Finn Turns One

This Little guy just melts my heart. 

He really is the sweetest ever. 

He is my little buddy.

I seriously can't believe he was born a year ago today.

He has changed so much over the last year.

Sometimes when I look at baby pictures it's hard to believe it's the same little guy.

Now that he has a definite little personality

and he knows what he likes and what he doesn't like,

Here's an update on my big boy. 

(Who used to be a lot less big.)

Finn loves to eat.

Yogurt, bread, strawberries, cheese, baked beans, watermelon, puffs, crackers, fruit, sweet potatoes, tortilla chips, fresh salsa, chili, you name it, this boy eats it. 

It should be pretty obvious that he's a good eater. He's a tank. 

He's also been a pretty good sleeper too.

Well, at least most the time. 

When I say Finn loves to snuggle, I mean it. 

It's been a struggle to get him to sleep in his crib. 

A struggle that's made all the harder by the fact that I love to hold him when he sleeps. 

he's just so....snuggly. 

He still wakes up a few times during the night,

and once I pick him up he usually curls right up in my arms,

and goes right back to sleep. 

until I try to lay him down again.

and then his eyes fly open and he wails.

Stinker. 

And these two...

They are buds.

well...they're buds most the time. 

Finn gets the short end of the stick  because bence usually takes his toys away,

or pushes him over on his way to get something. 

But Finn loves his brother.

And Bence loves Finn.

It's so fun to watch them play together. 

And occasionally, I get to see bence share something or help Finn all on his own. 

Without being asked. 

It's the best ever. 

Finn is such a happy little man. 

He really doesn't fuss a ton. 

Unless he needs some extra love

or he's hungry.

(Just like his daddy.)

Finn is a lot like his brother in that he loves to be outside. 

He has starting having mini-tantrums when we come back in after playing in the yard or going to the park. 

And he adores swimming.

This boy is a splasher. 

It's sometimes hard to bathe these two together in the tub because finn can be a bad influence on his brother. 

It feels like they empty half the tub onto the floor every time they're in there together. 

He is just such a charmer.

Every time we go anywhere, I feel like someone will remark on his cuteness.

I can't blame them. 

He's pretty much the most adorable baby ever. 

Finn is so busy.

He loves to move.

especially when there's music to dance to. 

And he's always exploring. 

Finn has this extra sensory ability to know when I've forgotten to latch the baby gate. 

cause he's up those stairs in a heartbeat. 

and as soon as I say his name,

he's like a climbing powerhouse.

Trying to get up as many steps as he can before I catch him and carry him back down. 

And then he stiffens his little legs and arches his back and cries because he's mad. 

It makes me laugh every time. 

He has such a big personality.

And it is so fun and amazing to see him grown and change from day to day and week to week. 

This last year has gone by too fast.

But I'm sure glad he was sent to our family. 

Cause I can't imagine life without this little chub.

Happy Happy Birthday angel boy!

Finnie's First Hair Cut

My Mama heart was hurting just a little bit.

Finn looked so cute with his kewpie curl. 

But it was getting a little crazy too. 

Adorable. 

But just a little crazy. 

So we took some scissors to that curl. 

And that lasted about two seconds before I realized it wasn't going to work. 

So we moved on to the buzzer.

which was a lot faster and much more efficient. 

and now we have a new baby!

Who looks a lot less like a baby...

He gives a pretty good stink eye....

Getting Ready for Grad School

I have never gone so long without updating our family blog. 

And there is no way I will be able to catch y'all up unless I write a book. 

So like Inigo Montoya says, 

'Let me explain....

 No, there is too much. Let me sum up.'

After working for what seemed like an interminable amount of time as a consultant,

Henry quit his job to go to Grad school.

I was pretty excited. 

Mostly because I've been a married single mom since last november;

when Henry started traveling every week again.

(Hence the lack of blog updates.)

But We have happily moved out of our dinky 

two bedroom apartment in Harrisburg

into a much more spacious townhome. 

And Henry has already started his two week orientation for his MBA program. 

We've received callings in our new ward

(Sunday school teachers)

and have been assigned to speak in sacrament meeting in two weeks. 

So we're pretty much a fixture here.

Now that we're mostly settled

and we aren't gone every week (or weekend) 

to visit family

go on a trip

or do something fun

(you know, since school's started)

I decided to try and be better about updating with pictures.

and videos.

and updates on the boys. 

So all you Montanans should be pretty happy. 

Bence has had a blast this summer. 

He has played his little heart out and 

(more often than not)

collapsed in total exhaustion by the end of the day.

We've been to amusement parks,

pools,

parks, 

restaurants, 

playgrounds, 

and everywhere in between. 

