Christmas, According to Finley

Long ago, Grandma Brenda gave us the coolest Advent Calendar where, instead of chocolates behind each little door, every day has a little book you read and then hang on the tree instead.  Every year, even before Finley could understand, Finley and I have read her story and hung it on the tree as part of our Christmas bedtime routine.  In the chaos of the last week, we had gotten a little behind so we had a few to read the other night.  One of the stories was about the Wise Men and she, of course, was very excited since she gets to be a Wise Man in her Christmas pageant at church.  The next one was about the Romans.  She asked if it was about Shane Rohman, which was funny enough, but then she said, "Mom, you know that night when Shane Rohman and Josh - not Daddy's Josh but that other Josh (Sjogren) - were here?  I saw a cigarette on the patio when they left.  And I know it wasn't Daddy because he doesn't smoke (insert guffaw), and it wasn't Josh's so I think it was Shane Rohman's."  I said, "Well, how do you know it wasn't Josh's?"  To which Finley replied, "Because I always see, like, teenagers and people smoking outside and Josh doesn't look like them.  Shane looks like those people who smoke.  I mean, I know he's not a teenager, but he just looks like them."  As if that wasn't enough, we continued to read some more books - we were VERY behind - and we read about King Herod.  Again, because Herod is a big part of their church program, Finley got very excited.  She said, "HEROD!  I know Herod!  But what does King Herod look like?"  I said I didn't know but we could look it up.  She said, "Well I know who Herod is.  He's Mike.  And he's really nice."  Clearly, Mike is the guy who plays Herod in the pageant so I tried to explain that Mike is not really Herod and that might not be what Herod looked like.  After a couple of confused interactions and me, again, telling her we could look it up, Finley said, "No, I'll just ask Barb."  Barb is the choir director at church who runs the Christmas program and of course, she is the be-all and end-all of Christmas knowledge :)


On a secular note, about a week ago, I wrapped all the presents I had bought for everyone in the family.  Against my better judgement, I just HAD to put them under the tree and I even felt the need to put some small ones in the stockings because my OCD personality just couldn't bear the thought of them being wrapped and sitting in hiding until Christmas Day.  Pretty much right away, Finley noticed that there was a present under the tree to Cam, from Santa.  It didn't take her long to ask enough questions where I admitted the present was from me, but that I wanted to trick Daddy and make him think Santa had given him a present.  I thought I was in the clear with the stockings because you literally could not tell they were in there; however, tonight, Finley decided she wanted to go through the stockings and make sure she knew which stocking belonged to each of us.  Of course, she found a couple of presents in them.  She pulled the presents out, incredulously, and declared that Santa had left some presents in the socks.  I quickly said that Santa must have come early so he could get a head-start and not have to work so hard on Christmas Eve and Cam chimed in that he probably knew we weren't going to be home for Christmas so he maybe tried to drop some off early.  At first, she seemed to buy this.  After about 10 minutes, Finley whispered in my ear, "Mom, did you put those presents in there? "  I tried to play it cool and I said, "Why would you think that?"  She said, "Because I know you tried to trick Daddy and that writing looks like yours."  I thought I did a great job of disguising my handwriting, but I guess I'm going to have to work a LOT harder to pull this Christmas thing off!!!

Finley's First Conferences

Here are some samples of Finley's work at Kindergarten and Kids Count since she became a kindergartner.  It is clearly evident that she has inherited a serious attention to detail and superior fine motor skills ;)  She is doing great now that she has the routine of going to kindergarten down.  Finley loves to play teacher as she reads (yes, she actually reads) books to whomever will listen.  She bought a book at her school's book fair and read it to me the next night.  When she plays school, she shows the pages and talks about how she uses the pictures as clues.  We basically know exactly what happens at school because her favorite thing to do is to play teacher (and she's a very good one so she must have a great one!)  She has gone to two birthday parties with friends in her class already and she has a new best friend, Claire.  Claire's mom and I worked together at Twin Oaks and were pregnant together so it's fun to see our little ones get along so great.  We think it's because they ate lunch together every day in utero.  Besides school, Finley is just about to finish up swimming lessons until spring.  She has mastered so many skills and is working on her butterfly (!) so we are going to focus on dance until the weather turns warm.  Mommy can't wait to dance in the recital with Finley this year!

Finley's First Day of Kindergarten!

