finley loves to swing

more old pictures of finley ... she's just too darn cute!

finley loves to suck on baby feet

finley loves to suck on baby feet ... whether they are hers or a baby doll. (and actually if she gets a hold of my feet, she'll suck on those too!)

aidan loves to share

aidan loves to share with his sister ... and sharing all his yo gabba gabba characters is a BIG deal!

finley loves baby cereal

finally ... i have been trying for awhile, but fin has finally decided that she'll eat solid foods!

finley is 7 months

holy moley ... i meant to do an update when she hit her 6 month mark ... and yet another month has flown by.

she's now 26" long and weighs in at 17 pounds ... both of which are in the 75 percentile for her age.

she has finally decided that she likes solid food ... which lets me not stress as much when aidan drops/throws his cheerios on the floor.she gave up nursing at 4 months and prefers bottles ... heated ... it has to be just the way she wants it. oh well. (and she loves to lay on the floor with her feet straight in the air ... pretty much since day 1!)she started rolling over at 4 months (like ... exactly!) ... that day she decided she could do it, both ways, tummy to back and back to tummy ... it hasn't stopped her since. she rolls all over and can rotate 360 degrees ... so if she sees something she wants she'll get to it.
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this morning she decided that rolling around wasn't as productive and has graduated to army crawling around after aidan.

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it's gone by WAY to fast. overall she's a happy baby, an angel straight from heaven. i'm so happy she's joined our family.

finley is talking

finley is all smiles these days, the other night she was talking like crazy, so i grabbed my camera and this is what she did ...

it cracks me up that you can see her looking at the camera and me, going back and forth! i can't believe she's almost 4 months already!

finley's blessing day

on sunday, december 21st, we blessed finley jean!

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i started *and* finished her dress on saturday ... nothing like a deadline to get me moving on a project. everything turned out lovely. she looked beautiful (of course there were things i would have changed ... but overall i LOVED it.) we were surrounded by friends and family who truly care about our little family. robby gave a beautiful blessing ... overall it was a FABULOUS day.

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here is a picture of our little family.

here is our family with robby's mom, who joined us for the blessing, then headed off to her church to sing ... then joined us again for food after.

finley with my parents. pictures of finley ... i mean is *was* her special day. i sure think she looked cute!close up pictures of her outfit ... headband (all of the flowers are on hairclips ... so they are removable ... and finley can wear them when she gets older and grows more hair)diaper cover ... nicole called them "boy shorts" they looked soooo cute on her under her dress.some close-ups of her dress.and the baby shoes that i made totally completed the ensemble! i absolutely LOVED how they turned out ... and the flower clips just made them 100% cuter!

EDIT: the white fabric was some of the 90/10 cotton lycra knit that i use for my modest clothing (http://www.jocole.net/), the white netting was leftover from the curtains in my living room (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90111980), the headband was made from some nylons.

men in her circle: robby, my dad, scott, tj, my grandfather, and chad kelland ... patrick was supposed to be there, but couldn't because his wife and daughter were sick.

finley's first bath

finley had her first real bath on october 13, 2008, she was really good. i could tell she was not very happy about it as she sucked on her hand as if he life depended on it, but she never cried (aidan used to SCREAM the entire time i gave him a bath). she smelled SOOO good after it.

aidan loves finley

aidan loves finley ... he loves giving her kisses, sometimes he loves her TOO much! but it's really sweet.

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finley turned 1 month old yesterday. i can't believe it, it went by so fast. to celebrate she slept 8 hours straight (she might have slept longer, but i woke her up to feed her). unfortunately, she didn't go to sleep until 1 a.m. ... and aidan decided to wake up at 6:30 (he usually gets up around 7:30) ... so i didn't get to take advantage of the 8 hours ... bummer!!

finley's arrival -- my version

my sister nicole lovingly posted about fin's arrival (ya know, since i was in the hospital and couldn't do it myself!)

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we were a bit scared about inducing me ... because of how it didn't work last time. if the induction didn't work, then we would have to do a c-section. but my doctor was really positive that everything would turn out fine.

