Part 2 of Finn's Birthday

So here is a picture of our monkey with his shirt I made him, isn't he cute :)

Here he is with our other monkey...

Cake time. I remember Selah had to be prompted as to where her cake was, you know where you place their hand into the cake so they get the idea. Yeah, Finn didn't need any help. He just dug right in. He was trying to do it face first and if the plate hadn't been so wide he would have stuck his whole head in it I think! Selah of course had been telling us the whole week that she was going to get to "help" Finn blow out his candle.

Enjoying every minute of his party!

Getting him to hold still to snap a picture was quite the challenge. Gifts followed suit. I think we lost him three separate times while opening gifts and would stop and say, "where did Finn go?" Yep, he couldn't stay in one place long enough to open presents, but Selah didn't mind :) She stepped in to help him out.

Happy Birthday Finn! We love you so much. Your energy and spunk for life, your laughter, and your love towards your sis. You are already a little man - a toddler! We pray that God will continue to bless you as you grow up into the man He wants you to be.

The day has come, Finn is one!

Now my husband would say this birthday was over the top. I would say, it was just right for my little man! Just keep in mind, I LOVE the decorating and little details planning part of the party scene. I may seem stressed the week of getting it to all come together, so thanks to Tadd for helping me, but I did truly enjoy his party to the fullest!

We had a meal beforehand with family and friends.

The little goody bags for the kids.


His monkey cake we went bananas over :)

And the dessert table



His monkey smash cake

And all of our guests - thanks for coming everyone, for sharing in our day and for the gifts! We love you all! And we missed you Dad G!

One for the memory books...

My aunt and uncle flew in from California this week which means lots of family time. We got together pretty much for three straight nights with all my cousins, lots of chaos but great times and memories with cousins. Friday night we were at my parents for Easter with my dad's side of the family. And Finn had his first Easter egg hunt, a little late but they loved it all the same. Here they are preparing for the great hunt - yes, our family is a little goofy (or for sure Trent that is!) J/K

Since we wanted to keep Finn's birthday all about him on Saturday, we decided to celebrate/remember Laynie's birthday on Friday night. It is hard to believe that she would have been 4 already this year! Her and Finn's birthdays are only two days apart - hers April 30th and his May 2. I made the annual ladybug cupcakes and each of the kiddos got to blow out candles for Laynie.



Then I had "high hopes" (no pun intended) for the sky lanterns I had bought online. I imagined this solemn moment as the lantern floats effortlessly into the air, soaring higher and higher until we couldn't see them anymore. Didn't quite happen like that. First off, I should have read that winds cannot be above 5 mph...slight difference than the gusts we had that night :) My family were great sports though and after a few minor adjustments we even got one to sail off.


and it was beautiful!

so beautiful we decided we must try again, with two at the same time. It went great until...

one of them headed straight for the telephone pole and there it stayed.

After the drama subsided and the fire was put out from the lantern we still had to time to reflect on our first baby girl. We love you Laynie and so do your sister and brother!

Sunday we got to visit Laynie's grave. Selah had picked out a flower at the store to give to her so we went to put that out. She hasn't got the concept yet I don't think that Laynie was actually here, but if you ask her she will tell you for sure. She loves Laynie, she is her sister, and she lives in heaven with Jesus. She always gives Laynie's pictures kisses around the house. During the lantern flying she started crying. She wanted to be in heaven with Laynie and was upset she couldn't go up there too. Each moment like that melts my heart, the innocence of children and to know that someday she WILL get to meet her sister who spent such a short time on this earth, but filled our hearts with such love!

Easter 2011

Happy Easter everyone! This picture was actually taken last week on Palm Sunday, but I couldn't resist posting it now - the two kiddos in their Easter outfits for church. Can you believe how grown up they are looking?




Saturday our family plans changed...Dad G got in a car accident and although he is doing well under the circumstances, Easter just wasn't the same this year. While Tadd and his sisters were at the hospital, Doug and I stayed back with the kids and decorated the eggs since they were looking forward to it. It was serious business! Selah's first time and she just kept wanting to color them all pink! Sunday we got to go visit Dad in the hospital and eat out together afterwards.



Finn couldn't join in the fun so instead he just sat and ate a peep :) And the next picture I posted so you can see all the teeth he is still working on, top four and the additional one on the bottom next to his middle two. He also is still not walking, but will stand up in the middle of the room and just "hang out"



This Sunday morning as we celebrated our Savior rising from the tomb, we set out Selah and Finn's baskets...a bunch of sugar that is. They were spoiled again this year, baskets from us and each set of grandparents, enough sugar to last us for the next few months! LOL!


Hoping you all could cherish the moments you had with your families this Easter weekend. We are so blessed. Praising God for Dad G's safety and praying for a speedy recovery!

Florida's Conclusion

These last pictures are kind of all mixed in together. Finn loved the beach. He wanted to eat the sand as any 11-month old would, so mostly he got to be dipped in the ocean and then took his morning nap in the stroller while we were there. Next year...he will be allowed to explore a little more :) He loves his Aunt Ti Ti! Funny story, I had Selah's hair all done in puff balls so it wouldn't get all sandy and by the time we got to the beach her rubberbands had snapped, so this is what it ended up being that day. Not to worry, the next time they stayed in and backups were brought with us! She loved collecting shells, building sand castles, and swimming in the ocean. She just couldn't get enough of it. Of course part of the vacation experience is eating out every night and with it, having great seafood. We ate at Yabba's on Fifth Avenue in Naples one night. Selah and Aunt Ti Ti being "frightened" She met many statues on our walk down Fifth Ave. She also got in a bit of boutique shopping where she informed grandma while trying on some sunglasses, "look grandma, it MATCHES my outfit!" Oh yeah, we are going to have quite the handful with this girly girl! And speaking of statues, this one was found outside our house. One day I catch Selah talking as we walk in the front door. I look to my side and here stands Selah talking...."Hi Mary!" Yep, she named this statue Mary (I am assuming after Jesus's mother - I can't figure out anything else) and proceeded to have a conversation with her every time we went by, which drove Tadd up the wall. I thought it was humerous, but by the end of our trip I think Tadd was a little nervous about all the time she was spending with her :) We had her pose for her picture with Mary before she gave her a kiss goodnight for the evening. And this brings our trip to a close. Another year of great weather spent with family. Thanks also to mom and dad and Tiff for giving us a date night where we could eat our food in silence without shoveling it down as fast as we could! So many memories in Bonita. We love the area and now that it has been a few years with our kids, I love the fact that I can remember what they were doing at the exact point the previous year. Time is flying, way too fast that is. And as always, these trips make me remember who is missing...our precious Laynie. Whose 4th birthday would be this year and is only two days before Finn turns one. During my moments of reflection in the afternoons I couldn't help but think how far God has brought our family. How He has stretched our family, grown us and molded us how He saw fit. And even though it was painful, we are stronger and more fully knit together. We had endured! And now hopefully we can worship Him more fully in the year to come. So here is to a renewed hope and security in knowing He is our Savior, our King!