Category: Photos

Our friends Matthew & Lori (themselves parents of a cute little guy named Cooper) gave Finn some terrific gifts just before Christmas. Alongside a Fisher Price bus (which Finn terrorizes Godzilla-style, leading to our calling it the “Disaster Bus”) and a neat Charlie Parker board book, they gave Finn his own kid-sized stroller. Now that he’s more sure on his feet, he loves to load the stroller with stuffed pals, then cruise around the living room. In this little gallery (HTML) you can see him in action, also enjoying his big Radio Flyer. I instinctively withdraw my ankles to a more secure location. 🙂

Finn is getting to the age where A) lying down through a whole diaper change seems like a real imposition on his go-go social calendar, and B) tearing around in various states of nakedness seems like a *great idea*! (Wait til he can start undressing himself…) We therefore find ourselves taking a somewhat more, ah, flexible approach to his attire.
In any case, we continue to have a ball with the little guy, and you can see some more examples of our “horeseando” in this gallery (HTML).

We had quite a fun little weekend with the Finnfatha. Prior to his haircut he had another great day in the pool, this time going underwater with Mom. Throughout the weekend he took a whole new interest in feet, with Margot discovering him under the kitchen island, waving at her painted toes. (He also loves trying to literally knock your socks off, then put them back on you.)
Oh, and upon reading a little book showing babies doing various things, he responded to the “Reaching” page by shooting his arms straight over his head! Tonight when I said “reaching,” he again shot up his arms, then went looking for the book. I know everyone thinks their kid is a genius, and of course we’re no exception. 🙂
The big new adventure was a trip to the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad in nearby Los Gatos. Even though the day was a little chilly, we bundled Finn up and went for a little ride. He seemed to have fun, oohing and aahing while waving at doggies, trees, and little girls. His too-small engineer hat made him look like a little old man, we thought (Margot says her grandpa, I say Henry Fonda). Our outdoor picnic plans got scrubbed by the weather, so we ended up enjoying a little car picnic instead. Here’s a gallery (HTML), plus a little video:

The music, incidentally, was featured in the train-riding sequence in Slumdog Millionaire. Finnster is our Squirreldog Engineer. 🙂

Dad and Finn have been trying to get to the barber for a haircut for two Saturdays now, but between swim lessons, meals, and nap time, it’s hard to get to the shop before closing time at 4 p.m. Both Finn and Dad were getting pretty weedy so we were really hoping to get it taken care of today! We thought we’d missed the boat again this afternoon, since Finn didn’t finish his post-nap bottle until 4:10, but we decided to go ahead and go out for a walk, a cup of frozen yogurt our goal instead of haircuts.
The great thing about having a neighborhood barber is that if you’re lucky, they just might be hanging out by the front door chatting with some passers-by after closing time. So by the time we rolled by at about 4:30, Tom the Barber was still there, and we asked him if we could get Finny’s haircut (oh, and Dad’s too). He was super nice about it, and so both my guys got trimmed up.
Finn sat on my lap, and was very calm during his haircut–he was interested in the snipping sounds and someone tugging at his locks, but he didn’t freak out at all. He even got a little “First Haircut” certificate to take home. He got a little freaked watching Tom go after Dad with the clippers and scissors, but soon figured out that Dad wasn’t in peril! Here are a few pics (HTML) from our trip to the tonsorial parlor. Our thanks to Tom for staying open late to take on a couple of scrappy-looking guys!

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 :-).

Yesterday was swim class #2 (actually #3, but we missed last week’s due to illness) with our Finno the Minnow. This time I got to get in the pool with the Squirrel and splash around. Man, that pool is nothing if not warm and relaxing. Finn was kind of getting tired before we even got there, and all that warm water got him super relaxed. He was totally mellow and kind of limp in the pool, so I did most of the work! I think swim class is more strenuous for the parent than for the kid, but totally fun nonetheless. By the time we dried off and got home, Finn was a major space cadet, and ended up sleeping for more than 2 hours.
Here’s a little gallery (HTML) from our afternoon.

Well, maybe not a minnow…Today was Finn’s first swim lesson, and he’s in the youngest age group, the Polliwogs. I had a feeling Finn would enjoy being in the pool since he likes the bath so much, and he sure did. John was on pool-buddy duty since I need to scare up a maternity suit, and both my guys had a lot of fun. Finn got to try out floating, kicking, paddling with arms, and getting swooped around in different directions in the water. Here’s a little gallery (HTML) of pics from our afternoon.
There were about 5 other kid/parent combos in the class and all the tots really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Of course, there were at least 5 parents (and maybe some grandparents) with me on the sidelines, taking videos and pictures. We were all bowled over by the high degree of cuteness emanating from the pool 😀

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).

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. 🙂