On the move

Gram and Pop Pop came to visit last weekend.  We had a great time celebrating Sarah and mom's birthdays, with the fun ranging from a night out of karaoke, Finley's first ever Arkansas baseball game,  to a laid back Sunday afternoon family cookout.  It was a very nice weekend!

Finley's first baseball game!!

Finley dressed in Gram's favorite color! 

Cookout at Justin and Russlyn's house.

All smiles with these girls and...... some crazy baby hair!

Well Pop Pop pegged it.  He said that Finley would be crawling before the week was up, and she did.  We caught a fairly decent attempt on video, as she crawled toward a favorite toy.  (I'll insert video soon) She is spotting the smallest and sometimes most dangerous things on the floor, and it is then her mission to get to that object and put it in her mouth.  Wes had to drop her baby bed down because she is starting to pull up in her bed as well.  A lot of childproofing is in store for mom and dad!!

Picture before we dropped the bed.  You can see what she was thinking!! 

Up to no good.

"Helping" Grandma Phyllis at the office.

She is also more mobile than ever in her walker.  She zooms around the kitchen and living room with specific destinations in mind, looking specifically for remote controls, cell phones, and anything else she isn't suppose to play with!!  Another funny, yet painful thing that she does, is when she has had enough of the walker she will knock the walker against our shins or ankles until we get her out.  She definitely has her own way of communicating with us.

Caught this smirk while cruising around in her walker.

Wes got home from work the other night, and when he walked through the door Finley said, just as clear as day, "hi da da"!  Her Aunt Sarah claims that she is also attempting to say Hi Ella "hi eyya" and puppy dog "puddy dog".  Grandma Phyllis believes that she is saying Thank You as well.  We just have one smart girl on our hands.  ;) Or a lot of proud family!

February

Toward the beginning of the month, Gram & Pop Pop came to visit.  The guys went and watched the basketball game at Grubs while us girls all got together to play and do arts & crafts.  Gram got to feed Finley big girl food.

I think Gram was more excited than Finley was about the food.

Pop Pop eating Finley's hand

Finley needed to get moving one way or another, and quite frankly she was getting mad that she was unable to do so.  The Cochran's let us borrow Addison's walker.  She could only scoot backwards at first, but now she slides over to see our dog Albie, scoots around the kitchen banging into the cabinets and helping cook dinner.  I mentioned only Albie, because with much hesitation we had to put Bertha to sleep a few weeks ago.  We were told about a month prior that she had bone cancer in her legs.  It was a very hard decision to make, but after months of her hurting and having difficulty walking, we really had no choice.  Bertha lived a full, and spoiled, 12 long years of life and we will miss her.  Since Bertha's passing, Albie and Finley have become pretty close.

Finley talking to Bertha

Finley and Albie sharing kisses

Some of Finley's latest developments are that she likes getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  She is so close to crawling!  I also taught her how to give a high five, which she thinks is funny.  She isn't as content with staying in one place and playing with the same old toys anymore.  She now pulls the play mat over herself creating her own little fort. Since the weather has been nice we have gotten out and strolled quite a bit lately.  She loves being outdoors.  She got her very first Valentine cards from her cousins Grant and Griffin and one from Gram as well.  Other than that we continue to fight her sensitive skin and eczema with every ointment, lotion, vaseline, and cream that you can think of.  She looks like she has dirty hair because of us having to constantly grease her down.   More to come....

Finley's fort

Excited about her Valentine cards

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