Happy Birthday Rob!

Today is my very best friend in the whole world's birthday. I thought I would take this opportunity to let you all know a bit more about him!
1. His favorite movie is The Matrix
2. His favorite color is blue
3. His current favorite music artists are John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Iron and Wine
4. His drink of choice is Diet Mountain Dew
5. He would be a stay at home dad if he had his choice because he LOVES being with his kids more than anything in the world. (the next few facts will reiterate this fact)
6. He is VERY helpful with the kiddies. I can't remember the last time I bathed my own children because he does it.
7. Every night he brushes the kid's teeth, reads them 2 stories, prays with them and tucks them in bed.
8. The first thing he does when he gets home from work every night is rush to the sink, wash his hands, and steal Finn from wherever he is. He loves that baby!
9. He has never missed a prenatal doctor visit through all three pregnancies.
10. When going over our finances he said that he would rather get rid of his cell phone than cut out Maggie's dance lessons.
11. He does the dishes and vacuums.
12. He grocery shops.
13. He cooks.
14. He supports all of my hair brained ideas wholeheartedly.
15. He is quick to apologize and compromise.
16. He respects me.
17. He listens to me.
18. He ALWAYS puts me first.
19. He loves Disneyland almost as much as me.
20. He hates it when people use the word "literally" when it is NOT literal. For example "I literally died of embarrassment".
21. He has an awesome laugh. It is one of my favorite sounds in the world.
22. He hates it when we are driving and I am on the phone getting directions and I hand him the phone to get the directions instead because I am horrible at conveying directions. This has got to be one of his biggest pet peeves.
23. He has a mild case road rage which is actually funnier than it is anything else.
24. He is a HORRIBLE morning person.
25. He is not a fan of games. Party pooper.
26. When he likes what he is eating he INSISTS I take a bite and gets mortally offended if I decline. He does it with the kids too.
27. He can fall sound asleep sitting in any position in any place at any time.
28. He's ridiculously smart.
29. He's a very good debater. This makes disagreements super fun at my house.
30. He is the best kisser I have ever had the privilege of kissing.

So there you have it. A little insight into my best friend and why it is that I love him so terribly much.

Happy Birthday Rob! You are my partner, my confidant, and my relief at the end of the day. I would be lost without you! Literally ;)

Fun Facts About Finn...

-He's a great little eater. At his two week visit my Doctor told us that a healthy amount of weight to gain for a two week old is 2 to 3 ounces...Finn had gained 13.
-He's VERY strong. I suspected as much when he kicked me harder and more often than my other two combined, but my suspicions were confirmed at his circumcision when two nurses and the doctor commented on his abnormally strong legs.
-Speaking of...he did NOT enjoy the circumcision. Consequently, neither did I.
-He has a husky, boyish voice that I adore.
-He smiles when I sing "It's a Small World"
-He poops infinitely more than he pees. And he explodes on my favorite outfit of his with the old school Mickey Mouse print on it every time WITHOUT FAIL within five minutes of me putting him in it. A fun little game for mommy.
-He spits up and laughs about it all the live long day. Another fun game.
-He loves to sit on the window sill and bask in the sun while listening to primary childrens music.
-He loves the car and his car seat (thanks heavens!!)
-His baby acne is disappearing (YAY) just in time for the cradle cap to kid in (BOO)
-He has made life surprisingly challenging, but I am completely and totally in love with him.

Finn

Our sweet, tiny Finn is here and what a welcome little addition he is to our home!

Finley Lewis McDowell was born February 20th (the day Rob proposed to me 8 years ago!) at 7:10am. He weighed in at 7lb 9oz and was 21 inches long. There were no complications other than a mild case of jaundice. He has LOTS of black hair and looks like Maggie when she was a baby. He is very mild and patient and a great little eater! Maggie and Henry are completely in love with him, especially Maggie. They are very "helpful" and try hard not to be "wild around the baby". Maggie is constantly asking to hold him. She sings lullabies to him and kisses him on his head and says things like "Finn likes me, mommy! I'm a very good sister for him!" Yesterday she came in to me as I was feeding Finn and said "Mommy, now I want a sister." I told her I'd get right on that.

