When I was a very little kid (3-5, let’s say), I overheard my mom talking on the phone about how a nice older lady named Kay had gotten bumped in a fender-bender. At some point later (in mixed company, I’m guessing), I loudly announced, “KAY GOT BOMBED!” (that is, drunk). For years this poor innocent lady was then known as “Kay-got-bombed.”
I mention this because on Saturday, as I was giving Finn his morning milk on my lap, his overnight diaper leaked through onto my shorts. Getting up and seeing the spot, he said, “Dad-O peed!!” I protested that noooo Dad-O didn’t pee, but my & Margot’s laughter sealed the deal: Every time he’s repeat his claim, we’d laugh, and now it’s become established fact that, yep, Dad-O peed & had to change into the space monkey shorts.
It may take a while, but what goes around does, in fact, eventually come around. 🙂
Author: The Nack Daddy
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Henry’s Big Five-Oh
Okay, I know it’s a totally invented milestone, but our littlest guy has officially done a “half century” in terms of days on earth. In recognition, here’s a little gallery (HTML) of the two boys this past weekend. The bats are gifts from our baseball-loving pal Ginna. (Thanks again, Ginna!) The Cheerios holding them in place are functioning as chocks. 🙂
Recently Finn got a ringside seat to Henry’s bath, and another day his little friend Esther Williams–er, Anja!–popped into the tub with him for some spontaneous bathing fun. Here’s a micro gallery (HTML) of the aqueous stylings.
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Two-Fisted Finno
Our self-proclaimed Big Guy doesn’t have time to screw around using just one sippy cup at a time. 🙂 (Here’s a larger version.)
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Playpen Shows
Henry is starting to develop in earnest, offering up some new non-cry squeaks & even favoring us with a few proto-smiles! Just as Finny had his “invisible shows,” the G-Man is starting to stare with rapt attention. In this tiny gallery (HTML) you can see him contemplating (and spazzing out to!) one of those simple black-and-white picture books. Margot reports that he got mad today when she turned the page. Hey, don’t mess with a man’s literature!
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Hughes News (aka “Mrs. Double-*U*!!”
Our pal Eileen Whitson, better known around here as “MrsW,” reported recently that she learned of her son Bryan’s toe-breaking via Finn (“Hoot! Doh-Mahn! Crack! Bro-kun! Gato. Dumpling”). “I think getting the news from Finn,” she says, “may be even hipper than getting the news from Jon Stewart.” Hah–that’s some high praise indeed!
Here’s Finn talking excitedly of Mrs. W. coming to visit, followed by a version of his toe story (with an intermission for “Broken Ham”):
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Math, plus jokes
Finn has lately taken a big shine to identifying pairs of things. For example, he’ll point at one faucet, then another, and say “Two faucet!” Charmingly, on the way back from dropping off my folks at the airport, he volunteered, “Grampa Nack… Grampa LEE-gett… Two grampa!” And as noted at right, Finn thinks that he & Henry are both “(H)appy kid.”
He’s also started saying deliberately crazy things for the sake of getting a laugh. After he tried to orally decapitate an apple the other day, we told him not to eat the stem. “Eat the stem, eat the stem!!” he shouted, and we’ve made it a little game: “Should Hoot eat the stem?” “Nooo!” (big smile) “Should *Milos* eat the stem?” “Nooo!””
Even better, while sitting on the dipetorium the other day, he grabbed the little safety buckle and announced “Buckle poopy!” The buckle is, mind you, one of the few things that hasn’t actually gotten poopy while up there (unlike Leo, Finn’s hammer, his hands, etc…). I was kind of shocked. “Did the buckle get poopy?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Nooo!” he replied, breaking into a mischievous smile. As you’d guess, our lives now involve hearing many claims about innocent things getting poopy.
And on that note, hats off to our boy for officially discovering that adding the suffix “poopy” makes just about anything funnier. May this knowledge serve you well for years to come, son. 🙂
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“Only Binny”
The Finnfatha & I had a ball visiting multiple parks multiple times with the Nack GP’s. Look for photos soon; in the meantime, here’s some quality three-generational swinging action:
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Surprise Lap!
As mentioned the other day, Finny took a real shine to Grandma’s “Surprise Lap” routine, and we frequently hear him running around singing the little tune. Here’s our pair in action:
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The “Goonie” Nomenclature
Yes yes, we know: Not everyone (anyone?) besides Margot, Finn, & me is a fan of calling Henry “Goonie.” My dad pointed this out on the way to the airport this morning.
“People will think he’s… special,” he opined.
“You know, Dad,” I replied, “as far as that goes, we feel about the same as you do about memorizing wine details: we just don’t care.”
Moments later we pulled up at the curb behind a minivan full of scruffy characters, including a middle-aged guy sporting a tank top & a raft of tattoos.
“Oh, since you guys are early, Dad, you could hang out with that guy,” I suggested. “Y’know, maybe get some ink done–get sleeved.”
