Ah, I should have known better than to tempt Finn’s maw with the camera right before dinner! (Rest assured, the inevitable ensues.)
Too bad I didn’t manage to capture the little guy saying “dinner.” He’s really getting quite good at it, along with saying things like “milk,” “cracker,” “noodle,” and more.
Oh, how I wish what happens in Vegas would stay in Vegas! We 3 Nacks had a good time seeing our pals Adolfo, Romina, and Brunito, but man we were fighting some tough circumstances during our stay.
Wandering around in the Las Vegas heat while 7 months pregnant with a raging head cold is, well, not ideal. What I thought was just allergies is actually a nasty cold (which John also got during our stay), which I am *still* getting over and which has now passed itself to Finny. Trying to keep a little guy fed, entertained, and not-too-sleep-deprived is a tough order when all you *really* want to do is blow your nose and rest in a dark room.
And then Finny had his own sleep issues…he was so *not* interested in the crib we requisitioned from the hotel. He slept there one time (because he was probably too pooped to complain much) but the rest of the time it was in the bed with mom and dad and their stuffy heads. Naps, nighttime sleep, all of it. And waking up when you’d leave the bed to go to the bathroom or get a drink. Yeesh.
Now that we’re back he’s struggling to readjust to sleeping and napping in his own crib. Yesterday afternoon and last night were not too bad but this morning’s nap went nuclear for about 45 minutes until he just plain pooped himself out. I tried staying in his room and patting him but that didn’t seem to help at all…and leaving him on his own had the same effect (more crying). Finally he gave up the fight, and hopefully this afternoon’s nap will go a little smoother. I think replacing his rancid, dirty “Leo” with a clean one threw him off his game, too, but I worry his mouth’ll rot out if he keeps sucking on something that smells like a hamper full of dirty socks!
We’re here in Las Vegas with Finny to meet up with some far-flung friends. There’s a big tradeshow this week that John is attending, as is his friend Adolfo-from-Argentina. Adolfo’s wife Romina, and cute-as-can-be son Bruno are here, so we decided to come as a threesome as well. We last saw Adolfo and Romina when Finn was only a few months old, and Romina was pregnant with Bruno. We’re all so excited to see each other again, and to see how our boys are growing up.
We arrived Monday afternoon and will stay through this afternoon. Bruno’s already a strapping 7-month old! Romina and I stick out like sore thumbs amongst the overly tanned, processed, and botoxed females in Vegas. We’ve got our diaper bags, strollers, and little containers of kid snacks :-). We’re looking forward to sharing photos of our poolside adventure and more as soon as Adolfo can upload them.
Margot has recently joined Las Madres, a group that sets up little activities for the small fry & their folks. She & Finn have been going to various functions, and on Saturday the three of us headed to a backyard kiddie-pool swim session. Finn & a new lady-friend enjoyed administering doses of fresh citrus to the water (nope, oranges don’t float), and like the other parents we took some photos
(HTML) to share.
Finno is exploring language like mad. He’s recently learned to say “Toot toot!” when hearing a train in the distance; he beeps along with trucks backing up; and he offers a commanding impression of Harley Davidsons rumbling by.
Now he’s trying to move into three-syllabled territory. Current projects:
Every day–literally every single day–Finn gets more and more interactive, and of course that means more and more fun. (Geez, sorry if I start laying it on too thick. We just find this little dude so amazing.) Tonight we enjoyed some (literally) laid-back clowning with Mom, captured in this little gallery (HTML).
Apropos of nothing, here’s a shot of our water-loving lad at swim class a few weeks ago–the moment captured by a pro photographer under the surface:
We’re really looking forward to the opening of the neighborhood pool. Until then, we’re doing our best to encourage much bathtub kicking & splashing, and Dad & the Squirty Fish team up to hose down Finn’s little mug (much to his delight).
Hey, everyone–happy Easter!
Margot, the Finn-man, and & I journeyed south to Carmel on Sunday and had a ball with our friends the Whitsons (parents of Bryan Hughes), Bryan and his wife Alex & their wee son Miles, plus Bryan’s grandmother & Alex’s mom. Being so far away from most of our own families, it’s really special for us to feel so welcomed, and we couldn’t have had a nicer time.
Finno was an excellent traveller, and with the exception of a 1-hour screech-a-thon (i.e. what should have been his afternoon nap), he was his usual charming self throughout the proceedings (including Monday morning, as we stayed overnight). Highlights included:
The “Papa-razzi” (aka Dads with Cams) were out in force, so here’s a gallery (HTML) of the goings-on. Young Miles is well represented, making me think back to just how tiny Finn was at Easter last year. Bryan has been busy constructing a deck with his dad, but I look forward to seeing and sharing his photos from the day soon.
As Margot is in Seattle right now, maybe Finn and I can christen the bubble-blowing kit from his Easter basket this afternoon.
Finn has been *really* interested in ducks lately. Pretty much any kind of bird that appears in his picture books gets called “duck.” Even things that have nothing to do with birds get the duck treatment! We thought it would be fun to take Finn to a park where he could see real live ducks, and make the connection with what we see in his books.
We were sort of successful, in that we did see at least 3 actual ducks. Mostly we saw Canadian geese, though. Since Finn’s not old enough to split hairs on ducks vs. geese, we just called them all ducks. (I even had to explain to John that the little black duck-like birds we saw were terns, not ducks.) Anyway, here are some pictures (HTML) from our onshore adventures at the park.
