Finn’s 1st Birthday

We had a small celebration for Finn at home while my mom visited, but I still wanted to have a theme and a little bit of decoration. So we went with Where The Wild Things Are for my little wild one.

I can’t resist a baby boy in suspenders and a bowtie – how cute is he? And he happily smashed and tasted his cake!

That was good practice for his second cake smash! (These were different days.) Harper had two cake smashes, so I had to keep things fair.

Harper was excited to make Bubby a birthday card!

Finn felt very loved with all the gifts from family. I don’t know who had more fun opening and playing with the new toys – Finn or Harper.

When I asked Harper what she wanted to get Finn for his birthday, she said “A Fulham house!” So she painted a bird house in Fulham colors and I added the Fulham badge. It’s a great accessory to his new train table.

Happy 1st Birthday to my little baby, who will always be my little baby!

Finn at 12 months

My last monthly baby update ever!! Sniff sniff. And a month late…life lately, man.

Last month was pretty exciting for Finn as he neared his first birthday. He had a lot of firsts! He started out the month making some progress on feeding himself table food – he ate some green beans, banana, alfredo noodles, meatloaf and taco meat. Maybe a bite each, but it’s progress! I give him something solid to feed himself at every meal, but he rarely actually puts it in his mouth. He still only wants purees. This is quite different from how Harper was, but I’ll just keep offering and hope one of these days it starts to click! I make him warm, tasty, homemade food and he won’t touch it, but he’ll try to eat things like chalk, cotton balls, cat food, cat hair balls and cardboard.

He took his first steps on March 6th and continued taking a few steps here and there the rest of the month, usually between me and Drew. Then right around his birthday he started walking full-time. And that’s when he found some new hobbies (beyond his favorite activity of trying to eat the cat food) like climbing step stools and little chairs, sticking his hands in the toilet, unrolling the toilet paper, climbing on the treadmill and pulling all the things out of the cabinets. Basically, in any room he’s in he’ll find the most dangerous or naughty thing to do. At least if I take my eyes off him for a second, I usually have my resident tattletale to warn me with a “Moooooommmm! Finn’s in the cat food again!” Is this a boy thing or was I just spared the first time around with a very tame girlbaby?

Speaking of Harper, she still doesn’t want much to do with Finn most of the time. She’s excited to see him at school when we pick him up and will give him a quick hug if I ask her to. But usually it’s “He’s touching me!” or “He’s grabbing my toy!”

Finn is getting more coordinated and focused as he plays. He still loves anything he can bang together or bang on the floor, like pots and pans from the play kitchen. He loves to put the ball in the ball run and watch it spin down over and over, and loves to put coins in the piggy bank and take them back out. Most often, he’s chasing the cat around the house or throwing a ball and picking it up. If you ever hand something to him, no matter what it is, his first instinct is to chuck it. Again, quite the opposite of how Harper was – she loved holding all the things and inspecting everything. Finn won’t hold on to anything. He just wants to throw. He’s starting to dance more to music which is adorable – he does a slow motion head banging move and dances his little feet around. It’s a good thing we live in a warm climate because Finn wants to live outside. I can’t let Harper out without him whining to go out too. So we spend a lot of time outside and it became even more fun for him once he started walking around the yard. But when it’s time to go inside, he throws his head back and flings his body around in quite dramatic fashion.

Finn got through his three remaining molars throughout the month (12 teeth now!) and at his 12-month check-up he weighed 22.8lbs and was 29.5 inches. Not surprisingly, he was also diagnosed with his second ear infection and RSV. I wasn’t surprised because he was sick again leading up to his birthday and I kept him home a few days. But he didn’t have a fever like last time, so I was hoping it was just a cold. So he went on a stronger antibiotic which cleared it up. But then he got hit with a stomach bug, poor guy.

Getting some fresh air on one of his sick days – I think it did him some good.

Finn also got his first haircut which made him look much more like a toddler!

This month we also enjoyed a visit from Grandpa and then two weeks later my mom came to help celebrate his birthday which I’ll post about soon.

Of course he sticks the chalk in his mouth right as I’m taking the picture.

Since he has an Irish name, I thought it appropriate to dress him with some St. Patty’s Day accessories, but he wasn’t so sure about it.

My precious baby boy has grown so much!

Finn at 11 months

Finnegan Nash is 11 months old! And–surprise!–he was sick again this month. This time it was a low-grade fever that lasted a couple of days which led to a double ear infection and then more cold symptoms and low-grade fever (two visits to urgent care!) And then, his first molar! The exact scenario happened to Harper when she was 12 months – so he’s just a month ahead of her. His second molar is very close too. He also got another bottom tooth two weeks earlier. So he’s up to 9 teeth now. But that doesn’t mean he likes to use them! He still prefers purees and will only feed himself a Mum Mum cracker or a puff. If I try to put a piece of food in his mouth, he clams up or immediately spits it out. He’d rather swipe all his food off the tray – that’s way more fun than eating it.

