Dear Finn,

Finn (Finner, Finnercakes, Finny, Finnyface, Finnster, Finn baby Finn),

You're one year old today.  Where did it go?  12 months.  365 days.  I can't believe I've had you in my life and in our family for that long, and at the same time, you fit with us like you've always been with us.  It's been a busy year for our little clan.  We moved very soon after you were born and started over again in a new place.  It's been a difficult year at times, but Finn, you've been a trooper.  You've always been a good little baby.  You roll with the punches. You smile through the rough spots and don't stay mad or frustrated for very long.  You are my sunshine boy.  Through the last year there were times when I felt at the end of my rope and I'd look at your little face and you'd give me one of your beaming smiles that completely light up the room, and everything looked brighter and easier.  You are my little angel boy.

From the day you were born I just adored you.  You have the most adorable cheeks, chunky legs, and beautiful smile.  I'd sit in the hospital bed, knowing that I should put you down and get some rest, but I just didn't want to stop snuggling and staring at you and enjoying those few precious hours of you and me at the beginning of our adventure together.  We wanted you, Finn.  We wanted you so much.  What a beautiful little boy you are.  From the beginning you looked like your daddy and you do more every day, which, in my opinion, is a lucky thing cause he's a very handsome guy.  You have his eyes.  And I love your daddy's eyes.  They sparkle and absolutely light up when you smile, just like your daddy's do.  It's a beautiful thing to see.  I'm amazed at how easily you smile and let out your short, grunty giggle.  All people have to do is look at you and you'll gladly flash your biggest smile at them.  We make friends wherever we go because you, tiny little baby you, are already making friends.  Just like your Dad.

It's been interesting as a parent, having two boys in a row and realizing that, although you have the gender thing in common, you are very different.  Things that worked with Tate do not work with you so we've had to figure out what you need and how to give it to you.  You're not a snuggler like Tate is.  You like to be held and carried places, but you're always facing out, taking in your surroundings and figuring things out and as soon as we're done going where we're going, you dive our of our arms and want to be on the ground making your own way.  You don't like to lie on our shoulders.  You don't like to snuggle while I sing to you before bed.  One of the most difficult things as your mother, a snuggler myself, is not being able to snuggle and hug away your tears.  When you get sad or frustrated, holding you, singing to you, rocking you, has never made it better.  This is hard for me sometimes as a mommy because I feel like you're an extension of my heart.  I'm sad when you're sad and it's hard for me not to be able to fix it for you.  But luckily, you don't get upset very often, and it never lasts long when you do, so my inability to calm you isn't a disaster.  You may not be big into snuggling, but it's okay.  I just think you're independent.  Determined to figure it out on your own even though you're just a little guy.  And you know what, it makes every teensy lean or still moment, or momentary collapse into me while I'm holding you mean so much more because I know it's really for me.  To show me that you love me.

One thing you do have in common with your older brother and your dad, is your affinity for people.  You love being around people and don't often feel unsure or shy around anyone new.  If there's another baby crawling around in church, you have to be on the ground with them chattering, smiling, and following them around.  You can't stand to be left out of the fun at the park, or when Tate plays with toys.  You've always been big on being with others.  You're friendly and seem to light up when people are around.

You love you dad and your big brother.  You love me too, but not as dramatically.  Probably because I'm always around and I'm sort of a given.  But when Tate gives you a hug or a kiss or pats your head or wrestles with you a bit it's like he just turned on the sun for you.  You love when Dad comes home too.  No matter what's going on when that door opens and your Dad walks in, you are beyond happy.  You spend the next few minutes making sure you can see Dad and he can see you and beaming at him.  I can relate.  It's my favorite time of day too.

You are a tough little boy.  You are physically strong, and emotionally tough too.  From the beginning your little hands could grip amazingly tightly and your arms can pull so hard.  One of the things I remember most from your baby blessing is when your Dad mentioned that you are blessed with physical strength and it will serve you well in life.  You are one strong boy Finn, in every way.  You take falls and bonks in stride, you aren't easily thrown off you game by traveling or staying somewhere new.  You can also be so stubborn when you feel like it.  When you want something it's very hard to distract you from it.  Luckily, what you usually want when you get upset is just food or milk and that's easy to fix, but when it's something else, like wanting to empty the kitchen cupboards, and we won't let you, you let us know that you are upset and you don't give up easily.  Your toughness will serve you well, little Finn.  Some frightening things have happened in this first year of your life, and I, like any momma, worry for you.  But when I really think about you, the boy you are and the boy you will become, I worry less.  Because you are a strong boy.  You will stand up for yourself.  You will defend what you know is right.  And you will do it all while being the bubbly, kind, happy boy that you are and you will be fine.  You will win people over wherever you go just like you always have.

