Young Minds at Work

My mother-in-law bought the kids a foam fort-building set a long time ago and they have really been busy creating things with it lately. It's funny how symmetrical Finn always makes his shapes. And he bends them in ways I would have never thought of! Here the kids are, pretending they are spaceships:

And Finn was kind enough to even make a mini-ship for the cat:

Time for School

Finn started preschool this week. It's been great! Once he got in the classroom, he started playing with the toys and I don't even think he noticed when we left. Trying to get information about the school day is like pulling teeth, but from what little he says, it seems like he likes it! Yay!

Finn's Spacey Sleeping Bag

I am submitting this to Tea Rose Home's Wednesday link party. Check it out!It just struck me that I never showed-off Finn's quilted sleeping bag! He picked out all the fabric himself--Space Robots for the pillowcase on top and what he likes to think is "Super Mario Galaxy" space fabric for the main part of the bag. I sewed this thing up both sides, cocoon-style, so the boy can get nice and cozy. However, I still need to find a small pillow insert for the top since I made it a little less than standard size.
His words: "I love it so much!"

Costume Party No. 2

Finn's still digging the costume making. He made one for me this morning and I thought I would share:That thing on my head? That's my Robin mask. And the green patch is my shirt, complete with orange "crest."
Finn really outdid himself on the costume he made for himself. It's a bat helicopter costume (so he says): I really hope we aren't allergic to the adhesive in this tape. Otherwise, we are all going to have red patches on our faces tomorrow!

If Wishes Were Horses, Wizards Would Ride

Excerpt of a conversation with Finn today:

Finn: (sounding sad) Mom, I wish I had some friends
Me: What are you talking about, honey? You have a lot of friends.
Finn: I wish I had some friends that could help me do MAGIC.
Me: Oh. Can't help you there.

Perhaps a few too many viewings of Sword and the Stone this week?

Costume Party

Finn has wanted to dress up as something new everyday lately. Sometimes I put a lot of effort into his costumes:
(Super Finn)
Sometimes I'm a bit more lazy:
(Robin)

And sometimes he just makes it himself:

(Mr. Freeze--2 rolls of tape were destroyed in the making of this costume)

Have you ever seen "Parenthood"?

Yep, Finn is THAT kid.

Finnisms

Finn is WAY too obsessed with Lego Batman at the moment. When he says really cute things I can't help but let him play:

Finn: Can I play Lego Batman, pleasepleaseplease?!

Me: Finn, mommy feels really sick right now and I think we should just sit here and stare at the walls.

Finn: OH-kay (sounding defeated). I'll just go play Lego Batman.

Or,

Finn: I think I need to potty.

Me: Put down the controller and go to the potty.

Finn runs from room, brings potty back in front of game.

Me: Why don't you just potty in the other room, the game is paused.

Finn: I like it. I want to potty in front of Lego Batman.

Me: Fine, just go *sigh*

Finn: Um, can you guys leave? I need some privacy.

My favorite is after asking all morning if he can play, and having me tell him repeatedly no, that I need to at least wake up a little and have some coffee, he corners his dad in the dark hall and whispers, "Hurry Dad, in here, now's our BIG CHANCE."

How can you say no to that kind of devotion?

Junior Year

Have I mentioned how awesome 3-year-olds are? I am only a month in, so this may be premature, but Finn has never been so clever or charming as he has been this month. Three-year-olds may know how to push your buttons (it's positively MADDENING when he interrupts my singing to tell me that the words to the Thomas song say "falling fate" instead of "hauling freight." I'm pretty sure I'm right since they spell it out for you each episode and I'm the one who knows how to read!!!), but not always in a bad way. Finn knows that a quick kiss or an "I'm sorry" can work wonders on my mood. I'm going to optimistic and call it the "terrific threes" in this house.
Two of my favorite 3-year-olds (I promise Kristal--I didn't lock them in there or anything. They were enjoying themselves up until I pulled out the camera):

Out to Lunch

I took a short vacation to Florida to visit my grandparents this week ALL BY MYSELF! Of course, I missed the fam as soon as I stepped on the plane, but it was nice to travel alone. I love to be in airports, so wandering around alone was a special treat. Anyway, now I am back and Scott has the reast of the week off, so we spent a great day at Turner Falls. Finn loved splashing around the springs, but Kinley did NOT. She just isn't much of a water baby! Turner Falls has a few replica "castles" that were built in the 1930s. We asked Finn who he thought lived in them and he said, "Probably Yoda." (Star Wars is his new favorite movie). Then he made us go into each room, looking for him. I told him Yoda was probably out to lunch.

