Finn is 11 Months!

WOW!  Almost a year...where has it gone!  Finn is now 29" inches tall and weighs 21.8 lbs, is wearing 12-18 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.  I just got done taking some 11 month pictures of our little dude, and he is one squirmy man!  So squirmy that he tried to climb onto the armrest of the chair, and ended up falling down between the side of the chair and the changing table!  Whoops...he is into having adventures lately, into the toilet bowl, the pantry, climbing into open drawers, and pulling at ornaments on the Christmas tree!  It is hard to put away laundry in his presence, because he is pulling things out of the hamper, putting things in the hamper, climbing into drawers, etc.  He is very busy and into EVERYTHING!  He is standing on his own now, and walks all over the house pushing his push toys, even things that aren't meant to be walked, he walks with them, like his little table or laundry baskets!  He walks with the girls when they hold his hands, but hasn't really taken any steps independently as he just likes to body slam us with his arms in the air instead of walk to us.  He celebrated his first Thanksgiving and thoroughly enjoyed his turkey and mashed sweet potatoes!  We were all thankful for Finn this year!  He met Santa for the first time and sat for a few seconds then cried!

right before he fell between the chair and the changing table...I couldn't get there quick enough- he is so fast!

Happy 4th Birthday, Dear Lucy!

Lucy as Flowergirl 11.11.11

I can't believe our little Lucy is four now!  What an amazing little girl we have!  Lucy continues to be so precocious...she is the most quick witted, sharp, and funny child!  She constantly blows us away with her intellectual questions.  She is just so smart!  She is still my little lover, she always comes over for hugs and always shows affection.  She adores her sister, who isn't as into PDA as Lucy is, so Lucy is always trying to catch her for a little hug.  Lucy is the first one to say "I love you" to her family.  Everyone says there is no one like Lucy, especially her teachers at the Children's Workshop.  She is in Mrs. Moyle's 3 year old class now.  She started off 2 days per week, but was just bored at home with Finn and I, or with Ruth when I am working.  I asked if she could be add another day, and a spot recently opened, so now she goes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9-3pm.  She stays the whole day and enjoys having lunch with her buddies.

For Lucy's 4th birthday party, she wanted a girls-only Princess Tea party!  We had 17 little girls come dressed as a princesses (and one prince charming).  We decorated with tea sets and flowers, and we did makeup and nails, and a made princess crowns as a craft!  We had tea sandwiches, cake pops, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, and cake.  The party was so calm...I couldn't get over it!  All the girls waited so patiently in line to get their makeup and nails done! I was actually sitting down and chatting with some of the moms!  Lucy really loves her friends and they love her!  She seems motherly to some of them, probably because she is one of the oldest in her class.

Lucy still has the tiniest little body!  She is so petite!  At her 4 year old well-check, she weighed 35 lb (50th percentile) and is 40 7/8" tall (75th percentile).  She got her 4 year old shots and did so well, she cried at first, then shook them off (the ice pop from the doctor definitely helped!)

Lucy still has the fastest metabolism!  Its a running joke that as soon as she eats, she's got to "go".  She usually uses the bathroom in the middle of dinner, so Kenny or I have to go in and wipe her! She is definitely a bit on the clumsy side, she will trip over her own feet sometimes!  She frequently falls off our bar stools or the bathroom stool. She has even named on of our bar stools the "busted stool," since she busted her toe on it!  I think it's because  she walked to early, she's still physically catching up to where her mind is!  She played soccer this year with Delaney and tried so hard!  We moved her up a level to be on the same team as Delaney and her buddies, so it was hard playing against older kids.  She did make one goal, and was always cheering on her big sister!

