Weekend Warriors

A three day weekend with lots of hustling and bustling is now behind us. Saturday and Sunday, Dan had his regionals frisbee tournament nearby so Finley and I made it out to the two most important games: semis and finals. Both were confident victories, so that made the outdoor adventure all worth it. Finley was pretty content in his BundleMe (aka baby snuggie) in the stroller, but when it was time to set him free--my work really began. Last time we were at a tournament, Finley was just learning to sit up unassisted and enjoyed lounging on our blanket checking out the scenery. This time, I was on grass and dirt patrol! Finley loves crawling around the fields, but stops often for what he clearly thinks is succulent grass and delectable dirt. Ew. Sometimes he would be more accommodating and head for an end zone-marking cone or a water bottle...but mostly it was grass. This was very tiring on my part, but pure heaven for Finley. No pictures of this (almost) grass feast since I didn't have a free hand :)

In general, it was a lovely weekend to be outdoors and I was impressed how much Finley actually watched the game in front of him. His head would follow the action and when everyone cheered, he didn't get upset as he once did. Phew, because as we plan a trip to Florida for Nationals--we hope there will be lots to cheer about! Go Ironside!

Sunday night, Finley was kind enough to try and enjoy another homemade recipe. Chicken casserole a la my toddler cookbook. I'd never cooked parsnips before (and frankly, didn't even know what one looked like), but I'm glad that I'm learning new ingredients and that Finley's such a good sport at the dinner table. Finley loved every spoonful. I couldn't shove it in his mouth fast enough. In fact, it was such a feeding frenzy that he ended up wearing a fair amount as he tried to grab the spoon and feed himself.

With both Dan and I off for Columbus Day, we went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for lunch on Monday. Finley hasn't been out to eat in a while, but we figured he's so good at feeding himself that it should be no problem to eat with him in the high chair. Well, that was partially true. It was indeed easy to go out with him to a restaurant, but he sure didn't each much.

He was too busy looking around (at the nearly empty dining area) and having fun flailing his arms around. I did manage to spoon feed him a little bit of squash, but all the delicious finger foods I'd cut up and brought had to be taken home again. Oh well, fun is fun!

After a long walk and some fun in the park up the street with Dan, we ended the long weekend with dinner and some walking practice. Dan managed to capture some on video, which is becoming increasingly difficult as Finley always stops whatever he was doing and to head straight for the person with the camera. Check out the following video, it's really funny how much this "practicing" making Finley laugh. He was literally laughing so hard, it was tough to get him balanced. We don't think these count as Finley's official first steps, but you be the judge...

Here's Finley, signing off :) Good night, everyone!