Finn is very interested in practicing his walking, and he even has a little Radio Flyer wagon to balance against while he pushes it. He's getting so good he almost doesn't need one of us to steady him! When he got kind of pooped out the other day, I popped him in there with his little bear (who was also sporting a blue stripy shirt much like Finn's) and gave them a ride.

Of course the little guy works up a sweat (or at least gets his paws pretty dirty), so baths are essential. Now that Finn has migrated to the "big boy bathtub", we have our very own "Ballintubber Abbey," complete with stained glass window. (This of course makes a bathtime Finn our Ballintubber Abbot!).

Here are some pics from his recent adventures (HTML), both in and out of the tub.

Finn had his first bath in the real "big boy" bathtub this weekend, too. We thought he might be freaked by the vastness of the tub, but he absolutely loved it. There was lots of splashing, squealing, and even some pseudo-backstroking.

Today I went to the spa today with my friend Mira for a few hours of soaking, scrubbing, saunaing, and relaxing. It was great, and while we were away, Finn and John went to a place called Rancho San Antonio with Mira's husband Bruce and daughter Anja. It's popular for parents and kiddies (we call it a stroller derby) because you can stroll in the great outdoors at a working farm and see lots of different farm animals. John says there were lots of "big turkeys" wandering around the farm, and I'm pretty sure he means actual birds, not just middle-management Silicon Valley types. Sounds like the boys had a fun time. I came back from the spa with skin almost as soft as Finny's!

Today he took me on a little walking tour of the back yard, taking his first steps on grass. Finn is way into all things stringy/fringy/frilly these days, and the grass really threw him for a loop. First he stood on his left foot, pawing the grass inquisitively with his right, after which he switched sides and pawed with the left. Once he found his footing (literally), Finn took me on a culinary tour of all the backyard plants, attempting to snack on each one we passed.

Here's a little gallery (HTML) of the guy taken over the last few days. Seeing him nicely lit as he sat on the "Dipetorium," I exclaimed, "Finn, dude, you've gotta warn me if you're gonna be radiating that much cuteness. I've gotta have time to prepare!"

Our prime directive with FInny right now is to ensure that as much hilarity as possible ensues when we're all together. There is always a lot of singing, whistling, making funny noises, and other assorted shenanigans for our 26-inch tall audience. In the clip above, Finn was walking the line between tired-fussy and overstimulated-happy. I chose to err on the side of more stimulation and possible laughs, and what better place to start than the belly button?

All those choppers, even though they've not fully dropped into position, are really changing the look of our little guy's face. He looks more like a little boy and less like a little baby each day. We were out visiting with our neighbors this afternoon and our friend Karen absolutely could not resist doing the "Grandma cheek pinch" on our squirrel. Sorry Finno, but I think you're doomed to a lifetime of people coming at you with fingers ready to pinch that adorable face!

"I'll give you a tawpic: Coughy talk. It's neither truly coughing nor talking. Discuss."

I've been in a weird place today. I think I'm kind of grieving for all of the work I put into WaMu for the past 6 years, and my bad mood kind of rubbed off on Finn a little. I yelled at my new (sucky) cell phone and it really freaked him out. I apologized of course, cleared my head and showered him with cuddles, and we both moved on.

Finn's got some new toys, and right now his current fave is the little birdhouse and stuffed birdies that our pal Clare gave him. It's so cute--you can stick the little birds in through the roof, or through a door in the side, and the birdhouse is transparent so you can see the avian chums hanging out in there. Clare, who is an avid birder and vegetarian, may be slightly dismayed to know that Finn's really got a taste for fowl! All four of them have been introduced to his gaping maw. I think he likes the quail the best. (Sorry Clare! But really, if something ends up in his mouth, it means he LOVES it!)

A. Mom gets to come home early from Seattle!

Sorry for the mixed news. Finno and I had our first night flying Mom-free last night (Margot's first overnight trip away from her boys), and although he was a perfect gent who gave Dad no trouble, we're happy that Mom was able to book an early flight home.

To celebrate, here's a wee gallery (HTML) of great shots of the two of them together.

(Click for a larger version.)

The small man is bombing around the whole house these days, even venturing outside a couple of times. We love how he throws in little goose-steps, pirouettes, and Elvis-grade pelvic wiggles at completely bizarre moments. :-)

Here are a few other terms we've coined:

• Bug-Eyed Larry: What Finn becomes when moving from the brightly lit kitchen to his more dimly lit bedroom after bath time. His eyes become saucer-sized!
  
• Dipetorium: The changing table
  
• Eye-rubba: (or "I, Rubba") what a verrrry tired FInn does when he's ready to go down for a nap or down for the night
  
• Hooteling: Finn's happy sounds, in the crib, on the play mat, while in the stroller. A series of slightly falsetto hooting/cooing sounds
  
• Dr. Drey: As you know, we call Finn the Squirrel. A squirrel's nest (Finn's crib) is a drey. John's love of old-school rap morphed our Squirrel into Dr. Drey!
  
• Smear the Mirror: The game we play when Finn reaches for his reflection. [Time to invest in more Windex. --J.]
  

Heh--yeah, that pretty much sums it up. In the latest gallery (HTML) you can see the wee man cavorting with M&D, decked out for revolutionary fun in a rad "Power to the Babies" tee from our pal Whitney.