What makes me happy

Here are the things that made me happy today:

1. Baby boy #2 decided that turning head down was a good idea. He's been transverse for the past month and a half, and as my midwife reassured me again today, transverse is a good position and she wouldn't worry about it, however she did sympathize with me that it's damn uncomfortable. But when she palpated my bulging belly, we found his little head down low and his booty up high. Guess our train ride to Fort Worth jiggled him into place. Or he was tired of his big brother trying to sit on his head when I carried Zachary between places.

2. Repeated and prolonged exposure to sunlight will bleach anything back to white. Seriously, why buy bleach. Just hang your white cloth napkins on your clothesline and leave for 3 days and when you come home, they'll no longer be pink from red socks in the laundry or stained from spaghetti sauce or chocolate ice cream. They'll be crisp and white and will smell good too.

3. Zachary has learned to poop in the toilet. He's been doing it consistently for 2 weeks and it is the nicest thing in the whole. wide. world. You seriously don't know how happy it will make you until you potty train a kid.

4. Zachary-isms crack me up. Little guy is coming up with funny stuff all the time and I forget half of it by the time I sit down, but tonights I remembered.

Walking through Central Market today on Greg's shoulders after dinner, he announced that "Central Market has dog poop ice cream" as we walked by the gelato display. I can't deny that the ice cream looks a bit like dog poop. He's right.

Second funny. In the new car on our way home, he asked again where the "old, clean green car was". I replied that "Daddy sold it and we bought a new car". His reply "Daddy sold it for junk." Well, yes, he did and he got a darn good trade in value, but where did the kid come up with that. He kept repeating it and cracking us up every single time.

1, 2, 3, 4, Dinosaurs

Zachary has gotten into dinosaurs that past month. Not in the traditional boy way where you can name all the dinosaurs and play with brontosaurus and tell me which eat other dinosaurs and which is the biggest and smallest, but in a uniquely Zachary way.

Let me back up a bit and give some history. Zachary got a bunch of dinosaur and reptile and amphibian plastic toys from our 6 year old neighbor Jonah, who according to his mom, had enough to spare. He's been enjoying those a lot and got a little interested in dinosaurs, especially when our other neighbor friend likes to play "growl like a dinosaur" and the boys start chasing each other growling. Then add in a trip to the Texas Memorial Museum on the UT Campus last month. Greg had an all day Saturday conference on the campus and Zachary and I decided it would be a good time to go explore, walk around all day and see Daddy at his breaks. We hiked around campus and made our way over to the museum. Zachary was not impressed by the rocks and the gems, so we headed 1st floor to the Hall of Geology and Paleontology (where my favorite dinosaur is housed). He was at first intrigued and then very quickly got freaked out and wanted to go. But this is the kid who spends hours growling like a dinosaur and I was determined to make him look at just a little of it (esp. when 6 month pregnant mama walked across campus to get here and wanted some AC!). I picked him up and took him around and explained what different animals and dinosaurs and fossils were. We found sea animals and turtle fossils and wacky fish fossils, but the ones with the big big teeth kept freaking him out.

So using my mama scientist/teacher brain, I proceeded to explain that what we were looking at (a very not scary looking dead animal with very small teeth) was just the bones. No skin. That didn't sink in so I reminded him that he has bones under his skin. Lightbulb moment because he's been way into poking us and asking about our bones lately. "Yup, the skin is gone and all that is left is the bones. See, here's the head and here's the cheeks and here are where the eyes are, see? Feel mommy's cheeks and see how I have squishy spots where my eyes are. Ouch, gentle touch please"... well then he got it and then seemed to be enjoying looking at them. We talked about how the scientists found the bones and dug them out of the ground, just like we do at the Nature and Science Center. "Remember how we dig them out with shovels and brush away the dirt?" Then I explained that the scientists brought the bones back to the museum and they put them back together and Viola, skeletons at the museum.

Now fast forward a few weeks. Small son starts asking about how the dinosaurs got in the dirt. I explain they died and then got covered with dirt and then were found a long long time later by the scientists. Now starts up the "it died. It is dead" phase. Everything begins to be dead and to die. He begins to tell Greg how all these different things have died and were covered with dirt and sand. He asks me if the dirt will cover him when he is dead and if the scientists will carry his bones back to the museum after they've dug them up. This line of conversation has been going on for weeks, especially after we got back from the beach, where we did a lot of digging in the sand and after two weeks of dinosaurs theme in his preschool classroom.