I came across this idea of a yearly interview online.  The following are Lucy's answers, word for word:

Name: Lucy
Favorite Food: macaroni and cheese
Favorite Sport: "soccer,, I made two goals"
Favorite TV show: Super Wy
Coolest person on earth: "God, he's the tallest dad" then she said "Lily"
Favorite thing about school: playing outside
The thing I do the most awesomely: play soccer
If I could change my name it would be: Rapunzel
If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go: Sea World (hehe...we are surprising them and going TOMORROW!!!)
Favorite toy: Cinderella's carriage
Favorite Color: pink
When I grow up, I want to be: a cowgirl, work on a farm
Favorite Movie: Rapunzel (Tangled)
Favorite Song: "I Know You, I Walked with You Once Upon a Dream"- from Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Book: Peter Pan
Three words that describe me: "what does describe mean?" "happy, beautiful, I love myself"
When I was little, I used to: "open books"
Favorite season: "Valentime's Day", Christmas, winter
The snack I could live on: fruit snacks
Food I don’t like: the green spinach, burritos
Best friend: Lily
If I had one wish, it would be: "that I was a fairy princess"
My best memory: "going to Disney"
Why I love Finn: "tuz I want to play with him"
Why I love Delaney: "tuz I want to sleep with her and she never lets me"
Why I love Daddy: "tuz I always sit next to him"
Why I love Mommy: "I play with her everyday"


We love you Lucy, you are the most loving, joyful child!

10 Months Old!

Kenny and I cannot believe that Finn is 10 months old...our baby is growing up so fast!  His latest and greatest is that he now stands up on his own, without holding on, and just kinda stands there!  He gets so proud of himself!  He also now does the touchdown sign, Gator chomp, and is trying to imitate a cow mooing! He likes to yell at the top of his lungs until his air runs out, especially at dinner time to get some attention.  He also has been a big trouble maker- into everything!  The girls know to make sure all the bathroom doors are closed so he doesn't try getting into the toilets!  Some of his adventures this month include climbing into the dishwasher every time it is open, dumping out the package mix from the pantry, unraveling the toilet paper, and standing at the toilet with his hands wrapped around the inside of the bowl (ewwww!).  Kenny and I were laughing the other night as we were reading books to the kids...we have video of Delaney at his age calmly sitting in our laps, reading along with "Pat the Bunny", doing all the hand gestures and pointing.  Cut to Finn, who is literally standing up without holding on, then tackling me, flipping over my extended legs onto his head, grabbing the book, trying to bite it, as I am trying to read to him.  Such a boy, focused on the gross motor versus the girl and the fine motor!  But we love it!

He now weighs 21lb and is 28" long.  He wears 12 month clothes, and along with the crawling is now beginning to walk with a push toy!  He now has 4 teeth!  His 3rd tooth came in 10/23/11 (top right), and his 4th tooth came in 11/16/11 (top left).  He eats mostly table food now, I rarely defrost any of the baby food anymore!  He has 4 bottles per day and 3 meals.  He loves his morning yogurt and banana!  We are trying to focus on getting him to eat some meat, as that is the hardest thing for us to prepare for him.

He also unfortunately suffered from Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease this month, which was kindly passed to him from Lucy who must have picked up the germs from her classroom at school.  Neither the girls nor Kenny and I got it, since we must have already had it (you only get it once in a lifetime).  It is a virus that causes sores on your hands, feet, mouth, and BUTT, but especially inside of your mouth and causes kids to not want to eat because it is painful.  Apparently the girls had it, but we never knew as it is easily mistaken for a regular cold if you don't get bad sores, which Finn did.  He still has a few visible red spots on his knees, and it has been 3 weeks!

Finn also celebrated his first Halloween this past month!  We originally got him a Garden Gnome outfit, but he did not tolerate the beard/hat part of it at all!  So we just switched to a good 'ol Gator football player, complete with eye black and everything!  It was very fitting- he looked adorable!  We went to the neighborhood block party and just as we were about to head out to trick or treat, it started to rain!  Finn was such a trooper as we waited out the little showers and jumped through the puddles!  He loved watching all the kids from his perch in the wagon!  I even took him to a few of the last houses we stopped at and he got so excited, kicking his feet, like he knew it was something special and out of the ordinary!

We went down to Ft. Lauderdale the month and Finn got to hang out with some of Kenny's side of the family, and meet some of the for the first time!

I also gave Finn a haircut one day, as his bangs were starting to hang into his face again!  I am kind of proud of myself...I just stuck him in his highchair outside and cut it, with scissors and all!  Finn continues to adore his sisters, and reacts with such love and excitement when he sees them, especially when I pick Delaney up from school!  We all love this boy so much and he fits us perfectly!!

