Finn's First Christmas ... in photos

On this New Year's Eve, here's a little video of our Christmas week (guest starring Nana, Grandma and Grandpa Barber, Aunt Heather, Cousins Bridget, Gigi and Ella, Beth, Emily and Paul, Great-Great Aunt Ruth, Great Aunts Jean, Susan and Shirley and Great Uncles Jeff and Jim).

[Apologies for the length to anyone that is not a grandparent! I'm uh, still working on my editing skills and will try to improve the resolution, too... I was just antsy to post this.]

Happy 2009, all.

new toy

YAY SOMETHING NEW TO CHEW!

provenance of the cheeks?

I love this picture of Andrew with his Great Uncle Bob Barber. This was taken while the family lived in Aberdeen, MD from July until the weekend before Thanksgiving 1972. Guessing from his size and amount of hair, it looks to me like he's just about Finn's age. It's always so fun trying to figure out who Finn looks like, since he sort of wavers between our two families (who look eerily similar) based on his expressions and moods. But it seems like his cheeks and nose are pretty Barber-esque...

We didn't take a photo of Finn eating his FIRST RICE CEREAL today -- mostly because I don't really get too excited about photos of babies eating but also because he at it so fast there was no time for messing around with any camera. Although he's a week shy of 5 months and the American Academy of blah blah blah recommends waiting til 6 months for solid food, we sort of figured after he started eating a kleenex yesterday that it was time for solids. Maybe between his new exercise routine (photos of jumparoo to come) and diet he'll start napping regularly? Ha!

oh sweet, sweet nap

We have so many great photos from Christmas to share that it will take me a couple of days to sort and post (we are probably heading back to New Haven tomorrow, so I'll get around to it Monday or so) but in the meantime, this photo of Finn asleep in Grandma's fluffy white robe should give you an idea of how relaxing our holiday has been!

merry christmas!

Mmm, bows! And ornaments! We are so excited for Finn's first Christmas and wanted to wish you a wonderful day with friends and family. Love to all of you from all of us.

snow day

Finn and Nana watching the snow come down down down.

little paratrooper

Our friend Emmeline gave us this jumper to borrow and Finn is almost big enough to recognize the awesome freedom that comes from springing off of the ground. We put him in it for the first time and the whole "jumping" thing didn't quite register, although our enthusiastic applause and laughter convinced him that he was doing something right. By mid-January i'm predicting that this will be his favorite activity.

kevin was here

Our totes awes friend, Kevin visited from nyc this week and I know that he won't talk to me anymore unless his photo goes up on the blog, so here it is (haha). It was super fun to see him and Finn was totally taken with his hair! It's sort of hard to see the onesie that Finn has on but it has a monkey on it and looks really nice with his eyes. Thanks again, Kev!

We have had a lot of activity this week so I need to get up to speed and post some more photos. I have no excuse as we've been snowed in for a second day now ... yesterday we got like a foot of snow and it was fun to watch Finn looking out the window. We hope that it's a little bit warmer tomorrow so that we can put his snowsuit on and go make tiny snow angels in the park.

4-month checkup

Today we went to see Dr. Dorfman for Finn's checkup. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when we put him on the scale, but was still surprised to learn that at 15 lbs. 5 oz. he's still in the 50th percentile. He's almost 26" long so his length and head circumference are both in the 75th percentile. Of course we think he's just about perfect. I'm attaching another more recent bathtub photo to demonstrate how he's almost grown out of his blue bathtub. Could one of you recommend what we should do next to accommodate his bathtime? I'm considering buying this ... I really have no idea.

Finn sleeps through the night like a champ but wavers between waking up at 5:30 and 7:30 am. One just never knows. At least even at 5:30 am he's all smiles, which makes it a lot easier to get out of bed.

Nana (my mom) arrived tonight and we're looking forward to having her with us for the next few weeks. How is it possible that Christmas is a week from tomorrow?

more fun visitors!

Our friends Christian and Chong-Lim visited from Brooklyn this weekend. Although I was negligent in taking photos of them, Christian took these awesome videos anyway. He's a pretty skilled dude, that Christian.

I mean seriously - how cute is that.
This second one is also adorable. Andrew looks a little glum but I think he was just super hungry.


Thanks again for visiting us, you two!
PS. Sorry I don't know how to edit HTML!

this week

That's Finn in the brown pants. His friend Elliott is in blue.

