Finley - 4 Month old (pics)

Callaway Gardens (pics)

Beautiful!!! The Azaleas are blooming! 

Finley and his Papa

Finley's First Laughing (movie)

Generation after Generation (Part 2)

Martha & Ronald Zoutendam with Finley 

Finley's Great Gandparents Zoutendam came to visit and again it was a great encounter of Genearations. "He is our First Great Grandson!", the Zoutendams proudly say, taking endless pictures and Great Grandma Z would say "He has brown eyes just like me. Did I tell you, David was my first Grandchild with brown eyes."
It's amazing to me that Finley has 2 pair of Grandparents and 2 pair of Great Grandparents. Growing up as a child I didn't have any Grandparents not to mention Great Granparents. Most died before I was born or died when I was so young that only pictures captured the memory of them.

Now that Finley is almost 4 month he definitely is more expressive and shows how he feels about something with an quite animated face. The first day he seemed fine being hold lovingly by his Great Grandma Z, the next day he started crying and wouldn't stop until he was back into my arms. In fact it seems like as if he doesn't want to be in anyone elses arms than his Mummy, not even in Daddy's. Sometimes Finley starts crying when his Daddy would come home from work and wants to hold his son, missing him all day. Immediatly he starts crying as if he seemed scared of him and the next moment I hold him he would stop. David would then look at me with jealousy and a grumpy face expression, complaining "That's not fair."

Great Grandparents Z with their Great Grandson 

The Great Grandparents took us out to eat and Finley was doing just fine, not crying much but surely interested in looking around and being part of the dining rather than staying in his baby seat. It was fun having the Zoutendams visiting and spending time with us and seeing their First Great Grandson. Finley received nice gifts, clothes when he is a littel older, toys and a baby blanket that was made by his Great Grandma Z's mother, his Great Great Grandma. WOW. That's special. I consider Finley blessed to have such a family and to be able to experience having Grandparents and Great Grandparents. That's something not everyone has today.

Excited for Finley to have more encounters with his Great Grandparents Z and D :)

Dreaming of Milk (movie)

Pictures Pictures

 

Giggles and Crunches

Finley is almost 4 month and is becoming very interactive. He smiles back at me and giggles when he sees my face. He twitches his body and wails in protest when I put him down just to go and run to the restroom because apparently he wants to be held and see everything from the high sight then down on the floor. One day David came home and tried to hold Finley but everytime he would see his dad's face he would cry out in fear as if he didn't know who he was and calm down the second I would hold him again. However, the next day he was in love with his daddy again. His face, body language and cries have become more easier to read than at the beginning. It's exciting to see Finley's personality starting to come out and to recognize things he really likes and others he really can't stand. It's funny and cute to watch him excercising his muscles to become stronger in holding his head and upper body (the funniest is when it looks like he is doing crunches for his abs). He starts grabing things and has become fond of his little monkey stuffed animal that he loves to chew on (particularly his ears) and a soft baby book that he loves for its bright colors. Sometimes he just sits and starts cooing and singing and latley he has started to shriek out in excitment just because he can. Well well well...we will see what next surprises he will bring :)

Growing and Learning

I can't believe how fast Finley is growing. 
Many told me to enjoy the time as long as he is small and that right now you can't hold him in your arms enough. He will outgrow this stage quick and soon become more independent from Mama and Papa and in no time children become teenagers and young adults.
It's so exciting to watch Finley's progress and development. His frist smile, his first cooing sounds, the first time he lifts his head all alone, holding himself up on his legs, rolling over etc. I rememebr when I heard him laugh at me for the very first time. I never have felt so thrilled and excited about something so simple. It was ecstatic and made my eyes tear up a little out of pure happiness. 
I think that babys are geniuses. Think about it. In no other stage of our human life are we cable to learn and develop so fast as in our frist year of life. Think how fast our brains grow, learn and take information in and how our body develops and the muscle strengthen. 

They say the first 7 years of a child's life are crucial for learning and development and they are also the years in which children learn the fastest and are able to learn a lot of things at once. I am determined to feed Finley's mind with all I can and all I know. One of the things that is very important to me is to teach my son German. How to talk, read and write it. I desire for him to know about my culture and the country I'm from and to be able to connect and to relate to it since he himself is more than half German. I want him to become bilingual because I think it is something very valuable and good to have for his furture life. In my opinion speaking more than one language is great and much fun. I myself want to learn another language. I speak German and English, a little French and Filipino. I told David he should go and freshen up his German so all three of us can speak German to one another and that we should go and learn Japanese together. Just for fun! Learning languages is fascinating to me and it's like learning a new sport or an instrument. I can't wait for Finley talk to me German for the very first time. I know it will be just ECSTATIC :)

Yeehaa Texas*

Mark and Lori Zoutendam holding Finley

Finally,after long waiting and great anticipation the new Grandparents Z were holding their first Grandchild in their arms.

Espscially Grandma Z seemed to look forward to this particular moment the second she found out I was pregnant with Finley. She was bubbling with excitment and would talk with confidence about the coming baby boy as if she already knew that it was a boy before everyone else did. Many phone calls and text messages before and after Finley's birth were confirming that she couldn't wait to meet him, hold and kiss him.

Grandma Z and Finley

Now the time has finally arrived. 

Grandpa and Grandma Z are holding Finley proudly and talk and bless him, speaking of the wonderful things he will do in the future for and with God. I remember Finley being completely content and calm in the arms of his Grandpa who would dance and walk around with him, at home and in the store. 

He felt safe, probably sensing that this is family. It was a very blessd time having Finley's Grandparents from Texas with us and I'm sure Finley can't wait to see them again. "I would love to be there when he starts walking. Those are exciting times.", Grandpa Z mentioned. I'm sure they are and worthy to be shared with loving family around.

We can't wait for the Great Grandparents Z to visit and see their first Great Grandchild Finley.