please excuse the excessive use of photos in this post, but seriously, Griffin is cute enough to justify it, right?

When you're from Arizona, March is supposed to be the harbinger of Spring. Flip-flops and t-shirts are the order of the day, lawns are mowed on the weekends, and middle school P.E. classes begin the most shame-inducing section: swimming. Not true in Denver. Even though we've been having 65-70 degree weather lately, yesterday a storm rolled through and dumped about 7 inches of snow on us. Landon's work closed early yesterday and he worked from home today because of the road conditions.

This was Griffin's first big snow storm...and hopefully the last of this winter, so we made sure to have a good romp in the snow this afternoon.

Griffin wasn't sure how he felt about being bundled that warm. But truthfully, I was surprised at how much he seemed to enjoy being in the snow. He never even acted annoyed when Landon laid him down in a giant snow pile. I am constantly amazed at what a contented baby I have here. Landon decided that he wanted to show Griffin how to make a proper snow angel. And again, Griffin seemed totally OK with it. Since Landon is much more well-versed than I in all things snow, he decided we needed to make a great snowman. As always, he's a bit of an over-achiever, and the resultant snowman would be better named a snow sculpture of George Washington. (I would like to note that I helped with the snow sculpting). Pretty cool, eh?

This one is for you

Anytime I get together with my friends who have children, inevitably the topic of Griffin's sleep patterns comes up. I guarantee you I'm not the one bringing it up. Surprisingly, I avoid this topic if I can. You may ask why, when Griffin is such a superb sleeper, I avoid bragging him up.
Well, truth be told, I know perfectly well that the "How is he sleeping?" question is one of those rote questions moms ask each other in order to compare 3-am-feeding/midnight-diaper-blowout horror stories. And frankly, that conversation is going nowhere with me.

I usually answer that Griffin is sleeping just great. Then I pause while my friend gives me an appraising stare. After which I confirm that I am in fact consistently getting 8-9 hours of continuous sleep. I've mentioned this on the blog before, and I know what a rarity it is. I have friends and family members with children ages 3months-3years who cannot get their children to sleep through the night. I've been asked on multiple occasions what my secret is.

Shamefully, there is no secret. I feel a little guilty revealing that Griffin's amazing sleep habits have nothing to do with any superb mothering instincts or groundbreaking behavior science. Truthfully, I won the BabyLotto and I know it. But for those of you poor saps who think I must have some trick up my sleeve, here are a few things that I think make a difference:

1. I read the BabyWise book when Griffin was 1 week old. I definitely don't do everything it says (it's waaay too structured for me), but it did inform some of those early habit-forming weeks.
2. Griffin cluster feeds in the evening, meaning he eats more frequently in the evening than during the day. I think the cluster feeding helps him make it through the night.
   
3. Typically he doesn't nap in his crib. I let Griffin nap whenever and wherever he chooses during the day. If he falls asleep on the floor, in his car seat, or on my bed I let him sleep there until he wakes up or until it's time for his next feeding.
   
4. Before the last feeding of the night we dim the lights and change him into PJs to let him know it's time to go to bed.
   
5. Just before we put Griffin to bed, Landon wraps him nice and tight in a blanket (he literally looks like a little burrito)

I really think that last one is the most important. We found that if Griffin gets his arms and feet waving around as he sleeps, he'll wake himself up, but if he's wrapped like a burrito he sleeps through the night.

Anyway, there you have it. Now you know why I avoid this topic if possible...I just got lucky, but if I keep my mouth shut maybe everyone will continue to attribute it to my excellent parenting.

Motherhood is a picnic

Landon accidentally left his lunch at home this morning, so Griffin and I met him at a park near his office with a picnic. The weather wasn't perfect (65 degrees and windy) but it was still nice to take Griffin on his first picnic.

Truthfully, I'm glad that he's not crawling and/or walking yet because the park had a pond with a lot of wild geese...and even more goose droppings. I was really glad I didn't have to stop Griffin from playing with either geese, droppings, or icky pond water. Instead we got to sit in a little gazebo and eat our picnic while we watched the geese swim placidly by.

Call me over-protective, but I bundled Griffin up for the event.
And it's a good thing I got a picture of him while he was looking so cute, because right after I turned the camera off he had a spit-up episode of herculean proportions, requiring a change of clothes. If you look close, you can tell that his hair is coming in blonde.

In other news, we've submitted paperwork for his passport and purchased airfare, so Greece is another few steps closer. Yahoo!

A letter to my son on the occasion of his first cold

Dear Griffin,
I'm given to understand that as a newborn baby there is an array of experiences to which you must adjust. The feel of fabric on your skin, or light in your eyes, the sensation of air in your lungs, the concepts of night and day*, the feeling of hunger, the general operation of a digestive system, the sound of my voice, and the fact that you're stuck with me as your mom.

Unfortunately, this week you are experiencing what we call the common cold: runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, sore throat, cough, headache, etc. I know that these are the symptoms because I had the same thing just last week, and I am very sorry that you got it from me. But seriously, did you expect me to refrain from holding you and kissing you? You're too cute to leave alone and I apologize for my lack of restraint.

According to WebMD, over 200 different viruses can cause the common cold, thus making it practically incurable. I'm sorry to say that the discomfort you are feeling cannot be fixed, it must just be endured. Unlike a messy diaper, or gas, there is nothing I can do to help you through this one. I can hold you, I can rock you, I can dress you warmly. But truthfully each of these things could be soothing one second and really annoying the next. That's part of being sick too: mood swings.

Anyway, you may rest assured that this is not permanent and you should be feeling better in a few days. In the meantime, please forgive my overuse of the booger-sucking bulb the hospital gave us...I really don't want you to stop breathing because of a clogged nasal passage.

Love,
Your mom



*I'd like to add a footnote: Even when he's not sick, Griffin is sleeping 8-9 hours a night now. You may applaud and/or cheer at your discretion.

Dulcet Tones

Neither Landon nor I could ever be accused of having a terribly adept musical ear. In fact phrases such as "tone deaf" and "off key" and "shut up" have been bandied about during our attempts at singing. (Though I will note here that Landon somehow parlayed his musical ineptitude into comedy and thus landed the lead in his high school musical, making lemons out of lemonade, or whatever). The point here is that, while we like listening to music, neither of us has a discerning musical palette.

Considering his genetic background, I wouldn't have expected Griffin's musical inclinations to be much different. However, I've been surprised at how much he likes certain types of music. Case in point: today I put on my iTunes "classical" playlist and he started kicking and cooing. When Pavarotti came on, it sounded as though Griffin was trying to sing along, and he was all smiles. Occasionally, he'll react similarly to some Ben Folds piano or Aeretha Franklin, but mostly it's the classical stuff that really gets him movin'and shakin'.

So I'd say I'm pretty encouraged that perhaps Griffin didn't inherit our musical ineptitude...but then again, his cooing is pretty off key.

Ummm...don't know what THIS was all about

So yesterday Griffin was making way cute faces and I tried to take a few pictures. I got some great ones:

But then, he gave me this:
Truthfully, I'm not exactly sure what this was all about, but I laugh out loud every time I look at it.