Finley's brag post :)

It blows my mind how much my Finley is learning right now!!
She can tell you what a frog, cow, fish, doggy, tiger, and pig say ( she makes there noises soo stinking cute). She shows where everyone's nose and eyes are when shes asked and is beginning to say words now too. she knows please ( her own version, but it's close!), love, mom, dad, and tree. She is also repeating constanents when we say them, for example, I say Finley and draw out the f and she repeats the f noise.
She is still a little climber, and is walking all over now.
The thing that blows my mind the most about her are how good her fine motor skills are. She has been putting her own straw in the straw hole of juice boxes/lids to her cups for weeks. She also will get a tissue and blow her own nose when she needs to! We have a smart baby :)
She loves everything outside! The sand, water, trees, grass, bugs, animals,flowers. Every flower we see she has to go smell, and she tries to pick up all the little ants and Rollie pollies that she sees. Super cute. I love this age so so much!!!

I love her and these sat 13 months have been the best iv ever had!! SE brings s much joy into our lives

10 & 11 months

I am a slacker, but that is ok. Since this blog is basically my journal and mostly for me, I am not sorry. Finleys 10 and 11 month pictures are waiting to be posted.

I still cannot believe how fast time has gone by. My precious little baby is now a crazy, active, getting into EVERYTHING little girl now. We love her more and more each day (if that's possible)! Every time she enters a new phase Ben and I say it's our "favorite stage", its pretty funny. It just keeps getting better and better!

I'm so thankful that we have been entrusted with this amazing gift of being finleys parents. She has helped me grow and learn in so many ways, and although sometimes it is terrifying, hard, and overwhelming I wouldn't trade a single second for anything else.

I love Finley from the moon and back, and then back and forth times infinity.

Spring has finally sprung!

After a long, long winter spring has Finally chosen to show its face around these parts. Ha.. Cedarburg is seriously the prettiest place when it's nice out! This weekend was filled with playing at the park, having bbqs and picnics with friends, ice cream shop runs, and going on a couple runs and a few walks as a family.

I just love our little family of three! I never knew how much happiness a little bundle of joy could add to our little family! She makes everything a million times more exciting!

I am photo bombing from these last two weeks of miss Finley :) it's been way to long since iv updated this blog with actual day to day events, but what can one do? A least I have some kind of picture journal right?

Spicy Thai peanut curry noodles

I made this recipe up last night, and it really turned out yummy! Ben had not one, not two, but THREE big helpings of it.. And that is a big deal because these days this boy doesn't eat very much! I must warn you that it has a kick to it, so if you don't like spicy food maybe only add 1/2 a tbls of red pepper flakes.. But the whole tbls really adds some delish flavor to the dish. If you love Thai food I think you will love this too! Let me know what you think!

Spicy Thai peanut curry noodles

1/2 cup of seasame oil
1 tbls of red pepper flakes
6tbls honey
6 tbls soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
About 6-7 tbls of rice vinegar
1/4 cup red curry paste
Yellow, orange, or red peppers ( I did one or to mini ones of all three colors)
1 box Whole wheat linguini
1/2 cup green onions
Shredded chicken (i used about half of a Rotisserie chicken)
1/4 cup of cilantro for on top
Chopped peanuts for on top

-Mix the sesame oil and red pepper flakes in a pan on the stove over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
- Next, strain out the red pepper flakes, reserving the oil.
-Combine the oil with the honey and soy sauce
- boil the linguini and drain
-add the oil mixture to the linguini
-add peanut butter, curry paste, rice vinegar, green onions, peppers, and chicken.
-I stirred mine on the stove top over medium heat to make sure everything was nice and warm
-serve with cilantro and peanuts on top

Easter, and fin turns 9 months!

Easter was pretty fun this year. We were able to do a play group Easter egg hunt earlier in the week, and then another on the Saturday before Easter. On actual Easter Day we were able to go to church, and after church we had an amazing Easter feast with some friends! It is so nice having our dental "family" here in Wisconsin. Every holiday, including the little ones, we have been able to celebrate with friends.

I honestly don't know how we would get through school without these close friends we have made! It is insane to think how fast this last year has gone. Only three years left and Ben will be dr. Beeson! Woohoo! And who knows where we will be after that! For now we will just focus on school and the next year or so here.

