my sweet 7 year old

today is my sweet finn's 7th birthday!!

i look at him and can hardly believe it.
finn oliver gerber is no longer my baby, toddler or even preschooler.
he's a full on boy (as christi pointed out today).

i actually started this post last night so that it would be up early on finn's birthday,

but with 2 dozen cupcakes to bake and decorate for his classmates, i ran out of time.

now that the birthday boy and his little brother are in bed, i can finish this tribute post.

i'll start by sharing finn's prayer at the dinner table tonight.

he thanked God for the food, then thanked him for the best day EVER in his life

and then he told him he was 7 (because God doesn't know this already). *grin*

after his lovely little prayer, he told us all about his day at school.

he said he was SO happy when his classmates sang 'happy birthday' to him and presented

him with a posterboard like last year that had sentences about finn. (picture coming)

he said "i smiled like this the entire time" (showing us his biggest smile ever)

he went on to say "i wish my smile could have been even BIGGER... i was SO happy".

my heart went pitter patter when hearing this.

c told him that same good feeling he had today is exactly the feeling mommy and daddy have

about him ALL the time. he looked at christopher and then at me and said "really"? 

simultaneously we answered "yes". 

this seemed to resonate with him, and though he won't be able to fully understand a parents love

until he becomes a father someday, i think telling him this helped him get a *glimpse* of our love for him. even a glimpse is a good thing at his age.

i'll end this post by sharing 7 things i want to remember about our fabulous fair-haired finn:

1. finn is kind

he cares about others and will voice his concerns about children being left out,
the homeless man who might be hungry, or the teacher who is tired after a long day with all those kids. he's  learning empathy for others and it's so wonderful to watch.

2. finn has a sense of humor

he is a great story teller, impressionist and comedian.
he likes to be silly and makes others laugh. 
my old tennis coach assures us finn will be an actor someday.
who knows. one thing is clear, he has never been shy and though he
doesn't push to be the center of attention, he doesn't mind it.

3. finn loves to learn

he is passionate about it. he's enjoys school and wants to soak up everything he can.

he prefers watching nova science now over any other program.  

if something is of interest to him, he remembers it, repeats it often and shares with

anyone who will listen. he *loves* to share what's he learned with others. 

 

4. finn is a problem-solver

like grandpa joe and his daddy, he is the first to volunteer for a repair or a project that requires electronics, science or logic. i imagine him as a scientist or engineer someday.

5. finn loves to sing

he may not be naturally gifted, but our love of music seems to have rubbed off on him. finn sings in the car, shower/tub and sometimes while playing. spanish songs are his forte right now.

6. finn's favorite desert is ice cream

vanilla is his 1st choice, chocolate 2nd and strawberry or pistachio 3rd. (sprinkles are always a plus)

7. finn loves his little brother with all his heart

i heard him say this to scoutie this morning and i melted. these two little boys are the best of friends.
finn is the first person scoutie calls to in the morning when he wakes and the last one he hugs before bed. finn often helps him get dressed before school, and if c or i haven't made it to the kitchen yet in the mornings, he will even pour scoutie a bowl of cereal. his lil' brother adores him - often often calls him "my finn". their love runs deep and my hope is they will boys remain close all their years.

coming alive

don't ask yourself what the world needs;
ask yourself what makes you come alive.
and then go and do that.
because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
- howard thurmanc


since receiving his dream gift from santa this past christmas,
finn spends almost every free minute he gets doing this:

what is this?

this is BUILDING and PROGRAMMING.

this is his PASSION right now.

he started with building the most basic lego mindstorm designs and he's quickly
worked his way from the gatorbot and shooterbot up to the humanoid. 

thanks to the generosity of auntie jen, he even has his own netbook
which allows him to log onto the lego website so he can pull up
various designs and replicate them.

now he's building his own creations and doing very simple programming.
he was so proud of himself this past weekend because he programmed his
lego design without any help from his daddy.

