On Tuesday Finn slept all night and got up at 5. We had breakfast at 7 and I swept and mopped and cleaned up a bit. I talked to Ana Maria on the phone for a bit. While Finn napped I got a few things done and took a shower. Rose joined. Then we went to get a birth certificate for Finn at the records office but the computers were down. So we went to Nordstrom Rack and tried on shoes. Rose said it was her favorite part of the day... It IS pretty fun. Then we got Cold Stone. I get a TON of sweet comments about my cute kids and about enjoying this time. Then we went home and watched movies, then went to Aviara park after Finn took a second nap, then to get gas and groceries. Wednesday we had a play date at our house with my cousins, Andrea and Jo and Walker and Jordan and Barbara. Stephanie couldn't come unfortunately! Then after the kids and I went on a walk by the ocean at the strand, and got Cold Stone again in the Village. Oh boy I need to work out after this week- haven't been much. I just got the kids in bed and finished the dishes. They have both been very sweet and mostly well-behaved, I think because I've been playing with them a lot and giving them a lot of personal attention. And I've been feeling pretty good too, so I think it rubs off on them. Surprising when I've been doing 5 am every morning! Hopefully tomorrow I can go to Zumba if Finn will let me push his nap back. That and visiting teaching are the only things on the agenda. Maybe make banana bread. Oh, and my house is still quite clean. Amazing.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Single mom
While Raimo is in DC I'm keeping very busy with the babies. The last few days have been very full, and I'm pretty tired when my head hits the pillow. Rose has been my little best friend and companion. On Monday i had to nap to recover from the night before (Finn was up at 10, 10:30, 12:30-3, and up for the day at 5:30). Finn and I woke up from naps at 9:45 and we had to all dress and drive to ballet which starts at 10. We were late. Rose is learning a tap routine and actually did some of it! After that, I decided we should stop at In N Out for lunch. We got inside and had put in our order when I realized I left my wallet in my other purse. Darn! So we went and got back in the car and I was about to take it as a sign that we should not spend the money and just eat at home. Then a man came outside and said he overheard what happened and would like to buy me lunch. I protested, and he said he had extra money and would really like to do that for me. He was really persistent and I felt a bit embarrassed, but decided to let someone do something nice for me. As I was eating, I realized all the not-so-ideal components of the day had really added up- no sleep, husband out of town, being late, no wallet. I hadn't really even noticed it was hard until someone did me a service. And I realized Heavenly Father was watching over me in the small details of my life, sending me sweet angels. And I started to cry at In n Out. By the time we left the man had gone. But I asked his friends who were still there to tell him that my husband was out of town and I had been up all night with my baby and to tell him I really appreciated it. It was sprinkling as we left and Rose was delighted. We got home and Finn took another nap and Rose and I played with her new play dough-- it kept her entertained for over an hour. We watched some tv, had dinner, and I put the kids to bed early. I spent the evening making practice tracks for the stake choir.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Finn Bear
Finn always goes right to this little corner of the nursery and finds the two parts of the princess castle that make music. I think it's so funny- EVERY time he just goes right for the parts that makes noise, opens up Ariel's castle and opens the noise-making treasure chest. He cracks me up. He makes the sounds go off, and that's it. Now he's at the kitchen opening all the cupboards and drawers, pulling out all the food and dishes. His favorite past times.
It's serious business. His other favorite is going to the humidifier and climbing up it and taking off the lid. Just his little routine.
He's borrowing an old pink binky of Rose's. Sorry little guy.
He's making some nice noises- kind of just sounds behind that binky. Also, he has a shark on his bum ad a shirt that says "little mate". Babies are the best! I love smelling his breath after he wakes up. I love the way he looks all around when I'm holding him... Just looking side to side, taking in the world with a straight face. I guess he's not impressed?! All week I have been in mourning that Finn is almost one year old. I am Sooo sad. He has been the best baby: so happy and so easy and just so much fun. I re read a bunch of post from Rose's first year. I forgot about so much of it- it was so wonderful. These are such precious times when they are babies. I wish I could slow it down.
Here is Finn when we had a rare outing alone to the grocery store. It felt like a special date with my boyfriend! He sat there so pleasantly and quietly as we walked aisle to aisle, And I had three different people comment on how well-behaved and sweet he was to just sit nicely. He is SO adorable! Ugh!
Also, he clicks his tongue. What a trick! He likes to copy us!
