Piece of cake

On Saturday I decided to take Finn to my parents house for the day. I thought maybe we could make our first visit to the zoo or something along those lines. Finn got a very short nap on the car ride up. He really was not in the right mood to go to the zoo. So instead we walked down to the corner with Muti to mail some letters (that's just as good as the zoo, right?). We walked an alternate route home and swung by my old kindergarten to check out the playground. The playground is for K-6 so definitely pretty advanced for my 1 1/2 year old. But Finn is fearless. He could not get enough of the slide. Up the stairs and down the slide he went again and again. Giggling the whole time. Not bad for Mr-No-Nap.

Then what a surprise. Muti came climbing up the climbing wall. (No, I'm not making this up. And, where the heck was my camera?) And then she went down the slide. Oh, this was just too much for our young Finn. He went barreling down the slide after her. Bam! He crashed into her. Roaring laughter ensued. Again, where the heck was my camera. Note to self, even trips to drop off mail may result in a photo opp. Bring camera.

After a fun day at Muti and Papa's we packed up and drove home. Finn was exhausted. He had a little dinner and then Jason got him ready for bed about an hour earlier than usual. We all settled on the couch (Scout included) to watch some tv. After all of one minute, Finn scooted himself off of the couch, turned to us, waived and said "bye bye". He started walking out of the sun room, through the living room to his bedroom. "What's he up to? Could it be? Nah. Oh my, he is." He was putting himself to bed. No meltdown, no crying. Just a "Bye-bye. See ya tomorrow. Don't forget to have my milk and cereal ready no later than 7:30," look on his face. Finn has always been good about going to bed but that's because I figure out when he is tired and put him there. This is the first time a little light went off in his brain and he determined that he was tired and then he made the choice to go to his bed. Now I know how those scientists feel when their little lab mice make it through the maze.

I ran after him, scooped him up and put him in his crib. Pooh Bear snuggled in one little arm, and Mr. Monkey in the other. I covered them with his twinkle, twinkle quilt to keep them all cozy.

I went back to the sun room and Jason and I revelled in our parental awesomeness. Okay maybe it was more like marvelling with disbelief.

Whatever. This parenting thing is a breeze.

Finn In Boots

Two posts in one day.  And on Christmas no less.

I haven't finished downloading the Christmas photos- haven't finished taking them yet either.  But it is necessary to post this one of Finn in his new galoshes from Nana and Poppa.  J put them on over his p.j.'s and he could barely walk in them.  But he looked too cute.  Now that I think of it this photo hardly captured it.  But still pretty cute.

Covet this!

I just finished my Christmas cookies (for Christmas dinner tonight) and I had to share.

You know you want some. Look that yummy frosting on the sugar cookies.

And Grandma B.'s chocolate powdered sugar cookies are chocolatey and chewy and probably still warm from the oven.

Merry Christmas!

For your viewing pleasure

Forecast calls for rain clouds.  Might as well settle in and enjoy a flick or two.  Here are a couple of movies starring Finn.  The first is sort of an action comedy.  The second more of a heart warming drama.

Finn gets crazy in the kitchen

Hot Cocoa

Count down to Christmas

Just a couple more days til Christmas- and I haven't even wrapped a thing!

Here are some photos of the gingerbread house that Finn and I made. I did the heavy construction and he tried to do a remodel.

I am very proud of those icicles.  

Being the first gingerbread house for both of us I think we did all right.

Even the back was decorated with a wreath.

Here's Finn with his hot cocoa with marshmallows.  Think he enjoyed it?  Yup. Check out his super cool double handled mug from Uncle Noel.  Thanks Uncle Noel.  Watch out for a hot cocoa movie to be uploaded as soon as I figure out how to do that.

Happy Holidays! 

Picture with Santa

Finn's photo with Santa.  It almost looks like he's trying out a dance move.  He really was not happy to begin with plus I'm sure he was a little scared of the stranger with the white beard.

This is the picture with the same Santa last year.  Why does Santa have paint on his hands?  

Rest assured

After all of Sunday's commotion, we had a very Norman Rockwell moment at our house. I made Grandma B's hot cocoa (turns out it's pretty much the recipe on the Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa can) and we snuggled up on the couch with Finn and Scout and watched Frosty the Snowman. Finn was very excited about the hot cocoa and would not put his mug down until he finished every last drop. I have to admit I was a little worried about the "hot" and the amount of sugar so I diluted his with milk. He loved it anyway.

