We might not have our own yard...

But we can still make our own snowman.

taken by me
taken by Finn
taken by stranger

Finn at 2 years

Finn turned two in August '09, but since I never had 'official' pics taken of him, I decided to get a few while we took Kate's 6 month shots. He didn't want to cooperate at first, but I was able to get a few good smiles out of him.
Finn LOVES guitars. He will 'play' our Guitar Hero guitar for 20+ minutes at a time. Is he too young for guitar lessons? Probably...but as soon as he can, we will. Here is a video of us putting on a concert...totally his idea. He opened the dishwasher, brought me the beaters and strapped on the guitar...and Aaron caught it on video

I'm glad we got this shot because I see this face from Finn several times a day. It's his "I've got you figured out/I've got some tricks up my sleeve" face.

Other things Finn is up to lately:

-- Taking TONS of self portraits. Remember this post.? Whenever he gets his hands on the camera, my memory card is suddenly full. In the short video below, he thought he was taking a picture of himself but accidentally had the camera on video mode. I could watch it over and over and over again.
-- Potty Training. No need for details here, but let's just say it's been a long road (going on 3 weeks now) and the end is not really in site. I am being consistent though, and refusing to give up...and slowly he's coming around. He earned this cowboys and indians play set after he peed in the potty for the first time...it was a momentous occasion let me tell you.
-- He loves to say "No, YOU say it" over and over again when we ask him to say his prayers every night. We can usually get him to do it by saying "Okay, I'm going to say it" to which he replys "No, I say it!". Aaah, reverse psychology...a parent's best friend.

-- Playing any and all board games. Aaron would term himself a board game collector, as evidenced by our overflowing closet of games. I guess this rubbed off on Finn because he LOVES board games. He has a few toddler ones, but he is also always asking me to get the adult games out (whoa, not THOSE kind of games) and he'll just play with the pieces forever.

-- Saying nonsense words. Here is a typical conversation as of late:

Finn: Hey Mom!

Me: Yes Finn?

Finn: Boogalockamugga! {followed by peels of laughter}

Multiply that by 15 times and you get a good chunk of our conversations in a 12 hour period.

-- Changing words to songs. He likes to substitute words to his favorite songs with names of family members. Example: Twinkle twinkle little Kate, How I wonder what you Daddy!

He is definitely two -- proving it with little tantrums here and there -- but he is generally very easy going. He is a very loving boy and we can't get enough of him.

Kate's 6 Month Photos

Thanks to Andrea for taking/editing these pictures for me!

Things Kate is doing lately:

-- Rolling EVERYWHERE. In less than one minute, she will be at the opposite end of the room, flipped the opposite way on the opposite side of her body.

-- Eating baby food. Or...not. She tricked me and ate really well the first couple times, and now she crys every time I try. What? Here's some news Kate: Spending an hour 3 times a day trying to coax sludge into your mouth that ends up all over me and the floor isn't my idea of a good time either. So let's start cooperating and get through this together okay?

-- Loving her brother. Kate loves to watch Finn dance and jump. Often times we catch her smiling at him when he's doing nothing at all.

-- Snuggling. It is so fun to have a cuddly baby since Finn was NOT. She loves snuggling in close for a kiss or hug and just cozying up to her mom or dad when she's tired.

Look how tiny she used to be! Every day I am thankful that she is healthy since things could have turned out a lot worse due to my pregnancy complications. I can't believe she is almost 7 months old now! I just love this little girl.

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve I took care of my nephew Jaxson. He comes over pretty early and Finn LOVES waking up with him already at our house. They played hard all day.

I found them pretending baby Kate's tub was a car. Those are Novell name tags in their mouths. Today Finn brought me a name tag and when I didn't play with it as 'cool' as Jaxson he said, "Ok, these not for moms, these just for Finn and Zaxson."

The snow was perfect for snowmen so I bundled everyone up and took them outside. By the time we got out though, the temp must have dropped because the snow was suddenly not sticky at all...hence our deformed, midget snowman. But the boys didn't know the difference, they were just glad to be outside together.

That sweater Kate is wearing was mine as a baby.

That night, we went to my sister's house for the party. We played lots of games and ate lots of yummy food. And of course, Aaron brought lots of fireworks. Aaron's little fireworks show for the kids was definitely the highlite of Finn and Gemma's evening. I love the image of all the kids in their winter coats with the glow of the fireworks and snow.

Finn and Gemma snuggled up watching a movie.

Kate went to sleep as soon as we got there and stayed asleep the whole time! Finn stayed up late partying and eventually succumbed to exhaustion. We all had a great time; it was a perfect way to finish out the holidays and ring in the new year!

Christmas Time 2009

We stayed in Utah for Christmas this year to have our own little Parks family holiday. It was so great! Christmas Eve we went to my sister Andrea's house during the day for a yummy mid-day feast. Finn had a great time with all his cousins and the food was delish! That night Aaron's mom came over and we sang Christmas carols, read Luke 2, watched the nativity movie and made cookies for Santa. Finn loved every minute of it.

New PJ's!

Finn and Grammy on Christmas Eve

After the kids went to bed we stayed up late eating yummy treats and playing games with "It's a Wonderful Life" on in the background. The part at the end when Harry says "to my big brother George, the richest man in town." makes me cry EVERY time. I also love that they sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". Man I love that movie.

Christmas Day was amazing. Finn was so excited he couldn't pay attention to any single thing longer than one minute. Santa brought him this Elmo Restaurant that he happened to find used at a great price and Finn was ALL ABOUT IT. Here's him playing with it later that morning:

Sesame Street characters from Brittany.

My new bathrobe from Aaron! So soft and wonderful, I absolutely love it.

And my new shirt! Aaron always does such a good job picking things out for me.

Aaron with his new driver. In retrospect I guess it was kind of sad for me to get him something he can't use until spring, but he is really excited about it!

Kate was 6 months old on Christmas Day!

We were SO excited to give this to Finn! It is a night light that looks just like the moon. It comes with a remote and even does all the different phases. Finn LOVES to look at the moon whenever we are outside at night so we knew he would love it.

Kate with her new links that she LOVES.

Ellen gave Finn many small toys to occupy him at church, including a mini rubix cube. He went and found Aaron's all on his own, brought it to him and climbed up beside him so they could both play together. Finn is so thoughtful sometimes! Also notice how handsome Aaron looks in his new sweater and shirt from me.

Finn with his spelling toy from Grandma and Grandpa Harker. He is really good at finding the letters all on his own and placing them in the right spots!

Finn with his new Elmo slippers that Santa left him in his stocking

Aaron made a delicious Christmas Feast all on his own for us to enjoy! We had turkey and lots of yummy sides including sweet potatoes which he made just for me because I'm the only one that likes them :) Every day I am thankful to have a husband that likes to cook.

We also got Wii Resort from my parents for Christmas and had a great time playing it and a bunch of other games on Christmas day. This time of year just makes me so happy. I am so glad that I have a family of my own to share it with. I am also so thankful for the birth of our Savior -- the King of Kings born in the lowliest of circumstances -- who came for all of us that we might have real happiness here on Earth and in the life to come.