da-da

On Saturday Finley started copying the sound of da-da. Matthew came home 30 minutes later. Finley and I were waiting by the door to surprise daddy with this first word. I told Matthew to listen to what Finley had to tell him. I said da-da first and then Finley's mouth started moving and then finally the sound came. Barely audible, but definitely a da-da sound. Matthew stood there for a minute speechless and so happy just watching Finley form this first, special word for him. What an unforgettable moment that was! I've been working with Finley on saying ma-ma but I'm so happy that his first word was da-da.

yet another thing to fight over

Well, like most cats Zodie loves boxes. So does Finley...now. Finley didn't care about the box until Zodie was scratching on it trying to get in. Then, it was Finley's favorite toy for the afternoon. He would climb on it, use it to stand up on and try to open the lid to get in. It provided hours of entertainment throughout the afternoon.

nap time

Finley has had a hard time with naps lately. He will sometimes sleep for 10 minutes, wake up, and not go back down for hours. Other times he will sleep for 30 to 40 minutes, wake up and then go back to sleep right away for another hour or so. He took a 20 minute nap this morning and has been fussy and tired since. He finally went to sleep after lunch. I went in to check on him during his nap and this is how he was sleeping. Every once in awhile his fingers would move like he was picking something up but other than that, this is how he stayed almost his entire nap...about 45 minutes. I guess he was really desperate for sleep!




Sometimes, if I need 5 minutes to do laundry or start supper I'll give Finley a bottle of apple juice. It's actually not even apple juice because its 1 ounce of apple juice and 4 ounces of water. It's really watered down. Anyways, this is the only "sweet" thing that he's had (besides the ice cream I caught Matthew giving him) and he loves it. He makes cute little noises and plays with the bottle the whole time.

new tricks

I'm sorry I never posted yesterday. I was having some flu-like symptoms and just laid around pretty much all day. I'm feeling better today though. Matthew came home early from work yesterday and watch Finny while I slept a little and made us supper. That was a big help! Matthew also kept Finny busy all evening while I laid on the couch.

This picture was from this morning. Finley has been standing with the kitchen stool and walking a little bit with it. Now he's trying to climb on it. He almost got 2 legs on the bottom step before he started to teeter. He caught himself and then laughed. I think he has a nervous laugh when he's about to fall.


I think this was taken yesterday. I can't believe he is walking with the step stool! We are getting a toy that Finely can stand up and walk with. Hopefully he doesn't just take off. This is yet another thing I'm not ready for.

The poor horse. Sorry Bama and Paka. He loves the horse now but pretty much dominates it now to make it stop. You can start it up from across the room and he will race to it, lie on it, pull its tail and hold its head...anything to make it stop. I'm pretty sure that's what he would be doing with Zodie if she let him. =)

happy finny, sad zodie

Finley loves the laundry basket. Whenever it's out he will stand up with it and try to push it around. I think the only reason he likes it is because Zodie likes it. I think they have a little race to see who can get to it first. If Zodie does, she doesn't stay in there long because Finley will be on top of her teasing her through the slots of the basket. If Finley gets to it first, Zodie will circle around him wanting to get into it, but not wanting to have to get any closer to Finley.


Guess who got to the basket first. This is his victory face!


Poor Zodie is so traumatized. Finely will sit up in the window and try to lean as far over Zodie as possible before falling onto her. You can just see Zodie cowering in her bed as Finley leans over her and yells at her! I know she's just a cat, but how much can one grumpy cat take???

a day in the life of finny

Tonight Finley was standing up next to his chair and he started pushing it a little and took a few steps. I sat down behind him pushing the chair slowly. He took 12 steps with the chair. Toward the end of walking behind the chair, he started to teeter. After catching himself, he started to laugh.

These videos were taken throughout the day showing you what he does for fun. This first one is of Finley crawling towards his mobile. He pulls it out of the corner of the room and into the middle of the floor to play with. He can crawl while pulling it out. Towards the end of the video he turns toward the cat food. I really have to move that!

This next video is of Finley trying to get to his car seat and diaper bag. The diaper bag is a book bag and there is part of it hanging down so he tries to grab onto it without falling.

Finley LOVES the printer! The power button lights up and he loves to push it (aka banging on it until he presses something and hears a noise) He likes the scanner button too because then the whole machine makes a noise. At the beginning of this video he runs a piece of paper through the machine.

