Month: September 2008

Finn is turning into one toothy fella! In the past week or so, several of his upper teeth have emerged–both his two front teeth and his two top incisors. I was so focused on waiting for them to appear that I totally missed the lower incisor that was coming in at the same time. Then when I caught a glimpse of his open maw (waiting for cereal and peas, no doubt), there it was, the Secret Tooth!
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!

Coming back from Seattle early yesterday was both great and awful. Great because I got to hightail it out of Seattle, with its accompanying bad mojo, and back to the lovin’ arms of my boys. Awful because in the melee of racing to the airport and getting to the gate to catch said earlier flight, I lost my cell phone and got pretty bummed about all the work chaos as I sat staring out the plane window.
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!)

Well, we’re officially declaring an end to Finn’s infant stage. He’s moved very comfortably into being a tot. What’s the difference? Well, according to our unscientific poll (respondents include me, John, and our babysitter, Carol), there are some significant achievements that catapult a baby into tot-hood. The biggies include rolling from front to back and back to front, deliberate reaching, grabbing, and object manipulation, laughing, eating baby food, having teeth (#3 just appeared yesterday!), sitting up, and the ability to self-entertain.
Another thing that we think marks totdom is the fact that we are able to communicate with Finn and he with us. No, we’re not discussing Nietzsche, but we are able to tell when he wants things, when he’s happy, tired, or working on some new skills. Speaking of which, John is helping him “walk” towards me right now!