Backyard Baseball Take 2

Last summer we played some baseball in the backyard, and we did it again last night.  But this time it was with a purpose. Our little Finley Quinn is playing baseball for the first time!  I can't believe that this little girl who has been going to games since she was a teeny tiny baby.  She's probably been to well over 100 games since she was born!

Her excitement level about her first official hitting session with Daddy was high!

"Daddy, I actually know what I'm doing here," (Warning, picture overload ahead).

And with that, let t-ball season begin!

Finley is 2!!!!

Blogging slacker here.  I guess I decided to take the month of September off?

It hasn't been easy getting into the swing of the beginning of a new school year, a busy sports season, and the fact that the Fall is actually Brian's busy season at work.  I know that seems crazy, but a lot of the "business-y" stuff starts in September, with almost no break from the summer craziness.  It has been overwhelming this year - mostly for him, and a little for me!

Way back at the beginning of September, this sweet girl turned TWO!

Our baby girl is two!  It's so crazy to think that only two years ago she was our tiniest baby, and now she's a walking, talking toddler.  Who we still frequently call "The Baby."  I can't remember how long we called Hudson "The Baby," but I'm pretty sure it stopped when I was pregnant with this girl.  I guess everyone else has had another little brother or sister to take the baby spot, but she's the Grand Finale!

She got to spend her birthday with her favorite person in the world.  It doesn't get much better than that!

We had a late pizza dinner and cake.  Wyatt's baseball coach ran a pretty late practice. I guess he forgot he had an important celebration to attend? Ha!

We opened presents and celebrated this sweet little girl.  She funny, she's loving, she adores her older siblings.  Her relationship with them is a little Sour Patch Kid-dish right now.  First she's sour, then she's sweet.  She'll walk up to Hudson, smack his back, and then give him a big smile and a hug.  And he gives in every time!

Because how can you be mad at this smile?!  It was car cleaning day and I needed to keep her contained.  This worked!

Sweet sisters reading and playing together.

She snatched strawberries out of the grocery bag - and took them to the couch to eat them. Mess. Mess. Mess. Mess. Mess.

Reading surrounded by all the essentials.  And those toes!!!

On our way to Frozen on Ice!

And the outfit she chose for her two year well check up.  Showing her Disney Side. She's fashion forward.  Obviously.

At her two year check up she weighed 29 pounds, 4 ounces, and she's 33 inches tall.  I'm not sure I got the percentiles on that.  Fourth child syndrome!

Two is a fun age.  We're still working on her communication, so there are problems when she wants something and I have no idea what it means, but we're making a consistent effort to talk to her all of the time, just like we did with Wyatt and Reese and Hudson.  Poor girl always gets interrupted by the big kids.  With them at school more, we're reading more books, doing more puzzles, and spending more one on one time.  And I'm loving it.  (I miss the other kids, obviously, I'm just enjoying my last days with a little one, too!).

Happy Birthday, Finley Quinn!  We love you!

One Year Old!!!

It's that time of the month again.  The time where I say that I really, truly, honestly have no idea how this little girl is a month older.

And not just one month older.  This baby girl, this little sweet girl who was once the teensiest and tiniest of my four babies is now a one year old.

Finley is a light in our family.  Plain and simple.  Her smile lights up the whole room, and she instantly makes a cranky pants attitude better (no matter which person is being a cranky pants).

She is constantly on the move.  If she's not in her high chair eating, all bets are off. She might be in the kitchen or living room, but the chances are good that she's in the playroom getting into something.  Or maybe she's by the shoe bins taking shoes out and throwing them on the floor!

She has been almost exclusively in cloth diapers since Hudson started using the bathroom.  That makes us all (but especially her) very happy campers.

She's not into weaning at all, so we're still breastfeeding about three times a day.  I haven't pushed it much, partly because she's perfectly happy and healthy, but also because when she's done, I'm done.  I'm just a bit sad that she's the last baby, and I'll feed her as long as she wants me to!

