Fridays with Finley {22nd May 2014}

Hello loved ones! 

Where does the year go? Finley is now two, though when asked he will tell you that he is three, then laugh and say two! He had a wonderful birthday party with his little friends. We had a guest bunny for the day, lots of healthy food and plenty of games, stories and bubbles. And on Easter he even wore the jacket I made him!  He loved having his cousins, aunty and grandparents here too to celebrate and help and of course he was spoiled beyond belief. I've been gradually pulling out all the things he received. The winners were anything fish and turtle related, trucks and trains. 

The big adventure of the last two months has been Finley starting preschool. We got off to a very rocky start, it was looking as though we might have to leave it and try again in 6 months but just last week we had a breakthrough, he slept there and has settled in nicely - phew. It has definitely been the hardest thing for me as a parent so far and I'm am so so grateful it's all coming together. I will be working at the local High School as a casual the two days he is there, today I don't have work so am catching up on things at home. I've also had a few weekends away lately. I hiked the 6 foot track in the Blue Mountains for 3 days with a friend and did a 10km run in Sydney. I miss being away from Levi and Finley but have loved both experiences. 

Age two is both an exciting and challenging time. Finley has become very independent. He just realised he can carry around his little chair and climb up onto anything and get into anything he likes. His little imagination has come alive, he loves playing trains, especially with daddy and the two of them can literally pass hours together making new tracks and discussing which trains are fit to carry particular loads. Finley also has an amazing sense of direction, he will tell me where we are going without me having said anything about it. He is very loving and kind, he knows that he can make people happy and when we visit our friend in the nursing home he will smile and wave to the oldies and they just love it. He chats away all day long now. Not all of it coherent but he is learning words at a rapid pace. He just discovered my name is Jade and thinks it is hilarious to call me that. 

We keep really busy with read and rhyme at the library, playgroup and swimming each week. We also spend alot of time at the park and have been having fun at home cooking, having picnics, drawing and doing lots of fine motor skills play. We have been enjoying what seems like the last of the sun too, going to the beach as much as we can. 

I hope you are all well, I'd love to hear what is new with you. 

Much love, 

Jade xx

Fridays with Finley {14th March 2016}

Hi Everyone!

Finley is almost two! Can you believe it? I can't, the last two years has gone incredibly fast and I can't imagine life without our little boy. Preparations are in full swing for his Peter Rabbit themed birthday party - it is conveniently timed with Easter, so we have a traditional egg hunt and the pet store is lending us a big floppy bunny for the day which is very exciting. I've made a blue jacket for Finley for the day, but he hates me putting it on him so he may not be coming as Peter Rabbit

Communication is coming along in our home lately. Finley has begun to mimic words we say and some new favourites are bubbles, googles, grandma, beach, peach, home, arper (for his best friend Harper), pool, swim, done, please and thank you. I love this new stage and how his little character is forming. Finley is a very gentle soul, so we are working on putting out a hand and saying 'stop' when other kids push him around. He absolutely loves the water and we go to the pool once or twice a week.  He is swimming two metres now unaided. He loves jumping in and mixes it up with belly flops and pulling his knees up for big splashes. He does great bubbles, kicking and big arms and has a real natural love for being in the water. Finley also loves music and dances at the store when a song with a good beat comes on. 

We are all doing pretty well. The build on our house begins on the 18th so that is exciting. Levi has had a promotion at work and with lots of changes at the site he has been really busy. Finley is starting preschool two days a week after his birthday and I'll be casual teaching in the special needs faculty at the local High School on those days - so that will be a big change for the both of us. After two years with barely a day a part I'm thinking it will take us both some adjusting but it's all for the best. 

We hope life is treating your all well, 

Much love, 

Jade xo

Fridays with Finley {23rd of January 2014}

Hello!

This email has been a long time coming, Fridays just seem to be coming around quick - I can't believe January is almost over. 

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was our first one just the three of us, which was lovely though we were glad we had lots of time with family either side of the big day. Finley loved his gifts, the favourite was 'robofish' which he still asks for first thing every morning when he wakes up. Talk about longevity! 

