Notes on the house and more

Some strange things have been happening in our house in the past few days. A few months ago, we bought a trashcan with one of those electronic sensors on it at Costco and thought we were getting quite the deal. Simply wave your hand over the sensor, and voila, the trash can would open and then close after a few seconds. We were at first excited with our new toy. Then...

...the sensor started getting sensitive. Sometimes it would open, but other times it wouldn't. It was getting more and more temperamental, until yesterday, all of the sudden...

It's been having a temper tantrum for the past 14 hours, and is still going strong. I suppose we could pull the batteries out, but we decided to let it die out, and then figure out what to do from there.

Another strange happening is the finch who, also starting yesterday, became bound and determined to get in our house via our window. For about an hour or so at a time, the little birdie runs into our window at 5 minute intervals. It gives up for awhile, only to try again. We're not quite sure why, but it's provided us some entertainment.

The reason why it's taken so long to post is that my bluetooth stopped transferring files, and I tried numerous time to fix it. After 2 hours of trying yet again this morning, I have given up for the time being, and downloaded it via the card in the phone.

Griffin has calmed down a bit in the past month. His temper tantrums have decreased as his ability to communicate has increased. We've been giving him a lot of choices lately, which I think has also helped. For example, when we visited a friend last night and it was time to go, I asked him if he was ready, and he said, "No". I then told him that we were going to leave, and he said, "No go, stay". Instead of telling him that we were going anyway, which would have resulted in a tantrum, I gave him a choice. I told him he could choose for me to either carry him to the car, or he could walk to the car. He immediately forgot that he didn't want to go, and decided he wanted to walk.

I've also learned a trick to get him to hug me in the mornings before I leave. If I ask him for a hug, he says no. Then, when I try to hug him, he'll run off and want me to chase him. Instead, I now tell him when he says no, "That's ok, no hugs, then". Almost every time, he quickly responds in dramatic fashion, "I need a hug!!!", runs up, and squeezes me tight.

For some reason, Grif has decided that he loves getting his poopy diapers changed now. Almost every time he poops, he'll hack like he's smelling something bad, and then yell out, "Yucky, poopy!". Then, he'll grab his diaper, wipes, and diaper rash cream. Daddy has taught him to call it butt paste, so Griffin will then say as I'm changing him, "I need butt paste!" He's even made a song out of it:

This winter has been a rather gloomy one. Usually, we get at least a few days of 60 degree weather in January, but there was not one day of nice weather this year. In fact, I think it's safe to say it rained for almost half the month, and the sun rarely peeked out. I believe there was one day in February where we had good weather, so we brought Griffin to a walking trail and let him run off some energy. From the beginning of the trail to the turtle statue is about 1 mile, and he ran almost the entire way. Of course, after making it to the turtle and turning around, he wanted to be carried the entire way back. All in all, though, it was a good time.

My pregnancy is going smoothly so far. We found out a few weeks ago that it's a girl. Both grandparents came to visit sometime in March, and he absolutely loved their attention. Of course, we didn't exist while they were here. When each of them left, we were worried that he would become really upset. Although you could tell he was a little sad, he didn't cry, so it's good to know he can handle it pretty well.

Right now, he's laying on the floor, holding his blankie and sucking his thumb. I give him 10 minutes before he's passed out for his nap.