one to make you smile

"Wild boy in the closet"
At Mummi & Pappa's house
(photo by Outi)

updates on the Henry family

Sometimes, Finn has a hard time keeping himself entertained while I'm checking my email. The other day, he climbed on my scrapbook travel bag for awhile. It's propped up next to Carolyn's (I'm babysitting it while she's in Azerbaijan). Who knew that could occupy so much time. He kept going up & coming down...looking quite proud of himself, I might add. :)

For those who don't know, that shelf is filled with Heroscape terrain...Kenton's other love. :] (It's a game with little figures of all sorts...he's really quite smitten with it.) We had to get an entire shelf to hold all of his pieces & there are still a couple of boxes of figures that are stashed somewhere else. Soon we will get a matching shelf for my scrapbooking paper & supplies - it's only fair. :)

In other news, I'm trying to work out more. (I'm sporting pjs for tonight's workout.) I am terrible at working out consistently & always lose motivation after a couple weeks. So, since it's been about a month now, I decided I should tell you all so you can keep me accountable. I've run out of excuses for not losing the last of the "baby weight" (I'm no longer nursing Finn & he's almost 16 months old) & would like to see some results from my hard work. I don't have a goal weight cause the number isn't important - right? :) More like a goal shape. If nothing else, I want to be healthy...but results are good too.

I'm also not super excited about changing what I eat. I consider myself a pretty healthy eater, despite my sweet tooth (sometimes I NEED chocolate). But I know that sugary stuff can make a difference. So I am thinking about what I eat & trying to make good choices. I don't really have a plan, but I have been lifting weights since Kenton has his weight bench set up in the garage. Soon it will be an even nicer space because his parents gave us that big roll of carpet to put down. I'm also jumping rope because I hate *hate* running. Anyway, the reason I share this is so that when you see me next (or email me next), ask me how I'm doing. By telling you to do this, my hope is that I'll be motivated to keep it up. How embarrassing to blog about trying to be healthy & then to just lose steam, right?

Enough about me. Kenton could use some prayer in the next few days because he has a job interview. He is still working for EEP & wasn't looking for a new job. But Carolyn's step-dad Steve called to tell Kenton about an opening at Symantec (doing tech support of some sort - not my area of expertise). He had a preliminary interview yesterday & afterwards called to tell me that there was no way he was qualified for that job. We were both pretty disappointed because we'd gotten our hopes up (even though we promised ourselves that we wouldn't). Much to our surprise, he got another call today asking him to come for a second interview. They think they could train Kenton for the job & they want to give him another shot! Yay! His interview is this Friday. We are going to dinner at Steve & Debbie's house tomorrow night so that Steve can prep Kenton. Kenton's also going to read up on -whatever it is he needs to know- in his spare time. Again, we're trying not to get out hopes up. He is happy at EEP & wouldn't mind staying there. Just trying to see what other opportunities are out there.

A long one tonight! Whew! I'm done. :)

comes with the territory

Finn has had his fair share of bumps, bruises & scrapes this week. All part of learning to walk, run, climb, jump... Sad. :( He doesn't seem to down about it, but it's hard for a mama to see. His scrape on the nose happened when he fell off our front step & landed face first. Could have been SO much worse & the bump on his forehead isn't even visible anymore. Today he hit his cheek on Memaw's coffee table. (The scrape under his right eye happened during a nap, believe it or not!) It's tough being a 15 1/2 month old. :P

"bapple no-no"

Halloween 2007 - Dragon Finn eating an apple

Finn put two words together for the first time today. He also has his first real cold. He's had a cough before & a runny nose, but he's never seemed bothered before - other than the time he had an ear infection, but that wasn't a cold. So it's pretty miserable being Finley, lately. He's coughing, constantly has a runny nose & doesn't have an appetite. :( I offered him his uneaten applesauce (after he'd already decided he was done) & he replied with "bapple no-no" in a slightly sad voice. We were pretty proud of his 2 word utterance (teacher speak)!

