The Update

So the latest on the boys:

Finn started walking around 11 months and frankly, I miss the days of children staying seated, but...I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the crazy chaos, laughing, chasing, and wrestling is pretty entertaining at least fifty percent of the time.  He was 22 lbs 7 oz and 30.25 inches at his one year appointment.  I think he's peaked in terms of largeness and is easing his way back in to being an average sized kid.  His current hobbies include, screaming, wrestling, pulling everything out of somthing and running away, copying his brother, copping the occasional stiff-back, clapping, dancing, blowing kisses, licking things before he decides to eat them, and shaking his head or saying, "nuh-no," just to show he knows what it means but he doesn't care.  His vocabulary includes, ma-ma, da-da, all done, nuh-no, and he's started to babble very emphatically about something but, to be honest his brother could talk a dog off a meat truck so we're really all stocked up on talkers here. 

As for the big kid, we have our phases of tolerability.  We've been experimenting with an earlier bedtime and so far (fingers crossed) it has made a big difference in the whining, and rudeness.  His hobbies include,  mouthing off, telling stories, pretending to be his daddy, tying things together or to himself to either carry or tow things (I asked Greg if he things we need to be concerned about his desire to tie things up?  So far no attempts to restrain his brother so we'll just tuck that one away for later debate.)  He loves books, cars, Phineas and Ferb, and ropes.   I have one terrific story to share this time around and the setting is the dinner table:

Greg and I hug and kiss, nothing weird, just your average greeting PDA.  This sometimes makes Tommy mad and he says: 

Tommy: Stop that you two!

Me:  Why? Aren't you glad that your parents love each other so much?  You're pretty lucky that we love each other so much!

Greg: under his breath You have no idea! (Greg likes to garner pity for his childhood experience with divorce by pretending that I should feel sad for him)

Tommy: No, I'm not because I just love you mommy, so daddy can't.

Me:  Well, Tommy it's good that your daddy and I love each other because someday when you and Finny grow up, you'll meet someone that you want to leave us and be with and get married and live together somewhere else and then daddy and I will still have each other.

Tommy: Well...first I'll go meet somebody but then I'll come back and live with you guys.

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure that my one and only requisite for my childrens' futures is that they NOT live with me forever.  Other than that, they can do whatever they want in their lives.  I might need to start laying the groundwork on this one.

Finn likes to party

So my baby turned 1 (two months ago). Finally, I feel guilty enough about my lack of effort here to do something about it!  We enjoyed the first (sort of) birthday party with my parents before we all took in Target Field for the first time (also the boys' first game).  Finn was digging the baseball cupcakes.

 We had a second party on his birthday and we were joined by Alis, the godmother, Auntie Em, and cousin Lucas, and our special friend from Madison, Tyler G.  I made pumpkin bread cupcakes which, for the record, Finn did not enjoy as much as his store bought cupcakes from party #1.  The highlight were the balloons and plastic baseball hats that Alis brought.  Not much to report as far as a kid's first birthday party goes but the pictures are pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

 



A year's worth of Finny J

So even though I have been planning on doing this for a few days, I (of course) am scrambling at the last minute to put up a birthday post for Finn's 1st birthday.  These photos don't even begin to cover it. 

I love you to the tippy-top in my heart Finn!

101 in 1001

So I totally stole this from every other person who has done it, but I think that the idea is great and since I have had more time to think lately, and my time has been less dictated to me by work, I have been feeling the strong desire to create some goals for myself. So here's what I got folks.

