Some Christmas Pics!

We have had so much fun during this Christmas season and here are a few pictures of some of our Christmas fun!  We spent Christmas eve and day in Katy with Pops, Gigi, and Uncle Dallas, and now off to Colorado to hang out with the Lisenbys!  More Christmas pictures to come...

 Thanks, Honey, for all your hard work making my amazing Christmas stocking!

 Thanks, Gigi and Pops for my cute Christmas pajamas!  

 We went to the mall with some of Jack's friends and their moms to try to see Santa....we are obviously all first time moms because we didn't know that you have to get a number to see Santa 4 hours before you actually see him!  So we gave up on seeing Santa and strolled around the mall with our friends.  Jack was pretty tired at the end of it all...this is his "about to fall asleep blank stare."

 Five little boys all born within one year of each other! (James Campbell would make six little boys and we can't wait for him to move back to Dallas).   We are excited for our play group to officially start with these guys in January!

Cute boy by the tree!  I love this little Christmas outfit because you can see Jack's chubby little legs:)

I was trying to get him to smile, but he was just too fascinated by the toy I was holding.

 Photo with Santa success!  After learning that Northpark was not the ideal place to see Santa, an experienced mom let me in on the secret of visiting Santa at the Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas.  We only had to wait for a few minutes and we actually got a smiling picture! 

Jack's Favorite Things!

Jack is a really happy and relaxed baby.  We are moving past the reflux issues, so we no longer have feedings that are an all out battle, and he's been sleeping for 11-12 hours at night since he was about 8 weeks old.  He is now 16.5 weeks old, and I just can't believe how time flies.  Here are a few of Jack's favorite things:

1. This kiddo loves to suck his thumb.  When he lays down for a nap or bed time, he turns his head from side to side, fusses a little, then the thumb goes in the mouth and he's instantly soothed.  I never thought I'd be so happy to have a thumb sucking baby!

2. Jack absolutely loves to sleep!  He sleeps for 11-12 hours every night, and we usually have to wake him up in the morning.  Garrett always gets him up, gives him his reflux medicine, and changes his diaper and then I feed him about 30 minutes later to give his medicine some time to settle.  He always wakes up as happy as can be, giggling and smiling.  Garrett and I love to sleep, so we are thankful that God gave us a baby who loves to sleep as much as we do!

3.  One of our new favorite things is the toy, "Sophie the giraffe."  Jack loves this thing because he can hold it in his hands really well and he likes to put Sophie's feet and ears in his mouth.  I know, it looks like a doggie chew toy, but Jack loves it!  And Sophie originated in France, so we're exposing Jack to a variety of cultural experiences:)

 
 4.  Tummy time!  Jack absolutely loves being on his tummy.  He pushes up with his arms and loves looking all around and he loves being on his tummy because he can easily suck his thumb!  Jack has rolled a few times from his tummy to his back and lately he's been pulling his knees up under him to scoot his little body while he's on his tummy.  Sometimes he puts his face down on his play mat and wiggles his arms and legs all at once....it's like he's trying to swim.  It's hilarious.

5.  Jack Griffin loves the sound of his own voice.  Maybe that means he'll be a talker like his mommy or maybe he'll be able to sing like his daddy.  Either way this kiddo could be happy listening to himself make noise all day long.  Garrett and I crack up listening to his constant noise making while he looks out of the window in the car.  It's like he knows there's a conversation going on in the front seat and he wants to be a part of it.  I love it and I can't wait until his sounds make words and he can tell me what is going on inside of that precious little head.  A video or sound clip coming soon...


These are just a few of Jack's favorite things, and I'm sure they will change as he gets bigger....One more of his favorite things to do is eat (as you can tell by the fat rolls all over his body and his weight in the 96th percentile), but I'll spare the blog world of any details about my child's love of breast milk!  And obviously on the top of Jack's favorite list are his parents who love and adore him! 

