Tuesday, November 23, 2010

November

Still perfecting our back carries...and trying to prevent bald spots!
Oliver eating breakfast and 'reading' a motorcycle magazine...making dad so proud!
 Yummy apples! Finn is really loving table food. He has two bottom teeth (they came in shortly after 6 months), and in the last few days I've gotten a peek at a top tooth coming in!

 Gotta have a nekkid baby photo...look at that chunk!



Saturday, October 30, 2010

a little catch-up...

toddler-wearing is still comfortable!

a sneak peek at some of our family photos...





oliver is practicing being a daddy
finn is starting to enjoy some table food

Monday, September 27, 2010

chunk!

Well, the photo is a couple weeks old, but here's our chunky 6-month-old! Finn had his well-baby check this morning. He is up to 18 pounds, 5 ounces and is 26 1/4 inches long! And perfect, of course!

Friday, September 24, 2010

forgive me...

please?! it's been over a MONTH since i last posted! so sorry!
i will add photos later, right now i'm on my work laptop while my personal laptop is making copies of finn's birth video to share with my doula class.
what have we been up to?
oliver continues to talk and talk, now using short sentences pretty often. he loves dinosaurs and horses and trains, and tomorrow he gets to go see thomas the tank engine with papa dennis and grandma andy. he is a ball of energy and i can rarely keep up with him. he's got some major mood swings, but is still the sweetest thing ever. he makes me laugh every day with his antics. we recently went to the every family rocks concert at the fairgrounds, and he had fun dancing and singing along to our favorite band, justin roberts.
oliver loves his babysitter and asks to go to her house often - she has a three year old daughter who oli loves to play with. he is playing 'pretend' more and more, making me food to eat and taking his dinosaurs for rides in his trucks. he also likes to line up his toys on the floor and is always very excited to show us. "mama, 'mere! look!"
he loves his little brother to death, and lately has been encouraging him to crawl. he gets very excited when finn manages to scoot forward to grab toys!
finn is growing like a weed, and turned 6 months ten days ago. he's got his well-baby check next week so we'll see how chunky he is then!
last week was a big week for finn - he got his first black eye (falling off the bed) and his first TOOTH!! one little tooth on the bottom, but i bet the second one will be here soon. so far he has been a much 'easier' teether than oliver (knock on wood!). he had one night that he was up a lot and very restless, and the next day i could feel a tooth! it's definitely visible now. i'm kinda sad, i'll (probably) never have a toothless baby again!
finn has started trying out some 'real' food. we are skipping purees and just giving him things that he can safely gnaw on, such as peeled pears, bananas, and avocado slices. so far he looooves pears. he doesn't eat much of them yet, but is just practicing his skills! he still nurses like a champ but refuses the bottle, which sometimes makes it difficult for me to schedule work appointments!
we recently side-carred a crib for finn (took off one side of the crib and attached it to our bed), which gives us a little more room (like we need it in our king bed!), but he probably sleeps on the crib side less than half of the night. it's much cozier next to mama! i think this winter i'll enjoy the extra body heat as well.
finn is scooting in all directions, sitting well on his own, and rolls over, but no official crawling yet. i'm not sure why i encourage him to crawl, i'm not ready for two mobile kiddos!
ian has been working his butt off. his work schedule is always crazy, and he's been picking up a lot of overtime as well. we all really appreciate how hard he works to keep a roof over our head!
i'm still working part-time, which allows me to be home with the kiddos most of the time, and occasionally they go to the babysitter's, who is more of a friend than babysitter. i am in the middle of my doula training workshop this weekend, which so far is a great time and i'm learning a lot. i'm excited to start attending births and complete my certification! i don't expect to make a lot of money being a doula, but it's something that i feel strongly about and will allow me to support mamas! and my current job is flexible enough to allow me to do both.
okay...that was a quick recap! i'll add photos soon!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Happy Birth Week Oli!