This last one was taken later in the afternoon...right before a nap. He's happy but getting tired too. He's gotten to the point now where you can call him and he will crawl to you from across the room. He still has trouble though if you're in another room. He has come into the kitchen though and peaked around the corner to find me. When he saw me he smiled while peaking around the corner.

big talk vs. big muscle

Steve (Matthew's brother) was talking big yesterday about how he could beat Matthew at arm wrestling. So, I grabbed the camera and they got on the kitchen floor to battle it out.

In this first video, they agreed to arm wrestle left handed first. Steve is left handed so he clearly has the advantage here. You can even hear Matthew at the end explaining to everyone, "he's left handed, folks" just in case the family didn't know. =)

Matthew is right handed. There isn't a whole lot more I can say about this one.

happy easter!

We went out to the farm for our Easter lunch. Matthew's whole family was there. Bob was sick so we didn't see much of him, but otherwise there was a full house! Finley loved trying to follow Meg (1 year old) around. She was a little too fast for him though. He was, however, crawling all over. I'm still not totally used to it yet. =)

Zach (Finley's cousin), Matthew and Finley in the recliner. Zach and Finley kind of matched yesterday with brown corduroy pants and blue sweaters. Zach loves to hold Finley and even asked to come home with us to take care of him. He said "hi" and "bye" to Finley and gave him a hug.


THE chair. Allie sat in this chair when she was 1. Anna sat in this chair until she was probably almost 1-1/2 years old and now Finley is almost too big for it. We had to squeeze his legs into it and they were bulging out of the armrests. The chair really rocks though and he would try to stand up when it rocked forward...hence Darlene holding him into it.


Finley playing with his favorite toy at the farm. Unfortunately, it's the Mickey Mouse song and by the end of the day, everyone was humming and singing to it. You can even hear Darlene humming with it at the very end of the video. The talking you hear is Robbyn, Allie and Anna playing Go Fish. After their game, Allie came up to me and excitedly said that she had won first place and that Aunt Robbyn had 'won' third place.

new videos

Yesterday I pureed more pees and some squash for the first time. I was really happy with how the squash turned out. I put it in large baby food jars and ice cube trays. We now have bright orange ice cubes and bright green ice cubes. Finley loves the squash and I think it's pretty gentle on his stomach. He had 2 ounces the first time he had it.

Matthew had Ryan and Trevor over last night to play some Call of Duty and Guitar Hero on the X-Box. He said he was going to make them eat one of the cubes...don't know how that went. =)

Here are a couple of videos of Finley. This first video is of Finley crawling toward a rattle that I'm shaking and rolling around. He usually is the one to roll it and chase after it, but he was getting into the plant...again, so I had to occupy him with something else fast.

This next video if of Finley pulling himself up to the rocking chair...not the most sturdy surface to be pulling on. He has fallen many times trying to stand. He's scared to fall now, though so if he thinks he's going to, he'll start to call (this means yelling really loudly until someone comes to get him). If I put him in his jumperoo and go down to the basement to do laundry, he will yell for me until I come and get him. Eventually though it will turn into a cry if I don't come back soon.

finley at the farm

Finley and I went to the farm today to see Matthew. There had been 3 calves born out there this week unexpectedly so we got to see them. One was just a few hours old, one was 2 days old, and one was 3 days old.


Matthew showing Finley the cows.

Matthew and Finley walking out to the cow pens. It's so muddy here with all the snow that's been melting. I'm glad that the snow is melting though. After all, this was the first day of spring!


The 3-day-old calf. If you can't tell, this is one of those pictures where you are telling the person taking the picture to "take the picture fast" while smiling. For some reason, calves don't like being held down. =) Finley loved it though and wanted to touch it.

Another "hurry up and take the picture" picture. You can't see it (thankfully) but we are crouching in a couple of inches of manure and the calf started peeing while we were crouched down. There was another picture that was taken after I realized what the rushing water sound was, but you don't want to see that one.

Matthew and Finley and the calf. Matthew has muscle. He can hold a baby and a calf easily...actually holding the calf so hard that his tongue is sticking out! Ha!

I like this picture with the calf and Matthew looking at Finley. Finley is oblivious to what's going on.

Was that a collective gasp I heard coming from somewhere in cyberspace? Yes, Matthew held Finley up to the cows to let them sniff him. They were all very nice and calm.

