Finding Finley

Sick Day

2012-01-27T20:14:00.002-05:00

Finley's cough had been increasing (in frequency and level of hacking) through the second half of the week and last night his runny nose and slight fever had us concerned. He had an okay night's sleep but woke up with the fever still present and looking rather pathetic with flushed cheeks, a crusty nose, and teary eyes. Dan was kind enough to take the morning shift and I went off to work leaving the two in our bed reading Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (searching for the no longer elusive Goldbug). I returned at noon so Dan could go off to the job site and it sounded like the morning was relaxed and while he hadn't eaten much, Finley was no worse for the wear.

I got him down for a nap, though it was less than stellar with the last part of it occuring on me in his rocking chair. But perhaps it was better that I didn't have to wake up to make our 4pm doctor's appointment, after all. Finley was a champ at the doctor, letting her poke and prod him with only a few murmurs of "mommy, mommy." While Finley usually sees Dr. Pangburn, he seemed to process the idea that Dr. P had other kids to see and we'd be seeing Dr. McCarty the "lady doctor." She found just a single ear infection and sent us off with a prescription. Phew--I had been expecting a much worse diagnosis!

We got the medicine and Finley proudly carried out his freshly mixed bottle of amoxicillin from Walgreens and brought it all the way inside, upstairs, and put it in the fridge. While he wasn't coughing or complaining, he was certainly tired from the minimalist nap and exhausting trip to the doctor. On a whim, I looked through our DVD collection and selected Finding Nemo as Finley's first full length feature film (figured he wasn't ready for Lord of the Rings or Anchorman). We sat and watched and despite answering, "Where's Nemo, Mommy?" a million times--it was quite fun. He almost gave up on it towards the end, but enjoyed the exciting family reunion between Nemo and his dad, Marlin. Dan had come down to enjoy the last third of the movie with us and we'd love catch each other watching Finley and his reactions (concern "Where's the fish daddy, mommy?", enthusiasm "There's Nemo, mommy!" and confusion, "Where's that turtle going, daddy?").

A bowl of rice, an attempt at eating a popsicle, another reading of Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, a crying medicine ingestion, and now the little guy is now sound asleep.

Finley's been a very healthy guy overall and it always takes us by surprise when he is truly under the weather, but it's nice to know that we can find ways to keep him comfy (tylenol, strawberries, garbage trucks on youtube, books, etc). Hopefully he'll be back to himself soon and we can all get back to our usual routine...now who's going to break it to him that he can't go to his swim class tomorrow...

Winter...Finally!

2012-01-21T18:59:00.005-05:00

After a pathetic winter season (i.e. the best winter in Boston, ever!), we got two small snowstorms this week. Overnight on Monday, we got a few inches and Finley was more than thrilled to help Dan clear the driveway before school/work on Tuesday morning. With his birthday shovel from his BFF Charlotte, he was ready for action!

All that digging in the sandbox and backhoe watching over these past months really paid off, Finley was surprisingly effective!

Then, we woke up this morning (Saturday) to even more snow and after letting it accumulate a few inches, we got Finley into his snow pants and all his other snow gear. Thank goodness he has finally embraced wearing his warm mittens!

He's not as effective here as he was at the top of the driveway, but the effort is certainly there!

Dan left small path of snow so we could let Finley sled--having a sloped driveway has to have at least one benefit, right? He sure looked big in our infant/toddler sled, but thankfully he still fit!

His first words upon reaching the bottom? "Again!"

A few more runs before it was time to go inside and get ready for swim class. Dan was a good snow soldier and took Finley back outside after swimming at the field nearby the pool. Henry and his dad joined them and the four had a great time using the little sled and our bigger one that the dads could ride in, too.

The snow continued to pile up and after an enormous nap (3.5 hours!), we all went back out to shovel again and then took a stroll around the neighborhood looking for snow plows. We saw lots of them, even one with two blades! The highlight of the walk was just as we returned to our driveway our neighbor rolled up in his backhoe to plow his driveway--yes, we live next door to a general contractor of sorts who has all sorts of cool machines that occasionally make an appearance. Finley was in awe so we watched for a while before coming inside to warm up.

Hello, Winter, it's actually been nice to see you after all!

A Night on the Town, Sort of

2012-01-18T20:41:00.001-05:00

Fair warning, this is a picture-less post, proceed with caution...

Dan's cousin, Jonathan, was in town for work from California and after a brief stop at home, we all headed to hip-happening Arlington Center for dinner. We chose an italian place that we have often gotten take out from, but never eaten in at. They expanded into a much bigger space last year and the few times we have picked up food since then, the place has seemed near vacant of customers---it was time for us to be more visible patrons!

Finley was excited to go out to dinner at a "rest-raunt" with everybody and was a perfectly lovely dinner companion. We brought some pre-dinner snacks for him to devour while his pizza was in the oven, but he ended up waiting even more patiently than usual. He was his extremely chatty self and Jonathan commented how much more talkative he had become just since we'd been out in California at Thanksgiving i.e. he did not stay silent for more than 30 seconds max at a time. He was interested in all the goings on of the restaurant and anytime someone walked in, he seemed genuinely thrilled and then asked when more people would be coming. He'd probably drum up a lot of business wearing a sandwich board out on the sidewalk! He sat in a big boy chair and only almost fell out twice, not bad. His pizza arrived but after the initial excitement of that wore off, he probably ate only one slice in its entirety (which is no where near his usual food intake level these days). Instead, he spent the rest of the meal moving around in his seat with pizza in his hand or on his fork just singing away. Raffi's "Baby Beluga," or "Googa" as Finley calls it, is surely one of his top five favorite tunes and he continued to sing the verses he knows and the chorus over and over while the rest of us ate. It was adorable and totally hysterical. He also pointed to the ceiling several times saying the whale was up there swimming around. Okay, sure thing dude...but anyways, tonight was just an example of the little guy Finley is these days and how much we are enjoying this fleeting phase (everything's a phase I have been told, bummer).

Thanks, Cousin Jonathan, for the visit (and the Finley gifts that you brought despite my threats!!) and who knows what Finley will be doing the next time we see you!

SteveSongs!

2012-01-16T14:35:00.001-05:00

With Dan off at work on his new job site, Finley and I had MLK day off just the two of us. A few weeks back, we snagged some tickets to SteveSongs who was performing at our nearby temple's preschool as a fundraiser, and today was the show! Steve is a local guy who also performs on PBS and has quite a reputation amongst kids and parents alike. Over the weekend, I was telling Finley that we would be going to a concert soon and Steve would play his guitar for all the kids. While he tends to live in a world of instant gratification, he seemed to be intrigued by this "Steve" and managed to wait for the show quite patiently.

As it was a Pajama Party Concert, Finley's dream came true and he got to wear his PJs out of the house! Since it was only 15 degrees out, though, I convinced him he could wear his firetruck pajama shirt with some black fleece pants. But first things first, we stopped at the "donut shop" for a special pre-concert treat. (Somehow we've gone back to the 50s where every restaurant/store is a "shop" and Finley is always on the look out for a donut or pizza shop.) To my dismay, they were out of plain munchkins so Finley had to settled for a HUGE plain donut instead. He quickly made friends with an older gentleman sitting behind us and they had a good laugh together.

Finley pointed out his donut's hole before completely devouring it.

Then, it was off to the show! We found a seat on the floor with some friends and waited for Steve to come out on stage. Finley was instantly taken when the music began, but he wanted to stay seated in my lap for most of the performance clutching his glow necklace (Thanks, Mackensie!)

He snacked, wiggled, clapped, and bounced, but basically seemed content to sit and listen. Until, he finally took to his feet towards the end.

And cut loose!

Steve finished his set and we all clapped and began to make our way out, when suddenly he began playing one encore song. I saw an empty chair near us and asked Finley if he wanted to watch Steve from the chair and he immediately climbed up on his own. And look down below to see what happened next!

Aside from a little distraction here and there, Finley was really jamming to Steve's final tune while strumming his own air guitar.

We made our way out and Finley was still moving and grooving as we got into the car. He even said, "me excited" as we drove away!

As soon as we got home, Finley tossed off his coat and shoes, looked for his guitar, hopped up onto his multi-functional stool and performed his own concert.

I guess you can say our little musician was inspired!

Football's #1 Fan

2012-01-09T19:55:00.002-05:00

Finley has become a HUGE Giants football fan. So I ask you, is it nature or nurture? Perhaps a combination of both, but the basic situation is that Finley loves tossing his football around, watching football on Sundays and celebrating Giants victories with his dad. As you can imagine, this pleases Dan to no end! The Giants snuck into the playoffs and the football season continued for the Forseters this weekend in the first round of the playoffs. On Sunday morning, Dan asked that Finley wear his Eli Manning shirt and I happily obliged as I was getting the little pigskin fan dressed. He ran into the kitchen to show his dad his shirt and was thrilled to see Dan wearing his blue Giants super bowl shirt. Alas, I did not have mine on (more on that later). I teased Finley that we should call him Eli and surprisingly, he was into it and requested this new name as we tossed the ball back and forth on the couch later. "Finley's Eli" he said a few times!

To our joy, the game versus the Falcons was timed perfectly with Finley's nap, a 1pm game that would allow us both to watch and enjoy the game without having to entertain/supervise a toddler. The game turned out to be quite excellent with a 24-2 victory for the G-men, but to his mild disappointment Finley woke up around 4pm with only a few minutes left in the game. He crawled up onto the couch to watch the remaining minutes and was happy enough to see the end of the big win.

However, after we ran some errands, we were back home and tempted to tune into the other playoff game (Denver vs Pittsburgh). "Watch Giants football now, Daddy?" Finley asked. We tried to explain that the Giants game was all done and it was a different game, but he didn't seem to care so we served him his dinner at a special spot in the living room. This is what weekends are for, right?

He was tuned in and cheering for the exciting plays (he thought it was Eli instead of Tim Tebow throwing the ball, but who cares, right?)

It was pretty funny to watch him intently eat and watch and then tune out, eat some more, then tune back in and so on and so on. I asked him to show me a silly face and to my surprise (who knew he knew what silly meant?) he stuck his tongue out!

So then I asked for a nice cheese smile--not bad little Eli, not bad at all!

The game next week is at 4pm, so Finley will probably be up and totally refreshed from his nap...watch out Cheeseheads, Finley is out to get you!

Oh and as for the shirts, since Dan can be a bit superstitious--next week Dan and Finley will wear their same blue team shirts on Sunday and I won't be allowed to wear mine. Ug!

Happy New Year, Finley!

2012-01-03T21:31:00.003-05:00

With no babysitter in sight, we had resigned ourselves to having a quiet New Year's Eve at home this year. However, while Finley was napping on Saturday afternoon we decided that perhaps we should venture downtown with the little guy to see all the free First Night attractions on the Common. So when he woke up, we quickly got ourselves ready and headed to the subway station. Finley was pumped to go on the train and we couldn't get there fast enough! We got on the red line and we joked that we could just ride around on the subway and then go home and Finley would have thought that was an awesome way to ring in the new year.

We happened to have chosen the car that the "conductor" was in and that thrilled our little train buff. He liked seeing other trains fly by us and as we left each station on our way to Park Street, he would tell us that the train was "puffing away" (a phrase he no doubt picked up from watching Thomas).

Going above ground and over the Charles River was a highlight, too bad it was dark, but he got the idea.

We got to Park Street and hauled Finley (me) and his stroller (Dan) up some serious stairs. As soon as we got outside, the New Year's Eve spirit was in full swing. People everywhere, food carts, flashing 2012 glasses and sparklers! We had debated whether or not to bring the stroller, but were very happy to have Finley safely strapped in as we navigated the mob scene. We decided to walk around the park instead of through it to start, but that was after we made a pit stop to check out a couple of fire trucks that were parked nearby inspecting a building whose fire alarm was going off. We could've gone home after that as far as Finley was concerned: train ride + flashing lights on two fire trucks = best night of his life. But we pushed on...

After passing a few glowing stands, we decided to get Finley a special New Year's novelty and he was thrilled with his new "flashlight."

He proudly waved it around saying "Happy New Year" as we strolled along.

It kept him quite happy, especially when he discovered there was a button that he could push to turn it off and then back on again. $5 well spent!

After walking for a while, we noticed that people were already lining up for the parade and large numbers of people at that. We had never seen the parade in all our years in Boston and wondered if it was something worth waiting around for. So we decided to claim a spot on the curb and wait for it.

