I know the posts have become less frequent, but we’re still here, I promise! Finley just turned 14 months old the other day! Can you believe it? I feel like just yesterday I was in the delivery room waiting for her arrival. She is a ball of joy and a terror all wrapped into one. The other week a friend of ours who happens to be a day care provider said, “wow, she’s really into everything. I’ve never seen a child that busy.” That was very telling for us and basically confirmed that we weren’t going crazy. She’s a tornado!
Finley’s the complete opposite of Katelin in many respects. With Katelin, we didn’t have to worry about much at this age. With Finley, well….
Recently, she came around the corner with a handful of those so-called “baby proofing” outlet covers and a big grin on her face.
It was almost like she was saying to me, “look at me dad. Did you really think I’m that stupid that I can’t figure out how to pull these things out of those holes?” She showed me.
Here’s one I’m sure many of you experienced with your children (hopefully). The other day she came into our living room with toilet paper in her hand that she had dragged all the way from the bathroom on the other side of the house. Have you ever tried to re-roll toilet paper? Take it from me, it’s not fun.
She apparently loves dog food too. There’s been a couple of times where we’ve turned around and there she is popping some IAMS niblets into her mouth. Luckily, we’ve stepped in before she’s swallowed any. A little dog food won’t hurt anybody, right?
Enough about the terror and on to the joys of a 14 month old. She’s talking A LOT now. She’s been saying dada, sissy and “kk” (for Katelin) for quite some time, but now she’s added a few more words to her vocabulary. Finley was in her highchair last week and Jen was around the corner when she heard Finley repeating the word “ookie.” So Jen came back into the room and there Finley was feeding our dog, Rookie, with the contents of her tray of food. She’ll chase Rookie around the house yelling his name. She’ll also get down and give him big hugs and kisses. It’s very cute!
She’s also saying ga-ga for grandpa, ga-ma for grandma and ba-ba for a bottle. Every once and awhile, you’ll hear her say ma-ma, but the “m” sound is still a little difficult for her.
If Jen’s childhood or mine for that matter is any indication of what Finley is going to be like, we’re in big trouble. We were both very strong-willed kids. Our parents say it’s payback, we say not fair! And to think, the terrible two’s are still 10 months away!!!
I know I’ve said it before, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.


































