Goofy Babies

Don't you just hate it when you've got your kid all fixed up in his best sweater and then he only makes goofy i-just-ate-a-lemon faces?

And my personal favorite...
and

Sometimes I think Griffin could play an Irish thug in a Guy Ritchie movie. Check out his new face wound (baby's first chin scab!) He fell while chewing on a Matroyshka and she cut him. He kinda had it coming with all the abuse he dishes out to Natalia and her sisters.

I liked this one, but he coulda tried smiling. He's awful cute even when he looks goofy.

seriously, folks...

For some reason, this baby takes himself very seriously. He loves to stick food to his forehead and then forget about it. What a doofus!

Hand-me-downs

Griffin's old Danger Pillow has become Jezebel's new favorite catbed. Hooray for reuse.

Baby Spinning

I'm not sure what brought on this little spot of flagrantly bad parenting. Sometimes you just have to disregard all the warning labels to the contrary and just put your baby on top of a home appliance. Then you have to spin the home appliance.


Do NOT try this at home. Jake is a trained professional.
(For those of you who don't live in the Bay Area, Griffin is riding a portable dishwasher- part butcher's block, part island, all dishwasher. They can be installed. Once you buy a house. Like, sometime in 2047.)

you can't handle the toof

Guess who has hella teeth now? Griffin's pearly whites are very cute and very pointy. He has five teeth now and hid sixth should be making an appearance on the scene very soon. So far he hasn't realized that biting is fun and we are hoping he never makes this connection.

Hooray for teeth!

The Birds and Bees

In another example of Griffin's rapid maturity, he figured out the basics of human reproduction using two of the blocks Ave's Mom gave him.

The scarf and hat kind of make him look like a beatnik. Jake dressed him.

New Year, New Griffin

Now that it's a new year and Griffin is a Big Timer One Year Old (!!!) he has changed a few things about his lifestyle and personality. He's a man who looks forward and doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on hardships of the past. In fact, Griffin remembers very little about the NICU and isn't even sure what he ate for dinner last night!

Changes in G'land:

#1. Crawling is SOOOOO last year! Griffin refuses to crawl now and thinks crawling is for babies who aren't one yet.

#2. Instead of immediately cramming random detritus into his mouth, he'll look at you and wait for your response. If you shake your head "NO," he'll lick it and throw it on the ground in disgust and scowl at it, as if to say, "Damn you, piece of wood, how did you get in my mouth?!" He treats the toilet and the hot water heater with similar disdain.

#3. He loves his blanket his Aunt Kimmie sent him. She researched blankies on the internet (Aunt Kimmie ain't playin') and found this place out of Canada that makes the Cadillac of blankets. One side is flannel, the other is satin and at varying corners of the blanket, your baby will find soft ears to rub, knots to chew on, and (are you sitting down?) a tag. Ahhh.... tags.

In the morning Griffin stands up in his bed and holds his blanket and waits for us to come get him. It's better than his old "lovey," my car keys.

#4. Whenever he pushes a ride-on car or toddler taxi, Griffin controls the vehicle very well, even backing up and rerouting once he hits an obstacle. He's gotten much better with his coordination and looking over his shoulder. He's also started "running," or flailing about while trotting and squealing.

#5. He is finally smarter than the cat. Griffin follows simple commands. Put the block on your head. Put the block on Jezebel's head. Put the block in your box. He thinks putting things on his head or the cat's is extremely amusing. Especially if it's sticky. Earlier this week, he picked up one of Jake's shoes and I told him to "bring the shoe to Daddy," which he immediately did and then returned, unprompted, to fetch the second shoe for Jake. Now that I mention it, Jezebel has been around since '95 and she ain't fetched shit.

Matroyshka Mayhem #2

Is there no end to the ways in which one can degrade a Matroyshka while Griffin giggles gleefully?

Love the snicker.