So here's the fun part. At bedtime, part of our going to sleep ritual after Greg has completed all his daddy rites of sleep is that I go in and sing him a few songs and say a prayer (included in the prayers is our dinner prayer). So I sing him Hush Little Baby (Sylvia Long style) and a Sarah Hickman song and then a Beatles lullabye and he insists that I sing him the dinosaur song. I tell him I don't know it and can he sing it to me, assuming he'll break into song that he learned at school that week.

Well the song starts with "There are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-teen, 13, 14, 17, 18, 13 Dinosaurs. Living on the Beach." (complete with crescendos and high and low notes). "1 died. and that left 3." .... the song proceeds till no dinosaurs are left on the beach. Then "the scientists dig up them bones. And take them back to the museum and put them back together again."

So we've been singing this as one of our goodnight songs the past week. The song has been shortened by mom... we count to 10 and then 1 dies and my bad math makes it 3. All the dinosaurs die till there are none on the beach and then we sing that there are no dinosaurs left. For a while I encouraged the dinosaurs to take off swimming or going for a walk or to dinner, but he's insisting that they die.

Crazy child. We are raising some poor kid who will be a nerd just like his mom and dad. I'm so proud.

3rd year birthday

My little guy turned 3 years old. We had a fabulous birthday and he's completely into birthdays, cake and presents. He kept wishing Greg and I a happy birthday too, so he's also into sharing the fun.

We splurged and got the boy a bike. A real bike too, a Specialized 12 inch wheeled bike. He loves it. Compass bell included. He has already crashed it 3 times into the woods as well and was a real trooper about it all.

We enjoyed cooking steaks and beets and spaetzle noodles for dinner. We opened presents and ate cupcakes at the park (his request to go to the park to eat the cupcakes and we obliged). We also had a small party with 3 of his friends and their families at Zilker Park, where we rode the Zilker Zephyr and ate cake and played. We kept things very simple and he had an fabulous time and we're enjoying our little guy getting older.

Senna

A few weeks ago, we bid a bittersweet farewell to our dog, Senna. Greg and I adopted Senna 6 summers ago from Town Lake Animal Shelter and she was our first fuzzy daughter (legitimate, that is. Maya the cat was from pre-marriage). She's been a member of the family and we miss her. But, when we realized we were about to become a family of 4 with 2 pets in a 1400 square foot house with an itsy bitsy yard, we decided that we couldn't handle Senna's sad eyes staring at us when we took care of our human kids first. So we were lucky enough to find friends who wanted to start their family and Senna is a welcome addition to their family of 3. We're so grateful to them and know that Senna is happy again.

We love you, Sennacita.

Sandy and Windy

For Mother's Day weekend and simply just for a break, we headed to Port Aransas last week for 4 days and 3 nights of sand and saltwater. We left on Thursday before naptime and arrived early in the evening. Favorite quotes from our drive were "why are we going to the beach" about a zillion times. Favorite pictures from the drive were Zachary using his potty on the side of the road by the Guadalupe River outside of Gonzales.

We headed straight to the beach after checking into the motel and I was delighted to see Zachary attack the beach with such force. He loved it. We had to peel him from the sand covered sidewalks at the beach entrance and once he discovered the water, the wet sand, the shells, the unlimited fun, there was no turning back. Literally. He wouldn't go back to our little new house (as he liked to call our 50's beach motel). He was totally into the beach and we were delighted. He loved being wet, sandy, covered in sunscreen, beach snacks and wet sand. He loved splashing in waves, going into the deep water, sitting on his beach chair early Friday morning when he got cold "just watching the waves" as he told me. We loved his enthusiasm and enjoyed our last trip together as a family of 3.

I look forward to heading back next year to the beach again, taking enthusiastic Zachary and baby boy 2. We'll have fun and I'm sure Zachary will make sure his little brother enjoys himself too.

Bella Luna

Last night, as we were leaving the stores from shoe shopping, I pointed out the moon to Zachary.

"Look, it's the moon".

"No, it is not the moon. It is bella luna."

Broke my little heart.

Then he said,

"I want to touch her, the bella luna."

"It's too high" I said.

"Maybe I can use a ladder to touch her, or a helicopter"...

Sweet stuff.

Creating the family vision

Greg said it today as we walked back to the car after lunch "This is what I have always visioned my family being."

