Belated Easter

 Happy Belated Easter!  We are still computerless, so my posts have been few and far between!  We had a fantastic Easter with the Easter Bunny coming, spending time with our family and friends and celebrating the risen Lord. We went to an Easter egg hunt and Henry found a ton of eggs and had a fantastic time.  Finley enjoyed sitting on the grass eating leaves. 
We also went to see our newly engaged cousin, Meredith, and her fiance on Easter evening to help them celebrate.  I got a few cute pictures of the boys in their Easter attire in their front yard.  They are both growing and changing daily! 

Henry 3rd birthday

  We have been on the go for the past month and without a computer my blog has been put on the back burner!  This post is going to be just about Henry....HE TURNED 3!  I can't believe we have a 3 year old.  In the past years there were some days that I thought he would never be 3, then there were others that I could not believe how fast life was passing by.  Henry is an amazing little boy.  He has filled our hearts with lots of love, laughter and happiness. He is full of energy and has a personality of an adult.  We really should be writing a book of all he says....it would definitely get a laugh!  Right now he is in school 5 days a week  from 9-12 and loves it.  His teachers, Mrs. Emily and Mrs. Barbara, are amazing keeping Henry in order.  He has only 4 other boys in his class and 10 girls.  Needless to say he LOVES the boys and considers them his best friends.  He prays for them daily and talks about them nonstop.  He has learned a ton since going to school and surprises us daily with his knowledge.  Henry has tons of energy and runs the whole time he is awake.  This leads him to sleep really well.  He is still taking a nap everyday for about an hour to an hour and a half and sleeps in his big boy bed very well at night.  His actual birthday was the Saturday before his spring break and we managed to potty train, take away the paci AND he is finally drinking regular milk without any problems.  We are still having a couple bathroom incidents, but he has done amazing and it shows me I could have started earlier because he was ready!  I feel like he has grown up in just a month.  I read on Pinterest (my new favorite website) to interview your child every year on their birthday starting on their 3rd.  I will post his answers for my record and also because it was cute.  Now on to the party!

We pondered over different ideas for his birthday and also we tried to think of new venues to have it....instead of our house.  After days of questioning Henry on where he wanted his party, his answer was still them same...."Mommy's house."  SO, we reluctantly excitedly fixed up our yard and our house.  We also decided on a theme: bulldozers and diggers.  We had a friend bring us some sand, pulled out every construction themed toy we (and everyone else) owned, ordered some cute stuff off of etsy and had a party!  It was very successful and Henry had a fantastic time.....I mean, who wouldn't, every person he loved was there (minus a few).  Here are some of the pictures from the party.....

I bought the boys matching construction shirts for the party....precious!

 Funny story about this cookie cake.  I had my mom order it from the Tollhouse store because Henry does not like cupcakes (who knows why) and she told the woman she wanted a digger cake, meaning a cookie cake with some type of construction equipment on it.  When she went to pick it up, another employer was there and explained they were so excited about this cake and so my mom could not wait to see it.....then she opened the box and this is what it was....a person digging.  Hilarious.....not what I wanted at all, but it is a funny story, the cake was delicious and Henry did not even notice!

It was a great day!

Random day.....

Beau went to Mississippi for work a few weeks ago, and so I was looking for things to do with the boys one afternoon.  The weather was beautiful so I thought I would take them to the zoo.....well, they were still on their winter hours and closed at 5....we pulled in at 4:30 and it was not worth it to lug everyone out of the car for 20 minutes. 

On the way home I called my sweet friend Lindsey who recommended the river walk, so I found a big area where Henry could run and throw stones in the water and went with it!  I happened to have my camera, so I decided to take a few pictures. 

I love it when my children are this happy!  It makes mommy so happy!

Happy Birthday Uncle Beezie

Uncle Brent turned 30 on February 25 and we all went up to help him celebrate his big move from the twenties.  Jan and Bill found a beautiful house in the mountains and we bunked up with them which was lots of fun.  We also got to spend some quality time with everyone and their new baby, Kate Austen.  We had a wonderful visit, the boys loved being with their grandparents, their aunt and uncle, AND their cousin!  Here are a few shots of Brent opening his gifts....or actually, Henry opening them.

