Apropos of nothing, here’s a shot of our water-loving lad at swim class a few weeks ago–the moment captured by a pro photographer under the surface:
We’re really looking forward to the opening of the neighborhood pool. Until then, we’re doing our best to encourage much bathtub kicking & splashing, and Dad & the Squirty Fish team up to hose down Finn’s little mug (much to his delight).
Hey, everyone–happy Easter!
Margot, the Finn-man, and & I journeyed south to Carmel on Sunday and had a ball with our friends the Whitsons (parents of Bryan Hughes), Bryan and his wife Alex & their wee son Miles, plus Bryan’s grandmother & Alex’s mom. Being so far away from most of our own families, it’s really special for us to feel so welcomed, and we couldn’t have had a nicer time.
Finno was an excellent traveller, and with the exception of a 1-hour screech-a-thon (i.e. what should have been his afternoon nap), he was his usual charming self throughout the proceedings (including Monday morning, as we stayed overnight). Highlights included:
The “Papa-razzi” (aka Dads with Cams) were out in force, so here’s a gallery (HTML) of the goings-on. Young Miles is well represented, making me think back to just how tiny Finn was at Easter last year. Bryan has been busy constructing a deck with his dad, but I look forward to seeing and sharing his photos from the day soon.
As Margot is in Seattle right now, maybe Finn and I can christen the bubble-blowing kit from his Easter basket this afternoon.
Ah, you probably thought that this blog was the definitive source of Finn-related info online, right? So did I, until Margot turned up the illuminating Finnegan Facts site. Did you know, for instance, that:
What a busy little man he is. 🙂 The legal gene may have skipped a generation, but Finny seems determined to restore the family tradition. (I think his cheeks will go really well with the powdered wig.)
During the Liggetts’ recent visit, Grandpa L. put his height to great use and helped paint the new baby’s room–a huge help to us. Now Margot has spent some time getting the room tuned up with some zooty space imagery, and Finn really digs playing in there (especially asking for “buh-buh” (bubbles)). Here’s a little gallery (HTML).
We had quite the full weekend with the Finn-man. Activities included everything from picnicking & burying feet in sand at Our New Favorite Park, to having pals Anja, Mira, and Bruce over for dinner, to going for a long & challenging walk around the Stanford radio telescopes (complete with second picnic!).
During dinner yesterday this little guy decided that he really, really likes ice cream, and he decided that our “sharing” approach should go like this: “One bite for me, and then one bite for Dad me, followed by one bite for me, and then one bite for me…” And you know, I’ve gotta say that kid is surprisingly strong when he wants something!
Here are a few photos (HTML) from the goings-on.
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.
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. 🙂
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.
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. 🙂
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?
Oh, the Finnster can run, but he cannot escape Mom’s ever-lovin’ clutches! 😀
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.
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). 😉
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)
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).
The silly wordplay continues at Chez Nack:
Ah, poor little Finno has come down with quite the intense cough and cold! His upper lip is doing a great recreation of a Slip n’ Slide—blech!
The two of us have been kicking it bachelor-style for a few days while Margot visits some pals in Seattle. I’m typing this after midnight, listening to the monitor and hoping the whole thing doesn’t become a full-blown case of the croup. At least Carol has had some experiences with that sort of badness & was able to set me up with some health info yesterday (e.g. if your child wakes up coughing and crying, run a hot shower for 15 minutes for the steam, then take him outside to the cold night air for 10 minutes).
We miss mama, but she’ll be back soon enough tomorrow evening. In the meantime, Finn had the freaky experience of hearing her on the phone; many quizzical looks followed. We went for a long walk this evening, and he was good as gold until *exactly* the maximally distant point, so I ended up carrying him the 1.5 miles home (and here I’d been complaining that I get no exercise ;-)).
Nearing home, Finn spied some balloons attached to a sign and lunged back at them. He was really fascinated, so we went inside and I splurged for a pair–$2.17 very well spent! Now in addition to learning about (and shouting) “Down!” (i.e. where he keeps dropping his dishes), he can learn about “Up!”
Our friends Matthew & Lori (themselves parents of a cute little guy named Cooper) gave Finn some terrific gifts just before Christmas. Alongside a Fisher Price bus (which Finn terrorizes Godzilla-style, leading to our calling it the “Disaster Bus”) and a neat Charlie Parker board book, they gave Finn his own kid-sized stroller. Now that he’s more sure on his feet, he loves to load the stroller with stuffed pals, then cruise around the living room. In this little gallery (HTML) you can see him in action, also enjoying his big Radio Flyer. I instinctively withdraw my ankles to a more secure location. 🙂
Finn is getting to the age where A) lying down through a whole diaper change seems like a real imposition on his go-go social calendar, and B) tearing around in various states of nakedness seems like a *great idea*! (Wait til he can start undressing himself…) We therefore find ourselves taking a somewhat more, ah, flexible approach to his attire.
In any case, we continue to have a ball with the little guy, and you can see some more examples of our “horeseando” in this gallery (HTML).
We had quite a fun little weekend with the Finnfatha. Prior to his haircut he had another great day in the pool, this time going underwater with Mom. Throughout the weekend he took a whole new interest in feet, with Margot discovering him under the kitchen island, waving at her painted toes. (He also loves trying to literally knock your socks off, then put them back on you.)
Oh, and upon reading a little book showing babies doing various things, he responded to the “Reaching” page by shooting his arms straight over his head! Tonight when I said “reaching,” he again shot up his arms, then went looking for the book. I know everyone thinks their kid is a genius, and of course we’re no exception. 🙂
The big new adventure was a trip to the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad in nearby Los Gatos. Even though the day was a little chilly, we bundled Finn up and went for a little ride. He seemed to have fun, oohing and aahing while waving at doggies, trees, and little girls. His too-small engineer hat made him look like a little old man, we thought (Margot says her grandpa, I say Henry Fonda). Our outdoor picnic plans got scrubbed by the weather, so we ended up enjoying a little car picnic instead. Here’s a gallery (HTML), plus a little video:
The music, incidentally, was featured in the train-riding sequence in Slumdog Millionaire. Finnster is our Squirreldog Engineer. 🙂
