Fang Keefer

Big Plans for Griffin this weekend! He will be part of the Keefer/ Matyas Reunion of 2011!! Aunt Cory, Uncle Steve & cousin William are all making the trek across country to meet our little monster! Griffin was so excited that he has actually sprouted a tooth to commemorate! He's had several cranky days and sleepless nights that I chalked up to his recent illnesses... but it looks like he was actually just teething! So now he just has one tiny tooth nub on the bottom- and I have decided to call Griffin "Fang".

Tomorrow is Griffin's last day at the YMCA. It is definitely bittersweet. While I love the care he has received so far, it will definitely be nice to stop the crazy morning commutes!

Our house is officially on the market and we've already had several showings. No one has put a bid in yet, but we are still very hopeful!

The Croup.

When Drew went to pick Griffin up after school on Thursday, his teachers said that he seemed a bit sicker than he had been, and that he just wasn't himself. When he got home, his cough had worsened and he was running a fever of 102.3. I freaked out and called the on-call nurse who was REALLY helpful and said the cough is worrisome but the fever was just his body fighting it off. While she did want the doctor to see him, she said we could wait until the next day (as opposed to rushing him to Urgent Care which is usually what the nurses tell us to do). While this put my mind at ease, we were then left with deciding who would take the day off to get him there. This was still my first week of work at the new job, but Drew had just called in sick the week prior . While it was DEFINITELY awkward for me to take the day off, we decided it was the safest option since his job can be weird about disciplining those taking sick time and it is really important that he stays at the court house!

When I got him to the doctor, we found out that he has croup and an ear infection. Poor kid!! No wonder he seemed miserable! The croup sounds kind of scary since the deep cough and swollen vocal chords can prevent him from breathing. He is on a steroid to reduce the inflammation and clear his airways but in the meantime he is sleeping in our room so that we can monitor him! He;s also on an antibiotic for the ear infection. I feel awful about loading his little body up with medications, but if it makes him feel better, then that is all I care about. 

Last night was MISERABLE. It was the hottest one we've had so far this year and we had struggled for hours to install a window AC unit with no success. Because of it, we were all cranky. I don't know if it was the heat or the illness, but Griffin didn't sleep AT ALL which means that Drew and I didn't either. I think it was the worst night we've had since he was a newborn. Tomorrow I have my book club meeting and then we are having dinner at my parents' house for father's day/ my dad's birthday so I really hope that we catch up on sleep tonight! We managed to install a new AC unit today so we're on a roll. Fingers crossed!

all the stress you could ever want

Well, it just wouldn't be US if we weren't in the middle of an adventure!

So just to catch you up, I started my new job on Monday. I am loving it so far but it will also take me awhile to get up to speed. I have a big office with windows overlooking the foothills. I'm moving up in the world! I can't wait to meet my students!

AND we put a bid on a new house! It is a retro-ish 1950s ranch in Golden. It has a huge kitchen, all kinds of cool built-ins, a big yard with a private deck, views of the mountains and mesas, walking distance to the river, parks, farmers market, library, shops & restaurants, and plenty of room to grow into. In my head, it is ours. I have already planned where everything will go and how we will make it feel like home. While they have accepted our offer, it is contingent on the sale of our current place and that is where the stress is. We have to make a certain amount in order to have the down payment on the new one. We've been working around the clock to get the house into perfect condition including installing a new dishwasher and range hood microwave! I am filled with hope and fear at the same time. I just feel like this is the best thing for my family- it just HAS to work!

Griffin is growing up by leaps and bounds. He is  a roly poly and can get where he wants to go by rolling there. He can get up on all fours so I'm thinking he may sit up on his own and crawl soon! He also LOVES baby food. His new thing is grabbing the spoon in my hand and guiding it to his mouth. He likes to grab at things, especially his books when I'm reading him stories at night as well as any part of Scarlett he can get his hands on!

Here's hoping for GREAT news sometime very soon!

class picture

how adorable is this?

Bear Keefer

Today Drew & Griffin had a fun daddy & boy day at the zoo while I was at work. Drew says that Griffin really seemed to enjoy it and was especially enthralled by the giraffes. This along with the fact that he has developed a really sweet adoration of trees makes me think that he is our nature boy. Maybe he'll be the next Jack Hannah or Bear Grylls. Griffin and I will have a mama & boy day next Friday that I am really excited about. I'm trying to decide what we will do!

Griffin is starting to really enjoy solid food. Peas, sweet potatoes, and especially apples have all been a big hit. The only thing he's not a huge fan of is rice cereal! He's getting so round & I love his pudgy baby body! He is also getting ticklish and he laughs regularly when I'm changing his clothes. His laugh is so contagious that the whole family usually starts cracking up once he gets going!

And here are a couple of cute pictures:

Griffin re-discovering his feet- his favorite thing to do lately

the boys in front of Little Man ice cream. G is going to LOVE this place when he gets bigger!

Crazy Busy

how can you not love this face?

We've had a LOT going on this week and I am EXHAUSTED!! It was commencement week at work which has always been my busiest season. I worked LOTS of overtime to get everything done, but it went off without a hitch yesterday. Now that it's over, I'm sort of sad that it was my last one!

On Monday we checked out a couple of new daycares. We ended up finding one only five minutes from my new office so it will be very convenient and I can still go visit him during the day. I even get a discount for working at Mines! Luckily they had an opening starting in July so he's enrolled and we're all set- one less thing to worry about! While it IS a really nice place with sweet teachers, it's not the YMCA. As you all know, I struggled with sending Griffin to daycare at all. The YMCA did an incredible job of making me feel secure and easing my transition. I could see that they genuinely care for Griffin, he is so happy there, and they go out of their way to come up with awesome activities- even for the infants! I was depressed about giving them my notice- and they are legitimately sad to see Griffin go! I know it will work out for the best, and that I'll grow to like his new center (they DO have free coffee for parents every morning!) but this has definitely been the hardest part.

Since I was working late most nights this week, Drew had to pick Griffin up from daycare a few times. Once when he came in, Griffin was playing in a bouncy seat! Apparently Drew thought it looked like a lot of fun, and he didn't want to miss out on that- so when I got home from work I found we were the proud new owners of a Baby Einstein bouncy seat!

Scarlett making sure he's safe

It really does seem to entertain Griffin- there are a lot of different "stations" and things to do, and I think it will grow with him.

plotting to take over the world

Unfortunately, Griffin has developed ANOTHER cold and he has been coughing and moaning for a few days now. He's not sleeping very well and it's making him generally evil, so I'm not sure he's AS pleased with the bouncy seat as he could be. We're hoping he gets over it quickly because he sounds so pathetic!

When I got home from work last night, I had a present waiting for me! Drew and Griffin got me a Kindle as a congratulations gift. It's so funny- I never thought I wanted an e-reader, but once I found out it was coming, I did some research, found out how AWESOME it is, and then got creepily excited! I played with it all night and I'm totally in love. I'm currently reading Pride and Prejudice, another thing I never thought I'd do, in tribute to one of my undergraduate professors who died rather recently and desperately tried to get me to love Jane Austen.

I usually read the bedtime stories, but I thought the daddy-boy book time was sweet