He's three!

Oh, my sweetest little Finn! You turned three years old! And since then, you've had this monumental leap in personality and thoughtfulness...even though you fell heavily, splat, right out of Lily's bed last night and flat on your tummy onto the hard floor. It didn't shake any brains out, though.

Physical heft aside, and you have visibly grown lately, you are kind and gentle. Unless Lily gets all up in your business...which often happens. (Unless I'm not there. Then apparently you don't fight at all because you two are not vying for my attention! Who would have thought?) But you love to share your toast, or your gum, or really anything you have with anyone. You are very attuned to other's feelings which is why I can "cry" and you will softly comfort me. You even blow me kisses through the window as you ride your tricycle and helmet on the patio and melt my heart.

Dad said the other day you asked if you could throw something out the front window. He said no, then went back downstairs. A few minutes later you yelled, "Dad, come see what I did!" When he arrived, he saw that while you hadn't thrown the original item out, a toy cash register, other toys and magazines had been hurled onto the path below. But we seldom get upset, likely because we're just reveling in your pride and utter cuteness when declaring these things. Besides, your feelings are easily hurt. You come from a long line of sensitive people.

You are convinced you a big boy and while I won't disagree, you seriously think we should let you drive the van home from daycare. True story! But you're still not potty trained. At times, you will protest, screamingly, the taking off or putting on of diapers. Which is too bad because you are so good at peeing on the toilet, especially since Mezia implemented jelly bean rewards. (Apparently Smarties weren't as strong an incentive.) Pooping is currently your downfall. You can't squat on the toilet, therefore you don't consider it an option. No rush, my last baby.

We had your birthday party on your actual birthday, a Thursday. Lily wanted Carly there as your birthday is her half birthday and well, her birthday is your half birthday. Nana came, too. We started with presents as I couldn't see a reason to make you wait. You got so much awesome stuff! A zoo Duplo set and book from Uncle Nigel, Auntie Jessie and Ferguson; a semi truck and digger Lego set from Grandma and Grandpa; a pirate treasure chest with dagger, spy scope, bandanna, etc., and pirate figurines from Nana; a bunch of big boy gotch from Carly and Jack; a Captain Hook cuff with fishing rod, canon, net, hook set from Lily; and a large pirate sword with treasure map, etc. and Spiderman mask from Mom and Dad. After, we ate supper of mac 'n' cheese and sweet potato fries before calling Jack to join us for cake. You blew your candles out like a pro. Things got a little dodgy after that with lots of crying so after Carly and Jack went home, you went to bed and were asleep within minutes.


You are a big, beautiful, bright boy whom we all adore. Happy birthday, Finn!

Funny Finn at (almost) 26 months

The last couple months since you turned two have been lots of fun. You are just starting to talk in well-formed sentences that you thought up yourself. Which is surprising. And entertaining. Like:

"I go outside now. Bye!"
"I ride my bike."
"Yilyee (Lily), come sit down."
"There's Mezia's van."
"Mom, come back."
"I stay home."
"You coming?"
"Oh, it's suppertime."
"Motorcycle!"
"No bugging me."

Because you do get bugged a lot. And when taken to the edge, you like to bite and hit. Not that we blame you, but then we learned that you got into a fight with Lulu at the daycare. She ended up bleeding and you had two lumps on your head. She's three, but she's sweet on you. We got to see it in action at Jack's fifth birthday party. Despite having her own bag of popcorn, she just wanted to eat yours. And she was always by your side. I think she's the highlight of your weekdays.

Lulu is the little girl behind Finn.

On the weekends and some evenings, playing outside or with Lily and Carly is where it's at. You jump on the trampoline and play games with them. You swing beside them. You ride your bike, push the cart and throw your balls – and try to get into the garage where all the tools are. Our patio was a smart investment as it gets used constantly and as long as the gate's shut and the kitchen window is open, you are happy to be out there by yourself. You spend fairly long stretches of time in the sandbox or up in the "tree fort" scribbling over Lily's birthday party invitee list written in chalk. Some mornings before work, we send you out just to keep you busy while we finish getting ready. One day, you were eating a popsicle in the tree fort when you put in down on the chalk board ledge, then just came over and gave me a tight hug around the next before going to get your popsicle again.

