Wonder Who Finley's Rooting For?

I just had to post this. Finley was in his Play Yard playing this morning while I was feeding Kieran a bottle. The news broke in that John McCain has announced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Well Finley LOVES to clap and there was tons of clapping during her speech. I just thought this would be a great shot to have in his scrapbook and for him to look back at years later if the McCain/Palin ticket is successful.

On a side note, looks like this is going to be a pretty cool year either way you cut it. If Sarah Palin becomes Vice President, she will be the first woman to serve in that capacity in the White House. She also has very small children, one Kieran's age. If Barack Obama wins the presidency, he'll be the first black man to hold that office. So either way, it's going to be groundbreaking.

It's going to be an interesting election, one that Finley and Kieran won't remember, that's why I think it's so important to record these moments through photos and now this blog.

On another side note, gotta love her name choices for her kiddos... Track (who is about to be deployed to Iraq), Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig Paxson Van (the one that is Kieran's age). Yeah, I know some people might say who cares but I'm a mom and a baby name collector of sorts lol. I love when people really put thought into names and go out there with their choices. Piper and Willow are two names on my list. If either of my boys had been a girl, they would have been named Piper.

And last but not least, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY to our friends Finn, Noah, Cohen and Sophia, we hope you have a wonderful and blessed day!

Yum-O in the Tum-O!

Yesterday we spent running around to doctor appointments. Andrew had two different dental appointments, Finley had a urologist appointment and Kieran had his four month check up at his pediatrician. For once, I was the only one without an appointment! lol

The day started off with Finley's appointment. Not such good news... Looks like Finley will have to have another surgery. I was hoping this wasn't the case. Please pray for my boy and that this surgery goes well. It isn't scheduled yet.

Later in the day it was time for Kieran to see Dr. Herman. He did well! He was passed out asleep when the nurse asked that I wake him and strip him down to be weighed. Surprisingly, he woke up smiling and had a good "chat" with the nurse. He and the nurse started a lovely, but short-lived friendship.

His stats:
Weight: 15 lbs., 8 ozs.
Height: 24 1/2 inches
Head Circ.: 16 1/2 inches

After being weighed, the nurse said Dr. Herman would be in shortly. When he came in, he checked him out and said he was doing well. He also said we could start teaching him to use the spoon with a little rice cereal whenever we wanted to as he seemed ready to start learning. He explained that, at this point, feeding from a spoon is really just learning to eat off of a spoon and not for nutrition yet. His nutrition should still come from his formula. We already knew this from last year with Finley, though.

Soon after the doctor left, Kieran and the nurse's friendship ended as she gave him his shots. He burst out into tears and looked at her like "I thought we were friends!" It was heartbreaking but Mommy got to calm him down with hugs and kisses. It's good to be the hero sometimes. :)

So, anyway, last night we decided to try Kieran on the spoon with a little super watery cereal. Here is how it went

Wait, Daddy, gotta pose for Mommy! This is going down in history!

What's this? Medicine?

Woah, that wasn't medicine!

I want more!

Mmmm, Yum-O in the Tum-O!

Daddy, it's all over my face. How embarrassing! Let me wipe my face before Mommy takes another photo!

How's that, Mommy?

No more food? Can I eat my bib?

And here I am this morning. Mommy said it's not nice to stick out my tongue!

So, how about a smile? Have a great day!

Beans, Bubbles and Birthdays!

Finley tried beans, rice and weinies last night. It was a big hit. I usually feed this sort of messy food to him but I let him have a go at it. He loves feeding himself and baths so it was a win win siuation for him!

Here he is "enjoying" his meal with a few photos of his bubble bath after it. (All I can say is thank God for good soap and Spray N' Wash!)











And now to Kieran's turn...

Today is Kieran Avery's 4 month birthday! He is growing up soooo fast! It doesn't seem like he was ever a newborn. He came out trying to chase after brother. Here are a few photos of my boy this morning. Yeah we celebrate 4 month birthdays around here (and 16 month)! Birthdays are too fun to miss out on an excuse to celebrate and post baby boy pictures! lol

The first photo shows off his "Smith chin"...

Finley's 16 Month Birthday!

Wow, I can't believe it, but my little (oldest) baby boy is 16 months old today! I got to thinking how much he's grown and what all he's gone through in his life so far and wanted to do a little post about it since I didn't know about the wonderful world of blogging when he was born.

Here is my sweet boy before he entered the world...

Finley was born on April 25, 2007 after 7 weeks of bedrest for me. I had high blood pressure issues that threatened pre-eclampsia. Thank God I never got it. I was induced on the 25th but ended up with a c-section since Finley just didn't really wanna come out and see the world yet! lol

Here I am pregnant with him at one of my showers... The second one is me with one of my sisters, Aimie, and my mom.


Here he is right after he was born ...


Here are a few of my favorite pics of him when he was a wee one...



