Name our March for Babies Team!

(For those of you new to our blog, see Finn’s Story here)

Hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of August!  This summer has just flown by.  Which is good, and bad.  I am ready for school to start so the big kids can get back into a regular routine.  This summer has been nuts with their schedule changing every few days what with camp, trips, and play dates.  But, I am sad because my baby boy will be 10 months in a few days.  SO HARD to believe.

That means we have a little over 2 months to plan for 2 FABULOUS events!  The first is Finn’s 1^st birthday!  We have a theme picked out (thanks, again, Pinterest!), but no other details nailed down.  We also have an idea of our “big” gift to him, but there are still lots of plans to be made!  

But the other event is not just for Finn, but for ALL the families that have (or will have) premature babies.  It is the March of Dimes March for Babies.  The Stillwater March is on October 6 at Boomer Lake.  We are getting our team together, but first we need a NAME so we can sign our team up with the March of Dimes and set our fundraising goals!  Plus, we need a name so we can design our shirts!  We will be using “It’s a Preemie Thing” to print our shirts, and we have to have the name decided to get started on that planning as well.  They do a great job and the shirts are so cute!

This is where you come in!  We have listed below the “final contenders” for our team name.  Britt and I each came up with 5 names we liked, and this list is what we have.  (There aren’t 10 because there was some overlap on the choices!)

Finn’s Dream Weavers (since we call our family the Dream Weavers)

The Fighting FINNtastics (A take on the Fighting Temptations, and the word fantastic)

Finn’s Huckleberries (Huckleberry: to be just the right person for a given job)

 

Feet for Finn (It is a march, after all)

Finn’s Fans (this needs no more explanation)

Team Finn (a little GLEE reference…)

Finn’s Foot Soldiers (A nod to being Christian soldiers as well)

Finn’s Friends (*I’ll be there for you* – I know you are singing it in your head!)

Finn’s Fighters (Like an army)

Here’s how this is going to work.  In the comments section of this post, you can vote for UP TO TWO (2) NAMES for our team. VOTING ENDS AT 5:00PM CST ON FRIDAY AUGUST 3.  I will be keeping a tally of the votes in an excel spreadsheet (LOVE!).  Each person who votes for the winning name (one with the most votes) will be put into a drawing to win one of our team shirts.  In the event of a tie, the Dream Weaver Kids will make the final choice.  Please include contact information such as an email in your reply if you wish to be included in the drawing for the shirt.  If you are local and want to walk with our team, you will have a shirt to do so.  If you are not local, we will mail the shirt to you when they are ready!  So, get to commenting!  We are so grateful for you being with us every phase of this journey, and we want you to be involved in this step as well!

We will also post our fundraising information and goals once we get out team set up on the March of Dimes website this weekend.  If you would like a T-shirt (I will post pictures when the design is ready), you will be able to order one for $20.  Proceeds will be added to our team fundraising goal.  More info to come about that as well!  STAY TUNED!

Hottest Week of the Year

My mother (aka Nana the Wonder Sitter) walked into my house on Monday morning and greeted us all with, “Traditionally, this is the hottest week of the year in Oklahoma.”  Um, Thanks?  I think?  LOL!  I have decided to not watch the weather this week, or check the app on my phone.  My car has an outside temperature display on the dash, but I am not sure it is right very often (as it says 87 a lot, and I know it is hotter than that), so I have stayed blissfully ignorant as to how hot it has been this past few days.  I do, however have quite a hike from the place where I am privileged to leave my car every day to the 3^rd floor of the building I work in (which I have aptly nick named “Survivor Island” for the rest of the summer – or until all the crazy construction is done – whichever comes last). I am VERY tired of sweating.  And pulling my hair into a ponytail.  And my make-up melting off by 8:20am.  But, I digress…

I had the BEST time watching Emma and Lara perform in the operetta earlier this week!  They were part of Rana McCoy’s workshop at the Stillwater Public Library and they got to show off the fruits of their labor earlier this week.  They performed the short musical “Jack and the Beanstalk” a total of 5 times.  Monday morning was a “dress rehearsal,” but with an audience of senior citizens from some of our local nursing homes!  Then, Monday night was the “family” show.  Jake and Britt squeezed in right before the curtain went up after swim lessons, and all of us got to enjoy that performance.  Then on Tuesday they had 3 performances open to the public that were presented as part of the summer reading series at the library.  Britt and I both had to work of course, but I was able to slip out for an extended lunch and watch the 1:30 performance.  It was even better the second time around!  Emma and Lara played villagers, “Heidi” and “Liesel,” in the first half, and security officers in the second half.  It was truly a joy to see them having so much fun up on the stage!  (And yes, the costumes and props all came together nicely!)

