Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

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We took approximately 160 pictures this Christmas and I narrowed them down to my fave 40(ish). Aidan got a few toys that became instant hits...a jack-in-the-box and, of course, his hockey stick. He posed with his hockey stick, he played with his hockey stick, he wanted everyone else to play with his hockey stick. I must say, he was quite the charmer this weekend. Everyone kept commenting on how happy and well-behaved he is. I rolled my eyes several times since they clearly were not witnessing his whining/screaming fits that come when he doesn't get what he wants. What's not to be happy about with 8 adults catering to your every whim? He truly was well-behaved while we were up North, which makes me a proud parent. He slept at least 11-12 hours every night with two naps almost every day we were there. Not to mention he slept for 14 hours the night we came home. All that activity and attention wears a guy out! Now we're gearing up for Nana, Papa, Aunt Kali, and Uncle Kyle's visit. They arrive Wednesday, so I had better start cleaning!

Ms. Flexible

Just call me Ms. Flexible. A snowstorm with up to 2 ft predicted right smack during our planned travel time? No problem, we'll just leave a day early. Pack food, ingredients to make 2 cakes, cheesy potatoes, and everything a 1 1/2 year old needs to survive for 3 days...Easy. Or so I keep telling myself. The power of positive thoughts will get me through packing tomorrow morning, then we'll be on the road by 2pm. Kyle and I are very excited to spend a very relaxing, snow-filled Christmas surrounded by his family in front of the giant fireplace. If only I could have a nice glass of red wine...that would be perfection.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Check back in on Sunday or Monday for Christmas Day pictures.

Makin' A List

Actually, it's more like 20 lists. I make multiple lists every day. So much stuff to do! To the best of my knowledge, all presents have been bought and I got all but one wrapped today. Check. Groceries for the trip to Hayward have been purchased. Check. Christmas letters have been mailed. Check. Were all of them signed? No. I addressed, stamped, stuffed, and sealed 26 envelopes without signing the letter inside. BIG OOPS! If you receive an unsigned letter, feel free to laugh at me. I wish I could blame it on the pregnancy, but it had more to do with Aidan getting into everything he was not supposed to while I was trying to finish up the letters on Friday night and Kyle was at hockey practice. Lesson learned.

Next on the list(s): round up everything needed for our Christmas trip up to Hayward, WI

Snow Day

The kids at my elementary school have been practicing a song called "No School Tomorrow" for their upcoming holiday concert. When I found out we had a snow day on Wednesday, I went around signing it all day long. Of course, I had to change the words to "There'll be no school today, no school today, no school today because it snowed!"

I utilized the day to the fullest extent, made possible by the fact that Aidan went to daycare for 5 hours. He was one of four kids in his class. Needless to say, he got lots of attention. As for me, Santa and I chatted and I picked out presents I thought Aidan would enjoy. I also made thumbprint cookies and Christmas cut-outs. After 3 1/2 hours on my feet I could barely move. My lower back hurt so bad I felt nauseous. Note to self...if I am ever 6 months pregnant again, I will not stand for long periods of time.

Here are some picks of Aidan enjoying the snow before it got too cold. (this was the very beginning of the storm on Tuesday evening...we ended up getting 7.4 inches and 40mph winds)

What do little boys do in MN when it's cold outside?

Play Hockey!!

So happy to play outside (and get his picture taken)

That's the Spirit!

Does anything say Christmas like baking cookies? I think not. Aidan enjoyed helping me make the dough for my new favorite chocolate/mint cookies. The little stinker stood there and watched the whole time, mesmerized. Then, just as I was finishing up, he snatched a handful of dough and shoved it in his mouth. He couldn't get enough after that and was not happy with me when it was time to let the dough chill for 30 min.


Aidan got the camera for me last night and demanded (nicely) that I take his picture. How could I refuse when we get results like this? I would use this for my Christmas card if his shirt wasn't covered in drool. Aidan's last two bottom teeth are coming in. This past week has been one big, wet, messy spit fest.

