Some new skills

The last couple days, Finley has started to wave....well kinda. We know that's what she's trying to do but it really looks more like she's saying "Praise the Lord". That, or she'll be a good waitress some day :)

This also shows more of her stinky face....silly girl.

Oh!!! You can also see her first bottom tooth when Nick gets up close to her face!

I'm just so thankful that the weekend is here! This week was soooo slow! We are looking forward to celebrating Cole's actual birthday this weekend. It will be low-key but still fun, of course :)

24

We had our first ever stomach bug in the Seeman household this week. Yes, in the 3 years of being a parent, we have never had any stomach issues (God knows I can't handle it...haha). Tuesday morning Cole came into my room around 7am crying and before I could even open my eyes and realize it was morning, I was being thrown up on. For as much as I HATE throw up and it being my biggest phobia ever (I seriously think I need therapy for this), I actually handled myself quite well. I was a little frantic though because of course as this is going on and trying to get Cole cleaned up, the carpet, making sure the dogs stay away from the mess, of course Finley wakes up at this time too. I called Nick but he was already close to work and couldn't come home. Cole was acting pretty normal at this point so I thought maybe it was just a fluke thing. I plopped him in the couch and told him to stay put.
Benson knew he wasn't feeling good :(

I called my mom and as we were chatting, Cole got sick again so I knew he definitely was sick. I did all I could think of....call Gigi. Thank GOD she was home and didn't have anything going on because she was a life saver. She brought pedialyte, crackers, popsicles and lots of Gigi love :) Of course as the day went on he got sick a few more times and his energy was sucked out of him like crazy. I honestly don't know how I would have done it by myself because it seemed like Finley was always in need of something while Cole would be getting sick. Plus, trying to keep Finley away from Cole took some work.

Luckily he slept pretty well that night and woke up feeling much better the next morning. It's crazy because literally 24 hours after he got sick, he was acting like his normal crazy self. He didn't have much of an appetite yesterday still but was feeling much better! He even got some work done on his laptop :)

I was supposed to take Finley to get a shot yesterday morning, even got her out in the pouring rain to show up and them told me that because big brother was sick that her getting a shot and compromising her immune system would not be a good idea. Well, I was fine with that, I guess :) So we will wait another few weeks till her 9 month appointment. Tracy stayed with us yesterday as well, so I could take Finley to her appointment and just in case Cole started to not feel well again. Again, she was such a HUGE help and I don't know how I would have survived the last two days by myself.
Unfortunately it's been raining like crazy here the last couple days so I am getting cabin fever BAD!! Like, I think I might go crazy today :) I definitely need a break from being a mom!! :) Hopefully the sun comes out this afternoon so we can at least get outside for awhile. However, I am just so thankful that his sickness didn't last long and I'm still praying that Finley doesn't get anything. I'm sure she will be fine!

On a more fun note, over the last couple days, Finley has been starting this "stinky face" thing and it's so funny because Nick used to do the same thing as a baby.
This is a video of Finley doing her stinky face and the picture below is of Nick doing the same thing.

Cole's birthday weekend

This weekend we celebrated Cole's birthday. It started with the Holler's (our old neighbor friends) coming to stay with us Friday night. Cole was SO excited to see Lexie that he could hardly contain himself. They played so well all weekend and they had so much fun. It was so great to see the Holler's since we haven't seen them in several months. We definitely miss having them around! Here are all the kiddos Saturday morning after breakfast.

Kaylee, Finley, Lexie and Cole

After breakfast we had to hurry and get ready for Cole's party. It was at 10am but luckily it was at a bounce house so we basically just had to show up and they do everything for us. It was fabulous! No setup or cleanup and not being able to chat with people because you are busy getting things ready and cleaned. Plus, the kids had a blast! They had all these bounce houses, slides, obstacle courses to play in and I'm sure all the kids took great naps that day :)
I took a ton of pictures but here are just a few fun ones.
Chris Bell with his daughter Reagan (our good friends from Houston) and Cole going down the slide.

We attempted to get a picture with all the kids, you can see how well that turned out :) A few of the kids didn't make it in the picture and most of them aren't even looking at the camera, but you get the idea.

After the kids played on all the bounce houses, etc. we went into the party room and had the party. Cole wanted an Alvin and the Chipmunks birthday cake so he was pretty excited to see the final product. Everyone sang to him and here he is blowing out his candles.

