Michigan, Part II

Finley was honored to be asked to be the ring bearer at Jessie & Custer's wedding while we were in MI. I was in charge of actually getting him down the aisle, and Nate was an usher. Here are a few photos of Finley in his cute little suit.

"Look out or I'll drool on you!"

Unfortunately, since Nate and I were pretty busy during the wedding, we didn't get to take photos there. Here are a couple that aren't very good, but at least you can get the idea. I'm hoping the wedding photographer got a good one...

Basically what happened is I had to lead Finley down the aisle by tempting him with the ring bearer pillow. He followed that pillow and untied the ribbons all the way down the aisle. Success!

A few photos from after the wedding:

The lovely new Mr. & Mrs. Carland

Nate threw Finley down in front of Jessie and Custer and ran so the photographer could try to get a photo with him in it.

One of the reasons we chose the name Finley was because it's not very common. Oddly, another person from the CSA in MI had a boy on the exact same day and named him Finn (not short for Finley). This is him, clearly unhappy to be taking a photo with Finley.

And last, a few goodbye photos on our last day in MI. Thanks to both sides for a wonderful time!

Michigan

Here are some Michigan photos from our time up north. We'll be here until tomorrow, then to NC. We've had great weather most of the trip- cold at night, but warm enough during the day. Finley had an especially great time getting to meet his cousins, Marlow and Clementine, for the first time!Between our beach trip in SC and our time in MI, Finley has become a regular beach bum. He loves the sand and water more every time he goes!

Finley and Clementine swinging together on Tim & Marcia's porch. Look at that blonde hair and those blue eyes!

Beach Picnic!

Dennison family photo

Marcia and her mom, Alice

Fafee and Marlow

Uncle Cooper wants to ball back, but Finley is busy chewing on it.

Cooper and Nate playing a little football while Finley watches and learns.

Grandma Holly chasing Clementine down the beach.

Finley getting to know his 2nd cousins

Shannon, John & Marlow

Finley had lots of fun naked beach time since we were the only ones on the beach. The water was freezing, but he loved it.

Thanks for the cool puzzle, Shannon, John, Marlow & Clementine!

That's all I have time for now. So much school work to do! Will post more of MI soon.

The Beach

We made it to the States about a week and a half ago to officially begin our summer vacation! We had a bit of a scare the day we flew. Finley woke up with a fever of 102. (He never wakes up with a fever; it always comes later in the morning. And 102 was a bit too high for our liking.) We were pretty sure the fever was a result of the vaccinations he had gotten a few days earlier, but of course we were worried about if something happened and he got even worse when we were stuck on the airplane. We kept him loaded with fever reducers the entire flight. He felt terrible, but he survived and we survived.

We went to the beach in SC last week with my family and had a great time! By the end of the week, Finley was a regular beach bum. His absolute favorite part was the hammock. We literally had to pry his fingers off the strings to get him out. He laid in it like a cute little frog.

The beach seemed to make Finley very hungry. He constantly snacked on the beach. He's eating some of his current favorites in this photo: blueberries.

Flying high over lovely blue skies.

Getting ready to...
...SPLASH!

Playing with Daddy and Aunt Jessica in the sand.

We still haven't quite mastered the shovel yet, but it's fun to try! Thanks to Alice, Jacob & Lindsay for the great bucket and shovels!

Cuddle time with Mommy after some serious playing.

So proud for drinking out of a bottle of water (with help).

Laughing at Granddaddy pouring water on him.

I don't always mind the clinginess. It can be pretty darn cute.

Reading a book with his grandmommy (whose grandparent name is yet to be determined).

While Hong Kong is very green and lush, we don't have much grass at all. It's a lot of tropical trees, plants, and flowers. My parents' house was Finley's first real chance to play in a yard of (real) grass. He especially loved playing with sticks! (Notice he's carrying around the same stick in all the photos.)