Here are some recent photos of Emma and Bryce. These days they are quite a handful: Emma is very busy, seldom content with just doing one thing for a while. First she wants to do finger painting. Then she wants to read books with one of us. Then she wants to do puzzles. Then she wants to eat a snack. It's enough to wear us out each day.

Meanwhile, Bryce has learned to crawl, and is always getting into the wrong things. I'm just curious: why do kids 7 months old prefer things like electric cords, remote controls, and his sister's toys (always inciting Emma), when we place perfectly benign toys in front of him. I don't know, maybe there's a market for toys that appear dangerous.

At night before bed, we can barely have them in the tub together anymore because Bryce is a wildman. We'll set him down on his bottom, but he'll quickly "jump" forward, doing a bellyflop halfway down the tub. Once on all fours, he'll splash and splash, and kick and kick. He also manages to crawl around the tub in a way hazardous to his health; he keeps banging his head against the walls. But he never screams, and completely loves the bath. It's just when Emma is in there with him that problems arise.

The last time we updated the website, Bryce had just been born. He is now almost 6 months old. He and Emma are both keeping us busy, so busy in fact that we have neglected our website.


Bryce rolls all over the place now. You can put him down to play and a few moments later look down and he is out of sight. Unfortunately, he can only roll one direction and so although he manages to twist around corners, he often gets stuck against pieces of furniture or the wall. He is starting to sit up on his own but still face plants or tips to the side sometimes. The developmental milestone that we are really anxious for him to achieve is sleeping for more than a few hours in a row. One thing at a time I guess.


Emma has been, for the most part, helpful during the transition phase of no longer being the only child. Emma has really developed her vocabulary and can communicate most things to us; even if we don’t understand everything she’s saying immediately. Once we do, we usually realize that she was indeed saying the right words. Emma is a master puzzle solver now. She quickly completes all the 24 piece puzzles we give her completely on her own. After a few times on the same puzzle, she can do them very fast. She also really likes to play dress up and almost always refuses to wear anything but “beautiful dresses” each day.


Becky has returned to work at Lucille Packard Hospital as of the New Year. She generally works 2 weekends a month, and while it’s definitely a bit stressful during those weekends, we figure (hope) things will run a little smoother as time goes on.


Until next time---enjoy the pictures.

Bryce said, "Hello all, my name is Bryce Daniel Griffin, and this is my first column. I was born just over a week ago, August 1, 2005 in San Jose, California. I weighed 7 lb, 11 oz, and was 19.5 inches long. I've known that this day was coming for a while. About a week prior to my birth, while I was still amphibeous, some wise guy tried to manhandle me and almost succeeded in dislodging me from my comfortable position inside Mama's stomach. I would have been completely turned around had they succeeded, so I pretended to act hurt to get them to stop. I still have the bruises on my face to remind everyone how traumatic that experience was, but it's mostly healed now.


"I'm a pretty healthy baby. I came out 2 weeks early, so I was a bit smaller than I would have been, but I still have spunk. My parents often comment how strong I am, and I'm pretty good at letting people know when I'm hungry or need to be changed. Which isn't to say I'm overly fussy like my older sister was (I hear my parents had to drive her around all night to keep her calm); I rather prefer being calm and spending my waking time observing the new sights and sounds around me.


"I've enjoyed having Grandma Everett around these past few days. She's very good at soothing me, and showing me how much she cares for me. I hope she can stick around for a while. My big sister Emma, who seems a little closer in height and weight to me, is also good to see. She loves to hold me and stick passy in my mouth."



Emma said, "Alot has been going on at our house in the past week. I now have a baby brother, Bryce. I am really good at taking care of him. I go and see him first thing in the morning and ask to 'hold baby bryce chair' and mom or dad help me to hold him in a chair. Whenever he cries, I help him by putting his passy in his mouth or by giving him a hug and a kiss or by holding his hand.


"In other news, I started a swim class with Dad a couple of weeks ago. I really look forward to putting on my bathing suit and going to swim in the pool each week. I even went all the way under the water last Saturday. I also got a new pair of shoes that light up when I walk. I call them my 'lights' and I have fun jumping around when I am wearing them and watching them light up.


"It is great having my Grandma here to play with me. I am having fun showing her my toys and books. I am excited for my birthday next week. I have been practicing singing the happy birthday song to get ready. I have fun making sand birthday cakes with sticks for candles. I like to blow out the candles and clap each time I sing the song. Mom and Dad tell me that I will be two years old. That sounds pretty big. "