You are loved, baby.  Your Daddy adores you.  Your big brother adores you.  And I adore you too.  You have the best big brother a kid could ask for.  He is proud of you.  He calls you "my baby" and tells everyone who admires you that you are "his".  I'm glad that you have each other and you have your Dad.  He is an incredible Dad.  People used to ask me when I was pregnant with you if I was sad you weren't a girl.  I always thought that was so silly.  I LOVE my two little boys and I'm so incredibly glad that you and Tate have each other and that you'll grow up together sharing, playing, and helping each other.

Little Finn, I love you.  I'm so proud of you and am grateful every single day that I get to be your mom.  I can't wait to watch you grow.  To hear your first words.  To watch you walk, then run after you big brother. To understand and get to know you more as you learn to express yourself.  But I also ache for this year that I will never have again.  The sleepless nights where I held your tiny sweet baby body.  Just you and me, having some alone time in the silent house as Tate and Daddy slept.  The first time you turned your head at the sound of Tate's voice.  The first time you giggled at me when I tickled you on your changing table.  Watching you learn to crawl and chatter to yourself while you roll cars along the floor.  Watching you laugh at and try to copy Tate's lion Raaaaaarrrrrr.  I've loved this year with you and wish we could do it all a few more times just to make sure I don't forget any of those precious little things that have made raising baby you so wonderful.  

My Baby Finn, I can't believe that you're already one.  That soon you'll be walking and needing me less and less and less.  You are an incredible little boy.  I admire so many qualities that you possess and we'll do our best to help you grow into the incredible man I already see in little baby you.  You are going to do great things, my baby.

The world is yours, Finny.  Happy Birthday, my baby.

Love,
Mom

Last Picture Wednesday

Today Finn baby is 52 weeks old.  His first birthday is on Friday.  Unbelievable.  He's so big.  So, so big.  I love it and really don't love it at the same time.  I have a big birthday letter to write to my little boy, but I think I'm gonna leave that for a couple more days.  So, for now, here's our very last picture Wednesday.  Little Finn at 52 weeks old today.

This morning we took Tate to his preschool Christmas program.  It was so fun.  Glenn even went in to work late so he could come and watch.  A few weeks ago Tate's preschool sang at Barnes and Noble for a little fund raiser and he was parked next to a darling little girl who sang very loudly.  Tate spent the entire "program" that night with his hands over his ears.  He didn't sing a single word, just stood there covering his ears.  So this time we talked about how we were excited to hear him sing the songs he's practiced and I hope he will not cover his ears this time.  He looked at me all concerned and said, "But mom, what if someone is singing really loudly?"  I told him, that would be just fine and he can sing loudly too.

This morning he was standing next to the same darling girl and he did great.  He was so excited to see Glenn and I.  He kept smiling at us, talking to us.  In between songs he played jingle bells on his imaginary trumpet until his teachers told him to be quiet.  It was awesome.  I didn't realize how fun these simple little things are for parents!  I loved every second.

We're busy getting ready for Christmas around here.  Lots of last minute cleaning, shopping and wrapping along with Christmas parties, treat delivering, and of course there's still Young Men's, piano lessons, and Lacrosse practice too.  But it's been a wonderful Christmas time so far.  A few days ago we decorated a gingerbread house and a gingerbread train.  Tate had fun sticking candy all over them and singing to himself.

 Our Christmas party season started with a trip to see the zoo lights at our zoo here.  All the special events at the zoo here are not included in our membership which is a total bummer, but lucky for us, our amazing realtor and his company threw a Christmas party at the zoo one night.  They had a ton of food and we got to roam around and see the zoo lights for free.  It was really pretty and really cold, but  Tate still had fun finding all of the zoo animals made of Christmas lights.

We had two Christmas parties with Newfield this year.  One for families at the aquarium where we had breakfast, met with Santa, and then toured the aquarium, always a favorite.  Tate had a nice chat with Santa and told him all about the "hot mobile" (hot wheels) track that he wants for Christmas.  

