Funny Faces - 15 months old

Finn is 15 months old. I set out trying to get a great picture of him at this milestone...and it just did not happen. Well, not in the way I had anticipated. My kids don't respond well to a camera (maybe because it's always in their faces?) and so I can no longer get a good picture of them, together or separate. At the same time, the pictures I got of Finn for this "assignment" (because that's what it felt like: an assignment) are real life. And as much as I was hoping for the picture as I scrolled through them all, only to find a bunch to fit into an "out-takes," I didn't. They are all out-takes. But they are cute. And they are Finley, at his finest....and, not-so-finest.

 

Finley had his 15-month well-baby check today and shots. He's a big boy (not that we had any doubt):

weight: 25lbs 5oz (75-90th%)

height: 31.5 inches (50-75th%)

head circumference: 47.5cm (50-75th%)

 

Social/speech: Finley talks up a storm. Though you can hardly understand him. What you can understand: mama, dada, baba/bubba, shoe. He also says something for Oscar (but he's usually screaming at the dog, so it's hard to always make it out), "what's that" while fist-pointing, "all dry" after diaper changes. He occasionally will repeat what you say, plain as day. But then not say it again. He is very social with people he is comfortable with, and can be painfully shy with everyone else (a bit like daddy, maybe?!). He is a flirt, super loving, and still incredibly passionate. The passion goes both ways: when he loves he is the best snuggler and is very sweet, when he's mad he is aggressive and screams and has fits of rage. These fits are lessening, but still present on a daily basis. I talked to his pediatrician about them today, and she thought they were normal and part of his personality. We discussed methods to handle him and I got some insight on curbing the behavior. We had already been doing some thing the doctor recommended, but it's nice to hear we are doing something right. When Finn isn't throwing a fit, he loves to sing and have stories read to him. He plays pretend a lot, and I think this is adorable. 

 

Pointing at the deer on the wall.

Motor: Finley is a walker now. He only crawls if he happens to already be on the ground, but he is pretty much non-stop anymore. When I've heard moms say they are always chasing after their children I never understood exactly until Finn grew legs. And now I chase him everywhere. Everywhere. He just takes off. And the booger is fast. At Keagan's soccer games he thinks he can run out onto the field during play (needless to say I don't get to just sit and watch). At supper time, Finley is using a fork and spoon now too, and is about 50% accurate with the utensils! He also can get on/off his riding toys independently.

 

Kisses from brother. And the next three pictures are hilarious. Out of focus, poor lighting, just plain not-good. But great at the same time!

Routines: Finn finally has a routine!!!!! It only took 15 months. He goes to bed about 730 and wakes between 6/630 and fusses a minute then falls back to sleep until 7ish. After lunch he naps one to two hours. He has given up bottles completely and is all about his straw cup. We completely transitioned to whole milk (from stored breastmilk) about a week ago, and he is 100% on table foods. He loves to brush his teeth (sees his big brother do it) and he likes to pick out his shoes in the morning. Speaking of teeth, Finn has 11 teeth and is getting more. He has all four one-year molars, and let-me-tell-you they were awful. He is a horrid teether. He has been so healthy and easy to deal with (minus the fits of rage) since his adenoids were removed except for getting his teeth. He has gotten 7 teeth since they were removed. And he is a drooly mess right now, so I know more are coming.

 

Personality: Let's just say he is Mr. Personality. It overflows and I really think he doesn't know what to do with it all. Seriously, this kid loves hard. He gives the best hugs, both arms around my neck. Sometimes he will snuggle his face into my neck, other times he nibbles on the shirt over my shoulder. It's like he can't get close enough to me, and I feel the same way about him! He doesn't realize he's just a little guy, and wants to do everything big brother does. And the love he shows for Keagan brings tears to my eyes. (So does the way they fight...but let me stick to their love first) Finn will occasionally pat-pat Keagan then lean his head over in a hug. But seriously, in the same breath I will hear a scream and one is pulling the other. Or taking a toy from the other. Or just being overly rough. It goes both ways. But Finn is typically the aggressor....it's gonna get interesting in the next few months! Finn's hair is not as red as his personality, but the two go hand in hand. He is fiery. And his hair color hasn't changed much...strawberry blonde with blue eyes! I love it and hope it stays this color! He is trying to get a few curls in the back, but I think his hair is going to remain pretty straight. Darn. 

I love you Finster! You keep me on my toes, but I can't imagine life without you!!

