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!