Fin at 14 Months - Posted by Rik

Of all of the months in Fin's development this has been the most rewarding as parents. The 14th month is when Fin learned to be genuinely affectionate. He gives fantastic hugs and gives them often. He squeezes you tightly around the neck and presses his cheek into you. When I come home he greets me with a hug. If we tell him no because he's headed for a hot stove, or yanking on Paco's leg, he'll frown with disappointment and then give you the sweetest conciliatory hug you've ever had. 100% heart-melt.

This is also the month that he fell into his grandfather's tradition of "modulating his voice." Instead of biting yelps he now talks in cooing babbles and says things like "all done!" "up." Last week, I corrected him when he called Eva "dada."

"I'm your Dada," I said.

"I your Dada," He cooed back to me and smiled.

Sometimes he'll repeat exact phrases when we read to him. Sometimes he'll just sing back to us mimicking our over-the-top parentish inflections with precision.

Today we went to the Downtown library for Dada/Finley time today. He's usually very good-natured and we've found he really only gets fussy if he's overtired.

He was definitely overtired. We showed up and he pulled out another kids binky, gauged the side of a 5-year-old's face, and banged on the Asian-kid-at-the-computer's keyboard, I'm sure destroying some serious online role-playing game development.

When I told him "No" he flopped back on the floor and yelled. I picked him up and said, "Finley, all done."

I put him in the stroller, and he calmed down immediately. We started on the 10th floor of the Seattle Public Library and spiraled down the corridors to the bottom. All the while he cooed happily dragging his hand against the grated rail.

The homeless people that populate the library seemed very happy to see him.

When we got back to the garage I unloaded him from his stroller and he gave me his biggest hug to date. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, seconds - cheek pressed against mine.

"I love you," I said.

"Aye ooh ooh," he cooed with perfect pitch.




Here's some photo Highlights of the Month





A slippery side-walk and a quick shift of balance gave Fin his first shiner. No big deal to him. But the mom who dropped him was pretty worried.


Fin Showcases his favorite bath-toy and his glistening gift for saliva production.


Fin's favorite time of day is playing on the bed after the bath. He stacks up pillows and bounces around wildly laughing.

Fin loves vacuuming. He demands to take over when we start.




Grandma reads him a story at Great-Opa's house in Hillsboro.

#1

Daring escape attempt from our living-room...

"Umm, Fin, that drawer is for Mama, not for you."


Eva bounces fin on Opa's mini-trampoline.

Fin at 13 Months - Posted by Eva

The 13th month seems to have been the month of mischief.

Finley mischief:


Dad mischief:


It all started with me relaying to Rik that a stranger referred to Fin as a "her" at the park the other day. We both agreed that it was time for a hair trim (notice how I didn't use the word "cut"). The disagreement, however, came in the method - I wanted to take Fin to get his hair cut professionally, and Rik thought spending money on a toddler haircut was ridiculous, and he thought he could just do it himself easily with the scissors from our butcher knife set (which he did end up using).

You've got to pick your battles, right? Yeah, I thought so too, so I begrudgingly let Rik have this one. Needless to say it did not go well. I ended up having to take Fin to get his hair cut professionally afterwords. Win-win you think? No, lose-lose. It was a very sad day for BOTH Rik and I. We LOVED his beautiful golden soft cool-kid longish hair. I mean, look at it.



Here's the side-by-side before and after.


Okay, I've made peace with it now. I actually think the new haircut shows off his face more, and he's super cute no matter what his hair looks like. And the most wonderful part: hair grows!

Talking
When reading books, we often ask Fin, what does [this] animal say? Usually he just looks at us to make the noise but lately he's been able to do three all on his own!

Me: What does the lion say?
Fin: Raaaahhhhr

Me: What does the goat say?
Fin: Ah - ah - ah - ah (similar to a sheep sound, but with out the "b") It's a very realistic goat noise, if I do say so myself. I guess he's had lots of practice listening to Basil and Wilkie.

Me: What does the fishy say?
Fin: Fin smacks his lips

Another new thing - Fin has started saying "uh-oh!" when he drops something. I've also noticed him doing this when he throws something. I think he does this for irony.

More than anything, Fin loves talking on the "phone" these days. Everything has become a phone. A toy car, a calculator, a gym membership card, you name it. He loves holding these things up to his ear and saying "ah ah ah". Once when Rik was driving and talking on the phone, I was watching Fin in the back seat with his hand up to his ear just like dad, and making the same inflections as Rik. Love them.

Walking, Talking and Other Activities
Fin is literally always on the move, unless he's strapped into a high chair, stroller or car seat. I tried taking him to story time at the library the other day and he was the only kid that wouldn't stay seated quietly and engaged. Maybe he's still too young, or maybe he's just "zive strebro" as the Slovaks say (quicksilver).

Lately he's been having fun getting into things. Literally. Like closets, suitcases and laundry baskets.




He's also crazy about water. Anytime we're at the beach he goes running to it, and we have to catch him before he charges into the waves.

On that note, he loves taking baths more than anything. He can be super fussy, but once we put him in the tub he is all smiles and sunshine.