                                                                                                                                                                 

While I was taking pictures of Finn I decided to get some of Keagan. Well, really, Finn wasn't cooperating and Keagan sat down in front of the camera. Such a beautiful boy. A few things to update on him that I have failed to blog about. Medical: Keagan (and Finn) both have heart murmurs. They were checked out by a pediatric cardiologist back in September and both show functional murmurs that need no further follow-up. Whoo hoo! Keagan's doctor found a mild scoliosis at his 3year well-child checkup and scheduled us to come back 4 months later for a re-check, which was last week. Scoliosis remained so his doctor made Keagan an appointment with a pediatric orthopedist at Vanderbilt. We go the end of November and apparently the doc specializes in scoliosis in kids, so I am anxious to hear his opinion. Personality: he's three. That's all I need to say really. We are arguing quite a bit more, and he can hang with the best in the arguing department. Though his response is usually "because." He is still super sweet and loves his family. (except the other night he told me he didn't love us and wanted to go live with Ms. Cassie, one of his teachers. this broke my heart a little. or a lot.) He does think, however, that he can only love one person at a time. Motor: he's a kid now...not a baby. He climbs, jumps, kicks, throws, runs...it amazes me how "big" he is now.

Keagan was tired of hearing Finn scream...He tells me that it hurts his ears. I tell him it hurts mine too. Poor kid! He's just always been so quiet!

I love you, Keagan. You are such a joy. You and Finn light up my world!

Camera-phone Catch-up

What used to be a random blog posting and a "filler" during slow times has now become the norm. And I really like some of the pics I get with my camera phone...it is real Life. In real time. And since I nearly always have my cell phone with me it doubles as a candid camera. So, since our life has been so busy lately I have had very little time to pull out the ol' camera. And even less time to blog about it. Therefore this blog is completely pictures off my phone...

Some friends of ours from church offered Keagan their son's 4-wheeler, which he outgrew. Keagan LOVES it! And of course Finley wants to ride. He's too little right now...but when we were at a friend's house lately they had a miniature (pink!) 4-wheeler. And Finn took to that like white on rice! Check out the video! (and, shhhh, don't tell Finn, but we got him a boy version of this for Christmas!)

Summer time has come to an end, and in my opinion full-blown winter is already here. I hate being cold, and haven't walked in almost a week because it has been cold. One day in early fall/late summer while I was walking with the boys I was hit with an overwhelming sense of being blessed. It was a gorgeous day, the kids were being sweet, I felt good. It was one of those "Thank You Lord" days. So I snapped a picture of the blessings I was surrounded by. And then on our last walk, the boys were giggling and loving each other (rare these days) so I took some video of them. You may not want to watch as much as listen, the video is super-shaky since I was walking! It might make you motion-sick.

Finn is obsessed with putting on hats, sunglasses, shoes, etc. He also does a lot of pretend play (which I didn't notice so much with Keagan at this age)...for instance he pretend-eats the food in the play kitchen, pretend-applies toothpaste to a toothbrush, pretend-clips his toenails. It's really funny! Anyways, I think he just wants to be big...and I caught him trying to put on this headlamp (correctly!) so I helped him out. This was the result. Pretty happy.

Keagan was a Duck Dynasty guy (Willie?) for Awana back in September, complete with duck call. Which he blew throughout the events. And half-scared everyone in his class. Note to self: 3 year old + duck call + church = not the smartest idea.

Finn helping me to get some mums and chairs at Lowes one day after church...

Keagan and I had a date to Dairy Queen, just us, one Friday afternoon. Keagan had been having some difficult behavior at school and home and I felt like we needed some time together, without Bubby. Sweet Keagan was a little disappointed that we didn't take Finn with us when we left school. He wanted to go get him! But once we got our ice cream he quickly forgot!

A rare moment where they are playing "together" and no one is screaming...

Not sure where brother was but he wasn't home (shooting with daddy?) and so Finn took the liberty to sit in his Bubba's chair...and he was quite proud of himself!

Back to the idea that Finn likes to play pretend...once he got this mask on, with my assistance, he was in stealth mode. It was really funny to watch and I really think he thought he was someone/thing else! Wish I would have video'd him because he was a riot!

Knowing our comfy-outdoor temps were coming to an end, the boys and I picnicked on the patio one day after church. This picture makes them look like they are being sweet, sitting and eating like good boys. This lasted maybe 30 seconds. Not even joking. I ended up having them sit on the ground with their plates, separated from each other! Will try again in the spring...

What cookies?

The toffee crunch caramel cheesecake I made Josh for his 32nd birthday! It was delicious! And maybe, just maybe, he will let me make his birthday cake again next year. I feel like I can put a lot more love into a homemade cake versus just running to a store and purchasing one...guess it is how I was raised.. Thank you Mom for all the wonderful birthday cakes you MADE me!! I loved them all and they molded how I feel a birthday should be!