Gator Homecoming Game

We went to Gainesville for our annual homecoming trip with the Quigleys.  We didn't get tickets since we had the babies (Olivia is 3 months old).  We went to the O'Dome and the the Alumni Hall on a search for Albert but no such luck. Kenny and I decided that if we found cheap tickets we would take the kids in, at least for a little bit. Walking around campus we started asking about ticket prices and were able to buy fout together for $5 each in the 7th row of the south endzone! I swear Finn likes the game better than his sisters did! He had some soft pretzel, cheered when the crowd did, and shook his legs with excitement! The Gators beat Vanderbilt 26-21! Great day to be a Florida Gator!   It was

Happy Halloween!

Finn is 9 Months Old!

WOW!  Finn weighs 20 lb, 5 oz (50th %tile) and is 27" long (25th %tile).  His head is in the 90th %tile!  He is the smallest of all my babies!  He is wearing 12 month clothes and crawling all over the place!  As of 10/3/11 he is signing "more" during meals and as of 10/4/11 doing "so big."  His favorite things to get into are the pantry, magazines, and dishwasher!  If I leave the dishwasher open, he is trying to pull up on it, and he loves to get his hands on the oil containers in the bottom of the pantry.  He also follows me into the bathroom and loves to tear at the magazines!  His two bottom teeth are growing so much!  He is still recovering from his Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, as evident in the picture!  Poor guy! Lucy's school had an outbreak of it, and apparently brought it home to Finn.  The girls must have already had it since it is highly contagious and they didn't get it this time around, and you only get it once in your lifetime.  I had Finn in the waiting room of the pediatrician's for his 9 month old well-check when I noticed a red bump by his mouth, then I looked at  his hands and noticed a red bump, then I whipped his socks off, and they were there too!  I quickly moved us to the "sick" side of the waiting room!  He is completely fine, you would have never known he was sick, except for the awful red welts!  You can even see them on the bottom of his feet in the picture!  Oh, and it should be called Hand, Foot, Mouth, and BUTT disease!

He has become very tempermental during meals...if he doesn't want to eat, he turns his head, or he throws his food on the ground!  His sippy cups gets thrown on the ground after 2 sips...Jaxson has a permanent post at Finn's side because everything is going on the ground these days!  I will tell him "No" firmly, but then he does a fake cry, he is so behavioral sometimes!

I think sometimes he's going to turn into a Cheerio he loves them so much!  He enjoys going on shopping trips, anywhere he can look at people!  He turns all the way around to watch!



Finn got Baptized on 10/9/11 in Baltimore on Jeff's boat the USCG Eagle with Msgr. John FitzGerald.  Jeff was his Godfather, Renee is his Godmother, but Sarah stood in as proxy.  The kids all did well on the 14 hour drive to Baltimore.  Nana and Papa are finally home, which has been nice for Kenny and I to have some breaks!

Finn's Road Trip Baptism to Baltimore...

We are off the Finn's baptism in Baltimore.  I am literally posting while Kenny is driving down I-95!  Lets hope this trip goes smoothly! We left Ormond today around 4pm and are hoping to make it to NC tonight, then Baltimore by tomorrow early afternoon.
Update: we arrived in Baltimore around 4pm, with mom and dad arriving about 20 min later. Jeff had gotten us a 3 bedroom townhouse on the base. That night we went out to Chevy's for my birthday dinner.  The next day we headed to downtown Baltimore and walked along the waterfront. There was a "Trawler Fest" and street entertainers.
The weather was gorgeous and we ate outside on the balcony at Uno's where the girls made their own pizzas. Mom, Delaney, and I shopped in a few stores for a bit while the rest of the crew relaxed and watched the little dragon boats. I wishes we had more time and full days on Baltimore to do the aquarium, museums, etc. The city had alot to offer. We then headed back to the base to drop off Dad. Mom and us Kimbles then headed back put to the mall we had been at the night before for some shopping. It ended up being a pretty decent outlet mall. We left at 8pm! Time got away from us! We brought subs back for a late dinner. The next morning Kenny went and got coffee and munchkins and we had a leisurely morning. Jeff went to pick up Sarah from the train. We met Monsignor John FitzGerald on the Eagle where we all had to wear hardhats to get from the cars to the ship. Once inside, we filled out the paperwork and went up on the deck for the ceremony. The ceremony was very cool, with the girls involved by holding candles, oil, etc. Sarah was involved as the proxy godmother, which was nice. After the ceremony, we went to eat at Friendly's and then got on the road for the trip back.



