dear baby finn,
you are now thirteen months old! i know i sound like a broken record saying this, but it's crazy how fast the time flies. i think this past month went especially fast because we have been having so much fun playing outside in the nice, warm weather! your personality comes out more and more every day, and i know i'm biased since i'm your mom and all, but you are seriously the silliest, goofiest, cutest little boy i've ever seen. :)
we did some fun things this month, besides just playing outside. uncle zac's girlfriend, alicia, had a birthday the day after you, so we went up to grandma cindy's in park city to celebrate. we enjoyed a delicious homecooked meal of hawaiian chicken, and you particularly enjoyed the pineapple. we love being able to get together with our family, and we really like alicia. her and uncle zac are so cute together and they sure think you are a cutie!
we had a bbq with the iron chef gang here at our house. it is always so fun to get together with those guys and watch you interact with your friends. the halverson's even came, so it was fun watching you, krew, madi and max play together. madi's mom said you bit madi when you went in for a kiss......one year old and already giving hickey's! looks like we'll definitely need to keep our eye on you. ;)
aunt tiffany suggested starting a college fund for you. she said that instead of mailing you a present every year for your birthday, she would rather put some money away for you to use toward college one day. since you already have so many toys, and because she lives far away, we thought this sounded like a brilliant idea so we heeded her suggestion and got your college fund all set up. dad and i are going to put in $1.00 every day, which will equal a little over $6000 by the time you turn 18. it may not sound like a ton, but it's a start, and i know one day you'll be so grateful to have some money to get you started. you'll have to thank tiffany for encouraging us to do such a great thing for you. :)
well, like i said, this month has flown by, and you have changed so much mr. mostly in good ways, but there are a couple things i wish would go back to the way they were. you have become a terribly picky eater. :( this sort of blindsided us, because up until now you have been such a good little eater who would eat almost anything we fed you. i think you maybe realized you have a mind of your own and don't have to eat everything we put in your mouth...you little stinker, you. ;) now, when you don't like something (which is 90% of the time) you will instantly spit it out, before you have really even bitten into or chewed it. it is SO frustrating!!! mostly i just worry that you aren't getting enough nutrients, or enough to eat. basically the only things you like are yoplait strawberry yogurt with a little oatmeal mixed together. fruit snacks. goldfish. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. macaroni and cheese. fruit loops. occasionally string cheese. you'll sometimes eat a piece of pizza, but more often than not you'll spit half of it out. you like to eat grapes and then spit out the skin. and of course, ice cream, or anything with tons of sugar for that matter!
i think the picky eating started when we switched you from formula to cow's milk. you didn't like cow's milk right away...it took you a while to get used to it but now you love it and you guzzle it! you drink way more than you're supposed to, and we just let you since you don't seem to eat enough regular food. we still give you bottles before your afternoon nap and bedtime, and you drink your morning bottle in bed with us. i know we'll probably regret doing this one day, but for now it's easier and let's face it, we're lazy!
the other thing i wish would go back to the way it was before, is your sleeping habits. this month you started waking up in the night, crying for what seemed to be no apparent reason. we still don't know if it was/is due to teething? maybe the switch from formula to cow's milk was upsetting your tummy? maybe your room is hot and you were getting uncomfortable? sometimes you'll only cry for a few minutes then go right back to bed, but a handful of times we would have to go in your room and rock you back to sleep. i enjoy rocking you and spending that time with you when you are so still and cuddly, but most of the time after i was done rocking you you'd wake right back up and we'd have to start all over. it doesn't happen every night....maybe just two or three times a week, but i know how important a good night's sleep is so i'm hoping that was just a phase that won't continue! you haven't woken up in over a week, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that you won't anymore.
one of my absolute favorite things about this past month is that you turned into more of a cuddle bug! you are like the least cuddly baby there ever was, and i'm not gonna lie, there are times when dad and i just want to snuggle with you but you won't let us! the second we grab you, you pull away. i don't know what inspired the change, but it all started one morning when you were in bed with us, drinking your bottle. after you finished, you came right over to me, nestled into me and laid there with me for a few minutes. then you made your way over to dad and did the same thing with him! it seriously melts my heart, especially the way you trade off with me and dad. i love it! you don't do it every morning, and it only lasts for a few minutes at a time, but we both cherish that time and i hope you'll keep it up! also, some of the nights when you would wake up crying, we'd bring you into bed and cuddle for a while. i adore that time together when you fall asleep curled by us. it is so tender, and i hope as time goes by you'll continue to cuddle more and more. :)
as i said earlier, your personality comes out stronger and stronger every day, and it is becoming obvious that you are one silly little kid! i'm sure all kids are silly to an extent, but you do the funniest things, leading me to believe that you have a major silly side! i absolutely love it! one of the funniest things you do is walk up to things your not supposed to touch (outlets, the wallflower plug-ins, my plants outside) and shake your head. you've heard me say "not for baby finn," as i am shaking my head, enough times that you know it means something, although i'm not sure you've caught onto the fact that you're not supposed to tough it because most of the time you still do. :) you have been making some super funny faces, and really cheesy smiles lately! you kind of squint your eyes and scrunch your nose and just give us this funny look as you are walking past us or when we're eating dinner. you also walk really funny a lot of the time, like with one of your shoulders scrunched up to your neck. when you get really excited you stomp your feet really fast like you're marching or pat both hands on your belly! sometimes you twirl in circles for no apparent reason, and i often catch you with your hands and feet on the ground, bum sticking straight up in the air, with your head looking through your legs! you'll just stay like that for 30 seconds at a time, it's so funny. you love playing games with your brothers, especially with duke. for some reason you get the biggest kick out of duke, i can't quite figure it out! you will just follow duke around everywhere he goes. if he goes under the bed, you get down on your belly and look under the bed, reaching for him. if you have a toy of his, he will follow you around until you drop it and you get the biggest kick out of it. you love to feed duke and claus food from your highchair. i don't mind you dropping food so much, since they clean it up. you love to share your treats with claus.....it is adorable! if you are eating a cookie or a cracker, you will walk up to claus and hold it out for him. he'll take a lick, then you'll take a bite, then you give it back to him for another lick. it is pretty funny. you sometime share your food with us too.....we love that you love to share. :) you love to wave hi or bye to anyone who says those words, it is so cute. i've tried to teach you how to blow kisses, but you haven't quite caught on yet.