 

Finley went to every kindergarten activity they had thrown since spring of last year.  She had met her principal, her teacher, and other students in her class.  She had gone to her classroom with her mom and her dad separately.  She had eaten lunch in her school cafeteria.  She had read books about going to school.  She had gone school shopping for clothes and she had all her supplies and a new backpack.  She was prepared.  Or so we thought...

 

The day before school started, Finley told Mommy, "I tell people I'm excited for school, but I'm really scared."  Mommy told her about her students who come to the high school for the first time and are scared.  She told her about herself starting as a teacher and being scared.  She told her about all her friends who were starting kindergarten and would be scared, too.  Then, Mommy gave her a melatonin and hoped she'd sleep through the night.

 

Mommy woke up with back-to-school jitters just before Finley woke up and told her she had a tummy ache.  Minutes later, Mommy's alarm went off.  "Let's get your pretty outfit on," Mommy said after holding her baby for a few minutes.  "My tummy hurts so bad, Mama," Finley said, and the tears started flowing.  Minutes later, they weren't flowing from just Finley's eyes anymore.

 

As Mommy tried to get ready for her first day of school, Finley called from the living room, "Mama, I want you to hold me."  Mommy walked into the room to comfort her big girl just as Finley grabbed her mouth and gagged.  Mommy ushered her to the bathroom and Finley let her nerves loose.  Again, tears were flowing.

 

"Do you feel better?  Let's take your special first day of school picture!"  Mommy tried to sound excited.  "Can I bring my blankie?  Can I use my binky?" 

"Will you smile for me?"

A fake smile plastered across her face.  Her eyes looked red, tired, and scared.

A moment of bravery came and a with it, a real smile.

Then, the nerves...

Then, the bravery as Mommy helped her into her booster seat and clicked her seatbelt tight across her.

 

When everyone returned home from their big days, Finley refused to talk about her time at school.  Her tummy still hurt and she cried in Mommy's lap.  But, she put her favorite scratch-and-sniff shirt on, helped pack her lunch for tomorrow, and went easily to bed so here's to baby steps for our big girl...and Mommy.

Finley Lost a Tooth - And Another One!

The last two days have been very exciting ones for our little Finners.  Yesterday morning, Finley woke up on the wrong side of the bed after attempting a "campout" in our backyard with Sadie the night before.  Since she stayed up too late, she was very contrary and wouldn't get dressed.  She was making growling faces as me as I tried to get her shirt on over her head.  In a fury, I pulled her shirt down hard over her head - and it got caught on her tooth, pulling it right out!  Of course, she panicked a bit since she was bleeding; and to make matters worse, we couldn't find her tooth since it flew somewhere in the action.  Just the day before, she had asked me if you could swallow a tooth and I said, yes, but I had never known anyone who had done that, so when she couldn't find her tooth it made her a bit nervous that she would be finding it later ;)  After bringing her to school, I did find it in the carpet, so when she returned from school, Finley put her tooth in her little Pinnochio container that Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Kevin brought from Italy for just this occasion.  As she prepared for the visit from the tooth fairy, I could hear her asking the tooth fairy over and over for "glitter, chocolate coins, and an ipod touch."  This morning, she was surprised by a white/blackboard and dry erase crayons, with which she was very satisfied even though it wasn't what she asked for. While she was playing with her new gift, I noticed her other bottom tooth was hanging on by a thread.  I told her to make sure not to lose it if it came out at school and, literally, as the words were coming out of my mouth, she looks at me with a bit of panic and says, "Is it out?!"  It had twisted completely around in her mouth and was barely hanging on, so I gently grabbed it and it didn't even bleed.  I'm not so sure about the chocolate coins and the ipod touch, but I'm pretty sure she will be getting some glitter!

Backyard Barbecue with Friends

Finley had a super fun evening last week when many of her friends came over for a barbecue.  Leah, Laine, and Logan, Sadie and Eloise, and Tula and Elsa came to play with Barbies, go down the slip n' slide, roast marshmallows and eat s'mores, and - best of all - play with Becky's pop bottle rocket blaster!  It's really good to have nerdy teacher friends :)