“Oh yeah,” my dad shot back, “and you know what that guy’s name is? Goonie.”
Well played, sir; well played. 🙂
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Backyard Fun with the Nack Jeeps
The gazebo has been getting a good workout, hosting my folks and their books plus various visits from Finn. Grandma Nack blew Finn’s mind with her “Surprise Lap” routine, humming a jaunty little Irish lullaby, then “dropping” him at the end (as he yells “Dump!!”). Now we hear him waking up in his crib, singing & saying “GrammaNACK!” Here’s a little gallery (HTML).
Off to grab a waking-up Finnster,
J.
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Finnster, American Hambone
We’re having a ball with my folks being in town–cruising in a wagon, swinging, riding the slide (“Kindasteep!”) backwards & forwards, reading Mother Goose (“GeogiePogie!”), and more–and of course the Papa-razzo is snapping away. I haven’t had much time to select photos to share, though, so in the meantime here’s just a fun little sequence of Finny hamming it up:
(Here’s a larger version.)
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“More Domendite!”
We’ve mentioned our weird family version of This Little Piggy, but it’s never before been committed to film. 🙂 In this clip you can see Grandma Nack cracking Finn up, earning unending calls for “More Domendite!”
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Bathtime for the G-Man
Tonight Margot and I gave Henry (aka Goonie, aka the G-Man) a bath, and while it wasn’t his first, this time I was able to grab my camera. Check out the photos (HTML) of our littlest guy doing the backstroke.
For a fun comparison, here’s Finny’s first bath (and, what the heck, a later one, too). Seeing those pics & realizing they were taken less than 18 months ago (!) really drives home the truth in all those cliches about “they grow up so fast.”
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“Eine kleine DomenMoogeek”
Great moments in human development:
- In 2001: A Space Odyssey, primitive man discovers how to use bones as tools.
- In 2009, young Finn discovers how to use Dad’s toes as levers for operating Henry’s little swingy chair.
Our young man is very directive these days. He’ll walk right up to my shoe saying “Do-MAHN, Do-MAHN,” and begin untying it, even if I’m in the middle of push-ups. Once he’s exposed my foot, he’ll grab a toe and begin trying to drag it up to switch on the swing’s music (“Moo-geek!”), grunting with effort and satisfaction. I find it all hilarious enough to indulge, at least for the time being.
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A visit from the Jeeps
We’re having a great time introducing Henry to his Liggett grandparents (GP’s–hence “Jeeps”), so we’ve been a bit lighter on the blogging. Finn delights in showing grandpa around our usual haunts–e.g. dragging him to the “antenna truck,” jumping to him from our neighbor’s porch, and playing around in the pool. While I’ve got a moment before he gets up, here’s a gallery (HTML) of the proceedings.
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Homecoming Party
Hoot! Tom! Milos!–not to mention Alex! Sarah! and Harper!–gathered at our house last Saturday for an impromptu homecoming celebration just after we arrived from the hospital. It was so nice to introduce Henry to our pals, and to have them help us raise a toast to the newest Nack. (Even Finn got in on that action via some sparkling apple juice. Note, however, that carbonated juice + sippy cup = Molotov kiddie cocktail. We learned the hard way!)
Here are some photos (HTML) from the little shindig. Thanks to Tom & Hughes for contributing some great camerawork.
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Regression session?
Finno gets a real kick out of saying “BUCKet!” with regard to little-kid car seats. He’s often talking about our little neighbor Maddie and her seat (“Money! Bucket!”), and now he gets to see Henry occupy his old bucket.
We’re told that older kids sometimes regress developmentally when a new baby arrives. Finn has done nothing of the sort (in fact, just this week he decided to shift gears & move to one nap per day), but we got a kick out of him trying to stuff himself into Henry’s seat (“Goonie! BUCKet!”). As you can see (HTML), he likes to rock out. Maybe he’s pining for his lost youth… If this is the worst regression we have to deal with, we’ll count ourselves very luck. 🙂
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Hoot! Tom! Milos!
As we may have mentioned, Finn is *way* into hanging around with other guys, and he’s particularly fascinated with our friends Tom, Hughes (“Hoot”), and Hughes’s 4-month-old son Miles (nicknamed “Milos” & pronounced “Mee-loash”). He periodically likes to go on little riffs, calling out each one’s name:
Meanwhile, the corresponding ladies (Bryan’s wife Alex, and Tom’s wife Sarah & baby daughter Harper) can’t even make a blip on Finn’s radar screen! That’ll all change in time, no doubt, but for now, it’s the Guy Show through and through.
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Homecoming Miscellany
I’m typing on the run while the lads nap, so I’ll be brief, but here’s a gallery (HTML) of the latest happenings at 983 Delmas. You can see…
- Henry, supine (as usual) and going for a first sling-ride with us
- Finny & Mom enjoying some popcorn while watching a Muppet clip on YouTube
- Finn regarding Henry with a touch of skepticism. 🙂