Better Late than Never

Dear Finn,

Happy birthday baby boy. You are 1 year old! I had hoped to post this on your actual birthday, but that didn't really happen. As you get older, you will learn that life often gets in the way of well-laid plans. Since I don't do scrapbooks and have yet to purchase a baby book for you, much less write in it, this blog is probably as close as I'll get to recording your many accomplishments and milestones for posterity. Anyway, I thought I would write you a little letter to reflect on the first year of your life and our first year together. 

FInn, you came into the world on your own time (maybe you take after me?) 6 days late and still had to be "heavily encouraged." When I held you for the first time, I had never experienced such intense emotions: Complete and utter joy, that you were my happy, healthy baby boy; and total fear that you were mine and I had to take care of you forever (without the nurses help). We made it home--and through those first few months--and have lived to tell about it. I take lots of comfort in the fact that you probably won't remember them anyway. Those sleepless nights are even fading from my mind.

This past year has been full of new surprises and life-altering experiences, for both of us. I have never been a mom before and trust me there is no way I could have adequately prepared myself for your arrival. No amount of books, self-help dvds, classes, baby proofing seminars, hospital tours, etc. etc. could have possibly prepared me for being your mom. But now that you're here, I can't imagine life without you. All those dirty diapers, loads of laundry, sleepless nights, tears shed (mostly mine)--for one little smile, or maybe a coo, or gurble, or maybe a look and I would do it  all again one thousand times over. 

Finn, you are one amazing little boy and I have loved watching you grow from being a blob of a newborn--no offense, but you didn't do much but eat, sleep, poo and CRY--to the walking, talking, smiling, laughing, loving and fiercely independent little boy you are today. You have taught me so much probably without even realizing it-joy, patience, perseverance, patience, how to survive on less than 4 hours of sleep, and most importantly, LOVE. I loved you from the first minute I knew you existed and infinitely more now than I ever thought possible. 

You have been a very busy boy this year. Smiling, laughing, rolling over, sitting (and spitting) up, saying your first words, pulling up, your first airplane ride, feeding yourself, taking your first steps and blowing out the candles on your first birthday cake--all big milestones that happened this past year. I still can't believe that you are officially a toddler and not my "baby" anymore. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time so that I will always remember your smile and face the way it looks right now. It all goes by so fast and I am so thankful that I get to spend my days with you--never missing a moment. Your dad works very hard to provide for us and afford me the opportunity to stay home with you. Some moms don't have the choice. 

I want you to know how much I love you. There is nothing you could do, say or wear that can or will change that. One day when you are all grown up and you have your own little boy or girl, only then, will you have even the slightest idea of how much I really love you. 

There are so many other people who love you. In ways you could never imagine. Your dad loves you so much and he is so proud of you. He rushes home from work everyday just to see you and spend time with you. Mimi and Bop, Big and Baa, Aunt Lindsey and Peyton, the Stokes, the Browns, the rest of the Lyles family, the entire Young clan (even the "Griswald" Youngs), our friends, and yes, even Lily, although she prefers you not throw your toys at her at point blank range from the backseat of the Honda--we are working on the SUV, I promise. Even though these wonderful people are not near you always, know that are always thinking of you and counting down the days until they can see you again. But most importantly, baby Jesus, because he is always with you and always watching over you, even in all the way up here in NJ.

Finn, we have come so far this year and this is only the beginning. I thank God every night that he picked me to be your mom. I can't wait to see what's in store for us in 2009. 

Love, Mama

Murphy's Law of Christmas Cards

Murphy's Law: If you wait two months for it to snow so that you can take a picture of your son in the snow for his first Christmas card and then decide the weather won't be cooperating any time soon and go ahead and use a picture that you already have, it WILL snow the day after you order your Christmas cards.

Merry Christmas and happy festivus to everyone! We're getting ready to pack up and drive to South Carolina to spend the holidays with the Lyles family. We all took our crazy pills because we are driving the 10.5 hours to Sumter--Mark, myself, Finn and Lily. Boy, oh boy. We're celebrating Finn's 1st birthday (more on that later) on Sunday and will stay through Christmas. Definitely not looking forward to the drive but we can't wait to see everyone.

I have to give a birthday shout out to my friends and family members who have birthdays in December (there are lots!). My nieces Mary Daniel and Amber, my Dad, my sister Lindsey turns 21 today, my Papa, our friend Megan Crowley, FINN! and of course, baby Jesus. 