Life Lately

I haven't been such a dedicated blogger lately, so I thought I'd  update with some pics of our little man!  He's growing and changing every day and we are having so much fun with him.  These days Jack loves hearing the sound of his voice and he squeals, coos, and "talks" to us all the time.  He is still a little thumb sucker, and he is always putting his thumbs, fingers, toys, and anything he can get his hands on into his mouth.  The Baby Einstein play mat is still one of Jack's favorite things, and he is reaching and grabbing his toys, and he loves laying on his tummy and pushing up to look around.  He's rolled over a few times, but isn't really interested in rolling too much.  We love seeing how much he loves taking in the world around him! 

 Jack loves riding in the MacLaren stroller because he can check everything out around him!

 We are losing hair by the day...this picture was a few weeks ago, and he's lost so much more of his baby hair since then.

 My little hunk of love! (I did not prop his arm like that...he did that on his own.  Just a little relaxation time in the chair.)

 "Mom I can't decide which thumb to suck..."

 "So I think I'll just try to get them both in my mouth at once..."

 "Mmmm, that's nice...I love sucking both thumbs at the same time!"

Cutie pie!

Our Talented Dog

My blog postings have been primarily focused on our sweet baby Jack, so I thought I would share the talents of Lucky the dog, who has gotten a little less attention around the Griffin house since Jack has been on the scene.  Lucky has been incredibly sweet around Jack and he's a great walking companion with the stroller.  We really have been pleasantly surprised by how well our very spirited dog has adjusted to having a baby around.  Garrett has been trying to give Lucky a little extra love by playing with him in the back yard and throwing the ball around and he discovered Lucky's athletic talents....see the video below!

Daddy's Office

Jack got to visit his daddy at work for the first time last week and he sure does love his dad!  He had fun meeting all the wonderful people Garrett works with and I think they enjoyed meeting Jack too.  Here are a couple of pictures of Jack and his daddy in the office...Jack even got to help his dad do some work! 

Two Month Update...A Little Late!

Jack was officially two months old on October 27th, so this post is a little bit late.  We didn't have his two month check up until he was actually two and a half months old, but we were so thrilled to find out that Jack is growing quite well!  Here are his stats as of 10 weeks:

Weight: 14 pounds, 4 ounces (96th percentile...what a little chunk!)

Length: 24 1/4 inches (90th percentile)

Head circumference: 16 1/4 inches (80th percentile)

The past two and a half months have flown by, and I can say that now that I'm no longer constantly sleep deprived!  I really can't believe how much Jack has grown and changed in such a short period of time.  He is an amazing blessing, and both Garrett and I really feel like we have forgotten what our life was like without him!  Garrett said the other night that we must have had tons of free time before Jack was born because all (at least most) of our time is now wrapped up in taking care of our precious son.  These days Jack is smiling all the time...he coos, grunts, squeals, and "talks" to us, especially when we sing and talk to him.  He is a pretty laid back little guy and he's happy bouncing in his bouncy seat, laying on his activity mat, and sitting in  your lap.  We have also come to find out that he really loves looking at the tv.  I think he is engaged by all the lights and sounds.  He has also gained amazing head and neck control and he's getting really good at pushing his chest and head up with his arms when he's on his tummy.  We are thinking that rolling over is just around the corner!  I still marvel at the miracle that is Jack Griffin and I can't believe how amazing he is....the Lord answered our prayers in giving us a beautiful and healthy son.  It is such a blessing to be a stay at home mom with this little boy!

Such a big boy!

What a little angel!

Halloween

Jack spent his first Halloween in Houston, and I have decided that it isn't his favorite holiday.  It's not mine either, but it is fun to dress up, and I'm hoping that Thanksgiving and Christmas are a bigger success than Halloween!  Here are a few pictures of our little lobster, who wasn't a huge fan of his lobster hat (next year's costume will not have a hat!).  We still thought he looked cute, and we're so glad that our sweet friends, the Paxtons, let us borrow this adorable costume!

