Danny will be the first to tell you that he is not much of a dancer, but when his little girls asked him to dance with them today he couldn't refuse. Afterwards he said that maybe he needed to really learn how to dance so that he could teach them someday. The things a daddy will do for his little girls...
I have loved watching the clash of "boy stuff" and "girl stuff" over the last few weeks. I finally got pictures of one of my favorite examples. The girls love to dance to any music that happens to be playing. The boys love dancing, too, but what they really love is wrestling with each other. So they will usually dance and jump around with the girls for a few minutes and then someone tackles someone else and everyone ends up on the floor. Then they stand up and do it all over again!
We haven't had enough snow this year to build another igloo outside, but we were able to build some inside today. We used cornstarch packing peanuts, dipped them in water and stuck them together. The kids made some great creations and the clean-up was really easy (the "igloos" just melted when we ran water over them!). 
I have been trying for days to capture this picture and finally got it this morning! Zane and Monique have such a special relationship. He gets this huge smile on his face and giggles every time he sees her and they love spending time playing together on the floor in the mornings. 
After weeks of trying to get Zane to eat food from a spoon I finally decided we were just going to skip ahead to finger food. This afternoon I sat him in his highchair and gave him some diced bananas to see if he would eat them. I'm not sure how many pieces actually made it in his mouth, but it was more nutrition than he was getting from a spoon! He did so well with the bananas that I gave him a few Cheerios and he ate those also. I guess he just wants to be in control of exactly what goes into his mouth!
The kids were so excited to wake up to about three inches of snow this morning! After things warmed up a little and the wind stopped blowing we got snow boots on and took the kids outside. I love this picture of Colter throwing a snowball at Sabrina. They had lots of fun playing and running around before the snow melted later in the afternoon.
My grandmother (named "Gummie" by my oldest cousin) and her husband Robert spend half of the year in Canyon, just 40 miles from Dimmitt (the other half of the year they spend in North Dakota where Robert is from). We were able to host her birthday party this year and she got a chance to meet her newest great-granddaughters. The girls got to meet many other family members at the party as well and they are working hard to get all of the names and faces straight. One of our favorite comments from Sabrina was when she asked if it was time for "Gummie Bear's" birthday party!
We took Sabrina and Monique on their first camping trip this weekend. They experienced lots of "firsts" (first time to sleep in a tent, first time to go potty by a tree, first time to go on a hike) and did a great job with all of the newness surrounding the experience. After we got home Sabrina asked if she could go camping again. It made her Daddy very proud! You can see more pictures on Danny's blog (www.griffisfamilyoutdoors.blogspot.com).
After spending the weekend apart, our kids have been so happy to be back together this week. They have spent lots of time playing together. Usually it involves running around the house and lots of laughing and giggling, but occasionally they will stop long enough to just sit on the floor and play with Zane. He loves all of the attention and can't wait to run around the house with them!
I pulled out some new dress-up clothes on Friday afternoon. The girls had so much fun trying everything on and posing for pictures. I can tell that a well-stocked dress-up box is going to very important in our playroom! Wyatt and Colter were a little curious about all of it at first, but they quickly decided that they would rather play with airplanes than watch their sisters try on sparkly clothes!
Sabrina and Monique loved their pigtails today. I just had to take a picture of their cute smiling faces!
Sabrina's first day of preschool was today, so I took a picture of all three kids before they headed out the door. It was a good first day and the boys were very excited to show off their new sister!
Well, according to this picture all five kids can fit in Daddy's lap! : )
We made ladybug cookies on Sunday afternoon using sugar cookie dough and some valentine candy. The kids had fun rolling the dough and decorating their cookies, but what they really enjoyed was eating them. I discovered that my girls love chocolate as much as I do!
Aunt Megan, Sabrina and Monique
Monique and Papa
Sabrina and Noni
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!
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 
