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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
CLUBB FAMILY UPDATE

Whew! What a busy month! We just returned from a weeklong road trip that included Lancaster, PA, Baltimore, MD and New York City, NY (more below). And earlier in the month we had a visit from Grandma GG, spent a long weekend with two sick kids, celebrated the kids’ first Halloween, did another 5K as a family, and also did all of the other usual day-to-day events of a family of four.

While life remains busy, it is also exciting, unpredictable, and more than we could have ever imagined with Griffin and Ainsley. They are so fun and special and keep us on our toes! We are enjoying life with them so much!

Haunted Hustle 5K

For Halloween, the Clubb family of four did another 5K race on Saturday, October 27 (these runs are becoming a family tradition).This race was called the Haunted Hustle! It was a lot of fun. Following the run, they had live music, food, drinks, and fun for everyone. Our neighbors also ran in the race so we had a chance to connect with them a little bit before, during (well, they beat both David and Shannon), and after the race.

The race organizers encouraged racers and spectators to dress up in Halloween costumes for the event, so we did just that. Daddy dressed up as a doctor and Ainsley and Griffin wore monkey costumes. We then added a sign to the jogging stroller that read, “Rx – No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” Ainsley and Griffin were so cute! In fact, after the race, there was an awards ceremony at which we won nothing for our running ability, but did win 1st place for best costume and received a gift card to Toys ‘R Us! This was only Ainsley’s and Griffin’s second 5K and the already won a prize!

David got to break in our new jogging stroller that we bought after the last race as he ran the 5K pushing the +/- 50 pounds of kids and equipment. After a few weeks of physical therapy for his knee, it was great that it did not bother him at all for this race (so…yes, he did come in ahead of Shannon this time)! Everyone did well and had a wonderful time!

Stay tuned for more Clubb family 5K races! There is another local one scheduled for Thanksgiving morning!

(Other than this 5K, Halloween was pretty low-key this year. Although Mommy, Ainsley, and Griffin did make a trip to Daddy’s office with the kids dressed up in their monkey costumes! No trick-or-treating…and if Daddy has his way, there never will be! Mommy thinks he just needs to see a few Rolos and Smarties to change his mind!)

Ainsley turned 19 months old on November 5. Her vocabulary is really taking off and she constantly surprises us with what she learns and repeats! She knows the sounds of many animals (lion, sheep, monkey, owl, cat, and more.) She has several books with animals in them and loves to make the sound every time she sees a familiar animal! She also has her own version of a bark for a dog, but her favorite thing is to tell Bosco to “lay down” every time she sees him – even if he is already laying down! She also knows the sound of an airplane flying overhead (even if we are inside) and always points and asks “a-bee?” (which is her way of saying airplane)! She likes to repeat peanut butter and bumble bee. She also has started recognizing certain things that belong with other things. For example, any time she sees a guitar now, she always asks “da-da?” since Daddy plays guitar for the kids. She was saying her name (“Ainsee”) and pointing at herself anytime you asked her what her name is, but in the past two weeks she somehow got into the habit of calling herself “mama” and refuses to say anything else. She even says “I love you” when you say it to her! So sweet!

She had her 18 month check up this past month and the doctor was happy with how she is doing. She still loves playing with her baby who goes pretty much everywhere with us. Even if the baby has only been out of sight for 5 minutes, Ainsley will run to her, pick her up, yell “baby” and kiss her on the face as if it has been years since she has seen her! Ainsley loves dancing and is learning the motions to several kids songs that she likes to try and sing. She is a fun little girl!

Ainsley loves her little brother and keeps him smiling a lot. He seems to love listening to her babble on and on. And he gets in on the action too as he continues to vocalize more and more himself. They are still sharing a room, so in the morning it is quite common to hear Ainsley start off talking to her baby as she wakes up, then start talking to Griffin, and then soon enough they are both standing up in their cribs looking across at each other and carrying on some sort of conversation. It is a joy to walk in on that in the morning!

Road Trip!

I think we exhausted the term “road trip” on this past journey as we traveled several hundred miles to three states with the kids just going with the flow. They were in and out of car seats, sleeping at Grandma’s and in a couple of different hotels, putting on and taking off cold weather coats, hats, and gloves, eating out and dining in the hotel room, visiting friends, and much more. Griffin and Ainsley are real road warriors and did so well on this trip (notwithstanding a few minor meltdowns here and there). And Mommy and Daddy learned a lot on this past trip – such as how much more difficult it can be to travel with kids in colder weather, having to put jackets and sweaters on and off as you go in and out from place to place. Despite this new cold weather challenge, there were some definite highlights that we experienced as a family on this trip.

Lancaster, PA – First stop was an overnight at Grandma GG’s house to break up our drive to Baltimore. The kids seemed to remember our last stay at her house and made themselves right at home – crawling, walking, and running all around, climbing the stairs (Griffin climbs stairs now!), getting into all the toys she keeps there for them, and otherwise having lots of fun.

Baltimore, MD – David had a conference to attend in Baltimore and so Shannon and the kids decided to tag along. We had all of our old favorite restaurants lined up for our trip (we lived in Baltimore for several years before we moved to Pittsburgh in 2001) and couldn’t wait for our Maryland crab cakes! Unfortunately, our favorite places had gone downhill and so the food was definitely not the highlight of our stay! We got so tired of eating out. Actually, the kids most enjoyed just playing in the hotel room and running the halls! Ainsley would run through the halls yelling “go, go, go!” The highlights of our stay here were visiting with some friends we haven’t seen in a few years and spending a full day with Shannon’s dad, Grandpa Kuhns, who drove down from Lancaster (just 1-1 ½ hours drive) to see Griffin and Ainsley. It was good to just spend some relaxed time so Grandpa and the kids could interact and play.

