...Dunked Donuts & Oreos

Recently Finnegan was introduced to two of my favorite things: Oreos and sprinkle donuts. He definitely approves of both.

Thanks to my father, Oreos are my favorite cookie. Cecilia and I sat down a few nights ago to show Mr. Finn how to dunk some Oreos. He caught on really fast and before I knew it, our Oreos were gone. Wait, let me rephrase that... our Oreos were at the bottom of Ceci and Finn's cups. Note to self, teach children to hold Oreo in milk for 3 seconds only. If left in milk for too long, cookie will break and fall into milk. Man I wish we had some right now. I could easily eat a whole package of those delicious little yummies. Most of you know this about me, but did you know there are rules that must be followed when eating them? Well, there are.

1. They have to be official Oreos. Do not even bring fake Always Save cookies into my house.

2. They cannot be the double stuffed ones. That is just too much of a good thing, plus it throws off the delicate balance of crisp cookie and smooshy middle.

3. I have to eat them with milk so I can dunk them. Yum.

4. I only eat Oreos at home or my at parent's house. They get all up in my teeth and that is so not attractive.


Last weekend Wade and I showed the kids what we used to do for fun on Saturday mornings before we were parents. We would go to Dunkin' Donuts for the coffee/donut combo and then walk over to Pet World to browse around. [Man we were so broke back then.] Ceci and Finn enjoyed the donuts, the animals and the experience. We walked out of the pet store empty handed, thank God. Wade and I bought three cats and several fish during our "hey-we're-bored-so-let's-walk-around-Pet World" adventures.

...Stole the Show

This year at Rita's Daycare Holiday Party the kids put on a mini Christmas program. Each kid had their moment in the spotlight as they all sang a particular holiday song that matched their outfit. Angel wore a cloak covered with Jingle Bells. Tyson was Frosty the Snowman. Isaiah was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Ceci warned the kids that Santa Claus is Coming to Town and everyone ended up Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree that Rylee wore. Finn was a holiday groopy who danced around the stage and cracked us up with his token head tilt move. View photos here>>



Finnegan also had his 18 month visit with Dr. Carla today. She was very impressed as he had a leap on his growth charts: 29 lbs (80th percentile) and 34¾ inches (96th percentile) . What a hoss.
His vocabulary is still pretty slim and consists of: ball, Dad, Ma, Sis, hot, hat, shoes with his only "phrases" being uh oh and My, My, My.
Because Finn has had a runny nose and cough since Thanksgiving, Dr. Carla and I agreed to try a round of antibiotics. Four weeks of icky snot means something just might be growin' up there. This is the very first time either of our kids have had to take antibiotics. Dr. Carla was happy to hear this and said, "Good for you guys and good for us doctors!" I call it dumb luck.

...Visited St. Nick

Four Cottrells waiting in line.


Mr. Finn's first time on the Big Guy's lap.


A seasoned pro, Ceci asks for a Barbie Princess.

Check out more photos HERE

...Chopped Some Hair

Our good friend Jess cut a ton of hair off Finn's noggin last night. It was definitely time for his first big boy haircut. I would have loved to let it grow out into that trendy surfer style that is popular right now, but his hair was curling under in the back - giving him that 70s bowel look. Wade wasn't having it. The current cut is a bit shorter in the back than Jess and I had planned, [due the equipment available on hand] but this will keep us from having to cut it again so soon. This dude's hair grows like crazy.

To keep him occupied we set him on the bathroom vanity and gave him a Popsicle. This idea was genius for the most part. He sat really still and sucked and sucked on this rare yummy treat, but then it got hair on it...and he kept sucking on it. [shuddering] I think I gagged a couple of times as I pulled the gooey orange flavored hair out of his mouth.

...Learned Table Manners

Finn is mastering the fork. I love how he starts to use his hand but then changes his mind. You can definitely see him thinking...

...Found the Courage to Let Go

I guess making baskets just was not enough for Mr. Finn. He needed to accomplish more this weekend. This morning I could tell he had found his courage to walk. He was letting go of things and attempting to take steps on his own without encouragement from anyone. I figured he was never going to walk if I was constantly making him try to do it, so I found a little courage of my own and just let him be. He needed to figure out that he did not need me to do it. I sat down at my computer and let him wander the house by himself this morning... after I put the cat food up and closed the bathroom door of course. He was still pretty much glued to me, but occasional he let go.

