Another one for the bag o' tricks!

HOW BIG IS BABY FINNLEY????


BABY FINNLEY IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO BIG!!!!


(note: gotta love the chip attached to the tip of her nose, too. ha! such style!)

Leaving, on a Jet Plane...

Ok, well...not actually on jet plane. More like in a Subaru Outback. But, leaving nonetheless. The family, dog included, are all piling into the car tomorrow morning and heading out of town. We will first stop in the Columbus area to celebrate birthday tidings with the in laws. After that, we load back up and head out to Chicago. We will be there for a good number of days, and we will ring in the beginning of Finnley's second year on Sunday, August 1st...surrounded by family and friends.

Wish us luck on the road trip. Nothing screams awesome more than traveling cross-country with an almost toddler and a dog while the country experiences record heat and humidity. Ahhhh!

During our "absence", please enjoy these photos of Finnley taken today...one short week before she officially turns ONE!

Our baby. Our miracle. Our peanut. Our love.

Finnley as the Rah-Rah Girl

Finnley loves to dance. Dance like the sweet little white girl that she is. She particularly loves to dance to a few special and specific Lady Gaga lyrics (with a minor adjustment made to the ending). So, like any good mommy...I sing them. All. Day. Long. And, like the funny baby that she is, Finnley proudly shows her move every time.

A future in dancing for her? Maybe. A future in singing for me? Probably not.

Untied and Updating

Raising a child is not easy. Day to day life is sweet but challenging. Now, add in surgery to an oft used and quite necessary body part...and that day to day stuff is down right impossible. Thanks to the help of my mom and dad (aka Grandma and Grandpa), and to my wonderful husband...we have all managed to survive. Mostly unscathed. I think.

I am now finally to the point where I can type using both hands, and I guess that means that I should be putting an update out there. So, here I am. All untied and updating all of you.

Go, Me!!

We are very quickly sliding toward Finnley's first birthday, so it is only right for me to give a window into who that little munchkin is these days and what she is up to in general. So, here goes...all about Ms. Finn:

she now weighs approximately 18.6 pounds. still a string bean. still a peanut. still working on being a supermodel.

can stick out her tongue in imitation of others doing the same

totally off of the bottle since 10 months of age

totally off of formula and onto organic whole milk since just before 11 months of age

bypassed the sippy cup and went straight to straw cups (might have had something to do with her being able to suck but not being able to tip a cup) (or...as I like to think...might just be due to her genius status)

stands all the time. cruises like a pro. pushes anything with or without wheels around the room. not walking on her own...but you see that the ability is sooo there. soon enough!

can clap on command or by imitation

has started to really love her books and make connections through them

thanks to Baby Elmo's "So Big" book...Finnley is now able to do "so big". and, she does it all. the. TIME!

is in love with Baby Elmo due to aforementioned book

loves to play the game "Where's Finnley? Oh, there's Finnley" (our version of peek-a-boo) . she now uses objects to cover her own face, including (but not limited to) bowls, a red scarf, and her hands. her favorite? her hands. she will play this game 100 times during meals. seriously. 100.

she could enter a crawling competition and win. she is just that fast. it is a thing to behold, I assure you. head down and zooming across the room. luckily she picks up her head to see from time to time.

very good at giving (albeit open-mouthed) kisses to pretty much all inanimate objects. will kiss mommy and daddy on request from time to time, but is more likely to "slap" our faces instead. and then smile. silly-heart!

can say a million or two things, not with knowledge of saying an actual word...but she says "stuff", you know. This stuff includes: da-da, ma-ma, ba, ba-bwah, at, sssss, it, sssss, thhh, ssss. did I mention she loves to say sssssssss?

hissing is part of her "vocabulary". she does this when excited. she also raises one hand in the air at the same time.

she understands a lot of words. some of them: milk, mommy, daddy, batman, fan, dragonfly (in context to her room), light switch (in context to her room), hi, nappy-time, night-night-time, no-no (sort of), Finnley. who knows what else that mini-brain of hers is comprehending!

she loves to see baby Finnley in pictures or in the mirror

enjoys visiting her dragonfly decal on her closet door, as well as butterfly, flower, and baby Finnley on the picture frame above her dresser. she even waves to them sometimes. always makes her smile.

oh yeah, she waves.

she finds joy in toys but also in most everyday objects. mostly things with which she shouldn't play.

toilet paper is still fun. to unroll. to eat. to tear up. fun.

she eats ANYTHING. maybe she doesn't eat a ton, but there is nothing she really won't eat. she has had steak, peanut butter toast, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and ham, grilled corn on the cob, rigatoni bolognese, every fruit we can find, all sorts of vegetables, cucumbers, salad...you name it. good little eater!

possesses eight chompers with which to eat all of that yummy food. more coming soon, I am sure.

she uses the dog as a means to stand. his legs as a tunnel to go through. his body as something to be crawled over and back again as many times as possible. she pets him. pats him. smacks him in the face. feeds him everything off her tray. they are buddies.

she climbs stairs like a master. she will still go down them head first if allowed.

she throws herself head first off of the couch. constantly. we juts provide a soft landing by holding her up by her pants.

it is fun to now try to feed mommy and daddy whatever is on her high chair tray. sometimes she shows the dog a bite, too...and then takes it back and eats it herself. tease!

she is still obsessed with the Pennsylvania lottery drawing which takes place at 6:59pm each evening. also obsessed with all of the mega-million and powerball lottery commercials. newly in love with the WaWa hoagie fest commercials.

she is the smartest, cutest, funniest, most stubbornly brilliant, dare-devilish baby known to man. no bias there at all. I swear.

not a cuddle-bug still. she gives love, though. in her own ways.

she has a delicious little giggle. dare you not to smile when you hear it!

she is ours. she is almost a year old. she is still the best gift we could have ever been given. not easy. but worth it.

Hope you enjoy this little view into the life of our little babe, as she is at just a smidge under one year of age. Up next? Toddlerhood. Time will only tell when that phase will begin. That next stage should prove to be even more interesting than the last.

Bring it! We might be able to handle it. We might even be able to handle it well.

All Tied Up...

still recovering from wrist surgery and can only type with one hand, as the left hand is still immobilized in a partial cast. will return to my writing / posting when I am no longer bound and in pain! thanks for visiting!

Babes in Swimland

A video of a swim outing during the 4th of July holiday weekend...good times!