what did they say??? a blizzard???

This was the horrifying question I asked while staring at the TV this morning. A blizzard??? In April??? Not just April...but April 25th! We drove back from Grand Forks tonight and had to slow down quite a bit because the roads and visibility were so bad. The wind is howling, there's snow sticking to the windows, and I can just see the tiny buds on the trees shriveling and giving up for the year. Living up north, you'd think I'd be used to this...seeing how I have been here almost 8 years. Nope, never have gotten used to these long winters. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a nice snow and actually the occasional blizzard...around Christmas though...Not April! I find myself thinking, "what crazy person would want to live up here in this?" Then I think..."well I guess I do since I'm here." My youngest sister, Holly came to visit once when it was cold and she had a laundry list of reasons why not to live here. I was talking with her about it and actually thought, "Why do I live here?" Ha! I suppose there are a few reasons like my husband and my son, but definitely not the long winters. Yes, October to April is WAY TOO LONG!

come back aunt deah!

We had an awesome visit with Aunt Deah for a few days. Finny just loved her and I know he is missing her. She took him on walks, played with him, held him while he fell asleep walking, fed him, gave him a bath and changed diapers. She caught on to the games we play and was making him laugh like Matthew and I do. I especially liked 'sneaking up' on her and surprising her. He's supposed to be really quiet when he's 'sneaking', but he usually gives it away with a loud giggle. What a special time they had together! I can't wait for the time when they get to see each other again.

Zodie's back!
Matthew picked Zodie up last night from the house she's been staying at for 2 weeks. We didn't see a change in Finny's allergy symptoms while she was gone, so we got her back. Boy, did Matthew miss her. He was so excited to bring her back home. She acted like she had never left. Finny acted like she had never left too, and the only thing that changed while she was gone was the fact that Finny can actually catch her now...and you know she loves that. *note the sarcasm*

Just as a side note, I am having some pretty huge technical difficulties with my 'new' work computer. It doesn't let me download any pictures or videos right now. This could be a HUGE problem. We're still working on it. When we get it up and running I will catch everyone up with what's been going on. I miss posting pictures and stories every day.

cry baby...x 2

So, when Sarah bought her ticket to come here, she said, "I don't do well with crying". Well, most people would say that since most people don't like to hear a baby cry. Boy, she wasn't kidding! I picked her up from the airport and she got in the back seat with Finny. We were just driving off when she asked how to make him laugh. I told her that I just do something surprising a few times and then he catches on that it's a game and he will laugh. So, Sarah starts saying "Boo" in his face. Well after the second time, he got 'the lip' and the tears started pooling in his eyes. I laughed and told Sarah that he was probably just hungry. Well, a few seconds later, he starts crying and I look in the rear view mirror and see Sarah laughing with me...at least that's what I thought she was doing. We hadn't even gotten out of the airport parking lot and there they both were in the backseat crying together. And I don't mean Sarah just got a sad look on her face. I mean the tears were rolling down her face before they were rolling down Finny's face. I've heard of sympathy, but this goes above and beyond anything that I've ever seen before. She just sat there sobbing saying, "I didn't want to make him cry". The only thing I could think was boy, this is going to be a long 4 days. Turns out, Sarah only cries with babies when they're in the car...whew!

Finny, Aunt Deah, Danae and Mattea at our house Saturday night.


Sarah acting like Finny. I know I'm partial, but I think Finny has a much cuter face here.


More of that cute face. He was so tired after the long day that he fell asleep on our walk and Sarah ended up carrying him home.


Finny sleeping with Aunt Deah at church.


Out to lunch with Amy (John and Katy).

Finny's best friend cont.

Another day full of sun. It was warmer today than it was yesterday. It was perfect. We spent almost the whole afternoon outside. Finny crawled around quite a bit more today than he did yesterday. It was really fun to watch. I would stand in one part of the yard and call Finny, but when he started crawling, the grass messed up his sense of direction and he would started going in a totally different direction. When I would call him again, he would have to turn back toward me. Eventually, he would get to the right place, but he took a lot of detours.


Finny soaking up the sun.


More of the same.


Love, love, love this picture!


For mom. She always requests feet pictures.

Crawling in the grass.

Another picture for mom.

When I was fixing supper, Finny crawled into the lazy Suzanne cabinet and was playing with the appliances in there.

Then he stood up and tried to climb over the bread maker. That's when I had to pull him out.

I have some videos from today to post, but Blogger isn't letting me right now, so I'll post them tomorrow...when Sarah (Aunt Deah) is here! Yay!

grass...finny's new best friend

It was so warm today! All the neighbors were out walking and getting out for really the first time this year! Finny had his first playtime in the grass and he loved it! He even has a cool pair of sunglasses that he likes to wear. We spent the first part of the afternoon in our yard and the later part of the afternoon at the farm with Matthew.

This picture was taken from the back porch. He looks so tiny in the yard.


Finny watching a beet truck drive by.


Playing with a leaf.


Studying the leaf before he tries to eat it.

