The countdown begins!

Finn has found a new favorite past-time. He lays down with Maile and reads his books. They are inseperable. "Maile" is the first thing out of Finn's mouth when he wakes up, well, after "HI!" that is. He insists on helping feed the dog and stands at the screen door yelling at her while she eats. I think he is trying to encourage her to hurry it up. He has been really good at not pulling off her diaper these days (she is in heat). The last time Maile had to wear her diaper, we had to safety pin it together because Finn would get ahold of the velcro tabs and yank it off.
Joanie and I took the kids to the Children't Museum yesterday. They had so much fun! Here are Finn and John sitting on the giant sofa chair. There was one melt down though. As we were walking through the town section of the museum Finn spotted the "TV station". The museum is set up so that one whole part of it is devoted to town life. It includes a grocery store where the kids can play checker or a police station complete with dress up or the court house where you can climb up to the judges seat and put on the robe and bang the gavel. Anyhow, Finn walked past the tv station and saw the TV. It was over at that point. He spent the next 20 minuets yelling at me to "wind!!" which means rewind. He wanted to watch his favorite video and he thought that we could just rewind it and he could see it. Crazy Kid. Eric and I have to unplug the TV these days because Finn just likes to have it on for some reason. He doesn't even need to be watching, it just needs to be on. He has almost sent our TV into retirement with all the button-pushing he has done. I remedied that with a little electrical tape coverage. It is truley amazing that out of sight really is out of mind.
Finn also really enjoyed being the bus driver. He sat and turned the steering wheel for quite a while. The museum was really great.

23 days and counting till we are back in Utah....

Livin' off the Sea!

This picture was taken this morning...can you see the pride in my husbands face? He loves spearfishing SO MUCH! From the looks of these fish, he is getting pretty good at it. Eric has also gotten really good at cooking the fish he catches. We are having the Missionaries and some friends from our ward over tomorrow so I am really looking forward to some parmesean herb parrot fish. Even though there are almost weekly sightings of sharks in the waters here, I guess if Eric brings home his limbs and the fish, I can overlook it.

Oh the places Finn will relax...

In the span of 3 days, we caught all these poses of Finn. In this first one, we had just come in from playing outside and Maile went straight to her cool resting place, the corner of the kitchen. Finn decided that he needed to cool down as well so he went to join her.
This one is upside down and a little nauseating. Sorry for that. Here Finn is lounging on the cement of our Lanai after playing in the pool. He took his towel and just went out to chill...we aren't sure why. The cement can't be THAT comfortable! What an odd little child he is. Notice the sippy cup next to him. I took 3 trips down to the neighbors house today to retrieve it. He has an obsession with chucking things down there and then crying when they are gone. He chucks whatever is near and then comes to me and asks for help.
Eric caught this shot the other day. Finn loves Maile!! For the most part, Maile loves him back...at least when he isn't chasing her down with his push cart. That, I assure you, she doesn't like since she always seems to express the nasty stuff out of her anal glands when he chases her. I have learned that dogs do that when they are scared. I would be scared too if a screaching toddler was charging toward me with a big plastic cart! I don't blame her for being terrified of Finn in those moments but I don't understand why she doesn't just go hide under a bed instead of spraying her stink in whatever room she happens to be in.

I guess it is a catch 6. I love the dog for how she keeps Finn constantly entertained but sometimes I want to sell her to the Korean ladies in ChinaTown because she stinks so bad!

New Underpants

Here Finn and I are on the day before he recieved his new underpants. Now, of course he had to be metro-sexual and get boxer briefs instead of just plain old briefs. My freind Kerilyn spent a year or so in Tiawan (sp?) and learned that the people there do not really use diapers on their children. Other places in the world don't either and the kids are potty trained by a little after a year old. How fabulous would that be!!??

So since Finn has taken to telling me "bum!" immediately after he poops, I thought that I would just simply introduce the potty chair to him and buy him some underpants.

