i can't get up!

Ever seen the movie, A Christmas Story? Finny couldn't move anything when he was in his snow suit. It was so cute.


Daddy and Finny.

Mommy and Finny.

Finny lying in our huge snow bank. Couldn't move a muscle...

Matthew made a little hole for us to push him down in. The suit hardly even bent enough for that.

joke of the day....week....year

Grandpa sent me an email with this joke.

Almost seven years ago I sat, as did millions of other Americans, and watched as our government underwent a peaceful transition of power.

At first, I felt a swell of pride and patriotism as I watched George W. Bush take his oath of office. However, all that pride quickly vanished as I later watched the Clintons board Air Force One for the last time.

I saw 21 Marines, in full dress uniform with rifles, fire a 21-gun salute to the outgoing President and first lady. It was then that I realized how far America's military had deteriorated under the Clinton administration.

Every last one of them missed.

more frozen carrots

I tried giving Finny some more of the mashed carrots last night. Still no good. It must be the texture, because he loves the taste of them. Here is another video of him slurping out every last drop of the frozen carrots from his teether.

zodie, finley and new tricks

Zodie and Finley watching the snow fall. Yes, I said more snow. Some people don't watch the news because their afraid to see what's going on in the world...it's too depressing. I don't watch the news because I'm afraid of seeing what the weather will be like for the next day...it's too depressing. Oh, when will this winter end?




Finley tries to curl one leg underneath him and sit. He isn't half way there yet, but he really tries. It's really cute to watch.





Sometimes he bypasses the sitting and tries to push himself up into standing. Yeah, that's even more fun to watch.

He teeters back and forth before sliding back down to his belly.

finley in the window

This video was taken this morning. Finley had been trying to crawl in the window and started squealing. I still don't know what I think of the squealing yet.

jumperoo

Finley likes to play in his jumperoo a lot now. He is loud and jumps high. There is some pretty annoying music that goes a long with it, but it seems to make him happy, so we just put up with it.

finley, you're supposed to be asleep

I put Finley down for a nap. He laid down with his pacifier and closed his eyes. I sat down to do some work and heard scratching coming from the monitor. I can always picture what he looks like when I hear this noise in the monitor. He is lying down with his eyes open watching his hand as he scratches. He will either be scratching his sheets next to his face so he can see and hear it or he will be trying to scratch the John Deere tractors off of his bumper pads. I walked in to check on him....camera ready...and found him with his head in the corner...wide awake. I tried to sound stern telling him that he should be asleep. When he heard my voice he kind of froze and then turned and smiled. I think he knew that he was supposed to be asleep. How can you be stern with him though when he's lying there smiling at you??? I picked him up and we went to the living room to eat Cheerios. See below.

Oh yeah, on a totally different note, guess who made Grandma's vegetable soup. Grandma called my Saturday afternoon and told me exactly what she did to make hers. I can't believe it turned out. I'll probably never be able to do it the same again, but at least I have this once. Last time I tried it was a couple of years ago (the memory was too painful to try again sooner). I can remember it like it was yesterday... I had worked so hard on it all afternoon and Matthew came in from work and asked, "What is that stench?" I honestly don't think he would have said that if he knew that it was something I cooked...and something that he was supposed to eat, but I guess it didn't smell like food at all. I told him that I had made soup. I think he felt bad and he actually ate some of it, but he didn't ask for seconds and it sat in the fridge until it pretty much fermented. This time is different though. I'm going to fight him for this vegetable soup!

cheerios

I would like to say that this is a video of Finley eating Cheerios, but he doesn't actually eat them. He wants them and will cry for them, but he doesn't swallow them much. He'll bite them in half and then play with them until their good and soggy and then spit them out. Yummy...

finny...the computer geek

Finny was just sitting on my lap. I was sitting at the computer and I had just my Windows background screen up. Our computer has been running a little slow lately. I guess it's all the pictures and videos that I download onto it. Anyway, Finny started typing away. I had no clue that you could do ANYTHING you wanted without touching the mouse. He went into my control panel first....I quickly clicked out of that simply because I wasn't sure what he would be able to do in there. He opened the Internet, entered a search engine and searched for "ev". When he hit the "enter" key, we learned that it stands for Earned Value....interesting. I clicked out of that. He typed "kj" into the search engine. He then hit "enter" again. Well, KJ52 happens to be a Christian artist so we learned a little bit more about him. After I clicked off of that, Finley emptied my recycle bin. My computer is running much better now. Forget calling the IT department, call my 6-month-old genius!

beautiful boy

Finley in one of Matthew's t-shirts. This is one of my favorite pictures ever.

Another one that I love.

Another favorite.