O' Christmas Tree

Kyle has promised me that we only have to go to Christmas tree lots for 2 more years, then we can start cutting down our own tree again. I'm blogging this little anecdote so that it's in writing and I can refer back to it in two years when Kyle says "the kids just aren't old enough yet, it will be too much of a hassle, yada, yada"... I will not forget.

That being said, we went to a Christmas tree lot yesterday and picked out our tree for the season. We both agreed it didn't feel like Christmas due to the warmth and lack of snow. Nonetheless, we picked out the tree and will hopefully have time to decorate it today.

I asked Aidan to go stand by the tree.
Instead, he sat down with a huge grin on his face.

Running to come see how his photo session turned out.

Flashback to Christmas tree hunting last year.
This photo looks much more "Christmas-y" than the ones above.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all! We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and it was a success. All the food was ready at the same time, nothing was burnt, and it was all edible. What more could you want? It was great seeing family that we don't see all that often, and the big bonus of the day was that Aidan was in bed and asleep by 6pm. That's what I was thankful for.

The rest of the weekend is kind of go with the flow. No big plans. The "organizing bug" bit me this morning and I cleaned out Aidan's closet to make way for the new baby's stuff. Some things got tossed, some things will get donated, and a LOT will get handed down to the new baby. I also did a little online shopping in hopes of scoring some good deals on Christmas presents. I got 4 people taken care of, and even bought myself a maternity fleece hoodie from Old Navy that was on sale for $5. Seriously, how can you pass that up?

Next on the mental "to do" list: get a Christmas tree and decorate.

I'm A Big Girl Now

Does anything scream "you're an adult" more than hosting your first holiday dinner? We're having Kyle's side over for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and I've got a list a mile long for Kyle to complete this week. Hmm, maybe this working full-time thing isn't such a bad gig after all. If I was home I would have to do it all. :) Just kidding. I've been working diligently this weekend to chip away at the stuff that can be done a few days ahead of time. Aidan's toy room is picked up and organized (for the moment), the windows have all been washed, the table is extended to seat 8, and the grocery shopping is done.

In my spare time I made a meal for my friend Gayle and took it over to their new house in the hopes that I could get some quality cuddle time in with her new little peanut, Grace. Grace was born on November 8th and is the tiniest little baby I have ever seen. Weighing in at just 5lbs 11 oz, she is the perfect size for cuddling in one arm. Of course she slept in my arms the whole time I was there, but that's what new babies do. I'm looking forward to having my own little baby girl that just wants to hang out in my arms.

Speaking of Baby Girl (no, we don't have a name picked out yet), her closet is quickly filling up thanks to Grandma Michele and my friend Carrie who generously loaned us some little girl clothes. (plus maternity clothes, THANK YOU, Carrie!) I don't know what I'm going to do with all MY clothes, but she will fill up her own closet, I'm sure.

Aidan got to feel the baby kick this week while singing bedtime songs. At first I just thought he was being giggly. I then realized that every time he was laughing, the baby was also kicking him in the back. Too funny.

Faster, Longer

The weeks seem to be going faster and my list of things to do just keeps getting longer. I took a little "me" time on Saturday to get my hair cut and shop for some maternity clothes at the Mall of America. The hair cut turned out nice, the shopping trip was a bust. Why is it that when you know exactly what you want, you can never find it? I want a maternity button-down cardigan and a light-weight turtleneck sweater. Apparently these things do not exist in the world of maternity clothes. I went to Old Navy, Gap, Motherhood Maternity, and A Pea in the Pod. No luck at any of those stores.

Of course, since I spent Saturday doing "fun" stuff, that means that not much got done around the house. Today was filled with window washing and starting to cover the windows in plastic. I'm exhausted and it's not even 2 o'clock yet. Thankfully Aidan is down for a nap and Kyle is watching the Vikings beat-up on the Lions. I can at least catch up on my blogging.

Aidan keeps getting funnier and funnier. Lately he has been hiding himself behind things and then popping out to say "hi". Over and over, with a big smile on his face. It makes me laugh every time. He's also figured out how much fun it is to lay down on the floor and roll around.

