Snow Bunnies

8 Months Old!!!

Aidan refuses to take a nice picture anymore.

Look at that sibling love.

The holiday season is here, which means we (I) have been busy decorating and filling the house with Christmas cheer. Aidan's enthusiasm is contagious. He turns on the Christmas music and lights at every opportunity. Energy conservation is not in Aidan's vocabulary.

Today we made our annual trek to the tree lot to buy a cut Christmas tree. One of these years we'll get back to cutting our own. If it had been warmer, I would have insisted on it this year. However, carrying an 8 month old around in freezing temps didn't seem like the best idea. Pre-cut won.

We spent Thanksgiving here in the Twin Cities. Aunt Marsha was kind enough to host again, and as always, her food was delicious. Aidan enjoyed playing a dice game with "the big boys" aka: the adult males. Aubrey ate, napped, and played on the floor. Her usual day, just at a different house. Uncle BJ is in town for the weekend, much to Aidan's delight. I'm sure Aidan will insist we head up to Grandpa's house as soon as he wakes up from his nap today so he can see BJ.

Ice Time

Hockey is back in full-swing and I find myself short on patience lately. I thanked God every night this past week that I'm not a single mom, even though I felt like it during hockey try-outs. By Saturday morning I told Kyle that I needed two hours to myself and he was in charge. He graciously offered to take Aubrey to a JV hockey game with him, and Grandpa Finn took Aidan to run errands. Not two hours, but it was a nice, quiet 40 minutes. Hoping I can get out of the house today and buy some new work-out shoes. It's not looking good at the moment due to the freezing rain we got overnight. All the roads are covered in a sheet of ice. Maybe I'll just have to lock myself in the bathroom and turn my iPod up really loud. That counts as "me" time, right?

SNOW!

The first sign of winter dropped almost a foot snow on the Twin Cities. No light dusting or gradual cooling for us. It was 68 degrees on Wednesday and we got a foot of snow on Saturday. Only in Minnesota. Aidan could not have been more excited. Ever since we bought his snow boots back in early October, he has been asking, "Winter here yet?" I could finally answer YES! It was snowing before I went to bed on Friday night, so I knew what I would be waking up to. As soon as I heard Aidan rustling around I went into his room and asked him if he was ready to be excited. He was a little confused until I opened his curtains. The look of amazement on his face was priceless. "Winter coming down, Mommy! Get to wear my boots!" (yes, he calls the snow "winter") We played outside, built a snowman, dusted off the sled, and even walked up to Grandpa's house for some hot chocolate. It was the perfect first snow of the season.

Smiley

Aubrey has a lot of nicknames. I call her "Peanut", my dad is now calling her "Little Miss Puddle-Duck" (b/c of her Halloween costume) and Aidan and Kyle call her "Smiley".

Aidan is entering the phase where just about everything that comes out of his mouth is funny.
Case-in-point: Aidan wanted to watch Kyle's hockey video and he asked "Does Smiley want to watch hockey with me?"

Another funny question *because everything is a question with Aidan* "Where are Aubrey's teeth coming in? In the living room?" When I tried to explain that her teeth are coming in her mouth, he proceeded to ask if they were coming in her mouth while she was in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bathtub...he couldn't quite grasp the concept of teeth coming in. Even today in the car, randomly, "Is Aubrey getting new teeth today?" No. "Tomorrow?" Maybe. The questions never end. I think God made two-year-olds funny so you don't go crazy with all of their questions.

Picture Update

Aubrey's Pumpkin (carved by me)

Aidan's Pumpkin (carved by Kyle)

Finn Family Pumpkins
Owl on a branch (Courtney), Happy Face (Aubrey)
Scary Face (Aidan) Vampire biting a woman's neck (Kyle)

Ducky

Sporting a fireman's hat and balloon after a visit to the local fire station

This and That

"What that thing do, Mommy?" "What this thing?" "How was school today?" "You read books today?" "You have meeting today?" Over and over and over. Aidan has entered the questioning phase. Even when we answer his questions, he still continues to repeat them. I read somewhere that kids repeat questions, even though you answered them, because they have no frame of reference to attach your answer to. It's nice to know that he is a normal little kid, learning away...but, wow. Sometimes I just want to say "Shhhh, stop talking."