Finn with his friend Emelia

This week has been so busy, I'm not sure where the time went! One day, Finn slept til 7 AM and then took 3 decent naps so I was able to wrap Christmas presents. That was fun. We are still trying to get the nap routine down, as well as learn to roll over before leaving for Waverly in a week and a half. Nana arrives next week so perhaps she will be able to assist with that effort.

These photos are from my friend Kate, taken at our last yoga class. We miss yoga! But we're looking forward to the holidays and seeing a bunch more friends and relatives in the next few weeks.

push-ups

HEY, THIS IS PRETTY COOL

I'M EXHAUSTED!

Grandma Barber sent this nifty toy with a mirror (above) that Finn can look at when he does his tummy time/push-ups (he's getting better every day!) No sign of any turning over yet, though. After approx. 3 minutes of exercise he flops down and gets back to the all-important business of hand-eating.

brrrrrr!

Yesterday, we woke up to this!

... so I was really glad that Finn had a fleece hat WITH EARS all ready to wear! 

(thanks again, Marna!)

Granddad visits!

My dad was here from Nebraska this weekend to meet Finn and discover the joys of Connecticut, and we had a great time! (As is witnessed by Finn's big smile). We went to some great restaurants and did a little bit of shopping but mostly just hung out, which was awesome. Thanks for visiting, Granddad - we are looking forward to seeing you this spring in the Midwest!

more on the nap front.

Finn and I did a lot of running around today ... took a walk and got coffee with Marna (he napped) and then ran to several stores to do some holiday shopping -- during which Finn drank a bottle in the parking lot of a store called Vinny's Garden Center and Holiday Wonderland, which is certainly not the type of establishment we typically patronize. We also went to Target, which Finn knows so well by now, he probably thinks it's our weekend home. 

(He also napped on the ride home! And he's napping now! 3 wee naps in 1 day, after he slept from 8 pm to 7 am this morning. I think that's good.)

Now that we're not getting as much Vitamin D as we did a few weeks ago, we're supposed to give Finn a vitamin supplement. So I bought the stuff at CVS and intended to give his first dose today, until I opened the bottle and smelled the stuff. It looks like a tonic that would have been applied to a wound in the 1940s. I took a small taste and it was totally disgusting. How on earth is one supposed to get babies to swallow this stuff? Or is this bottle from a bad batch? The expiration date is "MARCH10" but maybe that means "March 1910", or "March 10, 1990". If anyone knows about baby vitamins and has advice, I welcome your thoughts.

Meanwhile, this is a photo of Finn from last week after his walk with Grandma, as we've just been too darn busy getting ready for Christmas to take any new photos this week! For shame, I know. Especially since that getting ready for Christmas part is a lie. My dad arrives from Nebraska tomorrow so we'll have some good photo ops this weekend. 

finn and uncle chuck

They say that Andrew bears some resemblance to his Uncle Chuck, so it's hardly any surprise that Finn looks related too, no? Chuck seemed to have the magic touch last week when he stopped by and rocked Finn to sleep ... as you know, that doesn't happen very often during the day!

movin' to the left

Finn is about to roll over, which is pretty exciting! He's not quite there, but he frequently lifts his legs in the air and rolls to the left. (And only the left.) He is basically providing us with about a half hour of entertainment every morning as we watch him roll to the left and back.

working out

We missed our yoga class yesterday but this is a photo I took of Finn last week on his yoga mat. He really gets into the songs we sing in class ... I'm sort of sad that next week is our last one!

He woke up at 4 AM and has been up most of the day until now (sigh) -- we just got him to sleep in his infant carrier. Here's hoping for a nice loooooong nap so that I can figure out how to use our new camcorder as he snoozes!

turkey time

Yesterday we drove up to Andrew's parents' house for the week and Finn is so happy to be here -- he has even more attention than normal! He was a champ in the 5 1/2 hour car ride here, sleeping or eating or looking at the scenery most of the way. We'll be here until next weekend, so I should have lots of time to post photos in the next few days. 

Here's a little video of me trying to make him laugh last night. His laugh makes my day! 

little fisherman

Finn is fortunate to have many lovely sweaters in his wardrobe, including the beautiful cashmere striped cardigan made by Grandma Barber and his light-blue "finn" sweater. To add to those, he has finally grown into his Irish fishermans' sweater knitted by Auntie Ann. Bring on the cameras, please! He is ready for his close-up.

fun with google chat

Sara (above, top right corner) and I have been chatting sporadically using Gmail VIDEO chat - it's so much fun. A little crazy actually, but fun. So if any of you have cameras on your computer and Gmail accounts, you too have the ability to chat with Finn, as Sara did this morning! He seems to enjoy it - although I'd rather him not get addicted to the computer just yet. (My instant messenger name is nicowags, fyi).

more fun visitors!

