Beds are sooo overrated

Lately Finn has started to take longer to fall asleep. Sometimes nap time is just "quiet time" and he plays in his room for an hour and a half. Do I mind? Nope! As long as he is in his room and not in my hair, he can stay awake as long as he wants!

One such nap time, Aaron went in to check on him and found this:

He is laying in Kate's infant tub! (She is too big for it, so it is now stored in his room.) We thought it was so cute that he got it out, put his pillow in, brought his stuffed animal and covered himself with the blanket.
Since that nap time, he has actually done this technique 4 or 5 more times. I should probably put the tub away somewhere else, but I don't want to. Every time I open the door and find him in it, a smile crosses my face and I am reminded of what a creative little boy he is.

Creativity aside, sometimes he just does whatever he can to stay awake. We usually let him look at books at bedtime and he "reads" the stories and sings songs to himself until he falls asleep. Here's how Aaron found him a few nights ago:

This angle lets you see how skiwampus (sp?!) he really was:
I like thinking of him before he drifted off, SO tired but not wanting to "give in" and lay down. I love to pick up his little body and cuddle him as I lay him down, watch him roll over, snuggle his teddy and close his eyes...because I know this stage won't last forever, and soon I'll be wishing I could tuck him back into bed like I used to.

Cowboy Finn Belts a Tune

Finn sings this song about five times a day so I finally decided to get it on video.



When Aaron and I watched this together, we both got tears in our eyes...as only a parent would.

I never knew hearing "Home on the Range" would ever make me so happy.

Chuck E Cheese!

Earlier this month Finn had a BLAST at Chuck E Cheese's with his cousin Jaxson.
Thanks to a coupon Bobbi found, it only cost 15 dollars for our whole family to eat, drink, and be merry a.k.a. eat a lot of pizza, drink a lot of pop and get enough tokens to last a lifetime. (We saved about half of them to go back and ride the rides another time.) The pictures below pretty much sum up how much fun the kids had:

Et la piece de resistance:

LOVE Jaxson's face in this one.

Obviously the truck ride was their favorite.

Thanks to his skill, good luck and a game that was broken (?) Aaron got a TON of tickets that we used to score Finn some pretty sweet toys...and of course a little bit of candy too. Here is a video of him trying out his Pop Rocks for the first time

Thanks for the good times Chuck. We'll probably see you again real soon.

Gotta love a handyman

So, a couple weeks ago our washing machine broke.

Again.

We just bought a new (well...new to us) washer and dryer 3 months ago (yes I said MONTHS)after our old washer went to appliance heaven (NOT as glamorous as it sounds...currently our balcony). We knew buying used products wasn't as ideal as buying brand new machines, but who has $1500 to spend on that these days? Not us. Enter the great deal we found in the KSL classifieds. Only $500 for a front-loading washer and dryer and they were only a few blocks away! Once they were installed, Finn LOVED watching the washer fill with water, followed by the clothes spinning around. A useful appliance I need PLUS child entertainment for $free.99?! I'm sold.

The new machines had been working like a dream until the night we heard gunfire outside our condo. Oh wait, it wasn't a gang fight, it was our washer. What?! A sound like that couldn't be good...and it wasn't.

After the gunfire incident, the washer stopped draining and wouldn't spin. Picture me wringing out a load of laundry for an HOUR into the tub...not fun.

Here comes the happy part of the story which stars the handsome handyman above: Aaron figured out what parts broke on the washer, ordered them and replaced them himself!!! We saved $150 that we would have had to pay a repair man and our washer is as good as new! We were so worried we were going to have to buy a new washer AGAIN, but thanks to my handyman hubby, it is draining and spinning like it has been kissed by the appliance gods...and maybe it has.