croup and play-doh

You'd never know Finn was sick and didn't feel well in this picture. Every time he laughed, it sounded like a seal barking.


At Dr. Bell's office looking out the window. This was his visit last week for when he had croup.

He's usually pretty patient, but today, he just wasn't feeling well and wanted to get it done with. He wanted to be held and then he wanted down...back and forth.

This picture was taken right before he rediscovered the fun paper. This happens every visit. He remembers how fun it is to stomp on the crinkly paper.

We were playing with play-doh one night and I made a play-doh person. He loved that person. Here he is giving him a hug.

Still hugging the play-doh. I wish I could have gotten a video of him cooing to it.

Guess who's in the wagon...

Mr. Play-doh person!

He got a ride through the whole house very slowly so he didn't fall (this happened a few times). When I heard "uh-oh" I knew it was time to rescue Mr. Play-doh again.

Finn at his 18 month checkup. He recognized the office right away this time and just played the whole time.

Climbing on Dr. Bell's exam chair. When she was asking her questions during the appointment, she asked if he was climbing onto things yet and while she was asking, he jumped up into the chair, stood up and started clapping. She was impressed by the climbing but not that he was standing in the chair, much less clapping...

He wanted to stand on it, but every time he would try, it would turn a little.

Still climbing.

On the table waiting for Dr. Bell. Can you believe this kid is under weight? He's 23 pounds now. when we were leaving, he said "bye-bye" and then showed her his muscles.

Finn rediscovering the paper, which was unfortunate. He started acting like he wasn't sick anymore and when Dr. Bell came in the room, he got a burst of energy and started running around and laughing. Honestly, I was happy he was feeling better, but it's not exactly what you want to see your "sick" kid doing at the doctor's office. She laughed and said that's how croup goes. It gets much worse at night...which it did.

This was our first play-doh person. I was making it walk and then sometimes I would make it talk to Finn. Finley then takes him and starts walking with him and then tries to get him to talk. That's when his head comes off. You will see none of the sentiment from when he pulled Mr. Play-doh around the house. This time, he takes play-doh person's head and slams it on the floor...twice. Then he slams his body down on the floor and covers the whole thing up with the rest of the play-doh. I wasn't really sure what to think about all that...

Someone was supposed to be going to bed...Sorry about the coughing, runny nose and other noises, but he was still sick.

I walked into the living room to see Finn lying on the floor looking at one of his books. He's never done that before, so I thought it was really cute. I neglected to see what he was REALLY doing on the floor...Don't ask me why it took me so long to see the play-doh. I watch the video now and that's all I can see, but I guess I was just caught up in the precious moment of my son lying on the floor looking at books. However, that is not what he was doing and then I saw the play-doh. It was pretty much spread all over the living room floor. The little bit you see isn't the half of it. He was lying on it, he had stepped on it and it was ground into some of the cracks in the floor. I don't even know how he got the container open!

Finn still can't jump. Matthew tries so hard to teach him, but it just doesn't work. I got out the camera this night because I thought this would be it. Alas, still no jumping...

2009 blizzard and interesting finn facts

I thought it was time to give some interesting facts about Finn, so here you go!


1. He loves peach yogurt with raw oatmeal mixed in.
2. He loves bananas, but not 2 days in a row...actually he doesn't like anything 2 days in a row.
3. Finn is still in size 3 Luvs diapers. Wal-Mart was ALL OUT of Luvs size 3 today, so I have settled for the Parent's Choice size 3. Tomorrow we try them. I will most likely be blogging about how I regret buying PC diapers.
4. He is in size 18 months to 24 months in clothes, although, he just grew out of a 6-12 month onesie (I was very sad to put that one away).
5. He loves taking long baths and playing. He no longer plays with his toys in there though. All he needs is a cup. He pretends to drink it and then pours it down the front of his body. He thinks it's hilarious...and since he laughs so hard about it, so do we. =)
6. This is no surprise, but VeggieTales is his absolute favorite thing to watch. His new favorite is "Little Joe" and when he wants to watch it, he will say "Doe" and point to the TV. If I say "No", he will melt to the floor in tears until I ask him "Is that how we act?" or "Do you need a spanking?" Then (most of the time) he will straighten up and just find something else to play with.
7. Finn likes to play outside in the snow; however, if his gloves are not on just perfectly, you will know it. He will say "uh-oh", "uh-oh", "uh-oh" and hold his hand up until it is fixed.
8. When he falls in the snow with his snowsuit on, you will be helping him. He's top heavy with all of the shirts, coats, hats and scarves that he will stay in the bent-over position until you help him up.
9. Finn still likes to eat snow (dirty or clean). Most of the "dirty" snow around here is not just dirt...if you catch my drift. We watch him carefully around "dirty" snow.
10. He loves to terrorize Zodie running after her while meowing at her (when he's excited, the meowing comes out in more of a screech--just the thing to do to Zodie while running after her).
11. Finn has his 18-month visit on Monday at 3, so I will post stats about that visit next week.