The next day after Easter Finley turned nine months! I say it every time, but really?! Nine months already!!! Last Easter I was 7.5 months pregnant and had these pics taken.. So weird to think that was a year ago now!

Finley is so mobile and does not like to hold still! She is constantly on the go, army crawling everywhere and standing and walking along furniture any chance she gets! She loves to walk around our house, the store, at church with he assistance of Ben or me of ores. Have a feeling she ill be walking on her own VERY soon here.. Eek! I don't mind if she waits a little longer though! She loves paying the tickle game where she lifts her arms and waits to be tickled, then brings them down and laughs so hard then repeats. She waves, claps, loves to eat, climbs onto everything, and smiles and laughs a lot. We love her so much, life wouldn't be much without her in it!

Healthy, no flour, no oil/butter, no added sugar banana muffins!

I made these sweet little muffins the other day and was very excited with the results! Super moist, surprisingly sweet, and pretty dang healthy for a muffin! I liked them, but I'm easy to please when it comes to healthy food. Ben on the other hand, not so much! So when he said he really liked them too I knew this recipe was a keeper! Try it out, because I think you will like it too!

Ingredients:

- 2.5 cups of old fashion oats
-2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of honey
-1/2 cup of plain or vanilla yogurt (I used vanilla)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbls ground flaxseed
- 2tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. grease 12 count muffin tin. Put the oats in either a blender or food processor and pulse for about 12 seconds. Next, add all of the other ingredients and blend until the mixture is smooth. Put them in the muffin tin and if you would like you can add chocolate chips, craisins, peanut butter chips, any kind of nuts, blueberries, or just leave them plain! :) bake for 16-18 minutes. Enjoy!!

8 months old

Finley turned 8 months on the 1st. She is such a happy and content baby, we are so lucky to be her parents! SHe has been on the move now a days and is never in the same spot I originally set her down at. This is by far my favorite stage so far. SE is learning SO much and loves to play and interact with Ben and I.

At 8 months Finley is,

- laughing at everything. She thinks that everything is funny and I love it!
-she scoots and rolls all over the place still, constantly on the move
-is always moving her hands and legs, little wiggle worm
-loves to nuzzle in and cuddle, especially when she is tired
-favorite toys are water bottles, her Tupperware, brush, and clothes. She also loves to play with the wet ones
-she talks ALL day long! Sometimes she does the loudest continuous yayayayaya, so loud Ben and I cannot have a conversation because we can't hear each other! But we laugh because she is just experimenting with her voice.
-she has said dada and mama, but she doesn't know what she is saying yet :)
-she officially knows how to clap
-she can wave (been waving since around 6 ish months, but now she does it more consistently
-gets so excited and makes the funniest noise when Ben gets home from school, or when she hasn't seen me for a little while
- has now tried Gerber sweet potatoe puffs
-can feed herself with her pointer and thumb (which is so cute to watch her do)
-stands all the time,
- is super strong
-sleeping and napping like a champ
-has 6 teeth, 4 maxillary, 2 mandibular
-her hair is getting longer and is turning into a pretty golden blonde color

Avocado egg rolls with cilantro dipping sauce

So.. Ben and I have been in a rut lately. We have started to exercise regularly with him training for a half iron man and me training for a half ( possibly whole) marathon. We have not been doing so great in the eating department. We crave sweets like crazy these days, which I used to hardly ever crave sweets, and with all of the snow and freezing temperatures here in Wisconsin we have been eating a lot of comfort food, which equals LOTS of carbs and processed foods.

This week we are turning over a new leaf! Yay! I decided that I will blog occasionally on here when I have an especially good healthy meal, so others might feel inspired to join us in our quest to be healthier ;)

Avocado egg rolls with cilantro dipping sauce

Egg roll

- 1 large Avocado

- 1 TB. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

- 1 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro

- 1/8 tsp. salt

- 3 egg roll wraps

- 2 tsp chopped red onion

- 1 egg for wrapping the egg roll (optional)

Dipping sauce

- 1/4 tsp. white vinegar

- 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1 pinch powdered saffron

- 1/2 cup chopped cashews

- 2/3 cup fresh cilantro

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 TB sugar

- 1 tsp. pepper

- 1 tsp. ground cumin

- 1/4 cup olive oil

Prepare dipping sauce first. Combine all ingredients except the oil and blends in a blender or food processor. Put it in a dish and add the olive oil. Put it in the fridge to chill. Next, combine the ingredients for the egg rolls and put about 1/4 c of filling in each egg roll. While folding the wraps seal the folds closed by wiping a little of the egg on the opening then pressing it together for a moment.. You could just use water for this step as well.

