Please Don't Stop the Music

The other night, I was getting a little worried that my son was going to simply be "a bull in a china shop". Anytime he gets his hands on something, he ends up slamming it on the floor or hitting against the wall. He's simply a destructive, loud BOY.

So, I was watching him while he was playing with the toys on his exersaucer. He was pounding and pounding on the buttons that say the animal's name, make their noise, then plays a short song. I just thought to myself, "Here we go again...". Then, I watched a little more closely...and I just about died laughing. He was hitting the buttons non-stop until he got to the turn for the music. He would stop, listen to the whole song (while squealing with glee), then pound and pound again until he got to the music again. Blake and I couldn't stop laughing. This literally went on for half an hour. This has now become a ritual for him and it's pretty much the only reason he'll play with his exersaucer now. So, although it seems far-fetched to some, maybe Blake and I created a musically-inclined child! Ha! We'll see!

Enjoy the video...he kept getting distracted by the camera and I think he was getting a little sleepy at this point!

You'll need to pause the music on our blog music player to hear the video!

Also, I did a couple of "JibJab" videos the other day to get us in the Holiday Spirit. Check them out if you want. The pictures of Blake and me are from our Christmas picture last year, hence the blonde hair and swollen, pregnancy face on me!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/vsiBub0gzJgA6lJ72yUC

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/5j60qswezRAnFeg4zDLT

FYI...Finn's first tooth cut through finally! Woo hoo!! I'm a little sad about it, but relieved that he made it!

Pumpkin Patches and Halloween Haunts!

Finn just celebrated his first Halloween and seemed to love it. He was the cutest little skeleton that I've ever seen! Blake bought him some black hair gel for his mohawk just to make it extra special. He got to get all dressed up on Friday night for trunk-or-treat and then again on Halloween for pictures and some trick-or-treating.

You can't see the mohawk too well, but here's our little skeleton!


A couple of weeks ago, we took Finn to a local farm to visit their pumpkin patch. We had a lot of fun with Grandpa, Nana, Uncle Clint, Aunt Andrea, and Cousin Bailey! He loved all of the pumpkins, especially when Blake buried him for a "Where's Waldo" picture...I hope you can find him. Good luck!

He was loving the pumpkins and trying to eat the hay!

This is such a dorky picture of us, but I had to include it because Blake's cheesy grin cracks me up!

Finn and Bailey hanging out.

Investigating the pumpkins...

This is supposed to be the "Where's Waldo" picture, but I don't think it turned out like we thought. Oh well!

Recently, things have been crazy! Finn is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up. He likes to move his head around when he hears music and he claps when he hears an audience clapping on TV. Lately, he especially likes to scream as loud as possible when there are a lot of people around if he's not getting any attention. The other night, we went to dinner when my dad was visiting, and little Finn was quite the flirt. There was a group of girls at the table next to us and he would lean over in his high chair, scream until they looked at him, and then flash a big gummy grin at them (yes, still no teeth)! Then, they would give him some attention and go back to their conversation and food...only to be interrupted a few minutes later by his squeals. Luckily, they loved him and didn't seem too bothered.

We also recently moved which was a long, exhausting process. I have to give a lot of credit to my husband who did a LOT of the packing and moving!! Thanks hubby!!

Scootin' or Crawlin'?

This little guy has been working very hard lately to figure out crawling. He gets closer and closer every day. Whether he's rolling, scooting, or doing his "worm crawl" he manages to get wherever he wants to get. Usually, he's trying to get to the remote, a drink, or Molly (rather than one of his actual toys, of course).

So, today, I got the camera ready and set up some bait. I set my drink on the ground, and sure enough, he went for it. Here's the result:






I barely got the drink out of the way in time. Then, he decided to go for Molly, so I started to record again. For whatever reason, he loves to grab her tail or drool all over her (which seems to be his way of kissing). He especially loves when she returns his kisses! It cracks me up how she just patiently stays there waiting for him to come over and start torturing her. He seems to think it's pretty funny too! Here's some more video:




P.S. I apologize for the poor quality. I recorded all of this on our regular camera and not our video camera.

Let the baby-proofing begin!

6 Months...Seriously?

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my mom and she commented that she was excited for Finn's first birthday. I told her to calm down because it was still far away, then she simply pointed out to me that I was already half way there! Then, I almost started to cry. I can NOT believe that this little guy is already 6 months old! So, before I get all weepy, here are some stats:

-19 lbs., 14 oz...90th % (he was 8 lbs., 11 oz. just 6 months ago!)

-28.75 inches long...over 95th % (he was 20.5 inches just 6 months ago!)

-he LOVES to sit and play with his toys

-he also enjoys his books, especially when he can chew on them and hit the pictures really hard.

-still no teeth, but we're pretty sure they're on the way.

-he has just started to get the urge to figure out crawling. So, he can go from sitting up to laying on his tummy. Then, he'll do a little push-up, but he's not so sure what to do with his legs so he usually just screams or scoots backwards.

-his scream can literally make your ears bleed. I honestly don't know where he learned it, but he will arch his back and scream in a way that will wake the dead! He might be moving in with his grandparents when he reaches his terrible 2's.

-his smile is the cutest thing on this entire earth! People will stop in the store or at restaurants to give him love, and he's such a little ham. He'll smile and talk to them (I think we all know where he got that from)!

-he's doing very well with the transition of mommy going back to work. He goes to Aunt Andrea's on Monday, my friend Shannon's on Tuesday, then Tenneal's on Wednesday, and he's home with daddy on Thursday and Friday. So far, he has been great (let's keep our fingers crossed).

The past 6 months have been so great. We love this little guy so much and he has made us incredibly happy! Here are some of his 6 month pictures! We got them done when Blake and Finn went to California. Enjoy!

5 Months

Our little Finner is just over 5 months now and I really don't know where the time has gone. He is just too cute for words and he's growing so fast! He is sitting up on his own really well and got to sit in a high chair at a restaurant the other night. You can tell that he felt very special!! And, just like his daddy, he was flirting with all the ladies and showing off his adorable smile (they're both such hams).

He has also been loving Molly quite a bit lately. He will reach out and pet her, he giggles when he sees her, and he loves when she gives him kisses. The other day, he tried to return the favor by giving her a big open-mouth kiss on her head. It was kind of gross but cute at the same time!

Then, he had the privelege to ride in a Power Wheels with Chas the other day. Don't worry though...Blake took extra precautions by using the seatbelt that was already there and by creating another one with his own belt. And he also ran along the side of the car as they went on their drive (even though it was just up and down the driveway).

It makes me sad to think about how big he is getting, even though it is so fun to watch him learn new things. I love to just sit on the ground and play with him. He is such a sweet boy! Just look at that smile!!

SSSHHHH...Don't Tell Daddy!

It might be hard to see, but I gave Finners a little lightning bolt with some eyeliner this morning. I'm obviously way too excited that "Harry Potter" is coming out today, but I couldn't help myself! Finn is officially 5 months old today, so we had our own little celebration! Ha ha! Blake won't be happy, but he gave him a mohawk...so we'll call it even!

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.