Utah

I took my first trip alone with Finn to Utah and it was quite eventful. First of all, I have to say that my prayers were answered because this guy fell asleep right as the plane was taking off and slept until we landed. I was terrified that I would be the lady with the screaming baby, but I wasn't!

I met up with my parents at the Vegas airport since they were coming in from their Hawaiian getaway. Then, we drove from there to good ol' St. George. We were there for a week and we had a blast. Finn got to meet the rest of his cousins and his Aunt Sara, Uncle Ben, Aunt Melissa, and his great-grandparents Jerry and Jerri. We went swimming every day, we watched movies, we took naps, we went to a baseball game, and we took lots of pictures!

My nephews, Tyson and Marcus, were so great with Finn. I had some stressful moments because I was missing Blake's help when I was washing bottles, teaching two online classes, and running back and forth to the guest house when I forgot something, but I could totally count on those two guys to entertain their little cousin. Obviously, the rest of the family was very helpful, especially when Finners was in a cuddly mood, but I was just so impressed with their "Itsy Bitsy Spider" singing abilities!

Overall, it was a fun trip but I don't know if I will be able to do it on my own again. We missed Blake a lot and he really missed his little guy. Plus, this kid just gets bigger by the second and I swear those airplane seats just get smaller and smaller...Enjoy the pictures!

Hanging out with Grandpa Jerry.

He was having a very serious conversation with Grandma Jerri.

Watching movies with cousins Marcus and Tyson. Is he kidding me with that smile??

The 5 boys...Marcus, Caleb, Braxton, Finn, and Tyson.

"Lil' Gramma" and "Big Papa" with their 5 grandsons.

4 Months!

Finn had his 4 month check-up on Monday. He got some shots, which did NOT make him happy. I think they actually bothered Blake even more...he was looking a little woozy and he didn't enjoy seeing his son get tortured!

So, this "little" guy is 27 inches (over the 95th percentile), 17 lbs, 9 oz (95th percentile), and his head is 17 inches (75th percentile). The doctor was quite impressed with his size and says that he looks very healthy!

Finn and I are heading to Utah tomorrow. We're leaving Blake at home, which means that I'll be attempting Finn's first flight alone (wish me luck) and poor Blake will be without his child for his first Father's Day! I didn't realize that it was Father's Day when I booked the flight. I feel so bad, but I want to say that Blake is a fabulous dad! He absolutely adores his little boy, and his little boy's face lights up when he sees his daddy!! They are both my reason for living and I truly appreciate what a fantastic dad he is! Happy Father's Day!!

A First Time for Everything

Let me start by saying that our laptop decided to completely stop working a couple of weeks ago. Not only did it stop working, but it decided to stop working on the very day that our 2 year warranty expired. So, needless to say, we were very frustrated and now have a different computer up and running.

On to more positive things...Finn has started the process of becoming a big boy! He has had quite a few "firsts" recently. Ever since our Memorial Day trip to California, he has been waking up twice a night to eat. Basically, he was eating every 2 to 3 hours and I was not too thrilled about this. So, we followed the advice of experienced parents who suggested giving him some rice cereal at night to help him stay full for longer. I was expecting him to hate it, but he gobbled it down in no time. We tried this for a few nights, but he was still waking up quite a bit. So, we decided to put off the food for now until he's a little older. He must have been going through a growth spurt because he's back to eating every 4 hours and only waking up once (yay!).

Here is his first bite. He wasn't so sure about it:

But then he realized that this is some pretty good stuff

Another "first" was at Reese's birthday party. Kevin and Melissa rented a really fun water slide. Blake, of course, had to test it out and was quite embarrassing to watch...just imagine a grown man waiting in line to go down the slide with 4 year-olds. Then, he took Finn down for his first water slide! He LOVED it!

He has recently started to hang out in his exersaucer, which keeps him super-busy. I wasn't sure if he would be big enough for it, but he's plenty big as you can see. He is doing a great job with his hand-eye coordination and is starting to figure things out. It has been so exciting to watch him learn and grow. And it has been especially exciting to have extra time to wash bottles or clean up the house while he's hanging out in it!

His other "first" is rolling! One morning when we were doing tummy time, I looked away for a second. By the time I looked at him again, he was on his back! It took me a second to really figure out what had happened. Then, I ran to get our video camera and caught him doing it again. He still isn't real consistent with it yet. He just does it when he wants to. And he's really trying to go from his back to his tummy but I think his big gut just gets in the way.

So, as you can see, it's been a busy couple of weeks and I've been sad that I haven't been able to post. Tomorrow he will be 4 months and is going to the doctor for his check-up. I will post his newest stats ASAP!

