.Christmas cars, and teeth.

Christmas came and went without much of a fuss here.  Finn opened a single gift (matchbox cars), and that was that.  The rest of his gifts went unnoticed until the next day, where I proceeded to open them up

But thank goodness for those little cars of his, because poor Finn has decided that he would like some teeth, and they are coming in full force. 

look at those tired eyes...but he has a car so he's happy

He has been a miserable mess of snot and drool for the past 4 days with a fever hovering between 99 and 101.  I've been trying very diligently to get Finn to take Motrin/Tylenol, but he has also gotten very good at spitting out everything that goes in his mouth.  That includes even his favorite foods like applesauce, carrots, oatmeal, and yogurt.  Luckily he is still downing his bottles well.  He is easily finding sympathy to his cause through his nearly constant whisperings, and his sleepy little eyes.  One positive to it all is all his cuddliness.  He wants to be held and snuggled almost as much as he wants to play with his cars, and of course I indulge him, because I love his snuggling too.
Along with the 2 new teeth came a raspy little cough that has lingered and gotten progressively worse.  So after another 4 am night, I made an appointment to see Dr. Buchanan and hopefully get some relieve for our sad little man.
Besides our sick boy, we had a wonderful holiday with family and friends, and we feel truly blessed!!!

.old roomies, fresh powder, and a little momma.

I look forward to this time of the year not only because of Christmas, but because people are in town that aren't usually.  Today I got a chance to hang out with 2 of my favorites, the Child sisters...although Carla now has a different last name, I will forever call them that.

Carla, me,& Colette

We got out and enjoyed the fresh air of the mountains with a little snowshoe outing.  It was a perfect day...we finally had some fresh snow, and the sun was out with beautiful blue skies.

We hiked our way up to doughnut falls, which aren't so doughnutty anymore with an abundance of rock in the falls, but it was still a fun hike.  We were the first ones on the trail and we only saw a few people on our way out.

Me & Colette

Carla & Colette in front of the falls

We laughed, reminisced, caught up, and just had an all round good ol' time.  I sure do love these ladies!!
As a bonus to the day, when Finn and I got home he started saying momma.  It's melting my little heart!

.a few of my favorite things...at present.

With the business of Christmas in full swing, I was thinking about some of my "favorite" things in my life right now.

Stretchy ribbon: this stuff is simply a pleasure to tie packages up with. So much more forgiving then traditional ribbon. Try it you won't be disappointed.

Christmas cards: the mail is wonderful, but even more so when it's filled with actual letters...not just junk mail. Having all these beautiful cards from wonderful friends and family, made me realize my mistake in not sending any out this year. There will be cards next year from the hoffmans.

Losing weight: even with all the Christmas goodies being shoved in our faces, ice cream in the freezer, and birthday dinners...my pounds have failed to stay around in fact I'm down again this week. I'm still a good 20 lbs from were I really want to be, but if I can keep it off during this month, then I might have a promising new year.

Scentsy(autumn sunset): this aroma is currently filling my house, and making me feel nostalgic. It's the goodness of winter smells all rolled into one!

Rocking baby boy Finn to sleep: I'm finally getting some good use out of my rocking chair since Finns birth. Because of how I nursed Finn I could never really rock that boy to sleep. But now that he's a complete bottle feeder, we spend our nights rocking and singing. Nursing was special, but this is wonderful too, and I'm glad I get these moments with him.

I have more, but as usual when you get down to writing them out the memory fades.

.11, can it be.

My heart is breaking just a little bit to think that this little boy of mine is nearly a year old. 

It's just one of those truths in life that kids grow up too fast.  We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas together with our very own little dude.  Shopping is a breeze for him since we just see what he gets excited about in the store and throw it in the cart...ha ha ha, lets just say the theme this year is all about cars.
At 11 months, Finn is still not walking, but he gets around very well with crawling and scaling furniture.  He mostly says dadadadadadadada, but he also throws in a few gagagagag's and nanananan's for good measure.  Sadly no mama's yet.  So he's not much of a talker yet, but he does understand simple commands like, "get your doggie", and  "bring it here/come here".  Something that we can't get enough of is all of his animation.  When he gets excited he gibbers, squeals, throws his arms around, and occasionally growls.  He also loves to dance when he hears any tunes...so FUN!  Finn is still completely fascinated by circles, he can spot them on anything and loves touching them.  Another thing that Finn insists on doing is turning on and off his light as he gets up from sleeping.  He figured out what mom and dad were doing and now wants to do it before leaving his room.

