4-month check-up and little friends

Mark just had his 4-month check-up, and was pronounced healthy and thriving! For his wonderful grandparents who rejoice in numbers, Mark is now just over 26.5 inches (67cm)long, and weighs just over 17lbs (8kg). The Doc exclaimed at how alert he is, and that he is grabbing things so well, and (as you all know) is always, always moving. Mark was very quiet during the check-up, but when the Doc went to the adjoining room to get something, Mark started "talking" and so he "passed" that test also. After that he got his vaccination shots, which was no fun at all! I think this was the most upset I have ever seen him, although it seemed more like an angry "how dare you hurt me" cry than an "ouch" cry. Poor little guy. He was so upset that his lip would start quivering and he would randomly start crying again throughout the next hour. Some Momma-milk and lots of cuddling got him through to his next nap though, and after that he was back to his usual sunny self.

Ben is coming home sooooooon! I can hardly wait to have him here with us, our family will be complete again! Dad, Momma, and Mark. :o) Love you, Sweetie!!!

Well, here are the latest pictures of our little Man:

This was at Hanna and Jean Michel's wedding (congratualtions my friends!) this weekend in Denmark.

Mark playing with his "big" friend Joel!


Wiggling, wiggling, always wiggling! (Oh yeah, and check out the belly!)

Uh right. Wearing my bib on my back. Just how I like it.

My Momma is NOT Anne Geddes!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What the heck is my Momma thinking!? How am I going to maintain my tough-guy image around my friends when there are pictures of me IN A PUMPKIN?????! I do NOT like this one little bit! Grrrrrrrrrrr! Get me out! Get me out! Get me OUT!

Well, I am not sure I like this idea any better, but this is definitely not quite as bad as being stuck all the way into a pumpkin. Plus, my Momma is making faces at me, so I will give her ONE smile. That's it. No more smiles from now on....

Uh oh! I just discovered that pumpkin is yummy! And it has this cool texture! Oh boy! Who cares about cameras and being inside a pumpkin, as long as I get to chew on this!
Yeah, this is great teething material, too. Gotta remember this when my teeth are coming in. Until then, I will just slobber all over the edge.
Woah. Ok, going cross-eyed here. Not sure if chewing on this AND trying to admire the pretty orange color is working so well....

Ok, so just for the record, this is NOT a smile. No, Sir. My eyes are sparkling, and the corners of my mouth are turned up, but I am not smiling. Uh oh. Momma is making a face. Don't smile at her. No. Will-not-smile! Concentrate on licking the pumpkin...!

Ok, done licking and chewing, now I am gonna feel the texture with my hands.
Oooooooh, pretty orange color..... *zone out*

Getting kinda bored here, Momma... any chance you'll get me outa here soon? Nope, not a chance you'll get another smile out of me...
Alright, I am really done over here. Seriously. Get me out now. This is embarrassing.










(*Ps: if anyone wants any of these pictures to print, just email my Momma...)

Tiny Tarzan growing in leaps and bounds!

Here is a reminder for all of you what "little" Mark looked like about three months ago! In this picture, Mark was only 2 days old...
...and this is him today! It is mind-boggling to me how much he has already grown and how quickly he is developing. Have I mentioned that I love that little guy?

I hope the title of this post hasn't disquieted anyone. Have no fear, Mark is neither swinging from tree to tree, nor is he wearing a leopard-print loind cloth(ok, got a mental image, that is just SO wrong!) or growing his hair out. No, no, no! Mark has discovered the Tarzan-call... meaning, he is currently experimenting with his VOICE, creating a range of calls/screams/screeches/squawks varying in VOLUME and PITCH. The results vary from cute little mosquito sounds to deafening screeching banchee. He decided to practice the "blood curdling scream" on the street car on the way home today... while SMILING and GIGGLING with delight during the intermissions. I think he knew that he was making those sounds ALL BY HIMSELF, which made it fun for him. The other passengers were probably wondering what the heck was wrong with my kid, or what I was doing to him... but Mark was just having a grand old time! He showed off some prime Tarzan calls while I was talking to Ben on the phone this evening. It made us both laugh.