he was BEAMING!
(i swear this kid is my dad reincarnated) *grin*

finn comes alive when he is doing what he loves.
he doesn't know it, but watching him encourages me to follow my passions too.

finn (my almost 7 year old!)

read me a story

since i've been reading nonstop for the past few days days,
it seems appropriate to dedicate another post to reading.

i'm reading or rather devouring this book right now:

the help is a book i've been wanting to read for well over a year.
it came recommended by several girlfriends and even complete strangers.
they couldn't say enough good things about it, and a chapter into it, i could see why.

this book is beautifully written and is much more than a story about the black woman of
jackson, mississippi who are the 'help' to the white woman in the early 1960s.

the story is really about 3 extraordinary woman and how their determination change a town,
and the way woman of that time (caregivers, white employers, mothers, daughters) view each other.
i admit, this book has me laughing and crying  - ALOT. 

it has moved me so deeply that i want to to run out and buy a copy for all the woman in my life.
the help is truly a wonderful story - the best book i've read in a long time.

i've been feeling a bit guilty for having my nose in this book so much
so i was making an effort to read only after the boys went down at night.
then over the weekend, i thought about it more and convinced myself a
a little weekend day reading isn't going to hurt them any.
i think the boys need to see me reading for pure enjoyment.

i've been reading to them every night since they were about 6 months old,
and though it's important, at their ages this isn't enough.
if c and i want to encourage readers, we need to lead by example.
they need to see us reading.

finn knows the benefits of reading and when he heard me excitedly discussing my new
book club and this month's selection with christopher, he was happy to share that he
likes to read and what he learned in school about it.

now i know reading helps with vocabulary and gives us glimpses into other cultures and history,
but finn reminded me it keeps our minds active (unlike the boob tube) and it helps improve memory.

now that reason alone caught my attention.
i'm forever making lists because i can't remember anything!!

i'll end this post with a a little video clip of scoutie reading (memorizing) his current favorite book:
five little monkeys that was a gift from the utah gerbers and we must have read it 100x already.
he can't seem to get enough of this little book.

(coming - file was to large, need to do some editing)

gorgeous gardens

today i was supposed to be up at the crack of dawn to run the carlsbad half marathon,
but after being sick for 2.5 weeks, and finishing up my antibiotics today,
i didn't think it was wise to put my body through 13.1 miles.
it was a difficult decision, and one i didn't fully make until late last night.

i will be there next year and try to run it in my goal of 2:15.
heck, if i train really hard with my friend jeff, i might even be able to do under that?
he ran today and finished at 1:52 - an excellent time and under his goal! *cheer*

several other friends, including my coworker and sis ran too.
i'm so proud of all of them and so wish i could have been along side 'em.

since i didn't have to be at a race at 6:30am and the boys now entertain themselves
in their 'invention room', c and i slept in a little bit (just an hour but i'll take it!)
for breakfast, finn helped me bake muffins and afterwards, we all tidied up the house,

and headed to the san diego botanical gardens for a few hours.

it was a gorgeous sunny day and with scoutie as our navigator (he LOVES maps),
we hiked all over the grounds, and spent a good amount of time in the treehouse
in the children's garden area. this is always the highlight of the trip for the boys.

i had my camera around my neck the entire time snapping away.
since getting a new lens, i am motivated more than ever to take photos!
the quality of my pictures are so much better than what i could get with my old 'kit' lens.
it's like opening little presents when i get home to view them. 

here are a handful from our day out.



getting close to nap time





new year resolutions

finn brought this home from school last week.

i read these carefully, and then sat down with finn and asked him about a few.
and here are his momma's thoughts:

1. i was a little concerned at first but finn was frank with me telling me he
sometimes peeks at his neighbor's paper in class. he tries really hard not to.

2. a work in progress this one...

