I am
too darling for for my bib
too darling for for my bib
so darling in my crib…
Fashion icon Finn has been sporting all kinds of great duds lately. In our latest gallery (HTML), he starts out wearing a pair of shirts (one dinos, one lightning) given to Dad by a Web/clothing designer in San Francisco. He finishes up clad in the beautiful hand-knit sweater created by Great Aunt Judy.
Coming soon: Finn in an Argentine poncho. 🙂
We refer to our friend Maria as “Maria-upon-Hallmark” due to her employer (and to distinguish her from my boss Maria). As you might imagine, Maria (-upon-Hallmark) is a master card-sender, and she recently sent Finn a Candy Corn-infused greeting. I snapped a few frames of him opening it (HTML), while Margot captured him trying to feed it to me (one of his new tricks). A careful observer can see how much gnawing he’d done by that point. 🙂
Meanwhile Mom captured our flightless-but-cute buddy going on his very own March of the Penguin on Halloween:
Today marks Der Finnster’s 8-month birthday. To celebrate (well, mostly coincidentally), he balanced on his feet unassisted for the first time! I had him up and tottering for a couple of seconds this morning, and this evening he was up for even longer. (I’d like to think it was for 8 seconds, a la bull riding. ;-))
In miscellaneous news, we’ve coined more Finn argot lately (building on the first installment from earlier in the year):
P.S. We can now add another “ocho” to The Big Ocho. Another tooth, his 8th, just broke through. –Notorious M.O.M.
Today marks Finn’s first Halloween! Though he’s too young for candy, he’s definitely up for sporting a cute penguin costume and being strolled around town by his parents. All the shops along our neighborhood’s main street take part in a big Halloween trick-or-treat event, so we got Finn suited up and ready to show off. Margot strolled him down to Lincoln Ave., where they were met by at least a few thousand parents and their costumed children.
The orange Bob made a perfect penguinmobile, and they wove their way through sidewalks choked with pirates, Elmos, ladybugs, princesses, monkeys, lions, tigers, and bears–oh my! (There were even a couple of Dorothys and Scarecrows.) Our Finny was the only penguin on parade and got many compliments on his soft, fuzzy outfit. Margot and Finn ran into our friends Mira & Anja (dressed as a strawberry), and Heidi & Liam (a sock monkey). Here are some pics (HTML) from the day.
Soon we’ll be facing the onslaught of trick-or-treaters that descend on our neighborhood every year. We’re stocked with 400 pieces of candy, so hopefully no one will go home empty-handed!
From pediatrics.about.com:
“At 8 months: your child is 22.5 pounds, and that is at the 97th percentile for weight.
your child is 30 inches, and that is at greater than the 97th percentile for height.
your child has a head circumference of 18 inches, and that is at the 93th percentile for head circumference.”
RAAAWR!
“He is a two-and-a-half-foot, seven-toothed man-mountain,” says Dad, shaking his fist slowly with delight. 🙂
Meanwhile, and probably not coincidentally, Finn has taken to trying to climb up me while I hold him. Seeing him kicking at a bee today in the stroller, I was reminded of the mighty Kong swatting at planes!
Loving wordplay as I do, I sometimes (okay, often) morph Finn’s nickname “squirrel” into “squire,” making him our little Squire. The other day I decided to learn what, exactly, a squire is and does (or did). According to Wikipedia, “The typical duties of a squire [i.e. things Dad will now expect of Finn] included:
Alright! I think I’m really going to get into having my own squire. 🙂
When our friend Maria visited a couple of weeks ago (man, time is flying), she decided to try her hand at a little squirrel-feeding. Finn sang for his supper throughout, then sought to wash down the potatoes (aka “praties” in our book Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato) with a delicious bite of video camera.
We’ve had a fun weekend with Mr. Finn, a.k.a. Little Green Riding Hood. He has this little outfit that’s called a “sleep’n’play”, complete with hood. I guess it’s the hood that turns it into “‘n’play” instead of just pj’s. As we were cavorting with him on Saturday (all of us in pj’s) we snapped these pics (HTML).
Finn had his first bath in the real “big boy” bathtub this weekend, too. We thought he might be freaked by the vastness of the tub, but he absolutely loved it. There was lots of splashing, squealing, and even some pseudo-backstroking.
