He Really Should Have Asked for Some Hair Plugs...

Finn's 1st Christmas!...and aren't I glad he's too young to realise that he only got clothes and some pacifiers. Ah, young innocence...or ignorance. But other than the usual Christmas breakfast and present opening, not much is goin' on. Luke got in on Thursday, it finally stopped raining and I'm enjoying a 75 degree Christmas instead of that snowy, white Christmas crap going on in Utah :)

Now. On to the obligatory Christmas pictures...


SO happy to be opening his stocking




Family Christmas Picture...Luke looks high and Finn is distracted. Eh. Close enough.

Leaving On a Jet Plane...

..thanks for the intro, John Denver!
Guess who went on his first airplane? Yeah...Finn. Guess who DIDN'T have a nervous breakdown? Yeah...Me. So proud of us. So dang proud. Now we're just waiting for A.)Luke to get here! and, B.) The rain in California to stop...for goodness sake, I don't buy tickets to Southern California only to be greeted by RAIN...puh-lease.


photographic evidence of my calm, cool and collected self


Oh...and Christmas. We're waiting for that, too. This guy doesn't even know how excited he is about the holiday my family is fairly apathetic about.

Tres Meses...With Video!

3 months, baby! Or should I say, baby, 3 months! Or, look! A 3 month old baby!

But seriously, the baby...he's 3 months, now.

And I guess in Finn's mind 3 months is a perfectly adequate age to be considered all grown up. Not only does he now have his first pair of jeans, he won't stop smiling and talking at ANYTHING that moves (case in point, he's talking to the TV right now...), he's trying to crawl, won't stop sticking out his tongue, THINKS he can boss me around and last but not least, he's had surgery down by his manly parts...

...yep...

...this boy is practically out job hunting now...they grow up so fast.

Finn has also been sleeping through the night for the past few weeks, which leads him to believe that he no longer takes a nap...which then in turn leads to some cranky meltdowns... promptly followed by a nap.

He's also taken up exercise after overhearing the nurse's 'fat' comment...put him on the floor, take off his pants and he starts kicking his legs like he's in a Tai Bo class. He'll seriously do this until you put his pants back on...Not surprising, I mean what dude isn't happiest when they're pantless 24/7?! The BEST part is that if you take off his diaper he goes even more crazy.

Oh, and he can basically fit his whole hand in his mouth...I'll let this picture sum everything up...



Future Kickboxer!

Overheard...

The best part of the whole hernia experience...the nurse who let me see him right after surgery called the other nurse on the phone...the conversation went a little something like this:

Nurse: We have Finn here, ready to move into the new room...Yeah, Finn...the fatty.

(when she realizes I've heard the remark)

....don't worry, all my babies were chubby, too!

End Scene

Who you calling a fatty?! Its all muscle, baby! Just like his mama...

I'm really not offended, he had all the nurses wrapped around his chubby little finger by the time he left.

The OTHER best part...Now my manly man has two manly scars "down there" that I told him he's not to show anyone...not even to impress the ladies :)

Day after surgery....Fatty? NO Lovely? YES

Hernia Shmernia...

...nothing can keep this boy down! Not even a nasty, double inguinal hernia surgery!

It all started on Tuesday when we were all geared up, packed up, pumped up and ready to go run some awesome errands...Finn was smiling and chattering away when all of a sudden he just started screaming in pain. It was probably the worst feeling in the world because I had NO idea what was wrong...and of course me, being the super helpful and useful person that I am, start running around like a chicken with my head cut off saying, "I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do..." Great. Way to go, Mom.

After a few more minutes of inconsolable screaming we pack up the car and head to the doctor...more "I don't know what to do"'s ensued as he continued screaming and I actually had to leave the exam room to avoid a complete and utter meltdown.

But I digress, the doctor found a large bulge in his groin area...ANOTHER big bulge in his groin area I should say...tee hee! And we were sent to SLC to Primary Childrens Hospital immediately because the hernia wouldn't retract and he needed emergency surgery before things got worse. By the way, I'm still freaking out at this point...just in case you thought I had pulled it together by then...nope.