Finn 3.0

August is a huge month in our house. Both of the kids have their birthdays this month. Finn is first, of course (as he is in everything). I suppose this means that we officially got through the Terrible Twos! In retrospect, Finn probably had a tougher year than we did. He gained a new sister and a new house! He really handled it all very well though. Here's a list of what Finn has shown me in the last year:

• He's an amazing big brother. Of course, he frequently pushes, bites, kicks, hits and yells at his sister without reason, but he's really working on controlling his competitive impulses. He's probably said "Can you please move Kinley (or "Quinney" as he says)" more often than he just pushes her out of the way now. And I will never forget that the first time he met her he gently gave her a kiss on the head instead of freaking out. He's certainly a loving guy.


• My son is so strong willed! He is no pushover. If he doesn't want to do something, he will let you know. And no amount of begging, bargaining or chocolate will change his mind.


• Finn has a stomach the size of a peanut. Two bites and he is good for the day. I always say he is a picky eater, but he's just a non-eater (a "breath-arian" as my mom says).


• I realize how lame it is to label someone at this age, but Finn will either be a techie or a hairdresser (If we continue with the daily viewings of Mamma Mia, it will be leaning heavily toward hairdresser).


• Finn has an amazing capacity for repeating the things I say and do. I really need to watch myself because before I know it, "What's the problem?" will be turning into swear words.

Most of all, I have realized that hard work does pay off. Finn is turning out to be a polite, sweet, fun little boy, which is how I'm trying to raise him. Like I said, he is picking up on all the things I say and do, and so much of it is really positive. Increasingly, instead of throwing a tantrum, he ask me to "stop doing that please" (although sometimes he just tries to send ME to MY room). I know I don't always set the best example for him, so every polite act of his just goes to show what a great little guy he is. I try to teach him about positivity and kindness, but I probably learn more than I teach! Anyway, happy birthday Finn!

DJ Finn & My Project

It's Finn's turn to have a video. I get a little preoccupied with taking video of Kinley since she has so many new tricks lately. Here he is, playing around with Dad:

Furthermore, I've taken up knitting lately and I've produced 2 WHOLE SCARFS! Nothing too complicated, but for Kinley's I did add stripes. Here she is, modeling it:

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads!

Finn's Bestie

Finn's true best friend is his pacifier. I think I've mentioned before how fond he is of it. He's even taken to referring to it as a person and calling out to it when he can't find it ("Paci, where are you?"--as if it has ears). It's really quite sweet, but it's gotten to be a bit of a pain. It's hindering his eating habits (as if he actually has eating habits) because he insists on having it at the table, he is constantly talking about it or looking for it and, on top of everything, the thing is just gross. It's 2 1/2 years old! Since we haven't really focused on potty training this week, I decided that maybe we should focus (we MUST always have a mission!) on giving up the paci--at least during the day. It's led to some strange exchanges with Finn:

Finn: "I miss the old house"--(first time he has EVER referenced the old house in 2 months)

Me: "Why?"

Finn: "Because there I could have my paci"

And another time we were looking at the picture in the upper right corner of this very blog and what does he say? Does he say "There's me and my sister!"? No. He exclaimes, "LOOK! There's me and my paci!"

Yes, it is heartbreaking. Most of the time I feel like a power-hungry tyrant. I mean, what does it really matter? Am I just embarrased that my nearly-3-year-old child still has a pacifier, or am I really concerned that he isn't being prepared for life?

But...he has done pretty well the last couple of days and I hate to break a good streak. So I guess for the moment we will be paci-free (at least until bedtime!).

Mid-point Check-in

Finn and Kinley both had milestones this month--Finn turned 2 1/2 and Kinley will be 6 months next week! Here's just a little update on the two of them:

Finn--Since Finn turned 2 he's changed a lot. He is much more emotional is the best way to say it. It started out with tantrums, but lately, he's learned to handle his frustration a lot better (minus the occasional hitting and kicking). Lately, when he gets mad, he tells me "I'm mad, I'm very very mad" and then goes and has some alone time in his room. He usually slams the door behind him (a bit like living with a teenager), but I don't mind--at least he's learning that he needs to take a time out.

Finn has turned into the pickiest eater! For the last 6 months, he has subsided on just a handful of bites of food each day! I am really amazed at how much energy he has for as little that he eats. The child literally will go a day or two with only taking a few bites of food.

Finn is still as active as ever. He is busy all day long--and this is probably why he never eats, he won't sit still! He still loves people and is super friendly, but I have noticed at playdates he likes to wander off by himself and have some alone time.

