Not Quite Astroworld

Ever since Astroworld shutdown, there is no longer a real amusement park in Houston other than the Kemah Boardwalk and the Downtown Aquarium. Today we visited the latter with Griffin and all had a great time. We started on the carousel, moved on to the ferris wheel and then the train that takes you through the shark tank. Since all this was outside and we were nearly melted, we moved in to check out the rest of the underwater adventure followed by a trip to see the Siberian tigers. Griffin seemed to enjoy himself and even came home with a souvenir. Other than the overpriced, plain meal at the Aquarium restaurant it was great day.

Potty Time

Kristi recently bought Griffin a potty that looks like a baseball to try to get him potty trained. It even cheers when he flushes. So far however, this is the only purpose it has served. Griffin will agree to sit on the potty and proceed to flush constantly...at least between pages. As a dad, I am awfully proud.

Is Jessie Boy My Grandpa?

As I perused some photos recently updated into Picasa, I came across these two that seemed to remind me of someone. The shoes and the pose, to me, are classic Jessie Boy and too good not to post on the blog. Sorry for the lack of updates.

Blue Brothers

Amanda and Jacob came back to the states for a couple of weeks and made their way down to Houston to spend some time with us. Jacob and Griffin became quick friends. They not only both wear blue pajamas, but seemed to enjoy watching Blue's Clues together as well. Here is a short video of them.

Put On Your Airwalks

There is a place close to the house called Jumpin' Joey's. It is an indoor play area that is full of different airwalk jumping rooms. Each one has a different theme. There is pirate ship, castle, and train to name a few. We decided to take Griffin and see how he would respond. Well, after a quick warm-up in the toddler area he was ready for more dangerous adventures. I equated this to a skiing a couple of test runs on the green slopes before heading up to the top of the mountain for more fun.

Griffin struggled to walk in the bigger areas, but found crawling around did get the job done.

After awhile, Mom and Dad couldn't wait any longer and decided to join Griffin in the fun. We were able to carry him up the "stairs" and slide down the long slides with him. This is what he seemed to enjoy most. Of course it wore out his folks. Before leaving, I let him go down the big slide alone which resulted in a face plant and plenty of laughs. We will be going back soon.

Christmas Number 2

Christmas seems to last all month long nowadays. Early in December, our neighborhood had its Christmas Party. They had "reindeer", singing, food, music, carriage rides and even Santa made an appearance. Griffin seemed to enjoy the water fountains in the lake more than anything else. Although, he did enjoy the music and food with Mom.

As the month went on, there were family get-togethers to attend. We made the drive to Beaumont twice within 5 days for parties with Kristi's family. The first trip was for the party with her dad's side. We had a big lunch and then headed to her parents house to open some gifts. Then on Christmas Eve, we drove back to see her mom's side. Kristi's aunt, uncle and cousin Amy were in from Nashville and her cousin Nathan and his wife, Morgan, came in from Birmingham. We stayed for a lunch of shrimp creole and hopped back in the car to head home.

At home, Uncle Clint and Grandma came over to see Griffin open more presents. I think we should've just given the kid bags and wrapping paper. It was a busy, fun holiday and we enjoyed seeing everyone. On a closing note, I think we are going to contact the maker of the Sit 'N Spin and let them know that Griffin has decided it is much too boring of a toy and should be re-named the Stand 'N Spin as this offers more danger and entertainment.

Snow Day

In early December I had to go to Philadelphia for work and while I was there, it snowed back home. I called Kristi to tell her the weather up north was nice and pleasant. She then let me know that the snow was falling and sticking back in Texas. Poor Griffin was battling an ear infection and didn't get to play in the snow. Kristi did take him out to see it, but he was too sick to have any fun. You see that Wrigley was not much of a fan of the white stuff.