Finley bounced from the curb with me to running around on the sidewalk with Dan, having snacks, and looking for more mounted police ("More horses now, Mommy?"). We probably hung out for thirty minutes or so and with just a few police cars coming past clearing the way, but when we could see lots of bright lights coming, Finley yelled, "I see it coming, Daddy!" Though we're pretty sure he didn't know what "it" was at that point.

Dan plopped Finley up on his shoulder for a great view and after the line of police motorcycles, Mayor Thomas Menino rolled by in a carriage!

The rest that followed was fairly typical, small town parade stuff: dancers, bands, kids in costumes, tricked out cars, emergency vehicles, etc. and Finley was totally into it. We got tossed some beads from a FedEx Special Delivery truck and Finley wore his proudly.

In fact, we got lots of beads and Finley has been wearing his "neck-wiss" at home ever since. He wears the blue one, I get to wear the purple one, and Dan gets the silver. He even asked for his stuffed penguin, P, to wear a silver necklace, too. The celebration continues!

He liked hearing the drums in all the bands and seeing all sorts of different vehicles roll by.

Dan's shoulders got a break towards the end of the parade and Finley got another glowing necklace!

When it was over, we strapped Finley into the stroller with his necklaces and flashing flashlight and rolled behind the last few vehicles from the parade along with the rest of the crowd. We somehow made it out and back towards the T station. When we realized how late it had gotten, we figured we'd better eat downtown and then head back home. Just as we were crossing the street to a popular burger joint, the city's fireworks began and we had a great view! We were far enough away that you really couldn't hear the loud booms, but just enjoy the beautiful lights display--perfect for a toddler.

We shared some burgers and fries, but all in all Finley did not each that much as he was too busy watching all the other customers (including some policemen and even a "police-lady" that were picking up some burgers, too).

A successful trip downtown to celebrate the arrival of 2012 was capped off with yet another train ride and Finley was in heaven as we headed home.

The evening turned out perfectly and while not finding a babysitter was disappointing at first, spending it as a family was just right. Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T13:58:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful time down in VA last week seeing my side of the family and giving Finley some quality cousin time. As some of you may recall, Finley and his cousin Owen had the same exact due date back in 2009 but with Finley coming early and Owen taking an extended stay on the inside, the boys are just about a month apart. Friday night and Christmas day, the boys got some time to play together and it was so fun to watch. Despite their differences, they seemed to be two peas in a pod at times!

The first pict looks like an old polaroid I dug out from the 70s, but it is in fact a picture taken with Dan's apparently ghetto phone camera. At least someone caught the cuteness on film!

Finley shared his love of the guitar with Owen while we all desperately tried to capture this adorable moment.

Things dissolved from there as we prepped for a family shot...

But luckily my dad was to snap a few photos for the Mixter scrapbook (and our blog!).

Finley also shared his new wooden play menorah with his dear cousin.

Not to be left in the dust by the boys, Owen's little sister, Finley's cousin Natalie got into the action. Finley was more than happy to include her, he seems to have quite a fondness for small fries these days.

The most surprising part was that Finley was very eager for me to pick up Natalie. "Mommy hold Na-wie?" he asked over and over until I obliged.

He just loved to get right up into her face and say "Hi Na-wie" over and over. So sweet!

And just when you thought Finley was spoiled enough by cousins, we went over to Dan's cousin Eric's house to see his brood. Mia is nearly 4 and Jake turned 1 at Thanksgiving. Eric got most of the pictures that I'll have to steal from him later, but here are Mia and Finley on the swing set.

At one point, Mia hopped off her swing and hopped back on on her belly and I said, "Wow, you're just like Superman" and Mia quickly retorted, "No, I'm Tinkerbell." Dan and I both laughed and commented how boy-centric our lives have become!! Here's the goodbye hug that Eric grabbed before we left.

Great Uncle Bernie couldn't be left out so Finley gave him a hearty goodbye handshake!

It was fun to see those guys in their new house, but it was back to Grammy and Granddad's after that to order our Christmas Eve Chinese food!

I didn't take a great deal of other photos, but here are some random shots from our time down there.

Another sepia-like shot from Dan's phone, what a good smile on a crappy camera!

Some day this photo will be on the inside of one of his album covers...thanks for the shot, Aunt Caitlin!

A present from Owen and his family: Zig the Big Rig!

My dad took us on a fun subway/metro adventure one morning and Finley LOVED being on the train!

Grammy, Aunt Caitlin, Finley and I also went to a nearby playground one afternoon and Caitlin showed Finley how to really have fun!

My dad put Finley to work spreading mulch out back and Finley was more than willing to help!

And loading some firewood into the wheelbarrow!

All in all, a wonderful time had by all and Finley continues to ask where his Grammy and Dan-dad are and what they are doing...I think we'll have to see them again soon or I'll run out answers that pacify the determined little guy!

Two takes of the our Forseter trio to end this post, Happy New Year to all!

Dan and I look better in the first, but Finley looks much happier in the second :)

The Last Crazy Night

2011-12-28T13:52:00.002-05:00

Before I dive into the lengthy blog about Christmas in VA, I must post the final installment of our Hanukkah celebration. Last night was the last night of the holiday and we celebrated big. We filled the menorah and Finley loved seeing the huge flames as we sang the blessings. He sings along with the first verse and it is so adorable! After singing, it was time to open the final gifts (as if he needed more!) and the first was from Aunt Caitlin to compliment the tricycle she gave him for his birthday.

Yes, his very own astronaut themed helmet that even lights up! He was thrilled to see it and much to our surprise, immediately put it on! Sorry for the blurry photo, but Finley was basically bouncing with excitement.

He then said, "wear it bicycle?" and we headed off to the basement.

He took the helmet for a test drive and seemed quite pleased!

Later, he and Dan came back upstairs both wearing their bike helmets and Finley handed me mine and said, "Mommy wear it?" So we all wore our helmets while I finished cooking dinner--safety first! Thanks, Aunt KK!

Another sports themed gift coming up: our final Hanukkah gift for our little guy was a baseball tee! We cleared some room in the basement and let him try it out. He wanted to use his big orange bat instead of the smaller, thinner yellow one that came with the tee but still seemed to get the hang of it.

As if the kid's life couldn't get any better, his last gift from his GG and Grandpa was a set of drums (that thankfully have an off button and are quite portable). He drummed like a pro right away.

But then, he just wanted to dance with his drumsticks to the funky background music.

Happy Hanukkah, Finley, we had a lot of fun celebrating with you!

1st of 8 Crazy Nights

2011-12-20T20:28:00.001-05:00

We kicked off Hanukkah tonight with all the traditional trimmings. While Dan and Finley entertained themselves in the basement, I started shredding potatoes and onions for some latkes.

The boys came up once the deep frying began, but luckily our bowl of dreidels bought me some additional time to cook.

With the latkes keeping warm in the oven, we got our menorahs ready and sat down at the table.

As usual, Finley's favorite part of the pre-meal fesitivies is our singing of the prayers.

We gorged on potato latkes and edamame for dinner and Finley was an eager participant. For someone who is not an adventurous eater, it was quite enjoyable to watch Finley pick up the latke and just dive in!

Of course, as soon as I push record--Finley changes his tune and fails to cooperate. Alas, I thought it was cute just to see him in action. He realizes that he can see the movie/photo after I take it and his patience is pretty thin, thank you world of instant gratification!

When he was finished, he entertained himself with the wind-up walking dreidel while Dan and I finished.

Next stop on the Hanukkah train, PRESENTS! Since we are off to Virginia tomorrow, Finley got to open more than just one gift tonight...and by more than one, I mean A LOT. First up, a spot on gift from Finley daycare provider, Beth. A new guitar for our future rock star!

After jamming for a bit, he said two guitars and ran to get his other ax. Can you say "happy camper"?

A great car racetrack carpet from Great Uncle Bernie and Great Aunt Annette!

Some gel stickers for glass, like our front door. Finley just had to put on ALL the stars and dreidels before moving on to any other gifts. Thank you, Pan-pa and GG!

Phew, after all that excitement, what more could we do? Have some chocolate gelt, of course!

Happy Hanukkah to all!

Self Entertainment

2011-12-15T21:19:00.000-05:00

Finley's finally coming around to the skill set of self-entertainment i.e. making his own fun. More and more, he seems to be able to come up with ideas of how to play with his stuff (without relying on us to play with him)--often in unconventional ways. This wonderful set of small books was a birthday gift that Finley enjoys reading, but has also found lots of other things to do with them.

Here, he "read" each book and then put them in a line.

He then called it a train and said, "chugga chugga" as he pushed it along.

When the train cars fell apart, he quickly changed gears to build a tower.

When it was complete, he looked up at me and said, "Look at that tower, Mommy!" Not bad, little guy, not bad!

Imagination Driving Wild

2011-12-07T20:51:00.001-05:00

Finley's pretty good at turning things into other things. His cooked carrots at dinner are often wheels, a straw is a shofar, and a tall, skinny tupperware container at Bed Bath and Beyond this week was instantly a jackhammer. A bowl of magnetic letters for the fridge seems a perfectly lovely dinner to serve Dan and I, so why wouldn't his play tent be a garage?

Finley thought this was a pretty ingenious idea until he couldn't get back out because the wheels got stuck :) We're continuing to help him learn how to pedal on his beloved tricycle, but I'm not sure how much progress we are making. Good thing there's a long winter ahead!

Sunny November

2011-12-05T20:25:00.001-05:00

When my parents were here at Thanksgiving, the weather was a bit chilly (compared to the freakishly warm November) but nice and sunny, so they headed out with Dan and Finley to the playground and then back in our front yard.

Here's Finley "selling tickets," one of his favorite playground games. All you need is a ticket counter (usually found under structures), willing customers (grandparents are prime for this), and tickets. Tickets can be woodchips, rocks, leaves, or whatever might be handy.

I love the next shot, it truly captures our little guy at his finest!

Back on the home turf, Finley enjoyed "helping" Dan but shoveling all the fallen banana pods.

Soon the snow will be here and we will be wishing for days such as these! Thanks, Mom, for all the great photos!

California Rookies

2011-12-03T14:39:00.001-05:00

So...long story, short, we flew to California on the Friday after Thanksgiving and flew back on Monday. Not sure who, if anyone, adjusted to the time change, but we had a blast and made it back in one piece. We saw lots of family, went to dinner parties, and attended the wedding of Dan's cousin, Ari. However, I failed to take photographs of any of the above. Oops. I did take many photos on our daytrip to the Santa Monica beach (I'm sure there's some hipper name, but I'm not very west coast as it was both Finley and my first trip to California).

It was VERY sunny and despite wearing tons of sunscreen and a hat, Finley soaked up quite a lot of sun.

Without a bucket in sight, Finley made the best of the situation with the frisbee we'd packed.

Even using it to bury his feet and his Aunt Ellie's feet.

Until far off in the distance, he saw his beloved GG and Pan-pa coming towards him with...wait for it...a huge bucket and a shovel!

He took off and put the most distance between him and I in what seems like months...I guess he just needed the right motivation.

Now this is living!

Finley's Great Aunt Annette, Great Uncle Bernie, and cousins Eric, Amy, Mia, and Jake joined us and we all enjoyed the beach before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

As I mentioned, the trip was a huge success and despite the long flights and missed sleep, we had a good time. Family is family and we hope Finley will continue to experience and learn just how important family is :)

Somebody Else's Shoes

2011-12-03T14:29:00.001-05:00

Finley likes putting on Dan's shoes. He often puts them on the right foot and has gotten pretty good at walking around in them. Plus, he thinks it's hysterical!

Here he is in our hotel room in California last weekend after waking up in the morning.

And here he was this morning just before we left for Tot Shabbat.

Someday little man, someday :)

Happy Turkey Day 2011

2011-12-03T14:10:00.001-05:00

My parents were kind enough to fly up to have Thanksgiving with us this year. Well, it was more than kind since we invited them up and then asked my mom to cook everything :) Aren't I a wonderful daughter?? My mom brought her cookbooks and my dad brought his guitar, so while Grammy buzzed around the kitchen with minimal assistance from me, Dan-dad (granddad) played some duets with Finley.

And lucky for Finley, Granddad is very trusting with his instrument and let Finley play it all by himself.

At least twice a day, Finley would ask his Dan-dad to "play tar" and he would happily oblige. Finley even wore his guitar shirt!

When it was time to eat, Finley was excited to sit down with all of us. He had helped make placecards and happily passed them out. We filled up Finley's plate with all the trimmings and he studied everything carefully.

After much inspection, he decided only to eat his string beans and have seconds of squash. No turkey, so mashed potatoes and gravy...his loss!

And then he had seconds on beans on Dan's lap.

He entertained himself with trucks while the rest of us finished up and then it was time for pie.

