Tuesday, December 31, 2013

turkey, decorating, travel, and christmas,

What a holiday season! Such much fun packed into a month, that I'm only now getting to documenting our thanksgiving and christmas activities. I'll start with November....
We celebrated Thanksgiving in Cincinnati at my granddad's home. Aunt Ellie, Uncle Trevor, and Finn's cousins joined us, as did great Uncle Tom and great Uncle David, great Aunt Kris, and my cousins from Chicago. It was a full house and a super fun time.  We also visited with great Aunt Carole, great Uncle Pat and my cousins in Hamilton too. The Pitt pack drove home with us after the holiday to visit a little longer. The Pitt pack also documented the entire event so well, as you can see here. Finn proved to love turkey as much this year as last. He also enjoyed goofing with his cousins and strumming Liza's ukulele.

thanksgiving dress up!

sweeties!

And more sweetness

And more...my sis took these, and I couldn't get enough of them

a little holiday goofiness

In Bloomington, we visited our favorite science museum, where Ryder lost his legs.

And Hadley and Addison made friends with snake.

we played in the sunshine together

and took a dip together



Finnegan shared his little play house secret...a fairy who leaves presents!
Decorating for Christmas was so much fun this year! From the time we moved into our new house, we've discussed the location and size of wreaths, trees, lights, etc. As we predicted, the house is pretty cozy in December.

Posing with garland

reading to Christmouse and friends


on the hunt for a perfect tree

still looking...

Found it!

and the end result.

finding goodies in the the advent calendar

opening presents with daddy


THESE. WERE. A. HIT.
We traveled to Atlanta in mid December to visit with family. This trip was loads of fun, but as it always does, the time went by at lightning speed. It was fun to be in a big city before the holidays, and we took full advantage of Atlanta's festivities. The best part? Catching up with family and friends. 

Merry Christmas to us! Taking in a Justin Timberlake show. 

Fun with water beads and cousin Addison

enjoying the Christmas lights

And the trains.


Finn refining his chillaxing skills. (chair supplied by Pop, lessons supplied by Uncle Stephen)
A visit with Uncle Stephen, Aunt Jenny, Great Aunt Jane and Cousin Jack

Grandma Barwick has the best supply of toys.
And yup, that is a cast. Poor Finn had a sliding accident at the park one of our first days in Atlanta. He was such a champ at the hospital, and he's recovering well. And, as you'll see below, it doesn't seem to be hampering his present opening abilities.


presents from his Uncle Stephen and Aunt Jenny!

Let's get down to it.
We celebrated Christmas in Bloomington. It was such a fun relaxing day. Everything was on Finn's schedule, which meant we're only now getting to opening his final presents. It isn't that he had too many presents (though his family was very generous), but he would open just one present and play with it for hours. He had no interest in moving on to the next. In between opening gifts, we roasted a turkey, baked a cake, went for a long walk, napped, and played.

dressed and ready for baking

second annual christmas eve lunch at Upland

snuggling in before Christmas Eve mass


Santa came!
practicing his train whistle

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers

Today Finnegan went to his first IU basketball game. The women's team played, and Finn loved everything about it- the band, the cheering, the fast passes, and the win.
It's easy to be an IU basketball fan living in Bloomington. I love that this will be a tradition for Finn as he grows up.
goofing around and cheering for the win

making friends

Sunday, November 10, 2013

fall festivities continued

Birthday parties! Hayrides! Horses! Oh My!

Happy Birthday to Finnegan and my favorite guy!

It's Movember

On a family hayride

Adorable

Petting Bo Bo. Finn kept repeating, "neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh"

Spooky!

As I suspected, Halloween was a huge hit in our house. It took Finnegan just one house to figure out the concept of trick or treating and then there was no stopping him. He was a lion on the prowl. This year, we kept the tradition (2 years makes it a tradition, right?) and celebrated with our friends. Grandma and Pop Barwick joined us too. What fun!

gutting the pumpkin

The big day has arrived! 

checking out the good Halloween hiding spots

Arranging the decorations

short distraction from the holiday preparation

testing out dad's costume

snuggling with a monkey Pop

ready for trick or treating! 

A pride on the prowl!


Monday, October 28, 2013

A patch of pumpkins in the basement


This weekend Finnegan co-hosted a Halloween party with his friend, Myles. In truth, Myles' mom did most of the creative planning. In support of her work, Finnegan greeted people at the door, I provided the space and kept the mimosas and coffee flowing, and Myles directed traffic on the stairs. As noted by the mom of one party goer, this was an exceptionally cute group. I won't even try to describe. Just see for yourself.

Decorating!

Thrilled to be hosting

Have you ever seen a pumpkin with cuter cheeks?!?

This little guy could be  a true life train engineer.  Seriously, it wouldn't have been a costume. 

I didn't capture a photo of her "pin the nose on the pumpkin" skills. She was speedy and precise. 
Finn's BFF, Spidey.
Our Co-hosts. My friend and her I'll-only-pose-for-one-photo-because-I-need-to-practice-my-layups son. 

Peek-a-Boo lion. 

The whole group! Sans one who was being a good little guy cleaning up his things downstairs.
We considered a do-over group photo, but you know how the little ones can't be bothered.