You can count to 12 and say your ABCs (or something akin to it). You like to sing and read books about the babies on the bus, diggers and garbage trucks. You still sleep fairly well...until 5 a.m. when you request my presence. You spend at least the next hour in my arms until Lily comes in. Usually you spring right up to see her, even though she immediately starts poking and irritating you. She and you eat cinnamon toast or smoothies for breakfast. Usually you help Dad make the smoothies because they taste better then. You love ketchup on everything, maybe because we eat a lot of home fries as a supper side dish. Dipping is high on your list of suppertime demands. But you say "yucky" a lot, even when you don't mean it. Don't know if you picked that up from Lily or from daycare.

You go grocery shopping with Dad. I can't come because it all goes to heck then. I send you on a mission for broccoli, which you dutifully accept. You actually will go anywhere with Dad which is so, so nice.

While you haven't done it for a while, you'll put yourself in a time out. You sit on the stairs while I put the timer on. You can't move until it beeps. (We're just impressed that you listen because Lily never did. We still can't put her in her room without her literally trying to claw her way out!) But if you're well rested, you rarely have bad days. On the weekends, you slip into a two to three hour nap around 11:30. Weekends are so nice, especially since you don't require a whole lot of structure or entertaining. And we try to never have much to do, just play it by ear because the more you can play whatever you want, the better.

You still love to help. You scrape plates and stack the supper dishes. You put the condiments away. You help with the food processor and the mixer. You get toilet paper for Lily when she screams that there is none. You close the door when we leave the house in the morning. You start Nana's car. You pull weeds. You say you want to help water, but I think you just want the hose.

You want to play t-ball because every Monday through Thursday, kids and their parents walk behind our fence to the ball diamond. There are two games. One at 6 and one at 6:30 p.m. Sometimes you want to play with them so bad, you lay on the floor and cry. On Sundays, the older kids play football right behind the fence and you want to join them, too. Oftentimes, we'll just go to the park to be near all the action. That seems to help. You love climbing and going down slides with Mommy.

And I'm sure there's a lot I'm forgetting... You change constantly, always for the better.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Finn!

Today you turned two so we celebrated by going out for supper, opening some gifts and blowing out some candles. On Saturday, we'll celebrate again with Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Carly with supper and cake and more candles. You'll be really good at it by then. Happy birthday, little man!

Sentences!

Finn's speech has improved a lot this past week with a lot more sentences. Today he said, "I go in, too." It was the "too" part that surprised me. And even before this week, he'd just say "in" and nothing more complex. Of course, there are still things he just whines in one long word. Mostly it's been "outsiiiide" this week. But here are some other thing I can think of off-hand:

• "biPad" became "iPad"
• "Put on boots."
• "Finn throw ball."
• "No, Mommy push." On the swing.
• "No, Mommy do it."
• "No, Lily. Stop it." 
• "Sit down."
• "Change my bum."
• He sang Twinkle, Twinkle using only the word Mom.

And here's where I just upload a really adorable pic of him in his new awesome shades. Ah, I could just eat him up.

Oh, Finney

You are now twenty-two months old. Over the past five or so days, your personality has exploded. You are funny and grouchy and oh, so sweet. On Saturday, we found you having fallen into the toilet, a wad of toilet paper in your hand for wiping. Of course, you still had your pajamas and diaper on. The next day you were "washing your hands" in the bathroom. When I heard the water and came to haul you out, I saw that you'd submersed the cordless phone into the water, the screen three-quarters full and lighting up with things we'd never seen before. You often get hauled out of the tub for continually turning on the cold water when you and Lily and having a bath, so water in the kitchen, bathtub, sink and toilet are kind of a problem...