Now I hope I'm back in everyone's good graces. Put down the phone. No need to call CPS. ;o)

At least the baby didn't end up in jail

Long story short: The cops were at our house. Jason ended up in handcuffs.

Looks like I've got your attention now.

Sunday morning started out easy, Easy like Sunday Morning. Especially so since Finn spent his first overnight at his grandparents. I woke up at 7, as usual, and was able to watch a movie (Year of the Dog- it was okay) with my morning coffee in peace and quiet. Jason slept in with just enough time to get his bearings before he was off to the Raiders game with some buddies.

It was raining and figuring Jason's car would be safer in the rain I took the Land Rover to go pick up Finn. We had a little lunch and then he fell asleep in the car on the way home. I spotted the CHP behind me on the freeway while I was busy thinking of all of the things I would get done while my little angel napped. I noticed the CHP follow me as I exited. "Hmm, that's interesting," I thought. Two blocks from my house I saw the red lights. One block from my house they started flashing. "Is he seriously pulling me over. WTF? I wasn't speeding." Since I was a block from my house I decided to lead him all the way to my driveway. Of course, he didn't know where I lived so, on his loud speaker for all of my neighbors to hear, he instructs me to pull over to the right and stop the car. I ignored him and made a left into my driveway. But I hopped out of my car and quickly explained that this was my house. Thankfully he spotted sleeping Finn and his demeanor softened immediately.

It turns out that the sticker on Jason's license plate expired in May, before we bought the car. I was able to find the current registration but no new sticker. He left without even giving me a fix it ticket. I didn't get off completely scot free. I'm sure the neighbors will be giving me weird looks for a while.

After the commotion, I put sleeping Finn in his crib for the rest of his nap and went about my chores. Around 1:45 the phone rang. It was Jason. "I've got good news and bad news," he says. "Let me guess," I reply. "You are coming home early but I have to pick you up at the Bart station." I wasn't that surpised that he was ditching the game and his friends 45 minutes after kick-off. It was raining and Jason hates to be uncomfortable like that (remember the WWJD post). So I wake up my sleeping Finn, pack him up in the car and head off to the Fremont Bart station.

I relay my CHP story to Jason on our drive home. We have some laughs. Then he tells me the real reason he left the game early. He got kicked out of the game. Seriously. Although, again, I'm not that surprised. "Geez. Did you start a fight? Shank some guy in the men's room? Throw beer at a referree?" Turns out Jason threw a couple of empty peanut shells at some Patriots fans in front of him. The targeted Patriots fans didn't notice but an usher with a misplaced sense of power and authority did.

Off to the security room he went, manned by some of Oakland's finest. They apologized when they put him in handcuffs per protocol. The cops wondered what to do with my perp husband. Should he go straight to the big house? Get a fine? Send him back to his seat with some hot cocoa and a warning? They deferred to the usher who decided that since it's against the rules to throw stuff at a Raiders game (what, like chairs or people?) he should be thrown out of the game. Between the ordeal, the freezing cold, and the fact that the Raiders were down 21 to 0, Jason was ready to go home. One more piece of bad news. The cops had to escort him out, handcuffed, and the Bart exit was the furthest one from their security station. Jason walked half-way around the Coliseum in handcuffs as some fans pleaded for his release (he was wearing an A's cap so thus he must be an Oakland fan) and others taunted him. "When you throw peanuts you have to deal with comments from the peanut gallery," commented one of the police escorts.

Anyway, that's the story of our family's encounter with law enforcement yesterday. Maybe we'll be on Cops someday.

Santa's Elves

Finn seems to be rather enjoying his stint as a Christmas elf.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Have you made your way over to Christmas in the Park yet? We got a chance to check it out over Thanksgiving weekend. The displays look like they got some much needed repairs from prior years. Finn loved all of the lights, the trees, and of course, the snow. Snow in San Jose? Well it's more like foamy bubbles but it was still pretty cool.

Waiting for the next snow flurry.

Trying to catch some snow.

This snow stuff is all right.

In Memoriam

Patricia Thurnagle Hinds

November 26, 2008

Grandma with Candy and Candy's grandfather.

Jason's Grandma passed away on Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. Her passing was not entirely unexpected and yet at this time last year no one would have guessed that we would have an extra seat at the table this holiday season.

