Laundry Day

I am totally falling in love with baby girl clothes! I've always thought boy clothes were cute too, but girl's are just so precious! Luckily, my mother-in-law, Sharyn, loves to shop AND she has great taste. She has already bought me enough clothes for the first 3 months of the baby's life! And, they are mostly from garage sales (although they look brand new), so that means they are recycled too! Sharyn has found her some really great stuff so far (and so have a lot of my other relatives)!

Finn has been teething something awful this week! Here he is chewing away:

I try to give him a little leeway since I know he's in pain, but it has made him SO cranky and naughty! He's had a few trips to timeout this week too. In this picture he isn't minding it too much though:

He is feeling a lot better the last couple of days though. He's been spending a lot of time with his Granny this week. She's been over about 4 times to babysit. He likes hanging out with her and playing in the backyard. When we tell him that Granny is coming over, he runs to the door now and starts looking for her.

Today, Finn and I went to the Farmer's Market with Nicolette and Sawyer to pick up a few things. Then they came over for a few minutes because Nicolette was nice enough to let me borrow her maternity clothes. It's really nice when your huge and feel like a whale to have some new nice things to wear. It definitely helps you feel a little better. Anyway, Finn was in a hugging mood and him and Sawyer shared the cutest little hug--until they knocked each other over! One second they were going at each other open armed, then I guess they lost balance because they fell right down! It was so adorable! Finn is now napping (he's done it all week, woohoo!), but we are just going to spend the rest of the day inside doing laundry I think. I also made some baby wipes from some leftover fleece, so I'm excited to try those out too (the things that excite me these days!). Later tonight, Scott and I are going to see the Sex & the City movie that I've been dying for! This was my all-time favorite tv show and I really hope the movie is good!

Finnisms for the week:

-Falling down and saying "I'm okay, I'm okay" over and over.

-Falling down and crying profusely.

-Saying "OHHHHHHHHH, I shay!" ("Oh, I see"??? I haven't quite figured this one out)

-Repeating "pee pee, poo poo" over and over. We brought out his potty chair this week just for him to get used to. He likes to pull it out of the bathroom and sit on it to watch tv.

-Playing with the huge bamboo sticks in the backyard:

Finn and his Granny in the backyard

Yikes!

I think I forgot to mention that Scott was recently transferred to a closer store. This is great news since gas is killing us! He now drives less than half the distance he did before AND we can go see him for lunch! Unfortunately, he has his work cut out for him. He is at an older store now and there is a ton of work to do on it. All the equipment is older and he also just has the great task of integrating himself into a new workplace. It's been somewhat of a stressful week for him I know. Fortunately, everyone there thinks he is a super great boss because his predecessor was somewhat of a jerk.

We had our playdate today. It started out good, but ended with poop on the floor (courtesy of Finn). What more can I say? You read about these things happening in mommy lit to the stressed out housewife, but then when you have a kid, you find out they are totally true--at least for me anyway! Finn was not feeling the playdate either. About halfway through he started crying and being generally distressed. I've suspected that something has been going on with him lately. He's had really loose stools but I thought it was just because I have been giving him too much fiber (raisins, etc). I thought it might be from teething too, but the Orajel I was giving him didn't seem to make a difference, so I wasn't sure if that was it. Turns out his teething is just THAT BAD. He's gotten some new molars in up top and I guess the bottom ones are coming in too. Molars are the worst! He's been cranky when teething before, but not like this! And not with the diarrhea too! I hope that the leak that happened today was from the consistency of the poo and not because of the new diapers I just bought. (I got them in last night and they are super cute! I'm going to go buy some more!). Anyway, I think for the rest of the summer I am going to limit my playdates to just one person so that my embarrassment will at least be somewhat smaller. Also, it seems that Finn doesn't really like having a bunch of people over. As soon as it was time for bye-byes he perked right up! The little guy is going to have to get over it though. Good thing he's having a sister so he can learn to share the spotlight a little.

Anyway, I snapped a few pics of him with his friends:

Finn putting on shoes

Starla, Tonya's daughter. She is only a month younger than Finn and she is super cute and girly!

Becca, Melissa, and Tonya

Hailey and Tyler, Becca's kids. They are amazingly well-behaved children and we love having them over!

Roman (Tonya's son), Bradley and Aidon (Melissa's boys) playing video games. They are also great kids.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had quite a weekend! I went to work on Friday and came home to a broken air conditioner! We sweated it out for a day and then got it fixed Sunday morning. It wasn't so bad at night, but during the day it got really hot! We had already bought tickets to go see Indiana Jones on Saturday afternoon and I felt so bad having my mother-in-law come over to babysit in the heat! We went to this really cool new theater on the southside. They have a huge screen and a balcony where they serve you drinks, meals and dessert. It was really a treat! We just ordered a sundae, but we should have gotten a meal. It was so cool. However, it was kinda far away and expensive, so we'll probably just go for special occasions.