And now...our blizzard!
I tried to get a good picture of the sun dogs this morning, but it didn't work. Sun is in the middle of the circle and the two bright spots on both sides are the little rainbows around the sun. This only happens when it gets really cold and the sky is clear.



This was our sidewalk 3/4 of the way shoveled. It took an hour to do and I was sweating...even though the wind chill was supposed to have been -40. I then heard on the news last night that people who didn't have snow blowers weren't able to shovel the snow away because it was so heavy....I beg to differ! It might take awhile longer, but it IS possible. Here is Finn playing on the sidewalk. He's gotten really good at walking in all of his winter wear.


The walkway again.

The view into the back yard from the sidewalk against the garage.

Another view into the backyard next to the garage.

The tunnel the neighbor boys made while I was shoveling. It goes from our yard into theirs. I tried to take Finn through it this evening, but it had collapsed.

Bob (Matthew's dad) came in with the tractor to clear out our driveway and the neighbor's driveway. Finley saw the tractor coming (he was standing in the window) and about went crazy with excitement.

So, Grandpa came in and got him. Finn rode with him and cleared the driveways for about 30 minutes.

Sitting and playing in the snow.

Mommy and Finn in the snow. It was a very fun and memorable day for us.

Another video I'll never forget. I love his baby talk. For months now, he has said something like "b-da, b-da, b-da. I finally got it on video. Another thing that he has said for a long time is "duba-du-bye". I love that. We have no clue what he's saying, but it's just something he walks around the house saying.

Our blizzard. Kinda a boring video, but something to remember. I wish I had opened the window just a crack so you could have heard the howling. It went on for almost 2 days!

Finn watching Grandpa leave in the tractor after they finished clearing the driveways. He is always so upset to watch the tractor go "bye-bye".

Here is Finn trying to put his sock on. He's been interested in putting socks and shoes on for just about a week now. He can't do it yet and usually he just ends up lying his sock on his foot, but at least he's interested in learning. I don't know why he sniffs it and then uses it as a rag.

Finley walking on the snow in our backyard. The snow was so crunchy from the wind having blown for 2 days.

Finley walking in the snow. He was so happy to be out there walking around!

cough drops, movies and muscles

Matthew has been sick with a cold for almost 2 weeks now. It seems he's been living off of Advil Cold and Sinus and cough drops. Finley walked into the living room the other day and started breathing through his mouth weird and hitting his tongue. After watching him scrape his tongue and breathe weird for a minute I asked him what he had in his mouth and told him to say "ahhh". He said "ahhh" and stuck his tongue out and there was a fully wrapped cough drop in his mouth. He was not impressed with that unique taste and spent the next half hour trying to spit the cough drop taste out of his mouth.

As you all know, Finn loves VeggieTales. His new favorite is the Easter story, and at the end of this movie, Bob the tomato and Mr. Nezzer fly out of a burning building in a cart. As they are flying through the air, they start to yell. Finley will get off of the couch and stand so that he can yell as loud as he can with them. Sometimes he yells so loud that he balls up his fists and the veins pop out of his neck. Here he is yelling with Bob and Mr. Nezzer.

Finn telling us how big he is and showing off his muscles.

it's about time...

We finally got the movies and pictures figured out again and we're up and running. Here are the latest pictures and videos to catch you up on what we've been up to.

Finley playing with play dough. He likes to make people and walk them around and talk to them.


Last weekend, we went to see our nephew, Justin and niece, Emily race their snowmobiles. Justin was in 3 races. He got 1st, 2nd and 4th in them. Here's the family with Justin's snowmobile.


Matthew talking to Finley. It was freezing cold in the first place and then the wind picked up when we were there, so the wind chills were bad.

Another family picture. Poor Finley...

Emily and her snowmobile.

Boy, do I have videos for you...Here is Finley watching the school bus one morning. He loves watching and waiting for it and gets so excited when he sees it. He also says "bye bus".