Finn wasn't sure how he felt about this guy with all the white fur but it wasn't traumatic, so we'll take it.

They do such a good job putting on these events for their employees.  They had a big treat bag filled with fish-themed goods for Tate, and breakfast was a yummy buffet complete with a pasta bar with candy, syrup, chocolate syrup and other goodies a la Elf.  It was hilarious.

Then last weekend we attended Newfield's big couple's Christmas party.  It was at a very nice hotel down town.  We dressed up all fancy and had a delicious dinner.  Every year they have a different theme for the party.  This year they did a murder mystery party.  It was interesting.  Glenn, of course, really got into it.   At one point a cop pulled him up out of the crowd (he'd been 'volunteered' by a lady in his office without him knowing), and made him sing Part of your World, in front of the whole party.  Then he re-enacted the murder that happened at the beginning of the party.  Basically, a lady came in screaming that she'd been stabbed, ran around the room screaming, then fell down in the middle of the dance floor...so Glenn enacted that for them.  Hilarious and very brave.  I sat there the whole night just praying that the detectives who were pulling people from the party, wouldn't pick me to make a fool of myself.  But Glenn didn't mind one bit.

Glenn spent the evening writing down all of the clues, explaining his reasoning to everyone at the table, and then at the end he turned in our idea of "who did it".  Unfortunately, we did not win, but it was a fun evening.  After the dinner was over there was dancing and a few songs in Glenn and a bunch of people from the office pulled this out.

Glenn was asked to participate a few days before and they'd been practicing at work every day.  Hilarious.

This time of year always goes so fast.  And with being away for a week for our Disneyland trip that I still need to write about, it seemed even faster this year.  We plan to squeeze every bit of Christmas-ing out of these last few days that we can!

Heaven

Some mornings Tate is extra emotional before he gets breakfast in his tummy, and once he's full he (usually) miraculously become his sweet self again.  This morning the conversation at breakfast somehow got around to visiting Nana's house and how Tate wanted to see Cheyenne.  Cheyenne is Nana's kitty and she passed away a couple of months ago so we again discussed how she got sick and now she's living with Heavenly Father.   He immediately started crying and said,

T: "No.  I don't want her to be with Heavenly Father!  Did they bury her in the back yard?"

Me: "Yes, sweetie, they did."

T: "No!  The dogs are going to die and go to Heaven too, aren't they mom?"

Me: "Not yet, honey.  But you know what, we get to see Cheyenne again when we go to Heaven."

T: "No!  I don't want to go to Heaven!  No, please!  I don't want to die!"

Me: "Oh, Tate.  We're not going to die for a very long time.  Don't worry.  I just didn't want you to be sad because you will get to see Cheyenne again someday when we get to go to Heaven together."

Tate continued to be hysterical about dying so I quickly changed the subject and we talked about our Disneyland trip while I fixed breakfast.  A few minutes later I gave him his vitamins.  A few weeks ago he asked why we eat vitamins and I told him they help us not get sick.  So when I handed him his vitamin c he said:

"So Mom, vitamin C will keep us from going to Heaven."

Well, I guess you could look at it that way.

Picture Wednesdays

 We were out of town last week and I missed picture Wednesday again.  We took our boys to the Happiest Place on Earth with most, but sadly not all of my family and it was wonderful.  I have so much to write about that trip.  It will just have to be another time because little boy #1 is waking up from his nap.  So here we are, two Picture Wednesdays in a row again.
Here's little Finny last week.  Happy in his stroller at 50 weeks old

And here he is today at 51 weeks old

Little Finn is really happy lately.  I don't know why I said lately...he's just happy still.  He did have one ornery day this week as he cut another new tooth.  That makes 7 for the little almost one year old.  I can't believe he'll be one next week.  So I am choosing not to deal with it until next week.  I'll just enjoy my happy little baby for now.  

Last night little man decided he wanted to take a few first steps!  You might want to turn the volume down/off.  I'm rather loud in my enthusiasm.

He's still much faster at crawling and therefore finds little motivation to walk, but he's getting really good at this back and forth to mom and dad game.

Shakin' it.

