"More!"

Finley had a very busy night Saturday when Auntie Megan and Uncle Phil came to play games. She wouldn't go to bed, afraid she'd miss something, so she actually fell asleep sitting up. I caught her just as she tumbled on her face in the blankets. After her late night Saturday, Finley amazed us all on Sunday by performing her first sign language - at the appropriate time! After Grandma Julie made her giggle over and over by tapping her on the butt with a pillow, she asked Finley if she wanted her to do it some more. Finley put her fingers together and made the "more" sign. Then, later that night at Red Lobster, we asked her if she wanted more food and she did the "more" sign again! She's a genius. The daycare ladies were very proud when I told them Monday morning. Finley also has been having fun with the birthday presents that have continued rolling in from all of her aunties. She got her package from Auntie Annie and Uncle Luke from Korea and loves her new puppet. Mommy loves her cute little "costumes" and prominently displayed them in Finley's bedroom. She's waiting for a day when Finley is in a really good mood to try them on her and take some cute pictures. The cds from Auntie Hannah are awesome and Finners laughs and laughs when mommy dances to the Dave Matthews/Blue Man Group tune. She also LOVES her baseball cap from "Auntie" Jessica - she even wears it with her jammies! And, the leopard shoes were a huge hit at daycare, along with all her cute new clothes.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, FINLEY!

Although we celebrated on Sunday, Finley is now officially the big one. The party was a blast. Finley was surrounded by a LOT of people who love her dearly - Mom and Dad, Grandmas and Grandpas Peterson and Bernhardt, Grandma Julie, Great Grandma B., Auntie Megan, Cousin Sadie and Phil, Uncle Josh and Auntie Jill, Shane and Nikki, Scott and Danielle, Tony and Josh. We ate a delicious meal prepared by all the Grandmas - hot beef sandwiches, baked beans, potatoes, chips and dip - followed by a lovely lemon cake with homemade lemon ice cream. Finley was delightful, as usual. Sadie and I had to open the gifts for her, but she certainly enjoyed them once they were opened. She was pretty tired by the time we broke out the cake. I had to physically put it in her mouth before she would touch it, but once she got a spoon in her hand, she seemed to enjoy it. She crashed pretty early and so did her parents!

After the big party on Sunday, Finley got to spend President's Day at home with mom, who was off work for the oh-so-important holiday ;) Finners was in dreamland - the house was a mess and she got to crawl in and out, over and under, inside and out of every last box, piece of wrapping paper, and string left from the opening of gifts. Despite the mess, she was able to enjoy every single gift, as well. First she read her new books, then she sat in her Elmo chair from Grandma and Grandpa Peterson while reading her new books, then she played in her kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa Bernhardt for awhile, followed by a few goes at her farm animal puzzle from Scott and Danielle. After that, she went into the kitchen to maniacally rip all the alphabet magnets from Auntie Megan, Sadie and Phil, off the fridge and fling them across the floor. She ate from her froggie dishes that Uncle Josh and Auntie Jill gave her and she danced to the musical globe her father gave her. She tossed around her new leg warmers and put on her hats from Grandma Julie, and she even managed to play with a few of her old favorites like her dolls and her music station. It was a busy Monday and it wore her already sick Mommy out.

Today, on her actual birthday, we went to the doctor to see how she's doing. Dr. Noll was sick and is actually having her own little baby in a couple of weeks, so we saw a different doctor. Finley is 20 pounds, 3 oz. and 29 3/4 inches tall. In other words, she's still tall and slim. The doctor looked in her ears again because she's been pulling at them for awhile and found them to be a little red. She gave us some ear pain drops and another prescription to use if they get worse, and since I was there, gave me a strep test. It came back negative, so I've been self-medicating my sore throat by eating LOTS of the leftover icecream from the party and Great Aunt Sondra and Great Uncle Steve.

At this time, one year ago, Cam and I were in the hospital room, not able to sleep despite our exhaustion because we didn't want to miss a second with our new little baby. We took our little teddy bear home, snuggled her and watched her grow. Now, after a year of sleepless nights, we might be wishing we had slept when we could, but we are grateful for every moment we have had with our little stinker. We love our little Finners more than I think we ever could have imagined a year ago and I think everyone who knows her understands how easy this is. Happy Birthday, Finley!

Peek-a-boo!

This is for the Auntie's and Uncle who can't be here to play this with her in real life. Finley misses you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love you all!

Long Time No Blog

Oh, Finley has been keeping us so busy, I haven't had a chance to get to a computer! Now that I have the chance, I realize I have A LOT of pictures to share. The first two photos show Finley in her bright and happy shirt and squeaky shoes from Grandma Julie and theskinny jeans I bought her last weekend. I couldn't pass the trend up - it's 100 times cuter on a baby. When we got home tonight, she found the car keys and kept trying to put them on over her head. I finally figured out that she was thinking about my school keys, which I let her play with. I gave her my school keys and she went into the kitchen to "open the mail". She looks like a little adult. Oh she's growing up so fast ;) The third picture shows Finley after she has gotten into her favorite drawer in the kitchen. It has all of her bottles, nipples, plates, bowls, sippy cups, etc. in it and it is at the perfect level for her to empty and restock. A couple of times, she has walked around the house with a bottle top in her mouth. She doesn't seem to mind that it's like 5 times the size of a normal binky. All of the final pics except for the picture of Finley in her highchair displaying her newly-found fork skills, are from last weekend at Grandma and Grandpa B.'s. Finley loves dollys and it is so sweet to see her playing with Auntie Hannah's old doll, Rachel. Rachel's about the same size as Finley, but she carried her around and put her to sleep in her doll-sized bed. Rachel has been very loved in her life. While Finners was playing at home with Grandpa, the big kids got to go ice skating with Sadie for her first time ever on the ice. She was good, too, which is not that surprising since she is her Aunt Cassie's niece (jk). She actually skated around without holding anyone's hands and only fell a couple of times - just like her Uncle Cam! Also a highlight from the weekend was when Cam and Phil got to play Barbies with Sadie. It almost looks like the boys were having more fun than Sadie!