delayed post from the weekend

It was so much fun seeing Chip, Jessica and Sadie last weekend. She is a TERRIFIC two-year old!!! And her parents make awesome breakfast burritos (plus they're just pretty fun to hang out with in general).

still smiling!

It's hard to believe that our month in Miami is drawing to a close! We have had a lot of fun, despite the fact that last week Finn came down with a cold, and now Andrew and I are totally and completely suffering as well (and not in silence, I might add). So the flight home on Friday should be fun, haha. Andrew's dad is flying down here the day Finn and I fly north, and he's driving home with Andrew over the weekend barring any hideous snowstorms. It's amazing how quickly one can forget that snowstorms exist, and I'm sure the converse is true as well. I'm afraid that we'll find out next week.

Anyway, here we are -- the bottom photo was taken this morning. The difference between Finn and his mother is that he is still smiling and upbeat when sick, whereas I walk around moaning and blowing my nose and sneezing -- yes, it's really pleasant. As you can see he has been adapting quite well to the addition of solid foods to his diet ;)

just another sunny day

I know, I know. Another stroller photo ... it's just that Finn loves his stroller so much that he always looks this cute and happy when he's in it. Or at least he does 95% of the time. This weekend, our friends Chip, Jessica and Sadie are visiting from Atlanta and this morning we went to the Eden Roc for breakfast before Jessica and I attempted to go to the SoBe food and wine festival. By the time arrived, tickets were still pretty expensive and I was worried that by the time we went in and tasted all of the delicious food and wine, Finn would be unhappy long before I got back home to him, so instead we went and had a couple of glasses of wine at the Ritz-Carlton. It was lovely and so nice out.

We sort of hurried home as to fend off any potential baby meltdowns, so needless to day I was not prepared to see this.

Finn napping! During the day! (He has an excellent role model).

The moral of the story is that he will nap for Andrew and therefore, I should not rush home when having quality time with my girlfriends on 75 degree Saturday afternoons.

ps. thank you to Diane B. aka Grandmacuda for the cute big boy outfit!

fun photos

Thanks, Sue for the kodak gallery link to the photos of the cousins!! They are so cute.

cousins! aunts! uncles!

the grandkids: Massi, Audrey, Finn, Olivia & Claire

Claire shows her affection.

Mick and Sue came from Tampa this weekend to visit all of us, which was great for many reasons but mostly because Finn finally got to meet them and his cousins Audrey (almost 10), Olivia (5) and Claire (20 months). Olivia was totally obsessed with Baby Finn, and Claire followed suit, attempting to smother him with kisses. All of these girls!! I think he was a little over-excited last night because he finally fell asleep at 8 and then woke up at 2, 5 and 7 am!

hands on

Grandma, here's a birthday kiss from me!!

Finn has absolutely entered the stage where he grabs all remotely-interesting objects within range and inserts them directly into his mouth. Here are a few photos of us at the pool yesterday. Nana took him in for a swim, which he somewhat surprisingly was not that excited about (it was bright out - and pretty hot - we'll try again tomorrow). Afterward I was taking his photo and of course he tried to grab the camera. I think it's fairly common for babies to have an affinity for electronic objects, but it's a full time job keeping remote controls, cameras, blackberries out of this baby's way!

Quick story. Last night Finn went to bed around 7:30 and woke up at 11 pm very upset, so I nursed him for a while ... who knows if it was due to teething or a belly ache or a bad dream. Anyway, he dozed off and Andrew picked him up to put him back in his bed and Finn said "MAMA!" and reached out for me. He has already said DADDY, and we're not even sure if he knows what these words mean, but it was still very awesome.

the biggest bathtub Finn has EVER SEEN

So now that it's finally warming up and we're getting outside for walks later in the day, Andrew was able to come with us to the beach this week ... to put it mildly, Finn was amused. He was totally transfixed by the water, and if the shark warnings subside I'll be cool with Andrew taking him in for a swim this weekend. Maybe. That's a big maybe.

let's make a deal

"How about if I start taking a morning nap, but ONLY if I get to flop on your lap,
which means that you can never ever leave? Ok, then! It's a plan!"

Grandma reads to Finn and Massi

MASSI

The other day Katy and Massi came over for breakfast and story time. It's very sweet how Massi (who will be 2 in April) interacts with Finn. It will be so much fun next year when Finn is a little bit older. Massi's baby brother arrives in June! He doesn't really understand that yet, nor do we get the impression that he wants to.

seis meses, as we say here in south fla.

"Can you believe that I am six months old today??
I KNOW! It has gone by so quickly!!"

A Visit to Naples

Finn sharing a laugh with his Great-Great Uncle Leo...

... and a sweet moment with Great-Great Aunt Pat

On Friday we drove across Alligator Alley with Grandma and Grandpa Barber to visit Pat and Leo in Naples. It was lovely for Finn to meet even more of his Florida relatives (as well as take in all of that wonderful scenery along I-75!) Today the weather is more Miami-like so we're planning on a nice, long walk. Across the street from our building a huge boat show is being assembled so maybe we'll go pick out which 100' yacht to buy in our next life!

a nice long walk on the boardwalk

This photo belies the fact that Finn is not sleeping today whatsoever. It's 7:50 PM and he's still awake after taking zero naps today. He really must be teething this time. Really!

miami is a-ok

Let's see, so far, what have we done? Taken lots of walks and looked at the birds and the ocean, and seen Katy and Dario and Massimo (Finn's cousin) a few times. It's fun! I had to post this photo because I really enjoyed his chunky legs in these shorts. Speaking of which, it's currently rather chilly here ... seriously. I'm not just saying that. It's too cold for shorts and all of the locals are complaining; last night was in the high-30s but the building we're staying in didn't turn on the heat since the cold snap is only supposed to last a couple of days. BURR. Thankfully today was the coldest day of the week and by Sunday it should be back to normal. Here's hopin'!

helping Dad work

Sunday afternoon on the balcony.

first flight

We made it to Miami on friday and apologies for the short and sporadic posts but we are having some technology and napping issues - otherwise the trip has been great so fsr... here is a shot of Finn at the Philly airport, underwhelmed. we did see cousin Emily there, which was a fantastic coincidence!

(btw he was great on both planes.)