This afternoon Finn was surprisingly alert so I held him up to my face so that he could focus on me. I talked to him for half an hour about how amazing he is and what a wonderful surprise he was for us. His darling face was so content as he listened to me, full of innocents and love. You can sense how close a newborn is to God when you hold them. What a spiritual experience it is to be in his presence. It is overwhelming at times, how privileged I feel to have this beautiful little creature in my life. That feeling combined with hormones and sleep deprivation equals lots of happy mommy tears falling on his tiny head. There is an angel at our house and we feel so very lucky to have him!

Children for sale!

Two top of the line, house broken, brown eyed children for sale!!

You will love the way the girl silently finds your hidden scissor stash and cuts six inches off the front of her hair while you are busy signing a contract with a bride in the next room! And if you are lucky, the boy will sneak upstairs in the exact same moment and dump all of your brand new $28 a bottle color stay makeup all over the carpet, counter, his hair, and clothes! Complete ruining of mascara and lipstick also included! You will LOVE attempting to bathe him after the makeup fiasco without submerging his head in water due to the fact that just days earlier, the girl punctured his eardrum with a pencil while playing doctor! Please note that this incident involved the boy screaming and writhing in pain, a bleeding ear, and an emergency trip to the doctor! For optimum fun, it is recommended that these charades be attempted when carrying an eight and a half month fetus in your uterus! You simply MUST have these two BUSY little children! And stay tuned! There is a good chance that if the fetus makes his big appearance and follows suit, you will have a chance at child number three! Going fast! Grab one before they are going, going, gone!!

My latest stuff...

Horrible person or tired pregnant woman?

For Christmas Rob bought me this awesome vacuum. It's small and cordless for when you want to grab it quickly and vacuum up a few crumbs. The handle has the ability to extend but... if you choose NOT to extend it, it is just the right size for a small child to use. We also bought Henry a little "Dirty Devil" vacuum toy that is the same size and color as the real vacuum. (I know a vacuum is an odd present for a two year old boy, but he is obsessed with vacuuming. Such a domestic little man) So basically when Henry is "vacuuming" I get out the real vacuum and let Maggie loose. That's right. My four year old daughter has turned into a tiny vacuuming slave. She loves it! She goes totally nuts and vacuums up every last crumb! She asks me all day when she can vacuum next. BUT I FEEL HORRIBLY GUILTY! MY CHILD IS CLEANING MY HOUSE FOR ME AT THE TENDER AGE OF FOUR! At first I thought it was hysterical, but now I feel as though I have tricked her or something. So I ask for your opinion: Horrible person or tired pregnant woman. Honesty please.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas again and I love it so much! Our children are loving it too. Maggie and Henry can sing all of the lyrics to "Santa Clause is Coming to Town". That's right, it's not "Silent Night" or "Joy to the World", nothing to do with the savior or the real meaning of Christmas. They have focused their efforts on memorizing the song that lists the criteria required for receiving presents from Santa Clause. A couple of weeks ago they were in particularly naughty spirits so I called Santa (Rob) on the phone and told him that my children were being terrors and that he might reconsider bringing us any presents this year. My children sat in silence, their eyes filled with terror as I made the call. I then handed the phone over to Maggie and told her that Santa wanted to speak with her. "Santa" then proceeded to tell Maggie in a jovial voice that she needed to be nice to mommy and help her. He told her that she needed to pick up her toys and go to sleep without crying at night. He was pretty mild about the whole thing and Maggie seemed to respond well. The next few days were heavenly. Clean toy room, no fighting, to bed with no tears. I was loving my Santa scare tactic. Then we went to the mall to see Santa and Maggie was so terrified of him that she refused to sit on his lap and had to stand with daddy and watch at a distance as Henry talked to Santa and got his candy cane. That night we called "Santa" back and he told her how proud he was of her and that she was being a very good girl. That banished Maggie's fear of Santa pretty quickly. We saw him at Disneyland last week and she could barely hold herself back as we waited in line. She leaped on his lap and gave him a huge hug. She told him she wanted a "pink electric guitar" so that she can "rock". Luckily Walmart sells such things for $19.99.

My heart is so full of gratitude this Christmas season as I look at my handsome husband, my darling children, and my growing belly every day. I hope you are all having a wonderful December! Merry Christmas!