The Personality Emergeth!

I was collecting pictures from the trip to San Diego to send to the printers and I'm thinking this is one funny baby! Spunky! Feisty!

The no-hands water chug.

Silas would often stealth-hug Finley - she started to rough him up towards the end of the trip. He would seriously scream "Help Help!"

Getting DOWN on some apple at the beach - you all remember how she feels about apples!

Having a chair snack at Grandma Carol's

Not really used to the stroller yet, but fearless in it.

I think we can see a little personality peeking through - here she comes!

Baby Language

So I am standing in the line at Blockbuster and there is a problem. The computer has crashed in the middle of my checkout. The clerk has to call the manager as the line grows behind me, full of impatient people waiting in yet another of the many lines they must endure on a daily basis.For some reason the endless trailer music that usually plays in the background is quiet, and the queue behind me is also silent with frustration and impatience.
"C@ck!" my little 10 month baby yells out;(it rhymes with rock , or block or shock)
no one says anything, have they heard?
"C@@@@@@@@@ck!!"
I attempt to suppress my grin and act like she didnt say it.
"C@ckc@ckc@ckc@ckc@ckc@ckc@ckc@ck!!!!" she repeats.
Stillness.
Silence.
Shame.
Finally the blue-shirted girl gets the computer to ring up my order and she hands me my dvd's without speaking. I leave the store.
Was it just my imagination or did my baby Finley just shout out obscenities in a public place? What does it say about our society, my parenting, etymology? What is the lesson here?
Please comment
-craig

Happy Birthday, POPS!

We hope you have a good one with a lot of ice cream - we know you will. This picture is from X-Mas - doesn't she look different and tiny!

More San Diegooooooooo

As promised more pics from the land of sun... We miss you guys!
The dudes at the diner.

Mac and Finley being cute after playing in the sprinkler.

Silas and Finley (or "BABY!" as he likes to call her)

The Dreyer Family Rock practicing for the next recording session this fall - you know it!

Uncle Matt bewitching the babes with his brawn.

At the beach - I love the surfers and Emmett in the background.

Nature Baby at Grandma Carol and Grandpa Arnie's

Easter Chick Attack

Happy Easter, Easter Bunny - Bocka Bocka!!

Craig is out of town so Finley and I went over to Bill & Melissa's to color some eggs yesterday. I haven't done this in years and was a little rusty. I broke 1/2 the carton when boiling and another 1/2 in the coloring process - eggs are just too fragile in my opinion! I stole most of these photos from Melissa.

Here I am teaching Cole to use his hands! Forgot you can't do that. I think he and I both still have blue fingers today.

Finley and Cole being seriously cute.

Luke dressed as a cowboy showing off his easter egg art featuring himself as the chick.

A Blog At Rest

Stays at rest - or so it seems. It's been hard to get back in the blogging swing of things. We have been back in the cold that is home since late Monday. We had the best time in California and are sad to leave everyone there, but very happy to see Craig (Papa Daddy Love Man). Also, notable news is that yesterday I booked my first job in a year and three months! What a great way to start Spring - new green money growing in my pocket!!

One of my favorite clips from the trip with more to come...

Sunny San Diego!!!

Finley and I are in San Diego trying to beat the cold and have a great time with the cousins while doing it. The weather is amazing and Fin is wearing little sun dresses and playing in the sand and the dirt and basically living it up outdoors. I was lucky enough to get to see Mac in action as The Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, the play. She was incredible to see - and scary!

Apple with Papa

Today she likes apples and pointing - and she still likes pinching! Oh, and it's not in the video, but there is also a little smacking and pulling of hair going on.

Template Madness

I can't get happy/satisfied with the blog template - I suspect not enough patience to do it properly. But for now I can't use a blog title photo because it is either too big or too small for this template which I kind of like. Anyway, this WAS going to be the blog title photo for a minute... By the way, does anyone know how to get a color wheel instead of the minimal color choices they give?

She's 9 Months Old!!

