Mama Bird's Nest Necklace!

I've been making these mama bird's nest necklaces, and I finally decided to list them for sale on Etsy.com to see if I might be able to earn a little income for our family!  Here are a few pictures of my nests:

I haven't listed the one with the greenish blue eggs on Etsy quite yet, but it's a-comin'!  Anyway, here is the link to my Etsy shop listing:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/89263839/mama-birds-nest-necklace
Check it out!!  And for future reference, my Etsy shop name is "katiebowbatie".

Other Blog

Hi, all.  So, it has officially been months and months since I've posted on this blog, and for a somewhat good reason.  I have been doing a "one photo a day" blog since January, and have used all my blogging energy/time keeping up with that.  I plan to (at some indefinite time in the future) start posting on this blog again, but until then, follow us at:  http://thethompsonsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Family Zoo Time

Summer is upon us...and it's only March!!  The high today in Columbia was 88º.  You read that right.  Oliver's parents and brother, William, and his girlfriend, Cat, visited and went to the zoo with us this afternoon.  Shortly after arriving, we all realized our desperate need for Icees, and I realized that it was time to whip out the sunscreen for my sweet, fair toddler.  Although it was hot, it was a gorgeous day to be out and about.  The tulips were in full bloom, families were out in force, and an Icee never tasted so good. 

Griffin loves to run free.  He sort of runs in whatever direction he feels impelled to go, and it's our job to keep him from dashing right into groups of people, strollers, etc.  Today, he walked towards a group of people and grabbed excitedly onto a complete stranger's leg.  The man was very gracious, and it's nice that people just think he's so adorable at this age.  I suppose we'll have to teach him not to grab onto strangers pant legs at some point :)

Griffin enjoying some of his Grandaddy's Icee.  Grandaddy is still quite possibly Griffin's favorite person on the planet right now.  It's so sweet to see how much he adores him.

Griffin wasn't being very cooperative in getting a picture with Gigi.  I think he's entering into the phase where all pictures must be taken incognito.

Since Griffin's last run-in with the birds, where we were basically assaulted by birds (they were being quite aggressive that day) one jumped on his head and then clung to his shoulder, he has become quite serious when it comes to feeding the birds.  "Uncle Bubba" did a good job of keeping the birds at arms length, as not to scare the poor child.

Here Griffin is trying to say "eye."  He loved the tiger statue.

Poor Grandaddy is going to have sore arms tomorrow.  Like last time we went to the zoo, Griffin preferred to be held by none other than his Grandaddy the entire time!

Checking out the stinky flamingos.

After hitting his Papa in the face, we were (again) talking about being gentle, and using "gentle touch" with people's faces.  This is Griffin making it up to Oliver by using "gentle touch."  So cute it hurts.

We ran into a few good friends of mine and their kids, and this is my friend Kristin's son, Asher, and Griffin checking out the fish and whatnot in the Amazon tank.

Grandaddy and Gigi's Zoo Visit

This koala had a baby!  How precious.

Grandaddy is a BIG DEAL to Griffin these days.  He was signing "grandpa," saying "nah nah nah" (which apparently means "grandaddy" haha), and wanting him to hold him all day!  It is the sweetest thing.

Griffin's grandaddy took him on his very first carousel ride!  They chose the cheetah, and this particular carousel just so happened to be the fastest carousel any of us had ever seen!  They were just absolutely flying....as evidenced a couple pictures down from here haha!

Grandaddy explaining the ins and outs of carousel riding.

Hahahah!  This is such a great shot...blurry, but it definitely captures the moment :)  This carousel was not joking around.

Finally, Griffin just wrapped his arm around Bill to hold onto him!

The boys.

We stopped and had a little bite to eat, and Griffin got to have some fries with ketchup and some Icee with his Gigi.

So happy to be eating junk food.  You know, I really think the enjoyment of fat an sugar is just built into the human race.  This boy never ever eats sugary sweets or fatty things, but boy does he LOVE it when he can get his hands on food like that!  So funny.

 

This picture is a summary of the day...Griffin wanting to be with his Grandaddy!  Griffin just enjoyed him so much today!

My handsome husband.

Enjoying our beautiful zoo!

First Library Trip

I have been meaning to get this boy to the library for quite some time, but we finally made it!  I had never really seen the children's section until today, and WOW...I am impressed.  Griffin had a great time.  Seeing has how I've already written about our library experience on our "One Photo a Day" blog, here is a link if you care to read:  One Photo a Day.
How adorable are they?