I weaned Finn about 2 weeks ago, which turned out to be emotionally harder then I thought it would be, but I can tell since supplementing Finn with formula along with solids, he has started chubbing up again.  Welcome back rolly thighs, momma missed you.
Sleeping is wonderful...2 full naps, and 11 hr nights makes for both happy baby and happy mommy!
With one final month left, Finn is one happy, curious, dancing, moving, growing little boy, and we love him!

.we all need love.

Yesterday while sitting at church I noticed a beautiful thing that changed my perspective.  There is a family in our ward who have started coming back to church.  They have a couple young boys, who I call the wild boys because they often run around with no supervision and create havoc.  I understand more and more the reason why these boys act the way they do after seeing how their father disciplines them, but I still have a tendency to be annoyed at the behavior of these boys.  So there we are sitting in church watching these young boys run around the chapel.  They ran up to the front where another family was sitting.  Instead of the mother ignoring them, or showing the boys back to their bench, she picked up one of the boys and just held him.  And there he sat the whole time just being held by this awesome mom of six while his brother chilled on the pew next to them.  It occurred to me that those boys are just looking for love...they crave it!  They don't need to judged and pushed onto somebody else who can deal with them, they just need the positive attention that love brings.  It really opened my eyes and humbled me to see this, already flustered mother, take the time to give these two wild boys what they want more then anything...LOVE.

.lights.

The last few times we've made it down to Temple square it has been soooo packed, and I get so flustered with the crowds that we just end up rushing through without enjoying the lights at all.  So this year I wanted to hit the lights earlier in the season to better enjoy.  The young men had planned to go on Wed this past week so Finn and I just tagged along.  In hindsight, I would have gone earlier and as our own family because Finn was just a zombie the whole night, and there was a lot of waiting because we have teenage kids that needed to be corralled.  Oh well, the lights were beautiful, and the crowds were so small it was wonderful!

This was how Finn chilled the whole time, bundled and slightly eschewed in the baby bjorn

I love this red tree

.randomnicity.

Crazy to think that we are in the last few days of November...another year is drawing to a close...wow!
As fast as time is flying I thought I would just post some of the radomness that has been happening.

-We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday surrounded by lots of family.  Thursday we did dinner with my whole family, which is a feat in and of itself.  I'm so blessed to have these amazing people in my life and call them my own.  I never got the joke about people hating to be with their family during the Holidays...oh well.  Friday we had our second Thanksgiving with the Lamberts, which is just such a fun thing to do.  As always they made the best food in the entire world, of which I ate entirely too much.  Love our families!!

-Christmas is getting into full swing around here now.  We finally got our tree last night...which is a few days too long in my book.  This is my favorite place in the house right now, and will be until the end of December.

-I love getting short trees because I can reach everything when I'm decorating...even the star on top.
-These are my two new favorite decorations... a wreath I made out of peppermint candies

  and Finn's ornament of choice...red jingle bells.  As you can see it doesn't stay on the tree much.

-Finn has also found other uses for the many boxes that have been pulled out for the decorating process.  Like using them to get to even more things...he was turning the pages of the piano books.

-I've started what seems like a dozen projects and have yet to finish one of them.  I'm feeling slightly flustered by that fact.

-With being so busy I also forgot that this is my 30th birthday year.  Roy was so kind to remind me how old I was getting last night.  I might have had a slight panic attack at the thought of leaving my twenties in the dust...its been a good decade!

-Roy is in charge of decorating for our ward Christmas party this year, which in turn means I'm in charge of helping.  What he needs is lights...lots of them, but as one would suspect most people are using their lights this time of year.  I shot down his idea of buying all new lights at our expense so he went a different route.  Can I tell you how much I love KSL classifieds.  Roy scored tons of lights last night for free from an older lady.  Roy couldn't believe the steal, so he helped her out with a few things around the house for payment.   What a service on both ends, we got our lights, and she got some company!

