school!

We were pretty darn excited about Finn's first day of school (aka toddler playgroup) at Montessori today.

He looked so cute with his new backpack/snack bag.

Upon seeing this pumpkin at the front door: "Oh, WOW! Let's carry it."

Cute little cubby.

Looking around, getting a sense of this momentous occasion.

First one in the door!

The two Finns (really).

There are also two Bens,

and two little girls who do not have the same name.

This is where I left him happily for the next hour and a half.

What a great morning! We love school!

Niagara Falls

She thinks: It's possible that we are too close.

Tess and Mom accompanied me to Niagara Falls yesterday and today so that I could attend an urban planning conference, which turned out to be an interesting couple of days and a nice excuse to see yet another new and beautiful part of the state.

Unfortunately since Tess doesn't have a passport yet, we couldn't traipse over to the Canada side, lest the TSA accuse us of bringing a TERROR BABY back to the USA. So instead we just took a long walk on the American side (again, beautiful - just a little lame compared to the super-cool Canadian side, what with their rotating space needle restaurant and all) and then headed back today, and now we are exhausted and going to bed. Verily I shall attempt to upload more photos tomorrow before we head to fetch Finn from his equally-exhausted grandparents.

he's mine, all right

This is the first week we've been able to get a photo of Finn holding his baby sister (in his old pj's) since he usually loses interest after 5 seconds and turns to drop her onto the ground. For those 5 seconds though? Pretty cute.

This week is so busy it's sort of a terrifying sneak peek into what the rest of our lives are going to be like. Getting ready for school to start next week, packing for a quick trip to a conference in Niagara Falls, and trying to see new friends and plan for visitors - all fun but tiring too.

But before I go, here's the reason for this post's title.

Earlier this week, in the car.

Me: Hey, Finn, do you want to go to the library tomorrow?

Finn: No thanks, just to Target.

day at the lake

As the saying goes, the next best thing to having a lake house/boat/etc is having relatives with a lake house/boat/etc. Lucky us! Andrew's cousin Bridget and her family recently scored a lake house at Conesus Lake, one of the finger lakes that isn't too far from Corning. So we decided to go up and visit on what was perhaps the crummiest day of Labor Day weekend but still a lovely time to get out and see them. Next summer is going to be so much more awesome thanks to John and Bridget. And their boat. Please invite us. ok thanks.

Tess was really not psyched about her baby life jacket.

Ella and Finn survey the scene.

Bridget and Beckett (who just turned 1)

She loves the camera!

Had we been blessed with an additional 20 degrees and a bottle of tequila,

we'd have been set!! (Next year!)

Captain Finn

His hair is coming in, and it's bee-u-tiful.

He will definitely need a haircut by the time he's 3.

orientation

Finn is starting at Montessori in a few weeks. He will be in the two-year-olds' toddler playgroup for four hours a week. As you would imagine, the orientation this week was pretty intense.

Naturally he made a beeline for the sandpile.

So many new trucks to investigate!

The bubble table? Also cool (although organic bubbles are a bit lame.)

I love his expression here.

Hello. My name is FINN.

He wanted to listen to my heart. So sweet.

He had such a good time that when I said it was time to leave, he didn't even look up, just said, "No, I'm fine!" ... needless to say, we were the last to leave. I hope the first week (in 3 weeks!) goes as smoothly.

the negotiator

I forgot to mention Finn's new skill in the last post. Or it's a skill that he's working to perfect, anyway. We're trying to get him interested in the potty with the use of M&M's. Naturally, he thinks that he should get M&M's regardless of whether or not he uses the potty.

Finn (holding up the timer): It's time for a BLUE M&M.

Me: No, it's not quite time yet. You haven't even used the potty yet.

F: (folding hands in front of him) Ok, just 10 orange M&M's.

Me: No M&M's yet, Finn.

F: Ok, just one green one and one orange one.

Me: (silence)

F: Ok, just two green ones.

He's nothing if not persistent.

cake party

It seems like forever ago that we celebrated Papa's birthday but I've just now organized the photos from Heather, my mom and our camera ... we had a great party (and the perfect chocolate cake! with tool candles!)

If I smile sweetly, maybe I'll get some cake with my rice cereal!

Oh, there is cake in MY future for sure.

Putting together some new trucks for Finn.

Aunt Heather's cakes are the BEST!

dolly

I'm not sure which side of the family Tess can credit for her perfect baby skin but in any case, it's sort of unreal. Not one blemish in four months!

We want to wish my dad a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY tomorrow ... your present is a little more, um, complicated than I had anticipated. This will all make sense when it arrives a few days late. Hugs and kisses from all of us.

big girl

What's up? I'm just sitting here on the couch.

That's right. Sitting up.

All Finn wants to do is help keep Tess happy. He's a great big brother.

baby number two in the jumperoo

I can't believe she's already in it. She's growing up so fast! (sniff!)

Stats

Finn and Tess had their 2 year and 4 month checkups yesterday. They are "perfect in every way" - the doctors words, not mine (although they could be, with the good sleep we've been getting lately...)

