Baby Bat-- Halloween 2008

Finn visited a few neighbors for Trick or Treating and helped his Nana hand out candy to lots and lots of kids in London.

Breaking News...

We have officially found the one and only food that Finn will not eat...Veggie Burgers! I never thought it would happen. The kid loves beets for heaven's sake. I expect his Grandpa will be very pleased to hear this.

Do You See the Size of that Chicken?!

Huber's 2008

Happy Birthday, Hotshot!

Finn had a great 1st Birthday week. It started off a little shaky because we were without power and usable water from Sunday until Thursday. But we made the most of it and opened a few presents and had carrot cake cupcakes (thanks Mary Beth!) by candlelight on the 16th.

He had a ball at his party on Saturday. The house was filled with grandparents, great-grandmothers, aunt, uncles, and cousins. Finn is never happier than when he has a big crowd to entertain. We want to thank everyone for coming and for all of the gifts. We can bring out a new one once a week and that should carry us into Christmas!

Finn DESTROYED the smashcake. It was impressive. He loved to watch and hear everyone sing to him, but when I put the cake down, he was in the zone. Nothing was going to get between him and that cake. At one point, he was licking the cardboard that it was on.

The guests had all left by about 7:00 and Finn was asleep by about 7:02. Sugar crash, I'm guessing.

Almost 1 Year

I can't believe that this time last year, I was on bedrest anxiously waiting for Finn to arrive. All of the cliches that you ever hear about parenting are true. "They grow up so fast." Next week is Finn's first birthday and it doesn't seem possible. He's all boy, the happiest kid I know, and quite the ham. He has been more of a joy than we could ever have imagined.

Walk Hard-- The Finn Anthony Story

9 Months +

Finn has had a pretty eventful month.

He is eating lots of new foods and has three solid meals a day. He especially loves chicken, cheerios, and cottage cheese. He really wants to feed himself with a spoon now, but it's still a little messy for Mom's tastes. He and I usually both end up with prunes in our hair. Layla loves to sit under his highchair and catch anything he throws over the side. I think they're in cahoots with each other!

Finn has taken his first steps! Too soon for me. He stutter stepped a couple times a couple of weeks ago, but now he can take 5-6 steps and steady himself if he needs to. His preferred mode of transportation is still the crawl or spiderman walk, but he's definitely working out the walking thing.

He has a new cousin-- his first boy cousin! Keaton was born on July 8th and was the exact same size as Finn when he was born. In other words...BIG! Give him a few months and they will be a force to reckon with.

Summertime!

8 months-- A Synopsis

I had a hard time trying to figure out what to update everyone on this month. It's crazy how fast Finn is growing, learning, and changing. So here's a quick rundown:

• Finn has 3 (and a half) teeth.
  
  
• Finn hates peaches, but loves pumpkin. However, he is more a vegetable than fruit man all in all.
  
  
• Finn is trying finger foods. He has had puffs, and toast, and fruit, and egg yolk, and waffles, and a Goldfish cracker (Papaw snuck that one in-- thanks Papaw!).



• Finn pulls himself up to standing and can stand on his own for a few seconds.



• Finn can climb stairs on his hands and knees (much to my chagrin).



• Finn's crib is now on the lowest setting (see above).



• Finn is beginning to "cruise" around the couch and cofee table.



• Finn has lots of bumps and scrapes (see above).



• Finn says, "Dada", "Nana", "Baba". He said "Mama" for a week, but seems to have let it slip out of his vocabulary for now. Does he know what these things mean? Probably not.
  
  
  
• Finn shakes his head "no" and bobs his whole body "yes"
  
  
  
• Finn waves. It's a neutral hi/bye. But it's pretty stinking cute.
  
  

And He's Off!

Finn is crawling. Alot. Everywhere. Constantly.

About two weeks ago he just took off. He had been up on his hands and knees (and hands and toes) for a while, but never really gained any ground. He must have worked it out in his sleep, because he woke up one morning and started crawling like he had done it all his life. It is impressive how he can zoom in on every dog toy and electrical cord in the room. And he's fast!