Lucy fell asleep with her head in her puke bowl...and she never used it on the whole trip!

Asleep in the puke bowl!



Sleepy Kiddos!






Delaney's First Boyfriend

I got home from work today and was hanging out with the kids before starting dinner.
Delaney: "Mom, I have to tell you something but you can't tell Daddy."
Me: "Ok, what is it?"
Delaney: "I have a boyfriend."
Me: "Who is it?"
Delaney: "I'm not telling you."
Me: "Did he ask you to be his girlfriend?"
Delaney: "Yes, in art class (which was yesterday), and then he kissed me today in music class."
Me: "Congratulations Delaney!" (being very serious)..."Did he kiss you on the lips? What did you do? Did anyone see?"
Delaney: "Yes, on the lips, and I just looked at him. Nobody saw.  Then the teacher said 'No kissing.'"
Me: "Ohhhhhh, are you happy? Why don't you want to tell Daddy?"
Delaney: "I don't know...but I like Michael. And I want to take the bus like him...how come I can't take the bus?  I don't want to get picked up anymore."
We are in trouble!!!

Update: I met Michael's mom at the Fall Festival, and apparently he is using all of his lunch money to buy Delaney snacks!  Delaney denies this, but who knows?!?!?!

Delaney is a "Teriffic Kid"

But we already knew that! "Terrific Kid" is a program run by the Kiwanis Club to recognize students that show good qualities, such as morals and integrity. She was chosen by Mrs. Gilbert and her name was announced on the morning news at school. We are so proud of her!

Finn is 8 Months Old!

Finn now weighs 19.8 lb and is 27" long.  He is now wearing 12 month clothes!  What a great month of development Finn has had!  The biggest thing is that he is now mobile!!!  He is crawling as of 9/17/11 (7 months).  He also started sitting up, first in his crib, then on his own on the floor 9/6/11.  Before he crawled, he rotated around the room from sit to belly to sit to belly!  We had to remove the hutch on his changing table recently because he is so squirmy!  The girls were never as wiggly as he is- he will push himself backwards off the table- and he still cries as soon as you lay him down for a change!  Finn now has his 2 bottom teeth in, which weren't an issue- he didn't have any side effects.  His first came in on 8/26 and second 8/28.  He got his bottom teeth in and Delaney lost her bottom teeth- she thinks she did have his first real cold, and had a few restless nights sleeping with Mommy.  As a result of the cold, he also got  his first ear infection and went on an antibiotics.  During this time, he was really drooly, and then his second tooth was all the way through, so the drool could have been related to his cold or his teeth.  Finn is now doing great with the finger foods- he loves feeding himself puffs, mum-mums, and cheerios.  He will chase them all the way down his hand!  He isn't as demanding of food, but he still will screach for his dinner!  He is waving at us and says "Haaaa" for "Hi" when he waves!  He leans in and gives big, wet, open mouth kisses when asked!  It is so cute!  He likes when we say "How big is Finn? So big!"  He doesn't move his arms up yet, but he grabs my hands to let me raise his arms for him!  So funny!  He is now recognizing pictures of people and gets so excited to see himself or his family in pictures!

Finn got his second haircut, too, and it seems like his hair is getting darker at the top.  The whole back is still light blonde.

Baby Food

I have been making Finn all of his baby food so far, and I love it!  I have bought all organic produce and made huge batches of it!  Grammy even brought us more produce from Whole Foods when she last came up.  I roast the vegetables and fruits, then puree them.  They turn out so good!  The roasting really brings out the flavors!  We then freeze the purees in ice cube trays, then pop them out and store them in freezer bags.  They will last up to 3 months in the freezer, but not with the appetite of this child...

Some of the baby food I've made:

• butternut squash 
• acorn squash
• pears
• white peaches
• peaches
• apples
• bananas
• green beans
• peas
• sweet potatoes
• nectarines
• mango
• strawberries
• eggplant
• quinoa
• white beans
• canellini beans

We are able to make some great combination with all of the flavors...he never has just plain sweet potatoes or green beans- always something added!  We use most of the fruit purees to flavor his organic whole milk yogurt for breakfast.

Finn is 7 Months Old!

