Finley's First Fourth-o-July!

This was Finley's first Fourth of July! Taylor and I were so happy to be able to enjoy a long weekend together. Friday we took Finley out to Grandma & Grandpa's for some swimming fun at the lake. She had a great time until she face-planted into the shallow water (from a sitting position, not that dramatic). After that, she wasn't so much a fan of the water (understandably so).

On the Fourth, we all headed back out to the lake w/ some of our friends to enjoy the great weather, and play outside as we have for the past several years. It was lots of fun, as usual. Here is this years gang (Mitch, Tiff, Keith, Stacy, Taylor & Finley):

Finley also sampled her first non-rice cereal "solid" food! It was ... drumroll please... sweet potatoes!! They seemed to go over pretty well. I made a bunch of carrot baby food today (and froze it), so once we've established there is no adverse reaction to the sweet-potatoes, carrots will be the next addition to Finley's growing repertoire. Our growing girl - hard to believe she has been with us for almost six months!! Shocking!

Hope you all had a great 4th - and got to enjoy some fireworks. We didn't manage to stay out quite that late, which is a bummer as I LOVE fireworks. Here's hoping for next year...

Finley Fever

Overused - and yet here I go using it again...

"I've got a fever, and the only cure is more FINLEY!!" so here you go...

Turns out that Finley looks as good in a baseball hat as her Dad! We may have to get one that is just her size! :)While it is still a little big - Finley used to drown in her ducky robe - not so much anymore! (Thanks again Molly! She is so cute in this!!)
I realized that Grandma Linda hasn't made an appearance on the blog yet - so had to bring an end to that travesty! Finley is lucky enough to have a "Grandma Day" at least once a week (Taylor and I are, too!)
If we're going to recognize Grandma's, I thought we'd recognize GREAT-Grandma's, too! This is Finley w/ her GG-Marge, having fun playing together!
Carl and Shannon were just in town for a wedding, and we celebrated the fact that Shannon will soon be joining the Ritchie clan w/ a bridal shower. Here are Grandma, Aunt Shannon, and Finley at Shannon's shower! We are SO excited to head out east for the wedding!!! CANNOT WAIT! And are SO excited to finally see Shannon's "Aunt-hood" become official! :) (And to have my collection of amazing sisters added to!)

Random Finley Pictures

I love my Baby Einstein play center!!Serious concentration on the Very Hungry Caterpillar rings...
Check out my Baby Einstein play center!! So much fun!!
Do I look cooler without the hood?...
...or with the hood? (Thanks for the cool hoodie Grandma!)

Summer of weddings has begun!

Auntie Alyse & Finley @ Jessie & Jay's wedding...Gran and Finley touring the Lincoln museum exhibits...
Congratulations Jessie & Jay!!! Your wedding was beautiful and so much fun! We are so happy for you!!
Well, our crazy summer has officially kicked off. Last weekend we road tripped (Finley did awesome!!) to Springfield, IL for my cousin Jessie's wedding to Jay. It was SO much fun. Bride and groom were madly in love and looked gorgeous. Location couldn't have been cooler - the reception was at the Abraham Lincoln Museum, and we got to go through the exhibits. Lots of family was there, so Finley got to meet even more of her great-aunts and uncles, and see cousins, and second cousins, and second cousins once removed, etc, etc. It would have been a lot harder to leave, but luckily we'll be seeing everyone again next month at the Family Reunion. Can't wait! On top of that, we have Carl and Shannon's wedding in NC (Finley's first flight!), and Heidi and Eric's wedding up north to look forward to! In the midst of that, we'll try to spend time relaxing, hanging out with friends, and celebrating all these brides to be! Speaking of which - Finley, Taylor and I are looking forward to seeing Carl & Shannon this weekend - they are in town for a wedding and shower! We are being spoiled rotten this year, getting to see lots and lots of our family from out of town. I know we won't be so lucky every year, so we are basking in it and soaking up every moment we get to spend with our loved ones! Hmm...what else? Finley is amazing. She just started playing in her Baby Einstein recently - and she LOVES it! Has so much fun. She is almost sitting up on her own (she can, but you never know when she'll lean too far one way or the other and topple over!) Before we know it, she'll be walking and talking (I should qualify "talking" to mean speaking in a language we recognize and understand!) She is teething, and we've started to give her rice cereal once or twice a week. We'll be making that a more regular occurance soon I think. She has lots of fun eating and gets better at it every time! That is all for now - enjoy the pictures!!