3. every car should have a solar panel?!  wow - i think he may have a future
working at toyota. *grin*.  this is right in line with him asking me if i knew how
many trees it takes to produce enough oxygen for one human.
(i can't remember what he told me, but if you are interested, finn will be happy to tell you)

4. ALIENS???  i really do love this kid. *grin*

5. after visiting our friend who lives on a boat, finn has asked me several times if I'd consider it.
um, NO. after living in a 1,000 SF cottage with 1 bathroom for 7 years, i think it's fair to tell him
it ain't happenin'.  there's no harm in him dreaming about it.

i too made resolutions (just 3), but mine aren't going up on my blog.
per the helpful tips i previously posted,
i did take share them with a dear friend who has promised to
check in with me regularly to make sure i'm on track.

so far so good but it's early yet...

pretty porches

one of my dreams is to live in a home that has a front porch.
i'm not talking about a tiny landing - oh no.
the one i'm envisioning would be an extension of my house - an outdoor room.

i have a particular fondness for 'cottage' style homes and their front porches,
but i think i'd be happy with any kind of outdoor room really.

maybe it's the southern girl in me but, i think every home should have a front porch.
they just represent GOOD things to me - fresh air, good conversation, friendly neighbors,
cool drinks, and just relaxing.

someday i hope to be able to enjoy a front porch like one of these pretties...

a science party

if you know my firstborn, you know he has a real obsession with science.
it's not an overstatement by any stretch. his teacher mentioned it in our recent
parent/teacher conference and said she noticed it in kindergarten last year.
it actually started a year before that.

i asked if it was a 'problem' and she said absolutely not.
just that it was rare for her to see so much passion in someone so young.
she's been teaching 17 years

finn will be the first to tell you he has (3) passions: science, robotics and space.

since we had a rocket party his his 4th birthday and a robot party for his 6th,
i wasn't surprised when he asked for a 'science' themed birthday party for
his upcoming 7th bday. this is truly the perfect theme for our finney.
the only problem? i wasn't sure where to start.

since i'm not nearly the science enthusiast finn is,
i turned to other half - christopher.
he likes science and can relate to finn much more in this world.
he suggested a 'Mad Science' party and finn (and i) were thrilled!

since i was home sick and not able to do much more than simply lay around,
i spent a little time surfing the internet for 'mad science' party ideas. 
it's not the most popular theme, but i was able to get a few.
it's always a treat to find a blogger (mom or other) who will share their ideas and
pictures so freely with the world. they provide so many great ideas and inspiration.

i found this adorable 'brain cake' and had to share with finn.
who'd of thought a brain cake could look tasty? *grin*
finn said it was "cool" but also said a cake that had a wide botton and a skinny long top
would be cool too. i think he was referring to a beaker shaped cake.
i shared the brain cake pix and finn's comments with with cakemaster christopher.

i'm anxious to see what he comes up with...

the party is scheduled for sunday, january 30th.
finn can hardly wait - he is SO excited!
next to christmas, im not sure if there's anything more exciting than a birthday.
i admit, i'm a little excited too.

a taste of summer...

i've been sick with a horrible flu bug for the past week and today was the first day
that i actually had the energy to do something other than lay around.

the santa anas swept into san diego this weekend and gave us summer-like
weather which was a perfect way to welcome my body back to the land of the living.

sundays are officially 'Family Days.' c and i decided a few years ago that it was important
to designate one day out of the week to spend the majority of the day together. it doesn't
always happen, but we really try to make it a priority.

because christopher has had to be mr. dad and mr. mom so much over the past week,
he needed some time for him, so i encouraged him to sneak away to enjoy a little tennis early
in the day while i caught up on some housework.

the sunshine was calling us all in a BIG way, and by 10am, i had my beach bag and camera
in the back of the car, and the boys and i were lathered up in sunscreen heading to law street
(a popular family meeting spot in pacific beach) to enjoy a few hours of sunshine.

as always, we ran into several families from the neighborhood which was great.
christopher met up with us shortly after with lunch from rubios in hand!
i would have had two fish tacos to eat, but a pigeon flew off with one (wrapper and all)
as i left my food unattended for a few minutes. those darn pigeons.
a few years back, i actually had one take a burrito right out of my hand!