Here Mark is playing with a rattle on the couch. I have found that Mark prefers the rattles with fairly subtle noises... one rattle that is very loud scared him into tears! He was shaking his arm, making it rattle, flinching every time it went "k-bang, k-bang," and then started crying.

Look, Mark is chilling on the couch with the kitty. He has a good hold on Merlin's tail! Doesn't look like the kitty minds though...

And here Mark is doing his best trying to eat his giraffe rattle. Aside from kicking while he plays, he also squirms from side to side like this, arching his back.




Ben is coming home soon! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Lub you Sweetie!

Wanna sit but can't by myself...

So this is me, sitting on the couch. I have discovered that I like sitting. The only problem is, I can't quite keep myself upright on my own. I have the strength, but can't quite keep my balance. My Momma lets me hold onto her finger, and then I can sit. Or she props me up with some pillows. It is fun to see the world from this perspective! And boy, now that I know that there is the option of sitting up, I really don't like lying down any more! How boring! If my Momma puts me on my back, I do these funny little baby-sit-ups, trying to get up. Or I roll onto my side. But either way, I start fussing after a while, until someone, usually my Momma, comes over and pulls me up into a sitting position. Then I giggle and smile.If she puts me onto my tummy, I like looking around, but I either roll over, or get frustrated trying, and call for someone to flip me over. If I am lying on my blanket on the floor, Merlin, the kitty, comes over to check me out. I like to grab his fur. And Merlin seems to think I am petting him, cuz he flops down beside me. Today I got ahold of his ear and tried to lick it, but my Mom, for some odd reason, wouldn't let me. Sheesh, what a spoil-sport.

Those Rascalls!!!!!

Yesterday, Mark and I were at the chapel youth group for the first time in a long time! It was great seeing the "kids" again... it had been weeks and weeks!

After youth group, I was walking around the building cleaning up, and left Mark with some of the kids. When I came back into the room, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was Mark, in the garbage can... and one of the students was waiting, ready to take a picture of my reaction! It was one of those moments where on the one hand I was shocked, ...but on the other hand thought it was really funny and cute. I assumed (correctly) that the kids had the good sense to put a clean garbage bag in the can... anyway, here are the pictures.

As you see, Mark didn't seem bothered by the fact that he had just been placed in a garbage can...

...hey.... coming to think of it... who the heck puts a kid in a garbage can?????!!!!!









I am not sure who actually put him in there... anyone wanna fess up? Heheh.




Just as a disclaimer, yes, I know it is dangerous for kids to be in plastic bags, but he was watched the whole time, and didn't chew on it or pull it over his head...

Aunties and Uncles and real giggles

Yesterday Mark laughed a real giggle for the first time! Before, he would squeak with delight with a huge grin, or make kind of a coughing noise. Yesterday, I was playing "This is the way the ladies ride" with him, and when I got to the "This is the way the farmers ride"-part, he grinned and squirmed and then giggled a real hahahahah-laugh! Needless to say, it was VERY cute! Gave me a new goal in life: make my little son laugh! =o)

After dedicating yesterday's post to Mark's "Greats" and "Grands" I decided to make today's post with some pictures of my siblings with Mark. He still hasn't met Ben's brother, Rob. That will hopefully happen next Spring (hint hint).

Hanna, Brian, Kirsten and Katie with baby Mark
Katie, Hanna and Kirsten
Kirsten holding Mark ...she got her wish later: that Mark would fall asleep while she was holding him!
Mark getting hugged/squished/cuddled by Kirsti
Mark and Hanna laughing at each other
Mark getting hugged/squished/ cuddled by Hanna
Brian holding Mark
Not sure why this pic is on its side... here Brian is cuddling Mark to keep him warm at Kirsten's race.

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.