The Griesbaum Family: Introduction

Thanks to a lot of encouragement from distant family members, I have decided to create a blog on our family. I will try my best to keep it up to date and full of fun pictures!

A lot of good things are happening with our family! In May we will be moving out to Monticello so John can be closer to work. We are very excited about living in the country and having some land to play with. Yes, it is a fixer-upper, but with a lot of elbow grease we think we can make our little house a home. A new roof, new floors in the kitchen, a LOT of cleaning, some landscaping, and a heck of a lot of paint, and we'll be more than content.

John loves working at Allerton. He comes home every day with a smile on his face and a childish excitement about his work. I can't say I'm envious, because I am living my own little dream right here at home.

I recently became an organizer for the social group I belong to. We are a group of parents with young ones that get together to let our kids socialize and play while we get some much needed adult time. I have also been taking on more sewing projects, including making the curtains for the Allerton house. I have also been trying to sort through the ridiculous amount of pictures I take and keeping up with baby books. I have also recently been hired to make a couple cakes for some birthday parties. I'm hoping word gets out and I can make myself a nice little side business making cakes for our friends and family members. I have also been enjoying babysitting on a daily basis for a little boy named Evan, who is now almost 8 months old. There is no stopping during my day, and I would have it no other way.

Tyler, now almost 18, has a paper route that he gets up every morning for, earlier than the birds. He is doing great in his senior year of high school and is looking forward to graduation. He will be going to Parkland, a community college, starting next year. He plans on getting his own apartment so he can stay in town. While we are sad that he won't be living with us any more, we couldn't be more proud of this young man. Kolton, almost 9 now, is starting to show some serious signs of growing up. He is and always has been a major sports buff, focusing especially on football, hockey, baseball, and soccer. He also LOVES to read. He is quite crafty, and will make something out of anything. We always look forward to our time with him.

Now onto my main obsession....our handsome little man GAVYN! Our little Sprout just turned ONE on February 3rd. He has become such a little boy in the past month or so. He loves anything that goes: cars, trucks, buses, you name it. He is also a big fan of animals, much like his Mama. He is in love with our dog Belle, and also enjoys looking out the window at the squirrels that live in the tree outside. Birds are becoming another fast favorite. He is so close to walking we can all taste it. He will stand for what seems like forever thinking about taking a step, only to laugh and fall to his knees and crawl away at lightning speed. He can take as long as he wants! He also has two new teeth, making a total of 7.

There also seems to be no end to this child's brilliance. While the only words he has to date are "Mama", "Belle", and "Moo", he communicates incredibly well. He can let you know what he wants with the raising of an eyebrow or the point of a finger. He is already so funny, too. He is already making me laugh and will no doubt continue to do so for the rest of my life. He is my joy, my soul. Hopefully pretty soon we will welcome another Griesbaum into the world, but for now we are indulging in every moment that we have with each other!