We haven't actually had a successful pee in the potty yet, but we are looking forward to the day when that happens. For now, I am just satisfied with getting Finn to actually SIT on the potty. We have accomadated him as far as putting it in front of the TV for his peeing pleasure or we read books or whatever...anything to keep him sitting there for at least 2 min.

So here Finn is, modeling his stylish undergarments. Don't pay any mind to the fact that he is standing with his hands down his pants...

What does Eric do for fun?

This is Eric last night. I go into the bedroom and instead of turning off our lamp, he has taken MY pillow and is sleeping with it over his face like he so often does. He likes to make fun of me for having this pillow. As some of you may know, I take it where ever I go. I don't like to sleep on random pillows that may or may not smell. I like to have a familiar scent when I fall asleep. My freind Brinn often has given me a hard time over this pillow and pillowcase since I have had it for over 15 years ( the pillowcase, not the pillow). What can I say, I am attached. So anyway, Eric gives me a hard time about it as well but it seems like every time he goes to sleep in our bed and I am not there, he has to cuddle with this pillow. HE MUST LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DO! :)
These are some of the fish that Eric has speared in the last week. Keep in mind that the glass dish measures 13x9. These are some really big fish. The blue one, the male, is probley the biggest that Eric has speared thus far in his spearfishing career. He is very proud of it. We plan on cooking all 3 of these fish up tomorrow. Eric has also become very skilled at cooking these Parrot fish. He uses coconut milk among other things and it is really very tasty.

Ode to the desert climate

My friend from high school, Mandy, just started her own blog and as I was looking at it I was bummed not to see a picture of her posted. I
realized that my blog consists of mostly pictures of Finn with a few of Eric and even fewer of me. So this post is dedicated to one of my favorite pictures of Finn and I.

The funny thing is that there really aren't many pictures of me anyhow...I am usually the one behind the camera making the funny noises to try and get Finn to look at me. He has a recent aversion to the camera. Add into that the fact that I don't seem to "get ready" as much as I used to...I live in the most homely, laid back state and the humidity attacks my hair the second I blow it dry. There really aren't many occasions these days for me to get all dolled up. So what I am saying is that when I do get all done up, I usually like to have a picture taken since most of the pics with me in them show me looking like I just rolled out of bed after a weeks worth of sleep.

This particular picture was taken of us on our last visit to Utah. Finn is looking at the Baby Einstein video on the TV. It was the best I could do. I can't wait to get back to the dry climate of the desert just so that I can have a decent hair day...even if it means that the rest of my body dries up and cracks!

John and Finn

What can I say about this picture? The smile says it all. Again we spent the afternoon outside in the pool. I decided to put this bandana on Finn's head so that maybe his hair wouldn't bleach out as much. It is getting too blonde!! Doesn't he look like he belongs on a Harley?
Either that, or a bad rendition of a Pioneer....
Here the boys are...John and Joanie Nelson came over to play today. John seemed to like the pool more than Finn today. He was splashing all around. Isn't he cute! This last picture of his scrunched up smile is great! He is such a sweet boy and is so good even when Finn is grabbing toys out of his hands. :)

Our Kiddie Pool

Today we went to WalMart and spoiled Finn. We couldn't resist buying this play pool since it has been unbarably hot here these last few days...85 degrees with 90% humidity and no trade winds. We are sweating to death. So we bought this pool and filled it with water and let it warm up while Finn was napping. We invited some new neighbors over for a swim. This first picture is of Tia and Finn filling their buckets and the following pictures tell the story of what they did with the water.
Finn loves to dump water on his head! He played in the pool for about an hour before he got too cold. So we went in and changed his diaper and warmed him up. Then we went back outside and he just played around for a while in the sun before he decided to get wet again. It's a little hard to see but this is the cute swim outfit that grandma Sharlene bought him when we were back in Utah.
Hopefully, we will have many more pictures of fun in the pool in the days that follow. Finn loved it, of course, since bathtime is his favorite part of the day. The strange thing is that he isn't much interested in the Ocean. He doesn't like the sand in his toes or the movement of the waves. I guess its a good thing we are coming back to Utah!

