Author: The Nack Daddy

Our friends Tom and Sarah are expecting a little girl in March, and Tom has made it very clear that Finn (and the forthcoming little Miles Hughes) better watch his step around the little lady. No funny business or gettin’ fresh, if you catch my drift!
The three of us attended Tom and Sarah’s baby shower last weekend, and we just happened to find the perfect little T-shirt for Finny to sport to the party. It was only available in Spanish, so we had to translate…it says “Lock up Your Daughters.” (Here’s a bigger version.) With Finn’s big blue eyes and killer dimple, we think Tom’s the one who should mind his daughter…Finn’s going to have to fend off her inevitable advances :-).

Needing some fresh air today, Margot and I decided to help Finn get a tiny bit closer to his Illinois roots, visiting a little farm and getting (but not eating) some dirt under his fingernails. (We can’t have him thinking that there’s no more to farms than Fisher Price!)
Unfortunately the farm was closed on Mondays, but we had fun bombing around the grounds and looking at the animals through/over the fence. Weather has delayed my folks’ visit, so maybe we can return with them for some more hands-on time with the sheep, cows, and other creatures. In the meantime, here’s a little gallery (HTML) from today’s adventure.

A couple of months ago, Finn got waaay into checking out light fixtures around the house. Each morning we’d reach for him in the crib, and his first move would be to look up, up, up at the bulbs in his room. After maybe a week of this, he lost interest.

Now, however, he’s rekindled the crazy passion, in a huge sort of way. Not only does he start the day by looking and pointing at the lights; that’s how he finishes, too. He’s constantly begging to be lifted to check out the lights at closer range, and his little circuits of downstairs seem like luminary tours.

I’ve discovered that tapping the various fixtures produces all kinds of different tones, much like playing half-full wine glasses (who knew??), so Finn and I now like to tap them together. I was impressed that after I used a camera lens cap to do some tapping, he later reached for the same cap and gestured upwards.

Boy, as I write all this, I keep thinking, “Man have we turned into navel-gazing parents or what?? This must be the most boring topic ever!” Yet the whole thing really is kind of bizarrely fascinating. 🙂 Check out this mini gallery (HTML) that Margot snapped today.

We finally got our act together and bought a new (used) car–one that will far more easily fit Finn, his car seat, all of our gear, and the new baby + car seat come summertime. Getting in and out of the VWs had turned into an exercise in contortion.
Finn got a new ride as well, since he is getting waaaaay too big for his “baby bucket”. We got him a new, bigger-guy car seat which we have now dubbed Finn’s Flying Houndstooth Throne (the new car goes very fast and is a very smooth ride!).
Check out Finn in his new throne (HTML), and the two of us enjoying *our* new wheels (to follow).
[The big appeal of the new ride is the cavernous back seat. It’s not quite as big as this old Audi (!), but at least you don’t have to fold up like a Picasso figure as we did getting into the back of the Jetta. –J.]

Thanks to the generosity of our pals Adolfo & Romina from Buenos Aires + a recent cold snap here, Finnegan is one guapo gaucho these days, cutting a rakish little figure in the handsome poncho Romina’s mom knit for him. Tonight he posed for a few shots with Mom (HTML) before going on another walking spree. In some of the later shots I think he looks pretty serious, like some kind of Jedi knight (see side-by-side comparison) trying to use the Force on ol’ Dad. (“Those *are* the Cheerios you’re looking for…”.)
If you click through to the end you’ll get a preview of another hand-knit marvel–but that deserves an entry and gallery of its own. 🙂

Tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak
Somewhere in this house…
The Finnfatha is officially on the move! Our little guy didn’t settle for taking just a “first step.” (Nah, that weak sauce is for *babies*! ;-)) On Wednesday he let rip with a full five steps in a row, right in front of his newly arrived “Jeeps” (the G(rand)P(arent)s Liggett). While I wouldn’t say he’s walking, exactly, he’s flying around the house at high speed, one-handing it with whatever parent/grandparent happens to be in tow. Finnegan Nack is officially a Squirrel Rampant!
So far his movements have been too fleeting to be caught on flim, so in the meantime I’ve uploaded evidence of his other new passion: mass consumption of Cheerios. Here’s a small gallery (HTML) Margot snapped the other day as Finno helped me power through a bowl.

Last Sunday our pal Clare accompanied the three of us to the neighborhood park. In addition to helping squire Finno around, she put her pro photography skills to use, snapping some great shots. When we got home, she captured the Finnfatha enjoying a story with Mom (and wielding his hair brush like a mic). Here’s our gallery (HTML).