8 Months

Dear Fin,

Here we are at 8 months. Happy doesn’t really describe how we feel when you look up at us with those pretty “baby blues”. You are too cute for words. Our lives are filled with joy at the sound of your voice, even though it’s just babbles.

Daddy and I love how you love to give kisses, how you reach out for us, and I guess how you cry undyingly as we leave the room. You definitely know when we are around and when we are not. It is known that you love your family, especially your big brother. You love the special times when we all play on the guest bed in your room. You are really crawling and pulling up now and can even dogpile on top Carter. All smiles, you and Carter wrestle and fight as I sit and watch adoringly.

You are my sweet little tub and I love you more and more each day. I truly am the most blessed mother and I thank God every night that I have another day with my boys to watch the two of you grow and learn. Please don’t grow up too fast and know that my goal as your mommy is to always show you love and comfort and that you will always be my sweet boy.

With the greatest love,

Mommy, Daddy, and Carter

7 months

Dear Fin,

Watching you grow these past seven months have been the best gift a mother could enjoy. I was thinking to myself the other day, there is no greater joy that I have experienced in my life like being you and Carter’s mother. I feel like I am truly the luckiest person in the world just to get to be at home all day, every day with the two of you. I love being the one to help you grow up. It is my cherished privledge!

You are turning into the most fiesty, stout, and active little boy. You and Carter wrestle all of the time and you enjoy every minute of it with a grin from ear to ear. You are sitting up unsupported, crawling backwards, bouncing up on all fours, and pulling yourself across the floor to get your favorite toy, which is whatever Carter is playing with at the time. I love the cool little break-dance spin you have mastered. You have two bottom teeth, love eating applesauce and sweet potatoes, love pulling Harley’s dog hair out by the fistfuls, love giving mommy and daddy kisses, and of course, you LOVE everything about your big brother.

I love you from your spikey hair down to your plump little toes. I can’t wait to see you grow somemore tomorrow, or the next day.

With all the love in our hearts,

Mommy, Daddy, and Carter

The half-way mark!

Dear Finley,
Happy 6 months old, sweet boy. I can’t believe how fast life is moving! You are so pleasant and happy most of the time. I love playing with you on the floor, talking with you on the changing table, blowing raspberries with you, and watching you laugh at Carter. You LOVE your big brother so much. You are all about what Carter is doing, saying, or playing with.
You are getting your first two teeth on the bottom (watch out Carter!). You roll all around the living room floor and are just about ready to start crawling. You are plump and juicy and you give mommy the best wet kisses.
We love you soooo much, Fin, and pray that you always stay sweet and loving and know daily just how special you are to us!

With all of our hearts,
Mommy, Daddy, and Carter

Sunny Days

Childhood is calling

Fin’s first solid food and not to fond of it!

Let the potty training games begin!

Finley – Five Months

Sweet Fin,

Happy 5 months old! I know I say this a lot, but my o my how fast this has flown by. I remember this being my favorite time as I am cherishing the infant years before you become a very demanding and active toddler. You are pleasant and happy MOST of the time. You have become very fond of mommy these days. You only want to be held, rocked, held, fed, held, played with, and did I mention, held by mommy. Although I am flattered by your undying admiration for the one who gave birth to you, you do have a wonderful daddy who loves you very much as well. You also don’t mind big brother coming around either. You are rolling over both ways now, sleeping through the night (most nights), talking, laughing, smiling, and eating a little bit of solid food.

I love how you smile and laugh all of the time, especially when you are tickled. This truly is music to our ears. I love how you gaze into my eyes when we snuggle as to say, “please never let me go!”. I smile each time that you reach out and touch Harley’s dog fur and track him around the room. But seeing you interact with Carter makes me the happiest. You adoringly stare at your big brother, taking in his voice, as he shows you his newest dump truck or as he reads you his favorite books. We pray that you and Carter will become the best of friends someday.

Though you give us fits some days right now, Fin, we love you with all of our hearts put together. I pray that God gives you the same kind of joy you bring us.

We love you more than you know,

Mommy, Daddy, and Carter

Finley – Four months

Dear Fin,

You are now 4 months old. Around the corner and off we go! We went to the doctor for a check up the other day and you tipped the scales at 16 pounds and 6 oz. You are 27 inches long which pretty much makes you a very hefty little boy. It seems like we eat all of the time and there is no mistaking just exactly when you are hungry. You are all smiles and giggles one minute and then the next you let the whole world know with the highest, most shrill cry one’s ever heard, that it is time to stop everything and eat!

