I received an excited email dispatch from our kitchen yesterday: “We are having a Play-Doh fiesta right now! :-). I bought a little kit with 4 Play-Doh cans & a bunch of cookie cutters and squishers, and Finn is just having a field day! The combo of tools and squishy ‘Doh is a winning one for our little guy.”
Check out the gallery (HTML) of doughy good times!
PS–Margot says that Finn’s expression in the pic above reminds her of Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein.
Recently Mom-O introduced Finny to a flashlight, and boy, you’d think it was Obi-Wan Kenobi giving Luke a new lightsaber: that kid was off to the races! A whole new “KindaDEEP” was born, and soon we were having fun putting the light under our chins and saying “Spooky Dad-O! Spooky Binny!!”
Pretty soon we were doing “Spooky Leo,” and then Finn jabbed the flashlight into my throat and said, “(s)pooky neck!” From there it was game on, with Finn marching around and labeling everything the light touched as “‘pooky!” (“‘pooky ceiling! ‘pooky floor! ‘pooky baño!”) When I asked about “Spooky Goonie,” he smiled and said, “Nooo… too tiny!”
Here’s a little gallery (HTML) of our luminous antics. Oh, and by the way, a little “PigCup” makes an awesome saber-enhancer!
Apropos of nothing, happy Tuesday. 🙂
(Click the image for a slightly larger version.)
Our neighbor Richard is kind of a folk hero to Finn–big, barrel-chested, and always operating some kind of cool vehicle (Corvette, vintage Beetle, old truck, Lexus, etc.) or implement (weed whacker, hose, pickaxe, etc.). His gato-poop-blasting technique is a particular hit & explains why Finn would look at the sprayer in the tub and exclaim “Poop!”
Lately Finn has been taken with watching Richard push leaves with his leaf blower, and he now loves to grab tubes of all sort and go “WHEEoooWHEEoooWHEEooo… leaf blowa!” As it happens, despite our having lived here for nearly three years, it’s only in the last couple of weeks that Richard has learned my name. Prior to that he’d guess things like “Mike.” Therefore Finn’s imitation sounds like, “WHEEoooWHEEooo… Hey Mike, Hey Mike!” ;-D
Here’s a tiny gallery (HTML) of our tube-wielding amigo.
During my parents’ visit, “GrammaNACK” brought Finn & Henry two great matching outfits apiece–blue & yellow onesies featuring little lions. The last time we tried to photograph them together, however, we unfortunately experienced Operation Nuclear Trainwreck (thanks to some bad napping).
This time, however, things went much better, as you can see in this little gallery (HTML). Margot was also able to catch Henry eyeing (and starting to swat at) some little felt birds, as well as Finn modeling some crazy-big sunglasses.
I snapped a few shots of the lads looking cute this weekend, including:
Here are the photos (HTML)!
Okay, I know it’s a totally invented milestone, but our littlest guy has officially done a “half century” in terms of days on earth. In recognition, here’s a little gallery (HTML) of the two boys this past weekend. The bats are gifts from our baseball-loving pal Ginna. (Thanks again, Ginna!) The Cheerios holding them in place are functioning as chocks. 🙂
Recently Finn got a ringside seat to Henry’s bath, and another day his little friend Esther Williams–er, Anja!–popped into the tub with him for some spontaneous bathing fun. Here’s a micro gallery (HTML) of the aqueous stylings.
Henry is starting to develop in earnest, offering up some new non-cry squeaks & even favoring us with a few proto-smiles! Just as Finny had his “invisible shows,” the G-Man is starting to stare with rapt attention. In this tiny gallery (HTML) you can see him contemplating (and spazzing out to!) one of those simple black-and-white picture books. Margot reports that he got mad today when she turned the page. Hey, don’t mess with a man’s literature!
It’s an exciting day for Dad-o and Finny today. We finally got the bike trailer (a super nice gift from John’s folks!) that we ordered from the bike shop! It’s a Burley D’Lite ST, which will fit two kids and also converts to a stroller. So now we can pop both boys in for a stroll, or Finny for a ride to the park. Henry is too small for trailering: he has to be old enough for a helmet and unassisted sitting-up. Finn and Dad-o took it for a test ride to the park this morning, so here are some pics (HTML) as they set out from the casa. There are some really great parks in our neighborhood that are just far enough away that walking takes too long, and driving seems wasteful, but biking over is just the ticket.
In addition to converting to stroll-mode, the other nice thing about the trailer is that it has a pretty roomy cargo area behind the seat, so we can haul a picnic lunch, or sand toys/towels, or even a couple sacks of groceries. We’re looking forward to logging lots of miles with the guys! Oh, and soon, in addition to the orange safety flag, the trailer will be flying a small jolly roger on top :D.
[Just for my dad’s benefit, I think I’ll add a bumper sticker that says “GOON IS MY CO-PILOT.” 😉 –J.]
The gazebo has been getting a good workout, hosting my folks and their books plus various visits from Finn. Grandma Nack blew Finn’s mind with her “Surprise Lap” routine, humming a jaunty little Irish lullaby, then “dropping” him at the end (as he yells “Dump!!”). Now we hear him waking up in his crib, singing & saying “GrammaNACK!” Here’s a little gallery (HTML).
Off to grab a waking-up Finnster,
J.
