The Adventures of Little Griff: Safari!!!

Safari!!!

Monday, June 25, 2012 by Valentine and Darrell and Little Bug

After attending his friend Kalden's pirate-themed birthday party this year, Griff made it clear that he wanted a party like that one. We didn't want to go with a pirate theme, so we got Griff excited about a wild animal party with a safari. But now what do we do? It turned out to be a lot more prep than I bargained for, but was also super fun.

Griff decided he wanted to be a jaguar. Try finding a simple jaguar costume that won't overheat a child at the end of June. Impossible. I finally decided I would have to make it and I found a pattern for a scarf hat that I could modify for his size and the correct shape. I got lucky that the ears I made and attachment method worked the first time. Griff loved the hat and the tail. Whew, one down.

The jaguar enjoys some of his favorite food

Kalden the ladybug, Ruby, and Griff the jaguar.

Then there was the safari to figure out. I got an idea to make toilet paper binoculars and found that loads of ideas for how to do it online. So I amassed a variety of decorating supplies, some colored cellophane for the lenses, and asked parents to bring toilet paper rolls. It turned out better than I expected and kids and adults seemed to have a great time making their binoculars. Whew, two down.

Siri, Johanna, and Ryan making binoculars.

Nina trying on her fantastic creation.

Kristen and Q working hard on their binos.

The adorable twins giving "Fruity-mouth Crankypants" a run for his money.

Griff and Ruby were playing elephant, tasting leaves of the apple trees.

Hmmm, a jaguar riding a horse, something I never thought I would see...

The intrepid explorers ready to go on safari.

But then where were they going to find the animals? I found a great deal on a bunch of knitted animal finger puppets and there was the solution. We hid these all over an area of the park and then had the kids go on a safari. It was so fun to see the kids searching with their binoculars and looking right at the animals and not see them, and then the looks of delight when they did. One little girl didn't want to take the animals out of their native habitat. So incredibly sweet. The kids who found a lot shared with the kids who found fewer. It all worked out so nicely.

"I'm looking hard, Dad, but I still don't see it!"

"Oh, there is that wild penguin in its native garden habitat!"

Of course the wind kicked up just as we were going to light the candles, but between the human wind block, the lid, and hands, we were able to get them lit.

Thinking about Griff's birthday last year, it strikes me just how social he has become. He loves his friends and interacts with them so sweetly. He loves to laugh and hug and play. He has developed a strong imagination as well, and he plays on his own much longer, creating various social situations between trains, cars, dolls, or whatever is on hand, using different voices to work out all sorts of issues.

He has also entered a phase of strong emotions without well-developed skills to cope with them, aka tantrums. Of course it usually happens when he is tired, but not always. We are doing our best to help him understand those emotions and how to cope with them in more positive ways. And trying to be sure he doesn't get overtired. And trying to help him make the connection that when he is tired, it is more difficult to cope, so better to rest, a lesson that I didn't really get until recently...

Griff still has a little bit of his toddler run left and his cheeks are still a little plump, little things I am cherishing. As many people say, each stage is my favorite, and I can say that I am really enjoying this age. He is definitely developing a sense of humor and silliness that can be at least partly attributed to his pop. His skills are skyrocketing on all fronts and he is getting more and more indepenedent, wanting privacy and to do things himself. And while he still gets frustrated at some things fairly easily, I am trying to get out his way as much as possible and encourage that independence he needs to grow and learn and work things out while providing him a strong foundation and guidance and a positive example. But not too much yet, he is only 3...

Happy Birthday, my wild jaguar!