We finally got out the Christmas music after Thanksgiving.  I wait until after Thanksgiving out of respect to my sweet husband.  I'd listen to it all year round if it were up to me.  I think Tate feels the same way.  He just could not hold still once we turned it on.  I have no idea where he got these moves, but I can't stop laughing when I watch it.  I love that this is what came out when he felt like shakin' it.  Hilarious.

Picture Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, and Family pictures

I got busy last week and forgot to post Picture Wednesday.  So here are two in a row.
Finny at 48 weeks old.

And little man today at 49 weeks old.

Finny took his first of what I'm sure will be many tumbles down the stairs last night and ended up with a little goose egg on his fluffy little head.  Poor kid recovered really quickly but it was still pretty sad.  I cannot believe he's going to turn one in just a few weeks!  It blows my mind that a year ago I was huge and pregnant, we were living in Houston, had no idea that we'd be moving to Denver, and were getting ready for Christmas and playing with our one little boy.  Lots of changes this year.  All good ones, of course.
Last week my mom, dad, and Kenzie came to stay for Thanksgiving.  I wish I had taken more pictures but, as usual, I forgot to bring my camera around and only ended up with a couple of photos of our time together.  Tate spent much of the time snuggling with Grandpa on the couch.  He sure loves his Grandpa.  Finn loved having more people to follow around the house and smile at.  It was SO nice having them here.  Tate discovered Talking Tom on Nana's phone.  I've since had to upload it on my phone as well. I'll have to video him playing with it.  It's pretty great.

They got here Wednesday night.  On Thursday we went for a nice little jog then got to work on the food.  We had "dinner" at Aunt Nancy's house at 1 so it was a full morning of cooking and watching the parade.  Dinner was wonderful.  Everything was perfect and the conversation was great too.  Brady and Kenzie were even able to peer pressure Tate into trying some of his ham at the kids table.  A huge feat.  And we only heard one loud gagging noise from their table, which we consider a success for Tate when trying new foods.  Maybe we should have them eat dinner with us every night.
After dinner we vegged on the couch and watched a movie while Tate settled down to watch Star Wars in the other room.  We've been watching Disneyland rides online in anticipation of our disneyland trip and he was really excited about Star Tours.  The robots, the space ships, lasers and light sabers.  All things awesome.  I snuggled with him while we watched the whole movie then he ran around the house  for the rest of the evening humming the theme song.  (hmmmm hmmmmmm hm hm hm HMMMMM hmmmm) and every day since he's been R2D2, C3PO, or Chewy.  A great discovery for little Tate.

Kenzie and I decided to brave the outlet malls on Thursday night for some early black friday deals.  We both bought a couple of things and I found some great deals on clothes for the kiddos.  It was really fun.  The lines weren't too bad, the crowds were friendly.  I think I'd do it again.  Kenz and I had fun, even though I made her listen to Bing Crosby Christmas music in the car.  She survived.

Friday and Saturday were spent going for walks and drives, going to movies, and watching movies at home while snuggling little kids.  At one point there was a game on ESPN 3 (?) that Glenn and Dad had to watch and since we didn't have it on cable they relocated to the office to watch it on the computer.  Of course they couldn't watch a game without a couch so that had to come with.

On their last night we made tons of food again, just for fun.  Tate enjoyed watching the ice cream maker do it's thing. 

It was a great, relaxing weekend with the family.  I miss them and I love that my kids love having them around, though it is always a bummer when they leave and Tate starts crying, "I don't want them to go!  Nooooo!"  It was a very nice and chill Thanksgiving.

A little over a month ago we made a quick trip to Utah for a BYU lacrosse alumni game.  Glenn really wanted to play and we found a great photographer (actually the wife of one of Glenn's former teammates) to take our family pictures while we were in town.  It worked out perfectly.  The kids were in pretty good moods, which was lucky, the weather cooperated, the light was beautiful, and Victoria did a great job.  Her rates were really nice and she sent us a disc with all our pics which not many photographers will do anymore.  I'll definitely be calling her again in the future!  Here are a few of our favorites:

Picture Wednesdays

Picture Wednesday got away from me last week so here's two in a row:

Finnster at 46 weeks old

 He wants to start climbing the stairs.  I want him to not.  I should just break down and buy a gate...but I haven't yet, so we just keep a really close eye on little scooter.  It is pretty hilarious watching him when we're upstairs and he gets sight of the stairs and absolutely bolts toward them to see if he can get there before we catch him.  I wonder if we let him fall a couple of times, if he'd find them as exciting...