Picking his nose.

Such a cool baby.

Trying to stand. Sometimes he tries to let go and of course just falls over. He has absolutely no balance yet.

Right before he fell.

Out at the farm with Daddy. The grass there is a little bit pricklier than at home so he sort of tip toed when he crawled.

The perfect picture of my boys. LOVE IT!

Another introduction to the cows.

A very friendly introduction to the cows.

The friendly cow licking Finny's foot.

Check out this bedhead...or should I say cowlick?

A good picture of Finny and I. I think he has a little Elvis lip going on though. =)

Anna and Meg at the farm.

fun videos

Today, we went to town and had lunch with my Bible study group. Finny has a lot of little friends there to play with...if he can keep up. Half the time he is alone because he just sits and watches the older kids playing. He will find toys on his own though and as long as the toys he has aren't too exciting, he's pretty much guaranteed to keep it for awhile. If it makes any kind of noise though he won't have it for long. He can't defend himself yet...much less the toys he's playing with. We had a few highlights of the afternoon. The first was that Finny ate 2 french fries and a tiny piece of a grilled cheese sandwich. I say "ate" but the correct word to use would be "devoured". The second was when Mattea (11 months) tried to feed Finny cheese--which he didn't want and then at the same time Amy (1-1/2 years) tripped while walking toward him and threw water on him. He's so laid back though that he really didn't mind. The last highlight was when I was watching Amy and Finny and for about 30 seconds she kissed Finny. He tried to pull his head back, but wherever Finny's head went, Amy's head went. It was a pretty passionate-looking kiss. I knew we'd have to warn Finny about that kind of girl sometime, but I didn't think it would be this soon. =)

This video was taken when we got home. This is his playpen that I have set up in the living room. He plays in it okay on his own, but it has really helped when I just need to run downstairs for a few minutes to do laundry or something. This is him playing games in it. He likes to play peek-a-boo in it and loves to be tickled through the netting.

These next 2 videos are of Finley saying Dada again. He has started bouncing a little bit when he's talking. I couldn't get him to stop sucking on the step stool though.

Finny can make the funniest faces when he's trying to make noises. He ends up spitting all over the place, but I think it's cute.

no way!

So, I've been having a hard time getting Finny to sleep for a nap and keep him asleep longer than his usual 30 or so minutes. Matthew got home from the farm this morning just in time for Finny's nap at about 9. He didn't seem all that tired but I'm really trying to stick to the schedule, so I decided to give it a try. Except that I wanted Matthew to see what I go through to get him down. So, I handed Finny over to Matthew and said "good luck and have fun". Matthew put him in his crib and walked out. I was at the computer just waiting for the crying to start. Matthew came out and said, "He's already standing up at the fence. I don't think he's ready for a nap." (Matthew calls the crib bars "the fence".) We decided just to see what happened, since it was time for him to have a nap. Finny started making a little noise, but more like playing than crying...I was stunned that the screaming hadn't started! About a minute after Matthew put him down, the noise stopped. NO WAY! I calmly got up and looked in his room. He was lying in the corner of his crib...still...no crying...no shaking the bars...no jumping...just sleeping! I was shocked and a little disappointed if I can be totally honest. Half of my day is spent either psyching myself up for or recovering from the 30, maybe 45 minutes of crying that I have to go through to get Finny to take a nap...and that's when he's actually tired! I was left thinking, "What just happened here?" I still don't know what happened this morning.

This is a video of what Finley does best now. He's always on the move to stand up. Since he needs something to pull himself up with, you can always find him standing with something. It is no longer okay for him to just crawl around. I get dizzy watching him walk around and around the coffee table all day long and there are always 'fun' toys on the coffee table. You can put the brightest toy right in front of his face, but he will crawl across the room to get the gray or black remote.

help!

I'm torn. Torn between putting my foot down and torn between what I think would make Finny happier. This morning he got up at 7, ate and then by 8 he was acting tired again. I put him down for his nap at 8:40...20 minutes earlier than usual. Since he had been acting so tired I was sure he would sleep his full 1-1/2 to 2 hour nap. Nope...not even close. Finny slept for a whole 25 minutes and then was awake and crying. I ended up letting him cry for about 45 minutes (I did go in and check on him periodically). I actually got a video of it, but I'm not posting it. It's too sad. I will, however, use it when I take him to his doctor next Monday to ask her what I am supposed to do about it. I've been told to let him cry it out which I will say most of the time works and he only cries for a few minutes. It's been 2 weeks though since we started that and although we are still better off than before and there are better days than others, we still get days like today where he is not a happy camper. My hope is that sometime soon he will know a schedule that he is happy with. I want a happy child...and I don't think that crying for 45 minutes is making him happy.

