April Party Animal #1

While we were away in VA last weekend, Finley got to go to two parties. The first was a triple celebration--for him and his cousin's 2009 arrivals as well as for his Granddad's retirement. Finley was his usual self, which means he partied hard and then crashed :) I decided to let him tell you about all the fun!

How dare my parents wake me up from a lovely nap for a room full of grown ups who want to pinch my cheeks? They can smile all they want, but I refuse!

My Aunt Caitlin is the best, but I do love a shiny camera.

My cousin, Owen, and I aren't usually awake at the same time, so we agreed to pose for a photo. Though it was unclear which camera we were supposed to look at...

I did my job of being cute and cordial, but when I found this nice lady's shoulder, I couldn't resist a quick snooze.

Well rested and ready to play, I love being Super Finley!

I feel bad for my future siblings, they'll never get this much attention!

My parents keep making me sit like this, but it really compresses my milk belly so I only give them a minute or two at the most.

My GG never makes me sit if I don't want to, she lets me suck my thumb in peace :)

And then she took me for a walk in the lovely outdoors!

But I missed my mom so we can back inside, luckily she was right where I left her.

Again, I wore myself out and needed some zz's before dinner.

Finley Takes Flight!

We had an adventurous weekend down to Virginia for a family party and my nephew's baptism. I decided to break up my blog entries into two entries: 1. our flights 2. our family time. The following will be a recounting of Finley's first two trips up to 30,000 ft!

After suffering through some outrageous traffic to get to Dan's office downtown, we left the car in his work garage and hopped into a taxi for a quick ride to the airport. Finley was strapped to me in the Beco and seemed to enjoy his first ride in a yellow cab. Not sure what's legal in terms of babies in cabs, but people in NYC certainly don't buckle in a car seat for a ride uptown, right? We got to airport with enough time to check ourselves in, drop off our car seat at the ticket desk (car seats and strollers can be checked for free!), and get in line at security. Due to the wonderful design of the Beco (no metal fasteners), I could wear Finley right through the metal detector. We got some cute stares from the security dudes and proceeded through to the gate. Dan wasn't as lucky as he forgot to take his phone out of his pocket!

We got the gate and met up with my Aunt Marnie and her boyfriend, Michael. They were lucky to book the same flights as us and agree to share a rental car...we didn't want them to regret their travel plans, so we told Finley to be on his best behavior. Here we are hanging out near the gate waiting to board.

Finley was very chipper since he'd had his two daily naps and was ready to play once we got on the plane. There wasn't much room for playing, but plenty of room for feeding-phew! The advice I was given from many experienced baby mamas was to nurse on take off and descent to help Finley's ears clear as he gulps and swallows. It worked! He laid on my lap or Dan's for most of the flight. When he got squirmy after the beverage service (still free on AirTran), we started singing to him. Finley loves being sung to in most circumstances and being above the clouds was no different. I sang some nursery rhymes and then Dan and I sang a variety of Tom Petty tunes. Fin was all smiles and soon it was time to eat again for the trip down.

We got off the plane, put Finley in the Beco, and headed off to get the rental car. Finley boarded his first shuttle bus and proceed to fall asleep instantly.

He was wide awake for most of the ride to my parents' house, but gave in to the hum of the road as we neared their driveway. We said some quick hellos and then put the little guy down for the night. He certainly did not sleep well, but we decided it was worth the trade off for him to be such a great traveler.

Our trip back to Boston was also fairly smooth. Finley wasn't as accommodating a flier as he was earlier, but all in all he did just fine. We avoided being "those people" with their screaming baby, phew! The hardest part about the flight was that we tasted space and freedom when we though the flight wasn't full and let Finley stretch out in his own seat...

...too bad the plane did fill up and we ended up sitting next to a quiet man who was reading the most interestingly titled book: Christian Courtship in the Over-Sexed World: A guide for Catholics. Hm...wonder how he'd feel about his Jewish neighbors who (gulp) lived together before marriage? Much less their spawn!!

