Christmas 2009

It's hard for me to believe that Christmas has already come and gone, but it's true!  We had a great time though the weather made it more stressful than we would've liked.  

Christmas Eve:

Devin took off on Christmas Eve and my plan was to have everything done so that we could have a relaxing day at home.  Of course, that didn't happen and we were forced to run some last minute errands Thursday morning while the sleet was coming down.  By the time, we got home, it was becoming blizzard-y as I sent my darling husband out again to brave the weather for the last Christmas present we needed.  

Around 4, we decided to head to Hennessey to spend time with Devin's extended family like we do each Christmas Eve, but 10 miles from home, we got stuck on the side of the road when we pulled over to work on our windshield wipers.  Devin used his hardhat to shovel snow and thankfully, we were able to get back on the road.  The visibility was so poor as can be seen above that we decided to go back home instead of continuing on to Hennessey.

We were both really disappointed that we wouldn't be able to see family on Christmas Eve and that all of the churches were closed as well, but it was actually kind of fun to spend the evening as just "us."  After our "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" party, Finley went to bed, I scrounged up dinner and we watched "Four Christmases" on pay-per-view!  It's worth mentioning that Finley had no problem with birthday cake this time... she knew exactly how to shove it into her mouth and as the bottom center picture shows, she swiped her fingers through the icing while I was trying to get my camera!

Christmas Day:

On Christmas Day, we woke up early and opened gifts as a family.  I love this intimate time and now that we have a little one, it's just so nice to build the tradition of Christmas morning as a family!  

Finley's big gift was her shopping cart.  I bought little canvas bags at Hobby Lobby and then ironed on labels for each and put play food in them.  She really needs a Miscellaneous bag so that will be an upcoming project!  We also bought her some pots and pans...  Devin and I are already eyeing a play kitchen to buy her for next Christmas!

While Finley played with her cart, Devin and I exchanged stockings and gifts.  Devin bought me my telephoto lens that I have been wanting, several sweaters, and a photography class!  I'm so excited about it!  He felt bad since I already knew about the class and it was one of my bigger gifts, but the class filled up when he tried to get it for me for my birthday so I'm really thankful I was able to get in this time. 

I bought Devin new casual clothes, a couple of pairs of dress shoes, and Cotton Bowl tickets!  I wanted to get him one fun gift and we are both anxious to see the new Cowboy stadium in Dallas so I'm sure it'll be a great trip.  I had debated about getting tickets since we are going skiing the next weekend, but I wanted him to have at least one surprise.  Plus it'll be nice for us to do something just the two of us!

After we exchanged gifts, we helped Finley open all of her gifts.  I think I got a little carried away, but it's so much fun to buy gifts for her.  She ended up with lots of clothes and books, new bath toys, a Little People nativity set and school set, a See and Say, a new Memory Verse CD, and several other random things. 

While Finley played with her new toys (Notice she's already back to playing with my cell phone!) and I played with mine, Devin cooked Ebelskivers for us and they were AMAZING!  He filled them with bananas and I made a carmel sauce that Beth recommended.  Finley loved them as much as we did!

After breakfast, we got ready and after looking up road conditions decided to head to Tulsa as planned to celebrate with my family.  My brother and sister-in-law were snowed in so we ended up picking them up as well.  It took us 4.5 hours to get to my dad's when it is usually a 2 hour drive, but it was worth it!  Though we had several scary moments, I have found full confidence in Devin's ability to drive in the snow and ice!  Of course, by the time we were 10 minutes from home, my nerves were so shot that I could hardly function.  I have never been so happy to be home and believe that God totally protected us so that I could enjoy my family on Christmas even though it was by far one of the stupidest decisions we have probably ever made!  Even though it was a nightmare getting there and back, it was soooo good to spend time with my family at Christmas!!!!!!!

December 26th:

We celebrated with Devin's family the day after Christmas and thankfully, the trip to their house is only 20 minutes and the roads were much better.  I don't think I could've taken an even short drive had they been as bad as the day before.  We had a wonderfully leisurely day at their house... enjoying present opening, good food, a snowman, and even some football.  Finley didn't nap very well since there was so much excitement going on, but thankfully, woke up on Sunday with the twinkle back in her eye!  Devin and I kept talking about how much happier she was and how much better she must be feeling.  After several weeks of fighting teething and a cold, it was so nice to have our little girl back to her fully happy self.  As Aunt Beth said, even fussy Finley is pretty pleasant, but I've been missing my healthy, beaming girl and I hope that the worst of cold season is behind us.