-I've been playing with the idea of doing Christmas Cards this year, but I can't justify the expense...am I a humbug or what???

-I'm so done with washing bottles lately.  Dishes are not a problem, but the bottles are driving me nuts.  

-The weather had been wonderful, but I really want to see some snow flying soon.

There it is....random thoughts and happenings from the family Hoffman.

.shower ninja.

This little guy (who is orange, even if he looks yellow), is what I like to call our shower ninja.

 He perches up on our shower shelf and has since our first year of marriage.  His origins have passed into obscurity for neither Roy or I can tell you where he came from or why he's up on the shower ledge, but there he stays...for neither Roy or I have ever felt inclined to move him.

.little shoes.

Few things are better then little feet, but little feet in these guys...

oh and they squeak when he walks in them *sigh* so sweet!!!

.i love technology, and healthy babies.

Among the many tech gadgets cluttering up our house, one of our favorites is the i-pad.  It's Roy's, but I think I end up using it more then he does.  Today I used it to look up some yummy recipes and made my up my grocery list for the week.

oh and this is what a sick little boy looks like...mostly just more sensitive, really red cheeks that came with his fever, and a raw little nose to boot, but still playing with his fish as you can see.

.snowy night.

We have been distracted around these parts with a sick little boy.  I sure do hate when that little blue eyed boy is not feeling well.  Anyways, this is the best I could do with a slow shutter speed shot.  It's not much, but the snow that is falling makes it look beautiful none the less.

Those dang street lights give everything a yellowish hue.

.10 means double digits.

Finn,
It's true, you have entered the double digits of life, and suddenly you are so grown up.  You have discovered that crawling is not the only thing you can do to get around.  You climb up on everything

and have started scaling the furniture to move.  Your personal favorites are the piano bench, because you can tap out a little diddy with the keys, and, much to my dismay, the TV stand...I've got to find a better place for our movies now.

a few of your favorite things: toothpaste tube for chewing, and a box to sit in

You're still so small 9month pants are worn old man style

 You have started imitating us more and more, especially with clapping and toy playing.  That has been some of my favorite things about this age is that I can see all the learning your doing.  You also make some of the greatest faces I've ever seen...especially when eating.  You do this one where you try to close your eyes, but keep them open ever so slightly so you can still see what's going on.  I need to capture it on film so you can enjoy it when you get older.
You still eat amazing, but when you're either full or you don't like what I'm feeding you protest by scraping the food off your tongue with you gums or just by plain old spitting.  Thanks for the dinner entertainment.
Other things that bring entertainment are animals, dogs and fish in particular.  We caved and bought a tank full of fish for you to gaze at, and we haven't been disappointed.  It keeps is all entertained watching you watch the fish.

We are getting excited about celebrating the holidays with you

Our friend Wendy who did our family photos needed a little model for a Holiday promotion she is doing.  If you want some great photos, check her out.

 even if you wont know fully what's happening, and we look forward to many more together as a family.
Happy 10 months baby boy!!!

.trying to catch my shadow.

This is one of my favorite places to hang out in the morning because the sun is so inviting and warm, and provides a good way to see a silhouette.

.eyes.

You can't imagine how hard it is to get a decent picture of your own eyes.

.12 fish & a finn.

I was going to do a very elaborate picture with me and 13 things that describe me, but as it turns out, I just didn't have the energy to make it happen today.  So instead you get...

Finn and his tank of 12 goldfish.  He has been standing at that tank all day jabbering at those fish telling them who knows what.  It also takes his interest away from the tv stand, giving me a break from taking him away from that.  It's made for a wonderful day.

.sunset.

Sunrise in the valley of the Goblins

I totally copped out on this one. I miss calculated my sunset time yesterday, and didn't get anything worth sharing so I'm sharing an oldie, but a goodie.  I'm also cheating because this is actually a sunrise, but it's so beautiful even being captured with a crap phone camera.  ENJOY!

.blue.