We learned a lot about travel with a baby and came away with some good tips:

1. baby carriers (like our Beco) totally rule, they keep the babies happy and allow moms or dads to have free hands to carry or wheel luggage around

2. dress babies in PJs so you don't have to worry about socks or spitting up on nicer digs

3. even if your baby doesn't usually take a pacifier, bring one--Finley surprised us by needing and taking it during a traffic jam in the rental car

4. toys are great, but be prepared to be the entertainment yourself

This was a good first run, but it doesn't quite prepare us for our trip to Prague in July...but will anything?

New Ways to Play

Finley is becoming more and more of an active little guy. He still likes to stand (hates to sit) and to be on his back playing with toys dangled over him, but this week he's found a couple other ways to play.

One way is that he can now roll to his side and play with a toy. Also, if I stand a book up to his right or left, he can turn to check it out and sometimes roll to look more closely at it. Here he is yesterday with a toy he was given months ago but can only now appreciate:

Another new way for him to play is to be on his tummy, reach for and chew on a toy. He will now hang out on his tummy for upwards for 15 minutes, just chewing and drooling away! I know I'm coming dangerously close to promoting crawling, but it's so neat to watch him try and get something and then reap the spoils!! The hardest part is choosing which toy to cover in drool...

Okay, the Winkle first....

The (knock-off Winkle) Apple, second....

What will he figure out next?

Finley Goes to Yale

Don't worry, his legacy at Tufts remains and we plan to let him go there and live at home when the time comes...but on Sunday, Finley and I drove down to watch Dan coach the Tufts frisbee kids at their tournament in New Haven.

It was a sunny, warm day and that was just perfect for being outdoors. As a zygote and a fetus, he'd been to several already--but this was Finley's first ultimate frisbee tournament on the outside. Many (many) more to come, so it was good to dive in and see how the little guy took to the experience. I brought a nice outdoor blanket and an umbrella to keep him out of the sun, since babies can't wear sunscreen until they are 6 months old. He seemed to like being outside and getting to look around. He was very chatty and had fun playing with his favorite toys in a new place.

However, we did discover something he didn't like: people yelling. When the kids would score a goal and the sidelines would get loud, Finley would stick out that famous bottom lip and then start crying. Poor thing! I forgot a couple times and cheered for the boys myself, sorry Fin! Perhaps most babies this age don't like being startled by loud noises, I guess we'll see if this changes in the coming months.

Dan was a proud papa carrying Finley around the fields (as long as he as kept him out of the sun as I requested).

I guess it is time for us to get him a hat of his own that actually fits his tiny noggin! It was a great day and despite the yucky traffic we hit coming home, it was well worth the drive down. Plus, we got to test out our awesome stroller on the grassy, rocky, pine cone covered terrain. It passed with flying colors!! Hooray for the Bumbleride!!

A Spring Saturday

After a less than quiet early morning, Finley was up and ready for the day. I was not quite as ready, but since Dan was down in New Haven coaching frisbee, my number was up! Thankfully, it was going to be warm and sunny, so I knew we'd be able to be out and about. Our day in pictures:

After some fresh milk, a book really tops off a terrific breakfast! Then, Finley napped wonderfully and afterwards we ran errands to Home Depot, Costco, and Henry's house.

Before his afternoon nap, I gave Finley his new rattle that his Grammy bought for him down in VA last weekend. It's the perfect size for his little hands and we don't have any other noise making toys like this! Not to mention, it seems pretty fun to lick the spinning ball part!