1. Try one new recipe a month.
2. Take my kids to see Duluth and northshore attractions.
3. Go on our honeymoon.
4. Read The Iliad and The Oddessy.
5. Take a photography class.
6. Have friends over for a game night.
7. Go camping.
8. Call 1 or 2 friends a month.
9. Eat dinner at the dining room table every night for one week.  July 2010
10. Learn to golf.
11. Take a road trip.
12. Play a song on the piano.
13. Have season tickets to something.
14. Make one entire meal from farmer's market purchases.
15. Blog 4 times in one month. January 2010
16. Go away for the weekend with just Greg.
17. Watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
18. Make a cookbook of the favorite recipes of family members.
19. Buy Greg a gift that he is surprised by and actually likes.
20. Own a home.
21. Completely, and consciously decorate one room of that home.
22. Be active everyday for one month.
23. Call my brothers every Sunday for one month.
24. Travel to Ireland.
25. Go on a trip to several different Major League Ballparks.
26. Run the TC 10 mile.
27. Figure out what I want to go back to school for.
28. Go back to school.
29. Make a holiday meal for my family.
30. Add some scrapbook pages for Finn.
31. Make Halloween costumes for my kids.
32. Perform a random act of kindness each day for one week.
33. Make a DVD of our wedding video.
34. Visit a national park.
35. Travel to Canada.
36. Go on a family vacation.
37. Update my wardrobe.
38. Get professional family photos taken.
39. Grow my own vegetable garden.
40. Grow and cook from an indoor herb garden.
41. Learn how to apply make-up.
42. Learn how to fix my hair (and put that into practice).
43. Go to a Twins game at the new stadium.   August 2010
44. Learn how to lay tile.
45. Potty train my son.  October 2009
46. Sleep through one whole night.  June 2010
47. Watch childhood family videos with my siblings.
48. Clean for 20 minutes each day for a week.
49. Teach Tommy a song.
50. Go on a date with Greg one night a week for a month.
51. Do something special for my mom.
52. Enroll Tommy in a class.
53. Update my resume.
54. Count my blessings one night a week for a month.
55. Watch a friend or siblings child(ren) so they can go on a date.  July 2010
56. Turn off the T.V. by 7 p.m. everyday for one month.
57. Go on a walk everyday for one month.
58. Purchase a new camera.  (my parents did this one for me)  April 2010
59. Update my resume.
60. Spend time alone.
61. Attend an NHL hockey game.  December 2009
62. Attend a Gopher hockey game.
63. Cook a roast.
64. Go back to where my husband proposed (with him) and take a picture.
65. Make a christmas gift for someone.
66. Visit or talk to my grandparents once a month.
67. Play in the snow with my boys.  December 2009
68. Buy a new(er) car.
69. Take one photo of my boys each month for a year.
70. Make my own pesto.
71. Cook a full Thanksgiving dinner by myself.
72. Wake up on a major holiday in my own bed.
73. Get old photos of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents for a family photo wall.
74. Send a package to friends, or family who live away once a month.
75. Finish this eff-ing list.  August 2010
76. Take the boys to an art museum.
77. Record funny things the boys say and do in a notebook, before I forget them.
78. Learn how to cook chicken soup like my Grandma L.
79. Re-learn how to make sugo from my mother-in-law.
80. Buy a grill.
81. Work on the boys baby book/scrapbook.
82. Go on a cruise to Alaska.
83. Be pregnant one last time.
84. Send a card to someone who is important to me once a month for a year.
85. Learn how to use my sewing machine.
86. Create something using my sewing machine.
87. Learn how to knit.
88. Knit some cute hats for the boys.
89. Spend a day with my grandmothers and have them share stories and old photos.
90. Take a portrait of each of my grandmothers.
91. Take a portrait of my parents.
92. Learn how to use my camera.
93. Drive the circle tour of Lake Superior.
94. Read 5 books a day with my boys for a month.
95. Go to a storytime once a week for a month.
96. Get my wedding band resized so I can wear it again.   May 2010
97. Learn how to properly store fruits and veggies to extend their life.
98. Get a job.
99. Stop picking up toys for one whole day.
100. Build a treehouse for my boys.
101. Do something nice for Greg once a day for a week.


Oh my god, I finally finished it. It's probably not the deepest list you'll ever find, but it will definitely take me a while. Ha, it freakin' took my forever just to come up with this many things! I can already cross some off from the time I started this  (October 3, 2009) until now ;)

Some summer, in photos

More later...

Six teeth, a few steps, and a lifelong love affair with sugo

The heading reflects the most recent news in Finn's life. Considering that I have referred to the little man as "a spicy meatball" on more than one occasion, it's a surprise to me that I have only recently introduced rigatoni and red sauce as a meal option for Finn. And he officially loved it...he expresses his love by devouring, growling, and bathing himself in the sauce. I've never seen him eat like that before. We found sauce behind his ears, and his knees! He gets it from his dad, I guess. Oh yeah, and also, four teeth came in on top giving us a grand total of six. Also, he officially took his first steps on Sunday, July 18 at Lake Josephine where we had picnic with my parents and Uncle Miguel. What was his motivation you ask? Food. Surprise!

Finny J's sweet ride