Enter Sandman...

Hello! No, this title isn't in honor of my favorite Metallica song (actually, The Unforgiven would probably be my fave song by them), but in reference to my first time playing in sand!! Mom and Dad took me to Padaro Beach Grill on Sunday because they were holding a fundraising event for the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation there. We ate lunch picnic style, got to hang out with Tammy, The Muzzy's and The Pirozzi's for a little bit (that is my friend Asher in the background of the second photo) and I got to experience sand. I wasn't really sure how I felt about it at first, although I ended up liking it. Apparently, this was good practice for our visit to that Hawaii place.

Friday we had some friends over for a happy hour and I was such a good boy!! Mommy fed me a bottle, I said good night to all the adults and went down to sleep like a champion. Not a peep out of me which means that Mom and Dad are going to pay when I am older and a terror (insert evil baby laugh here.)

Saturday, Dad and I went to cheer on Mommy and Tammy in the 5k. Mommy finished the race and decided that happy hour the night before is not the smartest idea. Tammy finished in under 30 minutes!! Yay, so proud of her! The rest of the day was mellow and filled with breakfast burritos (didn't get a single bite), naps (the parentals made me do this and seemed stoked that they each got one too!), and dress shopping for Mommy (neither Daddy nor I particularly enjoyed this event!) All in all, it was a fun weekend!!


Next weekend we are heading down to Orange County for Engagement Party central!! Mommy and Daddy are going to celebrate Angela & Matt's engagement on Saturday night while Papa Danny and I sleep (that guy goes to bed EARLY!) and then Sunday I get to crash Jeni & Johnny's engagement party at Jeri's house. Mommy is sort of concerned with having a "this close to walking" baby in Jeri's beautiful home, but I don't plan to break anything.

They've got the fever

Hi everyone, Finn here. So, my parents have gotten bitten by the bug....that is, the racing bug! Mom and Dad ran in the Chardonnay 5k along the ocean in Santa Barbara on Saturday and Dad pushed me in the jogger. This was Mom's second race and Dad's first race EVER! He did a really good job and I helped motivate him (as well as Sarah and Tammy who ran it too) by screaming every once in a while. I wasn't screaming because I was mad, but rather it's just something I do when I get excited. After the race we went back to Tammy & Aaron's house for some breakfast and mimosas (I didn't get to partake in either - thanks alot guys) and then home for a nap. Mom and Dad decided to "rally" and we all went back downtown for some winetasting. Mom kept saying how much fun she was having and was glad to be "spontaneous" again...not sure what that big word means although I surprisingly know how to spell it correctly! :)

Sunday we woke up early, went to breakfast, down to Target/Babies R Us/Party City (although Mom and Dad kept calling it Party America [pronounced AH-MUHR-AKA] and then laughed like fools) all before noon! Who would have thought these two would enjoy being up and active so early in the morning? Oh yeah, the stop at Party AHMUHRAKA was for my birthday party supplies! I turn a year old on June 15th, but since I HAVE to be in Hawaii for my actual birthday, we are going to celebrate the weekend before. I am looking forward to visiting this Hawaii place, but I think Mom is the most excited. I keep hearing talk of "only 36 more days of work before we get to leave for Hawaii" and "only 53 more sleeps before we leave for vacation!" LOVE my Mommy!

Hope everyone is well. This week should be fun...I have a lunch date today with my friend Asher and his pretty Mommy Jillian, Friday night we are hosting happy hour at our house (although again I don't get to partake...does this seem like age discrimination to anyone else???) and Saturday Dad and I are going to cheer Mom and Tammy on in another 5k through the UCSB campus! Aaron is going to run the 10k and last year he won this particular race and gave his winnings (a bright, shiny new beach cruiser) to Tammy. Maybe he will win this year and give the bike to Mommy...I am just saying! :)

Peace out,

Finn

TGIF = Thank Goodness It's Finn!!

Hey everyone!

Happy Friday to you. The days of the week really don't mean much to me, although I know on the weekends I get my parents undivided attention. I consulted with my social director (aka Mommy) and found that I have a picnic play date with a GURL on Sunday. An older one at that...I will report back to you soon to let you know if there was a love connection. Mom says I can't date until I am 35...she is so funny and great. Did I mention I want to get her some diamonds? ;)

Dad talked Mom into buying a super cool new camera, hence all the photos of me being sent around. I have attached some of my favorites in case you didn't receive them or just can't get enough of me. In the first one, my motivation was "portray a sense of innocence all the while trying to pull the monitor camera off the wall." Do you think it worked? The second one is "Pretend you are enjoying the kisses from Mommy so you can return to reading your Us Weekly magazine on the couch behind you." The last one is titled "What yogurt? Why would you think I ate any yogurt?!"


Alright, I am off to drool, bang on toys and then put them in my mouth. Pretty typical.

Peace,
Finn

Go Irish!

Hi Everyone, Finn here.

I hope you all had a wonderful St. Patty's Day. Dad got me dressed and Mom questioned the color coordination of my socks with the rest of the outfit...Dad assured her it was to "represent the colors of the flag of the Mother Land." I don't even understand what that means, but it seemed to make Mom happy and laugh. Maybe because she knows there is a land named after her? We celebrated the holiday with drinks on the Ocean Terrace at Bacara. I was very intrigued with the fireplace and the nice man that worked there even turned the heat lamp on for us. Mom was reminiscing about their wedding there and was stoked to be enjoying a happy hour priced glass of wine at the resort (unheard of, I guess) and Dad was savoring a glass of scotch. My parents are so refined (and rad and funny and adorable and smart and successful.)

