And in Other News...

We have our first tooth!! Eight months have flown by, and Finny has cut her first tooth. It popped to the surface about a week ago. She hasn't complained one bit. The drool production hasn't increased, either, to my delight. Culinary wise, she has taken on some new foods, including carrots (her new favorite), and peas (her least favorite). Shannon also blended up some sweet potatoes again to see if she might have decided to like those this time. She does. We are venturing into more and more foods for her, and keeping up with the other ones we have introduced. We have also brought Mum-Mums and Puffs into play. She can feed herself these things, and watching her find her mouth has been quite amusing for us. Sometimes the Puffs will get stuck on her cute puffy cheeks, or the Mums will end up sideways and her mouth will get stuck open. We, naturally help her, but laugh in the process, which keeps her giggling, as well. The dogs have also learned where they need to sit in order to get a tasty treat. Finny is very keen on sharing with them. Brody eats more Puffs than Finny does. He is not a dumb dog. Lilly waits until it is over, then helps to clean off the baby. A little dog slobber never hurt anyone.
Our little beast is growing like a weed. She is moving around the floor at the speed of light. Not forward yet, but she can go backwards faster than anyone I have ever seen! We put her down and two seconds later, she is clear across the room. I fear we are going to have to clean off the bottom shelves and the bottom of the coffee table sooner than we had anticipated. She has also started to try to pull herself up. She hasn't quite figured out how to get her little knees under her yet, but I am sure that will come soon enough. We have found her more than a few times kneeling in her crib and holding on to the side, peeking over the railing. It may be time to lower the mattress once again.
Finnian is growing up way too fast, but we wouldn't change anything. She is a loving, smart, stubborn, curious, intense little girl. She figures things very quickly. She is always watching everything around her, seeming to take it all in. She will look at things, then look at us, and look back at whatever it was she was looking at with such wonder and amazement. Her eyes get so big and her mouth becomes a huge gum-filled smile. The sounds she makes are "ooo's" and "aaahh's". It is a big world with so many things to discover, and she has just begun her journey. To be a part of it is so humbling. To watch her see new things and try to figure out what it is, what it does, how it feels, what it smells like, what it looks like, tastes like, how it moves, everything; it has been such an amazing journey for me. I can't wait for every day to discover more with her.
We recently went to visit my sister and her family in Idaho and went to the zoo. Watching her see all the new animals and hear all the sounds was so cool. She even touched a goat! The giggle that came out of her warmed my heart so much, I can't even begin to explain it. She would watch her cousin Caden run around and play and we would feel her squirm like she wanted to do the same. It is going to be so fun when she is old enough to play with C, D and E at the Boise Zoo!
We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium for Ina's Day (father's day). It was her first time seeing marine animals. She was fascinated by everything she saw. She couldn't take her eyes off the fish and crabs and jellies. A sea lion kept swimming up to the glass and rubbing against it right in front of her. She would reach out for it and try to pet it. The otters were out and she would giggle and reach out and watch them swim and play. I can't wait to take her back when she is a little older and can tell us what she sees and what she thinks about it all.
It is hard to believe that eight months has gone by. Sometimes it feels like it is such a short time, but sometimes not. It feels like she has always been with us, so eight months isn't really a big deal. She will always be our little buggaboo, no matter how old she is. And I will still play on the floor with her, and pretend gravity got the best of me, and squash her like a bug and listen to her giggle and giggle. It really is the greatest sound in the world. I could listen to her giggle forever.

Time Goes Fast...

