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