Tag Archives: birthday

April 9, 2017

This week we did our annual tradition of planting seeds that will grow into plants for our patio vegetable garden. Griffin enjoyed pouring the water into our expandable peat pods and watching them take shape. We planted an assortment of cucumbers, cilantro, tomatoes, zucchini, butternut squash, green beans, sweet peas, watermelon, and cantaloupe.  We also planted a couple of flowers (cosmos and sunflowers). It may be a little ambitious given that we will have a busier than normal spring with the arrival of our little boy. 

It was fitting that this week Griffin learned about x-rays (letter of the week was x) as he had his semi-annual trip to the dentist for his check up and he received his first-ever x-rays! It is pretty neat to be able to see his next round of teeth as they currently sit up in his gums. His dentist visit went great. He was an excellent listener and got a great report from Dr. Bob and his assistant. He always loves filling up his goody bag to take home which includes a new toothbrush (he usually chooses a superhero), a mini-toothpaste, floss, a sticker, and a toy of some sort. Today he chose the sticky action guy (that sticks to the wall when you throw it – joy!) and he got to pick a second toy for getting his first x-rays, so he chose an animal that has a parachute attached.  Lily is doing well and this week went in to have her Mast Cell Tumor removed. Everything went well and we will hear in a week or less the grade of the tumor (our hope is a low-grade tumor meaning it is localized and hasn’t spread). She has to wear the cone of shame for another two weeks. Thankfully this girl is a rock star with her cone. She is gentle with it (not blasting into things) and doesn’t mind wearing it. Sometimes I let her get comfy in her crate and then put it on her as it can be a bit difficult to turn around inside her crate with it on! Her incision was pretty large as they have to remove a large area around the tumor to ensure they get all of the tumor by taking the good skin around it as well.  After we picked Lily up on Saturday morning we quickly went home to drop her off and then headed to the fun annual Powell Easter Egg Hunt at Village Green Park. It was a beautiful and sunny morning and there were TONS of eggs so Griffin took home quite a bit of candy!

I had to head in to work for a bit after the egg hunt. While I was there Kevin and Finn headed to the zoo for Greta’s birthday celebration. Amy had party bags for each of the kids complete with baby aviator sunglasses and animal crackers! Everyone explored the zoo for several hours and I was able to meetup when I wrapped up with work.  Afterwards we went to Amy and Andy’s for pizza and cookie cake. 

On Sunday, we headed to Griffin’s first flag football game after church. We signed him up through i9 sports and he plays right in Powell at the South Liberty Park field which is a short 5 minute drive from our house. Kevin is helping as an assistant coach too so it is fun for everyone :). Griffin looks so small is in over-sized extra-small jersey, number 3! He had a lot of fun and even though he is typically super confident when he plays with us or his grandparents he was a bit timid this week amongst new kids and in a new environment. He was also a bit preoccupied with the mouth guard they have to wear. He was regularly taking it in and out of his mouth while out on the field playing!  He did score a touchdown – see the video below. 

And here are a couple of Finn’s exercises from the week – Easter and Spring words – and writing his name on his papers :).  

March 19, 2017

We have a 4 year old! This guy was so excited and happy when he woke up on his birthday! It was a Thursday so Finn had school that day. I was able to take the day off work and take him and pick him up at school. We had fun adventures in the afternoon as we headed down to COSI for an afternoon of fun and exploration. He enjoyed mixing colors and playing with all kinds of toys and with the water tables. At the end of the afternoon we were able to meet up with Daddy for a trip to Pins Mechanical where we were hoping to go Duck Pin Bowling, however, it was a 2 hour wait! So instead Finn played on a bunch of the pinball machines.  We then headed home to let the dogs out and feed them dinner before we continued on to Star Lanes for traditional bowling. We had a pizza dinner table side at our lane. Finn did great and has really gotten the hang of bowling. Afterward we played a few games in the arcade.  Finn’s birthday gift was a big kid bike! He was really excited and went on a quick couple of loops in our kitchen with Daddy’s help. The bike is just a tad bit too tall for him, even on the lowest seat setting, so he’ll have to grow into it. We’re hoping to leave the training wheels off since he is so great on his balance bike! For his birthday cake on his actual birthday he asked for a strawberry spiderman cake.  And here are a few others from the week.  Finn wearing his “yoga pants” outfit – his absolute favorite “comfy” clothes.  Lily and Brutus doing their thing. They like to battle each other and play-bite each others faces. And Griffin and Sam on St. Patrick’s Day – complete with all things green! The kiddos had a fun soup-making day where they pulled the chicken and made chicken soup. Yummers, it was quite tasty and they had a great time!

December 18, 2016

We started this week by celebrating Kevin’s birthday on Monday evening. Griffin and I had gone shopping together so that he could pick something out for Kevin. His choice? A pair of batman pj’s so they could match! He was so excited to give him his prezzie and that night when Kevin put them on he had the biggest smile on his face :).  Kevin and I went out for his birthday dinner with friends Chris, Christie, Chad, and Nicole. It was a low-key dinner at the Bogey finished off by some chocolate and vanilla cake. Griffin was happy to stay at the Howards and play with the girls.  The annual tradition of hanging our ornaments on the Howard’s Christmas Tree.  We got our first real snowfall this week. It happened to be on Tuesday, which was great as I had the day off work and was home with Finn. As soon as I picked him up from school he wanted to go outside and play. So once we got home he headed out to the back patio for a bit and played. Then he ventured to the front yard where he had some fun making snow angels.  Tis the season for baking, right?  Debbie had a cookie making day with Griffin and Sam and they just loved it. And I must say the results were delish! On Saturday we had our annual candy making party at our house. This year we were joined by Mom & Dad, Amy, Andy, Graham, Rowan, and Greta, and our friends the Ryan’s, Conrad’s, Manning’s, Vertucci’s, and Kessler’s along with their kiddos. It was a big crowd for sure and we had a lot to accomplish! This year we made buckeyes, decorated already made from scratch (by Amy and kids) sugar cookies, and four batches of hard tack candy (lemon, peppermint, cinnamon, and root beer). The kiddos also enjoyed crafting down in the basement thanks to my Mom, who came up with the craft ideas and led the (at times) crazy crew in crafts 🙂 After the candy making ended we were all pretty beat! But Mom and Dad, Amy, Andy and kids stayed for a pizza dinner to celebrate Kevin’s birthday. Griffin and Greta were enjoying being silly together with their tiger “babies”.  On Sunday Griffin and I headed out on a mission to finish some Christmas shopping. He asked me to hold something which I didn’t want him to have, so I gave him my L.L.Bean gift card to hold since it was attached it a cardboard backing.  We were talking about Christmas and gifts and I asked him what he would like for Christmas.  Out of nowhere he said he wanted a puppy!  Since I was in a parking lot, I turned around with the video on and asked him again.  Watch the next two videos for his response. It was super cute! I had nothing to do with the idea, really, I didn’t.  I sent them to Kevin, who responded, “where did he get that idea? puppy?”.  And my reply, “the front of the gift card because he is on the present box”.  This kid, he cracks me up. But in the second video you’ll hear him talk about how he wants three dogs because Hailey and Cameron went to Heaven and he wants Lily to have a playmate so we can have 3 dogs again. 🙂