eleven months.

Finley was more interested in exploring his surroundings and munching on flowers than posing for the camera.

hm, as I was looking back through the archives, I noticed that I completely missed Finley's nine and ten month updates, whoopsies!  guess that means it's time to play a little catch up here!

so, anyway.  what has mister Fin been up to lately?  oh, you know, just the usual things that babies do-- making everyone laugh with his silly faces, crawling all over the place (up and down the stairs, even!), making sure we don't forget who's boss by letting out an ear piercing shriek if we fail to give him our complete and undivided attention (sorry sir, I just had to run to the bathroom sir, I won't do that again, sir!), being cute and cuddly and charming, shoving everything he can get his hands on into his mouth (this includes, but is not limited to, rocks, sticks, bugs, dirt, leaves, and grass), emptying the cupboards, and just this past week he surprised us all by taking his first few steps, thus declaring his 'big boy' status.  WAAAH!  where did my little newborn baby disappear to?  ahem, did you miss the memo, Finley?  the one that states you're supposed to stay little forever?

yoo hoo, Finley, did you hear me?

he's too busy chewing on a wad of toilet paper to answer.      

well, anyway.  in one month we shall eat cake.  now that's something to look forward to.

-jessica

PS. my three lil photography helpers, minus the help.

four months.

how did my baby suddenly get to be four months old?  clearly, I must've blinked.

I had Finley in yesterday for his four month check up.  weighing in at an even 16 pounds, I'm thinking he has to be one of my biggest babies to date.  and here I thought I had turned into some sort of a wimp because I could barely heave the carseat up into the van.  well, turns out he's a big boy, so no wonder!  guess I won't need to eat my Wheaties after all!

out of curiosity, I had the nurse look up Scarlett's weight at four months old.  get this.  she was a mere 11 pounds 13 ounces.  that's roughly four pounds lighter than this tank-a-saurus.  yeah, apparently Finley inherited some BIG genes.  in fact when we stood Finley and Scarlett back to back, he's less than a head shorter than her!  yikes!  at this rate, he's gonna be taller than me in a few months!  it's reassuring to know he's healthy and growing anyway.

as far as accomplishments go, he appears to be doing all the age-appropriate things.  chewing on his hands, blowing raspberries, and winning ladies over with his handsome looks and killer grin.  just recently, he started batting at toys.  this can be quite entertaining to watch, especially when, upon hitting the toy, he startles himself.  he gets this look on his face like whoa dude, did I just do that?  reminds me of my grandma who used to startle herself awake with her own snoring.  after each loud snort (snrkx!), she'd jolt awake and then ask, "what was that noise?"

I couldn't resist doing a quick photo shoot of Finley in his adorable sweater and teddy bear hat that Grandma Kesti made.  every time he wears them, we get several compliments!  and double takes too-- people curious if perhaps I'm toting around a teddy bear instead of a baby? :-)  

we've been battling a blocked tear duct since he was one week old, hence the perma-booger in his left eye.  supposedly, it should clear up on its own.

how's that for some serious cuteness to start off your day?

-jessica

PS. I'm guessing you guys are on the edge of your seats waiting for the continuation of the Hannah and Jake saga.  well, sit tight-- I'm hoping to get to it next week.  in the meantime, I'm off to Phoenix to do a little shopping and relaxing this weekend.  also, my camera has been acting up (sticky shutter button), and I thought I heard it whisper something about needing a little "spa" time.  do any of you Phoenix gals have any suggestions as to where I should bring it to get a tune-up?  thanks in advance!

smile!

as crazy and chaotic and sleep-deprived as our life has been since Finley arrived on the scene, it's obvious no one's let him in on the deal.

first real smile at five and a half weeks old.

as far as he's concerned, life is juuuuust great! 

have a fabulous weekend!

-jessica

look whooo's one month!

ADORABLE owl hat by Silly Me Baby.

at one month old, Finley takes his job of being cute very seriously.

also, eating, pooping and sleeping.  he doesn't mess around with those either.

-jessica

munch-able.

12 days old.

what is it about that newborn smell?

JUST.CAN'T.GET.ENOUGH.

-jessica

fifteen months.

-jessica

baby cakes: part II.

I thought it would be fun to let Scarlett do a cake bash, purely for entertainment value.  in fact I was laughing so hard I could barely press the shutter button.  and now, after looking at these pictures and remembering her "what am I supposed to do with this?" expression after I set the cake in front of her, I'm giggling again.

goodness, I can't believe how fast her first year has flown by.  like babies do, she has filled our home with immeasurable amounts of happiness, joy and laughter.  she's been such a good-natured little girl; so happy-go-lucky and always smiling.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again; what a blessing these little ones are!  my cup runneth over with love for her.

well, enjoy.  hopefully the photos will add a little sugar and spice to your day! :-)      

hmmm... maybe she's gonna be left-handed like her momma!

happy 1st birthday, Scarlett Jean.  I love you.  every adorable inch.

xoxo,

mom

PS. although her birthday is not until the 25th, we'll be celebrating it on Sunday (one day early) with family-- aunts, uncles and cousins galore!  Gary's sister Jodie (and her hubby and kiddos) will be at our house for the next few days, and lucky for me, she just so happens to be a cake decorator extraordinaire!  I only had to twist her arm a teeny bit before she agreed to decorate a birthday cake for Scarlett ;-)  it'll be fun to have them here!  

that said, I'll be taking the rest of the week off to enjoy this time with family.  looking forward to lots of visiting, a trip to Sedona, and maybe we'll even drag them out hiking, LOL.  wishing everyone a happy and blessed Easter!

baby cakes: part I.

so maybe I went a little overboard on the pictures, but it was nearly impossible to draw the line.  there were waaaaay too many cute ones, and well, how could I not post them all?  

honestly, is this not the sweetest little munchkin you ever did see?  I die from the cuteness!  of course I'm a bit biased but... squeeeeal!  love her to pieces!

and for inquiring minds that want to know, here's the shopping list:

pettiskirt bubble romper: Dream Spun Kids.

headband: Silly Me Baby.

tissue poms: Party Poms.

chair: thrifted, although it was black and majorly peeling when I bought it.

pearl necklaces: from my closet.  and don't worry, they're fake. *grin*  

stay tuned for part II tomorrow.  I'll leave it a surprise, but guaranteed you'll be laughing! 