After the plates were cleared and our bellies were full, Finley used up the remaining stickers from the placecards to make a lovely picture with Grammy.

After dinner, my dad built a HUGE tower using all of Finley's blocks and much to our relief, he did not want to knock it over. Instead, he wanted to park some of his trucks underneath.

As many Thanksgivings around the country do, we ended our Turkey Day with some football watching.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

2 Year Check Up

2011-11-19T21:21:00.001-05:00

After a successful visit to the pediatrician's office on Friday, I have this to report:

Finley is 36.5 inches tall, which puts him in the 94% percentile for height. That's more than a yardstick tall!
Without hesitation, he stood up on the big boy scale to be weighed. He is 28.5 pounds, which puts him in the 57% percentile. That makes him perfectly long and lean according to Dr. P.

I answered all sorts of questions about his eating, sleeping, talking, and activity habits. Finley demonstrated his running skills out in the hallway. Then, the doctor checked his ears--which is usually Finley's least favorite part of the exam but he didn't flinch. His ears were clear which meant the double ear infection from earlier this month was 100% gone, score! He enjoyed being laid on his back while the doc examined his legs, hips, and other inner organs (I got to see where his liver is, exciting). The doctor looked to see if any molars are coming in, which they aren't, but we should expect them in the next six months or so. As the doctor packed up his computer and shook my hand, Finley piped in "Thank you" and then he and the doctor exchanged high fives and fist bumps.

The nurse swooped in, gave Finley a flu shot and then we headed down the hall for a lead test (blood draw). Last year we had to come back twice to get the blood sample, but the doctor assured me at 2 years old, he'd be fine. WRONG. The nurse stuck him twice and while trying to get blood into the tube, the first needle hole began to bleed big time and since his blood wasn't flowing quickly into the tube, it had to stay in. Just imagine his tears (and mine) as blood was spurting out with a needle still in. I nearly lost my cool and the nurse felt awful. When she finally took the needle out and wiped up all the spilt blood, she said she hoped there was enough in the tube for a test but she wasn't sure. Arg. Finley left with a very sore arm and he was halfway down the hall before I could get my coat on, saying "home now, home now." We stopped for two munchkins (donut holes) to ease my guilt and he ate one on the way to daycare before falling asleep. Poor dude.

He was all smiles when I got him later in the afternoon and when we got home, he asked to take off the "dan-dan" which is his version on bandaid. No horrible bruising or needle marks much to my relief. Looks like only I am still scarred by the morning's events :)

All in all, a good report. It's always nice for someone else to tell you how great your kid is, though we didn't need convincing!

2 Years Ago Today

2011-11-16T19:55:00.001-05:00

Two years ago today, Finley entered our lives and it's been the most amazing twenty-four months since. Much like that morning, Finley had us up bright and early today and we tried to make the day as special as possible despite it being a work/school day. I dropped Finley off at Beth's with some chocolate chip cookies, raspberries, and blackberries for him and all his friends to have after lunch for birthday treats. When I picked him up, Beth said he wore his birthday crown at lunch and loved having everyone sing to him before blowing out the candle in his cookie. She even said she took a few pictures so hopefully I'll get to see those soon.

We headed off to meet Charlotte, Gabi, and Joey for an ice cream playdate. We all enjoyed some delicious ice cream together and Finley ate every drop of his vanilla cone.

Charlotte was very sweet wishing Finley a happy birthday and Gabi and I promised to repeat this afternoon treat when Charlotte turns three in January. We'll have no problem keeping that commitment!

We drove home and played for a while in the basement where Finley rode around on his new tricycle and scooped up his stuffed animals with his new snow shovel (Thank you, Charlotte!) before going to pick up Dan since his car is in the shop. Dinner was chicken nuggets and squash before presenting Finley with his Birthday Pumpkin Pie.

Dan and I are more "pie people" than "cake people," so we figured at 2 Finley was ready to handle this Forseter twist on birthday tradition.

Cheers!

After dinner, since it was getting late, we quickly opened some family presents. As soon as the box from my parents was presented to him, he jumped right up on top and obliged me with a "cheese!" for the camera.

The doctor's kit from my brother and his family was an instant hit. As soon as we opened the bag, he said one of his new phrases "Get out!" which we like to interpret as "no way!" or "OMG!" but what Finley actually means is "get it out" so we got out all the tools and he gave Dan a check up.

I failed to take any more photos, but he did open a neat little playhouse from my parents and some stamping markers from my cousins which we already tested out. Life is good, huh Finley?

I could probably write an entire post about my reflective feelings on a day such a day as today, but the truth is since I have this blog to look back through whenever I want...I won't do it. All I'll say is that I am immensely proud of Finley, but also of Dan and I as parents. The three of us have come a long way in two years and I can't wait to see what's next.

Happy Birthday, Finley, we love you with all our hearts.

Finley's Backyard Birthday Bonanza

2011-11-14T21:08:00.001-05:00

We lucked into the best weather November had to offer this year and celebrated Finley's 2nd birthday outside in our backyard with a wonderful bunch of our family and friends. With the help of Dan's mom, dad, and sister not only was our house ready for a party, but the backyard was primed for fun! All our outdoor toys came in handy, but the big piles of leaves Dan had raked were the biggest hit by far!

Finley just loved running around and through the leaves with all his pals. Henry started tossing leaves into the air and seemed in pure heaven. Eliot started tossing them on Henry, to his great joy, and Finley couldn't resist taking a turn.

I can't imagine a more cliche fall scene!

After a while, Finley suddenly retreated into my lap and seemed all done with his party. Yikes, I thought, but soon I realized the kid was probably pretty hungry and running a bit low in the blood sugar department. I snatched him up and we filled a plate of strawberries, blueberries, and pretzels.

Where there is food, toddlers will follow and soon it was a group date!

These seemlingly small, innocent children ate an inordinate amount of fruit and then went back to playing full tilt. Mission accomplished. But before we knew it, the pizza had arrived and we were sure if the kiddos would even want any...

There was nothing to worry about! Finley and his fellow party-goers ate their share of pizza while the parents chowed down as well.

Next, it was cake time! Here's my creation for this year's celebration:

Please tell me it (slightly) resembles at dump truck! Everyone gathered around and Finley really enjoyed the group serenade of "Happy Birthday" before giving himself a round of applause.

We leaned over to blow out the candle (that the wind had already blown out) and then I put Finley down to serve everyone, but before I knew it the Birthday Boy made his move.

Have at it, little man!

Soon it was time for goodbyes and we thanked everyone for coming and making his big day so special. While Dan and his parents and sister amazingly raked all the leaves up into eight leaf bags, my sister, Finley and I went inside for some post-party wind down time. As Caitlin and I chatted, Finley was busy at work and when we asked him what he was doing with some of his trucks and helicopter, he quickly responded, "party." Ha! I asked him what they were eating and he answered, "cake!"

I couldn't think of a better way to end the fiesta...oh wait, Finley's 2.5 hour nap afterwards was the best way! Thank you to all our terrific friends and family who came to the party and made it so special :) Turning 2 is pretty sweet and Finley is still coming down from the sugar high! I sure hope he enjoys his actual birthday on Wednesday and the novelty hasn't worn off....

Pre-Party Presents!

2011-11-14T20:32:00.001-05:00

Before Finley's birthday party on Sunday morning, we carved out some time for his out-of-town guests to give Finley their gifts. He got some fun musical flutes for the bathtub from Aunt Ellie (thank goodness for some tub toy variety!). Pan-Pa and GG had two big boxes for Finley to open. The first was a warm, snuggly stroller cover so we can take long winter walks (okay, that was more on my birthday list that Finley's, but he'll appreciate it soon enough). Inside the second box was Finley's very own rolling suitcase with a removable backpack. He couldn't wait to take it out for a spin!

We told him it was for going on airplanes and now when he pulls it around, he says "Airport, jetway, pilot!" He's already checked to see if his two loveys fit inside (and they do!).

My sister also gave him her present, which Dan had kindly assembled the night before. A gorgeous, shiny, red Schwinn tricycle!!

While he doesn't quite understand the purpose of the pedals yet, with some basement practice this winter--he'll probably be ready to hit the sidewalks in the spring!

He's already mastered ringing the bike bell so that's a step in the right direction. Thank you, Aunt Caitlin!!

Laughing with Good Friends

2011-11-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

We had a last minute visit from some good friends on Saturday evening. Stacy, Kelvin, Aliza, and not-so-baby Levi came over and ended up staying for dinner. Finley was great with Levi (daycare is really paying off!!). He even shared his beloved yellow balls and built him some small towers for him to knock over.

However, it was Aliza that really got Finley laughing. Aliza's about six months older than Finley and cute as a button. They are both pretty mild mannered and fun-loving, they had a great time sharing toys, dancing, and bounding around. After a while, they shared a snack on the couch and before we knew it, they were shaking their water cups and basically it was monkey-see, monkey-do.

They were so silly, Levi had to see what all the fuss was about.

As we waited for the dads to come back with dinner, Aliza and Finley entertained themselves with their silverware and exchanging funny words and noises. We should have dinner dates more often!

After dinner, both kiddos requested dessert (where do they learn these things?) but thankfully we had some delicious raspberries available. Both Finley and Aliza had fun putting them on their fingers and then gulping them down. This photo's a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea!

Sadly, the foursome headed back home to Connecticut after dinner (and lots of hugs goodbye). We won't wait so long to see them next time, it was pure heaven to watch our kids together.

Sarasota's Beach Fun

2011-11-06T21:06:00.002-05:00

While the weather wasn't stellar, we took Finley down to the beach after a late afternoon nap. To his joy, Eliot was already there! They chased each other around (after Finley realized he was in a giant sandbox and stopped pouting) and eventually they began work on a "birthday cake" by putting lots of "candles" in it. It was pretty hysterical and Sangwha and I must have snapped dozens of photos trying to capture both of the kids in the same shot.

This was certainly some of the best playing together the kids did (as opposed to just playing near each other).

Finley and Dan kicked the soccer ball around and it was good to see that the men in our family can play other sports besides frisbee.

We finally made it down to the water and Finley enjoyed it more than I thought he would.

Some nice family shots by Sangwha, too bad Finley was not quite sure where the camera was!

Oh and Finley and Eliot were very excited to help Sangwha bring her chair back to the beach gate. Ha!

Sarasota, Day 4

2011-11-06T20:54:00.001-05:00

Sorry to leave all our loyal followers hanging by a thread! Our fourth day in Sarasota started off great, Finley and Murray set up their chairs and we saved spots for some other Boston fans. Finley's enthusiasm was quite obvious!

Soon, the game started, there's Dan running!

Finley kept a close eye on the action.

Unfortunately, the game did not turn out so well for Dan's team and they had to accept another silver medal.

The best medicine for a tough loss? Tossing a disc around with your son, let the healing begin!

I must have taken a half dozen videos, it was hard to capture the action and not capture the passersby!

After all that throwing, Finley showed his dad some love and then his dad shared his water.

While Dan was certainly still bummed out from the ending of the game, it's hard to be in bad mood around Finley.

We are all very proud of Dan and his team and while the weekend ended on a sour note, it was a successful trip with a trooper of a toddler!

Sarasota Day 2

2011-10-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

Today had a very different feel, literally. It was at least 5 degrees cooler and rainy. Looking at the forecast last night, I was not really looking forward to a rainy day at the fields with Finley but it turned out great! Finley and Eliot were well behaved and had lots of fun, the rain turned out to be more bearable than the heat of Thursday, and Dan's team won both games--the second one being a come from behind barn burner victory!

I felt like I watched more frisbee today now that our hanging at the fields under the tent routine was set. Here's Dan, #11, running during the first game against the Atlanta team.

Finley doesn't always like it when the teams score because people often scream, yell, curse, clap, etc. quite loudly, but when he knows it's coming--he gets into it. Here's a blurry action shot of him clapping after a nice Ironside goal.

Despite the rain, Eliot and Finley kept busy and mostly dry.

Both Eliot and Finley are always on the look out for their own dads as well as each other's dads. "Josh coaching!" "Dan throwing!" When Dan popped his head under the tent, it was hard to tell who was more excited to see him, Finley or Eliot. The picture below may have the answer, though!

Finley loves throwing around the "fiz-fee" and despite the wet conditions, was very excited to play a "game" on the sideline. His throwing form is pretty funny and totally full-body, in fact he often falls over after a long toss. He gets great distance, but the direction is still a bit unpredictable.

He liked throwing around with me, but when Eliot came into view he called her over to join the fun.

