Tough Chick

Is this Craig-o-lina or what?

New Year Videos!

[After 50 failed attempts to blog these yesterday.... finally success - don't know why and I don't ask.]

A great gift from my brother Chris and family - The Finley Jump Up! They even changed all the "Johnny's" on the box to "Finley". Super cute, though she's almost too big for it.


As promised, the Peek-A!

More Christmas in Pawling!

There were about 4 pictures of actual Christmas morning because the batteries on both cameras when kaput.

Decorating the tree we got like 4 days before X-mas. She was sleeping in the car so we picked it out in about 30 seconds. Everything was late or not at all this year - hopefully we will get it together for next year when she might actually start to understand what is going on.

Craig entertaining the bubba with the tree skirt.

Bebe playing with the bubba - giving it all she got:)

The usual holiday suspects - Pops & Lisa, Tim & Katie

Pops and Finley spent a lot of good time together.

Opening presents.... lots of presents!

Sleepy Baby

Matt and Annie have always rocked their babies to sleep and all the kids have their own cds. In this tradition I tried to put something together for Finley. These are lyrics from a songbird I couldn't get enough of when I was pregnant. A musical craving, if you will... She's definitely an acquired taste, but I love her.

CASSIOPEA by Joanna Newsome

Feel the matress tense beneath me
Like the muscle of nonsleepy
Feathers flexing will defeat me
And it vexes me completely

And the hexes heat covertly
Like a slow low-flying turkey
Like a Texan drying jerky
But his meaty mitts can't hurt me

With my steely will compounded
In a mighty mound that's hounded
By the snap my steel string sounded
Just before your snores unwound it

And in store are dreams so daring
That the night can't stop from staring
I'll swim sweetly as a herring
Through the ether, not despairing

Go to sleep, you stunning sky
Gently creep cunning by
A quiet hum is amplified
By your thumb
That you suck dry

Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopiea

Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopiea
Cassiopiea, Cassiopiea
Oh oh, Cassiopiea

This Morning

Just a little video with a couple of her new friends she got for X-mas.

Christmas 2007

My mother saved two outfits from my childhood. This one...

And THIS!!!

Turn on your printer and print your Christmas card - The Finley Angel.

Jake Ernest Geiger!!!

Congratulations to the Geigers! The world welcomes little Mr. Jake Ernest Geiger who showed up just in time to ensure a smooth Christmas over at the Geiger house just like Melissa wanted. He is sooo beautiful. GREAT name. I can't stop looking at this picture that I stole from their blog. We get to meet him tomorrow!

Literally, Chillin'

Finley sitting in her first big snow. All the news is: the weaning is going great, she seems minimally stressed and loves solid food - formula she tolerates. The bottom right front tooth is out. At the doctor's on Monday, she weighed in at 21 pounds and is 28 inches long. She is sitting up pretty much by herself and getting better and scooching and rolling around. I know there is tons more stuff to say about her but my brain is fried from Christmas tree getting and present shopping.

Smile for the Day

Silas working on his ham bone.

We on the Beach

One of my favorite photos of all time of our little family. This was taken on our visit to Grandma Carol and Grandpa Arnie's in Carlsbad. They live the sweet life of artists and surfers. It was also Finley's first trip to the ocean. With this particular first she beat me by about 21 years. Notice the dangling pacifier (right, Annie?!) I can't believe this the trip to San Diego has come and gone. Time is a cruel mistress.

San Diego!

Our last vacation for a while.... Finley was astoundingly good (meaning Quiet!) on the flight out and was curiously quiet for the first few days taking in all the action that a jam packed house brings. She got louder and louder till finally she screamed through a lot of our red-eye flight home. It was great to see all the cousins together - we miss the action and we miss you all terribly - it's really just too fricken sad. These photos are just a few from my phone...

Mac(and Emmett!)purchasing her own ipod with money she saved herself. By the way, Best Buy is a totally scary place!

