Our sweet Finley Elaine made her debut on December 12th 2016 after 32 hours of labor, a Cowboys loss and an unplanned c section. She was just so cozy and wanted to make sure we knew what a sacrifice she was making by leaving her comfy home of 9 months. Finley was born at 21 1/8 inches (dad was rounding up to 21.2in.) and 8 lbs. She has been making waves and showing off her strong, stubborn, feisty and adorable personality ever since. I think it’s safe to say she already has the entire Hill/Pierson clan wrapped around her little finger.
1 Month (January)
During Finn’s first month of life, she’s visited 5 breweries, two states and celebrated her first Christmas. She left the hospital at 7.5 lbs. and by the time we went back for her 2-week appointment, she’d gained it all back. You could say she takes after her parents with her love for eating. Unfortunately, she had a case of thrush and had to use mouthwash 4 times a day – Dr. Lewis said she’d probably spit it out, which is completely fine. Not our girl; it was the best part of her day and she swallowed every drop. Reminds me of her grandpa
Pierson who will eat (and enjoy) just about anything… including medicine!
2 Months
By the time Finley celebrated her 2-month birthday, she was smiling like a total goofball, made a trip to the ER for RSV and started loving her play mat and hanging out on her changing pad. I’ve heard of the ‘wonder weeks’ and (so far) I wholeheartedly believe in them. She had a rough couple of days during grandpa Pierson’s visit – lots of smiles coupled with lots of screams. A couple days later, she was discovering her hands – opening and closing them – staring at her long little toes and following shadows on the walls. That was at 8 weeks – the week of patterns!
At her two-month checkup, Finley received an A+! She’s a healthy little creature. 10 lbs. 7 oz. (45%), 23 in. (75%) and Head circumference 39 cm (55%). She made it through her vaccinations like a champ.
It’s been fun to see her little personality shine through – she is so entertained by our smiling faces and voices. I think it’s safe to say, she’s made it through the ‘fussy newborn’ period. Now she just lets us know when she’s upset about something (hungry, dirty, sleepy or bored), and she doesn’t mince words J
3 Months
Most of Finley’s 3rd month was spent on the road. We travelled the country – Texas to California to Washington and back to Texas, with LOTS of states and adventures in between. I think everyone thought we were crazy. We were but in the best way. Hattie and Finley were the perfect girls and fellow adventurers. Finley has been to almost 40 breweries by this point and a dozen states. She got to meet her great grandmas and papa and the whole family. She is one loved little girl!
4 Months
By 4.5 months little Finn was a rolling machine. She would wake up in the middle of the night just to practice J I think she started rolling so soon because we stopped swaddling pretty early on. By 3 months, she was ripping out of the swaddle and still not sleeping. We decided to go cold turkey and just not deal with it anymore. The zipadee zip was our best friend and overnight she became the cutest sea lion you ever did see!
14 lbs. 4.5 oz. (65%), 26.25 in. (95%) and Head circumference 42.4 cm. (80%).
5 Months
Finley is starting to perfect her downward dog and rocking back and forth on all fours. She’ll be a moving machine before we know it. The day she decided she can roll over, we can’t leave her anywhere! She’s an active little bean. She laughs, smiles and engages more than ever now. She has discovered her best friend Hattie – oh the fun those two will have.
6 Months
Little Finn isn’t so little anymore… By 6.5 months, she was full on crawling. A week after that, pulling up on EVERYTHING. AND she has a tooth!! It feels like I woke up one morning and our baby was replaced by a little girl. We knew from day one she would be a force to reckon with and she is every bit as feisty, smart and amazing as we ever could have imagined. She is such a happy baby! She’ll speak her mind but for the most part such a joy to be around. The best part of being her mom is seeing what a light she already is. She has the ability to make absolutely everyone smile with one quick look – if she dares give them a coy smile, all barriers come crashing down.
7 Months
I’m not sure who is more excited about the introduction of Cheerios into Finn’s diet. Hattie or Finn? We’re still at the point that way more end up in Hattie’s mouth than Finley’s but all are having so much fun! We’ve yet to discover something Finn doesn’t want to eat… Guess she takes after mom and dad! She’s still figuring out textures and makes the sweetest, crinkly face when she tries avocado, eggs, or sweet potato chunks. Going out is getting a bit more difficult because instead of wiggling around on the table she wants to explore EVERYTHING! She still can’t sit still and loves getting to know new people and places.
17.2 lbs. (55%) 28 in. (95%) 44.4 cm head circumference (85%)
8 Months
Anna told me Finley is ‘hell on wheels’ when I dropped her off one day. She tells me daily that our little girl has a mind of her own and is a force to be reckoned with! If our 72-year-old babysitter who has watched dozens of babies is telling me we’ll have our hands full, my suspicions are confirmed. Finley Elaine has a mind of her own and she’s just 8 months old. Lord help us!
