Um... Hello?

Remember me? I think I used to blog once upon a time. Maybe. Either that or we've got a serious doppleganger issue on our hands. Hmmm...

Anyway, it's a new year (when did that happen?), and we've got 4-6 weeks before the new baby gets here. I figured I might as well update my sorry excuse for a blog while I'm still fueled by this insane nesting urge. Otherwise, it might be June again before I do it.

Luke has grown leaps and bounds since the summer. I actually have to register him for Kindergarten (Kindergarten!) in a few weeks. I think it will be really good for him. He has made lots of friends this year in preschool and seems to be having a great time. He can't wait to go five days a week instead of "only three." His current love is dinosaurs. I imagine it will be for some time as his mental sponginess shows no sign of saturation. It amazes me (everyone, really) how much information he retains about dinosaurs. He likes to stump us by giving us clues to see if we can figure out which dinosaur he's thinking of. He stumps us often since he knows more about them than we do. When one of the main clues is "early cretaceous period," I give up! Grandpa Bill and I took him to see Dinsaurs: Unearthed at the Science Center a couple of months ago. The animatronic beasts were life-sized, which freaked him out a bunch, but I think he still really enjoyed it. Grandpa Bill was definitely in his element, too!

Luke is also taking his role as biggest brother very seriously. He jumps at the chance to help out, and, if he starts having behavior troubles, all we have to say is, "Remember, you're the man of the house." Complete 180, instantly. I'm hoping his helpful nature continues after the baby gets here. It sure would be nice to have an extra pair of hands, however little, once Clint goes back to work.

Finn has been busy as well. We switched pediatricians in October, and the new doc asked me how many words I thought Finn was able to say. I guessed around 50-60. But then I got curious and started writing them down. I was completely shocked when we hit the 300 mark at 20 months! I spent so much time telling myself that Luke had exceptional language skills as a baby, so that I wouldn't expect Finn to be the same way. But it turns out that Finn is just as chatty and verbose as his big bro. Who knew?

Other than all the talking and a Y chromosome, Finn and Luke are completely different kids. Luke is very sensitive and imaginative, while Finn is rough and tumble, determined and fearless. He has a wacky sense of humor, too. He realized the other day that "Nana" is in the word "banana" and has taken to calling my mom "Banana" and cackling. He also thinks it's hilarious to purposely mix up names, like when he says to me, "Why, Dad?" and cracks up. Goofy, twisted little kid. He likes totally different things than his big brother did at this age. It's fun to see which interests develop. He's really into the play kitchen and food, and he loves to color and draw. It took forever to get Luke to give two hoots about writing anything, but Finn is already drawing circles and trying to make them into faces. I'm curious to see what other differences they have, not to mention what kind of interests the new baby develops.

Well, I know that doesn't exactly cover the last six months, but life is calling (or more acurately, Finn is incessantly saying my name), so that's all for now. Hopefully, I'll be able to take advantage of the nesting urge and get photos updated before our world gets turned upside-down in a few weeks. If not, well... I guess I'll see you again in June. :)

Caution: Gratuitous Cuteness Ahead

Not to be outdone by his big brother, Finn has had his own share of new things. He got a new tooth today, which brings the grand total to six. He likes to climb on everything. A few weeks ago, I caught him suspended between the bench in our dining room and the window - he was trying to get a bird's eye view of somethin! He hangs on anything he can reach, like the back of his highchair, the handles to the freezer, stove and dishwasher. And for some strange reason, he LOVES to bang his head on things. Hard things. He is constantly crawling under the table, under which he is too tall to fully stand, and then slowly standing up until his head bumps the table. Then he'll grin at us while bouncing up and down, knocking his noggin on the wood. He definitely seems to seek out new sensations. He has been talking and signing more, including please (sign) and thank you, "tickle, tickle", kick-kick, bath, bottle, and shoes (sign). He is very passionate about food, as well as being particular. He likes anything with bread in it, especially when covered in pizza sauce or SunButter (see photo above). He loves any fruit that will give him a wicked diaper rash, like pineapple and strawberries. He loves spicy things like Jamaican Jerk chicken and sausage, but he will not touch pasta of any kind, thankyouverymuch.

Finn is an interesting mix of mischevious imp (you should hear his maniacal giggle) and snuggle bug. He'll be running laps around the house, trying to keep up with Luke, and then collapse onto a blanket or pillow, hugging it like it's his best friend. He has a shameless infatuation with the cat door and perpetually throws toys, shoes and sippy cups - pretty much anything that he can get his hands on - down the stairs. We have to be careful when taking a trip downstairs. It could easily turn into tripping down the stairs!

But mostly, he is just so stinkin' cute all the time. Especially when he makes his "excited" face, which is more of a whole body expression, or grins with his eyes squinted closed. SO. DARN. CUTE. ***sigh***

Maybe this weekend I can update the photo galleries, so you can see what I'm talking about. Don't you just want to kiss that face? I know I do.

Firsts

It's time for the monthly update, since that's all I seem to be able to handle these days. :P Luke has had a week of firsts. Last night, he got to go to his first baseball game with Daddy. It was a perfect night. The Cards beat the Reds 3-1 in a quick game, that included a home run by Pujols and the obligatory fireworks. Luke completely charmed Devin and Jamie, the two girls behind him. Devin is apparently one of those rare people who not only "gets" Luke's peculiar brand of humor, but also appreciates it.

Last Sunday, Luke and I went to Six Flags for the day. He has been before, but he was too little to ride anything and too little to remember it. This time he was tall enough to ride roller coasters! The pic on the left is from the second time we rode the Shazam!, which Luke loved (I think they used to call it the Scrambler). We also rode the Mine Train and Tony Hawk's Big Spin. The dark mine shaft at the end of the Mine Train kind of freaked him out, but he handled it well. The Tony Hawk ride was much more intense than I was anticipating, so I was floored when he said he liked it at the end! He loved the Log Flume and Thunder River - we got stuck under the water fall and got drenched! - but I think his favorite thing was the fountains in the Bugs Bunny National Park. Either that, or his own cone of rainbow sherbet!



