Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Our Little Charmer!

Before we go any further, Finley's newest "Cheese!" face involves squinting his eyes.  When I tell him to open his eyes, he stops smiling, almost like his smile/squint operates on one muscle.  It's cute.

Grandma spoils her boys! She dropped off a large lion cupcake - nothing like a little sugar before bed, luckily he only licked the frosting. And in the 2nd picture?  The first (of many) squinty-eyed pictures.

Another Grandma likes to spoil Finley too - Grandma Lynn! She dropped off an early St. Patrick's Day gift for our little Irish Boy. When he saw the shiny, green bag, he knew it was for him..."my present?" What a lucky little boy!

Finley was intrigued by the slinky - he'd never seen one before!

Finley and I enjoyed our spring temps and got outside; the melting snow has him intrigued - Melting snow?  Why gone?  Finley threw rocks into the snow and loved that they disappeared into the melty snowbank...Patrick will be excited the first time he mows!

Finley tried out his trike, he doesn't have pedaling down yet, but with a little practice I'm sure he'll be cruising up/down our driveway by summer!

Finley & I had a date on St. Patrick's Day - we went to the Sports Center just the two of us!  I'm starting to feel sentimental about our time together and I am appreciating it more...not that I didn't before, but knowing our alone-time is limited makes me a little anxious.

Grandma Lynn had given Finley green/yellow sprinkles - so we made green cookies to decorate! OMG - the eyes!

The sprinkles weren't coming out fast enough, so I made the hole bigger - which cookie do you want?!

Mommy & Daddy gave Finley a few small St. Patrick's Day presents; he's wanted the movie A Bug's Life - his face was priceless!

My days off this week were spent preparing for our Girl's Trip to NYC - I am leaving Finley & Patrick home alone for FIVE nights!  They've only spent one overnight together - eek, my mommy-control is being tested!  Patrick does a lot for Finley, but I keep the routines going around here - the mom things - I get Finley dressed for school, I remember to feed him, I don't get talked out of bathtime, I brush his teeth and make sure he's in bed by 8:30, etc.  I'm nervous and anxious - but I know they'll survive.  The house on the other hand??  It's probably best if I don't know.  I've done what I can - I laid out his outfits, reminded Patrick when Show & Tell / PJ days are, given daycare a head's up (Finley mostly asks about mom during the day), I taught Patrick how to Skype, etc. 

While I'm gone, Finley will open a present each day - when he opens the last one, Mommy's coming home!  One of the presents will help them survive (a McDonald's giftcard as a reminder to eat), one is a book about Moms (so Finley doesn't forget me) and the others are trinkets for fun!

Our family celebrated Spencer's 3rd Birthday a day early at McDonald's!

Happy 3rd Birthday Auntie's Big Boy - I love you so much and am very proud of you!  You have a fun sense of humor, are a sweet little boy...and very cute!

Baby Update...I had my 28-week appointment with the maternity counselor.  This appointment included the gestational diabetes test - I passed, but my blood sugar was below the minimum, she told me to eat more frequently, I think it was a fluke.  We started my birth plan (epidural please!), went over miscellaneous things for labor (NO mirror!) and desires for immediately after delivery (Baby will be placed on my abdomen for a quick peek, but then CAN be moved away for cleaning up) - most of all, whatever comes up, do what needs to be done to keep Baby safe.

Baby's heartbeat was 148-152, my blood pressure was 110/50, everything looked good until she measured me at 23 weeks - that's five weeks SMALL!  She thought Baby was cradled in my pelvis rather than head down, giving an inaccurate measurement.  After my appointment she mentioned it to Dr. Ezenagu and he requested an ultrasound to see Baby.  After three long hours (he was in surgery), I heard back that Baby is perfect!  He/she weighs 2lb 8oz (normal for 28 weeks), my cervix is still measuring normal, my amniotic fluid level is good and for overall health he/she scored an 8 (on some scale that 1-8 is used, 8 being the best).  He also checked my low-lying placenta and it's moved up - no plans for a c-section!  In the end, they made a few guesses why my measurement was small (different person measuring, Baby's position might have changed), really, if you've seen me, it's obvious I'm not "small".

Baby is getting more cramped, so it's not a great profile picture - but he/she was practicing breathing and swallowing while we watched. Baby is looking up, use your imagination and you can see Baby's nose, there's a little cloud near it's mouth as it was pushing out fluid, his/her hand is in the upper right.

The tech tried for a creepy (in my opinion) 3D shot, but Baby kept his/her hands in it's mouth and we couldn't get a clear shot - no loss for me.  We did get one clear front-face picture (also creepy in my opinion), Baby is at the top looking straight at us.

There will be no post next Sunday - we fly back Sunday around dinnertime...and I have no idea if Patrick will take any pictures.  A flashback of Vintage Finley...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Love, Finley Patrick
2011