Author: The Nack Daddy

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Photos

Ponch n’ Mom

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. 🙂

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Photos

Fab Five Finny!

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.

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Miscellaneous

Finny the Scootcher

Finn is moving and grooving all over the house these days. He’s an avid scootcher, crawler, and cruising enthusiast. He’s mastered the ability to flip himself over from a sitting position to crawling mode, then he just takes off, scooting his way across the living/dining room. Once he reaches a parent, he’s all about grabbing on, hoisting his patoot up into the air, straightening his legs, and getting a little support to stand. Once he’s up, he’s off to the races–holding on one-handed to one of us, or cruising along the couch or coffee table. I think it’s officially time to get those baby gates up…independent locomotion can’t be far away!

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Photos

Sunday in the Park with Clare

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).

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Videos

Tiny Bubbles

We recently let our living room go the way of Lawrence Welk, blowing bubbles everywhere. Bubble Boy Finn seemed to approve. 🙂

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Photos

Finnegan Nack, Male Model

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. 🙂

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Halloween Photos Videos

Halloween Leftovers

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:

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Babyslang Milestones

The Big Ocho

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):

  • Up up up, up up up…: Finn has lately discovered the concept of “Up,” and he’s waaaay into our fascinating light fixtures. Every morning when Margot gets him out of the crib, his eyes make a beeline for the lights (even when they’re off). I feel like this should all be in some book–Their Eyes Were Watching GE or something.
  • ICAS: I’ve dubbed Finn’s little hooded PJ’s the “In-Crib Adventure Suit.”
  • DipeCon: You know how the military has five DEFCON levels to denote the current security situation? We’ve implemented a “DipeCon” system to inform each other of… well, the condition of our friend’s pants. Probably enough said. (Call it “Threat Condition Brown.”)
  • TEAR IT APART: This is what Finn will try to do with anything he can get into his clutches/mouth these days. He’s all about grabbing things (strings, leaves, napkins) and yanking them in opposite directions, ideally while holding them over his head. Where possible he lands some vicious blows with his 7 sharp teeth–great for ripping up little bits of rug while dad gets distracted. I keep imagining him saying, “Hey, that’s a great phone charger, Dad. Mind if I TEAR IT APART??”
  • Toro Leg: Now that he’s found his feet, our buddy likes to paw at things (grass, fringe on carpet, etc.) before putting any weight on them.

P.S. We can now add another “ocho” to The Big Ocho. Another tooth, his 8th, just broke through. –Notorious M.O.M.

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Halloween Photos

March of the (Halloween) Penguin

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!

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Miscellaneous

Stats for Enormo-Boy


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!

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Miscellaneous

Let Me Stand Next To Your Squire

Let-me-stand-next-to-your-Squire.jpg
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:

  • Carrying the knight’s dad’s armor, shield, and sword,
  • Holding any prisoners the knight dad takes,
  • Rescuing the knight dad should the knight dad be taken prisoner,
  • Taking the knight dad to safety should the knight dad be injured,
  • Replacing the knight’s dad’s sword if it broke or was dropped,
  • Replacing the knight’s dad’s horse with a new horse or the squire’s should the horse be injured or killed,
  • Dressing the knight dad in his armor,
  • Carrying the knight’s dad’s flag,
  • And protecting the knight dad if needed.”

Alright! I think I’m really going to get into having my own squire. 🙂

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Videos

Squealin’ 4 Praties

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.

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Photos

Little Green Riding Hood

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!

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Milestones Photos

Magnificent Seven

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!”

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Photos

The Mother & Child Reunion

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.

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Videos

AhWoo!

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 :-):

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Photos

Wash n’ Walk

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).

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Photos

Finnegan Rockwell

No hobo-stick required. 😉

(Click for a larger version.)

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Videos

Bathtime for the Birdman

Rub a dub dub, there’s a squirrel in the tub… 🙂

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Videos

Walker, Finnegan Ranger!

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. 🙂