Finley 'driving' the tractor. I suppose he will be taking lessons soon. I've heard the story of Matthew when he was really young being aloud to drive his dad's truck back home...alone. His mom looked out the kitchen window and saw their truck rolling in the driveway with no one driving. Matthew says that he either had to steer the truck or push the pedals because he was too little. He couldn't do both at the same time, and at the time that she looked out, he was pressing the brake pedal. =)

Matthew and Finley in the tractor.

Behind one of the barn doors that leads to the little calves.

This is the 3-day-old calf. As you can see, he can easily get under the wires keeping the bigger cows...including mommy...in. Mommy didn't like this and would call as soon as the little guy got away.

Matthew returning the calf to it's mommy who is calling and just about to jump through all of the wires to get Matthew away from her calf.

Aunt Kristen pushing Finley in a basket. He loves Kristen and smiles and laughs with her all the time!

THE tractor! Finley was in awe of the big machine and riding in it.

Finley, the tractor driver.

Another picture of him 'driving' the tractor.

Matthew had so much fun with Finley talking to him about what they would be doing in a couple of years and how he and Finley would be working together. I'm sure Finley will love the farm just as much as Matthew does.

nap time?

Finley was supposed to be taking a nap. I heard laughing and decided to investigate...with the camera. Glad I did. Apparently, he doesn't think he has to lie down now that he knows how to get up on his knees and stand in his crib. We lowered the bed of the crib last night after he started standing and leaning over the top bar. Now, it's a big game to him. I'll walk in and he will play peak-a-boo looking through the bars. Poor thing looks like he's in jail holding onto the bars like he does and looking in between them, but he thinks it's fun....and funny as you can see.

on a mission...for me

Over a month ago, my mother tactfully told me, "you've let yourself go". My loving husband and friends have told me "you look good for just having a baby 6 months ago" (of course they said this at month 2, 3, 4, and 5). Oprah even caught me. I was watching a show one day and she was asking her TV audience if they had let themselves go. She said to look down and if you are still in your pajamas, you have let yourself go. Guess who was still in their pajamas! (Oprah comes on at 4 in the afternoon here.) The truth is, I know I have let myself go. I see the thing staring at me in the mirror every morning....and throughout the day. I look like I'm old...and when I don't take care of myself I feel old. I may look okay for "just having a baby 6 months ago", but no one wants to look good for a reason. You just want to look good. So, my mission is to take care of myself...really and truly...physically, mentally and spiritually.

Physically. Ugh...I hate exercising! I just talked to Sarah, my older sister, today. She is swimming every morning. She really motivated me to look for something that I can do. I have done some research on the Internet and found some exercises that would be easy for me to do at home...in the house until warmer weather when Finny and I can go on walks. My goal is to do 5 of these exercises a day. Even if I don't see a difference on the scale or in my clothes, I will feel better.

Mentally. To clear my head, I have to clear my house. When my house is cluttered, my head feels cluttered. Things can cause so much stress. I will love this change! My goal is to clean out the clutter and organize. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THROWING STUFF AWAY! Ask Matthew. He sees a bag going to Good Will and he has to go through it to make sure that none of his things are in there! Ha! I really am a firm believer that if you haven't used it in the past year or so, you really aren't going to miss it. I can't wait to get to this goal.

Spiritually. There is always more I can do in this area. But, there are a few things that I would like to do to improve myself spiritually. There are two books that I would like to FINISH reading. =) One, "Get Out Of That Pit" by Beth Moore. (No, I'm not depressed or suicidal. I think everyone goes through "pits" throughout their life.) The second book is one that my women's small group is going through called, "Sacred Influence" by Gary Thomas. It's about how God uses wives to shape the souls of their husbands. Haven't really started that one yet. We start it tomorrow.

So, these are my goals. If you are reading this, you are now my accountability partner! Ask me throughout the week if I have done any of these things, leave a comment if we usually don't talk during the week. If I say I haven't done them, that means I probably need encouragement....so feel free to encourage away. I've been called stubborn before...don't let that stop you from trying to encourage me. If you want to join me in this quest, leave a comment and I will be an accountability partner. It's always easier when there are two or more.

house plants and cat food....yay!

These were taken this morning after his nap. He can pull himself up onto his knees holding onto the bars and he can almost pull himself into standing. (The only reason he hasn't is because I don't let him practice in there.) He's getting so big.

I tried to tell him no when I went in, but how can you say no to this face staring at you when you walk in? I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most stern when saying "no".



