The Tinmen Cometh. ๐

[Click for a larger view.]
Author: The Nack Daddy
American Birdman
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the Finnster and I like doing lots of crazy little duets based on my murdering of popular music. Recently we’ve turned The Guess Who’s “American Woman” into “American Birdman.” Now when I poke my head into his darkened room in the morning, I can say simply, “Do dee doo doo doo, dee doo!” And up from the crib comes a wavering little falsetto: “‘Mer-i-can Boo-man!” It’s pretty fantastic. Here’s a sample of our routine:
My pacifier goes “Reeka-Reeka-Reeka…”
Fair warning: This is one of those Videos Where Nothing Happens, but we find it kind of charming anyway. Henry is a real innovator when it comes to his pacifier, treating it like a sandwich. Behold the noisy, Nutcracker-tinged munching:
Sack of Potatoes
Grandpa Liggett gets in some good, impromptu weightlifting courtesy of one jubilant sack of potatoes:
Some new blogging mojo
Do not attempt to adjust your computer monitors! ๐
We’re making some adjustments to the appearance of the blog–formerly “Finnegan Wakes,” with the new official title to be determined; we want our man Henry to feel welcome, too! ย The new blog address is http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx in case you want to update your bookmarks, though we’ve set up an automatic forward from http://www.jnack.com/finnegan.ย ย It may take a little time for things to settle down, but hopefully you won’t run into any problems. ย If you have any trouble or see things that look wrong, please let us know.
Local Engineer Survives Monkey Attack!
To say that Grandma & Grandpa Liggett’s gifts of a Thomas the Tank Engine play hut and sock-monkey slippers are a hit is just a wee bit of an understatement. Finn now more or less insists on being addressed as/referring to himself as “Engineer,” and he wakes up talking about “Monkey shoe attack!” Check out a typical session:
Creepy Mousy II: Finnegan’s Revenge!
Perhaps you recall our little friend Creepy Mousy, teaser of all ticklish little locals. Well now the creepee has become the creeper! Check it out:
“AhBluhBluhBluhBluh!”
Dad-O’s gibberish + some background Bocelli = Christmasy good times on the play mat. ๐
We’ve had a ball this Christmas having Margot’s folks in town. We’re still busy chasing the lads & fighting the flu (as Finn would say, “Byyuck!”), so I’ll keep things brief for now. Here’s a little gallery (HTML). In it you can see the terrific Thomas the Tank Engine play hut & monkey slippers that Grandma & Grandpa Liggett got for the Finnster; some balls & “Luchador keys” from MrsW; and the righteous “SQRL POD” license plate Mom-O got for the bike trailer!
Ho Ho Henry
As I mentioned the other day, getting our little guys to sit still for a family Christmas photo has been no easy deal! Fortunately, however, Margot’s fellow Madre Veronica was able to catch the dudes at a peaceful moment:

(Here’s a larger version.) Many thanks, Veronica.
“No Eh-SCAH-pay, Goonie!”
Of Banking & Dentistry
We’re having big fun with Finno’s imagination these days:
- Lately he’s taken a shine to Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? At one point in the book, Farmer Alfalfa (a goat) deposits his money at the bank (run by a pig, naturally). Up in our bathroom last night, Finn spied some coins on top of the little dresser & started forcing them into a slot. “Finny goin’ to the bank!” he said. “Givin’ money to the pig!”
- Several months ago he accompanied Margot on a visit to her dentist, Dr. Vandi, where he was entertained by the kind Mrs. Vandi. In the basement today he spied a manilla office and said, “Dr. Vandi’s office!” From there we were off to the races, with Finn trucking back and forth: “Finny goin’ to see Dr. Vandi and Mrs. Vandi!” I’m pleased to report that Leo’s teeth got very clean. ๐ “Thank you Dr. Vandi!”
A little Yuletide oddity
Last year, Grandpa & Grandma Liggett gave us a great Advent calendar. It’s a large box containing numerous drawers, each containing a tiny ornament, a bit of story, and instructions to sing and/or a figure to the crèche. Finn’s really been enjoying the process this year, though he’s gotten a couple of wires crossed. This morning he was looking at a cast of Margot’s belly when it contained him:
“Mom-O tummy!” he declared.
“That’s right, Finny,” I said. “And who was in her tummy?”
“Baby!”
“Right–and who was the baby?”
“Goonie.”
“Uh-huh. And what other baby was in there?”
“Jesus!”
Oh my. ๐ We sorted out the confusion, and now Finn’s back to talking about how he went “POP!” out of the tummy. Meanwhile, no word on whether he’s connected the dots in determining that the same Mary who appears atop the Golden Dome in his Notre Dame picture book is the same one that appears in the Nativity scene.
We’ve been struggling to get a decent family photo that we can send around for Christmas. Our boys lull us into complacency, getting all dolled up & sitting cheerfully until the moment of truth. Then, wham, it’s been American Meltdown Theater.
Fortunately our photographer-friend Maria had the inspired idea of wrapping Finny in some Christmas tree lights during her brief visit. “Tree dude!! Binny the tree dude!!” he declared, and magic ensued (HTML) :-).
Maybe now we just need to wrap the G-Man in some strands (“Shrub dude,” perhaps?) and snap away.
Yep yep yep yep… DOHHHH!!
Many if not most days, Finny & I start the morning with some “leche-bud” (milk) and some cruising around YouTube. Old Sesame Street clips are a big favorite, especially the Martians who say “Yep yep yep, AH-ha, AH-ha!” We especially love how they freak out (“Feek out!!”) and hide behind their lower lips, saying “Dohhhh!” Today, playing off of this clip, we had a bit of fun with Finn as the wind:
Stick ’em up, Tickle Terrorists!

