To Daddy From Mommy

Finley found my mailing labels for Nate's packages today...
The picture is kind of crappy since I took it with my phone and right after Finley got cranky for his nap...

The Fountain Bandit Strikes Again

Wordless Wednesday

Library Fun

Today turned out to be another beautiful day so we took advantage of the nice weather. This afternoon we walked down to the library and park with Lisa and Anna. Finley enjoyed running around at the park and checking out other kids...I forgot to snap some pics of that but I did get a few of him playing with his favorite things at the library. We also enjoyed some time in the back yard as well. The dwindling warm days are so nice.

The much loved Lego table...he has stolen trains from the train table to use on the lego table...

He just loves the lego car base...really its all he does at the table is make car sounds and push the car?


Picking up bricks that are probably too heavy for him?

What Mom? I am playing?


Oh and I found Finley some "Truck" videos at the library. I am hoping that he may like to watch them for longer than the usual 5-10 minutes of his Sesame Street viewing so that I may get a few things done.. especially since they may be calling for rain all day tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed.

Crazy Busyness

I know I haven't posted for a week! It's one thing to not be able to post and another to be just too darn busy to post! This last week was one of those busy weeks for us. Stay tuned with me as I will be back-posting about all the things that we did as well as moving forward with posts! It's catch up time! You can look forward to Finley turning 13 months, a trip up North to Grandma and Grandpas, massive teething and stranger-anxiety!! Oh Boy... we have a lot going on!!

Tonight we just got home from a trip to Nate's parents house. Greg did some maintenance on my Highlander for me (thanks!), we had dinner with everyone and then got the grand opportunity to drive home after dark in the MONSOON that it is tonight. Okay, maybe a little dramatic but it seriously hasn't rained here in like 3 weeks so the fact that's its been steadily pouring for hours makes it a monsoon. Add that to trying to see on the interstate...I am glad to be home.

Trip to Grandma and Grandpa's

Finley and I headed to my mom and dad's house for a couple of days. We went up to Minocqua to an animal park that was part zoo and part wildlife reserve for lack of better explanation. Finley had fun seeing and petting the diverse population of animals they had there. He also enjoyed running around as much as possible and got his first skinned knee (minor, just a scratch really).
We finished up the day with a nice dinner and headed home. The rest of the time at my mom's I failed to snap any pictures but you can be damn sure Grandma and Grandpa have plenty on their camera :)
The rest of the trip was pretty much just hanging out. My mom and I took Finley out shopping a little on Wednesday where at Target he tried to stash a tricycle in a box into the bottom of our cart- yes, the box was bigger than him. I am telling you, he is one strong boy!
Finley mastered the art of climbing stairs too. My parents have carpeted stairs... all we have at home are the basement stairs so Finley hasn't really had the opportunity to climb them. It took about 3 minutes for him to learn the up part and he still thinks you should get back down by just jumping...ahhhhh.
The only bummer about our little trip was that Finley did not sleep well at all. I have no idea why but the second and third nights he woke up screaming and was inconsolable unless I held him. This also meant not going back to sleep unless it was with me in the bed! This was the first time (since he was a tiny baby) that he has shared a bed with me and I do not intend to make this a habit! He also decided he did not want to take naps which made for an overtired cranky kid at times! I know it was just getting used to a new place and sleeping somewhere different than he's used to. When he was smaller he really did not know the difference sleeping somewhere new but now that he's very aware of everything I think it makes a huge difference.
Anyway, Finley and I had a good time "getting" away for a few days but getting back home is always refreshing too. It's where we are most comfortable and where our everyday life keeps on chugging...

13 Months!

Seems like his just turned 12 months? My how time flies. The toddler thing is good for Finley for the most part. He just runs around like a crazy man most of the day. He must be entertained though at all times or he is NOT happy. Boredom comes with a hefty price for Mom....basically whining and dragging on me?? I can say I am not getting a lot done these days save for entertaining Finley.
Finley also got a new chair with some Target gift cards he got for his Birthday (Thank you Mary and Izzy and Nanny and Pappy). I guess maybe I will try to take a picture of him in this chair every month though I missed a chair photo for 12 months? Oops?
His love is trucks (drucks), and cars. Anything with a picture of a truck or other vehicle is super exciting to him. I lost count of how many truck books we now own. Every once in awhile he will branch out and look a book containing something other than trucks... oh boy.
He has been talking more and more though chooses to be quiet or just grunt, ooh, ahh or scream for the most part. Words he can say are Truck, Car, Up, Opsec, Ella, Kitty, Baba (bottle), Mama (rare), Daddy (not really dada its more daddy? don't know why), Bye Bye, and of course making Vroom Vroom noises for the cars and trucks...
At this point he understands pretty much everything. If you say no no he shakes his head no no. He doesn't say no but I expect that to come soon. He knows to hand me things he's not supposed to have, he comes when he is called (most of the time), he knows what things will get my attention.. fast.., he knows how to play with his dogs and give them things, he imitates pretty much everything I do. He also understands many more words than he can say. He can bring you things if you ask.
He has taken to a security blanket... or 20. In a pinch pretty much any blanket or piece of cloth will do. He has a few special "woobies" (ask someone in the Army if you don't get why we call it that). His preference is something that is both soft and fuzzy and silky. He has 4 of these types of blankies and 2 blankets with heads (you know what I am talking about- a doggie and a bear) that are more special than anything else.
He continues to eat a great variety of foods but has days where he eats hardly anything at all and just wants "babas". That which I am having trouble eliminating. He is still on half formula/half whole milk bottles but I am working towards all milk by a week or two. Currently he takes at least 3 bottles a day still (morning, afternoon and night). Some days it's more (I know I know). The only other thing he drinks is water. He still hates juice.
Well, that is Finley in a nutshell. I am sure I could type all day and night about my crazy little man! He is such a funny, adorable, active little boy and I love being his mom, despite those hard days. I just can't wait for Nate to come home and start experiencing all the fun and love Finley has to offer (and vice versa).