He was 6 lbs., 13 ozs. and 18.75 inches long at birth. Soon after birth he started spitting up a lot. This only got worse and progressed into all out projectile spewing by his 4 week birthday. Long story short, he ended up at Texas Children's that night and had emergency Pyloric Stenosis surgery the next morning. Praise God the surgery went wonderfully and he was home in 3 days. After that, he started growing like a weed!

Finley was also born with a little urological issue and had to have two surgeries for that (in December and January). By the grace of God, those also went great. (Love those Texas Children's Hospital surgeons) Through it all he never stopped smiling. He is my oldest, sweet, smiley boy for sure. I guess it is fitting that the Gaelic meaning of his name is "Fair Warrior". It is also very fitting that the English meaning is "Sunbeam". Could Andrew and I have picked a better fitting name for our baby boy? He was and is definitely a sunbeam even when he had to fight illness like the fair warrior that he is!

Another wonderful memory is from when I was still working out of the home and he went to baby school aka daycare. Each day when I picked him up the ladies would say "Thanks for letting us have Finley today, he's such a joy, always teaching the other babies to smile!" Made my heart happy for sure!

And, here he is this morning right soon after he woke up. He is always so happy to see me when I go in the room. His face is so happy/silly in this shot! Makes a Mommy's day!

Here is Finley this morning eating his Cheerios. He has his own language that I lovingly call "Finley's German"... He can have a whole big conversation like this. lol He knows what he is saying but no one else does! Luckily, he does speak some English too, but when he gets on a "Finley's German" roll, he just talks away!

Hope you enjoyed the stroll back over the last 16 months as much as I did.

Love you, sweet boy!

Favorite Foto Friday

I have come to the conclusion that it is might near impossible to get a good picture of the boys together at this age. Finley wants to conk Kieran on the head or roll over him or whatever. Here is the best I got today. Finley's hair is wild though because he was flinging himself about. He wanted loose to run (err crawl) the house!

And just for fun... a few that didn't "make the cut".

Kieran says, "Oh goodness gracious, what is brother going to do? Where is he going?"

"I'm concerned!"
"Oh no, he's back and going wild!"

"Okay enough, Mommy! I am bored with all this!"

Then and Now...

Having two boys born a year and a day apart is fun. Last year at this time I was seeing the same milestones, but by Finley instead of Kieran. It's fun to take a look back at Finley a year ago and Kieran today doing the same things... Here is a video I put together that I think is cute and shows how fast they grow!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Finley still loves his Jumperoo even though he's about 1 oz. from the weight limit. lol We lowered it for Kieran last week so it's a bit low for Finley now but I just had to see the difference a year makes.

I actually have several then and now type pictures like this and plan to continue to take them (and videos) so I will do this little "feature" from time to time! Hope you enjoy!

Quadruple the Fun...

I have been blessed recently to meet several wonderful ladies in my neighborhood. We have started a weekly Bible study that is really great for me. It's so nice to have a little me time and refresh with these ladies each week. I think it helps me to be a better mom. At least I hope so!

One of the ladies is Mari. She is the one who has been hosting the studies at her house, which is so wonderful of her. Mari has quadruplets, Finn, Noah, Cohen and Sophia. They invited Finley, Kieran and I over for a playdate last Friday. Finley had a great time trying out all of their toys. While we were there Mari wanted to see if a pudding pop would help the baby's teething pain. The pop was a hit for sure!

Finley didn't want to miss out on the goodies so he got in line for his taste... Finley has been teething too, afterall. :-)

We had a great time and can't wait to spend more time with Mari and her sweet kiddos.

Finley's First Haircut... Gasp!

We had an exciting weekend. Saturday we celebrated Grandmo's 80th birthday and boy was that fun! She was so surprised and excited to see all of her family and friends (many she hadn't seen in awhile). Finley and Kieran were hits of course and had a great time being passed around and entertaining everyone.

Sarah was trying to teach Finley to walk. Finley cracks me up in this pic. I think he looks like Curious George on his shirt!

Kieran got plenty of cuddle time from Grandmo...


Finley thought the buckle on Pabba Lowell's overalls was fascinating...


Kieran was happy in his bouncer between snuggles from relatives...


Finley had the MOST fun crawling through his tunnel that Grandmommy and Pabba Ted got him...


His favorite new saying is "Finley did it!"... He repeats it often when he does something he's proud of! He also loves to clap with excitement!

Yesterday, we had another great day but one that was hard on me. lol Finley got his first haircut. Dad was due for a haircut so we decided to get Finley's trimmed up too. I have been hesitant to get it cut since he has such beautiful curls but it has been growing in uneven. He had sort of a backwards mullet with the sides really long and the back shorter. The lady who cut it evened it all up and I am happy to report he still has some curl! What a relief... I thought he'd look older, but to me, he looks younger. What do you think?

Here is Finley waiting for his haircut with dad at the salon... See how it's sort of uneven and was starting to look straggedly?

Sitting like a good boy getting his cut...

Tada! How do I look?

And here are a few photos from today after we washed it...