Look Who's Crawling!

Fin learned to crawl on his 9-month birthday. Now, he doesn't stay in one spot for more than 5 seconds. Dru's comment was, "I think this is like getting a new car - at first, you're so excited, you're loving the new car smell, everything's awesome......and then you get your first bill." Exactly, dear. Well put. :)

Wowsers, time flies. Fin Fin Feroo is almost 9 months old already. Here are some snapshots of what he's been up to lately.

He loves to sit, play, and listen to music. He's always full of smiles.


And he still loves to eat. Here, he's perfecting his fine motor skills by using his thumb and forefinger in a pincer grasp to pick up puffs.


Ah, got one!

Here he is with his favorite new toy...a HAMMER! Way to make Poppy proud...

This is Fin's very excited face/pose. He tenses his little arms, tightens his little lips and makes a single, very excited grunt. Here, I believe he's anticipating the next bite of food...

He's now sitting and splashing in the bathtub by himself.

He likes bathtime!

Fin is also working on his gross motor skills - he can stand holding on to things very well. Here he is holding onto his crib rails

Fin's favorite activity (besides eating) is going for walks. He never goes very far without his beloved pink plastic elephant toy, though, which you can see in his grasp.

He loves his elephant and walks!

And, of course, he just celebrated his 1st Easter. He stayed with us during the church service instead of going to the nursery and he did very well. Here he is in his Easter outfit.

Our family at Easter

Close-up - Fin's laughing at his Poppy here, who is on the other side of the camera

And check out these two sweet Easter bunnies! My sister, Chelsea, got the kids bunny ears for Easter - here's Fin posing with his cousin Callia.

Here's a few pictures of Poppy with his other grandkids during the Easter egg hunt. My sister, Julia, hosted Easter dinner and all the festivities at her house this year. We had so much fun!

Poppy with Gretchen

Finally, here's some videos of Fin. The first shows several of his new skills including him mimicking me by clicking his tongue, clapping, and saying "ssss" - what a smart baby!

Here's more of his "mmmmm's" while eating - too funny

In one of my favorites, here he is laughing and screaming while his Daddy sneaks around behind furniture and scares him. The anticipation on his face is very cute.

March 17th

Happy St. Patrick's Day from our family to yours! :)

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