Also, he is learning how to blow when we put a tissue up to his nose. This has made our job so much easier because he's willing to let us get near his face with a tissue (probably because he enjoys the praise we give him for blowing) & it clears his nose better. Before, he was fighting us & turning away constantly any time we tried to wipe his nose. We're looking forward to happier days & trying to remember that this cold will pass & our fun boy with return. So sad that he feels so yucky... :(

cocoa daisy

On Thursday night, Becca & I went to a scrapbooking get-together type thing, where we bought & played with the February kit from Cocoa Daisy. Neither one of us had been to this event before, but I'm so glad we went. I heard about it from Ali's blog & have been wanting join her for some crafty stuff.

Anyway, Becca ended up knowing 2 women there (people who worked with Aaron at the bank) & another woman was friends with Becca's sister-in-law. Small scrapbooking world! Ali showed everyone how to make a mini-book with some pieces from the kits & then we had time to work on whatever we wanted. I brought my stack of photos & got to work. I think I'll make the mini-book when I have a better idea of which photos I'll use, but I managed to get 2 pages done:

Pictures of Daddy & Finn when he was 7 months old. Not the best lighting, but I like the way they turned out. I really like the fancy lace, card stock type stuff. Fun. :)

The woman who hosted, Jill (I think) had an amazing house. Her style was definitely "Shabby-chic" & it was consistent throughout the house. I was envious of her "studio." I loved how much space she had & all of her storage containers. This is one corner from her craft room.



It was really fun to see all of Ali's mini-books in person. I've seen a lot of these on her blog but it's not quite the same as being able to touch them. Very cool! She's always inspiring me to just go for it & make something. Doesn't have to be perfect or chronological. Just create.

lunar eclipse

Thankfully, my mom called to tell me to look outside, otherwise I would have missed the lunar eclipse! I always get excited about this sort of thing. It moved a little slowly for Kenton & I'm pretty sure Finn thought we were all crazy! We were at Mummi & Pappa's house & we had all of the lights turned out for optimal viewing. :) We even had binoculars, which really made a difference! I think Finn understood that we were looking at the moon though because he said "lallow" (his word for moon...I think). He says that for a lot of things, but he says it often when pointing towards to moon. :) That kid cracks me up!

Our house by the glow of the street lamp.
Apparently my tripod was on a slope.


A little harder to see, but the moon was beginning to come out of the shadow. So it's super bright on the bottom & still dark on the top.

Note: All of these photos are uploaded at their full size. So if you click on them, they get really big...which helps when you're looking at a tiny picture of the moon. I guess I needed a bigger lens on my camera. If only...

a night away

For Christmas, my parents gave us a gift certificate for Hallmark Inns, so...we cashed it in last night & spent out first night away from Finn. Memaw & Papa watched Finn for us - such a nice gift!

We arrived about an hour before sunset & had enough time to explore the beach before dark.

The weather was perfect! A slight breeze but totally clear, sunny & a little bit warm. :) Not typical Oregon Coast weather, especially in February!

Hallmark Resort Newport

Watching the sunset from our room

We ate dinner at Georgie's, their on-site restaurant

View from our room at night. I think that light in the distance is from a boat. When I showed the picture to Kenton he asked, "How'd you get the sun in that picture?!" Silly Kenton. :P It was 9pm!

Our view in the morning. High tide.

We ate breakfast at Georgie's too. They have a system that sprays water on the window to wash away the sea spray. I thought it looked really pretty.

After breakfast, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium:

We were greeted by a very friendly seeming Sting-Ray...or Manta Ray? I didn't pay enough attention. :\

Tide pools

Rock Fish

Amazing colors!

Scary, big crabs

Passages of the Deep

This reminded Kenton of a video game he played recently (Bioshock)...creepy!

In front of the otters, who were too sleepy to play. But we did see some speedy seals & sea lions!

After the aquarium, we went to the outlet mall in Lincoln City so that I could spend way too much money! (Sheesh!) I guess we were on vacation, right?

This is what we found when getting Finn ready for bed tonight. :) We don't know who did it (a superman tattoo, in case it's too hard to see), but I suspect it was Memaw...

Finn did great for my parents. He went to sleep well & slept for 12 hours last night! Then he had a 3 hour nap today. I guess that sort of makes up for how crazy, busy this boy is. But I will admit, he spoils us with how well he sleeps. And I am so thankful that he slept well at Memaw & Papa's house. What a good boy!

