Happy 1st Birthday Griffin!

One year ago today, we welcomed Griffin Thomas Fitzhugh into our family! Ryan and I have been so blessed to be this little guy's parents, and I find myself thanking the Lord daily (well, maybe not EVERY day) for the privilege of being his mother. He's a joy to be around and has become such a fun playmate lately.

Daddy took the day off of work and we spent the entire day celebrating our little man. He's such a big boy, that he decided to sleep in (till 8:30!) and then we all went out for donuts at our favorite little donut shop. Griff tried his first chocolate donut holes (and LOVED them), polishing them off with real milk (no more formula!!!). After his morning nap, we headed to the Fort Worth Zoo to check out all the animals. I can't remember the last time I went to the zoo, but the weather was beautiful and Griff really seemed to enjoy being outside, hanging out with Mom and Dad, and seeing all the new animals. We waved at the elephants and giraffes and tried to make monkey sounds :) After we got home, Daddy took a nap while Mama and Griff took a stroll to the local park. We finished things off with a bath, a little naked baby time, and mac 'n cheese for dinner (with clothes on). Overall - a great day!

The last month has been so much fun as Griffin keeps developing at an amazing pace. His appetite has really taken off and he seems to like anything he puts in his mouth (which is usually much more than he can swallow). He has 7 teeth now (4 on top and 3 on bottom), so I think that's helping him eat all kinds of new things. He's not using bottles anymore, but we are cheating a bit by using bottle nipples in the sippy cups...it's the only way I can get him to use them!

He's starting to say a few words that we kind of recognize. For instance, he can say:

"light"

"ageh" means "again"

"ahhhhh da" means "all done"

"eck" means "milk"

and the latest is "ukka" which means something like "hungry"

My mom also swears he says "dog" and Aunt Heather is sure she's heard "Heather"....not too sure about those, but you never know :) I LOVE that he is starting to really communicate now!

Lately, Griff is into shutting all kinds of doors, and often "helps" me load the dishwasher by shutting the door when its full. More than once, he has shut himself in a room or closet and then complains that he can't get out :) He also likes to play peek-a-boo by holding a blanket over his head and waiting for you to say "Where's Griffin?" Last, but not least, he's walking full time now!!! I mentioned last month that he was trying it out, but Ryan declared it official when Griff was able to stand up and walk off without any support. He really enjoys practicing this new skill, but he was a "loud" crawler, so I'm still surprised to turn around and see him standing right behind me sometimes.

Last weekend we had an awesome party to celebrate Griffin's big day, so be on the lookout for a new blog post about those festivities. For now, I'm signing off to enjoy a few more minutes with the birthday boy before he goes to bed. Griffin, we love you more than words can say!!

Bun #2 Has a Name!

That's right....we've decided on a name for our newest family member! Ryan and I have started a little tradition of going to Macaroni Grill, where they have those paper tablecloths, and using the crayons to try out different names, monograms, nicknames, etc. After much deliberation and coloring fun, we finally settled on a name for Bun #2.

So here's the big reveal.....we are planning to name him Jasper Ryan. "Jasper" is a great name we thought was kind of different, but hopefully not too different :) And, of course, "Ryan" is after his sweet daddy, a great role model and perfect namesake if there ever was one.

The meaning of names has always been fascinating to me, so I like to to look into that when we're picking out names for our kids. Jasper means "treasure keeper" and is also the name of a semi-precious stone (sometimes a reddish color, sometimes a blue-brown color). The stone reference is actually used in Revelation to describe how God appears on His throne...which I thought was pretty amazing!

Ryan loves the idea of calling him "JR" and my mom likes the nickname "Jazz" or "Jas"...still deciding on spelling for that one :)

Whatever we ultimately call him, we know that this little one will be a blessing to our family. He is already our precious treasure!

Belly Pic - 25 Weeks

Bun #2

After spending the last few days putting a baby book together for Griffin (just in time for his first birthday, which is right around the corner!), I'm realizing that Baby Fitz #2 may already be missing out on all the prenatal photo ops that Griff was given.

To even things out a bit, here are a few of the latest ultrasound pics of our little peanut (taken at 20 weeks). He's very active these days, kicking and rolling around all the time. We can't wait to meet him! The first two are 3D and the last one is a 2D profile shot.

This is his sweet little face....I'm already trying to see if he looks like his big brother, but it's hard to say.

This little guy seems a bit camera shy...he kept crossing his arms over his face :)

Profile...again with the arms crossed over his head.

Spring is in the Air!

Last month we got to enjoy some beautiful early spring weather (one of the great things about living in Texas is that winter doesn't last too long). It's been wonderful to get out of the house, and Griffin just loves to be outdoors. One weekend, we got to spend a lovely afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum with Ryan's family. Griff was not too sure about walking on the grass in bare feet (how can this be my child???), but he loved the fish pond, the waterfalls, and all the colorful flowers. We have an annual pass, so I'm hoping we get to do it again soon!

Eleven Months Old

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but for us February just flew by. Since it was a short month anyway, I really can't believe I'm already posting that Griffin is eleven months old! We're now in full birthday party planning mode, and I just don't know where the time went!

Our little baby isn't such a baby any more....it's been wonderful to see him develop over the past months, but a little sad to see him growing up so fast already. The biggest news is that he's learning to walk! He takes a few steps at a time and is still pretty wobbly, but I'm pretty sure he'll be off an running by the time his first birthday rolls around.

Griffin is still quite the jabber jay - he's always "talking" to himself, his toys, us, his grandparents, the dog....pretty much anyone who will listen. No "real" words yet, but it won't be long. He's down to 3 bottles a day, and (life-changing for us) has been holding his own bottle for several weeks. I never realized how much time I spent just holding him while he took a bottle, and I think he's really liking the independence of doing it himself.

Griff is really starting to like table foods now - always angling for a bite of whatever the big people are eating. Any kind of bread is a hit, plus chicken tenders, some pasta, a few diced veggies, and the new favorites are goldfish crackers and Nilla wafers.

We haven't scheduled his first haircut yet, and he's developed these ADORABLE little curls at the nape of his neck. I just don't know how I'm going to be able to cut those off! He still LOVES to dance when he hears a good tune and is the friendliest little guy you'll ever meet. He reaches out for everyone he sees and likes to try to get passersby to smile back at him in the grocery store.

We just love this little man and are so excited to be adding another sweet boy to the family in a few months!

The out-takes:

Baby Dedication

On February 20th we got to celebrate a wonderful milestone in Griffin's life - his Baby Dedication at our church! Which basically means that Ryan and I publicly acknowledged our commitment to raise Griffin in a Christian home, to teach him about God's love and His plan of salvation, and hopefully, to introduce him to a lifelong relationship with Jesus.

We were blessed by the presence of both our families, who will - no doubt - play important roles in the spiritual lives of our children.

The Lord has been so gracious to bless us with a beautiful, healthy, delightful child (with another one on the way), and we hope we can be faithful examples of His love and redemption in their lives.