Watching them play catch was fairly hysterical since Finley will throw it far but no where near Eliot and Eliot will throw it towards Finley but usually less than 3 feet in front of her. However, they are SO good at taking turns that no matter where the disc lands, the one who threw it will stand by patiently while the intended receiver tracks it down.

Final two shots, just close ups of how cute Finley looked with his rain jacket hood up and how clear a picture my camera can take.

We had a lovely dinner out with the team tonight as Murray, now known as "Pan-pa" instead of "Geeka," babysat and put to bed both Finley AND Eliot. Oh yeah! He said it went smoothly and both were asleep by 8, good work! He had to change two poopy diapers, now that's love :) Thanks, Grandpa!

More rain expected tomorrow for the quarterfinals, but possibly sunshine if we make it to the semifinals in the afternoon...fingers crossed!

Sarasota Day 1

2011-10-27T22:21:00.003-04:00

Okay, this is technically Day 2 already down in lovely Sarasota for the Ultimate Frisbee National Championships, but yesterday was mostly a travel day so I'm not counting it. So there. But here are two pictures from travel day as we had a layover in Atlanta and decided to have a giant picnic in the gate area (picnic aka make a giant mess on the floor). Couldn't get both Finley and Eliot to look at me at the same time, but you get the idea.

So onto Day "1". Dan's team (Ironside) had three games today, starting at 9:30 so by 10am we were settled into our spectating spots.

But to be honest, both kids didn't sit too much more as they bustled around playing with toys, eating snacks, and generally goofing around. Here's Finley feeding Eliot's baby which I snapped a shot of since I'd never seen him play with a baby doll before.

Sangwha had gotten a sweet sunshade the night before, so we popped that up and enjoyed shade in the second round. Plus, Finley and I picked up Murray at the airport (Finley napped the whole way there and then woke up to Murray opening the trunk and said "Gan-pa" which is much closer to Grandpa than "Geeka") and he joined our rag-tag crew.

He may not be smiling here, but his body position is exactly how Dan often sits in chairs like this! Too funny!

Finley is fairly interested in watching the "fiz-fee" game and loves cheering for his daddy and Ironside.

But both kiddos seemed to have more fun being silly!

After Dan's team won all three games, it was time to pack up. Finley dragged his chair bag around trying to "help" so Dan showed him how to wear the strap, which really made his day. Until he walked about ten steps with it and then cried out, "pick up, pick up." So Dan carried Finley and I carried the chair back to the car.

All in all, it was a great day. Both kids were great and Ironside kicked butt. Fingers crossed tomorrow is more of the same!

Sarasota Day 1, Part 2

2011-10-27T22:21:00.002-04:00

During rounds 2 and 3, we needed to take a break from the fields and the sun so we headed off to the local aquarium. Thankfully, both kids conked out in the car and got some much needed rest.

Sadly, we had to wake them up and get moving since we wanted to get back to the fields in time for the last game. Neither Finley or Eliot were psyched to be woken up, but all was forgiven once we were inside the aquarium surrounded by fish.

We saw lots of great things, but I cracked up when we got to the seahorse tank and pointed them out to Finley. His response was "Mister!" from our beloved Mister Seahorse book by Eric Carle, quickly followed by "Tapia?" which means Tilapia another fish character in the book. He was looking around the tank for the tilapia who should have been nearby...Wow--this kid has a memory!

Later we saw some teeny-tiny seahorses, some just a week old. Just like in our book when the babies are born at the end! i was probably more excited about that connection than Finley :)

We walked through the indoor part of the aquarium and into the outside portion where Finley came across this tank and pointed out "round and round" and was just entranced.

Some interactive fun here.

Then, some hysterical photo ops. Eliot had no interest, but Finley was a total ham. These are some of my favorite picts in recent memory!

Then, we got to some touch tanks. Eliot touched, Finley said "enough" and refused.

We ate some ice cream and french fries (hooray for vacation diets!) and then moved on the sea turtle exhibit. Finley was nervous at first, but then totally enthralled. Sangwha, Eliot, and I were, too. These creatures are beautiful, graceful swimmers. And I loved how all the tanks had kid-level windows!

We finished up with some HUGE manatees and a dolphin. Not bad for less than two hours! We raced back to the fields and the boys were already up 5-1 when we got back so at least we didn't miss anything too vital :) I love aquariums and everyone had fun, mission accomplished.

Caitlin and Justin Come to Town

2011-10-27T21:36:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, my sister and her boyfriend came to town to visit us (and for the Head of the Charles, but that's not too important in terms of my post). On Saturday afternoon, we played in the street for a while. I had to show my sister that letting our almost 2 year old "play in the street" isn't as dangerous as she would have expected. Finley brought his trusty lacrosse stick and two tennis balls. Caitlin took some goods photos and a video of the fun and hopefully it captures this new-found "game" that Finley likes to play most afternoons when we get home.

We also took them around back to the sandbox for a while and when we came back around front, the mailman was walking up the driveway and Finley gave him a fist-bump. Cool! I think both Caitllin and Justin thought it was pretty adorable that everywhere we went, Finley was always sure that everyone was coming along. Jus-in? KK? Mommy? As if we'd leave someone behind!

On Sunday, we went out for breakfast (Caitlin and Justin probably hadn't been up and out of the house before 9am on a weekend in quite a while!) and then hit up a nearby playground. Finley went down the slide with Caitlin, played in the sand and the sold everyone some "tickets" at the counter.

Soon it was time to explore the rocks. This area is a water spray park during the summer months (which would probably be quite treacherous slippery), but it a great running, climbing, and jumping spot now.

The best part was Finley and Caitlin playing hide and seek/peekaboo around some of the big rocks.

Caitlin really brings out Finley's happy-girly-squeals and after all the peekaboo, she got a few more of out him!

Dan had to go off to practice after the playground so the rest of us went to Wilson Farms to pick out a pumpkin to carve. However, Finley suggested we go on the Spooky Hayride (his 4th ride this month) first. Ug. Long line. But at least he let Caitlin hold him instead of me!!

As usual, it was probably worth the long wait...at least to Finley!

We finally made our way to the pumpkins and after scouring the piles, found just the right one. Caitlin and Justin did the hard work scooping out all the goop and seeds and then I took the easy way out and carved a big F for Finley. We showed it to him and asked him what letter it was and confidently, he said, "D." Oops. Guess we better move on to the next row of letters on his ABC placement :)

We had a great visit and can't wait to see Caitlin again soon when she comes back up for Finley's birthday next month!

Finley at 1.11 Years Old

2011-10-22T15:15:00.000-04:00

Well, it occurs to me that I haven't posted in a while. I haven't taken any pictures in a while. Will our fan base leave us??? In hopes that you all don't give up on Finding Finley, I figured I'd write a bit about Finley's latest antics. He's quite a guy and I want to remember all the funny and quirky things that make him him before he officially turns 2 next month. A random compilation, but here goes:

1. Finley LOVES music. He loves listening to music, playing music on his guitar, and singing on his own. For a week he'll adore one particular song and want to hear it on repeat in the car and just when I think I'll swerve off the road, he'll move on to a new one to spice things up and keep me awake. After going around and around the Wee Sing CD for months, I downloaded some classic Raffi tunes from my childhood and Finley has taken to many of them! Baby Beluga is a fav and he can sing along a bit now which is adorable. My little sister used to call it "Baby Luga" but Finley's coined it "Googa" thus far. This song has always had a special place in my heart and I just smile when he singings along to the line "Goodnight, little whale, goodnight." He also likes Raffi's version of "Octopus' Garden" and "We're Going to the Zoo." It's funny to see what lyrics he'll pick up on and sing after hearing a tune enough times. "Hot Potato" is a family favorite since it comes with dance moves and I've ben trying in vain to capture Finley rocking out to it, but the perfect opportunity has yet to appear. Finley has more hip favorites, too, like Katie Perry's "Last Friday Night" and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" (once he can understand the lyrics, these probably wouldn't be appropriate parental options). His guitar can play Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and while it has lots of other song buttons, this one gets the most attention. Dan played him the real version and he totally missed it, right over his little head. The funniest music preference he has came from some car rides with Dan where he found some Reggae on the radio and jammed to it. The other night, I came upstairs to some odd, island sounding music and discovered that the boys had tuned the shower radio to some Reggae for bath time. Ha!

2. Finley is a sports fanatic. He can throw a frisbee backhand (lefty) pretty impressively. In fact, we can't let him throw inside anymore since our living room lamp almost bit the dust after a nice toss. His beloved "yeh-bo balls" are two tennis balls (his attempt at saying yellow balls) that he likes to throw around, ask Dan to juggle with, slam dunk in the basketball hoop, and hold onto while riding in the car. However, the yellow balls have recently found a new place to play and that is in our street. Since Finley's a good rule abiding citizen and always goes to sit on the curb or stand in the driveway when a car is coming, we have taken to playing with him in the street. He likes to carry his little lacrosse stick down and toss the tennis balls around and chase them. Dan and I know zero about lacrosse so hopefully he won't want to further his skills beyond throwing the ball backwards over his shoulder. He can dribble a soccer ball with minimal trips/falls and can throw a football in the air yelling "touchdown!" Sadly, he still has a weird throwing motion for round balls and refuses to learn how to catch anything, but I suspect this will change in time. He likes watching the Giants on TV on Sundays (for 10 minutes or so anyways) and when he sees the players doing something he'll call out "runnin" "frowing" "fall down" "clappin"--a future in commentating perhaps! He also likes to wear his NYY foam finger and yell, "Yeah, Yankees!" It's nice to have a 3rd sports fan in the house :)

3. Unlike his father, Finley is great with names. He remembers kids and adults names well for his age (I think) and often surprises us when he blurts them out. He's very good as associating kids' names with their parents' names. If he went somewhere or did something memorable with someone, he'll say their name and then name the activity. That association will remain until it is replaced with a more current one. Sometimes after we put him to bed, he'll be talking to himself and often people's names come up. Like the other night he was talking about Dave and Charlotte, then Mike and his Prius, and Henry and his dog, Kiki. He also knows my name is Allison and his daddy's name is Dan, but also calls us "Babe" from time to time if we aren't paying attention to him...wonder where he got that from...

4. Finley is enjoying the Friday night tradition of Shabbat. A couple months ago we started trying to do candles and such each week so that Finley would learn the routine (but also so that he wouldn't think all candles meant birthdays and cake). He took to it from the start! He loved watching the candles get lit and listening to his parents sing together. Last night, he finished my song for me by saying "Shabbat" right on cue! Even the Good Shabbos kiss from me makes his smile. The blessing over the challah is always hard to wait for, but he manages and then loves getting the first slice of the braided bread. For those that don't know, I converted to Judaism before we got married since the Jewish culture and family traditions are so important to Dan and his family. Watching Dan watch Finley light up during our Shabbat dinners is a very fulfilling experience and makes me proud of the decisions we made for our family. Finley will be psyched during Hanukkah when we'll light candles and sing for 8 nights in a row!!

5. His bedtime routine has been pretty similar for a long time now, but he's beginning to work the system by requesting additional books before we read The Going to Bed Book. Finley's a good talker with an excellent vocabulary but doesn't link too many words together just yet so last night after reading a book, he went over to his shelf and said "one more" which we couldn't turn down. While it's not exactly a sentence, it seemed much more mature than just "more." However, the best addition to his before bed ritual has been the Forseter family tree. After we read him his "night night book" (as mentioned above), we have always said, "Goodnight, Finley Forseter" and a month ago or so he echoed "seter" and we explained that it was our last name (in toddler friendly words). We also told him who else has that last name so now after we say "Finley Forseter" each night, he'll list off all the other people and we'll say "Forseter" after each one: Daddy, Mommy, Owly and Fanta (his loveys), GG, Geeka, and Ellie (for now!). There are a handful of other Forseters that he knows and perhaps after our trip to LA for a Forseter wedding in November these extended family members will make the list!

6. Pretend play is a good developmental milestone that Finley passed many months back but never fails to make me laugh with. His trucks and trains all do very realistic things (except for if they fall/crash they get kisses on their boo-boos) and he cooks like a pro in his kitchen. There's always line at the gas station in his garage and he almost always makes sure they pay before filling up. He shares his snacks and water with his stuffed animals and even wants to put diapers on them. He knows doctors are for "check ups" and loves playing with his friend, Charlotte's doctor's kit: giving shots, using the stethoscope, etc. When I took him to pick up my contacts the other day at the eye doctor, he liked seeing the people in the waiting room get called in to see the doctor. He'd yell "check up!" for each one. Hopefully he'll show the same enthusiasm for his own 2-year-appointment next month, though I doubt it...

