Honor Thy Mother and Father (For Grandma Brenda)

A week or two ago, Finley was causing trouble while getting ready for school.  She wouldn't brush her teeth, she wouldn't put on her clothes, she wouldn't let me brush her hair, etc.  At one point, when I asked her to do something she didn't want to do, she swatted at me and said, "You're mean!"  I told her, "Oh, no!  Jesus is watching and he does not like when you hit your mother!"  Finley said, "How do you know?"  I said that it was in the Bible.  Finley said, "I don't believe you.  I'm gonna read it with Daddy tonight and see."  I said, "I KNOW it is in the Bible.  It says 'Honor your mother and father,' and that means you can't hit them or call them names.  I had to honor my mother.  I couldn't hit her or call her names."  Finley said, "Yeah, but your mother was nice!"

First Grader Finley!

Finley Vi started first grade in the exact opposite way she started kindergarten.  She had her outfit picked out the night before, she woke up excited, and she practically left without giving me a hug!  It was as if it was just another day in the life :)  Since starting first grade, she has had math homework every night and she's supposed to read 20 minutes 5 days a week. While this seems like insanity to this old mom, tonight, I almost cried when she asked to do her homework and said she wanted to do it in case she forgets to do it later.  When she showed me that her packet was getting harder with every page, I said, "Whoa!  That looks like it's getting harder," and she said, "It is!  I love it!"  She's doing math facts by herself for fun and reading very difficult books to me at night and it is just completely obvious that she is extremely intelligent.  Tonight, she told me her library code was "so complicated!" but, of course, she rattled it off as easy as pie.  She continues to notice every little detail of everything - cars, neighbors, people at her school, you name it - which makes me think of my little infant crawling around on the floor examining every single little pebble and item out of place. She's been sleeping on the full mattress in her bedroom most nights - of course, I have to lay down with her, but it only takes 10 minutes for her to fall asleep these days as compared with the hours it used to take.  Maybe my favorite moment of the last month was when we went to my coworker, Alison's, house.  Alison took us on a tour of her house which is filled with her art.  When another coworker came later, she gave the tour again, and Finley asked if she could take it again because she just thought "it was so interesting."  We also found out recently that, not only is Finley going to get twin cousins from Josh and Jill, but her honorary Aunties, Paige and Nanny, are going to be Mommies!  When she asked if I was going to go to their legal wedding ceremony in Octobeer, I told her no because I was saving money to visit the baby in the spring.  My cautious and worried daughter asked how long it would take to drive (implying that she wanted to come).  When I told her it would take too long, she asked if she could fly and sit in the aisle so she didn't have to look out the window and see down.  This, as you all know, is a HUGE step!  While Finley definitely has her moments (there was an instance last week where soap and a mouth may have been mentioned and may or may not have been carried out...), she is really my dream - smart, beautiful, talented, deep...We are blessed!

My Big Girl

 

Finley has been growing up fast - so fast I can't even catch my breath!  She graduated from kindergarten in May.  It was a lovely ceremony that Grandma Julie and Jimmy, Grandma Belva and Grandpa Tim, Grandma Brenda, and Mom and Dad were able to attend.  When Finley got her diploma, it almost broke my heart how proud she looked, and it was announced that she wants to be a teacher :)  Shortly after kindergarten ended, Finley had her third dance recital. It was highly evident that she has grown in leaps and bounds as a dancer since she started - and she even gave Mommy a lesson in stage fright on the night of the recital telling her to "just have fun!"  Finley had a visit from her San Frannies over the 4th of July, and I think it was the first visit she will really remember with them.  She took Nanny tubing and I dare say she was the brave one!  When Natalie was givin the thumbs down for speed, Finley almost always had hers up.  She made art with Paige, something she still shows exceptional talent for, if I do say so myself.  And she's also been fighting like mad with her little sister!  Despite that, since kindergarten, Finley has matured so much, I can hardly believe she used to throw such fits that I would cry in desperation (granted I was pregnant and hormones were flowing through my body uncontrollably but still...)  She's still a very cautious girl who doesn't like to take too many risks, but she also has a ton of friends, is getting braver by the day, and amazes us with everything she notices about the world around her.  She is every bit the dream we had for her when she was born.

A Beautiful April Weekend in Duluth (You'd Never Be Able To Tell From the Pictures!)

