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!

Beach Trip 2012

June came so quickly this year and we were back at the beach with the family and had a fantastic time!  Henry LOVED the beach, the pool and the hot tub!  Finley was still unsure about what was going on.  I got a few cute pictures of my boys and their cousin Kate Austen, but it was extremely difficult to get them all looking good in one picture.  Finley was trying to walk the whole time we were there and when he hit his 10 month mark, he was finally walking.  However, walking on the sand at the beach is not an easy task for a small child.  Instead he just ate sand.  Fun stuff......

This is what Henry did all week in the ocean.  He was not interested in getting in much more than running through the waves.

Sweet Kate Austen hung out in the shaded stroller because she was not supposed to wear sunscreen yet.  SO SWEET!!!

When a boy has to go, he has to go.....no shame, right?

Vera Grace and Artem were huge helps with the boys!!!  They are fantastic cousins!

Here is our beach photo shoot.....

Finley is 10 months

Finley was 10 months old on June 17, 2012.  He started taking a few steps while we were at the beach, but has really taken off since then.  He is constantly on the move and is loving watching his big brother run around!  He is eating "people" food now instead of the nasty baby food and he is loving it!  At 10 months, he had a great appetite and pretty much ate everything (including the leaves outside and some squirrel or mouse poop).  I caught the poop in his mouth and ripped it out, then called poison control and asked if I should induce vomiting (because what if it was bat poop?????).  They said that was not protocol anymore and not to worry, he should be fine.  Low and behold he was :)!  Other than the walking, he is not doing much talking, just a lot of baby talk and he wants me to hold him nonstop.  I hope that phase is a quick one!