Smiley McSmiles-A-Lot

If this doesn't brighten your day, I don't know what will. Mimi is clearly a master of the camera because she caught this great photo of Finn.

Summer Fun

We spent this last weekend at my parent's lakehouse in Marble Falls with our friends Josh, Marci and their little one Will. The weekend was filled with good fun, friends, food, a few drinks... Not to mention we were all, as new parents, thrilled to get out of town and spent quality time talking about things like baby poop, breast feeding and numerous other topics that most people have no interest in discussing.

In addition, Finley got to meet what is sure to be one of his future closest, best friends. All I have to say is when these boys are older they are sure to T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

Here's a pic of the chick magnets giving each other five after determining their nicknames for each other.















Will= Big Baby Buddha
Finley = Baby Toupee

Stu and his great new invention...the diaper koozee.



















Finley and mommy hanging out...clearly he's already bored with me.




















Finally, presenting the magic man (appropriated labeled by Josh)...







Now you see him.











Now you don't




I will post more pictures soon as soon as I get them.

It's a Mean World Out There

What do you get when you poke fun at your two sisters for putting the mega-bows in there girls hair...paid back. Look at the pain in that poor baby's face.

Yes, I deserved it but I still hold my ground that the big bows look like helicopter propellors that are about to lift my 2 nieces off into the air. That's if the big bandage that surrounds their little heads doesn't cut off their circulation first.

Nikki & Sarah, I'm thinking through my pay back options...To be continued. Steven & James, you guys should be ashamed of yourselves. It states in the "Man Code" handbook that you must have each other's back. Hand over your membership cards.

Happiness is...

...a bottle that is empty--because we all know that full baby=a baby who will sleep through the night.

...waking up at 8:45 on Saturday morning and realizing that you (and the baby) slept through the night.

...the hysterical laugh during a round of tickle time.

Finley is officially .5 today...that's right, he's 6 months old!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Little Guy!

Better Later Than Never??

OK, so it's been far too long since I've posted on the blog and I'm embarrassed when I see the last post. I'm claiming the 6 month old boy as my excuse. But...better late than never I suppose.

Finley has been such a joy to us. It's amazing to think of all the things he'll be experiencing for the first time this year...both bad a good. He's rolling over, as a matter of fact this is his method of transportation when he wants to get somewhere mommy hasn't figured out yet. He is also doing what Stu calls the "reverse centipede" -- this is when Finley lays on his back, digs his heals into the ground and pushes off. It's quite efficient.


First Haircut. He actually needs his 2nd hair cut (notice in the pictures below). We call his hair "The Donald" or sometimes "Baby Toupee"

First time meeting his China-based cousins, aunt and uncle. He sure loves playing with George and Madeline.

First time swimming. Look at that face...he really did enjoy the water.

First (and 2nd) tooth. He doesn't quite know that biting mommy's fingers hurts

Lastly, congratulations to Todd, Stacey and Avery...they welcomed their newest addition on Tuesday. Her name is Addison Smith Gardner and she's a cutie.

Baby Simpson in 3D!!!

On Saturday, we attempted to catch a glimpse of Baby Simpson. True to form the baby was very actively moving about (possibly because of the Reese's Pieces I was instructed to eat before the appointment), covering his face with his arms and feet. We got to see a big yawn and lots of swallowing. It was so amazing! The pictures are below--they are a little hard to make out but you can tell that he has a little button nose. PS-I say "he" because it sounds so much better than "it". We still don't know what we are having.


You can see the baby's nose in the middle of the picture.



Here you can see the baby's arm and hand by his/her face.



This one shows the baby's arm going across his/her face and a little glimpse it a cute button nose.

Nursery Bedding Fabric

Some of you have expressed interest in seeing what the nursery bedding will look like. Here are some samples of the fabric that is being used. When the nursey is done, or close to it I will post more pictures then.

Baby Simpson Sonogram--20 Weeks!

Today we went in for our 20 week sonogram -- it was very exciting to see the baby and it is so amazing how much he/she moved. Baby Simpson was quite active during our visit, moving his/her hands a lot and even flipping upside down at one point. Most importantly, Dr. Reue said he/she is healthy as can be and is weighing in at 14 ounces...almost a pound.