Finley is growing up, he has mastered some party tricks - forward rolls and jumping. Whenever we have guests he is eager to show off his skills. He also loves dancing and is getting braver at the playground. Lots of climbing, balancing and yelling 'igher' on the swing. More words are coming daily now and he has started to combine them too. This morning he said ' byyyee dad'.

We have spent lots of time at the beach so far this summer. We are very blessed to be so close and we go on most sunny days. Finley loves digging holes and building castles but most of all swimming in the ocean and mistaking sea weed for fish. 

We hope everyone is having a great start to the year. We look forward to all of the excitement and hard work of the next year. The plans for our house are currently in council and we hope building will start around March. It's an exciting time in our life. 

Much love, 

Jade xo

Fridays with Finley {12th December 2013}

Dear loved ones, 

Christmas is almost here! It’s hard to believe another year has almost past. It’s been a good and busy one for us and we are looking forward to relaxing over the break and spending lots of time on the water. 

Finley is growing up so fast and learning quick. The past few weeks he has had a big focus on parts of the face. I go to get him from the cot in the morning and the first thing he does is point and say ‘nose’, then at night as I’m putting him to bed ‘eyes’. He can point to ‘mouth’ and ‘ears’ and almost has the sounds but isn’t quite there yet. He is saying lots more words now – nut, snack, water, bath, swim.

His favourite things at the moment include popcorn – he is absolutely crazy for it an fish. He loves pointing them out and saying ‘fisshh’. I took him to the pet store this week and he was in heaven. He ran back and forth from the fish to the birds completely excited by it all. He also loves helicopters and planes. Grandpa taught him the noise to make and now anything that slightly resembles a helicopter acts the part and gets flown around the house. Thomas the tank engine has made a big impact too. He went to nursery in Sutherland and they had a battery powered Thomas on the line and Finley was hooked. We have a few Thomas books so he reads them with delight and Shae has leant us some trains and track which we will bring out for him at Christmas. He has naturally gravitated to the traditional boys toys but equally enjoys pushing his dolly around in her pram and feeding and putting her to sleep.

We continue to visit the library each week for read and rhyme. Finley is old enough now to mimic the actions and is shaking arms and legs, opening and closing hands and having a great time. His favourite song is the ‘Dingle Dangle Scarecrow’ closely followed by ‘Open Shut Them’. He has some lovely little friends who he loves to see there and they all love to cuddle and play together.

Wishing you lots of love and happiness over the Christmas season.

Much love,

Jade xo

ps. I've included some Christmas photos from last year. He has grown so much!

Fridays with Finley {21st November 2016}

Dearest loved ones, 

My apologises for such a lengthy gap between updates. The past two months, not unlike the whole year have flown by and it's been hard to keep up. Since the purchase of our land we have been incredibly busy making decisions and signing contracts. Within the next few weeks our plans will go to council and then we can breath for a little while. We anticipate that next year will be a 'house' year. There is much to be done to finish it all off. 

The man of the hour, our little Finley is not so little any more. He is growing rapidly, producing a big belly that soon turns into height. He climbs everything, chairs and tables and nothing is safe from his grasp on benches and shelves. He loves to jump from things into our arms, mimicking the one, two, three in preparation for the jump. He finds the whole thing hilarious. He loves when the three of us are together. Lately he has been chanting 'mum' or 'dada' when the other is absent. As you can imagine for me at home it's a long day of trying to explain that 'dada' is at work! 

We were lucky enough to have two weeks with Courtney before she leaves for her mission to Hamilton NZ on the 5th of December. This was a very busy and exciting few weeks including the Beyoncé concert, climbing the Harbour Bridge and lots of fun time together with Finley. Courtney took Finley swimming and saw the difficulties of trying to hold a child who just wants to dive in despite not being able to swim! She was a huge help to me during this time and developed a really strong bond with Finley. He can't quite manage her name but today he did say 'nee' when he looked at her picture. While she was here I did photo shoot for her and have attached two of the pictures I took. It was great to put the skills I learnt at my photography course to practise.

