Wordless Wednesday

(taken with my iphone)

New Kicks

Nate is constantly wearing out his running shoes so I take full advantage of a website called www.joesnewbalanceoutlet.com to pick up running shoes for him when they are at a good price. He also takes a size not commonly found in the stores (the 2E width-not too wide but a little extra room). I had just ordered him 2 pairs a few weeks ago but couldn't resist another order when I found a pair for 35 bucks... ok, and I found a pair that I thought I would like to have also. To seal the deal Finley had to have a pair too (for later in the fall). I think I got all three pairs for around 80 bucks and free shipping. Now that's a steal! The box arrived yesterday, a giant mood booster by the way- to get shoes in the mail. Apparently we are a New Balance family. I wanted to add that yes, today is one of those days when I should be cleaning something or working on something when my child is napping but instead I found the need to photograph our new shoes... I say whatever gets me through my days...





A little over-the-top? Maybe?

Aren't Finley's little brown shoes cute? And they have Wide widths for children- for Finley's little "Fred Flintstone" feet.

Splish Splash

Finley woke up feeling better this morning so I decided to take advantage of the early afternoon sun and fill up his baby pool for some splashing. It was pretty warm out today but VERY humid so a perfect afternoon to play around in the pool. He also ran around the yard a bunch as I watered and checked out my plants and flowers.

The Beauty of Summer

See Ya Later...

It's Bright!

I can reach Howie

Weekend Activities...

In an attempt to get out of the house and try to make the best out of a somewhat icky situation, my friend Erin and I decided to take our kids and meet at the Farmer's Market yesterday morning. Her daughter Lauren was suffering from a cold and since Finley had a mystery virus we decided that since we'd be in open air it would be ok to take the kids out and also have an opportunity to buy some fresh produce, yummy baked goods and also catch up with each other. Actually Finley and Lauren seemed to quite enjoy their time spent in the strollers walking around in the fresh air and also when we let them play on the lawn of the capitol. They even enjoyed a treat of spicy cheese bread and pastries. Umm, the only bad part was that of course they managed to drink from each other's sippy cups... bummer. We can just hope one virus cancels the next right??
Here are a bunch of pictures from the capital lawn

A little too short yet buddy...

Erin and Lauren

Me trying to capture some of the Capitol in the picture...

These are not our strollers but Finley was obsessed with their balloons

Perspective... little boy, BIG building

Lauren making an escape.

The kids

After we got home playing with his balloon (that Erin and I went to great lengths to get from Capitol Kids toy store)

Balloons make sick little boys feel much better!


On Saturday evening my sister came over and Finley, her and myself made a quick trip to Woodmans for some groceries and picked up Noodles and Company for dinner. Finley enjoyed his Penne Marinara (although it made a second appearance later that night).

Today was a crazy yet lazy day. Finley did not feel well at all in the morning after his bad night. We just cuddled until he took a long nap and I got much needed chores done. Later Grandma Patti and Grandpa Greg came for a quick visit and we all headed to the Coyle Carpet/Tile store (more on that later, big things are coming for my living room). Finley and I had a nice walk after his dinner and long bath. He actually settled down nicely after a very fussy/crabby day. I am sorry to report that Finley is still sick as I type this but so far tonight is proving to be a little better than last night...long story but it involves a rash, vomit and very little sleep. My poor kid. If his is still not feeling better in the morning I will be making another call to the Doctor.

Another Summer Virus!!

Well, another summer virus appears to have gotten my child. Yesterday when my Mom and Dad were down for a visit we ended up having to take Finley in to see the Doc as he was extremely fussy, lethargic and running 102 degree fever. Per the Dr. his throat was red and probably sore but no ear infection was present (which is what I suspected?). Another summer virus! I feel like we just got over the last cold/virus merely weeks ago to now start all over again! I am getting tired of sickness all around. What is up with this year? I can't recall another year where everyone I know, including us, has been sick so often? Oh well. Guess there is not much we can do but nurse back to health. As for Mr. Finley, he was still feverish today and I had our babysitter scheduled so I could get some errands done. Finley ended napping almost the entire time she stayed with him- lucky girl. Being sick doesn't seem to be disrupting his nighttime sleep ritual of 12 hours too much so that is good. During the day he does not feel like walking or playing much and just wants to cuddle. I am good with the cuddling as I know there will be a day when my baby boy no longer needs his mommy to feel better :( . I hate seeing him sick though and it's like having an entirely different kid!! We can only hope he is back to his normal, healthy, crazy self soon! Feel better Finners!
ps- I just checked on him in his crib and he is all covered up by his blankie. It looks like he tucked himself in. So sweet.

A Birthday Playdate

Yesterday Finley's friend Anna turned 1! We attended a little BBQ party for her on Sunday but knew that we would be have a special birthday play date with her on her birthday. There was one other little girl there who is a few months older named Kate. The three kids played really well and us three mom's chatted over lunch and birthday cake (ok, really we scarfed our food while feeding our kids and then chased them all over the house and out of kitchen cabinets, lol). But it was fun none the less. Happy Birthday to Anna!!

Wordless Wednesday

Suck It Up

Finley is just in love with his toy vacuum. It sings songs as well as makes "vacuum noises". He plays with it so much and now really walks around making passes with it just like mommy does with the big vacuum. Some days I really wish it would suck up the dog hair. He is quite the little copy cat these days and this is just one of the many things he sees me doing that he has to do as well.