She is and will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She was a very loving grandmother and G.G. (great grandmother) to Finn. Her eyes would light up when she saw Finn and especially when her called her "G.G."

I love this picture of her. Strapless sun dress, pearl necklace, platform sandals. Forever a woman of style and grace.

Turkey Day '08

Looking super cute in my new sweater.

Thanks Cassie!

Is the turkey ready yet?

How does he sit like that?

Thomas with the dogs, of course.

Awfully calm at the kids' table. Must be dessert time.
Finn had thirds on Nana F's apple pie. That's what happens when Momma and Uncle Kurt give him seconds.

Monkeying Around

To my Rosegarden friends

Good news. As I walked by the old Cozy Restaurant today I spotted a notice of sale. Looks like Bill's will be the new owner. Whewhoo! I hope that means shorter wait times.

Pretty things

When I get stressed out at work, I like to take a break and look at pretty things. Here are some pretty things I happened upon recently.

Pretty quilt from Anthropologie.

Antiquated dress from Shabby Apple.

Plain and simple cakestand from Darlybird

Dear Santa

All I want for Christmas is a big red tricycle.

Finn is getting ready for a tricycle. I've been checking out the super cool Kettler trikes with the air filled tires and parental steering/brake bar. Talk about bells and whistles.

But this Sky King tricycle is a beauty. Cherry red. Sleek aerodynamic lines. She looks fast. And she's got a working head light. C'mon how cool is that?

Don't look at me. I'm Hideous!

On Tuesday night it looked like Finn was getting pink eye . . . again. Within a few hours, my right eye was itchy and pink. Darn it. The next morning I woke up and my eye was glued shut. Gross. I could hear crying from Finn's room. Poor guy. His eyes must be itchy and gross too, I thought. I went in to comfort him. Both eyes were clear and white. He was fine.

He gave me pink eye. I mean GAVE it to me. Or maybe I took it from him. But I had it and he didn't. Yesterday my eye wasn't so much pink as screaming red. It felt fine but every time I looked in the mirror I was horrified. My poor co-workers had to look at that all day long. Seriously, if I had gotten this a couple of weeks ago I could have created a Halloween costume around my eye. It was that gross.

I am now looking for someone to give this to. I don't want it anymore. Any takers?

Prepster

It's getting a little too cold for crocs and I don't want Finn to ruin his "good" tennies at daycare so I bought him these from Old Navy. They are really cute on. Not bad for $8.

Fall has its perks

I think summer is my favorite season. I love warm evenings outdoors, hanging poolside and an excuse to make homemade lemonade. The sun and heat held out almost until Halloween but now it is definitely fall. And it is definitely windy. And definitely cold.

But there is a brightside- warming up a cold kitchen by baking fall treats like this Pumpkin Spice Pecan bread I made over the weekend. I topped it off with a vanilla glaze and more pecans. It was delicious.

I gave half of it to my in-laws. My father-in-law said I would be his "write in" candidate for president. You know, normally I would be mad that someone would throw away a vote. But I'm pretty sure Obama will sweep California and, hey, it's a vote for me. That's not a waste. So, Steve, you deserved that delicious pumpkin bread-- you did remember to write my name in, right?

Trick or Treat

Gentlemen, start your engines!

In homage to his race car driving uncles, Finn went trick or treating on Halloween night as a race car driver.  The car stayed home.  But he did get the hang of the whole trick or treating protocol with some help from his buddy Ryan.  

Here is Finn in the dinosaur costume he wore at daycare.  

Costumes courtesy of his cousins.  

Happy Halloween!

Simple Pleasures

I am really excited about something. I mean tremendously, stupendously excited. What is this miracle that has me beaming with joy? I have a working bathtub. Yep, that's right. My life has come to this. I'm excited because the bathtub finally works. And now my kid can finally enjoy what other kids his age have been doing for months -- playing and splashing in a real, honest to goodness bathtub. Not a kitchen sink. A tub. This also means, one more thing checked off the home repair "to do" list. YAY! Now we are looking forward to installing the Boon Frog Pod and Flo set to complete the bath time ambiance. "We" meaning me and Finn. I don't think Jason is going to be too excited about a huge plastic frog hanging in the bathroom. Oh well, better fix the other tub then.

Here's a movie of the bathtub christening.