New York City, NY – After Baltimore, we headed north to New York City! We actually stayed outside of the city this trip for the first time (to save a little money). We had to catch a bus from our hotel for a 15 minute ride into the city. This was another lesson learned on this trip – just spend the money and stay IN the city! This is especially true with kids! Poor Griffin never got to make his way into the heart of Manhattan, but somehow we think he won’t remember and we’re certain we’ll be headed to NYC many more times for the whole family to experience it together. We got to visit Shannon’s sister, Aunt Dannie, who recently moved from Los Angeles to NYC into her own apartment in Queens. And the biggest highlight of our entire road trip was taking Ainsley into the city to see Aunt Dannie in the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall! Danielle has been a Rockette for several years now. And we have gone to see her in the show several times. But this was an exciting year as it was the 75th anniversary and they had made several amazing updates to the show (see a New York Times article about the 75th anniversary show). It was not only great to see the show again, but to see and experience the show with Ainsley! We’ve both been going to NYC for years now and Shannon’s parents used to take her when she was a little girl, so it was a special memory to walk through the city with our daughter. It makes us all the more excited for when they are both a little older and they can enjoy the lights and sounds and shows of the Big Apple (or “Appee” as Ainsley would say)! Grandma GG was also visiting Aunt Dannie at the time, so she spent the afternoon watching Griffin at our hotel while we went to the show. This was our biggest adventure away from Griffin since he was born (we actually were in a whole other state – he was in NJ and we were in NY!), but he did well in Grandma GG’s good care. We were glad to end the trip on such a good note before heading back to Pittsburgh again.

Whew! We’re tired again just writing about this trip!!

Griffin turned 8 months old on November 9! This was another big month for our little boy! He has become a very fast crawler, pulls himself up using anything and everything every chance he gets, and has also already learned how to crawl up the steps. So you can imagine what fun we’re having chasing him every few minutes! He even seems to turn around and smile when we tell him “no” before he keeps on going! Daddy predicts that by the end of the year (when Griffin will be a little over 9 months) that he will be walking. One thing that has really motivated him to crawl so quickly and pull himself up is having to watch Ainsley walk around wherever she wants. He really studies her and you can tell that he gets frustrated that he cannot so easily go wherever he wants to go. So, this seems to be a big motivator for him as he continues to move closer and closer towards being able to walk.

In addition to working hard as he learns to perfect crawling, standing, and eventually walking, Griffin also plays hard! He loves to play and explore and investigate all the time. It is so much to fun to watch him discover something new, entertain himself, or play with Ainsley or Mommy or Daddy.

“Sweet” Ainsley and her pumpkins

Ainsley and Griffin playing together

Ainsley and Griffin engaged in their morning ritual
(standing and talking crib-to-crib)

Griffin pulling himself up and standing
(his favorite thing to do lately)

The Clubb Family Haunted Hustle 5K Team
(with Shannon behind the camera)

Ainsley happy with her baby at her side

Bosco (yes, he is still with us and a part of the Clubb family!) and Griffin

Ainsley, Griffin, and Grandpa Kuhns in Baltimore, MD during our road trip

We found Griffin in his pack and play just like this with his pants down! We didn’t ask any questions!

Aunt Dannie (World Famous Rockette), Ainsley, Daddy, and Mommy at Radio City Music Hall in NYC

Mommy and Ainsley before the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall in NYC

Daddy and Ainsley enjoying a hayride at Trax Farms Fall Festival

He started making some funny faces and has on a few occasions “performed” after realizing we were laughing at what he was doing. Yesterday at lunch he would scream (a fun scream – not crying!) before every bite of food. And when he saw we were laughing, he continued doing this through almost the entire lunch! He has started eating Cheerios which have become one of his favorites and daily staples of life. He really enjoys sitting in a high chair in restaurants where he can touch the table and get unlimited Cheerios. We have now retired our baby bathtub and have been giving the kids a bath together which they think is fun and it saves time for us, which makes us happy too! We’ve also retired his baby car seat and moved him up to one that can hold up to 65 pounds – hopefully he won’t outgrow that one anytime soon! He babbles all day long and it typically sounds like “da-da” over and over. Twice recently when Shannon was carrying him, he yelled “mama” when the same noise scared him. We’re not sure if it was just a coincidence or if he really knows “mama” already, but either way, it made her day to hear it!

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

● Weight Check – We had the chance to have both kids weighed this past month and they have both surpassed the 20 pound mark! Ainsley was up to 20 pounds and 10 ounces and she was 31 inches tall. Griffin was 20 pounds and 4 ounces at the time and feels like he has gained a lot of weight since then. If he does not already outweigh Ainsley, he no doubt soon will, which will make things interesting since he already likes tackling Ainsley and crawling all over her to pin her down. She is going to need to learn to hold her own with her big baby brother!

● Trax Farms Fall Festival – David took Ainsley with him, some staff from his office at the University of Pittsburgh, and a group of international students as they headed outside of the city of Pittsburgh to enjoy a sunny, crisp fall day that was perfect for the Trax Farms Fall Festival! The day-long activities included a scenic hayride, getting lost in a 2-acre corn field maze, eating kettle corn, and more fall weather fun!

Although we enjoy being on the go, we are very glad to just settle in for at least the next few weeks and enjoy Thanksgiving as a family. David and Shannon have created some holiday traditions over the past few years at Thanksgiving and so we are looking forward to sharing them with Griffin and Ainsley – not to mention enjoying some good food with all the trimmings! Happy Thanksgiving to the rest of you and please drop us a line to share how you and your families are doing!

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