Hutch...just a swingin' 11 months old

Hutch loves to go to the park! He enjoys swinging and crawling around the place. He is just a cute lil' fella and a big mess all at the same time! He can crawl so fast sometime I have to make a mad sprint for him. He is turned 11 months old on the 28th. He is pulling up onto everything....including flat wall surfaces. Not trying much to walk on his own yet. Like I said in the later post, he LOVES to eat! He eats everything he can find- not always a good thing I might add. He loves, cheese, green beans, crackers, black beans, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni cheese, bananas, yogurt, toast, and cooked carrots. Believe it or not, he is not crazy about those puff things or Cheerios- so far that is pretty much all he has opposed...oh yeah, and scrambled eggs- not crazy about those either. Loves Tess to pieces and she loves him. Likes to be outside in the stroller, wagon, or crawling around on the deck (with my socks pulled up on his legs to prevent splinters- Thanks Mrs. Finton for the tip!!). He takes a good morning and afternoon nap and sleeps from 6:30 at night till 6-7 ish the nest morning. Overall, doing very well. So thankful for him!

Granny and Pop and Disney on Ice

Jay took Tess to see Disney on Ice this past weekend. Jay said she LOVED it! When she came home she had a big surprise waiting on her....her cousin Sarah! She was so excited to see her. They were so cute together...and even slept in the playroom together. In the morning, they told us they got up in the middle of the night and played??? Not sure about that, but it was funny.



Tess and Sarah.

Tess doing her impression of Flounder!

Pop, Granny, Tess and Sarah

This is the LOOK of Pure Excitement....the face when grandparents are in town or around!Hutch sporting his new hat granny and pop brought him back from their vacation. He takes it immediately off....you can see my mom holding his hands down for the picture. haha!
Tess and sarah playing with wands.
Hutch enjoying some mexican food. He is eating us out of house and home!! I think he would eat all day if i let him. My day consists of cleaning up after Hutch's meal time....floors, clothes, face, table, high chair, hands, arms, hair, etc. Repeat in a couple of hours....and so on. (BIG smiles!!)

Daddy's HOME!

The kids love when Jay gets home from work! They want to play....Hutch for sure wants a turn, too! He will let you know with a loud squeal if we are forgetting to include him. It is so CUTE!

Birthdays....and lost time.

You know it is funny....I never thought much about when my kids birthdays would fall. Recently, i have thought a TON about it. Tess will be starting preK in the Fall, the same time as kids that are 8 months older than she is. That is a BIG difference in little kid time. That is 8 extra months I could have spent with her...more at home. Instead, she will be rushed off to Kindergarden in no time. Kinda makes me sad. Both of my kids are late birthdays.

Mom's Time

I am so very very blessed to be a part of "Mom's Time." This is a group of women who meet once a week to learn how to be better moms, wives, and most importantly better servants of Christ. This past year we studied "Creative Corrections" by Lisa Welsh (which I highly recommend to mom's who have kids old enough to need creative discipline) and "Women Making a Difference in Marriage" by ....hmm get back to you on that one (another great book that speaks directly to the heart of a wife). Anyway, we had our end of the year luncheon at our teacher, Mrs. Pat's house. I can not say enough wonderful things about her. Her love for young mother's and a strong dedication to us to help us become more like the wife/mother God intended us to be, just pours out from her heart and soul. She gives us her all every week and I walk away tremendously blessed from our time together and from the fellowship with the group. I am going to miss our time together this summer so much!!! Thank you girls for a another blessed year together and a HUGE thank you to Mrs. Pat for investing in our lives. I am proud to call you my sisters in Christ!

snakes are back in town!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! SNAKES!!!! 4 were spotted yesterday!! My neighbor killed 2 baby copperheads and saw one green garden snake in his backyard. He was telling us about it right as we were taking the "Tess" pics on the rocks. I told Tess lets go inside....I don't want to see any snakes. As we were walking to the deck there in front of me lay this HUGE snake! I screamed Sooooo loud and said "HUGE SNAKE!! My neighbor, Don came running back over to save the day with a BIG stick. Jay heard me scream and came outside on the deck and then preceeded to grab the umbrella- hahaha! Later he told me he could have totally "gotten rid" of the snake with the umbrella. hmmmmm.... anyway, it was funny and scary at the same time. Watch out!

