baby pool!!

For those who were worried that Finn's floating classes might scar him for life (including me), rendering him one of those kids who never voluntarily goes into a body of water, you'll be happy to know that we went to the lawn club today and he got in ... AND he loved it! None of that sad faced-screaming that I endure while he's at his lessons! I started by just getting his feet wet and letting him splash. So far, so good. Then I decided to bite the bullet and put on his swim diaper an get in with him. It was great! All of a sudden a half hour went by and although he wasn't showing signs of wanting to get out, I decided not to push my luck and come home so that we could nap - which we did. I'm now really looking forward to going back as much as possible over the next few months. Hooray for the baby pool.

happy hour

Finn and Quinn arranged for us all to go to Archie Moore's for dinner last night, and although it was pretty chaotic and loud, we also had a great time. It's SO CUTE watching them interact. Gotta love Quinn's "anticipating the flash" smile.

delicious bagel

I need to take more photos with a greater variety of backgrounds but this week the high chair opportunities were just too good. Finn has figured out how to eat a bagel on his own and now they might be his favorite food.

He had a weigh-in with his pediatrician this week and she & I were both surprised that he just hit the 19 pound mark, putting him at the 15th percentile. He's 28" long, or 25th pct for length. He's such a healthy boy with a huge appetite that I always think the scale is going to say about 5 lbs more than it does!

We had a busy week and swimming was canceled a couple of times so he'll be finishing up this coming week. And finally it's warm enough in CT to swim so we'll be heading to the lawn club soon. I'm going to help Finn test the unheated waters of the baby pool with his toes, which should make for some good non-high chair photos in the next few days.

i'll take thirds

Finn took a long nap after swimming this morning so I had time to catch up on my baby food-making. His lunch was huge. The remains (clockwise from upper left) of: shepherd's pie, apricots/strawberries/lemon zest/yogurt, sweet potatoes with cottage cheese, and creamed spinach. Yes, he ate it all.

Previously, when people would ask me, "Is there anything Finn doesn't eat?" ... I'd say "well, he doesn't love spinach." But I guess if you add enough cream and Parmesan cheese to anything, he will actually eat it. He had 3 servings of spinach today, and in between bites would raise his arms to show me how big he is. Sooooo big!!

Baby Enzo!

We are thrilled to announce the birth of Finn's new cousin, Enzo Enrique Stoka. He was born yesterday, June 22 at 5 pm sharp. Weighs 6 lbs 9 oz. Katy says he's a great baby, just sleeps, eats and poops. We can't wait to meet him on our trip to Miami over Labor Day!!

happy early father's day

We went to see They Might Be Giants last Sunday on the green with a bunch of friends. It was a lot of fun.

Finn loves his daddy. So do I!

swimming week 3

I decided to spare you all the video of Finn floating/crying today ... mostly because I didn't get any good shots and also because it's much more tragic on video than in person (swear). He is really doing great and floating without Jody's hands for a few seconds at a time. Next week is the last week, finally!

We are heading to see Andrew's parents this afternoon. This links to a cute photo of his mom and the blog commenter known as Auntie Ann! The newspaper screwed up and it's actually Grandma on the far left and Ann (Colleen) on the far right. Love it!

this slightly makes my day

the casiotone

Finn really loves music. And musical instruments, especially the electric kind.
As loud as possible, please.

Yesterday, he and Quinn decided to start a band. Their sound is very retro. Aren't they so talented?

Now that they're old enough to recognize each other (or at least recognize another baby), it is so much fun watching them interact. I didn't act quickly enough to catch them snatching the Pirate Booty out of each others' hands and mouths, but you probably get the idea.

this swing!

Yes, this plastic dolphin swing alone, is enough to justify our dues to the New Haven lawn club. This is Finn's expression EVERY TIME he gets to ride in it. Still working on him loving the pool this much (we're in the last week of lessons ... at least I think ...)

if only...

... he liked to float in the swimming pool as much as he loves his bath! Especially when Daddy sneaks in to surprise him.

he loves his grandma

He loves his grandpa too (and nana, and granddad, and the list goes on!) G&G visited this weekend and hung out with Finn while I went to the city on Sunday for Kim's shower. They had a great day and as always, we were sad to see them go yesterday. Looking forward to seeing all of our Waverly relatives in July, though!

Finn is really starting to travel across rooms using the push up on stomach/roll over on back method. Today I left him in his room, went to the room next door to pick something up and when I returned he was almost under his crib. Aaaah!

new hat

I finally found a hat that Finn will leave on his head 50% or more of the time. I think it's a baby gap xxl.

We went to Natalie's birthday party on Saturday and unfortunately I didn't get any good pics of the beautiful birthday girl! But I did get this photo of Brenna and Lucy (top), which i love.

PS. THANK YOU AUNTIE ANN FOR THE COOKIES :)

swimming week 2

I'd be lying if I told you that Finn is enjoying his swim lessons any more than he did the first week, but he's really getting the hang of the float. Only 2 more weeks, little man! Btw if he thinks that the 85 degree pool at Healthtrax is cold, he's really not going to be too psyched about the Lawn Club's unheated pool til say, late August...

the backward scooch

A couple of days ago, Finn started pushing up and moving in earnest. Backwards. Suddenly he finds himself under the coffee table, across the rug, partway under his crib, etc. Fun stuff! I'm now waiting for him to figure out how to propel himself forward and already envisioning the babyproofing that will have to take place immediately thereafter. The days where I can leave the room to get coffee and be sure that he's in the same location when I return are numbered.

quinn & finn update

These pics were actually taken before Memorial Day but i'm just getting them up. Of course the two of them would not look at the camera at the same time so we'll have to try again on their next date. They managed to amuse themselves for at least an hour by taking off each other's socks and passing the squeaky frog toy back and forth. It's hard to believe they're almost 10 months old!