Mixed Nuts: Finley turns 6

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Finley turns 6

Where did my little baby go? The little tiny girl who came into the world at 2pm on July 5th 2006? The baby we waited for while we watched the fireworks outside our window the night before her arrival? She is growing up and going to first grade.

So much has changed for her and us since that afternoon of the 5th. I had a scheduled induction, so I didn't have one second of pain. Epidural was in before anything began. Yes, I am a lucky girl.

6 hours later, she was born. She had the cord wrapped around her neck twice, and didn't feel like coming out into the world. She was quiet, and an easy baby right from the beginning. But as she grew, she changed. She was wilder that Arlington in some ways. She was more care free. But she was fun, spirited, and sweet.

She was born in Florida in the July heat. Along with 1000's of other babies who, 9 months prior, had been conceived during a hurricane. By the time she was 1, she had a new brother, and before she was two, we had moved to Connecticut. By the time she was 3, we knew she had LCA. By the time she was 4, we were considering a move. By the time she was 5, we were weeks away from her third state - Massachusetts.

This year, we are just celebrating 6. No moves, no changes, no surprises. I should bite my tongue.

Today, Finley celebrated with her favorites. She had breakfast at Panera Bread. She went swimming all afternoon at a local pool. She had dinner at Olive Garden.

It was a great day. Our little firecracker born on the 5th of July. We love her more every day. She never ceases to amaze us. She has made us stronger.

Enjoy the pictures!

This is breakfast at Panera. She is making a really funny face for some reason:

Swimming at the pool. She is sporting her new bathing suit from Aunt Betty.

When I was little, my mom used to want me to try new things. I didn't get coaxed easily. I got thrown to the wolves. Now that the woman has grandchildren, you can see things haven't changed!

Ha ha ha. Just kidding. I would have done the same thing to them.

Arlington's friend "C" went with us to the water park.

Cainan went down the big slide in the deep end. he loved it.

Finley went down the big slide in the deep end. She hated it.

We took her presents with us when we went to dinner. She had a great time opening presents from her grandparents and Aunts and Uncles. She is really spoiled!.

These are from Aunt Tricia and Uncle AJ:

This is from Gramma and Pappy: (plus a big box of all kinds of other goodies):

She looks nuts in this picture. She is sporting beads from the Orlandos:

Books from the Orlandos:

From Gigi and Pap-Pap:

From Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jonathan:

From the Hornicks (plus their famous annual scrapbook that was beautiful):

From Grammy and Papa:

Finley really wanted a Pinata for her birthday. We can't have one where we are having her kid party on Saturday, so we did it today. She picked the most generic Pinata ever. But....she loved it! We had the neighbor kids over to help us break it. Sorry the pictures are blurry. I forgot to change my camera setting.

Cupcakes for today. They had a marzapan candy on top. These are a sneak peek of the birthday style for Saturday!!:

Pool basket from Aunt Betty. A few months ago, we attended a basket raffle, and Finley wanted to put her tickets in for a Pool basket. goodness knows why....we don't have a pool. Well, she lost. And she was very sad. Aunt Betty was visiting that weekend, and to cheer her up, told Finley she would put together a pool basket for her for her birthday. So....here it is!!!