A bunch of the kids having their snacks and cake.

These two guys look like they are up to something :) I guess just enjoying some cake.

Finley also had fun seeing her boyfriend Josiah. They are so funny, they just stared at each other for the longest time.

Cole and Lexie, they sat by each other the whole time :)

After we got home and all the kiddos took naps we let Cole open some presents (that was the only way we could even get him to take a nap). He got a lot of great things and we have some really great friends for getting him all those great gifts but I did want to show what Nick and I got him. He has been obsessed with bikes lately because he sees little boys at the park riding their bikes and he always tries to steal them so we wanted to get him his own bike. He was pretty excited to get it!

Saturday evening, the Bell's, Holler's and Nick's parents were all at our house for dinner and we also played Mexican Train. The kids had a blast playing all day but we were all ready to have some adult time :) The Bell's also stayed at our house Saturday night. We always love having them stay at our house. They are so easy to have around and always sad to see them leave.
Here is Reagan and Cole Sunday morning before they left. They are so cute together and will definitely be great friends growing up.

After the Bell's and Holler's left Sunday afternoon, I tried to clean up the house some and do some laundry and then Nick's family came up to watch some football and Granddad helped Cole ride his bike. It might take him a few times to get a grasp on riding his bike because he was more interested in ringing his bell this time but I'm sure the more we do it he will catch on fast!

It was such a fun weekend and I know Cole had so much fun with all his friends. He was definitely sad to see everyone go home but next weekend we will have another little celebration for his real birthday. Nothing big, just a birthday dinner and I'm sure he'll love it.

The story of my life the past week

I mentioned awhile back that Finley got her first tooth a couple weeks ago and it definitely was not a fun experience. I thought we might be in the clear for awhile but I was wrong....way wrong. Let these pictures of our day yesterday do the talking.

Every time I'd lay her down, she'd cry...hence why I'm holding her. Luckily Cole was napping at this point otherwise this wouldn't have been happening :) I actually loved cuddling with her because she is normally that child that just wants to sleep in her bed.

More cuddling, I'm just glad she's not crying....yet

Can I at least get one little smile???

There it is!!!!

Ok, enough of that......WAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Mom, hold me!!!!!

Yep, this is pretty much how the rest of the day looked. *Sigh.

Her poor gums are so swollen and she won't eat. She turns her nose up to anything I give her. I did give her one of those mesh things with some ice in it and she liked that and she will eat some puffs but that's about it. She has been SOOOOO clingy, like, cries the instant I leave the room. To say my arms are tired of holding her is an understatement! I gave her some Tylenol and oragel yesterday but didn't seem to work too much. I just hope we are over this pretty soon because I hate seeing her miserable like this.

In other news.....I "might" be going back to work next school year :) It's all very tentative but I have been in touch with people at Hebron (where I have worked since college) and it's a possibility I could have my part-time position back. Again, VERY tentative. AND, our old sitter Jennifer would probably be able to take both kiddos too, which would be wonderful!!! That is a huge reason I decided to stay home this year because Jennifer could not take Finley as a baby and we couldn't find other child care and plus I wanted to be home while she was a baby but I really do miss my high schoolers. Crazy, I know!! Nothing will really be able to be decided on till April-ish but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I told my principal that I'd only come back if I could have my part-time spot back, I'm not willing to do full-time yet. So, we'll see what happens but I would be ecstatic!
Well, gotta go get some house work done, going to have a house full of people this weekend and I don't think they'll appreciate how filthy my house is :)

The Weekend

Thursday morning, my niece Sydney had to have her surgery. This is something all of us, especially Ryan and Rachel have been anticipating since she was born. I imagine they are THRILLED it is all over with now and they can just put it behind them. Her surgery went great but she did have a rough couple of days afterwards.
This is her right after the surgery...is she not the sweetest thing ever??

