Month: March 2009

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Photos

Grandpa vs. Dr. Chaos!

This morning we bid adieu to the GPs L as they headed back to Oklahoma. Before doing so, though, we squeezed in plenty of good times. Finno rampaged around and got himself willingly ensnared, flipped, and tossed by Grandpa, much to everyone’s delight.
We also found time for some quieter book-reading, walks, and more. Margot’s folks even brought out “Karen,” the baby doll from her childhood. (Finn is fascinated with trying to make the eyes shut–something he then tries on the rest of us!) Check out the latest gallery (HTML) to see the goings-on.

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Photos Videos

Geepity Good Times

Finny’s Liggett Grandparents arrived on Wednesday to spend a week with their youngest grandchild. Finn instantly warmed up to both Grandma and Grandpa, and has been having some high times (literally!) the past few days. Since John was in Boston for a Photoshop show this week, it was good timing for me–extra hands and extra entertainment for the little guy.
Finn has become Grandpa’s little shadow, always making sure that he knows exactly where Grandpa is, so he can be sure to get in lots of good lap time, cuddles, and horseplay. In fact, Grandma and Mom have taken a bit of a back seat to the dudes! Happily, Grandma has gotten in some good storybook reading and lap time, too. Here is a tiny gallery (HTML) of recent adventures.
And here is a little clip of the aforementioned “high times” with Grandpa:


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Videos

Stunt Buddy Leo

Daddy with the cam, Mama with the *SLAM*! Little Finn gets bounced around the couch (much to his evident delight) together with his wee wingman Leo. 🙂

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Miscellaneous

Molar Mania!

We know Finn has been teething like mad lately, and the big ol’ molar bumps under his gums are hard to miss. This morning while we were playing, I got a look into Finny’s upside-down, wide-open maw, and saw that he’s got 2 new molars emerging–one on either side of his upper jaw. You can just see the white pointy parts above the gums.
Whew–no wonder he was having trouble napping, and eating, and was just generally fussy there for awhile. Those chompers are BIG! The ones on his lower jaw are getting ready to make their move, and I expect we’ll be seeing them pretty soon. I’m sure Finn will be thrilled to be able to grind down tortilla chips and other crunchy stuff just like Mom and Dad!

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Photos

Cougar Party

Finn was lucky enough to score a VIP invite to an older woman’s birthday party this weekend…We thought perhaps a May-December romance was in the offing, but everything ended up purely platonic. That’s good, considering Anja, the birthday girl, is only two, and Finny is only half her age! (Anja attended Finny’s b’day party earlier in the month, and her dad Bruce offered the following commentary: “Two year-old at a one year-old’s party! Cougar’s on the prowl!”)

Here are some pics (HTML) from the party.

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Photos

“…At Alice’s Restaurant”

A couple of weeks ago (wow, time is starting to fly), our friends Bryan, Alex, and new little guy Miles joined Margot, me, and our Cheekmaster General at Alice’s Restaurant up in the nearby Santa Cruz mountains. Both dads had fun piloting the families up the endlessly twisting roads, and surprisingly the car seats remained refreshingly puke-free! 🙂 Finny enjoyed some high-speed “drive bys” from a couple of fetching doggies, after which he got down and did his best pawing dog impression. Here’s a little gallery (HTML) of the goings-on.

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Miscellaneous

AM Antics


Q. What’s a pretty tremendous way to start the day?
A. Feeling, for the first time, “El Segundo” kick!
Thanks to Finn’s baby monitor noisily trying to intercept moon transmissions or solar flares or something, Margot and I found ourselves awake before 5am today. Turns out we weren’t the only ones awake: “The Little Bitty Guy is really partying down there,” reported Margot. And sure enough, our friend met dad’s hand with a few solid jolts! Way to go, lad. We’re looking forward to meeting you. 🙂

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Photos St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Paddy’s!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! I’m late in getting a blog post up for the occasion, but I wanted to get a chance to document Finny wearin’ a bit of the green. Margot and I talked about finding him a little derby to wear, or at least grabbing a good stick outside to make into a small guy’s shillelagh, but the stars didn’t quite align on that front.
No matter, though: we snapped a few pix (HTML) of Finn sporting his new Irish-themed bib from Grandma Nack, accompanied by green-eyed Dad. He’s sure come a long way since last St. Pat’s, eh?

