Summer 2010: Welcome Bjarek

We got a new family member this summer, a small, feisty, yet incredibly tolerant kitten that Griffin has named "Bjarek." (Bee-ya-rick) It rolled so easily off Griffin's tongue, we could only assume that Bjarek was his best friend, or perhaps his trusty steed, when he was a Norse warrior in a previous life. 

There is a long and convoluted story about how the neighbors up the street sort of gave him to us, only we weren't looking for a kitten to add to the variety of creatures that aren't potty-trained in our house. That said, we couldn't have asked the universe to send us a more appropriate feline to fill the void and act as Griffin's 24/7 playmate.

Bjarek has declared himself Griffin's official sidekick and together they are keeping our neighborhood safe from evil forces. And also Bjarek eats frogs.

Bjarek shows high levels of tolerance for being carted about by small children and he's only inflicted minor flesh wounds on the boy. He also keeps Griffin busy playing in the yard or under the table for at least three 20 minute sessions every day. Jake wants to get Bjarek CPR trained and then we could go to the pub for Happy Hour.

Despite the fact that I've long prided myself on not having picked up any cats aside from my One and Only,  Jezebel, I think Bjarek is a keeper. It's like he read the want ad we didn't post. "Family seeking mellow, outdoor cat to entertain child for several hours a day. No scratchers, biters or yowlers need apply."

Even Jezebel likes tolerates him.

Summer 2010: Gardens Galore

True to form, we've got our gardens going this year. Our neighborhood, Brooktrails, is heavily forested with enormous redwoods and not much sun, so we have two plots at the Willits Community Garden. Only $10 per plot, per year and all the soil and water you need!

Griffin has developed quite the green thumb and I want to get a job as a professional sign painter.




Now if only our freaking tomatoes would ripen! This cool weather we've had has us loaded down with green heirlooms, but I ain't lookin' to fry 50 batches of fried green tomatoes!

Summer 2010: A Retrospective (Part 1)

Time flies. Summer flies. That's just what it does around here. Unless you're just chillin' with the chickens.

Griffin learned to drive standard. An important skill for a well-rounded young man.

Our dear friends, Jenny (Fish) and Ben increased the population of the world by exactly one. Although they increased the population of Tomales, CA, by about 15%! Welcome to the Team, Atticus! May 11th, formerly known as Griffin Creation Day, will henceforth be known as Happy Birthday, Atticus!


The Hoyer-Paradis nuptials were arranged.


And then smoothly carried out, with no sheep escaping into the wedding ceremony.
Griffin and Lilah road in a wagon (with mixed results) but the cuteness factor was always high!


All things considered, it was a lovely event. Full of fruity goodness!




It was a sweet success!

Grand Canyon Trip

It should be obvious by now that we drop off the blogosphere from time to time. Sometimes things are good, sometimes things are bad, mostly we're just busy. Don't take it personally and we'll keep posting when we can.

Ain't life Grand?
Jake spent a lot of time at the edge of various precipices, making me wonder if the stresses of marriage and fatherhood were taking a toll. Then I remembered that Jake's always loved putting himself out on rocks and boulders in a precarious fashion.
The views were beyond imagining.
The most beautiful place I've ever tied my shoes.

Griffin used a bulldozer to increase the vastness of the Grand Canyon.

Tumbleweed and ice cream. Welcome to Jerome!

We just got back from the Grand Canyon. The primary purpose of the trip to was to remember Ronnie and scatter his ashes, but really I just think he wanted us all to take a vacation together and take in some amazing scenery. Jake, Griffin and I flew into Prescott and met up with the O'Rear/Hollis family- Grammy, Kati, Wes, Sue and Garth. We took a day trip to Jerome had the slowest lunch known to man, tasted wine made by the lead singer from TOOL (Merkin Vineyards) and saw a variety of historic brothels.

Griffin mostly enjoyed being the center of attention and was mostly pleasant despite coming down with a gnarly little cold. He powered through it, passed it on to Jake and me and shared a particularly virulent germ with Grammy.