We also went to the City Museum last Saturday. Luke has been before, but this was the first time we got to go into the World Aquarium. It was really cool. They had several exhibits where you could actually touch animals, like sharks and stingrays. There was also a clear tunnel that went under the water inside one of the aquarium tanks, so you could get up close and personal with the sea life. It was pretty amazing!

I think the poor kid may be bored next week...

Checking in

Wow, so it's been two months since the last post. Amazing how time flies! The boys are doing great. Finn now has five teeth as of yesterday. Be warned, he bites. He actually bit his own finger the other day, which was pretty funny. I doubt he'll do that again! What else is he doing these days...? He learned to climb up on top of the coffee table the other day, so it's on hiatus in the basement for the near future. He is insanely cute, even when he throws his spectacular tantrums. Let's just say, Finn is our passionate kid. ;)

Luke is really into dinosaurs lately. He can hardly focus on what we're saying to him, but he can tell you whether a Parasuchus was a dinosaur or a prehistoric marine reptile. It's kind of amazing. He says the zaniest things, too. The other day while we were driving somewhere, he starts singing, "Dam, dam, dam, dam, dam, dam, dam, dam." Rinse and repeat. Clint asked him why he was singing that, thinking he was singing another word entirely. Luke told us that it was from an episode of The Wonder Pets where they saved a beaver. Then he launched back into singing. Clint and I were desperately trying to contain a mad case of the giggles, when Luke asked, "Do you like my dam song?" Suffice it to say, we lost it.

I need to update pictures one of these days, right after I get them off of my camera. I've been a little lax in the photo department. We're finally going to get new family pictures and birthday pictures for the boys taken on Thursday. Nevermind that Luke is almost 4.5 and Finn is a week shy of 15 months. Bad mommy! Oh well. Life just gets in the way sometimes.

YAY! It's finally arrived!

Ok. We've been waiting for this day since, like, September. And it just never happened. Every few days we thought, "Is this it? Is today the day?" Nope. We were wrong.

When it didn't happen, we figured it might come sooner rather than latter. Instead of checking every few days, we'd check every couple of weeks. But as September, then October, then DECEMBER and finally JANUARY passed us by with nothing to show for it, we finally decided that it just wasn't gonna happen. We gave up on the whole concept and thought we'd just be doing without for years to come.

yesterday, after dinner, I had the boys. We were playing dinosaur, which, by the way, is Luke's favorite thing in the world to play right now. Luke was stomping around being the awesome Parasaurolphus that he is, and I figured I'd check again. I didn't really expect to find anything really. It was more habit than anything. But guess what? Did I actually find something? No. It just couldn't be. But sure enough. It was there.

Drumroll please.











Finn has his first tooth!

YAY!

Of course, being the stinker of a boy that he is, he refused to let me see anything. But I didn't really care if I saw it or not. I felt that sharp little bugger on his left front bottom. And it was sharp. A lot sharper than I remember Luke's being. But I found it. Erica found Luke's first tooth one day at the park and I got to find Finn's first. It was really kind of exciting.

Now on to the bad news. We were apparently very lucky with Luke and teething. Although we knew this from what other parents have told us about how their kids handled teething, we were not really ready for it. Finn is currently a very unhappy camper. Not that I can blame him. Like I said, that tooth is pretty darn sharp. Like a single little fang. Something like that pushing up through his gums has to hurt. You'd be a little irritable, too. I know I would. But at least the first one is here. Finally. The kid's been wanting to eat real food for a while now. He even consumed most of a pancake the other day. So hopefully, in the not too distant future, he'll be chewing steak and potatoes with the best of them.

How Can It Be?

It seems like just yesterday that I was walking laps through Labor & Delivery, getting teary-eyed every time I saw the newborns in the hospital nursery because I couldn't wait to meet you. It seems like just yesterday that I held you in my arms for the first time, heard your breathy and passionate cry, and welcomed you into my heart.

So how is it possible that we celebrated your first birthday today? How is it possible that you are walking and talking and charming the sense out of everyone who looks at you? You seem to have suddenly gone from being a tiny, helpless baby to being an increasingly independent, tiny person who has a definite opinion on the merits of cake and icing. It brought me so much joy to watch you today, to imagine what is yet to come for you and to see how far you've come already. Happy birthday, sweet Finn! I love you!

And happy birthday to your Daddy, the love of my life.

Happy Birthday, Finn

Growing up, birthdays were always a special time for the people in my family. The birthday boy or girl was the center of attention. They got to open presents and blow out the candles on their cake. It was fun and exciting and we could barely wait for it again the next year. In years past, I've always been a fan of the presents part of the birthday. I never wanted to share any of it with anyone. I never would have thought that someone else would become more important on my birthday than me.

When Mommy and I found out that you would probably be born at the beginning of March or the end of February, my first thought was that it was close to mine, but I never imagined that you might actually be born on MY birthday.

As the time went by and the doctor narrowed down your possible birthday, it became more and more possible that it might actually occur on the day I was born. Then it actually happened. I honestly can't describe the feeling of sharing the day I was born with my son. Just thinking about it right now makes my eyes well up with tears. In an instant, I no longer cared about my presents or my cake or anything about me. February 22 became our birthday instead of mine.

So today, one year from the day that you came into our lives and changed it forever, you expanded our family by one, but you expanded our hearts immeasurably. Happy Birthday, little Finn. Please remember that you are loved more than you can possibly know.