Sadly, since I was home alone with Finley, I don't have any pictures of him in the Beco while we planted some lovely pansies outside and filled up our three bird feeders. You can use your imagination :) Finley's hardest time of day is around 6:00 or so and that's usually when Dan gets home and can give me a break to entertain the little crankpot. Today, I decided it was a good time to go for a car ride. I put him into the car seat and decided since the weather was still nice out (around 65 degrees!), Finley could go out without socks. A first and one that his Grandpa would be most proud of. See www.nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com

I bet his feet didn't know what hit them! We got gas and picked some great plastic building blocks from a fellow freecycler up the street. Back at home, I realized that after being outside and really close to a lot of potting soil, Finley probably should get a bath. I haven't taken any bath photos in a long time, I can't believe how big he looks in his infant tub!

While he does like to kick in the water a little bit, his favorite part of bath time is trying to drink the rinse water as we pour it over him. He's getting quite crafty and manages to get a tongue-full here and there. Hard to remember how he used to scream uncontrollably in the tub just a few months ago!

It's almost bed time and Finley is enjoying a little wind down time in his bouncy seat, sucking his thumb, and hopefully preparing himself for a peaceful night's sleep!

Next Stop, NY!

We got up Monday morning after a decent night's sleep and it was time to pack up for our drive to NY. Finley discovered a new friend off the shelf in my room, so we brought it down for him to play with while we had breakfast.

His Aunt Caitlin will be proud that he is showing some love for her alma mater! We hugged Granddad and Grammy and while we'll be back in 2 weeks, it is always hard to say goodbye.

We hopped into the car and Finley was happy as a clam before falling asleep for his morning nap.

It was a fairly smooth ride with only one stop and Finley even drank half of a pumped bottle while we drove! A first for the little guy!

Finley arrived to his grandparents' house all smiles and ready to play, but it was time to cook for the Passover Seder--so we tried to do both. Please don't call children's services...

Finley took a little nap before it was time to get ready for the dinner guests to arrive.

But he didn't make it much past their arrival! He snoozed wonderfully during the whole seder, maybe next year he'll get to experience it first hand. Bizarrely, we didn't take any other pictures for the next two days!! I know, I know...what is the world coming to? There were a few things I would have liked to catch on film, though:

1. Finley peeing through his diaper, clothes, and Beco to soak his GG! Ew! Thankfully, GG was a good sport :)

2. Finley drooling all over his Aunt Ellie, no matter what position she held him in.

3. Great Aunt Annette making Finley smile big time while he sat in his Bumbo.

4. Finley laughing, yes laughing, while I gave him big kisses on his cheeks!

Oh well, we'll do better next time. Finley did a great job on the car ride home and even helped hold the mail while we unpacked. "Helped" might not be right word, as he was basically eating it by the time we went to rescue him from the car seat!

It sure is great to be home!

Cherry Blossom Baby

We spent Saturday afternoon in downtown Washington, D.C. to explore the opening day of the Cherry Blossom Festival with my parents. The sun was out and while it was a bit chilly, it was great walking around weather. Finley slid into the Beco at the Metro station and we were off!

Technically, the blossoms were only at 70%, but you would have thought closer to 100%--they were gorgeous! As we walked, my mom overhead another tourist say to her friends, "That baby is wearing a Google hat!" So Google, you're welcome for the free advertising!

Finley was awake for the first part of our trek, but passed out when it was time to go check out the WWII memorial and the kite festival nearby. There were hundreds of kites flying around, from the very elaborate high-flying box kites to some neat homemade ones.

We made our way to the base of the Washington Monument, where we sat on the benches to have a snack and relax. Finley got out of the Beco and was ready to play, luckily Dan was happy to oblige!

(above is Dan's favorite pict from the weekend)

We piled into the supercrowded Metro station for the ride home and Finley had just about had it, luckily we got on the train soon and I was able to feed him. Some very cute, but nosy kiddos were in the seats in front of us. The 4 year old asked me if the baby was eating milk and I said yes. His embarrassed mom reminded him that he used to drink milk from her. I then asked him, "Since you're a big kid now, what do you eat?" and he looked me square in the eye, smiled, and said, "People food!" Well, duh, how silly of me to ask?? We got home and Finley played for a short time but then passed out on his dad for his evening cat nap. What a day!