Griffin

Griffin was helping me with Grace's 8 month pictures:

A kiss for Grace

Griffin's authentic smile

Griffin's cheesy smile he does when I ask him to smile ... it cracks me up!

Grace is 8 months old!

At 8 months old, Grace is on the move! She is a crawling (and she's fast!) and pulling herself up to a stand at every opportunity she can. She is most happy and content when she is moving around on her own and therefore isn't a fan of being held. She is such a sweetheart, and is practicing giving us kisses and raspberries. She is still quite social and loves to interact with anyone who will pay attention!

Grace has 4 teeth now ... the two middle ones came in first (around 6 months of age) and the top two came in last month...she looks like she has fangs!

Taking these pictures was harder than the last few months have been ... she refuses to lay on her back and must be moving at all times. She also wouldn't stop playing with the sticker on her shirt.

Grace and her shrinking doggy

Loving the sticker!

Fun times with Grammy

Grammy came out to visit and the kids had so much fun with her!

Josh and Grace at the pool ... she wants to be on the move at all times, and her favorite activity at the pool is to eat mulch, so Josh was trying to entertain her while keeping her off the ground.

A fun lunch at Beau Jo's

Grammy bought Griffin his first chocolate milk ... he was amazed ... the look on his face after his first sip was priceless!

fun times!

Griffin's cheesy smile

We went to St. Mary's Glacier for a hike on Saturday:

Grace fell asleep on the way down in Josh's arms ... so sweet!

Stapleton Beer Festival 2011

We had so much fun hanging out with friends at the Stapleton Beer Festival! Griffin and Isaac loved running around together (as usual) and Grace enjoyed chasing the soccer ball (chasing is no exaggeration, she is so fast!) and talking to all our friends.

Chasing the soccer ball

Being cute.

Isaac eating his pretzel necklace, which Griffin was impressed by ...

...and Griffin stealing a bite too!

Everyone hanging out

Griffin's cheesy smile

Running, running, running!

Kisses for Eli

We went to the pool Sunday, and I couldn't resist sharing this picture of the kids in their hooded towels:

Griffin's 1st Day of Preschool

Griffin had his first day of preschool today, and he loved it!

Looking handsome (and so old!) before school.

Griffin got a good luck note from Daddy that he was excited about!

Ready to go to school!

He was all smiles when I picked him up and reported that he had fun at school. I told him I missed him and asked if he missed me and he said, "nope!" Honestly, I was so happy that he had so much fun!

A Fun Weekend ...

We had a fun weekend - we have been busy with classes and traveling all summer, so we enjoyed being in Denver with some free time!

On Friday night my Uncle and Aunt from Ohio came over for dinner, it was great to spend time with them.

On Saturday we went to the Children's Museum:
Griffin and Daddy building a boat together

Griffin had so much fun at their 'Blast Off' exhibit, where he got to launch rockets and see how air can make things fly. He loved it so much, it was nearly impossible to get him to leave!

Then we had lunch at Confluence Park to watch the water go by
He loved watching the river!
Griffin was reading to Grace, and Stella thought she should be included too : )

On Sunday I ran a race with some friends. Afterwards they had a kids fun run ...
Here's Griffin stretching before his run ...
...but all that stretching makes for a tired boy!
Here we are crossing the start line ... he was so excited for the run but then got nervous by the crowd, so it required some coaxing to get him to try it. I carried him for a bit ...
...and then he wanted to cross the finish line after seeing other kids do it
but he ultimately needed carried over the finish line too : )

Eli and Grace playing together that night

On Sunday night we got to help Cohen celebrate his 2nd birthday!

Lake Norris

We had a fun week at Lake Norris! It was great to spend time with family ...

Griffin had his own "luggage" (as he called it) to carry through the air port ... he was ecstatic about it. He marched through the air port with such pride!

Griffin on the plane

Grace on the plane (she loved chewing on the free pretzels!)

Our fun week in Lake Norris:

Swinging on the hammock (Griffin was napping)

Grace loved it!

Griffin spent most of his time in the fun station playing. He loves it. We got him and Jordan these water gun things and the kids (and adults!) had so much fun with them. Target practice was in order.

Josh and Griffin spraying someone in the water

That's one happy boy!

Grace is a tough age for the lake - she's not comfortable in a life jacket and therefore couldn't swim. We had to get creative with ways for her to be on the dock and remain happy ... so here she is in the big tube!

Having three grand daughters calls for matching outfits ...

There isn't cell phone reception, so we use walkie talkies ... Griffin was quite amused!

Grace and BeBop

Griffin swimming with BeBop...

...and Daddy!

Griffin got brave and went on the "jet-ski tube" (it's a trainer to get kids used to the idea of skiing; we just called it a jet-ski tube to get him to try it).

On our way to the marina for dinner

My parents never thought they'd own a pontoon boat, but it turns out they're awesome! We tried to go out in it every evening for happy hour.

The new grandbabies!

Pop Pop helped Griffin catch his first fish - he was so excited!

He loved fishing - he was mainly concerned with how the fishing pole works.

Summer.

There's nothing like fishing with your best bud!

Grace in the fun station

Making pancakes

Grace and Peyton matching ... it of course calls for a picture ...

...and it's another excellent opportunity for Grace to try to eat Peyton, which she does any time she's within a foot of her.

Grace and Aunt Cookie

Pop Pop got water colors for the kids and Jordan loved it!

This just makes me laugh.

By the end of the week we figured out how to keep Grace happy and entertained on the party boat...it worked quite well!

Jordan and Griffin got popsicles at the marina and couldn't have been happier.

Story time on the the party boat.

Play doh with BeBop and Pop while the mommies and daddies went for a ski

Our family!

Grace and BeBop

It was a fun week, and as always, we were sad to say goodbye, but a nice hug from Jordan always softens the blow!