Costco Cart Compadres

We made a pilgrimage to Costco after school today and it occurred to me that it was high time for Ms. Dagny to have her first shopping cart ride.  Finley happily climbed in, too, and it was pretty funny to watch them check each other out.

When we started rolling inside, Finley immediately put his arm around her to "hold her" which just made me melt.  Once inside, I tried for a good five minutes to get them both to smile and look at the camera.  Then, I tried for them to both just look at the camera. Mixed results, but cute photos!

Here's the prized shot as Finley hugs his baby sister.

Dagny loved being in the cart, she squeaked and squealed the entire time while kicking her legs all around.

I feel bad that I have deprived her of this joy up until now, she was probably ready a month ago!

40 years and Counting

We had a great weekend down in NY this past weekend as we helped GG and Grandpa celebrate their 40th anniversary.  We arrived in time on Friday night for a delicious Shabbat dinner with GG, Grandpa, Ellie and Donny.  Finley ate a tiny amount of potatoes, a bunch of challah, and then played with the Fisher-Price garage Grandpa had found up in the attic.  He dragged in into the dining room and entertained himself while we finished eating.  Seeing the garage was a trip down memory lane for all of us!

The next morning, we headed off to temple to see GG and Grandpa say an aliyah and both kids were great! Dagny chilled in her carseat and even slept a little while Finley happily stood up, sat down, and snacked quietly.  Everyone commented to us how well behaved they were and frankly, we were impressed just the same! Then, we all headed home so both kids could have lunch and then nap.  Anytime they both sleep at the same time is pure heaven and we got two hours of dual sleep that day.

By six o'clock, the house was full of family and friends.  Cousins Julie, Matt, Maggie and Harrison came over along with Uncle Carl who kindly drove my sister and her boyfriend, Ben, out from the city.  Caitlin had generously agreed to babysit all the kids while the "grown ups" went out to a special anniversary dinner.  Ben was a good sport to come and even brought his guitar along with him, a sure way into Finley's heart!  They all had pizza and Finley couldn't wait any longer, so he asked Caitlin and Ben to get the guitar and start jamming. Caitlin played a few chords before letting Ben take over.

Finley was thrilled to say the least. 

 I put Dagny down to bed and when I came down Finley was in search of an instrument to join "the band" and thankfully, we had his harmonica in our bag since he had taken to show and tell that morning at school.  Now they could rock!

 I had to work hard to get Finley's attention to say goodnight and goodbye, which was a pleasure compared to what I had prepared myself for.  According to Caitlin, all went smoothly putting Finley to bed and he even let Ben read him a couple of books!  He didn't fall asleep right away and asked when we were coming home, but with a little Aunt Caitlin reassurance, he drifted off successfully.  Meanwhile, our dinner out was DELICIOUS and amazingly filling.  Some nice toasts were given to the happy couple and Dan and I thoroughly enjoyed being out in the world together after 8pm :)

Maggie and Harrison gave Finley an excellent gift, a duplo fire station, that he played with all Sunday morning.

Dagny enjoyed breakfast (like she enjoys EVERY meal these days).

 Then, we headed off to the Westchester Toy and Train show.  Finley loved seeing all the model trains and was very careful to look but not touch all the neat, antique items.  We saw some great stuff and met some interesting characters who were buying and selling all the stuff.

Despite being in a convention center (where Dan's high school graduation took place!) full of toys, trucks, and trains--we managed to only spend $1.75 as Finley chose a little toy Delta airplane and a matching Delta food delivery truck.  What a frugal dude who enjoyed reminiscing about when we took a Delta plane home from Florida in the fall.

We spent some time with GG and Granddad and had lunch before piling back into the car.  A lovely weekend had by all!

Club Car Cafe

Our weekend plans were a bit up in the air since my parents were unable to come up here this weekend as planned, so we regrouped and ended up making a wonderful discovery in West Concord (just one town over, maybe 10 minutes from home).  

We figured breakfast with a train view would make everyone happy and we were right!  Just as we walked up to the former train station-now restaurant, a purple commuter line train rolled in.

Finley was thrilled and I was impressed at our amazing timing!

Once inside, the train fun continued.  Some of the original station benches were still in use, lots of black and white historic photos lined the walls and a train rolled around on some tracks up above.

We ordered breakfast and had fun looking around while we awaited our food.

Breakfast was simple and yummy and after checking the schedule, we knew one more train was coming through so we lingered a bit longer to see it.  Finley and Dan had fun watching it arrive and depart outside while Dagny and I kept warm inside.  It was an excellent way to kick off our long weekend and when Grammy and Granddad do come up for their next visit, we will take them here so Finley and Granddad can be in train heaven!