Finn now weighs 19 lb!!  He is wearing 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.  He is such a big boy!  He sits up very well on his own now and is beginning to get into the crawl position.  He is always leaning forward when he is sitting with both hands on the ground.  Finn continues to LOVE his food!  The hardest time of the day is around 4:30-5 when I am trying to get dinner going and Finn just wants his own food!  He is eating 4 cubes of baby food for lunch and dinner, and sometimes we even have to add a banana at dinner time!  He is so demanding!  As I am preparing to give him the last few bites of his dinner, I usually have to ask Kenny to get me something else quickly to give him or else he starts his screeching and doesn’t stop until he has food in his mouth! He eats 2 cubes of puree fruit to flavor his plain yogurt for breakfast which he loves.  He is pretty calm during breakfast and lunch, but he is an animal at dinner time!  He has 4 bottles per day, but doesn’t really care for them.  It’s all about the real food! His schedule most days: bottle at 7am, then breakfast, then nap, bottle at 10:30-11am, then lunch at 12, nap at 1:30-2ish, bottle at 3:30-4, dinner, then bottle before bed time at 7:30pm.  He is so good and easy!  He goes to bed awake and falls asleep easily on his own.  He uses a binky to go down with, but doesn't use it throughout the night.  He sleeps with his blue doggy cuddle blanket.  He recently had a diaper rash that was pretty bad, so when his butt got wiped, he'd cry...so now he associates that with the changing table!  He always cries the second you lay him down on it, but then is fine.  He just protests a little!


Finn JUST started waving to us, and he says “haaaaa…” (Hi) or least the hhhhh sound when he waves at us!  He has become such a Mama’s Boy- and I love it!  When I walk in from work and he sees me, he lets out a big screech and then cries until I pick him up- then he is so happy!  I don’t remember the girls being like that!  Alot of times I catch him looking at me, like just to check in to see if things are ok, especially when other people are holding him or if he is playing on the floor.  We have a special connection!  He still loves the water and splashing!  He is happy with just a basin of water in front of him.  He can sit on the top step of the pool or in a little pool on the beach and splash away!  He got his 2nd sunburn this month…yep, we are the parents of the year!  Everyone was up celebrating Kenny’s birthday and Finn fell asleep on the beach under the tent, wearing his long sleeve hooded SPF rash guard and zinc on his face.  UGH!! I feel so bad! 

July 2011

The girls made me dress Finn up as "Prince Charming" when they were playing princesses...poor boy

Finn discovered his toes and loves to eat them!

everyone loves story time before bed...Finn makes it hard to read because he is constantly grabbing the book!

Hanging out with the Deisings...this day we went for pizza and then to Home Goods in Port Orange- such great kids!

Pizza in Port Orange!  Finn loves the crust...and all the kids love Finn!

These are the greatest kids- I hope they stay this close forever!

Kenny took the girls to a Daytona Cubs baseball game- Delaney loved Cubbie!

We have thoroughly been enjoying summer here...no rush in getting out of the house, planning playdates with our friends, and taking each day at a time!  Finn is becoming more active and more of a person, the girls still can't get enough of him!

A Finn-Tastic Six Months!

Delaney's ER Trip

Delaney started complaining of not feeling well and headaches recently, at the end of May.  We went to the doctor, and he diagnosed her with Bronchitis.  After going through steroids, nebulizer treatments, and an antibiotic, the headaches still remained.  We went back and he decided he wanted to get her an MRI, see a neurologist, and get bloodwork done.  She was fatigued, very emotional, and lethargic; I was wondering if it was emotional, with school just ending and heading to Kindergarten, but then that night she woke up in the middle of the night crying saying her head hurt.  I called the doctor the next morning (Saturday 6/11/11) and he told me to take her right to Halifax ER for a CT scan.  So Dan and Rhonda came over to watch Lucy and Finn, and I took her in.  She did great in the CT scan, she didn't more a bit.  Her CT was normal, and the doctor didn't seem too concerned that it was anything more serious.  She ended up getting diagnosed with migraines, which I don't agree with.  They gave her medication (one for pain relief, another migraine preventative).  She loved being in the hospital!  They gave her ice cream, and she loved their blanket, which they ended up letting her KEEP!  She still sleeps with it!  She has continued to feel bad, so we kept with the scheduled MRI and blood work.  She did the blood work like a champ, even though they took 6 vials!  The MRI locally got cancelled.  I guess she will need to be sedated because the procedure is 30 minutes, so we will be going to Orlando.  The blood work showed slightly low white blood cell count (4, normal is 5-17), dehydration, slight milk allergy, and that she has had microplasma infection.  Our pediatrician didn't seem too concerned, but I am worried sick.  We decided to put the MRI off since we were leaving on our vacation.  During the vacation, the headaches seemed to have stopped.  I had even stopped giving her the medications because they were not working.  I talked to Jim Castellone, and he thinks it could have been viral and will go away on its own.  We are still going through with seeing a neurologist and getting the MRI done.