You love to vacuum. You eat apples whole – core, stem, seeds, all of it. You walk up and down the stairs without hands now. You love to be scared when we run the loop around the kitchen and living room. You yell at Lily when she's freaking out, pointing out the absurdity of her poor behaviour. You love talking on the phone or being on FaceTime. When you are having a general conversation, you just jabber on without distinct words, mimicking the style and flow of a conversation. But you know how to talk and will surprise us by saying things. You helped me do laundry one day and were so proud, you just kept saying "I did it!" then went and got Dad to show him what you did. You also say, "Yesh! I did it" when playing basketball.

You know all the Muppets on Sesame Street from their website because we do a fair amount of video watching. My favourite is when you laugh like Bert, say Ernie and do the Snuffle Shuffle with Snuffy. You play kitchen, often pouring me drinks or cooking "tupper" for your baby that cries and giggles. You put her in the high chair when she eats and into the crib when it's time for bed. You know when something's hot, whether it be food, water from the tap, the toaster, the microwave, the oven, the coffee maker. You love warming up Dad's warmie (aka: magic bag) in the microwave because you get to push buttons. You like dinosaurs and trucks and polar bears and owls. You lift your shirt or undo you jammies when you want to press your tummy against my tummy. You have a waning obsession with belly buttons. You often put your head down on our shoulders when we hold you. You and Lily hit each other; rather, you hit her and she hits back until it gets nasty. You easily say good night to me and Lily when Daddy takes you to bed, even though you are less of a fan of going to sleep lately. You watch the same episode of Elmo's World every time we go in the van. You don't watch t.v. at home at all.

You're still our baby, but you're getting to be such a big boy. It's an amazing time and we enjoy (almost) every second of you.

Finn talks - another feat at 16 months

Finn at 16 months - Basketball Superstar!

Shootin' hoops - Finn at 16 months from Hood/Anderson on Vimeo.

This little guy has been obsessed with basketball. He can spot a net or a ball from a mile away and points out every one we pass on the street. He's mesmerized watching kids (and some moms) playing at the school yard. And yesterday, he tried to trade Nana his soccer ball for her new basketball. Sometimes you just know what you like.

This shot actually went in! Now that's talent.

One year old!

Our sweet Finnamon bun! Today you turned one year old. It has totally flown by. (Seriously. When I went back to work today, it felt like I'd maybe been gone a month.) But here you are, already a bright and charming little man that is an absolute pleasure to have in our lives.

Finn's first birthday! from Hood/Anderson on Vimeo.

We had a little party for you yesterday. We opened presents, played outside, had Easter supper, then birthday cake after. You got some puzzles from the Hurlburts, clothes and a big yellow loader from Nana, and we got you a water and sand farm table. (You ate the sand.) The cake part was a huge success. It's obvious from the pictures that you thought having this icing and sprinkle-laden cake with a little flame atop was pretty awesome. And then you devoured almost your whole carrot and raisin cupcake. I still can't believe you wore that hat for the entire time we took pictures...

At one year, you understand so much. When asked if you had a poopy bum and needed a diaper change, you crawled over to the diaper basket, got the wipes and a diaper. But when asked the next day if I could change you, you just shook your head, no. That happens a lot when we ask you stuff these days. You know what you don't want. Things you do want are grunted for.

You babble in sentences which is so sweet. Sometimes it comes out like sounding like real words...which I suppose is the point. You really only say Dada, rarely Mama anymore unless you really want me. You learned to climb out of bed. (We'll have to remember to shut the gate at the top of the stairs...) And of course, you walk. Some days more than others. It's still much quicker for you to power crawl. It's your power crawl, the way your hands slap the hardwood stairs, that alert me to you trying to escape. Always trying to escape. That or climbing into something. Yesterday it was the turkey roaster. Every other day, we find you in the warming drawer of the stove. It's your favourite place to be in the kitchen.

 

It's always something. Like climbing up onto the stool to see if there's water in the sink to splash around. (We have to get better at remembering to close the bathroom door.)