A few months a go we had a family photo shoot with my good friend and brilliant photographer Shayla. I've attached a few for anyone who didn't see them on facebook. We were so happy with how they turned out. We are glad to have captures Finley at sure a precious stage. 

We hope you are all well and enjoying the lead up to Christmas. I can hardly believe that it is only a month away. 

Much love, 

Jade xo

Fridays with Finley {27th September 2016}

Dearest Family and Friends,
Things are going well around here. The big news of the month is the purchase of our block of land! We camped out for three days/nights with the help of Edward to secure the block and we got it! Very exciting times around here. Finley got to meet some of his soon to be neighbourhood buddies. There are going to be quite a few kids around his age which will be nice for him as he grows up. Next step is the build, we are hoping things will begin in January and we will be in the house by July. 

 

Finley is doing great, he is a such a treasure. Lots of new words are streaming in – shoes, nose, belly and park. He understands really well now and will follow my instructions to put books away or sit down for food etc. He has also learnt to pray and folds his arms in preparation, lately he has been folding his arms at random points throughout the day and nodding at me to start praying. It is beautiful and makes me think of the scripture about us all being little children, he is so innocent and pure and a great reminder to me of the reality of God. 

We are loving the weather and go to the park most days. Finley has mastered the big kids slippery dip and walks around confidently, he definitely thinks it is his turf. The park is next to the beach and lately he’s been stripping off and heading into the waves, he absolutely loves the water and thinks the waves splashing over him is hilarious. 

I feel very grateful to be a mother. It’s a real blessing to be able to be home with him, it’s the best job in the world and as he grows the moments just feel so precious.

Hope you are all well, 

Love Jade xo 

Fridays with Finley {5th September 2013}

Hello Loved Ones, 
 The sun is shining and things are good in our part of the world. How about you?  Finley is great! Loving life and finding new adventure and mischief every day. He is walking confidently now and figured out how to get up without the aid of a wall or parent. With this came climbing, anything and everything - I watch in trepidation but mostly he manages not to fall off anything. Though this past week he did have a visit to the hospital because a finger he jammed started to swell quite badly. The doctor pricked his little nail to relieve the pressure and Finley didn't even make a peep - amazing. I'm not so sure I'm in for the injury side of parenting - just thinking about it makes me queasy. I guess I'm just going to have to get over that.  

The weather and water has been beautiful here and we bravely took Finley out on the catamaran. I was stoked to be on the boat, as I'm usually with Finley on the sidelines. Finley was very quiet and had a concerned look on his face the whole time but we are sure we will win him over soon enough. Levi is thinking of starting a mini kayak for him, ready for when he can swim too - lucky little boy.  We have quite the little talker, lately Finley has been having long conversations with us, that make no actually sense but leave you feeling like you are the one who needs to learn the language. He is getting right into dancing too, he has invented his own little routine of arms swinging side to side, out in front and over his head. He is quite the little character.  

Wishing you lots of love,  Jade xo

 

Fridays with Finley {14th August 2013}

Happy Friday everyone! 

We have a relaxed weekend planned after a busy few weeks so we are very excited it's Friday.  Finley took off walking this week all on his own, no mum or dad there to catch him! It was on my birthday, so a wonderful gift. He has since been tottering around the house, looking very proud of himself. He has also found his 'moves'.

We attended and participated in our Stake Road Show this past Saturday and Finley loved the performances. He invented his own little dance routine with arms flailing about and clapping - it was gorgeous. The Road Show was great fun, Levi did a hilarious performance as a member of 'Flabba' - Fat Abba - slightly offence but very funny! And I made a reappearance as the White Witch of Narnia.  Levi fitted Finley's seat to my bike on the weekend, so this week we have been taking off for rides. Finley loves it, we mostly end up at the park which he loves. My mum use to ride around with me on her bike when I was little and I remember loving it too. I'm happy to have another mode of transportation in the day - it definitely makes a difference for us.  

I hope you are all doing well. We love and miss you, 

Fridays with Finley {2nd August 2013}

Hello! 
 
Well we have lift off! Finley took his first independent steps last week. He trod very cautiously at first but built up to taking 5 steps on his own. He soon realised that with walking comes falling, so has since been a little hesitant but we are sure he will be off with out the help of mum and day in no time. 
 