RIP Stacy's College Dell...

My old college laptop finally bit the dust.  We overloaded it's hard drive, and in order to prevent a crash - we stopped using it as much as possible to preserve the files we had on it until we got a new computer to transfer them to.  Well, you can welcome a new addition to our family - a beautiful iMAC desktop.  So here is our long overdue update.  I know why you all really come here - its for the pictures.  Let me beg your patience and provide you with just a couple of updates.  Finley is more active and chatty than ever, though we still don't speak quite the same language.  For a sample, link to Heidi's blog (Life of Heidi) on the right and look for the "Down by the Cool of the Pool" entry to see Finley "read".  She is almost sitting up on her own, and she is moving fast.  It's hard to believe she is the same little peanut we brought home 5 short months ago.  That's right people, she is almost 5 months old.  In addition, Finley finally managed to blow some raspberries.  Another first, our big girl had her first taste of rice cereal. She thought the experience was loads of fun, but not much made it to her tummy.  :)  She has been jealously reaching for our food and drinks recently, so we thought it time to let her try some for herself.  In two short weeks, Finley starts daycare a couple of days a week.  So wish her luck that she befriends the other babies and has lots of fun.  And our sincerest thanks to everyone who has helped out watching Finley up til now (shoutouts to Grandma Linda and pseudo-Auntie Paige especially!!).  Alright people - here's what you're waiting for...the pictures. 

Grandpa was a sport and danced the night away with Finley at her first wedding (Taylor's cousin Evan & Katie...)

 Having a laugh with Papa!

Sitting up!


How cute and grown up - holding herself up so well!


Finley LOVES baths!!

and another...

one post just wasn't enough - wanted to show more pics!

Finley at Easter brunch at Margie and Dave's (great Aunt and Uncle!)
still don't know how to make these vertical...but here's Finley in her Easter outfit! Isn't she darling?

So excited about her first Easter Basket (just clothes this year as candy isn't really an option yet!) that she can't help but eat her fingers (attempting to consume her fist is a favorite pastime of late!)

Taylor had softball practice - so Finley and I went along to watch. Finley showed her support by donning sweats herself. And a headband, so we could avoid questions of whether she is a little woman or little man! Spu was kind enough to momentarily share her bed with us :)

Finally, the Fam. I see this and am suddenly aware of how big Finley has gotten - takes up a lot more room in my arms now!

yikes!

so i am a terrible blog updater - but let it be noted, I repeatedly asked taylor to make an entry, and he didn't do it, either. needless to say, life has been a little bit busy of late. I am back at work now (sigh). which isn't as bad as i thought it would be - but definitely leaves me pretty exhausted. makes me value every second with our little lady even more - if that's possible! this past weekend she hit the 3-month mark. and again i say she is growing up much too fast. time is flying past us at warp speed. she continues to grow, smile, laugh (taylor heard the first audible giggle - i got the first audible laugh), and play - she is much more adept with her hands, and "talks" loads. on that note - i will post some pictures. we all know that's why you come check this blog anyway! :)

Finley finally got to meet Uncle Patrick - who came up to visit from Chi-town!! We miss you!

Gran and Papa came to visit, too! They hadn't seen Finley since she was born, and boy has she grown - we miss you guys, too!!

In her spare time, Finley deep-sea dives, and one unfortunate diving expedition left her in the jaws of a gigantic blue shark. In other words - we love the shark towel and use it for almost every bath - thank you Uncle Carl and Aunt Shannon!

Finley still spits-up...as evidenced below. This is the worst we've seen yet - all over and down the shirt. A change of clothes was needed - for me, not her. :)