Baby's head at the bottom and you can see the legs up top. Looks like Stu's nose.


Here's an image of baby's arm and hand.

Baby kept flipping upside down and moving during the sonogram -- made it difficult for the nurse. You can see the spine in this photo.




Here's another photo of the baby's profile.

Sunny California or Bust!

If you have not made it to California to visit Lexi and Eric you are seriously missing out. They are the most gracious hosts you'll ever visit, tending to your every need! Here's the run down of our exciting trip.

Day 1 (Thursday, August 30):
We arrived in CA late but the excitement began with the "Simpson Star Mobile" a.k.a. Lexi and Eric in their Ford Explorer picking us up for the extremely busy LAX. It was pretty late so we just headed back to Casa Blaven and got the tour of their fabulous place. Hardwood floors throughout, spacious living quarters (in comparison to their previous place) and great decorations -- this place is nice! After the tour we snacked on hummus and chatted until about 1 a.m. (poor Lexi and Eric had to work the next day) YIKES!

Day 2 (Friday, September 1):
The day started off with a tour of the Warner Brothers lot...where Lexi works. We were carted through many sets like, ER, Gilmore Girls, New Adventures of Old Christine and best of all the set of Central Perk...from Friends. This picture is of Stu and I on the same couch they used when filming!!!



Then I got to stand in front of the Central Perk sign and play Phoebe's guitar..."Smelly cat, smelly cat."



After the tour Stu and I walked through the lot and the Ocean's 13 set. We saw tons of casino extras and none other than GEORGE CLOONEY!! He was playing basketball about 5 feet from me. He's pretty darn handsome in person...so handsome I had to walk by him a second time. After that we practically bumped into Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls.

That evening, Lexi had arranged for us to go to a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His guests were Brooke Shields (who discussed her famous conflict with Tom Cruise), Jerome Beddis and the Foo Fighters. This was quite exciting...unfortunately we didn't make it on tv, but we had great seats.

After this we went to eat a fabulous Mexican dinner then off to the Los Angeles Dodgers game. Our seats were awesome, row 7 behind 1st base. Stu and Eric almost caught a fly ball, but some guys tackled everyone so they could get it. Celebrity sitings here included: Steve Garvey, Annette Benning and Warren Beatty!!!!



Day 3 (Saturday, September 2):
We started out day with coffee at a cute little coffee shop by Lexi and Eric's place then walked over to a restaurant named Paty's for breakfast. After this week walked through the neighborhood by their apartment...these houses were amazing.

Our next destination was the Getty Museum. Stu was in his element...he was taking in all the sculpture he could find. I personally found the architecture of this place phenomenal...and the views. See for yourself.



That night we got all gussied up and joined Lexi's aunt and uncle for dinner at a trendy restaurant called Citizen Smith. Great food, great company and great atmosphere. The menu had things like steaks, fish and their signature jalapeno macaroni n' cheese!!! We managed to snap a few photos here too.



Day 4 (Sunday, September 3):
We devoted this whole day to the beach. We got there early and stayed until the sun was threatening to set. We were at Manhattan Beach...cool beach with lots of pretty people. Stu and Eric did tons of boogie boarding...Lexi joined them for a bit too. I got in the water a few times but that was some cold water!!!



That night we cooked some foods and Lexi & Eric's friends Beth and Scott came over. We had the best time telling stories and laughing. I can't remember when I've laughed that much--Beth and Scott seem to have the same humor level as Stu and me. Scary huh?

Day 5 (Monday, September 4):
I had to make it down to Robertson so I could go to Kitson -- come on, it's in all the gossip magazines. Personally I wasn't all that impressed with the store, and that could have been because I wasn't interested in spending $75 on a t-shirt.



Afterwards we went shopping at the Grove. Great place to shop, if I lived here it would be hard to stay away from this area. Once we were tired of shopping we went over to Barney's Beenery and had some drinks. Here we saw the girl from "The Loop" and one of the judges from "So you Think You Can Dance?"



This pretty much wrapped up the trip -- we had such a memorable experience with two of our best friends (who we love dearly and appreciate their hospitality).

Click Here to see some of the other pictures from this trip.