This was in response to me tapping him on the shoulder to look back at our son. Zachary was slowly sauntering along the streetscape, his rain jacket bundled around him, hood on and his arm stretched out and his fingers brushing along each of the black metal rails of the fence next to the restaurant patio. He was walking his own path to his own time but in step with us as we casually walked from lunch at Jo's around the block to our car on a drizzly grey afternoon. These are the slow moments that we've envisioned our family being about. These types of moments are what I cherish the most about my best friend and husband Greg and seeing our small son enjoying the same peaceful moments as we slowly made our way around the block made the moment something I'll cherish forever.

I am happy I tapped Greg on the arm and told him to look back. Taking that moment to point it out has created a memory forever.

Happy Valentine's Day

We made our own Valentine's this year and I'm so happy I started Zachary out the right way. He is so into Valentine's now. Every heart is a Valentine, even Maya's tiny heart shaped tag on her collar. He loved taking his huge, glitter encased and foil red heart doily Valentine's to school and couldn't wait to give them to his school friends. He keeps opening his Valentine bag and pouring out the cards. He voraciously enjoyed his lollipop yesterday and even gave the other one to Greg "because I saved it for you Daddy".

Today we had a wonderful playgroup, ate scrumptious cupcakes, gave stickers to our friends and after nap we are going to make the last of our sugar cookies that we will share with Greg and his coworkers. These will be transportation themed because that is what Zachary wants and well, giving train and plane and car shaped cookies to transportation planners is just more fun.

What I have learned is that Zachary is very open and receptive to creating traditions and loves occasions that are marked by the creation of special things. Glitter and glue and construction paper turn into gifts for friends, food shared with others brings delight and time together creating with love creates the intentions that we want to live by.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Birthdays and Christmas cheer at CasaGriffin

This weekend was filled with simple seasonal pleasures. Zachary and I enjoyed ourselves at our Saturday morning trip to the Farmers Market, where we came home with a cornucopia of fabulous greens from our CSA, a bag of tangerines and 2 bags of the last of the season apples. Poor Zachary won't have any more tiny apples for a little while. After naps, we picked up Madam Mam's and headed over to the Capital for the annual tree lighting and sing-a-long. We ran into a few friends, sang songs, ran around the grounds and cruised up and down Congress Avenue taking in music and the lights.

On Sunday, we celebrated Greg's Birthday. We picked up our buddies in BBQ and adventure, Peter and Rebecca, and drove to Elgin, where we ate sausage and brisket at Southside Market. Then we headed over to Evergreen Christmas Tree farm. Talk about fun. Zachary immediately spotted the tractor and hay wagon and we hopped on and headed out to the tree fields. We roamed the trees, avoided the ant mounds and cactus plants (this is Texas!) and picked our trees and chopped them down. We enjoyed the games and pinecone painting and wished it wasn't 80 degrees outside so we would want to roast marshmallows in the firepits.

At home, we ate a birthday dinner for Greg, had cupcakes to Zachary's delight and decorated the Christmas tree. Our tree is a bit wooley... That is we picked one that was less trimmed and more wild, which looks great in the sandy soils of pine tree country but a little big in our tiny living room. But after some selective trimming, we decked the tree out in holiday cheer.

I think it was a great way to welcome in the holidays and to celebrate Greg's birthday. Friends, songs, bbq and trees.

Conversations from the backseat

Yesterday, after picking Zachary up from school, we were chatting on our drive home and he was telling me about things he saw out the window in downtown.

"Mommy. That's silly. Mommy, that is funny."

"Yes it is honey."

"Mommy. I am silly. I am silly and funny."

"Yes Zachary, you are silly and funny."

Really, the kid is silly. And funny. Truly, I didn't know a 2 year old could be so silly and so funny.

Anniversary

Today is our 7 year anniversary. Seven years. We got married after having dating seven years. We've been a couple for 14 years and have been friends for 15 years. That's almost half of our lives. I think that I am probably one of the luckiest people out there to have met my soul mate so young, to have kept a hold of him and to have grown together and to be lucky enough to marry him.

I love him. I love our family. I can't believe how time has flown. I can't believe that we are now three. Tonight in the fall crisp air in 2000, we danced under the stars . We enjoyed the company of our closest friends and our family. We danced the chicken dance and laughed at our mothers, grandmothers and friends mothers dancing with us. It was fabulous. But nothing compared to the life we have lived together since then.

What a journey. Mr. Greg, I look forward to the journey ahead of us.















photos by: Sarah Bork Hamilton