the zoo (100th post!)

Feeding the deer!

We started the day by feeding animals in the petting zoo: goats, llamas & deer. Finn was very brave & didn't mind getting licked by the animals.

Charis was a little more timid, but she took a couple of turns.

Feeding goats

The other part of the zoo is an animal refuge. They have some of the really big animals, like lions & tigers & bears! :) All sorts of monkeys & parrots too.

Mama & Finn

Giant tortoises too!

Kris & Charis

Charis, Samantha & Kris in front of the bears! :)

Katrina, Finn & Kenton in front of the tortoises

Note: I tried Photobucket for the first time to save time uploading photos. Not too sure how I feel about what it did to the format of my photos. Sorry. :\

we made it

Finn was so excited to see all of the airplanes. I'm not sure if he understood what was happening. I tried to explain that we were going to get on the airplane & go up in the air. Sometimes, he would point at the airplanes on his shirt & then look out at the airplanes on the ground. He seemed to be putting some of it together...

(We bought a new point & shoot camera for our trip & I'm still learning how to use it. A little disclaimer for why some photos are grainy or blurry...)

Way cool!

Our first flight was pretty rough. Finn didn't understand why he couldn't get off of my lap. He also was very tired because he'd been up since 4 am without going back to sleep (our flight left at 8 am). He finally fell asleep for the last 30 minutes & that was his only nap until we landed in Austin. :\

Our second flight was much better, against all odds. Finn was still without a nap & our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes; the difference was the window seat! We were in a tiny plane that had only 2 seats on either side of the aisle. This proved to be a blessing, because we didn't have to keep him away from another passenger & he could stare out the window the whole time! :) Which he did for a solid 20 minutes as the plane taxied & took off.

I was so happy to see him stuck to the window - I was really hoping he would get excited about the airplane & be amazed by the view. He did great & only fussed a few times. Unfortunately, lots of planes were delayed & when we got to Austin, there wasn't a free gate for us. We waited on the plane for a gate to clear for an entire hour. Needless to say, I was losing patience. Finn was amazing & managed to entertain our fellow passenger, despite being deliriously tired. Such a champ! He fell asleep in the stroller before we made it to baggage claim & stayed asleep while being transfered to the car seat.

After 50 minutes of waiting to get off the plane.

The guy in the background was pretty nice to Finn & kept playing silly games with him from across the aisle. The irritated look on his face was probably all in good fun, but we were all feeling that way by then. :\

But we arrived. 2 hours late, but who's keeping track?!

And Finn & Charis are becoming such good friends! She's so sweet & outgoing, so excited to have a buddy, & very loving to all of us. She has so much to tell us & Finn is already trying to copy different things that she says. We all went for a bike ride to the playground today.

Finn wasn't too sure about the helmet, but was happy once we got moving.

Such a pro at the slides!

Not shy! :P

So much fun & it's only the first day!

We have lots of plans for our time here: Children's Museum, the Zoo, canoing... I'll probably post more pictures at some point so that I don't have a ton of catch up to do when we get home. But no promises. I'm just so thankful we're here & that we have a week before we have to fly again. :)

leaving soon...

Had to wake Finn up from his nap again. Didn't want him to stay up to late this evening. This time, I turned on the light in his room & snapped two photos before he opened his eyes. He was surprisingly still in a good mood, despite the rude awakening. I know I wouldn't have been so smiley had someone awoken me with a camera. :P

Our tree is beginning to blossom & the daffodils are all opening! Tulips are next - my favorites. :)

We're heading up to Portland very early on Tuesday morning to catch our flight to Texas. Here's a photo from the last time we saw Samantha, Kris & Charis. Finn was just about 2 weeks old; Charis was almost 11 months old. It's going to be so crazy to hear her talking & to see them play together. I am so excited! Plus we get to see our very good friends!

Our last two visits were not really visits. We tried to visit for Charis' birth, but she came the night after we left. :P Then they came to visit after Finn was born, but I wasn't in the best shape at that time either (recovering from C-section, crazy hormone changes, etc.) So this trip is projected to be much more relaxing, enjoyable & fun! Not that we didn't enjoy seeing them the other two times, but you know... Real visits are the best!

happy birthday Ty!

The birthday boy!

Playing with Dad

We gave him Pokemon cards! :)

Yumm - giant chocolate chip cookie

We had a lot of fun at Tyler's 8th bday party! Finn's second time at Chuck E Cheese's & he seemed to enjoy everything a lot more this time. For more photos, check out the photo album on the left. I also added an album from our night at the coast last month. Most are the same photos, but some might be new.

Anyway, we're off to search for a board game that Stu & Jacque showed an interest in. Kenton is excited to find people that might want to play with him. :) Wish us luck! We might try & get some things checked of our to-do list for our trip to Texas. We leave on Tuesday! So exciting!

sleeping

After 3 1/2 hours, I decided to wake Finn from his nap. :) This is how I found him - totally zonked. He stayed asleep even after I got my camera & turned on the hall & bathroom lights so that I could snap some photos.

He didn't wake up until I touched his hair & said his name. He sat straight up & then laid back down, face first on his blanket. Sleepy guy... He cuddled into my shoulder for a moment or two & then was ready to get down & play!

