Weekend Getaway

We had a weekend planned with Colin and Steph for quite some time so off we went.

Saturday morning we went apple picking, which was a lot of fun. First you get an apple tasting - the dude cuts slices of each of the apples that they have there and you eat them one by one, and then he tells you where the ones are that you liked so you can go pick them. Now I didn't even know there were that many types of apples - Jonagolds, Cortlands, Gala, Fiji (and many more) - but each one had a distinct taste. And then off we went into the fields of trees...

Here's me snagging one off the tree...


... and admiring its beautiousness


And here's Mom with Colin and Steph


Now what you have to understand is that you put all the apples into just two bags, so you get home and have no idea what you're eating, but you don't even care. "Oh man, this Jonagold is amazing" is something you might hear out of mom or dad sitting on the couch eating an apple, but they really have no idea which type of apple they're eating. One thing I do know, though, is that Mom made a homemade apple crisp that was so good, let's just say I ate enough of it to keep the doctor away for a few months.

Oh, here's me just waking up from a nap.


After lunch I went shopping with Mom and Steph while Dad and Colin hit up the bar to feed their weekly addiction that is college football.

Later in the day we visited a winery, where we drank til the sun came up while listening to Garth Brooks on the jukebox and passed out on the winery floor at 6:30am. Well, not quite. We tasted a few wines and met some nice people and bought a couple bottles of wine and then headed back to the house we rented. We went to see the sunset to end the day and then it was home to bed for me.




The next morning we went to a State Park and walked a trail and went to the dunes/beach. As you can see, I got a little drowsy after a while.



All in all, a great trip, and one I would do again in a heartbeat.

Well, that's all for me, signing off.
Finley

So I went to New Hampshire last weekend and I have to say, we had a great trip! I'll start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start... when you sing you begin with do-re-mi... oops, sorry, got a little off track there - that Sound of Music gets me every time.

Okay, so we flew to Manchester two Thursdays ago and Nonie and Aunt Deb picked us up at the airport and drove us to Peterborough, which is a quaint little town in New Hampshire where my Nonie lives. If you've never been there, you should go. Here are some pictures.

A river runs through it (but Robert Redford thankfully does not)

The town

On Thursday night for dinner Uncle Jim got us some really great lobsters and we had a massive feast.

This is Lennox the Lobster (not to be confused with Larry Lobster, who is Lennox's nephew).

We took a day to go for a drive and take in the foliage, even drove through Vermont - which became my SIXTH state. We probably missed the full bloom foliage by about 7-10 days but we still got to see the very start of it and it's like nothing I've ever seen.


It was windy and rainy, here's Aunt Deb's umbrella doing a reverse layup.

We also went to Kimballs, which is this fantastic little ice cream place where, as you can see, they serve in large portions.

The second night Nonie made her infamous spaghetti that Dad loves.

So blah blah blah, photos of trees, pictures of lobsters. This blog is supposed to be about me, so here are some photos of li'l old me:

Dad and I heading out for a walk in my new fleece that Mom bought me.

Dad and I having a great time with a stuffed dragon.

Here's Nonie, Dad and I in downtown Peterborough on a rainy day.

And this next photo I'm not actually in, but I'm taking the photo. This is Aunt Deb, Nonie and Mom. We went to the Peterborough Soup Fest, which was a lot of fun. Soupmakers from all around New Hampshire came to town and we went through and tasted them, and then dropped our favorite soupmakers names into a voting box before we left. Soup Fest was awesome.

Mom and I on the floor, I'm zonked.

And this is my bed head after I woke up.

You've heard of a milk mustache - this is called pumpkin beard.

Here's me candle pin bowling. I set a record for 7-month olds, knocked down 72 pins - believe it.

So it was a fantastic trip and one I hope to make again soon. Oh, and I also just set a record for the longest blog ever written by someone who is five days shy of eight months.

Just got back today from another trip, I'll write about it this week if I get a chance.

Dirty Hair-y

So I've got a few things to tell you. I've been sitting up now for quite some time, but lately I have learned to transition into a kneeling position and although I can only rock back and forth right now, I'm about ready to start moving soon.

