Oh Well

I say his name in the video, so I guess I'll just call him J or Jack on the blog!

I'm no expert....

Let's see if I can get this to work:

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

Definitely not going to make the deadline...

I ordered our New Years cards tonight... so you all should be getting one before February!!!

Big Family News!!!!

J always knew his "Aunt L" would be his official aunt someday!

They're engaged! Uncle T is getting married!!!!


Congratulations!!!!
We can't wait to celebrate with you both!!!!!

Christmas 2006

We had a great one! Both sets of grandparents as well as my brother and sister spent the night on Christmas Eve so they could be here for J's first Christmas morning. It was a full house- full of love and excitement for our little boy! Here are some pictures from the big event...


Kind of dark- but we had a TON of presents under the tree since there were so many people staying over...

Waiting on the steps before seeing the presents under the tree for the first time- a family tradition.

J spotted this gift right away! He crawled right over and once we adjusted it so it became a riding toy, he wouldn't get off!

Later that night we headed over to B's grandma's house and J got this awesome froggie chair! He was so happy to see it in his room this morning!

J seems to have timed his latest illness perfectly- he came down with a fever this morning. It's a good thing B has the whole week off- I know J will be feeling better much sooner cause we're both home.

A Christmas Quote

Said by B after emerging from Uncle T's room where he had been for almost an hour wrapping my presents-- "I ran out of tape, so on the last one I used thumb tacks."

Brilliant!

Can't wait to either a. get a puncture wound from opening my gift or b. rush J to the emergency room when he finds a stray thumb tack on the floor after all the gifts have been opened and decides to eat it.

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Love,
Finley's Family

I can hardly stand it!!!!

B just called- he's out buying me my Christmas gift (gifts???) and he said he went a little over budget (Heck Yeah!) and he'll be a little longer.... that's ok honey-- STAY OUT AS LONG AS YOU NEED!!! I can't wait to see what I get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only 5 more days!!!!

11 Months

Oops! J turned 11 months on Saturday and the post about it has been in my head all this time!

The 11 month mark has us amazed at the changes in our little "baby"....

*All of a sudden the kid realizes he can have a say in what's going on! Diaper changes are no longer peaceful- he shakes his head no and fusses till you give him something to play with- and it better be interesting like the finger paint container- not lame like the same tube of diaper rash cream that was cool 3 weeks ago. If he's not ready for his nap- he kneels in his crib and tosses his pacifier on the floor- then yells "mamamamama" till you come and get it. If you take away something he's playing with- like the fireman guy from his new firetruck- he'll throw a borderline temper tantrum until you catch his eye with something else- like a banana!

*His face is changing- he's looking less and less like the pudgy little infant, and more and more like the little boy who'll be headed to kindergarten before we know it!








*He has actually really started to level off on his eating. He used to eat an insane amount of food at every meal, and now there are times when he only wants a bite or two. Of course when he's given what WE'RE having for dinner, he seems to gobble it all right up... hmmmm

*He now gives the best hugs- arms around your neck with his little fingers scratching the back of your head- sort of like a mini massage! Love it!

*He knows that the rule is pacifier and yellow blankie stay in his crib- so when he wakes up in the morning, or from a nap, sometimes he crawls away from me when I try to take him out of his crib. He crawls to the other side and holds on tight to yellow blankie. It's like he's not ready to leave them yet!

*He loves, loves, loves, loves, loves exploring the 2nd floor. When I need a minute to myself (or 5 or 10 or 15) I shut the doors to the bathroom, Uncle T's room, and our room. I also shut the gate at the top of the stairs- that gives him the freedom to crawl around between his room, the hallway and the office where I am. Obviously I check on him every few minutes- but he just loves having the freedom to play and explore on his own terms. He takes all of his cds off the stool in his room, he pulls every single book off his bookshelf, he bangs on Uncle T's door cause he loves that room, and he opens and shuts the doors to his room and the office over and over again. Because of that both doors now have receiving blankets connecting the door knobs so his little fingers don't get pinched. I'm so glad that he feels comfortable enough to play independently like that.

*The kid is addicted to bananas. If he sees you eating one- he'll fuss till you give it to him... or...as we saw at the family Christmas on Saturday- he'll just steal it off your plate! Sorry about that Aunt D!