In this video, Finley is deciding whether or not to touch the plant...again...for the fourth time. All morning he had been told no and had his hand popped. I was debating just removing the plant, but decided that if I removed everything that he shouldn't touch, there wouldn't be a whole lot left in the house. He just needs to learn the meaning of the word "no".


Is this boy teething or what? We were cleaning up from supper and Matthew saw him gnawing on his car seat....just sitting there chewing and sucking. It was hilarious. We would call his name, he would stop, and then go back to sucking and chewing.



This morning, I turned just in time to see Finny sticking his hand in the cat food dish. (This, I think we will remove). I walked over, pulled him away and gave his hand a pop and said "no". The only problem was when I popped his hand, his little fist opened and cat food dropped out. I couldn't help but laugh....see, not the most effective at being stern.

the green monster

No, this is not a monster. This is Finley eating peas...the same peas that he hated a few days ago he now loves. He loves them so much that he plays with them. I think he spreads the peas all over the place so that he can find them later and eat some more. I'm cleaning up peas from the weirdest places! I found mushed pea in his sock yesterday. I have no clue how it got inside of his sock! I'm telling you, he stores them for later.


Trying to laugh with his mouth closed. I'm lucky he eventually did open his mouth to laugh or else the peas would have come out of his nose!


Open mouth laugh with the peas IN his mouth.


Open mouth laugh with the peas OUT of his mouth.

Just like daddy...loves to eat!

laughing...eating

This first video was taken right before we went out to the farm Friday night. I don't know what was so funny...still don't, but for about 30 minutes he would laugh like crazy at anything!

Whenever Finley eats now, Darlene (Matthew's mom) thinks it's so funny. She calls him a little bird because of how he opens up his mouth to let me know that he wants more. It is pretty funny. When he likes something you'll know. And when he doesn't like something, you can't get him to open his mouth...or look at you.

no finley, not now

I can still see it now. It replays in my mind over and over! Finley sitting in his chair. Me feeding him rice cereal. I had just given him a huge mouthful. Then, he got the look. The look that says, "I have to sneeze". The next part comes back to me in slow motion. Finley scrunching up his nose and taking a deep breath. Me yelling "no Finley, not now" and scrambling to find something...anything to block what I know is going to come out of his mouth. Finding nothing, I just sit there and cover my face (yes, I'm a coward). And then it happens. One sneeze, then another. We're both covered in rice cereal. Finley laughs and I just sit there...wondering where all this cereal came from. Surely not his little mouth! This is not just from one spoonful. This is...several spoonfuls! He must have stored it in his cheeks...probably waiting for that one moment when he could sneeze it all out onto me!

the crawl

This is "the crawl" as we know it. These were taken earlier today. If he sees something that he wants, he will get it either with this crawl or sliding across the floor. Time to get the gates!

small group

Every Wednesday, I meet with a group of mothers my age with our babies (ranging 6 months to 1-1/2 years in age) and we have a Bible study. It's always interesting to see how far we'll get before the first one cries or someone gets stepped on (Finley). Poor thing can't defend himself or even try to get away. He doesn't realize he can use his new-found crawling for anything other than getting toys. He's a sitting duck for any one to use as a step stool or a handhold. Mattea-9-1/2 months old (Jeramy and Danae) is walking now but sometimes needs something to hang onto. Yesterday a few times it was what little hair Finley has on his head. He would scrunch up his face until someone got her to let go-which if you know a babies grip- is not easy. Toby is walking holding onto things and if Finley happened to be lying on the floor next to the coffee table, he was going to get stepped on.

A few of the mothers were trying to get Finley to crawl forward since they hadn't seen it yet but as soon as they put a toy down for him to crawl to, another baby would come snatch it up. He would get interested and excited in a new toy and start to really move and then it would disappear.

I had to feed Finley some rice cereal at the end of the study. As soon as food of any kind comes out you'd better drop it and run or you will be overrun. We were swarmed by 4 babies...surrounded...all making their noise for wanting the food. Mattea was smarter though. She crawled up in my lap and opened her mouth! =) Finley looked from his left to his right trying to figure out what was going on.

I suggested that we have 1 communal sippy cup since they all use the same one anyway! Why should every mother have to wash, fill and store a new one every Wednesday. Each week, a different mother should supply the sippy cup for that week.

