Bedroom Planning

I take forever to make decorating decisions and sometimes a good mood board or 12 helps me to visualize everything better. Anyway I really want a light color on our walls to warm things up a bit and add a hint of color but still be super neutral and muted. My picks are either gray owl or healing aloe (benjamin moore). I’m not sure what to put on the walls but I’m leaning toward a family photo wall and Max Wanger’s Tulum above the bed because I love a good beach scene and I wish we lived near one. Yes that is a tv on our dresser, because we love a good movie and I’m just keeping it real. I do want to add a gallery wall around it to make it less of an eye sore but maybe that just makes things look busy and not necessarily less eye sore? While I’m at it – can we please get a white tv made with the screen part white as well so it would blend in a little? 

 

Bed and dresser – Room and Board, bedding – anthro, side table – west elm. 

I’m Alive.

Two kids keep me so busy! Ella is 7 months and is army crawling everywhere. Fin is about to start his preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays next week and this Summer has flown by. Fin is very talkative, loves to sing, repeats everything I say and has a funny little sense of humor. He was singing the days of creation and he mixed up day 2 “Day 2 Day 2 God made plants and flowers and …. toots!” He knew that trees didn’t rhyme with two so he made a quick substitute. Silly boy. He knows how to spell his name, every letter, the alphabet song and can count to 20. Ella loves watching Fin and she is constantly trying to move toward a desired object. She’s going to keep me on my toes. Fin is loving little gym and has really started enjoying more physical play as a result and I wish I had enrolled him last year. Oh well. Fin asked Jake to sing “trink’l rise” aka strength will rise aka The Everlasting God tonight and it took us awhile to figure out which song he wanted but we figured it out and he was beaming. These kids are so precious! 

Fin at about 18 months

Finley is almost 18 months and he is just so sweet and so fun. I love watching his little personality unfold and watching him learn new things. I want to document some things about Fin that I want to remember from this stage. Finley’s little personality is just so cute. He smiles easily and has been called smiley, he is a thinker and likes to sit and figure out how things work, he is very cautious and takes his time with physical movements, he is a little ham and cracks us up, and our little guy is just so sweet and snuggly. I love this little boy so much! Sometimes I want to tell him to stop growing so fast and to stay exactly like he is.

Fin is not walking yet but he is so close! I bought some squeaky shoes for him and they have helped motivate him to keep walking when he usually prefers to army crawl every where. He has also started crawling normally on hands and knees a lot and his balance is improving. He is so cautious and he really takes his time when he goes from standing to sitting. We might have to do some physical therapy following his 18 month check up but I really hope he will be close enough to walking on his own that we won’t need it. Then again, my aching back could use a break from carrying him as soon as possible!

Lately we play the “what is that” game in which he picks up a toy or a shape or points to something while looking at me with questioning eyes as I tell him what each item is. He loves this game and so do I. The other night he pointed to the sofa and I said “sofa” and he repeated “sofa” very clearly. After that he pretends to say it like “fofa”. Up is one of Fin’s most used words, along with Dada and Mom or Mama. It is the cutest thing when he says Mom repeatedly! He pointed to my picture a few days ago and said Mom. We have a little photo book that includes all of his family and I ask him to say their names but usually he just gives them kisses. Fin says up very emphatically when he wants up, when he stands up, or when he is being held.

If Fin is unhappy or impatient while I’m trying to do something I can always rely on a little box of raisins to perk him right up and keep him occupied for a few minutes. Other than than raisins he prefers his fruit in a smoothie. If I put a piece of fruit on his tray he smashes it with his pointer finger and if I put it in his mouth he spits it out with the worst expression. I am relying heavily on smoothies to balance out his nutrition with fruits and veggies! Fin loves his yogurt with something sweet mixed in and he also loves pbj’s and quesadillas. Sometimes he will eat pasta with a tomato sauce and I can occasionally sneak some veggies in with that. He is able to feed himself his yogurt but he prefers if I do it – I don’t blame him, it is much faster and less work for him! If I try to make him do it he quickly turns his palms out to say “all done” in sign. My kid prefers whatever is easiest. Did I mention he isn’t walking yet?

