Grands, Greats, and Snuffles...

Well, after we spent the last month in the USA, I thought I would dedicate this post to Mark's Grandparents, and to his Great-grandparents! We were so blessed to be able to spend time with our family! And it was exciting that Mark get to meet his Grands and his Great-grands...

These are my parents, Mark's Gramma and Grampa Griffing. They got to spoil Mark rotten while we were visiting!
This is Grampa Bradley. Oh, was he happy to meet Mark!
Gramma Bradley passed away in November 2002... a wonderful woman, loved dearly by all, and missed very much.
These are Mark's Griffing Great-Grandparents, Katie's Dad's parents.
This is Mark's Great-Gramma Carol, Ben's Gramma.
These are Mark's Rumely Great-Grandparents, Katie's Mom's parents.

















So, in the name of Mark, Ben, and me, we would like to say: Hooray for the Grands and the Greats! We love you very much!!!

And just in case you were feeling like seeing yet more pictures of Mark... here are the newest ones:
Mark taking a nap after two long hours of playing and Momma NOT putting him into his Mayan wrap (Haha! I am more stubborn than my son!). We have finally figured out the trick to naps in BED: put the mayan wrap in it with Mark! He then pulls it over his eyes and falls asleep within about 5-10 minutes of fussing, not crying. Here I had tried the passifier again, but Mark wasn't impressed. As long as he had his wrap, he was happy.


Here Mark was demonstrating the "caterpillar ooch"... scoot the butt in the air, push off with the legs, make grunting noises as you go. Not fast, not comfortable, and usually doesn't go in the direction he intended, but does, eventually, usually, go forward. As he goes, he leaves a trail of drool beneath himself, kind of like a little snail... not that I am comparing my son with a snail...
And finally, Mark watching his mobile, fascinated. Grampa Bradley gave it to us, and it is a life saver! It has little animals that move in a circle, while music is played. It makes it possible for Katie to take a shower, or clean the house, or do pretty much anything for about 20 minutes!

Well, that is all for now. Mark just woke up from his nap... he has a cold, poor little guy, and is very snuffly.

New tricks!

Well, my Momma and I are getting settled back in at home, and jet lag is wearing off. Actually, I never really seem to have had jet lag, but slept through the night the first night we were back!

So my Momma promised in the last post to tell about my new tricks. I must have gone through a developmental spurt or something, because I learned them all within the weekend!

I can now grab stuff fairly confidently, including the toys on the handle of my carseat, toys or stuff next to me, or, my favorite: my Momma's earrings or necklace (looks like she will stop wearing jewelry for a while)! I try to grab her nose and smile, too, but for some reason they don't come off. If I have the chance, I also try grabbing my Momma's hair. Anything I grab instantly gets checked out by fiddling and licking.

I can roll over tummy to back (been doing that for a while, but hadn't done it for a few weeks... finally got the knack of tucking my arm under), and back to tummy! It takes lots of grunting and complaining to do it, but I can, I can! You should have seen the big smile on my face the first time I rolled back to tummy successfully.

I have also started doing something that my Momma calls the caterpillar-ooch. Yesterday, lying on my tummy, I decided that I wanted my froggy toy, but it was out of my reach! So I ooched my little butt in the air by bending my knees, and pushed forward with my legs. It made me move forward! How exciting! It was kind of uncomfortable, because my face got smushed into the ground in the process... I was using my head as a counter-weight. But I did it again this morning, lying on my parents' bed, and got from the middle of the bed to the head of the bed. Watch out, world, here I come!

Also, when I am on my back, the way I kick my feet into the floor, I end up turning in a circle like the hand of a little clock in the course of about 20 minutes. Dunno why.
This is me flirting with my Momma. Look at my cute fat rolls!
Here I am talking and squawking as I try SO hard to roll onto my side!
Yes! I did it! Now on to my tummy...

Next post you can look forward to seeing me with my grandparents and various great grandparents! Still waiting for permission from all of them to post them on my blog...

Back in Germany!