I had my 9-month check-up last Monday and all was well. I had to have three pokes and I was NOT stoked about that, but Mom gave me a comfort bottle and I forgot all about the pain. I kind of want to nominate Mom for being the best Mom I have ever had...maybe Dad and I could get her some really shiny things (I think they are called diamonds) for Mother's Day. And, I think her ring size is a 5 for some reason. I am so smart and thoughtful.

Did I tell you that I get to be in a wedding? Jennifer and Alec have asked me to be the ring bearer and this is a very big honor. I will get to wear my first tuxedo (first of many, I am sure, since my parents are so refined and all) and have been practicing my standing. I have 6 months to get walking down pat and am sure I will have mastered the skill by then. Heck, maybe I could even officiate for them!

Mom keeps talking about how busy we are going to be in the next coming months, but I hope I get to see you all soon. Mommy was very excited to find out that Dusky and Bobby are having a baby boy (although I don't know how she knows that since the stork delivers babies, right? Maybe she meant they ordered a baby boy...yeah, that makes more sense!) Either way, Yay, another friend for me to play with!

Peace, Finn!

We've got a fan!!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a fan of Disneyland. After visiting the park too many times to count growing up, as well as working there prior to heading off to college, you would think the park would lose some of its magic for me. Well my friends, you would be wrong! It may be a combination of feeling like a kid myself when I pass through the turnstiles at the entrance or the memories of my Mom from visiting the park so many times, but no matter what the reason I still feel it is a magical place.

We took advantage of the free admission on your birthday deal they are running for 2009 and visited the park with the Flemings on Friday. This marks Finn's first (of many!) visits and he had a blast. I did get a few strange looks from people when I told them we were going there to celebrate my birthday and would be bringing along an 8-month old, but he really is more aware and observant than a typical 8-month old (in my professional and completely unbiased Mom opinion!) You can see from his face that he was super excited to be there and even fell asleep in his new stroller so Mark and I could enjoy some

wine in the park!

As for development, Finn has pulled himself to a standing position as of last night and loves to practice this new activity. He also enjoys gnawing on anything he can get his hands...er, mouth...on as evidenced in this photo! :) We are having a blast with our little stinker!

Swings and Wine...what a fine Valentines!

We successfully navigated through our first Valentine's Day as a trio. I have never been a fan of Valentine's Day since I would prefer all the focus is spent on my birthday (February 27th, as if you all need a reminder!) This year we had lunch as a family at the Palace, took Finn on his first ride on the swings at Alameda Park and had a spontaneous wine-tasting adventure with Jill, Rob and Jill's sweet Mom Dianna. Finn loved the swings and the winos loved Finn at the tasting room. Nothing says good parenting like having a baby in a bar (or tasting room), right?!

Finn's cousin Dylan came for a visit, with Auntie Kate and Auntie Nicole. We had some fun adventures at the Sea Center on the pier and the Santa Barbara zoo. Finn attempted his first real crawl this weekend and we discovered a tooth in that tiny, sweet little mouth of his. Just for the record, we didn't realize there was a tooth in there until we heard this strange "clink clink" sound when he was drinking from a glass. Yes, he was drinking from a glass (with assistance) and yes, we are embarrassed to admit it took a second for it to register that the sound we were hearing was a tooth hitting the glass. Mark bravely stuck his hand in there to check it out and lo and behold a tooth was discovered! Tammy and Jen were visiting our house too and got to witness the first tooth discovery with us!

Fun Fun Fun

Hi, it's me Finn again - not to be confused with Finnegan. Did you all know that my given name is Finlay, pronounced Fin-lee. Mom liked the spelling with an "a" better than with an "e". Anyway, I digress. It's been awhile since I have been able to get on this computer since both Mom and Dad seem to be "working" so often. I didn't realize that both of them work for the same company - Facebook. I hope Mr. Facebook pays them alot of money.

This picture was taken at the Santa Barbara zoo. Mom and Dad splurged on annual passes for us (I don't see it as a splurge since I am free until I am two anyway!) and they took me on the train ride. As you can see from my expression, I am not sure that a train ride immediately following lunch is the best idea. Perhaps they should have consulted my additional chin that appears in this photo as well. What ARE those two feeding me?

In addition to our outing to the zoo, we have been very busy. I got to see some of my buddies at the PEP party...hopefully one of the paparazzi photos that was taken that night will make it's appearance on the web. I was looking super dapper in my "boob man" shirt and rolled up, rock-a-billy jeans. Mom tried to make me feel better by saying it looked cool, but I know it's really because my legs aren't very long.

Speaking of one of my most favorite people in the world (Dad would be the other one, of course), Mom was in a 4-mile race on Sunday. Here is the proof that she actually was in it and not sure why she is giving the "thumbs up" sign or if that form is correct. I will have to ask Aaron G. about that...he is the man when it comes to running. Tammy also ran the race and took me for a spin too. Although the photo is far away, you might be able to catch me snoozing away. Thanks for pushing me for over 2 miles Tams...that gave Mom plenty of time to not pass out and to exercise those lily white legs of hers. I guess I shouldn't talk...there is no chance of me being a baby Hawaiian Tropics model any time soon.


So, I better get going now. Hope to see everyone soon and am excited for Mom's birthday celebration at Disneyland and party down at Papa Danny's house. I get to meet my new friend Ethan Allahverdian too!!!