Big Dipper

Another milestone achieved! Finn is now into "dipping" his food. This is exciting because before he just shoved his fingers sans food into the dip resulting in a big nasty mess. He is also into double+ dipping. Consider yourself warned the next time there's dip on the table and Finn is around. That is, unless you want a constant runny nose. If only thick, shiny blond hair was contagious.

Hello, I'm No on Prop 8

And She's the California Constitution

I made this . . . and it was delicious

Lucky Leslie got chocolate peanut butter pie for her birthday dessert.

Okay, I didn't take this photograph but the finished product looked identical. I have witnesses.

It was fun to make.

Do you have any requests?

To Auntie Trine, with love

Here is Finn sporting his Norwegian sleepwear from Auntie Trine. These were in the hand-me-down box from cousin Thomas. Trine handknit the slippers and it turns out that the p.j.'s were actually Trine's from when she was a little girl. This fact may someday seem embarrassing to Finn-- wearing his auntie's p.j.'s -- but they are so darn cute. You can hardly tell that there are kitty-cat ballerinas depicted on them.

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

Halloween, everywhere you go . . . around our house

12 words and 3 animal sounds

Finn had his 18 month check up earlier this week. The doctor kept hammering me with questions, like: "Does your son fall down like that a lot?" and "How much milk does he drink per day? How many words can he say? Does he point at pictures in books?"

Hmm . . . uhhh . . . I was feeling decidedly like a certain Republican VP candidate. Yes, he says all of them, points at any of 'em, whatever is in front of him.

"But he's saying at least 10-15 words, right?"

"Yah," I said trying to reassure myself.

For the remainder of the visit I found myself blurting out things like "He says 'thank you'" and "He's really into brushing his teeth." I guess I was trying to prove that I was a worthy mother after all and that my son is developing normally despite his ginormous head (which is now merely in the 99th percentile).

After leaving the office and feeling rather guilty about not knowing such Finn facts at the drop of a hat I reflected on Finn's vocabulary. That kid talks a lot. Some of those sounds must be actual words. Let's see:

No, no, no = No

Yah = yes

enh euu or day doo = Thank You

dad-deeeee = Daddy or Mommy and maybe you, if he really likes you

dawg = dog

gout = Scout

Mamamamama = code blue

baby = baby

eye = Hi

bye = bye

doh = down/done (get me out of this high chair)

num num nummy = yummy

He makes animal sounds upon request. That counts right?

Rrrraarrr = Sound a bear makes

Oof Oof = Sound a dog makes

Maow = Sound a cat makes

Whew! We are in the 10-15 word range. Now if I listen a bit more intently I may recognize other words hiding in his gibberish speak. Better start busting out the Your Baby Can Read videos again.

The Great Pumpkin Hunt '08

Walking down the street in Half Moon Bay

Checking out the selection at the pumpkin farm

Oh yeah, this one looks good

Got me a punkin

Herculean effort

She's crafty

I can't stop myself from making stuff out of felt.  

But this seems educational.  So it's okay, right?

Okay, I can admit it . . .

I bought my kid some crocs.  

Don't be a hater.  

I promise to be a good mom and not let him wear them on escalators or elevators or people movers or any other croc/toes eating machinery.   

Man, you people are tough.

Look What Finn Can Do!

Here is a preview of artwork by the budding artist, Finn.  In the first piece he went monochrome.  Totally a statement about today's society. Can't you see it?

Now this next piece-- What vision! And a delightful use of color. The untrained eye may not notice his use of multiple mediums. This piece has an earthy quality about it. (Literally. He poured dirt on the wet paint and it stuck.)

He is also trying his hand at performance art. Some of you may have caught his performance at Celia's a couple weeks back. Or perhaps at Zanotto's or Mustard's Cafe? His vocal range is just exquisite.  (Or perhaps excruciating?) Oh and the anger behind the tears and the swinging arms. It's so real. (Because, sadly, is it.)

Here is a portrait of the artist deep in thought.  Perhaps devising his next masterpiece? Perhaps pooping?   Who can really know?  We can only wait with excitement and anticipation for his next creation.    

The difference between moms and dads

It would never have crossed my mind to have a breakfast on the kitchen floor.  

And clearly J knows this by the expression on his face.  

Well, at least the floor had just been cleaned.  

Practicing our spoon skills.

"What?  This is fun."

Apparently when dining on the floor, pants are optional.  C'est la vie.

(Don't worry.  J was wearing pants . . . this time.)

Scout moves in to help with clean up.