We love watching his little personality blossom- we also love watching him become more and more aware of his world. How blessed our lives are because of this little boy.

We love you so much J! We are so very proud to be your parents!

Happy 11 month birthday Baybo!

We love you all the time!

Love,

Daddy-O and Mama

On my mind

#1: For those of you wondering where the heck our Christmas card is... well to be honest, we haven't even taken the picture yet!! Can you say "Happy New Year!" cause that's what we'll be sending. New Years cards. I know that a lot of people send a Christmas card with just a picture of the kid/kids on it once they have them- but for some reason I just can't do that. I like to have a picture of the whole family to send out... and we just haven't gotten one yet. It's on the list of things to do this week....

#2: Christmas Presents... I can't wait for J and B to open their gifts... B is going to be so surprised!

#3: "We need to talk"-- we were in a rut of just living our lives and not sitting down to discuss the big stuff. We've done that and let me tell you how WONDERFUL it feels to have everything out in the open, everything out on the table, everything discussed and resolved and decided on. What a weight off our shoulders. A weight that we had just gotten used to carrying around unfortunately. I love you B! I'm glad to be your wife!

#4: Bad Santa-- We took J to the 25th annual Dillon Family Christmas Party this weekend and

he loved it... right up until the big scary man dressed in red showed up. I had a feeling he wouldn't be a fan since we ran into a random santa at Babies R Us and he freaked- so when this guy showed up, look out! J was sitting on my lap when he walked in and I could feel him start to press his little body into mine- trying to get a little further away from that thing in red! As soon as Santa pulled out the gift for J and I started to get up and go towards Santa, the freaking out began! By the time I got him on his lap- J's whole body was shaking and he was crying and shaking his head no, and flapping his arms and legs to try to escape. From my sister's vantage point- she said he looked like he seriously thought his life was in danger. Since we're all so loving- my entire family rushed to rescue J. Yeah right! We all sat there taking pictures and laughing our asses off! It was pretty funny. Traumatic for J I'm sure, but damn funny.

And just for Aunt D... Here you go! Your blog debut!!!!

#5- We found a church! It's the only UCC church with the "open and affirming" status in pretty much our entire area- and it's about 20 minutes away from our house- but totally worth it. I've already emailed the co-pastor and asked about us joining, and also getting J baptized. She was so incredibly nice and friendly. We're hoping to be able to baptize J before my mom leaves for Kenya in another month, but we'll have to see if it'll work out. I'm so glad we found this church! I want J to grow up feeling connected to a place that welcomes ALL people, no matter who they are or who they love. That's important to me.

#6-- Christmas Cookies! I've never actually specifically baked x-mas cookies- but this year I did! My brother's girlfriend, L was here for a few days and we made sugar cookies and those awesome peanut butter ones with the hershey's kiss in the middle. We had a good time even though we won't be opening our own bakery anytime soon! :) Thanks to Aunt B's advice, we used all the ingredients they had listed. Who knew cream of tartar was so important? We didn't get to decorating the sugar cookies till J had long been asleep, so he got a chance to decorate this morning...

***I put this post on hold for a bit- we ran to Honeybaked Ham to get our food for Christmas Eve... what a ham my kid is! He took one look at the 5 ladies behind the counter and started flirting away! He was smiling and waving and looking down at his hands like he was shy... it was hilarious! Of course they ate it right up- everybody loves a baby!

#7-- I had that dream again last night, the one where I go back to teaching- back to my classroom and class from last year. Everyone is so glad to have me back and I am so glad to be there. Funny how I never dream about report cards, parent emails, testing, meetings, etc. A lady that Brandon works with said her aunt would like to watch J 2 days a week along with the lady's infant son... I guess I should finish that application to sub! We still have to meet her though and decide if she's right for J.

#8-- Mom leaves for Kenya in a little over a month. For 10 months. Finally hitting me I think.

#9-- Midnight Meetings- Friday and Saturday nights found us awake with an extremely angry baby from about midnight till 1 am. He cried and cried and lifted his arms to us like he just needed to be held. Both nights we finally brought him into bed with us where he sat there and "talked" complete with arm and hand motions for about 15 minutes. Both nights I gave him that much time to talk and then I put him back in his crib. No tears, just went straight to sleep till 7. I guess we just needed to listen!