Yesterday our pal Maria and her friend Alex stopped by for a visit. Alex, being a friendly giant, reached out for a passing Finn & laid a few tickles on his tummy. Finn’s going through a rather shy period, so he didn’t know what to make of these advances. In the kitchen he remarked, “Dude… dude tickle!” He kind of froze up upon returning to the living room, unwilling to venture past Alex. The problem was solved when Alex and Maria agreed to hold their arms up (“Arms up up!”) and grant him safe passage. ๐ [Click the image for a larger version showing the circumspect Finn.]
Sunday in the Meedgit House with Boys
Ah, we’ve finally had a chance to take a few snapshots of our lads. In this little gallery (HTML), you can see our fellas…
- “enjoying” a new tub (sink),
- dumping “fruit” into Finn’s “Casa de Meedgit,”
- partying on the playmat,
- “sleeping” with Dad-O,
- reading Arthur Geisert’s great “Hogwash,”
- and hanging out with bulldozer driver/armpit denizen Tiny Monkey.
As the Finnster Turns

We’ve been a tad light on picture & video-taking lately, but there’ve been no end of little developments with our big(ger) guy. Random news from the Finn front:
- Language fun: Finn’s learning to conjugate verbs, adding “-ing” to the end of many (for example, “Finny achoo-ing!”). I’m especially fond of his onomatopoeia. He says, “Turn on the vaporizer. More ‘hwwwoo‘-ing!”
- In a similar vein, he’s learning to make things plural, adding “s” to the end. Unintentionally funny stuff often results as he lays it on a little thick–“Gobots-es,” “green beans-es,” etc.
- Birdman Sings The Hits: The little guy gleefully recites the bits of popular songs I sometimes warble to him. Current fun includes Usher’s “Yeah!” (Finny: “Yeah, yeah!… Rea-dy to go!”), Soundgarden’s “Spoonman” (“(S)’poonman… save me!”), Rick James’s “Cold Blooded” (“Dad-O cold blooded!”), and Fatboy Slim’s “Rockafella Skank” (“Funk soul brutha!!”).
- With a chill now in the air, our breath condenses visibly. Pointing to my mouth during yesterday’s AM garbage can run, Finn said, “(S)’moke! ‘Moke coming out!” He was a little too psyched out to try making his own.
- It seems that despite all our blogging, we’ve somehow neglected to talk about “The Meedgit House,” an innovation my dad used to apply to me–trapping a little kid by crossing one’s legs, then holding the kid prisoner while he delightedly tries to wriggle free. Finn took a shine to the idea right away, often trapping things in his own meedgit house (“Leo meedgit house! Squash!!”). Now Margot has added some Aztec flair, making “Meedgit Tacos.” The recipe consists of one (1) giant floor pillow and one (1) fast-moving lad. Delicious! ๐
- Speaking of Mexican chow, Finn greeted me last night saying, “Horchata, horchata!” He’s kind of a sweet rice milk junkie, so we trundled off to grab drinks & tacos. En route, we talked about different animals and the noises they make. “Who makes bubbles, Finny?” I asked. “Fish,” he replied, then added, “Goonie!”
“Ecce Ollie”: Behold the Owl-Buddy
The owl has landed!
Inspired by the great success we’ve had with Finn’s “lovie” Leo, Margot got Henry one of Leo’s stablemates, a little owl* we’ve dubbed Ollie. The friendly strigiforme is already well-slobbered, both by Henry & by Finn’s “(s)mooching.” Zipping Ollie into Mom-O’s jacket, then extracting him and saying, “Hi, owl-buddy!” is a particular hit.
Here’s a little gallery (HTML) in which you can see the goings-on, as well as Finn’s antics with raccoon-buddy Duke. Duke likes to say (in Finn’s words) “‘ow’sitgoing!,” then crawl down the big guy’s shirt. “Tummy full of Duke!!,” shouts the delighted boy. ๐
*Aesthetic/unhygienic bonus: Ollie is brown, the better to hide the disgusting impact of living in a lad’s mouth. We’ve learned from Leo!