I had a college professor that graded papers in blue instead of red because he said that blue was psychologically more calming.  I don't know if that is true or not, but I do like seeing blue.

If you guessed aquarium rocks...then yes, you were right.  That's right we bought some fish because as it turns out...Finn likes fish.  He also likes dogs, but since we don't have a place for a dog right now, fish it is.

.who needs a cup.

Growing up in my house we learned a lot of things and we did a lot of things.  I remember the big events and holiday traditions we did, but what surprises me are some of the simple things I remember.  Like when we would sleep in as kids my mom was notorious for the flipping on and off the lights...and if that didn't work we got the spray bottle.  Or the songs my mother would sing to me as a child, I know I'm not the only one of my sisters that sang them for their babies.  But those memories are somewhat intangible. Then I remember Mason Jars. 

My mother always canned delicious foods for us to enjoy during the long winter months, but during the summer those jars had another purpose...watering her offspring.  Instead of cups my mom would fill Mason jars and request that they be drunk in the span of a few hours only to be filled and drained again in a few hours.  I myself use a glass or a water bottle nearly every time, but Mason jars of water can still be found on the counter tops of my parents kitchen...and that is simply how it is.

.love somebody.

The love that I get to spend most of the day with is him. Whether it's cruising around in the walker, helping cook, or stuffing our faces with yummy waffles there is never a shortage of smiles and love!

LOVE you baby boy Finn!

.bad habit.

I thought of taking a picture of my sink full of dishes, or my laundry basket of unfolded clean clothes, and even my amazing skill of stacking the kitchen garbage to extreme heights because if Roy's not home it rarely gets taken out.  But instead I took a picture of something that I see on regular basis that drives me CRAZY!

The CARTON DRINKER....aghhh

.red.

These red apples were so beautiful I couldn't resist buying a few.  I've never bought produce mearly on looks alone, but last Monday I did.  I'm usually a golden delicious or gala apple girl myself, but these little reds were beautiful and yummy.

.look out below.

Finn through the blades of grass...reminds me of "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" movie.

.looking down on the world.

Its been one of those Sundays...sunrise to sunset...you know what I mean.  We just barely got a moment to sit down and relax, or in our case, rough house with daddy.

Even on busy Sundays, we have to make a little time for trucks and some WRASLI'N.

.something green.

I love plants, but more specifically, hearty ones. Why??? because I have a tendency to kill them off all too easy.  My sister gave me a sweet Ficus plant that is going strong, and Roy has gifted me two cacti, because they are the most resilient of all.  But this is a little plant that I bought myself.  I saw it this morning and knew I had to capture all of its glorious greenery.

Thriving life against the stark white of the first real snow fall of winter...beautiful!

.i really don't know clouds at all.

If it wasn't for the fact that leaves scattered the ground it would have felt like spring today.  It was warm with nary a cloud in the sky.  But we have been adequately warned for the upcoming cold storm approaching tonight so Finn and I knew we had to enjoy it while it lasted.  I went out with camera in hand planning on taking some cloud pictures, but as previously stated they were few and far between.  So instead I snagged a few shots of the little man trying out some leaves.

 Don't worry though, those dark clouds rolled in this afternoon and so I snapped a shot.  What an ominous gray sky it is with these clouds.

.what will you wear today.

I thought I would really class the place up today and put on some of my best duds...or at least most comfortable.  I'm stuck inside today watching Finn and our neighbors little Lilly.  This is my day of the week to lounge a bit as I only get stuff done if they BOTH are sleeping.  So comfort clothes it is:

You almost can't beat a pair of great jeans for comfort....almost.  Pair it  with some floppy sandals, and an old worn Tee and that is what I'm wearing today.

.maybe.

I want to try something different around here for a bit.  I'm never creative enough to come up with this stuff on my own, I've always been like that...even with drawing.  I could never come up with a picture idea in my head, but if I saw something I liked I would try and copy to the best of my abilities. So in that fashion, my friend Hayley posted this, and I want to try it. 

Now I'm in no way a photographer, so more likely than not I will just end up with some crap pictures, but we will see...it might be interesting.

enjoying some quiet sun time