7. Just so I'm not sugarcoating everything, Finley does have a less flexible side to him that's worth noting. He's very particular about certain things and can cry at something as silly as which bowl his Special K is put in or which water cup is available. I'm sorry, my son, that anal retentiveness comes from me. We may give him too many options or not enough, or simply be way off the mark. Like most toddlers he's torn between wanting his parents close, but not wanting to do everything they say. Overall, he's a very gentle, funny, sweet, and polite little dude who just doesn't want to have his socks, shoes, and jacket put on after being awake for only 10 minutes on a school day--well, can you blame him? Thankfully, the older he gets the more reason/logic we can work into the equation. He'll keep asking "why" during the conversation, but I think he understands more than he lets on!

That's probably enough and I suspect only Grandparents may have read down this far...but with my sister in town this weekend and our trip to Florida next week, something tells me I'll have some great photos soon! Stay tuned :)

New Romping Grounds

2011-10-11T19:35:00.000-04:00

There are a handful of perks to Dan still playing competitive frisbee, but a recent one is that he had practice on a new local field where he spotted a neat place for Finley to play. We popped by before lunch the other day and Finley showed off his a new trick. Called "superman," Finley can go down backwards on his belly down the slide. He watched some older boys doing real supermans at the park the other day and was fascinated. A real superman would be going down face first on your belly, but our cautious toddler isn't quite ready for that so he found his own adaptation.

(he's saying bicycle at the end as some kids on bikes rolled into view)

And to my great joy, Finley had decided he once again likes swinging!! Especially when he gets to hold onto and toss a small airplane that he found on the ground :)

The main attraction, in Dan's eyes, of this new playground was the gigantic tires stuck in the ground. Finley wasn't so sure about them when we first got there, but when some other kids arrived and crawled all over them, he was pumped to try them out.

A proud papa!

Being nearly 80 degrees and sunny, it felt like one last burst of summer. Finley's crocs and sunhat got a great last hurrah and Dan's team won the regional championship in gorgeous weather. Oh...speaking of frisbee again, both Finley and Eliot (whose dad, Josh, coaches Dan's team) love running around during tournaments. Throwing tennis balls, kicking soccer balls, playing Ring A Round the Rosie, sharing (and not sharing) snacks, tickling each other, and generally enjoying the sunshine.

A Spooky, Non-scary, Hayride

2011-10-10T13:32:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite weekend destinations is Wilson Farms. Not only do they have deliciously fresh and often local fruit and vegetables, but lots of other fun things that Finley looks forward to checking out. Koi fish, a parrot, a llama that roams free, chickens, forklifts, and best of all: free samples! We go at least once a week, but often more than that. Thank goodness it's just around the corner from us--we can walk for a longer adventure (it's about a 3 mile loop) or just drive (less than 5 minutes). Today we went to do something I had been waiting to do for years, the Spooky Hayride! Before Finley's arrival, I didn't want to take a spot from some little kid and last year, I didn't think Finley would enjoy it quite yet. So this was the year! We waited in line as two tractors came and went loaded up with people. Finley was an excellent "waiter" and enjoyed checking out all the other kids, the tractors, and snacking on some raisins.

After about fifteen or twenty minutes, it was our turn! Finley was thrilled and couldn't wait to climb aboard.

When the tractor's engine revved up and we started moving, he was wiggling with excitement and I was impressed that he sat on his own between us. Part of me expected he'd quickly jump up on a lap once we got going, but he seemed more than content where he was. So grown up! Here Dan and Finley are waving to the second tractor coming to load up new passengers.

This "Spooky" hayride promised to be seasonal, but not scary on the flyer therefore there were scarecrows, a few headless bodies, giant candy corn cutouts, a huge fanged tomato, a pumpkin patch, and some large spiders crawling down the hill. The "spookiest" part might have been the tunnel and since Finley loves driving through tunnels, he was psyched to ride through one.

I know you are curious what was inside the tunnel, right?

Fanged carrots, of course!

We finished the loop and Finley hopped right off and said "thank you" to the driver. We got to grab some free candy corn and apples on our way out. We squirreled the candy corn away for ourselves, but offered Finley a fresh apple that he thoroughly enjoyed.

In fact, he loved this apple so much he bit right down to the core and into the seeds! After some guidance to rotate the apple, he continued to munch until there was nothing but the stem, the seeds, and a little bit of flesh holding it altogether. The best news of the day is that the hayride will run up until Halloween so we can go several more times and perhaps avoid long lines by going after school in the coming weeks :)

Spaghetti Spaghetti Spaghetti

2011-10-04T20:55:00.000-04:00

My quest to have more family dinners continues, but the good news is that when I'm not trying to eat my own dinner, I can snap photos of Finley eating his! Spaghetti*, carrots, corn, and fresh bread were on the menu the other night. The * is to clarify that I call "spaghetti" just meat sauce since Finley continues to snub pasta on the home front. The carrots were scarfed up so quickly the only photographic proof is the last one in his mouth in the picture below.

While the spaghetti was being slurped up mostly by using a spoon, a spaghetti covered hand managed to emerge and rub his forehead and hair. Nice.

After his cleaned his plate, he gnawed on some bread for a while and seemed to love every crumb of it.

Thank goodness it was a bath night!

Shana Tova!

2011-10-02T14:45:00.001-04:00

Last Wednesday afternoon, we drove down to NY for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. We talked before we left about going to New York and all the people we would see there. Finley enjoyed saying "Noo Yurk" and listing the names of those we'd be visiting on the car ride down. GG and Geeka's house was soon filled to the brim and buzzing with family and friends. Finley didn't take as long to warm up as he has in the past, but perhaps that was due to the fact that he seemed to remember their house and where all the toys were!

Finley's Aunt Caitlin came out from Manhattan to see him and eat some of GG's delicious food even though she's not Jewish, what a gal! We tried several times to get a photo of the two of them, but silly Finley just wouldn't sit still.

We got to see Baby Charlie, too, who was visiting from London. She is Dan's cousin Karen's daughter that we had yet to meet. Finley likes babies and Charlie seemed to take to Finley right away! This little girl is a trooper seeming to be happy as a clam after a long trans-atlantic flight.

Finley went off to bed and we had a lovely dinner before going to bed ourselves. The next morning, we got all dressed up and put Finley in his wrinkly button down shirt (I don't iron my own stuff so I certainly wasn't going to iron a toddler's!) for temple. Finley was quite stimulated looking around at all the people, lights, stained glass windows, and rows and rows of chairs. We found our seats and he snacked on some raisins while the Rabbi talked. Since the Rabbi had walked by our row as we were sitting down, we had told Finley his name was Gordon. That proved to be a misstep since Finley continued to call out "Go-don" throughout his sermon...whoops. Soon the cantor was singing and Finley also called out "Jack!" What a coincidence that both names of those guys up on the bima are also names of trains from Thomas and Friends. By far, Finley favorite part was hearing the shofar blow. He was entranced! We lasted as long as we could before hanging out with a sleeping Charlie and her parents, Karen and Dave, in the hall. Later, we went home for lunch and a long nap before getting ready for dinner at Linda and Jacob's.

Finley was up for about an hour before we put him to sleep at Linda's upstairs and he made the best of every minute of it! He was thrilled to see Oreo, the dog, and kept calling out "A-o" and looking all around for the canine. Oreo was a good sport letting Finley pet her (or him?). Finley also enjoyed some chips and enjoyed dipping them in some guacamole. However, the appetizer highlight by far was the freshly make arepa that Finley declared to be "chicken" and then ate it up. I figured I shouldn't correct him since he rarely eats things that aren't in his comfort zone and that was a good call :) Linda gave us several more to take home and Dan is excited to give one to Finley when he wakes up from his nap this afternoon!

The following day we returned to temple and got to hear Aunt Ellie sing with Jack, which was spectacular as usual and Finley did a nice job playing with his trucks, eating his bagel, listening to teh shofar, and watching all that was going on. At one point, he even found his own chair and picked up the Siddur and told us he was reading it. What a good boy, he even opened it up the correct way (backwards for Hebrew reading).

Just before leaving, it occurred to me I hadn't taken many photos so I snapped away! Here Finley is laughing with Geeka at lunch:

Cooking for GG with his beloved spatula.

Playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie with Ellie

And playing with the tractor/front loader that is by far his favorite toy at his grandparents house. We were impressed how much better he was at "driving" it all around the house this time. He even pressed the button for the reverse alarm when he would go backwards!

Also, Finley had fun playing with a crane that Dan had as a little boy. This picture is of Dan in the early 80s moving some blocks with the crane.

Our last stop on the New Year road tour was at Pat and Marty's for dinner before driving back to Boston. Finley got to meet Henry and Isabell, twins about his age, and he gorged on grapes and challah. Life is good, huh Geeka?

Touch-A-Truck aka Wait-In-Line

2011-09-29T15:41:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday, we went to Newton South High School for a free family friendly event, Touch-a-Truck. Not the best sounding name in my opinion, but I guess they can't call it Wait-in-Line or The Horn-Honking Festival. Picture this: a huge parking lot full of all sorts of awesome vehicles, horns blaring, and people EVERYWHERE.

We weren't sure where to begin, but I tried to encourage Finley to sit in vehicles that aren't readily available to him in his daily life (i.e. firetrucks, school buses) and so we found a huge crane and started there. It was quite a climb into the cab, but we made it!

Then we were off to find all the other trucks and that meant standing in a lot of lines with other eager kids and patient parents.

Finley did well waiting for his turn, but the problem that we ran into a few times was that after waiting in line for five or ten minutes for one truck--his eye would have caught sight of a different truck he wanted to test drive. Ug. I was often successful at convincing him to wait for the truck we were already in line for, but occasionally we had to bail and wait elsewhere. All in all, he was a trooper as it got warmer and more and more people were ahead of us. He didn't mind the horn honking too much, except for when we were 2 people away from our turn in the garbage truck and a parent pulled that horn twice..."ALL DONE ALL DONE DARBAGE" (poor pronunciation, but I got the hint and we moved along).

Finley was an excellent Touch-a-Truck patron, in my unbiased opinion, since when it was finally his turn each time, he'd climb in, look around, move the controls, let me snap a photo, and then ask to get down and find another truck. Other children were up there for what felt like an eternity and had to be forcibly removed...but maybe I'm biased after all :)

He sure seemed to like the view from up there!

We finally found a "truck" that didn't have a line, the brand new Prius. Yes, not everything on the lot was a gas guzzling, air polluting vehicle--go Green!

All in all, it was well worth all the waiting in line and getting hot and sweaty. Finley had so much fun and it was great to be outside on a beautiful day with a toddler who was truly in hog heaven. I wasn't sure how to include this final picture, it came out so beautifully I had to put it in...so here it is.

I feel like I should have been singing "I'm proud to be an American" while waiting under this huge flag and perhaps it was a fairly All-American day in the end :)

I-KEY-A!

2011-09-27T18:15:00.002-04:00

On Saturday afternoon with Dan away, I needed a far off destination: IKEA. Finley awoke from his nap ready for action, so we hopped in the car and drove the 45 minutes south to IKEA. Most of the ride down, Finley was perfecting his pronunciation of the gigantic store: Key-a, I-key, I-KEY-A! He was pretty pumped to arrive, even though he had no idea what was inside.

Soon, he was off and running (literally) and around every turn he found something to play with.

We had an absolute ball and I was impressed that the little guy made it all the way through the store on his own two feet (I barely made it). The final warehouse stretch we did in the shopping cart and amazingly, we only spent $7 on a collapsible mesh laundry basket to store Finley's ever expanding collection of stuffed animals. I'll have to remember to take him again when the cabin fever of winter sets in!

Something for Everyone

2011-09-27T18:10:00.000-04:00

As the son of a teacher, Finley gets to go to lots of fun places: my classroom/school, learning toy stores, the woods to dig for worms, but sadly the most frequented store is Staples. Now don't get me wrong, he can entertain himself with the computers, trash cans, office chairs, and wide open-for-running aisles, but on Saturday morning he found somethings to do outside the store that were much more fun.

He made up this next game all on his own :)

Eventually we made it into the store (and I bathed him in wipes) and got our errand done. After schlepping him around to a few more places, we came across a treasure at a local garage sale and took it home for a test drive.

Not a bad morning's work!

Summer Nap Pictures

2011-09-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

Random, I know. Belated, indeed. Alas, I must post two of my most favorite pictures of Finley from recent memory that I never managed to get online until now.

These were taken post-a monster nap one afternoon. He went through a month-long phase of not wanting to get out of his crib after waking up, but preferring to roll around and play. The first is Finley (in his sleep sack, that I'm more attached to than him) with his loveys: Owly and Fanta.