Sunday morning we called the a/c repairman. Scott wanted to wait until after the weekend since he thought it would cost double, but it didn't end up costing extra at all! We should have gotten it fixed a day earlier! After that, we went up to Best Buy to FINALLY buy a new computer! We've been on the fence about this for so long. Our old computer did everything we needed it to, it was just really slow! It took so long to boot up or open files. I think I bought it my first year of college (8 years ago!). It's so nice to just push a button now and instantly be on the internet!

Sunday night I wanted to have my in-laws over as a little "thank-you" for babysitting and so that we could have a little Memorial Day party. I made some enchiladas from a recipe that I got from Kraft that were super good. I don't really like enchiladas because I don't like enchilada sauce, but this recipe doesn't use it. They were really easy too. I made a pretty easy cake from Kraft too.

We've done so much to get ready for the baby. I think I'm going to enjoy the summer alone with Finn, but I am starting to get anxious to have her. It's going to be a lot of fun! I learned so much from having Finn and I've started applying that already. For instance, we bought a bassinet for her that also a co-sleeper. That will be so helpful. I can wheel it around the house or even outside. It's really the little things that make it so much easier! Here is a picture of it:

Finn has been in LOVE with wearing hats lately too! He's even been sleeping in them! He's actually been quite cranky lately. I think he is getting his back molars in though. Also, he's been getting an awful diaper rash on and off. I suspect it is from all the raisins I have been giving him. It always seems like after he eats a box he gets irritated. I'm going to try cutting them out and see what that does. We are going to have a little playdate on Wednesday and I really hope it doesn't continue to rain or else the backyard is going to be very muddy. Besides my mom's group, I have a group of friends that I get together with on a regular basis for lunch or the zoo, etc. My vision is that it will be warm and dry enough for us to sit outside and watch this kids play while we just sit in hen circle and gab. However, since there are kids involved, it will probably not be this idyllic.

I got some cute videos of Finn over the weekend too. This one is him stealing Scott's cell phone and it shows his great mastery of the word "no" (and, yes, he actually DID end up texting someone):

Anyway, since Finn is ACTUALLY napping (yippee!) I am going to go play around with my new DVD burner! Hopefully I can start recording all the home videos I have!

May 22

Finn finally took a nap today! I tried to tire him out by going to a playdate, but it got cancelled. Instead we went with Scott to a park for a little bit. Finn used to love the slide and would hardly ever sit for more than a minute in the swings, but lately he has been all about the swings. He'll sit there forever! He's so friendly too. He just walks up to all the mommies on the playground and says hi (he's a bit of a flirt). And he's been so loud lately. He'll just start yelling out salutations across the playground. I'm trying to teach him to talk in a whisper voice, but so far it isn't working.

After his nap, we went to Nicolette's house to swim. She has a great pool and beautiful backyard. Finn had a great time. He really liked splashing in the pool and trying to drink the water (gross!). The last time he was in a pool was last summer when we took swim classes at the YMCA. He enjoyed it then too, but didn't really get the whole splashing thing at that point. He made up for it today! I was a little nervous to have him around a pool since he is such a wild child, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. HOWEVER, as soon as I voiced that to Nicolette, he started acting up. He kept going to the ladder at the deep end to stand at the edge of the pool or try to climb in. A couple of times I was afraid he was just going to jump! The wild child definitely came out! Anyway, we had a really great time. I'm so glad it's getting warm enough to be outside and swimming!

Of course, I forgot to take my camera to the park and the pool. It's a shame too because Finn and Sawyer were so cute together. They both had identical swim shirts on and were just adorable. They were really cute playing with the beach balls too. Sawyer would kick it and run after it, and then Finn would run along behind him. Finn really likes his little friend, but he kept trying to take his stuff today! I know it's just the stage he's at, but we have to work on the sharing thing. His idea of sharing right now is to offer something and then take it back before giving it to you.

Anyway, I did snap a picture of Finn this morning. He wanted to wear his hat around the house AND his bunny ears. Here he is playing with his little "computer":

Cloth Diapers

I've been doing cloth diapers on Finn since he turned a year old. I should have started them earlier, but I didn't want to invest without knowing what I was getting into (there are SO many different types!). My friend Nicolette showed me hers and it was a great introduction. I've been using the fold-able type with a cover mostly. However, I am so excited because I just bought some new ones! You can see them here: http://nickisdiapers.com/catalog.php?category=254
I know a lot of people cringe when they think of cleaning them, but it really hasn't been that bad. I won't lie and say that they are as convenient as disposables, but I have the time to wash them out and do a lot of laundry, so I do. And they have truly saved us SO much money! The last purchase I got this excited about was my cloth diaper sprayer. It's just a small sprayer that attaches to your toilet so you can wash the diapers out easier. It really doesn't take much time at all now!
I'm not sure if I will use cloth diapers right away on the new baby. Their waste is just so fluid and I may be a little more pressed for time at first, so I might wait a few months before I start them with her. Luckily, these new diapers grow with the baby, so I can use them now with Finn and then fold them smaller for baby girl!

