Tea Time

All the cousins went over to Nana and Papa's today to play. Here they are enjoying tea time. Finn was most excited by the spoons.

Yard Work and Mud

Yesterday was beautiful so Finn and I got out for some play. Finn was very serious about clearing the yard of sticks, however. Gearing up for spring...







He also managed to find two small mud puddles and he really enjoyed playing in them. Oh the fun we will have when mud season is actually here!

The Sky's the Limit!

This week Finn has reached new heights in his efforts to learn to climb. All of a sudden, he has figured out how to climb onto just about anything that he can find. He first figured out the dining room chairs and since then, I have been downright shocked at what he can surmount and scared to death by his speed. This has resulted in me repeating ad nauseum, "Finn, please sit on your bottom. No, no, that isn't safe, please sit on your bottom. Finn, if you can't sit on your bottom in the chair, you must get down. Finn, please sit on your bottom. Finn, we sit on our bottoms in chairs. No, Finn, you must be safe and sit on your bottom. Finn, please sit on your bottom."

You wouldn't know it given this angelic pose:

Dog Food

We are continuing to add to Finn's chore list with the latest being, "feed the dog."






This activity runs in the family. Here is a pic of me with our wonderful dog, Jake:

Happy President's Day!

Sean had today off for President's Day and we took advantage by going to the beach! It was a beautiful day hitting about 40 degrees and sunny. We have snow coming tomorrow so I am very glad we got to have some fun today.

Lily was the only one to brave the water. She had a grand time fetching a very long stick:





We hiked all around the beach and took in the beautiful views:



Lily played with mussel shells and did some digging:

Once Finn got out of the backpack, he was on the move. First thing he did was grab a fist full of sand and run toward the water just like he did when we were in Mexico!
He had some fun in Lily's hole:
Then, he found a perfectly sized walking stick:




It was tough trying to convince Finn he couldn't just walk into the water yet:

Ice Fishing

Sean and Finn went ice fishing today with some of Sean's friends from work. It was their first Father/Son fishing trip. It looks like Finn has his Dad's love of fish...

15 Months

Finnbar is 15 months! For some reason, every 3 month addition seems extra significant. I guess because that is when he goes into the pedi for his well checks (scheduled for next week).

So, here are some fun 15 month occurrences:

• Finn is trying like heck to figure out door knobs. It is only a matter of time before he can open the front door.
• I have read that you can tell handedness until around 2 years, but I have noticed a lot lately, that he will favor his right hand for tasks. He will begin with a ball or hammer in his left hand and then switch to his right to throw or bang them.
• Finn wants to be up on chairs all the time, but convincing him to sit on his bottom is a challenge.
• He loves to turn off lights. I have to pick him up, but then he will flip the switch like a pro.
• Finn loves to help his Dad build the fire in the wood stove by picking off kindling from logs or crumbling up paper and handing it to Sean. He is very insistent on it.
• Finn is giving big bear hugs that melt my heart these days. He will run up and wrap his arms around my neck and hug like crazy. He will often then pull away and give a big sloppy kiss. He hasn't figured out how to pucker, so it is very wet.
• He likes to honk our noses, and he sometimes tries to pick them.
• He can point out multiple body parts, but his faves are noses, ears, teeth and toes.
• Finn really doesn't want us to help him brush his teeth and will clamp his lips together, but strangely, he will actually let me floss his bottom teeth! When the dentist suggested we do it because they are so close together, I thought she was crazy, but lo and behold I tried it and he opens right up, lets me floss his bottom two teeth and we now do it every morning.
• He is very close to getting his 5th tooth (upper left lateral incisor) and I think the 6th might be close behind it.
  
• Finn LOVES his Dad and is often demanding to be picked up by Sean or launching himself from my arms into Sean's.
• Finn's favorite activity right now is reading. He will spend a good hour going and grabbing a book to read and bringing them too us. He then turns around and backs up to plop into our labs and read the book. He has favorites that we read thousands of times a day (seriously 1000s!). His favorite is We're Going on a Bear Hunt. He likes to point out the dog in every illustration.
• I love the reading development as it gives us lots of extra cuddle time. Lily is happy to be in the middle of it too.
  

• We have decided to introduce some whole cow's milk into Finn's diet. Originally, we were going to hold off, but in a month I am going to be away from Finn for 3 days (to go to Ohio, will update to that whole thing soon) and with no mama milk stashed away we decided it was time to get Finn used to a different milk source. He started out liking it, but then started spitting it out and then refused it completely. Then I discovered, he liked it if he could drink it from the cup without a straw. Then, he stopped liking it. So, then we decided to mix it with a little drinkable yogurt. He is hit or miss on this. Some days, he enjoys it, others he doesn't want it. We try at lunch every day. He does enjoy yogurt and he loves cheese, so even if he doesn't take to milk, it isn't a big deal. It also took awhile for him to like yogurt and cheese, so it could just take awhile to figure this out. Here is his first milk mustache:

Laundry Day

Finn is ever-so-helpful with household chores. He really likes to help with the laundry. Its good he is earning his keep so young!