The Cutest Thing Ever

So Kevin gave Finny some Nutty Bars. And, guess what? Finny really liked them!

Now, Finny is constantly talking about Nutty Bars and he is constantly concerned about the acquisition and attainment of Nutty Bars. He has what I call the Nutty Bar Status Update. The Nutty Bar Status Update goes something like this:

"Dad, do you have any Nutty Bars?"

"Nope, sorry Finny I don't."

"Did you just have some Nutty Bars?"

"No, I didn't."

"Are you going to the store to get some Nutty Bars?"

"No, not right now."

"Are you going to go to the store soon to get some Nutty Bars?"

(At this point we're cracking up laughing.) "No, not right now, Finny."

"Oh. Are you going to go to the store tomorrow to get some Nutty Bars?"

"Yes, maybe we'll go to the store tomorrow."

"Okay!"

Status Update Complete.

Halloween & Thanksgiving

Finny dressed as Diego for Halloween.




Halloween picture time at school:


At the school Halloween fair, getting his face painted. He wanted a pumpkin.


"Fishing" for candy at the school Halloween fair.


The kids got to frost and decorate their own cake at the school Halloween fair. That's Bob The Builder to the right.


Our first thanksgiving. I guess we need some serving china. =)

Singing

Fishing Game

The trick to this game is to choose a particular fish and follow it around as it rotates. At least, that's what works for me. Anyway, Finny seems to have figured out that same technique.

New Race Car Bed

New House!

Here is a quick video walk through of the upstairs.

The front of the house, standing at the front door looking out.


Kevin sitting at the front door.

Detail of the front door.


Vines growing up the side of the house. We have to get rid of them because they're ruining the siding.


This is one view of the backyard, with a little archway thing. The previous owners had dogs and the grass in the backyard is pretty much ruined. This area, at the bottom of the picture, is totally devoid of grass. There is actually some vines growing there, but we have to get rid of those. On the right side of the picture you can see the workshed.


This is the workshed in the backyard. It's pretty nice actually. Inside there is a work bench and a lot of cupboards. On top of the shed is some storage, behind that little closed window.


This is the double deck in the backyard. Really big and nice. Though I guess it is made of cedar, and someone painted it. So we will have to keep repainting it.


The backyard also has a little area with a built-in grill. To the left you can see a crack in the cement that we will probably have to fix.


This is the upstairs. I'm standing in the dining room, taking a picture of the upstairs living room. It's very similar to our previous house.


The kitchen sink is wonderful! Really great, expensive fixtures. At our previous house, we had spent so much on the house itself that we really skimped on plumbing and lighting fixtures. It will be nice to have some high quality plumbing.

This is the downstairs living room, where we'll have the TV and couches. It is shaped like an "L" and there is another alcove to the right where I'll put my desk. Also on the lower level is an unfinished area with storage, a bathroom and the laundry area. Then there is another room which will be Kevin's office, and another room which will be the exercise room.

This is the upstairs bathroom. Unfortunately it is going to be Kevin's bathroom, and he doesn't (for some odd reason) like the pink countertops.

The kitchen. Isn't it beautiful? I love the island in the center with the oven. It's also got lots of really great cabinets. Almost all of the cabinets have roll out shelfs, which is really cool! (See video above for example!)


The appliances are all brand new in 2007.

The door, which is really nice with beveled glass, leads to the double deck outside.

Lots of Pictures

There's nothing more precious that a sleeping baby.

Our new house! Hooray!

Playing golf.

First day of school!

For school he had to dress for a "50s Sock Hop" - so this was the best I could do on short notice.

People standing in line to buy the Harry Potter book. I'm more interested in the phenomenon than the book (which I don't think it the greatest thing ever).

Here is the night of the book release. There were hundreds of people there to get the book at 12 am, and it was like - I'm not kidding - 90 degrees in the store! It was really one of the most horrible nights of my life.

Of course, I brought Finny. And he was thrilled to be part of the experience. As you can see.


This is kind of just a wild and crazy moment. In the fridge. It happens.

Kevin and Finny on a walk along the Mississippi River.

Playing computer games. He's so cool.

His second birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.

He is modeling a sweater his Grandma made.


Doesn't he look like a cute little elfkin?

We went to see Bill and Hillary Clinton when they visited the Quad Cities in July. It was almost as miserable as the Harry Potter book premiere event. Though, I did get this picture of Hillary Clinton. No such luck getting a picture of Harry Potter.


