12 Months - Happy FIRST Birthday, Finn!

One year old. 

Throughout the day I found myself thinking how happy I am that I'm not in labor, but instead having fun celebrating our baby boy.

My plan all along was to take these pics on the chair up to when he turns 12 months, then I'm going to compile all these into one print and frame it somewhere in our home. I thought for this last shoot that Rob and I should join in...

We then let Finn open his gift...

A drum with a whole lotta shakers and noisemakers...

So for a few weeks now I've had the idea to go to the park on his birthday. Have a picnic lunch, go down some slides, swing. Turned out to be a bit chilly (seriously, the days that Florida doesn't reach at least high 60's or 70's for a high is pretty rare) and this was one of those rare days. High 50's and windy. So instead of eating on a blanket like I imagined, we went under a pavilion because it was kinda misting out. 

Little did we know that we were going to have to fight off an estimated 20 park squirrels (I promise, I'm NOT exaggerating!) that kept trying to steal our food. I'm just happy that I'm not a celebrity with paparazzi following me because I could only imagine the shots they'd get of me angrily shooing off the squirrels from our table...I'd be on the cover of Star magazine looking like a maniac. 

The park was completely empty. Everyone at school or just bundled up inside somewhere.

He LOVED the slide once he got the hang of it...

Rob joked that he's ready for Adventure Island (our local water park) where you have to lay down flat for the big slides. Weeeeeeeee...

Yep, and was a fan of the swing as well...giggles were definitely present...

I have to admit, I was pretty scared about this slide...it just felt so open like we were going to fall off...parent of the year! Spoiler though, we made it safely... :D

We almost made it out of the park unscathed, but the little buddy tripped while walking and fell just right where he scraped a little spot on his nose. I picked him up and he cuddled right up...nap time quickly ensued.

It was a sweet day...I've been reflecting a lot lately. With nursing wrapping up, and thinking back to those more difficult early months and everything that we've experienced, I think to myself that it's so very wise to live one day at a time. Not to jump ahead too fast, but to revel in the day. Cause it can be overwhelming and it can also be tempting to look too far ahead. But knowing that each day is new and that you only get to live it once is something I want to remember each day I wake.

And just so Rob and I can look back on this and say aw, here's some of his latest likes (I'm excluding dislikes because I can't think of any):

Likes:

• Playing with the recycle - We keep our recycle on the floor by the kitchen cabinets, he really gets a kick out of picking the plastic bottles up and throwing them...it's a normal thing at night after he's in bed for me to go around the house and gather it all up. My sister the other day asked why there was a coke bottle sitting on top of the toilet, lol.
• Books - He loves to bring a book and sit and turn all the pages really fast, I've just memorized the story and say it while he turns the pages
• Bath Time - He little legs get an extra spring in his step when I tell him it's bath time
• Bananas, Grapes and Blueberries - His favorites right now
• Dancin - He's starting to dance...he seriously had some fancy footwork going on, gotta get that on video

Happy First Birthday, Finn. Our sweet baby boy.

We love. love. love. you.

Birthday Eve!

Just stopping by for a quick post with some recent pics. It's our boy's birthday eve and I'm so excited. We'll be celebrating with a little party this weekend, but still, I just can't believe that it's tomorrow. Our boy turning one. It is true though, it's like a little celebration for us parents, we made it too! Hah!

Anyway, now to some pics. I had a "smack-the-head" moment and realized that I couldn't think of a time that I took pictures of Rob feeding Finn a bottle. We figured the reason being that he only gives him the bottle when I'm at work, then when I'm home, I nurse him. I know that it's been such a sweet bond between those boys, so I'm grabbed my camera...

Our silly monkey...

That. little. chin. <3

My handsome boys...gah...

As tonight was winding down, I was pulling out some birthday decorations to just put a little something up after Finn goes to sleep (otherwise known as the birthday fairy in my family) and came across these noisemakers. So we shook those things around as we rang in his first birthday.

Lol, love this boy...

Mama/birthday fairy has work to do tonight...presents to wrap, a video to make, crancherry to drink, and a few decorations to put up. Signing off...stay warm out there! :))

Falling For You

It was one of those moments I just wanted to freeze the time.

A beautiful song came on Pandora while I was giving Finn his milk in his room before laying him down for an afternoon nap. (We've already started transitioning him from breast milk to whole milk and I'm happy to say he's taking it well) The light was turned off and his blinds were closed with just a bit of daylight coming through. I had him cradled in my arms while I swayed to the song and he just stared at me with his beautiful, hazel, almond-shaped eyes while the song played...and I just swooned over our baby boy that I have fallen so very in love with. Almost one year ago I laid my eyes on him for the first time...it's definitely a week of looking back and cherishing this boy and the gift he has been in our lives.

I'm working on a video for his first birthday. A compilation of pictures and some videos from our first year with him. I'll be sure to share it on here with you when it's all done. We're gearing up for our first real cold snap here in the F-L, it's going to drop to 30 something degrees tonight and a high of 40's tomorrow. We're planning on taking Finn to the park on his birthday (high of 60's that day) and having some fun there, so I'm happy for some cooler, non-sweaty, weather. ;)

I have some sweet pics from the weekend to edit and will share on here probably tomorrow. Happy new week everyone!

