July 4th Weekend!

Our Fourth was just what we needed! We had our good friends Crissy, Brian and there son Noah. Noah is exaclty 1 month and 1 day older than our little guy! I Guess I felt like playing Dress up with Griffin because I noticed that he had 4 different out fits on that day! All about July 4th! One reason was because Noah's mommy bought them matching outfits along with some super fun toys for Griffin's new play room! Thanks Crissy!!

We had the best time in the pool Griffin saw Noah jumping off the side into the pool and wanted to copy. So we did. I was amazed at how out of shape I am in! But heading back to the Gym Tomorrow:) The Daddy's seemed to have a BIG time in the pool! Hince the cannon ball and watermelon pictures! They are pretty funny!!!

Griffin saw his first fireworks!! I was more excited than him. He didn't too much care for he loud noise that they gave off. I think a lot had to do with him being tired! It was passed his bed time by hours!

Later on in the afternoon we invited Brian's parents and JV parents over! They had a great time together. I don't know why we did do that sooner! All-in all We got to do exactly what we wanted! Watched Fireworks (not big fan of lighting them), Swam in the pool and grilled out! We wanted to keep it low key and that's exactly what it was!

GFIFFIN IS WALKING!!!!

Okay, So, I finally stopped working with Griffin on his walking and guess what? He started Wednesday afternoon! Now, that is all he wants to do! He is very sturdy and I think it is because he did take so long to walk. It took him 16months and one day to be exact! I was going to put the video but I can't figure out how to make it stay for long? It's there and then after so many plays it's no longer available? Do you have to make it public on the website to make it view on blogger? Does anyone know? ANY suggestions will help!

Family Day in the Pool!

I have to say I didn't really care for a pool when it came to buying a house. Now, I am eating my words! I love it! It is such good quality family time.
No distractions just us three in the water splashing and having a good time.
Griffin does however, think that it's one big sippy cup! He wants to drink the water and I don't know how to change that! I really hope that we can change the chlorine to salt water before next summer. I am trying to convince JV that it is the best for us and the up keep. We shall see?

Happy 16mo!

My Dearest Griffin,

You are 16mo old today! I am still in shock! You definitely have your mommy and Daddy wrapped.

I can honestly say that We cannot imagine our lives without you! You bring so much joy in so many ways:) Every second of everyday I think of you! When I am at home or at work you are on my mind! Every change and every phase has been such a joy!

Here are the things that are new:

You just said the word Ball twice today!

You still love for people to walk you!

You have huge crocodile tears when it doesn't go your way

You eat everything! Just this past week we went to Hartsville to see Net Net and we went out to eat you had 2 muffins the size of two fists, container of pudding a quart size bag of grapes, 6 raisins and over 10 teddy grahams. I just knew that you were going to have a tummy ache but you did fine!

You even eat guacamole?? That right there tells us that you are my child:)

You are into dancing these days the past 4 days when I come to get you out of your crib you dance from side to side with this adorable grin from ear to ear.

You know let me rock you before bedtime. Which is so sweet!

Your favorite new toy is the puffs container. You love to take the top off and on.

You favorite bath toy are the Arbonne wash bottles that you stack along the sides of the bath tub. You repeat this over and over! I don't know why I even bother with buying toys?

You still love the running jogger. We all go on a family walk in the mornings on my days off and you love our new neighborhood!
You are my love and Your father and I can't say enough about you!

All my love, Mommy

One Remarkable Daddy!

Happy Big Daddy Day John Van! I am so blessed to have you as my husband and the Father of my child! You are an amazing man! I know Griffin already looks up to you so much! The day that you said "It was time to try for a child" was one of the happiest days of my life! It seems like it was just yesterday. I came back from my good friends Misty's Bachlorette Party and I walk into the house wanting to just lay down from such a busy weekend. You told me to walk into the other room to look at what was on top of the stero. There lied the Cd that spoke to us in so many ways and one that will speak to Griffin as well!

From then, I placed it into the stero and you grabbed my hand and we just danced. You told me that this was the CD that you would rock your child to sleep with. Tears feel down my face and my dream had come true! You were ready for a wonderful amazing child and I had never been more ready for anything. Those were the words my heart longed for!

Now, We get to celebrate a wonderful day of Fatherhood! Grifffin and I are so very blessed! We have this remarkable individual to share our lives with!