I chose to bake our rolls instead of frying them in an attempt to make them a bit more healthy. To do this preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place egg rolls on a foil lined baking sheet and spray them with olive oil spray. Bake for 12 minutes, or until light brown and crispy!

Finley at 7 months... ( better late then ever)!

This post is long overdue, but c'est la vie!
This age has been SO SO FUN! Sometimes it's hard to get things done because she is very busy these days, and she gets bored easy, but I love all of the learning and interacting that comes along with the business!

At 7 months Finn is...

-constantly grabbing and moving around
-no longer stays in one place
- she scoots and rolls to get to where, or what she wants
-thinks that everything is hilarious, this girl is aways laughing at or with us
-she has the most contagious smile and laugh
-she has 5 grown in teeth
-eats like a champ still
-gets soooo excited wen she she sees Ben or me
-she is always moving
-she loves to snuggle into us when Sh is sleepy
-reaches for us
-sleeps like a champ

We love you Finley Gail!

Time

This morning while finley and I were doing our morning cuddles/ playtime out in the living room I was reminded how quickly Finley is growing up. We were doing the same mundane Monday morning business (eating breakfast, Finley doing floor time, chillin like villains), and I was just picking my nail polish off of my fingernails, ( I know, disgusting, this is one of the reasons I NEVER wear nail polish on my fingernails!), when all of a sudden Finley starts busting out laughing. S I picked at my nail again and the giggling continued to bubble out of her. She thought it was hilarious. Then I was helping her play with her toys and I stuck one of them on her head and again she just started belly laughing. So I stuck the same toy on my head and she stopped, looked at it on my head and once again exploded in little giggles. She knew that the toy didn't belong on our heads and that it was silly to put them there.

Seems like a funny thing to write about, something so simple, but it just opened my eyes to how fast she is learning and recognizing her world around her and how it works.

She is waving now too, and she imitates Ben and I all the time, especially when we stick our tongues and and blow to make that funny noise. She loves to copy that one. :)

I was reading a talk by elder cook from this past general conference the other day and this part really stuck out to me,

"Parents, the days are long past when regular, active participation in church meetings and programs, though essential, can fulfill your sacred responsibility to teach your children to live moral, righteous lives and walk up rightly before The Lord".

This really struck me hard. I am so aware how much Finley imitates me, and how she watches me, even when I don't realize she is watching me. I need to be so much better. I have A LOT of growing to do. So many imperfections, but I know I'm not the only one I suppose.

She is growing, and learning, and picking up on my habits already. She is my constant reminder to be the best that I can be. Study my religion more, grow physically, emotionally, spiritually, be the best version of me that I can be.

Thank you Finley, for reminding me of this today!

Chicago with the Arnold's

After our lovely Washington vacation we flew back into e Chicago airport instead of the Milwaukee one. While talking with one of my bestest friends we realized that she to would be in Chicago at the same time! (Her husband, Bobby's, family lives in Chicago and they were there visiting them). It was so so great to see them and getting to go to dinner and have them meet Finley! Finley seriously loved them! I loved watching bobby with her too! He will be such a great dad, and harmony will be the best mama! She is having a baby girl in April!

It was a super quick visit but a much needed one! Love you momo and bobby!

Washington

As mentioned before, we were able to go to Washington to see family and so we didn't have to spend Christmas alone, which I was kinda dreading ( thanks to my amazing parents! Love you mom and dad!) we got to see cousins, and grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces... Lots of people!

All of my family came to Seattle for Christmas this year! There are 7 kids in my family, and we are all married and we all have kids! So let's just say, it was a little crazy, but super fun too!

Here are a few pics I was able to get...

I kinda stunk at getting pictures.. Kicking myself now. Especially for finleys first Christmas, but that was not my choice since I was sick with the flu and fever literally all Christmas Day :(

Mini trip to seaside Oregon

Ben is a little obsessed, ( understatement of the year), with the ocean. He checks the ocean swells in Oregon daily, because he is in love with surfing. He will bring up how much he misses the ocean on a regular basis so I decided I was going to surprise him while in Washington.