being sick has really made me stop and be thankful for good health.
and really, what is more precious than our health?
without it, it's harder to enjoy life in the way we can when we are healthy.
like alot of people, i took it for granted, but this past week has reminded me not to.

i left the beach feeling rejuvenated after getting much needed fresh air and some
quality time with the boys. we all left with smiles on our faces and slightly pink cheeks. *grin*

happy birthday ander

today my sweet little nephew turns 2!
sending LOTS of hugs from san diego.
auntie a and the boys

baby it's cold outside

before spring arrives, i figured i'd better post about the boys' utah trip.
since i wasn't actually on this trip, i don't have personal details to share,
so i asked the boys to tell me about their trip. here's what they said:

finn: we drove to utah in the middle of the night and we didn't get a flat tire or anything
(i sensed a little sadness in his voice about not getting a flat tire.
they had one on a past roadtrip to utah and finn LOVED it.
it was one of the highlights of his trip. seriously!)

scout: i saw where dinosaurs lived back when they were on earth
(c tells me they did drive by a dinosaur park somewhere in utah and he pointed it out to the boys)

finn: we went to the cabin and we went sledding, snowmobiling and we swam in the jacuzzi in the cabin.

scout: i was standing by that cabin and snow fell off the roof on my head.  i didn't like it.
(this indeed happened) *grin*

scout: when i was sledding, i went under a truck
(this too happened. i asked c about this one and he admitted it)
there were cars parked at the bottom of the driveway where the kids
were sledding down and scout sled did go under a car that had a high wheel base. 
luckily he was wearing a helmet and there were no injuries.

finn and scout: we played alot with maya and isaac. they have great toys. 

finn: one day we went to a jump castle place. it was awesome! 

scout: it was REALLY cold!

so there it is - a summary of the boys' utah trip from my children.
and since posts aren't complete without photos, here are a few to help bring their words to life.

did you notice the duct tape around the boys' jacket and pant cuffs?

this is something christopher and trevor started doing a few years back to keep

the snow from getting onto the boys clothes/skin. BRILLIANT!



playing photographer (again)

the last time i photographed my niece maddy, she mentioned she would love
me to take photos of her and her girlfriends. of course i was up for that challenge!

over the christmas break, i grabbed my camera and my new lens
(a christmas gift from my sweet hubby) and loaded up the volvo
stationwagon with 4 always singing sixteen year old girls.
we headed to the cabrillo national monument for a fun photo session.

here are just a few photos from the literally HUNDREDS i took of the girls:

my models for the day
(from left): abby, amber, bella and maddy rae

reading for me

a good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. 
you live several lives while reading it. 
~william styron

some people are surprised to learn i LOVE to read.
maybe it's because i'm social and not the traditional bookworm,
but don't let me fool you.
i can be a complete bookworm if given the opportunity. *grin*
with a full time job and family, i just don't have that many opportunities.

on occasion i do get the chance to bury myself deep into a book.
long flights are perfect for this, now that the boy can entertain themselves.
when the family is gone is another time i can indulge in guilt-free reading.
most recently was when the boys were away in utah over christmas week,
(that reminds me, i still need to post pixs of the boys' utah trip - stay tuned)

one of my new year's resolutions is to set aside time for ME in 2011.
i'm a strong believer that in order to take care of others,
we must take care of ourselves.
so setting aside time to to do something i enjoy, like reading,
is something i've chosen to do for me.

to keep the momentum going, i decided to join a serious book club.
these ladies had been asking me to join for over 6 months,
but with the home sell and the move, the timing wasn't good.
now things have settled down and i was able to commit.

i am so EXCITED about this book club!
these ladies are voracious readers and set up a very organized club.
they meet once a month for dinner and at this time, we vote on the next
month's book selection which is from a different genre.
this ensures our reading material stays fresh.

each member also brings at least one discussion question which
means there will be lots of dialogue. this is exactly what i needed!

our group's first meeting for the New Year will be this coming wednesday,
and this book is our club's january selection.

