my name is finn

...this is my tongue!

(he has recently discovered that sticking out his tongue is the best thing EVER. between this and his baby-pterodactyl noises we have a great deal of fun every day.)

7 months!

Finn turned 7 months old on the 7th! We celebrated by feeding him delicious carrots and sweet potatotes in his brand new high chair, which he loves as if it was a proper baby throne. (and perhaps it is...?) I'm breaking my no-food-on-face-photos rule to post this one because his expression is so funny -- skeptical? Not sure. Anyway, he's eating like a champ and hasn't refused anything, yet. We'll see how creative he allows me to be when farmers market season arrives in a few weeks!

first day back (and photos)

Here's the link to Finn's 6-month (almost 7, actually) photos. Thanks, Brie! I love them!

I took Finn to the doctor today to make sure that he didn't have an ear infection and thankfully, he doesn't. There's actually nothing wrong with him but a cold, which unfortunately features a cough that wakes him several times a night. We arrived back in New Haven last night and he was a little disoriented -- he seemed to be thinking something along the lines of "OH MY GOSH, my room still EXISTS and further, WHY have I been sleeping in a pack and play for the past MONTH instead of HERE?" So being home is great and a little bit of an adjustment, but a happy one.

six-month photos

We had some photos of Finn taken on Saturday and this is a sneak peek. I'll post the link to some other photos when they are ready...

Could you melt?

our travel story (briefly)

First off, I apologize that there's no picture of Finn to accompany this post. Finn and I flew into Binghamton on Friday and planned to stay with Grandma Barber til today, when we were going to drive to New Haven. Andrew and his dad left Miami yesterday morning and mostly because of the weather, have decided to come here (to Waverly) instead of New Haven. So our new plan is to hang out here for a couple more days until this snowstorm passes through the northeast. Hopefully by then we'll also be cured of the plague. Poor Finn seems better one day and then for example, this morning, wakes up very congested and coughing a lot. So sad :(

Tomorrow I'll be back online with the fun stuff - pictures! I left my camera cable in the car, which god willing will arrive here by 9 pm tonight.

Happy 1st day of March!

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.)

the Duke baby

Big game tonight. Duke vs. Wake Forest. Finn is doing his part to help cheer the Blue Devils to victory, and that includes eating all of his sweet potatoes.

We had planned to drive to Waverly today but a little snowstorm curtailed our plans so we're leaving tomorrow instead. From there we fly to Miami on Friday morning, so I'll be posting all sorts of warm-weather items in the next few weeks. I am SO EXCITED to see what Finn thinks of the swimming pool.

Aunt Judy reminded me that today would have been Grandpa Wagoner's 100th birthday, so I was telling Finn some stories about him -- there are so many! One of my favorites: Katy and I were eating dinner at G&G's with the family and we were both on a no-meat kick, only eating plates full of mashed potatoes and corn. This was before Atkins, at some point in high school when I'm sure we were needlessly concerned with our weight. Grandpa took one look at what we were eating and asked, "Do you know what we feed cows to fatten 'em up?" The man knew how to get a girl to eat a steak. Finn thought that was funny, too.

Grandma and Grandpa visit the Finn Man

Hey lady, don't even think about taking me out of Grandma's lap.

For the past couple of months, Andrew has been growing a beard that Finn really enjoys grabbing with his increasingly nimble hands. The first thing he does when Andrew picks him up is bury his little hands in the beard and PULL (which must be pretty fun, for a five and a half-month-old). Anyway, when A's dad was here a few days ago, the first thing Finn did was grab at Grandpa Barber's face as if to say, "where's the beard?" He's never done that with anyone else so we could only surmise that his dad and grandpa look enough alike (duh) that it would only make sense for them to both have beards!

We had planned on having Finn present for the shaving occasion so that he could witness for himself what lies beneath the beard, but Andrew had to shave tonight for a meeting in the morning, so it will be interesting to see Finn's reaction to a cleanly-shaven Daddy tomorrow at 5:30 AM. Since it's pretty safe to assume that's what time he'll wake up...

