Fin loves a bargain!

With the $$ that my brother gave me for my birthday, I bought some frames for the "shrine to Fin" wall that I wanted to do so badly! I am very proud of how it turned out! Thanks Uncle Breet!

I tried to take a picture straight in front, but the hall is very narrow. So here's a side view.

Livi gave Fin some necklaces last time we were at Torie's and she wears them every day! We keep them in her purse. She knows right where they are.

Fin loves to "play dead" on the living room floor now!

We don't know where she learned this or why she's doing it, but it's pretty funny...

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I went to my FAVORITE second hand store yesterday. Fin played with this Sesame Street toy the whole time we were there. I saw another cool toy that I thought she'd like better, so I bought it instead. Well, it didn't turn out so cool. Fin wasn't interested in it at all. So, I took it back and got her Sesame Street toy which brought HOURS of excitement to the Richard household today. I should have listened when she told me what she wanted! After all, it was $5!!! However... this toy does require standing up and dancing and that got exhausting for Fin. She took a couple of breaks and sat in front of it and reached up to press the buttons.

I did, however, pick out this toy (below)! She loves it!

It was also $5 (can you believe that?!) and I feel like I am encouraging her to play the piano (yeah right!).

See.... just call her Baby Mozart.

The above pic is my attempt to give Fin a ponytail. Mom has pictures of me with the same "sprout" on top of my head.

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Every morning, Marcel wakes up when Fin calls him. She REALLY yells "DADA" over and over until he comes in to get her. We read in an article somewhere that it really important to make sure we are "glad" to see her when she wakes up, so of course, Marcel goes overboard. I can hear her shrieks of laughter and it makes me want to get up, but I don't...ha! Marcel gives her her soy milk bottle, chocolate or vanilla, whichever there is more of and then its like a light bulb goes off over her head. "Oh yeah, Mommy is probably laying in the bed! She's my FAVORITE PERSON and I need to see her RIGHT NOW!" So she comes FLYING in the bedroom and I am already ready for her. We turn the TV to channel 47 (Jack's Big Music Show is usually on) and snuggle for about 30 minutes. Its a really neat 30 minutes and I love it and HER!

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Below is a video of Fin dancing to her new Sesame Street (DJ table?)

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Two videos this time...

Fin played dead for us! During the video, you can tell how many times we had heard the alphabet and Marcel YELLS "QRS!!" He also says "Who's got the chalk?"

Fin knows Yoga??

Fin really wanted to look at Daddy's jersey that was hanging in the closet. I thought it would be funny to put it on her. She's so tiny!

Fin tried to walk in the jersey and this is what happened... She thought it was hysterical and "fell" many times after...

Fin was in rare form on Sunday night. She "wallered" all over the living room floor, which she's never done before. The funniest part was that she was doing PERFECT yoga poses over and over. Aunt Torie would be so proud!

Ardha Mandalasana pose or the "Lunge" pose.

Adho Mukha Svanasana pose or the "Downward Dog" pose.

She started to do the Halasana pose - or "Inverted Plow" - but decided she'd rather eat her sock which happened to have rattles on them. I knew where she was all night...

After her Yoga session, she decided she needed to play with some toys. I love watching her get on her tip-toes to see which one she needs, then can't reach it and does her infamous "mmmmmmm!" whine to ask me to come get it for her.

Fin still prefers a book over all her toys. She hyperventilates when she sees that we are going to read one to her.

Fin got a new hat. She is modeling it for us.

Below is Sunday night's Fin episode.

Love her, love her, love her.

We've got a climber!

We had a pretty boring week up here in Charlotte. All we really did is play. Its been rainy and kind of gloomy outside.

Fin and Mommy are addicted to "freezies." The above pic is Fin sharing a "freezie" with Daddy, which is rare because he usually doesn't eat them. Mommy and Fin usually share a least one "freezie" every night.

I love to see Fin "squat" like the above picture. Her balance is exceptional. It amazes me to watch her do it.