Now that Finn is crawling, there is no containing him! He’s all over the house now – he even climbs the entire staircase. He hates to be put in the jumperoo or the pack-n-play so we reserve those for when we need to put him in a safe spot for a little bit. (As much as you think your house is baby-proofed, they will always find trouble!) He loves to walk holding our fingers and even will take a few steps holding only one hand. When I practice having him stand alone, he’s starting to last a few seconds before he slowly lowers himself to the ground. When he’s loose in the living room, he will always go for the cats, the cat food, Harper’s food, or any small piece of furniture that he can scoot across the floor. He’s getting really good at pushing his walker around by himself. He’s been coming home from school with more bruises on his forehead and legs. Lately, he’s been doing this monkey crawl thing where he’s up on his hands and feet. He can get going really fast! He has also started doing yoga–downward dog being his specialty. He loves pulling Harper’s kitchen stuff out and banging the pots and pans on the floor. He also really likes to rip pages in a book! He likes to crawl after balls, pick them up and throw them and crawl after them, or roll a ball back and forth with us. He will crawl over to his crib and reach through the slats to grab his lovie.

We’ve been able to spend a fair amount of time outside lately so he gets a lot of swinging time. I discovered that I can zip him into the trampoline and let him safely crawl around after some balls. Genius!

He still loves baths but will not sit still and wants to stand up. And he splashes the entire time, so I end up completely soaked. So sibling baths didn’t last very long – Harper didn’t like to be splashed the entire time and I don’t blame her. He also loves to brush his teeth.

His dislikes still remain getting his face wiped, getting his nose wiped and getting out of the bath.

He babbles a lot – mostly in a growly voice. And, lucky us, he’s recently discovered the joys of high pitched screaming. He recognizes words like mama, dada, ball, and swing. He’ll point his hand towards stuff and say “dat.” Perhaps the cutest thing he learned this month was to sign “all done.” He signs it a lot now – particularly when he’s done eating or when he wants to be done getting his diaper changed. Sometimes he also seems to say “ahh daa” when he signs it. He also learned to clap this month, though I’ve only seen him do it twice. He loves playing peek-a-boo and shaking his head no. Whenever he’s fussy, I’ll give him my water bottle and that will keep him happy for a good while.

He is such a doll and is so much fun to play with. He still loves his mama the best and our morning snuggles (before he gets too busy for cuddling.) He’s going to need his first haircut really soon – but he’s going to look so much older! It’s crazy that I’m preparing for my little baby to turn one. I’m not as sad about it as I was with Harper because I know how much fun the second year is. No matter what, they will always be my babies!

Finn at 10 months

This month was a big month for Finn! He started crawling! Leading up to it he would whine because he couldn’t get to where he wanted to go. On January 7th, his teachers said he crawled at school and I had a feeling he’d start very soon since he’d been scooting every which way but forward. But that night at home he wouldn’t crawl for me. It was a few days later that he finally crawled for us at home. He instantly became a more content baby. He didn’t crawl far – we could still keep him mostly contained in a room, but he was happier just to be able to get to toys he wanted. As soon as he started crawling forward, he started pulling up to standing too. Now he loves to stand at the play kitchen and a little play table in the living room where we keep books that he likes to pull down.

He got his 6th and 7th teeth – one on top and one on bottom. And, of course, had another sickness. This time with a 3-day fever and bad chest cough. January is a really bad month in central Texas for allergies – it’s called Cedar Fever. Kids often get sinus infections from it. So I spent a week home with Finn, which was tough because I was also trying to work. Now that he could crawl, all he wanted to do was grab my laptop and bang on it.

He’s chatting a lot now, mostly dadada, bababa and tatata and still does his signature growl and sometimes an excited high-pitched squeal. He voices his opinions a lot more, particularly when you take something away, or if his favorite food is all gone. He LOVES to eat purees but isn’t yet picking finger food up, except for those Mum Mum crackers. He’ll eat anything if I feed it to him, but he much prefers purees and being spoon fed.

He’s down to two naps which has been working well. Sometimes he’ll nap two hours in the morning and another hour in the afternoon. But that means I don’t have both kids napping at the same time anymore. At least I get plenty of 1:1 time with each of them while the other’s napping!

Besides Christmas, this month was exciting because we had a visit from Grandpa Steve (Drew’s dad) and some nice weather (even for Texas) so we got outside quite a bit.

He was bouncing in the pack-n-play, so Harper came over and started bouncing with him and they were both giggling. It’s so cute when they play together.

Harper teaching him how to draw:

All dressed up for a dinner out!

For Christmas, Daddy got him more Fulham gear. It’s hard to keep a hat on him for very long.

He also upgraded to a convertible carseat. Here’s a comparison of his first and last time in the infant seat!

