all digital

Decided to have another go at digital scrapbooking. I went a little crazy downloading free digital kits, but ended up with a page I like. My friends, Nicole & Carolyn have been playing around with digital stuff lately...which gets me excited to play more. The best part is that I just spent about an hour "scrapbooking" & there isn't a mess to clean up! (Definitely a plus while our house is on the market.) Not sure if I'll ever actually print this though... Let's just say I will. :) No reason to think negatively.

- Rhonna Farrer Ribbon, Word Art, Title Bar & Sanded Green background paper, Erica Hernandez Day Labels.
- All downloaded from www.twopeasinabucket.com; Digital Kits, free!

visit with friends

Early this week, we were treated with a visit from Angela Weece, one of my friends that I've known since middle school. She was visiting from the Chicago area & spent Monday afternoon with Carolyn, Finley & I. Finn was pretty excited to have a new friend & even gave a couple attempts at saying Angela's name: "Lala" :)

Finn was also excited to play with Carolyn's cell phone!

He loves to see Jesse's picture when he opens the phone. Carolyn even taught him what button to push to get back to Jesse's picture if he pushes too many other buttons. :P

That day, I had received a package with a giant strip of packing paper. I saved it, thinking that it would be so fun to show Finn how long it was (I was pretty impressed, myself). Unfortunately, I ripped it when I pulled it out to show him. He still managed to make a game out of playing with the crinkly paper. He got pretty wound up & I think he was feeling a little worn out by the time I took this photo. :)

dancing boy

I realized that it's been a really long time since I've posted any videos of Finn. So here's a look at Finn's dancing skills. :) This is one of the things that we love to do with him: turn the music up & follow his lead... Or in this case, Kenton was teaching Finn some new moves. :) This kid can dance! We're going to have to sign him up for some classes! Without further ado, here is our 20 1/2 month old son, dancing to"I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab For Cutie! :D

ronan's speed racer birthday

This afternoon, we celebrated Ronan's 4th birthday at a cool park with lots of family & friends! He was so excited, all day long, about his Speed Racer party!

Finn was very content playing with this tiny excavator, nearly the whole time. What a boy.

By the end of the party, Griffin's face & shirt were a lovely shade of red. :)

Despite the suspicious look on his face, Ronan did really well with letting all the kids see his new toys.

Not surprisingly, Finn was much more interested in Ronan's gifts than he was in my gifts. :P

A Batman card to go with his new Batman car (from us).

Ready for action!

Papa helped Griffin eat a piece of cake. Yum!

All of the kids! There are 19 here, not sure if we caught everyone before leaving though. Also not sure how to spell everyone's names but I'll give it my best shot...
Back Row: Luke, Micah, Kyle, Ben, Audrey, Macey, Lydia, Dylan, Ellie, Sadie
Front Row: Ronan, Griffin, Tyler, Ethan, Konnor, Rhyan, Finn, Ryan, Cohen

mama-finley time

This afternoon, Finn woke up early from his nap. Translation: he only took a 2 hour nap instead of his usual 3+ hour nap. I know. I'm spoiled. But instead of being bummed, I decided to take pictures! After all, we usually don't get a whole lot of alone time because Finn wakes up around the time that Kenton gets home from work.

We don't usually let Finn use his pacifier (or tutti as we call it; it's Finnish) during the day. Only at nap time & in the car these days. But I was a little lenient this afternoon since he had just woken up from his nap. :)

So Finn started playing with his Curious George work bench type thing first, but it quickly turned into a different game...

He used to hammer to hit the wooden ball around the room.
Hmmm...sounds a bit like croquet...

I realize it looks like he's doing his business...but nope.
Still playing his version of croquet.

So sweet!
His hair is getting lighter from the sun. I always wished that I could have natural, golden highlights. I'm glad my son can. :)
(I'm trying to get over the fact that this photo is blurry...)

my birthday, if i must...

On Sunday, July 20th, my very wonderful family helped me celebrate my twenty-something-th birthday. This number is a little hard me for to swallow. I'm still coping. But it was a wonderful day, nonetheless. :) It started with the showering of gifts from 2 of my favorite boys. Then continued (after church) with a BBQ at my parent's house.

My family was very generous in giving me gifts, despite my decision to stay the same age this year. ;) I don't really have any desire to grow one year older, so I'm sticking right here until further notice...

Kenton captured a pretty cute moment. You can tell just how into birthday parties Finn is at this age. The cake on the other hand...

My helpers. :)

Caught in the act! Finn has learned to take advantage of finger foods at parties that tend to be within his reach. He didn't actually want to eat any carrots or particularly care for the dip, but he kept going for both over & over. Silly boy. He also managed to eat a few strawberries, stems & all. :P

Another great shot while Kenton was behind the lens.

My very delicious Thin Mint Blizzard ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, created by Becca! Yummmm.....

let the summer birthdays begin!