Party Weekend

This past weekend was busy (for us anyway). On Friday night we went to Amicus' Holiday Party, a very fancy affair. It was formal, so Mark and I dusted off our tux and dress (thank goodess for spanx and crisco!) and left FInn with his babysitter. It was funny to be there and NOT sporting an oversized jersey tent because last year's party was the day before my due date and needless to say, I was not feeling very festive. I don't think I moved from my chair all night. We had a great time being merry and bright. Here's the only picture we had of the night (the camera didn't fit in my little black evening bag).

Mark, Aileen Crowley and Me

On Saturday, Finn attended his very first birthday party. Lucy, a little girl from his gymboree class, turned one. Finn had a great time playing with his friends and their toys, and especially the ball pit. The problem with a room full of toddlers is that there aren't many opportunities to take picture. 

 Finn trying to escape the ball pit. If you look closely, you can see 

the blood on his bib from his first busted lip.

Finn's Buddy Cameron

Viva la Vida en Mexico

So, I'm a little behind on my blog, but will try to catch everyone up to speed. We had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending time with friends and family, including a visit from my friend and college roommate, Summer, and dinner with the Benich's and Whitson's. After Thanksgiving, Mark and I spent 5 days in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico . . . sans Finn.  I think the separation was harder on me than Finn. Finn spent the week with his Big and Baa and was treated to a trip to the GA Aquarium, a visit to the toy store and numerous shopping and dining excursions. Obviously, he enjoyed himself thoroughly as evident in exhibit A below.

Finn and his radio flyer

Mark and I had a great time in Mexico doing a whole lot of nothing. Which means I didn't take many pictures because I was flat out too lazy to take the camera out of the case (Kriya will be appalled). So there aren't many pictures, but you get the idea . . . sun, sand, water. Good times.  I did miss Finn, a lot. In fact, Mark accused me of stalking the little kids at our resort. But I know he was in good hands, so I wasn't worried. All in all, it was a great trip and I managed to get a little suntan (although it's hard to show off when you're in full winter gear). 

Giving Thanks

We have so much to be thankful for. I could go on and on about how lucky and blessed we are to have wonderful friends and families, our health, happiness, a roof over our head, a free country, the men and women who fight so we can retain that freedom, The Office on Thursday nights and next season for the UGA dawgs (getting beat by Tech, seriously?).  We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Alabama with my family.  Much to our complete and utter surprise, we had an uneventful and ON-TIME flight to and from Atlanta. Which means I can add Delta to my list of things to be thankful for . . . until the next time we fly. It also means that I don't have any funny or embarrassing stories to relay. 

We spent Thanksgiving with the Young's at Joe and Ginger's "cabin" on Lake Wedowee. It was great seeing family and having numerous bodies to chase Finn around. Oh, and we managed to eat a little bit too.  

Turkey Trot

This will probably be my last post for a while--we're leaving tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Alabama. We're leaving Tuesday, hoping to get a jump start on the holiday traffic and the nightmare that is the Newark airport. I don't have high expectations . . . so I'm pretty sure I won't be disappointed. And before you chastise me for leaving Lily all alone on Thanksgiving, don't. She will be spending the holiday with a very nice family, most likely watching the Macy's Day Parade on the couch with their son. I've even arranged for her to have her own turkey on Thanksgiving so she won't be left out. 

Then, Mark and I are leaving Finn with my parents and heading off to Mexico. Five full days with nary a dirty diaper . . . Finn who? Have fun Mom and Dad.

Who Needs Mt. Everest When You Have a Staircase

Yes, we already have gates for the top and bottom of the stairs to prevent this very thing from happening. No, we haven't installed them yet. Guess what we (Mark) will be doing this weekend?

I lost track of him for probably 30 seconds and he was already half way up the stairs

What was that? Is someone telling me to stop? Nahh 

I'm so cute when I'm being disobedient

Cue "Rocky" theme song

Adventure Aquarium

Continuing our visit to the City of Brotherly Love . . . was a trip to Adventure Aquarium. Mark had to speak at a lunch meeting so we went a little early to take in the sights. Finn was very impressed with the fish . . . especially the glow-in-the-dark jellyfish. 

I'll apologize in advance for the quality of these photos. It's kind of hard taking decent pictures when the flash gets reflected back to you in EVERY picture. Oh well, you get the idea. Fish+Finn=Fun

Yo, Adrian!

Mark had a conference in Philadelphia last week so Finn and I decided we would crash his party. We stayed two nights in a hotel (all three of us) which was a first for everyone. Finn did really well in his roll-away crib and entertained himself by throwing the remote control around and playing in the bathtub (empty). If fact, the super-annoying college students next door were much louder than Finn. Although it rained the whole time were were there, we had a great time visiting Reading Terminal Market, the Please Touch Museum and the Adventure Aquarium. Mark even managed to get a little work done.