Finley's First F

Finley, like most boys, doesn't prefer to draw, color, or write over all his other interests but will occasionally sit down at his little table to create something.  We've been encouraging him to draw things himself instead of asking us to do it but can be a tall order depending on what he wants drawn.  A couple weeks ago he drew a crescent moon all by himself and was SO proud, it was awesome.  We cut it out and taped it on one of his block structures, he loved it.  Baby steps :) Then, last night before we left for temple, all on his own, Finley took out his Magnadoodle (Thanks, Aunt Caitlin) and made a beautiful capital F!!

He was so modest about it, but I nearly flipped!!  I told him how proud I was and he willingly posed for some photos with his masterpiece.

What will the little guy accomplish next???

Dagny Rocks at Tummy Time

Dagny's been getting more mobile on her tummy.  Not close to crawling really, but getting some surprisingly movement.  She can unintentionally scoot backwards, reach and twist from side to side, and occasionally shove herself forward when her toes are on the floor (this last one is according to her school teachers).

Here's a video that I took before putting the little girl to bed tonight - at first she was totally distracted by her own shadow - but the third video I took reflected more of her current activity and verbal level. Maybe she's closer to crawling than we think...

Love how she has enough baby hair that it hangs over her ears! She might need a trim before her first birthday :)

Finley in Action

Thus far, I think we (mostly me) are doing a pretty good job of keeping up with our (mostly my) blog.  Dagny is getting photographed often and her major and minor milestones are being kept track of, more or less.  Not bad for a second kid, eh? Sure she doesn't get any new clothes or have any photographs or art up on the walls in her room, but I'm pretty sure she hasn't noticed yet.  Finley continues to grow and get more fun and interesting with each passing week.  He's not all sunshine and rainbows (just ask Dan how it went taking Finley to get his hair cut a couple weeks ago...), but he is truly a cool kid.  Even last week when he was home sick for two days with a fever, he made the best of it and it wasn't until he was  roasting to 103.5 degrees that he really fell apart.  Who could blame him?

Just wanted to post a few photos and Finley-isms that I don't want to forget years from now :)

Finley LOVES books and would be read to all day if life allowed such a luxury.  He continues to love all our Busytown books (Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, Busy Busy Town, and The Best Word Book Ever).  After a recent box of handmedown books came from our cousins in NJ, Finley is now also loving A Day at the Airport and A Day at the Firestation which are both Richard Scarry creations with the same Busytown characters.  He also likes to see Cousin Harrison Green's came inside the covers of the books since he LOVES Harrison, too!  Other favorite books lately, Eric Carle's A House for Hermit Crabs, his Sukkot books from GG and Grandpa, Olivia Forms a Band, Cookie's Week, and Roadwork.  He likes to read books during meals (which we can sometimes manage if we aren't eating at the same time), in the playroom, before bed, and even in the bath tub or sitting on the potty.  As a teacher and a mom, this thrills me (though being able to recite many of his favorites in my sleep isn't always joyous).  He knows lots of letters and that's the beginning of the road to reading, which is super exciting though years away :)

Finley's imagination is awesome and it's nice to have him making the suggestions about what to play instead of us.  He comes up with such unique and specific storylines, it's hysterical.  Sometimes when we try to make additions or suggestions, he won't accept them--he has a vision and we have to get on board!  He still loves playing "garbage" with all his different garbage trucks, bins, dumpsters, etc. but also enjoys creating airports, monorails, schools, firehouses, train sheds, etc. Having so many different kinds of building blocks at our disposal is awesome and Finley is slowly taking the reins in the construction.  He loves playing pirates with his pirate ship (He's always the captain and I'm the matey) and dancing to the funny music it plays.  His guitar continues to get a lot of attention and he loves playing for Dagny who is a very attentive and smiley audience.  He got a little ride on firetruck for Hanukkah and drives his "rescue truck" all around the playroom and kitchen saving things, delivering things, and having a grand old time.

In the basement, we have lots of room to run around and in the winter, that has been priceless.  We build cardboard block towers and knock them over, play in his cardboard house, make duplo scenes, slide down the slide, play football and tennis, and chase the big giant balls around.  Last weekend, he wanted to play tennis, baseball, and big giant ball all at the same time...voila!

That was the day he stayed in his PJs all day.  We explained to him that that's what Sundays are for - wearing your pajamas and watching football.  Too bad the Giants weren't on, but we did watch the Patriots with Mike, Tali, and Baby Nola :)  He loves his two pairs of fleece PJs and wearing them with his moose slippers.  Simple joys, eh?

Finley's outdoor play has been somewhat stunted this winter for obvious weather reasons, but we have had some decent snowfalls that have allowed to trade his sandbox shovel for his snow shovel. This morning, he "helped" me shovel off the top and bottom of the driveway so we could get the car out for school.  He loves wearing his snowpants and doing "heavy work."  We watched the snow plow come up and down our street and Finley was relieved we wouldn't have to shovel the street, too.