Fin says “awww” when he gives hugs because I’ve said that so many times while he is being snuggly and sweet. I love it that he picked that up and that he gives so many hugs!

Fin loves playing in his new room. There is a lot more space for him to crawl around and he army crawls ridiculously fast to his room so he can play with a favorite race track toy that Alli handed down to us. I use this time to do a quick chore while I hear him playing with the race track for 5-10 minutes. He also loves playing in the tv/play room. We left a coffee table out of this room so we just have a large rug and comfy sofa with all his big toys. I want to get some good storage so it doesn’t feel like a playroom when the kids are asleep.

He also loves songs and books. The wheels on the bus song, the little bitty fishy song, alligator alligator are some of his current favorites. He requests them by doing the motions that go with them – wipers, fishy hands, and tapping his palm on his elbow. Before that his favorite was itsy bitsy spider. Fin’s favorite books are Llama Llama Red Pajama and Barnyard Dance. Close behind are Go, Dog Go and Little Blue Truck. He was saying “go dog go” frequently a couple of months ago but has stopped. It was adorable though!

Fin’s words & phrases:

• Mom, Momma
• Dad, Dada
• Night night, Bye Bye, Hi (sounds like ha)
• Yiaya, Mil, Pops
• Cracker
• Uh Oh (Uh eww is how he often says it)
• Hol Momma (hold me momma)
• Kitchen
• Sofa
• Please, thank you
• Shoe
• Eat
• Dog, go dog go
• Go go go
• Woah!!
• Up
• Poop
• No
• Walk
• Got you!
• etc!

Sorry for the lengthy post. There are just so many things I want to remember about Fin right now and other than my one line a day journal I have not documented his many cutenesses that well. Every moment with F is such a blessing, even those unexplained tantrums where I am tempted to laugh because he is being so ridiculous. This little guy is awesome!

Baby Girl’s Nursery

That’s right – we are having a baby girl! Fin is going to be a big brother sometime in January and I am hoping this time I’m not still pregnant at 42 weeks. Anyway on to one of my favorite parts of being pregnant – putting together a nursery!

I love the illustrations by Rifle Paper Co. and I am pulling in this sweet little lady for inspiration for the room. Colors will be mint and coral with hits of blush, gold, and gray. I love the idea of some kind of accent wall, especially since we may not paint the white walls yet, and when we do it will likely be a very muted, light shade with just a hint of color.  I have a problem with limiting my patterns so it is really helpful to create a mood board with my favorite items to make sure everything will work together.

Resources:  Dot wall decals: etsy, Elephant: Sharon Montrose, Crib: Babyletto Skip, Rug: Land of Nod, Watercolor sheet: Candy Kirby, Triangle Changing Pad Cover: Iviebaby, Pouf: Land of Nod, Stool: Serena & Lily, Glider: Monte Luca (from Fin’s room), Tissue Paper Banner: Etsy, Prints: Rifle Paper Co. 

We Bought A House!

We have been casually keeping an eye on homes for sale in our neighborhood for a few months and over the weekend we found a house we love with even better schools than our current location. I am going to miss living so close to our park and the creek but the new neighborhood has a little duck pond and a great path for walking and biking when Fin gets a little older. We are most excited about having a much bigger kitchen and dining area so we can entertain more easily without feeling cramped for space.

I will miss some things about this house – we have really made it our home over the last 5 years and it is the place where we became a family of 3. We had so much fun updating our kitchen and decorating our first home.  This house holds so many good memories!

 

 

 

 

 

My Top 10 Baby Items

There are so many products out there and I wanted to round up a list of my 10 favorites from Finley’s first year. I am kind of obsessed with reading reviews before I make a purchase but there are many items I learned I could do without and some that I wish I had bought initially.

