Going to the Outlets

This weekend was Finley's first trip (of many) to the outlet mall!! She wanted to wear her new Zutano outfit and matching bow & although both are still a little big, mommy gave in & let her. Doesn't she look so cute though?

Granna and Papa came to visit!!

I am so glad that my Granna and Papa came to visit me this last weekend. Even though they only got to stay for less than 48 hours it was so fun to have them here. I don't think I was put down 1 time!! They are the best and I can't wait to visit them next week and see where they live.
-Finley

Happy Birthday Love!!

Happy one month birthday to our sweet baby girl! One month ago today marked the happiest day of my life when I met Finley Grace and fell in love instantly. In some ways I can't believe that it's been a whole month since I looked at her sweet face for the first time but in other ways it seems like she has been here forever and it's hard to remember life without her. I think she smiled at me for the first time yesterday which melted my heart.... and it might have been just gas?? and last night during bath time she made a couple of coos sounds . It seems like she is changing so much each day and I wish that I could just bottle it all up. I can't wait for her to laugh, sit up, reach for me and all the fun stuff yet to come. I feel so privileged to get to be her mom and I love waking up each morning and serving her.

Richard and I have learned so much about being parents this last month--- some things have been fun and others have been more challenging but we have loved it all. We have bonded as a family and many happy and grateful tears have been shed. It's hard to describe the love you have for your children until it's right before you. We feel so blessed and are learning more each day about each other.

Ah..... Ah..... CHOO!!

Who knew a sneeze could be so darn cute????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojBswCM5wsA

Daddy and Finley Time

I just love to watch Richard with Finley. He is such a wonderful father and he loves her so much. He has even become an expert diaper changer and swaddler!! Here are some images I've captured of them together.

Fun Weekend

We had a fun laid back weekend with good friends, food and many photos taken. Friday night our friends Ben and Courtney came over to meet Finley and we got take out PF Changs and watched "The Notes from the Underbelly" (how appropriate!!). And then Saturday Tom and Katie came over to finally meet Finley and brought us good Lasagna and all the fixins. We miss them so much since they moved to Bethesda and we love it when they come visit. Finley approved of both couples with 2 thumbs up!!!

Rub a dub dub....

Finley has finally embraced bath taking... which is a good thing. She despised being naked in any way during the first few weeks but now she doesn't mind it so much. She's getting to be such a big girl!! Here are some of her latest bath pics..... Enjoy!

Dear Finley.....

I hold you in my arms, young princess. You sleep in sweet, heavenly peace. Yet I wonder if you'd be so calm if you knew the truth: I am your mother. And I don't have the slightest idea what I'm doing. You are my first baby, my only daughter. I was just getting used to being pregnant, and now here you are! And you are so very, very real.

Your dad and I have been preparing for your arrival for months. I've read the books Well, some of them. A few pages. I've listened to my friends, who give me endless advice. They're all experienced, you know, because they have their own babies. But, you're different. You're my baby. And they don't know a thing about you.

I do. I know all about the way you kick and wiggle. I've already memorized the way you smell, like a fresh from the earth daffodil. I know about the way your lower lip quivers when you're about to cry. I know that your wispy hair is the most luxuriously soft thing that has ever touched my cheek.

Yet I admit that there's much I don't know. In the hospital I had to be instructed how to nurse you. Last week my mother showed me how to bathe you in the sink. I don't have a clue how to clear up diaper rash. I get queasy at the sight of blood. I don't sew. I 'm not good at salt dough maps. My math skills are atrocious. And you might as well know right up front that wiggly teeth give me the heebie-jeebies.

However, I am very good at baking cookies. I know how to make indoor tents on rainy days. And I have my mother's wonderful sense of humor, so I know how to laugh and make you laugh. I'll sing you sweet songs in the night. I'll pray for you every day. I'll let you keep any animal you catch, as long as you feed it. I'll call your imaginary friends by their first name. I'll put love notes in your lunch box, and I'll swim with you in the ocean, even when I'm old. Perhaps the best thing about being your mother is that I get to share these privileges with the most incredible man in the world....your father.

Any credentials I have to offer can't be earned over coffee with friends...they can't be taught by a book. to me they are tender intuitions, whispers from God, eternal insights only a mother can know when her baby is cradled in her arms as you are now in mine. This is where the Lord will teach me how to mother you by heart.
I love you!

**This was forwarded to me from a friend and although I did not write it I could not have said it better myself.

To all you American Idol fans out there....

Finley is for Blake Lewis all the way!! We have ourselves a Blaker girl!!

Happy 2 Week Birthday Finley Grace!!

I can't believe how much she has changed in just 2 weeks that we have known her. Today is my first day home alone with her and I must say I am a little nervous. My mom left on Sat. morning and we already miss her (and I think that she misses us too!!) We have had many firsts this past week... first trip to the mall, first trip to starbucks, seeing the Easter bunny for the first time, first trip downtown to see the cherry blossoms, first real bath, and many more. I think I have found my true calling in life.... and I'm loving every minute.

Finley had her 2 wk check up today and she is back over her birthweight at an massive 6lbs. 9oz. and they said that she looked perfect. We feel so blessed!! We are just falling more and more in love with her everyday!!