Happy Birthday, Babe!!

Just about fifteen years ago, I was lucky enough to meet the man of my dreams. Fifteen years ago I met the person who was put on this earth to be my partner in life. The man who would be with me and bear witness to all of my most cherished memories, and the man who would make it his mission to hold my heart together in the times it felt it would break into a million tiny pieces. Fifteen years ago, I came face to face with the man who would give me three of the most amazing children. What a lucky girl am I to have met him so long ago and shared so very much. My husband, Steven, is a wonderful man, and the half that makes my heart whole.

Steven, I love you more than you will ever begin to know. Thank you for all you do and all that you are. I love you, Babe. Happy 31st birthday!!

Colton is 5 years old!!!

On September 4th, Colton Lane Finnegan reached a milestone....he turned 5 years old. I could not be more proud of the five year old that he has become. He is the sweetest son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin any of us could ask for. The way in which he looks out for his brothers, and the way he loves on his new cousin, is AMAZING!

He is in preschool again this year (his early September birthday causes him to miss the kindergarten deadline) and he is a learning machine. He looks forward to going to school each day, and can't wait to tell Steven and I what he learned when he gets home.

He would like everyone to know a few of his favorites at the ripe old age of five, so here goes...

1.) Favorite color: White, because "it's just white" (doesn't get any simpler than that folks)

2.) Favorite thing to do: go to school, because "I like to play on the swingset"

3.) Favorite thing to eat for dinner: Brocolli chicken, because "I like brocolli"

4.) Favorite person: Aidan, because "he's my brother and he's fun to play with"

5.) Favorite thing to play: IronMan, because "it's what Aidan always wants to do"

6.) Favorite TV show: Batman

7.) Favorite place to go: Disneyland and Legoland (this child, thanks to having grandparents in Southern CA, has been to Disneyland twice already and is going again in 4 weeks)

8.) Favorite sport: football and soccer, because "I love to kick and run and it makes my energy go"

And last but not least....

9.) Reason you love your beautiful mother so much, because "hmmmm, let's see.....I guess because you play in the playroom with us sometimes?" Thanks, bud. :o)

Anyway, to my sweet Cole a few weeks after your birthday...

I love you more than you will ever know and I am so proud of the boy you are becoming. You are smart, and funny, and you have a strong ability to share your love for others even at just five years of age. Your little brothers both look up to and cherish you. You are such an inspiration. I look forward to all the years to come and all of the accomplishments Daddy and I will be witness to. You are a wonderful boy. Happy birthday.

Welcome to the World, Baby Taven!

I am an Auntie!!!! My youngest brother, Trent and his wife Andrea (the world's greatest sister in law) were just recently blessed with the birth of their first child, Taven Ross Clancy. Taven was born on September 13th at a whopping 5lbs 15oz. He is beautiful and probably the tiniest baby I have ever held. I took Cole, Aidan, and Jackson up to visit the Thursday after he was born, and none of us could get enough. My parents were in town from California to welcome their fourth grandson (can you believe all the boys?!!) and they were on Cloud 9. Steven came up as well, after work on Friday, and we all spent the weekend just being one big family and showering Trent, Andrea, and Taven with love. It was wonderful. Trent and Andrea are spectacular parents and I can't wait for all the memories "the cousins" are all going to have together.

Jack is a big boy now...or at least he looks like one!

So both Cole and Aidan had their first haircuts right around 12 months of age. Jack, on the other hand, had not had one at all until a few days ago. I don't know if I was holding off because he just doesn't have all that much hair, or if subconciously I knew that it meant he was growing up. The hair that he did have would curl up in the back and around his ears and was darling....In this picture, however, it is not so darling. I had an awakening the other morning....my baby was developing a mullet. A very thin and uneven mullet, mind you, but a mullet none the less.

So out came the clippers and Jack was strapped into his highchair. Let me just say this is one of the most mellow and happy kids on the planet...he smiled the whole time...even when there was cut hair on his face, in his mouth and under his shirt. What a trooper.

Truth be told, I did tear up a little when it was all said and done because my sweet baby of 14 months suddenly looked (to me) like he was a a big boy, with a big boy haircut! He has always resembled Colton and Aidan, but now I see a whole new level of similarity between the three of them. I don't know how it happened so quickly but it seems I am the mother of three (very handsome) very "big boys"...

It's Been a Year Already....

I don't know why but I am having a REALLY hard time w/ the fact that Jackson turned 1 on July 6th. Each of the boys' first birthdays have been special and have caused me to reflect on the year gone by, but Jack's seems to be even more so.

