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.

wal-mart update

Yesterday I called our local Wal-Mart store and left a message with the assistant manager explaining to her what had happened there on Saturday and asked her to thank the two greeters for me. I also wrote an email to Wal-Mart Corporate office and told them about what happened. I just received a phone call from our local Wal-Mart from the manager who said she had received an email from the Corporate office that the two ladies would be recognized and thanked for their great service.

You may think I've made too big a deal about this, but seriously, when was the last time that someone did something this nice for you? I've also asked myself "when was the last time I did something nice like this for someone else"?

farm vehicles

Matthew had so much to do yesterday at the farm. His day started at 6:30 with sorting cows to be butchered. I hear that was really exciting with the cows pushing down fences and getting out constantly. The guys ended up putting the bull in a pen with 100 cows to "keep him happy". Matthew also needed to get more screenings and his Dad ran out of gas in a rental car so Matthew had to take him some gas. I offered to go get the screenings so that he could stay at the farm, but the big, heavy tarp had to go over these screenings since it was such a windy day, and I would never be able to lift it. So, Matthew went to get the screenings, just hoping that the cows would stay in a few hours while he was gone. He got to the elevator, filled the truck with the corn screenings and pulled ahead to put the tarp on. Usually he would put the tarp on while he was in the elevator to be out of the wind, but they were so busy that he had to pull out into the wind. Winds were 20 to 30 mph yesterday. After struggling for 10 minutes in the wind with getting the tarp on, a construction crew who had been watching came over and helped put it on. He had missed lunch so he came home to eat before going back to the farm. He got back in the truck to leave but it wouldn't move. It seems that if the truck is loaded you can't drive through anything deeper than 2 inches of snow. Only 2 tires were in the snow, but it still wouldn't budge. I was in the house and it sounded like an airplane was trying to land on our house every time he would rev the engine try to get the truck to go (told ya it was loud). Apparently, the neighbors all heard it too. The 3 kids next door came out and stood in their driveway watching and waving to Matthew. I'm sure he was thrilled with that! Our neighbor 3 doors down came with his 4-wheel-drive Explorer to offer to pull him out. Our neighbor across the street came over with his Yukon and tried to pull him out. It didn't work. Matthew's Dad ended up having to drive the tractor into town to pull the truck out of the 2 inches of snow. Here are the pictures.

The Yukon would make the truck jolt, but didn't do anything to help move it forward.


The tractor, of course, had no problem at all and pulled the truck right out.

After all of this, he had to take a load of corn stalks to our friend's farm last night at 4. He was supposed to be home by 6:30. He was driving our friend's semi with no heat, no DOT tags, no licenses on either the cab or the trailer and no taillights. He had to take back roads so that he wouldn't get pulled over by the police. He figured if he got caught with all of that, they would just haul him right to jail. He loaded the semi and got to our friend's farm. He was switching to another semi that was totally legal and up to date with tags and licenses but it got stuck when he was trying to pull out. He went to the barn and got the pay loader and pulled the semi out. He parked the pay loader back in the barn (no short walk from the semi) and plugged it back in (so that it would start the next morning). He walked back to the semi but when he went to drive away, it got stuck again. He walked back to the barn, unplugged the pay loader and pulled the semi out again. When he was sure that it would go that time, he drove the pay loader back to the barn, plugged it in and walked back to the semi. He pulled out and turned too wide and got the truck stuck on a turn. He walked back to the barn, unplugged the pay loader and this time called our friend for help. They got the semi out, the pay loader back to the barn and plugged back in. Poor Matthew was so stressed out and exhausted when he got home at 8. Hopefully today will be a better day since he doesn't have to do anything at the farm. He's at the church today sitting in meetings and in a warm office all day. If you ask him though, he'll say that he'd rather be on the farm. Go figure! =)

updating you

Here are a few odd pictures to fill you in and catch you up.

This was probably Finley's favorite 'chair'. When Jonah was on, he liked to pull his wagon into the living room and sit in it. He's stopped doing that now, but it was cute while it lasted.


Here are the little boys in our small group: Toby, Finley and Jamie.


Finley and I in his little cubby.


Daddy and Finley right after he woke up. Mr. Sheep always comes out to the living room with him after waking up in the morning or after a nap.

All of the kids in our small group. This was the first time in a long time that they had all been together. Rachel is on the front left, Finley's head behind the candle on the coffee table, Amy drinking out of the glass, Toby on the riding car, Jamie on the floor and Mattea holding her sippy cup. This will most likely be the last picture of them before the new babies come any day now.