Update: Delaney and I went to the Neurologist in Orlando today (7/11/11).  We saw Dr. Arthur Nwaubani and he was great.  Her neuro exam was normal, and he did want her to continue to get the MRI.  His guesses were either hydrocephalus or a virus of some time.  He was pretty sure the MRI would be normal.  I am in good spirits after this visit, considering she isn't complaining of headaches anymore, either.  He said it would be a rare case if she did have hydrocephalus and her headaches went away.  ALSO, we got a flat tire on I-4 the way to Orlando.  I called Kenny and he was in Sanford thankfully, so he found us on the interstate, out on the spare tire, and she and I were off again...only a few minutes late to the appointment time.  He is our hero! We stopped at Whole Foods on the way home and bought him a carrot cake cupcake!

Update #2: Delaney and I went to Orlando today (7/15/11) for the MRI.  The nurse called the day before to see if we thought Delaney could do the MRI without being sedated.  If she wasn't, I could be in the room with her, and she would be able to watch a movie during the test.  I thought she definitely could stay still for 20 min...I was dreading the sedation part the most...who wants to see their child sedated?  So we arrived, got called in, talked with the techs, and handed over the movie we brought (Tangled, of course).  She did great!  She wiggled her toes a bit, but my job was to lean on her a bit to remind her not to move her toes.  Before we knew it, we were done and on our way home!  I was so proud of her and relieved we didn't have to go through the sedation and recovery!  Whew!  Now on to wait for the results!

Update #3: (7/19/11) MRI results normal!  Relieved!  Now just supposed to follow up with neurologist and repeat bloodwork in 1-2 months.  Whew!  Neurologist believes it is viral since we have now ruled out hydrocephalus.

Finn is 6 Months Old!

Wow!  I can’t believe Finn has been a part of this family for half a year!  It seems like he’s been with us forever…but then again, seems like he’s just a baby, doing new things every day!  He now wears 9 months clothes, size 3 diapers, weighs 18 lb (75th percentile) and is 26" long (50-75th percentile).  He is our smallest of all the kids at this point!  Weird!  He has started babbling (“Oh Mama”). He is rolling all over the house, is able to sit up on his own, with a bit of support at times.  When he sits, he is grabbing for things, so he tends to topple over a lot.  We went to the beach last weekend, and he sat in a little pool that Kenny dug for him forever!  He was so into splashing and digging in the sand with his fingers!  Adorable!  No sunburn this time!  Such a Florida boy already!  When we go out shopping, he is now able to sit in the shopping cart.  The other day at Publix, he rode in the double cart with Lucy and was driving the cart, and also leaning his forehead on the steering wheel peering at the floor as we shopped!  So funny!  He also now rides in the big carseat rear-facing!  No more baby carseat!
Finn is our piggy boy…he loves the fruits and veggies, especially the roasted fruits! He tolerates green beans, but loves everything else!  He starts screaching as soon as we put him in his highchair, and as long as he has something in his hands, he is happy.  He has teether biscuits and MumMums which bide his time until I can get the food in his mouth.  I have started traveling with Puffs, which can also distract him for a little bit!  The doctor said that he can now start eating ground up meats and yogurt, and can be eating 3 meals per day, which I know Finn will appreciate!  

Today was the first day that Finn acknowledged me when I got home from work.  I don't think I'll ever forget it!  I walked in, he was in his walker, and he turned his head and shrieked!  Then he couldn't get his body turned around, so he started to cry.  As soon as Delaney turned his around, he was squealing!  I picked him up, and he was just so happy!  Melted my heart!  