-jessica

nine months.

photos taken in Sedona last Sunday. 

at nine months, Scarlett continues to swoon us with her adorable looks, charming smile and happy-go-lucky personality.  unlike the one just above her (I won't mention any names here, but it starts with R and ends in oh double-u a en), she absolutely loves to cuddle.  in fact, you can always tell who's been snuggling Scarlett by the presence of snot or drool marks on his or her shoulder.  and believe me, around these parts that's what we call a good sign!  it means she's been held and loved!  and then it turns into a competition of sorts, where people are comparing shoulders to see who has the most snot. like, pfft you only have a tiny streak, I have a huge gob!  so there!

as far as accomplishments and developments go, she can now pull herself up to standing with the help of certain objects which include, but are not limited to, my leg.  in addition to baby food, we have started to introduce a few table foods, mainly anything that she can feed herself; cheerios, cubes of cheese, crackers, peas and corn, etc.  she now has six, yes SIX, teeth that are razor sharp. (think "ouch, Charlie.") yeah, if she manages to unleash her pearly whites on you, it really hurts.

at her last well-child check up, her pediatrician detected a slight heart murmur.  as a precautionary measure he recommended she have a chest x-ray, followed up by a visit to a pediatric cardiologist.  well, she had the chest x-ray a couple weeks ago and and we were much relieved to hear that the results were normal.  so this afternoon is the appointment with the cardiologist, so let's hope all goes well and it's just one of those innocent murmurs. I haven't noticed any signs or symptoms that would lead me to believe she has a heart problem, but I'd rather have everything thoroughly checked out just to be safe.

last but not least: I hate to tell you guys this, but I'm seriously suffering from a major case of "blog burn-out."  and if I'm feeling that way, surely you guys must be bored to tears with my incoherent babbling these posts as well.  and so to remedy the situation, I'm going to take the rest of the week off to "unplug" a little. who knows, I might even go as far as avoiding facebook, too.  now wouldn't that be something?  I will continue to post my photo-a-day (see Project 365 above), so be sure and check back for the latest photo updates.  this project has been more challenging than I initially thought, but at the same time, I've been having a lot of fun with it.

thanks for your patience and understanding!

have a great rest of the week, peeps! (and now I'm off to snuggle my baby girl!)

-jessica

eight months.

warning: serious cuteness ahead. (photos taken on Christmas day)

at eight months, Scarlett is crawling all over the place, exploring like crazy.  she follows me into the kitchen and laundry room and thinks it's great when she "finds" me.  and then she promptly whines to be picked up.

she's at the "everything goes in the mouth" stage, which I really can't stand.  I have to constantly remind the kids (think broken record) not to leave their Legos, Knex, polly pockets and other small trinkets lying about because "Scarlett might choke." 

from day one she's been an awesome sleeper.  currently she's pulling 10-12 hour nights.  and takes a couple solid 2-3 hour naps.

she has developed "stranger anxiety" and refuses to go to anyone except mom, dad and her "stand-in" mom, aka Hannah.  and sometimes she prefers Hannah over me.  harrumph.  all other siblings she strictly tolerates.

she just learned the patty-cake thing and also says "mama", "dada" and "baba", although I don't think she's put two and two together yet that "mama" is "mom."  or that she's referring to me.  so for now I'll just act like she knows what she's saying and brag about how smart she is.

also, I noticed the other day that her top two teeth have popped through. 

I don't know... the more kids we have, the cuter they get.  or maybe it's just that ugly parents make cute kids.  or what?

-jessica

PS. adorable headband from silly me baby.  I had emailed Kim a picture of Scarlett's dress, asking if she would make a matching headband.  I told her I wanted "something with a little sugar, spice and sparkle... and some vintage mixed in."  I think she nailed it, don't you?  wow, she is simply amazing.   

santa baby.

Scarlett doesn't know this is her first Christmas.

but, I do.

-jessica

thank goodness for babies.

yesterday evening was rough.

everything was going awry, it seemed.

there was fighting going on.  disasters happening.  laundry needing to be folded.  homework.  Rowan kept helping himself to cookies.  two kids were playing tag.  the house was in chaos.

and no one was listening to me.

I was angry.  frustrated.  exhausted.  wondering how I was going to ever make it through the next umpteen years of this.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

at that moment, I heard a squawk coming from the living room.  Scarlett.  I hurried over to see what the matter was and remembered that she still needed her diaper changed.  another sigh.

as I entered the room, she paused mid-complaint to look up at me and grin.  that big open-mouth kind of grin.  her eyes lit up.  she flapped her arms excitedly, happy to see me.  love and adoration shown on her face.

incredible.  not two seconds before, I had been raging mad, hollering at the kids for misbehaving.  how anyone could even possibly like me right now was beyond my comprehension.

yet there she was, beaming at me like I was the greatest thing that ever ceased to exist.  her world.

in that moment I knew this motherhood gig was worth it.

almost immediately, my heart melted.

the anger quickly subsided, replaced by a love so great, words can't begin to describe it.

I scooped her into my arms.

and kissed her beautiful, shining face.

as the tears of joy trickled down my face,

I said a silent prayer of thanks.

thank goodness for babies!

-jessica