In other news, we found out today that Kenton did not get the job at Symantec. We're a little disappointed, but we're getting over it quickly. :) Kenton's not quite ready to give up his 8 weeks off per year (unpaid, but still) & I wasn't too thrilled about Kenton staying at work until 6 pm (especially since Finn's bedtime has been around 7 pm). So maybe this was all to make us appreciate his job at EEP. He won't be able to work there forever, but it's working for now. Thanks for your prayers & well-wishes. :)

visitors at school

Today, 3 firefighters visited our class to talk about what they do. We're learning about Community Helpers this week. :) They brought their fire engine & got all dressed up in their gear. Some of the kids were really nervous about this part. It was good for them to get a chance to see them up close - they look kind of scary all geared up, but they're there to keep us safe! :)

We have really cute kids in our class. Some of the cutest, I think. But due to confidentiality, I can't show you their faces. Bummer. They had some pretty great "questions" though. (Usually a totally unrelated comment, rather than a question.) It's kind of tricky to teach kids of this age what it means to ask a question. They like to tell us about themselves, or their dads, or what happened before they came to school. Pretty cute. :) We all like to talk about ourselves, right? Why else would I have a blog? :P

It seemed to throw off the firefighters a little though, when our kids made random comments (some of which were extra hard because of speech issues). But they were good sports & did a great job, considering it was a group of preschoolers with developmental delays. They were totally excited, so that helped.

what a difference

I was organizing my 2007 scrapbook & I came across a page of photos that were taken exactly one year ago. It's amazing to me how much has happened in a year. At the same time, it feels like the year went by so quickly. It's so different to experience a year in the life of a child. Finn has changed SO much!

One thing that stood out to me was my comment about spit-up. Finn used to spit-up a lot. So much. It was part of our routine/life. We were so used to having to change his clothes 2-3 times a day, sometimes before we had even left the house. Now, to think that it's not even an issue is a little mind boggling. (I am so thankful that we are done with the spit-up stage - that got old fast!) Things change. I love change. Change has always been really exciting to me. I love mixing it up; experiencing something new. It's so great to experience so many new things with our boy.

A photo from the other day.
(Too bad I didn't have a photo from March 10, 2008 to compare, but this is close enough.)

On another note, still no news about the job that Kenton interviewed for. We've heard that Symantec can take awhile to get back to applicants. We're still hoping for good news, but it's getting harder to be optimistic. Prayers are much appreciated! Thanks. :)

exciting.

My shoes that I ordered after Christmas finally arrived. They were on backorder until the middle of February. I'd pretty much given up hope. But they came yesterday! Yay! :)

Also, yesterday Finn turned 16 months old. I tried to get a cute photo, but he was busy toting around his treasures (a rock, a stick, a sippy cup & I believe he was chasing after a ball).

Today, Finn took his first bubble bath (at our house, at least). Pretty exciting, since bubble is one of the words he says very clearly.

Other words he's working on lately: truck (uck or ugh-ugh), bus (buh), kitty (it-ee), eyes, teeth (eeth), hair (air), nose (no), ear (ee), boots (bo), shoe (woo), bath (baa), yes (yeth), car (cah-ca), book (bow), O's (ooo - as in Cherios), Go! - just like that but in a really high pitched voice :)

He pretty much gets the first sound of the word, or sometimes an ending sound. He says some clearly, but a lot are still coming along. He's also added horse, cow, & sometimes sheep sounds to his list. :)

His sense of humor is emerging more as well. When he's in the bath tub, he puts cups on his feet & then gives us the proudest grin. He also was pretty pleased with himself when he put his boot on his hand. Last night, he put his pacifier in between his toes & got so excited when I laughed at his trick. He loves to make us laugh & will repeat his silly action over & over to keep up giggling.

We are having so much fun with our 16 month old. Now the big test is coming in 11 days - our flight to Texas to visit our close friends Kris, Samantha & Charis (our God-daughter). You can be sure that I'll report back about that adventure. :) So exciting - & a little nerve-racking as well. But so worth the crazy flight! Can't wait.

outdoor adventures

So close to blooming.
This is one of my least favorite shrubs most of the year. But I love it when it blooms in Spring. I think it's called a Flowering Quince & when in full bloom the whole shrub is covered in bright pink flowers. After it has bloomed, it's a mess of green leaves & in the winter it's just a bunch of scraggly twigs. Not my favorite...but in Spring, it's a different story. I probably just need to learn to prune it correctly. Anyone know how?

Here are photos from another outdoor adventure with Finn. I couldn't choose just one photo, so there are several. He's just so cute & fun...& handsome, if I do say so myself. :)

A new favorite game: throwing the bouncy, orange ball outside. He cracks up when it bounces. It's a double bonus if in rolls into a hole.

Like I said, handsome. :)

Pointing at a car, or a cat, or an airplane, or a big truck. I can't remember, but each is equally exciting to this little guy.

Or maybe it was a rock. He loves rocks. Such a boy.

mellow morning

We had a pretty lazy morning & took our time getting ready. A big highlight for us was that Finn sat still & read books with Kenton for 10 minutes! He rarely sits through one book (or one page for that matter) so this was special! We want Finn to develop a love for books - both Kenton & I really enjoy reading. He's such a busy kid though & is rarely interested. We're hoping this is the start of something & not just a fluke mellow moment. :)

We put Finn down for a nap at home. Kenton's parents came over to stay with him so that we could attend Tyler & Brittany's wedding (friends from church). It was very beautiful - Sandy did an amazing job singing (in Italian) & McKenzie wrote/played the very beautiful song. It's always fun to see our friends perform their talents. We know some pretty cool people! :)

Enjoying our time at the wedding
(without having to chase around our little runner) :P

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...