They are both in the 50th pct for weight at 28 and 13.5 lbs, and 90th for height at 36.5 and 24 (or 26?) Inches. And of course 80th for head size. I thought it was pretty cool that they are both in the same percentile for everything, and who knew they'd be so tall?!

The Corvette Gene

He's got it on both sides. As you can see he's slightly entranced with Papa's '60!

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Finn's 2nd Birthday!

Finn turned two last Saturday ... such a milestone. I swear he's already started talking and acting more like a little boy. It's bittersweet because although it's nice for him to outgrow some of his toddler behavior, it's hard to believe he"s growing so fast!

Anyway, we had a great day and here are some of my favorite photos.

Finn and Mimi took a walk in the meadow near Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jean's cabin after the memorial service for Aunt Ruth, which was actually a really lovely start to the day.

I was really excited about the dinner that Colleen made - YUM!

Finn was just waking up from his power nap.

Priceless expression upon finding his birthday balloons.

The Mayor.

He is still talking about his birthday cake (AND birthday cupcakes. Lucky guy.)

There was a cupcake on his tray, and then there wasn't.

Tess watches with interest.

A NEW DRILL!

He love love loves his drill. It's not a real drill, by the way.

Thanks to everyone who came to his party and helped us celebrate with cards, phone calls, etc! It was really a great celebration and has really upped the ante for next year ...

sibs

Talk about turning a corner. I'm so relieved that Finn has recently become more interested in Tess, and less interested in knocking her over the head. He's really cute with her, always wanting FINN HOLD TESS or standing in front of her waving (HI TESS! HI MISS TESS!) or like this morning, while she was in her bouncy seat, grabbing her feet (YOU READY TO GET OUT, TESS?) and yes, I'm typing in caps because that is the volume in which he speaks to her.

Tess does appear to know who he is because from the time she's been able to focus, she's been eyeing him warily - part self-defense, part interest, I'm guessing. And now when she sees him she smiles so I'm hoping this peace lasts for a while...

the best dress

We wanted to get some additional photos of Tess in her baptism gown before she outgrew it; here are some of my favorites. She was such a good sport that I might try it again! heh.

(I wish I had as much talent as my mother-in-law - who made the dress in a weekend - has in her pinky!)

Gimme a T! Gimme a W! Gimme an O! 2!!!

I'm not particularly sentimental on this blog, but on the eve of Finn's second birthday, after putting him to bed, checking on his twice and covering up his cute little feet with his treasured blankie, smelling his head multiple times and whispering how much I love him, then looking around at all of his cars scattered throughout the second floor and thinking many time how lucky we are to have such a wonderful son ... well, I think maybe there are moments in which it's ok to be a total sap and this is probably one of them.

Since tomorrow is going to be a very busy day with celebrations spanning three generations of family - beginning with a memorial and ending with a birthday party - I wanted to write a quick note this evening to tell the Finn-formerly-known-as-Peanut that your daddy and I love you very much ... on this day in 2008 we were a happy couple but never could we have known how much your presence could make our lives that much more wonderful. Happy Birthday!

Before I collapse into bed, here's an exchange we had earlier tonight. If you can't tell, it's all about the dessert for my offspring.

Me: Finn! We're going to have your cake party tomorrow!

Nana: That's right! Guess what kind of cake you're having? What's going to be on your cake??

Finn: ROSES!

(Correct answer: trucks. But that's ok. Let him be pleasantly surprised.)

Tea Time with Ella

Aunt Heather took these photos last month of Finn and Ella's play date (she's his second cousin and closest nearby relative). With the addition of the playhouse, cozy coupe AND sandbox, the backyard of his grandparents' house is now officially kid heaven.

Preparing tea. An exacting task.

Tea time!

I love his serious face...

... and his perfect little profile.

Nebraska

This past weekend went by in such a blur (sadly, not due to an abundance of cocktails but rather due to excessive airplane-ness and sleep deprivation) that my photos were a complete disaster. We flew to Nebraska for my cousin Tyson's wedding to his lovely girlfriend/now-wife Mallory, and most of my cousins and their kids were there, so it was really fun. Just so fast. And we only took the little camera and due to the constant child-chasing didn't capture many of the sweet moments (like the entire time at my dad's house) on film. Anyway. It was a fun time and made me wish that my family lived closer by like everyone did in the olden days.

Finn loved playing trucks with his cousins Noah and Grady. At some point Finn must have said something to the effect of "No trucks for Finn!" because they all started saying it and I must have heard the phrase 27 times in 48 hours. No trucks for Finn. I have no idea what he was talking about, but maybe he sensed that they were 3 and he was only (almost) 2... Don't get me wrong. They played great together. And please don't say No Trucks for Finn in front of him ever again.

Andrew trying to demonstrate to Finn that the horse isn't scary. When we got home, I said, "Finn, tell Nana what Cousin Simon brought to Aunt Judy's in the trailer!" and he said, "A cow." Close.

Here we are. Up close we were gorgeous.

For more details and a much more interesting blog post about the weekend check out my cousin Tisha's blog. She wasn't too lazy to bring her SLR!

After the Sandbox

I remain far behind on posting all of our cute summer photos. Maybe part of the reason is that every time I turn on my computer, I end up watching this video of Finn being cleaned off post-sandbox about half a dozen times.