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

Finny growls

Talking to Daddy

Tommy and his best girl

smooches

This is as close to "smile for the camera," as I get.

Finners

So, here's what's new...

Finn is 10 months. He crawls, cruises, stands on his own, eats finger foods, drinks from a sippy cup. Tries to be as hilarious, and get into as much danger as his older brother. At his last appointment he was 20 lbs 15 oz and 29.25 inches long. He finally grew longer than he did wider. Quite an accomplishment. He loves to wrestle, go after outlets, clap his hands, and growl. I believe that he mostly sleeps through the night (thank god, I'm irritable enough even with a full night of sleep). Sometimes Finn says something that sounds like, "yeah!" It is hilarious when he does it at appropriate times. (I don't think he's actually saying the word, it's just cute)

Tommy is hilarious, difficult, impossible, and amazing all at the same time. He is nothing without drama. His newest great idea is to try to turn around the things that Greg and I say when he is in trouble. Sometimes he makes a very angry face at us and so we've said to him before, "Tommy, I don't like that face, you need to change it." Last night, we were having some listening trouble and Greg had to use a sharper voice and more serious face. Tommy replied, "Daddy, I don't like that face." Touche. Another great example is if he's being sassy, sometimes I give him another shot to change it before he gets in trouble and I say, "Excuse me?" Well, if the child doesn't like what I am telling him he now says, "Excuse me?" In the same, authoritative attitude. Our response after careful consideration, "Sorry pal, that doesn't work for you."

Don't get me wrong, it's not all sass and defiance, Tommy is probably the most lovey kid I know. I can't get enough of the squeezes, and kisses. He's great with his brother, only occasionally over-enthusiastic.

In conclusion, things are good.

Finn Crawling

Tommy singing happy birthday

Tommy's Harmonica Skills

Finn Clapping

Hello Stranger

Yes, yes, I realize it's been a long, long while. We were without a computer for a while and frankly I just didn't think about it much for a bit. I think my mom might be one of the only readers anyways. ;)

So, on to what we've missed. I meant to post around the milestones, like Tommy's 3rd birthday, and Finn was 6 months etc. and well, we see how that turned out.

Finny J:

9.5 months and crawls, stands and moves along furniture, does NOT sleep through the night (insert grumbling), likes to wrestle his brother, and it the proud owner of two teeth on the bottom and is close on 4 others. He started crawling around 7 months and frankly there has been little to no peace for the rest of us since. He's quite happy that he can finally be involved in everybody's business and Tommy is getting some real practice with sharing. He can also stand and move along furniture so we'll see when the whole walking bit starts...I wouldn't mind that taking a while. Outside of the destruction, Finn is a super happy kid, mostly smilely, loves food, Tommy, birds, dumping the tupperware bin, his daddy...and that's all I can think of for now. He's a super husky little guy, or big guy, I should say. His last appointment he was 19 lbs 6 oz and 27.5 inches long. We go in a week and I'm super curious about his stats.

Tommy:

The big guy is now 3 and a couple months (way to miss posting about that milestone) and full of it. It is a super fun age, despite the whole 3 year old defiance thing. (I say that because we are in a more cooperative spot right now...sure to end now that I've recorded that here) For the big day we rode the light-rail and had lunch in town and then attended a St. Scholastica baseball game at the dome. He had an amazing time, and thought we were the coolest parents ever...for real, he told us that.

T is an awesome big brother, and the boys are super fun together. He spends his days as a fighter-fighter (firefighter), two strikes guy (umpire), worker man (construction worker), etc. Each day brings something new and entertaining, and as I mentioned before, there is a lot of wrestling, rolling, climbing, running, hockey, baseball, and "helping." uhm, in conclusion, that's all I can think of right now...maybe if I did this more often, I would have an easier time remembering what I want to say.

Greg and I:

We're still married, and we're both 30...that's about it. Really. So far, our kids are our best work.

As I've said before, (I'm sure) I'll try to post more photos and videos, even if I can't quite come up with good things to say! Lastly, some of the brotherly love...

my mom's ride

Bee-line from the door...

Rhythm masters! Day with Nana.

Finn Says His Piece

Finn's Baptism

Finn was baptized on Sunday, December 27th at St. Mary's of the Lake in White Bear Lake. It was the fourth day of our four day holiday extravaganza. We woke Tommy early after several days of travel and family because we wanted to have Santa visit to our own house. Pretty much Tommy could have cared less after all the people, late nights, food, and gifts. He was only psyched about the Cars movie he recieved and watched it a few times. Finn wore his cousin Luke's baptism gown because he's too big for what Tommy wore and it's the wrong season (Tommy was baptized in the summer). It was a really nice day, Finn's Godparents are Alis Abbott, and Uncle Miguel. My parents and two of my brothers were there, and Greg's mom and brother. Tommy slept through most of church before the baptism and was a robot after that. He also thought that getting baptized was like getting a shot at the doctor, so he was really nervous about it and was super comforting to Finny afterwards. After we have people over for pizza, salad, carrot cake, and the Cars movie. It was a great day, but I was relieved to have the holidays over. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who was eating carrot cake, but that's fine. ;)