Griffin Laughing Hysterically at Oliver

Language Explosion!

Within the last month, Griffin has gone from very little language and communication abilities to regularly communicating his needs, desires, frustrations, and knowledge.  We have been signing (on and off) with him since he was 4 months old, and I was just about ready to throw in the towel, calling it a failed experiment, at around 12 months.  BUT, I am so, so glad that we stuck with it now because we are really reaping loads of benefits from all the effort over the past months.  It was as if, all of a sudden, signing "clicked" in his mind, and it has been non-stop from there.  Oliver and I really want to record what he is learned just in the past few weeks, and I'll do that by adding to the list I made for his 13 month blog post, putting newly learned items in bold.  As of today, our 13 month old little man knows how to say 38 words via either speaking or signing.  Just from what I can see that he recognizes, in addition to the words he can "say," he understands/recognizes 30 more words!  So, in what seems like overnight, he has developed a catalog of almost 70 words!!  Clearly, I am gushing...I am just so proud of him!  And I am so glad and thankful that others encouraged us to use sign language with Griffin.  Of course, I would highly recommend it to anyone else out there.  If you're interested in signing with your baby/toddler, we started off with a book called Baby Signing 123, which uses actual ASL.

 

An invaluable resource is the My Smart Hands website, which has a video dictionary of signs.  Basically, a mom videotaped herself and her children making each regularly used sign.  This is super helpful because pictures of the signs only go so far.  You kind of need to see them acted out in real life to understand what they're actually supposed to look like.  Also, we've recently ordered the Volume 1 DVD of Baby Signing Time, which gets RAVE reviews.  It's been highly recommended to me personally by other moms who have used it as well.

Anyway, I could go on and on and on about all of this [obviously...sorry!], but I thought I should probably get around to actually including the list I came on here to blog about hah.  Here it is!

A.  Words

1. mama
2. dada
3. dog
4. duck
5. cat
6. meow
7. hi
8. night-night (nie-nie)
9. bye-bye
10. bird
11. juice 
12. kitty-kitty-kitty (imitating me calling the cat)

B.  Signs

1. hi
2. bye
3. light (also "light on" and "light off")
4. fan
5. more
6. please
7. good morning
8. eat
9. Jesus
10. bath
11. peeew! 
12. bubbles
13. dog (points to right forearm....I have NO CLUE where he got that, and it isn't the sign for dog in ASL, but...oh well!  Hahah)
14. bird
15. tree
16. orange
17. fish
18. book
19. baby
20. cereal
21. spoon
22. diaper
23. diaper change
24. I love you
25. spider
26. song/music
27. movie
28. ball
29. drink/cup
30. papa
31. hat
32. play 

C.  Can Recognize/Point to/Locate (not including the things he can sign/say)

1. toes
2. mouth (his and mine/other people's)
3. nose (mine/other people's)
4. weeble wobble
5. monkey
6. cow
7. horse
8. pig
9. zebra
10. elephant
11. cup
12. nuk
13. spoon
14. frog blanket
15. ear
16. hair
17. sock
18. shoe
19. hand 

D.  Recognizes & Will Do These Things When Asked

1. splash
2. jump
3. kiss (with a "mmmm" sound included haha)
4. blow
5. clap
6. smile
7. no touch
8. no bite
9. high five
10. How big is Griffin?  SO BIG!
11. sit down on your bottom
12. blow kisses
13. hug 
14. read

Growing Up

Pointing to the birds

He heard a dog and is trying to "woof" in this picture.

Drool. all. the time.  He's currently getting at least 4 teeth (maybe even 8) at once.  His two upper eye teeth have cut through this week, as well as his upper right 1 year molar.  Whew...Teething is rough.

Glowing.

Lately, Griffin has been quite the chatterbox.  He has a lot to say, and very little of it makes any sense...which I totally love and think is the cutest thing in the world.

"Seriously, mom?  That camera again?!"

He doesn't like to swing, but he likes to swing the swing :)

When Griffin wants to know what something is, he points to it and makes a questioning tone.  He is so very curious and is absorbing information like a sponge.  I am just so proud of him!

Making the sign for "bird" with his papa!  He has had a language explosion over the past few weeks, which I plan to blog about soon.

Love this.  Love them.  My husband and my son out in God's creation.  I am blessed.