Zane's Toy Basket - February 9

Now that Zane is sitting up so well, he has started grabbing toys out of his basket by himself. He reaches over and pulls the basket towards him, pulls out a toy, chews on it for a minute, drops it and pulls out another one. This keeps going on until he finds the toys that feels just right on those gums!

Bathtime - February 8

Wyatt and Colter are thrilled that Zane can sit up and take a bath with them in the big boy bathtub. It gets a little crowded with all three together, but they don't seem to mind at all!

Colter's Playdate - February 8

Colter had a playdate Friday morning with Trew, one of his good buddies from school and church. Colter misses Wyatt on the mornings when he stays home and Wyatt goes to school. He really enjoyed having someone else to play with besides Zane and me! They played with playdough, blew bubbles, swang on the tire swing and flew airplanes all around the house. It was a fun morning!

Reading Narnia - February 7

Danny has started reading The Chronicles of Narnia to the boys at night. They are really enjoying the story and even Colter can tell you about the characters and big events in the story. The other night as they sat down to read he said, "Daddy, I don't like Queen Jadis. She's mean." But my favorite Narnia conversation was last week after they read about the wolf attack.

Wyatt: "Daddy if a wolf were attacking me I would just run as fast as I could the other way."

Danny: "But what if Colter was there. You would need to protect him."

Wyatt: "Well, but Colter could just run really fast with me."

Can I play? - February 3

I love this picture! Just a few minutes before I took it Zane was sitting on the other side of the room playing with some toys. Wyatt and Colter brought the keyboard in and started playing music. After watching them for a couple of minutes, Zane plopped himself on the floor and started rolling and inching forward so that he could get closer to the action. It may not be the fastest or most accurate way of locomotion, but he has discovered that he has some control over where he wants to go!

Pajama Day - January 30

Today was "Pajama Day" at school. Colter wanted to wear his Christmas pajamas and Wyatt wanted to wear his space pajamas. Aren't they cute?

Snowshoe Trip - January 25-27

Danny, Wyatt and Colter met G-Pa in New Mexico for a snowshoe trip this weekend. Check out Danny's blog (www.griffisfamilyoutdoors.blogspot.com) for stories and pictures from this fun(and chilly!) weekend.

In One Week... - January 27

It has been quite a week for Zane!

In the last seven days he has...

* eaten cereal for the first time

* started sitting by himself some

* rolled over from his back to his belly

* reached out for me to pick him up

*started moving and rolling on the floor to reach his toys

and my favorite...

*slept for 12 hours straight for the first time!

Colter's "Babies" - January 25

It really doesn't surprise me that Colter now has his own "babies". After all babies have been a big part of our life for six months with a new one in our house and a new cousin, and we have always known that Colter had a sensitive, nurturing side hidden behind that rough and tumble exterior. It did make me smile earlier this week when he came walking into my bedroom carrying two little stuffed bears in shopping baskets. He told me one was Abi and one was Zane and they were "DoDo's babies." He put them on the bed, covered them up with a "blanket" (Zane's taggie) and told me they were"seeping." Then he went to play. Every couple of hours he would check on them just to make sure they were OK and then he would go back to playing with Wyatt. I love seeing that softer side of his personality!

Six Months Old - January 25

Here are some of my favorites from Zane's six month "photo shoot" that I did this morning. He has quite a personality...

Zane's Thoughts about Rice Cereal - January 23

"OK, I'm ready - let's get this meal started!"
" Here comes the first bite..."

"You've got to be kidding me. This is what I've been waiting for all this time?"

"Maybe I'll just grab the bowl. That could be fun..."

Playing Together - January 21

As far as Wyatt and Colter are concerned, a day is not complete unless they have had sufficient time to play together. It starts first thing in the morning when they head to the playroom right after they wake up. They are pretty good at getting ready for school because they know if they get ready fast they will have more time to play! Their teachers have told us that they often play together at school when their classes are together. As soon as they get home they run right back to the playroom to play while I fix lunch. Colter's nap time is a little sad for both of them because they have to stop playing, but after Colter wakes up they play together for the rest of the afternoon. Now this isn't to say that they don't have their "moments" of brotherly frustration, but all is quickly forgiven because they absolutely love to play together!

Right now they are really into pretend play. Here are their names for some of their favorite games: "beasty airlines", "Big Bend camping", "way high trains", "big warm fire", "music band" and "hideout". While Wyatt is definitely the "leader" (as a big brother should be!) they both initiate play with the other and Colter has moments when he gets to make decisions, too. They have a very balanced relationship and I am so happy that they like to spend time with each other. The only drawback to this is that I am not usually "invited" to play, in fact I am often told to "go away!" The times they do want me are when the other is not around (like when Colter is napping or the mornings when Wyatt is at school and Colter is home) so I try to take advantage of those times. But their playmate of choice right now is definitely each other!

I absolutely love this picture because you can actually see them making noises for their airplanes!

Palo Duro Canyon - January 19

We spent today at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. We had a picnic lunch, went for a hike, played at the playground, saw some wild turkey and finished the day by eating supper at one of our favorite restaurants in Canyon.

Wyatt and Colter had fun climbing on some of the canyon walls. Here is the conversation we overheard while they were climing:

Wyatt: "Colter, how did you get so high?"

Colter: "I don't know."

Wyatt: "Uh, Colter, how are we going to get down?"

