Dear Finnlee: Moves Like Jagger

I know. I know. I've been a terrible blogger. I can't seem to stick to any sort of a schedule with this whole blogging thing. I hate letting days go by and then trying to cram too much into one post. But here goes anyway.

You are on the move. Over the weekend, you decided you no longer would sit around and watch the world pass you by. You wanted in on the action. It's like you woke up one morning and had somewhere to be. You contort into all sorts of crawling and rolling positions when we put you down. You push off of us when we carry you. You dive head-first off of the couch (don't worry...I am always right there to stop you). You pull yourself up to your knees, and sometimes your feet, at the coffee table. And you scoot around on the floor, sometimes backwards, when you see something you want (which is always).

Proof that you can no longer be contained.

In some ways, this summer has been pretty typical. Lots of rainy afternoons. Lots of big ideas of things to do, not nearly enough time or willing children to do them with. In other ways, it's been anything but typical. Your oldest sister will be moving out in a month. You will be moving into Sydney's new room. I'm beyond excited about finally putting together your bedroom. I've also kicked your party planning into high gear. We have roughly three months until the big day! It's time for shopping and list-making and decoration-crafting. Your dad thinks I've lost my mind.

In the meantime, we've had Ashley's 18th birthday. My birthday...but we can just let that one slide. And your very first 4th of July! It wasn't exactly our typical Independence Day celebration. We usually throw a small get-together and have some friends and family over. But your allergy to mosquito bites has kept us indoors more than I would like this summer. We even contemplated skipping fireworks, but settled on a favorite viewing spot (a parking lot across the street from a park that shoots them off). It turned out to be a good decision. Our view was great, and we avoided all of the traffic that makes the beach fireworks unbearable. Daddy and I took turns holding you and oohing and ahhing over the fireworks, just hoping you wouldn't be afraid of the noise (like Sydney and Kylee always were). Clearly, noise doesn't bother you. You waved at the fireworks every time one exploded. Adorable.

Nutella cupcakes after a birthday dinner.

A birthday sunset on Mommy's birthday.

Your very first fireworks.

Making sure mom thinks all of this noise is okay.

Loving the lights and colors.

We also had our first brush with hurricane season this year. The next best thing to having a tropical storm or small hurricane is being sideswiped by one. The waves at the beach are amazing we get some great breezes and much-needed rain. But Tropical Storm Debbie kind of wore out her welcome here. After five or six days of nonstop rain, we were all itching to get outdoors and go anywhere, really. We found ourselves at the park, and ended up running into good friends who also had cabin fever. Great minds think alike. Even though we got caught in a gazebo during a torrential downpour, and I spent the majority of the time protecting my camera from the water, we had a good time.

Loving the wind and rain!

Good thing we remembered a bathing suit!

Holding hands with our friend's newborn baby. You were so gentle.

Other firsts you've had recently are meeting your great-grandmother for the first time. I took some amazing pictures that day, but I won't post them out of respect for her (she doesn't like to "be on the internet."). You also went swimming in the ocean for the first time just last weekend. Seems hard to believe considering how many times we've been to the beach with you, but the gulf waters have been pretty rough the last few visits. Saturday the water was as smooth as glass, though.