Finn Hearts California!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had the chance to take Finn to California for the first time. We left on Thursday afternoon and stopped in Riverside to see GeeGee (my Grandma Jane). He got to meet her, Uncle Gary, Aunt Rose, and his cousin Kaitlin for the first time.

On Friday, we spent the day with the family and with Gerald. We went over to Gerald's place so that the boys could test out the new UFC video game. I went and took a great nap in another room. It was fantastic! We also went to Taco Surf with some dear friends and ate some delicious grub!

Then, on Saturday, I took Finn to visit Alex. He got to meet her husband, John, and their kitties for the first time! He loved them and had lots of smiles for them. On Saturday afternoon, we all got together to take the babies to Mother's Beach (that is where we all used to go when we were little kids). As you can see in the pictures, Finn didn't mind the water at first....

Then, when it touched his belly, he was NOT happy.

Blake handed Finn off to me to get warm. Besides, Drake really wanted to swim with his Uncle Blake. They had such a blast together!

...until Blake wrapped Drake in his towel, which made it impossible for him to push himself up after falling down face-first in the sand! He was so upset and, of course, we all laughed hysterically and took pictures before helping him!

We had such a fun trip! The weather was so beautiful and it was just perfect for the beach. Plus, it is always so fun to see our friends and family. And it's especially fun to go to our favorite restaurants! Some of our other pictures are on Donovan's camera, so I'll update with those later!

Bath Time

So, I had to return to work on Monday, the 11th. And my awesome sister-in-law, Melissa, has been watching Finn for us. That has certainly made the devastating transition much easier. I just wanted to say thank you Melissa (and Reese!). Luckily, I now only have 3 more days. Yay!

Anyway, when I give him bath time, I usually just use his little bath in our tub and he LOVES it. He smiles, squeals, and talks non-stop. Recently, he has started kicking and splashing. Melissa suggested that we just put him in our tub with about 1 inch of water. Here are the results! He had such a blast. Blake and I were soaked by the time he was done. I'm surprised that there was any water left in the tub!

My First Mother's Day

I have been waiting to be able to celebrate this day for a very, very long time. Of course, I tried to get away with saying that I was Molly's mom for the past few years, but most people didn't really let me get away with that. So, let's start with the great presents for my first real Mother's Day...

First of all, my Finn slept for 7 hours straight for the first time! Now, that was a GREAT gift. I only lasted 6 hours before I got up, pumped, and made sure that he was breathing. When I went in there, I noticed a small gift bag in his crib. Apparently, he had snuck out to get his mommy a special gift. I didn't want to open it yet, so I decided to wait until we were all awake in the morning.

When we were all awake, Blake made me breakfast and I opened this beautiful gift...

This beautiful necklace has an amethyst, which is Finn's birthstone. I absolutely love it!

Just as I was thinking that this is a perfect Mother's day, Blake gives me his card and I find this inside....

Yep, that's a ticket to go see "Wicked"!! This will be my 3rd time seeing it. And this time I get to see it with my great friend, Tenneal, because her hubby got her the same gift. I guess our husbands really are thoughtful and very, very sweet!

We also got to enjoy church by listening to Clint and Andrea speak in their ward. They did such an awesome job! After their ward, we went home, rested, and then went to Ryan and Tenneal's for a delicious dinner prepared by Blake and Ryan.

Unfortunately, the big downer of the day was the fact that I had to return to work on Monday. It was such a sad, terrible day. I would never have been able to make it through the day if it wasn't for Melissa and Reese who take such good care of him while I'm with my crazy, obnoxious students all day. Luckily, it's only 6 more days at this point! Yay!

The best present of the day, though, was just the fact that I'm a mom to a wonderful, adorable little boy. He has made me so incredibly happy and has brought such an incredible amount of love into our home. I simply adore this little guy. His smile (with that perfect dimple) melts my heart. I am so thankful for him and his fat, chunky face!

11 Weeks

My little guy is 11 weeks old! Sometimes it's hard to believe that he has already been here for that long because time flies by way too fast! Yesterday, I put him in this little "muscle shirt" to show off his big guns and I just had to keep taking pictures. He was so full of smiles but by the time that the flash went off, he would have this stunned look on his face. It's nearly impossible to get him smiling, but he's cute no matter what.

Blake and I went to go see "Wolverine" on Saturday. It was really good and it was a lot of fun to go out on a date with him. One of my friends from work watched Finn and he had a blast with her. He slept, ate, watched Food Network, and slept some more!

I also want to take a moment to wish my fabulous mother a very, very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I won't reveal her age, but I will say that she's beautiful, wonderful, and absolutely fantastic!!

This picture was taken when he was only a week old! He was so tiny!!