Girls Love Griffin

So Griffin has a way with women, especially cute little baldies like Elizabeth. I think the ladies are drawn to his big blue eyes and his mad skillz at walking. He's usually more into their mothers, Griffin's got the Mrs. Robinson thing going. Anyway, the girls like Griffin and apparently it makes him nervous. He comes by it honestly, seeing as how it took me five years to get Jake to kiss me.

Griffin and Elizabeth go WAY back. Like six months ago.

Elizabeth's Mom, Christy, is an old friend of ours from back in the day (high school!) before any of us were responsible enough to be left alone with children (or goldfish, for that matter.)

At ten months, Elizabeth is as friendly and gregarious as ever, wanting to play and smiling at Griffin, while he regards her with a solemn and watchful eye. Sometimes eight-month old Trinity makes him cry by wearing a festive pink hat. Girls can be spooky, they are full of mystery and sometimes they wear pink hats.

Button in Belize

** WARNING: This post contains very little about Griffin and NO Griffin pictures**

So I left my baby and my husband and went to Belize for a week. It's not a bad as it sounds, Jake and Griffin were invited but opted to chill in Baton Rouge with the O'Rear Clan. Not one to pass up a tropical vacation, I kissed my darling(s) goodbye and caught a flight out of NOLA at 5am. I knew I was going to miss Griffin (and Jake,) but we are, as they say, securely attached. Plus I knew that all of G Dawg's many Gmas were gonna clamor for his sticky-fingered love and he would hardly suffer from lack of attention. The lure of the island, a hammock, a Tom Robbins novel and a CocoLoco pulled me to Belize.
On New Year's Eve we went to Matachica for buffet and pinatas. The ceviche was bomb but the lobster was tough. Just to prove that I'm still a rockstar, I beat five guys to the bottom of an 8 oz. baby bottle filled with Belikin, the local brew. Even thought the bottle's nipple was easily a Stage One, I came in second, but still won a bottle of champagne for my efforts. (I'm the short chick on the far right.) :)
We filmed another of our fabulous family films (although we recommend you do not watch these movies if you have a heart condition or are easily disturbed.) Like Beach Blanket Bloodbath (2001,) Peril in Paradise (2004,) Terror in Tulum (2006) and La Bandita Terrible, our latest family freakshow, The Bride of McGrath-n-Stein, should turn your stomach and warm your heart. It has all the makings of a summer blockbuster- weddings, murders, moray eels, sea hags, Butch McGrath- World Class Badminton Champion of the World, penguins performing Shakespearean sonnets, smarmy Hollywood agents, evil children, rednecks wrecking golf carts, underwater cat fights and of course, Choco De Melvin. Uh-oh, I think I just told you the plot.
Me as a Sea Hag. Not only am I foul, fearsome and totally unholy, I am also rehydrating my skin with a Lush Facial Mask made with seaweed and honey.

Here's a little unspoiled beach to make you wish you were someplace else. Unless you happen to be snorkeling on an uninhabited tropical island with the world's second largest coral reef. While we were snorkeling off Goff Island, we saw an octopus menacing a giant conch. True to Coonass form, Uncle Ragan swam down to harass and badger the octopus for our amusement. We also saw a shipwreck, a moray eel and an eagle ray.

Alright, I lied. I can't post a blog entry without some Griffin. It IS Griffin Aficionados after all.

Epic Xmas

We are leaving New Orleans tomorrow after a long and eventful trip. Our Epic Holiday Adventure began on the 17th and ended a record three weeks and one day later. We survived two Birthdays, Christmas, New Years, a trip out of the country and managed to catch the start of Mardi Gras Season yesterday in New Orleans. I had bacon and King Cake for breakfast and you know you're jealous!

I'm sure I will be posting more pictures from our trip to Louisiana (and maybe a few from my jaunt to Belize.) Check back in a few days to find out more of the details. We've gone cross-eyed from all the fun we've been having!


Griffin in New Orleans with some of his aunts and uncles (Emily, Patrick, Katie, John & Kirk- Kati, Karin and MJ were in Baton Rouge) Don't mess with Griffin cuz he's got aunts and uncles like you wouldn't believe!