Eating
Fin loves practicing using the spoon and fork all by himself. He looks like such a big boy eating now, although it does get messy. For this reason, I like to help guide the food onto the utensil. He's very good at getting the utensil in his mouth though. Way to go cutie!

Fin also likes to share his food. He'll take a bite of his fruit and then reach up and offer us a bite, back and forth, back and forth. It is very sweet.


Fin likes whole milk now! Thanks goodness. Not sure why he changed his mind, but I'm glad he did. Makes weaning easier. I'm down to 1, sometimes 2 nursings a day. I think he'll be close to being all done by the end of his 14th month.

As for solid foods, Fin has been getting pickier as he gets older. Things he used to love, like cheddar cheese or crackers, he'll just chew up and spit out now.

Sleeping
This month has been all about transitioning Fin from two naps to one. We could tell he was ready because he wouldn't go down for his second nap any more. He would just play in his crib forever until we took the cue. We've got a pretty good new schedule going now, although sometimes he gets fussier easier when he becomes overtired. He's in that in-between place where 2 naps is too many, and one nap just isn't enough sometimes. He does sleep 11 hours through the night very consistently though!

Teeth
He's up to six now. Four top teeth, and two bottom ones.

Circa 2009 - Posted by Eva

Painted by: Finley Whitman Croasdale
Titled: "A Parent/Child Battle to Keep Paintbrush on Paper, Not in Mouth"

Fin's Pumpkin - Posted by Eva

And here is Fin's pumpkin! Rik carved it to look like him with his two teeth on bottom and top.


Fin helped us scoop out the pumpkin seeds.


And while we're on the topic of Halloween, here's his Halloween costume. He's a penguin who doesn't like wearing his hood. Pretty convincing, isn't he.

Jack-o-lanterns - Posted by Eva

We carved our pumpkins!

This one is Rik's.

And this one is mine (although Rik helped me a lot with the eyes). We also have one more for Fin that we we'll do when he's awake.

Paco just laid around while we were hard at work, but then of course wanted to pose in all the pictures with the finished product. Yeah, go ahead, take all the credit, Paco.

Pumpkin Patch - Posted by Eva

Last week we decided to take Fin to a pumpkin patch with Maminka and Bob at Remlinger Farms in Carnation.

It was Rik and my first time to a pumpkin patch ever.

It was a beautiful day and Fin was having the time of his life patting all the pumpkins...


...and playing "one, two, three, wheeeeeeee!" with Maminka and Bob.

We even wandered into the corn maze.

We then headed over to what they call the "Harvest Festival" which had a bunch of kids' rides. We got to ride this train...

...and this car.

It was a busy and beautiful day full of lots of lovely family experiences. Thank you Maminka and Bob for joining us and treating us!

A Day at the Park - Posted by Eva

Woodland Park, that is. Elementary school Eva used to love running through the leaves in the fall at this very park. Now it's Fin's turn.


Notice who's walking Paco.








Juraj came and joined us.

A Few New Finley-isms - Posted by Eva

Fin will only go for a walk with us if he gets to hold Paco's leash now. He gets quite upset if we forget this new rule. Look how proud and in control he is.


He loves playing on the couch with dad when he gets home from work.


He can go down the small slide at our neighborhood park all by himself!

Fin at 12... and a half... months - Posted by Eva

Photos taken at the Ballard locks. The salmon were huge and out in numbers.

Since I can't even remember what new things Fin was doing when he turned 12 months, I am going to recap his new accomplishments starting.... NOW!

Walking
It's official, the boy is a toddler now! He is walking everywhere (even if he does look like a drunken sailor). He started taking a couple of steps here and there when he was 11 months, but just decided to pick up and go this last week. Now he is on his two feet most of the day. It's so fun to watch him go!

Talking
Da da da da da is pretty much said all day long. I love the enthusiasm with which he says it when Rik comes through the front door after work.

The other day I swear I heard Fin say "gato". Yes, that means cat in Spanish. We got to play with our first kitty-cat at a friend's house and when Fin first saw him he was a bit taken aback because he's only seen dogs up until now. He clearly pointed at it and said "gato". It only happened once, but it did happen. Rik reads to him only in Spanish and I guess it's paying off. See photo series below...

Fin says "Gato?"

Aww! How sweet. Uncle Hurley's gato loves Fin!

Watch it!!

Bap!
(For sensitive viewers please note this gato has been de-clawed)

Eating
The little guy is pretty much eating everything we're eating now including a delicious lentil soup that Rik made the other night. Go Rik!

Teeth
4 teeth now! Makes me want to quit nursing like yesterday. I need weening advice.

Becoming a Toddler
In general Fin is becoming so much more independent now which comes with its blessings and difficulties. And he is SO strong. Sometimes I think to myself, am I really weaker than a 1 year old? He is quite an explorer too, and does not like to be confined. This made for a very physical church session last Sunday. He's at his best when he is free to explore and learn which makes us so grateful for our new Children's Museum membership (thank you Maminka and Bob!). When we're there, he doesn't even take a second to slow down, and then he naps for about 2 and a half hours afterward. Let us know if you'd like to come join us any time - our membership allows 4 guests with every visit, and it's a great place for a play date. Here's some footage of Fin mastering the slide with his Stara Mama (grandma in Slovak).

Easy Rider - Posted by Rik