Summer Roundup

Our new family (also known as the WORST PICTURE EVER TAKEN):

I know summer has been over for a week now, but I'm a little slow :) This summer has been great obviously. I probably spent too much time griping about the hassles of being pregnant, but it really wasn't so bad. I got to spend some much time with Finn doing some really fun things. We definitely made the most of every play opportunity. I got my healthy baby girl without too much waiting or impatience. I'm still shocked that she was a few days early! Speaking of--she's already 4 weeks old! I have to admit, I was unsure about adding another to our family, but she has just fit right into our lives like a missing puzzle piece. I don't know if it's just easier the second time around or what, but our lives haven't even been too disrupted. Besides staying in and watching a little extra TV, things are about the same. Which is to say that Finn is about the same. He is such an amazing guy! He still hasn't been negative about his sister at all. He's a great big brother.

Anyway, we have finally gotten through all the birthing, birthdays and bathing suits for the summer. I am really looking forward to the holidays with the kids. Halloween is one of my favorites! I imagine we will be having Thanksgiving at my house again, which I always like. And then there is Christmas! Finn is going to have so much fun this Christmas. I think he'll actually get it this year. I am also looking forward to the next year with Kinley. It's so cool to have a little baby again! It's so neat to watch them learn EVERYTHING.

The Apple of My Eye!

(I know Kinley has taken over this blog, but I promise Finn is getting attention too!)

I don't have much time for writing...

so here's some pics and a video! Finn is so cute with his baby sister. He always says "Hi sweetie" and "It's okay baby" when she's crying. He's been trying to give her hugs lately. He also does this thing where he puts his head against hers. I guess he figures this is as close as he can get without getting dragged away. He's such a good Bubba!

P.S.--my baby girl is so pretty!

Remember when you used to dress up your dolls?

This is so much cooler!:

And here is Kinley in her first REAL cloth diaper. We'll have to do pre-folds for now since she has some growing to do before she'll fit in the pockets!:

Boys will be boys...

Why is it that everytime Finn gets in his sandbox, he takes off his shoes? He then runs all over the backyard in his socks (because Mom is too lazy to put the shoes back on) and gets them totally filthy! Today he also begged me to help him stick fingers down all the antholes in the backyard.

Yesterday we decided to try out the toddler bed for his nap. He never fell asleep, but he also never left the bed. As far as I can tell, he spend the hour and a half kicking his foot against the wall, reading books and playing with his new Toy Story figurines. We got him these figurines yesterday at the Disney Store and that are his new favorite thing! He's been carrying them all over the house. Here he is playing with them:

Anyway, we plan on trying the bed again tomorrow night. It's not so much that I'm eager to get him out of the crib, but I am eager to get the crib out of his room, so we can move some of the toys from the living room into there. Anyway, here's Finn taking a self-portrait:

We took Kinley to the doctor yesterday and she's already at 8 lbs! She was born at 7 lbs, went down to 6 lbs, 11 0z at 3 days, and now she's gone back up to 8! We'd been concerned because she keeps vomiting up entire meals, but the doc said that's probably because she is over-eating. She said I might want to try a pacifier first instead of breastfeeding everytime she wants something to suck on. So far it has worked! No vomit yesterday!

Here's Kinley with her first dolly!:

Hanging Out

This was the best we could do for a pic of the 4 of us (it's hard to keep kids still!):Kinley's first cloth diaper--I made it myself and it SO doesn't fit!:
Rainy day tea party:
Pretty in purple:
Kinley's first bling:

I've been alone with the kids for the first time since yesterday. So far, it hasn't been too bad! Kinley is starting to have a pretty regular routine of waking up for a couple of hours in the morning, then sleeping all day until she wakes up for a couple of hours in the evening. That leaves most of the middle part of the day for me to play with Finn and then have some down time to myself during his nap. My kids rock!

I can't help myself!

How sweet it is...

I just wanted to give a shout-out to all my great friends! After Finn was born, I felt like I had no one, and know I have so many people I can hang out with (and their great kids). Not only are my friends sweet, they are all so talented! I learn something new everytime I hang out with them. How lucky am I?

More pics!

Everything is still going great here. Finn has been very interested in his sister, unfortunately, he doesn't quite understand that she's FRAGILE. She's already been poked and jiggled much more than she'd probably like! She's a tough girl (she is named after a mountain and all)! Last night was great! I had been worried all day because she was never awake much during the day, but she slept all night too! We also had our first outing yesterday to the park. Kinley slept through it, but I think Finn was grateful to get out!

Big Bubba!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Finn has been so great with his little sister! He has been real curious about her and will even ask "Where'd Kinley go?" when she's sleeping. He hasn't been jealous at all! He's such a big boy! Overnight he suddenly seems like an ogre though--he's so large compared to Kinley! Bringing her home has made me realize how grown up he is. Most of the time, he'll just play by himself and doesn't even need us to keep him occupied. It's really nice, but bittersweet of course! Anyway, I am so proud of him!

A few more pics...