He crawls!

Sorry for the delay on this one, but I was a little busy chasing around a determined little Finn who is exploring our house and makin' trouble. He crawls.

{goodness, this picture makes me laugh. See that little flat foot? That one pushes. And that little face? It's the one he makes when he laughs. More specifically, when he breathes in with an added little squeak while closing his eyes. It's pretty much the best ever}

Well, not quite crawls....his one arm reaches, his leg and foot flattens out and he makes his way to where he wants. If you know how Eddie did his Spiderman crawl, it is a little variation of that. Apparently my genes + frank's genes can't quite figure out the crawling thing, lol. I'm guessing it ultimately has something to do with our lack of carpeting, but thanks to our (horrible!) dogs, we can't really change that.

So now my life is spent chasing him down, either while crawling or walking in his walker, where his destination of choice is usually the bathroom. WHY?? Why is that so appealing?? I guarantee you, Finn is going to be the kid that flushes everything. The pull of that toilet is just too strong for him to resist.
And Eddie's life is pretty much spent saying "no Goo, NOOOOO!!!" because Goober's favorite toys of choice are usually Eddie's. His hockey guys are really top notch, but the boards will do fine, too. Finally this morning Eddie willingly let him take them, so he must be getting used to it. Other favorites include the outlets. Which probably also means that Finn isn't going to be quite as calm and docile and I had hoped.

Looks like we not only make little boy Spiderman crawlers, but crazy little ones at that!

I still can't believe....

...how much Eddie loves Finn. Even now that Finn is starting to move and grab at Eddie's toys, he is (for the most part) okay with it, and if he wants something that Finn has, he takes it and replaces it with a new toy. While I'm sure Finn will get sick of that game, so far it's working so we will let it be. The only thing that causes a hiccup is a little foam mirror that Eddie got with a shaving kit...Finney just loves the thing and Eddie flips anytime he has it. Of all the things, I have no idea why this one is the be-all-end-all for these boys!

{and old picture of Eddie encouraging Finn to crawl}

{which turned into "take a picture of my foot, momma!}

Even now, Eddie is delaying nap because he "hasn't had enough time with his Finney-goo-goo-gooba-wooba" (and yes, Finn's Eddie-given nickname continues to get longer and longer). I, being a huge sap for sibling love, am letting Eddie play on the floor with his Goober. They're hugging and loving, Finn is trying to chew the side of Eddie's face off while Eddie squeals with delight, and oh, sometimes the squeals turn into little yelps as Finn pulls a little too hard on an ear or catches a lip all fish hook style, but even then Eddie just ends up laughing about it all. The love. And oh, I love. 

{our attempt at a photo shoot for Michelle's awesome and adorable ruler style height marker}

{and yes, she's going to be selling them! comment or email me if you're interested, I'll update when I get her shop info}

{after leaving my camera outside, it was fogged up like crazy when we got in the house. these pictures were too cute to pass up!}

{silly boys}

It doesn't get better than this. Right?

Hockey Household

Sorry I've been absent (yet again).  The computer died (yet again) and I broke my phone (yet again). Damn.

So, in the time I've been gone Eddie's love for hockey went from, well, love to full flegged obsession. It started with his first hockey class, a new pair of hockey gloves and a shiny new helmet. It went into overdrive with a trip to the United Center, in Momma's place, to watch the Blackhawks play. And then, it was solidified in a day-off-school trip to open skate.

We returned to his hockey class today, and the timid boy that last week fell one too many times on purpose, looked shyly around the rink and cried, hysterically, when it was time to leave, suddenly blossomed into the boy that I know and love...the one who went hustling onto the ice, took off without a second thought, and while he still fell a couple times too many on purpose, he tried, really, really hard. And he was rewarded with a hockey stick and puck. And let me tell you, he rocked it.