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we checked into the hospital on september 22nd, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at 8:00 p.m. they started me on cervadil. we watched the heroes season premiere (but not on my laptop ... nicole assumes that since she only watches tv on her computer that everyone else does as well ... haha! just kidding nic ... don't be offended.) at 4:45 a.m. on september 23rd, 2008, they started me on pitocin. i asked for my epidural around 5:30 ... i didn't get it until 7:30. at 8:00 my doctor checked on me and ruptured my water. finley's heart rate was dropping every time i had a contraction and my nurse was pretty concerned, so at 10:00 she put a monitor directly in finley's head to more closely monitor what was going on with her. they assumed it was just the cord wrapped around her head (which it wasn't), but wanted to be sure she was okay. i was only dilated to a 5. as she was leaving she said that finley would probably arrive somewhere around 12 or 1, but if my contractions got worse or i started feeling pressure to let her know. i tried to go back to sleep and get some rest.

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around 10:30 i had a pretty big contraction and LOTS of pressure. so i called my nurse and she came in to check me. i was then informed that i should NOT push, laugh, sneeze, cough, etc. and that she was going to go call my doctor immediately. my doctor got there in 15 minutes and i was all prepped and ready. after only 2 contractions and 5 pushes finley arrived at 10:55 a.m. (robby said if i didn't have to breathe so much, i could have done it in less pushes).

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here she is, only 5 hours old!!

she was perfect. we all (robby, me, my friends, my nurse, and my doctor) assumed that since aidan was 7 pounds 2 ounces at 1 week overdue, and she was early and i had gained less weight, that she would be in between 5 and 6 pounds. so we were all delighted when she was 6 pounds and 5 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long!! she had no breathing problems. she had no problems nursing (a half hour after birth she nursed for 20 minutes!!). not even a problem with jaundice! she's an angel. i mean, aidan was a good baby, but she is phenomenal!! she sleeps and eat and poops and that's it. she barely cries, and only when she really needs something. (it's the cutest little sqwak ever!) and she really does have dimples ... we just can't seem to get a picture of them since she is ALWAYS sleeping (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

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besides the blood pressure, my recover has been super easy! i feel great. the rash has passed (it was only here for like 3 days ... who knows what it was from. it came a few days after i got home then vanished as randomly as it appeared.). i'm up and about and feel almost back to normal.

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check out that cute bow ... thanks lindsey!!

holding daddy's finger

her coming home outfit

sleeping ... what she does best

sleeping with daddy while he watches tv

update on life with 2 kids

well i had a doctor appointment yesterday. my blood pressure has actually increased since i had finley, so it's official and i am now on medication to try to correct the problem. hopefully it'll go down in the next couple weeks and it wont be a permanent thing.

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i've also noticed a strange rash that started on my arms and has now spread to my chest and neck ... who knows? hopefully that goes away soon as well.

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on another note that will make everyone hate me. i've lost 16 pounds and am back into my jeans (after 3 days)! yes i know ... i am a FREAK OF NATURE!! i'm sorry people.

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and finley slept for 8 hours straight last night ... unfortunately i had a hard time getting back to sleep after she woke up ... UGH!!!

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aidan is doing fairly well to the adjustment from only child to older sibling. he loves to give finley hugs and kisses. the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "baby" and wants to go and see her. he loves to stick his finger in her hand so she can hold it (that's what i was trying to get a picture of in the first one). but he has a hard time when i am nursing her and can't give him what he wants *that* second. he gets frustrated. he has his good moments and his really bad moments, which i'm sure is completely normal. he'll adjust and we'll all be fine.

finley jean's first day

introducing ...

finley jean baird

born on 23 september 2008; at 10:55 a.m.

weighing in at 6 pounds and 5 ounces

measuring 18 1/5 inches long

Jodi was trying to take a nap this morning (you know how that goes in a hospital)...when she started feeling some pressure. Called in the nurse, who called in the doctor, who told her to push. 5 pushes later - new baby girl baird was born! Mom and baby are both doing well - just tired. Finley Jean has dark hair, that looks to be curly. And one confirmed dimple, with a suspected second. Robby is so proud of his wife - and her "easy delivery". Talked to her briefly - she's so happy, and exhausted, and hungry. More later!

all is well!