Finn makes a really pretty girl, doesn't he? ;)

The T Man

So Tommy is a very busy boy.  He'll be three in March...THREE!!! I can't even believe it.  It goes by so fast.  He's growing like crazy through pants, shoes, jackets, everything.  It's hard to keep up.  The stories only get better as he gets chattier so I'll probably share a few.  The end of Christmas was a great one.  Also, the accident story is a classic.  Everyday there is another more entertaining event. It used to be cute just because he was such a mimic.  He'd repeat everything in that little voice.  Now it's so hilarious because he comes up with his own material.  I don't know if I can make a list of Tommy's magical milestones like Finn's but I'll think of something.  He is obsessed with the Cars movie.  Ask for it day and night.  Loves "hockey skating"  I have this awesome video of him, but it's trapped inside my blackberry and I didn't shoot it in the right format for MMS so I guess it might just have to stay there, but I'll try again with a different one, but basically he can skate by himself, and when he falls (which is a lot) he can get up on his own, too.  He likes to skate "faster, faster," with his daddy, but knows how to go in a circle by himself.  It's pretty cool.  We've only been maybe three or four times this year, so I'm amazed at how quickly he picked it up.  My mom took some video that included me skating a little, and let's just say, Tommy's better than I am!  He loves to help, loves his brother, and all and all is a pretty awesome kid despite the stand-offs that develop between and adult and a 2-almost-3 year-old.  Okay, the stories.

The accident story goes; Tommy goes tearing into the bathroom (sometimes when he waits too long he goes a little while he's trying to sit down and when this happens he always says the same thing, "I made a mistake.")  Well this time, judging by how fast he was running and by how long it had been since he went, I turned to Greg and said, "I'll bet he has an accident."  Not two seconds later we hear, "Uhm, mom?  Don't freak out, okay?  Just don't freak out."  Then he says, "I made a mistake, okay?  I just made a little mistake."  I was laughing super hard, and come into the bathroom to find the kid laying on the floor with his pants stuck around his ankles, and pee everywhere!  That was classic.  Greg says what's mostly funny is how casual we are about urine these days.

The end of Christmas story, goes a little something like this.  Tommy was a little sad when I took the decorations down but it was really not a big deal in terms of how dramatic the kid can get.  But the next day he comes into the living room to see me pitching the Christmas tree off of our apartment balcony.  When I turn around and come in, he has this look of pure horror on his face.  He looks and me, then runs to the window and looks out, face pressed to the glass.  "Mom, what. are. you...how could you?" he cries.  Then he runs away to his room and sits on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands.  When I come in, he looks up and says to me, "I just can't believe it's over."

working in Grandpa Guy's shop

skating with Daddy

throwing snow at Mommy (this is a sweet shot, but he got in big trouble for this one!)

Two silly boys in the snow.  Finn is over it.

Lovin' on Mr. Finn. Aw..sweethearts.

Finn

Mr. Finn is currently about 5 months old. When he went for his 4 month check-up (about two weeks ago) he weighed 17 lbs 3 oz and was 26.5 inches long. So he's about where Tommy was at around 9 months. Basically, he's huge and I can hardly carry him in the carseat carrier anymore. :( He can roll over both ways (since like 3 months), sit up kind of by himself, kind of supported. He eventually either leans down and rolls over, or straightens too much and tips backwards, but he can do it for a few minutes before that happens. He is also a big fan of scooting himself backwards or in a full circle. Mostly he does it to watch his brother. He loves his Tommy the most. It doesn't matter what Greg or I say or do to distract him, if he's watching his brother, he won't turn his head for anything!

His true loves right now are his toes. They make him so happy, and when you try to pick him up when he's playing with them, he likes to keep them up by his face, so he looks like a gigantic bowling ball. He loves to babble and make that razzing noise. He started cereal after Christmas and loves it, and has also tried peas, and sweet potatoes. He's a big fan of food, but that's no surprise.

My favorite part is that he's a big sweet, butterball. All his rolls are so ticklish, and he is a great snuggler. He loves to cuddle right in and touch faces. My favorite when I'm holding him or feeding him and he sticks that chubby hand up and rests it on my cheek. He'll kind of wiggle his eyebrows until he gets a grin or a laugh out of me. Ugh, it just melts my heart. I think that's mostly it.

Not much to report about the holidays for him, except that he decided not to sleep through the night anymore after all of our running around and staying different places. For me, the beginning isn't so bad when you don't sleep, I mean it starts to wear after a while but you just sort of keep going through, but after you get your sleep back and then they take it away, well that's just the worst for me. It makes me real grouchy! But we're working on it. ;) Enough babble; a few pics.

After a swimming in the pool

Uncle Mo-mo's graduation from CSS

Loving his first cereal experience

Opening his christmas gifts from Nanny and Bonka

Playing with his toes.  Will you look at those leg rolls!!!