That's as old out in the world as she was in my body (gestation is actually a little more like 10 months, but hey.) She's 24 pounds 10 ounces and 30 1/2 inches long. We are selling our camcorder and downloading old film from when she was little (heehee) and we can clearly see who she was though we had no idea at the time. Hard to explain, but bizarre.
"This Little Piggy" at the doctor's office.

Her nine month birthday present - a dolly which she is crazy about. Name suggestions, anyone?

Happy baby with a belly to rival Buddha.

Shakin' Baby

Otis Redding helps us shake our baby.

The Finley 411

I don't know why but I kind of feel funny always putting cute pictures of my kid up and being like - look at my cute kid! But that's what this blog is for so...... Anyway, she is pulling herself up everywhere and getting into all kinds of painful situations. I actually picked up her yesterday after she fell straight back and cracked her head on the kitchen tile, looked her in the eyes and said "what's your name, where do you live??!!" I mean we really are ill-equipped at times. She's a tough cookie, though. We believe that she has said her first word and that is CAT though it was coached. (She loves Murray and he actually loves her to) But the words she is saying all by herself are HI! and Hey! with a wave. She can growl like a cheetah and and lion and has a funny gorilla sound. She is also into rolling your skin between her little fingers and pinching. Who knew a little baby pinch could hurt so much?

Finley Hearts YOU

Craig and I have a tradition since our first Valentine's together and that is to NOT celebrate this holiday. We had just started dating and it was just way too much pressure so we were walking down the street and said "Let's NOT." So, we always have the UN-Valentine's Day thereby making the other 364 days ones of L-O-V-E. Finley changes this concept (as she has been known to do.) I just don't feel right not celebrating - I don't know why. I won't celebrate it the way Hallmark or Hershey want me to. I definitely don't like the pressure on people to buy, Buy, BUY for their loved ones - especially men, poor guys. So, maybe we think of it as LOVE Day (though every day aspires to be). What do YOU think?

Baby Choke'Ems!©®

All New Finger Food!
Baby Choke'Ems!©®
Leave on the floor! Easy!
No cleanup! No Muss, No Fuss!
Perfectly UN-safe!



These items were either found in Finley's mouth or taken from the floor in a panic.
-craig

What's Goin' On

The first baby gate is finally installed - don't ask it took so long. Being upstairs is totally hands free and in many ways a much more fun space to be with the baby (no fireplace, cat litter, fancy sterio equipment, cold and sometimes dirty floors, etc.) Anyway, without further ado, I give you... crazy caged baby!

Happy Birthday, Emmett!!!

We love you we love you we love everything about you. Have a great day! We look forward to the day we feast our eyes on the 7 year old YOU!



black blog for you, Emmett!

Poor Little Bunny

Finley has had her first real cold for the last few days. On about day three Craig wakes up sure he has it.... I am like "Oh, please God NO! not that too!!" Here's why...

*the image won't show up for youtube just click on the skinny long box*

UPDATE: Finley is dripping with no signs of slowing, but other than that pretty good. Nightime routine now includes setting up the Vicks vaporizor, having a few crumbles of Triaminic chews and a quick "nose hose". But all this means that we are all still sleeping:)!!!!

Table for One, Please

This post goes out to Annie and Silas for their supreme inspiration... We are officially done with the baby gear for the long moment. The great restaraunt quality highchair idea was from the West Coast Dreyers. This chair was not even reviewed in my amazing baby gear book I suspect because it is not padded or something most people would consider for their homes. But I have to tell you it is amazing. The tray is giant and it is super sturdy - it doubles as a kind of jungle gym right now as she is pulling herself up onto everything. I cannot wait for the summer so I can just wheel it onto the back porch and hose it down. She seems to dig it of course it could just be the blueberries she digs.

I love the bah-bo-bah-bo-bah sound she is making with her slippery fist in her mouth these days. It is something I loved about Silas when he was 9 cute months old and visiting back in July.

Strolling Minetta

Here we are walking down our block in the city with our new city stroller which was many dollars but promises to be able to handle all the city strolling miles we will be racking up in the next few years.