Once we got to the hospital he had fallen asleep and when the doctor looked at him the hernia had retracted by itself and Finn was laughing and talking to the doctors as I'm promising them that he REALLY was in pain 30 minutes ago!

So surgery was scheduled for two days later to let the swelling go down and so yesterday morning we trekked down to the Great Salt Lake once more where he got to wear a super cute gown, and surgery was delayed for 2 hours, and he couldn't eat for 6 hours, and I had eventually pulled myself together...but eventually they stuck a camera down his belly button fixed the hernia, checked the other side and found another hole, fixed that and then sent the poor, sleepy, grumpy guy home a few hours later.





Ummm...so cute.





Post-op

Screw You, Glee...

Maybe I'm just in bad mood from moving this weekend...and its only Thursday...but the new list of the 100 most popular baby names of 2010 has been released...don't worry, Finn isn't on it (what IS IT with the maternal NEED to have an ORIGINAL name for their child?!), but the baby-name pundits just can't leave well enough alone, can they?

Apparently there is this show. This VERY popular show called Glee (Which I watched a few times but musical theatre ain't my thang)...and on this show there is a guy...a guy named Finn. Apparently he's handsome. And apparently because of this,according to aforementioned baby-name pundits, Finn is a name that is on the rise in popularity. Here's the problem: I basically INVENTED that name!...basically. For all intents and purposes...kind of. Just go with it, its PRETTY original in America, how's that?

So my maternal-need-for-an-original-name-ness has kicked in and my general apathy for this show called Glee has turned into a moody, disgruntled sourness toward the show that launched MY name from obscurity to popularity.

On a side note, this might be genetic as my mom was pretty sure she invented the name Brittany...ahem. Cough, cough....riiiight.


screw you buddy...

What a Mess...

Never, should this kind of hair be acceptable in society. Bald spot, receding hairline AND a mullet?! Oy vey Finn!



I'm thinking we'll comb the hair UP from the back and maybe use that awesome spray-on hair for the front...you know what I'm talking about :)

New Trick!

Guess who can hold his head ALL the way up! He can push himself up and hold it oh, for about 20 seconds or so at a time, like so:



But then he gets a little lower...



And then....



Plop. He just rolls over.

Yep, this constitutes as pretty darn exciting 'round these parts. That and he's talking and smiling at anything that moves. Even ME...finally. Sheesh. You'd think the giver of life would be a little higher on the smile totem pole, wouldn't you? Nope, I was pretty much last in line for that parade. Seeee!


Or is he was smiling at whoever was taking the picture? Ha! Joke's on me :)


FAMILY PICTURE on Finn's 1st Thanksgiving

Don't Be Ungrateful!

You know its Thanksgiving, right? Right. And you know how everyone goes around saying what they're thankful for, right? Right. Well, instead of being thankful for all the obvious, cliche, super-sappy stuff (like my family, health and all that crap ;)), Imma go out on a limb here and be grateful for all the stuff most people DON'T really like...look at me being all optimistic and stuff...

-Poopy diapers: It means the boy is eating alright!

-Baby weight: Something has to motivate me to exercise, right?

-Thanksgiving dinner in the midst of my greatest weight-loss battle of all time: Doesn't everyone need a break from bran muffins?

-Finn's erratic sleep schedule: Hey, if he wants to play at 230am, who am I to deny him some super-squeaky-fun-time!

-Luke having to working on Thanksgiving: Money, money, money, baby :)

-Finn's ever increasing vocabulary...in the middle of the night: I swear he's trying to sing me to sleep, mmmk?

-Having to feed the monster every 3 hours: Not only is it the most productive thing I do all day, but apparently its good for both of us.

-That milk smell that seems to have permeated all of my clothing and apt: Ummmm...this is a hard one.

- Staying home for most of the day: Two words: Online Shopping! Plus, I'm just saying a long good-bye to our apartment before we move to Cedar Hills.

-Ridiculously cold weather: Who DOESN'T love to wear cute boots and jackets!

So there it is. My not so epic be-grateful-for-stuff-that-is-sometimes-unpleasant list! Because when you think about it, life ain't that bad :)


plus, ain't they the cutest?