He goes so hard all day long that he sleeps very well at night. He's always been a good sleeper, but he has moved his bedtime up an hour and sleeps like a log. Come to think of it, I've moved my bedtime up an hour and have been sleeping very well since he has been crawling, too!

6 Months (Click to see all pictures)

Photobucket Album

Deep in the Heart of Texas!

My parents, Finn, and I went to Texas to visit my brother and his family. Finn took his very first flight (ex utero anyway) and was a great little traveller. He took everything in stride and seemed to even enjoy himself. He had a few fans on the plane-- bragging about how well he did. I was very proud and more than a little relieved. Of course, having a couple of extra hands to help on the trip made a big difference!

We all had a great time visiting with Justin, Kyra, Scout, and Pearce. The girls were great with him. Finn thinks his cousins are about the funniest things he has ever seen. He got to meet his namesake (Scout has named one of her babydolls Finn Anthony), got to watch Scout at gymnastics, and got to play outside in the warm weather. Nana, Papaw, and I got to watch the Wizard of Oz, and play Candyland, play-dough, princess, Candyland, Candyland, Candyland...

What's Up, Cuz?

Finn has four beautiful little girl cousins. Scout, Katie, Pearce, and Isabella. He's great with the ladies and he loves them all dearly. But he is very excited to find out that he has a little boy cousin on the way! I have to admit I had visions of the girls banding together and holding Finn down so they could paint his toenails and put bows in his hair for a tea party. Now he'll have some help in fending them off!

There's a Party in My Tummy!

Recently Finn's menu has expanded from breatsmilk and formula to include rice cereal and sweet potatoes. He is not too keen on the cereal, but he can't get enough of the sweet potato. He is also on an antibiotic for an ear infection and he loves it. It's the same sweet pink stuff that Jason and I had when we were kids and it took me back as soon as I smelled it. We'll be adding peas and carrots in the next few weeks, but something tells me that if it isn't sweet, he isn't going to like it. Like mother, like son. I'll let you know...

"Saddest Boy in the World" Face

Finn doesn't really cry much. He'll whine a little, but it is rare to hear a real cry from him. However, he does make the "Saddest Boy in the World" face every once in a while. I've tried to get a picture of it, but it is always too fleeting. So, I have found a picture of the best representation of it...Beaker from the Muppets. His whole little mouth turns down just like that. Neither Jason nor I can do it, so we don't know where it came from. It's one of the saddest and funniest things we've ever seen.

Christmas 2008

Photobucket Album

Baby's First Christmas

I really wanted Finn to have a perfect first Christmas. Honestly. Nevermind that he was 3 months old and had just discovered that he had hands. Parents should make it spectacular, right? Well, I had just started back to work and was still trying to figure out how to get him fed and dressed and happy every morning, how to function like an adult again at the office, and how to manage to take a shower every single day. Decorating my house for Christmas was pretty low on the list.

In the past, I always put up my big tree in the formal living room and the little 4' tree in the den. Lights and garland on the bannisters and the mantle. Knick Knacks on every surface. Heck, I even burned Evergreen candles. This year the 4' tree went up in the den. Only the tree--luckily it was prelit. No ornaments, no garland, no star on top, no knick knacks, no Evergreen candles. Finn was having a Charlie Brown Christmas.

I started to feel really guilty, but Finn loved that little tree with no ornaments. He had a wonderful Christmas with my family in London and Jason's family at our house. I finally came to terms with my poor showing. This was my training year. He didn't know any better and I couldn't do any better-- not this year. But next year, just wait! I'm dragging every bell and whistle out. Finn won't know what hit him.

Oh, I forgot. There was one ornament on my little tree this year...Baby's First Christmas.

The Nursery (Click to see all pictures)

Photobucket Album

3 Months (Click to see all pictures)

Photobucket Album