I love how easy it is to make you smile. You think the changing table in your room is the greatest place on earth. We strip you down to nothing often and watch you talk and giggle for hours. You are developing your own little personality and we love you more and more each day.

I pray a special scripture over you each night and one of my favorite’s is, may the Lord give you “the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control” (Galatians 5:21-23).

We love you sweet boy,

Mommy and Daddy

How I share Google Reader items in Twitter

So, I wanted to be able to tweet items from Google Reader. I know things like twitterfeed exist, but I decided I wanted to be able to tweet items from Reader, or share items into my standard shared items, or both. I found http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/10169 which descibed how to to it using a Greasemonkey script.

However, the script used tiny.url to shorten URLs. I wanted to use bit.ly, so I rewrote the getTinyAndInsert function and added a function.

If you want to use this script, you’ll have to sign up for a bit.ly API key. After you sign up, you should get a bit.ly login and API key. Replace the getTinyAndInsert function in the Greasemonkey script with:

function getTinyAndInsert(event) {
  var thelongurl = url;
  var bitlyLogin = "BITLY_LOGIN";
  var bitlyAPIKey = "BITLY_APIKEY";
  var commandurl = "http://api.bit.ly/shorten?version=2.0.1&history=1&longUrl=" + thelongurl + "&longUrl=" + thelongurl + "&login=" + bitlyLogin + "&apiKey=" + bitlyAPIKey
  urlinput.value = "making url tiny...";
  GM_xmlhttpRequest({
		method: 'GET',
		url: commandurl,
		onload: function(responseDetails) {
			if (responseDetails.status == 200) {
				var myFoundArray = responseDetails.responseText.match(/http://bit.ly/[a-zA-Z0-9]+/g);
				if (myFoundArray != null) {
					urlinput.value = myFoundArray[0];
									countWord(event);
				}
				else {
					urlinput.value = "error shortening";
					alert(responseDetails.responseText);
				}
			}
		}
	});
}

Be sure to use your BITLY_LOGIN and BITLY_APIKEY. Save the google_reader_twitter.user.js and reload Google Reader.

The function can probably be improved, but it works for me. YMMV. Good luck.

P.S.
If you use this, please follow me.

say cheese

Cruddy camera on my phone. But the smile makes up for it.

Carter’s missing his buddy Harley, who is back at the vet to have a small tumor cut off his eyelids.

By Air, Land, and Sea (err, lake)

Well, the dust has settled and life has resumed as we know it. We all have just returned from a very long awaited and very needed two week vacation. With Harley in tow, we all drove to Arkansas and dropped Carter off with Boppa and Grammy (Will's parents). He had a blast playing with his cousins, swimming, and becoming addicted to chocolate milk. Meanwhile, Will and I departed for 4 days to Las Vegas to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Thanks to Aunt Betsy, Will's youngest sister, who lives there, we had the most wonderful time. She graciously offered us her car and her home to make our trip very convenient.

The highlights from our trip included getting all dressed up to see the Phantom of the Opera, eating fancy gourmet food, rocking out to the awesome Beatles show "Love" – Cirque De Solei, and for me, melting away with my relaxing spa day.

Though we had a great time, we definitely missed our sweet boy. I couldn't fight back the tears as the airport escalator revealed his precious smile when he saw us standing at the top. That kind of reunion was truly priceless. After tons of tears, hugs, and kisses, we all drove back to Grammy and Boppa's house in Jonesboro.

We packed all over again and all headed to Mountain Home, Arkansas to enjoy our family's little blessing – the lakehouse. We spent a whole week with all of the family swimming, playing, laughing and enjoying the beauty of God's creation. Carter got to ride in a boat and a jet ski for the first time. He didn't like it as much as he thought he would. Harley got to swim and was in absolute heaven. Will got to enjoy endless hours of Guitar Hero on the Wii, and I just enjoyed relaxing.

Though fun was had by all, we were all glad to be home. We want to especially thank Aunt Bets for all of her advice and hospitality, The Guerry family for mid-trip housing both there and back, and most of all Boppa and Grammy for caring for our precious son and dog for four days (and nights)so that we could enjoy some special time together. You all made our summer!