2 Month Stats!

Two Months Baby! Here are the stats!

Height...Length? Whatever: AROUND 23" The nurse said he was 22.5" but we didn't believe her so we measured him after she left and got 23"...take that, nurse!

Either way he's in 50th percentile.

Weight: 11 lbs 10 oz...75th percentile...I believe the phrase the doctor used was "chunky but normal" :)

Head Circumference: Who really cares?

Of course the shots portion of the appointment was mildly traumatic. There he was lyin' butt-naked on the table smiling and babbling away at the nurse and then...bam! He turned BRIGHT red and it was absolutely hilarious. I laughed. Because I'm a terrible mother...AND because you have to have a sense of humor about these things when they're inevitable, right?

Finn doesn't think so. Even though he recovered pretty much immediately he's been sleeping for the past two hours because he's mad at the world. Harumph.


chunky...but normal :)

Someone Needs to go on Weight Watchers...

No, not me...well, maybe...but that is beside this particular point. Finn, on the other hand went from this:


2 days old

to this:


2 MONTHS old


Poor guy, I know I'd be self-conscious if I put on that many rolls in two months...

On the flip side, I am very proud of my little man for growing like the stud that he is :)

Twins!

No, not me and Nick...well, we are but thats not what this is all about, mmmk?

This is:





I really need to take pictures of something/someone other than Finn...but I just can't help myself! That and the only other thing I'm doing these days is going to the grocery store and trying to get my fat self into some kind of recognizable shape. 10(ish) more pounds to go! I'm convincing myself its mostly milk weight...lol, gross. :)

Surprise!

So, the other day Finn and I ventured our way into the great unknown...aka the University Mall on a Friday afternoon...scary business I tell ya.

On our way out a lady comes walking out of the photo studio towards us with a really hopeful look on her face...the kind where you KNOW they're going to try and sell you something...the look where you try and walk to the other side of the mall but you don't quite make it in time so you prep yourself to deny her immediately what she wants to sell you...phew.

Anywho, I reluctantly stopped and she said that she was new to the studio and doing training and would we like a free studio session so that she could practice...

I'm all about turning Finn into a diva so I totally obliged. And here are the results! Granted Finn WAS in the middle of his nap...and not really dressed for success camera-wise...but on the plus side his whole outfit is from the Baby Gap so I'm thinking of selling them the pictures ;)



Yes, he's flipping off the camera :) That's what you get for waking him up, yo.


I love this one...



They tried to make him look 'delicate' I think, by putting him in a fruit basket with fluff, but he managed to stay studly :)





SO cute!

Halloween!

Because you kind of just HAVE to...





The best part is we didn't even go out anywhere in his outfit. Silly us. The worst part? Luke didn't even wear the DOCTOR WHO scarf I spent two weeks making. Le sigh.

Phew!

I wish I had more to say to the world concerning something other than my fabulous child, but in all truth there ain't much else goin' on over here, which is apparently totally normal for a 6 week old...go figure.

So here it goes: Finn is sleeping in his big crib down the hall now, and guess what...we're ALL sleeping better. I don't hear his grunting and he isn't hitting the sides of the bassinet anymore. Success! Most nights he sleeps for about 4-5 hours at a time. Sweet! Which means I'm only up once a night to feed his hungry self...I think this is the calm before the "teething" storm in a few months?

We've also ventured outside more thanks to our lime green Baby Bjorn baby carrier...which I LOVE not only for its obnoxiously fantastic color but also because it makes me feel like a kangaroo...and who doesn't love that? Plus...as you can see he's got a good view ;)



Finn is currently in his swing watching me write this as I consider what is more obnoxious: the noise of the stupid swing motor? Or the music its playing to cover up the noise of the motor?

Aaah, life's important questions.

What else has been going on?

-Me and Nick celebrated our GOLDEN birthday on the 23rd at In-n-Out...we party like rockstars, what can I say?

-It snowed and as a result I was FINALLY able to wear my new winter coat/boots/scarf...fabulous...now if i could just lose those last 10 lbs. Shoot, I'd have it going on!