17 lbs of sugar

From the looks of this photograph, you might think that Finn is trying to roll over ... well, we'll let you continue to believe that. As his pediatrician says, one day it will happen. I'm not worried, because he started to give me kisses yesterday and that's a lot more fun!

We are having a nice week (BEST EVER ACTUALLY, except for his shot visit yesterday) and enjoying a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Barber. Maybe he'll roll over for them. In the meantime, we're also getting ready for our trip to Miami next week and looking forward to introduce Finn to all of his aunts and uncles and cousins. We'll be down there for a few weeks so Bernie Madoff, if you are reading this, please don't mail us any packages of diamonds and fancy watches until March! Thanks!

not that we're biased

I think Finn knows how handsome he looks in his away-game jersey. Don't you?

(Thanks to Karen for this one, and to Pam for the same onesie in the next size!! xo!)

finn and quinn meet again, and act coy

Today we braved the cold to visit our friends Robin and Quinn. It was so nice to get outside. The babies are now getting to the point where they are acknowledging each others' presence, if not exactly interacting yet. I took this photo after Finn grabbed Quinn's pig and started drooling on it.

(Thanks, Quinn, for being such a good sport.)

storytime

It's darn cold out there so we spent today inside just listening to construction noise and reading and napping. The only bad thing about spending today indoors is that tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be worse, so at some point we're going to have to get out. (Or are we?)

Anyway, here is a link to some pics of Finn reading his favorite dinosaur book. Reading, drooling on it, whatever you think. You may note that he's also very much enjoying his new pillow, which is in the shape of an unidentified primate, also named Finn. Below is also a video of him making some adorable noises -- we have a hard time catching his noises on film -- it's like he KNOWS.

For those of you who were wondering (and thanks) I'm now on Day 9 of my antibiotics and the cough is almost gone. Thankfully, I didn't pass this cold onto Andrew or Finn, so our household is almost back to normal!

rice cereal yum!

This is a little video of one of the first times Finn ate rice cereal. Be warned -- this video is VERY DRAMATIC. And by very dramatic, I mean it's mostly of my hand, and of Finn looking mildly satisfied by the introduction of cereal to his diet. His fingernails now grow at twice the regular pace. He could be a baby hand model.

On another amusing front, some of you may have heard how Finn really hates it when I don't pay 100% attention to him while nursing. If I'm on the phone, he gives me looks and tries to bat the phone away. Even reading is no longer safe. Just this morning, he grabbed the Atlantic out of my hand while I was reading it and tried to throw it on the floor. So if it's taking me a little longer to get back to you than usual, I apologize that it's not as easy to chat as it used to be ...

On the UPSIDE, Finn slept almost 14 hours last night and then took both a morning and afternoon nap. Yesss.

super excited for basketball season

Finn has a favorite team, and he doesn't even know it yet. The other day I could have sworn I heard him say "Go Duke!" But it might have been "More rice cereal, please!"

hey! look what I have!

The first thing Finn does when we put him on his back (on the changing table, floor, wherever), he grabs his feet and doesn't let go. As you can see, he finds this endlessly amusing. As do we!

I think that the top photo is my new favorite.

jumparooooo!

This is my first attempt at iMovie! Apologies that I have a lot to figure out, but in the meantime, Finn's expressions in this little video are cutie cute.

We're thinking that he'll be rolling over by the end of this week - he's certainly trying. Also, still working on cutting those teeth. Also, eating lots of rice cereal. LOTS going on in the world of Finn. He has taken two naps per day lately thanks too all of this rice cereal-eating and jumparoo-jumping. It's like a routine is maybe settling in at 5 months, just like you all told me would happen...

another funny hat

Nana bought this hat for Finn. It is size 18-24 months and we're hoping that it will last him the rest of this winter. He loves, it can't you tell?? hee.

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.