Life Without a Helmet…

Until Finley starts riding a bike, I won’t be writing about helmets again. So for the final time (WOO-HOO!), a helmet update....acutally, it's a Life Without a Helmet update…

My favorites of being post-helmet?
- cute hats
- snuggles that don’t hurt my collarbone
- no cleaning the stupid thing twice each day
- no hiding inside the infant carrier at Target
- Finley no longer looks like he suffered a head inury or underwent brain surgery

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT...now that it's all over!! Where is the helmet? No, I didn’t burn it or throw it away; its found a new home high on a shelf in Finley’s closet. I figure some day we'll laugh that we made him wear the stupid thing! Helmet therapy will become an outdated treatment for plagio and it’ll be seen as a barbaric medical device. Oh well – it was worth it! LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT...now that it's all over!!

Finley can wear cute hats! He wore his "Slow Poke" hat for coffee with the ladies...
I looked away and turned back to discover Finley adjusted his hat - nice try!
Introducing the 102nd Dalmation...if you look closely, there are dog ears on the hat, unfortunately...
...Finley didn't think it was as cute as I did.
Finley turned 8 MONTHS OLD on Tuesday! He’s not crawling yet and he still doesn’t have a tooth, but he’s so big and handsome!
Finley's first pair of "chuckies"...I'd just told Grandma I wanted a pair, little did I know she'd already ordered some! She's one-step ahead!
On Friday, I rang in another year…ironically, this birthday was calmer than last year. Being pregnant, a year ago I swore I’d REALLY celebrate moving into my 30’s (being 30 is totally different than in your 30's)…little did I know I'd change my mind! All I wanted was to spend my birthday with my outside-baby.

On Friday, Stephanie and Finley met me for a birthday lunch at Culver's. Finley surprised me with a birthday card! It was the best card I received this year and it might be the best card I'll EVER get.

Grandpa picked Finley up early and brought him to school to visit; my kids were excited to see him and I was excited to show him off. Finley got lots of cuddles from staff members and waves from (germ-carrying) students.
Friday night we had pizza at Grandma & Grandpa's...
...the boys shared the musical table...

...and Spencer surprised me by singing Happy Birthday! I can't believe he memorized all the words and a tap-dance routine to go with it!

Our Irish baby is getting excited for St. Patrick's Day! On Saturday, Finley wore his Shamrock bib (Thanks Aunt Patrice) so it seemed appropriate to eat something green. It seemed like a cute idea...until he choked on the skin of a pea! After I flipped him upside down to dislodge it (and everything else he'd eaten) I quickly put peas on the not-yet list of finger foods. This really helped my fear of finger-foods!
Saturday night was the M&J Christmas party, (yes, you read that right, Christmas party) at Wild Ridge. Grandma Lynn & Grandpa Jim babysat; I got a good report when I picked up my sleeping baby...Finley was "a perfect angel"!

Emily was home visiting, so Finley got extra spoiled; Emily had fun snapping self-portraits.

Grandma Lynn gave Finley a kitchen-sink bath, he loves these!

Our little leprechaun also got an early St. Patrick's Day present from Grandma Lynn & Grandpa Jim...a St. Paddy's Day bib and Finley's favorite...Puffs! Finley tried them both out this morning!

Once upon a happy hour, it was decided that babies shouldn't go to Mexico - they can't be in the sun, someone gets stuck in the room during naps, they go to bed early, they require a lot of equipment, etc. So over chips, salsa and a few Banana Monkeys, it was decided that Grandma & Grandpa's should stay home with the kids. Fast forward five years when the kids we spoke of actually exist...we're totally that family dragging our kids and all their equipment to Mexico. Next Saturday, we will begin our Cancun adventure!

No promises, but I will attempt to post on Thursday or Friday evening before we go. It's very doubtful I'll post from Cancun, but I'm confident we'll have pictures to share after our trip....Hasta la vista!