First Smiles on October 19th! and October Festivus (Octoberfest built for new mamas and babies without so much the party but with so much the October!)

Smiles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And why are they so hard to photograph? My timing was terrible, but here's a preview of what you'll see when Finley Wheat gives you a grin.

 Finley digs the sling! We spent the whole day doctoring for me yesterday and he was such a good boy. Just calm and cool and collected in his sling. We both feel safe when he's in there I guess and I can smell his little head and kiss him as much as I want. I am cleared to go back to work by the midwives. I do have a strange lump with giant bruise on my upper thigh and so I had to go to the hospital for an ultra sound just to check it out. Nothing scary showed up though. The day took so long because at the clinic some poor guy passed out in the lab and I had to wait for him to be off the floor before my own blood could get drawn. He looked really embarrassed. Then at the hospital I had to wait in this special room with a special bat phone for a call from my midwife and the radiologist to discuss my results (which we all presumed would be blessedly dull). I waited and waited. Turns out the radiologist had been side tracked by a cancer center patient who needed to be seen immediately. So, though my day was long and full of waiting around I'm glad not to be the passed out guy and also any time I get bumped by someone needing urgent attention from the cancer center I will just focus on how great it is that my own problems are so un-urgent. Also I'm no longer anemic! Yay!

 We bought a crib for FW at Ikea. He's using it a bit for naps. Ingrit and Finn are sharing a room eventually. He's still sleeping with me for the most part. He starts out his nights in his bassinet from about 9ish until 12ish. Last night he slept in the bassinet again from 12:40-3:40. Yay, Finley!! I love sleeping cuddled up next to him, but he makes these little puppy sounds all night and they keep me awake even when he's sleeping soundly.

 This beautiful fall has found us geocaching at local parks and even a cemetery.

 Another beautiful October day saw Ingrit and Daddy on the closed beach after a morning of geocaching. They barley got their feet wet, but note that it's the middle of October!

 Como Zoo.

 Finley is getting SO BIG! He's in 3-6 months clothes and with his fluffy cloth diaper bum, they're tight in the seat sometimes.

 I actually finished this crochet project! Wow, my first thing that isn't a dish cloth that I actually finished! It's a sweater for Finn. I went to an attachment parenting knitting group last week and while enjoying a yummy wheat beer I got inspired to complete this. I started another project too, a watermelon top and hat for the Ingers. She picked it out and now every day she says she wants to wear the "watermelon suit a Ingers!" Guess I better get going on that.

 And here's the biggest anouncement of all....Finley is SMILING!! He started smiling huge toothy (if he had teeth) grins for reals on Tuesday night when I was changing his diaper. That's such a great time for baby and mama. I can't believe how adorable his smile is. I took these trying to get a good smile photo on Wednesday out at my folks. The kids and I brought homemade soup out to GG Harold and spent the day entertaining him. Okay, by entertaining I probably mean interrupting his naps, but he did seem to enjoy our company. Mimi is in Norway with Auntie Kathy and Grampie was working, but we saw him briefly when he got home from work.