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!!!

Almost my birthday month!!

As most of you know, February will bring my favorite holiday -
MY BIRTHDAY!!! Which also means, Sunday marks the first day of my birthday month. We have alot to look forward to in the next upcoming weeks (our first real couple's dinner to the Melting Pot, Jen & Alec's engagement party, Disneyland and celebration with friends and family down in Orange County...does it get any better?)



Last night I got to spend some time with the Moms and babies from my PEP group. PEP is a local support group for new Moms up here and I joined when Finn was about 5 weeks old. It was a great resource for me because I knew I was going to get out of the house once a week and be with other Moms who were going through similar issues with the children, their emotions, their bodies, etc. Unfortunately, one of our Moms lost her family's home in the devastating Tea Fire here in November and we all pitched in to help out where we could. Laurie and her family have moved into a new home and hosted a wonderful dinner for all of us as a thank you. It was great to see Laurie, her husband Matt and her twin girls Sam and Jessica thriving in their new home. And, it was so nice to see the Moms and babies that I have not been able to see in awhile since going back to work. Such a great group of women...so lucky to know them!




Other news, Jennifer has asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! So honored and excited for her. Finn came with Jen, Tams and me to try on bridesmaid dresses and these are two shots from the drive home. The first one shows his sweet side, ala Mark. The second would be his no-nonsense side, like Mommy.

New Year...

Yikes, I can't believe the holidays came and went so fast. Finn is growing like a weed and we are enjoying every minute of it...including the high pitched scream that he will belt out every once in awhile that he seems to be rather fond of. It tends to show up at the most inopportune times...like in a crowded (but quiet) restaurant where diners are hoping for a relaxing meal.

He has moved onto solids, which makes eating a whole new ball game. He LOVES everything we have given him so far, including sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado and pears. He eats like a champ and he loves to blow raspberries to signal he is finished with his meal; Thus, I too have had my share of baby food thanks to this little game of his.

He has started saying "Dada" much to Mark's delight and his babbling is starting to sound more and more like English. He is so close to crawling and is up on all fours, but not moving anywhere which drives him crazy (and tends to produce that high pitched scream!)

Hope everyone is well and will try to update this more often.

It's me, Finn!

Hi everyone, it's me Finn. Mom is busy right now working from home today so I thought I would update you on some things from MY perspective.

Life is going really well! I am looking forward to my first Christmas, although I really don't understand what that is. Everyone keeps talking about some guy named Santa, but I am assuming they are talking about my lion since that is the only lap I have sat on this holiday season. Mom wonders if they should take me to meet this "Santa" character, but knowing me I would probably just pull his beard and blow raspberries at the camera.

Mom and Dad keep telling me about Red Bluff and that is where we are flying to tomorrow. Apparently it is cold because they have bought me a zillion beanies and mittens...I would assume we were going to Antarctica with all the preparation, but I don't know what or where that is, so that would be weird, wouldn't it?! :) After I get to see my Dad's side of the family in the cold, we are heading down to see my Mom's side of the family in Orange County. Apparently I could wear a bathing suit down there since Christmas time in "The OC" is a bit warmer than other parts of the state, let alone the country. I wonder if I could bring my lion friend with me on our road trip?

Alright, I guess I should go back to pretending I am sleeping or I will never hear the end of it. And, if Mom knew how well I can type (and how impressive my vocabulary is) she would want to enter me into some genius contest. I don't have the strength for that right now, so let's just keep this post between us, ok friends?

Peace out,

Finn

Yummy?

Our baby is soooo grown up! Finn tried rice cereal for the first time on Tuesday and we got some photos. This one happens to be my favorite...how do you think he felt about his first meal?!?!

We are looking forward to Christmas and celebrating with both of our families. We did an early Christmas with just the three of us today and Finn was quite underwhelmed with the whole thing!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a healthy New Year!

Oh Christmas Tree

We ventured out to get our Christmas Tree this weekend and ended up with a great one. Finn enjoys staring at the lights and grabbing the branches. Milo enjoys sleeping underneath it and drinking the water. (Just for the record, Milo is our cat...not a dehydrated child!) Bijou could care less about the tree, which is pretty much how she feels about everything. She is SUCH a teenage cat.

We are looking forward to seeing both of our families for the holidays this year. Hope everyone is well and wishing you happy holidays!