And here's Finn today at 47 weeks old.  

Guess where Finn and I spent the morning while Tate was at preschool?  At our darling booth at the Grandmother's House Boutique.  

It opened yesterday and, if I do say so myself, it's pretty darn cute.  Yesterday was kinda slow, today seemed slower, but supposedly the last three days should pick up.  I hope it does so we can sell all of our beds!  

Recent Ponderments

Here's a list of my brain's recent ponderments.  Perhaps if I write it all out some space will be vacated...sort of like fluff coming out of a popped seam on a really overstuffed teddy bear...at least that's what it feels like in there.

- It's election day.  I voted a couple weeks ago.  I think I'll always vote early.  There was no wait in line, Tate helped push all the buttons and got a sticker which was pretty cool for him.  I'm loving living in a swing state.  I had people from both camps knock on my door asking who I plan to vote for.  The commercials are annoying and CONSTANT.  Seriously, which women do these guys thing they are winning over by bludgeoning their opponent?  I'm turned off by the aggression and character slandering on both sides.  It's lame.  Just tell me what YOU are about, please.  It makes you look dumb when you tell me what a loser your opponent is.  Of course you think he's a loser.  I already know you think he's a loser.  This year is the first time I've watched the debates.  Judge if you must, but I just haven't been that interested until this year.  I found them fascinating...and also kind of ridiculous.  Sometimes it felt like the conversation went like this:

 "In response to that question let me explain to you the nonsensical way that he would answer this question.  I know, right.  Of course that wouldn't work!"

"Oh no. That is not the way I would answer the question at all, but this is what he thinks!  Does that make any sense to you?  I thought not."

"Oh no it isn't!  But this is the ridiculous kind of crap that HE thinks!"

"Oh yeah?!...."

Repeated over and over...and I was never sure if any of it was true.  Interesting, this politics stuff.

I must say, however, that I love having my vote make a difference.  A real difference, this time.  Utah and Texas were voting one way no matter what I did.  But dear old Colorado cares what I think and I like that.

- Two weeks ago we had Stake Conference and sat with the Garvins who helped wrangle our kiddos for 2 hours.  Last week we were driving home from Utah on Sunday and weren't able to attend.  But 2 days ago Sunday, was our first of what will be many many many 3-hour long wrestling matches with dear little Finny.  It was no good.  Do we force the poor wiggly kid to sit on our laps through classes as we frantically try to quiet him by shoving bits of food in his mouth?  He's tired.  It's naptime!  Do we let him crawl around during class, eating mystery nuggets from the floor and giving it a good polish with his nice light khakis?  Is he old enough to "learn" that he needs to stay in class no matter what because going out in the hall is not an option unless he's "naughty"?  I don't want to miss classes.  I like going to church.  But it's suddenly become such a battle and it will be a battle for 8 more months!  Dreading.  It was so hard it had Glenn saying several times, "No more kids, Kim."  I'm not ready to make that commitment so...thoughts or suggestions?  Anyone?  For the good of our procreative possibilities?

- I've been sewing and crafting a lot lately.  Nap times are way too short but it's fun to have new projects to fill them with.  I did a craft fair last Saturday with my cousin Lindsay and it was so much fun.  Did we rake in the dough?  No.  But we made a bit of cash and had a great time people watching and chatting about most everything.  Next week we have another craft fair with our Aunt Nancy.  We're making doll beds and bedding sets for American Girl size dolls.  I think they're turning out stinkin' cute.  I REALLY hope they sell and we make some moolah back.  If not, all ya'll might be getting doll beds for Christmas...or perhaps some of the few people who visit my etsy site will get very good deals on  doll beds for Christmas.  How many do I have?  Let's just say our office/sewing room closet is looking pretty silly these days. This is what I've been doing for the last couple of months:

- I just finished reading "Bossypants" by Tina Fey.  I busted up laughing all. the. time. while reading.  Can I recommend it to any of you?  no.  The language is pretty bad.  Call me a heathen if you must but I could not put it down.  I do not agree with a lot of things she says, her politics, obviously the language, etc.  But there were a lot of jewels in there.  I've found that while I'm not an expert wordsmith, I do have the gift of appreciating the well put together thought.  During conference I find myself writing down phrases that struck me, not because of the novel idea, but because the way it was worded really struck a note with me.  It was like that, for me, reading this book.  She had a way of writing that made me think and nod in agreement while laughing hysterically.  I was constantly badgering Glenn lying next to me at the edge of dreamland with, "Ok, just let me read you one more thing."  "Oh honey, this is so funny, I've got to read you this."  Or I'd just bust up laughing to myself and after a few seconds he'd say, "Well, you can't just laugh out loud and not share it."Here are a few of my favorite gems:

