Mr. Personality

Sitting at the table like a big boy while Aiden does his school work (this didn't last very long, but it was worth a try)

Finn in his Cowboy shirt that his godparents got for him in South Dakota

Wearing his hockey gloves from cousin Zach

And now the hockey pants and gloves 

He loves to "help" with laundry

And enjoys watching Luke and Liam play hockey

This was taken at one of our favorite parks before the weather started getting colder.  That is a picture of Aiden and Liam on top of the sledding hill.

Finn turned 15 months old on October 29th.  I would say that in the last month, it seems he has really started to develop his own personality.  He wants to be doing exactly what his brothers are doing all the time.  For example, he really wants to ride the school bus when we walk Luke and Liam down to the bus in the morning for school.  He screams when I pick him up and he insists on standing in line for the bus.  

Finn has also found his voice.  When all his big brothers are all trying to tell me something at the same time, Finn will frequently chime in with his babbling and talking over his brothers.  Wouldn't want to be left out, right?  One of his favorite things to say is "Touchdown" and he raises both of his arms like a football touchdown.  Although he doesn't actually say the word touchdown, it sounds a little like it.

Finn is not afraid to get right in on whatever his brothers are doing.  He is one tough cookie.  Wrestling on the floor, riding scooters, playing soccer, football, or hockey...he is up for just about anything especially if his brothers are involved.

Finn is very adamant when he wants something.  He is not easily distracted, but tends to persist in asking for whatever it is he is requesting.  With Aiden, for example, you could find something else equally enticing and he would move on.  Finn, however, doesn't let things go.  For example, one day at lunch, I wouldn't let him eat an orange without peeling it first and this is what he thought about it.  

Not so happy....

Thankfully, most of the time, he is sweet and funny.  We all laugh at his facial expressions, his babbling, and attempts to get into just about anything he can reach.  The big boys find it hilarious when he gets into the trash, toilet, and other such items.  

Finn had his 15 month check up this week and he is currently the largest of all four boys.  We compared his height, weight, and head circumference to his brothers at the same age and Finn is an inch taller and a pound heavier than either Luke or Aiden (who were basically identical in height and weight at 15 months) at the same age.  He is in the 99th percentile for height and 98th percentile for weight.  No wonder he is so heavy to carry around!!

Happy Halloween 2014

Liam (#8) and Luke (#9) started playing hockey this weekend (the day after Halloween).  We were a bit tired, but managed to get them in bed at a decent time after trick or treating and loading up on candy.

We had three ninjas and a lion this year.  

The Lion really didn't want to stand still with all those crazy Ninjas!

Sweet Finn

Aiden and his buddy, Rylen

Luke (in blue on left), Jack (back camo Ninja), Aiden, Rylen, Liam (black Ninja), and Riley (policeman)

We have just a few kids in our neighborhood

Jack (camo Ninja) and Liam (black Ninja)

Aiden (red Ninja)

After the Halloween parade with everyone

Trick or Treating with Finn.  This was a little difficult since his brothers moved at the speed of lightening.

Finn's first house

Candy break


We enjoyed a fun evening of trick or treating on Halloween this year.  Unfortunately, it was the coldest Halloween in eight years for Minnesota!!  The temps were around 28-30 degrees so it was chilly to be out in just a costume.  We layered the boys with two pairs of pants, two shirts, a fleece jacket, wool socks, gloves, etc..with their costumes.  They were running so fast from house to house that I am pretty sure they never actually got cold.  

It didn't take Finn very long to figure out what he was supposed to do; however, he was more interested in taking the candy in and out of his bucket than he was in going from house to house.  His favorite treat so far has been the mini tootsie roll suckers.

Luke, Liam, and Aiden all decided to be Ninjas this year.  They love the t.v. show called American Ninja Warrior.  Finn's lion costume has been well-used.  It was given to us when we lived in New Jersey and now all four boys have now been a lion for Halloween around the age of 1-2 years.

The highlight of John's weekend was definitely getting to see the boys skate on a team for the first time this year.  They are playing hockey for this year in the city where we live and practice started early Saturday morning following Halloween.  The boys were super excited to have a jersey with their name and a number on it, although they were a little disappointed that the jersey had their last name and not their FIRST name.  

Three Ninjas and a Lion plus some Pumpkin Carving

Aiden with his ninja pose

Aiden, the red Ninja

Finn and the infamous Lion costume

The whole gang at Daddy's office party

Luke, the blue ninja.  He has a serious pose

Liam, the black and red Ninja 

Liam is getting ready to carve his pumpkin

Scooping out the pumpkins

Lots of scooping

And lot of pumpkin....everywhere!

