being funny

all of the sudden finley has turned into some funny little character. he's got a personality and he sometimes treats us to giggle fests (he's always been sort of quiet and judgey rather than smiley and giggly).he's also sort of a daredevil. not when it comes to walking - oh, no. but leaping off couches and chairs? sure, no problem! his monthly photos and any shots of him sitting still are next to impossible these days. you can see above that he's debating eating that plant or jumping to the wood floor below.

try to ignore the drool fest and look at those lashes! he is very interested in feet and toes. he even loves the dogs feet and black toenails.

and look! interactive play! or, sharp teeth testing their chopming abilities. along with his personality has come the desire to chew on everything. corners of furniture, baskets, my feet, toys, the dogs' toys...you name it, he's gnawing on it.

and after a long morning of playing, chewing, and trying to fling himself of furniture, there's nothing like a quick nap in a comfy bouncer. he's been doing this a lot now and i find it's a good way to figure out if he's actually tierd in the morning. he plays and the bouncing must lull right off to sleep. i watch him nod off and scoop him up and into his crib to complete his morning nap somewhere a bit less upright.

what a character...

11 months

yes. 11. eleven months old.

we're under a month away from finley's first birthday and i seriously (seriously!) do not know how this has happened. i'm in pretty deep, planning and dreading and looking forward to his party(ies) all at once. while he won't remember it, we will, and i want to look back and see his first birthday fondly, through fat, rolling tears, i'm sure...

so, at eleven months finley is officially not a baby. he is losing his infant looks and everyday i glance over and see flashes of a little boy. his hair is longer and curly and he has 5.5 teeth - big teeth that do not belong in a little baby's mouth. he doesn't say any words but babbles and screeches. he is nervous to walk, so he reaches out for something but quickly plops down to crawl rather than take a step or two. he did pull his hands away from me last week and stood by himself three times, but he hasn't repeated that brave maneuver again. he eats more table food than purees now and has sampled everything we eat. full dinners are grasped by tiny fingers and shoveled toward his face.

he's been quite sick this last month. he started with a cold that turned into an undiagnosed ear infection, which was post-diagnosed when he has fluid pouring from his left ear. a perforated ear drum and his first round of antibiotics led us straight into his next cold - a virus with a full body rash. he's been coughing, sneezing, snotty, and sad for almost a month and we're all ready for better health. while at the dr., i weighed him fully clothed and he was 19lb 12oz. so even while sick, teething, and moving like crazy he is still putting on weight!

he's a funny little guy. he's learned how to blow raspberries on lots of objects to make loud noises. he crawls as fast as he can around our coffee table. he likes to play in the toilet (!). he giggles and chases the dogs. he likes to snuggle and lay his head on your belly/shoulder/back. he's started to play by himself but would still prefer to be held all day. i guess i should cherish these moments as they'll get fewer and further between. i'm seeing that firsthand!

moving to toddler status

i look at that little face and all of his naughty habits fade away.

somehow at around 10 months, finn went from a baby to a toddler. he's not quite there, but things get crazier every day. he's taking "new year, new me" to extremes.

he went from sitting still and quietly playing or crawl-meandering around the house...to wild child. he zooms from here to there ALL day. just tonight mr. h3b and i were discussing the number of places he went and things he got into in a 4 minute span. dogs, rug, books, bookshelf, mom, dogs, mom, rug.

it's hard to entertain him for consecutive hours (especially since it's cold)! i often resort to the nursery where there are very few "no" items. he raids his toy bin, rocks on the elephant, and bothers the dogs (or they bother him). it's so cute to watch him pick his favorite toys and to chat with them while he's playing.

but the sweetness only last for a minute or two. then he's off tearing books off of a shelf, his new favorite thing. when he spots the bookshelf he zips over to pull everything onto the floor. i must pull him away 40+ times per day.

i have no idea what i'll do when he's walking. he'll be taller and he'll reach more shelves. it's impossible to baby proof all of our things, so i'm considering a straightjacket or, at the minimum, some soft hand-cuffs.

any tips to keep kids out of all the trouble they can find?!