I was worried for several weeks that Fin didn't have any Winter clothes. Torie had given me ALL (and by all I MEAN ALL) of Livi's old clothes. I just couldn't understand why Fin didn't have any warm clothes and then I realized I am too organized for my own good. I had already hung them up in Fin's closet! So... there are several things that Fin will never be able to wear because she's already outgrown them. I did find Livi's old overalls and LOVE them on Fin. Marcel really enjoys them too. He carried her around like a purse all day.

You know the really GREAT thing about these overalls is that they have the PERFECT pocket for Fin's barbie dolls. Who knew?

Fin and I went to watch Daddy play softball on Thursday night. Its not the first time that Fin has gone, but its the first time she was independently mobile. I didn't get a chance to sit down the ENTIRE game and it was a little chilly! Daddy did really good too!

What IS this orange stuff ???

Fin in her cowboy boots. Its a shame you can't see all of them. They are REALLY John Deere boots and pink at the top. She loves them (well, really she loves all shoes).

Marcel does this when he needs his back scratched.

Yep, she's on top on the kitchen counter. She loves it there. Here's how OCD I am... Fin likes to play with her bottles while they are drying. Dr. Brown's bottles have FIVE pieces to EACH bottle. If Fin picks a piece up and lays it back down, I immediately put it back in the sink to be washed. I HATE germs! I can't wait until she doesn't drink bottles anymore. Oh wait... that would mean she's growing up. Yeah, I can wait....

Yep, still in the duck slippers. Every day. All day. Eatin' her sweet peas. She loves them. I know when she's full because she starts "smushing" them.

Just call her Evel Jr.

Video explanation: We had the TV on "Party Favorites" in hopes of getting the "Elvis leg" that Fin has mastered on camera, but instead we got and Evel Kneivel performance. You can see the camera jump a little when I get a little worried about a spill but she manages to stabilize herself. Then you can see Marcel get a little tense but we wanted to see what she could do. Needless to say, the rocking chair stays well across the room from the coffee table....

Still adore her...

Poo Poo and Tee Tee Filled Days!

On Sunday, Marcel and I were in charge of the 2-year-old's nursery at church. I had been told beforehand to "get ready!" Fin was able to stay with us which I'm not sure was such a good idea. She was very interested in what they were doing, but they weren't interested in filling her in. She literally got pushed down by "Matthew" because she wanted the leopard toy that he was playing with. Poor Fin...all she wanted to do is what they were doing! Her cousins let her get her way... why didn't they? Anyways, much to my excitement, children usually get potty trained around when they are 2 years old. "Macy" had to go twice... fun times.

Fin also skinned her nose AGAIN on the street in front of our house. Why can't she just stay in the yard? I also accidentally bought spaghetti sauce that had cheese in it. Of course, Fin started itching right away and I had to rush her to the bathtub. UGH!!! These allergies are so bizarre to me! THEN, she pooped in the tub for the second day in row!!

The green Colgate hat is another one of Fin's "quirks." You can't make her wear it, but when she wants to, she doesn't want to take it off.

The above pic is Fin running from Daddy.

We went to the Fall Festival on Saturday with the neighbors. Here's the story of the boy's cargo pants that Fin is wearing.... Stefanie's friend lived in the neighborhood where the festival was being held, so we parked at her house. I knew that Fin had pooped on the way there because she is very vocal. What I didn't know was that it was DRIPPING DOWN HER LEGS! Luckily, Stefanie's friend had a little boy that was around Fin's age, hence the boy pants.

Fin LOVES animals and enjoyed the pony ride very much. It was exhausting for me though. I had to walk around in circles and the PONIES were taller than ME!!!

Here's what Fin is thinking in this picture... "Who and WHAT are you and why are you standing so close to my stroller!"

Fin thoroughly enjoys sitting in the bathroom sinks.

I love hinney pics and especially enjoy this one because Fin loves her duck slippers and wears them all day!

"Reading" her Wiggles DVD case.

Poor baby with the doubly skinned nose.

This is how Fin gives kisses just in case she tries to give you one.

Sharing a fry with Daddy.

In case I didn't e-mail this video to you, here's the description. We were all watching the Backyardigans (my favorite of her shows) last night. All of the characters were in a race and they all tripped over the hurdles. Fin laughed out loud at them falling down. I find this especially funny because my mom always laughed at us when we fell as children (and adults) and THEN she'd ask if we were okay. Fin and Mimi share the same type of sense of humor.