Well, after a wonderful month in the USA with our family, Mark and I are now in Germany again! I am still very jet-lagged, and tired too, so I won't upload any pictures just yet, but as soon as I am a bit more rested, you can look forward to more pictures of Mark, and some reports on a few of his cool new skills!

Who reads our blog?

Hi friends! My brother pointed out that our blog was set so that only blog members can leave comments. So I changed that setting! Now anyone can leave a comment. I am curious who all checks out our blog! So, if you would like, leave a quick comment saying "hi" and who you are (no last names necessary). =o) Look forward to it! =o) Katie

Am I cute or what???!

Uh, oh! Look at my big blue eyes! I might not have much hair left, but I am still as charming as ever (...and I believe I still have more hair than my Uncle Rob...)! My Grandma put this bandana on me as a bib... I think it was a challenge to see how quickly I could soak it! Uhhhm, took me about 2 minutes. Yeah. I am that good.
So I have mastered the art of kicking my legs and waving my arms so quickly that they are a blur on camera! Look at me go!

This is my Mom's view of me while I sleep in my Maya wrap. I love sleeping like this, in fact, I dare say it is my favorite spot!
Oh yeah. So check this out. Somebody dangles this weird pink piggy toy in front of my face, and then I get all excited and try to grab it, but most of the time I end up holding onto my shirt instead, or grabbing my bib and pulling it over my face. This time I got the pig though. It tasted good. And then it just kinda went away, don't know what happened, but I was waving my arm, and next time I looked, it was gone!
Piggy is more than 25 years old, my Mom got him for Christmas before she was born!
Huh. Wadda ya know. Is that my Mom flirting with me from behind the camera? Quick! Smile back at her! Oh yeah, this is fun!
Hey, you! Wanna play with me? I think tummy time is actually kinda fun now. Stuff is right-side-up when I look at it from this perspective! Plus, I can produce some great drool-spots on the blanket under me, or my bib, or pretty much anything else within a mile radius of me.
Ohhhh, man, there's my Mom again, waving that silly camera in my face. All I want is to play and talk and laugh! But she claims that other people want to see my picture! Does that mean I'm famous? Hmmmm. Lemme think about that one.

Naked Time!!!!

Here are some pics for you guys that I took today while Mark was hanging out in the living room in his diaper. Enjoy!

My spoon and my feet

In recent news, Mark has found his feet! He can't catch them yet, but boy are they fun to stare at and wiggle! It can keep him busy for quite a while. He especially likes it when I put bright colored socks on him... like yellow or green or blue!
He can now also bring his hands together in the middle, and bring his hands to his mouth to suck on his fist. *yummy!* While visiting the great grandparents, he enjoyed waving a spoon around that I put in his hand. He can't grab stuff yet on purpose, but he has started to bat at things.

These last two weeks have been exciting! In chronological order, Mark has met his great Grandma Carol, his great Grandparents Griffing, his Grandparents Griffing, his Grampa Bradley, and his Rumely great Grandparents, as well as various aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, and several second cousins.
Everyone assures me that Mark is an exceptionally good and contented baby. He hardly ever cries, and loves to just sit on a lap looking around, or lying on his back wiggling. When he gets tired during the day, I tie him onto my front with a Maya wrap (Tragetuch), and he falls asleep within about a minute. He wakes up once (or sometimes twice) at night to eat, but has no problem going to sleep. Hehe, my Mom (Grandma Griffing) teases me that the next baby will be a "real" baby. I am sure thankful that Mark is such a good baby though!

We are really enjoying the time with our family. I wish Ben could be here with us! Three months until he comes home... I love you sweetie!

Mark Smiling

This is one of the videos that MarksMomma has been sending me to keep me going.

Whoops, I linked the wrong video. Mark smiling wiill come shortly!


Here it is! =)

Greetings from the USA!!!