Brent is very excited about the new bow ties he got to wear to work!

AND the dress shirts that are wrinkle free!

Finley did not want to open the gifts, but instead eat the bows.

Here are the lucky grandparents to be holding their sweet grandkids! I LOVE the picture below of Gee Gee and Finley!

Sooo sweet, mom and babe.....

Then I wanted to get some pictures of the kiddos.  These are the best ones of my boys. 

Then we thought we would put Kate Austen in the picture hoping Henry could hold her.  The first picture is one of my favorites because she has a lot of hair and Finley saw her hair and went straight for it.  HILARIOUS!

They all held it together and did a great job!  Kate Austen looks a little worried, but all in all, they turned out!

Gee Gee and Pots with all 3 grandkids....precious!

6 months on February 17, 2010

Finley was 6 months old on February 17, 2012 and he is just filling our hearts with so much love!  I can't believe how fast he has grown and how much he has changed.  He is happy for most of the day, but he still has his fussy "bewitching hour," and unfortunately it is right when Beau gets home from work.  I hope it passes quickly.  Finley is rolling like crazy, he is trying so very hard to move/crawl.  He has not figured out how to use his hands and legs at the same time, but he sort of pulls himself to get where he wants.  Crawling is not far away!

Finley is also trying to sit up, but has not mastered that yet either, as you can see from the pictures.  As far as eating goes, Finley is not the best eater yet.  He is never really interested in drinking a bottle....past the first ounce and he does not eat the "correct" amount of baby food he is supposed to be eating at this age per his pediatrician.  Even though he is not a big eater, he has the sweetest cheeks to love on!  He also loves his brother like no other!  I cannot explain how Finley lights up when Henry comes in the room or plays with him.  I have a great video I will post later. Oh, he got his 2 bottom teeth around Valentines Day....so he was a little older than Henry was when he got his first tooth.

When I took Finley for his 6 month checkup and shots, his stats were:

Weight: 15 pounds 12 ounces and is 15%

Height: 26 1/2 inches 45%

Head Circumference: 17 inches 30%

There are not the best pictures.....

Baby Food

I decided I was going to try my culinary skills on making almost all of Finley's baby food. I did not nurse him at all, and with all of the processed and preservative filled foods out there, I thought he deserved something healthier and also something better for his body.  I have tasted store bought baby food.  Some is alright, but nothing is ever as good as the real deal.  I cannot take credit for knowing how to do this (I found a lot of information on this website: Wholesome Homemade Baby Food , and some of my food is still not Finley's favorite, but I am happy I did it and really have enjoyed preparing the food for him.  It is relatively simple, just takes some time.  Here is the play by play for anyone interested in doing this themselves (I definitely recommend it)!
Set out all of your fruits and veggies....then start peeling.  I peel everything....especially those included in the "dirty dozen."  After peeling, you cut up everything into small cubes. Now, there are 3 ways to cook your food.  You can roast in the oven, steam on the stove, or boil/steam.  Fruits work best being boiled or steamed.  Some don't even need much added water.  I roasted the potatoes below and will probably not do that again.  Instead I would boil them like you do for mashed potatoes.

Green beans: snap off the ends, wash and steam.

Once they are cooked, take them out.....

Put them in your food processor (I also added potatoes to these green beans).  If they don't mix well, add some of the water from the pot you boiled them in.  It has lots of good nutrients.  Puree it for a few minutes and add water as needed to get the desired consistency.

 

When you get it to the thickness you like, put it into ice cube trays and freeze for a few hours.

Last, put it in a freezer safe bag to keep from getting freezer burned.  When I am ready to use it, I take a few cubes out of the freezer and microwave for 35-45 seconds or until room temperature.  It is not the prettiest thing in the world, but it works for us!