December 27th:

I spent much of Sunday trying to reorganize our house while Devin scraped our driveway and back porch.  Finley caught up on sleep and enjoyed her new toys.  So far her favorite is the Little People Farm that West and Tracey bought.  I think I may put it up though and take it with us to New Mexico since she loves it so much!  

And now I'm off to hook up my new toy from Dillon and Amy... my Bamboo!  I can't wait to tackle my next project!

All About Finley

Today Finley is officially 14 months old!  She is more and more fun every day and I absolutely love seeing the world through her eyes.  She is constantly on the go and exploring everything in sight.  We are truly blessed to have such a happy, sweet girl!

She weighs 20 pounds and 3.5 ounces (10th percentile) and is still around 30 inches long (25th percentile).  

She knows where her head is and how to blow kisses.  They are her current "tricks."

She likes to clean up leftovers on her high chair! =)

She hasn't been saying "Hi" as often.  She is going through a more serious stage and I can't tell if her personality is changing a bit or if it is due to the fact that she's been sick most of the last month!

She loves playing in her pink car.  It has to be her favorite toy right now.  She climbs in, shuts the door, climbs out, shuts the door, opens the door and repeats the process.  It's very cute!

 She likes to compare things... drawers and cell phones.  It's so neat to see her mind working as she figures out how they are alike and different.

She is wearing 6-12 or 12-18 month clothes.  I've officially stopped buying anything 6-12 months because most of it is getting short on her... plus I'm a layering addict and it helps to have clothes that are a bit big in order to layer.

She still doesn't like to take naps at Mother's Day Out or really anytime there is a bunch going on.  She continues to like to be a part of the action and has no problem getting right in the middle of whatever is going on.

She can stand up for long periods of time now.  She has really good balance.

She has recently started showing a bit of stranger anxiety.  I am also curious to see if this is an actual stage or due more from the fact that she's been sick a lot recently.

She can shake her head "No".  She mostly does this when we are giving her something to eat that she doesn't like.  It is actually sooooo helpful because it prevents her from eating something and then taking it out of her mouth half-chewn.  Gross!

She is able to take actual bites now.  I still cut up a lot of her food, but she is very good about biting off only what she can chew... in fact, I think she's proud of the fact that she can take bites because sometimes she takes a mini bite off of something that is already small.

She has become pickier and pickier about food.  She is completely weaned off of baby food.  I used to feed her jar food at night just so that she would get some vegetables and meat, but every time I get near her with a jar, the head starts shaking.

Her favorite foods are mandarin oranges, bananas, yogurt, raisins, waffles, and pretzels.  She is iffy on string cheese and peanut butter sandwiches these days.  Sometimes she eats them great and other times, refuses them.

She is still drinking a sippy cup of milk in the morning and at night.  I've moved up the night milk to about 5 because if I give it to her after dinner, she isn't as likely to drink all of it and I want to make sure she's getting all of the nutrients she can from milk since she has been so picky lately.

She is still in size 3 diapers.  We've been able to move from Pamper's to the Sam's brand in the last couple of months which has been great!  So much cheaper and work just as well.

She is pretty good at playing independently for about 15 minutes and then she is ready to see what Mommy and Daddy are doing.  Along with her pink car, she likes to take blocks in and out of stuff (and is really starting to get the shape sorter), play her piano, push the animals down in her pop-up toy, and crayons that she sneaks out of the drawer.

She continues to show more and more interest in books, but still won't sit still for a whole story.

She still prefers to crawl most places or walk on her knees, but you can tell she thinks about walking more and more.  She has really good balance standing up, but just isn't confident enough to walk.  Devin and I laugh at her "happy feet" because when we practice walking with her, she starts moving her feet really quickly in place.  I think she is trying to run instead of walk!

She is definitely observant....  She found my earring the other day while I was putting on makeup and immediately held it up to her ear.  She also will find a hat and put it in on her head or take a shoe and put it up to her foot.

She still likes zippers and buttons and has pretty much figured out how a zipper works.

She is officially big enough to face forward in the car!  We haven't bought her a new carseat yet since she had to be 20 pounds and ours goes to 22 pounds, but after Christmas, we are planning to make the big switch!

She still likes music and we've been listening to lots of Christmas tunes this month.  Music is still the best way to calm her down if she is fussy.  We also sing "If Your Happy and You Know It" a lot and she claps right on cue.