So we have safely made it over to the USA!!! We got a space-A flight on an Airforce cargo flight to McChord AFB on last Wednesday morning. Flying on a C-17 was quite the adventure! The seats were the kind that fold down from the wall, there was no insulation, and the plane was full of cargo crates. It was also really really loud, and you could see all the cables etc. running along the ceiling. But you can't argue with FREE airfare. We paid $4 for lunch, and aside from that, slept most of the time, except when Mark was nursing. Earplugs kept the noise down to a dull roar. The flight took a total of 14 hours, with re-fueling in the air after 7. Ben's grandma picked us up from McChord, and we spent two very pleasant days with her. Then my Dad picked us up and took us to his parents, and from there, we drove over to Spokane, where my family lives. It has been soo nice spending time with people I love, and showing Mark off to his grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts (Brian hasn't met him yet). We plan to take a trip over to Montana to let Mark meet Grampa Bradley, and my Mom's folks (more Greats!), as well as my aunt and uncle. Hopefully it will work out to meet up with some friends too.
It is a whole new experience for me to be able to take a shower without having to listen if Mark is crying... because he is being watched (and loved on and cuddled) by at least one grandparent or aunt. =o) I could get used to this! Right now Mark still believes that 4am is the popular time to wake up and be entertained... but today we actually kept him up until 8pm, so hopefully he will sleep longer tomorrow morning.
Well, let it be said that I am as happy as a clam being here with Mark... the only thing that would make it EVEN better would be to have Ben here with us!!! I love you Sweetie!!!

2- month checkup

Well,I have officially been declared healthy... and I am a big, big boy! I weigh 14 lbs 1 oz (6700g), and am 24.5 inches (62cm)long!!! I got the first set of shots too... that wasn't fun, but after an initial yell of anger and surprise, I just gave the nurse a dirty look and was fine.

Flirt!

Need I say more? Nothing is as charming as a toothless smile! And if I let my blue blue eyes sparkle just so, the girls come a-running! Am I good or what? =o)

Blowing rasberries

Well, we tried to hop on a space A flight to the USA today, but it was cancelled... but I have a new trick! I can foam at the mouth! If you put me down with a perfectly dry face, about 3 minutes later I will have produced a bunch of bubbles, and will have drool running down my chin or cheek. Yummy! I have also figured out how to put my finger in my mouth. Sometimes I still accidently biff myself in the nose with my fist, or it gets stuck on my chin... but whenever I do manage to get that hand to my mouth, I like sucking on it. And then I get really excited, and wave my arms, which *doh* means I lose that finger from my mouth. Sheesh.

I like shiny objects (like cameras!)

I looooove shiny objects! I will stare at them for ages... Right now I also like blowing little bubbles with my saliva... and then smearing them on my Momma's shirt!
We are getting ready to hop on a space-A flight to see my grandparents... my first big trip! Hopefully, I will get to see some of you soon!!!

I Own a Tank!

My dad just sent me a picture of my very own tank! Hopefully one day I'll be able to travel there with the rest of my family and I'll get to actually sit in it!

I slept through the night!!!

Look at me show off my smile during my "sunshine hour"... I coo and kick and smile and then I get tired of it and start crying for food! I wouldn't want to be predictable, would I??!


So after not taking a single nap yesterday, I decided to mix things up a little and slept through the night! My Momma pt me to bed at 9:30pm and I didn't wake up until 5:30am.

Smile please!

So I guess the big question is: am I laughing WITH my Momma or AT her? There she was, propping me up on her legs, balancing the camera on her head with one hand, tickling me under my chin with her other hand, and trying not to let me fall down as I flailed my hands and legs with delight! Now is that funny, or what?!

Little visitors!!!

So Mark has a little friend now! My friend Hanna visited us this week with her 18-month-old son Joel. It was a lot of work, but a ton of fun, too! I look forward to when Mark is big enough to play with Joel. Little buddies. =o)



I am determined to get you guys some good pictures of Mark's smile this week... so check in again in a few days!

Hair!

Look at who I have made friends with! He's furry! He's purr-y, and he's oooooh so soft! I weigh almost exactly as much as the Merlin... hooray for everything MY size! Heheheh, I am even currently shedding almost as much hair as the kitty!
But I have to say that I look rather good with a bald (well, at this point still baldING) noggen!


Speaking of hair, my Momma has short hair now. I like it best when it stands on end and is all fluffy in the morning... and sometimes still at noon if I keep her busy enough!