HAVE I MENTIONED? I LOVE MY HAND.

Our friends Sara, David, Audrey and Nate stopped by today on their way back to New York. It was great that they were able to meet Finn, even though he wasn't at his most social... he gave us a few solid minutes of cuteness before it was time for him to eat. Audrey (5) and Nate (3) provided our afternoon entertainment with a few song and dance numbers before they had to leave -- it was so much fun to see them!

It's super-gray out today in New Haven and starting to look like winter now that the leaves are disappearing ... so sad! Clearly it's time to book our plane tickets to Miami.

big shot

Ohhhhh, there are so few things in my life that are less pleasant than watching Finn get vaccinated. Today he had 2 more shots and he was very brave - only crying for about a minute before Andrew put him back in his stroller and he fell asleep the whole walk home. This afternoon he's convalescing in his pj's and doing his favorite thing aside from eating, which is eating his hand as demonstrated in the photo above. Mmm, delicious hand. 

By the way, we put him on the scale and he weighs 14 pounds! (This is apparently somewhere between the 50th and 75th percentiles.) The doctor said he might sleep all afternoon, but she doesn't know Finn that well. He's definitely not going to sleep for 5 minutes, let alone all afternoon!

tummy time ... maybe another time

If Finn could talk, I'm quite certain that he'd have been telling me that he wasn't so much in the mood for tummy time today. Not that he ever likes it, but today was a little different in that he wasn't even protesting, but he laid on his stomach almost amused! As if to say, keep watching lady. Someday I'll try and roll over but it won't be this day. (We'll keep trying.)

Spotted this afternoon: Finn. Sleeping. In his crib. When? Right about the time that we are supposed to go to Target. I'm actually only leaving the house due to an emergency need for french onion chip dip. I know - gross.

The good news: he's 2 for 3 as far as napping this week. Progress!

Siobhan and Tanya come to New Haven

Finn's new pals Siobhan (left) and Tanya. Look how big he's getting!

Ooooh! Visitors! We love them so much. Especially when they are fun and give us an excuse to eat pizza and drink wine (not that we need an excuse, of course). Anyway, Finn was delighted to have two more pretty friends to fawn over him - now that he's really starting to recognize people and laugh more often he is SO MUCH fun. On Saturday night we went to BAR but decided that the two hour wait was a bit much, so we just brought pizza home instead. Today was such a beautiful day that we took a little walk to Romeo and Cesare's - as you can see in the bottom photo, Finn slept while we scarfed. 

Between their visit and our little happy hour at home on Friday, we had a great weekend! These are probably the last days to really enjoy our rapidly blowing-away leaves...

3 months!

YES WE CAN!

Somewhat surprisingly, I am able to post this morning because Finn is napping! I put him in his crib to watch his mobile as I usually do before my shower, and 20 minute later he was asleep. I've read that the morning nap for many babies begins to develop between 3-4 months of age and seeing as how today he is EXACTLY 3 months old, well. Let's just say that it would be pretty nice if that morning nap were to develop. Although I'm always so happy to see his little face when naptime is over. (By the way - where did that three months go?!)

I wasn't on the ball in time to find a "My Mama is for Obama" onesie so instead Finn is wearing this adorable turtle top that showcases his outstanding cheeks and chins. For my birthday yesterday, Finn slept until 7:30 with only one minor interruption, which was a pretty great present. Last night the three of us we went to Archie Moore's for pub food and beer, which was just right.

Happy Day!

This photo was actually taken a couple of weeks ago but at Val's request - and because it's a pretty good reflection of our moods today - I'm posting it anyway. Hope you're all having a wonderful 5th of November!!!!

finn & quinn

Today we went to visit my friend Robin and her baby girl, Quinn, who was born 2 weeks after Finn. We had a little photo shoot, which was totally adorable.

Finn seems to be back to his almost-normal self after a rough few days of not-such-great sleeping and a LOT of eating. I think he gained a whole pound last week and am guessing that he's up to 14 lbs. We have another dr's appointment next week so I'll be curious to see how much he's grown this month.

For more photos of these two, click here!

finn-o-ween

Oh my, have we had a couple of long days. We are attributing Finn's fussiness to a growth spurt, as he seems to only be happy when eating at home  - not that I can blame him, but still. It makes getting out of the house even more of a challenge...