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Current Events
Currently Netflixing: Breaking Bad (it freaks me out sometimes), Call the Midwife, Love it or List it
Currently Rose: is 3 1/2 and the terrible two's live on! Why!?? She has gone back to throwing lots of tantrums. I am trying to learn to focus on what's really at the heart of the matter/what she is really feeling rather than just focus so much on the argument or tantrum at hand. She has a very tender heart, but over the last few years it's been harder to see the 'sweet Rose' through all that emotion and sass. She is soooo smart and is doing a great job of figuring out what letters and sounds each word begins with. She knows R, S, J, F, among others (which stand for Rose, Savannah, Jessica, Finn). She can tell us multiple words that start with the same sound. Sometimes she'll just say a few words like "pirate, party, pillow!" and wait for me to respond... "yes those all start with the 'p' sound. Great job Rose!"
Currently Finn: is 11 months as of yesterday! Noooooo! I can't believe my baby has grown up this fast! I definitely mourn the passing of each stage because I love his baby-ness so much! But currently Finn is a really great sleeper, as he has been most of his life (other than the times he has a cold or teething issues). He goes to bed easily, around 7 pm and wakes up always too early, around 5 am or 6 if I'm really lucky. He takes two fantastic naps. His morning nap is no trouble-- he goes right down. Lately it's about a two hour nap. He also takes an afternoon nap, which takes more persuasion. I have to let him cry, then go hold him and put him back down, then repeat the process a few times. He falls asleep in my arms half the time. It is always so sweet. He used to fall asleep on my shoulder, with his hands and arms tucked between his belly and my body. I loved how he would just get into that position as soon as I took him into his room and turned on the humidifier. What a good boy! He doesn't do that so much now, but still understands it's time to sleep and doesn't give me too much trouble. I have to hold him in the cradle position now. He celebrated 11 months by cutting his 7th tooth! Wow Finn! He will have the most toothsome grin for his first birthday! He has a rather large mouth compared to me and Rose. He opens it so wide for a big smile or laugh. I love that dimpled, quick smile so much; it has brought me more joy than maybe anything else over the last year! He has the cutest "man laugh". It is kind of a belly laugh and it's kind of low/husky for a baby. He loves to laugh. Rose likes to make him laugh--all you have to do is catch his eye and start laughing. He likes when I pretend I'm going to bite him or tickle him. He is still on the small side compared to all the other boys. He's probably around 20 lbs--we'll find out next month. But he is so much sturdier and thicker than Rose ever was. He has little man hands--kind of wide and big. You can see his little muscles even though they aren't developed yet. I remember noticing his little forearm muscles even when he was a newborn. Boys and girls are just so different!. He has teeny little hairs on his arms and legs too! Anyway, he seems heavy to me! He wears 9 month clothing (some 6-9 month stuff is still in the mix). But he fills it out and will probably be ready for 12 month clothes soon. He has always been pretty spot-on in the clothing size vs his age. He is very active and crawls really really fast. It's adorable. He's still pulling himself up and walking around holding onto things. He can balance for a bit without holding on. He hasn't been as vocal as Rose was at this age. He is just barely starting to make baby sounds like babababa and ooooh and mamama. He is a much more physical person than she was. She was trying to communicate, he is cuddling and climbing and EATING! He eats so much. He literally shoves food into his mouth with the palm of his hand. He eats whatever the rest of us are eating. Sandwiches for lunch, pasta and green beans for dinner, oatmeal, toast, flautas, quesadillas, soup... you name it. He still drinks a bottle before going to sleep and also first thing in the morning (while cuddling with me in my bed--such a special part of the day! I love holding his little body, and it's a rare time that he will lay still by me). He is starting to get into mischief... and I think he knows it! Noooo! He pulls the movies out of the cupboard and opens them! He opens the bathroom cupboard (while hanging on and standing!) He unrolls the toilet paper roll, he pulls the food out of the play kitchen. He's not too messy right now, but I know what's coming!!! Anyway, this was supposed to be a short currently post!
Currently cleaning: bathrooms, wiped down kitchen chairs, mopped the floors and vacuumed, and did all laundry and bedding this week. If I don't mention it, no one will know that it happened!
Currently accessorizing: my house. I've hung some curtain rods and big shelves in our house, along with some new picture frames. Raimo also bought me a cowhide rug for my birthday that I had been wanting... he really surprised me. Our house looks a little different from month to month. I am trying to make it a little more put together. We should probably get a new couch in the near future. But not till I get the piano tuned first. Oh my gosh! Some of the high notes make me tip my head to the right.
Currently playing on the piano: some choir music. I am directing the stake choir for Stake Conference in 3 weeks. I am excited about the songs: Abide with Me and Be Still and Know. They are beautiful arrangements. I'm also younger than pretty much everyone singing so I feel a little nervous, but thankfully not too nervous. I'm also working on music for our ward choir.