Happy about walking! And a MAJOR hunk!

A few nights ago Josh and Keagan were talking about whether they should go deer or squirrel hunting. Well, Keagan emphatically said deer hunting. We weren't sure if he knew what Josh was talking about, so we talked a bunch about it. I video'd this because his facial expressions and excitement were wonderful! Unfortunately I didn't get the best part on video: Keagan told me that I couldn't go hunting with him and Daddy because, and I quote, "You're a Girl, Mommy."


Well, the boys ended up going deer hunting the other day. They didn't kill any because they only saw does and no "big daddy deer." But Keagan was apparently a good boy for the, oh, 4 hours they hunted! And Josh sent me this picture of them...

So Finn and I tried to take a picture to send to daddy while he and Keagan were in the deer stand. Finn put on the charm in the first picture...then did his classic point in the second picture. I describe the way he points as a kid who has been reprimanded for pointing, so he points with his fist instead of his finger!

Babies in a box. I have had multiple requests for these particular products. The brown headed one is likely the easier of the two, but more shipping due to length. The strawberry-blonde is a little lighter and shorter so shipping will be less, but he comes with a warning!

Lastly, some comic relief! A few weeks back Finn and I went for a run. While I was getting ready in the bathroom, he had been playing in drawers and putting feminine products in and out of their box. Whatever, he wasn't screaming. Then I walked out to the kitchen to fill up my water bottle and get him a snack. He followed me out there about 5 minutes later, and then we loaded up and went on. Josh and Keagan got home while we were out, and Josh met me at the door when we got home from our jog. He told me he needed to show me something, and he sounded quite serious. So I followed him back to the bathroom. All the while trying to figure out what was going on, what had happened. When we got back to our bathroom, Josh pointed at the toilet and said, "It must've been a heavy flow day." It made me laugh so hard! I realized I had left him alone for no more than 5 minutes, but he took care of business! "Clean-up! Clean-up! Everybody everywhere. Clean-up Clean-up! Everybody do your share...." Thank you Finley!

Fall Family Day

About a week ago, Josh and I spontaneously loaded up the boys and drove to Missouri to enjoy a day at a pumpkin patch. Nearly everyone we knew was heading to Beggs Family Farm the next day but because Josh had to work we couldn't go. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful, but for mid-October and pumpkin-patching, it was a tad hot! Say, mid-80s hot! We were all in shorts! And, mother of the year here, I didn't lather my fair skinned boys in sunblock so they got a little pink! I guess that will be their last "color" of the year because it has suddenly turned COLD here! And I just don't go outside when it's cold. After we left the pumpkin patch we went to Lambert's, "home of the throwed rolls!" Keagan really got into the roll-throwing this year!

 

Keagan's expression during the pig racing!

Pillow bouncer. This thing was so neat and I wanted to play! Unfortunately for Keagan he was a little too small for it and the bigger kids were bouncing him off. He didn't really care though, and played right along as best as he could! Finn, on the other hand, screamed the second I set him on it! Maybe next year...

Josh and Finley went down a big slide, I wish I had taken a picture of the whole slide so you can see just how huge it was...but I didn't. I fully assumed Finn would scream his head off the whole way down. He didn't! Keagan refused to try it.

 

Finn and I rode a pedal go-cart while Josh pedaled Keagan around. They had a blast with this and Finn fought and screamed when we had to share with another family. Imagine that! Another embarrassing public moment... 

The boys took full advantage of the feeding the animals. And the animals obliged the boys by coming near them. Finn liked the animals a lot, until the goats got a little aggressive; have no fear, there was a fence!

Trailer ride to the pumpkin patch! Keagan enjoyed the tractor and we got to actually pick our pumpkins off the vine rather than just pick up a pumpkin the owners had set out. Of course, my camera lens was on the fritz (I so need a new one) and I took a million pictures only to get these okay ones. I am a bit disappointed, but the day wasn't about getting the perfect picture as it was letting the kids enjoy the moment. And they really did have fun! They were very possessive of the pumpkins they each picked out!

Finally at Lamberts! Keagan and Finn really enjoyed the fried okra...I just can't eat that but more power to them!

Keagan getting into the roll-throwing that Lamberts is so famous for. The roll-thrower-guy was so kind and even gave Keagan a fist-bump for doing so good! Finn saw this and decided he needed to throw everything. He was picking up green beans off my plate and throwing them. It was time to leave when he started this..

Hot Roll!