Jonah, Mr. Sheep, milk and hardly any clothes on equals heaven for a 16-month-old little boy.

kudos to wal-mart and my muscle man

On Saturday, we were out of groceries. It had been freezing cold all week with a 6-day streak of subzero temps. It was still -9 with the wind chill, but I HAD to get groceries. So, I packed up Finn and we went to the nearest little town with a Super Wal-Mart. This is a fairly new store that was just opening when Finn was born. I didn't think I would like this Wal-Mart very long because as Wal-Marts go, they don't stay nice for long after opening. This Wal-Mart, however, continues to impress me and it's gotten to the point where I would rather go to this small town to do all of my shopping than going to a bigger city with tons of stores to choose from. We got there and did all of our shopping. The cart was FULL. We checked out and as I was wrapping Finley up getting ready to take him out, the greeter came over to me and asked if I would like to leave him in the cart with her while I go get the car. The thoughts that run through my head a hundred miles an hour are "That's nice of her!", "What nerve to ask for me to leave my kid with this perfect stranger!", "It is freezing outside.", "I'll never get the cart to roll through all that snow in the parking lot!", "What would my mother or mother-in-law say to me leaving him with a total stranger?"....I stood there for awhile pondering her question since you 'just don't know with people now-a-days'. She noticed my hesitation and said, "I would do it if I were you since it's so cold and windy out". I agreed and ran to my car as fast as I could to get back. I'll explain quickly why I did end up agreeing to leave him with her. First of all, she was elderly and looked really tiny and frail. I didn't think she could even pick him up if she wanted to. Secondly, I'm not making fun, but this lady only had 1 arm/hand. I figured she would never have time to unbuckle him from the cart and lift him out in the time that it took for me to get the car and pull up. Yes, all of this ran through my head as I was standing there pondering her question. Anyway, I pulled the car up and to my surprise the greeter had asked another of the employees to help her get the cart out to my car. By the time I got out of my car, they had pushed the cart and Finley to the side of the car that his car seat is on. They told me to "get the baby in the car and out of the cold" while they put my groceries away. So, the two Wal-Mart greeters unloaded a cart full of groceries while I buckled Finley in his car seat. I was so impressed! What a blessing those ladies were to me.

We got home and I unloaded the car. It took 4 trips to get it all in. Finley has really been interested in helping with everyday tasks recently and so I wasn't surprised when he wanted to help with the groceries. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart is also known for over-filling the bags. Each and every bag was heavy and full. I thought, "there's no way he's going to be able to pick these up and hand them to me", which is exactly what he wanted to do. I let him try it though and to my surprise, he handed me first one bag and then another bag half filled with canned goods, a bag of dairy products and 2 gallons of milk! His face was beat red and he was out of breath by the time we finished but he was so happy that he had helped Mommy.

the toy box

There was a box that arrived last week for Finley that was filled with toys. They were toys that didn't fit in our luggage after Christmas. When he saw them all, his face lit up. He didn't waste any time pulling the toys out. He started with the lawn mower that Grandma and Grandpa gave him and then the other toys. When he gets to the Hess truck from Aunt Deah, he starts by pulling out his hospital wrist band from when he was in the ER with his fever. Apparently, those are not pleasant memories. They went back into the box and he started pulling out the little cars from Bama and Paka inside of the Hess truck. He has been able to enjoy his Curious George books from Aunt B (I removed them before he opened the box because I didn't want them to get ripped).

Here are Matthew and Finley playing with the Jack in the Box from Aunt Deah. I think Sarah jumped more than Finley did when Jack jumped out of the box. =) Thank you everyone for all of the fun toys, stuffed animals and books. Aunt Holly gave him a stuffed sheep (Mr. Sheep) and he sleeps with that every night and looks for it when it's not in the crib with him. He has to bring it out to the living room when he gets up and then put it back in his crib when he starts playing.

fun in the snow and jumping

We went out to the farm to play a little bit in the snow a few days after we got home. Finley got a sled that he can be buckled into from Meg (his 2-year-old cousin) so we wanted to try it out. I wouldn't say it was the most enjoyable time in the snow that Matthew and I have ever had, but it was our first time playing in the snow as a family so it was special. We had to go into the house every 5 minutes or so and take off Finley's mittens to make sure his hands were staying warm. He did surprisingly well for not liking to be bundled up and he stayed warm for about 30 minutes total.