Rotting Diapers

This post is dedicated to our freinds, the Finholms. They used to live next door and down the stairs but they moved to Maryland last September. We miss them so much and these photos tell the story of why.

The first one is actually of our freinds the Pollacks. We had a BBQ with them on Sunday. Their daughter, Kalai was born exactly one week before Finn but she was due to be born one day after. How accurate are due dates anyway?


So, this picture reminds me of Jen Finholm because this was her garden. She had this all weeded and looking nice (well, as nice as our Army housing CAN look) but as you can see, it hasn't been tended to. Sorry Jen! The new neighbors don't really seem to care much except for their dog who insists on peeing there ever day.


Here are some flowers...I have no idea what their names are but they are the flowers that were in Zoey's playhouse planter. I inhereted them when the Finholms moved away and I am pleased to say that they are still alive! Aren't they pretty?















This next photo is a very SPECIAL treat for all of you! Just before the Finholms moved, Jen and the girls were up at our house. Jen had just finished changing Annie's diaper and decided to chuck it down to the lawn to put in the dumpster at a later time. She inadvertantly, with her professional baseball players aim, chucked it into our rain gutter. I am sorry to say that it is STILL there! :) It's a good thing that this wasn't a stinky diaper and just a wet one!


Jen, I hope you know that I am just giving you a hard time and that we truley miss you and your family so much! I wanted to send you a personal email with these pics but for some reason I couldn't shrink them down enough. So you get a public tribute. Every time I go out my front door, I see these things and they make me miss you guys!

As for everyone else reading this blog, here are some photos (however unexciting to you) of around our house. It won't be our house for much longer so I am appreciating every single thing...even the rotting dirty diapers!

On the open sea

Today Eric skipped out on work (yes, you can skip out on work even in the ARMY) and we took a trip out to Kaneohe Bay. We rented a pontoon boat with a few other people and went out into the Ocean. The guys spear fished while Finn and I lounged in the boat. Now, before you think that I am a mean mom who won't let her son into the water, know this...the water was just a little too fridgid for Finn. Plus, he REFUSED to put on the life vest. No life vest, no swimming. Even though he missed out on a nap, he still had a good afternoon gazing out at the water as you see in this shot.






Here we have Finn looking into the camera and rocking at the same time. Although we were in
a bay, the waves softly rocked the boat. It was just too bad that they didn't rock the boat enough to lull Finn to sleep. The guys didn't get much fishing done, there weren't too many really big fish swimming around. They seem to think that they are "professionals" now and won't go for the mediocre fish anymore...they have to be HUGE. :)





All in all, it was a FABULOUS day to skip out on work! We really enjoyed spending the day together...even if I was the sunscreen natzi!

Forever Bronco's

Tonight Finn and I have quietly entertained ourselves with cleaning up the house. Actually, I have quietly cleaned up after a loud and crazy Finn. Nevertheless, it has been a nice evening. Finn just got out of the bath, which is still his favorite time of the day, and promptly put on his new Bronco's bathrobe. He actually stood still for 2 minuets for me to take this picture.

This bathrobe is a tribute to Eric and his favorite NFL team. Mom made it for Finn while we were in Utah and although Finn sometimes looks more like a boxer getting ready for a fight than a little boy just out of the bath, it is so DANG cute! He will grow into it and hopefully then it will just look like a bathrobe.

Finn usually wears the robe around for about 15 min post bath and then strips it off and just runs around in a diaper until we can catch him and put jammers on him. It is always a struggle to get the jammers on since he knows that that means bedtime.