Currently thinking about: the special night for Sisters we had last Sunday where Elder and Sister Oaks spoke to us. I got to sing How Great Thou Art that night and it was a special thing for me. Their messages have been in my mind all week-- I have never been to a meeting quite like it. It was so inspired. They had a Q & A session afterward and I was amazed at the ease with which he responded to every situation and question. Everything out of Elder Oaks' mouth was profound. It strengthened my testimony that the 12 apostles are really witnesses of Jesus Christ and that they speak with His power and authority.
Currently feeling: very happy with my towhead babies. I have been enjoying them a lot the last few months. Things always slow down after the holidays, and we've just been spending a lot of time at home instead of running from place to place. I feel like I'm gotten some projects out of the way, gotten caught up on household stuff, and have just had some nice moments with my kids. I'm also starting to get bored though so that means find new projects to start. More trips to the beach, library, and grocery store are in order. And I still have to finish our 2014 family photo book and make Finn's one-year photo book. Projects nagging my mind. Arg!
Currently exercising: at the YMCA-- zumba, yoga, cycling, and ballet fitness are some classes I've liked. It just takes a lot of effort to get the kids out and all checked in to their respective center in time for my class. I'm enjoying it so far though. Sometimes I look around and think maybe I need to get my hair set in rollers to fit in.
Currently cooking: dinner more often. It seems to be an important part of our family dynamic. We have a prayer. And we have a family theme that we recite every night at dinner: Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Sometimes we sing the whole song. Rose is still pretty uninterested in eating anything other than bread and sugar and dairy. But when we force her, she will eat dinner. Sometimes bribery works best, and she gets to have dessert if she eats a good dinner. Finn takes no bribery :) We had family night last Monday and talked about our family theme. It was a big hit with Rose and she recreated the whole thing yesterday with her barbies, Cinderella and Anna and Rapunzel. It was funny.
Currently working on: doing the things that scare me. The good things that push me out of my comfort zone. It's one of my new year's resolutions. I have a couple of long-term goals that I revisited from my journal a few years ago, and I think I'm gonna make some headway on one this year. I'm excited. Cautiously excited? I mean boldly excited!
Currently reading: .... I'm not! I should! Well, Raimo and I read a little scriptures together at night... most of the time. We are in D&C and 2 Corinthians right now. I should pick up a book soon.
I need to blog more.
Currently Rose: is 3 1/2 and the terrible two's live on! Why!?? She has gone back to throwing lots of tantrums. I am trying to learn to focus on what's really at the heart of the matter/what she is really feeling rather than just focus so much on the argument or tantrum at hand. She has a very tender heart, but over the last few years it's been harder to see the 'sweet Rose' through all that emotion and sass. She is soooo smart and is doing a great job of figuring out what letters and sounds each word begins with. She knows R, S, J, F, among others (which stand for Rose, Savannah, Jessica, Finn). She can tell us multiple words that start with the same sound. Sometimes she'll just say a few words like "pirate, party, pillow!" and wait for me to respond... "yes those all start with the 'p' sound. Great job Rose!"
Currently Finn: is 11 months as of yesterday! Noooooo! I can't believe my baby has grown up this fast! I definitely mourn the passing of each stage because I love his baby-ness so much! But currently Finn is a really great sleeper, as he has been most of his life (other than the times he has a cold or teething issues). He goes to bed easily, around 7 pm and wakes up always too early, around 5 am or 6 if I'm really lucky. He takes two fantastic naps. His morning nap is no trouble-- he goes right down. Lately it's about a two hour nap. He also takes an afternoon nap, which takes more persuasion. I have to let him cry, then go hold him and put him back down, then repeat the process a few times. He falls asleep in my arms half the time. It is always so sweet. He used to fall asleep on my shoulder, with his hands and arms tucked between his belly and my body. I loved how he would just get into that position as soon as I took him into his room and turned on the humidifier. What a good boy! He doesn't do that so much now, but still understands it's time to sleep and doesn't give me too much trouble. I have to hold him in the cradle position now. He celebrated 11 months by cutting his 7th tooth! Wow Finn! He will have the most toothsome grin for his first birthday! He has a rather large mouth compared to me and Rose. He opens it so wide for a big smile or laugh. I love that dimpled, quick smile so much; it has brought me more joy than maybe anything else over the last year! He has the cutest "man laugh". It is kind of a belly laugh and it's kind of low/husky for a baby. He loves to laugh. Rose likes to make him laugh--all you have to do is catch his eye and start laughing. He likes when I pretend I'm going to bite him or tickle him. He is still on the small side compared to all the other boys. He's probably around 20 lbs--we'll find out next month. But he is so much sturdier and thicker than Rose ever was. He has little man hands--kind of wide and big. You can see his little muscles even though