A family picture of our first time playing in the snow together.


Matthew buckling him in for a ride.


I was really happy he kept his mittens on.

The wall of snow next to the sidewalk.

Mommy and Finn trying to walk over the drifts.

It took him awhile to get the hang of walking in the snow, but he got it.

Cute little boot prints in the snow.

Here is Finley trying to jump. Yesterday, he jumped for the very first time down a little step. I was so proud of him. He's been working hard on that for quite some time.

Here is Finley walking through the snow until he sees the tractor in the Quonset. He got so excited. This was the first time he'd seen it since we had been back.

For those of you who read an earlier post about me driving a grain truck, here it is in all it's glory. The hood is up...wonder what's wrong with it now...=)

Finley walking through the snow again. I like Finley swipes his hand through the snow.

december 31

The morning we left. Wow, what a day that was. We always get mixed up with what airline we are flying on and are wrong every time! Our ticket confirmation says "flying United Airlines operated by US airways or vise versa. We always pick the wrong one. We got to the airport and stood in the United line for about 20 minutes before we got to the front and heard that we were in the wrong line. We had to wait another 30 or so minutes in the US Airways line. When we got to the front we were stressed out and then got the news that it was delayed coming from Chicago. The ticket agent said, "Don't worry, though, it's not a weather problem in Chicago, it's mechanical work being done on the plane." Is that supposed to make us feel better? Our plane is having mechanical issues, but the weather is great in Chicago! Thanks a lot lady!

We knew we were going to be there for awhile, so Matthew and I took turns walking Finley, and yes, that's his leash in the pictures below. I've said before that I would NEVER get my child a leash, but when you think about all the people in a huge airport and such a little guy, it's pretty scary. I didn't even care if people looked at us like we were horrible parents (which I didn't see). I knew it was the safest thing for Finley. He even had a homemade identification card inside the back pocket that had his name, our names and our cell phone numbers on it just in case. He ended up doing okay with the delay. He learned to show off a little. He would stand on one foot and then fall over for anyone who would watch...and many people did. He would stand up and clap for himself sometimes and then do it all over again. We also had some of his toys and books with us so we made our own little play area for him. Our plane left almost 2 hours late and we boarded hoping that the mechanical issue was fixed. It was a full plane which was scary. I wondered if everyone was too heavy now for this already broken plane. I now have some very strong opinions about whoever made the changing stations in the airplane bathrooms. They should be made to change a 16 month old in there. It was made for more of a newborn to maybe 3 month old. Whenever Finley would straighten his legs, his head was slide over the edge and hang down toward the toilet. Whenever he would push against the wall with his hands he would end up practically standing in the toilet.

We made it to Chicago 4 minutes after our connecting flight was supposed to leave. We stopped and checked the gate number when we got off the plane and noticed that this just happened to be the gate that we were supposed to fly out of 4 minutes ago and that that plane was late. Of course that plane was our plane...the one with mechanical issues....GREAT! It was a huge blessing to be at the same gate though, especially in Chicago. That never happens and we actually had time to get some lunch and walk around a little with Finley before we again boarded the broken plane. We ended up being 3 out of the 30 or so people on the plane (maybe it will run better if there aren't nearly as many people?) and we had the whole back third of the plane to ourselves. They also offered free drinks since it was New Year's Eve. They were a very nice crew and just what we needed after our long and stressful day. We turned on Jonah for Finley and Matthew and I watched The Office which was being shown on the plane.

We got back to Minneapolis in cold weather and a frozen car. We had to leave it running because it would freeze up when we shut it off. It ran for 2 hours while we were in Target and in Denny's trying to tire Finley out for the ride home. Our plan worked. The car ran great and Finley slept all the way back and had plenty of energy at 11:30 p.m. when we got home to play with all of his toys and look at his books which apparently he missed terribly. We unpacked the car and then settled in to watch the ball drop in NYC. We were able to sleep in the next day and went out to the farm for New Year's Day. We found out that Darlene (Matthew's mom) had stayed up until 11:45 to watch the ball drop but then was too tired so she went to bed. =)

Here he is 'riding' the airport seats. He thought they had made that just for little boys to ride on like horses.

december 30

Our last day in Charlotte, Becky and Chloe came over for the day and we had a little photo shoot with the kids in their camouflage outfits. Don't they look so cute together?

I love this picture.

