Milestones

This morning we awoke to a glistening white, hefty coating of snow out our window. The tree branches were laden and drooping as the giant flakes continued to fall throughout most of of the day.
This was the perfect backdrop for some quality time milling around the house together.

Of course, we couldn't spend the entire day indoors, so we took in some spectacular scenery hiking up Mill Creek's Desolation Trail.

Below is a photo of the grand finale for the day. Enthralled by the pattern on his pillow Finn reached and grasped to no avail. His persistence and balance were noteworthy but he couldn't seem to figure out how to pick up a frog. Soon I realized that he really didn't need me holding him as he continued to pursue the frogs with such concentration. Our boy is officially sitting tall!

Time to make another batch of food.

I have to laugh every time I make baby food. This just reminds me of the Playdough barbershop. Get out the scissors.
Finn's appetite is increasing. He goes through several "icecubes" of sweet potatoes or avocado in a single meal. He's a growing boy.

Wintery Weather

This morning we woke up to some long awaited winter weather - not that we didn't enjoy the 65-degree weather in mid-November!

Today is my morning with Finn; we might bundle up and head outside...or just relax and sip our coffee inside.

Precision

Finn is getting pretty accurate with his grab and everything goes straight to the mouth. There are about as many fun things to play with on Daddy's lap as there are on his new exersaucer.
Finn went to his first birthday party last night (Kaya's birthday) and came home with this dandy hunk of plastic. He loves it! Ah, the ability to stand and have access to a multitude of tactile temptations.

Is it Food Coma?

We've barely dented the leftovers but I think this is really a result of getting outside for a hike. Chris's crossfit workout for the day was stroller lunges up the switchbacks behind Red Butte Gardens.

What I'm Thankful For...

"What is your favorite memory of this past year?" Audrey asked over dinner.

Wow, how do I answer that one? My life has been turned upside-down this year - in the most amazing way!

As I turn 34 this thanksgiving day I am thankful for the passing of another fruitful year. Though it is hard to pinpoint my fondest memory, I can definitely say that the moments that stick out in the forefront of my mind revolve around Finn and Chris. I am thankful for Finn's birth and the milestones that each successive day brings. I love watching Chris interact with Finn, taking on the role of Daddy so naturally, and the smiles that spread across both of their faces when the other enters the room. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to spend nearly the entire day in the kitchen with my mom preparing the Thanksgiving feast.

The time together was so special and the finished product was scrumptious! I'm thankful for all our family and friends near and far and so fortunate to have shared this day with a few of those of you we love.

Looking Back

First of all - sorry for not posting much in the last few days...but I'll make up for it with a long post.

Last weekend we did a lot of (never ending) house cleaning, had Chip and Audrey over for dinner, did some light shopping, and best of all - got outside to enjoy our unseasonably warm weather. We enjoyed hiking in Little Cottonwood canyon on Saturday and Big Cottonwood canyon (pictured below) on Sunday, even though Hudson had to stay behind (no dogs allowed in the Cottonwood canyons).


Speaking of looking back: We just can't believe how fast Finn is growing! The other day I looked back at the photos from shortly after his birth - and just couldn't believe it. Every day he seems to change a little - grabbing EVERYTHING, sitting up, smiling nonstop, and folding laundry (below).


OK, one more thing: last weekend I snuck away to climb with my good friend Josh. It had been quite a while since we had been out and we really enjoyed every minute. Friday night we headed out of town and arrived on the outskirts of Canyonlands National Park. Saturday we met up with some friends and climbed an amazing free-standing sandstone tower called "Moses." It was a pretty hard, long route, but we climbed well and stood on the kitchen-sized summit by early afternoon. That night we moved on to Indian Creek (about an hour south of Moab) and pushed ourselves to exhaustion on the clean, perfect cracks.

Washing it Down

Finn loves to drink little sips of water from the big glasses after eating his sweet potatoes. He does end up with a decent amount spilled on the front of his shirt.