Kyle starts varsity hockey try-outs on Monday. Hello hockey widowhood. I haven't missed you. Thankfully Kyle is ONLY coaching varsity this year, and not attempting to also help out the PeeWee team. I can at least count on him being home by dinnertime except on game nights.

In my own little world, this is the last week I'm teaching Non-Violent Crisis Intervention. Two more 11 hour days this week and then I can get back to a normal schedule. Thanksgiving break can't get here fast enough. Mama needs some rest.

Big Boy Stuff

Aidan started "school" on Monday. By "school" I mean daycare. He absolutely.loves.it. Kyle and I were very anxious parents Monday afternoon and decided that we both needed to pick him up. (more to ease our curiosity than an actual need to both be there) We needn't have worried. Our little guy was outside playing with the cars and popping toys, having a good 'ole time. In fact, he started crying when we tried to take him home because he wasn't ready to stop playing! That made us both feel MUCH better.
Aidan's teacher told us they're working on using a spoon and drinking from a cup without a sippy. My sister warned me that Aidan would have to use a spoon in daycare because forks can be used as weapons. : ) Other fun things Aidan has done at school this week...watched a puppet show featuring "Mary had a little lamb", played outside in the Little Tike's Cars (going from one to the next for the entire time the class is outside), and eaten an enormous amount of food. He had a third helping of green beans on Tuesday, on top of the fruit and chicken/rice dish that he had already eaten. Maybe he'll finally make it past the 20th %-ile for weight at our next doctor's visit!

Family Visit

Uncle Kyle and Aunt Kali trekked up from Madison on Friday for a visit. We packed some fun action into the weekend. What's a visit to MN if you don't visit the MN Zoo? (especially when you're a member and it's free fun?) On Saturday we went to the University of MN vs. University of Illinois football game in our brand new stadium. Aidan stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Finn so the adults could actually enjoy the game, and enjoy it we did. It was such a beautiful day. Sitting in the sun, eating a hot dog, sipping on a fountain soda, and watching college football eleven rows up from the end zone...ahhh, it was great.

This leopard paced back and forth right in front of Aidan, but he didn't care in the slightest.
Aidan was too busy watching the other kids.

Aidan's personal chauffeur. aka: Uncle Kyle

Aunt Kali and Aidan watching the sting rays

Outside the stadium. Do you think we're related?

New stadium

It's a Girl!

Contrary to my motherly intuition and Kyle's predictions, we are having a baby girl! We had the 20 week ultrasound this morning and everything looks great. My due date is still March 24th, and it's looks like the Finn family will finally get a little pink bundle of joy. You would not believe how excited I am. Here's a picture a our little girl. She was moving non-stop, so we couldn't get a good picture of her. She's all smashed up against my insides with her hands tucked under her chin.

What Do Giraffes Say?

If you have a happy giraffe they might say trick-or-treat. But, if their mommy tells them they're going to see grandpa and grandma, and then tries to take pictures, they say boo-hoo.

Much happier after making it up to Grandpa and Grandma Finn's house

Obviously Aidan dressed as a giraffe this year. We worked on "trick-or-treat" but Aidan only said bye-bye after he got his candy. He sure knew how to take the candy and put it in his bag though. We went out for about an hour and made it to five houses in the neighborhood. Whew, what a slow process that was. I even carried him back down the street just to save some time.
After we got home I handed out candy to 30 little princesses and action heroes while Aidan sat in his highchair and ate his spoils. The people in our neighborhood were great! Instead of candy bars, they gave out mini-bags of teddy grahams, goldfish, and oreos. All things that Aidan can actually eat. He was entertained for close to 45 minutes just eating his "candy". Then I ran out of candy so I turned the light off, gave Aidan a bath, and enjoyed last week's Brothers and Sisters. Ah, what a nice Halloween.

