Finn-Finn is ONE

Happy Birthday, big boy!!

cake before
it took hours to make

he didn't really like wearing his party hat...

so.. I got him distracted by a snack

thankfully daddy is fast!

big brother stealing a taste

doing some mountain climbers to work off that cake

cake after
it took minutes to destroy

We had a big party planned for today to celebrate Finn's first birthday. Unfortunately, Cullen woke up at 1:30am throwing up and continued to throw up until about 7am. Needless to say, we had to cancel the party. I think Sean said it best- "Get used to it Finn, this is only the first of many things your brother is going to mess up for you." ;) Anyway, our family of four celebrated with him tonight and the good news is- I don't think he knew the difference!

I can't believe my baby is one! He is such a happy little guy, with just the right amount of spunk. It never fails, whenever you lock eyes with him, he'll flash you the biggest smile! He's talking more now saying mama, dada (mostly just da), and bop (brother, maybe?). He's not all out walking yet, but still taking a few steps, then slowly lowering himself to the floor. He loves to throw things now, and will play with a ball for quite some time. Cullen and Finn are such blessings, now I can fully apprieciate the saying "Thank Heaven for little boys!"

Finn's first haircut

before

riding in the Firetruck

he wasn't crazy about wearing the smock

trying to escape

this one tickles

after

We took Finn to Cool Cuts, a kid only salon, for his first haircut. He did fine, as we figured he would. Cullen picked out a DVD for him to watch... so Finn "watched" Scooby Doo (is there anything else??).

action man (in more ways than one)

Finn getting a better view

(If Finn is quiet, I always check here first...)

Am I in trouble?

my littlest action man

Action Man! ta ta ta-da!

Is this a mini-Sean or what??

Sean brought back this Action Man toy for Cullen from whatever-stan. (I'm not going to attempt to spell it) It has pretty much taken over as Cullen's favorite toy. It's a foreign version of GI Joe, but a nice size and you can take off his combat boots and camo pants (chock-full of lead, I'm sure). Poor Finn thinks it's his, maybe Daddy will bring him back one when he goes back.

Action Man has been LOTS of places with us, included church several times. At church Cullen shares beloved Action Man with his little friend Isabella and her two sisters. Although, they aren't quite sure what to do with Mr. Action Man.... :)

balloons

What joy! A balloon-o-gram is the best thing in the world for a 3 year old! :)

endless summer

The athletic club we belong to had a big "endless summer" party Saturday for the grand opening of their indoor water park. I took the boys to get out of the house for a bit, since Sean's still gone training. It was a lot of fun! They had free hot dogs, popcorn, snowcones, watermelon, ice cream cones, pretzels, and churros. They also had a lot of fun activities going on- someone making balloon animals (Cullen got a fish on a fishing pole and Finn got a turtle -it's on his ankle), a DJ, two people drawing charactictures, and lots of games. We never did make it inside to the indoor water park, it was so nice outside, but it will be nice to have to do this winter!

pumpkin muffins

I recently discovered the boys LOVE themselves some pumpkin muffins. :) Here is Cullen adding pretty sprinkles to some of his. We made extra and brought some to our new neighbors, whom we actually know. Small world! Their son, Micah, played on Cullen's t-ball team this summer. They have two boys close in age to ours, it will be fun to have playmates so close.

around the house

this one is my climber

let's see you climb that...
no, it's a joke... PLEASE don't!

Finn is definitely our climber! He's not even a year old, and I find him on any toy he can stand on to get a better view out the window, or climbing his and Cullen's chairs to pull at the maps, and climbing over the gate we lay at the foot of the stairs (you know, to prevent him from climbing the stairs!). Just for the record, Cullen gave up when we laid the gate over the bottom few stairs... he'd move on, but not Finn! We had many challenges with putting a gate at the bottom of our stairs... the railing was too long and low for anything to fit there. Sean and I (read: I) got so sick of chasing Finn up the stairs that we (obviously meaning: I) finally decided cutting the railing was worth the alternative. It was a long process involving circular saws, hand saws, spackle and paint... but it's been wonderful to finally have Finn contained!

what a mess!

seeing some improvement!

kites

Finn enjoyed watching

Cullen and his Spiderman kite

Cullen has been wanting to fly his Spiderman kite for months now. I kept telling him we needed to wait for daddy to help us. (I needed him to help manage the kids). We FINALLY found a good night- Sean was home before the boys went to bed, it wasn't raining, and the wind was just right. Cullen loved it! It was really fun watching him run with it.

Casa Bonita- The Movie (from youtube)

I apologize now, we have no sound on our computer right now... so I have no idea what is being said. Or who the people in the video are. But this will give you an idea of what Casa Bonita is like. It's been on South Park a few times too... Cartmen loves Casa Bonita. :)

visit from family

hiking before the rain came

dinner at the Airplane Restaurant

Cullen "flying" the airplane

At Casa Bonita
Forget the sopapillas, just put the honey right in the mouth!

I think this balloon machine is directly from my youth!

outside Casa Bonitas

Finn getting a lift from Papa

Coco and Cullen taking a break
See Garden of the Gods in the background?

My turn to give Finn a lift.

My family was able to come out last week for a couple days. It was nice to break up Sean's PDSS. (meaning Sean was gone- for those non-military). We did a lot, including two hikes at Red Rock Canyon. It was so beautiful (not to mention a good workout)! Cullen enjoyed sleeping with Coco on a blow up mattress... I am so surprised he actually slept! We went to Denver to eat at the famous Casa Bonitas. We also ate at the Airplane Restaurant (here in the Springs) one night. It's a fun place where you can eat on an old military jet. It was a fun visit! Thanks for making the drive and coming out to see us. :)