Also, we found out something new about Finn this month- he has a BIRTHMARK on his leg that Kenny or I never saw!  My friend Maria was holding him and mentioned "Oh, he has a birthmark!"  and I had no idea what she was talking about...I even tried to rub it off thinking it was some dried on sweet potatoes!  It's on his right calf...poor third child!

What Finn is Up To!

Finn just started babbling today! "Oh mama...mama...oh mama!"  It is so cute!  He is also rolling like crazy, loves chewing on food, like edamame pods, pizza crust, mums, and teether biscuits!  He is definately an eater!  Since we've been home from vacation, I am into making baby food again, with some great combinations!  I've roasted apples, bananas, mango, and peaches.  He still isn't crazy about green beans, but he loves peas!

MA Trip Part 2

Tuesday, June 28th was spent in BOSTON!!!  The girls easily navigated our way into the city and met Annie at the Boston Commons Garden.  Our first stop was the Swan Boats, which were great!  It was a bit hot, but so much fun!  A nice, relaxing ride around the pond.  We then walked around the Commons, and saw the Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings statues.  We walked down Newberry St. looking for a lunch place, and decided on “Snappy Sushi”.  We all had a great meal, and once again, I was so proud of how grown up my girls are- well-behaved and willing to try everything!  We then departed the restaurant and decided to head to the Children’s Museum.  Annie had to leave us to head to work, so she actually dropped us at the Museum since it was on the other side of the city.  The girls had fun hiding out in the backseat of her car as we drove through the city!!

The Museum was amazing- I wish we had more time there!  It was closing as we were running through the last of the exhibits.  The girls loved how interactive it was!  Some of their favorite things were the bubble room, the golf ball room, the rock wall, the indoor climbing apparatus, and the rock wall.  They even had a Kindergarten room with a school bus and a hair salon!

Wednesday was spent getting ready for the party with a trip to Sam’s Club.  The girls went on the boat again with Papa, and I snuck out to do some shopping by myself!  FUN!  The girls spent the night with Papa on the boat and had a great time!  He told them stories, and they all slept well (except Papa, who kept on getting Lucy’s foot jabbing him in the stomach!)  The next morning, Nana and I were waiting for them all to wake up and come back inside!  I snuck out there, and Papa was telling the girls more stories

Thursday was spent in Jamestown, RI since we had to pick up Kenny in Providence that night.  We had a nice lunch overlooking the harbor and docks, then went to the lighthouse!  The girls, Papa, and I had so much fun exploring the rocks and cliffs.  The initially were hesitant, but then they got pretty brave and we had to keep reigning them in!  I have good memories from growing up and visiting Jamestown!  From Jamestown, we headed to Newport and drove the scenic route to see all the mansions.  Then we dove to Providence where we picked up Daddy from the airport.  We had a runaround trying to GPS a place for dinner- we literally drove in circles!  We ended up in a nice pub we drove by a few times!

Friday was Kenny’s first day of vacation, so we headed out on the boat!  He went tubing with the girls and they all had fun.  That afternoon, Finn stayed with Nana and Papa while we went to Kimball Farms, a local ”entertainment complex”.  Daddy and I hit some balls in the batting cages, we got ice cream, played in the arcade, and walked around the gift shop.  I am sure we will visit this place again in the future since the girls couldn’t do a lot of the things they offered there like go carts, bumper boats, batting cage, and driving range.  On the way back, Lucy got carsick as we were pulling into Nana and Papa’s complex!  We were more prepared this time with a bucket and towel, so this wasn’t a big deal- Lucy is fine as soon as it’s over!  What a trooper!  Later that night, we watched the Worcester fireworks from Papa's boat- Finn slept in the cabin!  

July 4th

Saturday was family party day!  All of the family came over around 11am: the Castellones from CT, Aunt Linda, Uncle Ed, SuperNana, Jenny, and Tom from NY, Aunt Chris, Uncle Owen, Annie, Jenna, Owen, and Kari.  The day was spent on boat rides, having a birthday "Princess Rapunzel tea" for Delaney, opening presents, taking pictures, and eating!  This was the first time that SuperNana got to meet Finn!  The girls loved playing with Tyler, Bryce, and Cooper and can never get enough of them!