• When talking about how she was respectfully afraid of her father, "How can I give my daughter what Don Fey gave me?  The gift of anxiety.  The fear of getting in trouble.  The knowledge that while you are loved, you are not above the law.  The World-wide Parental Anxiety System is failing us if this many of us have made sex tapes."  I thought of many of my former junior high students when I read that.  Not the sex tapes part, the part about parents being able to let their kids know that they are loved, but still accountable to rules and standards.  There should be a fear, a respect for authority and rules.  I grew up with it.  I hope my boys do too.
• In discussing photoshop and physical standards for women, "'Why can't we just accept the human form as it is', screams no one.  I don't know why, but we never have.  That's why people wore corsets and neck stretchers and powdered wigs."
• In a silly prayer she wrote for her young daughter, "And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord.  That I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 a.m., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.  'my mother did this for me once,' she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby's neck.  'My mother did this for me.'  And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me.  And she will forget.  But I'll know, because I peeped it with your God eyes."

- I'm super food moody lately.  Sometimes I call Glenn and say, "I'm Fmoody, what should I make for dinner?"  I plan meals, write them on a menu board, buy groceries for the week...and I get around to making them all...but it usually takes longer than a week because none of it sounds good anymore. I get hungry but nothing sounds good.  Every option makes me wanna cry or just not eat. I know that sounds ridiculous and lame considering that I am lucky to have food at all.  I realize how ridiculous I sound.  I do.  But I'm bummed about it right now.  It almost feels like I'm pregnant, which I am not, by the way.  But it has reminded me that being pregnant is like a permanent case of the fmoodies with the delightful addition of constant nausea and vomiting and that I am, currently, not ready to wallow in those delights again!

- I have a new niece today.  Adam and Cami had a baby girl named Abigail Marie this morning.  I've only seen a couple of tiny pictures but she is darling with tons of hair and amazing cheeks.  I cannot wait to meet her!  I'm so glad they finally have their little baby girl to hold and snuggle and love to bits.  I'm so happy for them.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

One of Tate's favorite books is "Where the Wild Things Are."  He could quote the entire book when he was not quite 2 and still just loves it.  One night recently we were reading it and we got to the end where Max gets back to his very own room and finds his supper waiting for him.  Tate has this new habit of grabbing things out of the book as we're reading it.  He takes animals to hold, food, and other fun things from the pictures and pretends that he is playing with them.  So at the end of the book he started grabbing the supper and said, "Mom, I'm grabbing the Night Max's cake.  And the Night Max's soup."  I thought about it for a second and then pointed to a picture of Max and asked, "Tate, who is this?"  He said, "That's the Night Max mom."  Aaaaahh.  I see.  

To Tate, the first sentence of the book is not saying, "The evening that Max wore his wolf suit...."  It says, "The Night Max wore his wolf suit."  So when he was looking through a catalog one day and saw a "Night Max" costume, we knew what he was going to be for Halloween this year.  

 I'm really glad we found it and that he was super excited about wearing it because prior to this discovery he wanted to be a crocodile...well, not just any crocodile.  He wanted to be "the crocodile from Peter Pan with a window in my tummy so that people can see the clock that I swallowed."  Right. How am I supposed to do that?  This was much easier and Tate was thrilled every time he got into his Night Max costume.  He loved his crown, his tail, his terrible claws.  It was all just so cool!

We had the ward trunk-or-treat last night, went to Glenn's work for lunch in costume today, and then of course, trick-or-treating tonight.  It took a bit of explaining when Tate told people he was the Night Max, when asked.  Though, I was surprised how many people recognized his costume.  It was really fun to see him so excited about his costume.  He never wanted to take it off and even wanted to wear the whole get up in the car to drive to Glenn's office.

I loved the tail hanging out of the car seat.  I hope we can find costumes every year that he is this thrilled with.  It made the whole day so much more exciting.