Ah, you probably thought that this blog was the definitive source of Finn-related info online, right? So did I, until Margot turned up the illuminating Finnegan Facts site. Did you know, for instance, that:
What a busy little man he is. 🙂 The legal gene may have skipped a generation, but Finny seems determined to restore the family tradition. (I think his cheeks will go really well with the powdered wig.)
During the Liggetts’ recent visit, Grandpa L. put his height to great use and helped paint the new baby’s room–a huge help to us. Now Margot has spent some time getting the room tuned up with some zooty space imagery, and Finn really digs playing in there (especially asking for “buh-buh” (bubbles)). Here’s a little gallery (HTML).
We had quite the full weekend with the Finn-man. Activities included everything from picnicking & burying feet in sand at Our New Favorite Park, to having pals Anja, Mira, and Bruce over for dinner, to going for a long & challenging walk around the Stanford radio telescopes (complete with second picnic!).
During dinner yesterday this little guy decided that he really, really likes ice cream, and he decided that our “sharing” approach should go like this: “One bite for me, and then one bite for Dad me, followed by one bite for me, and then one bite for me…” And you know, I’ve gotta say that kid is surprisingly strong when he wants something!
Here are a few photos (HTML) from the goings-on.
Finn is officially thirteen months old today! Just in the last week, he’s hit a few more milestones. For instance, he now says “Mama” directly to me, quite frequently. It’s unspeakably rad!
He is also very interested in some new characters in his story books. He is fascinated with the yak in our animal alphabet book, and wants to skip right from “Ape” to “Yak” so he can say “Yak” & “Moooooo”. We also have a book where the main character turns into a big bug who is slurping some kind of goo, and Finn *loves* to skip to the bug page and make slurpy noises. Oh, and his current favorite book is a hilarious one called “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!“–we must read it at least 3 times a day.
[Oh yes, and Finno and I love to play “Sproingy Doorstopper.” First we party on the actual sproingy doorstopper, making it waggle & chatter. Then I stick out one index finger, pull it back with the other, and then make it go all sproingy doorstopper, complete with surprisingly good sound effects. 😉 Finn is fascinated. –J.]
This morning we bid adieu to the GPs L as they headed back to Oklahoma. Before doing so, though, we squeezed in plenty of good times. Finno rampaged around and got himself willingly ensnared, flipped, and tossed by Grandpa, much to everyone’s delight.
We also found time for some quieter book-reading, walks, and more. Margot’s folks even brought out “Karen,” the baby doll from her childhood. (Finn is fascinated with trying to make the eyes shut–something he then tries on the rest of us!) Check out the latest gallery (HTML) to see the goings-on.
Finny’s Liggett Grandparents arrived on Wednesday to spend a week with their youngest grandchild. Finn instantly warmed up to both Grandma and Grandpa, and has been having some high times (literally!) the past few days. Since John was in Boston for a Photoshop show this week, it was good timing for me–extra hands and extra entertainment for the little guy.
Finn has become Grandpa’s little shadow, always making sure that he knows exactly where Grandpa is, so he can be sure to get in lots of good lap time, cuddles, and horseplay. In fact, Grandma and Mom have taken a bit of a back seat to the dudes! Happily, Grandma has gotten in some good storybook reading and lap time, too. Here is a tiny gallery (HTML) of recent adventures.
And here is a little clip of the aforementioned “high times” with Grandpa:
Daddy with the cam, Mama with the *SLAM*! Little Finn gets bounced around the couch (much to his evident delight) together with his wee wingman Leo. 🙂
We know Finn has been teething like mad lately, and the big ol’ molar bumps under his gums are hard to miss. This morning while we were playing, I got a look into Finny’s upside-down, wide-open maw, and saw that he’s got 2 new molars emerging–one on either side of his upper jaw. You can just see the white pointy parts above the gums.
Whew–no wonder he was having trouble napping, and eating, and was just generally fussy there for awhile. Those chompers are BIG! The ones on his lower jaw are getting ready to make their move, and I expect we’ll be seeing them pretty soon. I’m sure Finn will be thrilled to be able to grind down tortilla chips and other crunchy stuff just like Mom and Dad!
Finn was lucky enough to score a VIP invite to an older woman’s birthday party this weekend…We thought perhaps a May-December romance was in the offing, but everything ended up purely platonic. That’s good, considering Anja, the birthday girl, is only two, and Finny is only half her age! (Anja attended Finny’s b’day party earlier in the month, and her dad Bruce offered the following commentary: “Two year-old at a one year-old’s party! Cougar’s on the prowl!”)
Here are some pics (HTML) from the party.
A couple of weeks ago (wow, time is starting to fly), our friends Bryan, Alex, and new little guy Miles joined Margot, me, and our Cheekmaster General at Alice’s Restaurant up in the nearby Santa Cruz mountains. Both dads had fun piloting the families up the endlessly twisting roads, and surprisingly the car seats remained refreshingly puke-free! 🙂 Finny enjoyed some high-speed “drive bys” from a couple of fetching doggies, after which he got down and did his best pawing dog impression. Here’s a little gallery (HTML) of the goings-on.
Q. What’s a pretty tremendous way to start the day?
A. Feeling, for the first time, “El Segundo” kick!
Thanks to Finn’s baby monitor noisily trying to intercept moon transmissions or solar flares or something, Margot and I found ourselves awake before 5am today. Turns out we weren’t the only ones awake: “The Little Bitty Guy is really partying down there,” reported Margot. And sure enough, our friend met dad’s hand with a few solid jolts! Way to go, lad. We’re looking forward to meeting you. 🙂