Profile

discovering a new sound

Finny has a new sound. He has found out that if he thinks about it really hard, he can make a new squealing sound. At first I thought he was upset because of the way his face was scrunched up, but I soon found out that even when he's happy he will make this new noise. It's pretty entertaining to watch it.

keep praying for ryan

I just got a call from Darlene, who is still in Fargo. She said that Ryan had his CT scan and it seemed to show an ileus. An ileus is "a twisting, an intestinal obstruction". This definition is from the Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. He has abdominal pain, back pain, and a lot of nausea. According to Darlene, he is still in good spirits most of the time, but he has to be getting sick of being in a hospital and in bed. Please keep praying that the doctors will be able to clear this all up and that Ryan will be well again soon. Pray for Trevor too as he is going skiing this weekend with Matthew and the Jr. High. I'm hoping that he can have a fun time and not worry about anything that's going on at home. Thanks again.

finny's teething feeder

Aunt B got Finny a teething feeder to suck on fruit or vegetables with. You stick the food in the 'strainer' part and then close the lid and it's like a popsicle that he can hold and suck on. He really didn't like the mashed carrots the other night, but I had all of the rest of it frozen into little ice cubes. Mom suggested I put one of the ice cubes in his teething feeder to suck on. HE LOVED IT! He sucked and sucked on that thing until there was nothing but warm mush left in it (that was fun to clean out). Then he cried for more. It took him about 45 minutes, but he ate (sucked out) two of the cubes of frozen carrots. We had an interesting diaper after that too. =) In the video, you can hear him sucking on it. Sometimes he would make a growling sound too trying to get the juice out. Thanks Aunt B!

Thankfully, today Finny is doing much better. He still has a fever of anywhere from 100 to 101.7, but not near as high as it got yesterday. He has been much happier and playing a lot more today. I had planned on going on the Jr. High ski/snowboard trip tomorrow night, but we don't want to pass this on to 30+ Jr. Highers that are going. Wouldn't that be a fun trip!

the news here

There is quite a bit of news to tell today. Finny woke up sick with a fever of 102 and later in the day it got up to 103. It has been down to 101 or so later this afternoon and evening so far, so hopefully the fever won't last too long. He has been coughing, sneezing, and had a runny nose though. He has rubbed his left ear now, so I'll be starting the eardrops before his next nap.

We got an update on Ryan this morning from Heidi (Matthew's sister). Ryan got up this morning and took a shower, washed his hair, and walked around a bit...a total turn-around from yesterday. I did give some wrong information though. They still have not stitched him up from the surgery on Saturday morning. It sounds like they are just going to let it heal from the inside out because of the infection, so he still has quite a bit of healing left and is still in the hospital. The weather also cleared up and I had to shut off the corn stove today because it got so hot in the house.

The last news of the day is that the Pastor that got a unanimous vote from our church just accepted the call. Our church has never unanimously voted anyone in, so that says a lot about Pastor Ray. Our church has been through a lot of changes in the past 3 years, so we are hopeful that Pastor Ray can bring some stabilization and Godly leadership to Grace.

ryan's update, cont.

I know I haven't posted recently about Ryan, but we got some news today. Just to catch everyone up...Ryan went in for emergency surgery last Saturday morning after being sick all week. His appendix had burst apparently earlier in the week and had become gangrenous. He was supposed to go home possibly Sunday or yesterday, but they didn't even sew him up until today. They were still getting some junk out and had to make sure there was no infection left before they closed the incision. He hasn't eaten since last Wednesday, and has only gotten nourishment from an IV. He started chewing on some ice today but it didn't sit well and he started vomiting bile. They were going to have to put a tube into his nose (not sure why), but he started feeling better after vomiting so they didn't have to do that. The doctor came to check on him tonight and he said he wasn't worried. I guess we all thought he would be home by now getting better. Matthew and Bob (his dad) went to see Ryan this afternoon and said he was thin and couldn't talk because it hurt him too much. The doctors and nurses say that some people just don't do as well with the surgery as others, so that is comforting to know that they are not very concerned.

Robbyn called her in-laws to tell them what had happened when Ryan went into surgery. They didn't take the news well at all. The past 2 years have been so difficult for them with losing 2 of their children and 3 other close relatives. Apparently, Phil's funeral was the 5th in the past 2 years. Please continue to pray for Mr. and Mrs. Quandt, Ryan, Robbyn (his mom) and Trevor (his brother). Robbyn, Trevor, and most of the family here have been up to visit Ryan and the weather has not been good. We are getting down to almost -50 wind chill and at best, it is very uncomfortable just to have to be out in the cold. Thank you for your prayers. I'll update again as I hear more.

my little butterball

Finny has become quite the little chunk. Ever since we started on rice cereal, he's been gaining weight like crazy. His 'chick magnet' shirt doesn't hardly fit anymore and half the day I was pulling it down because it would ride up over his belly. He's still a cutie though and I love every ounce of his fat.

