Ho Ho Ho...

Sweet girl with Santa and Mrs. Claus... Oh my, what an adventure. Quite an unforgettable experience. My neighbor Rachel and her son Koen, myself and Finley decided to strategically make our way to visit Santa on a weekday afternoon to beat the crowds and at a time when the babies would be happiest. HA! After arriving, we faced a sign stating "Reindeer Break" -- it had JUST begun and would be an HOUR. ("Sorry folks, park's closed!") Hmmm... just a small detour in the plan. We'd just go change the babies (they couldn't wear their outfits in the car as it is Florida and nearly 80 degrees out) and be back a bit early to be the first in line after the break--- no problem. HA!
Return 45 minutes later to a line a mile long of dressed up toddlers (and a "cute" little boy in line in front of us who said repeatedly "Stop staring at me!" to Finley) with Finley staring at him non-stop. After an hour and a half (if not more) in line with toddlers and babies (and "cute" little boys) falling apart with inpatience, we finally got to hand our order forms (for outrageously expensive photos for what they are) to a "cheerful" elf. And pictures were pretty successful-- considering. HA!
Until the car ride home... Finley was past ready to eat and go to bed. Rachel had to climb in the backseat and wedge herself between the carseats with 2 screaming babies to try to calm them down. That wasn't so successful. But she sure was a trooper trying.
And, we laugh at our adventure now. We're not sure we can do it ever again, but we did it. We saw and had a picture with Santa. So... we sure hope you enjoy it! :)

9 months!

Last Christmas, I remember saying, "Can you believe we'll have a 9 month old next Christmas?" And here we are... She's 9 months old! It just keeps getting better.The stats are: 16 and a half pounds (25th percentile) and 28" long (75th percentile). All is wonderful, except we have ANOTHER ear infection. Mom sees them everyday, all day at work, but when it's on Finley, mom feels totally different...
I'm pulling to stand now, have just enough hair for mom to play with bows, and have my two bottom teeth. Below is the closest mom has gotten to a picture of them.

You know I had to do the Birthday Basket :)

Happy NINE MONTH Birthday "Finnie Bear"!

Aunt Nicole...

Aunt Nicole came to visit and Finley thinks she's pretty cool...Finley and Uncle Tom

Cousin Hayden playing with and watching the sweet girl

Cheerios

After Thanksgiving we introduced Finley to Cheerios and she's quite a big fan...

We think its fun to watch her fine motor and eye-hand coordination develop...

Cheerio face

Trimming the Tree

While Daddy was in Texas hunting, mommy, Finnie and Nana trimmed the tree and decorated for Christmas...
It was a really fun day. (Should I skip the part about how Brady was drinking from the tree stand because I forgot to fill her water bowl while Chris was gone and how Nana and I let her outside and she ran the neighborhood for about a half hour?!) :)

Finnie decided she can tolerate the branches better now that they're decorated with lights and sparkly ornaments!

Finley's First Christmas Tree

At the Christmas tree farm, ready to find the perfect tree...Finley thought she wanted to touch the branches...

And then realized she didn't like those pointy branches!

Catching Up

Thanksgiving weekend we got to catch up with some high school friends...Anne, Susan, myself and Emily with the babies...
Anne played along as the two on the left are Susan's twin boys, Austin and Logan and Emily's son on the right is Brady.

Brady and Finley had fun crawling around and playing... well, until Brady decided to bang on Finley like the drum...

The next day we got to catch up with one of my best friends since college, Jenn and her beau, Martin. We had a great time visiting over lunch.

Gator girls!

GO GATORS!!

Since I've got the clapping thing down, next I'm going to have to work on the Gator Chomp...

I actually took these photos a couple weeks ago, but had to post them in honor of the big game...

GO GATORS!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, and Finley is at the top of that list. When we were at church 2 weeks ago, our pastor showed a short video clip which started out by mentioning many of the things that are difficult right now; The economy is bad, people are losing jobs and homes, people are discouraged, we are at war, and young men and women continue to give their lives while others lose loved ones. And yet, we come to a day where we are asked to look at the things we are thankful for...
As a person who battles with the question "WHY?!" I have found much peace in what he said next so I wanted to share it and shared it before our Thanksgiving meal. He said that God never said it was going to be easy, what He did promise is that no matter what He would be with us in the middle of it all.
He then challenged us to be grateful for that, if nothing else.


Here's some more photos from Thanksgiving: below is Papaw with Finley, Mattison and Mason.

Maddie reading to Finley... so sweet, and Finley LOVES this book: it's called "Moo, Baa, La La La" by Sandra Boynton.

Ok, so the cute outfit only lasted until the meal, but I absolutely adore it, tights and all...

Our handsome chef outdid himself again...

Sitting down to Finley's 1st Thanksgiving with Nana, Aunt Ruth, Mimi, Dad, Aunt Julie, cousin Maddie and Mom (of course taking the photo)

Finley had a bit of just about everything she could "gum"... We let her feed herself mostly which was pretty comical. Here she is with her squash...

Happy Thanksgiving!!