August OBX, Great Gramma's B-day, Zoo, the Big House

Blogpost 27! Oh boy!

What to report???? Finn loved his second trip to the Outer Banks this August, and definitely got WAY more out of it than his first trip. Mom and Dad also had lots of fun, as did Auntie Lizzie, and all thanks to Nannie, aka, Grandma Liz, who served as our generous hostess. Thanks, Nannie!

We took lots of walks in town (Duck) and even ventured to the beach again (set up shade tent, watch Finn eat sand, break down shade tent, head back to the house); by far, though, Finn's favorite activity was going to the pool EVERY SINGLE DAY, playing with his cups, spinning in his Fortress of Wet-itude, and drinking as much pool water as he could get in his mouth.

We also brought his very own personal splash pool, which made a terrific way for Finn to spend some time with the ladies on the deck while they did their "reading."

So most of the pix here are from OBX. We've also got a few videos leading off.... The last one of these is underwater, which I thought was very artsy; Mom thinks something else about it entirely.

We also went to the Zoo, and up to PA to help celebrate Great Grandma's 91st birthday!

Anyway, lots of fun, and lots of great memories for a first summer.... Enjoy!

Rockin' the Kiddie Pool!!

Swimmin' with Mom

Who's down there?!?!

Who's toes are these???

Hey you!

Chillin' with his new lid

Just lookin' cute

Finn's head should be bigger than Mom's in another couple months...

In his personal deck-top splash pool

The fellas on the beach

Checkin' out the ocean

Finn and his gorgeous Mom

Seaside

Still seaside

Little guy - Big guy

Baby Tossing by the Sea

The Fam

"Aloha" indeed...

What do YOU want?!

At the Zoo

Chillin' with his Great Grandma on her birthday

Happy Birthday!!!


Back in the big house... Don't get too used to those bars, kid!

August Adventures

Hello to all Finn's fans!!

Finn is growing like a weed -- a very large, aggressive weed -- think kudzu.

Lots has happened over the past month. Finn caught his very first cold -- which he promptly gave to his mamma, then his Nannie Liz, then his Gramma Glenda and Grandpa Dan. (Dad apparently has a much more robust immune system...) Oh the joys of having a baby!!!

Finn had his very first weekend away from his parents. Gramma Glenda and Grandpa Dan took very good care of him while we were able to get away for a weekend. Alex took me to see Coldplay for my birthday in NC -- and then we stopped for a night at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond which was just lovely.....

Now we are all getting ready for another trip to the Outerbanks - to Duck for a week.

We figured you might be anxious for some new pics of Finn -- so here you go!! We are sure to have more after the beach week.

Finn's new sunglasses certainly don't fit his melon!

Finn is practicing for the beach!

Happy Half Year Birthday Finn!!!!!!!!!!

Yes - today is the big day -- Finn is 6 months old - WooooHoooo!!

We visited the doctor today for his 6-month check-up and sure enough --he's still off the charts. No surprise there. He weighed in at a whopping 22lbs 10ounces - his height is 29 inches - and his head was 18 and half inches in diameter. Needless to say - he's not a small baby.

We got the green light for baby sunscreen - yippie!! Now we can spend so much more time outdoors - and just in time for the Outerbanks next month.

We had a very busy weekend - Daddy returned from a business trip on Saturday morning just in time to meet our friends Johanna and John and their little girl Maisie for brunch. Then on Sunday I took Finn to his first baby shower -- and he played with cousins Kara and Amanda and Great Auntie Clare, Nannie and Auntie Lizzie - How Fun!!

As you can see from the pictures below -- Finn is enjoying his solid foods!! Needless to say -- laundry is now a daily chore in our house - so of course the washing maching broke last night -- there is always something!!

We hope you all are well and enjoying your summers!

Approaching 6 months!!!

Hi Gang!

Our little boy is not so little anymore -- he last weighed in at just under 23lbs!!!

Next week is his 6-month check-up so we will report all the new measurements soon.

This has been my favorite month thus far. Finn is really starting to communicate with us - and his laughs are priceless! He's sleeping through the night -- and just recently he has agreed to actually nap in his crib on occasion. That was a VERY big step for us!

He started tasting all sorts of new foods -- carrots are still by far his favorite - although squash is the second runner up. I still can't get his Daddy to try squash.

He loves bathtime -- kicking and splashing with his feet - oh so much fun!

He's facinated with our cat, Yoda. He'll stop whatever he's doing to watch Yoda slink around the room. And if he's lucky enough to grab some of that fur as he slinks by -- you can bet his tight grip won't release without help from mom or dad.

At the grocery store the other day he received his very first balloon -- it was such a treat to watch the expression on his face -- he was in awe!!!

