Sweet Baby Lauryn!

My good friend came over to my house last week and took pictures of Lauryn and Me. The kids got in a couple of pictures too. But Ethan wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture. Jared was out of town so I surprised him with a few pictures for Christmas. Here are just a few of my favorites.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We got some pictures taken with Santa at the ward Christmas party. Our first family photo since Lauryn was born.


Lauryn was actually smiling at Santa. Look how cute she is!

Ethan was so excited to sit on Santa's lap he could hardly contain himself.

Almost too big for Santa's lap, almost.
Once again, never looking at the camera. But still excited.

Welcome Lauryn Grace

Lauryn Grace Griffith finally decided to join our family. She came on her due date at 4:32 a.m. I was scheduled for induction for the next day. My water broke and she was born 2 1/2 hours later. Just an hour and a half after getting to the hospital. She weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. We are thrilled that she is part of our family.
Just minutes after making her debut! She has some strong lungs!
Daddy's little girl!
Just over 24 hours old and getting to know each other.
The kids couldn't come to the hospital because of H1N1 fears, so they had to wait til we got home. They all came to pick Lauryn and I up at the hospital, and they were so excited to meet their little sister.
Matthew just wants to hold her all the time. He makes sure that he gets as many turns holding her as everyone else. Yes Lauryn is very loved!
Welcome Home Baby Lauryn!

Amanda's Birthday and More!

Amanda's Birthday

I can't believe that my little girl is 9 yrs. old. We celebrated at home this year. Well, I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese for an afternoon of fun, but we didn't eat cake there. I just gave them all 40 tokens and let them go! This year Amanda wanted and "A" cake. She drew a picture of what it was supposed to look like and I tried my best! She loved it.



Bendaroos! This is something she has wanted for a while. And she is now having lots of fun making things with them.

Such a big girl deserves a big girl robe. Not something she asked for, but now she feels like mom in a soft fluffy robe to wear in the morning.

Most of the leaves have fallen, which means a whole lot in the backyard. Lots to play in!

Can you see Ethan amidst the leaves in his camouflage jacket?

Apple picking one last time. We thought that the season was over, but they still had plenty of delicious apples to pick.

But we had Matthew climb into the trees because the apples were a little higher up. He was happy to oblige!

And here it is! My mom has requested a side shot of me and my belly. This is probably the worst picture ever taken of me, that is why it is small. Only 3 more weeks to go!

Here is Matthew learning to ride his bike. And also Ethan riding the pink scooter. Pink is his favorite color. Obviously Matthew is still figuring out how to turn the bike.

The Past 2 Months

Just like the title says, this is what we have been up to the past 2 months. Actually we have been up to alot more, but I have too many pictures to post, so here are just a few. We have a pass to the aquarium just a short drive from our house. It is lots of fun!

Huge Turtle! She's an oldie, and loves to swim right by the window. The kids love it.

APPLE ORCHARD

We also visited the apple orchards last month. It is a fun family tradition. To get to the honeycrisp apples we needed to take a hay ride up the hill. Ethan and I sat together and he has the cutest little smile.

Amanda on the hayride.

Pickin our favorite apples. We actually picked peaches that day too. They were at the end of their season but plenty to pick and soooo yummy.


TOGETHER TIME

Jared and I had an opportunity a couple of weeks ago to go on some interviews for future jobs. We went without the kids. Grammie watched them while we were able to get away before baby #4 comes. Thanks Grammie! One of the interviews was in MI. Not a bad place to live!

Sunset on Lake Michigan. I could get used to a sunset view like that every night.

Just a picture of one of the state parks on an inland lake.

This one is a shot from our hotel when we went to Oklahoma for an interview. Looks alot like Des Moines!

AUTUMN TIME

Fall is my favorite time of year. Jared was working on Sunday so I took the kids for a walk to gather some fall leaves. It's another tradition that I grew up with as a kid. It was beautiful. The changing colors make me wonder how people can think that there is no God. Do they actually think that the "big bang" or "crystal" theory would create beauty like this. I don't think so.

It had rained all the previous day so the little streams and rivers were full. Makes for a great picture. And someone on the walking trail was kind enough to offer a picture of my beautiful children and I. I am usually the one taking the picture so I am not often photographed with my kids.

Kids Say Funny Things
-Matthew to Daddy(who had his shirt off) : "Daddy, why is it so dark inside your belly button?" Then Matthew wanting to stick his finger in the black hole got it shewed away by Daddy. It was a sweaty black hole of a belly button that a finger might not make it back from.

-Ethan just a few minutes later:"Mommy I tooted, right there" pointing to his rear end. Thanks buddy, I was needing to know that.


More Exploring in Connecticut

A friend told me about a beautiful waterfall that we needed to visit. He was right, they were awesome! We took the hiking trail to the top of the waterfall. There was a nice river that lead down to the start of the cascading waterfall.

The waterfall had several "layers" of falls with cool pools at the bottom of each that people were swimming in.

And some people think that these were created by evolution "big bang" nonsense. Only God could create something so beautiful.

And so we thought that after the hike it would be fun to take our shoes off and cool ourselves down a little bit. Both Amanda and Matthew "accidentally" fell into the cool water fully clothed.

At least we can take Matthew's shirt off so something stayed dry.

Ethan played for a few minutes, but got tired of being in the water. It was kind of hard for him to walk around with all the rocks.

The only thing dry is their hair. And they would have gone totally under if I would have let them. It was a very wet one hour car ride home.

Britt's Visit to Connecticut

I love my sister's. I especially love when they come to visit me. Britt and her 2 kids came a couple weeks ago and I am just getting around to blogging about it now. So here are just a few of the things that we did while she was here. I think we kept everyone pretty well entertained! Orchards, submarine museum, aquarium, beach, church(not as much fun as the beach), walks as a family, and celebrating Brittany's birthday on her last day!

Rainy Sunday, popsicles outside in the rain, sticky faces and hands.

We went to a waterfall and river. The kids had the most fun throwing rocks into the river and getting their hands dirty. As you can see Matthew is displaying his rather well.

Lucy, Bradley, Matthew, and Ethan feeling very proud of themselves climbing the huge rock!

We went to the very cool submarine museum and got to go inside and see what life might have been like in those tiny quarters. Ethan and Lucy are looking over the side and the waters below.

Why won't Matthew and Ethan ever look at the camera when I take a picture.

3 big boys eating some lunch before going into the submarine.

We also took Britt and the kids to the orchards to pick some fruit. It was a super hot day, but we got lots of blueberries.

Brittany and Lucy gathering blueberries.

The little duo in the peach trees. They loved playing together, most of the time. Ethan missed Lucy after she left. So sad.

View of the orchards and the kids walking down to the peach trees.

We had so much fun with Britt here. It makes me miss my family when they are here and then they leave. I often think it would be very nice to be able to live by our family again. Kids love to play with their cousins. You always have a friend in a brother or sister, and sometimes babysitters you don't have to pay. But we have had quite the adventures living in different places. So much to explore and do in every state we have lived in. And maybe next year we will be starting a whole new adventure.

Thanks for visiting Britt! Miss you!