We’re having a ball with my folks being in town–cruising in a wagon, swinging, riding the slide (“Kindasteep!”) backwards & forwards, reading Mother Goose (“GeogiePogie!”), and more–and of course the Papa-razzo is snapping away. I haven’t had much time to select photos to share, though, so in the meantime here’s just a fun little sequence of Finny hamming it up:
(Here’s a larger version.)
Tonight Margot and I gave Henry (aka Goonie, aka the G-Man) a bath, and while it wasn’t his first, this time I was able to grab my camera. Check out the photos (HTML) of our littlest guy doing the backstroke.
For a fun comparison, here’s Finny’s first bath (and, what the heck, a later one, too). Seeing those pics & realizing they were taken less than 18 months ago (!) really drives home the truth in all those cliches about “they grow up so fast.”
We’re having a great time introducing Henry to his Liggett grandparents (GP’s–hence “Jeeps”), so we’ve been a bit lighter on the blogging. Finn delights in showing grandpa around our usual haunts–e.g. dragging him to the “antenna truck,” jumping to him from our neighbor’s porch, and playing around in the pool. While I’ve got a moment before he gets up, here’s a gallery (HTML) of the proceedings.
It’s week two with Henry on the scene, and we’re all settling in to our groove as a foursome. Henry and I spend a lot of time on the couch, or in the rocking chair while he nurses or naps. We’ve set up the playpen/bassinet in the living room so we have a drop-off spot for him that is both Finn-proof and centrally located so we can hear him from the kitchen or other rooms.
John and Finn have a really good routine going these days. They spend a lot of time outdoors exploring, going for Cozy Coupe rides, or Bob-ing their way up the street to the park. Finn has really taken a shine to the various slides, as well as the swings. There is a public pool at the park, too, which is open every afternoon, so the boys have been swimming a few times in the past week. Finn loves it, and John mentioned something about how great it is to be a dad when it comes to playtime and pool time with Finno. We also found out that the big carousel at the Guadalupe River Park is free one Tuesday a month, so John and Finn took a spin on the various animals last week–I think a wolf, zebra, and giraffe were involved–see for yourself (HTML)*!
John and I get some quiet time together in the evenings after Finn goes to bed, and Henry settles into his nighttime sleeping pattern. He conks out after a couple of closely-spaced evening feedings, enabling us to enjoy the quiet and the descending darkness.
*The image quality of the last shot here is, as Finn would say of milk being microwaved, “Nottoohot.” 🙂 Still it captures the feel of the scene, and it’s not too bad for a $3 souvenir. Finny was kind of freaked out by the ride at first (“Down down down!”), but he became an addict almost immediately. In the end it was woozy Dad who had to call a break to all the riding!
Hoot! Tom! Milos!–not to mention Alex! Sarah! and Harper!–gathered at our house last Saturday for an impromptu homecoming celebration just after we arrived from the hospital. It was so nice to introduce Henry to our pals, and to have them help us raise a toast to the newest Nack. (Even Finn got in on that action via some sparkling apple juice. Note, however, that carbonated juice + sippy cup = Molotov kiddie cocktail. We learned the hard way!)
Here are some photos (HTML) from the little shindig. Thanks to Tom & Hughes for contributing some great camerawork.
Finno gets a real kick out of saying “BUCKet!” with regard to little-kid car seats. He’s often talking about our little neighbor Maddie and her seat (“Money! Bucket!”), and now he gets to see Henry occupy his old bucket.
We’re told that older kids sometimes regress developmentally when a new baby arrives. Finn has done nothing of the sort (in fact, just this week he decided to shift gears & move to one nap per day), but we got a kick out of him trying to stuff himself into Henry’s seat (“Goonie! BUCKet!”). As you can see (HTML), he likes to rock out. Maybe he’s pining for his lost youth… If this is the worst regression we have to deal with, we’ll count ourselves very luck. 🙂
I’m typing on the run while the lads nap, so I’ll be brief, but here’s a gallery (HTML) of the latest happenings at 983 Delmas. You can see…
…And so the late-night blogging returns. 🙂
Here we are at H+110–a hundred and ten hours into the life of our new little guy (not that I’m counting!). I just had the honor of holding Henry on my lap for the past four hours as he slept, and now he’s enjoying a midnight snack courtesy of Mom-O. We’ve decided to try having me sleep downstairs, the better to get some rest & thus preserve energy for Finn-management.
We’re having a wonderful time so far with the H-man (or G-man, as we & especially Finn alternate with the “Goonie” nomenclature). I have to say, Margot is being a total rock star, holding up marvelously with the return to sleep deprivation. I feel somewhat guilty, not being able to do as much directly with the new guy. For my part I try to provide her with worry-free Squirrel-wrangling, and he and I plan to check out lots of little kid gatherings while I’m on leave.
Finny, meanwhile, regards Henry with passing interest, getting keyed up only when I spend time with the little guy. He’s perfectly content to regard mother & brother as one entity (“Mom-O-Goonie”).
I find I’m (predictably) running out of steam at the moment, so without further ado here are a few photos (HTML) of the family at home–including our first family dinner where Henry doubles as both guest & table setting. 😉 Lots more is in the queue, including images showing a visit from our pals Tom, Sarah, Bryan, Alex, and their tots.