We sure missed him & were excited to give him his souvenir - a tiny stuffed manatee (of course!) that straps to his wrist, from the aquarium gift shop. :) He seemed amused.

As we were driving home tonight, I received some very exciting news from my college roommate, Lauren. She & her boyfriend of 6 years, Tom (He & Kenton went to high school together in Alaska), got engaged on Valentine's Day in Maui! So exciting! Congratulations, Tom & Lauren! We're so happy for you both!

workers

Working in Ronan's store. :)

We spent the morning at Ronan & Griffin's house while Daddy helped Uncle Josh work on their new house. They installed a window (or two?) & then started prepping for the siding. I think... I was busy playing with the kids. :)

Working on the attic window.

Watching the dads work.

Griffin on the Kawasaki Powerwheel! Ronan's a master on this thing, but Griffin does pretty well too. Ronan was a bit concerned that Griffin wasn't wearing a helmet. :)

at work with mama

What a special day. Today was a low pressure day at work for me (I'm caught up with paper work & didn't have any meetings), so I took the rare opportunity to bring Finn to work with me. My co-workers/friends Becca & Jacque are often requesting his presence. Not a week goes by without me hearing, "When are you going to bring Finn to work again?" It's not real easy to have him with me, but I do love that they want him there. He's definitely my favorite kid, so it's great that they enjoy him too. :) Plus, they keep him entertained so that I'm actually able to get work done. He was super excited about all of the fun toys & activities at my school! He especially liked the tunnel, slide & trampoline - all great things for my busy boy. (Finn stayed in his jammies all day today. Not a typical day, but it worked.) :)

With Teacher Becca, who is battling with Jacque to be his favorite. :)

My amazing team: Matthew, Becca, (Finn), Jacque, Tamy & Angie

Angie is our wonderful supervisor for the morning class & Head Teacher in the afternoon class. Until this year, I worked as her assistant. This year, I am the Head Teacher in the morning class. Matthew, Becca, Jacque & Tamy do an amazing job assisting for both classes. Which basically means they run the show while I frantically try to collect data on the kids & keep ahead of my paperwork & meetings.

They rock & are so good at their jobs. It's great to work with talented people who continue to inspire me to be a better teacher. They teach me new things all the time & I am always impressed with their individual talents & gifts. Plus, the kids love them! What more could I ask for? We are a great team, which is a large part of the reason why I love my job. I don't think I could work somewhere else, after my experience at Howard EEP. (Kenton designed the EEP website, by the way. He says it's a work in progress. I say it's beautiful!)

I have been learning so much this year & attempting to retain so much information. It's definitely a different job than being an assistant. But I really do enjoy the challenge. I couldn't do it without Angie's guidance & my amazing team (or my wonderful childcare - Memaw + Mummi & Pappa - so great for us & fun for Finn). I feel really blessed that I enjoy my job so much. The balance between being a mama & working outside the home feels right. I don't want to give the impression that things aren't hard sometimes or that I never come home frustrated or exhausted. It's not perfect, but it's right.

Random side note: I added pictures of Finley's room to the "my creations" photo album to the left (for people who haven't seen his room). I didn't do anything new to his room, these are just the photos of how we (I) decorated before Finn was born. We are hoping & praying that we'll be able to sell our house in the fall. So some distant family & friends may not get a chance to see his cute, baby room before we move. We're going to stay in Eugene, just looking for a house with a little more room.

My random side note is getting long, but I feel the need to explain myself. :) It has always been our plan (since we purchased our house) to sell in 3 years (if possible) in hopes of moving closer to the neighborhood where I grew up & the schools where I attended. Three years will be up in October of this year. This is our starter home & we are praying that the market will hold steady in Eugene so that things work out. Apparently, Eugene's real estate market hasn't been hit quite as hard as the rest of the country. We're praying... :)

valentine's day + more Finn

Kenton did well. :) He surprised me, for one (which is hard for him to do), & he got up earlier that me (also hard for him to do) to make me breakfast in bed. A "French" breakfast in bed, like we ate most mornings when we were in France. It was very sweet & I felt spoiled. What a guy!

More adventures in self-feeding.

