Finley's Two, Baby Amy's "Aptism," and more

So, ten days between posts isn't too bad, besides, lots happened since the last post -- almost all of which you'll see below -- a nice balance of Harper and Finley this post, which should only continue as the girls get older. Finley celebrated her second birthday with two different birthday parties and we drove to Iowa for baby cousin Amy's "aptism," with Shelley as her godmother. For more coverage on the 'aptism, I'll throw coverage over to our sister blog for the Stueckers on the left side of the page.

I need to apologize in advance, the software for posting pictures is a bit tricky, so there may be a couple of pictures in an odd order. However, you get what you pay for with this blog, so suck it up.


Now that Harper is a older and bigger, Shelley will sometimes carry her in the Baby Bjorn. This week, she's been bundling her up and walking the dogs one at a time, which Finley in the stroller, too (please visualize, as it is quite a sight!!!). One of Finley's Christmas presents was a bunch of doll accessories, such as a bouncy chair, pack and play, and yes, a Baby Bjorn, which you can see Finley modeling above.

Finley's second birthday party, the day after her real birthday, was celebrated at Happy Joe's Pizza in Burlington, Iowa with family and friends (Shelley's, not Finley's. . . yet). Elayna is looking on, and helping, while Finley opens presents. She also had the best line of the night. Elayna is an aspiring fashionista, and when Fin opened an outfit from the Zaiser family, of which she is a part, she looked at Finley with all seriousness, to apologize for the fact they couldn't find tights and shoes to match -- she's in first grade! Good luck Nina and Scott shopping for school clothes with her.

This is prior to leaving for the 'asptism -- isn't Harper fancy? And pay attention to Finley's smile -- you get this face whenever someone says, "Say Cheese."

Finley modeling one of her birthday dresses -- I'm not sure if this is the one that lacked the proper shoes and leggings or not.

A friend from when we lived in Montana, Gary Bradley, was in town yesterday. He loved the girls and they clearly warmed up to him (he held Harper so much that we had to make sure she was in the bouncy chair before he left). We went out to Tacos el Norte for dinner, where we had to warn Gary that not only does Finley LOVE guacamole, but she's a notorious double-dipper.

Monty is so tired, she just rests on my, I mean now Finley's Two Bear.

Yep, you can tell Finley's birthday was a special event -- Shelley baked. The cupcakes had little Fs, smiley faces, or hearts on them.

If you recall from Thanksgiving, Amy dwarfed Harper. As you can see, Harper has filled out some, but she difference in age is still evident -- as is the fact the Amy's father, Steve, is a much taller man than I am.

Finley's birthday cake for the Burlington birthday party was made by the same woman that 9 years ago made our wedding cake -- nice symmetry, huh?

The birthday girl, her parents, and her lollipop.

The Weinstein family for years to come -- happy parents, children that are distracted at best and, as with Harper here, mad at worst. And let's be honest, after a full day of soccer games, we may not look this happy on a Saturday 3 years from now.

Finley discovers the whisk of a mixer for the first time. As you saw from a post last week -- she loves the frosting and wants nothing to do with the cupcake. This was the best part of her birthday party in Libertyville.

Harper really is a generally happy baby. She has a great disposition and unless Shelley leaves her alone with me, she is the sweetest baby possible. However, whenever she knows she is being watched by the substitute teacher (me), she can be a lot more direct that she isn't getting the level of service she's grown to expect.

She loves to smile. . . and does it a lot more as she gets older (yep, unless Shelley's gone, then she turns into Baby Ms. Hyde).

Another picture of Harper from the same sequence.

As Finley says, "Nana Pat with two babies." As you can see from Finley, someone told her to "Say Cheese."

A little video of us acting like fools to make Harper smile for you.

This was a lot, so I hope it tides you over until next time.