I don't think it's because he's the last one, because I really do believe that ultimately Steven and I will have one more. Maybe it's because time just keeps speeding up on me and each of the boys's babyhoods have seemed to go by faster and faster.

It really does not seem like a year ago that we brought this precious boy home to join our family. I loved that he was a total cuddler and slept best next to me in his co-sleeper in our bed. I threw the whole "they should be in their own bed" thing to the wind, knowing full well that this stage was going to pass in a blink, and I needed to soak it up while I could.

I think that in his infanthood, Steven got up w/ Jackson only a handful of times. This was not because he was a lazy or sleepy dad (because Lord knows I have been blessed w/ a husband who seems to come by "fathering" naturally and very willingly), but rather because I was so happy to do it myself. Those times in the middle of the night when it was just Jack and I, are times I will treasure forever. Quiet, warm, the smell of a new baby cuddling in to be close,and receive comfort from me. Wonderful.

But, I blinked. And now he is 1. He is into everything, exploring and learning every possible second that he can. He does not like to be contained in his high chair or his crib (unless it is bedtime and then it is okay), and he loves nothing more than trailing after Cole and Aidan. His brothers are his heroes. The sun seems to rise and set around them in Jack's eyes, and as always, if he is upset all it takes is some attention from the "big boys" and all is well.

So often when I am out and about running errands during the day, people will comment on "how full my hands must be" with my three boys. "Boys are so busy" they will say. "Boys keep their mom's on their toes", the offer. True, my boys do keep me busy, and they do keep me on my toes, and yes, my hands are very full. But my hands are not nearly as full as my heart, and I am so very happy to have them all. Every one of them offers me something new each day, and while I am a bit melancholy about the fact that my baby is already 12 months old, I look so forward to every memory that has yet to be made and all the smiles that are yet to be shone.

Happy Birthday, Jackson. We love you more than you will ever know.

I Guess My Kid is Bilingual

A quick story from this morning:

I was laying up in my bed with all three boys and we were all chatting and goofing around when:

ME: Let's go downstairs and I'll get you guys breakfast.

COLE: Well, what are we gonna' have?

ME: I don't know (thinking in my head how I am not all that inspired this morning)....how 'bout Eggo's?

COLE: Eggo's? What are Eggo's?

ME: Waffles.

COLE: Okay, but why do you have to say it in Spanish?

AHOY MATEY!!!

From May 16th to the 25th Five Finnegans traveled down to sunny, southern California to visit my parents and brother. The boys were so excited to see Gma, Gpa, and Uncle Conner, and it felt like an eternity before it was finally time to go to the airport and board the plane. The flight down was uneventful, as always the boys all flew like champs!

Once there, we began a BUSY itinerary of fun So-Cal activities. Hanging out in the pool (given a few more days there, I know we would have had two full-fledged swimmers on our hands) and the hot tub were top on our list in the first few days. Then, down to San Diego we went, to tackle Sea World (the whale and dolphin shows were amazing). On Monday night, when Sea World was over, we headed up to Anaheim to do Disneyland and California Adventure Tues. and Wed. I made a real effort to get the boys' pics w/ (and the autographs of) all their favorite characters. At CA. Adventure, the highlight was the Aladdin play (the genie was hilarious) complete w/ a flying carpet that comes out over the crowd! Cole is such a big, brave kid, he went on the Tower of Terror w/ Steven and I, and loved it!

Wednesday night, we headed back to my parents house and Thursday, it was back in the pool! Friday, the boys got to go w/ Gma and Gpa to Sesame Street Live "Elmo Grows Up", and they thought it was great. Saturday, my mom and I took my brother, Conner, clothes shopping for his birthday at the outlet mall in Camarillo, and man did he look handsome in his new threads!

All the while, we were eating good food, playing the Wii (and oh my did I get sore from bowling!), having great talks, relaxing in the sun, and enjoying each others' company. Unfortunately, all the pictures taken were on the old fashioned 35 mm so I can't upload anything, but while we were at Disney, my mom and dad bought the boys these awesome pirate costumes, and Aidan insisted on putting his on for the parade Tuesday night at Disneyland. All kinds of people were commenting on "that darling pirate over there" and I did get some great pics for the scrapbook.

Today, they decided to relive their Disney days and put the costumes on again. They ran around the house for a good hour and a half playing "Jack Sperrell" despite me telling them over and over again it was "Jack Sparrow". :o)

Nearly 11 months already!!!

In my short 11 months, I have already.....