We started off the week with Oliver's first haircut! It was getting just a little too crazy...
Our friend Tera is a hairstylist and she did the honors...Oliver sat very still the whole time, he wasn't quite sure what to think.
Still a little long and shaggy, but not out of control - just how I wanted it!
Monday evening we went to the State Fair. It was a perfect night for it - we got there right after 5 (when tickets go to half price!), it wasn't very busy, and the weather was beautiful!
Oliver thought the cows were okay...
But he just thought the "nays" were WONDERFUL!!
We spent a lot of time in the horse barn, and Oliver threw a screaming fit when we left! He definitely has a horse obsession lately. (Don't mind the spots on my camera lens...)
Finn actually spent most of the time in the stroller, checking everything out. By about 6:30 he was ready for a nap and Oliver was getting tired of walking, so Finn slept in the mei tai while Oli rode in the stroller. We left sometime around 7:30, after we spent all of our money on food. It was a nice couple hours at the fair!
On Thursday morning, Oliver was greeted by the whole family. He didn't know why we were all so excited that morning, but I think he liked it.
He especially liked getting a cupcake for breakfast!! (Although this morning, as soon as I went in his room, he asked for a cupcake! Sorry buddy, only once a year!)
Finn didn't get a cupcake, but he still had fun. He is officially sitting up on his own now! He'll sit without assistance for several minutes before tipping over! Crawling is next! (Slow down, little man!)
Unfortunately, Oliver had to get his 2 year check up the morning of his birthday. He weighs 27 pounds 8 ounces, and is 34 inches tall! He had one shot (and screamed "Owie!" but didn't cry), and had to have his finger poked for a lead test (and cried, "Ow, hurt me!"). Finn also had two shots, and cried for about ten seconds. My boys were pretty tough!
We are having a small party for Oliver tonight, then tomorrow is MY birthday! I'm looking forward to dinner at Hu Hot with Ian!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

We love the Natural Playscape at Jester Park!
Finn has learned to bounce in his jumperoo and looooves it!
Is he a happy baby or what?!
Well Finn turned five months old today (and I actually got the photos up on time!). Time is really flying by. Finn is now rolling and scooting, usually backwards. He can easily grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth, along with just about everything else. We've definitely hit that stage where he reaches for everything nearby, making it difficult to eat, drink, or do just about anything while holding him! Lately he has been cutting down on naps, and for most of this week he's just had a short nap in the morning, a long nap in the afternoon (when Oli and I also nap!), and then is awake until bedtime.
He absolutely adores Oliver, and I think Oli feels the same way. Finn is watching him all the time, and you just know he wants to follow Oli everywhere! I think once Finn starts to crawl, Oliver might have a hard time getting away from him!
I took the boys on a long (hot) walk this afternoon in the double stroller. Finn stared at Oliver almost the whole trip, and Oliver was reading a book and pointing things out to me and Finn. I am looking forward to watching their relationship develop!
Oliver continues to talk and talk, adding new words everyday. He's also starting to use short 'sentences.' I read him a book this morning that had a boy flying a kite in it, and later on in the day he brought me the book, found the kite page, and said, "Fy kite!" His favorite thing to say right now is, "Aw, man!" Ian taught him that one, of course.
Oliver's 2nd birthday is coming up very soon - and tomorrow he'll be getting his very first haircut! This is a big deal for me - I've been going back and forth for about six months! I love his crazy hair but it's just a little too out of control lately. I'm just not ready for my first baby to be a little boy! I will be sure to post before and after photos!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Clear Lake

We spent the day up at Clear Lake this weekend. I forgot my camera of course, but I took a whopping two pictures with my phone. Both of Finn napping.
On the beach:
At the park:
Oliver had a blast, he loved swimming at the beach and playing in the sand. He skipped his nap, which led to a cranky boy later in the evening, but that's okay.
Oh, and at Finn's 4 months check up, he weighed 15 pounds 14 ounces and was 25 1/4 inches long.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

four months!

Finn turned four months old...um, last week. : ) I'm not doing very good at this "blogging four times a week" stuff, huh? Finn has his four month check on Monday, so I'll update you on his weight (chunky!) then. For now, some photos!

Um, Oli, I don't think that's what those are for...
giving little bro a ride
attempting to get a photo of the two of them together!
Oliver likes to ride his motorcycle to the park!
zzzzz.....
happy baby! (oliver also likes to play in the exersaucer!)
hanging out at the PC Festival
Oliver loved the train ride!
Finn zonked out while on my back.
And, to the right, you'll see a link to my new blog, as I am officially becoming a certified doula!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

our busy week...

giving hugs while waiting for the 4th of July parade to start...
hanging out at great-grandpa and -grandma's house before the parade...
had to have a good view of the parade!
splashing in puddles after a big rain...
trip to the zoo...
Oliver fed the goats...
and I learned how to back wrap! Finn loved it - he dozed while I made dinner!