{what is it about watching frank lace up eddie's skates that makes my heart go pitter-patter? i love it}

{crazy boy}

{and he's off}

{i know, a lot of the same picture. but i couldn't chose just one!}

{silly boy laughs when he falls. he can get up on his own, so fall all ya want, buddy}

Someday when I get around to doing a phone dump post I'll put up the pictures I was getting during the game. They are adorable and funny and made me miss every second of it. I cannot wait to see how much Eddie continues to grow during this class. He is doing so, so well and it can't be long until he's running drills like a pro. Crazy boy! 

My Valentines

I am the luckiest girl in the world....not just one Valentine, but three!! I will be spoiled every Valentine's Day for the rest of my life :) lol.

My first Valentine is rather silly. He loves sports of all sorts, Saddie dog and his little brother. I have no doubts that this little one is going to grow up to be my little jock....one day I'm going to guess that my only Valentine from this boy is a hug, in public, on the football field or at the hockey rink.

{eddie boy and the love of his life, Saddie dog}

{when I asked Eddie to pose with the Valentines I made for his classmates, this is what I got.}

{another winner}

{for the record, these were his amazing Valentines! Favor bag, printed tag on extra cardstock and bouncy ball favors from the party store. On the back said love Eddie.....they were the perfect non-candy Valentine!}

My second Valentine is the sweet one. The other day I had a premonition about Finn. He is going to be my traveler, my boy scout.....my explorer. He loves looking out the window; when he does, his smile grows, his eyes light up and he babbles and giggles. It's like he's talking to the world, saying "watch out, I'm comin' for ya". One day my Valentine from Finn will be a phone call from some far off world....India, Fuji, Costa Rica if he wants to make his Momma proud. 

{another baptism shoot out take....goodness, his blue eyes kill me}

{silly little stinker smile}

And my last Valentine? He'll be around forever. He may not be my traveler, but in this case I'd like to keep him nice and close. And I suspect every year I'll get the same flowers and chocolate covered strawberries, except I can hope that the flower arrangement continue to get bigger and better (lol) and, if we learn anything from this year, I really hope that he doesn't laugh as I vomit up said chocolate covered strawberries. (True story, he laughed!) 

{Frankie, gettin' some Eddie sugar}

See? I told you! Luckiest girl in the world. Check out all of my handsome Valentines!

6 month Finney Mac

Dear Finn,

First, let me apologize for being late on this one. My second son, you have been giving Momma a run for her money lately and blogging was the last thing on my mind....the first was SURVIVAL. The second was coffee :) So. Let's talk about your little six month self, shall we?

I have to say that 6 months is one of my favorite ages ever. You are so funny, with you little personality starting to shine through your general cute-babyness. I've always thought that you were going to be my calm, sweet boy, but Mr. Finn, I'm a little worried you're going to be an adventurer like your brother and Momma. You see, you love to be thrown up in the air, and hanging upside down and being "dropped" (I don't know what else to call this game, and goodness saying you like to be dropped is a little more than wrong, but I promise, we just pretend!) will make you giggle like no other. My favorite giggle of all is when you push your chin down and give yourself an amazing double chin and let a teeny tiny little "heh" slip out.....like you're too cool to be giggling, but one gets by anyway.

{out take from our baptism photo shoot}

You are so close to crawling, and even though you're not officially moving in that fashion yet, you roll and wiggle and stretch those chubby little arms to get what you want. And what do you want? Normally your favorite blocks that Auntie Stef got you or any of your brother's toys. You especially love Matchbox cars...those shiny little choking hazards get you every time. Daddy swares that you did a little arm crawl the other night, but you haven't done it for me so I'm not going to believe him. Ha! You can sit up on your own, although lately you just throw yourself backwards so you can practice crawling. Laying on the floor is pretty much all you want to do now, but jumping like a loco man in the jumperoo is a close second.

{you chew on everything, and were so proud of yourself when you caught my camera strap}

You still love stuffed animals and Nanna got you your new favorite floppy dog for Valentine's Day. You're finally sleeping in you crib for a little bit, usually on your tummy, but then move into bed cuddling me around midnight. I tried to fight this, you little stinker, but eventually the need for sleep won out and if sleeping next to me does it, then it's better than nothing. You're my last baby, little man, so I can't deny that I love to cuddle with you, too.