We still haven't seen any teeth -- but we know they are coming soon.

Thought you all might like to see some recent photos --Enjoy!!!

Just a couple quick vids for your viewing pleasure...

Today we began introducing Finn to the gastronomic ecstasy of RICE CEREAL!!

In all honesty, this was NOT his introduction to solid foods; that was last month, when we treated Finn to some delicious sorbet at an anniversary lunch Mom and Dan treated us to. He liked it, he really did. But we may, just possibly, have tainted his palate for other, less exquisite, culinary delights.

As for the rice cereal, he reactions were mixed, to say the least....

Waddaya think, Goober?

Maybe not SO bad....

He rolled over!!!!!!!

Finn just rolled over for the very first time on his own!!!!!!!!!! We knew it was going to be any day. Watch out World -- here we come!!!

The Goober Just Keeps Growing and Growing and Growing....

So Finn had his four-month checkup yesterday and we just wanted to keep everyone posted on what's what...

He's in excellent health, eczema seems to be under control and he seems to be progressing just peachily. Dr. Martin is pleased with how the Goober seems to be developing and Mom and Dad are getting ready to start transitioning him to sleeping through the night. THAT promises to be exciting....

As for the boy's vitals, well, prepare yourselves...

Weight: 19 lbs. 7 0z.

Height: 27 inches

Head: 17 7/8 inches

Yeah, so, he's off the charts. Literally. Completely across the board. And all without PED's!!

In other news, Finn went for his first ride in his B.O.B. stroller this afternoon. After a brief freak-out, he decided to see what this facing-forward nonsense was all about. Consensus? Big success. Nobody sleeps like that if they're unhappy!

And lastly, we wanted to share some pix that we've been remiss in posting. Some of these are from OBX but some are much older. Apologies to folks who've been waiting patiently for us get our acts together!

Finn sends his love, as do Mom and Dad. Can't wait to see you all soon!

Finn with Great Uncle Jeff

Remind you of anyone?!? PG-Cinco, maybe?

Pull my finger!

Koo is FASCINATING!!

Nighttime on OBX

Finn and his best buddy

There're scofflaws everywhere! Silly Yertle...

Ready for the beach!

Our little Smilodon...

In honor of the Goober's four-month birthday, we decided another post was in order....

A month after the last one......

So....

Enjoy! 

We've had lots of fun adventures; Finn learned to sleep in a new place; Mom and Dad relearned the intricacies of reassembling a Pack and Play; Kooman and Margie bombed over in their convertible and spent their holiday hangin' out and cookin' DELICIOUS grub; Lizzie did yeoman's work as Auntie, chef AND lawyer; Eli, Ward and Emma did a quick flyby on their way back to Dayton; Eli, Ward and Emma did an even quicker flyby to grab Eli's purse; Carrie swung by on her I'm-goin'-down-to-Nashville victory tour; we 'Q'd a butt; we met a turtle (Yyrtle the Turtle, if you care to ask, who lives on Myrtlewood Court); we found Fat Tire (!!); we went and saw the lighthouse; we realized that Finn probably won't be wearing his 6-9 month baby-clothes much longer; we saw cats, and egrets, and pelicans, and Coast Guard hoppty-cloppters.

And we've still got two full days! It's been an awesome trip, and we can't wait to take more of 'em and see more of you really soon. I think Finn LOVES a trip!

Enjoy the vids and, as always, we're gonna try to do a MUCH better job of posting more frequently....

Really.

Love you guys! Hope everyone's well.

Peace and pulled-pork grease!!!

f., a., m.

Laughin' with Nannie

Laughin' with Mom

Chillin' in his 'Bana

The Fam Goes to the Beach

Fam on the Beach

Hoppty-Cloppter!!

Enough already! After consciously holding off on posts until we could come up with witty narrative, it seems like Finn's got too many clamoring fans  to keep folks waiting so long for updates. And, ironically enough, by the time we do post, we've got weeks worth of new pics and vids to upload, sort through and post all over! 

So, no more! From this point out, or at least until the next point, we shall post more frequently.

Just don't expect the flowing, graceful, incredibly engaging story lines you've gotten used to....

A couple quick updates:

Finn is now just over 3 months. He'll be getting a job any minute now.

He's weighing in at over 17 pounds. He'll be joining the WWE (or the circus) any minute now; see above.

Finn has run into some baby eczema somewhere along the way, but through the miracles of Cortisone cream, Aquaphor, and Dove Sensitive liquid soap, we seem to be keeping it at bay. A heartfelt shoutout to Dr. Martin for allaying our fears (swine flu! leprosy! zits!) and keeping us all (relatively) calm.

We've signed up for a family membership at the National Zoo and are looking forward to countless afternoons and evening on the premises. We all love the Orangs!

