feeding ducks

continuing to catch up with our summer...

finn has been lucky to see both sides of our family every few weeks this summer. we live 6+ hours away from all of the grandparents, so we've cherished the frequency of our visits these past few months. finn adores his grandmas and they come and stay with us for long weekends and even full weeks. he can't get enough of their love (who can resist a grandma?!) and i can't get enough of the sleeping in ;)


after our visit to minnesota in early july, my mom came to visit us. she took finley to feed the ducks and it was so funny to watch how aggressive those ducks are when it comes to food. they were sweet and ate right out of our hands.

finn wasn't quite sure and only wanted to throw in the bread, but eventually he fed them by hand. he was so excited!



here's proof in video form:

4th of july

we celebrated the 4th up north, without electricity after the storm. it didn't keep us from doing a few fireworks and some sparklers.

finn was actually a bit more scared this year than last year. (speaking of last year, did you click that link? who is that baby?!) maybe he's more aware of the potential danger involved when sparks fly around near his hands. but he still tried them out and watched our little fireworks show with excitement

 

 

happy (belated) 4th of july!

summer catch up: storms and fun

in july we went to minnesota to spend some time up north at the cabin. instead of a relaxing time, we were hit with a huge storm, 90mph winds, and hundreds of trees down blocking our way out from the cabin and cutting the electricity.we spent the time being exceptionally hot, taking baths in the lake, eating meals from the grill or fire, and cleaning up after the storm. thank goodness for a generator a few days in - we had a fridge and a few necessities plugged it occasionally.

finn didn't have much clean up duty, so he spent the time being two. getting sweaty and dirty, playing with toys, and just generally enjoying freedom in the summer. he was perpetually dirty and covered in large bug bites. it was as classic as it gets.

one of his favorite people, uncle nicky, read him books and gave him pony rides. i'm not sure uncle nicky knows, but finn says "nicky love me" at night before bed and asks to see him often. i love this picture because it looks just like it was: a hot summer day, too many feet and bodies in front of a single fan, and a toddler in a diaper being read his favorite story.

finn's current favorite food is yogurt. it's also his favorite outfit and color. if you ask him what you should wear in the morning, he'll tell you yogurt. i haven't braved the world in my yogurt suit yet, but i'll let you know if i do.

we had to collect water to use the toilet and do the dishes (boiled in an electric kettle). finn was most helpful at the task!

laundry on the line, buckets in hand, dogs in tow. a real break from life and while there was lots of work, we were able to connect with each other and make the best of a crazy situation. i'm not sure finley will remember this summer, but he still talks about the rain and wind making the trees fall down. i'm hoping memories like these are frequent (not so much the stranded without electricity, but the bonding and time up north).

summer catch up: father's day outing

oh june. i'm sorry i all but glossed over you (and july and most of august). i have yet to catch up on personal photos from the summer months but am doing my best to keep afloat. i want to keep track of our time here on the blog so here's a father's day wrap up post. (don't mind the random editing. personal photos are just for me!)

we took finley miniature golfing for the first time. taking a two year old mini golfing is a ridiculous idea, of course. he was pretty into it, though, and we had a good time.

he got to pick his own ball color and had a golf club just his size. his swing left a bit to be desired, but it was adorable to watch him aim, swing, miss, and try again.

the golf course was made for children and had slides, tubes and other kid-friendly features on each hole, so when he wasn't golfing he had other things to do. and he enjoyed hitting all of our golf balls into the hole. we'll have to teach him a bit of course etiquette.

these two are best friends. they butt heads a bit (but what two year old doesn't) but their relationship is so great. finn loves when his daddy comes home every day after work and can't wait to get outside and play football, soccer ball, or baseball. i'm not sure we'll be adding golf anytime soon (unless finn's grandpa has a say...) but he seemed to love to swing the club around.

we finished the day at one of our favorite south indian restaurants and ate way more than we should have. finn doesn't like much indian food, but we keep feeding it to him (like everything else) so that hopefully he'll like it eventually.

ice cream sandwich

i am well over a month behind on uploading and editing images from the summer. we've been traveling and enjoying our time and i've been taking pictures to remember finley's 3rd summer. just a quick post here of him enjoying his very first ice cream sandwich.

while i tend to keep his meals healthy and "balanced", i don't mind him having treats. especially those that create summer memories and evoke strong sentimental feelings of my own childhood. that means stopping at a DQ whenever i see one in the summer (we don't have one near, so i often get soft serve dip cone cravings). or, enjoying freeze pops wrapped in a paper towel. and, trying out new summer delights wearing nothing but swim gear.



he of course loved it. they should make vegetable ice cream sandwiched in flax seed chocolate cookies. i'd probably let him have that every day ;) instead, i bought some "bomb pop" star shaped popsicle molds. the first batch was mango blended in plain kefir, a layer of frozen berries, and strawberries blended in yogurt. i'm on the hunt for more fun recipes because he is all about the summer treats now!