-We dropped my BFF Kayla off at the MTC to serve a mission in CO for the next year and a half.

-Gretchen won Project Runway and my soul officially died. Ugh.

Good times. Here are some pictures to document my life for all y'all who don't believe me :)




Dad and Finn


Finally! A picture of me and Finn!


Look at that smirk :)



MTC...oh, and I love winter fashion :)

Sherbert Lane

So Finn's favorite "Aunt" Sheree (that he hasn't even met yet) makes adorable onesies and sells them online which is fantastic because they look fantastic! Plus, Finn loves his, so they have to be pretty cool, right? Anywho, all ya'll with chilluns need to check out her Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/shop/SherbertLane because they're only $8 AND she does custom orders. Heck Yes.

Here's a sample:



Such a super model...

The Strangest Case of Sleep Deprivation...EVER.

I guess you could say I'm lucky...(for now)I have a four week old who refuses to cry at night...And yet, I'm still a bleary-eyed new mom. How does this happen? Oh, I forgot to mention. Finn is a grunter. A LOUD grunter.

You know what? That's not fair to Finn...he doesn't just grunt, his noises span the range of an entire barnyard and beyond. Much of the time he sounds like a baby elephant which then changes to something of a gorilla mating call. Sometimes, during his 'quieter' nights he just sounds like a sheep or a horse wistfully neighing into the wee hours of the morning. Cute, right? Maybe if he was an elephant, gorilla, sheep or horse. Or an elegorilorse. Or if he just did it during the day. Yeah.

The point here is that he is loud. Loud enough to keep me awake for much of the night as I contemplate actually putting him in a barnyard for the night just to compare noises and seeing how accurate I am. Thankfully, he doesn't usually keep Luke up, but I often do as I shake him awake asking, "How do I shut him up?!" He doesn't know so we try swaddling him, unswaddling him, loosely swaddling him, picking him up (which stops it until we put him down)and feeding him AGAIN (same result...temporary).

So it looks like Mr. Finn won't be sleeping in our room in his bassinet much longer. Nope, its big-boy-crib time...in the nursery. Sorry, dude.



EQUALS:

Baby Blessing!

Last Sunday, Finn was lucky enough to get a proper blessing from his pops at church. By all means I think it went swimmingly even though his appearance was brief...we pretty much whisked him in and out of there like the true celebrity that he is. That, and we're still avoiding the crowds-of-snotty-nosed-kids thing. All that aside, Finn behaved like a gentleman and even got to wear his first sunday suit :)



Or...




Luke's parents and brother were also able to make it out from Wisconsin for the occasion so it was a right party-o over at the Rebarchik household! Until I got sick, but whatever. The best part? I made everyone wash their hands religiously (ha!) so they wouldn't get Finn sick...Apparently my immune system is weaker than that of a 4 week old. Sigh.

Anywho, here is our first picture as a family! And the first picture of me and Finn in the same frame...I'm the artist BEHIND the camera, people...what can I say :)

Because I'm a Bit Too Tired to do an Actual Update...

...I'll let this picture explain

Hello World!

...he seems to say.

Newest Finn Developments:
-Rolling over from his tummy to back....verrry exciting, I know.
-Smiling? Maybe?
-Pooping. LOTS.
-Pretty much just being a baby :)

Happy *****Day!

So yesterday was a special day...for Luke...even though he won't admit it. I'll let this picture explain:





Luke is like the birthday Grinch, but I made a cake anyway to see if he would warm up to the idea that a birthday is a celebration...and I think he may have. Slightly :)How could you not when your cake has Golden Oreos AND Reese's Pieces on it! But as you can see I was very tactful about not reminding him how old he is (I'll give you a hint: Its got a '0' and a '3' in it...and he ain't turnin' 03 people). Good times! In other news, my birthday (and Nick's) is in 23 days...let the countdown begin!

In other OTHER news, Finn had his two week checkup and stats are as follows:

Weight: 6 lbs 11oz
Height: 19.25"

Oh, and he's still cute. Phew :)

Look at Those Blue Eyes

I finally got the camera out :) He's my fantastic little super model...