What Happened to Last Week?

As I sat down to write this week's blog entry, I quickly realized I have no idea what happened last week. I only took a few pictures and have no fun stories to tell, despite Belle being home all week because of School Vacation Week being celebrated at Preschool. Maybe that's because both girls had colds and allergies all week or perhaps it's because sibling rivalry has hit 100 percent full-blown so Mommy spent all of her free time trying to get Belle not to beat up on her sister - though at least Claire is starting to hit back.

Both girls are teaching Mommy about patience and about watching what she says. Belle's new word for the week was "Knucklehead," as she pointed to Claire. Claire, for her part, is growing her vocabulary at a rapid pace, adding "trash" (said in a whisper), "clock," "chair" and "sis," "sister" and "sista" for Belle. She calls for her favorite guys too - "Daddy" and "Eilly".

Winslow Farm and a Visit from Uncle Jeremy!

This week the Griffith Girls took a trip to Winslow Farm in Norton, an animal sanctuary where most of the wildlife roam free; in fact, a donkey walked right up to Claire in the stroller. We didn't see any cows but we did find sheep, goats, horses, peacock, geese and a pot-belly pig!

On Friday, Gaga came to visit after a trip to the new house in Connecticut. We enjoyed our short visit and were glad that he was able to surprise Uncle Jeremy who flew in that same evening. The girls loved having two of their favorite men in the house and can't wait for a repeat visit. Belle and Uncle Jeremy became best buds - she loved having him read to her and "chat" with Raoul D and Georgie :-)

Claire, for her part, got a new nickname from Uncle Jeremy and Daddy - "Wild Mike" from the movie, Barnyard since her hair is so wild and crazy. Way better than "Super Tanker" so we'll take it. Of course, Mommy's still partial to Clairey, CC Bear, Bear and CC-Licious :-)

The Great Outdoors!

After a week of rain, the Griffith Girls were so happy to be able to go outside to play. Whether in regular clothes or jammies, nothing can stop these gals from exploring the great outdoors.

Belle loves watching and listening to water these days so Mommy and Claire (and Reilly) picked her up from school in the stroller on Monday and walked down to the end of Cross Street to watch the road repairs and witness the water levels for ourselves.

While Belle was at school, Claire had fun exploring her slide and play gym from Bubbe - of course it's more fun to go up the slide than down. She was quite taken with the grass, too, and with making funny faces in the sun.

We also went to Lauren's 2nd birthday party, playing indoors and outside, and enjoying pizza and cupcakes. Since we had to leave early so Mommy could make it to an appointment, we took the cupcakes home and enjoyed them at the kitchen table. Boy was that fun! Belle hate the whole cupcake, for once, so clearly yellow cupcakes and chocolate frosting are her favorite - same as Mommy. Claire, for her part, went crazy with the cupcake. While she didn't want anything to do with cake at her first birthday party, she devoured Lauren's treat and enjoyed making a huge mess.

We had a busy day on Saturday. After meeting Paul, Jess, Tyler and Zach for lunch in Wrentham, Mommy's friend, Stephanie, pinch-hit for Mommy and Daddy so they could enjoy a date night. While the girls wouldn't let her change their diapers or put them in jammies, Stephanie had fun playing with the girls - after all, who doesn't like drawing with sidewalk chalk...And the parents enjoyed a fantastic (albeit slightly salty) dinner at Twenty8 at Patriot Place, followed by Hot Tub Time Machine!

We're also trying to keep potty training front of mind but Belle would still rather stand on her potty so she can reach the sink or grab the toilet paper holder than actually use it. Still, she's interested, saying, "Follow?" when anyone tries to use the bathroom. She's very sweet, sitting fully clothed on her potty and then saying, "Flush?" At least she understands the process, right? :-)

Happy Easter!

We had a fantastic week. Sure, it began with 7.1 inches of rain and the experience of having the Canoe River kissing the back fence, when it's normally 1.4 mile away...BUT we didn't have any flooding in or around our house, like many of our neighbors, so we are so grateful.

This weekend we hosted Jim, Leslie and Josh Warner from Endicott, NY, Daddy's friends from growing up and we had such a great time!!! We went to the New England Aquarium, a first for the girls, and then walked around Fanueil Hall, ending up at Cheer's for lunch. Annabelle also taught Josh a few signs, like "more."

The girls enjoyed their Easter baskets for the first time this year, though Mommy and Daddy learned to hide the candy since Belle wouldn't stop eating it and Claire wanted to try too many pieces - foil and all - so there's chocolate drool all over the house now - yuck!