Baby's First Christmas

This year we decided to space out all our holiday stops over three days. By Christmas night we were pretty exhausted, but it was worth it, because we were able to relax a little more with each family. Finley had a wonderful first Christmas and of course she was very spoiled. She woke up Christmas morning wide awake at 6 am-which is very unlike her.... Brian and I think she was too excited about her presents to sleep! Her favorite present so far is the rain forest music player. It hangs on her crib (or for now on our headboard) and plays soothing lullabies and rain forest sounds. It has lights and little animals that move around and she loves staring at it as she falls asleep. If it weren't 2 inches away from my ear I'd probably love it too! Other highlights include: the girls winning cards (as always), singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blowing out candles for Him, my mom's homemade Cranberry Bliss Bars and so much more!

botanical garden

Friday night we took Finley to look at the Christmas lights at the botanical garden in Bellevue. Unfortunately mommy forgot Finley's carrier, bundle outfit and snugly blanket-what was I thinking?. We improvised and she had a blast looking at the lights and people watching.

finley update

Finley is becoming more interactive each day. She's smiling, cooing, batting at her toys and flirting with herself in the mirror! Watching her grow and learn is so much fun, I just wish I could slow down time-where does it go??

santa pictures

We took Finley to meet Santa tonight. She was mesmerized by his beard and even managed to get her hands tangled in the hair! Thankfully she didn't cry...truthfully I don't think she even realized a stranger was holding her!

caught on tape: finley laughing!!!

This weekend we stayed the night at my parents house. We decorated the tree, visited friends, worked on sewing projects, watched football and went to Brian's Christmas work party. We also managed to catch Finley laughing on camera. Stick with the video...the best part is towards the end. Please forgive the obnoxious noises I am making-but she thought it was entertaining so I stuck with it...Sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

A new addition this Christmas

Every year we stay the night at my parents house on Christmas eve. This year Finley will wake up to her very own stocking, handmade by Grandma Burnham. Here are our stockings hung with care.

From the left: my mom's (from when she was a child), mine (made by my grandmother when I was a baby), Finley's, Brian's (made by his challenged wife) and my dad's (made by his sewing-extraordinaire wife)

hahahaha

We found out that Finley has acid reflux (who knew?). Our pediatrician put her on baby Zantac and gave her this contraption to sleep on. We've had it for almost a week and she is sleeping really well on it...sometimes 7 hours straight-yippee! Every time I look at her strapped in I still die laughing.

stupid clogged drains!

Brian woke up to quite a surprise on Monday morning. Our entire basement, and newly remodeled preschool, had flooded with all the rain! Larry and my mom came to the rescue and helped rip up all the carpet and dry out the floors. Meanwhile, Finley and I stayed warm and dry upstairs. Thank goodness I have such a handy husband!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Today we had our first snow of the year! I love how a little bit of snow makes it feel so much more Christmasy. We took Finley outside for a few minutes of fun. I had visions of making a snowman with her, but Brian reminded me that she's only a newborn. I guess there's always next year...

more smiles

the perfect tree