The second is after he had requested some of his favorite stuffed animals to join him in the crib.

He looks truly happy and whenever I go into get him from his crib (in the morning or the afternoon), there's always a good chance he'll be looking just like this :)

Fire Trucks!

2011-09-18T15:39:00.002-04:00

While Finley does love construction vehicles and can name them all accurately, fire trucks are slowly working their way into the top slot of his transportation favorites. We have talked about what fire trucks do and he seems to be able to recall that fire trucks:

1. say "wee-oo, wee-oo, wee-oo"

2. have ladders and lights

3. help people

4. shoot water

And lately, it seems like fire trucks have been everywhere! You saw him in a fire truck at Town Day and just his luck, the new fire station near us just re-opened after a major renovation and was open for touring this weekend. Dan took him over and they had a blast!

I thought it was impressive that Finley even let Dan close the door while he was sitting in the driver's seat, but at least the window was halfway open!

This next unintentionally artistic shot shows Finley testing out the two-way radio.

They walked around the firehouse and then whenever no one else was waiting, Finley hopped back into the truck.

All that pretend driving and life-saving was hard work, so Finley relaxed with a bottle of water on the front of the truck. If the Arlington Advocate is looking for a front page photo this week, here you have it!

Dan's cousin from LA, Jon, was in town on Wednesday night and had dinner with us. He'd ordered some gifts for Finley to arrive by that same evening, but alas the big box didn't come until the following day. Finley loved what he found inside and Dan and I were so bummed Jon wasn't there in person to see the joy and excitement that ensued after the box was ripped open. Here's a photo sequence of the big reveal!

Thanks, JON!! These pictures don't do the event justice, Finley was truly grinning ear to ear and carefully checking out everything from top to bottom. Finley really loves the fire truck (and the monster truck)--he gets out of his crib most days asking for one or the other. Apparently not only does the fire truck make great sounds, but you can put water in the bottom and pump it out so it sprays out the hose!! I think for now we'll pretend we don't know about that feature...maybe next summer out on the deck, we'll show him :)

Town Day!

2011-09-17T20:26:00.002-04:00

After six years of living here, we finally found a way to check out Arlington Town Day. Now we're pretty sure it wasn't happening all six years (budget cuts and such), but we were pretty sure that we were long overdue for some town love. Since we were going to be busy on the actual Town Day (Saturday), we went over on Friday night when the festivities were getting underway. We had Finley all psyched up for Town Day and he cried out, "Town-nay" several times en route. There were kids all over the place and we were reminded how kid-friendly our location really is. We even ran into a couple familiar faces: Dan, who our Dan used to play frisbee with, and his wife and 18 month old daughter (who is already at the preschool we have sent in an application for for next fall and LOVE it) and I saw Melissa, who I used to work with at Cabot, and her son, Gregory.

However, the main attraction was the Roaming Railroad that was circling the field. It rang its bell and all the passengers were waving as they went by. Finley was in awe and couldn't stop staring and pointing.

He was torn, though, since there was also a fire truck parked on the grass for kids to hop in. Eventually we made our way to the firetruck and Finley was semi-impatient waiting his turn, but thankfully the train rolled by every five minutes or so to distract him. Hooray, it was finally his turn! What a pro!

Then we decided it was time to get in the freakishly long train line...we took turns standing in line and wandering around with Finley. There was a brass band playing, a dog show, etc. but nothing compared to the train in Finley's eyes and so the waiting continued.

He was heartbroken when we just missed the cut off for the train and had to wait one more time, but he got over it and was thrilled to find his seat when the train came back.

We all squeezed in and shared a seatbelt.

In the back of my mind, it occurred to me that our chicken of a son might not actually like the ride once it got going and all our waiting would be for nothing. Thankfully, that was not the case--he LOVED it!

After our turn, we reluctantly got off and walked around to see the other rescue vehicles parked nearby, watched the pony rides, and then sat down for a snack to watch the train go around and around. Pure bliss, I tell you. We finished up at the playground nearby which was pretty empty since most kids were at Town Day, jackpot: BIG WHEELS!

To top off the night, we went to the local pizza shop we like and shared a delicious chicken pizza. Happy Town Day, Finley!

New Playground For Finley

2011-09-11T20:52:00.001-04:00

As my official last day of summer with Finley, we said goodbye to Dan who was off to frisbee practice and then hopped into a car to check out a playground that we have driven near dozens of times but never experienced. Last night I googled, "playgrounds sandbox" plus some neighboring towns' names and up popped Beaver Brook in Belmont, just a five minute drive away. While we hope someday Finley will branch out to experience all that playgrounds have to offer, he's currently in his sandbox phase so a playground without one is not of much use to us. I knew Beaver Brook was a water spray park during the summer but I had no idea there was also a playground there. A "sunken sandbox" was promised from our google results and thankfully, we were not misled!

Finley sold me some woodchip tickets several times during our time there and even inspired some of his fellow toddlers to pile up "tickets" on the shelf and sell them.

We were in and out of the sandbox, climbing on the rocks that are usually getting soaked by water in the spray park area, checking out the big structure that had some wheels, musical toys, and bridges, but soon Finley found the toddler structure (which happened to be right next to the sandbox). For those that know Finley well, he isn't the biggest fan of slides. He liked them in the spring, but seems to have become a bit fearful of them this summer. But after he went down the small toddler one on my lap a few times, he was doing it over and over on his own. Then, he watched a little girl go down his nemesis, the tunnel slide, and simply wouldn't be outdone. He asked me to go up with him and we slid down together a twice. On the third go around, I accidentally let him slip down the slide without me. I followed him down calling "catch me" so he turned around to grab me and then said "again!" He must have gone up the ramp, across the jumpy bridge, and down the tunnel slide a half dozen times with pure excitment and pride. He even yelled "did it!" a few times.

After he went down this time, he ran back laughing to "catch me" as I came down.

I was very proud of our little chicken for doing this, what will be conquer next?

And just so you don't think Dan misses out on all our weekend fun because of frisbee, here's a picture I took as we took a fantastic walk around Fresh Pond Saturday morning.

Nice weather rules!

Finley and his Geekaw

2011-09-10T16:45:00.003-04:00

Fair warning, I have no pictures in this post. To my great disappointment, I have no visual images to compliment a nice post about Finley's special time with Dan's dad, his beloved Geekaw.

On Wednesday, Murray drove up from NY to spend a couple of days with us as I finished getting ready for school. He and Finley have always gotten along nicely, but it had been over a month since they'd seen one another. It was nearing Finley's bedtime when he arrived, but Finley seemed to recognize the nice man in the glasses with the beard :) Here's my best effort to recount this terrific visit and to make up for no photos.

On Thursday morning, Finley slept freakishly late and so all three of us had a leisurely morning before I had to go to school. The pouring rain outside (3rd day in a row of precipitation) could have made for a long morning, but Murray came armed with a Costco shopping list and so we loaded Finley into the carseat and then they drove off the indoor shopping funhouse while I went to Newton. I gave Murray a heads up about what Finley likes to do at Costco and from his recounting of the story, it sounds like Finley took Grandpa around to all his favorite spots (playing the guitar, looking for forklifts, etc) and some new ones (pushing around big snow shovels). They even got some tasty free samples and escaped the rain thanks to the wonderful parking garage. I got a call around noon from Murray and I quickly answered asking, "Is everything okay??" and of course it was, but Murray said "Finley fell asleep on the ride home, what should I do?" I immediately blurted out, "WAKE HIM UP" and Murray seemed pleased to get such firm directions and rousted Finley for lunch before putting him down for a nice, long nap. Good work, Grandpa!

In the afternoon, the three of us played together while we waited for Dan to get home and as Dan was walking up the basement stairs to see us, he could hear some loud fits of laughter from both his dad and his son. What would you rather come home to than that?? Finley and Murray were crashing two trucks into each other and for some reason, Finley found it hysterical. Murray surely understands the needs of toddlers and happily repeats any action or game over and over to Finley's delight, something that Dan and I even tire of at times! Murray tried to show Finley how to throw a ball overhand and put his hands out to catch, but he made as little progress as we have. We shared a tasty dinner of lobster rolls (Dan and Murray), meatballs (Finley), a BLT (me), and some delicious french fries (everyone, but mostly Finley) and then Finley was off to bed.

Friday morning, I had to get to work earlier so after breakfast I told Murray Finley would probably be very sad when I leave, possibly crying and needing to be held. Then, I said to Finley,

"Mommy has to go to school"

Finley: "No"

"You are going to stay here and play with Grandpa"

Finley: "No"

"Can I have a kiss or an ah-boo?" (basically bonking foreheads as he learned from Grandpa when he was about 12 months old)

He leans in for a bonk and then looks up at me and waves and says, "Bye" and yells "Tracks!" as he runs to playroom. Soon he and Murray are building tracks for their trains and I was on my way. Okay, that was unexpected but in a wonderful way!

From what Murray told me, it sounded like the two Forseters boys had a good time all morning. They played in the playroom, played in the tent downstairs, played outside with the lawnmower and tried to bail out our soaked sandbox, rough-housed a bit, went on a walk around the neighborhood with Finley walking for most of it, and our boy was clearly worn out because he slept for more than three hours! I arrived home to a sleeping Finley and a nearly napping Murray who was kind enough to promise to stay until Finley woke up so the poor sleepyhead wouldn't be confused about where his Geekaw had gone to. As the nap continued, Murray told me how at lunch Finley devoured his carrots and peas but had to be begged to eat his hot dog (what an odd kid!) and how Finley asked to join Grandpa in the bathroom when he needed to go. I should have told Grandpa how forward his grandson can be :)

Eventually Finley woke up and gave his Grandpa a sleepy ah-boo and we watched him drive away. Finley kept asking why Grandpa had to go and he seemed satisfied with the answer that he needed to go home to see GG. We'll see both GG and Geekaw at the end of the month for Rosh Hashanah and something tells me Finley will pick up with Murray right where he left off!

Thank you, Murray, it was a great visit!

Neighborhood BBQ

2011-09-04T16:54:00.002-04:00

It's been six years living here on Udine Street, but yesterday afternoon we went to our first neighborhood BBQ! I know what you're thinking, this was just the first one that we Forseters, social pariahs, were invited to. But we're pretty sure our street is just fairly anti-social and more into the pleasant wave than the social gatherings. It was fun to get the invite to go next door and celebrate Labor Day and our neighbor's 20th anniversary. We have always been friendly with these particular neighbors, working together to replace broken fence pieces and chatting about their addition that was built around Finley's arrival. The BBQ was set to begin at 3 and soon their backyard was buzzing, but Finley snoozed and snoozed so around 4, we woke him up as to not set a bad precedent about our promptness for neighborhood get togethers. Much to Dan's joy there weren't just hamburgers and hotdogs, but LOBSTERS, too!!!! He dove in and Finley checked out the yard and quickly found some balls and trucks. There were other kids running around, but none quite as small as himself. After taking some time to officially wake up and check in, Finley decided he was ready for some real BBQ action and dove into the watermelon slices.

We had a nice time chatting with the other Udine street residents that were there and soaking up the beautiful weather. We blew bubbles, kicked balls, ate a lot, and ended with some delicious cake before heading back to our side of the fence. Happy Labor Day!

Grammy's Surprise

2011-09-02T15:05:00.001-04:00

Just as my mom was leaving on Tuesday, she said, "Oh, by the way, look for a package to arrive for Finley by the end of the week. I just couldn't resist!" That Grammy, she knows just how to please us, I love mail and Finley loves presents (and boxes).

The big box was delivered while Finley was napping on Thursday (thankfully I managed to open to the door to the UPS guy just as he was reaching for the doorbell) and I couldn't imagine what it could be. But I cut through the tape on the top and waited for Finley to wake up, such self control!! I coaxed him out of his post-nap haze by telling him Grammy had sent a special surprise. Sadly, he expected to see Grammy in the living room (my bad) but I showed him the box and asked him to open it.

He knew just what it was!

The farm train he had played with at the bookstore with Grammy and me earlier in the week! The one he'd pushed around in its plastic for some time!

Time to take it for a test drive!

I offered to take the plastic off and he got upset, thinking I was going to ruin it or something. But he helped me pull it off and remove the box underneath. Then the fun really began--it has a cow, milk jugs, and crates of fruits and veggies that you can take out.

He was holding both milk jugs and then ran into the playroom to get a cup to pour the milk into, of course, and then came back to keep playing with his new treasure.