Today I went to the spa today with my friend Mira for a few hours of soaking, scrubbing, saunaing, and relaxing. It was great, and while we were away, Finn and John went to a place called Rancho San Antonio with Mira’s husband Bruce and daughter Anja. It’s popular for parents and kiddies (we call it a stroller derby) because you can stroll in the great outdoors at a working farm and see lots of different farm animals. John says there were lots of “big turkeys” wandering around the farm, and I’m pretty sure he means actual birds, not just middle-management Silicon Valley types. Sounds like the boys had a fun time. I came back from the spa with skin almost as soft as Finny’s!
Seven months, seven teeth! The Finnster has been with us 215 days (!) and just keeps getting better and better. 🙂
Today he took me on a little walking tour of the back yard, taking his first steps on grass. Finn is way into all things stringy/fringy/frilly these days, and the grass really threw him for a loop. First he stood on his left foot, pawing the grass inquisitively with his right, after which he switched sides and pawed with the left. Once he found his footing (literally), Finn took me on a culinary tour of all the backyard plants, attempting to snack on each one we passed.
Here’s a little gallery (HTML) of the guy taken over the last few days. Seeing him nicely lit as he sat on the “Dipetorium,” I exclaimed, “Finn, dude, you’ve gotta warn me if you’re gonna be radiating that much cuteness. I’ve gotta have time to prepare!”
Q. What’s the best thing about a trillion-dollar national financial meltdown that destroyed Mom’s employer somewhere in the middle of the night? (Okay, what’s the only good thing about it?)
A. Mom gets to come home early from Seattle!
Sorry for the mixed news. Finno and I had our first night flying Mom-free last night (Margot’s first overnight trip away from her boys), and although he was a perfect gent who gave Dad no trouble, we’re happy that Mom was able to book an early flight home.
To celebrate, here’s a wee gallery (HTML) of great shots of the two of them together.
It’s Monday, and on the off chance you need something pretty undeniably sweet to brighten the start of the work week, we present the following uncut hilarity :-):
It’s a day in the life of Old Man Finnegan: “Y’know,” says Margot, “some strollin’, some splashin’…” The little guy looks sharp as he trades his birthday suit for some Polo duds from our cousins the Nadiles. Here’s the gallery (HTML).
No hobo-stick required. 😉
(Click for a larger version.)
Rub a dub dub, there’s a squirrel in the tub… 🙂
The Ministry of Silly Walks isn’t just for Monty Python anymore: At six months of age, little Crazylegs Finn is sporting his own ambulatory antics:
The small man is bombing around the whole house these days, even venturing outside a couple of times. We love how he throws in little goose-steps, pirouettes, and Elvis-grade pelvic wiggles at completely bizarre moments. 🙂
“You know what I’d make the blog entry? ‘Three words: Cuter Every Day.'” — Margot
Heh–yeah, that pretty much sums it up. In the latest gallery (HTML) you can see the wee man cavorting with M&D, decked out for revolutionary fun in a rad “Power to the Babies” tee from our pal Whitney.
Happy Friday. 🙂
(Click for a larger version.)
I recently warned my friend and soon-to-be-dad Hughes that if he thought pets were bad about bringing out the goofiest in a person (stuff that’d cause your guy friends to disown you in a heartbeat), wait’ll he has a child. 😉 Margot sometimes asks what I’m chattering to Finn, and I have to assure her that it’s too ridiculous to repeat. Exhibit A: Our little “Managing the Danger” routine:
As it happens, both Margot and I are out of town today (her in Seattle, me in Las Vegas), leaving the small guy in Carol’s excellent care. Margot gets home late tonight, but I won’t see Finn again until Saturday–my first overnight absence since his birth. I miss him already, but I’m sure Ted Nack (due to join me here in a few hours) will help keep things interesting until I return on Saturday.
Q. Hey, when do you think we can officially consider Finn ticklish?
A. Oh, right about now…! 🙂
Back in the ’80s there was a crazy sci-fi movie called They Live in which aliens have quietly taken over the world & filled it with subliminal, mind-controlling messages. When the heros put on special sunglasses, they can see through the disguise and read what’s really going on (left, below).
I thought it would be fun to get a special modified pair of those glasses that would let us observe the world as it looks through Finn’s eyes (right):
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