Rough

It has been pretty rough lately. First, following a pretty good healthy streak, we all came down with the stomach flu this weekend. Though it was fairly short lived (about 8 hours for each of us), it still wasn't pleasant, especially for a holiday weekend. Luckily we were all well enough to visit with my parents for a bit on Saturday (before Drew got ill) and go for a drive on Monday (just after I recovered).

Then yesterday I got a call from daycare that they thought Griffin might have another ear infection. They said he had been falling asleep randomly during class, had been crying inconsolably, and was pulling at his ear. Of course I left work to pick him up and take him to the doctor only to find out there is nothing wrong with him. NOTHING. But while we were there, I had a revelation. Griffin wanted to open and close all the drawers in the examining room while we waited (and WAITED) for the doctor. When I wouldn't let him do as he pleased, he rewarded me with one of his new brand of temper tantrum. These are intense rages that turn him bright red and stiff as a board with guttural screams. No amount of redirection or soothing with console him, he just needs to get it out. When the doctor came in, Griffin was still in the midst of his performance, so the doctor said "oh, no. Is he in that much pain? Or is he just nervous about being here?" And I explained "no, actually, he's upset about not being able to empty your cabinets" to which he replied "WOW. Already? At 16 months? Well, at least you can take comfort in the fact that he's actually cognitively advanced!" Yeah... that's something. Anyway, I realized that what happened at school was probably one of Griffin's new tantrums and was not actually a sign of pain (though I can see how you would think so). And he was probably falling asleep all day because he is MEAN and has been waking us up at 4 am the past few mornings just to hang out! I am TIRED! Unfortunately, coming up with those answers didn't make wasting my afternoon and paying a co-pay for nothing any less annoying.

The only bright side over the past several days was our picnic last night. We decided that during the warmer months, we will have a picnic in the park once a week to change things up, have a little family adventure and get us outside. Last night's was our first of the season and we had a BLAST. We carried dinner down to Parfet Park and ate and played and laughed and forgot about every difficult thing in our lives for awhile.

Then we stopped for frozen yogurt before walking home. PERFECT night. Cant wait for next week!

The Fighter

After yesterday's drop off, I spent the rest of the day worrying about Griffin. I just kept picturing his sweet little face and giant gray eyes as I walked away from him. 5:00 couldn't come fast enough and I raced in to get him as soon as I could. I expected that, as per usual, he would have been totally happy after I left. But then I found out that he had been in a fight!

Apparently shortly after I went to work, he was playing with a toy that another kid decided he wanted. Griffin didn't let it go, so the other kid bit Griffin! He didn't draw blood but it was hard enough to leave a welt that lasted the entire day. But Griffin wasn't just going to take it! Instead of crying or giving in, he apparently pushed the other kid down! YAY! I do NOT condone violence or fighting, but I am so glad that Griffin is learning to stand up for himself, especially on an already bad day. And even his teachers were secretly rooting for him. That's my boy.

In other fun news, we have bought our tickets to travel back home to Columbus next month! At this time four weeks from now, we will be in mid-air. We're so excited to spend time with our friends and family and venture to some of our old haunts. And it will be neat to have Griffin experience the O-H!

The Bravest

Well, I cried after dropping Griffin off at daycare today. For the first time ever, I literally wept.

I've mentioned before that Griffin has been extra shy at drop off. He doesn't cry, he just clings. He maintains a death grip on my fingers or he hides behind my leg. Usually he looks nervous as I peel him off of me but there are no dramatics, and his teachers say he warms up immediately after seeing the door close behind me.

Not today.

Today he was extra clingy. He didn't want me to put him down or fill out his sign in form. He didn't want to play with any of the toys I gave him or look at his teachers. He just wanted to hold my hand. I tried to get him occupied with some musical instruments and then sneak out, but he caught me. He ran as fast as his little legs would carry him until he reached me at the door. And then when his teacher picked him up and I said goodbye, his eyes got huge and welled with tears. He didn't cry. He tried to stay so brave. But I could see how sad and hurt he was. And I had to go.

There is something about seeing a tiny child, one who can barely speak, try to stay brave. It is completely heartbreaking in its unfairness. So I completely dissolved as soon as I got to the car. My poor, sweet boy.

The Chase

Starring Griffin, Scarlett, and a giant OSU jumpsuit:

The Foreman

We got these pictures from Griffin's school last week. We get pictures from them all the time, but I happen to LOVE these:

All Mines students are issued hard hats upon enrollment, so maybe he's getting ready to be an engineer! Though construction is solid work too...