Pumpkin Poser

Aidan has become such a poser for the camera. You'd think we take his picture all the time, which just isn't true. But, the minute he sees that camera come out, boom, cute pose and then he runs over to see himself on the display after the picture is snapped. It's really quite funny to witness. Here are our "posed" pictures from Grandpa Finn's 62nd birthday dinner on Friday night. Grandma was kind enough to chase Aidan around the house while the rest of us carved our pumpkins.

Posing with his trusty broom

Helping Grandpa blow out the candles

Aidan's pumpkin, before

Aidan's pumpkin, after

Note that mommy carved this pumpkin,
and then her own, which = sore hands!

Mine, Aidan's, Kyle's, Grandpa's

Yes, Kyle decided to carve a pumpkin sporting the Geico logo.

Did You Hear That?

Babycenter.com tells me that Baby #2 is starting to hear what's going in the outside world. I already figured that out because it kicks and rolls around whenever it hears Aidan laughing hysterically. I'm hoping that's a good sign and the baby LIKES hearing Aidan be his loud self. Baby #2 also gets wiggly during Aidan's bedtime when we're reading stories and signing lullabies. Could be that Aidan's sitting on the baby and squishing it, but I like to think it's responding to the stories and songs.

Another new development in baby land is the need for maternity clothes. I suppose it's that time. Next week I'll be halfway done with this pregnancy. I guess I should count myself lucky that I made it 19 weeks in regular pants. No more though. Even the Bella Band is getting uncomfortable. Time for over-the-belly maternity pants.

Ready or Not

Ready or not, here he comes. Aidan will be starting daycare part-time in November when Kyle starts hockey. I initially fought tooth and nail against this switch. Why pay for Aidan to nap? Do they even do fun learning activities in the afternoon? I know Aidan will love playing with other kids, but I have a mental block against daycare. Kyle made me realize that we don't have a whole lot of options, and it's only 15 hours a week from mid-November through the end of February, minus 2 weeks off at Christmas and any other days off that I have from school.

Kyle and Aidan visited our local KinderCare on Thursday afternoon during nap time to see how it works. This is the same center I visited last spring with Aidan when we were looking into daycare. The center was well-kept, clean, and bright. I was concerned Aidan wouldn't sleep and they would try to make him nap for 3 hours on a mat. For those of you that know him, he is not a quiet or inactive child. Kyle said when they were there a little boy wasn't napping and they had an adult quietly reading a story with him. That made me feel better. They also do not nap for 3 hours. More like an hour and a half to two hours. When they wake up, the kids that are only part-time get to do the crafts and stuff that the other kids did in the morning, and the morning kids get free choice time.

Okay, I'm starting to feel a little better about this. Aidan will be going 3 afternoons a week from 11am-4pm. The bonus is that Aidan's teacher is the mom of a goalie that Kyle has coached for several years. It must be fate. She knows Kyle, we'll see her at hockey games, she can't abuse my child, right? And, since we know someone that works there, we get 3 weeks free of daycare. Double bonus. (I asked Kyle if we could use those 3 weeks after the new baby arrives so I can transition from being a mommy of 1 to a mommy of 2) The downside is that Aidan is going to have a snotty nose all winter from the new germs he will be coming into contact with. Yuck.

Family Pics

We attended my cousin Kara's wedding this past weekend back in IL. It's rare that we're all together and looking nice, so we took advantage and snapped lots of great photos.

The Finn family

Kyle/Kali, Papa/Nana, Kyle/Aidan/Courtney

Aidan with Great-Grandma Mosher (she's 93!!!)

Great-Grandma, Nana, and Aidan (who was done taking pictures at this point)

18 Months

Aidan hit the 18 month mark last week. To celebrate, we went to the doctor and got more shots. Yay! (note sarcasm) All is well with Aidan, although the doctor did detect a faint heart murmur. Strange that it took 18 months to find it...but nothing to worry about and the doctor said it would go away on its own.

