New Nephew & Cousin

This week, we made the trip down to Auburn, Alabama to meet our new (and first!) nephew, Henry! He is such a sweetie pie, complete with a full head of thick, dark hair. Born at 10 lbs 10 oz, Griffin's new (and first) cousin is bound to be a big boy just like Griffin. They should make a great pair as they grow up together, and we're looking forward to them playing and getting into trouble together...but not too much trouble :)

Griffin meeting his cousin for the first time:

Griffin with his Uncle Bubba:

Griffin and Henry:

Meet Henry:

Griffin, after his first bath in the sink at his Uncle Hank and Aunt Anna's house:

Our little family:

3 Generations of men:

Griffin loves his Grandaddy and his Uncle Hank:

Proud grandparents with their grandchildren:

Hibachi Style Chicken, Zucchini, Squash, & Onions

Since summer weather began here in the Palmetto state, I really cannot get enough of zucchini and squash. So, I've been coming up with all kinds of ways to use them in meals. Day-to-day life is a bit crazy here in the Thompson household ever since Griffin was born, and I really don't get a chance to fix dinner until after he is in bed by 7pm. Needless to say, I'm STARVING by the time 7 rolls around, and I don't have a lot of patience to make meals that take a long time to prepare. Here is a meal I put together last night using zucchini and squash that is a super quick fix to get that meal into your belly as quickly as possible.

1/2 bag (=1 lb) frozen chicken tenderloins (defrost in microwave 10 min)
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash(es?)
1 onion (I like to use vidalia)
1-2 T cooking oil (vegetable, canola, safflower, whatever)
1-2 T soy sauce (We get the low sodium version)
Black Pepper
(Optional and DELICIOUS: a drizzle of Panda Express sauce or teriyaki sauce)
2 bags 90 second Uncle Ben's brown rice***
1 egg

Defrost chicken 10 min. & cut into bit-sized pieces while warming oil in wok or big frying pan. Put chicken in wok. Wash & cut up zucchini (cut into long strips), squash (cut into circles or half circles), and onions (long strips) while chicken is cooking. Add veggies to wok when chicken is cooked. Drizzle soy sauce and let cook while you cook bags of rice. Take cooked rice and pour into a skillet with a smidge of oil and an egg. Cook until egg is mixed in with rice and fully cooked. I'm not sure exactly how long it takes for the veggies to soften. I guess it sort of depends on how crunchy you like them! I think I cooked them about 10 minutes or so...The key is to let them cook until the water that comes out of them while cooking is mostly cooked off. Soggy, wet veggies are no way to go; so, let that water cook off. Near the end, add the Panda Express sauce (if you're using it...and I HIGHLY recommend it. It adds so much flavor), teriyaki sauce, or more soy sauce and black pepper to taste. Put a pile on your "fried rice," and there you have it!

Mr. Pouty Face

Our son has officially figured out how to manipulate us. He regularly practices and utilizes this pouty face to get a reaction out of us:
Here is a video of him pulling out all the stops:

Could this be any cuter?