Me: Wow, Griffin, check out the beautiful sunset over the Grand Canyon. You don't see something like that every day.
Griffin: I see an ant! I see two ants!


We had a lovely ceremony for Ronnie and scattered his ashes over a beautiful little stretch of canyon during our hike. He'll have an amazing view and we'll always know where to find him (in our hearts and in the biggest, widest, and most glorious hole in the US.) We were supposed to apply for a permit to scatter ashes, but as you know, we don't need no stinkin' permit.

We love you Pop Pop!

Sh*t My Kid Says 2

"I'm not a scary spaceman anymore. I'm a good boy."

Please ignore the mess. This is what a whole lot of rainy days does to the inside of our home.

Sh*t My Kid Says

Witness Griffin's second wind as he mysteriously ramps up post-bathtime and displays his mad skillz for the camera. He manages to pull off some kind of yoga inversion and also utters a great one-liner- "I'm eating this otter all by myself."




Griffin has a decidedly scientific mindset. Ever since he was a little, little guy, he's set up various experiments and repeated them over and over, changing one variable each time. Once he brought out a scale to weigh himself and dragged it over to the carpet. The carpet threw off the calibration and he weighed in at 4 and a half pounds, so I moved it to the tile in the kitchen to get an accurate reading- 27.5. After that, Griffin proceeded to weigh himself on the living room rug, the front walkway, the floormat and a couch cushion. In this video, he tests the velocity of cars, buses, tractors, a book and a piano on an incline (his slide/our living room end table.)

Slip-sliding Away

In case you didn't have enough fun watching Griffin and Jake sliding in our other video, here is another, longer version.

For Ave & Lilah

Since Sam is being held prisoner by the Giant Ash Cloud from Iceland, Ave and Lilah are on their own for another long, long weekend. If he can't get back from Europe soon, Ave may have to sell Lilah to a nice family down the street so she can go down to the basement and do the laundry. Since we want to support the Didier-Sober-Mince-Didier-Sobers in their time of need, we are going to post lots of videos of Griffin for them to watch on the computer. As we've mentioned before, we can't always afford segues around here, so you will have to jump from action-packed video to action-packed video while you fill in the gaps for yourself.



Griffin always asks to hear the "Who Dat Song" in the car and on the computer. He can't wait for the 2010 football season. Neither can his father. Thanks to the Saints' wonderful ride to the Superbowl (and #88,) even I am excited.



We had a great time last weekend because it was a Double Toddler Birthday Weekend! I need a nap just thinking about it. We spent Saturday in Laytonville, rocking out with Ryder and then spent Sunday in Ukiah, sliding with Sequoia. It rained miserably both days, so we knew we were fortunate to have something to do instead of just slowing dying inside our house. Jake had just as much fun at Jumperz as the toddler army did and he was plumb tuckered out by the end of the party.


Here you can watch Griffin and Ryder discuss their mutual love for computers and attempt to share. Most of the time they do alright with the sharing, but sometimes all hell breaks loose and one grabs the other in a headlock and drags him around the room. I've seen them both do it, so I know they're pretty fairly matched. I'm never sure if I should break it up, let them sort it out, or get the video camera and capture it for posterity. During the altercations, Griffin likes to insist the object in question is "mine!!!" while Ryder spins elaborate tales explaining why giving the toy to Griffin is a really bad idea. My favorite was when he was unable to share a tractor that made sound effects because his Daddy told him he'd better not share tractors. Mat is all for tractor sharing, so I called his bluff. We share talking tractors at my house.

You can't fool me, toddlers. I wasn't born yesterday (or in 2007.)

Visions From a Stomach Flu

When we came back from our trip to Louisiana, we wanted to hit the ground running. Instead we just hit the ground. I had a nasty sinus infection on the return trip and it felt like someone was ramming a boot in my ear the whole flight home. Forty-eight hours after we got home, Jake was stricken with some kind of horrible purge that ran riot through the GI tract. Jake went down on Friday. Saturday night Griffin woke up and barfed all over me.