He's turning into an awesome big brother.

He's very willing to share his food,

slightly less willing to share toys,

and completely selfless when it comes to giving his brother his own binky. 

We started potty training this week and he's been a superstar.

He picked out his own fancy underwear

(we got a pack of supermario and superheros)

and so far we've only had one really messy accident. 

and that was mostly my fault.

Finn on the other hand....

This boy melts my heart. 

He's a mamas boy. 

he still loves to be snuggled and kissed.

and it turns me into a puddle 

every. single. time. 

We've been trying to help him learn how to sleep in his crib the last couple weeks.

and we've been mostly successful. 

we got to the point where he would only sleep in bed with us.

and after a while he would only sleep if my arm was wrapped around him.

and then he would only sleep if his hands were in constant contact with my face and hair.

and then he would only sleep if I was actually holding him...

so that had to change.

It's been a little rough. 

It breaks my heart to let him cry for any amount of time in his crib.

especially because I know he would stop crying right away if I picked him up.

But then I know I wouldn't get any sleep at all.

But he's done much better the last couple nights.

and he's actually slept thru the night a few times this week.

like he went to bed at 10pm

and slept all the way till 7 in the morning.

Finn loves his brother.

He will follow bence everywhere.

and he wants to do everything bence does.

It makes it really hard to tell bence to stop doing...whatever it is he's doing

when Finn is laughing uncontrollably because he finds his brother so funny. 

And I'm pretty sure bence loves all the attention

and adoration he gets from his little bro. 

I can't believe my little butterball will be a year old in just a few weeks. 

It's both a blessing and a curse that it goes by so fast. 

my sleep deprived self is so happy that Finn is old enough to start (finally!) sleeping thru the night.

My sadistic side keeps whispering, 'no! Stay small and needy forever!'

However fast or slow time seems to go,

I wouldn't have these boys any other way.

They are more perfect than I ever would have dreamed.

<3

Buddy Update

Henry looked at me a few weeks ago and said,

"Can you believe we have two kids?"

no.

I can't.

I also can't believe Finn is already four months old. (and then some.)

He's big enough to sit in Bence's old walker.

and he does great in the booster seat.

which is really saying something 'cause he's got a big noggin. 

Finn is such a sweet baby.

from day one he has been a little angel.

he usually only wakes up once a night to eat.

and then he stuffs his little face

and goes right back to sleep. 

and boy, is he a talker. 

henry and i were lying in bed the other morning and we just laughed. 

bence was talking to himself in his room 

(while pounding the door with his feet)

and finn was having a very loud conversation with himself at the foot of our bed. 

he is constantly gurlging, laughing, or cooing. 

He is such a happy little buddy.

he hardly ever fusses unless he's really hungry, poopy or exhausted.

and if he's really tired, all he wants is mommy to pick him up for a quick snuggle.

and then he falls asleep before i even sit back down in the rocker.

he was such a champ getting his 4 month shots.

he barely started to cry when his second thigh was pricked.

and once I picked him up he gave me a big gummy smile.

 I think he may have surpassed his brother's chunkyness too. 

at his appointment last week I found out that he gained 7 pounds (from 12 to 18) in the last two months.

and he grew two inches. 

he went from the 17th percentile in weight to the 80th. 

and his head is still in the 99th. 

like I said...big noggin.

and then there's mr. Bence. 

this one...

he keeps me on my toes. 

he is always making me laugh.

and he comes up with a new word every day. 

he can point to his eyes, nose, fingers, piggy-toes, mouth, teeth, tongue and head.

(he slaps himself to show me where his head is.)

He can also say the following:

Daaa: Dad

Pa: Dad or papa

outz: Ouch

Baaa: Ball

eeease: please

see/da: yes (we're not teaching him spanish or russian, so I don't know where this comes from.)

ock: Block or clock

duce: juice

He understands so much.

We have one of those "babies first 1000 words" books,

and we can ask, "where's the truck, bence?" or "point to the orange."

and he gets it.

It's so cool to see him comprehend more and more. 

On the same side, I can tell him to "shut the fridge door,"

or "give me those eggs,"

and he just runs away from me.

so it's kind of hit and miss. 

He's still a picky eater, but he's gaining weight well and consistently. 

and he loves to be busy and active.

the weather has been so yucky and cold since christmas,

we haven't really been able to get out to the park at all. 

so the last few frigid, grey weeks mommy has been a jungle gym. 

i give horsey rides,

make blanket forts between my legs and the couch, 

throw bence onto the furniture,

play airplane, 

and have frequent tickle fights. 

He loves it. 

and it helps tire him out.

I just love these boys.