 Thanks Mr. Holland, for coming to meet our Jack!

 Being a lobster can be exhausting!

 We were hoping to get a cute family pic, but Jack wasn't loving the pot!

 Feeling pretty mad about being dressed up and in sitting in a pot!

 Real lobsters must feel like this!

Worn out after all that screaming!

 Jack finally stopped crying so he could get a picture with Honey and Big John

 Lobsters always need a little cuddle and a nap with their grandmother!

 Jack got some candy in his little pumpkin on his first Halloween!

Jack enjoyed Halloween with Gigi and Pops!  (notice he's not looking at the camera...he was mesmerized by the tv!)

Isn't this the cutest lobster in the world?!

Jack's First Trip!

Jack took his first trip to Houston last week and we had so much fun!  It was his "Houston Debut" and he met lots of people, went lots of places, and he was such an angel for all the new people he met!  Jack and I spent a couple of nights with Honey and Big John and then Garrett flew in and we all spent a few nights in Katy with Gigi and Pops.  Jack spent his first Halloween in Houston (pictures and post to come), and we had a great time!   We took tons of pictures, and here are a few of our favorites...

Jack visiting Honey at the Office of George Bush.  Everyone loved seeing him!! 

Jack met his great grandparents, Big Roy and Elsa, but he had a hard time staying awake!

These are my cousins, Gray and Ryan, and they LOVED Jack.  Gray is almost three years old and he absolutely adored Jack.  We had to continuously remind him to not touch Jack's face.  We can't wait to see Gray, Ryan, and the rest of the Horlock family over Thanksgiving!  

Jack's smiling at his beautiful Aunt Jessica!

Uncle Gray loves Jack, but he's afraid of baby spit up and poop...we're just trying to prepare him for the six kids Aunt Jessica wants to have!

Jack with his other great grandfather, Tom Tom.  We loved having lunch with Tom Tom and Gran!

Jack had so much fun meeting his mommy's friend, Melissa, that he had to yawn because they wore him out with all their talking!

Jack met his great grandmother, Grandma Griffin.  He was such an angel and I think she thought he was pretty great!

Four generations of Griffins!!

Jack met the Gore family (minus Griffin), and he loved meeting them!!

Our sweet friends, Carl and Veronica Gillette, came all the way out to Katy to meet our little guy and their little girl Leigh was very curious about baby Jack!

Uncle Dallas loves his nephew, and Jack just stared at his uncle...maybe Jack will learn to play football from his uncle Dallas!

Jack had so much fun meeting all of Gigi and Pops' friends that he couldn't stay awake!  Doesn't our little baby look so big?! 

Our little family of three (except for Lucky, who had to stay in Dallas!)

Jack was pooped from all the excitement, but we had a great time!

Jack's Newest Friends

Last weekend we were so excited to finally meet our friends Daniel and Jean's little girls, Emma and Claire.  These are the most precious twin girls and they are only about six weeks older than Jack.  The Irvings were in Dallas for SMU homecoming and we were so thankful that they could come see us (and meet Jack!) on their way back to Houston.  Emma and Claire are the most laid back little girls and it was so fun to see these feminine little beauties next to our boyish little chunk! Garrett and Daniel grew up together and it's pretty amazing that the Lord would have them raising kids so close together.  Daniel was so sweet to pray for us over the phone the morning Jack was born and we are so thankful for our friendship with the Irvings.  We're hoping for many more play dates and family gatherings as our kids change and grow and as we grow as parents of these precious angels. 

 Emma and Jack laying with their heads together.  We're hoping for a love connection in the future!:)  

I see sparks already!  

 Claire, Jack, and Emma...I love this picture because Emma and Claire are looking at their mommy taking a picture and Jack is looking at his daddy taking a picture.  These babies definitely know their parents!  How sweet are they with their arms and hands on each other?!