Finn is becoming quite the handyman. He is very mechanical and loves to take things apart and put things back together. We bought him a tool set at Christmas and it's one of his favorite things! He also has a pretty big fascination with robots and loves to make them and other "redozits" (electronics) out of his Legos.

Kinley--It's hard to believe it's been half a year already! Kinley has grown so much. She's a very healthy eater and has started solids the last couple of weeks. She loves being with mommy, daddy and her big bubba, but is more skittish around others. However, she seems to be warming up to her grandparents a little (as long as mommy is around). Her very favorite person is Finn. He can sit on her, pull her arms or poke her and she thinks it's HILARIOUS. She loves her big bro.

Kinley loves to make noise and seems to be working on her "B" sound (to say "bubba" I'm sure!), but physically she doesn't seem to be doing much. She is great with her hands, but she isn't at all interested in sitting up, rolling over, or crawling. She has been crazy teething lately.

Overall, her personality is very sweet. She just likes to watch what we're doing and is pretty content most of the time. When Finn was this age, he would need a new activity every few minutes, but Kinley will lay for a long time on her play mat, just batting and chewing on her toys.

I would love to be blogging more, but I've been SO pressed for time! This month has been very stressful with all the moving plans. But we are (hopefully) moving in our new home in a week! Maybe then I will have more time!

Point and Click

Finn's taken his love of the computer to a new level. He can now point and click.

Once he learns to type, I'm making him get a job.

Future Profession: Rock Star

He partied, then he slept.

Finn's First Day at Gymnastics

Finn started gymnastics today. We were all very excited. He's taking it with his friend Noah, and even though they aren't in the same class, they are there at the same time and can still play a little together! It was really cool. Finn's teacher, Miss Sara, was really great with all the kids and didn't mind that Finn likes to wander. I think Finn might even have a crush on her! Anyway, it was super fun and we can't wait for next week!

Christmas Countdown

We went to a "Little" party on Thursday and had so much fun! My friend Tonya gave them each sock monkeys that they really loved! Kinley let me know this by putting it directly in her mouth (the ears are just the right size for chewing). She also made some pretty rad scrapbooks for the kids. I don't know how Tonya finds the time to be so amazing!

We also celebrated my Father-in-Law's birthday on Saturday. Finn was right by his side to help him with all his candle-blowing and cake-eating needs! We ended up giving him an entire side of the cake because he kept sticking his fingers in it.

Counting by Cookies

I gave Finn a Smookie today and when he was done, he said, "I NEED another cookie. I NEED TWO!" He got points for being able to count, but, alas, still not enough to get another cookie (at least until dinnertime).

What is a Smookie, you ask? Good question. Smear melted milk chocolate on a peanut butter cookie. Smear melted marshmellow creme on another peanut butter cookie. Press together. Voila! Smookie! Pretty rad.

Steppin' Out

Scott and I went to my work's annual Christmas party. It's a pretty nice affair, so I always look forward to getting dressed up. However, this year we had a thoroughly awful time! We couldn't find the new place they were having it at, and by the time we did, I was in a pretty terrible mood. Then, we were sort of late because we looked for the place for so long, so almost all the tables were full--at least all the ones with people I knew. I had arranged to sit with a certain person, but I couldn't find him, so we ended up sitting at a completely empty table so that I could save my friend a seat in case he showed up. The waitresses were even cracking jokes to us ("What, did you tick everyone off?"--Oh yes, I nearly slapped her in my bad mood). So what did Scott and I do? We wolfed down our entrees and snuck out to the movies! We went to see Four Christmases, which really wasn't that great, but I figured it was better than sitting at our empty table being pityed! So much for my big night out!

Here's a cute pic of Kinley all bundled up to go out shopping:

And here's Finn in the little diaper "bed" that he made last night. Kids do the weirdest things!:

There is such a cold front moving in! We went to the park yesterday around noon and it was beautiful! After about 30 mins, however, a big wind came up and it instantly got 10 degrees colder. So strange! Finn's been saying the strangest things lately too, espiecially when he's mad. He got angry that we left the park, so he was yelling at me in the car and said "Mommy! Go Home! No! Go to Work!" It kind of made me laugh! He doesn't know what "work" is, but I guess he figures we are gone, so he wanted me to go there! He is always trying to boss me around about where to go. Half the time in the morning, I go into his room and he yells "NO NO NO, GO!" and wants me to shut the door so he can continue playing/reading/tearing apart his room. I need to teach him to say "Mommy, I would like to play alone a bit longer, so can you please excuse me while I shut the door?" Wouldn't that be polite? :) LOL! No doubt, Finn has definitely been acting like a 2-year-old lately.