I flew to Washington a week earlier then Benjamin so he could study for finals without any distractions, aka, Finley and I wanted an extra week to be visiting family! While I was there without Ben I was sneaky sneaky and planned a little trip down to the Oregon coast for a trip down memory lane, and so Ben could get his surf on! I booked a hotel and let our friends who live there know we were coming.

He flew in on Saturday, and we left on Sunday! He was so shocked and surprised after church when I handed him the hotel reservation! It was an early birthday present!

Unfortunately, the surf was out of control that day. There was no way you could surf anything while we were there, total bust! Good thing we still had a blast! We got to see some really great friends who we miss dearly. They had us and a few other friends come over for dinner and we got to chat and catch up. It was as if we had never left. Those are the kinds of friends that are keepers, ones who you can not see for years, but when you do it feels as if things had never changed. They are keepers.

There was a HUGE storm and we stayed in a hotel ( we call it " our hotel", because we lived in it half of the week for a couple months while I was working in Oregon and Ben was still working in Washington in 2010). Tis hotel is literally right on the beach so we could see the storm on the water, and it was throwing the sand everywhere! It was pretty cool! Our room had a fireplace in it, so we just snuggled up and watched the storm. The next morning our friends came up and we all went swimming in the pool, then Ben and I went out on the town like old times. We reminisced and talked about how fun it would be to go back there when he is done with dental school, just for a few years. We want to work for one of the dentists there possibly.. But who knows what will happen! We got to visit some more people and a few more of our favorite spots before heading back to Washington.

6 months old!

I know I say this every time, but really? Has it really been 6 months since I brought my sweet baby Finley into this world?! It has hands own been the BEST 6 months of my life. I have never had time fly by as fast as it does now that we have our Finley. And I know this is because of how much Finley changes on a day to day basis. I guess I notice the time now that I have someone to measure it against.
We grow more and more in love with her everyday.

I am in LOVE with the stage she is in right now. Her personality is blossoming, and she just thinks she is hilarious (which she is)! She will start randomly cracking up, or full on belly laughing at the littlest things! It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

She has become quite the cuddle bug, and oh how I adore this! She will just snuggle right up to me and hug me so tight. She does it most often when she is getting sleepy, but she will do it randomly throughout the day just because too.

She can sit up on her own but I need to be close by still because she likes to jolt her body back out of nowhere, so we are working on stopping that.

She can stand while holding things for short periods of time. We were gone in Washington for 3 weeks so her tummy time and working on her skills time kinda took the back burner :/

She smiles all day now.. She will find me a crossed the room and just smile at me, or Ben, until we look at her. It is the cutest

SHe got her first tooth!

Ben was on his school break so he has gotten to spend way more time with Finley and she has loved this! He has bonded with her while feeding her rice cereal, doing tummy time, story time, ECt.

she is growing so much everyday now which is so exciting but sad at the same time! We don't want our babe to grow up to fast! ( Ben sad this one and I agree!)

She has become super social even just in the past week! She smiles and laughs at strangers now, and is showing off her cute personality to others which we are diggin on.

She communicates really well with us by making different cooing sounds. She has a different coo depending on what she wants, if she is excited, hungry, about to loose it, bored, or happy, we know which coo is what.

Her cousin Zachary makes her laugh so so hard! She loves him!

She officially eats rice cereal now and she gets so annoyed if we aren't giving it to her fast enough! It is so funny, between each bite she makes little squeals letting us know she wants some more. This baby girl is like her momma and loves to eat!

She has the prettiest little sing song voice. It is just so sweet.

She is VERY vocal these days, she makes the funniest noises, I think she just likes to experiment and hear her own voice ha

We love our little Finley with all of our hearts.
Happy 6 months baby girl!

Seattle Aquarium! Glub, glub, glub

While in Seattle my parents took the fam bam to the aquarium! It brought back tons of good memories because 6 months prior I had gone to the same aquarium with my family and it was the last day before I had baby Finley! Right after the aquarium we raced to the hospital and there I stayed until she was born :)

We had fun having our little miss with us this time, and she LOVED starring at all the little fishies.

We even found some fish we want for our future dental practice! Look at him cheesin it up!