9 months old

Fin is doing well as he heads for the 1o month mark. He had his first bout of the flu and soldiered through it well. His eating and sleeping were off for a week or so, but he is back on track. His next mountain to climb was revealed this week when his PT came back for a visit and assessed that Fin is about 3 months behind where he should be in his gross motor. He is not crawling or rolling at all. She has given us exercises to do with him and he will be under her care for the next 3 - 6 months at least. The problem seems to be in his legs... a lack of tone. But we are expecting he will make great progress as we keep up with the exercises.
He has started clapping and is so giggly and fun. The attached video is a guaranteed smile-inducer.
He just had a great visit from his cousins Michaela and Caden and his Uncle Craig.
Lots of love,
February Fin

Happy 2008!

We had a great Christmas break. We drove back up to Ontario. Finley did great on both long drives.
He gets to be more and more fun (and more and more of a handful) every day. He is still not crawling or getting around, but he lately seems to be showing some signs that movement is on the horizon.
We took a LOT of pictures over the break. Rather than post them all here, I will put a couple to whet the appetite and you can click on the link below to see all the rest.
We wish you peace, love, and joy for 2008.
Love,
Us

http://picasaweb.google.com/ksmarkle/Christmas2007

Merry Christmas!

Thought you would like to see some of the outtakes from the making of our Christmas card... and some other recent shots.
Ho Ho Ho.
Love,
Finley and Family

Seven months old

Our apologies to the faithful followers of the blog for how long it is between posts these days. Life is very busy these days and Fin has not even started crawling yet!
Some of the pictures here are of his first football game. He also celebrated his first American Thanksgiving this week in grand southern style thanks to the warmth and generosity of the Shackelford family.
He continues to do really well. He is battling his first cold, but is getting through it well. He is eating like a champ (sweet potato, pears, blueberries are the favourites in the early going).
We are now in the stretch drive to Christmas. We went out and got our tree today. Fin seemed quite excited by his first glimpse of the lights.
Check out the new feature in the top left... a running slide show of all of the pictures on the blog. Those kids at Google just don't stop with the fun stuff.
Lots of love,
Football fan Fin

Finley is 6 months old

Finley is 6 months old and his first Halloween is in the books. He is doing great. Sitting up on his own with fewer tumbles, eating oatmeal and apples.
He weighed in at 17 pounds and measured 26.75 inches this week.
He is so much fun.
At the bottom is a little video of Fin's "singing". He is getting more and more verbal every day.
Below is a little game for you... can you name the 6-month-old in each of the 4 pictures?
Happy November!
Love,
Tigger and friends