You still eat lots and lots. Blueberries are the best thing ever lately, though they really stain your hands for at least a day or more. Pancakes with blueberries are just as good and disappear from your high chair tray two or three pieces at a time, as do quesadillas. We lost your fork so we've been trying to make due with spoons. It's hard to eat anything except thick, mushy stuff like potatoes or sweet potatoes with a spoon. Sometimes porridge that's been sitting out a while. Not that you mind, but you like being able to bit things with all those teeth. You are currently working on tooth number 8, which made for a miserable sleep last night. Number 7 came in a couple weeks ago.

Here you are eating a whole tomato that I was going to cut up for lunch. It just looked so good, you had to have it.

You love it outside and try and open the back door by yourself. Once out, you crawl all over the patio from the shopping cart to the wagon to the toybox. You find the way the wind blows the balls around very, very fascinating. You like the trampoline, especially when Lily bounces you. (I like it because it's like one big play pen.) We finally put the baby swing up yesterday and you quite enjoyed it, mostly when I tickled you every time you swung forward. We go for walks, whether you are in the wrap, the stroller or the wagon with Lily, it's all good. A snack of cheddar bunnies and raisins makes for an especially nice ride.

I look forward to the summer with you guys and of course, to another wonderful year of changing and growing. Happy birthday, sweet pea!

He walks!

Finn learns to walk!!! from Hood/Anderson on Vimeo.


Finn officially walked for the first time this morning! He was playing at the top of the stairs with the baby gate, but it swung away and he found himself standing there with nothing to grab. So he took a step towards Lily who was right there, then three more right into her arms! Then he kissed her on the cheek!

We're soooooo proud!

11 months old - Almost not a baby anymore...

 Oh my. Perhaps the best way to describe you the past month is busy, just plain busy. And sick. You haven't been 100% healthy for more than 24 hours in the past month, but all those fevers and the perpetually runny nose have barely slowed you down. (Thank god for Advil.) Because of the illnesses, though, you also have never cried so much in your life. You cried for over half an hour straight the other night; nothing would calm you until your daddy took you and walked you around before sleeping on the couch with you downstairs.

But like I said, you are busy. Right now you need to climb the stairs every five minutes to open and close the baby gate over and over. You even try and lift the handle to open it again. Your newest skill is going down the stairs on your bum and while you need to be held onto or you'll likely topple head first, you are very diligent at sitting for each stair. You can also climb up onto the bed using the rail. Big physical feats, but not much standing or walking alone more than a step yet.

You get into stuff. I tried to reply to an email my boss has sent me yesterday and two sentences in, I saw you'd taken the vaseline out of the diaper basket, popped off the lid and were squishing your hand into it. After I cleaned you up and went to finish replying, I heard the toilet flushing. Good times and very typical of what happens whenever I try to accomplish anything. Needless to say, there is little accomplishing.

You play with toys and many other things. All of our Fisher Price ones that went largely untouched in Lily's toddlerhood are very amusing to you. The house, the farm, the pirate ship, the school bus, the plane, all very popular. Right now you are playing with pots and wooden spoons. Then you go through an obstacle course of the counter stools. You keep yourself busy. Of course, when you have been feeling awful, you like mommy to hold you more than usual, but you are typically independent. Now you are throwing pennies around the front door from our pot o' money doorstop.

Aside from pushing the piano stool and every other stool or chair, you get around by walking against the walls. Very efficient and a little more stable. There are still a handful of slips and head bonks on the hardwood floor, but they are lessening...thankfully.

You laugh constantly. Mostly social laughing, but it goes to show your easy-going demeanor. You point and ask "Ga?" which means, "What's that?" Usually about lights and light switches. You love to push buttons on the phone, usually the one that hangs up. You get very agitated when the phone rings and no one answers it, so we just give you the phone. You've phoned more than a few people accidentally. You change the channel or crank up the volume on the t.v. since the remote is also a popular button-based device. It's so cute when you point it at the t.v. to see what will happen.

