More!

If you have met Finn, you will not be shocked that he has already learned how to sign "more".  The kid loves to eat.  LOVES to eat.  And he is so impressed by the results he gets when signing "more" that he signs it the entire time he is eating!  Finished the fruit, but still have a full plate of other good stuff?  More!  Mom hands you more fruit despite the full plate?  More!  Concerned that eventually the plate might empty?  More!

The very same evening that he figured out "more" at dinner time, he used it when playing with a musical book.  Song still playing, but you realize it may end soon?  More!  He also used it to tell Toby to stop doing something by shaking his head and signing more at the same time.  Pure brilliance.

So now, as far as Finn's communication skills, we have:
~ More! (signing, and sometimes saying Mo)
~ Shaking head no
~ Uh-oh!
~ Crying.  Still lots of crying...

Besties!

Annie and her best friend Sammy G are truly more like sisters than friends.  They fight, they make up, they torture each other by witholding affection, they make up.  They have grown up together since they looked like this at about 7 months...

Then like this at about 17 months (with buddy Sofia)...

Then like this at about 2 1/2 (again with Sofia)

And now this!  Super big girls riding a bike together!

 

 I don't know what we're going to do when they have to go to separate kindergartens.  Move, perhaps.  I can't imagine Annie at school without Sammy. 

Travis, Hannah and Tristan visit

The Thornton crew is visiting from Houston, and the cousins are having a blast reconnecting!  They haven't seen each other since Finn was about a month old, if memory serves, and Annie is fully enamoured with the big kids.  Finn was very confused as to why there were interlopers at his grandparents house, but he's come around, too.  Yesterday was the first full day they were here, and we filled up the hours with running around (lots and lots of running) at the house, a trip to the playground, and a trip to the pool.  We had a house of tired kids by dinnertime. 

 

After everybody tried on Toby's fire equipment, he was required to fully suit up for a photo. 

 

And here is juts one example of the many rounds of dramatic and overzealous hugging that went on throughout the day.  Of course it is super cute, even if Annie looks a little like a prisoner rather than a willing participant here.  More to follow!  Its going to be a great week!

 

Passing the torch - or at least the trike

3/16/2011

6/21/2013

Finn's 1 year stats

For photos and a recap of birthday festivities, see yesterday's post.  (Just an FYI since I rarely update my blog lately, and now I've done two posts in two days!)

Stat's from Finn's 1 year checkup this morning:

Height: 30 1/4 inches - 75th percentile
Weight: 24 lb 8 oz - 75th percentile (and just one pound shy of Annie's weight at age 2)
Head: 18 1/4 inches - 50th percentile

Finn is growing and growing, sticking to the 75th percentile just as he has been for a long time now. He giggled, played and laughed through his appointment, except when it was time for shots.  The doctor also has a very cool new tool that was able to tell us that his vision is good. 

Shots today:  3 - MMR, Hep A and Chicken Pox.  I still can't believe there is a vaccine for chicken pox, but if it prevents shingles when he is grown, I'm all for it.  I remember when my Grandma had shingles, and it was awful.

New tricks!  On Finn's first birthday he came up with two brand new party tricks - blowing kisses and dancing!  The dancing is so funny.  I've been lamenting the fact that he isn't a dancer, since Annie danced early and often.  She did the cute full-body shrug and the bobbing up and down that I've seen from lots of other babies.  Finn, however, takes after his daddy.  He keeps his upper body completely still and just throws his legs around, marionette style.  I'll post a video soon.

Now if we can just get him off of the bedtime bottle before he turns 2...our track record isn't great. :)

Finn turns 1!

I just can't believe it.  My baby is pretty much a toddler now.  In fact, if he realized that walking is an actual mode of transportation and not just a fun party trick to get people to laugh at him, I'm pretty sure he'd already be an official toddler. 

Over the last 12 months, I've come to decide that Finn is decidedly complicated.  He is a fairly serious baby, but has an awesome chuckle and huge smile.  He is a fairly chill baby, but don't get in between him and mama, or make him wait more than .5 seconds to eat.  He has started throwing tantrums, but only for mom and dad.  He loves cars and balls, pushing other kids on walking toys, and books with flaps.  He sleeps pretty well, and is going to follow in Annie's footsteps to become a certified paci junkie.

Annie helped me make the grown-up cake and the smash cake.  She was so excited that she got to decorate Finn's cake with blueberries and blue sprinkles.  (Blue, you see, is her favorite color.  My anti-pink crusade continues, and I'm very proud that she hasn't yet bowed to pink peer pressure.  The day is coming, though -  I'm not delusional.)

 

 

What happens when you forget to add the blueberries to a blueberry cake?  You create an opportunity to make a blueberry trifle cake! 

 

 

Finn ate all the blueberries off his cake first.  (After Annie's first birthday when she refused to touch the cake, I wisened up and added something Finn would find familiar and tasty.)

After finally trying some frosting, he decided that cake was worth smiling about!

 



Then he discovered that too much cake can cause a sugar coma. 

 



Finn had to work hard to be involved in the gift unwrapping. Annie is quick, determined, and has developed a habit of pretending she can't hear her mommy, especially when her mommy is saying things like, "Don't open all of Finn's presents!" 

We had a really fun party with just our family and Grandma and Grandpa.  It was such a nice, relaxing way to mark the occassion.  Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Hello, summer!

We thought we'd usher in summer by pulling out all the stops.  Parks, parties, zoos and pools, oh my!  We very nearly added a boat, but decided that we ought to save something for the next three months.

These are in reverse chronological order, but I decided to start with the cutest, in case you lose interest part way along. :)

Here we are poolside!  Annie found an abandoned Barbie doll and much to my chagrin decided to confiscate it for some time.  It looks like she may be trying to teach Barbie to swim at the same time that Toby is trying to teach Annie how to use a pool noodle and a diving stick to create an improvised projectile device.



And then of course we have Finn doing what Finn does best when Grandpa is around - cuddling with Grandpa.  Somebody please tell Finn that I hauled him around for almost 41 weeks, birthed him and nursed him even after he got a mouth full of teeth, so perhaps he could consider sharing some of those cuddles with me.  

 Block party fun!  Finn appears to be a fully grown man, but really he's just 11 months old.   Annie is providing evidence that (1) blue is her very favorite color; (2) cupcakes are her very favorite food; and (3) her parents have failed to instill in her a sense of modesty.

Artificial dye - hooray!

Here we are at the bouncy house birthday party with Annie's old besties - Sofia and Sammy Grace.  Annie was too distracted by her horror that they were serving pizza  to smile.  Have you ever met a kid who would not eat pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, or any other food typically served at birthday parties?  If you have met Annie, you have indeed met such a child.

Finn and Daddy enjoyed the bouncy house action, too. 

Pileups at the bottom of the big slide are so much fun!

Bouncy house obstacle-course fun or firefighter training?  You decide.