A Little Boy

As most of you know we are getting ready to welcome a new member to our family in May.  I'm due May 29th but as Finn broke out almost three weeks early we are expecting a similar performance from this little one.  We could not be happier about having another baby and Finn is super excited to teach the baby all the tricks he knows. :)

We had our 20 week ultrasound a couple weeks ago and found out the baby will be a little boy. He was squirming around and sucked his thumb a bit, just like Finn when he got a peek at him.  Two boys!  Well three if you include Jamie, ha ha.  It's gonna be rowdy over here! 

Now we have to choose a name, that's not easy for us!  Leave us a comment and some name suggestions!

Christmas Morning 2011

Finn asked Santa for a bike this year and he was a good boy so Santa listened!  He was very excited to see his shiny new bike waiting for him in the living room!  Jamie and I did our presents for each other that morning too, it was a fun time. 

Merry Christmas!

Cookes for Santa the night before.  Goodnight!

 "HE BROUGHT ME A BIKE MOMMY!"

 Now, after all this excitement lets get down to playing with my new toys!

The artist

Christmas Eve 2011

Christmas is such a hard blog post, there are always a zillion pictures I want to share.  I'll choose a few favorites as I usually do. 

Finn totally "got" Christmas this year and was loving it.  He understood Santa and was able to connect being good with Santa's impending visit, though I think next year we may be able to use that leverage a little more, he he.  We talked about Baby Jesus and I was able to find the cutest kid-friendly Nativity Set for him to set up and play with.  My sister and Brian spent their last Christmas here for a while, they moved to Virginia a couple weeks later, sniff sniff.  My Grandma Janet was able to come down for it so it was a big happy family affair. 

It was Finn's last Christmas as an only child so we wanted it to be extra special!

 Gonah and Finn

 Big Gonah and Gonah

 Sandy, Geoff and Mandy

 Our little family, notice Finn's brother starting to make himself known

 Merry Christmas!

A shot of opening presents

Christmas Cookie Party

My mom, Mandy, Finn and I had our annual Christmas cookie making party the Saturday before Christams.  It's funny, we are always afraid we made too many at the end of the session but somehow I find myself rationing them a couple days before Christmas. Hmmm...

 A big hug for Gonah before we begin

 No one is looking...

 Still sneaking tastes

 Let's get this party cleaned up!

Disneyland Trip

We decided to take Finn to Disneyland during December to see the Christmas decorations and enjoy the park.  Jamie and I took an extra day off work so we could go during the week (MUCH less crowded) and opted to stay the night at the Disneyland Hotel.  I stayed there as a kid and remembered how much I loved it, really made the whole experience extra special.  The hotel was recently renovated and now reminds me more of a Marriott, with a few Disney touches thrown in.  Nice but not quite as special. Although they installed a huge headboard that lights up to display a starry sky and the castle, and plays "When you Wish Upon a Star".  That rocked, even the 45th time Finn flipped the switch.

Some of you may remember that last spring we took a family vacation to Florida and visited Disneyworld, and that it was not a huge hit with the Finner.  We knew we were taking a change but hoped that by pumping him up about it and the extra 6 months of worldly experience he'd like it.

He did!  We had a little trouble with the darker rides (didn't realize how many Fantasyland rides are dark and scary, nice job Walt) but he LOVED the Teacups, Toontown and the Jungle Ride and many others.  Because we stayed at the hotel we were able to ride the Monorail into Tomorrowland an hour early, no lines, no hassle.  That in itself was pretty much worth the extra money. 

We met my brother Geoff and his girlfriend for dinner the night before which was a bonus.  He lives about 20 minutes away from Disneyland. Loved getting to spend a little time with him and of course Finn is a big Uncle Geoff fan.

The morning after Disneyland Day we had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and met a few random characters before heading back home.  A great mini-vacation!

 Geoff, Sandy, Finn and Jamie

 This is fantastic!!  He loves to spin around so this was heaven.

 In front of his beloved Snow White and animal friends statues.

 Steering the ship in Toontown.

 Composing a love song for Abi in Toontown.

 Jungle Ride

 Waving to Santa in the Christmas Parade.  Huge hit.

 Goofy's Kitchen

 Bashful with Alice, she was so pretty he got nervous.

Hamming it up with Dale (or is it Chip? I forget).

November Trip to Grandma Jimmie's

Mandy, Geoff, Finn and I took a road trip to Arizona to visit our Grandma Jimmie in Cottonwood for a long weekend. We had a really nice time, lots of naps and visiting and good food.  Finn enjoyed a few cooking lessons with Grandma, I think she got a kick out of it too. I wish we could get out to see her more often, hopefully she'll come out to see us soon too! 

Finn loved visiting Great Gramma Jimmie and was enamoured of a little beanie baby bear she let him pick out, Flaky.  He's still sleeping in his bed with him every night. :) Our cousins and aunt also came over for dinner one night so we were able to hang out and catch up.

 Grandma and Finn in front of the rose bushes.

 Cooking lesson, buttermilk waffles!

 Being silly with Uncle Geoff

 The whole family! Geoff, Jenny, Suzi, Finn, Mandy, Grandma Jimmie, Ian, Tara and Chance.

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween, only a few months late! :)  Finn considered many costumes this year, Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty was his top choice but darn it if Disney doesn't make one for kids.  Anyone who knows me is aware that sewing a costume is not an option so I had to set about the delicate task of pursuading him to choose something else.  A dragon came up the winner and I think it was a good choice.  His favorite part of the costume was his "spiky dragon hair" and his green face.  He was a little more timid during the trick or treating than last year, a few houses were skipped as they were deemed a little too scary.  But he had fun and loved seeing all the decorations and other kids' costumes. Good times!