Month Twenty-Three

Well, we have officially begun our countdown to birthday #2. I can't believe another year has gone by, almost. We are getting a good preview of what year 2 will be like. But I am getting ahead of myself. This past month has been pretty busy for us--a visit from Wade and Kriya Benich, trick-or-treating, trips to Boston and Baltimore, a trip to the Building Museum (little boy heaven) and a visit to the Disneyland of playgrounds, and many rides on the Metro (aka Choo Choo). We tried out some new things: a music class, not so successful; and story time at the library, semi-successful.

Finn has gotten quite chatty--I can ask him questions and he can give me answers. He tells me what he wants (night-night, altoids, lemonade, peanut butter m&m's) and what he doesn't want (pretty much everything else). He can tell you what he's done that day (playground) and what he wants to do the next day (also, playground). He is getting so independent that sometimes it makes me a little sad--if he had it his way, he wouldn't need me for anything. He wants to do it all by himself. This trait he comes by honestly . . . as a kid, one of my favorite phrases was "I will do it."

He will actually sit down and watch a tv show. Granted, it has to be one of two of his favorite Curious George episodes, but still. I never thought he would ever sit still for 15 entire minutes. And I know that according to the "experts" tv-watching is BAD for kids, but ask any mom of a toddler and I can assure you she will say it is GOOD.

He is still a picky eater but an excellent sleeper, and that is something I can definitely live with. He is really starting to develop an imagination, which I find amazing.

Yes, I cut his hair and yes, I am still mad at myself for doing it. Don't make me feel any worse. But, you have to agree, he is still a cutie-pie. He is 110% boy--loves dirt, sand, sticks, mud, trucks and anything loud. He is a big fan of his daddy, especially when he comes home from work bearing gifts . . . of the sugar variety. His favorite daddy-son outing is to "go 7-eleven and get icee and peanut m's."

A Case of the Blahhs and a New Discovery

I have nothing to report from this past week. The weather was crummy and we were all recovering from colds that just wouldn't go away. Poor Finn--his cold was probably the worst and lasted the longest (but not according to Mark), but I think we are finally on the mend.

However, a by-product of this never-ending cold is that Finn discovered how to pick his nose. We are talking finger all the way up to the knuckle and then he likes to pull it out for closer inspection. He has been so stuffed up and congested that I guess he was just looking for a little relief. Either that, or he has learned from watching Mark do it so often (hee, hee). And he will pick his nose anywhere and everywhere. We were waiting to cross the street and this little girl was on her bicycle next to us and she was watching Finn and then she said, "ewww, Daddy, he just ate his booger!" Nice. Thankfully, the light changed and we were able to make a quick escape.

Oh, and his boogers have names. Larry and Carl to be exact. He'll let you meet them too. Just ask.

Bahston

Boston--yes they really do talk like this. Mark had a meeting in Boston this weekend and since I had never been, I jumped at the chance to tag along. We have several friends from Boston who rave about the city, so I was looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about. We did lots of walking and sightseeing, found several playgrounds, did some shopping on Newbury St. and did a quick run through of several historic sites.

Unfortunately, all three of us got sick over the weekend, so we didn't get to do and see as much as we would have liked but we still had a great time and got to see plenty. Boston is a beautiful city full of history (most of which a toddler could care less about). I kept my eyes peeled for any celebrities walking around and I wasn't disappointed. While walking through Boston Common park, I stood on the sidewalk next to Cameron Diaz! I admit that I am a huge dork when it comes to movie starts, but even I have standards. I couldn't bring myself to take her picture . . . even though we were standing right next to each other on the sidewalk. I know it was her, one because I read in People that she was shooting a movie in Boston and two because there were two moms with strollers standing on the other side of me and I could read their lips . . . "oh my gawd, that's Cameron Diaz!" This was all lost on Finn, he was much more interested in eating old goldfish from inside his stroller.

The famous Quincy Market where we ate scallops and Chowdah

View from the waterfront

Hmmm, now if I could just lift this chain, I could go for a swim

Where everybody knows your name

Massachusetts state house

Beautiful views of Boston Common

Boston Public Library

Fenway Park

TROUBLE

Showing George the beautiful scenery

How much fun can you have on a bridge

Apparently . . .

lots of it!

Giving Mr. Frog a kiss

As luck would have it, our friend Beverly Carson from MUSC was attending the same meeting. She got to meet Finn and of course, Curious George.

Tricks and Treats

Finn really got into the Halloween spirit this year. We went to a pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins, although I'm the only one who would carve the pumpkin. Finn didn't like the "yucky" inside. He helped pick out his costume and even tried it on several times in advance. He practiced saying "trick-or-treat" and holding his hand out for candy--he is a pro at the latter one. For the big event, we went with our neighbors to trick-or-treat in Old Town Alexandria. They close down the street for about 6-7 blocks and every house in between really goes all out. We're talking decorations, spooky music, costumes and lots of CANDY. There had to be at least 500 kids running around. Finn was a little overwhelmed at first, but once he figured out people would put candy in his bucket then he was a happy camper. Although he was all about the immediate gratification--the minute he got a piece of candy, he wanted to sit down and eat it that very minute. We only had a couple of traumatic moments, one involving a smoke machine that went off in Finn's face and the other involving a black spider that dropped down from the ceiling anytime someone clapped his/her hands. But, then again, there was lots of candy, which makes everything better. A couple of hours later, we carried a tired, chocolate-covered, wet (it rained) but happy little monkey home and put him to bed . . . only to wake up at 6 am, thanks daylight-savings!

Halloween 2008: Why is mom dressing me up like a pumpkin

Halloween 2009: Getting ready for the night's festivities

Mom, enough with the pictures. You're starting to act like Kriya.

Checking to see if the candy magically appeared

Isn't he just monkey-licious?

Geary and Summer with their little pirate, arrrrghhh!

Curious George, and the man with the red hat, and lady without a costume

The pirate and monkey are ready for trick-or-treating

Hey mom, who is this man?

Check out all of my candy! Can I eat it now?