Almost Back on the Wagon--or Train

Well, after a few days to let it set in and countless calls to the MBTA's lost and found office, I ordered a new camera in order to keep on cataloging all the goings on in the Forseter clan. It was a tough pill to swallow, but it's life and if losing a camera is the worst thing to happen to us, so be it. No new pictures to post just yet, I'm still a little "camera shy" it seems, but Finley and I did buy a protective case for it this morning and Finley's adorable smile saved us $4 off the price as the cashier did an override for our expired coupon. Score!

With no new photos, I thought I'd share some noteworthy Finley updates. While he seems to be going backwards in gaining independence (i.e. velcro toddler), he has awakened to all the world around him and continues to amaze me in terms of his language skills and his memory. A few stories to follow, I apologize if I seem to be gushing :)

1. As we went back to Walgreens for what seemed like the millionth time this week (dan's inhaler prescription, photo printing, father's day card purchase, etc.), Finley looked around and said "mower?" as we walked back to the pharmacy. This may not seem all that amazing, but the last two times we'd been in the store that week, Finley had pushed around a little plastic lawnmower in the seasonal aisle. He must have recognized where we were!

2. More and more, as we turn down our street and into our driveway, Finley will say "home." I think I must have said it zillions of times over the last few months and whether he recognizes some of the landmarks or the elevation change as we go up the driveway, he knows we are home!

3. Finley is a typical toddler boy who loves all things TRUCK. We have seen some amazing vehicles this summer camping out at busy spots along Massachusetts Ave: garbage trucks, buses, motorcycles, diggers, vans, mail trucks, etc--many of which he identifies on his own. This new activity needed a title, so when I ask Finley if he wants to "watch" on the sidewalk, he'll give a rare "yes!" After a while (or even longer), I'll ask if he's "all done" and wants to go home or if he wants to stay and watch to which he usually responds, "wa-ch." There was even a dump truck towing a bobcat on a flatbed (nice lingo, eh?) in front of our house yesterday and he was excited to stand at our glass door and watch from there.

4. After riding the redline earlier in the week (where our camera was lost), he has continued to ask "choo-choo?" each day. When we sat in the rain today in Brookline waiting for green line trains to pass us, after one would go by, Finley would say "more" which is usually only reserved for food requests. I even offered him a pretzel and he declined, turning back to the tracks to await the next train. When one pulled up right next to us, he said, "go!" and said "no, buddy, we are just here to watch" and he sadly echoed, "watch" and settled back into his stroller.

5. He is a very tidy kid who is always looking to put garbage in the nearest trash can. He'll pull a tissue out of the box, wipe his nose, and then say "trash" and throw it away. We ask him to throw away his own diapers and he can put them into the diaper champ and flip it down. At dinner, during a messy spaghetti sauce adventure, he requested a "towel" while he ate he clean off his hands and then repeatedly picked up some meat sauce with his hand, shovel it into his mouth, and then say "towel."

6. His favorite songs are sung around here by request: "twinkle" (twinkle twinkle), "rosie" (ring around the rosie), "e-i-e-i-o" (old macdonald) and recently, a new song has come into his playlist. He was looking for Yummy Yucky, a favorite book, but he pulled out a similar colored book by the same author instead and so I asked, "Do you want to read The Birthday Box?" and he replied "happy." I was confused. "Are you happy?" I asked him, not sure he knew the word's meaning. "Happy" he repeated and few times and as I looked at the book with a little boy holding a birthday presented, it clicked, "Do you want me to sing Happy Birthday?" He did a little dance (which means yes) so I sang it and he was thrilled and asked for it a few more times. What a genius!

7. My love of the postal services seems to have rubbed off on Finley, because not only does he love those little white mail trucks and scream "mail!" but he seems to know what mail looks like, too. As I carried him down to the car the other day and asked him to hold a small padded envelope while I buckled him in, he looked at it and then to me said, "mail." I was impressed! I guess having him "help" me open our mailbox everyday after school really paid off!

Okay...I think that's enough for now, thanks for bearing with me but I know someday I'll want to remember all these silly little gains and at 19 months and counting, things can seem a blur!