The "Finnster, et al."

This morning all three Begley's headed out the door at the same time. Finn and I were in my car behind Michael's car. As we were pulling out of the subdivision Finn spotted Daddy's car making a right hand turn. As it was a cold morning and Michael's car emits more smoke/smog/exhaust than 99% of all cars on the road, I wasn't surprised to hear Finn say, "There goes Daddy's car puffing around the bend." He said it such enthusiasm. My sweet, observant little rascal was so proud of his Daddy's car because he thought it was like a steam engine, or a "steamy" as we call them around the house. I got so tickled that I had to call Michael immediately. Over the past few days Michael and Finn have come up with a fun new game in the bathtub. Finn calls it "bubbles on my beard." Playing is quite simple . . . you just put your face in the water and let the bubbles hang out on your face. It doesn't look all that fun, but I...

Today was another first for Finn - the first time he has ever run into the nursery. He walked by himself all the way to the door. When they opened the baby gate, he walked right through and then ran to the back of the room where his teacher and the other children were playing. He didn't look back either. I was so happy for his progress! After church, on the way to Zaxby's we asked Finn what he talked about in Sunday School and he he said, "God." Apparently he did not talk about Jesus. He also informed us that Jesus was not a baby (today's lesson was when Mary learned that she would have a baby) - not quite sure where the disconnect was. I tried to talk about Jesus being a baby like Sam, but Finn wasn't having it. At Zaxby's Finn said something that shocked me a little bit. As we were leaving Finn asked Michael to put his James backpack on his back. Michael had his hands full so he told Finn that he could see his James bag in the car. Finn asked a...

Today was one busy day. Finn and I woke up around 6:30 and ate breakfast. After breakfast he snuggled up next to me and we watched "Finding Nemo." Finn loves Nemo! I love watching him watch Nemo. The only problem is that I cry every time I watch. Finn is so sweet when I cry. He gets a really concerned look on his face and says "I'm sorry mommy." Then I feel really bad because he thinks that he did something to make me cry. In way he is right, but it is always a good cry. After Nemo we went to town to run some errands. After we got back I left to go to an adoption party for a young girl that I represented and then went straight to a baby shower for my friend and work colleague Samantha. While I was gone Finn got a haircut. Later on in the evening Finn and I went to see MJ in the Christmas play at her church. When we got there we sat in the second row so that we could get a good view. Fifteen minutes in Finn got restless so moved close to the back of...

Since it was so nice on Saturday we put Finn's train set outside and let him play while I timed Daddy's sprints. Finn cuddling with "soft Percy." At night Finn will come up to me, give me this sweet look and say "tuddle" - which means cuddle. I think that it is a stall tactic, but I can't resist.

Today I dragged poor Finn all over town. We went to the Clerk's office, to the Probation office, to Juvenile Court to DCS to the post office, and finally to the store. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to get Finn in and out of that carseat five different times. We were gone for about three (3) hours and Finn was a jewel the whole time. When we got home Finn took a long nap and then he and Daddy put the Christmas lights up on the outside. Such a good little helper. While outside Finn's hands got really cold so Michael taught him how to put his hands in his pockets. Running with his hands in his pockets - we were sure that he would fall and bust his face up. Thank goodness he didn't. He looked so cute and grown up standing there with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Every so often he would run into the house and ask for a Christmas cookie. We had green beans, brown rice and Thia chicken for dinner tonight. I gave Finn beans and rice. He did...

Thanksgiving this year started with a drive to Manchester on Wednesday night. When we got to Nana and Papas we ate taco soup and baked potatoes. After supper we watched the boys play and then watched "American Horror Story" in the den. Midway through the show Finn decided that he wanted to sit with us. He came and sat in my lap and asked for his soft blanket. He wiggled around until he got comfortable (not sure how he managed given that I was sitting indian style in the floor) and dozed off. When it was time to go to bed Finn, Daddy and I crawled into the murphey bed and attempted a restful night sleep. We did pretty good until around 2:00 at which time Finn started sitting straight up in bed and saying random words. Michael would come back at him with inaudible grunts that were clearly complaints. After the next few hours of getting kicked in the back I decided to make a move to the couch. I finally ended up falling back to sleep around 5:00. At 6:30 mom, Cooper a...

This morning about 5:30 a.m. I heard a little whisper say, "Mommy . . . what time is it?" It definitely wasn't time to get up so I grabbed Finn and he slept another hour with me. After dinner tonight we finished putting the ornaments back on the tree. They were mostly Mickey and Harry Potter ornaments so he was fairly entertained. After we finished up we ate homemade cookies and took pictures in front of the tree. He looks so grown up in this picture - this picture also reminds me of my childhood pictures. Next Finn decided that he was going to play with his snow globe. He also thought it important to ensure that his "soft bunny" also known as "mini trash" had optimal viewing. Finn loves this snow globe. He could watch the train go around the tree for hours. He also has fallen head over heals for his soft bunny. After looking at the globe, Finn decided that he wanted to torture baby Jesus for a few minutes. On a completely non-related note, I...