life, [love], and the pursuit of happiness.

Farmer Finn

cizmce — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:06:00 +0000

Farmer Finn, originally uploaded by ICEFMcE.

Cousins

cizmce — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:00:58 +0000

Cousins, originally uploaded by harttmlp.

Zeke’s Family Drawings

cizmce — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:38:34 +0000

Zeke did some of his first drawings of himself, myself, Ian, and Finn yesterday and think they are worthy of sharing. First up, his self-portrait:

He portrayed himself as very happy. Next is Ian holding Finn:

Ian looks really happy, but Finn doesn’t look amused. And finally, Zeke’s rendition of me…

I think I look a tad stressed!

A year? Already?

cizmce — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:01:23 +0000

It really seems impossible that an entire year has passed since our family became complete with the arrival of Finn Robert. Although we still get no sleep for no more than 3 hours at a time (if we are lucky), I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

This past year has brought a whole new set of challenges…learning to everything with two, figuring out how to best get the groceries into the house, dealing with the emotions of a three year old, realizing I can’t get anything done with two kids who refuse to nap…the list continues.

As difficult as some days are, there are no dull moments. The interaction between Finn and Zeke is too cute. The other day Zeke was on the floor, Finn crawled over and hugged/tackled him, sat back up and repeated the motion several times. No one can make Finn laugh like Zeke can. I can’t wait to see what they do when Finn can interact a little more in play.

Finn seems to have taken a leap in development in just the last couple of weeks. He is so close to walking…he has taken as many as five unassisted steps, but still relies on his scoot/crawl to get around. He lets you know exactly what he wants by gesturing toward the item and saying “dat”. Also in his word repertoire are “uh-oh”, “mama”, “dada” and “daw” (dog). He loves, loves, LOVES to eat. Some favorites are Cheerios, bananas, Cheddar Bunnies, and Gerber Puffs dipped in hommus. Actually, he would rather have anything that we are eating and loudly protests if he can’t. He likes to show how big and strong he is by copying his older brother and can climb to the top of our little slide all by himself both ways, up the ladder and up the slide.

Our little baby is growing up and I can’t wait to see what excitement this year brings.

Finn’s 9 Month Well Child Visit

cizmce — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:15:43 +0000

Our baby is shrinking. Well, not really shrinking, but he’s starting to resemble Zeke at this age in weight and length…long and lean. He has started to do a lot of new things since his last doctor’s visit: crawl/scoot, stand up holding on, cruise along the furniture, walk behind a walker, babble continuously, has three more teeth (5 total and working on another), and has moved into a big boy car seat. Now if we could just do something about his lack of sleeping and intense separation anxiety…

His stats at 9 months 25 days:

Weight – 19 lbs (17%)…the fact that Zeke was almost a whole pound heavier at this age makes me suspicious as to the accuracy of the scale.

Length – 29 in. (62%)

Head circumference – 17.75 in. (35%)

“No, Finn.”

cizmce — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:10:23 +0000

Why is it, that at not even nine months of age, this little boy gets into everything he isn’t supposed to? Since he’s become mobile with his adorable crawl/scoot, nothing is safe from the hands of Mr. Finn.

Our entertainment center is open at the bottom to house all the components. Next to the entertainment center there is a basket, the size of Finn himself, full of his toys. Not to mention the number of toys strewn about the floor at any given time. As soon as he is put on the floor, he makes a beeline for the cable box, Wii, etc., not his fun, colorful, stimulating toys. Child of the 21st Century, I suppose. I plan on building a shelf for all these items, but it will still be within reach. We’ll see how it goes.

The boy also has a love of water. It is amazing at the speed at which he can move his little 20-pound body across the floor to splash in the dogs’ water dish. Splish, splash…soaked up to the elbows and sitting in a puddle that quickly spreads over the kitchen floor. His water obsession is continued in the bath, but I’ll save that for another post.

It is pretty cute that Zeke has started to correct Finn’s behavior. Actually, it’s more of him just loving to say “Finn Robert” in that familiar, serious parenting tone that everyone knows means business whenever Finn is heading toward trouble.

Sorry, got to go…Finn is pulling the box of Zeke’s crayons off the shelf.

Our baby turns three.

cizmce — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:05:18 +0000

It is hard to believe that Zeke is three. I’m not sure where the last few years have gone, but it has certainly gone by too fast. Even reliving babyhood with Finn has gone by like a flash. Zeke is already proving to be a happy, loving, and caring boy. He makes us smile and laugh each day. He tests our patience and can be stubborn, but all-in-all is an incredible little man. The love he shows for his baby brother warms my heart and, I think, every parent hopes their children can be as close as these two already are. As much as I look forward to the years ahead, I wish I could keep them little forever. At least the memories we make every day will always be there.

Finn’s 6 Month Well Child Visit

cizmce — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:18:18 +0000

Finn continues to be a healthy, happy baby. He loves moving around in his walker, can sit unassisted, loves rice cereal, and smiles at everyone and everything. He’ll be moving into his own room very soon…maybe then we’ll get some sleep! These are his stats at 6 months, 3 weeks old:

Weight: 17 lb. 1/2 oz. (28%)…surprising for how much he eats!

Length: 27.75 in. (79%)

Head: 17.25 in. (39%)

Finn’s 4 Month Well Child Visit

cizmce — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:55:31 +0000

All’s still well on the Finn front. Nothing major to report. We are going to try him on some antacids to help with his smelly hot air problem. He is starting to thin out, but his length continues to rise! His latest stats:

Weight: 15 lb. 1 oz. (47%)

Length: 26 in. (81%)

Head circumference: 16.5 in. (35%)

Finn’s 2 Month Well Child Visit

cizmce — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:28:05 +0000

Finn’s latest doctor’s appointment went well. Nothing major to report, happy and healthy. He always has a smile to share, makes all kinds of cooing noises that Zeke translates, and giggles in his sleep. He’s currently on a three day run of sleeping from 10 pm until 4 am…6 hours straight – I’ll take it!

He is still our big, little guy in weight and length. His current stats at 9 weeks 6 days old: Weight – 12 lb. 15 oz. (70%), Length – 24.25 in. (85%), Head circumference – 16 in. (59%).