I love my small group. It is our time together, yes to have a Bible study, but also to talk about things that only mothers will talk about...and we are brutally honest. A couple of the girls have had family members die. One girl had a building fire that destroyed many thousands of dollars worth of equipment and tools. Another girl's husband is in the military and sometimes has to be gone for days and sometimes months at a time. In each of these situations, everyone knows who they can go to. When something bad happens, the whole group steps up to makes food, phone calls, and visits. There is nothing like the peace of mind that comes in knowing there are friends that genuinely care and will be proactive in your life! I am so blessed.

sleep...glorious sleep!

Finley slept for 11 hours last night and didn't get up once. He woke up happy...and hungry! I wish I knew what we did differently so that I could do it again tonight...but I have no clue what it could be. It was so nice to sleep all night long. I don't think I woke up once! I did jolt awake though when I realized I hadn't woken up once. Of course, I ran into his room to make sure he was breathing. If you're laughing at me right now, I have 4 friends with babies and they all do the same thing!

A first today is that he went from a crawling position to sitting and then back to crawling. Unfortunately the 'back to crawling' part ended up with him falling a little too far forward and hitting his head on the floor. He's a tough little guy though and doesn't cry for too long. Within a few minutes he was smiling and ready to play again.

Here is Finley standing up holding onto the bed in his room. He is playing with his giraffe. He throws it and tries to get to it. Sometimes he will take a step, but nothing like all the steps he took last Friday.


Finley playing on the floor. He had just gotten up from a nap. He's always in a good mood when he wakes up....unlike someone we all know and love, ahem-Matthew.

sweet, sweet words

We just got home a few minutes ago from our day in town. It is after midnight here.

Matthew was holding Finny a few minutes ago trying to get him ready for bed. They were sitting in the living room and I was in the kitchen "putting away groceries"...actually listening in on their conversation. Matthew started talking to Finley very softly about how proud he was of him for being so good all day and told him a few times that he loved him. I almost melted right then and there. Some of the sweetest words I've ever heard...and they had nothing to do with me.

quilting day at the farm

Today, we spent the day out at the farm making t-shirt quilts for Ryan and Trevor out of their dad's t-shirts (he had hundreds) . We had never made one before so it was hard to know what to expect. A t-shirt quilt is really not like any other quilt and it was quite challenging getting started. In 5 hours we had one 14 x 14 inch block made...which equals 1/10 of a quilt. Each one won't take that long next time because we will have the t-shirts prepped and ready to go, but it was still a lot of work for 1 block! It was well worth it though to be able to make a good memory quilt for the guys. There are only so many shirts that you can keep, but they will have memory quilts that will last for years. The guys have been here all weekend hanging out at the farm and tonight they went to a Sioux hockey game with Matthew, Steve (Matthew's brother), Jim (Matthew's brother) and Jim's son, Justin. They should have a fun and much needed guy's night out.

While the women were in quilting this morning, the men were out working in the blizzard-like conditions feeding. Wind gusts were up to 50 mph and it was snowing and blowing hard. Sounds like Little House on the Prairie, huh? Matthew said that since the wind was coming from the south it was a warm wind....I must have been missing something because there was nothing warm about it.

I went out to the car to start loading up to go and noticed there was 1 less step off the porch. Hmm...wonder where that went. I actually stopped to look. The snow and ice have crept their way up so far that it has covered the bottom step. It is no more...until spring. You know you're from Minnesota when...

Darlene has a toy that plays the Mickey Mouse song. Finley loves this toy and tries to get to it every time it plays. He works himself up into a frenzy sometimes when he hears that toy. Below is a picture and a video taken of him trying to get to it.

our day of fun

Finley sat and played on the floor while I did some cleaning in the kitchen. He sat and scooted around playing with lids throwing them or pushing them away and trying to get them.

He's sitting so good now. I still don't leave him alone while he's sitting, but he is learning how to get back onto his belly from the sitting position.



We just got a package in the mail today from Bama and Paka (Grandma and Grandpa Norberg) with a battery operated horse that walks and then stops and swishes its tail and moves its head up and down. Finley liked it at first when it was far away, but as it got closer he started getting a little scared. He ended up just watching it move all around him...at a distance. Thanks Bama and Paka!

Finely was lying on the bed in his room this morning and slid backwards off the bed and landed on his feet. (I was right there the whole time and was ready to catch him if he fell backwards.) He stood holding onto the bed and then walked about 3/4 of the way across the bed while holding on. This video was taken when Matthew was home for lunch. He stood there, but wouldn't walk anymore. We'll try to get that on video soon.

this little piggy...

