.mr toots.

Mr. Finn, you are also known around these parts as "mr. Toots". Seriously kid, you are one flatulent little guy. It has brought us all, especially daddy, great entertainment. Often times I think he is sleeping when its just you and I feeding at 2:00 in the AM, but when you punctuate the silence with a barrage of toots, daddy can usually be found giggling after each one...boys...some things never change. So yes, I may not always enjoy your gassy issues, but for right now it's a joy to hear you toot.

Oh and I almost forgot one more thing I love to hear you do. Those high pitched squeals when your working yourself up for a cry...well I got it on video. I'm your terrible mom that let you cry just so I could capture that moment that always makes me laugh. Again I'm probably going to regret saying that I love hearing you cry, but for right now it's one of my most favorite things about you kid!

.uno.

Of course I have to give myself an update of our little guy at month one. I have a feeling I'll forget all of the cool things I love and laugh at that Finn does at that stage in his life.

Month one finds Finn:
Loving baths- As long as that water is warm he is as calm as can be. Out of the tub is a different matter.
Eating like mad- He is pretty much on cue...every two hours...I can set a clock by his schedule. Of course that is all completely up in the air after 9:00 pm. He can go up to 4 hours or as little as an one hour between feedings. This, as you can imagine, can be very frustrating for his very tired mom.
Wants to be held- He can be out like a light, and as soon as he is put down the fussing begins. That also makes for long nights.
Smiling- Whether gas or not, he is dishing out those smiles in greater quantity, and mom and dad are Loving it!
Grunting/Sighing- When he eats now he does this rhythmic grunting/sighing that is SO sweet.
Moving- Finn has a pair of legs that he moves like crazy, and his arms and hands are being discovered too. We call him Houdini because he always manages to get out of his swaddle no matter how tight we wrap him. Growing- He is still in his Newborn Dipes, but those are slowly getting too small, especially with his little rolls he is acquiring on his skinny thighs.

It's bitter-sweet seeing how much he is growing. We love our little man, and can't wait to see what month 2 brings!!

.joy in.

I have found that as life slowly returns itself to a normal ryhthm, and as the energy and excitement of a new little life winds down...there is a dilema. This past week I have struggled to maintain a perspective. I know that's hard to imagine after weeks of high-grade sleep deprivation. What a precious gift mr. Finn is, and I'm not taking that back...it's just my overall orneriness with everything else that was really starting to run me into the ground. I added to my overwhelmed-ness by having a bit of a minor foot procedure done on Thursday. So it was no shock that Saturday morning I was hobbling me and the boy upstairs to feed and feeling like I was already done for the day. I greeted Roy with a scowl as he climbed the stairs behind us because I wanted him to feel what I was feeling at that moment...tired, frustrated, and overwhelmed. The poor guy didn't stand a chance! All he could say was, "where is the joy in the affliction?". I think I just stared blankly back at him...or course he was right, but that would take humility to admit...and I didn't pocess very much at that moment. Roy had just walked out the door to leave for a leadership training meeting (don't even get me started on that), when he promptly returned and said, "remember what I said about Joy in the affliction?" Of course what he was aluding to was this...

That brought my pride down a few notches.

Some punks had busted out the rear driver side window and tried to take the stero. I'll admit it...I cried. I cried from anger, unbelief, and exhaustion. But then I stopped. There was no need for those tears. I couldn't change what had happened, but I could change my attitude. Roy took care of everything that day. He got the car fixed, he cleaned the ENTIRE house, and he sent me to my parents to have them watch Finn while I caught up on some sleep. So while saturday will most definately not go down in the books as one of the best days, I learned that I can have Joy in my afflictions if I change my attitude and realize how very blessed I am.

Just check it out-

We just love his long legs-definetly not from his mom

Milk drunk...so sweet!

4 weeks old

.tasks.

I find that I have to break my weeks down by accomplishing just one major task a day. Of course I would love nothing more than to hang with mr. Finn all day and just love on him, but I find that the rest of my life is completely unbalanced then, so I find by finishing one big thing a day helps me feel not only fulfilled, but less stressed about household things. This weeks tasks included...
Monday- Grocery shopping (thanks mom for watching the little dude while I got a chance to shop baby free)
Tuesday- Laundry (note this does not include folding and putting away...just putting in the white and dark loads to be washed and dried is good enough for me)
Wednesday- Clean the fridge (all those left-over casseroles were starting to turn)
Thursday- wanted to clean the bathroom, but had a little minor foot surgery thrown in the mix...I might count that as my task today
Friday- Get the guest room ready for Roy's mom who comes on Tuesday (we will see how the ol' feet are doing tomorrow. I might count foot surgery for two days.)
Saturday- Vacuum
We will see how the rest of the week goes with the "tasks". I have to say just doing a simple task makes whiling away my hours with Finn feel more productive.

.morning mr. finn.

Here is a little happiness I want to spred. Love that little smile he shows off...what a charmer.

.packing it on.

Who would have thought with all our nursing woes at the beginning, that Finn would be a champion eater. Not only did he gain 2 oz. onto his birth weight of 6lb 12oz by his first week, but by his second week now weighs a whopping 7lb 7oz. Momma is more than ok with letting the kid pack on her baby weight. His appointment concluded with him hitting the 30th percentile in nearly every category, while the Dr. acknowledged the amount of "light" hair he had. After his appointment we headed to the local library to grab some books for mom to read while Finn sleeps his mornings away.

Lunch was spent with Roy debating who had "really" been raised on country music. Apparently, the true test of that is if you can sing a whole Garth Brooks song by memory. I laughed some more when Roy was put to the task of dusting the cobwebs from the high nooks that I can't reach, while saying "So this is what I come home for lunch for." Well Roy, yes...yes it is. I can't reach those places and goodness knows they needed a good dusting.

So now that the nooks have been dusted and baby has been fed, I'm off to put my nose in a book with my little Finn sleeping on me. LIFE is GOOD!