1.) gone to 3 weddings (at 1, 2, and 3 weeks old no less)

2.) Watched my big brothers fish and my mom and dad wakeboard behind our boat (at 1 month old)

3.) Flown on an airplane twice and been to California to visit Gma and Gpa Clancy (oh, and Mickey Mouse)

4.) Given up a binky, and opted for my thumb instead (it's much easier to find in the middle of the night, folks :o)

5.) Had a ROUGH winter sick season and been tested (negative) for allergies, asthma, and cystic fibrosis (man, it's good to be breathing clear again!)

6.) Learned to crawl, sit, and pull myself to standing all on my own

7.) Learned to sign "milk", "more", "eat", and "please" (I am now working on bath, thank you, bird, and drink)

8.) Started to use a sippy cup during the day (my mom can't believe how fast time is flying)

9.) Fallen off my mom's bed and been checked out by the nice EMT guys via 911 (mom was in a bit of a panic with this little charade)

10.) Found out I am going to be a big cousin to the soon to be youngest boy in our family, my Uncle Trent and Aunt Andrea's baby boy, Taven.

11.) Proved to be one of the most mellow and happy babies on the planet....

Look out world, Jackson Ryan Finnegan is going to be 1 YEAR OLD in the blink of an eye!

Tea Time!

Today Cole had a Mother's Tea at his preschool in celebration of Mother's Day coming up this weekend. We got dressed up (sort of) and all trekked over to The Giving Tree. Miss Jennifer (Cole's teacher) had the table in the back room set up w/ a tablecloth, a pitcher of apple juice (that the kids poured for their mothers), mini sandwhiches and grapes. It was so cute to see Cole pour me some juice in a tea cup and serve me. He also had made me a little gift of a hot pad stamped w/ his handprint. It was a sweet way to start our morning. Here are some pics of the boys and I....

My Pup, Cody.

So right after Aidan was born, Steven surprised me with something I had always wanted...a golden retriever!! Truth be told, I was up to my eyeballs in the new baby and adjusting from having just one child to two, but somehow, we managed the chaos, and Cody was welcomed into our family.

He was such a smart dog, right from the beginning. He pretty much came to us potty trained and he learned very quickly how to sleep in his crate w/out whining. When he grew a bit older, I enrolled both he and I in Puppy Class at Petsmart and he was the "Star Pupil"! He loved (true to his breed) nothing more than to make his "people" happy.

Cody also loved my favorite place on earth....Lake Cushman. We took he and Max w/ us and Cody spent hours swimming in the lake (especially if we were swimming). He loved to float on the air mattress chair with me, and would fly off the end of the dock to retrieve his tennis ball.

He was always wonderful w/ the boys, and as just happy as long as we were all together.

This isn't to say we didn't have our "issues" with this dog....he was a digger and a chewer (also true to his breed), and we still have our fair share of land mine looking pits in our backyard to remind us of this fact.

Right around Halloween of this last year, Cody started dropping weight and was coughing and hacking a lot. To make a REALLY long story short, Cody was diagnosed w/ something called Megaesophagus and it was secondary to a diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis. (Both very rare, and not very promising diagnoses). He basically had no movement of the muscles in his throat so when he ate, his food just sat there and wouldn't make it to his stomach. Everything he ate just came right back up. He also contracted pneumonia easily as it was easy to aspirate the food back down into his lungs when he would try to cough it out of his throat.

For a while I was blindly optimistic, assuring everyone that I could "do what it takes" to manage all this (and a job, and three kids, as Jackson had now entered the picture). Cody was put on lots of medication and had to eat three small meals a day (can food only, mixed w/ water in the blender to a soupy mixture).....in the standing position... and then we would hold him up for 15 minutes afterward in the hopes that gravity would aid in getting his food to his stomach. It was a lot like feeding and burping a baby. And for a little bit, it was all working...

And then he developed his second pneumonia in a month and a half and the weight began to fall off again. Shortly after Christmas this year, I realized we were losing the battle and my dog's quality of life was suffering terribly. So Steven and I made the choice to let him go.

Never had I planned that I would lose my dog after just 2 1/2 years. In that short amount of time that dog had taken up a HUGE space in my heart. I had to go to work the day we made the choice to have him put to sleep so I think the closure is taking longer than it would have if I had been there to hold him. Cody has been on my mind a lot lately, and this morning I came across some pictures of him that made me smile, so I thought it might help the whole process to tell his story. We still have our other dog Max, and I love him very much.....I just miss Cody.

Almost 9 Months!!!