Here is a picture of me in my "Start Your Engines!!!!" position. Notice the focus, the intensity.

I'm also taking yoga on Tuesday and Thursday nights and I'm practicing a lot at home. If anyone wants a laugh, ask Mom to explain to you what happened when she talked Dad into a couple yoga classes a few years back.

Dad was in severe discomfort and actual pain during the sessions. He was sweating so profusely that at one point the instructor came over to him and said he should change out his mat and get one without a puddle of water on it. If some of you don't know, Dad can barely bend over and touch his knees, so you can imagine how he fared in yoga, and how the other people in the class kept looking at him like, "Dude, why are you even here?"

Anyway, in case of you don't know, this is what's called Down Dog position (I think), and it's for stretching your lower back (I think)

I also thought I'd share with you the evolution of my morning hairdo.

Here is me sleeping (oh, and keep the wig jokes to yourself, please)

Here is what Mom and Dad like to call The Tornado. It's usually very prevalent in the morning when I've been sleeping on the back of my head all night... and usually there is a green sky somewhere in sight when this is goes on.

And then there's my punk rocker hairdo, which Dad refers to as The Robert Smith (for all you Cure fans out there). This takes place at some point around 8:15am and usually is accompanied by Dad singing "... Tuesday's grey and Wednesday, too. Thursday I don't care about you it's Friday I'm in love."

Sorry, that actually IS Robert Smith... here's mine.



That's all for now, I'm heading to New Hampshire this weekend to visit Nonie, Aunt Deb and Uncle Jim. I'll hopefully have some photos to share when I get back. This will be my fifth state visited and I'm only seven months old (Nebraska, Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina, New Hampshire) and I've got Indiana and Michigan on tap in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Robert Smith, World Traveler

7 Month Alert

Dad's been working a lot the past two weeks, so he hasn't been as cooperative with logging on to the computer so I can post some blogs, so the ten-day layoff is basically all his fault.

So without further ado, below are some photos of my 7-month birthday, complete with good old Charlie.

I also included my 4-month and 5-month photos so you can see how my hair and I have grown.

Four Months


Five Months


Seven Months

Today Was A Good Day

I'm very happy, as you can see in the photos below. Why am I happy? Well, it might be that I slept for a very long time last night. It might be that Dad's fantasy football team is in first place. It might be that I'm pretty pumped I've grown an extra chin and my cheeks are so round my head looks like a basketball. Those are all reasons why I might be so happy.

Or it might just be that I'm sitting in my stroller with my feet up on the bars, about to head off on a walk with Mom. The iPod is playing "Me and Bobby McGee" and it's a beautiful sunny, 70-degree day.

It's kind of like Ice Cube said back in '92 - "Plus nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A... Today was a good day."

C is for Cookie

So the other night I was extremely cranky, and rightfully so. See, I've got some teeth that are starting to try to push themselves up. It's just the beginning but it's painful, so there are some rough moments. So there I was, not happy, Dad not home from work yet and Mom had a great idea - let's make cookies! So I hopped up into my bumpo (well, it's not mine, I'm borrowing it from my boyfriend, Jake) and off we went. Then Dad came home and took some pics of this momentous occasion, my first cookie bake.
Brown sugar, flour, vanilla... and don't forget the chocolate chips! C is for cookie and that's good enough for me.
By the way, I woke up this morning and walked out into the living room and Dad was on his knees with his eyes closed and his hands folded. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Not now, Finley." So I figured he was praying for all the sick people in the world, or maybe the tragedies that are happening all over the globe. But then he finished and I asked him about it and he said, "Finley, it's game day - I was praying to Touchdown Jesus." Here's to a Notre Dame victory as it makes it a much happier and healthier house to live in. Dad, what a kook.

Some New Pics

Game Time!!! Here's me on the first day of the College Football season donned in my Huskers t-shirt. Mom went to Nebraska and their starting quarterback is a South Sider, doesn't get much better than that!



And here's me in my favorite spot in the house, playing on my mat with my toys.


Here, catch!


And these are from Labor Day. Mom, Dad and I went to my favoritest park and hung out in the perfect weather. Hope your Labor Day was as good as mine.