they aren't developed yet. I remember noticing his little forearm muscles even when he was a newborn. Boys and girls are just so different!. He has teeny little hairs on his arms and legs too! Anyway, he seems heavy to me! He wears 9 month clothing (some 6-9 month stuff is still in the mix). But he fills it out and will probably be ready for 12 month clothes soon. He has always been pretty spot-on in the clothing size vs his age. He is very active and crawls really really fast. It's adorable. He's still pulling himself up and walking around holding onto things. He can balance for a bit without holding on. He hasn't been as vocal as Rose was at this age. He is just barely starting to make baby sounds like babababa and ooooh and mamama. He is a much more physical person than she was. She was trying to communicate, he is cuddling and climbing and EATING! He eats so much. He literally shoves food into his mouth with the palm of his hand. He eats whatever the rest of us are eating. Sandwiches for lunch, pasta and green beans for dinner, oatmeal, toast, flautas, quesadillas, soup... you name it. He still drinks a bottle before going to sleep and also first thing in the morning (while cuddling with me in my bed--such a special part of the day! I love holding his little body, and it's a rare time that he will lay still by me). He is starting to get into mischief... and I think he knows it! Noooo! He pulls the movies out of the cupboard and opens them! He opens the bathroom cupboard (while hanging on and standing!) He unrolls the toilet paper roll, he pulls the food out of the play kitchen. He's not too messy right now, but I know what's coming!!! Anyway, this was supposed to be a short currently post!
Currently cleaning: bathrooms, wiped down kitchen chairs, mopped the floors and vacuumed, and did all laundry and bedding this week. If I don't mention it, no one will know that it happened!
Currently accessorizing: my house. I've hung some curtain rods and big shelves in our house, along with some new picture frames. Raimo also bought me a cowhide rug for my birthday that I had been wanting... he really surprised me. Our house looks a little different from month to month. I am trying to make it a little more put together. We should probably get a new couch in the near future. But not till I get the piano tuned first. Oh my gosh! Some of the high notes make me tip my head to the right.
Currently playing on the piano: some choir music. I am directing the stake choir for Stake Conference in 3 weeks. I am excited about the songs: Abide with Me and Be Still and Know. They are beautiful arrangements. I'm also younger than pretty much everyone singing so I feel a little nervous, but thankfully not too nervous. I'm also working on music for our ward choir.
Currently thinking about: the special night for Sisters we had last Sunday where Elder and Sister Oaks spoke to us. I got to sing How Great Thou Art that night and it was a special thing for me. Their messages have been in my mind all week-- I have never been to a meeting quite like it. It was so inspired. They had a Q & A session afterward and I was amazed at the ease with which he responded to every situation and question. Everything out of Elder Oaks' mouth was profound. It strengthened my testimony that the 12 apostles are really witnesses of Jesus Christ and that they speak with His power and authority.
Currently feeling: very happy with my towhead babies. I have been enjoying them a lot the last few months. Things always slow down after the holidays, and we've just been spending a lot of time at home instead of running from place to place. I feel like I'm gotten some projects out of the way, gotten caught up on household stuff, and have just had some nice moments with my kids. I'm also starting to get bored though so that means find new projects to start. More trips to the beach, library, and grocery store are in order. And I still have to finish our 2014 family photo book and make Finn's one-year photo book. Projects nagging my mind. Arg!
Currently exercising: at the YMCA-- zumba, yoga, cycling, and ballet fitness are some classes I've liked. It just takes a lot of effort to get the kids out and all checked in to their respective center in time for my class. I'm enjoying it so far though. Sometimes I look around and think maybe I need to get my hair set in rollers to fit in.
Currently cooking: dinner more often. It seems to be an important part of our family dynamic. We have a prayer. And we have a family theme that we recite every night at dinner: Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Sometimes we sing the whole song. Rose is still pretty uninterested in eating anything other than bread and sugar and dairy. But when we force her, she will eat dinner. Sometimes bribery works best, and she gets to have dessert if she eats a good dinner. Finn takes no bribery :) We had family night last Monday and talked about our family theme. It was a big hit with Rose and she recreated the whole thing yesterday with her barbies, Cinderella and Anna and Rapunzel. It was funny.
Currently working on: doing the things that scare me. The good things that push me out of my comfort zone. It's one of my new year's resolutions. I have a couple of long-term goals that I revisited from my journal a few years ago, and I think I'm gonna make some headway on one this year. I'm excited. Cautiously excited? I mean boldly excited!
Currently reading: .... I'm not! I should! Well, Raimo and I read a little scriptures together at night... most of the time. We are in D&C and 2 Corinthians right now. I should pick up a book soon.
I need to blog more.
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