Sunday was our last full day of vacation…we headed to Gloucester, MA, had lunch outside on the water, and found an artist colony dad had read about in his boating magazine.  We then headed to Marblehead, MA for some more rock climbing- until Delaney busted her chin on a slippery rock as it was pretty rainy!  We had fun in all of the cool stores, and Kenny even found us a Monkey Fist that I have been wanting for our house in a nautical antique shop.  I loved Marblehead the most of all of the little seaside towns we visited- great shopping for the girls and good docks for the boys!  

We flew home on Monday, July 4th, so sad to leave!  Delaney cried her eyes out as Nana and Papa dropped us off.  She certainly is my child- I always remember when I was little, being sad leaving my family that I didn’t get to see that often!  We can’t wait until next year!

MA Trip!

The girls were so excited to be flying on an airplane!  Delaney had flown once, when she was about 4 months old, so this was really the first time for her!  We flew up with Nana and Papa on June 23, and Kenny would join us for the July 4th weekend.  Everything went well, security was a breeze, and we were even able to bring Finn's car seat on since there were extra seats.  But as soon as takeoff, Finn had  poop explosion!  Poop was all over him and ME!  I wasn't able to get up since the seat belt sign was still on, so I quickly changed him on the seat next to me and wiped myself off. I didn't have an extra outfit, so he was wrapped in a blanket for the rest of the flight!  Nana and the girls were laughing at us from across the aisle!

Riding the tram to the gate at ORL. On the plane with Nana!

Post-poop explosion...Papa held him on the newspaper on his lap while I cleaned myself up!

Looking out the window

Papa giving the traditional bubble baths in the whirlpool tub

The weather was pretty rainy the first two days, so we went to the Christmas Tree Shop, the mall, and on a rainy walk to see Papa's boat!  Delaney had some money from her birthday, and Nana was going to take her shopping and for pedicures!  All the girls got treated to pedicures from Nana, with Delaney and Lucy getting hearts and flowers on their big toes!

On Friday night, Aunt Sarah drove up to MA to surprise the girls and sleep over!  We had pizza with Aunt Chris, Uncle Owen, and Sarah.  The next morning, we got up and drove to the RI cottage, which was just getting finished being remodeled.  On the way, Lucy had an episode of car sickness, so we had to quickly pull over and get her a new outfit, towel, cleaning supplies, etc from Target- and the car stunk!  From then on, we traveled with a barf bucket for Lucy, just in case (and we only needed it one more time the whole trip)!!  The RI cottage looked great, but was so much smaller than I remember!  I salvaged a newel post form the old front stoop, and kept it as a memory!  I love that the kids got to see it, because I have fond memories of going there when I was little, which is why I remember it being so much bigger!

Surprise!  Sarah is here!

We were all in misery after Lucy got carsick!

My kids in front of the RI cottage...I have a picture of my with my Papa sitting on those steps.

After RI, we drove to Madison, CT to see Jeff and Sarah's new house!  I loved it- they have put alot of work into it!  The girls and Sarah put on a little runway show modeling Sarah's antique hat collection, then we headed to downtown Madison to hit the little shops.  What a cute town!

On Sunday, we went out on Papa's boat for the first time since the weather finally cleared up!  The girls did great, not nervous at all.  Finn fell asleep in his carseat and was very relaxed.  We explored the lake, then just drifted so the girls could swim.  The water was FREEZING because of all the rain, but they were so brave and really enjoyed the adventure.  It brought back alot of memories of swimming off our boats growing up!

That night, we went to Aunt Chris and Uncle Owen's house for a birthday BBQ for Delaney!  We got to see Annie, Jenna, and Ryan!  The traditional Girls vs Ryan pillow fight ensued, and Annie even got involved a bit!  We had a great dinner and it was fun to see everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DELANEY!

She's 5!  Traditional first pic of the morning!

On Monday (Delaney's 5th Birthday), we had a great day planned: tubing, a visit to the Green Thumb Nursery and ice cream shop, going to the Price Chopper to buy birthday dessert and use their kid carts, and a nice birthday dinner outside!  The girls finally got to camp out on the boat with Papa tonight, too!  The put on their PJ's, and climbed aboard.  Papa told them stories, and they all slept comfortably (except Papa, who kept on getting Lucy's foot in his stomach)!