The finished products:  (Left to Right) Liam's witch on a broomstick, Luke's Stanley Cup and hockey puck, and Finn's Owl

Aiden's skeleton

Witch, Stanley, Owl, and Skeleton


We enjoyed Halloween Party #2 when we visited John's office for trick or treating one day after school last week.  The staff decorates the office and gives out a lot of candy.  It is always something the boys enjoy.  What's not to like?  They will do just about anything to wear their costumes and eat candy!

We also carved pumpkins for Halloween over the weekend.  Somewhere during the middle of all the carving, Aiden asked, "Dad, how many pumpkins are you really going to carve??"  This was a pretty understandable question considering it took several hours for us to get all four pumpkins carved.  If you think carving one pumpkin is messy, it is.  But, carving FOUR is really messy.  Let's just say we made a day (or at least half a day) of pumpkin carving.  Liam decided on a witch this year, Luke wanted a hockey themed pumpkin but the hockey players with spooky goalie masks were too creepy looking for me so we decided on the Stanley cup with a hockey puck to the side.  Finn got an owl which was my favorite and Aiden picked a skeleton face.  All in all, John worked hard on them and they turned out well.  We are gearing up for another Halloween party this week, a fall party at school, and, of course trick or treating!  

Halloween Party (#1)

Fun Day at the park on a really nice weekend

Finn loved the slide with the rollers

Painting pumpkins

Lots of boys in costumes

Decorating cookies

Aiden's cookie he decorated and sampled along the way

Liam's Ghost cookie that he decorated (probably the only one I would have sampled)

We celebrated Halloween party #1 over the long weekend.  Luke and Liam had a little time off school due to a teacher's meeting so we enjoyed a few extra fun activities.  The weather was gorgeous and warm over the weekend so we also made trips to the park and played a lot outdoors.  Our good friend Kirsten (mom to Jack, Charlie, and Andy) went out of her way as usual and planned tons of fun activities for the party.  We painted pumpkins, decorated cookies, painted candy corn pictures, painted our faces, played bingo and other games, and we had mazes, puzzles, and coloring sheets during the "downtime."  The boys look forward to this party every year and this year was quite memorable.  I will have better costume pictures for the boys in the next week or two.  I did not get individual pictures of the boys in their costumes yet because we didn't wear our costumes for a lot of the activities so that they will survive until Halloween.  Luke, Liam, and Aiden picked a Ninja theme this year.  Finn will likely be our last child to wear the infamous lion costume.  We have two of these costumes and I loaned the other one to Finn's "brother" across the street, Sawyer (1 month younger than Finn).  Luke, Liam, and Aiden have all been lions around the age of two so Finn will share in the tradition! 

Final Trip to the Fall Harvest Orchard and Fun Run 2014

Three Christmas Bears

Finn was enthralled with the goats

Four boys feeding goats

Luke and his chicken

Liam and his chicken

AJ holding Finn on the tractor

The Neighborhood gang hanging out on the swing set (Left to Right: Jack W,  Riley, Aiden, Liam, Luke)

You can kind of see Liam in the middle running (Navy jacket)

Luke is running in the back and middle of picture (gray jacket)

Luke and Liam's teacher, Ms. Stromback, is the tall blonde woman in the middle of picture

Liam is proudly showing all the laps he finished

Luke 

Enjoying popsicles with some classmates and friends after the race


One of our favorite fall outings is a trip to the Fall Harvest Orchard.  It is a family owned and operated little farm (the owner used to drive the tractor for the hayride) with animals you can pet, hold, and feed as well as pumpkins, apples, games, tractors to sit on, and a hayride.  We have taken Luke and Liam since they were around Finn's age.  When the kids were younger and we didn't have to worry about school schedules, our twins group would make the trek out to the orchard with several sets of twins and moms for the day.  Sadly, the sweet owner of the orchard passed away in August from pancreatic cancer and they are selling the farm so the orchard is closing.  We have many fond memories of our visits and we were thankful that Finn got to make a trip over the weekend.
 Luke and Liam participated in their first annual Elementary School Fun Run to raise money to support their school.  Thanks to several family members for supporting Luke and Liam and sponsoring their efforts.  This is the largest fundraiser at their school and thankfully takes the place of selling wrapping paper, popcorn, wreaths, candy bars, and other miscellaneous items.  Luke and Liam were very excited to participate.  Liam wanted to be the first grader with the most laps.  I am not completely sure of the outcome yet, but both of the boys had a great time and ran hard for the entire 45 minutes.  Aiden, Finn, and I went out on a chilly, yet sunny, October morning to cheer them on.  Finn was not happy sitting in the stroller so he did lots of walking around.  Aiden ran a few laps, though not nearly as many as he talked about doing in the car ride to school.  It was a beautiful fall day and the boys had a blast!   They cancelled the race last week due to cold, windy, and rainy conditions and I am so glad they did because the delayed race day was gorgeous!