Saturday, July 5, 2008

Happy 2nd Birthday Finley!!

Today is our youngest daughter's birthday. Finley turned two years old today. Hard to believe it has been two years since I watched the 4th of July fireworks from my hospital room. (I was being induced 10 days early - my choice - and so I had to go into the hospital the night before). Both of my labor's with my girls were easy. No longer than 6 hours for either. And I didn't have labor pain with either girl. I was lucky enough to get an epidural right away before true labor began. I know, spoiled! I got to spend both labor's with my girls happy and content and just waiting. And neither time did I have to wait long. Both girls were born within 4 pushes. Very easy, both times. Why no more kids, you say? Well, I feel like 3 is the right number for us. We can easily support three kids knowing that college and other large expenses are in front of us. This way I can ensure I can give the three kids I have everything that we want to give to them and not worry about finances.
But this birth was bittersweet. I was happy to be having my last baby, but it was also my last baby. Don't let me fool you - I HATED being pregnant, and I hate the first 6 weeks with a newborn who us up most of the night. But to know I wouldn't have any more children was a little weird. It was an end. I hate endings. But after Finley was born, the very next day, I had surgery to make sure we weren't having any more babies! So that made it final. Today, I am very happy with my decision. To have the baby stage behind us and moving to the independent stage, is a nice place to be.

So our little Finley is 2. 33 days ago, Cainan turned two! This has been a fun summer. We took the side off of her crib last night and she did great. She did fall out, but she didn't wake up. This morning she stirred a little and then climbed back into bed! And during nap, she didn't get up. I thought she would want to walk around the room since now she is "free". Maybe in awhile she will figure that out, but for now, things are going pretty good with that. We hope that this fall (once I finish the quilt for her bed) she will be ready to go into her big girl bed that matches her sisters.

We got Finley just a few presents for her birthday. We had ice cream after dinner tonight, and I took some pictures. (she is allergic to eggs, so no cake for her) She got a baby doll from Arlington, a Sand Box toy from Cainan, and we got her a baby pool for the outside. Oh, and she also got a red bouncy ball because she loves balls! The girl loves being outside, so she should love this.

Today we also went to Home Depot. We were there most of the morning and the kids did great. We had some things we needed to get, plus they were doing a little workshop for kids there. Every first Saturday of the month, Home Depot does kid workshops. Today they were building a bird house. Arlington loved that. She got to put it together with a hammer - she only hit my finger once! Then she brought it home and painted it crazy colors. And now it is hanging in a tree. She was sitting on the porch for awhile hoping a little bird would come, but was disappointed that no one visited yet. I am thinking a little bird seed might do the trick!

But at Home Depot we did get the paint for our master bath and kids bathroom. I am not sure about the kid's bathroom color. We are trying to stick to a color palate in the house, but this color might be a little dark. We will have to see once it goes up. But I needed something a little dark. The people before us loved ducks and painted them on the wall. I am going to prime over them, but I think dark paint is still going to be necessary. We also got hardware for those cabinets doors (which now are ducks - uck). Anwyay, the paint for the master is called "mountain ledge" We saw it in one of the books and it is perfect for that bathroom! Mat also bought a chainsaw and a pick ax. It was like a scary movie the tools he was buying! But he is clearing out for a garden and we are doing some clearing around a beautiful large boulder in our yard so we can plant some flowers.

Let's see - also this week we had a hail storm. This was pretty neat. I took a few pictures. Arlington thought this was the coolest thing ever. Mat came home from work and she said, "Daddy - ice was falling from the sky!". She kept going outside on the porch and gathering it up (once the storm was over) and putting it in the freezer. We still have a few pieces in there! She is too funny.

We haven't had to water our new grass much - it has rained every single day this week and is supposed to rain most of next week. This is the first time I have been glad of rain! For my birthday I was able to go and pick out some plants, so I got the first installment of those today. I got to go all by myself to the garden center, which was really the best part. And they were having a sale on perinneals, so I came back with 8 plants - 4 different kinds. I will have pictures below. Some of them don't have many flowers right now, but you will get the idea. I am undecided about the roses. I need to do more research to see if they are a lot of care.

The kids are doing well. Finley seems to be over her cold. I thought she was getting an ear infection because she has been complaining, so I took her to the doctor. It was just a lot of pressure from wax, thank goodness. But they did weigh her and she is a tiny 22.4 pounds. She goes this coming Friday for her 2 year checkup so we will get more measurements then.

Cainan still have a runny nose. But he is acting fine. He has been babbling more and trying to make bigger sentences. And he is asking more for things on his own instead of just repeating Finley. He is getting there! And I have seen him use his imagination a lot more. He has been watching Mat with his tools and yesterday with a toy screwdriver, he was trying to fix his toy vacuum. Then he sanded his arm with a play sander (which was funny). He also tried to sand Finley, but she wasn't having it. And he tried to drill holes in the wall with his play drill! It was cute.

Arlington is fine. She gave Cainan a little haircut this week without our knowing. Mat noticed yesterday that Cainan has two bald spots on the top of his head. I thought maybe Cainan was pulling his hair, but then the cuts were really straight. So I kind of figured what happened. Arlington did fess up that she did cut his hair. She hear us talking about him getting a hair cut, so she figured she would help. It was kind of funny. :) It is a little noticable, but not too bad. Mat is going to get Cainan a hair cut on Monday, so that will be that.

Arlington is in the wood right now planting some carrots. We will see if they grow or the deer eat them! She has been dying to plant in the garden, so Mat made her a little patch today so see what happens. IT has been fun working outdoors, but it is a lot of work. There are so many things we want to do. It is going to be a long, extensive, daily project, but we love it.

Enjoy the pictures!

2 comments:

The Kovalls said...

Happy Birthday Finley :-)

The Kovalls said...

If you keep referring to our child as EP, look out for Cain, Finn, and Arli. I'm sure if I talk to AJ, he could come up with even better nicknames for them :-)