...Rubba-Dub-Dub Returned to The Tub

Finnegan snuck back into our sssllloooooowwww draining bathtub AFTER I dressed him for bed. Gross Finnie. Gross.

...Rocked Our Kasbah at Territiral Days

CLICK HERE to enlarge this collage

1. In two days time, we spent roughly 20 hours at Territorial Days. Lucky for us we have Big Granny's house to use as a refuge. Her porch is just a hop skip and a jump from all of the action.
2. Finnie enjoyed the all three of the rides he was able to experience, but hardly cracked a smile while he kept a death grip on their handle bars.
3. We made five coffee cans of Mint Julep (thanks to our friend Jess). Fast becoming a Perry tradition, we wrap our coffee can full of Mint Julep in a kitchen towel and duct tape and then pass the thing around until it is gone. There is only one rule with the Mint Julep can-o-goodness. Don't ever set it down. Here is a shot of Wes partaking in its refreshing goodness for the first time.
4. Yeah!...a photo of me with one of my kids. I do exist.
5. This was Mr. Finn's third Territorial Day's experience, but this was the first time Mommy and Daddy dropped $18 on a wristband so he could enjoy unlimited riding fun. Carnies make bank on those wristbands.
6. Wade always said our kids would experience their first kisses at Territorial Days; I just didn't think it would have happened this soon.
7. Our turtles, Bella and Edward (yes, we are HUGE Twilight fans) did not win us any grand prizes but they definitely gave us their best effort. This was the first time Cecilia has ever touched her turtle, so at least we won THAT battle. If you have never seen a turtle race it is definitely a sight to behold. Check out one of Bella's trial runs HERE.
   (Dear PETA - no turtle was harmed during the festivities and we let ours go in the country the day after the race.)

...Posted the Cutest Video EVER

...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.

...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...

...Raised a Couple Olympians

Today the kids and I spent the afternoon at Lawrence Gymnastics Academy (LGA). They hosted a free open gym to celebrate the Olympics and to advertise for their gym's fall enrollment. They had a demonstration on each area, a moonwalk and free hot dogs & lemonade. I love getting to do fun stuff with my kids. I love it even more when it is free. I have taken Cecilia to LGA once before. They have open gym a couple times a week. They normally charge a few bucks per kid and then allow them to come in and play around on the equipment for a few hours. I wish they would have an adult open gym so I could jump off the trampoline into the pit of foam and then play on the uneven bars. [don't they look fun?]

The kids had a good time and even won two medals...

...Raced a Lawn Mower

My brilliant husband, and our equally brilliant neighbor Andy, decided to race their lawn mowers a couple of nights ago. That's all I have to say about that.

...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?

...Raised a Hoops Star

Finnegan has always like playing with balls. From about 6 months of age he was able to play catch with us, and for a freakish amount of time if you ask me. Most babies get board with something after a minute or two, not him. He could play catch all day [stopping for food breaks of course]. He would even play catch with himself if no partner was available, throwing a ball out in front of himself and then chasing it. Wait, that sounds more like fetch. Either way, it was hysterical to watch.
Well, this weekend his talents have extended to include making baskets and of course we got it on video. I love how he looks for his daddy's praise after he makes each shot. Oh, and by the way...his sister is the one who designed his outfit. She is also the one you hear serenading us in the background.

...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.

...Caught 20 Fish

We went fishing today at Papa James' pond. Daddy says I am an excellent fisherman. My mommy says it's in my blood. I am not sure about fish being in my blood, but I really did catch 20 fish today. Papa James says they are called Bluegill, but I didn't see any blue on them, or IN them for that matter. I watched as Kristan cut them all up. Everyone kept saying "clean the fish." It was disgusting and I didn't see anything "clean" about it. After she cut them up, Kristan fried them and we ate them. Bluegill are yummy.

...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...]

...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.

...Chomped Chips & Rode Behind a Deer

You didn't think Ceci was having ALL the summer fun did you? Check me out in this video montage my Mommy put together...
[Warning to the Nanas - brace yourself.]

...Ran the Bases and Filled Up the Tank

Cecilia's team won 15-10 Wednesday night against Effingham [wherever that is], making their record 2-0. They totally dominated both sides of the game, winning by run spread in the third inning. I have had several requests for footage of this event. I finally had a second to edit and upload the videos this morning.
This is Ceci's first at bat that night. She hits a beautiful line drive down the third baseline and gets batted in, scoring a run for her team. Wade and Finn are shown cheering her on. Enjoy!

She has a game tonight in Royal Valley. As you can see from the linked Google Map, this town is about 35 miles NE of Perry. At first I was like, "Holy crap! Why are we driving so far for a 4 year old's Coach Pitch league game?!" But after driving a similar distance to Easton a couple of weeks ago, I now look forward to these mini road trips to rural small towns. I enjoy driving on roads I have never been on before. Being a schduled oriented, routine lovin' person, it is relaxing to ride in the passenger seat and not know what is coming next - as long as I do not look at how much gas we used to get there and back.

...Brought Home a Win

GAME ONE...VICTORIOUS! - Perry 17 / Easton 12 [Woohoo!]
Cecilia is 1 of 3 preschool age kiddos on our team which consists of Kindergartners and 1st graders. Perry does not offer tee-ball, but because of our connections we were able to sneak her into the coach pitch league. The other two preschoolers got on our team because they are related to the connections - The Gonzales Family [who run the town ball program and the police department, and the city council...] We try to stay in good standing with them as I am sure this family of girls will soon rule the school...kind of like a mini Mexican mafia! Cecilia might need their protection one day.

In coach pitch, each kiddo gets a turn to bat. They get six chances to hit the ball. As you will see from our video, Ceci hits her very last pitch! The other parents in the stands thought Wade was going to have a heart attack! She eventually made it all the way around and scored a run. The best part was her slight detour towards the dugout between third base and home. Thankfully her coachs were able to persuade her to run towards home plate. It was something I will never forget.

Hey Uncle Steve! Look what number she is!

...Swung for the Cheap Seats

2 days and counting until Cecilia's very first ball game. It will be an away game against Easton. I find this very ominous as the town shares its name with a famous sporting goods company that specializes in baseball/softball equipment. Coincidence? We shall see. Wade and Cecilia got in some good batting practice tonight. I post this video to instill some fear into the little girls of Easton. Watch out. Cecilia's coming to town. [Okay, that was lame. I need to brush up on my baseball trash talk]



Cecilia is excited because they are handing out the team "costumes" at practice tomorrow. This reminds me of a conversation I had with Ceci several months ago during basketball season [I still cannot believe we are National Champions!]

[Scene] Cecilia and Mommy are eating breakfast and Cecilia notices a picture of her favorite KU basketball player, Sasha Kahn.

CECILIA: "Hey, that's Sasha Kahn!"
MOMMY: "Yep. It sure is."
CECILIA: "He is the one in the white costume."
MOMMY: "Actually, it is called a uniform."
CECILIA: "MOM! Sasha Kahn plays for the Jayhawks! NOT the Unicorns."

Ah, kids and the darn things they say. Ya know, I wonder if there is a team out there with a Unicorn as their mascot. I challenge you, dear reader, to find one. Leave proof in the comments if you find one.