Conversations with God

About a month ago I was running errands with the boys. Finn and I were having a conversation about heaven (which he calls "Kevin" and can't seem to correct himself even though we remind him every time that Kevin is his uncle, not the place you go when you die). We talked about whether there will be trees in heaven, houses, toy cars, etc. Well, somehow the conversation ended up like this.
Finn: Mommy, Can I get a new car toy?
Me: No Finn
Finn: Mommy, can I talk to God?
Me: Yes, you can
Finn: God, can I have a new car? (in a deep voice Finn responds) "Yes you can." Mommy, God said that I can have a new car
Me: Well, Finn let me know when you get it
(a minute of silence)
Finn: God, can mommy get me a new car? (again in a deep voice Finn responds) "Yes she will." Mommy, God said that you will get me a new car

After laughing from shock, amusement and amazement I tried my best to explain how "talking to God" works and how we should ask for things that are important. Explaining this stuff to a 3 year-old can get interesting!!

The Keys

Last month we spent a wonderful week on Marathon Key with the boys and my mom (Sean was busy studying for the BAR and decided that it would be utter torture to study in the Keys). Finn had a blast and it was fun to come back to the time-share that I grew up going to. Actually, the kids that I used to play with are now grown up, have kids of their own and Finn played with their kids! 

Here are some pictures from the week.

The first day we took a boat ride to a little island called Pigeon Key and went exploring

We went to a Dolphin Encounter and Rescue Center where Finn loved watching them do all their tricks

It was neat to see them so close

Julien cooling off in the shade. It was HOT!!

Forgot their bathing suits at the splash pad, so we compromised!

Our visit to Key West. I have this same picture with my family next to this same old sailor. (I apologize for my hand placement, as Sean eagerly pointed out)

Having dinner at a sweet restaurant on the harbour

Julien and Mamoune enjoyed watching the birds who were roaming the floors of the restaurant

Sunset at Mallory Square where we saw this pirate swallow a sword (I am pretty sure that this is the same guys that I saw swallow a sword when I was 8!)

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Our visit to Marathon Beach. The water was SO calm and turquoise!

Playing in the sand together

Watching the sunset from the old seven mile bridge

Finn's new hobby. He really loved fishing!!!

His other new hobby, swimming!!!

Little boy dressed like a man

As some of you may know we have had a roommate, Hannah, for the past 2 years. Well a few months ago she got engaged (to Andy) and was married a few weeks ago. Hannah asked Finn to be the ring bearer at the wedding. I was SO excited! I spent some time explaining to Finn what his "special job" would be. He seemed very excited and then asked if he could do another "special job" for Hannah and Andy. When I asked him what he had in mind he informed me that he would like to make their wedding cake. We decided to stick to just the ring bearer gig and here are the pictures.

                                      

Too cute, huh? So, I ended up coaching him with what to do so unfortunately I only saw him from behind. From behind he did an amazing job. He walked slowly and went right to the best man to give the rings. I could see all the people admiring his work and I definitely had a "proud mom" moment (including my eyes welling up with happy tears). Sean said that Finn smiled the whole time. He either really enjoyed being a ring bearer or would do anything for a lollipop, which was his treat once he sat down for doing a good job.

Finn Riding his Bike

Julien's Next Stage of Crawling

The Boys are Growing!

It has been a fun spring so far. We have been enjoying the weather, visits from friends and family, hiking, and a couple trips down to Palm Beach. Sean is officially finished with classes and is now working on finishing up his paper (which is a step below a thesis). He graduates on May13th!!!! We are very excited to celebrate this accomplishment.
Finn is such a blast. On my spring break we had a "mommy/Finn day date." To start the day we went out to breakfast, then headed to Do Art (a place where you can paint on pottery), out to lunch and then finished the day at the movie theater. Conversation with him keeps me entertained and amazed.
Julien is changing daily. He is on the move. In a matter of a few weeks he has grown new teeth, started crawling, lifting up on everything he possibly can, and beginning to imitate sounds we make. It is so amazing to watch. He still smiles like crazy and it is infectious to all those around him (even the gruffly old men we pass around town).
Our future is still to be determined. Sean has applied to a ton of jobs, interviewed with a few and now we are waiting to see what doors will be opened to us. It is exciting and scary at the same time.
I hope that you enjoy the new pictures and videos.

Finn is really great with Julien

Finn loves exploring with Sean on hikes

Finn learning a little guitar at an art festival we went to

Here is the evidence for later. Finn loves bok choy.