Luckily little Finny was pretty indifferent to the whole thing.  Costume?  No costume?  No matter.  We found this little puppy costume for Finny.  We just thought it was cute and the little tongue sticking out seemed appropriate.  Then we remembered this picture...

And thought maybe they do go together after all.  Poor sweet unsuspecting Finny.

Here is our Night Max showing off his Wild Thing treat bucket and roaring his terrible roar.  

 It was a great Halloween.  Both boys were happy and sweet all day.  We went trick-or-treating for about 20 minutes and then Tate said, "Mom, my bag is sooooo heavy.  We should probably go home."  Well, all right then.  Easy peasy.

And here's our little puppy Finny's picture Wednesday at 45 weeks old!

 Hope your wild rumpus was as great as ours!  Happy Halloween!

Finn in pictures

Hey, it's me, Finn.  My mom is always talking about me, but I figured it was about time I get a word in around here.  So here I am, cute as can be at 44 weeks old.  Yep, dangerously close to a whole year old and I'm not stoppin', no matter what my mom says.  This growing thing is awesome!

Here's what I've been up to lately:

 I love to walk.  If you'll hold my hands I'll get going down the hall as fast as my little legs can go and you'll be rewarded with one of my handsome smiles.

I know my mom says that my tongue is silly, but ya know what?  Sometimes a guy's gotta focus and if the tongue comes out, then so be it.  This walking stuff takes a lot of concentration.  Do you know how many muscles have to work at once to make this happen?  The tongue is necessary.

 My big brother is a rock star.  Seriously, have you seen him?  We picked him up from preschool today and check out what he had on his head.

 Yep, he's pretty cool.  I can't get enough of him.  Sometimes he plays with me and it's pretty much the highlight of my life.

 No one can get enough of me.  I know, I know, my cheeks are delicious.  My thighs are irresistible.  I'll smile at you for free and giggle for not much more.  I get it.  But come on!  I do not like to snuggle.  Quit trying to make me.  It's who I am.  I'm not changing!

 So...who's been holding out on me with the bananas?  These things are delicious.  And guess what?  I can eat them by myself.  I just have to figure out how this plate thing works.

Sometimes people like to tease me with my milk or my food.  They think it's funny to see me freak out.  They're always talking about how cute it is when my hands start shaking.  Let me just get this out there once and for all.  I. do. not. like. it.  Just give me the goods already.  

Yep, life's pretty good for me.  I sleep all night.  I take two long naps.  My big brother likes me and is really protective when I play with something I shouldn't.  My mom and dad love me to pieces, and aside from the constant forced snuggles, I like them too.

Well, I've gotta go get naked and splash in the tub.  It's my favorite time of day and I do not want to miss it.

Picture Wednesday and some quotes

Picture Wednesday, Finn at 43 weeks old

 Look who finally has just a little skiff of very blond hair!  Finn is getting more and more wiggly.  He never was one for snuggling into my shoulder or on my lap, but he's even less likely to snug lately.  Tate used to collapse into my shoulder when I sang to him before naps or bed time, but not Finn.  He sits straight up, looking around the room, and just smiling away until I lay him down to sleep.  Silly boy.  Church is getting to be more difficult because he is pretty unhappy sitting with us in class.  Poor sweet kid just wants to play!

Tate's come up with a few good quotes lately and I thought I'd write them down in one place:

- Tate is rather vocal while doing his business on the toilet.  He keeps us informed about his progress and the size of his business, etc.  Yesterday, I heard this gem, "Mom, that poop looks just like a seahorse!"  Well, that is just great, Tate.

- "Mom, when I was at Nanna's house, I told Cheyenne that I went to the potty and she was SO proud of me!"  (Cheyenne is Nanna's kitty.)

- "Oh look, there's a mommy poop and a baby poop!  That's SO cute!"

- Tate asked me to pick him up at the store so I picked him up and spun him around in a circle.  He gave me a big hug and said, "Well, thank you for that!"

- After watching an episode of Wild Kratts we had this conversation:

   T: Mom, a peregrine falcon is a really fast bird.

   Me: Is it the fasted bird in the world?

   T:  No no, Mom.  It's the fastest bird on the planet!

So glad we cleared that up.

- T: Mom, daddy long leg spiders are nice, aren't they?

  Me: Yeah Tate, they're nice spiders.  I think they eat pests that hurt our garden.