Just over 8 months old, Finley started putting herself to sleep and has had a handful of long, restful nights (5am wake-ups)
9 Months
Finley spent the first part of her 9th month on the farm. Mom and dad watched her for 9 days while I joined Ross in Hong Kong. It wasn’t easy on me but I know no one else suffered J Finley is definitely a farm girl at heart and loved all the animals. We all thought she may take her first step this month, but she isn’t in any hurry, and as my dad says, she has the perfect form in her crawling. Finley cut her top tooth which led to a few fussy days. Can’t believe what a big girl she is becoming. Her awareness of the world around her increases daily and she’s definitely becoming a mama’s girl which I can’t say I mind! Dada was her first word and Ross can take full credit for that. She sure loves her daddy and he’s been saying nothing but ‘dada’ to her since day one.
20.4 lbs. (75%) 29.25 in. (95%) 46.5 cm head circumference (88%)
10 Months
Finley has 4 teeth! She had a couple grumpy days and before we knew it, her second big front tooth was in. We’re still not sleeping great – she will have a great night, sleeping 8-9 hours and the next night be up twice screaming and just wanting to practice all of her new skills J Speaking of which, she’s started saying mama and sooooo close to taking her first step. A few of our favorite things to do include helping mom with her makeup, brushing our teeth and stealing Hattie’s bones. She has also perfected crawling up the stairs and we’re working on being a big girl when we crawl down. Can’t believe how grown up our little Finn is! She still has the wildest hair you’ve ever seen and a matching personality to boot.
11 Months
THE FINN IS WALKING!!! It took her a while to get her confidence up but basically right when she turned 10 months, she took her first few, wobbly steps. We couldn’t be prouder (and excited and terrified!). She has started eating more and more from our table and the sweet waiter at Café Brazil served her first pancake. I think she’s her daddy’s girl when it comes to her love for breakfast and Ross decided that Sunday mornings will include banana pancakes and the Beatles. Those two already have the sweetest relationship – there is no one Finley lights up more for than the daddy.
Anna told me ‘I don’t know what you and your husband created with this one’ hahaha!
12 Months
We made it! Finley Elaine has brought so much joy to our lives. She loves her puppy more than just about anything, she is a master stair climber, she loves doing the dishes and helping with just about every household task. She started to sleep through the night right around Thanksgiving. We were finally in one place long enough to get her on a routine and let her cry a bit when we put her down. Didn’t take long for her to figure it out and she’s been a champ ever since. Finley officially hit 70 unique breweries and went on 15+ flights by her 1st birthday. She is the most adaptable, sweet, independent, social baby you ever did see. We can’t wait for what the next year has in store.
13 Months
Finley is the best helper around. She does dishes, she helps put my shoes on and she LOVES to feed and walk Hattie. It is amazing the light bulb that went off at one year. She understands everything. It makes me realize how much she absorbed that first year of life. She is practically running and loves to wear her Nikes and big girl pull-over sweatshirt. For her birthday Grandma D and Granddaddy gave her a gift card to Toys R Us – Finley picked out a mop and broom set!
14 Months
Finley was back on the farm while mom and dad had a little weekend away in Whitefish, MT. Finley also became a future big sister during her 14th month! Boy does this girl love the farm. It’s been so fun to watch her become more and more aware of the animals. By the end of this trip, she was giving Pal kisses left and right!
15 Months
Finley is so curious about the world around her. One of her favorite past times is watching the airplanes go by. Ever since we moved into the condo, she has been so intrigued. She loves all animals – squirrels, birds, and don’t even get me started on how she feels about Hattie. OBSESSED. We had a trip to California where she got to spend lots of time exploring Cambria with Grandma D and Grandaddy and the whole crew. Grandma gave her her first FULL SCOOP of strawberry ice cream. That’s what grandmas are for, right?! We went to the DMA when she was just over 15.5 months old and I swear she was more into the art and artifacts than any adult. Pointing at and talking about everything; our little learner! After visiting aunt Jordan and uncle Chris’, Finley learned how to open doors.. she hasn’t quite figured out knobs but has our French doors mastered. Eek! Right about 15 months is when bedtime became fun! She knows the drill – I tell it’s time for bath and she climbs the stairs, helps start the tub, gets undressed (i.e. I undress her.. we’re not quite that advanced!), helps put her diaper in the pail and laundry away and in the tub she goes. She has it down pat! Still giving her a couple ounces in her nighttime bottle during story time… not looking forward to giving that one up!