Lastly, I have taken a TON of pictures lately because I think everything she does is hilarious. She is so much fun everyday and is really starting to communicate with us. She's still fabulous and we love her so!

Happy Birthday X 4!!!

We celebrated mine and Torie's birthday's on Friday, D's 80th birthday on Saturday and Cade's 4th birthday on Sunday! Lots of cake and lots of fun!

Fin officially loves chili! This is her monumental first Dinglewood Chili feast! She loves it!

Bath time took place immediately after...

I remember being excited to find out what Fin's "quirks" were going to be. Well, the Jack Sparrow Burger King scarf thingy was one of them. I put it on her as a joke and she wouldn't take it off! She was hilarious!

Fin loves D a lot!

Aunt Torie and Fin at D's birthday party.

All of mine and Torie's children are compulive gamblers! They would not leave the REAL slot machine alone!

Well, hello Mr. Pumpkin! What's in your eye?

She's being sweet, but really trying to figure out how she can get away from me and not roll down the hill she's sitting on...

Ride em' cowgirl!

Cade's birthday at Laredo's! He was almost passed out in Jon's lap with his thumb in his mouth when they came out singing!

And to end the trip, Fin tripped over her own shoe and now she's Rudolph! Poor thing. Everybody stares at her! She's getting payback because she stares at EVERYBODY!

Still love her! She the sweetest whining baby I know :)

Below is a video of Fin in the bath! It's kind of long, but she gets real animated at the end. She also turned bright red and guess what she did in the bathtub?!! Needless to say, the video ends there! Daddy's quote "At least it wasn't diarrhea!"

She's Walking (and Running)!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a BUSY September!! Fin turned ONE and had a fabulous birthday! Jeanna's wedding was beautiful and so much fun too!

As of October 5th, Fin is Walking!!! Woo Hoo!!! We've already had a skinned knee (and cheek).

Fin had her 1-year-old photo shoot and was a PILL!! There are MANY head shots because she WOULD NOT put the ball down. The photographer did what Fin said (as does everyone else) because she wanted to avoid puffy eyes from crying! They turned out good though! We LOVE the Picture People!

Above is the ONLY picture of Fin that I think she resembles me more than Marcel.

Fin opening her presents (or should I say Livi opening Fin's presents).

Fin really didn't want anything to do with her "smash" cake (that we had to have specially made with Soy). After thinking about it, I really don't ever let her get dirty. My mom always let us get dirty and we loved it! I need to work on that!

My beautiful child before a horrendous doctor's appointment!

She still LOVES her books! Her favorite right now is "Princess Baby." The little girl in the book looks just like Fin too!

After my poor girl got blood drawn! She had 4 people holding her down! We found out that she is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts AND DOG DANDER! She LOVES dogs too! Needless to say, she gets hot dogs and fruit daily! What else am I supposed to feed her??!!

Fin loves her tea sets! She plays with them very meticulously!

Pretty baby...

Our neighbors, Stefanie and Scott, just happened to have a big box that they needed to get rid of... Fin said "I'll take it!" She has now logged many hours opening and closing the "front door" and peeks at Mommy and Daddy through the windows! Boxes are still the best toys!

Our new game this week is to get Daddy's cell phone and RUN!! Daddy chases Fin and she cackles until he catches her! We love this game but most times it ends in a whipeout and tears!

Fin LOVES to play in the refrigerator! I figure that I'll let her because she gets tired of it within 5 to 10 minutes and leaves. I mean, how long can she be into playing in the fridge? It's going on a month now...

We found out at Fin's 1-year-old check-up that she is in the 75th percentile in her height. Is this really my kid? She's low in her weight (again, is this my kid?), but her head is big for her age (yep, this is my kid...), but I say she's just really smart. She is into everything now and doesn't say much because she doesn't have to. I can read her mind. She only pitches a couple of fits a day (yep, my kid) and boy are they dramatic. We still absolutely adore (and always will, I just hope it doesn't get worse, because we are pretty sickening about it) her and feel so blessed to have her!

This is a little video of Fin playing in the fridge...