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. 🙂
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! I’m late in getting a blog post up for the occasion, but I wanted to get a chance to document Finny wearin’ a bit of the green. Margot and I talked about finding him a little derby to wear, or at least grabbing a good stick outside to make into a small guy’s shillelagh, but the stars didn’t quite align on that front.
No matter, though: we snapped a few pix (HTML) of Finn sporting his new Irish-themed bib from Grandma Nack, accompanied by green-eyed Dad. He’s sure come a long way since last St. Pat’s, eh?
The weather around these parts has been really fantastic lately, so we’ve been getting outside with Finn a lot this week. He’s really been enjoying his new wheels, watching airplanes fly overhead, barking and waving at passing dogs, and exploring all kinds of plants within reach. [He even put a little flower on the back of a friendly old kitty yesterday. –J.]
Today’s adventure was going to the big park about a mile from our house. We Bobbed our way over, and then set Finny loose in the various tunnels, climbing equipment, and bouncy rides. He had a great time, and John got some cute phone-pix of our man in action. Here’s the day’s gallery (HTML).
Oh, the Finnster can run, but he cannot escape Mom’s ever-lovin’ clutches! 😀
Honestly we think our little guy is a very easy baby, all things considered, but when I saw this license plate holder at work, I had to laugh. Here’s a larger image.
You know, normally I wouldn’t call a bag full of Pea Pea “fun,” but I’m happy to be surprised. 🙂
A couple of days ago I got an unexpected treat from my colleague Chris Cox: he’d been at an art show in San Francisco, and he recognized the super-cute characters made by Conduct Happiness. He’d seen their work on my Adobe blog, and it turns out these guys got a lot traffic from my mention. To return the favor, they loaded up Chris with some great loot, including some stickers and a big stuffed pea-man we’ve dubbed “Mr. Pea Pea,” all earmarked for the Finnster. Thanks, guys!
Long story short, here’s our little guy learning to party with pea pea (plus a balloon). 😉