images of fun

I received a new camera for Christmas and while I haven't had a chance to work on my skills (f-stop this, aperture that...) I have found the action setting to be fantastic!  The kids are constantly moving and I hated the fact my old camera was soo slooow.  My pictures were always blurry or I missed the action entirely.  We went outside one evening this summer for me to play around with the high speed set up and I captured a few images of joy.  Now, if I could just figure out if my editing software will let me copy and paste images of Liam running up the slide so all 4 progressive images are in one...

father's day

This year for Father's Day I made Jason spend some time in the backyard jumping in the air at the count of 3.  Buh-bam!  As Katie would say.

The kids really blew him away!

the last day of school

The last day of school is always one to spend in contemplation of how much your children grew from their first day of school picture to their last.  Mine changed so much they look like two new children!

Evie September 2012

Evie June 2013

Katie September 2012

Katie June 2013

It's also a day to say an extra thank you to those teachers who spent so much time investing in your kids.  It's always a challenge to give them something that they will like, that isn't tacky or too cheap/out of my budget.  This year I got each teacher a cool reusable bag with a beach towel, mini sunscreen, water bottle, homemade granola and a Better Homes and Gardens magazine (cause Katie felt everyone likes that magazine.)  Evie had one teacher this year, Katie two and both girls said their teachers were genuinely pleased with their gifts.  (Yay!)

graduations!

Graduating is a big deal here.  I don't remember leaving preschool or moving from 5th to 6th grade having such pomp and circumstance when I was a kid... but that doesn't mean I can't jump on the "let's celebrate" bandwagon with the best of them!  This year we saw Liam don the cap and gown for pre-k and Katie for 5th grade.

 Liam was first in early May

Katie was next in June

Katie was voted "most helpful" by her classmates

family visit

We haven't seen the Colorado Earley's since we moved to Texas.  So it was a real pleasure to have Jason's mom, dad and brother Keenan visit in early April.  They were only here for a couple of days, but we enjoyed a family dinner, a tour of the capitol and a meal out.  Everyone was excited to spend time together and it was wonderful to see them!

finnegan patrick turns two

When we moved in to the house and all the books were unpacked, the kids were excited to see a stack of 4 baby albums.  They are the kind of memory books where you can put pictures of special moments and there are lots and lots of lines for writing down all those first words and making note of foods liked and disliked, etc.  But as the kids sat and flipped through their books together they noticed one thing.  Katie's is full of information, Evie's is decent, Liam's is ok and Finn's is practically empty.  My best intentions to religiously fill those suckers out crashed and burned.

I see other mom's who have perfect books and detail every-single-thing their kid does in blogs and I wonder how they do it.  It's not that I don't care or want to record these things, I just plain forget to write it down amongst the business of everyday life.

Since I am so lacking in the Finn memory department, I felt a blog was in order.  So for the last few weeks I've paid close attention to the words he can say, things he can do, foods he will or will not eat and today (on his 2nd birthday) I weighed and measured him for the record.  I know a short post can't begin to describe everything about him, but here is a little about Finn!

Finnegan Patrick

Age 2

25 lbs.

34 1/4" tall

Finn is our tiny guy!  Believe it or not, he can still fit into a pair of 6-12 month shorts I found in his drawer!  Though his current wardrobe is mostly sized 18 months.

Finn can count to 5 in order, then we usually skip to 11, 15, 8...

He can say over 60 words!  I have no idea if this is more or less than he should be saying at this age, but only Katie talked as much as Finn does at this time.

Some of his favorite "sentences" are:

Mommy, watch!

Daddy, look!

I love you!

OH! I'm coming!

Let go!  Mine!

He loves animals and will most often tell you what the animal is and make its sound as we drive by it or see it in a book.  His favorite stuffed animal is a monkey.  

Finn will try any kind of food.  He is always asking for bites of what Jason and I have on our plates, even when we show him he has the same thing on his plate.  His new favorite is "creamy" (ice cream) and if you get anything out of the freezer he WILL hear you and will run, screaming "creamy! creamy!" from where ever he is at.

Finn is obsessed with: Hair

He loves to watch me do my hair and is always pretending to straighten his already straight hair with Evie's toy plastic flat iron.  He carries it around with him and will attempt to "straighten" my, Katie, Evie's and even Jason's hair.  He will try to straighten the cabbage patch dolls hair.  The barbie's hair.  He loves hair.  (He also loves to hold my face in his hands and softly say, "pretty.")  

Finn is a crazy bundle of energy, always running and jumping.  He loves to explore and play and drive his trucks around.  He is a happy, loving little guy who MUST give kisses and "huggies" before anyone leaves the house and at bedtime.  

And we are blessed to have him!

granola

Granola: 
1. A tasty treat.
2. An adjective used to describe people who are environmentally aware (flower child, tree-hugger.) 
3. Someone who, despite never having held a full time job, still manages to purchase several thousand dollars worth of expensive outdoor equipment which they strap to their overburdened 1995 Subaru Legacy station wagons. When not actively outdoors, granolas can be found together in small to medium sized packs smoking marijuana, listening to Jack Johnson and watching Warren Miller videos. They usually reside in Oregon, Washington or Colorado.  (This definition is sometimes confused with hippie.)
4. A suburban middle class mom who does yoga, has a blog, values natural things (i.e. food), makes her own laundry soap and can usually be found at the park or GAP.

There are many forms of Granolaism, but one of the most severe is denial.  Once a Granola reaches a state of denial about his/her current condition, there is really no hope.


I often dream that one day my blog will be "discovered" and I will found to be funny and cute.  Then either A. be asked to write for SNL, B. get paid to sit and type my dribble, or C. (since I'm so cute) finally get my big break and be cast in the next Quentin Tarantino film. (Come on, I'm sure I've got as much talent at Jessica Alba or Lindsay Lohan... maybe even more.)

But because none of those things has happened yet and taking care of 4 kids leaves me with so much extra time... I spend my days doing yoga.  Writing on this blog for all 9 of my followers.  I bake my own bread and add things like shredded zucchini to my brownies.  I cook things I have a hard time pronouncing, like quinoa.  I asked Jason the other day if it was ok I try my hand at making my own laundry soap.  I enjoy being outdoors and you can usually find me playing with my children at the park or shopping at GAP.

The other day, I made my own homemade granola...