The "Finnster, et al."

  Yesterday (July 30, 2012) was our 7th wedding anniversary.  Seven years of marriage and what do we have to show for it . . . only the sweetest little blokes a mom could ask for.  I don't get mushy on this blog very often, but I am so thankful for my marriage, for my boys and for Michael.  He is a wonderful father, a very patient husband and he single handedly takes care of my "load dropping" cat.  Anyone who knows Michael knows that he works very hard at his job and is punctual as they come - clearly this last sentence is a joke:)  To celebrate on our actual anniversary Michael and I met for lunch downtown at Amerigos.  It was closing in on 2:00 when we got there so the place was practically empty.  We had a groupon gift card so we went all out - meaning, I ordered the catch of the day and an appetizer. When we got home Michael and Finn started emptying the kiddie pool.  After a three hundred dollar water bill two years ago, we do not waste water.  Michael use

  So I stayed home with the fellas on my "day off" today.  It was actually a fairly easy day.  Not so much the night before, as our power went out and about burned us out of our beds.  Finn of course came in our room scared of the thunder.  After the power came back on at midnight, I went to bed.  We pretty much immediately went to the store and Sonic when I got up because I wanted to get out and back before Sam got hungry.  The store was normal except for the basic theme of the day, which was people being way too nice to me I guess because of the Dad flying solo with the little ones sympathy.  Finn got his usual cookie/sucker circuit in before we left. I think I fed Sam the oats with milk mixed in once we got home then put him in the swing.  He slept just long enough for me to get my workout in...thankfully Friday is short.  After he woke up we all hung out until lunch time.  We had talked about hitting McDonalds because of the "Ice Age" toys.  We

Finn hates to hear Sam cry.  He has quickly learned that feeding Sam is the best way to make him stop crying.  As a mother who rarely relies on formula, it is not always possible to feed Sam whenever Finn finds it necessary.  The other day Finn asked me to feed Sam and I responded, "I can't feed him right now."  Finn decided to take matters into his own hands.  Yes . . . much to my chagrin this is a picture of Finn trying to pump a bottle for Sam. That same day Finn and JT played with hats and paper cars from Steak-n-Shake. Finn brought his home to model.     These pictures are lifted from Victoria's blog.  JT and Finn - future employees!  We are so blessed to have such good friends.  Later that night Finn and Gran went to see "Ice Age: Continental Drift" at the big movie theater.  They ate popcorn, drank Coke and had a good ol' time. 

Today I met Mom and the boys at Cheekwood to play on the treehouse exhibit.  The boys loved it!  Finn had so much fun climbing and playing.  Oh wait . . . . no he didn't because Cheekwood was closed.  As it turns out Cheekwood is closed every Monday.  It was a bummer, but we most certainly turned lemons into lemonade. It all started on Saturday; Mom picked the boys up after their naps and took them back to Manchester for the weekend.  Michael and I took full advantage of the free time and went to see Batman (which was so good) and then went to eat at Cheddars.   On Sunday we relaxed and watched the Bachelorette season finale. On Monday Mom brought the boys to Nashville.  We made plans to meet at Cheekwood and then go to Opry Mills to eat at the Rain Forrest Cafe.   While Cheekwood was a bust, the Rain Forrest Cafe was a huge hit.  We were seated next to the elephants.  The elephants were impressive, but for a boy of almost three (3), the tigers were the best.  Every time the ti

Both of my boys have made tremendous progress over the past week.  It is still too early to call, but I think that Finn finally has the hang of the toilet.  He tells me almost every time he needs to go now.  On Thursday morning while I was upstairs getting ready, Finn took his pull-up off, got on the potty and "put a BIGGG poo-poo in the potty" (Finn's words, not mine) all by himself.  He was excited to come upstairs and get me.  He led me downstairs and insisted that I look.  I was so proud of him.  Michael and I decided that this feat deserved a "long neck." Finn has been asking insistently and often for a "long neck."  Ever since watching "The Land Before Time" he has thought of nothing but getting a "long neck."  Last Saturday he woke me from a nap asking if we could go to the store to buy a "long neck."  The next day he walked to back of the yard, asked Michael to turn off the lawn mower and very seriously discussed

On Tuesday we celebrated Gran's birthday at our house.  Michael picked the boys up from Victoria's house so that I could spend some additional time preparing.  Finn was quite helpful.  He didn't necessarily help me clean up, but he did manage to not pull out every toy in the house. Gran, Chelsea and Sharon arrived around 6:00.  It was a very low-key event - except for the fact that I was able to use my china.  I was so excited to us it that I have been drinking out of my china tea cup all week. Finn was excited for the party.  He was more excited when he learned we were having cupcakes (Gigi's to be exact).   Finn and I split a chocolate with cream cheese icing.  Next he attempted to eat Gran's cupcake too. Sam was his usual charming self.  He laid on his belly in the kitchen while ate.  Later Gran held him while we chatted in the living room.  It was a nice, relaxing evening. Gran also got the pleasure of hearing Finn's new word - "what."

Well, we left the beach on Thursday around 7:00 in the morning.  Sam and I were up by 4:30.  Sam apparently had a bad case of gas and was pretty miserable. The boys generally did pretty good on the drive home.  Finn watched "The Land Before Time" at least three times (prompting him to ask for a "long neck") and Sam slept at least half of the trip home.  About ten minutes into our drive Finn said "Dad, are we almost home?"  Michael told him no.  Without missing a beat he said, "Mom, are we almost home?"  This same conversation happened at least a hundred times before we pulled into our driveway ten hours later. Our first stop was breakfast at Hardee's in Troy.  Our second stop was at Chic-Fil-A in Fultondale.  Finn played in the play area with a little boy named Charlie.  Finn was a little nervous around him at first (go figure), but warmed up enough to him to let Charlie lead him to the top of the play area and into the airplane.  I know it

On our last full day at the beach Finn and I went to play in the ocean.  The water was absolutely beautiful - no sea weed at all.  Finn and I played in the water for a long time and I have the burn to prove it.    Now that Finn is older he has developed a healthy fear of the ocean. Finn was pretty brave today while in the ocean as long as I was holding him.   He wanted me to go far out into the ocean.  He loved playing 123 jump.   After playing in the water Finn told me that he wanted to play in the sand.  The two of us made a sand hill which turned into a sand mountain which Finn's shark promptly destroyed.   I have been pretty busy keeping Sam from getting a sunburn so I haven't spent a lot time with Finn at the beach.  Well today was my day.  I enjoyed every minute I spent with Finn.  Every so often he would look over and tell me he loved me and that he was having a good time with me.  Next we went to the pool for a few minutes.  Finn played in the water