Poor bubby was in the middle of a fever when I took these – I’m glad he was willing to humor me.

Crocheted sweaters from Gram

Gram (Drew’s mom) crocheted these beautiful sweaters for the kids for Christmas. They fit perfectly which is amazing since she crocheted them at home based on a few basic measurements I gave her. She also gave them these adorable coordinating outfits. Harper loves wearing her sweater – it’s perfect for a Texas winter and she thinks she’s Little Red Riding Hood. Thanks again, Gram!

Christmas 2015

We had very warm weather here in Texas on Christmas so we spent Christmas Eve morning outside playing soccer and flying a kite. Harper wanted to fly it all by herself which meant she ran around dragging it on the ground behind her. But after I showed her how to do it and she let me help her get started, she ran with it in the air for a bit.

We also did our annual Christmas Eve crafts – we made bead candy canes and painted wooden gift tags. I also tried to get a little Pinterest-y and do a handprint wreath with Harper and a footprint mistletoe with Finn but they turned out horribly, as most of my Pinterest endeavors do.

Harper was excited to frost and sprinkle some sugar cookies and put them out with milk for Santa (and some carrots on our driveway for the reindeer.)

I put them in matching jammies and Daddy read The Night Before Christmas.

Christmas morning started at 6am and after feeding the baby and getting Harper a snack in her room and all ready to go, I walked the kids out while Drew shot video from the living room. Harper immediately spotted Finn’s Little Tikes car and then her bike and rocking chair. She was so excited! And because it was so warm, we got to spend some time outside trying out the new toys! It was a very merry Christmas!

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holiday fun

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas and was particularly excited this year since it was Finn’s first Christmas and our first Christmas as a family of 4. Last year, I was so sick (and pregnant) and it kind of took all the fun out of the holiday. It’s hard to believe in the span of a year, we had a baby and now he’s big enough to sit up and open presents.

We started the holiday season by decorating our tree on Thanksgiving weekend and then I started the myriad of holiday photos of my kids. I just can’t get enough. But they sure had enough. “Ugh! Not another picture, Mom!”

This one of Finn might be my favorite of them all. Bah hum bug!

But he eventually relented and let me snap away. Cheese!

I used these for our Christmas card.

We went to a big electric train set display in downtown Round Rock and stopped for a few pictures outside where they had a giant tree and giant ornament.

There was a big stage that Harper kept running over to and doing her happy dance for us.

Our annual santa hat picture!

And this is blurry, but I caught them sitting together under the tree and giggling and thought it was so cute.

A Day at the Museum

While Barb and Tod were here for Thanksgiving, they took Harper to the Children’s Museum while I stayed home with Finn. She always loves it there and it’s a great way to burn some energy. I’m so glad Tod took all these pictures so I can see how much fun she had.

There’s an outdoor climbing structure that she’d never really climbed on before.

It’s pretty high up, so I was quite impressed to hear she made it all the way to the top! I love the thumbs up she gives them when she makes it to the top.

There’s also this cylinder that blows scarves and I’d never seen it before. These pictures make me laugh at how excited she gets feeling the scarves land on her face. Pure joy.

She tried the water room this time too, but wasn’t as big a fan.

Harper and Gram had fun making shadows.

Finn at 9 months

During Finn’s 9th month he still struggled with sickness and allergies which wreaked havoc on his sleep at night. Lots of congestion and coughing would wake him up many times a night. Allergies in the winter in Texas are no joke. They hit Drew hard, and we’re learning that they hit Finn hard too. He also got two more teeth, which weren’t fun either. And he sure likes to grind them together!

But in between all the not-so-fun stuff, Finn learned to wave, which is adorable. He eats any puree I feed him, but isn’t into finger foods just yet. He is very close to crawling – he’ll move any which way except forward. He likes to lunge from sitting to his belly to reach something, turn in circles, scoot backwards, and then whine for help. He can push back up to sitting and pull up to his knees. He sleeps on his belly about half the time now.

He chats a lot and grunts to say hi. He also likes to smack his lips, blow raspberries, give a big toothy wide grin and slap his belly when he’s excited (I guess it’s his form of clapping.) And when he’s not moving and grooving, he’s the sweetest little cuddler.

This month he celebrated his first Thanksgiving with a visit from Gram and Toddy (who took some of these pictures.)

He had fun helping us decorate for Christmas.

He also had his first sink bath and was as excited about it as Harper was at that age.

The crossed ankles are too cute.

Harper wanted to join in for his 9 month photoshoot.

soccer buddies

These two love to match in their Fulham jerseys! This is Harper’s 3rd one. Drew feels it necessary to buy the new version every year…

Here are the previous years:

I already devote a good chunk of our closet to Drew’s soccer jersey collection, and I’m afraid I’ll have to do the same in the children’s closets!

GOAL!

Ok ok. I have to admit they are pretty darn cute.