father's day 2012

today was mr. h3b's 3rd father's day. finley learned to say "hoppy fater's daaey" just before dad woke up. it wasn't remarkably different than other weekends for us, but i tried to make it special in little ways. we woke up and did all of the prep this morning. every year we make a card for dad with a black ink foot print. i can't do it in advance because he'll see the ink stain and know...so to "surprise" him we do it the morning of. finley's foot is so much bigger. between year 1 and year 2 there is growth, yes. but this year? it's like a kid foot. finley decorated the paper bag wrapping paper with his crayon art. he learned to make "circles" for the occasion and spent some time scribbling away. he's been in love with "markers" (what he calls all coloring tools) and we color daily. as a treat, i let him use scissors. he said the word "cut" without prompting and my heart swelled with pride. this boy is learning every day. side note: i'm not sure what he's doing in the picture here, but his inquisitive little brain is up to something. also note the bruised and scuffed legs contrasting the melon painted big toes. he insists on getting his toenails painted and on occasion we do them. he's not patient so this last time i limited it to big toes only to avoid melon stained furniture. back to father's day. i made omelets and toast (at husband's request) and after breakfast we headed out to the beach. finn could spend hours at the beach with his daddy. dad doesn't mind standing in the cold water, fetching rocks, and wandering off to find seagulls. (not that i mind, but that water is cold!). in true form, finn threw a tantrum and sobbed the entire walk of the beach when it was time to head in for lunch and nap time. we spent the rest of the evening mini golfing (finn's first time - pictures to come) and enjoying a feast of south indian food at one of our favorite restaurants. finn is lucky to have a daddy that watches him play, teaches him new things (like hitting a "ball with a stick") and exposes him to foods and cultures outside of our bubble. he doesn't need lots of things (which he has), mostly just time and love (which he gets). we finished up with a trip to a local food market to stock up on fresh, cheap produce (7ft of sugar cane for $2 should fuel my mojito appetite). it was a simple day full of the things that matter. i'm so thankful to watch my son watch his daddy. he's got a great role model and friend and i'm excited to watch their relationship grow. as soon as we get out of the tantrum stage i bet it's going to be so sweet ;)

early intervention updates

finn started early intervention at the end of october of last year (2011). until early may 2012 he was seeing two therapists, an hour each, every week. one was for speech therapy and one for developmental therapy. sessions were held in our home and were play focused, meaning he didn't have to sit still and "learn", rather he learns through interactions and basic play.

when we started at 18(ish) months, finn could confidently say the word "car" and had a few other words within those first few weeks. he was significantly delayed in speech and had some minor delays in development. our main objectives were to increase his ability to do tedious tasks and of course, to increase his vocabulary and verbal communication skills.

he excelled in the developmental therapy and has largely caught up. where he couldn't do puzzles and wouldn't attempt new/difficult tasks, he now masters these and more in sessions and in everyday life. his patience has grown and he rarely throws new toys when confused or frustrated. he loves his developmental therapist and she is great about incorporating speech focus into their sessions. i was never concerned about this element of his development but we qualified for it and he has thrived, so i'm glad we've worked on the skills with him.

when we began speech, finn wouldn't imitate sounds/noise/words and expressed little interest in verbal communication. he understood commands and requests and had no trouble signing, he just wasn't using words. what was most helpful was that the therapist created ways for us to teach finley in everyday tasks and offered suggestions on how to increase mouth sounds. he quickly caught on and went through a period where he was adding noises (animals, vowels, etc.) and words almost daily. after a few months he dropped some of his initial words and was at a bit of a standstill. he still had not used two word sequences and just didn't seem interested in using his words unless prompted by us. he also went through a tantrum period in which sessions weren't very productive. eventually he came around and within a month or so he added 2 and 3 word phrases and seemed to really understand concepts.

he now communicates without prompting and has only a slight delay. he doesn't sing songs or engage in lengthy conversations with himself or others. he rarely babbles and his expressive communication is still somewhat limited. he easily labels objects he knows and can tell us what he needs/wants. he remembers activities and can describe them ("boat all gone" when a boat from a day or two ago leaves the water) but he can't string words together in conversation like other children his age can/do.

in may we decided to reduce his therapy to every two weeks per therapist. he still see someone once a week, but they rotate so he only sees each twice a month. at our 6 month meeting everyone agreed that finley has excelled in therapy and we are confident he'll be able to fully catch up (not that we thought it wouldn't happen!). he'll continue these appointments through the summer and then we'll re-evaluate his needs. i know he's still behind in speech but he's doing so great and i'm so proud. i'm happy we chose to do the therapy even though i questioned whether he truly needed it. eventually he would have talked, i'm sure, but having professional to help in the journey was certainly better than us struggling to figure out what methods to use. our pediatrician didn't pressure us to see someone or to have him evaluated. just as everyone else said, she agreed he would communicate verbally at some point but  also noted that an eval couldn't hurt the situation! so...he's a talker now :)

(the pictures have nothing to do with the post, obviously.)