Garden Update

The garden is doing awesome. They only thing, sadly, that didn't make it was my spinach but everything else is doing well. So far I have only harvested some green beans and a green pepper. Finley and I enjoyed the green beans for dinner on Saturday. I can't wait for more to be ready. Also my tomatoes are crazy big but so far no ripe ones. Any day now. The pumpkins and mystery squashs are all doing really well and I am super excited for all the flowers they have. I want pumpkins and gourds for the fall!!

I took a few pictures of my flowers as they looked so pretty.

Fruits (errr veggies?) of our labor

See more green beans?

These were just so cute

All the pumpkin flowers

Red Lilly

Yellow Lily

Cherry and Grape tomatoes going crazy

The Roma's are also doing great

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Nate turns the big 29 today. Though he won't be able to celebrate much in Iraq we are here thinking of him in celebration of his birthday.


Happy Birthday Babe!! Hope you have a great day. We miss you and love you so much!!

Zonked

This is what effect lunch at Zu Zu Cafe, a stroll around the Zoo, swinging in the park for a bit and a ride home has on kids....

11 Month Pictures of Finley

Our neighbor, Matt (Lisa's husband, Anna's daddy) has a really nice professional camera and dabbles in photography. He took some pictures of Finley the other day outside their house. I think they look pretty darn good. Perhaps after Finley's 12 month photo shoot I will just have Matt take pictures of Finley here and there as he does a nice job.

The string of drool in this one is clearly not anything Matt could change (LOL)

Just Ducky

Finley got a new bath towel.



Today we had a busy day! We picked up and organized the house more this morning and Finley took a nice nap so I could get some much needed cleaning done. We visited with our neighbor, Brenda for a bit around lunch time when she stopped by and after lunch Mary and Izzy came over for a play date for a couple hours and the kids had lots of fun playing with our many toys.(bummed I forgot to get some pictures!) Finley was worn out from his busy day and took another nap this after noon till after 6 pm!! I used that time to relax and actually read one of my magazines and took a quick nap myself. Our neighbor Lisa stopped by to pick something up this evening and peeked in to say hello and since Finley had such a late nap he was still up to see her for minute. Just a good day with lots of visitors! We always like these kind of days.

11 Months Old!

I can hardly believe Finley is 11 months old (I know I say they same thing each month but it's true). I recall being pregnant this time last year eagerly anticipating his arrival as my due date grew closer... and now he's a rough and tumble 11 month old with a lot of spirit (an understatement). Finley in his 11 months is doing fantastic as usual, aside from the temper tantrums I guess?? He is pretty much running around like a crazy man lately and has proven to walk in shoes (which we were having trouble with). He decided to ham it up today for the camera and I was able to catch photos of him this morning in his pajamas as well as this evening before bed. I did get a "chair" photo but he was taking his bottle for it. Since the big 1 is near I won't give a long list of his milestones this time. I will say his all time favorite activity these days is stealing the toilet paper out of the bathroom and literally stringing it around the whole house!! I have to be extra vigilant about keeping it up or it's yet another roll destroyed. Also his favorite food right now are raspberries and he could literally eat a pint if I let him. I love watching our little guy grow up and learn about his world and lately it's been cooler than ever seeing what he discovers and realizing how much he understands and can communicate. Nate and I think the world of our little "bug". Happy 11 months Finley!!

What a goofy kid! So cute.

I just love these pj's



Finley and his Vacuum

11 months chair photo

Just a Little Boy in a Yellow Romper

With a big ATTITUDE. People, he looks sweet and innocent but ask the staff at Walmart SuperCenter today and they might tell you otherwise! I really dread taking Finley to places like Walmart and Target as he seems to just become this little monster. I think its the high ceilings and lighting or something. I was on a quest to get some organizational stuff for the house (after the garage sale I kind of have an organizing bug) anyway, our trip was cut short today. For some reason Finley did fine taking a package to the post office and also for a quick trip into Farm and Fleet but Walmart must have been his boiling point. How dare I take my child on 3 errands?
He was making a fuss in the cart so I decided to try letting him down to walk around a bit or just play in the isle I was in. Big mistake. He proved to me that he could in fact walk in those new Nike sandals from Grandma Patti. Actually, he could push the big shopping cart in those sandals and if you corrected him from pushing the cart into anything he freaked out!! At one point he fell down so I was helping him back up and he thought that I was trying to stop him from pushing the cart and he threw himself onto the floor slamming his fists down and kicking his feet!! Total tantrum!! A Walmart employee actually came over and asked if everything was alright? Yeah lady, it's just peachy. As my almost 11 month old is on the floor screaming his lungs out and the sound is echoing through the place. My bad mom move was that I could not help but laugh at Finley because the drama he was exhibiting was just too much. He HATES it when I laugh and he is upset. I just couldn't help finding the whole situation somewhat hilarious. Boy, if this is 11 months what will 2 be like?? Nate? When you come home bring an extra dose of patience and humility...you're gonna need it!

Sidenote: Just so everyone knows Finley still weighs less than that cat. Yeah, the Coop man still has at least a pound on Finley. Sad but true. We know he's big, but if you have ever tried dieting a cat (in a multi-cat household) you'd know it's hard. And if Coopers food is gone he will just eat the dog food. No big deal for him. We are working on it.