Griffin points to his body parts!

YouTube - My Videos

YouTube - My Videos

Silly Daddy

Only your Daddy! This is a picture of the twins from his last job. Micheal and Mitchell. They come and visit you often and well, they decided to get t-shirts made. They decided to get into basketball this year while waiting patiently for football to roll around. So, they decided to start pulling for the Boston Celtics. In the picture below they have each picked there favorite player and it states above the number that they are "OPENLY BAND WAGON FANS". We stayed up to watch the game. I saw most but fell asleep during the last little bit. Typical mommy! They did win though! They came back from being 24 points down and ended up wining by 6!

Play Date with Austin!

After the wonderful visit with my mom and sister we got to leave the next morning to visit one of your very best buddies! Austin! And Mommy got to visit her very best friend Amanda! We had such a good time:) You did well considering you had no nap:) We got to visit the Aquarium for the first time! You did good up until the end. You were very sleepy and wanted to take a nap! You can't fall asleep just anywhere. You got a little nap on the way home though. Thanks Austin and Amanda we had a great time!

Your New Float!

We had a great visit with you Nana and Aunt KeeKee! We also got you in your new float:) You even honked the horn! When I saw it I had to get it! We had a great visit and mommy even got to go shopping while you spent time with your daddy. We already miss you guys! Come back real soon!

How you even love there Tempers!

Okay, So I thought things would slow down! But low and behold they have been pretty steady! We are moved in and pictures are on the wall but not where we need to be. This month we are having electricians, painters, and Classic Cabinets to come in and do a little mini-make over! It is very exciting but at the same time nothing is complete! I have found my self telling God "Okay please remind me to have patience!"

Griffin has been changing like crazy! He is into everything! He is very stubborn and shows his temper often! He can be so so sweet and then the next minute he it swatting at you! Yes we are dealing with a child that swats when he doesn't get his way! Usually, He gets upset when you let go of his hand to see if he will walk on his own! The world has come to an end when you let go! Crocodile tears start to form and hands go to swatting! Then other times he is so tender hearted if I even say in a strong tone "Griffin you know better" he puckers that lip and his heart is broken! It is amazing how much you love something so much it hurts! And how you even love there temper!

One of my closest friends and sisters has just found out that she gets to bring home a little girl this September! I can't wait to hear about her love for that little one! She and her husband have decided to adopt and It was so enduring to see God's hand in it all! Everywhere they would go they would hear a story on adoption! I was present for two of those times! There were plenty more!! She and her husband are going to be the most amazing parents ever! I am not the only one who thinks so:)
JV and I are so blessed to have them in our lives and we can't wait to see there little angel grow! What a miracle! I doubt this little one will have a temper but even if she does they too will love it!

Taking some time for Mommy and Griffin

We have been going non-stop since Friday and Griffin and I decided to take a hour break on Memorial Day to enjoy the pretty weather! He loved loved the pool! He splashed and giggled the whole time. He was the cutest thing ever! We can't wait till we can invite your friends over to add to the laughter!







Stopping to take a drink! You were a thirsty little boy! I love you in this visor!

15 mo. old check up!

We saw the Doc this past Monday and here are your mesurments:
You now weigh 23lbs 14oz and you are 31inches long! We are so excited about this growth spurt! Doc and his nurse pointed out how much you had grown since last time!You grew 3 inches! Wow!

Happy 15mo!

My Dearest Griffin,

Tomorrow you will be 15months old! I use to hear from my patients that when you enter into this world that it would be the fastest part of my life from here on out! Boy! Were they right! God has given you to us to enjoy here on this earth and we are so undeserving! Here are some little things that you are doing!

We work on body parts everyday and you now know where your belly is! It is my favorite because you take both hands and put them on your tummy and move them back and forth side to side! It is so, so, so cute!

You still have very little to say but you have a huge non-verbal vocabulary. You understand us so well! You definitely know what no means but still tempt us every day! You know what snack is, ball, dog, reading a book, milk, juice, and much much more!

You want to walk all day long! You took your very first step on your own today but didn't realize it! We were over at the new house measuring for blinds and Pops was walking you and I got down to take over and you took one step towards me and grabbed my finger!