I said, "Finley, what do we say to Grammy for this train?" He said, "Tank-oo. Welcome." That about says it all, Grammy, we love it!

Castle Island

2011-09-02T14:49:00.002-04:00

On my second to last day of official summer vacation, we went to an appointment in the morning and then made our way to South Boston to check out what Castle Island had to offer us. It was the most gorgeous day, possibly the best of the summer, and we began with a stroll around the bay. Aside from the lovely water views, an airplane went overhead every ten to fifteen minutes. I know, I know, what's so great about that you ask...well, ask Finley! He was in heaven!

We came across our first playground and got out to sell tickets and pick up sticks.

I knew there was much more to see and do, so we strolled on passing lots of kids on bikes, boats, dogs, runners, and even some fishermen (Finley spotted their poles and said "fish!"). We finished the bay loop and ended up at a second playground. Finley climbed a few structures and collected more than a few handfuls of woodchips, but he soon spotted a GIANT sandbox aka beach and so we rushed back to the car to get our bucket, shovel, and dump truck (that we always keep in there just in case!).

He dug for a while and had no interest in removing his shoes, though he did request that I take mine off. He heard some kids jumping and splashing around and dropped everything to head towards the water. Luckily, I convinced him halfway there to ditch his sandals.

He needed no coaxing to walk into the water, the freezing cold water! That was unexpected to say the least.

Soon he was digging and tossing clumps of sand into the water as I resigned myself to the fact that without a bathing suit on, it was going to be a messy, wet ride home.

He went back for his dump truck and shovel before setting in for some good, ocean digging.

It was such a lovely spot to be on a beautiful day, I'm so glad we got to take advantage of it.

Yep, here Finley's 100% sitting in the water getting totally wet and sandy. I was thrilled that he couldn't have cared less and didn't mind riding home pantless. Toddlers rule!

Toddler Track Workout

2011-09-01T21:27:00.005-04:00

One of the compromises Dan has made in his frisbee routine this year has been that he runs on his own instead of with the team and often he'll do it after Finley goes to bed. However, with Finley still going to bed close to 8pm and bursting with energy until we drop him in the crib, we decided to take him to the track this week after dinner. Dan started stretching, while Finley got his soccer ball out of the stroller and took off.

There he is chasing his ball and running into his Dad at the end of a sprint. His kicking skills have really improved, though he still wants to stop it with his hands before he kicks it sometimes and for some reason, he thinks that all balls should be used with a bat.

I love that he kept telling me that he was playing a "game" with the ball!

After he had tuckered himself out, I tempted him over with some bubbles. He had fun catching them with his hands and stomping on them with his feet.

But once again, he felt the need for his bat to be involved...

I almost got clobbered here, but he did manage to pop some bubbles with this method. Then, he wanted to blow some on his own. He got the dipping part no problem,

but he immediately either licked the wand or stuck his fingers throw the hole.

Eventually, he did manage to blow half a bubble all by himself. Later, we took a few laps around the track in the stroller until Dan finished and then Finley played with his beloved yellow tennis ball until it was time to go home. He also busted out his frisbee to show off his impressive throwing skills. His throws are really good, but his release point is still a bit unpredictable--luckily he just missed Dan while he was doing his push-ups.

Now all we have to do is get him to entertain himself while Dan runs and I stay home...

Come on Irene

2011-09-01T15:47:00.005-04:00

With all the wind and rain, we spent most of Sunday inside the house. Finley seemed to have less cabin fever than the three adults in the house, but we all made it through just fine.

We started off the day with some pancakes, which were a HUGE hit. "Cancakes!" Finley must have spent 45 minutes at the table enjoying his breakfast and even took the last half of a pancake with him when he was ready to be excused. He kept showing it to us over and over, "Cancake, cancake!" Perhaps a new weekend tradition has been born!

He even needed some of my milk to wash it all down, unheard of!

We played in every room and spent a long time with his new Little People garage (a craigslist steal!!).

He also had fun bouncing on Rody in front of the front glass door watching the rain and wind.

However, the most unexpected part was when Dan took Finley down to the basement to play and while we heard them bouncing around down there at first, soon it was silent. Nothing. Eventually, it was time for lunch so I opened the door and called down only to find that they were just hanging out in Finley's play tent with all the little stuffed animals we have down there. Dan said Finley was happy as a clam setting them all up and playing with them. He became particularly fond of the hippo and what Dan told him was a mole (when it was in fact a platypus). A new favorite play spot was born! The hippo and the mole came up with him when it was time for lunch and now he can't be in the tent downstairs without them. Wish I had some pictures, but alas I got to relax upstairs with my mom :)

After a long nap, the weather had more or less cleared so we headed to Costco to use some sweet coupons and run around. Finley had fun with the musical instruments on sale.

All in all, we can't complain. We didn't lose power, only small sticks fell in our backyard, and Finley was a peach. Take that, mother nature.

More Grammy Time

2011-09-01T15:37:00.015-04:00

We crawled the mall on Saturday to burn off some steam and the best part was checking out the fish tanks at the Rainforest Cafe.

One morning, after Finley enjoyed his very first episode of Thomas the Tank Engine on TV (yes, we finally sat him down in front of the TV to see what would happen), he immediately asked Grammy to go into the playroom to set up a track for Thomas and Percy.

While I have mixed feelings about letting him veg out in front of the boob tube, I was thrilled that it inspired him to play with his trains afterwards :)

Also, Finley happily showed "Gammy" to Rody works, boing, boing, boing!

Playground Fun with Grammy

2011-09-01T15:37:00.012-04:00

My mom, Finley's Grammy, was here from Friday to Tuesday and we had lots of fun!

The day before and the day after the big storm, Finley showed Grammy his two favorite playgrounds these days. One is a new one that we discovered just outside Arlington center, whose main attraction is a little plastic house where Finley can cook us pizza, burgers, and coffee or sell us "tickets" which an older girl showed him how to do last time we were there.

The second is Robbins which is a five minute drive or a twenty minute drive.

Finley and Charlotte

2011-08-26T15:38:00.003-04:00

Seeing Finley and Charlotte run around and laugh together is on my current top ten list of favorite things...see for yourself!

I'm sure it's hard to totally "capture" their experience, but trust me--it was pure joy. Drumlin Farm is always fun, but even more so with a good friend to share it with! Finley had a good time with Charlotte, I had a good time with Gabi, and baby Joey seemed to enjoy himself as well. A good way to start off a weekend that may keep us locked up indoors...batten down the hatches, here comes Irene!

Daddy Days

2011-08-26T15:03:00.005-04:00

Dan and Finley had some quality time together this week as Dan took of Tuesday and Wednesday to be with Finley while Beth was on vacation and I was teaching my summer science class.

Dan took lots of pictures with his camera and his phone and I've finally uploaded them all. He didn't have time to write this post himself, but here's a photographic recap of their time together. I can't remember in what order things happened, so I just grouped the photos as best I could :)

Who knew that getting the propane refilled at the BBQ Barn would be so fun?

Finley even grilled up a burger for his dad.

The Arlington Fire Station was quite inviting and Finley got the royal treatment.

Much to Dan's embarrassment, when the firefighter asked Finley where he was going in the fire truck, Finley said "shopping." Ha! That's my boy! Whenever he "goes" anywhere, it's either shopping or work...I'm glad he chose the former in his big fancy red truck!

On Wednesday, they rode the subway downtown.

At South Station, Finley checked out the Acela and go to hop in the driver's seat of the commuter rail train!

Apparently, Finley got a little spooked when the conductor showed him how the whistle worked, but other than that he thought it was cool I bet he wondered why there wasn't a wheel to steer...but then it was off to the Common and the big playground...

And into the Frog Pond!

Not bad, Mr. Mom, not bad at all.

Finley's Aunt Caitlin

2011-08-22T14:20:00.006-04:00

My kid sister, Caitlin, had to work really hard to see Finley this weekend. She got stranded at the Newark airport for hours on Friday, only to go back home to Manhattan and return before dawn to fly up to Boston. She saw him for a little bit Saturday morning and then after her camp reunion in NH, came back down on Sunday only to have him nap for over three hours and miss see each other completely. Ug. Thankfully, in Finley's case, her flight home was delayed and she turned her rental car around to hang out with us for another couple hours. He woke up when she called to say she was coming back and by the time she arrived, he was ready to play. He hadn't seen Aunt Caitlin in about two months, but you would not have known it! His "KK" (since Caitlin at Beth's house is called KK) got right down on the floor and the two had a blast.

Finley showed her how he likes to snuggle with his penguins on his blanket and pretend to go to sleep.

But things got goofy from there!

Finley with Arty and Caitlin with Agent P, it was a good old fashioned wrestling match! Then, Aunt Caitlin showed Finley how these flightless birds could fly and they both fly them around a bit before crashing into each other.

Finley was so silly and energetic with her, despite Dan and I both being in the room! Unheard of! The girl's got a gift :)

They tried out the racing ramp and built some block towers before heading out to the sandbox with Dan while I got dinner ready.

Caitlin took some pictures, too, so if she sends me them I will add them ASAP. Voila:

One of my favorite things to see if Finley bonding with people that are special to me and yesterday was quite awesome in that regard.

See you soon, Aunt KK! We love you!

Jobby Jobs

2011-08-21T19:18:00.004-04:00

As far as jobs for parents, Finley is pretty lucky. His dad is a construction manager who gets to work on big job sites with all sorts of awesome cranes, trucks, and such. His mom is a preschool teacher who has a room full of toddler and kid friendly toys. Yesterday, the three of us went over to my school so Dan could remove a chalkboard and install a whiteboard (welcome to the 21st century Bowen school) for me.

After "helping" Dan with the project, (don't worry, that "dru-driver" he's carrying is totally toddler safe)

Finley saw the play kitchen and went to town, making pizza, baking muffins, and selling his goods for a price.

He also fed the baby in the highchair with four bottles of "mook" and then took it on a walk around the classroom. The funniest part was when he put the sun shade down and said to the baby, "sunny," which is just what I tell Finley when I want to get the sun out of his eyes when he is in the stroller.

He's not quite old enough for me to bring him there so I can get work done on my own, but I think we're getting there. Plus, with a huge construction project going on down the street, Finley got to watch a front loader in action for a while with Dan as I finished up in my classroom. The best of both his parents' worlds :)

A Wonderful Combination

2011-08-21T16:29:00.006-04:00

On a particularly warm day last week, I picked up Finley from Beth's and asked her where the best place nearby for I-C-E C-R-E-A-M might be and she said there was a neat shop attached to the commuter rail station just a short drive from her house where you can watch trains come through. Wow! Ice cream AND trains?? Finley might implode from excitement, so we headed right over.

Finley wasn't so sure about what we were up to when we pulled up, but when I asked him if he wanted ice cream, he was psyched and basically pulled me across the parking lot. Turns out their speciality was soft serve, which worked just wonderfully. I handed Finley his swirled vanilla cone and he said, "lick?" and I said, "yes!" He saw the painted wooden sign for the train and asked, "choo-choo?" and I said, "Let's go sit on the bench and wait for a choo-choo." He obliged and walked over while taking short breaks to stop and lick/bite his ice cream, which gave him a lovely, white goatee by the time we sat down.

As Finley licked away, pointing at the tracks and looking around, it occurred to me that I probably should have looked at the commuter train's schedule because at 4pm on a weekday, we could have been waiting a long time to see a train. Oops.

Thankfully, after about ten minutes, we heard the train's whistle and soon the train was coming right to us! Thank you God of the Railway :) Not long after hearing the whistle, Finley caught a glimpse of the commuter train and if you look closely, you can look at his cheeks to tell how big he's smiling.

Finley loved watching the train pull in, but thankfully did not completely neglect his melting ice cream. He even discovered the deliciousness of eating the cone this time.

He yells out "people!" when he saw them getting on and off the train and then I think he thought we might be getting on, so he scooted closer to me. I heard from another person at the station that you can hop on the train and get off at the next stop and back on the next train for a return trip all for free ... I think we've found a great after daycare activity when it's hot out or when one of us is in need of ice cream and choo-choos after a hard day.

Spy Pond Rock Toss

2011-08-14T16:41:00.004-04:00

After loading and unloading pebbles in the "gravel" pit with a front loader and a dump truck at the Spy Pond playground last night (Saturday) before dinner, Finley wasn't quite finished with his geologic excursion and found more rocks down by the pond. He found one and asked me, "frow it?" So I said, "yes, you can throw it into the water" and away he went!

He is still throwing quite oddly, underhand but with his palm facing down grasping the rock, but he got some good distance and some great splashes. The best part was it was all his idea and I got to sit back, watch, and take pictures. Occasionally, he needed help finding rocks but otherwise he was in his own world.

