Finn Turns 1!

It is so crazy to me that my little guy is 1! It does not feel like it has been a whole year since that special Valentine's Day when he decided to make his big debut! For those who do not know the story, I was due on February 16th. So, I made Friday, February 13th my last day at work. I was feeling VERY uncomfortable that whole week and had thought about going on maternity leave a little early. But, I decided to just stick with it and endure til the end.

Then, on Valentine's Day, I was feeling really bad most of the day. I just felt like he was so HEAVY and moving a lot, which now that I think about it, were probably minor contractions. So, that night Blake and I went to Clint and Andrea's house to watch a movie and have dinner together. Clint and Blake left to go pick us up some Quizno's. Andrea was on the webcam with her mom (little Bailey-Boo was about 3 months at the time). All of a sudden, Finn just made one BIG move. It just felt like he did a weird somersault thing and my stomach felt so tight (again, it must have been a contraction and I just didn't realize it at the time). Then, it felt like a rubber band snap and swoosh...my water broke. I was in such denial. I was thinking...there's no way I'm in labor already. I was so sure I would go late and that I would have some time at home to myself before he was born. I waddled very quickly to the bathroom and tried to convince myself that I had just wet my pants. But, nope, my water had definitely broken. All I could think was...Where was Blake? I want to eat my dinner before we leave. My hospital bag is at home. I just want to sleep and rest before this big event. During all of this, I was hyperventilating in the bathroom (again, probably all a part of the labor process...still in denial).

Meanwhile, Andrea is realizing...hmmm...Liz has been in there for a while. Then, Blake and Clint show up with our dinner and I make the announcement. I was leaning over their kitchen counter in pain while I tried to stuff my face with my Quizno's as quickly as possible. I called the doctor and said we'd be on our way. We ran home, got my bag, said bye to our little Molly, and began a very exciting journey!

The whole labor process was indescribable. When we got to the hospital around 9-ish, I was already at a 4. After that, there are so many things that I remember very vividly and some things that I don't really remember happening. All I know is epidurals are great and I really enjoyed watching "The Cosby Show" while munching on ice chips. I worked really hard to get that guy out of me. I started to push around 2 am and at around 4:15, I was still pushing and very exhausted. They kept making me roll from side to side because he was posterior, then push on my knees (which was difficult considering that I could not feel my legs due to the epidural). Finally, they decided that this little guy was NOT going to budge and it was time for a c-section. I was devastated, exhausted, and terrified. But, I knew we had done all we could. Then, in about 20 minutes, this sweet little boy with a big head was finally here! He was so bruised and banged up from being stuck for so long! It was so sad. But, we were so happy to finally have him and hold him!

Ever since then, we have been immensely happy. He is such a sweet, funny guy. He makes me laugh all the time. He has the cutest little dimple on his left cheek. All of the nurses noticed that right away and thought it was just so cute! He's already a little charmer and flirt!

He just went in for his 1 year check-up. Weight: 24 lbs, 11 oz (95th%), Height: 32.25 inches (over 95th%).

So, back to the original reason for this post...Finn is 1! We had a pirate-themed birthday party for him at the park in our neighborhood. We had lots of family and friends come to it and we had such a blast seeing everyone. Thank you to everyone who came all the way out to Arizona from California and Utah! Here are some pics from his party:

Blake's masterpiece: a skull birthday cake for the Pirate-themed party! And, I'm not joking...this was all Blake's artistic work!

Little Finn is testing it out.

He was in heaven! I don't think he really believed that he was supposed to just be digging in!

Mmmmm....good stuff!!!

The frosting looked like a beard, so we thought we'd give him an eye patch to complete the pirate look.

Bath time with Drake and Rylan after the birthday cake mess.

This was a really cool gift from Uncle Gerald. It fills up with water and I'm sure it will provide LOTS of fun all summer for our little stinker. He already loves making a mess and splashing around with all of the toys.

And, I had to include this picture of Gerald. Good morning!

First Christmas

Finn got to spend his first Christmas in St. George with my side of the family. It was so much fun! We left at 11 on Christmas Eve night and pulled in to my parent's driveway at 6 am on Christmas morning. It was a long drive, but Finn slept for almost the entire drive. We had a great Christmas morning (pics of that are on Blake's phone and my sister's camera since all of our stuff was still in the car when we started opening presents). Either way, we had a fantastic time! Finn enjoyed his first Christmas. He really loved spending time with his big cousins...he couldn't get enough of them and they all had such a blast playing with them! My mom made a delicious Christmas dinner (which Finn also loved) and we all had a fun week of playing Wii and just hanging out!

We also had the chance to take some family pictures. This was so much fun to get all the boys together and try to organize them for some good pics!

I love Braxton's serious face in this picture. He's getting so big like his older cousins!

Finn had such a blast with his cousins! Here he is playing with Tyson and Braxton.

You gotta love Ben's little guys...Braxton and Caleb. Just look at those cheeks and devious looks!

Such a cute picture of the 5 boys with their Little Gramma and Big Papa.

I LOVE this picture!!

There are not words to express how I feel about this little boy! I could just look at this picture all day long!

We hope you had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

P.S. Blake and I just celebrated our 6 year Anniversary! Yikes! I can't believe it's been that long!!!

Blessed

It's always so easy to concentrate on the frustrating things in life or the things that don't always go our way. So, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the many GOOD things I have.

It's been a tough year with going back to work when I really didn't want to, but it has turned out to be a blessing in a way. I have a great group of kids this year, including some hilarious boys who have tried to help me with my dance skills. Then, once they see me try to demonstrate what they've taught me, they beg me to never dance again. If you're trying to picture these dance moves, google search "The Jerk Dance" and "Swag Surfin" then picture me attempting the moves and you'll understand.

Also, we have 2 incredible people watching our little guy. Andrea (Finny's aunt) watches him twice a week and a friend of mine, who lives right by my school, watches him the other days. He loves, loves, loves these two ladies and has such a blast when he's with them.

In addition, I have a great husband who simply adores his son. He made him a great Christmas stocking and takes such wonderful care of him. We have been so blessed to have this little guy in our life. Just looking at this perfect, cute, fat face makes me smile!!!



I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! I can't wait to celebrate with my family and see Finn enjoy his first Christmas morning!!

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!