This is really hard for me to believe, but Jackson will be 9 months old on the 6th!! Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital, and the "big boys" were getting to know their new little brother. With the boys getting older, time seems to be going faster and faster by the minute, and I just hope I can hang on and absorb as much as possible without missing the memories. It sounds really cliche, I know, but recently I had a bit of a realization.....the dishes will always need to be done, the play room will always need cleaning (ALWAYS), and the laundry will continue to pile up, but my boys won't always ask me to sit and play with them, and I need to cherish this time. Besides, the more I sit and play, the more I remember how FUN it is to be a kid, and how fun my kids are to play with. Without these boys, I have no idea where I would be......

Spring Break........and snow!

As you can see, we got some SNOW last night! Here it is nearly April (spring break is next week) and we have snow......go figure. Of course the boys wanted to go out and play in the white stuff so I said I would help them make a snowman.....or in this case, our Sunny Snow Lady, Shelly (the boys named her) :o) It was kinda fun getting all bundled up and playing outside in it, but I have to say I am ready for the real spring to start. Bring on the sun!!!!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR LAURA..."

I had my 29th birthday on Feb. 26th and boy, was it great! I woke up at 6:50 a.m to Steven, Cole, and Aidan walking into Steven's and my room w/ a cake (lit w/ 29 candles) and a bunch of 29 balloons, singing "Happy Birthday". Let me just say that 29 balloons is a lot of balloons. When they were done singing, I blew out my candles (all of them), and opened my card. Both Colton and Aidan had separately drawn pictures of our family inside and written their names (it was darling), and Steven had enclosed a gift certificate for a full day at the spa!! Hot stone facial, hot stone massage, manicure, pedicure, lunch.....AHHHHHHH.....relaxation, here I come. :o) I did have to work that day, but Rita brought me flowers and work gave me a gift certificate to go shopping....life is good. I have always welcomed my birthday, I love it, and each year it seems I have more and more to be thankful for.

Jackson & His Mask

So, I thought maybe we were getting past all the trouble Jack has been having w/ his breathing, but it appears we are not out of the woods yet. He started w/a cold back in October, progressed to pneumonia in December, and continues to wheeze and sound junky even now. Last week we met w/ a pulmonologist at Mary Bridge in Tacoma, and he has had his meds switched around a bit. He has become quite the champ at sitting in his high chair and doing his breathing treatments. We are going to have a swallow study performed in April to see if there is anything anatomical going on in his throat that may be causing all this, and we also are meeting w/ an allergy doctor tomorrow to determine if he is sensitive to anything. What a way to spend your first 8 months of life, huh? But, in true Jack form, he just keeps on smiling and "going with the flow". He is such a wonderful baby. :o)

Our Little Devil

Nobody in this family enjoys dressing up more than Aidan. On any given day, he may come down from the playroom wearing a power ranger costume, with construction hat and slippers on his feet. :O) On this particular day, he insisted he wear his devil costume from the time he ate breakfast until it was time to put jammies on that night. He is so stinkin' cute!!

Back Online!!

Hey Everybody!

So I stopped the MySpace thing a while back as I was sick of getting hacked. However, I really enjoy having a way to let our friends and family see what we're up to here at home so I decided to restart a blog.

Just to summarize...

Steven is loving his work at Betschart Mechanical, and I think it is amazing that more often than not, he gets home right around 4:45 in the afternoon!

I started a new job at Woodcreek Pediatrics in mid-November and I LOVE it!! I work Mon, Tues, Wed evenings. I am a phone nurse two nights and on the floor in the convenience care one night a week.

Colton is almost 4 1/2 years old now, and growing up so FAST! He goes to preschool 3 days a week and is a learning machine! He does arts and crafts every day, at home, and our fridge is covered in amazing pictures he has drawn for us.

Aidan is going to be 3 years old in April (where does the time go?) and loves to make us all laugh. On any given day when we go to pick up Cole at school, Aidan will have on a Spiderman suit, winter gloves, and a construction hat! He has quite the imagination.

Jackson will be 7 months on the 6th of February, and his two older brothers are smitten with him. He is rolling all over the place and very much enjoying trying all kinds of baby food. We have also started the baby sign language w/ him like we did w/ the other boys, and I can't wait for the day he is able to sign back! :O)

We still have our two cats, Tux and Jolly and one of our rats, Tubbs. On a sad note, about a month ago, we had to put our Golden Retriever, Cody, to sleep as he had a terrible disease called megaesophagus that was essentially causing him to starve to death. It was a very hard decision to come to, and there are days that are still very emotional for me. We do still have good ol' Max though, and that makes the loss at least a little easier.

Anyway, I will be making an attempt to update on a regular basis so as to keep you all informed as to our current happenings and let you in on the controlled chaos that we call our life. :O)