Mommy bragging time!

So I haven't talked much about my son, Gryphon. He's the light of my life and has been doing some pretty amazing things recently.

1. He has 8 teeth, the two on either side of his bottom two middle teeth came in 2 weeks ago!

2. He has stood unassisted 4 times, we keep trying to find ways to get him to stand but he's not falling for them.

3. He bear crawls! Hands and Toes! It's so cute to see his little butt so high in the air. I've heard this is a step closer to walking!

4. Gryph stacks blocks!!! So far he has made stacks of 2 and 3 blocks. It's amazing and he's so cute when he places one block on top of the other, he'll look at us and clap. So, of course we clap for him.

5. We received this wonderful shape sorting cube from one of my Aunt and Uncles in NJ. The day that we got it Gryph was able to pop the shapes into the correct holes! I was floored! He needs a lot of help matching the shape to the hole, but will turn the pieces until they are the right direction and will put them into the hole. It's amazing to see his concentration, he plays with this toy for up to 20 minutes...quite a while for a 10 month old.

6. Gryph's working on new sounds, he has down B, D, S, A, O, and now V! The face he makes when he does the V sound is the cutest thing I've ever seen! Along with these new sounds are new sound combos that make it sound like he's talking. I swear he said "Nap" after I asked if he was ready for his nap, I asked several times, just to be sure. When I laid him down he fell right to sleep! He also loves to pull Jon's socks out of the sock drawer,and says something that sounds quite a lot like "socks".

7. Finally his new favorite game is to blow rasberries (or zerbits) on my belly! These little play sessions can last 15 minutes, I'm amazed that he hasn't hyperventilated! Again he makes the cutest faces when he comes up for breath!

Gryph also loves being outside! So much so that if he sees an open door then he runs (crawls with lightning speed!) for the door and cries if the door is closed before he can get out it! He can also play for more than an hour outside, and still make a fuss when it's time to go in! I'm very excited for when he gets older and wants to play outside instead of sittitng inside playing video games.

I think that's enough bragging for now! I can't help it, I'm so PROUD of my baby boy!!!!

Something so funny, that I realized a few weeks ago

Before moving to South Carolina I HATED reality tv, especially shows about rich people that are superficial and waste their money on stupid things...

Now that I'm here I've been watching almost all of the reality shows I hated. I am so grossed out by myself. Then I started thinking about why I watch the shows, here's what I came up with:

I HAVE NO DRAMA IN MY LIFE!

That's right, there's no work drama, no friend drama, no mama drama. I'm a drama free person, but my subconcious is having a hard time accepting my drama free life. So it's seeking out stupid reality shows. I now watch both Real Housewives, American Idol, Chopped, Hell's Kitchen, Sober House, and yes I've watch 2 episodes of Real World (ugh!). I also love all of the competition reality shows on Bravo...even Make Me a Super Model.

HELP MY BRAIN IS TURNING INTO MUSH AS I TYPE!!!

But how nice is it to know I have no drama in my life? Pretty cool.

Home sick

Now that I have my tickets home, and now that I am going home I am getting SUPER homesick! I keep day dreaming about all of the places I want to go, and the food I want to eat, and the people I want to see. I'm so excited to be able to go to Concert in the Park, and to celebrate Gryphon's first birthday with our family and friends. Not to mention we'll be in town for Jon's brother's (Luke) 30th (?) birthday and my mom's __ birthday!

I'm also extremely nervous to fly, alone with a one year old. That's right when Gryphon and I come home he will be one! We have one seat for the two of us....he can't stand to sit still for longer than 3 seconds! I'm not sure how he's going to handle two planes and a 3 hour layover. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it. I don't think I'll be drinking anything before the second, and longest, flight; the idea of leaving Gryph in the seat while I go to the bathroom or trying to fit both of us in the airplane bathroom seems a little rediculous.

Fortunatly for me, a good friend is flying with her one year old this week. I'm hoping to benefit from her experiences.

OH HAPPY NIGHT!

So 2 months ago I had to stop nursing Gryphon....it was a very hard and sad time for me. I had always thought that I would nurse my baby to his first birthday, if not longer. My milk production slowed drastically after the "Mad Dash" cross country drive from SD to Goose Creek. I was giving Gryph more bottles than I wanted because it was easier and faster to bottle feed him in the car. If I oculd do it all over I would never have given him formula, I would have waited for my milk to come in, and had a cranky baby for a few days. (Now I know for next time)

So when Gryph turned 7 months, I had to stop nursing him.
TONIGHT I was getting into the shower and noticed some milk plugs (I'm not going to explain for those of you who don't know, it's kinda TMI). So I decided to clean them out, and as I was squeezing....Milk came out! So I took my shower, and I felt let down (not sad).... I decided to try to express after I got out of the shower.
I was successful.... well sort of. I got enough out from each side to cover the bottom of a bottle. That bottle is now in the fridge with water in it to keep the milk from going sour over night. Tomorrow Gryphon is getting some of mommy's goodness with his morning bottle!!

I am so excited. I felt like a failure as a mom when I had to stop nursing him early. Now I feel better.

This story made me want to cry.

It's crap like this that makes me sick! When a father can't play outside without worrying that he's going to be robbed and killed! What the hell is wrong with people, that they attack a man in front of his 5 yr old daughter!!!!
This story along with the kid who shot his friend, the kid who shot his dad's pregnant girlfriend, the kid that shot his dad........all these horrible stories are in the news and people still think that the government shouldn't make it harder to get guns???? It makes me so sad and mad.

http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/north_charleston_man_shot_while_playing_outside_with_daughter/21641/

Things I want to do in my life-- My Bucket list

In no particular order here are some of the things I want to do in my life...

Volunteer regularly
Write poetry, again
Learn how banking/ financial stuff works (seriously I have no clue about money related things)
Live in Japan!!!! (this is in the top 10, maybe even top 5)
Have another baby
Feel good about myself, for longer than an hour.
Be the person that remembers to send birthday cards to friends.
Take my kids camping and backpacking often
Be a positive influence in people's lives.
Play soccer again
Learn to quilt
Learn to sew
Learn to knit- I would love to make my own scarves,and baby blankets
Work out regularly
Live in Hawaii
Build our dream house
Go para-gliding
Have the house all my kids' friends want to hang out at!
Have the house my friends want to hang out at
Maintain my oldest friendships
Be strong enough when I have to be
Read a new book every month

There are more things, I can't think of them right now. I'm working on some, others will take a while, others I will constantly have to work on.
What's on your list? (maybe I can steal them)