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Photos

Finnypark

The weather around these parts has been really fantastic lately, so we’ve been getting outside with Finn a lot this week. He’s really been enjoying his new wheels, watching airplanes fly overhead, barking and waving at passing dogs, and exploring all kinds of plants within reach. [He even put a little flower on the back of a friendly old kitty yesterday. –J.]
Today’s adventure was going to the big park about a mile from our house. We Bobbed our way over, and then set Finny loose in the various tunnels, climbing equipment, and bouncy rides. He had a great time, and John got some cute phone-pix of our man in action. Here’s the day’s gallery (HTML).

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Videos

Squirrel Trapping!

Oh, the Finnster can run, but he cannot escape Mom’s ever-lovin’ clutches! 😀

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Miscellaneous

Building character

Honestly we think our little guy is a very easy baby, all things considered, but when I saw this license plate holder at work, I had to laugh. Here’s a larger image.

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Videos

Fun with Pea Pea

You know, normally I wouldn’t call a bag full of Pea Pea “fun,” but I’m happy to be surprised. 🙂
A couple of days ago I got an unexpected treat from my colleague Chris Cox: he’d been at an art show in San Francisco, and he recognized the super-cute characters made by Conduct Happiness. He’d seen their work on my Adobe blog, and it turns out these guys got a lot traffic from my mention. To return the favor, they loaded up Chris with some great loot, including some stickers and a big stuffed pea-man we’ve dubbed “Mr. Pea Pea,” all earmarked for the Finnster. Thanks, guys!
Long story short, here’s our little guy learning to party with pea pea (plus a balloon). 😉

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Miscellaneous

Mr. Nack Wants a “Nack!”

Finno is working *so* hard on talking these days, and is making new sounds all the time. Yesterday he picked up “Neh” for “Neigh” when we were looking at pictures of horses, and we could’ve sworn tonight we heard him say “Leo” when we put him to bed with his little lion-blankie-buddy we call Leo.
Probably the most fun verbal development by far was when Finn walked into the kitchen today, looked at Carol, and said “Nack!” while gesturing towards his high chair. We took this to mean “snack”, since that’s where he sits to eat his goldfish crackers, “(ba)nanas”, and the like :-). The boy does love his “nacks”.
[The funny thing is that for years my friends have laughed when they search for my name in the company directory and get back the hours for the company snack bar. Now Finny is getting in on that action. 🙂 –J.]

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Photos

Sir Finnegan’s 12-Month Stats!

After two days of partying and coming to grips with the fact that our boy is indeed 12 months old, I took Finn to the pediatrician today for his 1-year check-up and vaccinations.
The stats: 26 lbs. 7 oz., almost triple his birth weight! 31.5 inches tall, a gain of 10.5 over his length at birth. Head circumference of 40 cm., which doesn’t mean a lot to me other than that his head is growing right on track with the rest of him.
The fun stuff: Our doc is amazed at how early Finn started walking, and she was also quite shocked and pleased at his cognitive milestones. We were in the jungle-themed exam room, and Finny was “roooar”ing at the lion and “ooh ooh ooh”ing at the monkey decals on the walls. When I told the doc that he could follow simple instructions (Can Finny put Penguin in the wagon?), recognized a lot of words, and could even say a few, she was really excited. She thinks he’s ahead of the curve on the verbal stuff (I can’t say we’re too surprised, given the constant chatter and vocabulary showmanship between John and me). We sure are proud of our super-tot. I keep hoping that I’ll hear “Mama!” someday soon!
Here are a few more b’day photos (HTML)

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Milestones Photos

EXTRA, EXTRA, read all about it…


Margot and I are so happy to say that one Finnegan Liggett Nack, a.k.a. the Finnster, the Finnfather, Birdman General, Lord of the Delmas Manor & all around terrific kid, is officially one year old! Thanks to everyone who joined us for his b-day shindig yesterday. Without further ado, here are some photos (HTML).

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Photos

Coupe of Squirrel!

We think that an important part of hitting the 1-year mark is getting your own set of wheels. To that end, Finny’s Nack Grandparents bought him the all-time classic Cozy Coupe for his birthday. While Finn and Dad romped around in the yard, yours truly put the Coupe together…you’d be amazed at how many individual parts had to be snapped, screwed, and shoved together!

The car even came with some really nice decals for the dashboard, rearview mirror, and license plate. As I pulled out the sheet of decals, John chimed in “Do you want to do the stickers? I’m really good at stickers.” (Imagine this being delivered with the innocence and glee of a 6-year old boy.) He graciously allowed me to apply the stickers–by far the easiest part of the assembly!

Here are some photos (HTML) of our 4-wheeled adventures around the yard and driveway. We think Finn’s really going to enjoy his new ride!