Category Archives: holiday

May 10, 2015

DSC_0107Finn met Elmo & Grover! The week was a blur, but on Saturday morning we headed to see Sesame Street Live complete with a meet and greet of a few characters.  Finn was mesmerized. He was the first kid to sit on Elmo’s lap and given that he is very much an observer he kind of sat there and took it all in. Not too many smiles but a few smirks! We hung out for awhile and colored, knocked on the door, and pushed the button – it was a fun meet and greet experience.  The show itself was great too. We were in the second row, and Finn loved it all. He sat on Kevin’s lap along the aisle and came pretty close to meeting a few other characters too. We got lots of streamers that fell from the ceiling toward the end of the show 🙂DSC_0099 DSC_0100 DSC_0105 DSC_0102 DSC_0110 DSC_0112 DSC_0121 DSC_0123 DSC_0129 DSC_0131 IMG_20150509_103523166 DSC_0143 DSC_0145 IMG_20150509_104403155 IMG_20150509_104442262 DSC_0152 DSC_0158 DSC_0161 DSC_0164 DSC_0168 DSC_0171 DSC_0178 DSC_0184 DSC_0185 DSC_0187 DSC_0191 DSC_0194 DSC_0201 DSC_0203 DSC_0205 DSC_0207 DSC_0212 DSC_0217 DSC_0220 DSC_0223Afterwards we decided to walk through down town and head to Columbus Commons. It was a warm afternoon but it was nice to be together and explore. Kevin and Finn ran through the grass and we grabbed some lunch after Finn and I rode the carousel 🙂DSC_0228 DSC_0229 DSC_0235We always love spending some time on the patio and watering the planters. Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong were here for a Mother’s day visit this afternoon too. This particular afternoon Finn accidentally watered himself (which he wasn’t happy about – at all!) so he ended up “nu-nu” (or naked baby)!DSC_0243 DSC_0244 DSC_0246 DSC_0247 DSC_0250 DSC_0253 DSC_0254 DSC_0258 DSC_0261 DSC_0263 On Sunday morning, Mother’s Day, Kevin and Finn brought me a bag and Finn said “happy Mother’s day!” as he gave me the bag. Inside the bag was a cute outfit and also a canvas that Finn painted with Debbie of a flower made of Finn’s hand prints.  – I absolutely love it to pieces.  He has the sweetest heart. It is a blessing and a privilege to be his momma. I treasure the miracle that he is to us every day. He brings joy to my heart and a smile to my face. He is the most easy going, yet spunky, fun, energetic, smart, and chatty little boy. His words, sentences, and concepts that he puts into words continue to baffle me.  If you ask him, he’d probably say it’s “no big deal, mom”. If you ask me, he is far above and beyond his 2 years in every way and growing up way too fast. DSC_0003 DSC_0005After church we headed to Mansfield to celebrate Mother’s Day with my family. We all had a nice walk about though mom and dad’s gardens, a ride on the mule, hanging from the shade structure perlins (with no help!), climbing trees, and of course watering some plants!DSC_0018 DSC_0013 DSC_0016 DSC_0021 DSC_0029 DSC_0030 DSC_0031 DSC_0036 DSC_0041 DSC_0046 DSC_0055 DSC_0058 DSC_0061 DSC_0063 DSC_0067 DSC_0068 DSC_0071 DSC_0072 DSC_0078 DSC_0082 DSC_0092Other adventures this week included a trip to a local park and the zoo. Unfortunately, Finn experienced his first sting at the zoo, likely a bee or yellow jacket, on his head. He had some benadryl, and Debbie had the boys nap on the couch so she could make sure he didn’t have any adverse affects from the sting. He’s a tough cookie and was fine, and it turned out to make a pretty cute photo!photo(6) photo(4) photo(3) photo photo(1)

 