I consider myself fortunate to make it through the first two years of Griffin's life without being baptized in puke. Most mothers I know haven't been so lucky. Of course, I came down with the stomach purge about 18 hours after being used as an air-sick bag.


Poor guy!

A Boy, His Kitty & a Stroller

Griffin continues to find new ways to torment Jezebel. Meanwhile, Jezebel digs even deeper to find her last reservoirs of tolerance. His maniacal laughter brings us such joy.

For Lilah

Since we've recently been informed that Lilah is a Big Fan of Griffin Aficionados, we're determined to resume posting. Here is a recent video of Griffin sorting animals and doing donkey kicks.


Sometimes we may fall short on witty commentary, but as long as the pictures and video keep Lady L happy, that works for me.

Griffin had a blast with all his Aunts and Uncles. Despite being the only little one (cousin Brian has renounced his title and is now fifteen and taller than me- a family rite of passage,) there were a ton of goofy people willing to play with Finn.


All five of Luci and Reps's kids were there with all their kids and Cass's cousins on the other side. It was pretty epic and I need a nap just thinking about it.

Everyone was in rare form. Well, actually, most of them act this way all the time, they were just doing it in the snow this time.


All the young swinging singles hit the slopes daily, but G, Jake and I took it light, only venturing to Squaw to ride the monorail and drink beer.


We celebrated the New Year on the pier overlooking Lake Tahoe. The views were decadent and Jake and I luxuriated in reading novels while Griffin terrorized our relations. Jake re-read the Hobbit, while I wasted valuable time reading a middle school series I picked up while student teaching. The many adoring relatives provided tons of fun for G Dawg and he features prominently in our annual slasher film.

Snow in Tahoe

Immediately following Griffin's Birthday, Winter Solstice, my Birthday, Christmas and Grammy B and Aunt Kati's visit, (deep breath) we loaded up the car and drove to Tahoe to experience the wonder of snow and the Jones Clan (my maternal krewe of relations.)


Jake and I didn't see this kind of snow until we were in our mid-twenties, so we are glad to give Griffin the snow-filled childhood we never had. We made mud and chigger angels, instead.


Griffin goes over the snow on his red sled- a much easier way to haul a toddler.

Jake and G Dawg in motion. Frankly, I think Jake and I were just as enthralled with sledding as Griffin was, if not more. In Baton Rouge there was an outdoors store that had a fake snowy hill, but really it was a carpet-covered incline. We went there for Birthday parties to slide on carpet. We are really undernourished when it comes to snow.

Wheeeeee!!!

2010 Resolutions

So, as you may have noticed, better blogging habits was not one of my resolutions. I'll do my best, but we are moving at the speed of light here, people. Check Facebook for the latest and greatest G Dawg. More posts to come, but don't get too excited...

Since Christmas

In an effort to show how well-balanced he is, Griffin likes to carry a purse. Some may call it a satchel, but really it's my pumpkin-orange handbag from 2003. Only now it's Griffin's. Isn't that one of the moments you dream about when you are pregnant? Giving your young son his first purse so he can cram it full of important thing like animals, hair ties and Aunt Joell's business cards.

Since his Birthday and the holidays (more to come later) Griffin is the proud owner of many, many toys and an ever-expanding vocabulary that includes "hecka messy in here", "goober pea" and "dammit" (overheard on the roadtrip home from Tahoe.) Grammy Barbara gave G Dawg the motherload of little animal figurines (and he already had dozens!) Granny Lynn sent L'il G a "road mat" and a set of farm equipment vehicles- which Grammy B's animals all ride in. Cindy (following in the tradition of her mother, my grandmother, "Luci,") gave Griffin a train set that the farm animals and tractors can also enjoy.

Don't even get me started on the new Hungry Hungry Hippos game...

Jake is engaged in the generational tradition of teaching his son how to play Hungry Hungry Hippos while Grammy Barb looks on appreciatively.