I'm sure there was more... but that's it for now!

Where are the freaking goldfish crackers you promised us? We're sitting still, aren't we?

What are you doing??

According to my sleep book, J should be starting to lose the morning nap. He seems ready for that- but he doesn't seem to get that losing a morning nap does not mean losing all naps together!!! Yesterday he slept for maybe 30 minutes in the early afternoon and that was it. He was so exhausted that I put him in the tub at 4:45 and he fell asleep in my arms at 5:15. He got up twice during the night- just for his pacifier. And both times it was sitting there right next to him... so tonight I will try to ignore and let him find it on his own. Mama needs to sleep.

Yesterday we also had our second to last mom and tot swimming class. I have really enjoyed it- even if he's a little too young to blow bubbles in the water and "swim" for the rubber ducky. I'm just so glad that he loves the water as much as he does. Even when the waters a little chilly- he doesn't hesitate when I go in with him- he's just so excited to be in! Yesterday he loved "jumping" off the edge and going under 4 times. Even though the class is almost over, I'm still going to take him to open swim at least once a week. They actually have it tonight from 3-9... think I can talk Daddy-O into going???

Time Flies

I bought the invitations for J's first birthday party yesterday. It was actually really hard to do. I just can't believe he's almost a year old.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding him close in the hospital and whispering in his ear, "I always knew you'd be my little boy"?

I miss my baby. But I'm so proud of the kid he's growing up to be.

Smarter than the dog

Oh the joy on Finley's face when he realized that J can actually PUSH OPEN DOORS! All by himself! Imagine that! Finley will now be thinking of ways to convince J to open doors that lead to where his treats are kept....

San Diego Pictures

Some pics from the trip:

Sunrise somewhere between San Diego and Yuma, Arizona

Palm trees and Christmas? So not right!

It was HOT outside! Love it!

That would be a real baby panda in the San Diego Zoo!!!


Thanks for the (fake)panda, Mama!

Hooray for my new t-shirt!

Home Sweet Home

B and I returned from San Diego last night. Talk about a much needed vacation! As much as I love staying home with J- I was exhausted mentally, and really needed a break. We went out to eat, walked about 300 miles, and just enjoyed some time without the baby. It was easier than I thought since we left him in such good hands. He had both sets of grandparents looking after him over the weekend- and even though he had a stomach bug (think lots of diarrhea!!) I'm pretty sure they loved being with him.

The best part about coming home was the surprise waiting for us at the airport. I thought that my brother was the only one coming to get us since our flight didn't get in until after 8:00- but as we were walking towards the security area, B goes "It's J-a-roo!" I couldn't believe it! They brought my baby to the airport!! In his jammies!! We walked up to him and I said "Hi Baybo! Mama's home!" and he looked at us, and looked at us, and then he got really happy and came right to me. I hugged him tight, and told him I was home-- and then he melted my heart into a big mushy puddle of goo... he put his chubby little arms around my neck, put his cheek to mine, and squeezed with all his might! In the language of almost 11 month olds- that means "I love you so much Mama! I'm so glad you came home to me!"

He held on to me like that for the rest of the time we were in the airport. I love that kid. More than I ever in a million years imagined I could.

When we got home somebody else was extremely excited to see us- Finley! He came right down the steps (he's usually sleeping on his blanket in our room when we're gone) and wiggled all around us as we gave him some lovin. After we put J to bed, I took Finley on our walk. He now walks right next to me- and I'm the one calling the shots- just like a good pack leader should. Walks are so much more enjoyable now that I've watched 1,000 episodes of this show. I love that guy!

B is in New Hampshire for business- didn't we just return from a trip??? He'll be back Wednesday... and then he's done for several weeks. Can't wait!

WTF moment- Christmas is 2 WEEKS AWAY!!! How did that happen???? I'm so not ready!!!!

The Super Star

Chillin' in our old house in Kansas City.

Time for a Change

After having a blog over at thenest.com for a year and a half- I've decided to change it up a little and come on over to blogger. This site lets me do so much more with my blog than the other one did. I can put pictures right on the front page, change the fonts, and so much more. I'm going to keep the content pretty much the same~ all about Finley's family- but I'm also hoping to write a little bit more about me and my life. If you've followed me over from the nest, thanks! I hope you like the new look.