Soccer

We decided to sign Henry up for soccer this fall through the YMCA....well, they ended up having a ton of technical problems and Henry was put on a team that is 6 and under.  Even though we were nervous about the gap in age, Henry did awesome!  He had a few good games and few where he was not interested at all.  Luckily, we signed him up with his best bud, Carlisle, so that helped motivate Henry to get out and do his best.  At 3 1/2, Henry really just liked running around the field and looking at airplanes in the sky.  We are going to try again in the spring and hopefully he will get more interested!  These are pictures from his first game and he held hands with the coach for the majority of the game.  I did get a few shots of him running and talking to his buddy....This Saturday (November 9) is his last game, so I am super behind on posting, but his has really done great getting out on the field and trying his best to get into the game.  We are very proud of our little man who is growing up so fast!

First Day of School

The boys started school Wednesday, August 22.  Henry is in the half day three year old class and Fin is in the half day MWF toddler class.  Henry was very excited to start and Finley had no idea he was getting ready to go to school. The boys would not stand together because my little Finley wants to be held the whole time.  SO, this is first day of school with mom picture. 

This picture was taken at the end of the day and everyone did fine at school.....actually, Henry did great and Finley cried for most of it.  I know it will get better as time goes on, but he is still struggling without mom for 3 hours. 

These are some of the pictures that I took of the boys while we were in the mountains.  It ended up being chilly the whole week.  Of course it was 100 degrees at home, so I did not pack accordingly.  Luckily as we were packing the car, Beau threw in the boys jackets!

Collin's WEDDING!!!!

My brother got married on August 18, 2012 to a wonderful woman, Brigit in Asheville, NC.  The week before the wedding my moms family rented a house in the mountains and we got to spend quality time with our Texas family.  These pictures are just from the wedding weekend.  The previous picture is Beau, Brigit and our cousin Bill.  My family threw a shower for Collin and Brigit on Thursday before they got married because they live in Chicago and this was a good opportunity to celebrate as a family. 
On Friday, Brigit had a bridesmaids lunch at the Grove Park looking over the mountains.  It was amazingly beautiful and Brigit looked fantastic!  Here are some of the pictures I took from the morning before the big day.

After the lunch, we went home, regrouped and it was time for the rehearsal and then the rehearsal party!  Here is Henry walking down the isle with the flower girls.  It was hilarious because we had been pumping him up for weeks before the wedding and he did not really understand what we were talking about.  Well, when the time to practice, Henry raced (walking) down the isle pulling the girls behind him.  We were hoping that was just going to happen at the rehearsal, but he did the same thing at the wedding.  However, did a fantastic job walking, sitting during the ceremony and walking back. 

Here is the new couple!  They are beautiful!!!!!

Finley is 11 months old!

 Finley was 11 months on July 17, 2012.  He is growing and changing every day!  Right around his 11 month celebration we started him on regular milk and it did not go well.  I am not sure if it was a bug or from the milk, but he had a fever for 4 straight days (102.5), which I have not dealt with before.  We were giving him tylenol and motrin around the clock.  We went to the doctor after 3 days and he had a virus....of course.  That same week, 4 teeth broke through so I think that also attributed to his fever.  Needless to say I freaked out and stopped the milk.  I am still completely scared to try it again!  Also, while we were at the peds, Dr. Trey noticed that Finley tilted his head to the right more than he did to the left.  He was actually more concerned with his neck than his fever.  He called it tortacaulus and told me that his neck was very tight on one side and I needed to do stretches at every diaper change to try and get his neck stretched out.  We had noticed it along with some of our friends, but I had just decided to bring it up at our 12 month appointment.  Dr. Trey felt like his neck would be fine after doing the stretches for a month, but if not we would have to go to a physical therapist.  Finley was not very happy with the stretches, but when we went back for his 12 month appointment, Dr. Trey was extremely pleased with his neck and told us we could stop the stretches!  Finley also started walking better because his head was not tilted to the side as much.  Other than that 11 months was uneventful....haha! Here is his 11 month photo shoot.....

 This really is his favorite book.  He laughs as soon as I pick it up. 

Chicago bound!

My brother and his now wife got married on August 18 (their wedding post to follow soon).  My mom and I went up to Chicago for one of their showers and to get to know Brigit's family.  We had a fantastic time and got to spend some quality time with Collin!  Here is Brigit with her bridesmaids (she is in the green dress).

Here is Collin with Brigit's mom.  We refer to her as "mommy," and she is awesome!  So sweet and hilarious!

The happy couple

Here is Brigits niece, Mia.  She is 6 years old and as sweet as can be!  She walked with Henry down the isle!

Then their pride and joy....their dog.  I can't remember her name, but everyone loves her!

Finleys first Hair cut

Not long after Finley turned 10 months, did I decide it was time to get him a haircut.  He probably would have been fine without one, but everyone continued telling me I had a cute little girl (maybe it was because he was wearing a bubble-that was blue I might add, or maybe it was because of his hair)....either way, I finally got tired of it and decided it was time to cut off the mullet!  Here are the before pictures......

The during pictures......

And here is after!  Much improved!

Finley's First Birthday

Finley was one on August 17, 2012.  He is such a sweet boy and loves to be on the go like his brother does.  The day he turned one was the same day we had my brother's rehearsal for his wedding.  We were all in Asheville for the wedding so we had a birthday breakfast for Finley and he had a birthday cupcake!  He LOVED his cupcake!  Unlike Henry, Finley will devour ice cream, cake, cookies, etc.  

Finley is a fun little person to have around.  He is not always the happiest (I am sure because he wants someone to hold him), but he is getting better about playing around the house with his brother.  He loves to be outside and hardly ever cries when we are outside playing.  Finley loves, loves his brother and if Henry was a little calmer, he and Finley would get along great.  Henry things he and Fin are the same size and wants to play with him like he would a best friend.  Finley still does not understand what is happening.  Needless to say, Finley loves to watch Henry, push toys and chairs around, go through my cabinets and pull everything out, pull out the wipes from the wipe holder, put everything in his mouth and chew, and he loves to eat.  For breakfast he usually eats bananas and either a nutrigrain bar or a pancake or waffle.  He has not been very interested in eggs, but loves to eat peanut butter on anything.  For lunch he eats goldfish, fruit, turkey, cheese, pb&j, noodles....that sort of stuff.  For dinner (his favorite meal) he eats everything!!!!!  I would say his favorites are (in order of favorites) peas, corn, noodles with meat sauce, chicken, bread, watermelon, beans, quesadillas (we eat mexican a lot), mac and cheese and pizza.  He will devour his dinner almost every night.
As far as interacting goes, Finley has 4 words right now, uh oh, thank you, please and dada.  He does not consistently say anything else, but speaks baby language all day long, so I know he can talk!  

We are still working on the milk issue.  I started soy milk, but I think it is giving him a stomachache....this is so frustrating.  Oh, and Finley started school last week.  He is going MWF and has the same teachers Henry had.  Finley is adjusting, but still crying at drop off.  I know as time passes, he will be fine, but I still feel awful!  

Beau took Finley to the doctor last week for his year check up.  Here are his stats:

Weight: 21.5 pounds 30%

Height: 29.5 inches 40%

Head Circumference: 18.25 inches 50%

I was not planning on having a big birthday celebration for Finley like I did for Henry, but at the last minute I decided to do a family birthday for him.  Here are his cake pictures!  He loved his cake...unlike his brother who cried the whole time!