We survived March! Celebrating four birthdays was so much fun, but also exhausting and I'm glad we now have an 11 month break before it's time to start over. There were so many presents, and treats, and balloons, and special activities (baptism included!) to make our month one big party.
March also was the the one year mark of Covid in our area. I can't believe it has been part of our lives for that long. Luckily, our kids have been in school all year, where in some areas they are just now getting back into the classroom. I am so, so grateful I haven't had to do virtual learning for the past 7 months!! Our gyms, stores, most restaurants, and entertainment venues are also fully open again. We are still waiting for library story time and the Chick fil A playground to open, but otherwise life has pretty much resumed as normal.
This month Amarillo also moved from level Orange to level Yellow, which mostly means numbers are decreasing and new cases are staying low, and the state-wide mask mandate ended. Many places still required them, including Sophie's school and church, but the blanket mandate is over and nothing bad happened in it's wake, like many feared when Governor Abbott made the announcement. The 100,000th vaccine was also administered this month, which makes our area one of the most immunized (percentage-wise) in the country. I am loving these encouraging signs and hope the positive trend will continue. My fingers are crossed that Davey will get to start kindergarten, mask-free, in August and that I'll be allowed back into the school to eat lunch with him.
March is when the weather starts to turn, giving us more nice days than bad days. We made a trip to the zoo with friends, and also had lots of fun at different parks in the area.
Sitting on the big block throne at the Discovery Center
Davey danced a little too hard in music class and ended up with a black eye
I found this Hatchimal kingdom set up in Sophie's room one day. She would have loved a sister to play with, but does pretty well on her own. I'm glad she is not growing up too fast.
Taking the power wheels out for a spin on a nice night
I upgraded my library bag at Christmas and the new one is so big I could check out a Charlie!
Playing at Sleepy Hollow for a bit after school before taking Sophie to her first Activity Days
Before covid we made weekly shopping trips to United after school, but now rarely visit. We popped in the other day though, and Griffin got to ride in the car cart for the first time. He thought it was pretty awesome!
I scored a Food Saver for free from our local Buy Nothing group on Facebook. I had to buy some freezer rolls off amazon to use with the machine, but it works great and the cost will quickly be offset by keeping our food safe and useable for much longer.
It was our turn to host Letter Group again this month! My mom was in town to help (which was wonderful) and we had several activities for the letter S, like decorating sticker snakes.
Eating a sweet and salty snack and frosting a star-shape sugar cookie, including sprinkles!
Reading a book about snow, which was fitting because there were flurries in the air that day
Dressing up like snowmen
We went on a super hero scavenger hunt around the house
Swim lessons started up again! This was one of our first activities to be cancelled last year due to covid. Sophie and Emery were in a class together as the only two students and had a great time.
At church in the shirts I bought in Greece during our November 2019 trip. Luckily I got them a size up, because this was the first time they had a reason to wear them!
Now that it's warmer we've started taking the bike trailer out again
Griffin turned ONE at the end of March! How did that year go by so fast?? I swear with each kid the time seems to pass a little quicker. Our cute little guy now has a head of blonde hair, 4 teeth, and is always on the move. He loves people and attention, hates his car seat, and has the cutest laugh when tickled.
With his birthday, our family is now officially out of the infant stage for good, which is a sentimental transition for sure. I love my babies. I love their tiny clothes, the sweet baby laughs and gummy grins, their squishy thighs, cheeks, hands and snuggles and it hurts to think we will not do this again. BUT, I am extremely excited about the years ahead when our family will soon have no more need for high chairs, pack n plays, car seats, nap schedules, strollers, and more. Just think, in two years we may be diaper free!!
I know know I can't keep you little forever Griff, but I sure hope you don't grow up too fast!
Griffin at 12 Months
At his one year check up he measured 30.5 inches (75%) and 20.09 lbs (30%). He finally passed the 20 pound mark! He is still our smallest baby and is just starting to move into 18 month clothing, which is what Davey and Charlie both wore around 6 months old.
His words at one year include Mama, Dada, Uh-Oh, Wow, and Hat. He is not a quiet child, and although he's the youngest, he wants to be part of the conversation. He is always babbling, yelling, or crying.
His naughtiest moments usually involve the toilet. He loves to splash in the water and play with the cleaning brush or plunger. It's an especially bad activity when paired with Davey's habit of never flushing after he uses the bathroom. I have done so much mopping over the past couple weeks. The dishwasher is also a target. If it's not all the way shut, he can pry it open and then always goes for either the knives, kitchen scissors, or glass pot lids.
He loves active play. Being tossed, swung, flipped around, or rolled always bring a big smile to his face. If you put him on the bed, couch or trampoline he will start bouncing up and down. Every morning he likes to wave around his arm at Dave like a sword fight.