My new favorite thing is how we put you to sleep for naps and night night. Your Pops and Dee started this and it is truly priceless! You go to sleep with this small blankie that has tags all around it. We have a football one and Dee and Pops have a square shaped one. When it is time to sleep we look at you and say "Where's your taggie? Do you want to go find your taggie?" You grin from ear to ear and when we get close to the crib you smile so big and move up and down and when you see it you lean in and I lay you down and you grab it and hug it so tight and then roll over tuck it under you tummy and drift off to sleep. Sometimes you will play with it and gurgle for a while. I just love this stage!

You love your car and must push the blinkers 1000 x's a day. You love to slam the cabinets! You still love books and you love Elmo toys. You still are not watching TV but the few things that catch your attention is the Weather Channel and Price is Right Wheel at the end of the show. Your Papa Chick watches this every Tuesday when he keeps you!

You have a huge appetite this week! It has amazed us! Today you had all of your oatmeal and mommy let you have 4 little teddy grahams along with milk for breakfast. For lunch you had a whole can of carrots a whole can of pears and for a snack you had a whole mini-box of raisins 2 nab peanut butter crackers and 15 gold fish and for supper you had pasta pick ups and a jar of peaches! Not including the milk,juice and water!

You have started to babble so much more now and we know it is any day that you will say something other than momma, Dada, pops and bye bye!


We love you little one and I can't wait to watch you grow and change!
Much Much Love, Mommy!

Life at it's fastest!

Okay, Life has been full of amazing and unforgettable moments! We are all like chickens running around plucking each others feathers out! We have found a home! Thanks Be to God! It is totally different from our current home witch is seemingly what we wanted. Actually what God wanted for us! We sat back and listened for once in our lives! We wanted a kid friendly house and that is what he has given us!

We have started to pack and spent the whole Mother's Day weekend doing so! Which is fine! Sometimes Life is so busy you just have to push forward and say Next!
John Van and I decided that we would celebrate our Anniversary, Both Birthdays and Mother's Day once we got into the house. Which is exactly what we need.
That will be fun celebrating it all in our new home.

The whole month of April started out with a bang! A bang in little Griffin's eye that is. April 1st I woke up to a little boy with his right eye swollen! I thought that my child was going to be blind in one eye it was so bad. His doctor took me straight back and we found out it was an ear infection that lead to his eye! Yes, His eye?? I never knew it was possible. I then had to go to work and tell my boss I was leaving and I sounded like a I was hyperventilating. He was probably glad to see me go after that episode! Just kidding! At least he knew I cared!
Meanwhile my child took the 7 days of antibiotics and still pulling at his ear screaming as he did this. I took him back when the 7 days was over and he was put on an even stronger antibiotic and in the middle of this 10 regimen he caught something viral. His throat was red with puss pockets and all we could do was give him Motrin. Poor little guy! So he has basically been sick the whole month of April:(

He has changed so much! He is definitely going through separation anxiety! He wants his mommy more and more which melts my heart! He has always been so independent and it is nice to see this softer side as well! I will probably be eating those words in a couple of weeks but like I say I have been shoveling in several paragraphs no, maybe lets say senior term paper(That's more like it)! Yes, Me the pre-mom that thought she was such a tough cookie! I am slowly turning into cookie dough!
His newest thing is body parts. He knows his head, ear, mouth and the newest is Tongue! It is the cutest thing ever! I say "Griffin where's your tongue?" And he sticks it out! So So so cute!!! He still hasn't started walking on his own. Mother's day he took three-four steps with Pops having his hand barely under his arm pit. Once Griffin realized it he dropped to the floor and started crying. Yep, He loves to walk and if you stop and let go his lovely temper shines threw! Discipline has been the hardest adventure!

We are moving on the 22nd of this month and can't wait to get settled in back to real life! Structure, Regimen, Normalcy! Could someone Please remind me of what that is like?

In the rut of it all Jesus has blessed us so very much I love both of my jobs they are both very big gifts! My husband, child, family and small group have been such an even bigger gift! Man God is Good all the time. All the time God is Good!

Snap Shots of the Past two weeks!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, loving, supportive, crazy in love with his family Husband! I am so so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life! He is the greatest in my eyes and will always be #1! He turns 35 today! It is amazing to me that I met him 10 years ago and have been privledge to have the title of his wife for 7 years! I truly love this amazing man! Happy birthday sweetie! Words can not express the love I have for you!