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!

Couch Cushions

make a good jungle gym. Its a good way to practice climbing and get some energy out.

Happy 40th, Nana & Papa!

This weekend, we celebrated Nana and Papa's 40th wedding anniversary. It was a lovely party and Finn really had a great time. Here he is at the big kids' table:


Congratulations, Nana and Papa on 40 years of marriage! Cheers, Cheers!


One of Finn's favorite parts was the cake. It was great fun because up to this point he has been fairly indifferent about cake. This time, we finally got the classic smash technique.

First a tentative bite off the fork:

Oh, better use his hands:

All in:

What a mess!

Fun-Filled Weekend

We have had a really nice, long weekend. It started on Friday when I took Finn to Flipz, a local gymnasium that has open hours for children to run amok on their equipment. Finn loves it. I didn't get a lot of great photos because I was chasing after him and trying to make sure he didn't run off the edge of anything. He is truly fearless. They have balls all over the place and he kept running up this mat to throw them off:
Here he is on the tumble track trampoline.

We also had plenty of nice downtime, hanging out and reading. This is the only time Finn will sit still these days, when he can sit on our laps and read. He will spend a lot of time going and getting us books and then climbing into our lap to read. I love that cuddle time and Lily enjoys getting in on the action too:

We had a wonderful snowfall through last night and today. We had a lot of fun playing in the yard:


And, it turns out we actually do have a sled dog:




Finn had a good time trying to walk through the deep snow:




This afternoon, we packed up and did a lovely snowshoe through the woods:
Those are some big maples:
Finn gets a big kick out of watching the dogs run around in the snow:

14 Months

Ah, how does time fly. I missed posting on the 3rd, but here is a quick post devoted to Finn's completion of the 14th month! He is as cute as can be:

Finn got this John Deere dump truck for Christmas, but the only thing he wants to load into it is himself. He will climb in and then demand to be pushed around in it. Fun times for him, but tough on our backs! Lily, as always is unsure of it:



Finn is really into his Dad these days. The minute Sean walks in the door, Finn drops what he is doing, runs out to him and demands to be picked up. He also will always give Sean a kiss good night, whereas he is fickle with his kisses for mama. Here are the guys hanging on the couch watching some football and reading some books:
Finn very much enjoys putting on our clothes and shoes these days. He will whine to be helped into his Dad's big boots. Amazingly, he is able to stumble around in them. He also loves putting on out mittens and winter hats.


Finn has several magnet toys and he likes to take the magnets off of the fridge and transport them around the house to see what they will stick to. He also thinks it is very funny to put things on people's or dogs' heads, much to Lily's chagrin:

Overall, you can tell, Finn is just into everything. Explore, explore, explore. He wants to climb everything and when he can't do it himself, he will run up to say the bed or couch and pick up his leg as if he is attempting to climb, but then turn around and whine for us to pick him up and put him on the furniture. It is completely exhausting trying to keep up with him and to discourage him from getting into the trash or the toilet, or removing all the books from the shelf, or any number of things that he just really shouldn't mess with. I really need a primer in redirecting, because often, he just seems un-redirectable! We really have our hands full in the coming months, I am sure!

Wait, What?, Its 2010?

Ah, I am behind in the blog posting as usual....so HAPPY NEW YEAR! My resolution is to take procrastination to a whole new level! Just kidding, actually one of the reasons I am behind in posting is that I am actually trying my darndest to stick to my resolutions.

Resolution: FINISH DISSERTATION! Yes, this is the year that you will forever have to refer to me as Dr. Sadie. I absolutely positively will finish this thing. I have implemented a 2 hour pledge. I will work on it no matter what for 2 hours a day, Sunday through Thursday (hopefully as I get ramped up, I will put more time in, but trying to set an attainable goal). Then on Friday, I email my advisor with my progress. This spring I will have to give a seminar in the department at Kent and then, I will defend this summer. I must file my application to graduate on June 18th and defend by July 6th. It is possible. I keep reminding myself it is a short period of time to forgo much needed sleep and in a measly 7 months, I will be done and never again go through the hell of graduate school :) And I will publish my dissertation on this blog so you all may gain amazing insight into clam shrimp mating systems! Okay, I won't do that. But, I will keep you updated to my progress and, please, ask me about it at every chance you get to keep me motivated and accountable.

So, I hope you all are having a great start to 2010. We had a lovely get together at Finn's Nana and Papa's on New Year's Day. We had chili and got some more ice skating in on the pond. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera there so posts will be somewhat sparse in the picture department until I swing by and get it back. Other than that, we have just been recouping from the holidays, taking down decorations and trying to get into the swing of things.

Cheers, Cheers to the new year and decade!