1. Eat, Sleep, Poop is my favorite book for baby’s first year. I love that it is short and to the point and it has charts in the back for a quick diagnosis of minor issues. I love that it is written by a pediatrician and that he gives you his honest opinion as a father and as a doctor with a common sense bottom line. All this translates into an easy to read and fast reference for those nights when baby has his first (fill in the blank) and you don’t know what to do. Of course I still called my pediatrician’s on call number many times throughout Fin’s first year but this book was a great resource for knowing if and when something was call or visit worthy and it gave me more insight into what might be going on.

2. I really like the Aden + Anais muslin swaddles. They are so great as multipurpose blankets and swaddles and they saved the day when F had a major blow out at a friend’s house – we just laid one down on top of their changing pad and wrapped all his dirty clothes up in it to contain the mess and not smear it all over their nursery. They are a nice size for a nursing cover, a car seat/stroller cover when baby is sleeping, etc. When Fin’s changing pad cover is in the laundry I just cover the pad with one of these blankets and it still looks nice and covers the pad well.

3. For middle of the night swaddles I like the swaddleme velcro wraps. These make wrapping baby up a breeze when you are functioning on very little sleep. We were gifted 4 or 5 of these and it was great to have extra for those nights when he peed through several layers.

4. The Baby Shusher app was so helpful in soothing Fin when I couldn’t. It worked so quickly and it was more effective than me saying “shh” repeatedly. It really is a miracle app.

5. These little Angel Dear blankies are so soft and kids seem to attach to them quickly. I like that they come in a pack of three so you always have one clean and a spare should one go missing. Fin started sleeping with his raccoon when we started weaning from the swaddle and it was so easy for him to grab and snuggle. Now he chews on the corners and rubs it on his nose when he is getting sleepy.

6. The Moop Porter bag is my favorite diaper/multifunction bag and I wish I had just started with this instead of a smaller messenger. It works well and looks great when it is packed to the brim or when you just need a few things. It has two shoulder straps as well as a cross body strap and it is machine washable. I keep a small pouch for my cell phone, wallet, and lip gloss that I can pull out if I’m just running into a store or dropping Fin off with his grandma. I love that it can work as a carry on or basic tote long after the diaper bag days. All bags are handmade in the USA and are very high quality materials. Gotta love supporting a small business in the states!

7. The Uppababy Vista is a really versatile stroller that is so easy to push and fold and the basket is gigantic. It comes with a bassinet that Fin slept in for the first two months and I just wheeled him around the house so he could nap where I was. This stroller allowed me to get many grocery trips in during nap time since the huge basket allowed me to pick up all the essentials. I love plopping my huge diaper bag down into it while I still have tons of space for coats or shopping bags. The seat can face in or out and when your family grows later on you can add a rumble seat and/or a stand-on board. I love that this stroller packs so much function into one piece and I got it for about half off right before the next year’s model shipped.

8. A big Fisher Price swing was so nice to have when I wanted to eat dinner with two hands or take a shower and Fin would even nap in it which gave me plenty of time to fit in some chores and cooking as well. Yes it is ugly and big but oh so worth it.

9. A sound machine is absolutely essential if you have a yappy dog like Trevor. We started out with this cute stuffed lamb but the sound shuts off after 45 minutes and we needed something that lasted throughout the night since our dog barks at every leaf that blows. This sound machine has a few great options for white noise and we usually stick to the rain sound, but it’s nice to have options.

10. Lastly, one of my most used items is the glider in Fin’s nursery. It is so comfy and still looks great after tons of use. I rocked Fin a few times a day every day for the first year and it gave us a cozy spot to camp out during a few long and sleepless nights. Up until recently we rocked him to sleep for naps and bedtime and any night waking so it was nice to have a really comfy chair. Now that we have sleep trained F we still read to him in it and rock a few minutes before laying him down. I know we will still be using this chair for years to come.

 

 

Party Time!

Finley turned 1 on Wednesday, the 27th, and we had family over for a casual party this afternoon. I snapped photos of all the  guests with Fin and then we noshed on pizza, salad, and my favorite dip (cream cheese + picante + hand mixer = yum). Then we took a break from eating to open gifts. F got so many cool toys and clothes and fun new books and he loved ripping tissue paper! Such a boy.

