Three. He's THREE! My baby boy. Little man. G$. Bubs. Love bug. All we have heard for the past MONTH is that, on August 9th, Griffin is going to turn three. I think it is, for most kids, the first birthday where they really "get it." They understand the significance. The fun. The cake and presents. Look forward to seeing friends and family, and actually have a true opinion of what they want. This year, Griffin chose a "Cars" theme. Bye bye Thomas. Hello Lightning McQueen!
The forecast, all week, indicated rain. 80%, to 60%, back to 80%. We had a back-up plan in place, but surprisingly, we didn't need it! The rain stayed away, and the sun even managed to break through! We had the entire pool to ourselves. It was a pretty perfect day, actually. Griffin woke up laughing. He was SO excited it was finally his birthday.
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| Day 1....we fell in love with this precious face |
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| He grew up way too quickly! |
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| And what a sweet young man he's becoming! |
Here are the pictures from Griffin's 3rd birthday party...he had a blast.
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| This cake was a hit! And it tasted absolutely delicious! I highly recommend for you!! It was made by Z Bakery. |
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| Pure, dark chocolate. Yum! Hard to see, but these are "3"s with Lightning McQueen on them. We had lots of little chocolate-covered faces walking around. |
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| Juliet and Wes helping G on his new skateboard |
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| With his Granby and Grumps |
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| Celeste and Knox |
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| Payton with Granddude |
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| Sweet Madison |
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| We had flying kids. Lots of flying kids! This one is Kyler... |
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| This one is Mr. Ironman tossing Sam into the air! |
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| Payton wanted in on the action, but didn't want to go quite that high... |
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| Diana and handsome Roman (who also just had a birthday!) Happy 2nd birthday, little man! |
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| Chris and Brian |
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| Celeste and Knox |
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| Mr. Fearless himself...this is Wes. He decided he didn't want to wait for someone to throw him and took matters into his own legs :) |
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| More flying kids! This one is Carter. |
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| Jacob doing his own version of a flying cannonball |
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| A happy Baby Teagan |
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| And proud big sis, Milani |
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| Little Juliet |
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| A happy, healthy Grumps, with Damon |
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| Uncle Jon and Sam |
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| Learning how to palm the ball, haha. |
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| D, Grumps, and Philip |
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| Madison...Griffin's girlfriend. They are totally going to have an arranged marriage. Haha. |
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| Happy birthday, sweet boy! We love you more than you'll ever know! |
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| Sweet big sissy |
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| THREE!!!!! |
The Thursday, before the party, Nana and Granddude came to sit with the kids, so Brian and I could go out and celebrate our 6th anniversary. They have been driving across the country, for Granddude to ride his bike down the west coast, so it's been months since we have seen them. Brian and I did a mini-tour of the breweries in Noda. We both enjoyed the beer flights at each place, and weird (awesome) food at Heist Brewery.
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| The one on the left...jalapeno beer. YUM! |
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| Whipped goat cheese, with a candied fig, served over watermelon...delicious! |
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| Old, old friend, Stefan, who is one of the most well known bartenders in Charlotte. I ran into several old friends in NoDa that night! |
Rounding out the night, we met our friends, Diana and Tobias, at Tbones. They were also having a date night, and it made sense for us to get closer to home. Some other friends were there, and we all ended up dancing our booties off down on the docks. It was an awesome evening, and we have Nana and Granddude to thank for that! Oh, and when Nana and Granddude arrived at our house, Payton said, "Ok, bye mommy!" She practically pushed us out the door!
The extended birthday celebration continued on Sunday, when we spent the afternoon and evening at Terri and Walter's new lake home. They used to live a couple buildings down from us, but have moved WAY north up the lake. They are in the process of doing many, many home renovations, and the place is incredible! Griffin has asked, numerous times already, when he can go back there. The kids got to "fish," play in the water, and have freedom running around the yard. Brian has been helping Walter build a fantastic deck, and on some other projects. We'll definitely be back there soon!
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| He laughed the whole time he was peeing. Boys... |
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| I am NOT...let me repeat. I am NOT ready for fall, yet, but this was a perfect way to wind down our crazy, fun-filled weekend on a cloudy, cool August evening. |
And I've been doing some wakeboarding, and learning how to wakesurf lately. I'm now addicted to wakesurfing, and I'm working on riding out a 360. I dream of this every night. I'm obsessed, haha.
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| Some of my friends I've been riding with.... |
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| My happy place! |
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| Brand new Mastercraft X2...has a super nice wave. Well, it has a super nice EVERYTHING! |
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| Last day of summer "camp" (and quite possibly the last time we saw the sun!) |
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| Biker gang (G's new very huge bike) |
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| I'm "free!" I'm "free" |
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| We were out playing and Payton came in the house first...this was what she was doing when I got inside. |
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| Finished product...peanut butter, jelly, and honey, cut "carefully" into two pieces. Hey, not bad for her first sammie! |
Brian and I took the kids to Wingate Park one sunny morning...it got hot fast, but the kids had a blast.
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| My little lovebug xo |
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| Yes, we are still in jammies. And no, he never takes off his Lightning McQueen light-up shoes, which are 2 sizes too big. |
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| Monkey see...Monkey do. |
Griffin had his 3 year check up Wednesday, August 19th. I definitely don't feel like he's been growing at the rate of Payton, but let's be honest. What kid does? So for the "baby book" stuff, here goes:
Height: 38.5 inches (75%)
Weight: 36.4 pounds (90%)
Dr. Nguyen said he's healthy, smart, and cute as he can be. I agree :) He's only been to the doctor once in the past year, and that was because he was wheezing when he had a cold. So, here's to another WELL winter!
Thank you to our friends and family who were able to make it to Griffin's party, and for all of your help. We all had a blast and enjoyed seeing you all!