18 month stats:
Height: 34 inches---92%-ile
Weight: 23 lbs 8 oz---17 %-ile
Head: 19 3/4 inches---89 %-ile

Besides going to the doctor, we also visited the apple orchard last weekend. Aidan had a great time and was trying his best to say apple. Unfortunately his version of apple sounds a lot like baseball. "ba bol" We're still working on this talking thing. He's got about 17 or 18 words that he uses regularly, right in the normal range. He should be putting 2 words together now, which is he not doing yet. (Unless you count "Mama, Daddy" which he says all the time when we're all sitting in the same room together)

Here are some of the pictures from the apple orchard.

The best pic of the day

Trying to roll the pumpkin

Mommy and Aidan

Picking our apples (we picked a total of 2)

I like to call this one "Deer in the headlights"

Aidan's favorite thing to do: pick up rotten apples

Being cute in the hay pile

Four Months and Counting

"Four months and counting to what?", you may ask. Well, Baby Finn #2 is on its way. I am starting my 16th week, so I'm four months pregnant and counting. Now, you all may be slightly surprised...certainly not as surprised as Kyle and I were, but then again, maybe you're not surprised at all.

Kyle and I have known since July 10th. About a week after I got pregnant. How did I know so soon? I immediately got sick. Which is part of the reason I waited so long to tell people. If I had told any sooner, every single blog from July 10th until about 2 weeks ago would have been me complaining bitterly about how awful I felt. Now that I'm feeling better, I think the blogs will be a nice balance between Aidan's antics and awaiting this new bundle of joy.

So there you have it folks, the latest gossip from the Finn family. Baby #2 is due on March 24, 2010 and we will be finding out whether it's a boy or a girl on November 13th. (as long as the baby is cooperating) Grandma Michele is getting her second chance at a girl, but Kyle is positive that it's a boy. I have my motherly intuition, but I'm going to keep it to myself so I don't look stupid if it turns out the other way. Here are some ultrasound shots from week 12. The head is at the top, with the baby's arms/hands by its face, its torso, and then its knees tucked up to its tummy. The ultrasound tech was adamant that she could not tell if it was a boy or a girl. You can click on the picture to make it larger.

Fall Festival

Fall has finally arrived in MN and with it came leaves on the ground, cooler temps, and of course, Fall Festival at my school. On Friday night, Kyle and I packed up Aidan and headed to West Saint Paul, where I teach. We ate pizza, Aidan got his face painted, and he took his turn at the Sucker Pull. (he didn't win anything) If you can't tell in the picture below, Aidan had hockey sticks and a hockey puck on his face. Can you guess who picked that??? That's right, Kyle.

Saturday brought more fall fun. Kyle's college buddies were in town for the Vikings game on Sunday, so all of them came over for lunch and college football on Saturday afternoon. Lunch quickly turned into 6 hours of football and card playing. I think they all had a great time, and Aidan was so exhausted that he even took a 3 hour nap on Sunday morning.

Aidan being a good student

Face painted with hockey sticks and puck

Masterpiece

Aidan's 1st masterpiece which, of course, is prominently displayed on the fridge.

Funny side note: Aidan made this beautiful artwork at the YMCA while Kyle was working out. When Kyle went to pick Aidan up, the child care worker gave him Aidan's artwork. Kyle's comment was "It's a good thing he's athletic." To which, I'm sure, the child care worker looked horrified. What kind of parent says that?!?!? Obviously Kyle was kidding, and he told the worker that. Kyle and I have since had the discussion about when it's appropriate to use his dry sense of humor and when it's not. (i.e.-it's not okay to make fun of your child with people you don't know) ; )

Summer Photo Montage

Grandma Michele got some great photos of Aidan this summer. Here are a few of the best.

The last one of Aidan in his toy box is courtesy of Daddy. Kyle said he climbed in there all on his own and played for almost 45 minutes!

How did Aidan celebrate Mommy's b-day? He had a Corona.
(it's not open)

Everybody loves the zoo! Especially when it's lunch time!

Watching the Bird Show at the zoo

Not just playing with the toys, playing IN the toys.
(notice this is the infamous striped shirt, plaid shorts day)