She has 7ish teeth.  Two are actually cutting right now. She doesn't deal well with teething pain, and it tends to make for a fussy few days!

She took her first official steps on August 27th.  And she is a walking machine now.  She pulls herself up and moves right along.  She loves to dance, so as soon as she's standing, it's not uncommon to see her dancing and boogeying down!

She is wearing mostly 12 months sized clothes now, but she also wears some 18 month outfits.

She says, "Dada," "Mama," "splash," "uh-oh!," "more!," and "hey!"  She also signs "more" and "all done."  I think she's on the verge of "bye-byes" with waves.  We have a lot more time to practice now that the big kids are in school!

I love this little girl so much.  People always say things like, "How do you handle four?," or "Four seems like a lot of work."  And the truth is, it totally is.  Sometimes we don't go to birthday parties because it's a lot of work and stress when it's just me during the summer.  Sometimes my house is an absolute mess and there are laundry piles.  Sometimes I almost miss Wyatt's first time catching at baseball because Reese has soccer practice.  And I've definitely missed one or two things because I'm off somewhere breastfeeding the baby.  Sometimes I even lose my patience and put everyone to bed a little early.

But two wasn't the right number for us.  And neither was three.  And I get teary eyed when I think about what our lives would be like if we didn't have this precious baby girl who smiles every time we walk in a room.  What if I'd actually taken the things people said to heart when they asked me, "So, are you done now?," after Hudson was born? I am so thankful every single day that we weren't done, and we got this little surprise! We are so blessed to have our Finley Quinn!

Eleven Months

Ten Months

Nine Months
Eight Months
Seven Months
Six Months
Five Months
Four Months
Three Months
Two Months
One Month
Brand New

Eleven Months Old!

I'm going to start this the same way I do every. single. month.

It's just unbelievable to me that this little sweet pea is 11 months old.

I mean, a year ago, I looked like this.

Finley's 11 month stats:

• Somewhere around 21 pounds?  She hasn't been to the doctor since her 9 month check up!
• She does a great job feeding herself, but she isn't that interested in eating right now.  It's a recent thing, but she only wants to be in that seat if she wants to be...which is almost never.  She'd much rather be exploring!
• We are still going strong with breastfeeding.  I don't remember any of the other three being this interested in it at 11 months (in fact Wyatt was done, Reese was completely weaned, but drinking breastmilk from a sippy cup, and Hudson was well on his way to drinking whole milk at 11 months).  Finley shows no signs of stopping, and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it.  I know that it's become more mainstream to go past a year, but I'm selfishly over nursing tanks right now, and I'm really struggling with weight loss.  Although I don't really want to call it selfish when I've been pregnant or breastfeeding a kid for 78 of the last 84 months (that's 7 years). So I would really love for her to start drinking whole milk soon.  But I'm not pushing it!
• We have finally found a sippy cup that she loves!

• Chunk-a-monk is wearing mostly 12 month clothes, but I'm still able to fit these thighs into 9 month outfits!

• I don't even want to talk about the sleep situation.
• Our little bottom scooter has finally taken her first two or three steps...and that's it!  It's almost like she's completely uncomfortable standing, and she takes a few steps just to sit!
• She says, "Dada," "Mama," "Spsshhh" (for splash), "Uh-oh!," and "More!"  She recognizes a lot of words though - "eat" and "snack" being two of her favorites.  She knows who to look at when she hears the names "Wy Wy" and "Reesie."

• She has 4 teeth!
• She doesn't have a favorite toy - she prefers getting into anything and everything!
• She has the best, sweetest personality.  I just love watching her little face light up every time someone comes in the room, and I know she is going to have the best time being social when fall sports start!

Ten Months

Nine Months
Eight Months
Seven Months
Six Months
Five Months
Four Months
Three Months
Two Months
One Month
Brand New