I will cherish this video forever. He loves his "Old McDonald" books and sings with them. When I ask him if he wants to read the book, he says "ess" and then after I prompt him, he says, "ee-ii-oo". I absolutely love to hear him sing...and I'm so glad it seems like he can carry a tune! =)

Being silly and playing peek-a-boo after bath. He likes playing with his towel after bath time.

Listening to Michael W. Smith and clapping, drumming and a little singing. He's just like adults. We listen to music through headphones and can't carry a tune either. =)

I like to see the way he winds his Jack in the Box toy. He's smart though and holds Jack down until he's ready for him to jump up. Sarah could learn a thing or two from Finn. =)

Finley shows us how big he is and his muscles. When asked "How big is Finley?" he'll say "oh bee" and then if we ask "Where are Finley's muscles?", he'll put his arms in front of him, ball his fists and say "grrr".

Justin leading off his last race. He easily won 1st place. His snowmobile goes over 100 mph.

Emily is on the pink snowmobile. She looked so cute and had a lot of fun.

2009 ski trip

This past weekend we took the Jr. Highers to Giants Ridge Ski Resort for our annual ski trip. We had beautiful weather and plenty of snow. There were no major injuries-just bumps, bruises and sore muscles. All in all, it was a great trip!

The group left Friday afternoon, but Finley and I and a youth worker left Friday evening. My plan was for Finley to sleep most of the way there so that he wouldn't be crying the whole trip. My plan didn't work out so well. He was crying and fussing 30 miles out of town. It lasted for about 2 hours before he finally fell asleep. We got to Giants Ridge at about 12:30 Saturday morning. We unpacked the car and got in our room. Unfortunately, Finley thought his 'nap' was over and stayed awake for about 2 more hours before finally going to sleep. We were up at 7:30 to start our day...and boy, was it a full day!

This is where we stay every year. You can walk out the back door right onto the ski slopes.


Matthew and Finley Saturday morning a little after he woke up.


Finley eating in the chalet. We stayed in the chalet for most of the morning so the kids could routinely check in and let us know they were okay.


He loves pizza crust.

Finley and Matthew playing at lunch. After lunch I took Finley back to our room and he took a good, 2-hour nap.

And then we hit the slopes...with Finley! Matthew was so proud that Finley skied and loved it. He kept pulling Matthew toward the lift to go again...and he wanted to go fast!

These were the smallest boots and skis Giants Ridge had, but they fit him perfectly! He was by far the youngest skier out there.

This is the littlest bunny hill that they have. They went up and down this one many times and then moved to the bigger bunny hill and then went up and down that one many times.

Family picture on the bunny hill.

That night, everyone was eating in the lodge when the lights went out. This picture was taken literally minutes before the power went out all over the resort.

This is a neat picture of the moon after the power went out. It was pitch black for hours. Some time in the early morning hours the power came back on.

Finley. again, didn't like the ride home, but took a good nap and was happy after he got a sucker for the ride home.

naughty finley

I've told some of you about how sneaky Finley is getting. I'm sure a few of you didn't believe me. So, I set up the camera in plain view to catch him in the act. Watch him as he wants to type so badly and then pulls his hands back after I tell him not to touch the computer. He tells me "bye-bye" so that I'll leave the room. When I say "bye-bye" and walk out of the living room he looks at the camera and then starts typing on the computer. He even glances back to where I went to see if I'm looking. He acts guilty the whole time (at least we know he has a conscience). Towards the end of the video you can hear that he actually turns on the video of him singing with the VeggieTales movie. That's when he stops and knows that he's in trouble. What you can't see (the camera turned off) is me asking him if he touched the computer and him shaking his head 'no'. Naughty Finley...

singing and fun with mattea

Yesterday I watched Mattea for Danae while she went to a doctor appointment. Tuesday was her due date and still no baby! Finley was asleep when Mattea got to the house, so when he woke up I took Mattea in there with me. He was surprised to see her in there. He started showing off for her like showing her how he can lie down and how he can jump in his crib and how he picks up Mr. Sheep and lies down with him. It was weird, but he was definitely showing off for her.

Here they are on the way to town to meet Danae. It was cute the way they were both looking at books.


Finley is reading about animals and insects and Mattea is reading about Cheerios.


Finley and Mattea at the house before we left for town. Finley wouldn't take his sippy cup out of his mouth for the picture.


I told Finley to put all of his books away and this is what he did with them. He layed them all on top of the box and then opened the last book and set it on top of the pile.

I thought it was cute and much more exciting than the way we usually put them away.

Here's Finley singing with Jr. Aspraragus "You Really Love me" and there's a line about the middle of the video that says, "sometimes I'm off key when I sing". So cute.