On a side note, if you have little ones and live anywhere near us, I highly recommend a trip to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. It just opened and offers an entire 2 floors of exhibits for kids. Finn was a little young to fully appreciate the experience, but still it was worth the trip. He loved the carousel so much we had to get back in line for another trip. As you can see, he was all smiles.

Valerie's Bridesmaid Luncheon

Susan, one of Val's bridesmaids, and her mother hosted a fabulous bridesmaid brunch for everyone on Friday before the wedding. It was great to get to sit down and have a nice brunch and visit with everyone before the wedding chaos began. Susan came up with this really creative idea to make a recipe book for Valerie. Everyone submitted family recipes, favorite recipes or recipes swiped from Martha Stewart (guess who), along with pictures and a note to Valerie and Brian. The finished product was beautiful and I know Val will cherish it for many years to come.  Here are a few pictures from the morning.

Stuck in No Time

My sister coined that phrase when she was little: "stuck in no time." We're not exactly sure what she was trying to say at the time, but it soon became a well- and often-used phrase at our house. The beauty of not knowing exactly what she meant by it meant that we could use it in almost every situation. Run out of toilet paper? You're "stuck in no time." Forgot where you parked your car at the mall? "Stuck in no time." Stuck on the side of the road and can't get in touch with your parents? You guessed it, "stuck in no time."  So, one night this week while I was making dinner (yes, making--not to be confused with cooking), I heard Finn grunting really loudly, but I didn't see him at first. The grunting turned to screaming and I found him quickly . . . he had wedged his rear end between the wall and table leg. The more he moved, the worse it got and the louder he screamed. Of course, I grabbed the camera to take his picture instead of rushing to help him out. He's definitely what I would call "stuck in no time."

I thought this was the cutest picture until I enlarged it--then I saw the crusty boogers around his nose and slobber dripping from his mouth. Still cute if you zoom out.

Here Comes the Bride

Last weekend I journeyed to Kingsport, TN for the wedding of my dear friend Valerie Bush to Bryan Royal. Valerie, Kriya and I all became good friends during our time in Charleston, SC. So it was wonderful to be together once again to celebrate Valerie's big day. Bryan should know that the three of us are a packaged deal, so he can go ahead and fix up the "joey" room over the garage. The wedding was fabulous and Valerie looked like a princess (Bryan cleans up nicely too). Kriya and I (sans husbands and babies) had a blast together as dates for the weekend and even got three whole nights of uninterrupted sleep. Which was like the best Christmas present ever. This slideshow is courtesy of Kriya Benich. Because I assure you that I would not purposely include such terrible pictures of myself if I had a choice. Don't judge me because I danced on stage either. Without Finn around I temporarily forgot that I was a responsible adult.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Royal! Now that you guys are hitched, when are the babies coming???

Monkey See Monkey Do

Finn has been taking a gymboree class for the past six weeks and absolutely loves it. He gets to run wild for a solid hour, play with other kids and test out tons of new toys. I like it too because I get to hang out with other moms and conduct adult conversations . . . even though we talk mainly about our kids. Plus, the adult to kid ratio is 2:1 which means someone else gets to chase him when he makes a beeline for the electrical outlets. 

I've been meaning to take pictures for a while but never got around to it. They aren't the best shots because it's tough trying to photograph a constantly moving target. We've already signed up for the next "semester" so I'm sure there will be many more pictures to follow.

Shave and a Haircut

Finn got his first big boy haircut yesterday. I say "big boy haircut" because I'm not counting the time Mark cut (unevenly) the back of his hair when he was all of two months old because he was "growing a mullet." Finn's hair was starting to get long and straggly; he was starting to look like he belonged in a van down by the river, so we headed over to this little place called SnipIts. The description said "specializing in children's haircuts." Since Finn has the attention span of a Jack Russell puppy, I knew we needed extra reinforcements. There was so much going on in that place and the stylist was so quick that I don't think Finn even knew what happened. He was great and I think he looks so cute. Next thing you know he will be shaving and asking to borrow keys to the minivan on Friday night.

Goodbye rattail 

Help! Where did my hands go . . .

There they are

What a big boy

All finished. So handsome.

Finn-o-lantern

Last Thursday, I left for a wedding in Tennessee.  Which meant I would be missing Finn's first Halloween. Although I begged and pleaded with Mark to dress him up and take him trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, he thought it was a ridiculous idea and said he was going to turn the lights off and hide instead. (apologies to our neighbors!) So before I left, I dressed him in this cute pumpkin sweatshirt and snapped a couple of pictures. Even though Halloween is long gone, I may have to dress him up anyway, so be prepared. These pictures should tide you over until then.

Which pumpkin is biggest?

Tickled orange

Three little jack-o-lanterns