Last Days of Summer

All week long we have had gorgeous weather topping near 80 degrees everyday. A bit unseasonal but since we had such a cool summer its like a little extension of some of what we missed. Though I look forward to Autumn (I LOVE perfectly crisp fall days!!) Finley and I have been taking all that we can from the sun and warmth. This week we did A LOT of this...







We also enjoyed our nightly walks (with Lisa and Anna) taking them into the last minutes of the evening as it starts to get dark again earlier and earlier.
We capped the beautiful summery week off with a trip to the Farmer's Market yesterday. It will probably be the last time we go this year. We joined Erin and Lauren again for a few strolls around the square, some yummy baked goods and fresh produce (I picked up a yellow watermelon for us-interesting. We have never had one before).
Here's to the last days of summer!

Wordless Wednesday

Should Have Named Him Dexter

What you are seeing is just so WRONG on so many different levels....

Today while I was cleaning out our living room cabinets Finley found this Army guy toy that crawls via battery. For some reason we have had this guy since college. He was a joke gift to Nate I think...anyway... I admit anything that was keeping Finley busy was good enough for me as I tried to accomplish my organizing. He was enthralled with this dude and after I wasn't paying attention for a few minutes he came back over to me and gave me this:




I was mortified.
Don't worry though. He is all better and ready for action. (poor dude's been through hell though)



Seriously? Gotta watch every move this kid makes! Geez.

No Internet!!

You might as well have cut my right arm off for the last 4 days. I have been without internet for that long. It caused me great anxiety and suffering. Okay, that may be a little over-the-top dramatic... but....
I couldn't email with ease or Skype or IM with Nate...and I couldn't blog.

I am also a "Google" girl. When I need to know something, I need to know it that instant and that's where Google comes in. Whether its checking to see store hours, a phone number etc... presto...
Google comes through. It's been a rough 4 days.

Thank goodness for my iPhone as I did have that to rely on for emergencies but it truly gets old typing on the tiny keypad and reading the little screen. It was worth it to email Nate but other than that I don't bother unless I am out and about and need knowledge fast... you get it.

Turns out a freak turn of events including a power outage here (damn City of Madison workers digging in my neighborhood), and a wireless Router which was WAY in need of some updates caused my problem. And if you knew our house and where my husband (and all his blessed computer knowledge) has rigged our modem and router you'd know why I couldn't just plug it in and go wired...its way up high (step ladder needed) in the basement to not only run up to the office but used to accommodate running TV (via a computer) on a projector down in the basement for our workout equipment....I know. It's all very complicated. It's life at our house. Greg came up to fix it today... thankyoumuch.

Anyway. We are back.

My Neighbors Rock!

My neighbors Brenda and Yvonne got me these beautiful flowers for my birthday yesterday!! Seriously, how sweet is that? Since I was in Janesville all day and did not get home until after 9 pm I was not able to get them till last night when I stopped over at their house. They are just awesome! Thank you so much... you really made my day special!

Being 29...

Today was my 29th Birthday....
I got to renew my driver's license (in the nick of time- it expired today). After Finley's morning nap and lunch we headed down to Janesville. Patti watched Finley for me for a bit so I could renew my license and run some errands. Heather and I also ran to a shoe store in town in search of some new shoes but weren't lucky to find anything we had to have. We had pizza for dinner and they got me my favorite- carrot cake.
Just a mostly normal day with a little bit of extra fun and time with family. Perfect as I am not a person that likes to make a big fuss about my birthday. Everyone (including my husband) gave me "Spa" money for my birthday so that is cool. Looking forward to putting that to good use.
I am tired now and getting ready to head to bed. My little Finley is also pooped after playing with his cousins and having fun with Grandma and Grandpa.
Another year older... hopefully wiser. I can wish?

Finley's 12 Month Check Up

Today we had Finley's 12 month check up. All is good besides a little bout (his first) of diaper rash that he just developed yesterday . His weight was 22.7lbs (40%), 30.5 inches tall (66%) and 46.5 cm head circumference (50%). He received only 2 vaccines today (the max I will allow him to receive at a time). We will be going back over the next few weeks for 3 more. He also had to have his finger pricked for the lead test and to test for anemia. Poor guy. He was champ with the shots but that needle prick of his finger was it. I really did not care how loud he screamed and was not apologetic to the rest of the people waiting in the lab. My poor kid was poked and prodded and squeezed blood from. He could scream as loud as he wanted. I don't know why the needle for the finger had to be spring loaded and practically hydrolic? I was just glad to be done and get the heck out of the clinic. Enough for one day! Finley fell asleep on our 10 minute drive home- too much excitement and screaming I guess. I am glad he is well and know that the pokes and prods are necessary evils but I can still hate it right?