When you're having fun!!! Finnian is six months old today! She is such an amazing little wonderful joy to have in our lives. We look back and can't believe that it has been six months already. It has just flown by. It seems like just yesterday, we were in the hospital, welcoming this beautiful little being into the world. Now we have this tiny little person in our home.
She has started to discover the world around her more and more every day. She started to hold her bottle a few months ago, but has really got the hang of it now. She has been able to flip over and roll back and forth for quite some time now, as well. Signs are coming that she wants to crawl. Child's pose is one of her favorite yoga positions to be in, and she starts to wiggle and move, like she is trying to crawl. I think we are going to have a mobile little girl soon! She already moves in circles enough, and pushes herself backwards. Now she just needs to get going forward. We are trying not to push her, since she catches on to things quickly. She'll be moving forward on her own soon enough.
Finny has also shown signs of getting some teeth coming in. We feel around in her mouth and she has a couple bumps on her gums. We hope they will wait a little bit longer to pop through, but she's been really drooly and clingy and very stinky, so we anticipate their arrival any time now. On Wednesday this week, we will take her to the doc to see how big she is and when she can start eating "real" food, so maybe those teeth will come in handy soon!
Little Bug's favorite toys now are, of course Jonas the Moose (#2, since #1 got eaten by Brody in the great dog fiasco of 2012), Sophie the Giraffe (thank you Auntie Cindi!), Mr. Banana (thanks Uncle Albert!), her rings (thanks Nana and Poppa), and her popper beads she got for Christmas (Thanks Momma and Ina!). She loves to ride in her Pink Caddy, and loves to go for rides in the car. She also enjoys spending time with her puppies and kitties and her Momma and Ina and other family members. Finny loves to sit in the grass and play in the water. She loves to be active.
We will all get to see Aunt Andi, Uncle Brian, Cousin Caden, Cousin Devyn, and Cousin Erynn soon, and Finny is looking forward to meeting all of them for the first time. The twins are almost three months old now, so that will be really fun. Cousin Caden is a great big brother, and we know he will be a great big cousin, as well. We love our Foley's!
Six months has gone by so quickly, and we know that it isn't going to slow down at all. Finny is growing like a weed and learning new things every single day. She is a smart little girl. We can't wait to see what's next! Though if time could slow down a little that would be nice...
(on another note, I will try to be better about updating!)

Three Months Old…

And still learning! Every day is a new adventure, for all of us! Finn has recently discovered her hands, which has been fascinating to not only her, but to us as well. She will sit for long periods of time, watching her hands move, bringing them up to her face, and wiggling her tiny fingers, turning her wrists so the back of her hands face her, then turn the palms back to her. She looks so inquisitively at them, and with such wonder that these things are there in front of her, moving and fidgeting. I am curious if she even knows that SHE is making these marvelous little things do the moving, or if she thinks they are some magical creatures she has yet to figure out.

Finny has also recently discovered her mouth. This is a fun little game we are starting to play. Everything has started to find its way into the small opening in her face. Her hands, our fingers, her doggie, our clothes, her blankets. Anything and everything she can reach finds a way up to her little lips and somehow ends up in a pool of baby spit. Now, this wouldn’t be terrible, if her Ina (me) didn’t have a huge aversion to drool. It is so gross to feel this wet spot forming on my shirt from my little girl nuzzling her way into my chest. I know she is just trying to find her cozy spot, so I try to deal with it, but I seriously get dry heaves from it. I fear I am going to be in serious trouble when she starts teething. I can handle any other gross bodily fluid that comes out of her, but this drool thing is beyond me. It stems from a bad childhood experience at the babysitters. I feel sick just thinking about it, so enough about me.

As I sit here writing this, two little blue eyes are looking at me, and when I look back over at her, I see the biggest smile from my kiddo. She is trying to pretend she is shy but she is really not good at that game. When I start to talk to her, she will start to coo and make some noises back. It is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. Her little voice is so soft and adorable (when she isn’t screaming her head off). Luckily for us, she only does that when she is uncomfortable or when she really needs something, which isn’t really that often. We tend to know her schedule and have learned her cues pretty quickly. We are still learning and she is a good teacher. She is patient most of the time, which helps us not get too overwhelmed. We are lucky to have her and have such an “easy” baby.

 Finny got a lot of fun toys and books for Christmas that will help her learn and develop as she grows. We have already started her playing with some of them, as well as some of the stuff she got from the showers we had before she was born. She loves the tactile stuff and things that make noise. She also loves to see her reflection in the little mirrors on some of her toys. I admit that I enjoy playing with her toys, as well. It is fun for us all, and we really enjoy the time we get to spend with her, teaching her different things and helping her in her growth and development. We make sure to tell her what things are and point out colors and shapes and animals or things like that. She will pick things up, I am sure. She is a smart little cookie.

Three months has gone by so fast even though it isn’t really that long of a time. The delivery and bringing her home seems like SO long ago, even more than three months. Now we are pretty much in a routine, so used to having her here, very comfortable with her, and can’t really remember a time that she wasn’t here. We waited for her for so long, that it really feels like she was always with us. She just wasn’t physically with us for a while. Now she is, and it seems so natural to take care of her. Yes, there is something new every single day, and we are learning and growing right along with her, but it is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. Having a family is the greatest gift ever.

Now I just have to wait for Finny to wake up so we can play and laugh, make faces at each other and talk, torment the dogs and have fun the rest of the day. Then when Mommy gets home, she can join us, and our hearts will be happy and our home will be filled with laughter, joy, and love.