Zoo Day

Finn's napping! Yay! We woke up early this morning AND went to the zoo, so I was really hoping he would be tired out enough for a nap. We go to the zoo nearly every week as a way to get out of the house, but I think we may start going less. It's getting much hotter and it will be crawling with people since school will be out soon--Another reason I am so glad we got our new swing set! It makes staying home not as boring. I think we will have to start having more playdates at our house. It's so much easier to carry on a conversation when you aren't pushing a heavy stroller up a hill!

We went to the zoo with our friends Nicolette and Sawyer, and with a friend from my mom's group, Becca, and her kids, Hailey and Tyler. All the boys are about the same age. It's so neat to watch them interact and see the differences in their personalities. I think the greatest part of parenting is just watching your kid's personality grow. I was thinking the other day "Is every kid as cool as mine?" and when we all get together I find out that, yes, they are. The way that Finn acts when we hang out with other kids is interesting too. He is a very independent, outgoing, loud, party guy (at least I think) and so for some reason I naturally assume he would be more of a an "instigator" personality, but when we are around other kids, he watches them and copies what they do. Like, when Sawyer makes a certain noise, Finn will start making it too. That happens a lot. It's interesting to see this "mimic" side of him come out around these kids. It's like a psychology lesson--the beginnings of socialization.

Anyway, I think we will just be relaxing the rest of the afternoon. I have some laundry to do (I hang it on the clothes line in the summer) and I will probably try to weed my garden a bit more. I haven't decided if I'm going to cook tonight or go for hamburgers (with a side of onion rings--it sounds so good!). If anyone is interested, you can go to kraft.com for tons of recipes and even can sign up for their free magazine. They mail it out 4 times a year and it has a TON of easy recipes in it with minimal ingredients. I use it a lot!

My clothesline

Cotton Snowballs

It was another great day outside today, however the cotton has started raining on us. My entire backyard is nearly white because the cotton trees are shedding. We spent most of the day inside cleaning however. Finn continued his insistance on not napping, so instead we sat and watched a movie for "quiet time." He's gone through phases of not-napping before, so I think it's just a short-lived thing (I hope). He has actually always been a great sleeper. For over a year now, he goes straight to sleep when I lay him in his crib and sleeps for about 12 hours uninterrupted every night. He usually takes a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon too. I really can't complain too much, although I may start putting him to bed later. It's hard to put him to sleep at 8:00pm when the sun is still shining anyway.

After a grocery store run, we played outside again. I filled up Finn's baby pool with water and positioned his slide to it. He really likes sliding down it into the water! I think we are going to have a water-fun-filled summer, espiecially since it allows me to just sit nearby and supervise. The best activities are the ones in which Finn can do while I read a magazine! Finn's tiredness showed while we played though--he kept nearly falling asleep while swinging.

I was able to tend to my vegetable garden (above) a bit too. Scott has finally convinced me that a lot of the little saplings are actually trees and not my veggies, so I had to pull out all the intruders. I've got some little peppers growing and I hope the squash start budding soon!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Hello!

My friend Nicolette started a blog like this and she did such a good job and it looked like so much fun, that (at the risk of being a copycat) I thought I'd make one too! It's kind of a neat way to stay in touch with family that I don't get to see too often. Unfortunately, my life isn't exactly riveting stuff, but if anyone is interested in how Finn and the new baby are developing, they can peek in every once and awhile.

I really wanted to start the blog today because it was such a great day! We started out by going to the Touch A Truck show at UCO. I wasn't really sure if Finn would be into it since he's so little, but Nicolette invited us and I never turn down a chance for female companionship! (Let me just take a second to say that I am so blessed to have such great friends! Ever since Scott and I got married, my friendships have taken a backseat, but now that I'm a stay-at-home mom, they are more important than ever. I have really been lucky to find some good moms that share my interests.) Anyway, Finn LOVED the trucks! He really liked getting behind the wheel and pushing the buttons on all of them. And they had a ton of different trucks there! Fire engines, police cars, motorcycles, cranes, even a helicopter! It was definitely a fun morning.

The only downside to our morning is that it completely wore me out (not Finn however, he spent nearly an hour playing in his crib before finally taking a nap). We ran by the Farmer's Market to pick up some veggies before going home. While Finn delayed napping, I read a little. I've been really lucky to actually have time to read lately. I picked up "The Historian" in the bargain bin and have really been enjoying it for about 30 mins a day.

I was still exhausted after Finn's nap, so we played outside. We bought Finn a new swing set yesterday and I was really wanting to see it in action! It was truly a great day for being outside. We've had gale force winds lately, but there was barely even a breeze today and in the shade, it was extremely comfortable. I got some great pics of Finn playing and eating a popsicle, even saying his ABC's (he is obsessed with the alphabet). He surprised me by counting to 10 all by himself too (I'll just say it--genius!)

Like I said, not really riveting stuff, and this post is probably longer than most will be just because I actually have some time to write right now. But, I hope you enjoyed and please check out my pics of Finn playing!