I think [okay, I know] our house is just too small. He does not have far to go to find something he can grab for support. Our 888 square foot house had become his crutch. It took the wide open spaces of Big Granny's living room to do the trick. Luckily I had my new handy dandy Canon digital camera in my purse. I got a couple seconds of video before the 32MB memory card that came with my camera filled up. I bought a 2GB card, but had not opened it yet. Doh! Wish I had. He was zooming all over Granny and Gramps house and he was pretty sure of himself by the time we left. Even though it is such a short video, I still Meganized it. What do you expect?

...Finally Finished The Birthday Video [Geez]

I have finally finished the video from Finnegan's first birthday party. We have had a very busy summer so far and I have the bruises to prove it...literally.

After things calmed down, I went to finish this project only to discover that Vista and Windows Movie Maker do not like each other. Every time I went to publish this video, a huge green bar would appear on the bottom of the screen smooshing my lovely video up at the top. After several attempts to finalize it, and a lot of nasty words, I finally Googled, "Windows Movie Maker Green Bar." Eureka! I found out I am not alone in my video publishing pain, but more importantly I discovered a blog post with a solution. Alleluia!

So without further ado, please enjoy Finnegan's First Birthday Party caught on film.

...Grew a Smile

Mr. Big went to his very first dentist appointment today. He was very excited to sit in their butterfly chair to have his picture taken, as was Cecilia the first time she went to see Dr. Kelli at Growing Smiles Pediatric Dentistry. This place is amazing. There is this super cool water fountain right out front that looks like a big bowl of overflowing water. The waiting room is beautiful, with the coolest artwork all over the place, plus they have great kid toys and of course a fabulously huge flat panel TV on the wall. There is also some kind of video game unit that I am sure Mr. Big will adore some day, but for today he was happy to just sit on my lap and watch Sesame Street.

When Cecilia gets her teeth cleaned she gladly reclines in the chair, pops on some headphones and watches cartoons on the flat panel TV located on the ceiling directly above her chair. I. Am. Jealous. I spent quite a bit of time in the dentist/orthodontist chair in my day and never did I have such luxuries. They even have chocolate chip cookie dough flavored toothpaste at this dentist office. SO, not fair.

For Mr. Big's examination, Dr. Kelli and I sat facing each other with our knees touching. I held him, facing me and then laid his head back into her lap. He thought it was fun until she started feeling around in his mouth. I told him he was scaring the other little kids in the waiting room. The exam was short and sweet, so he did not suffer too badly. Dr. Kelli said all is well inside his little mouth and told me we should start brushing Mr. Big's toophers. Even gave us one of those cool finger brushes to use. I am volunteering Wade for that job.

I know what you are thinking, "Uh, he is only one. Why are you taking him to the dentist already? I didn't take my kids that early." I will give you three reasons why:
1) According to Dr. Kelli and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a child should see a dentist by age one or when the first tooth appears. Finn is a year old and has three teeth.
2) Wade has amazing dental insurance that covers two exams a year and we do not have to pay a dime. Why not take full advantage of it, right?
3) Mr. Big will learn from an early age that going to the dentist is cool, plus I get to leave work and take him!

...Devoured a Breakfast Cupcake

Finnegan is 1. Crazy, right?! We had a mini celebration during breakfast yesterday morning. I HAD to be the first one to give him cake on his birthday! As you can see, the "Birthday Fairy" visited our house in the middle of the night and decorated Finnie's chair. This Fairy has decorated our house for birthdays ever since Ceci's first one... but Cecilia thinks that Fairies should not decorate for boy birthdays. In fact, she is pretty sure it would be okay if Finnegan did not have a birthday at all. She had some issues with the attention he received yesterday. Wonder how she will fair at the Birthday BBQ Blowout scheduled for Saturday [please no rain, please no rain, please no rain...]

...Turned One Year Old

...Lost Some Hair & Got A New View

Last Wednesday Finnegan got his very first haircut from our "family stylist" Jessica Hammes. She has cut our hair for several years and was the first to cut Cecilia's hair as well. She has become a close friend and just bought her first home right across the street from us! How cool, right? Finally I know someone in this town [who is not related to me].
Finnegan did so good sitting still. I am pretty sure that was the first and last time that will happen. The look on his face is priceless...



Another first for Finnie last week was a new view in the car. On June 1 we turned his car seat around, 9 days ahead of schedule. His poor little legs where all smooshed, so I waited until his birth month instead of his birthday. He was so excited to see the cartoon on the TV. As you will see from the video, he is pretty amazed and keeps pointing at it in disbelief.

...Crawled

OMG - Finnegan is mobile. No more sitting him down in the middle of the living room while I go brush my teeth. Cecilia's books, blocks and dolls are now fair game. The constant worry that there is something in his mouth [Barbie shoe] has now begun. Be sure to check him out in action on our YouTube Channel!
- Meg