He's gotten quite vocal lately. He chose to discover this new, loud voice of his in the question and answer meeting on Sunday with the (hopefully) new pastor and his wife. It was....loud.

a carrot for finny?

Last night, I got some of our carrots from the farm that we had frozen and cooked and mashed them. I was so proud of myself. I put them into icecube trays (got that idea from my friend, Michelle Fry) and froze the rest. I was sure he would love something new. After all, it has been over a week and a half since he started rice cereal and he's been doing really well with that. Boy was I wrong!

Finley was NOT impressed with carrots. He spit most of them out after the first few spoonfuls.


This picture was taken on his first spoonful. We thought he was going to like them okay, but by the end, the whole front of his bib was covered in orange. I guess we'll be waiting a few more weeks to try that again. Back to the rice cereal...

another video and reaching

This video is from this morning. I had Finley scooting on our bed because it's easier for him to scoot on there. He moved his right leg forward. He's done this a couple times before, but I've never gotten it on video. This afternoon he did it again a couple of times. He just can't stay up for long. He'll get one leg forward, but can't figure out how to move the other leg. He ends up rocking back and forth until he finally falls onto his stomach.

This morning, when I went to get Finley up he had rolled onto his back and was chewing on his blanket with his eyes closed. I stood there and watched him for about 10 seconds. He started to open one eye and caught sight of me. He smiled, let go of the blanket and reached for me. It was such a wonderful surprise! He did it again after his morning nap. I love it!

funny faces

Sticking his tongue out.


Big cheeks.

on the couch

I'm trying to catch up with some pictures now so here are some pictures from the 15th.


Playing on the couch.


There's only 1 thing that make Finny stare like this....TV.

More TV. He will actually stop crying if you let him look at the TV, no matter how upset he is.

Scooting towards Zodie. Boy, does she love that!

ryan's update

Ryan Quandt (Matthew's sister, Robbyn's son) went in for emergency surgery this morning for an appendicitis. When they went in, they found out that it was gangrenous which means it had ruptured awhile ago. He has been having some pain in his stomach all week, but they thought that it was just the flu. He got out of surgery okay and they are planning on releasing him tomorrow some time. Please pray for him, Robbyn, and Trevor.

As an update on their family, they have a town home in Moorhead, MN and the boys are going to Park Christian. They seem to be doing okay as far as adjusting to the Minnesota winter which is what the boys were worried about. The boys are supposed to go skiing with us next weekend with the youth group. Thanks for all of your continued prayers for their family.

mommy tickles finny

Finny's feet are really ticklish and he loves to be tickled.

funny video

I don't know what he was laughing at, but something was funny to him. You can see that he has rice cereal on his forehead.

daddy and finn

More of Finn riding on daddy's shoulders. This has to be his favorite game. Sometimes they will run through the house chasing after me. I think he likes that best. He did it once with Aunt Kristen out at the farm. It was pretty funny to watch. I can only imagine what the neighbors think sometimes.

move over zodie...

Finny has taken over "Zodie's" window. When we first put this window in, I really think Zodie thought we put it in for her. It was perfect for her bed and for her to watch the birds. Now, Finley likes it up there and will sit and look outside or try to scoot around. Zodie has 'shared' the space a few times, but mostly will just leave if we put Finny up there. I felt bad at first, but really, she a cat.

fun with grandma, cont...

Grandma holding Finny while he sleeps. At night right before I put him down for bed it is fun just to hold him for awhile. He's so warm and cuddly then.

Sound asleep...

Sweet hands...

Grandma and Finny (and Zodie) the next morning. I wish we could go back to that time. It was so much fun to have mom here.

Grandma reading to Finley. He likes books, but I really think he just enjoyed sitting with grandma.

Grandma feeding Finley. He gets so excited when he eats rice cereal. If you ask me, it's gross looking...and smelling. Can't wait to start ground chicken. Yuck!

time to eat

Here are the first pictures of Finley eating rice cereal for the first time. Mom thought he would sleep better at night if he had more to eat before bed. He actually did really well with it. Since then though, he has been a pretty messy eater. It usually ends up all down the front of him, in his hair, and all over whoever is feeding him. We won't show those pictures. =)