Cast of Jack and the Beanstalk

Heidi and Liesel - villagers

Security!

The villagers teaching Jack a lesson

Security escorting the Genie off

Emma and Lara - "The Blues Sisters" curtain call

Today, the girls left for a few days with their other dad, so Britt and I are gearing up for the endless chatter that seems to erupt from Jake when his sisters aren’t here for him to talk to.  Don’t get me wrong – I love him and his curiosity, but he NEVER SHUTS UP!  LOL!  He talks a lot when the girls are home, too, but I guess they act as my buffer and I don’t notice it as much!  Now, all the answering of questions lands on me.  It wears me thin.  And I can tune him out, but that just drives my sweet husband up the wall!  LOL!  So, it is to my benefit to just answer him as succinctly as possible, and get ready for the follow up!  ;)

In Finn news, HE PASSED HIS HEARING SCREENING!   After not getting to do that last week, it was rescheduled for this morning.  They did 2 different types of tests.  One that measured the movement of the ear drum, and another that measured the sound waves that came back after a sound was emitted through the probe.  He initially failed both tests on the right side, but passed them the second time around.  Which isn’t that uncommon with a wiggly 9 month (6 month) old baby!  We received a copy of the report, and then were told the results would be sent to the state.  He will need to be re-screened when he is over 1 year again, but if that also comes back normal we are done with hearing screening unless we feel the need for further testing.  YIPPEE!

Where has the time gone?

9 months – and A WEEK!

I really need time to slow down!  I thought summer was a time for fun and relaxing and enjoying lazy days!  While we have had a couple of pretty lazy Saturday’s as of late, the rest of the time has been go go go!  And here we are ONE WEEK past Finn’s 9^th month-day!  I haven’t even contemplated professional pictures – let alone made arrangements for some!  But, summer with 2 full time working parents, 4 kids, a LARGE house to maintain, swim lessons,  summer camps, sleepovers, dance auditions, operetta rehearsals, and doctor’s appointments, a moment to breathe has been hard to come by!  WHEW!  Gotta love summer! 

As the lead picture shows, Finn was weighed in at his 9 month pediatrician checkup earlier this week.  He is 15 pounds and 6 ounces, and he is 26.5 inches long.  He is still well below the third percentile curve for a 9 month old, but he is getting closer!  I also looked up those stats on a 6 month old (his adjusted age) and he is about 10^th percentile for weight and 50^th for height.  Still a peanut, but he is growing just as he should be!  We also had another SoonerStart visit this week, and she was wanting us to encourage him to sit alone (this was Monday), and to get on all fours to start crawling.  By his 11:30 doctor’s appointment on Tuesday – he had mastered sitting!  He just needed the extra encouragement!  Nana the Wonder Sitter texted me earlier this afternoon and said he said unassisted for over 20 minutes this afternoon – correcting himself when he needed to – listening to his Big Twisters read him books!  SO SWEET!  He was also scheduled to have a hearing test this week.  I won’t go into WHY, but it has been rescheduled for next week… (*smh*)

In the meantime, Emma and Lara got to spend the better part of last weekend at Yost Lake with a friend, and then spent the last 4 days at Camp Lela!  They are having a super fun summer, and I love watching them interact with their friends, their brothers, and just growing into fantastic young ladies!  Plus, they have amazing tan lines for being outside so much!  I have had several adults that have spent extended time with them lately tell me how wonderful it is to have them in their company, and I truly appreciate it.  Don’t get me wrong, they still have their 10-year-old-girl moments, but they are truly becoming the young ladies God wants them to be.  They are really starting to look forward to starting 5^th grade at a new school next month, and we have been blessed by being able to meet several families that have kids around the same age at the school.  Hopefully, this will be an easy transition for them.  Lara also tried out for a company dance squad at a local dance studio, and has made it!  We are still working out details, but look forward to starting that fun adventure soon, too!

