Fin's Growing!

Our little Findley James is growing so fast. He's now 7 1/2 months old, and has acheived several new skills. And, he has his first 2 teeth! The bottom 2 front ones, as you can *kind of* see in these pictures of him smiling.

And, he's eating solid foods!! His very first solid food was green beans - we didn't want him to have fruits first so that he would only eat sweet foods. However, we didn't realize that green beans are the WORST tasting of all the jarred veggies - Fin didn't realize it either, with the first couple bites. The first pic is of him smiling, and then it goes downhill from there.

Starting to wonder what's going on...

Definately realizing this is NOT good


Since then, Fin has learned to LOVE solid foods and makes a very peculiar, characteristic "mmm...mum mum mum" sound with every bite. We tried to catch it on video here.

Fin is also sitting up well - he can sit up for 30 minutes or more at a time, and enjoys lunging for toys that are nearby. It's been fascinating watching him learn.


We have taken several good pictures of him over the last few months. Here are some, in no particular order.

Sitting at the kitchen counter in his jammies, just after waking up. He does not wake up well (like his mother). :)

With his new favorite toy, a plastic phone that Dru and I got in an attempt to distract him from his obsession with the TV remote...it didn't work...our remotes are covered in baby spit

Having fun with daddy...I LOVE this picture

Cousin Callia feeding Fin....the two of them have taken quite the shining to each other

Fin eating his sock...Dru thinks this is hilarious...it reminds him of a billy goat

Eating his bottle....I love the relaxed "hand on knee" pose

My two boys in hats, going out for a walk around the neighborhood

Goofin' around with dad....check out Fin's face...he's got quite the assortment of expressions now

Aww....

Finally, a pic with mommy....he's such a happy little guy

And finally, a video of Finny laughing at dad "wrestling around" with him

A Bad Week

This past week was very difficult for my family. Our beloved Aunt Betty Rose, my mom's only sister, passed away unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism. Aunt Betty was a joyful, selfless, wonderful woman who loved and emulated her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Dru and Fin were able to accompany me to southern California for her funeral, which nearly 800 people attended. We had a nice time of reconnection with all the cousins - there are 8 of us immediate cousins, and we always so enjoy getting together. We would have enjoyed our time even more if the occasion wasn't so sad. Aunt Betty, we love you and will miss you until we see you again.

The 8 cousins in our traditional "line-up" photo by age - we've been taking line-up photo for years now and knew we might not get another chance any time soon

The silly line-up


It was an exhausting four days - Fin fell asleep in Dru's hand on the airplane during the trip home - he was such a trooper for all the traveling

To make matters worse, the day before Aunt Betty died, I had a get a cortisone shot in my wrist due to a condition called De Queverian's Tenosynovitis, a very painful condition that has been bothering me for six months. I had to wear this brace for a week straight, and then at bedtime for another 2 weeks. Yuck.

Winter Fun

My parents got a huge snowfall at their house the other weekend, and so invited all the kids and grandkids up to their house for a snow day. It was Fin's first time playing in the snow and he seemed to enjoy it.

The day started with some snuggles with cousin Callia - Fin has started reaching out to grab/hug people - it's very precious

Then it was outside with everyone...here's Dru with our little snowman

...and with Mommy

The gang goofing around and throwing snowballs

Aunt JuJu taking the kids for a spin on the sled

The 3 little winter kiddos - too funny

Dru taking all THREE kids for a spin - check out Fin's ride

Poppy and Callia putting the finishing touches on the boy and girl snowpeople

Little Gretchen enjoying the snow...she's so cute

All About Fin

Incredibly, our little Findley turned 6 months old this week. While I'm a little sad that my cuddly itty bitty baby is already sitting up and becoming more mobile, it's fun to watch as he learns new things every day. Here's some pictures and videos of what he's learned over the past few months.

He's learned a smile still gets him anything he wants


He's learned how to dress like a homie...


...and look like Daddy

He's learned the luxury of relaxing and kickin' back

Ah, yeah....

The arial view of Fin with legs crossed relaxing with Dad

He's learned how to stick his whole hand in his mouth

He's learned that Mom's pillow is his new favorite place

And that reading books with Mommy is actually FUN

And he's learned how to be modest while relaxing in the tub

THE FOLLOWING ARE ALL VIDEOS

He's also learned how to roll over!

And how to support his weight and his legs and bounce a little


He's also started all-out giggling, which is so heartwarming

And, like his father, he knows the value of a good meal. In this video, Dru is in the kitchen making dinner and says, "Dinner is ready" after which Fin smiles hugely

And Fin's finally eating solids! Here's his very first time ever trying rice cereal - he wasn't a huge fan at first, but now he loves it

Baby's First Christmas

We had a lovely first Christmas with Fin. We woke up Christmas morning at my parent's house. Here's our little bug on his first Christmas morning.

He was so excited to start opening presents



He was laughing at Poppy


Ready for stockings...


Check out Fin's smile...."Mom, can we get to the presents?!?"

Opening presents with Poppy

He got his first Loony Tunes movie!...in the words of Sylvester the Cat "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

All Fin's loot

Dru got me some beautiful crystal pieces for my collection - Fin approves

After stockings, we had my mom's famous cinnamon twists, coffee, and orange juice. Then, Chelsea, Heath, and Callia arrived and we opened some gifts with them.

Dru got a telescope from me - he's so excited to start looking at the stars

Opening gifts together

Nana and Poppy

Callia, Heath, and Chelsea got Connect Four- Callia wanted to play it all day

We had a great Christmas - hope yours was joyful as well