We are completely done with night feedings, and after a couple weeks of traumatic sleep training, he has also stopped his 10 pm parties. It was rough on both of us. Some nights he cried for 2+ hours, and I wanted to give in so badly and go to him, but now that we've made it through we are both happier and more rested.
Griffin is a great eater. He does well with fruit, veggies, cheese, meat, and snacks. The other night he ate more chicken nuggets than Davey and Charlie combined. His only flaw is that he is so incredibly messy. We have to feed him naked because he loves to squeeze the life out of his food before eating it and then rub it through his hair. We're lucky that he enjoys bath because he gets to take lots of them.
I am still nursing 4 times a day, and don't have plans to wean anytime soon. If he chooses to be done I will let him, but since he's my last baby I will let him continue for awhile longer if that's what he wants to do.
He is a big time momma's boy and is constantly wanting me to hold him. If I'm not around, he is perfectly content to sit and play, but the second he sees or hears me the whine begins and he'll wander over and starting crying at my legs to pick him up.
He's still got big, dark brown eyes like when he was a newborn, but now he also has a mischievous personality to counter his sweet side
There was a time a few weeks before his birthday when Griffin had one top tooth, and one bottom tooth. He looked ridiculous! I've never seen a baby whose teeth came in this way, instead of in pairs.
Griffin got a haircut a few days before his birthday because he was starting to become a complete fluff head, and I wanted him to be a little more presentable in his pictures.
He looked much better afterward! We all love his blonde hair and wonder how long it will stick around
I took this photo of Griffin after a challenging day at church. He was being so loud! I took him out in the hall three times that day, but Dave said he could still hear us even when we walked to the other end of the building. The pinnacle was when he ripped off my mask during the sacrament and let out a banshee scream to celebrate his victory!
He stands real well and can cruise the furniture like a champ, but shows no signs of walking yet. He is a super fast crawler, so I don't think he feels very motivate to try something new. I am torn between wanting him to figure it out (outside play is difficult with a crawler), and wanting him to stay little and slow :)
Enjoying an Italian style lunch of pasta, mozzarella, pepperoni and grapes! Overall he is a good eater who will try, and enjoy most foods.
We were blessed with visits from both grandparents in March. They came for Sophie's baptism, but were also able to spend lots of time with the kids and be here to have a group birthday celebration for them! The kids were so spoiled all week, not just with presents, but with all the time and energy their grandparents always give them when they come. And with three grandparents here all at the same time, it meant each kid could have one-on-one attention almost whenever they wanted it!
Grandmari arrived on Tuesday and was here to see the kids do two swim lessons, watch Davey at track practice, host Letter Group with me, and help decorate two of our bathrooms! She also was a huge help with our never ending loads of dishes and laundry. Every time she comes I get more projects taken care of in one week than I normally do in a year.
The Howes, including Liz, arrived Friday evening just in time for a delicious steak fajita dinner. We are always so grateful for their visits and the time off work they take to come see us and the kids. While they were here we enjoyed lots of games, long walks, and good food. Grandma was also kind enough to take Sophie's pile of worn out pants while she was here to transform into shorts, which worked out perfectly because warmer weather is on the way.
Sophie on her baptism with the Lamberts and the Howes - we really missed you Paco!!
Sophie in a grandma sandwich at Tokyo, the hibachi restaurant we ate lunch at following her baptism. Sophie loves her grandmas and was so happy to have them both here for her special day!
Playing a new game called Ready, Set, Sloth! with grandma and Liz
Papa helped Davey build his new Mario lego sets
Davey gets very sad whenever it's time to say goodbye and had a good cry about people leaving, even though it wouldn't happen until the next day. Luckily grandma and Liz had brought some Dilly Bars from DQ to cheer everyone up again!
While Grandmari was here she did lots of puzzles and read countless books with the kids
The book about the shark who couldn't smile was a favorite
It's good my mom likes shopping because in just a few days we made trips to Kohls, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Ross, Target and JC Penney to find stuff to redecorate the kids and guest bathrooms. We only made changes to towels, rugs, and a couple decor items, but they both look so much better!!
We did a southwest/cactus theme in the kids bathroom. It was fun, but not too cute, good for both boys and girls, and it matched the black & white tile floors.
All four kids towels were hanging on one hook on the back of the door and always falling off onto the ground. We found this cute metal towel bar for just $6 at Hobby Lobby!
We also got a framed cactus print, a metal gecko, and some new decorative towels to replace the old purple and yellow ones.
I let Sophie stay home on Monday morning so she could have some extra time with grandparents before they had to leave. Poor Davey was getting weepy again, but pulled it together enough to take a picture with Grandmari before driving her to the airport.
