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. :)

post script

turns out i was limited to how many pics i could add for one entry. so here are more of just Finny (including the one in aforementioned hat). ALSO, I failed to mention that Finley has begun to smile and laugh a lot! The first laugh came during Alyse and Jeff's visit - lots of fun. She is just a joy to Taylor and I and nothing is better than getting her to smile and laugh at us!!! In addition to the increased smiles and laughter, our little girl is packing on the pounds and has a beautiful double chin - makes momma proud!! :)

Visitors

This post is long overdue (I bow my head and sigh in shame). But we have had a busy few weeks, so cut us some slack ;)... I will take this opportunity to comment on the visits we have received from Finny's out of town aunties and uncles (side-bar to in-town Auntie Heidi and Uncle Eric - it's been awhile...we need to arrange a meeting soon!). Auntie Kate came up from Dallas for a long weekend awhile back, and was the first out-of-towner to come visit Finley. We had lots of fun and Kate was super helpful - she did a lot of holding of Finley so I could write thank-you notes, address announcements, etc, etc. Some serious grunt-work, let me tell you. Then came Uncle Carl and Auntie Shannon a couple of weeks ago for a quick weekend getaway from Boston. They were immediately followed by Auntie Alyse and Uncle Jeff from Austin. Both were fantastic visits and we were so sad to see them all return home. All we are waiting on is a visit from Uncle Patrick - we eagerly await his visit next weekend! We miss everyone loads and wish they were all still here to provide more free babysitting and be around to watch as Finley grows. Which, now that I mention it, seems to be happening at lightspeed. Taylor and I think she is now a little person - not so much a baby any more. Yesterday was her birthday - two months old! Can you believe it? It has gone by so fast. Next week is my last week at home with her full time, and I dread my return to work. Not so much concerned for her care while I am there, but sad that I will have to be apart from her for so long on work days. I imagine there will be a long and difficult adjustment period. Just last night, Finley spent her first night in her own bedroom (well, portion of a night - she started out there, but stayed with us after she got up for her first night-feeding). She has grown out of her cradle, which now is the home to her books and stuffed animals in the nursery (though in truth, she spent the last few weeks pretty much exclusively sleeping between Taylor and I. We caved and valued our sleep more than forcing her to stay in the cradle all night). So she is now in crib territory. A big step - and drew tears from me as I went to bed without my baby by my side last night. :( On the upside, I was able to cuddle with Taylor for the first time in quite awhile! Another sign of her advancing age, Finny has her two month doctors visit tomorrow morning. So we'll have some new weight, length, and head circumfrence stats for you in our next posting! Plus, she'll begin receiving immunization shots, so cross your fingers that she isn't overly traumatized by the shots. Alrighty - enough from me...I feel as though I tend to babble in these postings - I'll try to get Taylor to do the next one. I will close with pictures from our fun with the visitors, and a few recent ones of Finny. She just had her final baby shower - are you loving the hat Taylor's cousin Laurie knitted for her? To die for...

Can you guess what we did today??

Our Funny Valentine...

A day late - but for me, that ain't too shabby! We celebrated our first Valentines Day with the new love of our lives - Finley Valentine! She spent the day being as darling as possible - as she does every other day. Only this day she wore a special dress, a gift from Auntie Heidi, that was perfect for the holiday! I continue to brag and say our daughter is the cutest baby ever... (sorry, not sure yet how to make them appear vertically...)

As for Taylor and I - we celebrated the day of love on Friday by going out on our first date in a LONG time (neither of us can remember when we last went out - just the two of us...something we'll have to work on in the future.) Grandma and Grandpa Ritchie babysat - and gave a glowing report of Finley's behavior while we were out.

In honor of the holiday - and in appreciation of the love i share with those nearest and dearest to me (Finley and Tay-Tay get a special shout out!), i hope that all of your days are filled with love, and that on Valentines Day in particular, you made a point to express that love to those people you care most about, and that they did the same for you!

feel the love! s

blogging is hard work

in my past life as a blog reader (rather than blog writer) i was a frequent complainer when people were lackluster about updating their blogs. in light of this and heidi's comment - i provide a brief update. being a mom continues to be the best thing ever and the days continue to fly by. my darling Finley hit the four week mark this weekend - which was totally shocking. i was near tears yesterday when i realized that she may not get to wear her newborn sized outfits with feet anymore. her feet have filled up the booties, and her legs are longing to stretch past the constraints of the fabric. our girl is definitely growing. taylor continues to recognize himself in her face - but the super duper double chin that is emerging is definitely reminiscent of my baby days. todays goals: introduce Finley to one of our building's security guys, Jerry (whose wife we've never met but she made Finley a quilt!); homework; and brainstorming what Finley and I can do for Daddy on Valentines Day. i leave you with a couple more pics...none terribly recent, but here they are all the same...