Finn and Camden

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting, I have been without my laptop fr a few weeks. We are back in Hawaii and everything is mostly back to normal. Here we were with Mom and the Rossi family at the Porcupine Bar and Grill. We were trying to teach the kiddies how to blow the straw wrapper. Finn didn't quite grasp the concept even though you can see that Mom gave quite the demonstration.
Here are Finn and Camden playing on the slide in the back yard. It took them a few turns to figure out they couldn't both slide down at once but once they did, it was all good. We had so much fun with the Rossi family...Camden sure keeps Finn entertained. I wonder if in 20 years we will look at this picture and see Jeff and Eric? Both boys are spitting images of their dads.
Here you can see that Camden caught on pretty fast. It was such a coincidence that this shot turned out the way it did...it is PERFECT! Can you ask for more of an action shot?

Just for anyone who hasn't heard the update...We are moving back to Utah in July!! YIPEEEEE!!!
We are so excited. Eric is planning on getting out of the Army and joining the Utah National Guard. Hopefully, he will be able to get a slot working with our bro in law, John, as an interregator. Actually, the position is an instructor position. We are excited to be able to be with all of our family and friends.

Back Track

When looking at this picture, tip your head to the left and you can get a clear view of Finn. Here he is croutched in between my feet, the diaper bag and the airplane seat in front of us. When coming to Utah, he threw the worlds largest tantrum complete with biting, hair pulling and flailing himself around. This tantrum lasted about 30 min into the plane ride and it wasn't until passengers in front of us began standing up and glaring back at me that I really lost it myself. I was bawling and Finn was bawling and people were looking at me like I was an utter FAILURE as a parent. It was by far, the WORST airplane experience I ever had. Finally, he just squished himself down there and fell asleep. I have never been so relieved!

Easter in Utah!

HAPPY LATE EASTER EVERYONE!! So sorry for not getting the blog updated sooner...I have been having too much fun catching up with everyone. We spent the Easter holiday with just about everyone. We started with my sister Lyndsay and her family. We had a mini easter egg hunt in the front room and then we played with all the toys that Ya-Ya bought the kids. Since I haven't quite mastered the art of matching pictures with text, you can see all the grandkids in one of the pics below. Above, Finn is at Grandma and Grandpa Watsons house having an Easter Egg hunt in the back yard. He was very quick to learn to pick up the eggs and put them in his basket. All the kids had fun, except for maybe Amanda. In the pic down below she isn't very happy. I don't know what happened there to upset her but I thought I would throw this pic in for Eric since he wasn't able to be with us on Easter. Sorry that it is sideways, like I said, I haven't mastered the art of this whole thing yet. Janae is trying to mock easter happiness on Amanda. I don't think it worked too well but doesn't Amanda look fabulous in her beautiful easter dress?!
Here are Ya-Ya's grandkids: Felicity (3), Gabe (3 mo.), Finn (18 mo), and Reagan (16 mo). This was one of about 20 pictures that we took. It was the best one of them all.
Here we all were at the park one day last week. The kids LOVED this bridge thing. Lynds and I would bounce and the kids would fly all over the place. They were all giggling like crazy. It was a little cold and windy that day but we still enjoyed being outside and in the sun. Needless to say, the day after Easter it snowed like 4 inches! Brrrr!! We weren't prepared for that considering both Finn and I only have on pair of pants each. Oh well, it is sunny and nice today...low 70's.

Camdens new sister

Hey everyone, be sure to check out the Rossi's link on the right...They had a darling baby girl yesterday...

King of the Castle

This is Finn and his freind Chris playing like lunatics on his new Castle/Boat. I am not sure which it is because it has walls like a castle but a steering wheel thing like a boat. Finn and Chris were really enjoying themselves the other night when they would both climb up and then slide down. Chris who is 5, pretty much is as tall as the length of the slide so he would just lay on his tummy and let Finn lay on top of him and then they would slide down together. At one point, I walked in to find Chris sitting on top of Finn who was trying to slide down on his belly like Chris. I had to explain to Chris that Finn wasn't quite big enough for him to sit on. Finn didn't seem to care though.