Finley and Silas swingin'

Matt and Craig getting ready to chow down on some mexican food.

The singular travelling sucker - we lost it the day before we left....

The famous photo of Grandpa Tony giving Matt and Craig a beer to teethe on.

Shadow Mamas and Babies

At Grandma Carol and Grandpa Arnie's.

Most mornings Finley and I would tag along for the drive to school - doesn't Emmett look cool!!

Finally big milestone news - the last day and a half Finley got up on her knees and started rocking back and forth! We figure about three weeks to take off. Just in time to bum rush the Christmas tree!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!!

Finley's 6 months old!! Here she is this morning in all her chubby glory wearing what she wore when she made her grand entrance not so very long ago.

Family....

The news on my dad is that he's out of the hospital and slowly driving his big rig back home to Colorado Springs. Let's hope he makes it okay... I wanted to post some new photos and video from recent happenings... Last week we made the trip to Virginia so Finley could meet everyone down there. Cousin Phebe and Nora were so fun to stay with and George and Joan look very happy in their new home. We even got to see Caitlin who came down to have lunch with all of us. Before that Nana had come from San Francisco to spend Halloween and spoil us with treasures, soups and love. This Thursday we head out to San Diego for 10 days to see all the West Coast Dreyers, Grandma Carol and Grandpa Arnie.
Me and Fin with Nora The Great



Fairy Godmother travels with wings!


This one's for you, George...

Thankful, Indeed

For so, so many things. Mostly, I am thankful that my father's kidney's started to function better today which is great, great news. Again, we will know more tomorrow, but it seems he is on the other side of this crisis. We love you, Dad.

For the rest of being thankful today The Plump Otter Family always gets it right with this poem...

We had a great feast - Finley's first - she liked the sweet potato. Friends Mitch and Sandy (and her dog Jai!) came up from the city to chow down with us. Fairy Godmother Nana Maxwell sent our Grandmother Marianna's silverware for us to have just in time for the holiday - I swear the food tasted better with it.

Cousin Mac's Hungarian Princess dress


I love this picture because I am in the process of weaning Finley. I am so thankful that I was able to nurse her for this long and am sad for the change.

Thankgiving in a Hospital

Yesterday I got one of those dreaded calls. It was my brother Chris calling to tell me my father is in a hospital in Phoenix with some pretty serious kidney problems. We will know more tomorrow - prayers, please.

Some Overdue Baby Blogging

Forgive us bloggers, it's been too long since our last blog. What she's been up to... Rolling front to back and back to front and a spinning scooch. Lots of drooling, nose running and cold-like symptoms that we think might just be teething. One little tiny white spot on the bottom gums, but no teeth yet. Sounds that are starting to sound like words "N-Dat!" "Gee!" (I think that's the one for Craig) and "Nee!" (that's me) and "Nay!" (milk). The smiles are off the charts and she seems to just be livin' the life of a happy, funny baby.

she says "gee" because she is trying to say "genius" which, of course, refers to me.
-craig

Sicko!!

I don't care what you may think about Michael Moore, go rent this movie. I would jump up and down with joy for a year straight if we got national health insurance.

Exploiting Our Child

I work in the modelling business. It's crazy and I can't believe I do and have for the past 13 years, but there you go. As I prepare to go back to work we have decided to let Finley work too as long as it is fun for her and convenient for us. I have no secret desire to be a stage mom. She is signed with my agency, Wilhelmina - these are the shots we took for them today. Heck, she may be more successful than her father and I before the age of two with this amount of cuteness.

TICK or Treat!!

Deer, Tick and Lyme's Disease hung out in the Village for Finley's first Halloween. Fairy Godmother Nana flew from San Francisco to be a Cloud's Silver Lining (brilliant.) Also present was Ganja Babe (Sandy) and of course Mitch as one of the thugs from a Clockwork Orange (for the past 7 years now:) Viewed slightly from above on Mitch's stoop, the parade is always a rockin'good time.