 Dan took Finley sledding a couple weeks back and while Finley didn't love getting the snow in his face, he thought sledding was alright.  Maybe next winter he will be a little tougher and able to handle the elements for the sake of fun!

We got a box of awesome handmedowns for Finley this past weekend and he has proudly worn a new shirt each day to school.  Here's the superman one he wore yesterday. Thanks, Zach!

His vocabulary is ever expanding and picks up everything we say (so we have to watch out!).
"That'd be a great idea, Mommy."
"Can I just have one small snack before dinner?"
"I need my socks on so my feet don't freeze on the tile."
"We should buy more orange juice so I can drink it to make my scratchy throat feel better."
It's funny to hear such grown up things coming out of his mouth and then listening to Dagny babble away, it's amazing to think she'll someday be competition for him at the dinner table!

So there you have it, Finley at 38 months and counting!

Uncanny

Dagny sprouted her first tooth yesterday and while that has its positives and negatives (just kidding, Ms. D., we are very proud...), it did inspire me to take this photo of her chewing on Dan's sweatshirt strings last night before bed.

I sent that phone photo around to our parents and siblings and Dan sent me back this photo of Finley (when he was about 6 months, photo taken by my Aunt Lois) and remarked that the resemblances between our kids is quite uncanny.

What do you think?

Brotherly Love in a Boat

After her epic nap this morning, Dagny joined us down in the basement.  After building with the big cardboard bricks, Finley wanted to get in the bucket aka his boat.  He climbed in and immediately asked if Dagny could come in, too.  I figured since she can sit up and would be contained, it might be a pretty fun idea. It was!  Unfortunately, despite being contained--both kids were so active inside the boat we couldn't get a clear photo.  This first one really captures Finley's excitement at having his sister along for the ride.

She was less impressed at first...

 

But soon changed her tune...

Eyes closed, but it's the best we could do.

 A little video of the boat in action (i.e. me dragging it around the basement).

Finley soon hopped out, but we decided that this bucket was a pretty good playing location for Dagny. She was supported, couldn't toss away her toys--should I patent this concept or delete the evidence in case child services comes calling??

The more interactive Dagny becomes, the more we see Finley want to include her in his play and it certainly foreshadows the years to come.  About how many years before we can leave them both down in the basement and have some free time to ourselves????

Dagny's Half Birthday!

Dagny is 6 months old this week.  Wow! Her first half birthday and she is as busy as ever.  At 18 lbs 6.5 oz and 26.75 inches, she's growing like a weed.

As I previously posted, Dagny is sitting up and she's getting pretty good at steadying herself when she starts to fall.  The other day, she was sitting up and then fell backwards a bit and landed on my leg but before I could help her, she managed to pull herself back up to sitting!  Dagny has joined her brother at school full time and she made a wonderful first impression in the infant room.  Despite not ever taking a bottle at home, she is now a master at drinking her milk at school and even at home when necessary.  Phew.  She likes all her teachers and enjoys laying on the floor or sitting up with the other babies.  She's still working on taking longer naps there, but since the lights are on and not all the kids nap at the same time--who can blame her for not quite conking out like she does at home just yet.  Finley gets to visit her in the "baby room" on occasion and Dagny is sometimes taken on a walkabout over to the 3s to see her big brother.  Drop off and pick up can be crazy at times, but I'm so glad they are in the same school and all the teachers take such good care of them.

Dagny is eating a couple of jars worth of baby food a day plus some baby oatmeal.  Now that she's 6 months, we can explore more fruits/veggies, yogurt, and more interesting jarred concoctions.  I'm not looking forward to her getting teeth since they can be painful for her and I'm still nursing--but it will be nice for advanced eating purposes (cheerios, blueberries, teething crackers, etc).

She loves her new dino-ball toy and anything that crinkles.  Like most babies, she loves tags and chewing on anything that she's not supposed to.  Finley is already getting a taste of what life will be like when his baby sister can get to all his stuff.  Poor guy.  She is using a pacifier here and there but we are going to try our hardest not to let her become 100% obsessed with it...famous last words, right?  Her sleep habits are inconsistent though some nights are excellent.  At her 6 month check up next week, I'm going to ask about when we can really "let her go" at night so we can all get a little more sleep and she can learn to wait to eat until closer to wake up time.  

Her blond hair is really coming in (nicely depicted in her mohawk in the photos below) and her blue eyes remain (those Mixter genes shining through!).  

She is an exhausting bundle of joy and we are excited to see what 2013 brings...if nothing else, may it please bring some consecutive hours of sleep!