Griffin's FIRST Birthday!!!

My wonderful, amazing, happy, funny, adorable, cute, crazy, happy boy had his first birthday party on Saturday, February, 11th - 4 days after his "real" birthday.  We had so much fun!  I have heard that some babies can crack under the pressure of a first birthday party, so you should keep it low key...we had over 30 people come through, and Griffin took it all in stride, because that's the kind of guy he is :)  We did an owl theme, "Guess Whooooo's 1?" and we decorated my whole house in owls.  My awesome mother-in-law is sort of in love with owls, so she had tons of stuff that we used.  I think it was a big success.  Here's some pics to commemorate the day:

Cupcakes that my friends Cami, Maureen, and I made.

Family shot :)

Some of the other fun little cupcakes.

Decorations!

More decorations - courtesy of my sis-in-law, Katie.

The spread.

First chocolate ever!

He dug in.

...and fed Grandpa

and loved it!

To wrap it up, Katie read the awesome story that she wrote for Griffin, while he napped :)

Green Smoothies

I've heard a lot about "green smoothies" lately, and I became intrigued so I Googled it.  What I discovered was that it seems that they have the name "green" because there are veggies in there, and it turns the whole thing into a bog-juice type of concoction.  I have a lot of friends who have been drinking these, and it seems to have become pretty trendy.  I figure that trendy things are usually trendy for a reason, right?  So I figured I'd try it out, even though they looked gross.  To my eternal surprise, I LOVED the green smoothie that I made, and I was shocked that it tasted more like fruit than veggie!  There are lots of different types, but the one I've been making the most looks like this:

Here's how to make it, if you're interested:

• Put a cup of pure water into the blender.
• Put a banana in next, so that it's next to the blade.
• Add one cup of frozen mangoes or blueberries.
• Add half a cup of frozen strawberries.
• Lastly, add a handful or so of spinach, and blend blend blend!

Griffin ate some too, and this is what he thought:

Let me know if you decide to try it!!!

11 Months :)

 

My guy has been 11 months old for almost a month, and I can't believe it.  Here's what's been happening this month:

LOVES:

• Turning the pages of his books and lifting all the flaps when we read stories.
• Crawling onto the dishwasher and "helping" Mama put away dishes.
• Throwing both arms in the air to say "all done."
• Banging objects on other objects VERY loudly.
• Listening to himself "talk."
• Bath time!
• Eating anything and everything that Mama or Dada has (except we won't let him have sugary things).
•  Being out and about, especially at music class.
• Grandma Julie and her fun sing-song voice.

DOESN'T LOVE:

• Having his face washed.
• Being slowed down in any way, such as being put in the car seat or having his diaper changed.
• Getting out of the bath.
• Being told "no" when he plays with the blinds or the DVD player.
• Having to take naps, sometimes.

This boy  is so special to us.  I can't even remember what we did before he came along!  Every day is something new and fun, and I can't wait to see what he does next :)