This morning we celebrated Sadie's 5th birthday (her actual birthday was the 17th) at the park by Papa & Memaw's house. Becca decorated strawberry cupcakes with Strawberry Shortcake & iced all of the cupcakes together as one. Very cute & yummy! She also brought DQ ice cream Cupcakes - yum yum!

Sweet Birthday Girl
Sadie pretended to blow out the candles because it was too windy to light them. :P

Becca & Aaron with their 5 year old!

Sadie had lots of helpers while opening gifts: Ben & Ryan Benson + Ronan & Tyler. She didn't seem to mind the help...or being the only little girl at the party. :)

Cute, huh?
We knew that Josh & Kenton have the same shirt & I even joked that Josh might wear that shirt today. I didn't think they actually would end up being twins. :P

One of Sadie's gifts was a giant bubble wand! What a hit! We tried to keep all of the kids up on the hill so that the bubbles would come to them. It was hard to convince them not to run straight for the wand. Everyone was pretty excited about the huge bubbles. :)

The kids got a lot of exercise. Finn was pretty tired out after the party.

All of the kids got at least one chance with the bubble wand.

I don't think Finn managed to make any big bubbles, but I did lift him up so that he could pop one with his face! He had a pretty big grin after that. :)


I just liked this action shot.
You can't really tell by the photo, but all of the kids got a floppy frisbee as a party favor. That was another big hit! Finn was entertained by his for quite a long time. He managed to throw it well a few times, but that didn't matter to him. He was equally happy whether he threw it far or whether it flopped close by. :)

He loves his frisbee & was super excited to see it when he got up from his nap.

Thanks for the great party, Sadie! We had a really good time. Hope you had a wonderful birthday! We're so excited for all the adventures in store for you now that you're 5!

the past few weeks

Here are some favorites from the past few weeks that didn't make it into any particular post.

Finn & Mama at the Eugene Saturday Market.
We dropped by for lunch & to visit the Farmer's Market. I always imagine how great it would be to go to the Farmer's Market every weekend to buy produce for the week. Unfortunately, I am not that organized & we don't live very near the market, so it never happens. But this particular Saturday, we were in need of some ingredients for dinner & we were close by. Perfect! We enjoyed local squash & zucchini with our apricot pork kabobs that night. Yumm....

Possibly that same evening, Carolyn & Jesse reading to Finn.
I love watching Finn interact with other adults. He is always entertaining to me, so I get a kick out of seeing other people react to him & vice versa. He was getting pretty sleepy here...almost time for bed.

A new game that Dad made up: backhoe rides.
If you've ever heard of airplane rides, a backhoe ride is very similar. The major difference is that this type of ride ends with the dumping of Finn (every so gently) onto Kenton's chest, with a little *crash* noise. Finn loves to roll off, run around & hop back on for another ride. :) Kenton claims this is a good workout, but I'm pretty sure he enjoys the game as much as Finn!

more signs of summer

Queen Anne's Lace always makes me feel like it's summer in Oregon. It is especially easy to find in random fields that haven't been recently mowed. ;)

My Passion Flower finally bloomed! I have had this particular plant for 4 years & this is the first time it has flowered! Yay! My mom planted these for our wedding (almost 6 years ago) & gave me a potted one (from the original plant) when we moved to Eugene. I'm amazed because: a. it's still alive after 4 years & b. it finally flowered. So pretty!

Also, one of my favorite signs of summer is hydrangea blossoms.

Kenton gave me two hydrangea bushes when I was pregnant with Finn. So this is the 3rd season that we've been able to see them flower. Definitely one of my favorite flowers. :)

Jesse took this last photo. He was playing with the lighting in our living room & captured a sweet moment. (Not exactly a sign of summer, but I'm including it anyway.) My boy has his cuddly moments & I can never get enough. I love that he takes time to stop & be calm with Mama, every so often. :)

evening walk/photography play

This evening, we walked to our neighborhood ponds to try & get out of the hot house. Of course, it was still hot outside, but at least we could feel the breeze. I have been meaning to play a little more with my camera & not just take the usual photos that I tend to take...which usually start with me saying "Look here & smile" or "Say cheese." So here is our evening, in pictures:

Apparently it's summer: Finn has his shirt off & Kenton is squinting.

Kenton does not love the dirtiness of outdoors...especially with a toddler around. :P

We were surprised by how bright the greenery was in our rather dingy pond.

Enjoying himself.

On a mission.

Finn could have gathered/thrown rocks all evening. He's getting pretty good at throwing lately. He usually manages to throw out instead of right above or behind himself. :P

Geese!

Watching the couple walking their dog very closely.

Time to head home.

The photographer + her favorite subjects. :)

Passing the time.

We sure are enjoying our son. He has amazing energy & personality. His excitement pours out & is so contagious. He loves to communicate & is so thrilled when we understand what he's telling us. He continues to be way more social than Kenton & I are & we really hope he stays that way. What a blessing we have been given.