Here Finn is doing that evil laugh again...the one Brinn called a Kackle. Yes, maybe he does take after me in that aspect although it seems to be something I have grown out of. Hopefully he will keep it up for a long, long time because it is SOOO CUTE!! He is such a tough kid. He slid down the slide and rammed his whole body into the wall. He just got up and did it all over again. I love boys for that aspect alone, even if he is obsessed with his you-know-what! :)

Finn's Bod

Finn is learning all about his body and the parts he has. Although his most favorite would definately be the part only seen when he is getting his diaper changed or having a bath, we have taught him the other one's as well. Eric says that boys will be boys and that I shouldn't worry about how much Finn grabs "himself". Eric teases Finn that he is "scared of the Weenie-Snacher" (whoever that is) and is trying to protect himself. Whatever. It must definately be a boy thing! Here you can see that Finn knows his ears, tongue, neck, tummy and arms. When my mom was here she showed him "chineese eyes" and he spent 5 minuets trying to get his eyes to squint like hers.

My mom bought Finn these Jammers when she was here (along with the entire toy dept of Wal-Mart). They are 4T and just a little on the big side! Can we say Jeanie pants? But they are so cute nevertheless and if you check out the Rossi Family's blog (linked on the right) you will find out that their son Camden wishes he had more short sleeved jammers so that his arms could "have air". Finn has all the short sleeved jammers he needs...unfortunately since it has been FREEZING here we wish for more long sleeved ones. If you haven't heard about Hawaii lately, we have been getting TONS of rain!! I have complained about it for a few weeks now on this blog but it is so true! We have had so much moisture and flooding that 11 (count that again folks...11!) sewage pipes around the island of Oahu have burst or overflowed. What does that mean you ask? Just that we have sewage running off our totally saturated soil and into the ocean. Many beaches still remain closed due to raw sewage floating around. SICKENING! At least that hasn't happened anywhere near where we live...My nose wouldn't handle it!

Crazy Laughing Finn

Finn's favorite post bath activity is being chased around and around our house. He likes to be chased and then scared by one of us yelling "BOO!!" When we play this game, Eric and I think we are being really funny and we laugh hysterically and all evil-style. As if that laughing tells Finn that we "got him". Finn has picked this evil-style of laughing up...the really throaty kind of laughing. He throws his head back and cackles. It is the funniest thing ever!
So this afternoon, Ya Ya and Finn were playing blocks. This is Finn's favorite past-time and the best part is building a tall building and then violently knocking it over. He screams and then laughs his evil laugh and does it all over again.
This picture is one we took outside today. Finn got this bike from Ya Ya for his bday but is just now getting the hang of riding it. He isn't quite tall enough for the pedals and so he gets a little frustrated. He rides around for about 2 minuets and then he decides he has had enough and just pushes it from behind.
Just in case any of you are wondering, we do have more shirts than this one for Finn. It seems like every time I post pictures, he is in this shirt. I promise that our child isn't deprived of an entire wardrobe. This shirt has a story actually...we were out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill and Finn decided to literally blow his pant off with Poo! He pooped all down the high chair and everything. We had to strip him naked and pretty much wash him in the sink of the bathroom and then we took him into the Children's Place and bought him an entire new outfit. I am sure that Amy Rossi will get a big kick out of this story since she was with me on another occasion when Finn blew his shorts.

Finn's Easter Shopping Spree

Today the main event was for Ya-Ya to take us on a shopping spree at the outlet mall. Finn made off like a bandit! Can we say, "metro-sexual"? It took a while for him to let mom and I get him all done up in his new Easter clothes but we finally convinced him after bringing licorice into the equation. The first picture here is midway through the outfit and Finn was clomping around in his shirt and shoes. Ya-Ya bought him a cute blue linnen button up with striped tie and some khaki pants and new Easter shoes and belt. What an outfit! He had the most fun with the shoes as they make a loud "clomp" on the kitchen floor.
This bottom picture is the whole ensamble and he looked HOT!! Can anyone resist these blue eyes and red hair? The only thing missing in the picture is the belt. We couldn't finagle him into that. If you look closely, you can see a morsel of licorice on his cheek. Happy Easter Everyone!