She is finally fully understanding No.  She often looks at us if she isn't sure she is supposed to do something and though sometimes "No" is kind of game to her, she doesn't like getting her hand or bottom swat.  This has been a major breakthrough and also a huge challenge for me to be consistent.  Her main offenses are dumping her food off of her plate when she is finished eating or feeding the dog her food instead of eating it herself.

Most people who read our blog probably already know that Finley loves my cell phone (She also loves keys....) since she has called most of you!  She just lights up when she sees my phone and even though I gave her an old phone to play with, she likes mine better since it makes noise.  I'm sure I would have judged a mom for letting her child play with her phone all the time, but seriously, this is a battle I am just fine with not fighting.  Though I don't enjoy having to tell Beth five times a day that it was Finley who just called and hung up on her, I do love watching Finley enjoy herself so much and so it seems a small price to pay.

She has two teeth that are beginning to come through on bottom along with the middle two and the top four that are already out.  I am anxious for these teeth to fully break through because I think they are the reason Finley has been sick so much this month.  I use the term "sick" somewhat loosely since it has mostly been a runny nose and coughing, but she has ran a fever on and off throughout the month.

She is finally taking the 3 month+ Soothie binky!  For the longest time, she would only take the 0-3 month ones that are softer.  This is only really exciting because I can buy the 3 month+ ones at Wal-Mart and no longer have to make special trips to Babies R Us for binkies.

Speaking of binkies, she figured out how to take a part her binky clip so we are losing binkies ALL the time!!!!!!  She can also put the cap on my camera lens perfectly.  This is a great thing except for the fact that when I'm taking pictures of her, she's almost always crawling towards me trying to get the cap to put on the camera.

She doesn't have a lot of new words this month, but can say Up. She jabbers away in full conversation mode these days and is working hard at being conversational.

She has become a lot more lovey these days.  She will pick up her baby doll and just hug it so tight.  She continues to be an interesting mix of mine and Devin's personality.

She is still sleeping a lot and the doctor said that's completely normal.  She is down to taking one nap a day for the most part.  Since she doesn't wake up until 9, she usually takes a long afternoon nap.  Sometimes I'll put her down for a short nap around 5, but most of the time, she is good with just one nap.

She is definitely a Daddy's girl.  She picked up her play phone yesterday and said "Hi, Dada!"  She just gets so excited to see him when he comes home for work.  It warms my heart and I hope they always have a close relationship.

And as always, she is truly the most wonderful, beautiful toddler ever and I love her more than I can stand!

Teachers & Neighbors

I always love making as many Christmas gifts as possible, but I also don't like stressing myself out any more than is necessary so for Finley's teachers and our neighbors, I made a couple of super simple gifts that were incredibly affordable!

For Finley's teachers, I bought ornaments, pulled the ring out of the top of the ornaments, hot glued them to some nails, and pressed them into some pretty candles.

For our neighbors, I made these super-cute aprons that required NO sewing!  I may like to sew, but I also love projects like these that only require an iron!  All I did was take a bandana, some fusing bond, and a pretty ribbon.  I obviously added their initials and on Allison's, I added some trim.  I think I am going to make Finley's teachers an apron the next time I need a gift for them.  They're great because you can really customize them to who you're giving them to or for which holiday you're celebrating.

Some Funnies

On Friday morning, Finley woke up at 6:30 a.m.  Since she usually wakes up at 9, I was a bit annoyed... especially when I found that she had both of her binkies still.  Realizing that she wasn't going back to sleep, we got up and after drinking some milk, I decided she was still way too tired to be up for the day and put her back into bed.

When Devin came home for lunch, I told him how early she woke up and found out that it was his fault!!!  

Here is a paraphrase of what happened:

"I was trying to get to work and realized I didn't have my work cell phone so I started calling it, but couldn't find it anywhere.  I decided I must have left it at work so I started to leave when I remembered that it had fallen out of my pocket when I was changing Finley's diaper last night.  So I sneaked into her room and looked around, but didn't see it.  I decided to call it again and I could hear it buzzing, but still couldn't find it.  Finally, I realized that she was sleeping on top of it!  She never woke up even while it was vibrating!  I picked it up and snuck out with her still sleeping, but apparently, it must have disturbed her since she woke you up shortly afterwards!"

So funny!

