Eat My Dust

Earlier last week I took Finn to the mall (a brave task in itself) to get his first pair of big boy shoes (aka shoes with soles). I tried to buy him shoes earlier in his life but he would take them off and throw himself on the floor anytime I walked over with a pair in hand. So I gave up. 

Now that he is moving and shaking, it is high time he overcame his phobia of all things shoe-related. I am his mother after all, how is it even possible that he not love shoes as much as I do? In the store, I told him we were buying big boy shoes and he could pick out the ones he liked. He immediately headed for the pink princess glitter sneakers. Which I was all for, except they don't really go with 99% of his clothes. I asked the salesperson to show me what they had in velcro. Since there were only two pairs, and only one in his size (a whopping 5 1/2), that's the pair we took home. He's adjusted quite nicely, although at first he walked around like a penguin wearing skis.

We had one nice day weather-wise last week . . . and by nice I mean it was in the high 40s and possibly cracked 50, so we headed outside for some much needed fresh air. And to practice wearing shoes.

Not so sure about these shoes

Stopping to inspect a leaf

Lily come back, I "promise" I won't pull your hair

Eat my dust (yes, that's mud all over the back of his pants--he's like a magnet)

Sunday Morning

Ahhh, a nice relaxing Sunday morning spent at home with my family . . . a good cup of coffee, lounging on the sofa reading the New York Times (especially the Sunday Styles section). What's that? Oh, right. That was my Sunday morning BF (before Finn). This is my Sunday morning now. The only way I get to read the paper is if I get to it before Finn does.

Oh No You Didn't

Breakfast at our house is such a "fun" occasion. If you listen closely you can hear Lily licking her lips just waiting for Finn to dish out her treats. If I had any sense, I would go ahead and serve Finn his breakfast on the floor in the first place, because that's where it ends up anyway. But I don't. So I can show you moments like these.

Hissy Fit

Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is actual video footage of Finn. I know, it's way more than you care to see. A few months back my friend KB made me feel really guilty for not having a camcorder to record all of Finn's priceless moments and milestones; therefore, I asked for and my parents gave us a camcorder for Christmas.  It has only taken me a month to figure out how to work it. Now, with my brand new toy I can give you even more insight into the minutiae of our daily lives. Unfortunately, I haven't captured any milestones yet. For some reason, the very sight of the video camera causes Finn to stop whatever cute thing he was doing or saying and act like a complete blob. As long as the camera is rolling he does nothing. The minute I turn it off, he's back to his tricks. Although I did catch this little jewel. Hope you enjoy.

PS Many apologies for the annoying sound of my voice. I tried to mute myself, but it didn't work. 

Frosty the Snow-Finn

We had our first decent snow yesterday, and Finn loved standing at the window watching the snow fall. So we bundled up and headed outside to let him see what all of the fuss was about. He loved trying to catch the snowflakes in his mouth and once he got down on the ground in it, he tried to eat as much as he could, before his mouth froze. I love being outside right after it snows when everything looks clean and white and peaceful. It's kind of like God shook his big etch-e-sketch and got rid of all of the lines, leaving a blank slate.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Holy walking toddler Batman! Remind me again why I was in such a hurry for Finn to start walking? He is into everything. And what he can't get into, he climbs on top of or gets stuck behind. Some of you may be wondering what he's been doing lately. Well, here are a few things: emptying the recycling bin onto the floor, pulling out the trash, playing in Lily's water bowl and then licking his hands, shredding magazines, climbing into cabinets and emptying their contents, playing in the toilet (when someone forgets to put the lid down) and then licking his hands, unrolling the toilet paper into a big pile on the floor and hiding the remote controls. So this is what we've been up to for the past two weeks: Finn running through the house wreaking havoc and me following behind (and Lily just trying to stay out of his way and keep her tennis balls out of Finn's hands). 

Plus, it has been really cold here, probably like most of the country. I mean cold, as in wear your coat and gloves to bed cold. I actually did something you southerners won't believe . . . I shoveled snow and ice from our driveway and then got in the car and left . . . while it was snowing. In the south, the town shuts down and folks ransack the grocery store if there's even snow flurries in a 100 miles radius. Not so much here. It's safe to say that we have had a touch of cabin fever lately. 

Fortunately, our good friends Alisha and Samantha came for a visit and provided some much needed entertainment. Finn enjoyed seeing new faces and playing with all of Samantha's cool toys, while I enjoyed having adult conversations and using big words beside "NO." Mark even volunteered to watch the kids while we took a much-needed moms-night out. He didn't so much volunteer as we gave him no choice. Here are a couple of photos of their visit and some other random ones thrown in.

Merry Christmas

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. We had a very busy holiday season like most of you. We took the "Clark Griswold Express" down to Sumter, SC to spend the holidays with the Lyles family. It was so great to spend time with family and Finn loved all of the extra attention. 

I do have some sad news to pass along. While we were in SC, Mark's grandmother Mrs. Agnes Lyles, Grand M as she was called, passed away. She was 103 years old. One of nine children, she went on to have nine children of her own. Because of this fact alone, she should have had a street named after her or a holiday in her honor. Raising one child is hard enough . . .  but NINE! She was a wonderful and amazing lady who made such an impact on her family, friends, church, community and complete strangers--anyone who came in contact with her. She will be missed but we all take comfort in the fact that she has gone Home.

Finn and his great-grandmother Mrs. Agnes Lyles in September 2008

I didn't really take too many pictures over Christmas, believe it or not. Finn had such a big blow-out birthday party only a few days earlier that we decided to have a very low-key Christmas. Mark and I just enjoyed watching Finn experience Christmas and more importantly being surrounded by his family. He's a very lucky little boy to have so many people that love him and want to spend time with him. Oh, and he did open plenty of presents, but seemed more interested in playing in the dishwasher than playing with his new toys. 

A Visit from the Birthday Fairy

I'm way behind I know, so I'll do my best to catch everyone up. We made the 11 hour drive to Sumter, SC to spend Finn's birthday and Christmas with the Lyles clan (more on Christmas later). Yes we all survived the drive without too much psychological damage, and no we won't be doing it again for a long time (or at least until I can figure out a way to install a dvd player in the Accord or find a way for Finn to ride standing up).  

Finn had a blast on his birthday and loved being able to celebrate with his favorite people from both families. Mimi was prepared and ordered 2 birthday cakes--one for Finn and one for the rest of us. Because as you will see, after Finn finished with it, it wasn't fit for human consumption. I don't think that Foster or Lily were interested either.

He got so many fun presents that he didn't know what to do with them. And a special thanks to Chuck and Judie for the drum set and cymbals . . . we are planning on sending Finn and his musical instruments to YOUR house for the summer so he can practice. We all had so much fun being together and celebrating Finn and his first year. Thank you to everyone who made the trip to spend the day with us.

I know some of you are wondering . . . we have a walker. He was taking several very wobbly steps by his birthday. And now, just in the past week, he can go any- and everywhere he wants to go. On two feet. Let the games begin.

Here are some pictures from his big day.