I like how their bodies are practically identical in this picture.

"Baby"

Grooming her for the pictures.

Later that night when everyone was over. Like I said, a little Becky.

Holly, Dad and I.

Aunt Deah and Chloe.

Finley and Grandpa. He really does love riding on his shoulders. He was a little cranky and tired this night.

Aunt Deah and Finley.

The sweet couple. Everyone else got couple/family pictures together, but Sumner and John weren't there, so Sarah and Holly were a couple for the night. It really is a great picture of both of them.

Jason, Becky, Chloe and Matthew. Wrong family, Matthew! He's even smiling for their picture!

There we go. Now he's with the right group of people!

I like how Mom and Dad worked themselves into this picture! I think Dad is actually smiling and posing in the mirror. =)

The sisters.

december 28

The day we left the beach and went back to Charlotte. Mom, Sarah, Matthew, Finley and I stayed at the beach an extra day to take advantage of the "nice" weather that we were supposed to have on Saturday. Unfortunately, the nice weather came a day late. Saturday was chilly and so foggy that at times we couldn't even see the water from the house. We ended up staying inside most of the day. Sunday was nice and over 70 degrees though so we took Finley out in the morning to play on the beach for the last time until May. Again, he loved it. He really got tired out for the trip home.

Here he is sitting on the bed waiting to leave.


Finley playing on the beach before we left. When we were finished on the beach he had to have a bath because of the sticky sand on him. Sarah and Matthew stayed up at the house and were cleaning so it was quite a job getting him from the door to the bathroom without getting sand all over. I stripped him down to his diaper at the back door, but sand was still falling out of his diaper as we walked through the house.


Finley was so tired when we left. I was trying to keep him awake until after he ate so that he would sleep better. He ended up falling asleep while eating and I had to fish the french fry out of his mouth so that he wouldn't choke on it. Here he is snoring.

december 26

After Christmas shopping day. Grandma, Mom, Sarah and I went to the Tanger Outlet Mall for a good portion of the day. We found some good deals and Sarah came home with a halloween bear outfit for Finn. Here he is modeling it.


Yesterday when Dad was helping throw Sumner in the ocean, he either kicked Sumner or the beach and sprained his foot pretty badly. It swelled up and turned all sorts of colors and he was limping for days afterwards. Here he is griping and complaining about it. =)


More of Finley the bear.

december 25

Christmas Day. We had never spent Christmas Day at the beach so it was a little weird, but stress free. No worrying about food or gifts or schedules, just a day to relax. The weather was beautiful. Matthew and I went on a long walk while Finley took his nap. We wore short sleeves and could have worn shorts and sandals if we had brought them. It was different hearing "Merry Christmas!" as we walked on the beach, but it was nice. There were also people handing out candy canes to everyone.

This may be one of my favorite pictures of Grandma. It fits her personality to a 'T'. Grandma didn't pose for this picture or even know that I was taking it. This is Grandma lounging. She's regal even when she's just relaxing.


After Finn woke up from his nap, Everyone took him down to the beach to play while the weather was so nice. Aunt Holly got him this Carolina Panther's jersey for Christmas.


Loving the ocean.


Grandma putting his sandals on.

Mom and Grandpa playing cribbage out on the deck.

Playing with his Hess truck from Aunt Deah on the deck.

Playing with the sand.

Watching TV (probably VeggieTales) with Sumner.

Sumner holding Finley's foot. I think this is a cute picture.

Sumner's initiation into the family. The guys all threw him into the freezing cold Atlantic Ocean. From the looks of it Dad got reinitiated. =)

Sitting on Grandpa's shoulders.

Playing in the sand and water.

Sarah and Matthew playing Settlers of Catan.

Finley on the beach. Again, the pictures are all out of order.

Sarah took these black and whites (and actually most of the pictures this whole day). I love them!

Such a sweet picture of Grandma cleaning the sand off of Grandpa's shoes.

It says "Finley's 1st beach trip".

Bama and Finley.

Grandma and Grandpa.

Matthew and Finn watching the waves come in. Finley was scared of the waves most of the time we were there, but by the last day, he was getting more bold about the water. Good thing we left when we did. It's a little scary looking out at the big ocean and then looking at such a little boy. I'm glad he was scared of it most of the trip.

Grandpa, Dad and Matthew welcoming Sumner to the family. I can't believe the fight he put up. He was good natured about it though and even smile for the picture afterwards.