10 months

while he's now ten and a half months, i'm just getting around to this update.

finley is getting to be such a big boy. i can see he's grown longer, but possibly more important, he's gotten some baby chub. some babies might be losing baby fat at this point, what with all the extra moving around, but peanut is just starting to really fill out. (you can tell he's grown because that onesie is the same one i've been using since around 3 months - look how short the arms are!) he nurses three times a day and gets a formula bottle once a day. solid food (finger and purees) three times a day and snacks on the go. he loves to eat.

he has five teeth, two bottom and three on top. so cute, but also shocking that my child will never again have that gummy smile. my stomach gets a little knotted when i think like that...i mean, did i look at his toothless grin enough? enjoy it? memorize it? because it's gone now, forever. i know there's so much to look forward to, but i'm straddling the baby/toddler line and it's a big, slightly painful leap across.

finn crawls like a maniac. he can get to something faster than i can predict where he might go. he loves to chase and be chased and has just learned to play with the dogs. he is pulling up on flat surfaces now and can cruise the furniture fairly easily. he loves to walk holding hands but hasn't dared take a step on his own. he learned to wave hi/bye and says "hi". he says "mmmm" for more (food). he's really babbling with all sorts of bababa, dadada sounds but nothing concrete as far as word formations go.

he started going to baby care at the Y while i work out. it's great because we get 2 hours of care everyday and i get some sanity - some time to myself, for myself. he loves playing with other babies and children and while he's super clingy with me at home (all day whine fest, pulling, pinching to get up) he doesn't mind being without me there. i've watched him play for a bit and it's so sweet. he rarely plays here at home with me around because he seems obsessed with climbing all over me and chewing on/tearing off my face. as soon as he spots me at the Y, though, he reverts back to his ways and melts down until i pick him up. he still isn't shy to go to others and gladly lets the caregivers and friends/family hold him.

he's in his 11th month now. 1.5 months until ONE. please, someone hold me. and pass me some champagne.

catching up pt.2: christmas pictures

i took lots of christmas pictures. portraits at home, shots of finn's actual first christmas at my parents', and more at mr. h3b's parents'. more than i can share here, for sure. but here's a few to get closer to catching up to 2011, 10 months, etc.

finn had so much fun opening presents. he didn't last very long and for me, it was quite different shifting the focus from grown children (us) to a baby. but it was still so great to watch him tear open the wrapping paper only to see that instead of playing with new toys, he tried to eat the packaging.

you can click these to see bigger versions :)

obviously he was thrilled about the new pjs ;) but he looked so cute and did eventually play with the new toys. he's quite the ham posing for pictures!

and at mr. h3b's he got to open more presents, used a makeshift high chair (phone books and a dish rag!), and went snowshoeing. he was such a good boy, even though he got sick and had two more teeth pop through.

i'm so glad to have been able to celebrate christmas with our families. having a baby to re-energize the spirit and fun made everything even more special. and now my baby's first christmas has come and gone and i'm close to finishing up my 2010 posts. and closer to starting first birthday posts, which is just about the craziest thing i can imagine.

then there was xmas

so many pictures, so much fun, so many great memories from this holiday season, the first for finley. we had three trees, one in his nursery, and he did surprisingly well. he never tried to pull it down and we managed to keep him from removing/eating/breaking any ornaments.

lots of traveling for the boy and lots of great presents to haul back home. it was so special to see him in his christmas pjs, opening gifts, going to christmas eve music service, and celebrating with the family.

i was sad to take down the trees this year because the new year means i am so close to his birthday. sad that his first christmas is already over. but i am excited for what's to come. he's changing everyday and becoming hilarious. he's also quite the show stealer when it comes to have his picture taken. little baby model :)

catching up pt. 1: photo essay

it's 2011. my baby turned 10 months. he had his first thanksgiving, christmas, and new years. and i haven't blogged a bit of it. so i'm starting today the easy way. with a bunch of photos from the past month (before he was 10 months) that are not specific to holidays. here goes!

playing in late november. proof of peanutcy: those pants are the same that he wore (albeit loosely) as a newborn...they are 0-3. the shirt is a snapfront 0-3. i had to retire them in december for length, but the boy was tiny!

playing in his cousin's wooden kitchen (this was during our christmas photo shoot). something tells me he'll want his own wooden kitchen a year from now. waffles, anyone?

he got pretty sick when we returned home from thanksgiving. first bad cold and stuffy nose. this resulted in 3 teeth in a week, so i stayed up with him many nights while he fought sleep and whined in pain. still adorable, pink cheeked and runny nosed.

he finally started to feel better. then he turned into a little boy. seriously, my baby looks so toddler these days and i'm not sure, but i think i'm watching his face change little by little right this very moment.

yep. he's older already.

at some point he decided safety was a non-issue. i've saved him from nose diving off couches, chairs, and beds. i try to keep him on the floor now. where he falls and splits his lip open and smashes into objects in his crawling path. i was never one to say, oh, boys are tough from the get-go. but yes, yes they are.

so. he has 5 teeth now. he can crawl faster than i can. he eats egg yolk omelets (and other big kid foods). he waves hi and bye and says "aiiii" for hi at lots of people. he stands with ease, cruises too fast, and walks around the house while holding hands like nobody's business. he's got a ton of new toys and the attention span of a gnat. he's my (still tiny) peanut boy. adorable and full of spitfire.