Ladykiller

Here's finn with his ladykiller eyes.

a favorite

Finn and I are both home with stuffy noses today so I thought I would throw up a favorite picture of mine. It was taken at the Anderson's house (thank you Lisa!) on Christmas morning. I love this picture because it is such a great example of daily life at our house. Finn loves his daddy and no one makes him laugh as much as Shaun does!

Love my boys!

This time last year...

Both Shaun and I have been reminiscing lately about what life was like a year ago (Feb 08). The differences between life back then and life today is notable. For instance, last year we were just learning how to be parents with a 1 month old little boy. The lack of sleep, the colic, the craziness of a newborn are all things that stand out to us from that time period. Honestly everything that I try to remember during January and February of '08 is very hazy! And this year we have a toddling 1 year old who says Momma and Dadda, likes to tickle our feet, helps Mommy clean house, loves his puppy dog Oscar, blows kisses, signs for 'more' and 'all-done', says 'night night' to everything in his room before going to sleep, and SLEEPS FOR 12 HOURS STRAIGHT!!! I say this only to give hope to the parents out there who feel like their children will never-ever-as-long-as-you-live sleep through the night. They do. They all do.

Another noticable difference about last year was that we had just discovered mold growing along our hallway and had to move into my parents house temporarily while things were being fixed. Now the house is doing pretty good with the exception of occasional maintenance here and there. Our condo has been a huge blessing to us especially with the Recession and we are grateful to have a wonderful home. Mostly grateful for a hard-working husband who makes sure that Finn and I have everything we need. Thank you Shaun!

I do also remember last Spring being a little dark and mostly rainy but it seems this year I am noticing more sunshine due to daily walks with Finn and Oscar. When I wake up in the morning the birds are chirping but maybe thats mostly due to a restful nights sleep (thank you Finn). ;) Spring holds so much hope and promise of what is to come. Not just for sunshine but also hope that Jesus Christ gave us when he rose from the grave on Easter morning. That promise of eternal life is never more clear to me than now as I lay my precious son down to sleep each night, praying for his life and his heart. But also as I attend the memorials of 2 very dear people this week. Jesus has conquered death for us. Life is not over when we die. It is just the beginning.

Happy Spring!

Chicken Parmigiana

Cooking has become a favorite hobby of mine and having 2 boys in the house really helps inspire me to continually try new things.  Both Finn and Shaun have pretty broad palates and so I'm usually at liberty to try new and different meals.  I'd been eyeing this recipe lately for Chicken Parmigiana from the Tyler Ultimate show on Food Network (Tyler Florence).  I love ordering this meal in restaurants but it has been so intimidating to try as a cook.  Part of my New Years Resolution was to stop being threatened by fabulous meals and to just try and make them.  They are not always as hard as you think!  

Finn and I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few items.  He munched on a free cookie from the bakery (a wonderful idea - thank you Safeway!) and I gathered up our list.  Afternoon naps are also a gift because it helped me prep the dinner without a little 13 month old attached to my legs.  After a quick throw together that evening - dinner was done. Both Shaun and I commented on how good it was and Finn ate probably an entire plateful!  No thanks to me, thanks to a great recipe from Tyler Florence.  The link to the recipe is below and I highly recommend this website as a great tool for recipe ideas.   I know that I'm going to be trying new recipes weekly and can't wait for the next great meal!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-parmigiana-recipe/index.html

13 months

This picture of Finn cracks me up. We received a wonderful bag o' goodies (clothes and shoes)from some great friends. We tried this Halloween costume on Finn one night. Needless to say he was not too excited about it.

Cutest little unhappy BumbleBee on the block!

Babies impersonate famous Da Vinci Painting - guess which one . . .

And while you're at it, play the "Where's Finn?" game.

birthday cake!!

Birthday Boy!

Even though Finn's birthday was a few weeks ago we wanted to post a few pictures and videos from this fun day. We had such a great time celebrating with friends and family. Finn had a blast opening presents and eating cake (see below). What a difference a year makes! Finn is walking/running everywhere! Mom and Dad are trying hard to keep up with him. This is such a wonderful stage of life for us. He is bringing us books to read on our laps, 'talking' on his phone, playing peek-a-boo, and growling like a scary monster (also known as Daddy). Can't wait to see what this next year brings!