...and she's down for the count

That count being 8...the number of times mom fell while she was here. Let's see...3 times next to the car and 5 times on the sidewalk or driveway. We learned early last week not to let mom carry Finley out in his car seat. Whatever mom carried had to be either trash or something that could get crushed. She bought some boots for while she was here; however, they were very slick on the bottom. I thought she would have been better off just wearing her tennis shoes, but I guess she would rather fall and get bruised than have cold feet. It sure was more entertaining. Every time we went out it was windy and cold. I would be walking rather quickly to the car or in the house with Finley...always ahead of mom and would hear a thud or a squeal. It got to where I didn't even have to turn around. I knew if I did, I would see mom laughing and trying to get up at the same time. Unfortunately, I never got it on video or else I would be posting it. Boy, the neighbor got an eyefull every time we went somewhere. Mom and I had a great time and Finley and mom got some good, quality time in together. I know he will miss her. I sure will miss hearing the thud or squeal every time I go somewhere. Thanks for visiting, mom and thanks for all of your help and encouragement. Every minute was special from sleep training to feeding Finley cereal for the first time to his dedication. We love you and miss you already.

the 'lost' cell phone

On our way to church yesterday, mom looked in her purse for her cell phone. When she didn't find it, she thought she had left it at home. She went all day without her cell phone. Last night when we got home she looked one last time in her purse for it and when she didn't find it she asked me to call it. She heard it and start looking. She had her purse hanging on her arm. She started turning in circles. Funny, she was following her arm. I wish I had just stood there and watched her, but I told her to stop and check her purse. It was there. I wonder how long she would have turned circles listening and looking for her cell phone. Ha! Fun memories.

such a long day

Finley had such a long day. This morning we woke up to -50 wind chill temps. It is a job just to get him dressed, bundled up, and packed up in his car seat just to get out the door. I kept him awake all the way to church hoping that he would sleep when we were in front. It didn't work, but he was still very good up front. He went to the nursery for church and didn't sleep at all. He finally fell asleep in Grandma's arms at church and slept all the way home. We stayed at home for about 20 minutes and then went to the farm for the whole afternoon and evening. He was passed between several people all day. He is still doing very well with others...thankfully. No sign of separation anxiety yet. We got home and Finny ate and took a nap. We had to wake him up after an hour so that he wouldn't sleep too long. He was just waking up when we took this video. He loves hearing Matthew's voice and would smile when Matthew talked to him, but he was just so tired. It looked like he was awake, but then the next second he was falling asleep all over again. So cute...

our special day

What a special day it was. We dedicated Finny this morning at church. Lance Olimb (the youth pastor and our personal friend) just happened to be preaching today and did the dedication. He had a special little message just for the three of us. He made it very personal and memorable. We were so touched and pleased with how he did the dedication. We couldn't have asked for anything more. Lance and Sarah (his wife) are expecting their first...and second babies on May 8. We are so happy for them.

This is us up front during his message. He read from Deuteronomy 6:4-7. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." It was a great message that I will remember forever.


Lance getting ready to pray over Finley. That was another special moment. We are so thankful for Finley and really feel blessed that God chose to give him to us.

If you know me at all, you know I don't like being in front of people of any size or number. Boy was I nervous standing up there! When I first walked up on the stage my high heel sunk into a hole for an electrical box. Everyone said that they couldn't tell, but I kept inching back to keep from stepping in it again...and to keep moving so I didn't faint. My knees were knocking.


Lance and Finley.


The four of us after the service.


Me, Finny and Darlene out at the farm. We had Matthew's family and our friends, Dan, Michelle and Toby out for lunch. It was a fun afternoon.

Mom with Finley.

Kristen got Finny a barnyard book where you learned about the animal, but then there were face masks that you could take out of the book and wear. This is Anna as the cow and Sharon as the duck. Don't ask me why, but we actually are smiling for the picture behind the masks.

Mom with Allie (left) and Anna (right). They LOVED her! She read books with them and played with them on the floor. When it was time for us to leave, they got so upset asking when she was going to come back. I told Anna that we should have a sleepover. She said, "I would love to, but only because she is there" as she pointed to mom. I told mom that I was going to have to bribe her with Allie and Anna now instead of just Finny when I want her to come here for a visit.

Mom and Finny at home. He had such a long day he just couldn't stay awake. Sleepy time Finley...

It was also Phil Quandt's birthday today. Robbyn and the boys drove up from Fargo this morning to make it to Finny's dedication and they seemed to be doing okay. As a gift for Finny, Robbyn and the boys gave him a book about policemen. Phil was a policeman. I thought that was really special and probably something that Phil would have liked.

fun with grandma

It's been so fun having mom (Grandma) here for the last few days. Finley loves to be held by her and talks to her a lot. He reached for her a few days ago and I think that pretty much says it all right there. He loves Grandma. It is so special to see them together. Seeing mom with Finny makes me understand why she wanted grandkids so much. I truly believe that Finny will miss her when she has to leave. Below are some of the fun pictures already from grandma's visit.

Finny and Grandma playing on the floor together.


Finny staring at Grandma.


Such a sweet picture.

Finny trying to give grandma a 'kiss'. *Definition of kiss: Eating the side of someone's face.

I love this picture.

Grandma letting Finny 'kiss' her.