i've been reading it for 4 days now and am very close to being done.

being sick and planted on the couch has one advantage...

it's allowed me lots of time to just sit and read.

i can hardly wait to meet with the girls and discuss this book.

and that 'other' book club that i joined over 6 years ago?
i'm still part of it. this group isn't as structured and we have evolved
more or less into a 'breakfast club' over the years. we spend our morning
meetings drinking coffee, eating, swapping books, and catching up on each other's lives.
less formal but certainly not less important. *wink*

she says "YES"

look at the face on this very happy woman (and man)!!
this a newly ENGAGED christi maclaggan, our previous nanny,
her long term boyfriend, tyler harris. aren't they such a cute couple?!
i thought so too *wink*

i received a text from christi on december 27th sharing the big news.
i knew these two would eventually tie the knot,
but i wasn't sure when tyler would pop the question.
the news from christi was a happy surprise!

christi and tyler will tie the knot this fall,
and the location has yet to be determined.
christi would love to marry in hawaii, but she is considering portland,
which will be their new hometown when tyler starts a job there this fall.

another option is san diego, in a church her parents and grandparents married.
the church is actually in point loma, the community we live in now.
how cute is that.  (i love that traditional stuff)
wherever it is, the gerber clan is looking forward to it.

christi - have fun with all the wedding preparations
and congratulations (again) to you and ty!

sending hugs
me and the boys

out with the old, and in with the new

happy new year friends and family!
i can't believe it's a 2011 already.
i say it every year, but where did the last 12 month go?

i've been spending the first day of 2011 recovering from an 11 mile run yesterday (so sore)
taking down our christmas tree and holiday decorations and getting our home back in order.
as much as i love the holidays, it always feels good to take everything down and
pack away neatly for next year. i feel like i can now officially start the new year.

after cleaning all morning and waking from a very long nap,
i did a little reminising as i looked back at my 2010 blog posts.
my little blog has been such an easy way for me to capture bits and pieces of 'my life with boys'.
i never thought i'd actually keep it up so long and how much i actually enjoy it.
blogging more than anything for me, has helped me to slow down and reflect more.
i am so glad i've continued to keep it up and i would venture to guess
the grandmothers are also enjoying it too.  

2010 brought lots of changes and adventures for me and our family. 
some highlights:

- selling our pb beach cottage (and getting what we wanted for it)
- moving to a new community (point loma)
- scoutie starting preschool at the rock
- celebrating my BIG bday in mexico with the boys and my mom
- a girlfriend weekend getaway in the desert
- lots of visitors to san diego: my niece lindsey, christi, grammy(s), and cousins
- i became a new auntie to nephew, jayden shappard
- i became an 'adopted' auntie to several of my girlfriends babies
- a trip to florida to visit with loved ones
- c and i had our first REAL getaway together (D.R.)

fortunately, one thing did not change,
c and i are still employed with our same companies.
we feel fortunate for this.

with the start of a new year, new year resolutions have been on my mind all week.
since i was a teenager, i've always made resolutions.
though i don't always keep all the ones i make,
i do manage to keep a few of them.

it's taken me forever to figure this out,
but i've learned my chances are better
if i keep my resolution list small - focusing on the MOST important/meaningful things.
this year my list is really short - just 3 resolutions! 

i did some on-line research to find tips on how to keep new year's resolutions because
let's be honest, we can ALL use the help in this department right?!
i really liked these :

1. be specific about your goals
2. come up with baby steps
3. be accountable
4. a slipup is not the end
5. give yourself positive reinforcements
6. don't get complacent


if you are making new year's resolutions like me,
i wish you success in the year ahead.

last night we attended a fabulous kid-friendly new year's eve party hosted by my coworker.
here's my firstborn toasting to a new year (even before east coast time)
little brother is always glued to big brother's side.

a happy finn (and slightly anxious scoutie)
bringing in 2011

finn and lucas toast to a new year

2011 is going to be a GREAT year - i just feel it!

can't you? *wink*