You're a flirty little man, something that you have been since you started to smile, but now you add in a little eyebrow wiggle to you big, dimpley grin and you make everyone laugh at you. I taught cousin Jen how to kiss you to make you giggle, right under your cheek, adding in a little tickle with the nose and you were done for....Jen might just be the love of your life now. You also ADORE your brother, and you try your best to follow him at all times. This usually means you rolling until you roll right on top of him, causing your brother to giggle and insist that you're tackling him. You also love to pull his hair (Momma's too!) and look longingly at him while he tries to get you to say "bi-bo", which he says means "Big brother". Eddie desperately wants you to speak, Finn, and is always asking what you're saying when you babble.

Your eyes are still blue and your super long eyelashes get more comments than anything. Your hair is still strawberry and starting to curl, you're wearing size 3 diapers and eating solids twice a day. I've started doing baby sign language with you and you mostly just look at me like "lady, stop that foolishness with your hands and feed me already", but Eddie did so well with it, so I hope you do, too.

I have no doubts that by the time I write again in a month, you'll be crawling and driving Eddie crazy. Fingers crossed I can say that you're sleeping through the night on your own, too! (I can dream, right?)

{so stinkin' cute}

Love you, bub. Happy half birthday!

Not facebooked, but still funny

Some quick, one liners from our life this week.


- I really don't enjoy my baby at 1, 3 and 5am (dont worry, Finn, says Frank, she doesn't like anyone at 3am)

- If you'd like to know what it feels like to sit in a pile of syrup, let me invite you to take a seat on our couch....(thanks, eddie)

-"Dear Frank", says the note, "give Finn prunes for dinner, there was a rock in his diaper today".

- Hooray! I showered today! Small victories.

- I am 90% positive that I will spend the rest of my life smelling like spit up.

- "Dear Frank", says the note, "NEVER GIVE FINN PRUNES AGAIN EVER!"

- "Gimme a kiss!!!" Eddie says to Erin while she's leaving. From a toddler, that's cute. Let's try and ignore that he said it in a voice that could have been your creepy great Uncle at Thanksgiving.

- Eddie puts on sweatpants. "Now I'm just like Mommy!!!!" (and for the record, I wear yoga pants. give me some credit, buddy!)




And yes, my sense of humor is back. Finn finally slept through the night last night, in his crib no less! Just when I had decided to let him co-sleep again if that's what needed to happen for us to get sleep. This boy, he is impossible to figure out. He woke up happy and smiley and super giggly today, so YAY! Please let this continue.

Second child syndrome

I'm still waiting to take Finn's 6 month pictures, still waiting to write up his 6 month stats and, mainly, still waiting for life to rebound after RSV. Unfortunately life is a bitch, I have zero time to write and am regretting not jotting down his info from the well visit check and that damn camera charger is up on the highest shelf that I just don't feel like reaching.

Finn isn't sleeping at night. He is up every 2 hours (lately its been 4) and to be 100% honest, it is effecting me in the worst way possible. I am probably the least productive that I have ever been on the Mommy-front, choosing to turn on cartoons for Eddie instead of sitting down to play a game with him. I am so, so tired and zoned out and I hate the choices that I am making, but the vicious cycle of self-ruining is going on and on and I can't step out. I'm not sleeping, eating like crap and not drinking enough water. I'm not working out, taking time for myself and throwing pity parties every chance I can get. I'm relying too much on coffee and not enough on quality fuel for my body. I know these things, but am not changing them.

I long for a day away, without crying and toddler tantrums and I want's and spit up and runny noses. I long for a day of quiet and peace and a night of the same. I hate myself for wanting these things when such a huge part of me knows that so many people wish for the things I have.

My kitchen is a disaster, there are toys out in the playroom that haven't been played with in days. Food is spilled on the couch and there is something sticky on the floors of the kitchen. But I'm stuck. I'm tired.


Finn is 6 months and 4 days old, and I can't pull myself out of the funk for long enough to take a damn picture.