Q. “Hey, Finn, what are you up to these days?”
A. “Oh, about 2-foot-one…” 😉
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Author: The Nack Daddy
Margot, Finnegan, and I had a terrific time this week in Leadville and Boulder, CO, and Finn proved himself a wonderful traveler. We’re glad to be back at sea level, breathing the thicker (albeit smoky) air and getting the small guy back into his familiar crib.
Among the highlights of the trip, we got to introduce Finn to his cousins Patrick (“The big guy”) and Charlie (“The ‘getting bigger/no longer the baby’ guy”). Here you can check out a gallery (HTML) of the three of them in action–but be warned, you may want to don protective eyewear before glimpsing such cuteness ;-).
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Squirrels at 10,200′
Greetings from Leadville, CO! We arrived with Finn and Grandma Nack yesterday evening, after a fairly long day of air and car travel. Finn was a total hero: the takeoff and landing did not bother him one bit, and he only squawked a little bit in the car on the way up to Leadville as his ears adjusted to the high altitude. Leadville is at 10,200′ so we are taking it reeeeeally easy. The thin air makes for a low-energy, slightly headachey, and very dehydrated first couple of days, so Finn has been napping like a champion today in between meals :-).
We’re staying with Margot’s folks, who take up residence in the cool mountain air each summer. Margot’s sister Laura and her two boys are here, meeting their cousin Finn for the first time. The grandparents are thrilled to get some more quality time with Finn, especially now that he’s smiling and cooing a lot. They can’t get enough!
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Tummy Time with Dad
Given the (relatively) giant melon little kids have to cart around on top of their necks, they need plenty of exercise, and baby docs all seem to recommend plenty of “tummy time.” This weekend we got the squirrel going with some extra TT–all while perched on his dad’s tummy. Good time (and happily, no spit-ups!) ensued. 🙂 Here are some pix.
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Squirrelfishing!
;-D
Now I feel like we should put one of those little Christian fish on the back of our car, except that the fish should have a big fluffy tail… like this:
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Father’s Day Song
File under “Morning Becomes Adorable” 😉
Answer: Asleep! (For now, anyway.) And even better, neither he nor I nor the house have caught on fire, fallen into the sea, or anything similarly disastrous.
Today marks a pretty big milestone: Margot had to fly to Seattle for work, and she’s no doubt in the air right now, nearing San Jose. The Squirrelmaster General and I have been kicking it bachelor-style since, oh, 4:40am, ably assisted during the day by Carol.
Tonight I took the small guy on an hour-long walk, bathed him on my own, and got him down to rest (albeit after some false starts and rookie moves by dad; those PJ’s are just *not* gonna go on properly). Who knew that the developmental milestones we’d be celebrating would be mine? 😉
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Finn Nack, Great White
Just when you thought it was safe to go near the play mat…
daaaah NUH, daaaah NUH, daaaah NUH…
We used to think that Finnegan was part whale, but now we know the truth: he’s actually a voracious Great White Shark! Make the mistake of venturing too near his maw, and you’ll soon feel like Roy Scheider in Jaws.
The kid’s devotion to getting anything & everything possible into his boca is impressive–and it’s *growing* :-). Behold what happened just after I tried to wipe away a little drool:
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Papa’s Got a Brand New Bob!
Cue the James Brown: “Papa’s got a brand new Bob! (Heeey!)”
Man, who woulda thought I’d get to the point of raving about a sweet, sweet new stroller?? And yet here we are. 🙂
Margot, knowing Finn’s & my shared penchant for long weekend walks, scored us a pretty terrific Father’s Day gift–namely a silky-smooth, fast-wheeling Bob stroller. Check it out!
She gave it a bit early (yesterday) so that we could enjoy a full weekend’s worth of rolling funder (oh jeez…). Behold!
Thanks again, Nut! ;-D
It’s been too long since I’ve posted pix of our young friend! He’s been a busy boy…
Upon learning of the passing of rock pioneer Bo Diddley, Finn started playing the harmonica (seen here, at left). He also wrote a little song for the occasion, using Bo’s signature riff:
“Bo Diddley’s dead,
Bah DAH duh dah dunh…
Goin’ down in a hole.
Bah DAH duh dah dunh…
Nobody ever gonna see him;
Bah DAH duh dah dunh…
Might get eaten by a mole.
