Time Out!

I picked Finley up from school on Friday and her teacher said she was a little sassy during the day. Her report card said she had a hard time listening. I tried to get the story out of her and she wouldn't tell me anything except she had to take a time-out. Tonight, she decided to spill the beans. I guess she "wasn't hitting", which just the mere mention of it by her makes me think maybe she was, but she did mention having to go to the office for not throwing her food away. She has been testing her boundaries lately, that's for sure!

Rough Night

Finley and Mommy stayed at Auntie Megan's last night to escape our freezing cold house with no furnace. In the middle of the night, she fell out of bed and was awake for the next two hours. During those two hours, she tossed, turned, and whined about everything imaginable, including how thirsty she was. After an hour or so, when she said, "I thirsty," I said sternly, "Me, too, Finley." She said, "No, Mommy. My thirsty first." Then, very sheepishly she said, "OK?" I couldn't help but smile to myself in the dark. Until, she kept kicking me in the head and telling me how she wanted to sleep on the couch, and in Sadie's room, and everywhere else but where she was. I finally told her I was going to leave her in that room to sleep by herself, so she stopped for a little bit and tucked herself right up against me. I was just about asleep when she says, very quietly, "You there, Mommy?" As if she couldn't feel me! Needless to say, I needed a big coffee this morning.

Oh My Dannit!

Finley just fell over a pile of dvds. Immediately, she said, "Oh my dannit!" Then, without anything out of my mouth, she said, "We don't say that...Oh my goodness!" At least I know she's listening.

Hula Hoop!

The Most Beautiful Fall Day EVER!

Mother Nature must have felt really bad about the October she gave us and made up for it today! With the sun finally shining in our windows this morning, it was hard not to get up and at 'em. We took a lovely walk and then spent the rest of the morning packing up the backyard. It was like a summer day in our little backyard paradise and Finley soaked up the sun while she painted a box. She's so funny - and OCD. Everytime she paints, she keeps all her colors in little sections. I can't get my 11-14 year olds to keep the paints clean and she washes her brush between colors and dries it off every time. Tonight, I had to work on some artwork for school and I told her she wasn't allowed to touch my expensive art supplies. She just couldn't stand it and had to play with my Prismacolor Markers (they cost almost $300!), and my Prismacolor colored pencils, and my acrylic paint tubes. What's so funny, though, is that we can completely let her play with those things because she just wants to sort them by color and line them up! Then, she sat on the floor and colored with Daddy on Mommy's old desk calendar. She colored a different color in each day. Perfect rows and shapes. She also proved how smart she is while I was painting for school. I was making a banner for the "Spectrum Hall of Fame." She pointed to each of the letters and said, "That's F for Finley. That's A for Annie. That's E for Emerson. That C for Cassie and Cam. That's M for Megan. That's S for Sadie. That's L for Luke...etc." with no coaching from me! Then, out of the blue she said, "Oh, Cameron!" in exactly the tone I take with him when I'm frustrated. What a little sponge!

P.S. She woke Cam up this morning to go to the potty at 6:30 and stayed dry ALL DAY!!! She goes by herself when she feels like it and wipes her own bottom. What a big girl!

Halloween 2009

Finley had a great Halloween this year. The weekend before Halloween, Finley went to a party at Sadie's church. They did all sorts of fun things and really tired themselves out! Then, Finley spent the week trying all her costumes on, practicing her make-up with Mommy (Mommy was attempting to be a Picasso painting but scrapped that idea - next year), and decorating her pumpkins. On Halloween, she helped pass out candy with Grandma Julie. She did great - until a kid came with his head tucked into his shirt so it looked like he was headless. I knew that would freak her out because it is exactly the kind of thing that would have freaked me out. She's STILL talking about that, in fact.

Our Little Actress

Here is Finley throwing a fit. She has truly mastered the art of sticking out her bottom lip and wailing as if she is crying; however, she still needs to learn the more advanced art of conjuring fake tears at any given moment.