Thursday, June 14, 2018

Finnegan: 14 Months

Finn, Finn, Finn! What a month it's been.  It definitely hasn't been an easy one, but we love you nonetheless! You have become very opinionated in your old age (cue the laughs) and very determined, which both are qualities that will get you far in life, but as a one year old, it makes for some frustrating moments.  You have also decided to wake up in the middle of the night and not fall back asleep until I come in and rub your back. You topped off this month with pooping in the tub during bath time a few times, which you didn't seem to mind but I did. Despite some frustration on both of our part, we had a lot of fun this month and I love watching you grow!







Eating: Not much has changed. Breakfast is definitely his best meal of the day.  He always has a banana along with some sort of carb (we rotate between oatmeal, pancakes or waffles) and/or some yogurt. Lunch usually is peanut butter and jelly, chicken nuggets, or leftovers.  I will usually cut up some sweet potatoes for him to have, along with a fruit/veggie pouch.  We made a quesadilla for him the other day and he loved it, so that will be added to the rotation for sure! Dinner is Finn's least favorite and any amount of food consumed is considered a success. We try really hard to give him what we are eating and have found that he loves things like edamame!!  How funny!  I am just crossing all of my fingers and toes that he isn't a picky eater!





Sleeping: Guys, am I ever going to consistently sleep through the night?  Really though.  I'm beginning to doubt it.  For  every night that we sleep through the night, we get at least one night of Finn waking up.  All it takes is for me to go in, rub his back and say I love you before he settles down and goes to sleep, but I just don't understand why it's happening. We are back to two naps after unsuccessfully trying to switch to one, which is fine with me.  It makes it a little difficult to do anything that lasts more than a couple of hours, but I like having a break in the morning and afternoon, so I'm not in a rush.

Noises: Lots of babbling and when you ask him to say things like "Dog" or "dada" he will say "dah" or "dada" but I'm not sure there is meaning behind it.





Milestones: I think the biggest milestone this month is that he is really understanding what we are saying.  For example, if he is missing his sock and you say to him "Your sock is missing!" he will usually point to the foot that is without a sock.  It's so fun to see him understanding, even though he can't respond back yet. 



Likes and Dislikes:  His biggest like this month is definitely the dogs.  God bless them because they have the patience of saints. He is constantly trying to pet them, play with their toys, and just generally doing anything that would involve the dogs. He also loves Wheels on the Bus, which is fun for both of us.  Dislikes include being told no,  the hours of 4:00pm-6:00pm, and having his diaper changed.   





Nicknames: Finn, Finny, Buddy Bear, Finny Bear, Pooper (due to the bath tub incidents)

Clothing Size:  18 month for everything! I think the onesies and the tshirts are a little small, but the pants fit perfectly.

Diaper Size: 4 still.

Height: Probably 31ish inches since his pants seem to fit a little bit better.

Weight: A lot.  hahahaha.  I don't actually know but he's heavy!

Travel: None! We have been homebodies this month and stayed in Bremerton.

Teeth: Still seven although I feel like there are a few just about to break through.

Oh Finn, you may drive me crazy some days, but you also make me happier than I ever thought possible.  Your laugh when I tickle you makes me smile, your love for other creatures (Especially Anchor and Beacon) makes my heart melt, and your smile when your dad or I walk in the room makes me fall in love with you even more. You are a special little guy, Finnegan, and I am so lucky to call you mine.



















Monday, June 11, 2018

Our Family Grew...by TWO!

Betcha thought I was pregnant, didn't you? Despite the fact that people are constantly asking us when baby #2 is coming, we are not pregnant and aren't planning on being pregnant for a while.  Instead, our family grew by two in the furry department!  We are now the proud owners of two almost one year old labradoodles, Anchor and Beacon!







Finn is absolutely obsessed with them and their patience with him constantly amazes me.  I am largely outnumbered by boys and if baby #2 ever does come, I am crossing all of my fingers and toes that it is a girl, but for now, we are all pretty smitten with these two furry guys.  Welcome to the chaos, Anchor and Beacon!

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Mother's Day Weekend in Portland

I thought that, since Father's Day is only a week away, it'd be fitting for me to post about our Mother's Day weekend in Portland. This weekend can also be known as "The Weekend We Decided to Take a Break from Traveling Thanks to Finn." 

Mike suggested Portland for Mother's Day since it's only a few hours away.  There isn't a ton to do in the city, but enough downtown and the surrounding area to make it worth a weekend trip, so I eagerly agreed. In the weeks leading up to our trip, I pictured a few different scenes.

1.  Us strolling down very hipster streets with our smiling one year old looking out from his stroller.

Reality: Mike and I walking down the street, Finn trying to escape from his stroller so he can crawl around and a homeless guy begging for money.

This is not a bad selfie. It's me taking a picture of  a man WITHOUT HIS PANTS ON.  Why?????

2.  Mike and I sleeping soundly in a king size bed as Finn slept soundly in his pack n play. 

Reality: Finn waking up multiple times throughout the night. I should have known that this would be the reality because he never sleeps well when we travel.  Actually, he never sleeps well, but that's 
another post. 

3.  All three of us enjoying a nice, leisurely Mother's Day brunch full of mimosas and savory breakfast foods.

Reality: Us waiting in line for 45 minutes to get in to a brunch place, which meant Finn had used up all of his patience before we even got seated, so Mike and I spent the entire brunch rotating walking around with Mike.  I did get a mimosa though. 

4.  We would arrive home and Finn would be happy to play with his toys and stretch his legs after a few hours in the car.

Reality: Finn screamed anytime I put him down or tried to let Mike (his father who he normally adores) hold him. 




My peaceful and relaxing weekend that I imagined never happened and I think we have both realized that traveling with a one year old is not relaxing.  There is a difference between a trip and a vacation and this was definitely a trip. That being said, it wasn't all chaos.  There were a few moments of fun and funny, which were much more appreciated after lots and lots of crazy.

It was colder than I expected and I had left Finn's jacket back in the hotel room.  I wrapped my sweater around him thinking he would last two seconds before he pulled it off.  Instead, he rode around like a little old lady with her sweater wrapped around her for about ten minutes before it fell off and I wrapped it around him again. Repeat. 


Mini Stonehenge

There were some pretty streets and the weather was gorgeous.






My best friend Karen's boyfriend (did you follow that?) recommended Powell's bookstore and it didn't disappoint.  It's a huge bookstore with shelves and shelves of books.  Mike was less than impressed and just kept saying "I've got my kindle," while I was restraining myself from buying every book in sight.  In hindsight, I should have told him I would just spend the rest of the weekend there.  Peace and quiet and books. What more could I want for Mother's Day?



We did buy Finn a few books, though.  One was used, one was on the banned book list (Moo Cluck Baa), and this one.  Guess who picked it out for Finn? :D 


Brian, Karen's boyfriend also recommended VooDoo Donuts, which has all sorts of donuts made fresh.  We went Saturday morning and were so hooked we returned for a second bite on Sunday!


We passed by Finnegan's Toy Store.  The toys were a little too old for Finn, but still exciting!


We went out to dinner one night and Finn spent the entire dinner staring at the baby girl at the table next to us.  It cracked us up!

We spent Saturday afternoon wine tasting which was as wonderful as it seems, especially since Finn napped through most of it!



And, despite his poor travel behavior, Finn had many moments that reminded us how much we love him and how lucky I am to be his mom.