You have learned to show your distaste by throwing tantrums. You've probably only had one or two full-blown kicking and squealing fits, but that's enough. Yikes. And when Lily wants to carry you around and you won't have it, you reserve a special angry squeal to show her just how much you want to be put down. But ten minutes later, you'll reach out from your car seat to her when we're driving Nana to dialysis and Lily reaches back and you hold hands. Absolutely precious.

One more month of baby, then here we come toddler years!

10 months old - the double digit months

There are six teeth in that mouth now. Four on the top and two on the bottom.

This past month has really been a month of discovery. I swear you barely stopped to rest, despite being SO sick for a good two and a half weeks of it.

Napping has been a struggle all month, mostly because of all the sickness. For the last few days, though, we've pushed your nap to 12:30 p.m. for one good three hour nap. And so far, you're still ready to sleep by 7:30 p.m...which is good, though Lily always falls asleep first.

You sleep with your bum in the air.

Your crawling is fast and furious. You won't even be out of the kitchen (where I am) for ten seconds when I see you crawling up the stairs, already on the third step. You don't crawl like you're a soldier anymore, but like a real baby on your knees. More than half the time, you're on a mission. A musical mission and it's more than adorable.

You have to stand on your tippy toes to reach. Could anything be more sweet?

The kennel door and the baby gates are your fave things to play with. Open, close, open, close, hit yourself in the face as the door swings by, open, close... You get the idea.

You get into everything. I think we've finally stopped you from opening the warming drawer on the stove, but you can't get enough of the pantry, tea towel drawer and cutting board/kitchen scale cupboard. Sometimes you get careless and those chubby fingers get slammed inside. Ouch. I've also caught you climbing up the step stools in the bathrooms and peeking over the counter at the wondrous place of water, the sink.

All of those things – the crawling, the climbing, the stairs, the opening and closing – they all equal injuries, mostly to the head. You started crying one day in the living room and I rushed in to find your head tightly wedged between the couch leg and the end table leg. Another day you lost your footing and feel on your head on the hardwood floor; it even left a big bump for about six hours. I suppose it's just what happens as you learn.

Speaking of things you learn, your Dad and Lily used to think it was cute when you hit them in the face any time they were in reaching distance. They'd laugh at how sweet you were. Didn't stay funny for long, though. (Well, I still think it's cute but only because you rarely hit me and I'm the only one you'll "kiss" when I ask. A good ol' open-mouthed sloppy baby kiss.) You still automatically hit Lily in the face when she nears and honestly, she probably deserves it because she's always in your face or picking on you.

Though she loves to help you, too. And she is an excellent teacher when she puts her mind to it.

You point. The other day, I pulled out our family picture and said "Where's mama?" and you pointed right at me. Then your little finger went to Dad when I asked where he was, then to Lily! We were SO proud. Before you were born, I wasn't sure I'd be as amazed at every little thing you were going to do seeing as you are the second child, oft regarded as less photographed and less coddled than the first. And with Lily unwilling to be photographed these days, you are my muse.

The best thing about this month, though? You say mama and mom and mmmmmmmmm, mmmm – and you specifically say it to me or to Dad when you want me or hear my voice. Lily didn't say it until she was about 14 months old, so this is a treat. You say da da and once you said hi Daddy, but not with as much purpose and yearning as you say mama. Perhaps I'm biased...

A big day for a little guy

Okay, so he doesn't look like such a little guy...

Minutes after Finn and I woke up from our morning nap (no, I don't usually nap but I've been sleeping since Sunday night fighting a particularly bad case of mastitis), I discovered that tooth number five had appeared to the left of the other two in the top of his mouth. (Tooth number four appeared on New Year's Day.) Explains the unusual crying, biting while nursing and difficulty trying to sleep the previous night...

Minutes later, Nana came up to stay with Finn while I dragged my weak body out of bed to shuffle on over to the school to pick Lily up. While putting my coat on, Nana yelled, "He's crawling!" I ran up but of course he'd stopped and there was no time to stay any longer.