The other funny happened yesterday when I was trying to snap a cute picture of Finley in front of the Christmas tree.  She has been sooooo good about leaving the tree alone, but yesterday she spotted the ornament Aunt Beth had made her and managed to get it off the tree.  I decided it would make a cute addition to the picture and keep her occupied.  Within seconds, however, the ornament went from picture 1 to picture 2:

She amazes me with how quickly she can figure out how things are put together and of course, how quickly she can manage to take them a part.

Oh, and this isn't really a funny, but Aunt Beth also brought us cookies and oyster crackers on Saturday when she came for Craft Day and Finley LOVED the seasoned oyster crackers... as can be seen by the seasoning stuck to her lip! =)  

Baby Steps

Warning: Aunt Beth, if you thought Tuesday's videos were hysterical, you are in for a treat because this one is pretty funny too!  Not quite as good as Tuesday's, but Tuesday's are hard to beat!

She's definitely getting closer!  Devin wanted me to crop the fall out, but I thought that was a necessary addition!  She is such a trooper!  She walked quite a bit tonight, but still isn't walking.  We took this video right before bedtime so she was tired... obviously... she just laid there after falling! =)

Christmas Card 2009

Right before Finley's first birthday, we took family photos with a wonderful photographer who not only took the most stunning pictures of Finley, but somehow managed even in the crazy Oklahoma wind (Within the first five minutes of our shoot, my makeup was completely streaming down my face and my hair was EVERYWHERE... Devin looked at me and LAUGHED!) to snap a few decent family photos as well.  

Looking at these pictures... well, I'm beyond happy... I'm almost giddy... because they capture our sweet little family just like we are... at this point in our lives...  Oh, how I love pictures!

After the New Year, I'm hoping to redo my blog and utilize the pictures of Finley since our card focused more on our family photos. Our Christmas card was so much fun to put together this year and I am really happy with how it turned out!  I love playing with Photoshop Elements and continuing our tradition of homemade cards.... and yes, I consider these homemade! =)

Finley's First Performance

Today...

Finley had her Christmas Program at Mother's Day Out.  

(Insert apology to the grandparents for not inviting them, but being new to MDO, we weren't sure if we were allowed to invite extended family and whether Finley's class would even really be a part of the program.)

Today...

Devin and I became "them."  You know... the crazy parents in the audience who are doing all kinds of insane things to get their child to look at them... the ones with a camera in one hand and a video camera in the other... Yes, them.  We were them.

Today...

Finley's MDO put on an amazing program... using familiar Christmas songs and nursery rhymes rewritten with the message of Jesus' birth.  The older kids really did a great job and the younger kids were creatively incorporated.  

Today...

At the very end of the program, Finley's class made their debut... being pushed in their huge stroller into the sanctuary to sing the finale.  (Finley is in the top row of the stroller on the left...)

Today...

Her whole class was so obedient.  They sat so still and did not move or make a peep... except for our sweet little Finley!!!!!!

Today...

As soon as she saw Devin and I, she immediately wanted O-U-T of that stroller!!!!  I was so surprised!  I really didn't expect her to be so passionate about being with us because she has no fear of strangers and never seems to mind not being with us, but she REALLY wanted to get to us... and she made it known!!!!  

But in between fussing for us, 

she smiled 

and clapped 

and checked out the big kids.

While the rest of her class...

sat still

were calm

and didn't make a peep.

Today...

Devin and I were so obnoxiously proud that it scares me a little.  If I am this proud of my little girl in her 2 minute "performance," how is my heart ever going to take her first t-ball game, dance recital, or initiated prayer?  

Today...

I am one of them... and I couldn't be more proud.

Christmas Traditions... Old & New

"Old" Tradition-- Angel Tree:

Last weekend, Finley, Devin, and I went to the mall to pick out our angel from the Salvation Army tree.  This is truly one of my favorite traditions even though I know it's kind of cliche.

The tree didn't have any one-year-old's on it so I asked the lady working if they happened to have any that weren't on the tree and she was very excited to start pulling out several for me to choose from... including a 13 month old little girl named Fatimah.  Perfect!  I grabbed her and was even more excited to see that her "want" was an educational toy.  Love it!

It's quite a challenge for me to spend our angel budget as wisely as possible so when we all went to Target to shop for Fatima, I wondered around the clothes a half a dozen times and went down almost every toy aisle twice.  In the end, we ended up with two very nice educational toys, three outfits (including a warm fleece jacket and pants set), and two pairs of pajamas.  I also always stick a book in that depicts the Christmas story.  I could have spent so much more money, but I hope Fatima enjoys what we bought!