Jake made it until last weekend before ever going swimming this summer – that’s how crazy busy we’ve been!  So, he was super thrilled to tag along and jump on in at Yost Lake with his sisters and their friend for a bit last weekend.  This week he started his annual due of swim lessons.  He had a rough start, but it going strong now.  At the end of last year they recommended Level 2 for him, so that’s what we signed him up for.  He started the first lesson with the Level 2 group, but was soon moved back down to Level 1.  This DID NOT sit well with Master Jacob!  Poor guy was so embarrassed and mad and SAD.  But, after much talking and cajoling, we got him going for the second lesson, and he said it was the most fun he had ever had at the pool! LOL!  5 year olds are fickle! He is super excited about MORE fun pool time tonight as his T-ball team has a slightly belated end-of-season swim party.  He may have gotten a late start on the pool time this season, but we are making up for it fast!

Oh, and those Doctor's appointments I mentioned?  Not all of them are for Finn.  I went to the dentist this week.  I have a CAVITY!  Only my 2nd in my 37 years of life!  It is the exact opposite side of my first one ever - 3 years ago.  My dentist (whom I love) was telling me how "easy" it was to fix and how it was "no problem" and "shouldn't take but 30 minutes."  I looked at her and said , "Yeah!  'SAYS THE DENTIST!'"  So, I got back in a couple of weeks for a filling.  JOY!

Hard to believe we are already over half way through summer!  Next week Emma and Lara are performing in the “Jack and the Beanstalk” Operetta at the Stillwater Public Library on Monday (for family) and Tuesday (for the public).  We are thrilled to see what they have been working on for the past several weeks!  I was 10 the first time I got bit by the acting bug, and I loved performing from that day on.  I wonder how this experience will shape their futures!  I can’t wait to run it down here on the blog and show off pictures.  In the meantime, I have to finish their costumes…  So, until next week!

Happy Summer!

A letter to Finn at 9 months old

Dear Finn,

Well, an app on my iPhone just beeped and alerted me that you are 9 months old today.  How in the world did that happen?  Especially since I am pretty sure I just brought you home like a month ago!  But, the calendar doesn’t lie, and you are, in fact, ¾ of a year old today.  Luckily for us, your adjusted age will only be 6 months tomorrow.  I can totally live with that a lot better.  The app also told me that separation anxiety peaks around 9 months old.  I wonder how the adjusted age thing plays into that…

You are such a joy!  A very smiley baby!  Everyone loves to see you smile, and you are so friendly you will share that smile with just about anyone!  Daddy and Nana are your favorites to smile at, but you will share with me and your siblings, too!  Your dad and I have a million pictures of that infectious smile on our phones and camera!  Let’s see, you are still in 3-6 month clothing – although the one piece pajamas are starting to get a little too short, wearing size 2 diapers, you can roll front to back with no problem and you try back to front every once in a while, you can sit for about 2 seconds on your own, and YOU HAVE YOUR FIRST TOOTH!  It just popped through the gums yesterday!  I am going to miss those precious toothless grins!  Just another indicator that you are in growing into a Big Boy!

You go see your pediatrician next week for your regular 9 month checkup, and we also have a hearing screening scheduled for that day – just routine since you were a NICU baby!  I am pretty sure you can hear just fine since you have all the noise of a 6 person home around you!  You got to enjoy your first 4th of July fireworks display last night, and you were in awe!  Just sat in my lap and stared at the beautiful lights in the sky!

And your local celebrity streak continues!  The Oklahoma Blood Institute once again used your miracle status as a call to action for people to donate blood, and to show how that act can literally change a life!  You are the cover boy for this summer’s OBI newsletter – and we couldn’t be more proud.  You are showing off that precious smile again!

I love you, my little peanut!  I can’t wait to find out how much you’ve grown when we weigh you and measure you next week.  You change every day, and I am so blessed to be a part of this miracle.  You have changed our entire family for the better, and I am appreciating every moment we get to grow and stretch with you.  Thank you for being my son, and for teaching us all so many important lessons.

Love,

Mom