Spoonin'

Well, Finn is getting the hang of eating with a spoon. We've also moved on to another favorite -

sweet potatoes!

He's five months today and just laughing away.

I Voted Early...

For Improving our Schools, Environmental Reform, and A Bond Measure to Promote More Avocado, Longer Naps, and Faster Diaper Changes.

Shortnin Bread

Mama's little baby loves
Short'nin', short'nin',
Mama's little baby loves
Short'nin' bread,
Mama's little baby loves
Short'nin', short'nin',
Mama's little baby loves
Short'nin' bread.

Of course I baked these mostly for Chris and his chocolate loving stomach bacteria.

Move over Nana, i'm eatin' my daily avocado too!

A curiosity of this strange fruit began a few weeks ago.

Things have gotten a little messier since........

I've begun making baby food. First I started with baking and pureeing the giant pumpkin from my garden. It was much too thick to carve for Halloween! The refrigerator and freezer are both inundated with cooked pumpkin. Today I moved on to avocado and sweet potato. So far Finn has sampled the avocado and it was an instant hit.

Another weekend of painting..........
Last night we moved everything out of the bedroom and began prepping again. Unfortunately, much of the work falls on Chris (since babies and paint fumes don't mix) but I have been popping in to help cut in trim while Finn naps. It looks like we're on track to finish up tomorrow.

Finn's First Halloween

Not sure what this turned out to be...cat or bat?

Hudson picking out a good fresh one.

Erika & Finn

Water's nice n' toasty.

Happy Halloween!

Some random, hyper Halloween dog pics from Flickr...enjoy.

Super dog

Yodog

????

A Day off to Relax

It was so nice to take some time to relax as a family in the park yesterday, after spending much of the weekend working on the house. It was a perfect day for shuffling our feet through fallen leaves on the sidewalk and lying in the grass amongst the crisp layer of golden yellows and browns.

Finn is now sitting upright in his stroller without the car seat adapter. I think he loves being able to look ahead to take in all the scenery. There is just so much to see in this big world!

Living Room 3.0

OK, so our living room was pretty bad: cracked plaster,
dirty-brown tinted yellow walls and ceiling(!). So this
last weekend we finally took charge and patched, primed,
and painted...either I'm getting less picky or more
efficient because we finished by sundown on Sunday.

Hudson admiring the mess - move-in day 9.2006

Wish that ceiling was just 2" higher.

Done...only a year or so later (10.2007). No more coal soot (finally)!

Now on to the bedroom (someday)...

Huevos DuRoss

The other day I was killing time and thought I'd see what comes up when searching for "duross" on flickr. Here are a couple of the results, both very different. I commented on both, but haven't received any responses.

Huevos Duross
I have no idea what they are, but they look good!

Duross House
Clearly one of the nicest places to stay when visiting Australia.

Growing Up is Hard Work

Last night Finn officially rolled - from back to stomach. I was in the other room, on the computer desperately searching for a new babysitter, but at least Chris was there to witness the event. Finn tried throwing his legs again and again but couldn't seem to repeat the roll. I'm sure it won't be long now before it becomes a regular occurrence.

This afternoon I met a friend at Liberty Park to do a few stroller laps with the babies. Her daughter Harper is only ten days older than Finn (we met in our Bradley Childbirth class) so it is great fun to swap developmental stories. Before heading home, we hung out in the center of the park to let the babies "play together" on blankets. Finn rolled from his stomach to his back. It clicked and he rolled several more times before we left. He's got the motion totally figured out. It was so fun to see the excitement in his eyes. Here he is back at home, worn out from the big day.

Fake Plastic Trees

Climbing at The Front...that's me in the blue shirt trying to stay fit (kinda hard these days).

If you want to see me climb (though Erika claims I do a lot of sitting) click here - I tend to go between 4-6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays...

A Morning Spent in Pajamas

Finn and I had some quality time lying around in our PJs before I took him to work with me. He's getting pretty accustomed to being surrounded by high school students with our nanny being out sick so much lately.