Finny drank two bottles of water while waiting for the Clintons to come out. Just some advice to presidential candidates: making people wait in 90 degree weather because you're an hour late does not rally them to your side. Savvy?

Cute Things Finny Does, Part 2

Finny started to say "actually" a lot. It's so funny because it is such an adult thing to say.

For example, he'll ask for juice, but when the refrigerator opens and he sees the milk, he'll say, "Mommy! Milk, actually!" Although he says it more like, "Ach-ally." It's the cutest thing ever.

Cute Things Finny Does, Part I

I know these are things I'm going to forget when he goes to college. So, before that happens:

1. He says "baby creen" instead of "baby cream." And, when he gets some on his hands, he always asks if it is okay if he puts it on his butt. Why his butt? I have no idea.

2. Whenever you ask him how many of something there are, he says "fourteen." Lots of babies have a favorite number like this, that they use for everything. But usually it is three or four; how did he get fourteen? It is also so funny sometimes... like I'll say, "Hey Finny, do you want any brothers or sisters?" And he'll say, "Yeah!" So I say, "How many?" And he says, "Fourteen!"

3. I believe he really thinks that kissing a boo-boo will make it better. And, after you kiss his boo-boo he'll say, "Daaaanks!" ("Thanks," for those of you who don't know Finnytalk.)

4. Sometimes he say, "Mommy, what's that?" And I'll say, "It's a microwave." And he'll say, "My-co-ave? OoooOOOO! My-co-ave!" It's the cutest thing ever.

5. He always announces "Right back!" before he runs away somewhere.

6. If he tries to do something, like fix a toy, open a door, etc. that is above his difficulty level, he'll try half-heartedly only once, and then say immediately, "Too hawd, Mommy!"

7. When I'm working on the computer, he asks if he can "See babies, quick?" Meaning, he wants to look at videos of himself when he was a baby. Just last night, we were watching a video of him, perhaps 10 months old, trying desperately to talk. He says, "Mommy, Finny talk!" And I say, "Yeah, that's when you were trying to talk. What is Finny saying in this video?" So he leans forward to study the video, listens for a moment, then looks at me. He points at the video. "Finny want it, cookie!" (Meaning, the Finny in the video was saying that he wants a cookie! Hehe.)

8. He's "L"s sound like "W"s. So, he'll say things like, "Wook, Mommy! Wollypop!" Or, when he wants lotion, he'll say "Wotin!" though now it's more like "Wotion!"

The start of a new era

Just now, I put Finny to bed and he started crying a little bit. This happens about 50% of the time - he doesn't want to go to sleep so he cries for about 1 minute before putting himself to sleep.

But tonight, he started crying, and then I heard a thump. I opened the door and he was just standing there, right by the door. He had obviously climbed out of the crib.

He'd never done this before.

He had been planning it for a while - he'd fling his leg over the edge and threaten to go over, but he never had the courage before. But, it was all planned out in his head.

So, I put him back in the crib and stood next to the door so he couldn't see me, and instantly he grabbed ahold of the edge of the crib, lifted his leg over, flung himself over the edge while still holding on, and then released his grip, dropping the last few inches to the floor.

I was actually impressed by his technique. He was very fluid and controlled, he was never in any danger. It was a little bit like watching that one little indian guy dancing - like a toddler doing something he shouldn't be able to do.

I sat with him in the rockin chair until he went to sleep, then when I put him back in the crib he woke up again and hopped out. I'm not sure what to do at this point, so he's now up and walking around and I'm typing on my blog.

He's going to be cranky tomorrow!

The Park

At least a few times a week, Finny and I head out to the park after work. Sometimes we just play on the playground.

But, we also sometimes walk around on the nature trails that surround the park.

His favorite past-time is the collection and constant upgrading of sticks. He must always have a stick, and if he spots a better one, he chucks the current one and goes for the upgrade.

This stick in particular was one of the nicer ones.



He also likes to run around. Normally, when we're actually in the forest, I'll make him hold my hand the entire time (so he doesn't fall off a cliff or something, ya know?). But sometimes, when we get into a nice open field, I'll let him run free. He cries out, "running!" and then runs off.


So, as Finny and I were walking through one of the nature trailed, we heard some running water about 20 feet away. We decided (well, I guess I decided) that we were going to track down the source of the water.

So, we walked around for a while on the nature paths and finally got to the river! It was only a few inches deep (seriously!) so I let Finny play around next to it. He loves throwing rocks into the water.