SIXTY degrees!!!

Liam is testing out his climbing skills after being inside over the winter

Liam is really cute without his front teeth!

Climbing the huge icebergs in our yard

And Aiden jumping off the icebergs

Finn's first trip in the wagon

One of my favorite jackets from Grandpa Morse that Liam and Aiden wore (Luke had a different one that you will likely see very soon)

Finally something to "chew" on, Finn is still waiting on his teeth to come in.

I heard on the local news that we haven't hit 60 degrees in Minnesota since mid October.  It was a long winter, but I am hopeful we are turning the corner.  Granted, we have snow predicted tomorrow, but it is warming up enough during the day so that it should not stay around very long.  The huge snow pack in our yard in finally melting and the ice rink is turning into a giant swimming pool.  We hit 60 degrees over the weekend and it was amazing.  The boys loved being outside in the mud and riding bikes on the ice free/snow free sidewalks.  Spring is not my favorite season in Minnesota because its hard to play much outside due to all the messy and often icy snow banks everywhere.  Its muddy, wet, and yucky but this year we are very happy to be outside nonetheless!

Finn's Baptism

Over the weekend, we had several family members that made the trek to Minnesota for Finn's baptism.  While we were hoping the temperatures would be more spring-like for the baptism, that didn't happen; however, the bonus to the very cold weather was that our ice rink was still operational.  We had a few days recently in the upper 30's and low 40's which resulted in some melting on the rink, but then there was a cold snap before the baptism with highs in the low 20's and lows in the single digits so John did some work on the rink to get it up and running.

Our 16 year old nephew was in attendance at the baptism and the boys had so so much fun watching him and learning from him on the ice rink.  He is quite the hockey player and Luke and Liam soaked it all in.  They skated multiple times per day over the weekend and were exhausted by Monday.

We had a lot of fun visiting with family members who came for the baptism and to meet Mr. Finnegan.  He is a cutie, very easygoing, and smiley (unless hungry or tired, of course).  The weekend was busy and fun.  Many people arrived on Friday evening.  We played at the house or on the ice rink all day Saturday.  Saturday evening was topped off with a pizza party for Finn with his grandparents, godparents, cousins, brothers, aunts, etc....

The baptism was on Sunday at our church.  Finn competed with Pastor Peter to speak during the baptism.  He babbled and smiled and was as cute as he could be.  Afterwards, we enjoyed sandwiches and cake while Finn took a good nap.  He was a tired boy after staying up during the entire church service.  He did well, however, and had plenty of baby holders during the baptism.

We are having some issues with our camera so this post is in two segments.  Below are a few pictures that I took of Finn prior to the baptism with his baptismal gown and green jeans outfit for after the event.  The second post has a book of pictures from Shutterfly that I received from relatives who took several pictures for us.

Congratulations Finn!  Thank you to our friends and family who made this such a special day for Finn and our family.

Here is Finn in his green jeans and sweater for after the baptism

A picture of Finn in the baptismal gown prior to the baptism.  This is the gown worn by myself, my sister, my nephew Calvin, Luke, Aiden and now Finn (Liam wore John's gown).

Hey Mom?  My brother is laughing at me in this "dress"

"For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him. And I will establish my covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you and to your seed after you. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household (Acts 2:39; Genesis 17:7; Acts 16:31). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).

Lastly, here is something funny from Aiden that I wanted to record on the blog:
The other day I picked up Aiden from preschool and asked him the same question that I always ask, but his answers were priceless.

Me:  Aiden, how was school today?
AJ:   Fine
Me:  Tell me two things you did at school?
AJ:   Music and Nothing
Me:  Well, I noticed your teacher was sick today so who taught you at school today?
AJ:   Venus and Neptune
Me:  Venus and Neptune were your teachers today?
AJ:   Yep, can you turn on a movie in the car?
Me:  I have never met Venus and Neptune, I will have to meet them next time.
AJ:  Oh, they are not always there.  Just sometimes.

When John asked the same questions at dinner, Aiden gave a few small details about his day at school and then said that his teachers were Africa and Asia this time.  He stuck to the same story, though, just had a few new teachers this time around.

March 2014 and Finn Baptism

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Totally Toothless Twins

And super silly...

