Finley-The Artiste!

 We bought Finley some finger paints and went over to Aunt Terrie and Uncle Barry's house to try them out (Godmother and Godfather were there and we wanted to see them!).

 We quickly realized that it was going to be a diaper only painting session!

 Aunt Terrie explaining what to do.

 Being modest! :o)

 

 As you can see she got a bit more on herself and the deck than the actual poster board ;)

 Daddy drew this lovely portrait on her tummy.

Her finished masterpiece!

Beachin' it up!

 My friend Andrea (I teach with her) invited us to the beach with our other friends we teach with.  We had so much fun at the beach.  It is near her house, there is never anyone else there, and it was in the shade for the most part.  Had a blast on a hot morning!

 Gianna got to dip her little toes in the water.  She loved it!

 Jayda said 'CHEEEEEESE' when I snapped this photo.  What a cutie!

 Finley is her momma's daughter.  She has loved being in water from day one.  I like swimming more than just about anything in the world, so she can be my swimming buddy.

 I love these girls.  They are all polite, have sweet personalities, get along well, and are a joy to be around.  I am so lucky to have such great friends in their mommies and Finley has such awesome kids to be friends with and look up to.  BLESSED!

Cooking Out in UG

 Our friends the Garcias invited us over for a cookout last weekend.  I have had 4 of their 7 kids in class (I will have another one in the fall) and we have grown close over the years.  Our friends the Luburichs were there too! We had a blast!

 Look at those lips!

 Elijah liked to push Finley in the swing.

 Having a deep conversation!

 Sadie's butt is every color of the rainbow :)

 This is Andrea and Brian's daughter, Sadie.  She is such a happy and carefree girl.  Love her!

 6 of the Garcias (Esme was napping), Finley, and Sadie

 She thinks everything is a phone, puts it to her ear and says 'hello'.

 mmmmmm.  Chalk!

 These two played together the whole night!

 Now you see her...

....now you don't!   Silly girl!

A different view of our town

 Stone Manor takes my breath away every time I walk past it.

 Cory got to join us this time!

 Lake Geneva from the path

 We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

I think Finley would walk all 26 miles around the lake! (ok, maybe not yet :))  She really enjoys taking it all in!

Finley's 1 Year Photo Shoot Gallery

Click on the link below and the access code is: COOPER

http://alternativephotodesign.com/photocart/

13 Months Old!

 This year we are going to take our monthly pictures in lots of different places :)

Finley has become a pretty serious mimic this month.  She tries to say everything that we say... which means we need to start watching what we say around her! ;)  She pretty religiously says mama, dada, dog, up, more, out, uh-oh, all done, yeah, and of course NO!  This month she added more drama to that word by shaking her head back and forth as well.

She is eating EVERYTHING.  She is into EVERYTHING.  She laughs at EVERYTHING.  

She is still not walking... We are both completely fine with that.  We are enjoying the calm before the storm!  I am feeling VERY spoiled that I get to spend my summers with her.  I can't believe how blessed I am!   

A Lake Stroll

Finley's great-grandma Bloch found us this jogging stroller last summer at a garage sale for $20!  It needed some thorough cleaning and air in the tires...Now it works great!  We have used it the last 3 days-once to go for a run and twice for the Lake Geneva lake path.  Finley loves every minute of it - especially the lake path. 

 

 There is a section with these beautiful trees that hang over the water.

We have definitely started a new summer day tradition :)