Aubrey slept the week away after catching some sort of virus. She had a fever Monday night, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Being sick knocked the wind right out of her. Kyle said that she wasn't awake for more than 45 minutes at a time. I think she's on the mend and will be ready to carve pumpkins, celebrate Grandpa Finn's birthday, and dress up for Halloween this weekend.

Last weekend we spent an enjoyable 4 days in IL with my family. Baby Reese was baptized on Sunday and I had the honor of being her godmother. She slept through the baptism, only waking up when the water was poured on her head. Aidan and Aubrey both got their "Reese Time" in and had fun holding her (Aidan) and chewing on her (Aubrey). I love watching them interact and can't wait until Christmas when we'll be together again!

J.O.B.

I've got a new job and it starts Nov 1. I am SO looking forward to this new opportunity. My sanity has been hanging on by an ever-unraveling thread, and it's questionable if it would have lasted through the year at my present job. There is only so much kicking/hitting/spitting/etc that one person should have to take in a lifetime. I've reached my quota.

Back to the new job, I will be teaching middle school students with learning disabilities (math, reading, writing). Six of them will be public school students, and nine will be private school students that will see me for about an hour a day. Oh, and did I mention it's part-time? Technically a .8, but I still get to be home by 2:00pm. That means no daycare costs for Aidan and Aubrey during hockey season and I don't have to attend boring staff meetings in the afternoon! Can't wait to get started!

6 Months

Not the best exposure, but here are Aidan and Aubrey
showing their love for the Twins

6 months old

Aubrey had her 6 month doctor's appointment this past Thursday, and she is not the gigantic baby we thought she was. Nope, Aubrey is just a normal sized little girl. We've decided that our perceptions have been forever skewed by Aidan's unnatural skinniness.

Stats:
Weight: 16lbs 1oz---44 %-ile
Height: 26 in---51 %-ile (the doctor thinks they measured her wrong, but I wasn't going to wait around for a nurse to come back, so Aubrey is probably longer than 26")
Head: 17 in---65 %-ile

As I write this, Aubrey is rolling all over the place, jabbering away in an attempt to gain my attention. She has become a little wiggle worm that is not content to just sit in my lap while I type. Besides rolling both ways, she can also sit by herself for increasingly longer periods of time. She started solid foods a few weeks ago. After phasing in rice cereal, we've moved on to green beans and sweet potatoes as mixers. She wasn't so sure of the sweet potatoes (maybe too thick?) but she inhaled the green beans. I'll probably make up some squash next weekend, and then start fruits in November. If she's anything like Aidan, she will love any and all fruits.

One area that she differs significantly from Aidan is her sleep schedule. He was a routine napper at this age. I knew that every morning he would take 2 short naps, with a longer one in the afternoon. I feel insanely lucky when Aubrey naps in the morning. What 6 month old only needs one nap a day?!? And why is it my child??? She's also waking up at night again. She needs to get this sleep thing figured out. However, since her sleep habits are my only complaint, I'll count myself lucky.

Apple Orchard

The pictures say it all. The kids loved the apple orchard, but didn't want to look at the camera. Too much other stuff going on. Oh well, at least we had a nice day.

Quick Update

Yes, I know the Finns have been MIA for most of September. I'm not sure I've had a moment to catch my breath, and here we are, it's October. Aubrey hit the six-month milestone last weekend. She has her appointment this coming Thursday, so I'll post more about her then. Aidan continues to be an active little boy. Never a dull moment when he's around. Kyle is mostly enjoying being at home with the kids, but would be happier if Aubrey was sleeping through the night. (she's been waking up at 2am for feedings) School is in full swing for me and I'm desperately trying to figure out how I can stay at home with the kids or find a different job that doesn't leave me wanting to scream or cry at the end of the day. And that folks, is my lunchtime update. Time to get back to work.