 

We went to Duluth to see Grandma Julie and Jimmy for the weekend of April 19-21 and we entered a true Winter Wonderland!  We drove out to Uncle Scott's cabin on Saturday morning and couldn't even get down the driveway there was so much snow!  Finley had to help Auntie Annie and Grandma push the Camry and even that didn't work.  We had to dig our way out!  Once we got to the cabin, the girls watched Jimmy make maple syrup while they played in the "play house," climbed the giant snow mountain that was taller than both of them, and picked giant icicles off the roof.  Mommy was just happy to sit in the sun and get her first dose of Vitamin D since September!  After we left the cabin, Finley, Grandma, Auntie Annie and Mommy went to St. Scholastica to watch "The Sound of Music" on the big screen.  It was a sing-a-long and we had props that went with certain scenes.  Every time Gretel came on the screen we had to go "Ahhhhh" and every time the Baroness came on we had to "Meow".  We had poppers to pull when Maria and Captain Von Trapp kiss for the first time and we had Edelweiss to hold over our heads when they sang the song.  Finley belted out each and every tune even though she had never seen the movie.  She got a little nervous at the end when the Nazis come searching for the family, but other than that, she really enjoyed it.  She's been singing "High on a hill was a lonely goat herd..." ever since.  Later that night, we went contra dancing.  Finley could NOT get enough.  She surprised us all by dancing with everyone in the room - even the scary hippies with beards!  She had no problem following the steps, even though Mommy and Daddy had enough after one dance.  When she got home around 10 that night, she crawled into bed with me and said, " My legs are, like, freakin' out!"  It was the cutest thing ever.  On Sunday, it continued to snow so we decided to jump in the hot tub before leaving.  Even though we all have had enough snow to last us a lifetime, we definitely made the most of what we were given this weekend.

 

It's My Birthday!

I posted this video to Facebook but needed to get this on the blog, too.  I have sibling rivalry documented at a very young age here.  I can't wait to see what the future holds!

An Update in Pictures

Finley painted her hand with an Easter Bunny all by herself.

Finley usually can't fall asleep unless Mommy is there.  Luckily on this night, Daddy was enough.

One of Finley's oldest friends, Mallory, came to have a "Girl's Club" while her brothers were playing hockey.  They dressed up as cowgirls, painted their faces, danced, and did a magic show for everyone and they even let SiSi join in the fun!

After not having a haircut for years, we cut about 7 inches off her long hair.  Not only does it look great, but it also keeps the tangles away after the bath.

Finley got her first shiner when Sienna bonked into her with her hard head.

Finley's school had a Family Night with a summer beach theme.  She and her school bestie, Claire, danced the night away to the live DJ and climbed, jumped, and slid down all the inflatable bouncy things.

As usual, Finley's favorite activity is art-related.  She decided to upcycle her applesauce cups by making colored tape patterns on them.  We glued two together, poked a hole through them, and strung it into a cool hanging ornament.  So creative!

 

Finley, believe it or not, turned six years old on Tuesday.  She had a fabulous birthday weekend, kicking it all off with some of her best friends from school and daycare at a lovely "pretend sleepover" birthday party at our house.  Kids came in their jammies and they ate pizza and cake pops before opening a plethora of presents.  Luckily, Grandma Julie was here to help, because there was a LOT of time for all 12 of the girls to stay busy before getting picked up.  While I painted faces, Grandma led them in games of musical chairs and London Bridge, which was a HUGE hit.  Some of her friends have known her almost her entire life, like Emerson F., Brynn, and Mallory, and some of her friends were brand new from kindergarten.  It was great to have them all together.  One precious little girl, Molly, who was at her first birthday party, asked me if the party was almost over.  When I told her it was, she said, "Oh no, this is the best night of my life!"  It was pretty adorable and I'm pretty sure Finley felt similar.

 

On Saturday, Finley had many of her family members over to celebrate her big day.  Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Kevin, Grandma Belva and Grandpa Tim, and Grandma Julie were there, as were Uncle Luke, Auntie Annie, Auntie Megan and Eloise.  Finley was fighting a bit of a cold, but she held it together long enough to make it through the day.  The next day, however, she crashed with a fever and a horrible cough.  Luckily, it only lasted a couple of days and she was able to go to school on her actual birthday and be "Star Student" for the week.

 

At six, Finley is as stubborn as ever but she is growing into such a funny, smart, and talented girl.  She still won't sleep in her own bed, but she gets braver every day.  She has inherited her mother's love of shoes and fashion.  I'm pretty sure she has about 7 pairs of boots and she is very particular about what shoes go with what pants (I'm telling you, she is her mother's daughter!).  She hates getting her hair brushed, but she won't let me cut it.  Her teacher says she is the best reader in the class, already reading at a second grade level.  She reads for at least 15 minutes every day, sometimes for up to 45!  She is learning how to add and count money and she loves music, art, and library (along with recess and free-choice, of course).  She has met all but one of the kindergarten benchmarks and there's still half a year left.  As you can see, she has a couple of admirers at school, too :)  Today, it's hard to believe she was so nervous she threw up on the first day of school!   

 

We love our dear Finley more today than the day she joined our family.  She is everything we could have dreamed of and more.  We are blessed beyond words that we were given such a special gift and look forward to cherishing this fun age.