dear finn,
eleven months have come and gone, and you are almost one year old! writing this is already making me emotional....i can't believe my baby is almost one. well, your eleventh month was a fun and eventful one, and you have changed and grown so much in just one month that it is frightening! i can't believe all the tricks and things you learned to do this month.
as was documented in previous posts, we did lots of fun things to keep our minds off the cold, depressing weather. valentine's day, president's day, bear river cabins, dad's birthday, our new hot tub.....all these things helped. we also bundled you up and went on some nice winter walks on the warm days, which there were surprisingly a lot of for february. all things considered, it hasn't been too depressing of a winter. :) except for the fact that i haven't been feeling well, due to your little sibling brewing in my belly. and let's be honest, as badly as i sometimes feel, that isn't depressing....it's so exciting and i can't wait for you to be a big brother! i know you'll be the best.
let's take a look at some of your achievements and developments this month, shall we?? this month you.........
......started to roll it while pattycaking!! i was so excited the day you started doing this, and i couldn't wait for you to show grandma cindy. the best part is, i didn't even show you or encourage you to do it in any way. we were just playing pattycake one morning, and when it came to "roll it, roll it, roll it," you just started doing it! needless to say, i was one proud momma. :)
.......started doing the indian (forgive my politically incorrect terminology, but i don't know what else to call it!) by yourself! we always put our hand over your mouth and take if off, put it on, take it off, put it on, etc.. while you make a one-note sound. it's hard to explain, but easy when you see and hear it. anyway, for the past few weeks you'll grab our hands and pull them up to your mouth, letting us know that you want to do the indian. so i started taking your hand and showing you how to do it by yourself, and eventually you caught on! now, sometimes when i say, "finn, let's pattycake," you'll put your hand to your mouth and do the indian. i think you have the two confused a bit. ;)
.......one of my favorite developments is that you can now sip from a straw!! yay for finn!! the other day we went to jamba juice for breakfast, and i ordered you your own jamba. i didn't know for sure if you'd be able to drink it from the straw, because you had only sipped from a straw once before, but you did it like a champ. that's my boy! now whenever we go out to eat, we always order you your own drink, and you love sipping it from a straw. such a cutie. :)
.......another one of my favorite developments is watching you play peek-a-boo, or as we call it, "where's finners?!" this is seriously the cutest thing ever, especially when you are the one to initiate it. grandma and i have been playing this with you forever, and we first noticed you actually playing with us at dinner at the outback one night. ever since, any time we are at dinner we put the napkin over your head and say, "where's finn?!" and you'll pull the napkin off and smile, then we say, "there's finn!" then you put the napkin over your head and it starts all over again! dad witnessed it for the first time at dinner on his birthday, and he loved it!! now you'll do it whenever you're near a sheet or a shirt, or anything you can put over your head and quickly take off. it is so cute and just melts my heart. :)
.......this month we noticed that you dance, and you are actually really good and dance to the beat! it's kinda scary how good you are....we are wondering if you might be a child prodigy and make us tons of money someday?! lol just today, actually, you and i were out shopping, and one of the stores we went into had a dj playing music. well, i was busy looking at some clothes, when all the sudden i hear the dj laughing. i looked at him, and he said, "this kid has got rhythm!! look at him boppin' his head to the beat!" OMG, it was hilarious, and after he said that, three or four people stopped to watch you! it was seriously so cute.
.......you started saying mama more this month, but i am not convinced that you actually know what it means. still, it makes me happy when i hear it, and know in time you'll probably be a chatterbox that never stops talking! you still say dada all the time, as well as nananana...whatever that means! ;) you are still just as noisy as ever, jabbering away in your "finn language." it really is so cute, and i love listening to you. this month we noticed that you will mimic the sounds/noises we make. for example, if we just belt out a one-note ahhhhh in a certain pitch, you will join in, usually right on pitch! another example, whenever the dogs are barking, you'll bark back at them! haha sometimes they will start howling (like when an ambulance passes by, or if they are just super excited about something) and you will howl along with them!! it is hilarious. you want to be just like your big brothers. :) i love it!
.......you started giving hugs this month, and you have been giving away your kisses much more freely! both just melt my heart, and make me so proud you're mine. you are above everything else, just such a sweet boy, and i absolutely love that about you. :)
.......your top left tooth finally came in, which makes four total! your top teeth are both huge, and you have a big gap in the middle! it is so cute, and i love when you smile. i am thankful that you are not terribly ornery when you're teething.... while on the topic of your teeth, it seems that every time you get a new tooth you grind your teeth for a few days. i am not too concerned, because it only lasts for a few days. i am just hoping it doesn't become a habit because that is soooo bad for your teeth!
.......just this past week you learned how to go down the stairs!!!! woo hoo! this, in itself, is a HUGE feat, especially for one so tiny! earlier this week we were at the phippen's, and they mentioned that locke can go down the stairs. i started to worry that you may be behind a bit, so the next day we practiced and it only took you an hour or so to figure it out! the hardest part was getting you to turn around at the top of the stairs and go down backwards, but once you figured that out you could cruise right on down. for the first couple days, every time you made it to the bottom of the stairs we would clap our hands and say, "yay for baby finn!!!!" you would clap your hands and cheer right along with us, it was so funny. i was so amazed at how quickly you caught on, and just like always, so proud of my boy! :)
.......this month you became more interested in your toys, which i absolutely love! it is so nice to see you playing with the toys we've spent tons of money on, rather than just electrical outlets, cords, phones and remotes. ;) don't get me wrong, you still love playing with those, too, but your play time seems to be divided more evenly among toys and things you're not supposed to play with. haha one day i gave in and finally let you play with my phone. it didn't take you long to learn not to put it in your mouth, so i guess it's fine if you play with it. you have accidentally called people a few times.....super early in the morning! lol oopsie!! we hurried and hung up without saying anything. ;)
now what did i tell ya?! lots of new tricks this month!!! go, baby finn, go! every day it just amazes me how much you grow and change. you are very rapidly turning from a baby into a little boy, and while it does make me a little sad to see the time pass us by, i am happy that you are such a smart boy. sometimes it freaks me out just how smart you are. ;) i am so thankful for the opportunity i have to stay at home with you and watch you as you grow and learn. we are so lucky that your dad is willing to work so hard to provide the wonderful life we have. he loves you so much baby finn. his favorite part of the day is coming home and playing with you. you are his pride and joy, as you are mine as well. we love you to the moon and back!
love,
mom