 

My friends Haylee made the cake and cupcake and Alli made the cookies – Aren’t they so cute?

Fin devoured his cupcake. I gave him one taste of the icing and then his face was moving toward it like an animal. I was anticipating his usual sounds/words when he is enjoying his food (mmm, yum,  and good) but he just focused on his mission destroying that delectable funfetti cupcake! Towards the end he was shoveling the biggest globs he could fit into his mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

How did I forget to have a photo taken of us with the birthday boy? Oh well. I’m glad we have some good shots of him with everyone else!

Happy Birthday my sweet, fun, happy little boy! We love you so much. The last year has been amazing and you make life exponentially better. I look forward to all the milestones and memories your 2nd year of life will bring!

11 Months

I can’t believe we only have a couple of weeks before my little guy turns 1! Lately Finley is showing me how much he is learning and I am loving this stage. He has been so cuddly lately and he gives hugs and kisses when asked and also whenever he feels like it. That boy has completely stolen my heart. A few other things Fin started doing lately: army crawling everywhere, pushing everything including chairs, sprouting teeth (5 so far), saying “hoo hoo” when asked what an owl says, signing “milk” and “more”, giving high fives and getting better at standing. He tries to say doggy but doesn’t quite get the GEE right after the DAW. His favorite thing to say is still Dada of course and he only says Mama when he’s crying so I guess Dada is for fun and I am for comfort. I’ll take it.

We have had our fair share of colds, allergies, and ear infections up in the Morse abode and it has made for a tiresome Winter! I am so ready to embrace Spring and sunshine filled days before it gets too hot to be outside.

I am so loving being a mom and an aunt. My niece is 16 months and calls me “Ni-Nee!” Not many sounds can rival her little voice saying my name. Today they rode side by side in their car seats and held hands and for the first time Fin has reciprocated giving hugs and kisses. Baby hugs and kisses are the sweetest.

Love You Forever

As I chose a book to read to Fin for bedtime tonight I hesitated and thought about the families impacted by the tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary one week ago tomorrow. It hurts my heart to think of losing my Fin at any age. In an ideal world a mother and father do not have to bury their children. In an ideal world the natural course of life plays out with parents passing in their old age, after having loved and nurtured their children. As I have thought and prayed about those hurting for loved ones this past week the verse John 16:33 came to mind over and over.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

That last part means good beats evil. That last part makes me feel better. I know there is nothing that would heal the pain that goes with losing a child and my heart goes out to anyone who has faced such a loss. When dark things happen I find comfort in knowing that in the end the good guys win.

To my Finley:

I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

As long as I’m living,

My baby you’ll be.

Forever… As long as I live you will be my baby.

Those mommies and daddies are mourning the loss of their sweet babies, and as long as they live they will continue to miss their babies. Forever.

Thankful

I am so thankful for Fin. This time last year I was waiting to announce his existence as he grew in my tummy. Jake kept asking when we could put it on Facebook and I wanted to wait until we knew what we were having. It seems like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting the gender ultrasound and now I have an almost 6 month old. How did these months pass so quickly?! Some days I felt overwhelmed that I couldn’t get it all done, be the perfect mom, get Fin to take a nap…it’s nice now that he is going to sleep between 8 and 9 versus 11 or 12 and I am able to spend a little time with my hubby and get a few things done while still getting a good night’s rest. I think about how blessed I am to have this sweet boy to love on and snuggle with and I am just so thankful. Thankful that he is here. Thankful that he is healthy. Thankful that I get to be at home with him each day. Thankful that I get to be this little boy’s momma. Thankful for all the heart melting moments that make my life so much better. I just want to bottle up the moments when he is giggling, talking, and grabbing my face and put them on a shelf for later when he is too busy for snuggles and chit chats. Moments like these make me want to slow down and have a “do over” button to relive the gut laughs, the silly grins, the learning experiences. I am so thankful for Finley Thomas and his daddy!