So onto nicer things...Finny went out to the farm again and rode in the tractor with daddy. Boy, he loves that! Every time they drove by, he was grinning from ear to ear. One time he was standing in Matthew's lap acting like he was steering the tractor. I'm always amazed that he isn't scared of the loud noises out at the farm...seeing how he can't even stand the blender at our house. =) I usually go with them in the tractor, but today I decided to just give Matthew that special time with Finny "teaching" him how to drive it. It is always touching to see them together.

ohhh, now I get it

Okay, so I'm a little slow. I was in the grocery store the other day and was looking at snacks that babies can eat. I saw some little biter biscuits for babies. They're pretty much sticks of hard crackers that they can hold onto and suck on. I thought, "this would be perfect for traveling" and "why haven't I seen my friends giving their babies these great snacks". Boy, I'm glad I didn't try this in the car like I wanted! Here is Finley eating a biter biscuit. Now I know why my friends didn't give their kids any! I stood back and watched in horror as the sucking created mush that got all over his face, hands, sleeper and his chair. It took him 20 minutes to suck all the mush that he wanted off and then smear it over everything in sight. Ohhh, now I get it!

Finny had a banana today for the first time. I gave him a piece to suck on by himself and he promptly split it in two and shoved both pieces into his mouth. His sucking makes for interesting listening!

what a great husband i have

Last night I went out for a girls night out with 6 of my friends. We went to Applebees and sat for 4 hours just talking and laughing. It was the first time I had done that since having Finny...and I was nervous about leaving Matthew with Finny for so long. I think I stood at the back door of our house ready to leave for about 5 minutes just wondering if I should even go. I felt guilty and anxious. Matthew assured me though that everything would be fine.

I left and only called twice throughout the whole evening! I think I did pretty well considering. I couldn't wait to get home to see how Matthew and Finny were doing. Apparently, Finny didn't cry at all and went right to sleep on his own. I can't even get him to do that! I walked into a quiet house with both of them sleeping and on the coffee table was a note from them. Matthew had helped Finny write "We heart mommy" and they signed it "Finley and Daddy". I sat in the living room and cried. The perfect ending to a great night. What a great husband I have!!!

fun in urgent care

Finley was acting a little sick yesterday while we were in town. He was clingy and fussy, but when I got home I changed his diaper and noticed that he had a 'different' poopy diaper. I called the nurse hot line and they said to take him in. So, we packed up and went. Matthew met us there where Finny had a physical exam and an x-ray to make sure that he hadn't swallowed anything weird. They decided that he was just sick with an upper respiratory infection and that the infection was causing all sorts of different things to happen. It was hard to tell the doctor that he wasn't feeling well though because Finny was smiling and giggling in the room. So, false alarm, but I'm glad I went in anyway just to make sure.

While we were waiting for the nurse to come in and give us our paperwork to go home, I got Finny all ready to go in his car seat and then decided to take some videos while he was so happy and talkative. This first video is pretty much me trying to get him to say Mama and him ignoring me...again.

The second video is of Finny getting more tired sucking on his teether. It was 1-1/2 hours after his bedtime. Earlier in the visit, he would suck on it and then act like he was going to drop it onto the floor. I didn't want anything that he was touching to touch the floor in the ER. Can you imaging all the kinds of dirty things that touch that floor? So, I overreacted the first time he tried to drop it and from then on it was a game of him dangling it over the side and then grabbing it back and laughing hilariously. I love that he plays games now!

finley's bruise

Finley got his first bruise yesterday. He fell while trying to walk with the step stool in the kitchen. He didn't have rubber on his feet so he slipped more easily than usual. You can see the bruise above his left eye right on his eyebrow.

A happier Finny just soaking up the attention.


A video to show you the bruise...and also to show you that he is just fine. =) You can't see it as well as I thought you'd be able to on the video, but when he turns his head toward the camera, you can see that it's a little swollen.

Another video of the bruise. He almost whacks his head again on the camera and then proceeds to hurl himself over the couch...that being the reason the video ended so abruptly.

where have all the pacifiers gone?

Finny woke up after about an hour of his nap this afternoon. I knew he wasn't ready to get up yet because he was crying with his eyes closed. (If he's ready to get up he usually wakes up happy and wide awake.) Anyway, I went in there to help him lie back down and I looked for a pacifier to stick in his mouth. There are usually a couple along the edge of his crib, but there weren't any there this time. This means I had to leave the room...after he had already seen me...and go find a pacifier. Meanwhile, Finny is crying hard. I can't find them anywhere. All 5 pacifiers are missing. I rarely carry them with me anymore because he just doesn't use them all that often. He can fall asleep fine without them...unless he needs a little more help in the middle of a nap...hence my frantic searching. Well, I finally gave up the search and was just going to lie him back down when I saw them...all 5 pacifiers. They were thrown across his room, scattered on the floor. It took me awhile to figure out what had happened. Apparently, when he's upset or mad and trying to go to sleep he throws them out of his crib...this is probably about the time when he is yelling Mama. Have I told you that the ONLY time he says Mama is when he's mad??? Whenever he's happy, it's Dada...but I'm not bitter. Finny is finally back asleep...with the remaining 4 pacifiers in his crib ready to be thrown the next time Mama lies him down for a nap. =)

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.