Today Finley turned the big ONE!!! Wow, the last year has gone by fast if I may say so myself. Kids grow up so fast you can't blink!! I am only going to do a quick post since I am tired and still getting ready for tomorrow's festivities. I want to post some of his newborn pictures and do a little comparison and of course, have to get the 12 month chair photo! I will work on all my posting goals after the Party tomorrow!! We had pizza for dinner (a Finley favorite) and also I had gotten him a little cheesecake for today. To be honest he ate one raspberry off of it and only wanted to pick the whole thing up and throw in on the ground for the dogs. No interest in the cake what-so-ever other than throwing it? Needless to say we ended up taking his cake before we had a massive cheesecake mess on the floor and gave him a smaller piece which he then did feed to the dogs. We will see what tomorrow is like as he has a true smash-cake? I took a few pictures today and overall Finley was in kind of a serious mood most of the day? Maybe he is at odds with turning a year old and becoming a toddler? Ha? All in all Finley is a healthy, fun, funny, crazy, lovable, and sweet little boy (with the occasional tantrum!). Happy Birthday Finley! Mommy and Daddy LOVE you so much!!
We had a playdate with Mary and Isabel today. Though Finley and Izzy are over 6 months apart in age they are both interested in one another. Izzy also likes to check out all the different toys and Finley just enjoys having company over (someone other than boring old mommy). Finley can be overzealous though and we have to be careful he doesn't bop Izzy on the head too much... he plays rough with our dogs and cats so he thinks he can play like that with everyone. I am really working on "be gentle" and "be nice" but they only go so far? I just took a couple pictures today but they turned out cute. (Mary - you can steal them for your blog too!).
Mary, Isabel and Finley Finley the sippy cup thief... the yellow one is Izzy's... his is the red one.
Sidenote: I don't really know why I haven't been blogging this past week? Just not a lot of excitement- that's a good thing!! We have just been living and keeping as busy as we can. I think also because I have been busy planning a little party for Finley's upcoming big birthday (FRIDAY!). I am sure I will pick up with the posts here...
On Wednesday my sister Tina (from the UK) my nephew Gareth and niece Megan all came for a visit to Madison to hang out with Finley and I and my sister Chris. They have been over here on vacation staying with my parents. Tina is my dad's daughter from a previous marriage. We don't see each other often at all due to the distance and I just met Megan for the first time. The last time they all came for a visit Megan hadn't even been born yet and Gareth was just a little boy (so were his two brothers, my other nephews who did not make this trip). Gareth was here last summer so we had seen him about a year ago. It was nice to catch up and visit though too short of a time. We decided on going to the Zoo and had a good time seeing all there is to see. All of the exhibits were actually open which was nice. Megan and Finley and I all went on the Carousel and Finley was terrified to sit on his Cheetah. I just stood and held him. After our Zoo trip we headed to lunch and a little shopping. All in all it was a fun day and I wish we lived closer (not across the Atlantic) so that we could spend more fun days together. I think a trip to the UK may be in our future!!
Tina, Megan and Gareth at lunch Being silly. Tina, Megan and my mom Group Picture in the Best Buy parking lot... hence the Kohls behind us and Finley being pretty much done for the day Gareth feeding the goats Tina and Megan (and Tapirs I think?) Gareth and Dad
Well, we just got back from the Emergency Vet at 10:00pm tonight. Howie basically ripped his dew claw off (being stupid in the backyard jumping at the fence). It was severed in half and hanging - graphic and gross I know. He was in a lot of pain and bleeding. I figured to avoid him fully ripping it off later tonight (and more blood) I would just take him to the near by Emergency Vet clinic and get him fixed up. My sister came to help and since it was only 8:30 pm by the time we could go we just took Finley thinking the appointment wasn't going to take that long. Finley wasn't acting very tired anyway with all the excitement. Finley was CRAZY at the clinic. What fun. They were pretty efficient as they did have other patients too. Howie had to have local anesthetic and have the nail removed. He cried so loud when they did the procedure we could hear him in the waiting room. Poor guy. He was also given an antibiotic shot to ward off infection. He got a pretty red bandage and a lovely cone collar thing which he is not tolerating but he must not gnaw on his bandage. He should be okay in a few days to remove the bandage. Let's hope for a good recovery and NO complications. Boy oh boy not exactly what I needed this Monday night but what do you do?
Today I took Finley to the Rock County Fair. We met up with friends, Leslie, Al, Melissa, Erin, Jason and little Lauren (Finley's buddy). It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a few hours of walking around checking out the 4-H exhibits, animals, carnival and of course, enjoying our fair treats. Finley is in love with Lauren and the two of them played with each other even strapped in their strollers. The kids got free frisbees and of course balloons to make their day. What a fun day.
Ummm...whatcha doing goat? Nice Goat Mmmmm mini donut Happy kid... mom's diet Pepsi bottle makes for that The kids full tummy's and getting antsy
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.
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
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