She was not allowed to eat anything for a couple days after the surgery so if you can imagine, she was not a happy camper! I just can't imagine a 3 month old, who is used to eating every 3 hours, not being able to eat for 48 hours!!!!
She finally had her first feeding yesterday around noon and then they were able to take her home last night. Here she is, all bundled up and ready to go home. I think she looks an awful lot like Cameron in this picture :)

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, we mostly hung out at home and played. Poor Finley didn't have any clean girl pj's so she's having to wear big brother's :) Cole was showing Finley how to use the iPad :)

Poor Roxy

Yesterday afternoon we just did a little bit of shopping and then went to church. Nick went out with some guys last night to watch the Broncos game while I stayed home and vegged in bed watching the game and old Glee episodes. Exciting, I know. As much as I wanted to go hang out with Nick last night, he insisted that the baby monitor would not reach the restaurant :(

Today, I wanted Finley to try out some tofu. She looks like such a big girl in this chair. I was cleaning her high chair so we stuck her in Cole's chair and she just went to town on the tofu. It was perfect for her because she could pick it up by herself and also has a great texture. I think she really enjoyed it, even though I was gagging in the background :)

We are getting so excited because next weekend is Cole's 3rd birthday party. His birthday isn't till the 29th so it's a week early. We have some wonderful friends coming into town and Cole will be so excited to have everyone around. Hopefully I can get everything done this week for his party, but thank God we aren't having it at our house this time :)
Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

8 Months

Finley Marie...you are 8 months today!!!

How are you seriously that old already!?!
(you were too curious with the camera to smile this month)

You weigh 20lbs, not sure of length, haven't had that checked for awhile
Size 3 diaper
Wearing 12 month clothes - I feel that you have plateaued a bit
Still wake up once in the night, but now all I have to do is go put your paci in your mouth. I have tried to not make you dependent on your paci at night but you are starting to want it more and more, just during the night though. So other than a quick plug in around 1am, you are sleeping completely through the night.
You go to bed between 7:30-8:00pm and wake around 7:30am
You are down to 2 naps a day now, usually 10am and 2pm which makes it hard because they overlap with your brother a bit. I have a feeling you will move to 1 nap MUCH sooner than Cole did!
The last couple days I will hear you in the middle of the night and I'll see you up on all fours, rocking back and forth...gotta get that practice in, I guess :)
You are not crawling yet, like I said, just getting up on all fours and rocking. I am totally fine with you not crawling yet, makes me life much easier!
Here is a video of your rocking skills. You definitely get that booty in motion!!!

You still sleep on your tummy and hardly move throughout the night. You will inch your way up to the corner of the crib and then won't move the rest of the night. Guess you like your head in the corner for some reason.
You still eat every 3ish hours
Eating 2 meals a day. You still have no interest in baby food BUT you do like rice cereal. As soon as I try to mix cereal with any baby food, you refuse. Stubborn much!?! I usually bake up sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini and have those as finger foods, or bananas, avocado...anything that is soft. You also love puffs and yogurt bites. Pretty soon I might try some tofu...ick!!!!

You have started saying "da-da", even though it means nothing to you :)
You cut your first (bottom) tooth this past weekend. You were not a graceful teether and I'm hoping the rest of them aren't as hard to come in.
You have been VERY attached to me lately! You usually go to anyone but lately you are definitely a mama's girl!
You also got your very first shot a couple weeks ago. We've had to postpone a couple times because you had the sniffles but you did great, cried for a minute and then were fine.

Here is you and your brother at 8 months.....my he had a big head!!!!
You are definitely more petite than him, aaaaannnnd, still waiting for that hair to come in :)
We love you sweet girl and can't believe that in 4 short months we will be celebrating your first birthday, yikes!

12

12 Random Things for 2012

12
Random Stuff
I'm trying to not drink sodas anymore
We are considering getting rid of our cable tv
I need to read more
I want to start volunteering at church again. I took at 3 month break that has turned into 8, eek!
I'm really not enjoying this teething stage, hello clingy-ness!!!!
I miss working....some days
I really want to learn how to sew
We cannot wait for our Hawaii trip but secretly I'm totally stressing about the time zone change and how they will adapt...and how we all will handle an 8 hour flight
Starting to think about bathing suit weather is scary, thanks to a cute 8 month old I will never be able to wear a 2-piece again :(
I need to stop baking desserts
I want to move....getting that itch really bad!
Candles and plug-ins give me the worst headache

11
Things I do every single day
Tell Cole about 367,491 times "What I'm doing". Yes, he asks that many times
Make breakfast for my two babes
Read blogs
Text Nick
Get on Facebook
Go check the mail (not sure why I love doing this)
Check my calendar
Check houses on Zillow (no, we aren't really in the market, just like looking)
Change diapers
Change my clothes due to spit up or other mishaps :)
Read some of my book I'm currently reading (Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks)