Mother's Day 2012

It took a few days, but I didn't want to miss posting about Mother's Day! This year we were all healthy and happy (as opposed to last year when Drew got a horrible ear infection) so we already started out way ahead! Griffin gave me the best gift ever and slept in until 6:30. It was awesome! Then Drew made me breakfast in bed (complete with an apple sliced and arranged into the word "mom"!) I also got some very sweet gifts. Griffin planted me sunflowers at school!

They are already getting really big! I will have to plant them out in the garden soon. I especially love that the lyrics to You Are My Sunshine are pasted to the cup, since that is one of the 3 lullabies I routinely sing to him. And Drew got me a super sweet immersion blender I've had my eye on. It does, literally, everything so I'll be donating our old blender and maybe even my food processor. Yay for decluttering!

After that, Drew gave me the morning to myself while he took care of Griffin. I got to laze around and read through magazines, take a long shower, and basically just pretend I had no responsibilities.

That afternoon we went to my parents' house to celebrate Mothers Day with my mom. I made an amazing lasagna to take with us complete with pesto, sausage, spinach, zucchini & roasted red peppers. SO GOOD. And of course Griffin was the little star there which is always a good feeling!

It's going to be hard to top that for Fathers Day!

Super Sad. (& update)

Our next door neighbors had this sweet little back cat. It loved hanging out in our yard (much to Scarlett's chagrin) and it kept the grasshoppers in my garden to a minimum. Just Monday morning as I was taking Griffin to school, he came out and saw the cat lounging in our flower bed. He LOVES cats, so he got SO happy and started squealing, pointing and clapping as he tried to make his way down to her as fast as he could. The cat was used to kids (it had three of it's own) so she just sat there and let him toddle over to her. It made Griffin's whole morning.

Yesterday morning Drew saw our next door neighbor briskly carrying a clearly limp and lifeless kitty away from her yard. He thinks she was trying to hide it from her kids before school. We're not sure what happened, but since it was an outside cat, Drew thinks it was either hit by a car or a predator got to it. That evening while I was making dinner, I heard tiny mournful sobs coming from the front yard. I looked out and saw one of the little girls who had lost her friend sitting in her garden, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. It broke my heart. I got three journals together- one for each of the kids. I know when I was young and dealing with grief, or any strong emotion, writing helped. I hope to see them today.

This morning as we were going to school again, Griffin ran to the edge of the porch where he saw the cat on Monday and started pointing to the garden where she sat. We walked down and he looked and looked, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

It's funny how a life (even a tiny cat life) can touch you so briefly, bring so much joy, and still leave a void when it is gone. Griffin is too young to understand, and he will likely forget about her in a few days. But I hope the kids next door someday realize how special it was that they got to have her, and that their memories are warm and happy.


**********update**********

I saw two of the kids outside playing when I got home last night. I asked about the cat and they both immediately opened up about how sad it was and how hard it has been. I told them I had something for them and gave them the journals. Their faces lit up in the most incredible way. I could see happiness touching their eyes, the corners of their mouths. Being able to do that for them gave me so much joy. Later that night I went to close the door and lock up and found a bunch of gorgeous handpicked flowers and handwritten thank you notes on my porch.

What amazing kids. I keep getting all misty thinking about it. I love that generosity and compassion and warmth are things that we can keep going around...

Vocab Update

I forgot to mention that Griffin also says "hi" a lot. I don't know how I forgot, considering that just the other day I was using the bathroom and he came barging in, grinned, and said "hi". Having kids is awesome.

And then just last night he started saying "cracker"! They ARE one of his favorite foods, so it makes sense.

I am now SUPER excited and have been trying to get him to say everything. Last night after "cracker" I clapped and hugged him, gave him some saltines, then said "can you say milk? Do you want milk with your cracker?" and he just stared at me. So Drew chimes in, "you're getting greedy, Jess. Get-ting greedy..."

vocabulary

All of a sudden, Griffin has become a talking machine! It seems like he picks up several new words a day. Drew and I have realized it's time to stop dropping the f-bomb...

Here is a smattering of what he'll currently say:
daddy
duck
ball
bubble
moo
quack
baa
yes
no
dog
kitty
cup

He is still on a mama strike for some reason (he refers to me as daa or bub... no idea). He is VERY proud of his new found speaking skills and grins, claps, and looks for hugs whenever he uses them. Adorbs.

Rude Awakening

For some reason, Griffin woke up screaming at 4 in the morning today. While he is an early riser, this was not normal for him. Drew went in and soothed him until he stopped crying and then brought him into our bed where he immediately fell asleep between us. He was still asleep when Drew got up for work and Scarlett crawled up in his place, complete with her head on his pillow with her face just inches away from Griffin's. When Griffin stirred and opened his eyes an hour or so later, the first thing he saw was Scarlett's big, furry face. He sat bolt upright and started crying. Then, once he realized he was in our bed, he laid down, snuggled in, and started laughing.