Beach in a Box

Enough about my brother to be. Let's talk about my favorite new toy. Mom and dad got me a sand and water table last weekend. It's pretty cool. I get to splash my hands in the water, and dig in the sand. Dad was trying to show me how to make sand castles. But mostly I liked to I dump sand all over myself, so dad would hose off my feet. Anyway, if you're into sand and water, but don't live on the coast, I recommend it.

Belly Video

Just for those interested, here's a video of the ultrasound of my brother to be. He seems pretty cool so far.

(Note: The video is sped up 3x, so take that into account when you're trying to gauge his heartrate.)

O' Brother!

So, I've been sick the last couple of days with a fever of 103+. My mom took me to the doctor this morning and they said I had a double ear infection and a sinus infection.

Then, Grandpa Griffin came over later in the afternoon and watched me when my mom and dad went somewhere. We watched "The Jerk" which I found pretty funny. Then I mostly just slept.

When mom and dad got back, they showed me this picture. I think they said it was my brother. But I do have those ear infections, so maybe my hearing isn't that good.

From what little I know about the English language, I think brother means someone who is going to live in my house and take attention and toys away from me. So, I'm not too thrilled about this. But, again, hopefully I just heard wrong.

They also showed me this picture, which I thought was bizarre.

June Stuff

Hi all,

Once again, my dad has been slacking on his duties, helping me write a blog entry. And to think I created two great masterpieces for him for Father's Day:

This first one is pudding on wax paper titled (as you can see) Pudding for Pop!
I created this one at school.This one was a collaborative effort with my aunts Megan and Kate, and my Grandma Griffin.
It's crayon and marker on copy paper and it's titled "Have a Colorful Monkey Father's Day"

Also for Father's Day we had a BBQ at my aunt Megan's house. The picture above is me playing football in the backyard. The whole family was there, even my great aunts Barb and Wendy showed up from Portland. It was fun.

Another event was bittersweet. Last week we had a farewell party for my frield William and his family. They're moving to California. It was at my friend Juliet's house.

Here's Will, his little brother Harrison, and his Mom and Dad.

This is me giving Will a goodbye hug.
Hopefully we'll be able to see them next time we go to California.

And that's the main news for June. Hopefully dad will help me post again soon.

Say Uncle!

My uncle Bryan was in town last week. He just graduated from officer's school for the U.S. Navy. So we were really proud of him.

We got to hang out quite a bit and that was lots of fun. He's really good at hiding behind things and jumping out at me, which I found hilarious. It must be the stealth skills from the Navy.

I also got to see my grandpa Martinez for the first time in awhile. He's always good for some laughs. He gave me a cool lunchbox, too.

Walkin'

So, I've been walking for pretty much two months now. Don't know why I haven't blogged about it. Anyway, here's a little music video that pretty much sums up the whole experience thus far. Enjoy.

SF = Super Fun.

Hey all. We just got back from San Francisco a couple days ago. Here's a rundown of just some of the excitement.

The Arrival.

We flew into Oakland early Wednesday evening. After a quick BART ride we were in downtown SF. The first night we stayed with my friend Jack at his grandma and grandpa's place. They have a great condo on Nob Hill right on Powell St. After hanging out with Jack, playing with his toys (and trying to get into his grandparent's cabinets) I hit the hay.

The next morning we hit the streets early.

We ate breakfast at Sears Fine Food.

I had a couple of their "world famous" little Swedish pankakes.

They were tasty.

Then we headed down Powell to do some shopping.

This is where they turn the Powell St. Trolley around at the base of the hill.

Just off camera there was a crazy old hobo gabbing to me about something.

Later that day we checked into the Westin St. Francis.

The room had a great view of Union Square.

I also liked the bathtub there.

I've heard SF has some "bath houses"

but dad told me I probably shouldn't go to those.

Fisherman's Wharf

The next day we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf.

Dad's holding me extra tight here.

Probably because he lost his wallet in a cab earlier that morning.

He didn't want to lose me, too.

We strolled down to Pier 39 to watch the sunbathing sea lions.

I, however, preferred to refer to them as "dogs."

Hey, they bark, don't they?

The wharf also has some nice views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

So nice that I didn't want to look away for a picture.

I was also very happy to see the Ghirardelli chocolate factory.

North Beach

Dad needed to file a police report about his wallet so he could get on the plane back. So we headed over to North Beach, home to the SF Police station.

Here we are in North Beach,

with the Transamerica Building in the background.

Hey, is that Jack Kerouac over there?

Yerba Buena Gardens

The next day we got back together with my buddy Jack, as well as my friend Milo. We visited Yerba Buena Gardens, a great little park in the middle of the city.

They have a fun playground there.

Here's a video of dad and me going down the big tube slide on the playground.

I just kept wanting to go down that slide, over, and over, and over...

But the slide was nothing compared to the carousel.
We took two rides on that. Then I started crying when we had to get off.

Yerba Buena Gardens is also home to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

He's cool. He was born on January 15th. Same as me.

MLK, also said some pretty inspiring stuff.

The Haight & Golden Gate

Then mom, dad, and I took the bus over to Golden Gate park. We decided to stop a few blocks short and walk down Haight. The scene there is basically a bunch of tourists gawking at a bunch of dirty hippies. There are some quirky shops and restraunts. But nothing too interesting. Some guy asked my dad if he wanted any "'shrooms". Dad said no. I can't blame him. I don't like vegetables either.

Here's a crappy picture of the corner of Haight and Ashbury. Dad took it because you're required by law to take a photo as you pass it the first time. Apparently this place used to be a big deal back in the 1960's. But it's kinda lame now.

Then we got to Golden Gate Park. It's so massive, we probably only saw about 15% of it. But there was some cool stuff to see there (not to mention a lot more dirty hippies).

At the GGP there's a lot of space in which to roam. Here I am pushing my stroller by the Conservatory of Flowers.

Here's mom and me in front of a big clock in front of the conservatory. I think there are usually some flowers in there too. But, I was excited. I really like clocks. I'll point and say "clock" whenever I see one. I just want to make sure you don't miss it.

They also had a great playground. This is only one section of it. We had to get back for a dinner with all my friends, so I didn't get to play here though.
Next time I'm in town, I'll definitely hit the slides.

Bay to Breakers

On Sunday the fog rolled in (Picture Below). That was actually a good thing because it cooled things down for the big Bay to Breakers race. Mom and her friends (Jack's mom and Milo's mom) all entered the 12 kilometers of debauchary.

I was so proud of my mom for finishing the race. By the time we got to see her at the finish party there weren't many naked runners around, but there were quite a few funny costumes.

The five days of sightseeing and peoplewatching were a lot for a little guy. I was so tired, I even passed out in the middle of Union Square.

In fact, I slept the entire plane ride home. Though, I still managed to win the little competetive trivia quiz they had going on the seatback screens.

It's good to be back home. It'll probably be a few years before I go back to San Francisco. It's not the most baby-friendly town. But it was still lots of fun.