End of Year Wrap-Up

How can I begin to describe 2008? It was PHENOMENAL! Above all, I realized just how lucky I have it this year. As everything came sort of crashing down all over the country, I just felt so thankful for all that I have--My kids, my husband, my family, my friends. It amazes me that you really NEVER STOP LEARNING! I've learned a lot about what it means to be grateful in 2008 and hopefully I can always apply that and keep things in perspective.

Here's a few pictures of us at the beginning of the year. Finn was such a baby still!:

And here he is now (so big!):

Here's McKinley at 2 days old:

And here she is now:

Christmas 2008

We had an amazing (and exhausting) Christmas! I'm kinda glad it's all over just because I've barely sat down all week! Finn got some great toys, but I think his absolute favorite is his Handy Manny tool bench. He drags the tools all over the house! He loves to fix the things on the bench too. I wasn't sure if he would like it, but it's a winner!

Here he is with the advent calendar. He LOVES that thing! Probably because it gives him candy.

Here we are opening gifts. That's his new tool bench:

Here's Kinley in her new exersaucer. I think she had a very good Christmas. She was in a pretty good mood all day, despite a little bit of teething:

And here's Finn on his new "roller coaster." It's pretty sweet:

I have never felt more parental than I did on Christmas Eve this year. All we wanted to do was relax, but instead we spent a couple of hours putting together toys. Poor Scott, all he wanted to do was play chess!:

Here's Finn on his new trampoline:

And here he is on his new coaster:

1 Shopping Day Left!

I found the cutest little website that sells the oddest (and probably useless) things! I like the personal library set, myself.

Christmas Countdown

We went to a "Little" party on Thursday and had so much fun! My friend Tonya gave them each sock monkeys that they really loved! Kinley let me know this by putting it directly in her mouth (the ears are just the right size for chewing). She also made some pretty rad scrapbooks for the kids. I don't know how Tonya finds the time to be so amazing!

We also celebrated my Father-in-Law's birthday on Saturday. Finn was right by his side to help him with all his candle-blowing and cake-eating needs! We ended up giving him an entire side of the cake because he kept sticking his fingers in it.

Counting by Cookies

I gave Finn a Smookie today and when he was done, he said, "I NEED another cookie. I NEED TWO!" He got points for being able to count, but, alas, still not enough to get another cookie (at least until dinnertime).

What is a Smookie, you ask? Good question. Smear melted milk chocolate on a peanut butter cookie. Smear melted marshmellow creme on another peanut butter cookie. Press together. Voila! Smookie! Pretty rad.

Steppin' Out

Scott and I went to my work's annual Christmas party. It's a pretty nice affair, so I always look forward to getting dressed up. However, this year we had a thoroughly awful time! We couldn't find the new place they were having it at, and by the time we did, I was in a pretty terrible mood. Then, we were sort of late because we looked for the place for so long, so almost all the tables were full--at least all the ones with people I knew. I had arranged to sit with a certain person, but I couldn't find him, so we ended up sitting at a completely empty table so that I could save my friend a seat in case he showed up. The waitresses were even cracking jokes to us ("What, did you tick everyone off?"--Oh yes, I nearly slapped her in my bad mood). So what did Scott and I do? We wolfed down our entrees and snuck out to the movies! We went to see Four Christmases, which really wasn't that great, but I figured it was better than sitting at our empty table being pityed! So much for my big night out!

Here's a cute pic of Kinley all bundled up to go out shopping:

And here's Finn in the little diaper "bed" that he made last night. Kids do the weirdest things!:

There is such a cold front moving in! We went to the park yesterday around noon and it was beautiful! After about 30 mins, however, a big wind came up and it instantly got 10 degrees colder. So strange! Finn's been saying the strangest things lately too, espiecially when he's mad. He got angry that we left the park, so he was yelling at me in the car and said "Mommy! Go Home! No! Go to Work!" It kind of made me laugh! He doesn't know what "work" is, but I guess he figures we are gone, so he wanted me to go there! He is always trying to boss me around about where to go. Half the time in the morning, I go into his room and he yells "NO NO NO, GO!" and wants me to shut the door so he can continue playing/reading/tearing apart his room. I need to teach him to say "Mommy, I would like to play alone a bit longer, so can you please excuse me while I shut the door?" Wouldn't that be polite? :) LOL! No doubt, Finn has definitely been acting like a 2-year-old lately.

Santa Saturday!

We went to my mom's work to see Santa today! Finn was way more excited about the candy canes than he was about the big man himself!

This is hilarious!

If you want to see how crazy my son is, click here and watch the video!

Here it is...

This is about the closest we've ever gotten to getting Kinley to smile on camera:

And here's just a funny one:

She rolled over today! I missed it because I was talking to the cable guy, but when I turned back around, she was on her face! She's been sitting up a lot in her Bumbo chair too. We got her an exersaucer for Christmas and she'll no doubt be ready for it!

I've been making Finn play outside a lot lately since the weather is still warm. He has a huge box of chalk that he loves to draw with outside (thanks Leah and Noah!). He's definitely a righty! Kinley might be a lefty though, she is ALWAYS chewing on her left hand! Anyway, I was trying to think of ways that I could teach Finn Spanish. He is just such a sponge and absorbs EVERYTHING! He already knows how to count in Spanish and I don't even know where he picked that up (Dora I guess, but we haven't even been watching it lately). I think I'm going to focus on teaching him Spanish words this winter and also on letter sounds and recognizing words. He already knows most of the letter sounds, but I thought I would start pushing the letters that words start with. It's so amazing how much he loves reading! He always has! Starting when he was about 1, he began recognizing all the letters and loves any toy or book that has to do with the alphabet. Anyway, I don't mean to go on about it, but I just wonder if it has to do with the fact that I've read like a maniac to him since birth, or if he just would have liked it anyway? It's definitely his "thing."

Here's a couple more cute pictures! I love Kinley's Christmas tree bow!:

My little elfykins!

Here's Kinley in her little elfin costume:

And here she is, sucking her thumb! I caught her doing it today:

My son, the tube-head

Today, Kinley, Finn and I were sitting around talking about how much we love each other. I said, "Bubba and I sure love Kinley." Then I turned to Finn and said, "Kinley and I sure love Bubba, too." Finn patted me on the arm and said, "I love you too Mama." Before I could even say, "Aw, thanks, Bub," he was running across the room to the television yelling, "I LOVE TV!" At least he only hugged the set rather than turning it on! LOL!

Our Christmas Tree

Finn's Eye View

Finn loves to grab the camera. This weekend he actually took some pretty cool pics! It's neat to see things from his point of view.

Thanksgiving in Pictures

Scott cooked, I cleaned, and we all had a great time! This Thanksgiving has made me think more than I've probably ever thought about how grateful I am. I am so glad I started taking active steps to being more postive and optimistic a few months ago. I now know I am truly blessed and how lucky I am!