My beautiful Finley, is almost 5 1/2 and is getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall.  She has wonderful moments of independence, followed by many moments where she wants to be a baby forever.  She is scared of so much, but surprises us with great bravery many times.  She is, as she always has been, a real nature-girl and a hard-worker.  If she has the chance to help Mommy clean, organize, plant, water, shop, etc., she will, and she will do a good job!  She has taken great strides at swimming lessons in the last couple of months.  Today, she swam half the length of the pool by herself!  She went down the waterslide for the first time last week and, now, she can't get enough.  She went to her first "real" concert last month at Dan Patch days and she watched "The Dweebs" perform.  She was completely enthralled and continually reminds us of the performances when she hears songs on the radio that they sang.  A couple of weeks ago, I asked her what what she wants to be when she grows up, and she told me she wanted to be on a stage - not dancing, but with a microphone!  If one of her favorite songs is playing in the car when we get to a destination, she makes us stay in the car until it's over and, while she has her mother's horrible understanding (or lack therof) of lyrics, she has a genius ability to recognize and remember melodies and artists (Cam has taught her to recognize Simon and Garfunkel, several 50s songs, and many random punk melodies).  Finley also got her first library card this summer and has been voraciously going through books about fire trucks, helicopters, and ambulances, as well as many Junie B. Jones books.  She still isn't sleeping in her bed by herself regularly, but every once in awhile, Mommy and Daddy get a break and she stays under her new loft until at least 5 am.  She is an exhausting child, but so special and, despite the many frustrating moments, we adore her with all our hearts.

Happy 5th Birthday, Finley!

Finley had the best 5th birthday ever with 10 of her friends from daycare. Because she was so impressed with her first theater experience of "The Lion King," Finley decided that her birthday would be a Lion King themed dance party. Miss Shana did a GREAT job teaching Finley and her friends an adorable lyrical dance to Finley's favorite song from the play, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" Finley's friends were enthralled with learning the moves and loved being the center of attention as their parents watched. Even though Finley was showered with super amazing, great presents, and she got to make cool crafts, be the star of the show, and eat tasty cupcakes with 10 of her favorite friends, Finley's favorite part of her entire day was when her friends gathered around her at the end and yelled, "Happy Birthday, Finley!" She was the sweetest 5-year-0ld ever!

After the party at Miss Shana's, we came back to our house to celebrate with the grandparents and Uncle Luke, Auntie Megan, Uncle Phil, and Cousin Eloise. Finley did a great job pretending there wasn't a bike under a couple plastic bags in the living room until she got to open it and, because the weather has been so nice this winter, she actually got to try it out! She also got a special doll from Grandma Julie that she made just for her and Grandma Belva proved to be Mary Poppins with the never-ending bag of surprises. Uncle Luke gave Finley a basketball and a hoop, which I'm sure Dad will enjoy as much as Finley will, and Auntie Megan and Uncle Phil and family gave Finley the one thing she asked for - a haircut at a real salon. Auntie Hannah sent a Ladybug Girl costume just perfect for Finster. The whole day was a celebration of all things Finley loves and it couldn't have been more perfect (unless all of her family could be there to celebrate).

We love you, Five-year old Finley!

Happy MLK Day!

When I picked Finley up from school today, I asked her if she learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. She said, "Yes! How'd you know?" As if that wasn't cute enough, she then said, "He taught people how to be treated. He was nice to everyone. But he's not alive anymore. He's in heaven. With God." Tears!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Finley celebrated her 5th Christmas this year by going to Grandma B.'s in Trimont, Grandma and Grandpa's in Waseca, celebrating the Laven Christmas at her house, and heading to Trimont again to ring in the New Year with the Peterson's. It was an exciting Christmas - although it certainly wasn't a white one like last year! Santa was very good to Finley despite the lack of snow to land his sleigh in. Her favorite presents were her three Barbies ("well, actually, they weren't all Barbies - one was a Brat, one was a dance dolly, and one was a Barbie.") She also loves her "brand new boots," as well as her camera, her clothes, her games, her books, her accessories, etc. We have not been bored once since Santa made his appearance!

Besides celebrating the holiday season, Finley went to the dentist for the first time over Winter Break and will be getting her first filling in a couple of weeks, as well. She was a great patient and has been very vigilant about brushing and flossing since her visit. Better than that, she's been working VERY hard at losing the binky for good after the dentist showed her a mold of the teeth of a thumb-sucker and told her she'd have to get braces if she didn't stop! There have been moments of weakness, but she has given her binky to SiSi (who can take it or leave it) in an effort to make herself feel better for not using it.

As for the New Year, which Finley was wide awake for as it is very hard to sleep through all those Peterson's in the room outside your bed, Finley has decided that her resolutions are to "stop using my binky, go the bathroom by myself (she's scared of the vent), sleep in my bed by myself, cook with my mommy without getting burned, ride a bike by myself, and learn how to tie my shoes." It's going to be a BIG year!