Upon getting home with Lily, I got some puffed wheat out to entice him to crawl for the camera. Lily crawled for Cheerios and Finn will eat anything, so I figured it'd be a success. I was right. While he doesn't really pick his body up off the ground, it's his first forward-moving crawling and it was really, really exciting.


Finn crawls! from Hood/Anderson on Vimeo.

8 months old – Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Today, Christmas day, you turn 8 months old. You have become such a little interactive human this month.

You are working on many new skills. You clapped your hands at Lily's concert – after being very surprised by everyone else clapping after each performance. You even sang along. Okay, it was a low moan, but the fact is you were trying to participate.

You look at books. Open the book, close the book. Open the book, close the book. Open the book, turn some pages. And you open cupboards. Open the cupboard, close the cupboard. Look at the grown-up holding you, smile and look for approval or praise.

You don't crawl yet, but if you want to get somewhere – like to the Christmas tree – you will roll there.

You have learned to show how much you want mama, usually in the form of lunging for me. I can't even walk by you when you're playing on the floor without you grabbing my leg. When you are in my arms, you smile and turn away from anyone else who puts out "uppy" arms for you. But you do give daddy love, too. When he got home from work the other day, you tried to crawl across the bed to see him.

Look! A new tooth on top there.

You provide ample comic relief by shaking your head when we ask you questions. Like the other day when Lily came home from the dentist we said, "Now that you have teeth, you'll get to go to the dentist soon." To which you responded no, no, no with head shaking. You also tend to say "no" to Lily the most, whether it's by shaking your head, pushing her away or by disapprovingly grunting at her.

Yes, you are a grunter. It's how you communicate a want. (Crying is still how you communicate your needs.) As soon as we sit down for supper, you immediately freak out and grunt with all your might in hopes that we will shove food into your mouth. So we do, whatever is on our plates. There's been lasagna noodles, chicken, stew, pineapples. You like it all. Especially toast. Sourdough to be exact.

You play piano and you do it with purpose. You travel up and down the keys in mad search of the high notes, then the low notes, then some light tickling of the ivorys followed by intense banging. You could be a prodigy. You also play ukulele; it's especially nice when you're banging the beaded garland from the Christmas tree over the strings.

And here you are pulling yourself up. Very talented.

You like to hit stuff. A lot. Bang. Bang, bang. That's the sound of your toys hitting each other. It's fun to watch, but we have to be sure not to sit too close.

You have lots of hair, but you scratch little cuts in your head when trying to relax.

You are overall a brave, beautiful boy who sometimes sleeps with the covers over your head so we have to find you when you wake up, but we're always happy to find you there.

7 months old

I wish we could freeze time, you are so perfectly wonderful right this second. You laugh at everything. You grunt when you're displeased. You grunt instead of talking. You talk when you wake up from your naps so we know you want us to come up to the bedroom and see you. You still cry when I lay you down for a nap. When you cry, you usually cry "mama." You only say mama or something akin to it when you're upset. You always smile when I walk into the room.

You hate getting bundled up, but you're fine when we're outside. You freak out with total joy when we hold our arms out for "uppy." You whip your head back and forth really fast for fun. You love jumping in your jolly jumper and have really gotten the hang of turning and reaching for whatever is near, like your exersaucer or the jolly jumper stand. You love your whale rattles because you can hit things hard with them – like the window at the pool at Lily's swimming lessons yesterday.

You are big enough to sit in a shopping cart seat, not that we venture out much. You quit lunging forward from sitting into a crawling position because the last time you did it, you hit your mouth and had an owie on it for a week. You just bounce wildly and excitedly now but are cautious not to go forward.

You have two teeth. You've bit me a handful of times while I was nursing you. You quit eating puréed food a couple weeks ago so we only offered you real food. You changed your mind, though, and had five whole cubes of apples the other day, then almost a whole mango and some watermelon. Last night you were thrilled to share our actual supper for the first time; you devoured the root vegetable curry soup with brown rice – kinda like this. You will fit right in to our family's spicy tastes.

I'm guessing that it's just going to get better, huh? I can barely imagine...