The Big Snow

We're pretty sure that Wednesday's snowstorm is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of our Boston lives. That means it was certainly the most snow Finley's ever seen. Finley and I both had official snow days on Wednesday and since Dan couldn't get out of the driveway let alone down the street at 6am, he got a snow day, too.

Sadly, Finley didn't get the memo about sleeping in on snowdays so he was up and at it around 6am. Luckily, he was in great spirits and had his own plans for how to spend the day.

Ha ha, nice try buddy. I suggested an alternative and he obliged for me a few moments.

The snow continued to fall so Dan waited to shovel/snowblow until Finley went down for nap number two around 1pm. Sadly, he hadn't gotten very far when one of the tires on the blower became noticeably flat. Long story short, our neighbor came to the rescue! When Finley got up, Dan had plowed the upper part of our driveway so I suited Finley up in the boots and pants he'd been handed down from families in my class and we headed out.

Sorry, Finley, but Owly can't go out into the snow. We traded Owly for a wooden spoon and made our way downstairs.

Clearly, he wasn't quite sure about the world of white in front of him. We tried to coax him out, but eventually caved and just grabbed him. Sadly, his spoon fell in the process.

He slowly, and I mean slowly, made his way over to it but wouldn't bend over to get it. What a chicken! Oh and I should mentioned, I really tried to get his mittens on but to no avail.

With his trusty spoon in hand, he began to explore.

When thought he was finally beginning to enjoy himself out there and I put him back down on the driveway, but again he froze up (pardon the pun). He kept looking at his feet and all the snow around them. We tried to entice him by putting his spoon a few yards away. No dice. Dan tried to help him along.

Oh, so close!

Wait, maybe I should be heading for the garage instead, he thought.

Hooray! That was just about enough of the fun, so we went back in so Dan could continue working on the driveway. After stripping him out of all his snow gear, I wasn't sure how we'd spend the remaining hours of the day trapped inside. Ah ha, a Hanukkah gift that we'd stashed away for just such an occasion! Thank you, Julie, Matt, Maggie, and Harrison!

All in all, not a bad snow day (aside from the early morning wake up, flat snowblower tire, and being stuck at home...wait...). This snow will be around for a while, perhaps when it's not blowing all around, Finley will enjoy himself more. And maybe, just maybe, he'll let me put his mittens on!

Mallrat

Last weekend, we went to the Copley Mall in Boston. We needed an afternoon adventure and figured going downtown (and indoors) to explore would work out nicely. It certainly did! We enjoyed a quick lunch in the food court and then Finley snacked on an apple for a while.

Soon, he realized the scene around him was pretty hopping and he needed to get out and play.

He willingly put his apple into the ziploc bag for later (what a sport!) and then Dan got him out of the high chair and the little guy took off! Running through the food court with no regard to his parents' location. Dan quickly followed while I agreed to clean up our table and gather our belongings. I caught up with them after Finley had exited the food court and successfully navigated the crowded shopping aisle. Finley wanted to run around a bit more, but it was hard to keep up with him to make sure he wouldn't get trampled.

But after a while, he had exhausted himself and was ready for some love from his dad.

Then, we shopped for a bit. Well, to be more accurate: I shopped while Dan and Finley played around. Dan swears Finley said "Hi" to a nice lady who passed by, score! Finally, we returned to the car, but I hopped in back with Fin to make sure he didn't fall asleep en route home to his crib. We got stuck in a little traffic so I let Finley have a few more bites of his apple to keep him happy. We got moving again and Finley had devoured all but the core of the apple. As I took it from him, he rubbed his sticky-apply hands in his hair and created quite an awesome hairdo. Can you say mohawk?

This natural "gel" was so strong, that even after a two hour nap at home, his hair was still standing straight up!

He's a Big Boy Now

Yep, our little boy seems to be becoming a big boy rather quickly. Every day or so, he does something that makes me think, "Wow, when did he learn that?" or "Geez, he is officially a toddler, goodbye Baby Finley." A few examples:

1. he can drink from a straw and walks over to the dining room table (where he eats) if he's thirsty since his cup is usually there,

2. he chooses his own bath toys and throws them in the tub as the water fills

3. he sits a looks at a book all on his own or carries it over and tosses it our laps if he wants us to read it

4. he shares his toys and food with us and seems to really enjoy our response

5. when getting his coat on or a shirt he'll move a toy from one hand to the other so you can put his arms in the sleeves

6. after he gets up from a nap or in the morning, he'll be clutching his two loveys (Fanta and Owly) but will happily toss them back into the crib at your request after you pick him up

7. he's eating all the big kid food at Beth's house (daycare) and I don't pack him a lunch anymore (hooray for me!!)