Tess 3 years...almost 4!!

Here is our lil' girl, Tess! She will turn 4 at the beginning of the summer. She is a ton of fun! We love to hang out with her and take her fun places. Last night we took her to the Arkansas Symphony. Some people sat down in front of us and before I could stop her she said (very LOUD), "Excuuuuuse meeee, I can't see." The lady turned around and said "I am so sorry I will try and scrunch down." It was soooo funny! Lately, she has been telling us she loves us at least hundred times a day....not sure about this one. We always tell her we love you and provide her with comfort and stability- maybe this is some stage kids go through.... ??? hmmmm. Oh, the other day at Library time the teacher asked who could count- a girl beside Tess raised her hand and said "i can count to 20." Tess then raised her hand and said "I can count to FOUR." The whole room started laughing. She can count higher than 4 but does not like to practice counting. I wish I could remember more of the funny things she has been saying. I will try and write them down. Anywho, she is one funny girl!!!!
Here is a cute video of Tess breakin it down with Radio Disney before the symphany started. I think she had more moves up her sleeve but the 2 other kiddos in the video start crowding her out. HA!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Hutch man at 10 months and eating everything in sight! He is also beginning to take steps behind his walker toy. Man, he is growing up! He will be one year old before I know it. Happy 1st Easter Hutch! We sure do love our lil' boy!
Tess and her friend Ella Marie at our Church's Easter Egg Hunt. Tess is wearing an outfit Ella gave her last year. Thanks Ella Marie, we love it!!!
I caught a cute Easter bunny!
Tess getting her Easter Eggs! Go TESS!!
Hutch's 1st Easter Egg Hunt.
Jax, Bess, and Tess playing at the park. Saturday was a beautiful day for a Easter Egg hunt! Tess and Hutch with the Easter Bunny.

The Finton Family

Picnic Table Cloth Craft

Okay, so I am finally going to break down and post the craft pics. I was really hoping to have spring flowers planted on my porch before i posted these but.....the rain, the cold. No luck! I know everybody has been anxiously awaiting since I had all the comments and everything. LOL. just kidding.. Anywho. for under $5 I made two weather proof pillows for my front porch (and I am working on a matching mat for our iron bench). This was super easy to do. Here's how to do it.
1. purchase a plastic tablecloth of your pattern choice. (make sure to look at the sizes and get one big enough for your project)
2. measure and cut out your pillows. Make sure to fold your table cloth in half so you have 2 pieces cut the same....make sense???
3. Hot glue 3 sides of your project (I used fabric glue and ended up having to go back and reglue with hot glue b/c the fabric glue did not work well enough) I would suggest make skinny "s" shapes up and down your gluing area to keep from having "hard" glued spots. (anybody know what I am talking about? haha!)
4. Stuff with poly fill (do not over suff if you want them to look "comfy")
5. Place them in your favorite outdoor lounge spot. Enjoy!!!

New Craft

hey Everyone! I have a new exciting craft coming soon. I will give you a hint.....it has something to do with a $3 tablecloth from wal-mart and my front porch. Stay tuned for more pics.

"Believing In Blaine"

A couple of Saturdays ago a group of us walked in the "Walk for Thought" A walk/run fundraiser to support the braininjury assisotation. We walked in support of my good freind Paige's brother, Blaine. We had a great time walking for such a good cause! Paige even had matching team shirts for us. Thanks Blaine and Paige!




Here is Tess playing in the rain. She loves to do this. Hutch just sat at the window and watched her.