Happy Birthday, Finn!

Finn turned one on Sunday!  What a big year.  He is such a sweet, smiley baby, and we are so thankful to have him.  He eats like a bottomless pit and has turned into a pretty good sleeper now, hooray!  He is still doing his one-arm, one-toe variation of the army crawl, but he is a fast little booger.

He has started pulling up and cruising now, so he is into everything.  He is so tall!  It took him a while to practice and get strong enough to pull all that weight up - and it was a big surprise when he finally did it!  I was in the kitchen when I heard Elijah yelling frantically, "Mom!  Mom, come quick!  We've got a real problem here!"  I raced into the powder room to find Finn standing up, chewing on the toilet seat and grinning at me!  Elijah was horrified.  I was horrified, and laughing at the same time.  Nothing is safe now!

Standing tall!  The ottoman is just perfect for cruising.

Loving his table toy!

Too much fun to be still!

Today we had a birthday party at Patrick's parents' house for Finn and Aunt Lorrie and Uncle Bill.  It was a fun day, and extra fun that Nana got to be there, too!  We chose Goodnight Moon as the theme for Finn's cake and decorations.  Yesterday, Maiah came and spent the whole afternoon helping me make and decorate the cake.  She was such a big help!

Surprised, and hoping to grab the candle.

Goodnight Moon cake

My baking assistant, Maiah, with her first fondant cake!

Daddy's been travelling

Patrick was away for a conference in Phoenix for a week. He travels for work periodically, but most of the trips are short ones.  He is only gone this long once or twice a year.  This time, we tried to plan ahead some ways to make things easier.

Molly got to go have a sleepover/girls' weekend with Rylee and Brynn at Aunt Diane and Uncle Bill's house.  While she was gone, Elijah and Finn and I had a Mama and the boys weekend.  I think both Elijah and Molly had lots of fun!

Molly's girls' weekend started with a trip to the nail salon for a mani/pedi - she picked out a bright orange color and got little flowers on a couple of toes.  Wow - what a treat!  She had a great time doing lots of "girly" things with her cousins, and playing together, especially with their bitty babies.  On Saturday, they went to Build-a-Bear so that Molly and Brynn could make a friend.  (Rylee, Elijah and Evan made theirs last year.)  Molly just LOVES her new bear, Kate.

Of course, Kate is very pink and frilly. =)

love.

 Elijah got to have a play date with Evan, and we got to stay for a fun dinner.  Elijah and I also went to Target to exchange a Lego set that he received two of - and he picked out this new fire truck/rescue set.  On Saturday, Elijah built his new Legos and we played a couple of games of Sorry! during Finn's nap.  Elijah loves to play games, and Sorry! is one of several that he can play, but is too old for Molly.  It was fun to get to do those "big kid" things for a day! 

He's getting so grown up - his favorite Transformers t-shirt, Legos, and Sorry!

We also went to the park and the library, and went on a special lunch date.  After dinner, we made ice cream sundaes and watched Cars 2, again.  Does life get any better than that?

On Sunday, we went to Bobbi & Papa's house to meet Aunt Diane and get Molly.  We stayed for naps and then went out to the Olive Garden for dinner.  Wow, what a fun treat!  We were all glad to see Bobbi, who just got home from a long trip to Florida.

On Monday, Elijah had a day off of school, and Bobbi and Papa came and spent the afternoon and evening with us.  I got to go out for a little while by myself during nap time, and had lots of help with all the bedtime chaos.  Plus, we just had a lot of fun!

Jumping, and talking to Papa

Building car towers with Papa

 

So much fun!

We are so glad to have Daddy home again, and I am so thankful for the extra help to get through this week, and even make some special memories!

Some February pictures

Here are a few pictures from our month!

He isn't quite as big as his sister, yet. =)

Teething tongue

Flying a kite!  What a strangely warm February we've had!

Some from our fun Valentine's Day -

Molly's (sort-of) heart shaped pony tails

Patrick's special dinner

m&m and brownie cake hearts

And here are a few from the celebration we had for the February birthdays in Patrick's family (Danny, Maiah, Zoie, and Brynn).  We forgot our camera, but fortunately Bill took lots of good ones!   I made a cake for the three birthday girls.

Brynn's side - she requested Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Maiah & Zoie's side - they each chose favorite colors for their tier.

and Danny got a cupcake. =)

More Christmas celebration

During the week following Christmas, we got to spend more time celebrating with Patrick's family.  We missed getting together with Papa's family while we were away for my Grandma's funeral, so they all came to our house one day.  We had a fun time, and I think they all enjoyed getting to meet Finn.

We also got to have our Christmas celebration at Bobbi & Papa's house on Friday.  It was crazy and fun, as usual!  Finn was awake for the gifts this time, and enjoyed getting to open his own.

First Chrstmas present

mmmm, blocks.  yummy.

Baby's First Christmas

One of Molly's special requests this year - a pink "hoop-a-loop"

So excited!!

Elijah admiring the giant pile o' presents

Evan was excited about his gift from Elijah - Cars 2 movie!

The big girls are always so good with Finn!

Two crazy boys in their new shirts - This is what great looks like!

Bobbi knit all the kids a stocking with their name on it - Finn got his this year!

Yay stockings!

Finn in his santa outfit

Merry Christmas!