Last Saturday, April 9th, Griffin turned ONE! Whew! What a day! We celebrated with family and close friends. I think fun was had by all, but especially the birthday boy! Here are some pics from the special day and from his first year pictures we had done. Enjoy! :)
One year ago today, I was still pregnant...very pregnant. I had been on bed rest for a week now and going for fetal monitoring every other day to make sure our little one was okay. My appointment was at on Thursday. Keith was getting our taxes done (nothing like waiting til the last minute) and my parents were VERY worried me about going to the doctor by myself. I assured them it would be fine, considering the day before everything was great and I had made no progress. Against my will, my mom went with me to the appointment anyways. I now really believe that mom's DO know best after all :)
They hooked up all the wires to my stomach and we waited for our little one to do his thing. I noticed that the needles weren't doing much moving, but didn't think much of it. Thirty minutes later, the nurse comes back and I'm thinking she's going to unhook me and send me on my merry way, but I was wrong! She had me drink some caffine and we waited longer. I started to get a little nervous. For those of you who don't know, I had been battling high blood pressure for quite sometime, had severe swelling, and had been taken out of work. My amniotic fluid was also very low. The next person to come through the door was Dr. Plyler. He explained that although I was not favorable for induction, it was no longer safe for our baby to wait any longer and before I knew it, I was on my way over to labor and delivery! I know Keith was shocked when I called to tell him to go home and get our bags because we were having a baby!
It was a long delivery and although I was not favorable for induction, it worked! 24 hours later, we were holding our sweet baby boy! The moment that Dr. Plyler announced, "It's a boy!", was one of the most exciting moments of my life.
Since then, our lives have been forever changed. Griffin Patrick Ancone is our everything! He has brought so much joy to our lives and I can't remember life before him. I pray that God continues to watch over him as he grows and keeps him out of harms way. We are truly blessed to have him in our lives and I am excited to watch him grow throughout the years!
Now that Griffin is coming up on 10 months, it occurs to me that he is NEVER going to slow down from here. He is only going to get FASTER. This terrifies me! I already have trouble keeping up with him as he crawls from room to room, but now that he is almost ready to take his first steps, I know that my job is only going to get tougher and more nerve wrecking! Griffin has been pulling up on furniture for some time now and walking along the sides of the coffee table, couches, and pretty much anything else he can get his little hands on. He attempted to take his first steps to me the other night, but was unsuccessful. He ended up flat on his bottom, but I must say I was a proud momma watching him try.
Griffin is growing fast! He is eating 'people' food now. His favorites are chicken nuggets and yogurt. The whole time he is eating them, he is kicking his feet up going "mmm, mmm, mmm." Sometimes I have to taste it just to make sure I’m not missing out on something! He also loves his walker. Mostly because he gets where he wants to go FAST. His other favorite thing to do is play chase with his plastic hammer. He throws it around the house crawling after it again, and again, and again, and again. It never gets old for him! I guess that’s one of the joys of being a baby. Here are some recent pics of my silly monkey. Enjoy :)
Being silly! Brushing my teeth in the laundry basket.
I know this is very cliché...but man does time fly! It is so hard for me to wrap my mind around Griffin being 9 months old! We have had so much fun these past nine months that I don't even know where to begin. Griffin now can feed himself a bottle, wave bye-bye, give high-fives (occasionally), and loves to give kisses (especially to mom). He is pulling up on EVERYTHING and can even stand for a few seconds on his own. He really and truly is a little man. He consumes most of my time when I am not at work and I often find myself wondering what in the world I did with all my time before him. Our house no longer stays as clean as it use to. By the time we get all of his things put away, he is right behind us taking them back out. We wouldn't trade it for anything though. Each day on my way to work I thank God for him because he is my everything. As much fun as we have had these past nine months, I can only imagine what is to come. I am a little sad as he becomes a little more independent each day, but I am so proud of him at the same time.
I am still trying to figure out if Christmas is more fun as a kid, or with a kid! Although Christmas was always very memorable growing up, and definitely the best day of the year, this Christmas was extra special. The obvious reason is because were able to enjoy it with our son who made the holiday even merrier than it already was. Griffin ofcourse received many gifts from Santa and family. His favorite by far though, was a tunnel from my parents. He LOVES to crawl through it. It’s also my favorite because it is QUIET and keeps him entertained :) I don't have many pictures to share from Christmas this year because Keith surprised me with a video camera. If I ever learn how to post them, I will be sure to share! I hope your day was as enjoyable and special as ours. Merry Christmas and God Bless!!
This past weekend, my family made our first weekend trip to the mountains...ever! This may surprise you, but my family is not very outdoorsy. I have only become interested in the outdoors since I met Keith..and he never really gave me a choice about it. I was excited about my family going on this trip together. Our mountain condo was cozy and very 1970's ish...but absolutely perfect! We spent Friday night playing games and reminising on the 'good old days'. It was a blast!
The boys at the bottom of the bridge
On Saturday, we got up for a family photo shoot (I have included some pics for you to see). Mom REALLY wanted to do one of those infamous shots where everyone wears black shirts and jeans. I must say, they turned out great (well, except for the fact that we couldn't get Thomas and Griffin to look at the camera at the same time). Keith really did an awesome job taking pictures! After our glamour shots, we headed out for sight seeing and hiking. Keith took us to a place called the stomp ground. Apparently it was an old railroad tunnel that was never completed because of the civil war. Talk about creepy! Aftewards, we had a picnic and headed to a nearby park that had beautiful waterfalls and a suspension bridge. The bridge was very cool...what wasn't so cool though was the 310 steps down to the bridge and then 310 steps back up! I think my body is still recovering! We finally made it back to the condo where we grilled steaks and had round 2 of drinks and games. I enjoyed hanging out with the whole family, but I especially enjoyed my time with my brothers. We rarely get to spend time together these days and it was nice to catch up with one another and joke around. Things haven't really changed between the three of us. I know am very lucky to have such wonderful siblings!
The next morning, we enjoyed watching Griffin and Thomas play together. It amazes everyone to see how much they have grown in such a short amount of time and how every time they get together, they seem closer and closer in age.
Our Little Lumber Jacks
All in all, it was an unforgettable weekend. I will cherish the memories we made there for a long time to come! Can't wait til next year :)
This past weekend, it was our turn to host our friends annual halloween party! It was a lot of fun, and in my opinion, one of the best! It was a great turn out! Here is a glimpse at some of this years guest! Thanks to all who came! Can't wait til next year!
KJ as a Star Wars Character (sorry I don't know which one)
Little Thomas as Cow
Rice Gravy as Jose
Rice, Vic, and Keith the Carny
Kelley as a naughty police officer
and
Janet as a witch
Beth (Super Woman)
Jenn (bun in the oven)
My back (Carny)