April 5, 2015

DSC_0191Happy Easter! We have had a fun weekend with a trip on Saturday to Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein’s house where we had an afternoon full of many activities. We began by making chocolate nests with jelly beans and chicks. Next up was an Easter Egg Hunt with plastic eggs and confetti eggs. The kiddos really thought it was pretty funny to smash the confetti eggs on each other 🙂  And after a yummy dinner we colored some easter eggs. Finn was super tired but didn’t want to take a nap while we were visiting. Sure enough, we hadn’t even been in the car 5 minutes on our way back to Columbus before he was out like a light, and he never falls asleep in the car!IMG_20150404_144627899_HDR-2 DSC_0006 DSC_0012 DSC_0013 DSC_0016 DSC_0027 DSC_0030 DSC_0032 DSC_0045 DSC_0048 DSC_0049 DSC_0050 DSC_0054 DSC_0063 DSC_0066 DSC_0067 DSC_0070 DSC_0074 DSC_0082 DSC_0085 DSC_0089 DSC_0092 DSC_0095 DSC_0098 DSC_0103 DSC_0105 DSC_0110 DSC_0122 DSC_0128 DSC_0130 DSC_0131 DSC_0135 IMG958327 DSC_0138 DSC_0156 DSC_0160 DSC_0162 DSC_0171 DSC_0175 DSC_0179 DSC_0185 DSC_0188Easter morning we woke up early and headed to the 9 am service at our church. We had a nice continental breakfast between services and then served in the nursery for the second service.  Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong visited for the afternoon at our house where we had another fun-filled afternoon. Finn enjoyed playing (and building) his new soccer goal from Grandma and Grandpa before we headed outdoors for an Easter Egg hunt on a sunny afternoon. Lily and Cameron even ventured out and about to participate! Finn wasn’t interested in napping so we had a fairly early dinner and then it was an early night night time for him tonight. We’ve had a fun-filled family weekend celebrating the Resurrection of Christ! He is Risen!DSC_0221 DSC_0227 DSC_0232

DSC_0235 DSC_0214 DSC_0238 DSC_0245 DSC_0248 DSC_0253 DSC_0258 DSC_0263 DSC_0269 DSC_0276 DSC_0216 DSC_0288 DSC_0295 DSC_0297 DSC_0307 DSC_0309 DSC_0312And our seeds are doing AWESOME! Here they are at 1-week. Everything has germinated really well and we’ve taken off the covers already! Finn likes sitting on the counter and checking them out each day. DSC_0204 DSC_0206 DSC_0210 DSC_0211 DSC_0212 DSC_0213And here is an energetic Super Finn!

February 15, 2015

DSC_0405Our little man likes to read books.  And he likes to be independent.  Lately it’s been a bit of both. Saturday I asked Finn if he wants to read books – I said “do you want mama to read you a book” and in this case he said, “no, mama, self” and took up a spot on our rug in the front hallway. It’s one of his more favorite spots to lay down on the floor with the “pilpow” (aka pillow) and lately he’s all about reading books by himself.  It’s kind of cute, actually, to watch him flip through the pages and mutter words or count numbers.

Our week was a pretty low-key, uneventful one. On Friday Finn began having a bit of a chest cough, and unfortunately on Saturday he had a slight fever, runny nose, and was pretty fussy, whiny, and clingy.  We spent the morning lounging around as a family and he actually fell asleep on our bed for his nap, about 2 hours earlier than normal.  I don’t think he’s slept in our room since he was about 3 months old! It was sweet, as he fell asleep on me, and I loved every bit of the cuddles. Though I don’t love how I look here, I want to remember the cuddles!IMG_20150214_130946104_HDRDSC_0356IMG_20150214_140319385_HDRLater that afternoon he was feeling a bit better and we all sat down to enjoy the Valentine’s cupcakes Kevin brought home. Yummers! Here are the many cute faces of Finn eating his. His blue eyes look so beautiful here – no touchups!DSC_0387 DSC_0382 DSC_0384 DSC_0388 DSC_0389 DSC_0391 DSC_0392 DSC_0395 DSC_0397Kevin brought me a beautiful flower arrangement which smells wonderful and really looks pretty in our kitchen. And Finn made me a necklace (he put every bead on the string all by himself!) and Kevin a clay heart that he painted this week with Debbie. She also helped him make us a card. She always does the most thoughtful arts and crafts with him and he really enjoys it, and we really appreciate it!DSC_0366 DSC_0401 DSC_0400 DSC_0399Earlier in the week Finn and I made Valentine heart-shaped cookies one night. He really has fun and wants to help every time I bake something. He gets a chair from the kitchen table and pushes it all the way over to the island in our regular “spot” to begin helping me. IMG_20150211_195407157 IMG_20150211_195415844 IMG_20150211_195419156_HDR IMG_20150211_195452328 IMG_20150211_201802554He was really fussy and whiny today too and wouldn’t take a nap unless one of us held him, then he would fall asleep on us. But if we tried to put him down he would scream and cry. We’re hoping he wakes up tomorrow feeling better and on the mend. He went to bed about an hour earlier than normal tonight.

And here are some of Finn being silly this week as he enclosed himself in a box from Amazon, hides behind the curtains, and being silly with daddy and giving Lily some love. IMG_20150210_195248776 DSC_0411 DSC_0407 DSC_0354 DSC_0352