I Heart You All

Okay, so Mom for Valentine's Day Mom and I made some heart-shaped cookies. First of all, let me tell you they were out of heart shapes for cookie cut-outs, so we got a candy cane and got a little creative with it.

Then it was time to frost. Nicknamed myself Frostin Finley while we did this, no joke.

And after that it was time for the sprinkles... wait, where did the...? MABEL!

Okay, got the sprinkles back.

Wait, code red! Mickey Mouse came running in the front door complaining of chest pains so Mae grabbed the stethoscope...

Okay, all's well, he just had heartburn from a BLT sandwich he ate for dinner; where were we? Yep, got the sprinkles back, time to apply.

I didn't think frosting cookies was that big of a deal but apparently CBS did, and they brought in the Good Year Blimp for the occasion.

Mission Accomplished - Happy Valentine's Day.

Birthday Week

So last Thursday was Mae's first birthday and this Thursday is my birthday (3 and counting) so sandwiched in between was our birthday party. We had a birthday breakfast because I wanted a cake made of donuts... ask and you shall receive. How's that for a unique birthday cake?!

Then Mae had her first bite of cake, or sweets of any kind for that matter. And let me tell you, she was not disappointed....

Liked it so much she wanted to share it...

And smash it.

And for an encore at my party, all my friends and I went up to Grant Park Hill and went sledding. Here's me comin down the hill with Aunt Suzy...

And here's me having a rough time getting back up the hill.

All in all, a great party. And just like the cliche, "Every good party is like a war, there are gonna be some casualties," we had ourselves a casualty (actually, I've never heard that cliche and doubt it has ever even been said, but it fit perfectly to end this post. Don't be afraid to use it).

Oh wait, did I mention Mae was digging the sweets... here she is on her third donut, which is only eight less than I ate.

Mae's birthday party: 1.

Birthday cake:

For more photos, CLICK HERE.

SNOW DAY!!!

Okay, so we got, like, two feet of snow last night and this morning and it's still snowing really really hard.

So what to do on a day like this? Well, first I had a huge breakfast party with a bunch of my friends

And then I headed out into the elements.

An attempted walk through the snow to the gate turned into a crawl that woulda made a polar bear envious.

Don't worry, none of the snow eaten in the following photo was yellow.

And right over my shoulder here is actually the entrance to our park out front. As you can see, between the snow and then the snowblowing out front, I can't even get into my park.

For some more Snow Day photos, click here.

Put Me In, Coach!

So I recently got a chance to coach the NHL All-Star Game but instead of standing behind the bench they had us on buckets.

Here's me giving the business to my captain, telling him we need more pucks dumped in behind the net and then we need to go get them!

Okay, well, maybe not, but it felt like it. Dad's friend built an ice rink behind his house and we went over to get some hockey in, and my "captain" above was actually just Isaiah.

But after observing for a little while I decided it was time for me to get up on skates. So I grabbed my hockey stick and stood up to give it a try.

Then, after a while, Dad and I decided to go one-handed and then... WHOA!

Okay, almost fell backwards there. I think I've got it now.

Some Days You Get The Bear...

And some days the bear gets you... didn't' even make it all the way up on the couch before falling asleep.

Catching Grief From The Boss

HEY FINLEY, WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN UP TO?

Um, can someone please tell me why Bruce Springsteen is on my blog screaming at me, asking me what I've been up to?

Well, Boss, if you must know, here goes:

1. Mae has been channeling her inner Springsteen with the bandana look at breakfast. Sorry, Bruce, you may be a music legend, but Miss Mae looks way better rocking a bandana than you do.

2. I went to the bar on Saturday afternoon to watch the Marquette basketball game with Dad, and here's a pregame pic.

Well, I didn't actually go to watch the game, my backpack was chalk-full of fun stuff to keep me entertained while Dad watched the game with his Marquette buddies. But I was the only girl who got invited (and the only person under 30 years old) so I was kinda Bigtime.

3. Also, Bruce, I've been hanging out just enjoying life.

4. But the big news is that I've been hitting up the potty train. I spend hours on this little yellow seat every day.

I know, I know, Mr. Rock n' Roll star, you're wondering what I'm doing in that picture. Well, I'll tell you. I have a fruit bowl that I'm enjoying while letting nature take its course. Some people read the newspaper, and me, well, when you're spending 4-5 hours on that thing on a Saturday you're bound to get hungry... and I did.

Well, that's it, Bruce, I got nothin more for ya at this point. Take care.

A Christmas Miracle

Well, not really a miracle, but Mae did take some pretty good steps on Christmas morning.

Before you see her take her first steps though, check out the post from when I first walked. She's three months ahead of me taking her first steps, but I think I was having a little more fun when I took mine. Oh, and listen to Mom and Dad when Mabel starts walking... a little over the top, eh guys?

Oh well, we're all just a little excited that Mae has started rolling.

And after you're done here, check out some more photos and video that my editor just uploaded.