along with being a major goof ball, you are also incredibly sweet! for the most part you still love to give kisses and will give them to anybody who asks. you have started kissing my belly...or kissing your little brother, baby sam. :) obviously you don't know that anything is even in there, but every day i lay on my back, lift up my shirt and say "finn, give baby sam a kiss," and you bend over and kiss my flabby belly. melt!
you have become quite the little explorer, and have now conquered most of the house. you became bored with our bedroom after the countless hours we spent cooped up there this winter, so we try not to spend too much time in there. you have now discovered how to open drawers and cupboards, which gets quite annoying. you love to pull everything out of them, but haven't grasped the concept of putting everything back in. ;) your favorite drawer in the house is dad's bathroom drawer, where his toothbrush resides. we try to keep the bathroom door closed, because i don't like you playing around the germy toilet (eeew, yuck), but if we happen to leave it open you seriously book it upstairs and go straight for dad's drawer, where you grab his toothbrush! it is so funny. you have developed a major obsession for toothbrushes....you carried one around for a good week! with a few exceptions, we feel comfortable letting you explore the house alone. i mean obviously we always try to keep one eye on you, but you don't like being followed everywhere, and honestly, it's kind of nice to just be able to sit on the couch and know that you can't get hurt too badly or hurt anything in the house too badly. ;) the stairs still scare the crap out of me, so we keep a close eye on you when you are near those. this past month you started getting a little braver, and tried walking down the stairs. yikes!! you didn't fall too far any of the times you tried, and we strongly persuade you to turn around and crawl down them. i think you've kind of figured out that it's much safer that way, so hopefully you'll continue to do that.
you love to press things, like light switches or the garage door opener. any time we are in the garage, you immediately lift your hand in the air, telling us that you want to open/close the garage. when dad is holding you, you can usually do it on your first try since he's taller. but when i'm holding you it sometimes takes a bit longer, and in the end i help you press it. i love watching as your hand shoots straight in the air though. :)
you got your 7th tooth on april 16th, and your 8th tooth came in on april 26th. we've been trying to stay on top of brushing those cute little teeth, but we still have a long ways to go. ;)
you absolutely love love love being outside! i think it's your favorite thing, and i love it too, so i'm thrilled you enjoy it. i have come to appreciate our fenced in back yard even more, which i didn't think was possible because having two little pups sure made me appreciate it a ton when we first moved in. i just love the fact that we can go out there, and i don't have to worry about you going places your not supposed to. most of the time i just plop on a blanket on the grass and let you do your thing. you carry your golf clubs and/or bag around with you the entire time you're outside. that is by far your favorite toy you've ever had (thanks grandma cindy!) and i think we may have a future golfer on our hands! you also kind of know how to hit the ball...grandpa jimbob would be so proud. :) you enjoy following the dogs as they roam the yard, and you do exploring by yourself as well. occasionally you'll walk up to one of your swings and yell at it. i think that's your way of telling me you want in. you love going down the slide, and you can now go down by yourself, as long as someone catches you at the bottom. you love jumping on the trampoline, but now that you can walk on it i am very hesitant to take you on there by myself because there have been a few times when i almost didn't catch you as you tried jumping off. :-O scary! you love water, so one of these days we'll have to get a little mini pool for you to splash around in. sometimes we put you in the hot tub with dad, after he has turned the temperature down, of course, and you absolutely love it! we just put you in your floater, give you a sippy cup and you lounge in it like an old man...it seriously cracks us up! i really hope you never get sick of being outside, because it is one of my favorite parts of our days! we are so lucky to have had such nice weather this month so that we could spend so much time outside.
last, but surely not least, you are still a major daddy's boy. this used to kind of hurt my feelings, i won't lie, but i have come to love watching the bond you two share. i mean don't get me wrong, obviously i am thrilled you love your dada, and i always have loved that, but sometimes i wish that you actually wanted to come to me. i have to say, this past month, more than any other, you have started to come to me more than usual, and i love that. makes me feel special. :) but you light up when dad comes home, and love being his little sidekick. it melts my heart! i know it makes dad feel good, too, and makes him even more excited to come home and spend time with you, and for that alone i'll always be grateful. we are lucky to have a dad who works so hard for us, but who is also able to spend time with us. he sure is great, and i hope as you get older you will continue to have such a great relationship with him. it was his dream come true to have a boy first, and now that he is getting his two boys....oh man, i think his life is complete. ;)
i sure love ya baby finn! you don't seem much like a baby anymore, but you'll always been my sweet baby finn, who i cherish and love with all my heart. :)
love,
mom
