new videos

I thought I'd just upload a couple videos today. The first one was this morning after Finley's almost 2 hour nap. After I turned off the camera, he started saying Dada. He only says Mama when he's mad or upset.


This video was taken on Sunday outside Matthew's office at church. I love how he scrunches up his nose when he's trying to crawl really fast. Danae calls him bulldog because of how he turns his hands in when he crawls.

daddy and finny

I do believe we have a climber. He loves to climb on and in things and then is so proud of himself.


These are the jeans that mom sent last week. Aren't they so cute?




Matthew and Finley were playing on the floor and I was trying to get Finny to say Mama. Again, he ignored me and just said Dada which of course made Matthew happy. I love this video with the laughing and smiling and talking.

the boys

Here are Matthew, Ryan and Trevor hanging out watching The Office on Saturday night. Okay, so their being a little crazy in these pictures...it was late and it had been a long day.

Trevor's shirt says "if you choke a smurf what color does it turn?" Ha!

birthday wishes all around

Today I turned 28. What a year it's been! I can't believe that last year at this time I was 4 months pregnant and now Finley is 7 months old! I really feel like I've grown in the last year and changed for the better. There have definitely been moments like the no sleep moments and the crying moments, but there have been so many more moments of smiles turning into laughter, scooting turning into crawling, cooing turning into Mama and Dada. A year ago today, I was thinking about the little person growing inside of me, but this birthday, the little person has a name, a personality, and a laugh that mommy can't get enough of. Something else that has changed is my marriage. In the last year, I have seen that Matthew is the best daddy in the world. He is a leader, supportive, and most importantly INVOLVED! Almost every night he and Finley will be on the floor crawling around, racing each other to toys, and laughing together. I love seeing my boys together!

It is a tradition that on my birthday, my parents will call me at 6:32 a.m. to sing happy birthday to me. Why 6:32? That is the time that I was born...glad it wasn't 2:30 a.m. =) This morning, after having a rough night away from home, at 6:32 a.m. my phone went off. I picked it up knowing exactly who it was and what it was for. It was the most beautiful rendition of happy birthday that I've ever heard. It made me homesick and so happy all at once. Thanks mom and dad! I also got calls from all of my sisters separately.

Today, we also celebrated Toby's (Dan and Michelle) 1 year birthday. Dan is going away to Iraq on Monday so they celebrated a little early so that he could be here for his party. This is a picture of Dan and Toby. He had a pool party...and yes, it was an indoor pool party.

Matthew and Finley playing in the water. This was Finley's first time in a pool. He was pretty scared at first, but once we lost the float, he did really well.

Another one of Matthew and Finley.

Finley and I in the pool.

The three of us. He always looks so small next to Matthew!

This video was taken after swimming. They had a play area for the babies so Finley and Toby were playing together...which means that Finley was following Toby around and Toby didn't really care. Yes, Finley is ignoring me in this video.

This was taken when we got home today. Finley was in such a good mood. He really does like the peas. He is happiest when he is eating them.

i'm eating my words now

To make a long story short, yesterday was a bad day as far as the schedule went. Wednesday really threw things off and Finley was up many times Wednesday night. He has done pretty well today; however, we are going to Fargo for part of the weekend and I'm not real sure how he's going to do being away and possibly off of his schedule again. We'll see.

Here are a couple pictures of Finley with his sunglasses. He's so cool! He wasn't sure what I was going to do with them at first when I tried to put them on him and he kept pulling his head back, but then once they were on, he loved them and laughed at himself in the mirror. I don't think he actually saw what was going on in the house because they are really dark, but he was amused by the difference in seeing I guess.

problem solved?

Some of you may know the trouble I've had with Finny and his schedule. Sometimes he will act so tired rubbing his eyes, crying, and lying his head down wherever he is, yet I would put him down for a nap and he would sleep for all of about 10 minutes. In all actuality he would sleep at the most 45 minutes and every day he would get a 10 to 20 minute nap. This added up to 4, sometimes 5 broken-up naps throughout the day. Not predictable and very stressful for all involved. Matthew felt like he could never put Finny to sleep. I was stressed because Finny was tired most of the day (even though he acted happy and smiled all the time) and then he would wake up so soon after falling asleep. I finally told my sister-in-law, Melissa about it last Saturday night while we were over at their house. Before we left, she had gotten a book for me called "Baby Wise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D. I read through the book in a little over a day. Every story was Finny and I...from him waking up soon after falling asleep to me lying him down and holding my breath hoping that he would stay asleep. Sunday afternoon I got home from church and decided to try out the technique. Feed Finny, play with him and then put him down nap. I had always fed him right before a nap. Turns out, just switching around this one step made a huge difference. He slept over 1-1/2 hours that first nap. I felt hopeful, but scared that it wouldn't stick. Each day since then, we have stuck to the schedule. He is on a 3-1/2 hour schedule for eating, playing and sleeping. It is so much more relaxed around here. I feel like he is getting the hang of it pretty quickly and most importantly, he's getting the sleep he needs. I'm still crossing my fingers, but I've noticed that since the schedule started, he will play a little longer by himself...giving me the time I need to do work around the house while he is still happy and playing. What a relief! Becky and Jason, get this book! At least try it out. They say that by the end of the second week, your newborn baby can have a predictable schedule to follow which means potentially falling asleep when you put them down...no crying, no rocking them to sleep for an hour, no walking through the house at all hours of night, no bad habits to break. Thanks, Melissa for the book!

Here is a picture of Finny in a bubble bath on Sunday. Yeah, I know there are a lot of bubbles. I usually don't even put them in, but I thought it would be a fun, new thing for him. Turns out, you don't need a whole cap full of the stuff for a baby! I turned the water on, put the bubble bath in and then went up stairs to get him ready for it. When we went down, you could hardly see his bath seat. It was totally covered with bubbles. I did get rid of some of the bubbles before putting him in, but you can still see there are a lot more!


Poor Finny can't figure out how to move with this toy OR get rid of it. At first, he's trying to play with it, but it keeps moving. Then, he wants to just be done with it and it doesn't leave him alone! Ha!

new videos

I thought I would just put up a few videos today. These are from yesterday. Mom sent me a package yesterday and there were a couple of Sugar Daddy's in there. These first two videos are of Finley eating a Sugar Daddy for the first time. I remember going on long trips with the family when I was little. We would always get Sugar Daddy's to eat....and the van would get really quiet. I never thought anything of it until I went on my first Jr. High trip...to Montana...17 hours of screaming kids. I was pawning off Sugar Daddy's onto every kid that would take one! Boy, my parents were smart! I know exactly what to do with Finny when we go on long trips! Oh yeah, Finley has had 3 servings of vegetables since he had the Sugar Daddy, so he isn't ruined...AND mom told me to give him some!=)

This is just a misc. video of Finny playing in the window and trying to push himself over the back. I usually have to hold him back, which he thinks is funny.

This was the first time that Finny had applesauce. We are starting apples this week and if he does okay with them, we'll start pears next week. If the applesauce is any indication, he seems to like fruit so far.