  T: Is it going to eat the bunnies?  Oh no.  It couldn't fit in its' mouth.

- "Maybe when I'm done with this jelly bean I could have the brown one.  Does that sound like a good idea?"

- After a discussion about how the flowers on our zucchini plant will grow into zucchini which we can cook in things like zucchini bread, Tate saw some flowers in our back yard and said, "Maybe those pink flowers will grow into banana bread!"

- At church Tate saw a little girl playing with some toys that looked fun a few rows in front of us.  He said, very politely, "May you excuse me for one minute to go up there?  That would be all right, wouldn't it?"

- After asking him to come several times and getting after him for not obeying the first time he said, "But mom, one time we were at the store and you asked me to come just one time and I OBEYED!"  Well, that's wonderful, but could we do that more often?

- While perusing the pages of his little National Geographic kids magazine, "Mom, don't interrupt me.  I'm reading my favorite magazine."

Down on the Farm

Last week was busy.  Fun busy, but busy none the less.  On Monday I got to volunteer at Tate's preschool.  It was nice to be there with him.  To understand how the system works, what their schedule is, and how the teachers interact with the kids.  It was sweet to be there with Tate and to have him excited to be with me and show me everything.  He wanted to sit by me at circle time, show me his friends and favorite things on the play ground.  It was the best.  I'm sure there won't be too many more years where he's proud to have me in his class...so I'll enjoy it while I can.  My favorite moment was when the kids were lining up to go outside to play for a bit.  The teachers were asking kids, "Do you need to go potty before we go outside?"  Tate looked at me and asked very seriously, "Mom, do you need to go potty before we go outside?"  Oh Tate, thanks for looking out for me.  I'm really glad I went and hope I'll be able to do it again soon.  Aunt Nancy watched Finn for me so I could go.  She's just plain wonderful.
On Thursday we went to May Farms for a preschool field trip.  Tate was having one of his less-frequent, but still trying, emotional mornings and we had a rough start.  We learned about corn and walked through the field,

found pumpkins and climbed on piles of hay

and then dug for potatoes.  Finn just chilled the whole time in his stroller.  He's such a chill baby.

Tate spent the first hour of the field trip glued to my side.  Hesitant to get involved, interact, or really jump in.  And then this showed up,

and he jumped in, and they went for a really long ride.

And he got out of the barrel a completely different boy.  Truly, I wondered if maybe a barrel train and tractor might be a good investment for rough mornings.  Maybe it's a cure?  Then he got to feed some farm animals and I thought his face might light up, he was so happy.

It was fun to be there with his preschool class and watch how he interacts with them and talk to the parents too.

On Saturday we went to another farm.  We got some free tickets to Mile High Farms so we met up with the Cluffs for a very cold, and therefore, unfortunately short, morning of fun.  It was a lot more commercial than the other farm.  They had built a little Halloween village just to make it look picturesque.

They had a hay castle with a huge slingshot at one end where you could fire bean bags at a target across the field.  Tate loved that.

There were some bounce houses, a few animals to pet, a corn maze, and lots of tractors to climb on.

Tate liked this one that looked like the bull that chases Lightning and Mater in Cars.

Again, couldn't say no to the barrel train.  Even Stephen got in on the fun.

Tate was much happier on this farm excursion.  He loves being around Tori and Lizzy and everything about him is exaggerated when they're around.  Especially the volume of his voice.  He kept yelling at the llama.  "Mister LlAAAAAMMAAAAAA".  

It got colder and colder as the morning went on but we were determined to make it to the pumpkin patch.  Glenn had pulled his hamstring that morning playing football with some guys in the ward.  It was bad.  He could barely hobble around the farm but he was determined to not miss out.  However, climbing up onto a bouncy trailer full of hay for a ride out to a pumpkin patch, was too much to ask.  So Tate and I rode out with the Cluffs to a huge field full of pumpkins.

The kids were in heaven.  So many to choose from!  Which one should we bring home?

We wandered through the field and ended up with an enormous pumpkin and a few fun gourds.  Tate got thoroughly dirty and had a blast but by the end we were freezing and it was raining some very cold rain so we bailed.  I'm so glad we went, and so glad we went with the Cluffs.  Tate wouldn't have had near as much fun without them.
Here's our picture Wednesday for last week.  Very late, but better that than no picture Wednesday at all, I suppose.
Little Finny, 42 weeks old.