Finn has found his voice or, more precisely, the volume and tone controls. While this is super exciting and we all have a ridiculous amount of fun making absurd noises at one another it has startled mom and dad on more than one occasion when Finn starts speaking in what can only be described as long lost Atlantean at full volume.

Enjoy the pics and vids... We'll have more up soon, promise, including from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Ann's recent visit.

Peace and bacon grease!!

Finn with his Aunt Kathy over Easter

Snack time at the National Zoo

One of Finn's redheaded ancestors

And another...

Ranger Finn

Still LOVES this chair!

But he has a NEW chair, for when he's a big(ger) boy!

Look at me!

Gettin' ready to head out in the last of the cool weather.

PG Cinco with Finn over Easter

Zoo Rap

And one more Under the Sea....

And we're back!

Poof! And The Report is back online!  

Sorry to be such bad bloggers over the past few weeks; Finn’s been great, but we’ve just been getting used to the whole “two working parents” gig. We’re still working from home as much as possible, but Mags has a monster program this week that has been keeping her SUPER busy at all hours of the day and, well, I’m just a terrible parent.

Gramma Liz, aka Nannie, has been faithfully coming over on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the past couple weeks, though, from 10-2 most days, and proving quite fluent in baby-ese. She’s a natural with Finn, has been an absolute hero, and has already put in an order for more grandkids.

Oi….

We’ve been getting out for more and more adventures lately, and Finn is becoming quite the little traveler. He loves a car-ride, and a jaunt in his stroller is just about as good. Lord help the sorry soul who gets caught in rush-hour traffic or at stuck with a “Don’t Walk” at a busy crosswalk, though; the Dude may abide, but the Dude don’t abide not rollin’!

One weekend we went to Georgetown and strolled the streets of my old ‘hood. It’s really remarkable how much smaller everything is now….. I distinctly remember the houses and streets, and the PARK!, being insanely bigger. Somebody should point out this shrinkage to the local authorities: can’t be good for property values.

We went to a birthday party for Cousin Max and to see Kara and David’s swanky new crib: woo! Swank-Y!!

Last weekend we went down to the river (and no, NOT in a van that we live in) for a walk along the canal’s towpath. What a beautiful trip! The sun was out, the birds were chirping (we even saw herons and eagles), the fish were jumping and the dogs were barking. We had a picnic lunch on a little concrete landing right above Chain Bridge and ogled at the giant houses on the other side of the rapids. And on the way back, Finn even had his first diaper changed al fresco, which I thought was pretty rad.

It was, in fact, such a magical, beautiful, wonderful day that we failed to bring a camera with us and take any pictures of any of it, at all, for posterity.

So you’ll just have to take my word for it that any of this actually happened.

And this past weekend we had lots of family visits, starting with a Cumberland / Didden / Hogan get together on Saturday to celebrate another of Finn’s innumerable cousins, Joe, getting confirmed. Damian and Anne were down, with Clare and Caroline, their two little girls; Kara and Max were there; Amanda and Mark; Aunt Kathy; Lisa, Joe and Sam; Grandpa Bill (who we now call PG Cinco or PG-V); Clare and Bill, the incomparably gracious and generous hosts; and us. And Finn wow’d ‘em all! Honestly, he was a star… He’s holding his head up more and more now, looking all around, and actually seeing stuff, so he interacts with you. And he talks! Well, he wants to talk. He’s got his own rock’n’roll fantasy language and if you get him going, wow, good luck getting him to pipe down. (We know which side of the gene pool that particular attribute comes from!)

Then on Sunday we trucked on out to Grannie Glenda’s and Grandfather Morrow, Sir’s, for an Easter feast that can only be described as divin-elicious. PG-V and Auntie Lizzie came as well, and we all feasted on ham and lamb and salmon and cheese and chocolate and cupcakes and all kinds of other artery-cloggers. Phil and Tiger were chasing Kenny and Angel around Augusta in the background and G’s gardens were a riot of pink and yellow. Not a bad way to spend a sleepy Easter Sunday.  

So thanks to you all, friends and family, who’ve been with us over the past few weeks. It’s been great to see you all and making sure you get to see the Goober.

To the rest of you, we send our love, our best wishes, our thoughts for a happy and healthy spring, and our real and honest hope that we get to see each and every one of you very, very soon….

In the meantime, enjoy the latest vids….

f., a., m.

ps: and for those of you who STILL haven’t received a thank you note for a generous something or other, please bear with us!! it's coming, i swear!! 

pps: oh, and if anybody has any good suggestions about trimming the nails on a wiggly baby, please, PLEASE, feel free to let us know!

Under the sea

Under the sea 2

Under the sea 3

Under the sea 4