Blueberries for Finley and Eliot

2011-08-14T15:48:00.006-04:00

Remember that story, Blueberries for Sal? It's always been one of my favorites and yesterday, we acted out the story with our friends Lisa (Lee-sha), Sangwha (Wah), and Eliot (A-yot) at Honey Pot Hill. Thankfully, we skipped the bear scene from the story and just stuck with grown-ups picking berries and plunking them into boxes while toddlers ate their fill. The blueberries were plentiful and delicious (tart, not sweet). We got a tip to head to the back end of the patch and spent most of our time there.

Finley and Eliot were super excited to see all the blueberries and happily carried their moms' boxes around snacking on more than a few.

Here's a shot of Finley's first taste of freshly picked blueberries.

Just as another blueberry-picking mom had told us when we arrived, after about 10 minutes the kids will get their fill and then you can actually make progress filling up your container.

They were in berry heaven and had fun wandering around the two rows we were in. After a thorough lesson from me about which blueberries where for picking (the big blue ones) and those that had to be left on the bush (the purple or green baby ones), Finley eventually figured it out and was picking some himself. He would pick one, hold it up and yell "biggie! eat?" and if I approved, he would stuff it in his mouth. While his color knowledge is still questionable, perhaps blue has made an impact on him this weekend! He was really a lot of fun to pick with, he was so interested in the whole process and the scenery around him (plus a couple of planes flew over which was awesome).

We were probably picking for close to an hour and had a sweet pile of blueberries to show for it, not to mention lots of blueberries in our bellies and our very purple fingers. Here is Finley and I's 2 Quart box filled to the brim.

Not bad, right? After picking, we checked out some of the farm animals and went into the farm store. I got Finley an "early" apple to eat on the way home, which he gnawed on successfully. However, the main plot of the ride home (30+ min) was having Sangwha in the backseat between the two carseats keeping both kids from falling asleep. She worked overtime and did everything from talking to singing to tickling to eventually just poking them. Good work and mission accomplished since we were able to put them down at our house for real naps.

Epilogue:

Finley and I made blueberry pancakes this morning (too bad that only called for like 20 blueberries) and will make blueberry muffins tonight. We also gave some to Charlotte and Gabi after our trip to the children's museum this morning. So many more to eat, good thing Dan likes them because it will save us a trip to the farmers' market this week to stock up on summer fruit!

Fun with Daddy

2011-08-12T15:04:00.003-04:00

We've tried to go to a few summer league games this summer and Finley's been quite a trooper mostly enjoying himself and getting to stay up late. I snapped this photo a few weeks ago but forgot to post it.

Finley loves being outside and tossing frisbees around. We keep trying to teach him how to put his hands out to catch it, but he'd rather toss it and fetch it himself (which is easier for us I guess). He likes seeing familiar faces and checking out everyone's water bottles. One week, he was throwing around his beloved "yell-ball" which is a ratty old tennis ball and he caught it when Tali threw it to him (to our shock and awe). Now, if he has the tennis ball he assumes Tali must not be too far off. Tali=yellow ball. He tries hard to resist picking up the endzone cones, but often can't...maybe next year he'll "respect the lines." Maybe next year we'll have to tether him to a tree so he doesn't run off to the playground nearby, which for now he thinks is "closed" during frisbee games. Ah, toddler logic.

Since Dan is flying out to Seattle this afternoon for frisbee, he took Finley to a Daddy Dinner at Friendly's last night and texted me the most adorable picture with the caption asking, "Guess who's a member of the clean plate club?"

Yep, Finley! Apparently after only having eyes for his french fries until they were all gone, he devoured his chicken strips. They had a great time and hopefully all that Daddy love will carry him through the next few days :) He has said his name like twenty times so far today!

Ice Cream, Finally

2011-08-11T14:36:00.007-04:00

While we are in the final month of summer, I am finally feeling like we are in the swing of the season. Lots of outside time, laid back mornings, farmers' markets, playing frisbee, throwing the ball around the yard, digging in the sandbox, etc. Finley even enjoyed himself in the rain during our frisbee game on Tuesday night. He and Eliot were happy as clams chasing each other around despite the precipitation (aside from when both Dan and I went on the field at the same time and he cried).

Wednesday, we continued our carefree summer ways and went with the Rosenbergs to a concert on the lawn in Natick Center, just a few miles from their house. Gabi, Dave, Charlotte, and Baby Joey invited us to their weekly ritual and since Dan was running a track workout, we jumped at the chance. After romping around their backyard for a while (watching two kids chase a giant pink ball is priceless), we piled in our cars and drove over despite threatening clouds. We met up with two other families and spread out our blankets just in time to notice the sign saying that concert was moved to an indoor location. Ug. However, all the kids were too busy running around and having fun to care so we decided to skip the music and have our pizza picnic there anyway. We moved into the gazebo as it started to drizzle and Dave arrived to eight patiently waiting kids and their parents (they were being patient, I kid you not). Well, eight counts Joey and while he would probably have loved a slice, he's still on a liquid diet.

Finley has never been a good "on the road" eater, but I figured some "monkey see, monkey do" would help and so I sat him right next to Charlotte. She dove into her slice like a pro, but Finley was unhappy about the whole situation. I ate some, too, to tempt him. Nope. He kept asking for more from the pizza box, but then didn't want any from his plate. Hm. I tore it into small pieces and away he went! Duh, Mommy.

He LOVED it. He ate a lot and rubbed his pizza covered hands everywhere, literally. On his shirt, his shorts, his shins, his face, the top of his head, and even the back of his head and neck. Can you see the greased up hair in the next shot? Better than Dep!

When everyone had eaten their fill, we hosed them off and it was back onto the grass for more running and general wild, carefree behavior. I continue to be amazed (and perplexed) that Finley won't go into a different room of our house without me, but will chase after a friend into the great outdoors with little regard for my location. Awesome to watch, though, truly a pleasure. Dave and I chatted for a while watching Charlotte, her friend Sophie, and Finley and agreed how wonderful it was to see them all get along like real little people. I thought we were going to be headed home, but then someone suggested getting ice cream from a little shop on the corner. I like ice cream, but Finley's never thought much of it. I know, what an odd kid that doesn't like pasta or ice cream but requests cooked carrots at every meal.

Turns out, Finley was thrilled to have his very own ice cream cone and licked it like a pro (after I showed him what a "lick" is).

He went to town and despite all the drips and stickiness, he kept with it. I "helped" out every few minutes, but he was more than happy to share it with me. He thought it was great eating ice cream outside with Charlotte and her friend. Whenever he said "ice cream" it came out more like "elephant" but it was a good effort.

He also enjoyed having ice cream with Dave nearby, every once in a while he'd look over to him, point, and say, "Dave." Finley's really great with names and today was no different.

Watching him navigate his first cone was more than entertaining and I tried to get some good video footage of it, but there was always something that ruined it (a dog walking by that attracted a lot of attention from our ice cream eaters, a teenager biking by yelling "idiot" in the background, etc.). This one is a one second video, seriously, but it was hysterical because Finley held up his cone a few times saying "cheers" to his playmates and was always greeted with another cone to clink with his. Here are he and Charlotte toasting their good fortune :)

Pizza, ice cream, and great friends means life is good! Cheers!

Week in Review

2011-08-07T17:45:00.005-04:00

Well, not the whole week, just the random assortment of pictures that I just removed off the camera :) Trust me, there are some gems here!

Finley's food pickiness continues in the world of entrees, but his side dishes options are ever expanding and summer has been a great time to reintroduce many fruits he hasn't had since this time last year this time. He now enjoys rice (after eating some off Dan's plate at the lake) and actually eats french fries instead of just licking the ketchup off (I know, I'm oddly thrilled that he will eat deep fried potato products since he opposed them for so long). My mom's delicious cantaloupe got him back on the melon train (Finley pronounces it "my-on") and he even humored me and ate some watermelon off my plate earlier this week. Plus, there's been lots of corn at our house these days and Finley was loving eating it cut off the cob. Finally he realized the fun Dan and I were having and grabbed a cob himself and dove in!

Not a great photo, but he was so focused! I couldn't tear him away!

Raspberries are a huge hit with Finley and he learned from my mom at the lake that eating them off your fingers makes them even more tasty (and entertaining!).

He'll say "finger" or "thumb" when the raspberries come out and it's pretty funny watching him take such time and effort to eat them this way. Finley has also had fun learning to dine al fresco like we did at the Public Gardens on Friday with my friend Deb and her son, Edward (who was much too on the move for a photo).

Finley and I seem to find big trucks wherever we go and the Staples parking lot was no different!

Finley was happy to "help" these big guys by throwing rocks into their buckets. I'm sure the drivers who return later will wonder what little squirrel was busy in the gravel pit :)

This week ended up with a day of rain, rain, and more rain. While Dan was off playing frisbee (in the rain), Finley and I walked every inch of Costco only to come home with a bit more time before lunch and nap. Finley knew just what to do, he decided to brave the weather and play outside anyways. Finley's beloved Gee-ka sent a great tool bench home with us last weekend and I dug out some tools from a garage sale. We put it on the driveway with plans of moving it around back, but its current location has proven to be quite convenient and today was no exception.

But when the rain really starting coming down hard on him, he retreated to the garage and continued fixing things (hopefully a plastic hammer can't do too much damage to my car).

When life gives you lemons, put on a raincoat and make some lemonade!

GG and Gee-ka

2011-07-31T17:44:00.005-04:00

Well, Finley continues on his vocabulary rampage and added two more names to his repertoire while we were down in NY visiting his grandparents and celebrating my birthday.

Grandma Gilda selected the most toddler-friendly moniker months back with GG and Finley now eagerly points to his GG and calls her by name. Grandpa Murray first planned on being GM (to kindly coordinate with his spouse's choice) but then moved to GP (Grand-Pa) but clearly wasn't pleased with that either and soon after settled on Grandpa (and now has a great hat with his title stitched right on). We talk about GG and Grandpa as well as look at pictures of them from time to time, so their names are familiar to their grandson. Plus, Grandpa got a book from us for Father's Day that he could record his voice reading and then send back to Finley, which has been a HUGE hit at our house and was quickly named, by Finley, as the Gee-ka book. Yep, Gee-ka. When we saw Grandpa on Friday night and re-introduced Finley to his Grandpa, he quickly exclaimed "Gee-ka!"

So there you have it, Finley's set of four amazing grandparents now have amazing toddler

Gee-ka and GG & Dee-Da and Rammy

Now, only to convince current and future cousins that these names should stick...

We didn't take too many photos since Dan and I were out and about most of the time (taking in a Yankees game and having dinner in Manhattan for my birthday), but here are the three Forseter men and some close ups of Finley and his beloved Gee-ka after lunch on Sunday.

Excavator!

2011-07-29T13:23:00.003-04:00

Finley's love (obsession) with trucks continues, but a new aspect of this hobby is that he's beginning to act out what the big trucks he sees out in the world are doing at home.

After wandering around at a local toy store for a while, Finley zeroed in on some small realistic yellow construction vehicles and tried to hold several of them at once. A dump truck, an excavator, a cement mixer, and a few others. He soon decided that two was enough and put back everything but the excavator and the dump truck. The door to the store was open to let in the fresh air and Finley was ready for his trucks to hit the road, yikes! I chased after him and said he couldn't take them out of the store since they weren't ours. Surprisingly, he seemed to understand and came back on his own. Double checking the price tag on the bin of trucks ($4.50), I explained that he could have one truck and put the other one back. Finley looked longingly at both of his current possessions and after another prompting from me to choose one to put back and one to keep, he handed me the dump truck and said "back." Nice! The funniest part was he then put his excavator in the air and said, "Dirt!!" So I convinced him to take his prize over to the counter to pay and then we were off into the world. I strapped him into the stroller and as soon as we were on the sidewalk, he pointed across the park at the mulch and said, "Dirt!" again. We strolled over and he got out and put his new truck to the test.

He was very focused and busy for a few minutes until it was time to go home. He held onto his truck the whole way home and little to his knowledge, I've been hiding it from him since the day we got it (Wednesday) and it will reappear on our drive down to NY this afternoon. Can you imagine what a reunion that will be?

Oh and here are two pictures of what we did before going to the toy store that afternoon:

Yes...we sat and sat and watched the parking lot behind the post office. Mail trucks rolled in, mail trucks rolled out, and one large one even paused in front of us and the driver as if we'd like him to honk his horn. YES! He honked it twice and while Finley was surprised, he gave the driver a hearty "Bye-bye!" right after.

Trucks rule :)