Julien with Viviane (his Belgian godmother)

Julien has the BEST smile!

They entertain eachother well

Love that face

love this face too!

Family day at the beach

Julien spent a few days upside-down once he discovered this new position!

I love this picture!

There we are enjoying the beatiful Palm Beach weather

The boys enjoying playtime in the bath

Julien fell asleep in Mamoune's arm after a long day of playing

tie-dyed Easter eggs

All dressed up for Easter

Our family shot on Easter

Mamoune and the boys

His loot after the hunt in the backyard

Finn and his buds! (our roommate Hannah and her fiance Andy)

A quick visit from Casey and Liam

We send our love!

Julien almost crawling

Julien has changed SO much these last few weeks. He went from laying around to sitting up on his own, to now trying to crawl. It is really fun to watch him so determined and fun to see him learning about how his body works.

Brothers laughing

Finn has become a pro at making Julien laugh. I love watching them together!!!!

Finn talks about the dentist

Finn went to the dentist for the first tome today with Sean. Here are his thoughts on what it was like. (sorry about the sideways view. I borrowd a video camera and didn't know that you could only record one way....oops)

Be who you want to be

I have these random times in life where I have insightful moments about society and humanity. Today I had a moment where I just really looked around at the people surrounding me and payed enough attention to notice the details and the individualism. I love that we live in a society where we can choose (to an extent) what we want to be like. We chose what interest us, the people we surround ourselves with, our careers, and our styles. If you think about it, our styles are a huge part of who we are today. It can show what we are in to and sometimes even how we feel about ourselves. As I get older and wiser (don't laugh) I have really become more relaxed on my view of individualism and stereotypes. It used to bother me when I would see someone trying to be "so different." Now I love it. Why not. Be whoever the heck you want to be and if that changes with the next trend or hype, so be it.
Before I get too deep, let me just list the few people today that caught my attention.
1. Be vintage/anthropologie. If you want to ride a bike wearing a antique floral dress, a big red flower in your hair, and feather earrings, than do it.
2. Be a southern Frat boy. If you want to wear boat shoes with short lime green shorts, than do it.
3. Be a hipster. If you want to ride around on your 10 speed multi-colored bicycle with Tom's shoes, than do it.
4. Be unexplainable. If you (a girl) want to shave your head and wear motorcycle goggles, than do it.
5. Be promiscuous. If you feel like it is necessary to lay out in the sun in your bikini, in front of a frat house, on a main Gainesville street, during rush hour, than do it.
Gotta love Gainesville.
Now ask yourself what stereotype do I fit in.... and then embrace it!

My empathetic, evangelical, super hero son

Finn and I were talking the other day (can't quite remember how we got on the subject) about people's jobs. Since it is already clear in Finn's mind what mommy and daddy do (see previous post about "what we do all day") he seemed to want to figure out what his friend Harrison's mommy and daddy do? First of all, Finn corrected me when I told him Harrison's daddy is a fireman. "no mommy. Harrison's daddy goes to school." Apparently in his mind all daddies go to school! Once he finally accepted the fact that Harrison's daddy is a fireman He then wonders, "is Harrison's mommy a fireman?"
He then moved on.
Finn: mommy, do you know what my work is?
Me: no, what is your work?
Finn: I help people get saved
Me: (in my mind I am thinking...I've got a mini evangelist on my hands!") what do you mean Finn?
Finn: I save people when they're stuck in a tree
Me: that's nice Finn. How do you save them?
Finn: I catch them. Do you know what my other work is?
Me: no, what's that?
Finn: I help people feel better!!
Then I saw this in action. The next day as we were leaving Finn's babysitter he whispered to me that he forgot to tell Diane something. We went back inside and he (with a cute shy smile) tells Diane that the loves her and gives her a big hug. So sweet! After we left, Finn tells me, "see mom I do make people feel better!"

So independent!!!

Julien recently turned 6 months. He's had a busy week learning

 how to sit up, his first teeth growing in, and trying new veggies.

We're still working on the hair! He still smiles through it all!

One stylish man

Finn has not really showed any preferences for clothes as of yet. Oh wait. I lie. Last summer he became obsessed with these green shorts that a friend Noah gave him. I think that since he loved Noah, he loved the shorts. They were a bright green and Finn wanted to wear them at all times. Mainly, He just wears whatever I give him, which is fun for me. Even though boy's clothes are not nearly as fun as girl clothes, I can still get creative. Recently Finn has been changing things up.

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How about some boots?



an outfit from his babysitter after he had an accident



There's my little GQ boy!