SC Beach Week

We had a blast at the beach with my family last week.  Finley absolutely loved the beach and would have spent all day everyday there if we had let him.  He would exhaust himself (and us) running around like a maniac, chasing birds, looking for sea creatures and shells, and getting pounded by waves for hours.  Finley had no fear of the water whatsoever, and thought it was hilarious to not only jump the waves, but also squat down so the waves would hit him right in the chest or face.

We also really enjoyed getting to spend the week with our brand new nephew Isaac, who is terribly cute.  Finley and Isaac got along very well, although Finley was fascinated by Isaac's pacifier and tried to either jam it in his mouth or steal for inspection on occasion.      

Isaac's first time at the beach (6 wks old)

Brief snack break

Love, love this photo!

Finley gives Isaac lots of kisses

28 weeks/ 3rd trimester!  Or is that just a beach ball under my shirt...?

Don't eat the sand!

Family play time

Lovely sunset over the canals

Last of the MI Photos

Well, our wonderful 2 weeks in Michigan have come to a close.  Finley had so much fun with all his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Here are some more photos from our adventures.

Nate and Cooper spent lots of time on the tennis courts and walked away with more trophies from the annual tennis tournament.

 Finley enjoyed picking wild raspberries, blueberries, and tomatoes at Grandma Jane's.  He really wanted to pick all the tomatoes, but learned that the green tomatoes are "not ready".

Helping Grandma Jane cook with the tomatoes he picked.

Monday night dances for the little kids at the CSA.  Finley's favorite song this year was "Little Cabin in the Woods".

This is the other Finn (not Finley) from the CSA who was born on Finley's exact birthday.  Crazy, right?

Second round of raspberry picking at a u-pick farm, since the first time was such a hit.

Playing ping-pong with Cooper...

...and Grandma Holly.

Finley & Fafee

 Our first summer staying at the Fuller Ave. cottage.

Happy 4th!

We had a fun, busy 4th of July yesterday.  We started off the morning watching the parade from Nate's Aunt Sue's house, which is directly on the parade route in town.  Finley was particularly enraptured by the fire trucks and horses, and overall the parade was a big hit, as evidenced by the fact that Finley was willing to stay in one general area for about an hour to watch it!  I'm pretty sure he's never done anything for an hour before (other than sleep)!

After the parade, we rushed back to the cottage to meet some new friends for lunch.  This couple is staying in a cabin right down the hill from us, and it turns out the guy recently got hired to be a new youth pastor at our church in Hong Kong!  Crazy, right?  They'll be moving there in August, so we chatted about miscellaneous what-to-expect topics and enjoyed lunch together.

We capped off the 4th with a yummy surf and turf dinner with Nate's dad Tim, stepmom Marcia, brother Cooper and his girlfriend Jana.  Marcia was so sweet to make a cake to celebrate that Cooper just finished his masters and that I'm about to!  Nate and Cooper had to take some time out from the evening to continue their ongoing ping pong battles, which Finley found hilarious to watch and talk about.

Not to neglect our other little one, this week has been exciting because I've noticed the baby has started hiccuping!  So fun!  Finley was a major hiccup-er, getting them several times a day by the end of the pregnancy, so we'll see if this little girl can compete with her big brother.  Amazingly, there are only 99 days left until my due date...down to the double digits!

Picking Rasbebes in MI

We made it to Michigan, our first stop in the States!  Finley did fine with the flights, other than a couple of short screaming sessions on the long flight.  Nate and I sure did appreciate that Finley had his own seat for the first time, although that will be painful for our wallets!  We're all trying to get over jet lag now, which is rough.  Poor Finley is also trying to adjust to new surroundings and people, and is terrified to go into the Pack-n-Play here.  That means we currently get to sleep with the whole family snug in one bed.  But the benefit with that is when Finley wakes up and starts to freak out in the middle of the night, we're right there to grab him and try to calm him before he fully wakes up.

We're staying in the old Dennison cottage on our own this summer for the first time, where Nate stayed growing up.  This will be a very different experience, as we will have our own space and therefore maybe feel a bit more like we're on vacation and creating our own family memories.  We will also get to see both sides of Nate's family (his mom's and dad's) over the whole two weeks this way, since we can see whoever whenever, instead of our usual half/half split.  In fact, it's only afternoon and we've already seen both sides today!  Of course, there are a couple of differences in staying in a cottage/cabin versus a real house.  We have many mice friends staying with us, for example.  I don't really care as long as they keep to themselves, but they have been a bit loud at night so far!  Speaking of bringing the outdoors in, here was another little friend who greeted me this morning on the soap:

We discovered while we were at Jane's house that Finley super enjoyed picking her wild raspberries (or as he says, "rasbebes").  So this morning we went to a u-pick farm about 15 minutes away.  I would say it was a huge hit!  The raspberries were just the right height for Finley.

At first, Finley did pretty well about putting most of the raspberries he picked into the basket.

Raspberry picking requires a lot of concentration...

...and guidance from Mom and Dad regarding which raspberries are ready to be picked.

Soon enough, Finley couldn't take it anymore and just starting eating raspberries like nobody's business.  They were just too darn good, and he couldn't resist.  (Probably didn't help that he didn't eat much for breakfast that morning.)

We tried to take a quick picture, but Finley wouldn't stop eating long enough!