This weekend we were able to drop her goodies by the Angel Tree and it just warms my heart to see all the bikes and bags of toys and clothes sitting in the drop-off spot.  I can't wait until Finley can really be a part of picking out the perfect gifts for our angel!

New Tradition-- 12 Days of Christmas:

We also started a new tradition this weekend. Beth found the idea here and thankfully, sent it to me because I am so in love with this idea!!!!!!  

The tradition is simple... take 25 books (or in my case 12 since I didn't have 25 Christmas books... actually I only have 8 plus my Bible, but I have a Scholastic order coming in this week which should get me to 12 and then I have the whole next year to collect 13 more!) and wrap them so that each night before Christmas, your family can unwrap a book and read it together!

I love this tradition because you don't have to buy 25 new books every year... you can just swap in a few new (either bought or checked out from the library) with the tried and true books that your family loves!  Plus it is all about being together as a family!  Plus it uses up old Christmas wrapping paper!  Plus it involves books and reading which I LOVE!  Plus it gives little ones the chance to open presents prior to Christmas which is always fun for them!  And it is a tradition that can appeal to children of all ages!

I let Finley choose a book to open last night and she chose "How The Grinch Stole Christmas!"  It's actually a coloring book, but don't tell! =)  I was just a tad bit desperate to come up with 12 books!  I admit that I think I enjoyed the story more than Finley!  I had forgotten how much Christmas stories add to the season.

Beth also sent me another idea from a blog that I'm even more in love with than this one, but I'm saving it for next year!  I'm truly excited about it because I think it will enable us to focus less on the hoopla of presents and more on the true meaning of the season... which will be a true challenge for us because both Devin and I L-O-V-E buying presents for people and each other!  Thankfully, I think it will be the perfect compromise that we are in need of!

I Wonder...

... if Finley will be made fun of if she walks into kindergarten like this...

I'm seriously beginning to wonder if our little girl will ever use anything other than her knees to get around!!!!!  It cracks me up!

A No "Hi!" Kind of Day

I am so happy with Finley's Mother's Day Out Program.  I was very hesitant to put her in MDO because I hated paying for childcare when I quit my job so that I could be home with our kids.  However, MDO has been such a HUGE blessing for us.  Not only does it allow me to be a part of an amazing Bible Study (in fact, even though the Bible Study is going to start offering a free children's program for Finley's age in January, we are still keeping her in MDO), but Finley, the social butterfly, is able to play with kids her own age and be in the care of some awesome, Godly teachers.  

Recently, a substitute has started filling in for Finley's main teacher, Mrs. Sheila, who just delivered a little boy yesterday!  I was so amazed when I picked her up that the sub said "Finley just wasn't herself today....  For one thing, she led me hold her in my lap for a really long time and for another, she didn't give me even one Hi! today!"  

I just love that this lady has already learned my little girl so well!  Finley is getting 2 (if not 4) molars and both Devin and I have been under the weather so she truly hasn't been herself, but I am so thankful that she is in hands that love her and care about her as much as we do!  What a blessing!

Finley's First Blown Kiss

YAY!!!!! Finley blew her first kiss tonight!  I was so excited!  I can't wait to get it on video!

Finley's Early Christmas Present

So when Beth and Kenny were in town on Wednesday, they gave Finley an early Christmas present.  Kenny works weekends so it was fun that he was able to see Finley enjoy her gift!  They also fed her cookies and left her a candy cane!  They definitely know the way to her heart!

Anyway, we're in love with Finley's new easel!  It's the perfect size for her and also fits perfectly in the corner of our dining room.  This morning, we were in the toy room playing and I saw Finley start turbo crawling out of the room.  I thought she was going for my computer that was open on the coffee table, but nope, she was going straight for her new art center!

It has been a great place for her to play while I'm cooking so thank you, thank you, Aunt Beth and Uncle Kenny!  A great gift that we are ALL enjoying!

Trip to the Tree Farm

Kenny and Beth came into town yesterday to buy a tree!  Finley and I were happy to join them since I thought it would make a great photo shoot.  Unfortunately, it was absolutely freezing so I'm not sure that we got too many really great shots, but here are a few from our adventure.

Uncle Kenny's Finger... Finley just loves him!

I had to laugh when we were leaving because the guy (seen above) who helped us (who spoke broken English) said "Did you get enough pictures?"  HA!  I'm sure they had never seen the likes of me and Beth who were clicking away the whole time we were there.