A New Year

A new year. I'm not big on making a new year's resolution, I guess I feel like it's doomed to fail if I call it that, lol, but if I call it a new goal or something along that lines, there's room for success and maybe a little failing on the way. Cause I need room for that failing stuff, hah.

So I thought I'd list out some of my thoughts stirring around the new year and what I'd like to accomplish, whether it be physical things, mental things, heart things, etc.

• COOK MORE! I'm kicking myself for this one...the time is now, Lisa Marie. I'm starting to gather recipes, because honestly that's the biggest thing holding me back, not having any idea what to make (besides my usuals). In addition to cooking more, I want to get a somewhat prepared meal plan for the week, each week.

• RELAX! The house will always need cleaning. I feel like I'm picking up things all the time (or thinking about everything that needs to be done)...dishes and trash and laundry and dishes, it all screams at me and sometimes a lot of times puts me in a foul mood. I want to learn to love our house and relax and breathe even among the mess.

• LESS NETFLIX, MORE READING! Even if it starts out with just a chapter a night, I truly miss reading. Nowadays when I get that moment in the evening to finally sit on the couch after Finn's in bed, I just want to veg. But I really wanna get back into reading, whether fiction or my Bible or a devotional...I need to do it. I feel like Netflix is winning way too often.

• BLOG UPDATES! If you haven't guessed it already, this blog has turned into my creative outlet. I have a few updates planned for this year...getting an actual name for it and an according domain, a new header and eventually a new design one day when money allows (if only graphic arts and web design skills were instantly downloaded into my brain...)

New Years Eve was a weird one spent by my lonesome as my man was working that night shift. I snuck into Finn's room when it got close to midnight and looked at our baby boy and counted our blessings this year. We had a good new years yesterday. A gloomy chilly rainy day, the kind that Rob and I love. 

Any new years resolutions or goals for you? Any easy recipes you wanna share with me? Goodness, meal planning sounds so difficult to me, any tips for that?

Livin On The Floor

The floor is where we live nowadays...

It's where daddy comes up with interesting ways to play with Finn's toys...

And most importantly it's where Finn gets to explore...

At times being on the floor can feel so monotonous and simple...but I know one day we'll look back to these days with fond memories and appreciation of the simplicity of life with our boy.

So this just serves as a reminder to myself for those days when the routine feels routine, that livin on the floor is where it's at. It's where I truly want to be.

Finn's First Christmas

Baby boy's first Christmas. So here we go, 36 of my favorite photos from the day. Yep, thirty-six. :)

Finn woke up at 9:15am and sees the Christmas tree and presents for the first time...

To my surprise he actually picked up one of his gifts...

And even ripped it a little...

Then he had fun playing with his stash...

Sweet baby boy...

Before we wheeled out Finn's final gift, Rob and I exchanged our gifts. Rob has a thing (passed on from his family) where he wraps gifts in obscure ways to keep me from guessing what it is. He handed me this one...can ya guess what it is?

Yeah, it was a CD wrapped with a paint roller, lol. I also got my new lens which I have lots to learn about but definitely am loving...

We then wheeled out our final gift for Finn...

First he pushed it around in circles...

Then checked out the steering wheel...

Then got him in it...our little cutie...

We then made our way over to my mom's house...

Sweet moments with uncle Greg...

Getting Finn strapped in...poor kid had to deal with the sun AND my hair in his face...

The cousins checking it out...of course they asked if they could go for a ride...lol.

We grabbed a family pic for the day...

And this next one cracks us up...totally taken on accident, but Rob said it should be our Christmas card for next year...

Please keep you hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times...good thing there's a lap belt. :)

Then the annual pickle finding competition for all of us grown kids. We do it for bragging rights and a lovely gift card. But mostly bragging rights. This year it involved standing on chairs and lots of hints. The thing is only like an inch big.

A fuzzy phone pic, but it shows how we all ended up. It felt like we were looking forever, but someone finally came out victorious....

Oh that would be me, lol. :)))

Then we headed over to spend time with Rob's parents.

The weather got warm as the day went on, so Finn was pretty much topless the whole day.

A lil container of ice cream all for me...

And to cap the post off with the sweetest pic my sister captured on her phone of Finn in his car. Sweet baby boy.

A busy, but good, good day filled with loved ones. Memories were made for sure.

Now to gear up for Finn's first birthday, about a week and a half away. My main project I'm going to attempt is making a video with pictures and video clips of his first year...I know it's going to take so much time and work, but I really think it will be something special to have and look back on. My heart feels a mixture of pride, joy and aching as I watch this boy grow...it happens so fast and I want to hold on to the sweet memories of our amazing boy.

Hoping you all are well and recovering from the season. The worst part is taking it all down. Boo. I'm going to try to not get crazy with it and just do one thing at a time, and those outside lights can just stay up till New Years or beyond.