Monday, March 27, 2006

I think...

We've probably been over-blogging lately, but here goes anyway. Every night Nate does everything possible to avoid going to bed. Usually once we get him settled he sneaks out of his room and makes up some crazy excuse as to why he needs us. Tonight was one of my favorites... "Dad, I think stars are bigger than 81 feet" he says with an I'm the smartest child in the world face. Always an adventure... and, I checked, he was right about stars. Maybe he is the smartest 4 year old in the world.

new look

Wow... my husband's amazing...

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Test Video



Well, here goes our first attempt at adding video to the blog. This just happens to be my (Ben's) first addition to this blog. I dare not compete with Kate's writing skills, but I may be able to add a little on the tech side.

This is just a test and really a precurser to a story that we can't wait to show you. Just need to make sure it all works. This particular video is a few years old. Pre Eli and Ava. You may remember Nate's co-star TP (the cat) from his past works including, "Who's that biting my ankle?" "Did you smell that?" and "Bye, Bye kitty!" Corny I know, but he was not a family friendly animal. Let us know if this works on your computer. You can either click on the pic or... Click here to view video.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

STL


Library - 0024
Originally uploaded by the Griffins.
We spent last weekend in St. Louis with Sarah and Todd (Ben married our old neighbors... uh, performed the ceremony, that is...).

Some highlights:

-hanging with Sarah and Todd (and getting the giggles with my sister til neither one of us knows what we are laughing at, but have lost all ability to stop... I miss you, Sarah...)

-staying in our old apartment... some smells never fade.

-enjoying the zoo and botanical gardens without sub-zero temps.

-Watching the wedding dj. My eye first noticed him while I was behind him in the buffet line as he piled mounds of green beans over his salad, which covered his entire plate, and mashed potatoes over those, while at the same time coached a guy how to hold rolls under your plate so there's more room for food... and we were only at the beginning of the line. Scary.

-Knowing that the year spent with our neighbors continues to be a strong friendship

-Worshiping at Todd's field work church, Christ in the City (worth checking out) and hearing Todd preach.

Overall great weekend. I only wish we were closer...

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

personal trainer anyone??

After two and a half years straight of being pregnant or post baby, I can finally fit back into my pre-Eli and Ava jeans. To celebrate, I thought maybe I should work a little harder at it and pull out my old pilates video (yeah, I'm cool). To top off the coolness factor, the only time I really have to do it is while the kids are napping and during Nate's "quiet time". This means that I have to subject my son to it. (Sure hope his childhood is a blur.)

I was trying to jazz the whole experience up for Nate, telling him why it's important to exercise and how it builds strong muscles and all that in the hope that he might join me instead of just staring at how dumb I looked. I showed him how he could do some other things like jumping jacks, run in place, or push-ups just hoping that he would quit using me as his entertainment.

Although my feeble attempts did not move him from off the play chair that he had pulled up in front of me to make me a spectacle, something I said must have stuck. Tonight (almost a week later-yeah, I'm a slacker), just before Nate crawls up into bed he looks at me and gets this cute "big boy" look on his face and says, "You know, mom, I do push-ups every morning." I look at him, trying not to smile as I picture this little four-year old in his pajamas doing his "push-ups" before he leaves his room in the morning, and I say, "You do?" He says proudly with a little shake of his head, "Yep, ev-wey mone-ning" (ya gotta have the full effect).

He could certainly teach me a thing or two about self-discipline. At this rate he's going to be buffer than me in a matter of weeks.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

only the beginning...


natesdrawing5 copy
Originally uploaded by the Griffins.
Thought y'all might enjoy glimpsing into the mind of a budding pre-literacy prodigy (ok... the prodigy thing is a stretch...but really, this is just plain cute...)

Nate has recently been disappearing on us (which is unusual as he rarely likes to be left alone). I will suddenly become aware that the house has become unusually quiet and really, very peaceful.

As all parents know, this is the peace that we would all love to bask in, but can't because this is the peace that could be our demise. It's usually the time that my couch is being "decorated" with bright shades of Crayola or dental floss is being strung all around the house (both recent occurances).

Well, lately this "peace" is actually being used constructively. Just as I'm about to investigate what might be happening during one of these quiet moments, I am have been greeted by a sweet note (as shown).

Nate has been writing semi-phonetic sentences. It's neat to see that he has the confidence and the curiousity to give writing a try. I must admit, though, when he hands these notes to me I have to keep a very straight face to not grin at the jumbled stream of letters he's put together... so interesting to see a child's mind at work.

I'll let you know when his first book comes out...