Bah DAH duh dah dunh…”
From there Finnster donned his old-timey prison stripes, with mom set to match in hers, and had some good times on the bed. Naturally all the downward-facing excitement resulted in a huge… well, let’s just say you can see the aftermath in this set, but thankfully not the event itself. You can also see our little guy starting to become aware of these fleshy little “feet” things hanging out somewhere south of his tummy. Without further ado, here are the shots. (HTML)
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A visit from Reen
The three of us had a ball on Saturday visiting with our hilarious friend R. She brought a great little sampling of books (including some by Sandra Boynton, known for her greeting card illustrations) and confessed to having spent a couple of hours in the kids’ section at Borders, enjoying all the great stuff that’s out there. Regarding the ever-popular (and gnawing-resistant) “board books, ” she says, “I’m looking forward to being a major contributor to the Finn Library (hardcopy branch).” Here are some photos. (HTML)
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Long Day’s Journey Into Boca
“In a world gone mad… Can one young hero navigate the Terrycloth Frog all the way into his mouth??”
Suspenseful, isn’t it? 🙂 Tune in below to watch the Finnster try to put these new “hands” of his to practical use:
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Dinner with Mira & Bruce
Two weeks ago now (man, time is flying!), Finn, Margot, and I were treated to an early Friday evening dinner with our friends Bruce, Mira, and their little daughter Anja. Looking for cute blog-fodder as always, I hovered around the proceedings with my camera. No word yet on whether Finn will be requesting a second serving of Mira’s bicep. 😉 Here are the pix. (HTML)
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Finn on Skin!
Our friend Peter Krogh and his wife Allison recently sent Finn a terrific sheepskin rug that our boy’s been enjoying. The Kroghs say their kids loved having such soft pads of their own, and it’s easy to see why. Peter is a pro photographer, so I tried not to stink up the picture-taking too much on this one. 😉 Here’s the gallery. (HTML)
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Calla Lily Freakout
- We try to keep this blog focused on the positive (for example, not telling you about Finn trying to pee on my sandwich the other day–a whole other story, obviously), and…
- What could be cuter than a beautiful boy with some beautiful flowers? (we thought)
Er, well, the small guy decided he wasn’t gonna play ball, at least when the camera was around, and now the flowers have departed. Even so, the resulting pair of images are kinda fun, I think. <:-P
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The Chosen Rattle
Among Finn’s little pile of toys (e.g. “Jingle Frog” and “Jingle Duck,” who we think go by “Dave” and “Henrietta” when they’re off duty) is a very large, captivating tube filled with little beads that shuffle noisily from one end to the other. One end of the tube is stamped prominently, “Made in Israel.”
Talking to my Israeli friend Uri yesterday, I mentioned that we play with the “Israttle” and wonder whether this makes Finn an honorary “Israttlite.” He replied, “I’m proud our ancient nation is contributing to your son’s development. We gave the world the Ten Commandments, nagging moms and rattles :)”
Small man on the big screen! 😀
Just press Play, below…
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Battle… Domendite!
Margot and I watch way too much “Iron Chef America“–or rather, we did pre-Finn, when watching TV was actually an option. We get a particular kick out of the ridiculous character of “The Chairman’s Nephew,” played by a totally overwrought martial artist, screaming “Battle… {food item}!!” at the start of every show. It’s all accompanied by frenetic camera zooms, dry ice smoke, and him giving kind of a karate chop towards the ingredient du jour (“Battle… GOAT LIVER!!”).
For some reason (long-term sleep deprivation, or maybe the 100-degree heat here in San Jose), I’m reminded of all this when I look at some recent Finnpix. Therefore I present… “Battle… DOMENDITE!*” (HTML)
* Translation for everyone who isn’t a weirdo who grew up in Galena, IL: big toe. 😉
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Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mom’s Day to all the mothers out there, and most especially to newly minted mom Margot!
We’re having a pretty quiet day, with Finn alternately fussing, sleeping, eating, and staring at things (“regarding faces,” as the baby books say); in other words, I suppose it’s been like pretty much every day, ever. 😉
While Margot gives our friend a snack, I’ve uploaded a gallery of images from the day (also in HTML). You can see the little tree I bought for the occasion. Its little bushes of leaves remind me of Margot’s “mop,” and the whole thing makes me think of a Margot-and-Finn arboreal peanut. 🙂 See also Finn’s newfound love of exploring his tongue.
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Finndancing!
When you listen to as much jazz as we do throughout the day, well, a little soft-shoe will inevitably break out. 🙂 Here are the pix. (Also in HTML.)