Finn sitting by the window

Sweet Boy

And so happy!  With a name like "Finn", how could you not say Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Although they don't look much alike, Luke and Liam definitely have the same genes when it comes to their teeth.  They have lost the same teeth within a few days of each other.  The tooth fairy has been quite busy over the last month or so.  Currently, they are both toothless since they both lost two top teeth.  I might be a little biased, but they do look pretty cute without teeth on top!

Finn is growing and changing quickly.  He is picking up small pieces of food and putting them in his mouth on his own now.  Two of his favorite foods so far are bananas and pancakes.  He loves to pack the food in his mouth and will shovel it in if you put too many little pieces in front of him.  He has super fast hands and grabs anything within reach.  He still lights up when he hears his brothers.  I am pretty sure it won't be much longer before he starts crawling.  He is getting up more on his arms and starting to lift his booty off the floor.  After many setbacks with all the ear infections for his first 6 months of life, he is doing much better with sleeping through the night.  We are still working on naps a bit, but he has the disadvantage of getting carted around a lot so he has to be a bit flexible.  He is a sweet boy with a precious smile and we all love him very much.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Goodbye Ice Rink and Teeth!!

Getting ready to race at the community center ice rink

Daddy with Finn and Aiden before work (reminds me of another picture...)

Daddy with Luke and Liam before work (Spring 2008)

Finn made his debut at the ice rink over the weekend

Luke, Finn, Aiden, and Liam

Daddy and the boys

All Six of Us at the ice rink

Luke missing his front two teeth

Liam missing one front tooth


We are finally FINALLY enjoying some warmer temps here in Minnesota.  We have had snow on the ground since late November and it will likely take awhile for all the snow to melt, but we did make it above freezing over the weekend which is a difference of more than 50-75 degrees from where we were a few weeks ago!  Finn was able to make his debut outside at the ice rink over the weekend.  He hasn't gone outside much at all this winter because it has just been too cold.  In past years, we have a day or two where it is slightly warmer, but that didn't happen this year.

Unfortunately, with warmer temps, this also means the end of the ice rink for this winter.  The rink was starting to melt quite a bit today when the temps were in the mid 30's and it may hit 50 degrees later this week.  The boys were sad about the ice rink since they have grown to really love skating this winter.  I did my best to remind them about all the other fun things we will get to do such as biking, soccer, baseball, basketball, etc...Although I am o.k. with saying goodbye to skating and all of its equipment for the summer, it looks like we may be skating a bit indoors since the boys really love it.  Luke was near tears at the sight of the puddles on the rink.

Our week has revolved around teeth.  While we are waiting on Finn's first teeth, Luke and Liam are busy losing teeth.  Luke has lost a total of four teeth including his top two and bottom two teeth.  Liam, on the other hand, has lost two on the bottom and one on the top.  He has a second one loose on the top so he will soon catch up with Luke.  Both of them already have two big teeth on the bottom and, although I am no expert, it looks like we may need some braces in the future.

Finn at 7 months

Hey, whatcha talking about?  

Finn is close to crawling.  He is definitely not happy sitting still anymore.

Who me???

Finn is well-loved by all his brothers

Who knew a ball popper could be so entertaining?  Its a baby toy that has been in the basement for a few years, but it brought a lot of entertainment

Finn loves to eat and gets pretty mad if we are not fast enough in feeding him!!

On the go watching my brothers play....

Finn is SEVEN months old!  So hard to believe for me.  His birthdate is the 29th, but since this is a leap year, it was skipped this month.  He is sitting up on his own for the most part although when there is a lot going on around him, I sometimes use the Bumbo so he doesn't get knocked over with all the craziness.  He is doing much better with sleeping since his tubes were put in and he clearly hears better and feels so much better.  He is quite the talker now and will scream and talk loudly to get our attention.  I guess he feels he has to speak louder than his brothers!?  He is getting closer to crawling and really wants to be able to move.  He is not content to sit still for very long periods anymore.  And, just like his brothers before him, he loves the Johnny jumper and will jump up and down contently for quite awhile.  He continues to be a big guy and is already wearing 12-18 month clothing.  We are very hopeful it will be warmer soon so that we can introduce Finn to the outdoors!