10
Books that are on my reading list
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - currently reading
Hunger Games
Live a Praying Life
Sing You Home
Lone Wolf
Crazy Love
Nothing Daunted
The Tehran Initiative
Bringing up Boys
Bringing up Girls

9
Future Vacation Destinations
Maui, HI - going in March with my whole family
Las Vegas - going in June with friends
New York City
London - so wish I could go while the in-laws are over there but it's hard with a baby
Disney cruise
Switzerland
Wine Country - without kids :)
Hawaii - without kids :)
Tahiti

8
Currently in my Family room
2 sleeping dogs
toys
sippy cups
toys
empty cups
dvd cases
shoes
toys

7
If you came into my house the TV would most likely be on
Food Network
The Bachelor (so embarassed about this)
Private Practice
The Office
The Firm (new show I watched last night and LOVED it)
Man vs Food (Nick loves this show)
Modern Family

6
Some of my favorite foods
Strawberries
Green apple salad
Pb&j sandwich
asparagus
Filet
any breakfast food

5
Purchases we want to make/currently saving for
Pillows for our bed
Bedding for our bed
New carpet
Down payment for bigger house
New kitchen table. Acetone and Mod Podge have destroyed our current table


4
Music I cannot stop listening to
Beautiful Exchange - Hillsong
Anything David Crowder
We Are Young - Glee
Kari Jobe

3
Things we want to accomplish this year
No more car payments - almost there! After this we will be completely debt free (besides our house)
1/2 marathon - want to do White Rock next December
Get some type of part time job (from home?). I really do miss working but not willing to put kiddos in daycare, ugh!

2
Things I can reach from where I'm sitting
baby monitor
stack of dvd's Nick needs to copy to our computer

1
Picture that I love
Nothing glamorous, but this is us on an average day and I just love those smiles!

Mimi and Papa Visit...and New Years

My parents flew down here last week and stayed for 5 nights. It was great to have them here since we didn't get to spend Christmas with them. The kids loved having them around and they also got to open some Santa gifts from the Colorado Santa.

Cole LOVES his vitamins that Mimi gets him. He asks for them every morning so I know they are a big hit! Here he is trying to open up his vitamins.

He got a lot of fun things from Santa...

And Cole is SUPER excited about his Yo Gabba Gabba shoes. I know, they are a little crazy right!?! I really can't even stand that show but he would not take these shoes off and I guess they are pretty fun! :)

Finley got her backpack and a cute duffel bag which will come in handy when we go on some weekend trips.

Other things we did...let's see....more getting up on all fours

Haircuts that we did NOT enjoy :( We bribed him with candy, juice, movies....but he just wasn't in the greatest mood. Oh well, it got done and looks great!!!

Did lots of playing outside because the weather was perfect this weekend!

Played with our new sticker books....for hours and hours!!

Finley played with her new cape from Mimi and Papa. These are the coolest things because it's like a wearable blanket. When you put them in their carseat, stroller, etc it just lays right on top and it isn't a big bulky blanket that has to go under the straps. This will be so nice to have!

New Years Eve:
Last New Years Eve we got together with our "Family Playdate" group and we did the same this year. Ken and Kristi hosted and as usual we all had a great time. Ken cooked a fabulous meal and we enjoyed watching the kiddos play.

Cole had so much fun with this trampoline, he would get so high and get his knees way up in his chest.

And as usual....we had to get the kiddos picture taken. Unfortunately we were missing Liam and Finley actually was big enough to be in the picture this time.
Finley, Kate, Emmie, Cole, Piper and Grayson

We left Ken and Kristi's pretty early because everyone has kids so we headed home and met Nick's parents at our house so they could join us for the evening. Cole was playing pretty hard and all of a sudden he heard Justin Bieber come on the TV and just sat and listened to him. Pretty funny...but he better not be a bieber fan!!! Ahhhh!!!

Alright, so after he was done watching Bieber, he put his goggles back on (don't ask) and flew around like Super Man

Even dad got in on the action

Cole stayed up much later than normal (but did he sleep in??? NO!!!) and the adults actually stayed up pretty late playing Mexican Train. It was a lot of fun but I definitely felt it the next day!
Sadly, my parents left this morning and we put all the Christmas stuff away...what a sad, depressing day :( Tomorrow Nick goes back to work and then it's back to the normal grind. However, only 3 weeks till Cold's 3rd birthday so we will be getting things set up for that. AND, the next time we see Papa and Mimi, we will be here....