Finley has a pig that says the "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme to music and has a baby laughing at the end. He has always been scared of it...crying when he sees it moving and talking, especially at the end where both legs move and the baby laughs with the music. He would kick at it and cry. Well, we were in his room and I decided to give it a try again. He actually liked it this time and tried to get it and hold onto it even when it was moving. Here is a picture and a couple videos of it. He was talking to it and yelling very loudly sometimes.

In this video he starts singing a little (when he puts his head up and looks like he's thinking really hard he is singing).

I think he may have been getting tired of it in this video, but he was still talking to it. It really is a hideous looking pig isn't it. =)

finley's new trick

Finley likes to look out the window standing on the couch. He looks so tiny standing up there. He is trying to stand every chance he gets now. Even when he is trying to crawl, he doesn't use his knees. He gets up onto his feet and hands and takes steps forward.

oh no!

Look at what he can do now! I was sitting on the couch a couple of days ago when Finley started grabbing onto the back of the couch from the bay window. He pull himself up onto his knees and then proceeded to launch himself forward over the back of the couch. Thankfully, I was there to catch him when he went diving head first over it, but it was scary.

First step...pull body up and get on knees. Check.


Second step...count 1, 2, 3 and dive forward to get over the back of the couch. Check.



Third step...rock back and forth until you get enough momentum to launch yourself head first over the couch. Check.

Fourth step...laugh hilariously when mommy catches you and tells you NO!

the stats

Finley had his 6-month checkup today. Dr. Bell seemed pleased with how he is doing. Developmentally, he seems to be right on track or ahead. She saw him almost crawling, trying to push himself up into a standing position, standing while he was holding onto Matthew's hands, smiling, talking, reaching and pulling (her hair). He has always had a little bit of congestion in his nose and a cough. She looked in his ears and throat and listened to his lungs. Everything was clear. So, she thinks he may have a possible allergy...to cats...to Zodie. We aren't sure what we're going to do. After she said that though she pointed to Finley and said that he doesn't look ill and he doesn't look like he's feeling bad. At this point he was up on his feet and hands trying to push himself forward. He really is ahead on wanting to move and if he has been feeling bad he hides it really well seeing how he's so happy all the time. I know, I know....I'm trying to to make it sound better. Anyways, I'll let you know when we know what we're going to do. She said not to do anything drastic though without knowing for sure that it was Zodie causing it. I suppose I could dust a little more often.

Here are the new stats. Head circumference was 47 cm. This is the 40th percentile. Weight was 17 pounds 14 ounces. This is the 50th percentile. Height was 27-3/4 inches. This is the 85th percentile. (This explains why his jeans were getting too short.)

Dr. Bell said that the next food to try should be squash and peas to start 1 at a time for the next couple weeks and then to try to add fruit in maybe a month or two starting with pears and apples. Yeah! I have a reason to buy pears! She also said that 6 to 9 months is the age where they want no one but mommy. This is what I have been dreading for a long time now. He has been so good with strangers and going to anyone in the nursery, but I can already tell that some people just scare him now. He doesn't like one of the waitresses at The Texas Roadhouse, Bob's (Matthew's dad) voice, or Jared Lundeby. Of course Jared started off with his Donald Duck voice. That could scare anyone! =) We also asked Dr. Bell about traveling. Crookston is 20 minutes away, East Grand Forks is 30 minutes away, and Grand Forks is 35 minutes away....and Finley HATES his car seat. This means that I either don't go anywhere alone (more often than not) or I run the risk of listening to Finley scream most of the way to and from town. She said that we could try a mobile...looked for one today but couldn't find one that would work in a car; or get a DVD player and play baby movies only in the car. She also said that in a month or so we could have him re-weighed and if he is close enough to 20 pounds that we could turn his seat to face the front. This 20-pound rule is because babies necks aren't strong enough to hold their heads up in case of a crash. She said he wasn't close enough to 20 pounds today to turn him around. I think that was pretty much all there was to his appointment.

I also had an appointment today and I found out that the pain that I've had in my wrist for about 6 months is tendinitis and it's from holding Finley. =) Dr. Bell says ibuprofen for a week and if it's not better to have a thumb spica brace fitted.

FYI: This is my 100th blog!!! Woohoo!!!