We are hearing lots of sounds now, he says hello and bye, ta without being prompted and has mastered the 'gobble gobble' turkey noise and the neigh of a horse! Very funny. He is loving puzzles and is placing pieces with little prompting. He has found his 'belly' and when prompted will pull up his shirt and bang his chest like a gorilla....I may taught him that one! 
 
Now that the sun is out we are loving the park and get there at every opportunity. We are thinking of getting him a trike that I can push along to the park instead of the pram. He loves being out and about so I'm excited for summer. 
 
We hope you are all well. We think of you all often and only wish we saw you all more.

Fridays with Finley {18th July 2013}

Hello everyone! 
 
Well with the sunshine has come health to our household and life has been looking up! The weather has been beautiful the last few days, almost like summer, so we have been making the most of it playing in the backyard and going to the park. I've seen a vision of us spending our summer days at the beach across the road swimming and playing in the sand - I can't wait. 
 
Still no walking from our little man, but he has been using his ride on sheep as a zimmer frame which is very cute. Yesterday though he took his first independent steps - sort of. I've been holding his hands and letting go once he has a bit of momentum, which means he takes a few steps but as soon as he realises he has he drops to his knees. It's very funny. He'll get there and I love watching him try. 
 
He has mastered our back stairs and loves going up and down. But most of all this kid loves laundry. He will sit in our laundry for up to half an hour packing and unpacking the washing machine, turning the knobs and pressing buttons. He is yet to discover how to shut the door though so no actually washing takes place yet...though I'm sure we will move on to that. If this is any sign of the future he will be a great little help around here. 
 
The big news of the week is our helicopter ride. At the beginning of the year Levi was given a prize for coming 2nd in the 'Quick and Dirty' Boat building comp. He kept it a secret and last Saturday surprised me by driving to the launch pad before telling me what was happening! He gave the ride to me but luck was on our side and there was a space free so they offered it to Levi for $50! Finley was going to be minded by the owner but in the end they told us their kids were practically born in helicopters and that we should take him up. So up he came. Levi and I had an absolute blast, it was one of the most amazing and memorable things I have ever done. We were up for 25 minutes and flew along the coast of Newcastle which is beautiful from the air. What an experience! Finley wasn't such a fan but I'm sure when he is older he will relish in the fact he got to go in a helicopter when he was just 1 year old. 
 
Life is good. And I hope it is in your part of the world too. Would love to hear your news. 
We love and miss you all,

Fridays with Finley {5th July 2013}

Hi All,

It’s been a shocking few weeks in the Catton household – we’ve been plagued by seemingly endless sickness. Finley had three different afflictions all at once, poor little thing but I’m happy to report we are all on the mend. It helps that the sun in finally shining again after weeks of rain. 

 In positive Finley news, we’ve been tracking his height on the chart the QLD Ryans gave us and in the past month he has grown 4.5 cms! I knew all the food he eats must be going somewhere. He really is an amazing eater – though he shares with his mother an aversion to potato! Not encouraged by me at all – I wonder if it could be genetic? ; )

Despite sickness he is progressing well. He has great word recognition, waving when he hears ‘bye’, breaking out into a fit of excitement when he hears ‘bath’ or ‘breakfast’, ‘lunch’ or  ‘dinner’. He is fairly obedient and listens to ‘stop’ and ‘no’. He is testing out new sounds and makes a whole range of great noises when he flicks through an animal book on his own – when we read it and make the noises he listens and watches our mouths intently. He has discovered the joy of the kitchen and actually spends much of the day resorting my shelves and draws. No walking yet but he is balancing on his feet well and can toddle along with just one hand held. He’s a cautious little thing and wants to get things right – it’s fun to watch.

Good things are happening in our lives – Levi turned 32 and had a quiet birthday with a big carrot cake! He has also been offered a permanent position with his company which gives him great security and peace of mind. In other news we are preparing to buy a block of land here in the coming months and I’m getting ready to launch a little blog of all the interesting things I get up to.

Hope life is treating you all well, we love you!