5 Months

On the 27th of May, Griffin turned 5 months old. Each month birthday is bittersweet for me... My little newborn baby isn't quite so new anymore, yet he is becoming more and more fun each day, with his developing personality, physical abilities, and...well...i must say he keeps getting cuter and cuter! This past month, Griffin has:
1. conquered rolling over from back to front to the right (he's still working on the left & front to back rolling)
2. begun clinging a bit more to me when I hold him, which makes it a bit easier to lug around all 18+ lbs. of him!
3. started eating solid foods (rice cereal+breastmilk, bananas, avocados, and sweet potatoes)
4. started including more consonant sounds in his baby talk (some b's, d's, g's, and raspberry sounds...lots of "ah-gookkss")
5. grown into his exersaucer a bit more and has figured out how to play with most of the toys (especially the buttons that make animal noises and music, the spinning wheels, and the chewy starfish). He can turn himself around and stand with much more balance control and stability (=no more blankets stuffed down in the seat to hold him up)
6. started recognizing and responding enthusiastically to certain signs (We started using sign language with him about 3 weeks ago). Signs he CLEARLY recognizes: milk, up, diaper change, up, eat, more, all done. Signs we currently use with him regularly: eat, drink, milk, more, cereal, banana, all done, up, diaper change, change clothes, bath, sleep, bed, yes, mama, papa.
7. begun to pull himself into a balancing sitting position in the high chair...mainly in attempt to lean forward with an open mouth to dive at the spoon hahah, but nevertheless...
8. continued to love standing while you hold his hands or waist
9. started splashing in the tub
10. started screeching and screaming when he gets excited. Also, when excited, he tends to make an "o" with his lips, open his eyes wide, and start kicking and flailing his arms around! So cute!
11. started passing an item from one hand to the other. He did this for the first time TODAY, actually!
12. begun to get scared by certain people, loud noises, and scary sounds. These things induce severe pouting and, sometimes, all-out crying.
13. started to pout when he is tired or upset. That bottom lip just melts your heart! Pictures to follow... :)
14. started to sleep 10-13 hours at a time through the night (PRAISE THE LORD!) This has not been the case for the past 4-5 days or so, as he has been waking at 4-5 for a feeding; however, since the introduction of solid foods, those nights have been the exception and not the rule.
15. started sleep training using Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child as my guide. It has been very, very challenging, but extremely worth it. I've learned that it is much better to protect your child's sleep times and have a family that is getting adequate rest than going and doing whenever and having a family that is tired, cranky, and short-fused. Griffin is learning how to fall asleep, self-soothe, and take regular naps that last longer than an hour. It's a process and definitely not one that is easy or quick. You have to be dedicated and consistent, and the Lord is really teaching me and using this for my sanctification because I am anything but consistent in my own life. I suppose the extra motivation of Griffin's well-being is helping me to stay the course on this one...but I have a feeling it has more to do with the grace of God and the support of my wonderful, attentive, helpful husband.
16. started sleeping UNSWADDLED! It was definitely time as he had outgrown every swaddler known to man, and he could break out of the most intense swaddle I could come up with. Not only that, but he was starting to try to roll over in his swaddle. Well, we couldn't have that! So, it's been two difficult weeks of Griffin having to learn how to sleep and stay asleep with his arms free. He tends to disturb himself quite frequently by pulling out or messing with his nuk, clawing his face, and trying to roll over constantly (which, if he succeeds will cause him to scream until he flipped back over since he will not allow himself to fall asleep on his belly).
17. started really, truly examining people and the environment. He's been very observant since he was born, but it seems as though his vision has matured and he is seeing everything for the very first time all over again! Things he has spent hours of his life staring at are intriguing anew!
18. started stroking my face, hair, hands, and chest as I rock him before naps and bedtime. This is one of the mama times I treasure the most in my day with him.
19. started belly laughing more frequently with tickling, funny noises/words/phrases/voices/faces. The most common time for these giggly spells is during his massage before bedtime.

Baby Food NINJA!

Since Griffin has embarked on his solid food venture, he has successfully and eagerly added rice cereal, bananas, avocado, and, most recently, sweet potato to his repertoire. Rice cereal, bananas and avocado are easily mashed up with a fork, one serving at a time; however, sweet potatoes involve a bit more preparation. In an attempt to 1) save money and, more importantly, 2) provide the healthiest, purest food for Griffin that I am able to, I've decided to venture into the world of making his baby food at home from fresh fruits, veggies, etc.

Being completely unfamiliar with the world of preparing and storing baby food, Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron has been an invaluable resource. Thank you, thank you Aunt Mary for recommending it! Another invaluable tool has been the Ninja Master Prep food processor and blender. This thing is A-MAZING. Veggies you would typically be forced to press through a metal strainer to remove strands and chunks after processing are perfectly smooth, strandless, and chunkless after being pureed in the Ninja. I must say, my Ninja is my friend. A great big thank you to my friend and fellow baby-food-makin-mama, Shari McWilliams for recommending the Ninja to me!

These are photos of my first attempt at sweet potatoes. I must say, I was only successful because of the recommendations of my Aunt Mary and my friend Shari! I can see how making baby food would be a total headache without the right tools.

First Solid Food!

Our little baby isn't so little anymore. Weighing in at a whopping 18 lbs (or more by now!), Griffin has been extremely interested in watching us eat and drink. When we've given him small tastes of things on our fingers, he has been very eager to have more, more, more! So, after doing a ridiculous amount of research and agonizing over whether it was too early or not, I decided my boy is ready to enter the big boy world of solid foods. Here are a couple videos of his first meal!

Parlez Vous Francais?

Oliver is taking two French courses this summer. Since I took 3 years of French in high school and was able to spend 3 month using it in West Africa, Oliver and I can practice our French skills together as he goes through his courses. How fun is that?! Today was his first day, and we had a blast talking about what he had learned and working on pronunciation. Of course, Griffin gets his little French lesson too!