6 months old....and reminiscent

Today Finley is 6 months old. I woke up kind of sad that this first 6 months has gone by so fast. I went back and watched many of his older videos today and looked through some older pictures. Many times I called Matthew in the room to say, "I can't believe he used to be that small" or "look at how much he's changed". I was really in awe of how much had happened in the last 6 months. Matthew and I went from having only us to think about to having this tiny human to consume all of our thoughts all of the time. It is amazing how life changes in a split second. I know, it's cliche. Everyone says that your life will change when you have a baby...and you readily admit that it will, but you don't realize how much it will change...that such a tiny person can mean so much to you immediately.

While looking through the pictures and videos I realized how much he has grown and become who we know as Finley Rye today. I thought I'd highlight some of the fun things that have happened just in the last 6 months.

09/02/2007- Birthday

09/16/2007- First scoot on a blanket

09/19/2007- Laughed in his sleep

09/28/2007- First smile

10/08?/2007- Found his hands

10/15?/2007- Found his tongue

11/08/2007- Played with a rattle for the first time

12/06/2007- Laughed

12/07/2007- Pulled himself up to sitting

12/14/2007- Reached for his pacifier

12/18/2007- Scooted from 1 side of a blanket to the other

12/23/2007- Talked to daddy (more like a conversation)

12/26/2007- Rolled from front to back--I have no idea when he rolled from back to front. I wish I'd written that down.

01/19/2008- Found his feet

01/20/2008- Sat in the tripod position on his own

02/03/2008- First crawl

02/08/2008- Rice cereal

02/10/2008- Dedication

02/18/2008- Reached for me from his crib and then later that day for daddy from his crib

02/18/2008- Carrots (We all know how that went)

02/17/2008- Yelled on purpose repeatedly (In church)

02/23/2008- Squealed on purpose repeatedly

02/24/2008- Cheerios

02/28/2008- First time in the snow

Here are some earlier videos of Finny that you may not have seen as they were taken before my blogging started.

This had to have been around the middle of October when he found his tongue. For a few days he just stuck his tongue out all the time.

The pacifier fell out of Finley's mouth and he was trying to get it back in...with his tongue. I love this video.

This is an earlier video of Matthew playing with Finley on the floor. From the third week, Finley was moving his legs like he was trying to scoot.

This was our first video as a family. This is the nurse showing us how to give Finley a bath and wash his head. Funny, after being pregnant and huge I thought I was so skinny at this time. I can now see that I was not. Thankfully, most of that is gone.

I can't believe 6 months has passed. In some ways it's gone fast and in other ways, it seems like it was a lifetime ago when we didn't have Finley. I can't imaging life now without him. I am so looking forward to the next 6 months...and more!

grandpa....the movie star

"Well hello, Mr. Movie Star!" This is how my conversation with Grandpa started today. I pictured him in sunglasses, lounging in his Lazy Boy chair with his feet up, drinking an iced tea.

For those of you who don't know, Grandpa was interviewed by the History Channel awhile back and is apparently now 'starring' in the 10-week series "Battle 360". At least he was the star in last night's episode. We didn't know what to expect as far as how much airtime they would give him, but he really had a lot to contribute. Pretty much my whole family, except Holly who was home sick, got together at Grandma and Grandpa's house to watch the show. It was an exciting time and being the Southern hostess that she is, Grandma opened up her house to pretty much whoever wanted to come over even though it was going to be a late night.

It was so neat the first time Grandpa started to talk. I could tell it was his voice and I told everyone at the farm, "That's him talking!" How neat to see his picture from when he was in WWII and hear a good portion of his interview.

I am a proud Granddaughter today not just because Grandpa was on TV but because he was a hero then and should be seen as a hero today because he is so willing to tell a story that so many need hear. I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.

So get ready everyone, Grandpa may be walking the red carpet...or may be giving a set of his footprints to Grauman's Chinese Theater!

family play time

Matthew and I like to get on the floor or on the bed and play with Finny. It is usually at the end of the day when we can see something new that he is doing or Matthew and Finley will wrestle around. I usually stand back and watch as this is Matthew's time with Finley. He is so good to spend one-on-one time with him and do the 'boy' things that I don't do. I'm so glad Finley has that time with Matthew.

Finny sucking on his toes

Finley was really tired when we were trying to get him to crawl on our bed, so he doesn't do a whole lot more than just wallow.