A Day with our Family of Seven - February 16

Here are just a few highlights from our first day as a family of seven...

The kids all woke up about 7:00 and quickly found their way to the playroom where they played most of the morning.

The took a break from playing to eat pancakes and get dressed,

but then it was right back to the playroom!


Danny took some time to show Sabrina and Monique some of our outdoor trips on the computer. We're planning our first camping trip with them in a couple of weeks.

The clash of "boy toys" and "girl toys" has been really funny to watch. At one point Colter was carrying his airplanes around in one of Sabrina's purses!

Our morning ended with lunch, stories with Daddy on the couch and then naptime.

The older three spent part of the afternoon playing outside. We were supposed to get snow, but all we got was freezing rain, so the kids enjoyed eating the icicles!

Monique and Zane decided it was too cold to play outside, so they enjoyed some quiet time together on the floor.


Our day ended with an indoor cookout and movie. We roasted hot dogs in the fireplace and then toasted marshmallows for smores. It was a fun-filled day!

Meeting Our Sisters - February 14

I really don't have any words to describe my feelings about this sweet scene. My five kids, who only met an hour before, posing (or not posing, in this case!) for their first picture together. It doesn't get much better than this. Our visit with them and their foster parents could not have gone better. They have been blessed with wonderful Christian foster parents, which is an answer to prayer.

Sabrina and Wyatt

Zane and Monique

Sitting Pretty - February 13

Zane and Abi had lots of fun playing together at Noni's house this afternoon. Zane kept taking the toys that were sitting beside Abi and she finally decided to try and get one of them back!

Valentine's Party - February 13

Wyatt and Colter enjoyed comparing treats after their class Valentine's parties. The candy hearts and heart-shaped suckers were a big hit!

First Swing - February 11

Today was a beautiful day outside! Lately the weather has either been too cold or too windy (or both!) for Zane to spend much time outside, but today was perfect. So I took down the boys' trapeze and put Zane's swing up on the swingset. At first Wyatt wasn't very happy about losing his trapeze to a baby swing, but then he realized he could push Zane. Wyatt quickly decided having the baby swing up wasn't such a bad idea and Zane couldn't have agreed more!

Playdate with Sean - February 11

Today was Wyatt's turn for a playdate. His friend Sean came over after school to play and eat lunch. It was a beautiful day (not typical February weather for us, although we may get a little snow later this week) so they spent lots of time playing outside in the dirt. They had fun and even let Colter play with them!

No Training Wheels Required! - February 10

Danny took Wyatt's training wheels off his bike Saturday night (without telling Wyatt) and today he took him outside to practice riding. At first Wyatt was a little concerned, but after riding around a couple of times with Danny holding onto the bike he was really excited. He realized he could ride much faster without training wheels and faster is always better in his book! It also helped that Danny kept telling him that as soon as he can ride without training wheels he will get a new bike and be able to ride on the bike trails at Palo Duro. Danny just knows he needs to get at least one kid out of the bike trailer so that he can still take most of the kids on his biking adventures! : )

Wyatt still needs a little help getting started, but once he gets going he is balancing really well and remembering to pedal fast.

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?