8. he doesn't need to sleep in a sleep sack for naps anymore

9. if he doesn't get something he really wanted, he'll stomp his feet and pout a little (a can foresee those terrible twos being quite something)

10. he can CLAP (yes, after months of watching all his friends clap easily, Finley finally figured it out)

Okay, maybe the clapping thing doesn't mean he's all grown up since most 6 month olds can do it...but I'm still proud of him.

While Finley's doing plenty to show us he's growing up, sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to catch on. We FINALLY got him a pair of big boy sneakers last weekend and let me tell you--I was avoiding this like the plague. He was still wearing his little leather slip ons and while I knew they were tight, I wasn't ready for him to get "real" hard-soled shoes. It just seemed too grown up...but I was wrong. We got him sized and found a cute pair of stride rite velcro shoes. He took to them right away, wearing them out of the store and all around the mall. I tried, in vain, all weekend to snap a photo of Finley in his new kicks, but he just doesn't stand still! Here's a close up from our visit to the Children's museum cafeteria where he was enjoying a snack before we explored the museum.

I think he likes them, don't you? Or maybe he's just happy about that cracker in his hands...

Yes, Finley's all grown up (relatively speaking). He's sitting in the front seat of the car changing the radio stations and cooking in the kitchen.

And trying to put dishes in the dryer??

Hm...I guess we've got a little more to work on!

An Apple a Day

Finley's a fruit-fanatic. With so many fruit options out there, I can overlook a fruit or two for weeks. On Tuesday, while perusing the produce at Wilson Farms, I remembered that Finley hadn't had an apple in a while. I bought three different kinds of apples (one each) and after dinner, I took a bite to get him started and he took it from there. He LOVED this apple, he looked as if he was the happiest baby in the world while chomping through it. He ate the skin, the flesh, and even nipped at the stem!

I truly enjoyed just sitting and watching him spin the apple around looking for his next bite. I took lots of photos and then scrambled to find the video camera. There are two videos below and since I haven't posted a video in a while, I figured you all could handle them both :)

So after a while, Finley tossed what was left of his apple on the floor. This is one of his more annoying habits that lets us know he's finished eating. However, after dropping it, he looked over the edge of his highchair quite longingly at his discarded dessert. I got him out of the chair while Dan went to grab the apple to toss it out. Finley got very upset and begged for the apple, so Dan rinsed it off and handed it back to him. He took a tiny bite and then took off.

He basically carried the apple around like a security blanket for the next fifteen minutes. Wherever Finley went, he took the apple along too.

The funniest part was when he walked over the plastic giraffe. This giraffe came with some blocks that you can put down the giraffe's head/neck and they come out at his feet. Finley decided to use the apple as a block.

It came flying out the bottom and onto the floor! I laughed out loud, it was hysterical. Before we could "dust" it off, Finley grabbed it and was off again!

Soon it was time to head to the bath tub, but we had to distract Finley with every toy in his playroom in order for him to drop what was left of his beloved fruit. Luckily it was a successful endeavor and without his knowledge, we discarded the apple in the trash on the way to the tub.

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but (note to self) an apple a day also pleases Finley to no end and can provided both nutrition and entertainment for hours on end.

Holiday Family Fun!

Where to begin? We spent five days down in VA and it was amazing how many people we got to see! This post is just a wrap-up of all the wonderful family that Dan, Finley and I got to hang out with.

#1: Owen (Finley's cousin who just turned one the previous week)

The boys played very nicely together and it was neat to see them somewhat acknowledge each other's existence! Owen's not walking quite yet, but the two certainly found ways to connect.

#2 Chris (My brother, Finley's uncle, and Owen's dad)

#3 Granddad

Finley had fun playing toys, reading books, sitting on his lap, and listening to him play guitar.

#4 Cool Aunt Caitlin (title says it all!)

#5 Grammy

For some reason, Finley took a little while to warm up to his Grammy this visit. He played hard to get, but she was very patient and when the time was right--the fun began!

#6 Mia (Finley's "cousin" who is Dan's cousin's daughter)

#7 Annette (Finley's great Aunt and Mia's grandma)

#8 Daddy

Since Dan came down a few days after Finley and I, the boys made up for lost time with some Christmas morning snuggling.

The whole crew in some posed pre-Christmas dinner photos.

More people we hung out with that aren't pictured: Dave (a good friend of mine from high school), Mitch (a good friend of my mom's who spent Christmas with us), Bronwyn (Owen's mom, Finley's aunt), Eric and Amy (dan's cousin and his wife), Baby Jake Forseter (Mia's new little brother), Bernie (Finley's great Uncle, grandpa to Mia and Jake), and who knows who else!

Finley was a charmer as usual, flashing smiles and giving out belly laughs. While he doesn't usually leap into other peoples' arms or stray too far from us, he does love to be around people and is learning how fun it can be to interact with all those around him.