We took him to Andrew's office on Friday for a little fashion show and then went out trick-or-treating for a very brief period last night with some friends - including Kim, who was visiting from nyc. I'm actually borrowing a friend's photo because she successfully captured our little penguin without his scrunched-up expression that he's been wearing since Wednesday (thanks, Marna!) It was really fun to get him dressed up and to walk around the neighborhood, which was full of cute trick-or-treaters.

sweater weather

We have had a relatively busy week so I apologize for the scarcity of posts! Finn's costume is primed and ready to go so I'll be sure to upload many photos tomorrow ... in the meantime, here's Finn in his new baby cashmere sweater and hat made by Grandma (she and Grandpa are visiting until tomorrow -- it's so great to have them here!)

we tried to go to the pumpkin patch

On Sunday, we had Finn all dressed up like a baby pumpkin and were heading out to a farm in Shelton ... as soon as he was strapped in the car seat, he decided that he wasn't having it. (He's so cute even when he cries.) So instead, we went on a walk around the neighborhood and looked at the leaves. It's really beautiful here right now and there are lots of leaves to look at so I'm trying to take advantage of them before they are gone!

more weekend fun

Here is a happy Finn in his baseball onesie. It sort of looks like he's cheering for the Phillies but in reality, we haven't watched any of the World Series yet ... because of his early bedtime, rather than a complete and utter lack of interest. Yep. That's right. Countdown to college basketball season begins soon - I had better start looking for a Blue Devils onesie!

fall in east rock

We had such a good time with Brent and Ben and their kids Graham, Parker and Sidney (the new arrival) today that I uploaded a bunch of photos to Picasa. Click here to see!

p.s. the first few are of Finn sitting up by himself for the first time!

hmm ... curious

Last night, Andrew introduced Finn to the joys of Curious George. Although we think that his favorite book is still "The Little Engine That Could", George is a strong new contender. (He's just starting to get to the point where he's sort of paying attention to the pictures.) So sweet!

field trip

"Actually, I'd have been happy to stay home with my blanket."

Yesterday we decided that it was high time to head to Westfarms Mall in West Hartford, which is now on my top 10 favorite places in Connecticut. Finn was a little bit unhappy in the car, but once we arrived he slept for 2 straight hours. That was cool because although nothing I tried on happened to fit, I was able to focus on my purchase of several new pairs of socks.

To grandma and other visitors: if you are in the mood for a Nordstrom outing next time you visit, I have an idea.

visiting the office, part 2

Yesterday Finn and I went to see Andrew and take their office photo. He was happy to see his Uncle Brian and assist me with the photo-taking. He was just so cute that I had to post all of these pics for your enjoyment. [as an side, I meant to take photos of the steaks that Andrew and I ate for our anniversary take-out dinner (it was great). Tonight we're going to have leftovers and bust out the anniversary cake that we were too tired to eat last night.]

Today we had a major milestone - we went to Stop and Shop! It was amazing. First we met Val and Marna for breakfast and they encouraged me that I COULD DO IT ALONE. And they were RIGHT. Finn was great - he slept the entire time. Now I'm going to go shopping every day!

playing dress up

Finn already has both his "day" and "evening" Halloween costumes ready to go, but I still thought it would be fun to try some alternate ideas. (We had a little time to kill today).

He wasn't crazy about the concept of dressing as a Kabbalist.

The south-of-the-border/Chi-Chi's waiter get-up that Ollie and Leslie bought Finn from Mexico is, sadly, still too big. Maybe next year!

He liked his final option, the rapper outfit, so much we decided to leave it on for the rest of the day.

You only have to wait 2 more weeks to see Finn in his halloween glory. I hope that East Rock residents are handing out a lot of candy corn this year.

finn barber talks to animals

Inspired by the funniest non-tina-fey SNL skit in recent memory, here is a video of Finn talking to his bunny today.

"Hey bunny! Nice fur. I like that. You're from Ikea? That's cool. I'm 10 weeks old. I have perfect alabaster skin. Nice talking to ya, bunny."

two month checkup

We took Finn to the doctor today for his checkup (and first shots!)

He weighs 11 lbs 13.5 oz ... I was guessing 12 lbs so, pretty close. He's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for length at 23.5 inches. Almost two feet long!

We are spreading out his shots a bit but he still had to have one, and although the initial needle prick was a little uncomfortable he handled it like a pro. Andrew said he must get that from his side of the family, as needles aren't my strong suit - although, after giving birth I doubt that a little blood will faze me as much as it used to.

It is a beautiful fall week in New Haven so we're going to get out for a walk this afternoon. Here's a photo of Finn telling me a joke last night.