August was Jam-Packed!

We started August off with a Harker family reunion. Day one was at Lagoon and both the kids had a blast with all their cousins. I enjoyed being there with my dad and lots of other family, even though my preggo-ness kept me from going on any rides. I'm pretty sure I will never feel too old for amusement parks, they are just plain exciting. The next night we camped in Heber. Finn had so much fun "exploring" all the cabins and playing with cousins. Here is a picture of Aaron and the kids on a hike they went on:
Finn's oh-so-fun birthday was next (accompanied with the not-so-fun flooding of our basement) but his party was after that, which helped wipe away the bad memories of soggy carpet and sopping towels. A full post about his birthday is below.

Next came a long-awaited member to our family:

Not the picture you were expecting? Well before the baby came we knew we needed a bigger car and so we took the plunge into van-dom. Aaron and I both love to drive it because we feel like we're steering a spaceship. Seriously. It's awesome.

And then on August 30th, we welcomed the REAL newest member of our family, Rex Bennett Parks! His birth story post is coming soon, but just know that we are all in love with him. He was definitely the best part of our busy August month!

Finn's a Grown-up Now

That was then...
This is now!

Finn turned 4 years old on August 8th! My sister has told me once that she felt her oldest son was "all grown up" when he was 4...which she realizes is silly now that he is 8 and so much older...and has so much growing left to do. I must admit that I have caught myself thinking of Finn that way because he knows so much and is so much bigger than Kate (and Rex! post about him coming soon). Four seems SO OLD when I think of my first tiny little baby with his bald head and chubby cheeks. But I am dedicated to reminding myself how little Finn still is, and how much nurturing he needs, and how much learning and growing he still has to do.

Finn's actual birthday started great with his special breakfast choice of milk and toast with nutella. We got free tickets to a movie at the theater down the street so went to that with a few of his cousins in the morning. Great fun! Then, to make a long story short, the day took a turn for the worse when I decided to get some canning done that turned into a forever ordeal and basically ignored Finn for the rest of the day which resulted in the kids flooding our basement...oy.

But later that week we had a fun family party that made up for the birthday chaos!

Helping me make his birthday cake

I am not a 'birthday cake mom' so was pretty stoked when Finn asked me to decorate his cake with the new Lego guys he got from grandparents for his birthday. Nice.

This was taken later that week when his cousins came to play. The Woody and Buzz dress-ups are birthday gifts. I know the picture is crazy out of focus, but it still makes me really, really happy.

Some things about Finn at this age:
He loves dress-ups, Lego, all pretend play and Star Wars. Wild Kratts is by far his favorite kids show and he is always spouting off animal facts. Learning how to read took a back seat during the summer, but he is still very interested in it and can sound out most reasonably-sized words. He is becoming less innocent (wah!) now that Kate is old enough to be a competitor and he has learned what makes her tic, but generally they get along really well. He has been nothing but sweet with his new baby brother. He is easy-going and pleasant to be around 90% of the time, with a short fuse (that probably comes from Mom) that results in the occasional screaming fit. We are working on that ;) He LOVES sunbeams and is always willing to participate in Primary. He loves to sing and be sung to, read and be read to. He loves to snuggle me in the morning. He is always surprising us with the clever/goofy things he says. He is our little grown-up! And we love watching him grow up more with each passing year. Happy Birthday Finn!