Daddy stepped in and explained the mechanics of climbing down a rock wall and both boys made it down safely!

Our little rock climbers and their cute baby brother!

Daddy Cooks Supper - January 14

Our quilt guild in town meets two Mondays each month. I usually try to go if Danny is not on call and let him take over supper and bedtime with the boys. On Monday he decided that he would fix hot dogs for supper - in the fireplace! The boys thought it was great fun when Daddy built a fire and got the skewers from the basement. Apparently they tasted pretty good, too. Danny said that between the three of them they ate an entire package - and he only had two!

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - January 13

We rarely see movies in the theater, so I'm always looking for the perfect "first movie" for each of the boys. Wyatt's first movie (and only one until this!) was "Curious George" a couple of years ago. When I saw a few months ago that Veggie Tales had a new movie coming soon, I knew it would be perfect for Colter's first movie. We drove to Lubbock to see it with Noni,

Aunt Megan and Aunt Cathryn.

The boys were so excited (here they are with their tickets!) and the movie didn't disappoint them. Their favorite parts were the "rock monsters" and "snack beasties". You'll understand after you see the movie!

Rolling Over - January 11

Although he rolled over for the first time a couple of months ago, it wasn't until this last week that Zane starting rolling over regularly. Here's his technique...

Ready...

swing one arm back...

pull head back, other elbow forward, twist...

and done.

Now aren't you impressed?

Griffis Family Top Ten for 2007

10. Trip to Big Bend (11-07)

9. Our New Car (09-07)

8. Wyatt Learning to Climb Trees (Spring 07)

7. Colter Learning to Use to Potty (Spring 07)

6. Trip to Rocky Mountain National Park (10-07)

5. Trip to Florida (03-07)

4. Building a "Texas Igloo" (01-07)

3. Trip to Sedona with the Griffins (04-07)

2. Tenth Anniversary Trip to Colorado (05-07)

1. Zane's Birth (07-07)

"Boys in the Hood" - January 10

Another funny story - Colter got a blue hoodie from Aunt Megan for his birthday. It is one of his favorite shirts. Apparently last time I did the laundry I accidentally hung it up on Wyatt's side of the closet. A few days ago Wyatt came out of his bedroom wearing Colter's hoodie. I asked him about it and he said it was on his side of the closet so he was going to wear it! Colter was not about to share one of his favorite shirts (not to mention it was a little too small!), so I told Wyatt I would try to find a hoodie for him. I just happened to be doing an Old Navy shopping trip that day (virtually, of course, since the nearest Old Navy is over an hour away!) and found the perfect hoodie on clearance. It came in the mail yesterday and Wyatt immediately put it on. He said, "Look Mom! I can put my hood on when I go outside and it will keep my ears warm. I don't even need a jacket!". Colter ran into his room and changed into his hoodie - thankfully it was clean!

3D Painting - January 8

The boys really enjoyed our painting project this afternoon. I had unpacked a coffee maker that Danny got as his Christmas gift from the hospital (those of you who know Danny know how really funny that is since he doesn't EVER drink coffee, but our parents are going to love it when they come to visit!) and it was packaged with two big foam inserts. I had read somewhere that those make a great "canvas" for little painters, so we decided to give it a try. Wyatt and Colter painted for almost 30 minutes while I got supper started. The greatest part is that the foam pieces aren't completely covered with paint yet, so we are going to let them dry and finish them another day.

Along for the Ride - January 7

The weather was great today - not too cold and not too windy - so Danny took advantage of the time to get some work done in the yard. He had two wonderful helpers who worked hard helping Daddy move the leaves that had collected on the side patio into the backyard to use as mulch. They loved scooping up the leaves, riding with them into the backyard and then stomping on them after Daddy dumped them out.

All Rolled Up - January 7

This is Zane's favorite new position - all rolled up. If I put him on his belly to play he quickly rolls over, grabs his feet and starts playing with his toes.

Wyatt's Fashion Sense - January 5

This is how Wyatt came running out of his room this morning after I sent him to get dressed. He has been picking out his own clothes for quite a while - sometimes they match, sometimes they don't. Here is our conversation this morning...

me: Wow, Wyatt! Are you sure you want to wear a short-sleeve shirt today? It's kinda chilly outside.

Wyatt: No, this shirt is good for today. It's not very cold.

me: Wouldn't your camoflouge shirt be better? It would keep you warmer.

Wyatt: Mama! This is the shirt I want to wear. I'll put on my fleece jacket for outside.

me: OK - can I at least take your picture?

And the "bed head" - well that is a whole other story...

Announcing "Scraps of Life" - January 5

I want to announce my new blog called "Scraps of Life." I love sharing pictures and stories about our family on this blog. In addition to sharing our lives with our faraway family and friends, it is a great way for me to "pre-scrapbook" and make sure I get the stories and other information down before I forget them. What I have been missing is a place to share me - my thoughts, my passions and my perspective on this life. In the midst of being a wife and a mom I don't want to lose sight of what makes me who I am. So if you are looking at our family blog and happen to think "How is Jen doing?" or "What's going on with the adoption?" or "I wonder if she has been scrapbooking or quilting lately?" go to my blog and you will probably find the answer. You can click on the link below (all the way at the bottom of the sidebar; I also have Danny's linked from there) or you can click here http://www.jengriffis.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!