Daddy did surprisingly well with Finn getting so messy, considering the combination of creamed corn & spaghetti looked less than appetizing all mixed together. :\

Action shot!

Getting cleaned up before taking a bath. :)

Finn really enjoys helping Daddy with the Nerf darts. He could play this game forever. He helps load them up & then retrieves them from all corners of the house. Very sweet bonding time with Daddy.

More helping with the darts.

Finley likes the park = Mama likes the park

We dragged Daddy out of the house after he'd been cooped up for 3 days with the stomach flu. Actually it was his suggestion to go on a walk...I'm just not sure that he was ready for playing at the park. But I am all for anything that keeps Finn as happy as he is while playing outside. He looked so cute sporting cousin Cohen's sweater & Mama's hat (by Finn's request).


I don't think I've ever met a baby/kid who likes to wear hats as much as Finn. He brings us hats & asks for help to put them on. Plus, he'll actually wear the hat for quite a while, especially if it's keeping him warm.


Saying "Hi" one of the kids playing at the park. I have a very social son. He is getting a little more timid, but still says "Hi" to most people that he sees. Sometimes it's a very quiet "hi" that isn't always heard by others, but I always hear it & it makes my heart warm. :) I can't wait to hear what else he'll have to say as he figures out more words...

new favorite blog

I added a link to one of my new favorite blogs, on the left. Click here to check it out. I don't know much about this lady (Kal Barteski) but I found a link to her blog through Ali's blog & have really enjoyed her art. Plus, she cracks me up. So if you're needing some non-scrapbooking inspiration, check her out. She uses all kinds of stuff (paints, pencils, oil pastels) on all kinds of stuff (envelopes, bags, chipboard, magazine pages). Fun! :)

words

I've been wanting to make a record of Finn's words for awhile now. His vocabulary is growing so much lately. Everyday he tries to say a new word or starts using a word spontaneously. It's amazing to watch & such a fun stage for Kenton & I to experience with Finn. He's such a blessing to us.

FINN'S WORDS AT 15 MONTHS OLD

Perfectly Clear: uh-oh, Mama, Dada, Papa/Pappa, bubble, ball, no, yeah, hi, ow, yay, go

Tries to Say: apple (bapple), yellow (lellow), hello (lolo), bottle (lolo), banana (nana), milk (mio or something?), hat (hah), blanket (different every time), thank you (yah you or yeah yeah), up (buh), help (bel), cheese (ees), cracker (cacka), hot dog (dotda), hot (hah), snow (no)

He tries to say names too, like Sadie, Ty-Ty, Memaw (my mom), Mummi (Kenton's mom), Becca. Sometimes he says them perfectly & other times he just sounds like he's imitating my tone (when I asked him to say Jacque's boyfriend's name, Stu, he said "Woo"). :)

He also makes the "correct" noises when I ask him what a dog, monkey, bird (caw caw), elephant or airplane "says". He nods yes & shakes his head no...but sometimes he gets confused & shakes his head no when he means yes. :) He brings me his shoes or coat (if it's within his reach) when he wants to go outside & walks to the bathroom when I ask him if he wants to take a bath. He's kind of a genius. :P

I am really looking forward to nice weather so that we can play outside more. Finn loves to be outside & can explore forever. We are going to get lots of use out of our neighborhood park! I am looking forward to playing outside without mud everywhere!

productive saturday

I love it when we get to check off tasks from our to-do list. Today we were productive! Kenton & his dad replaced the burned out headlight in our car & changed the oil - two tasks that seem to take forever for us to get to, but really don't take very long. Finn & I played inside with Grandma Outi while they worked. It's a little tricky trying to keep Finn happy without his Pappa close by. He really loves Pappa! We managed but Finn was super excited when the guys were finished. :)


Then, while Kenton & Finn napped, I got to do yard work! (I actually really enjoy this; weird, I know...) Most of my spring bulbs are poking up & a couple of my crocuses are already blooming. I love this time of year. I know it took a lot of work to plant my bulbs...but that was months (or years) ago. By now, I've forgotten the effort I put into planting the bulbs & they just feel free. I never knew how much I'd enjoy gardening or even flowers until we owned our home. It's fun for me to try & make our yard/house look nice on the outside. I can't wait for the rest of my bulbs to bloom...