Happy Birthday Nana!

not really a cute picture, but it showcases the gap b/t his teeth that I posted about

Happy 55th birthday to my mom, now known as Nana. She had to work today, but besides that, we hope she has/had a wonderful day.

Carnivore

Aidan is almost officially ready for red meat. Not that he hasn't been eating it for months now, but his first molar is coming in which means that it will be much easier for him to chew that meat in a few weeks. Molar #1 is coming in on the top right (Aidan's right) and was giving Aidan a heck of a time last week. Cranky, drooling, and *we think* a stiff neck. Whenever something was going on to the right of Aidan, he would turn his whole body instead of just turning his head. That seems to have disappeared now that the molar has popped through. This will be tooth #7 for Aidan. He has the top front 4 and the bottom front 2. Technically he should have his bottom front 4 by now, but every kid is different and I'm not worried about it. They'll come in when they want to. What does worry me a little is the big gap between his two front teeth. I'm having visions of his Aunt Kali and her surgery to correct the muscle(?) or maybe extra skin(?) that didn't allow her teeth to be pushed together. Time will tell.

What To Do?

My days are filled with standard toddlerhood activities: eating, napping (Aidan, not me), going for walks, playing in the park, etc. After Aidan goes to bed though, I find myself drifting. What should I do now that it's summer? Good tv is gone and everything is re-runs. I finished the Twilight series and can't imagine finding another book that will suck me in so completely. What to do? Aidan is in bed by 7:30pm these days and Kyle usually plays poker in the evenings. I need a new hobby that is relatively cheap/free and can be done at home to keep me entertained. I've got a few books requested from the library. We'll see if that does the trick.

We've got a busy week lined up here in the Finn household. This afternoon we're meeting Grandma Michele at the Mall of America to look for new shoes for Aidan. Tomorrow we're going in to school for the last staff lunch of the year. Friday we're hitting the zoo with Stephanie and Adelyn, and Saturday, Kyle's Aunt Marsha and I are hosting a Discovery Toys Party at my house. If you've never heard of Discovery Toys, here's a PDF link to their spring/summer catalog. Aidan loves the stacking cups.

Say Cheese

If only it were that easy to get Aidan to smile. I took him to Target Studio this morning for his one year portrait. Yes, I know he will be 14 months old next week but he has had a runny nose or a rash on his chin since the week before his birthday. This was the first week of a blemish-free face since the end of March. Craziness. Back to the photo shoot...it was awful. Banging my head against a concrete wall would have been more enjoyable. The photographer took a total of 11 pictures of him in the 45 minutes we were there. She kept trying to get him to smile by making funny loud noises, and he responded by looking half scared, half confused. Every time I got him to smile she snapped the picture a second too late. Argh, frustrating! We got one kinda, sorta good one that I'm not in love with, but will have to do.

THIS Is How I Thought It Would Be

When I was pregnant I had visions of lazy summer days, spent outside, me relaxing with a cup of coffee and Aidan as content as could be. Well, that was not at all how last summer turned out. I was lucky if I made it out of my pj's before noon, lucky if I got a shower, lucky if I even got to eat more than a granola bar before 1pm. I was so disappointed that I didn't get flowers planted in May and that I didn't have time to enjoy just sitting on the deck when it was nice outside.

I guess I just had to give it some time. My visions have come to fruition and Aidan and I are spending LOTS of time outdoors. Yesterday we took Roxie to the dog park after lunch and watched all the big dogs fetching tennis balls out of the pond. (Roxie REFUSED to go near the water) I've put in lots of new plants and flowers. Aidan loves to dig in the dirt with a hand rake (if that's what they're called?) and help me water our new vegetation. This morning it was already in the 70's when we got up, so lo and behold, I sat on the deck and drank a cup of coffee while Aidan played.

Life.Is.Glorious.

Fast and Furious

Aidan and Eli at the MN Zoo

We had a great time this weekend with Nikki and Eli, but it went way too fast! Nikki had to work on Friday so they didn't get here until after 10pm that night. We got to catch up a little bit that night, but the fun really began on Saturday.Eli and Aidan both woke up around 7:15 am Saturday morning and were confused by who the other little person was staring back at them. It quickly became irrelevant since it was breakfast time and there were delicious cinnamon rolls, blueberries, and strawberries to eat. They checked each other out from the safety of their highchairs, each deciding that the other person was okay. Aidan would laugh at Eli bouncing around in his highchair, then Aidan would imitate and laugh some more. I was hoping Aidan would pick up some new vocabulary from Eli, but I think all we got was the word "stuck"...which doesn't even really sound like stuck, more like "ck".

We packed Saturday full of activity in order to get the most out of our short time together. While Aidan took his morning nap, Nikki, Eli, Roxie, and I took a walk around the neighborhood and stopped at our local park. I am still amazed by Eli's ability to climb like a monkey. He will climb up to the highest slide and go down all on his own, not afraid in the slightest. Nikki's going to have to watch out when he is a teenager. He's going to be a handful!

After Aidan woke up from his nap we went to the MN Zoo. (I finally bought our membership which was technically Aidan's birthday present) We did the standard Monkeys and Russia's Grizzly Coast, but then ventured onto the Northern Trail and wound our way over to the Farm. Nikki's husband is a farmer, so it's not like Eli hasn't ever been to a farm before. Heck, Nikki told me he was riding a calf just last week. But, it's fun nonetheless to pet the goats and sheep. I bought some food pellets and Aidan and Eli had a great time feeding the goats by hand. (I did too) :) Eli was getting pretty tired by this point, and fell asleep within minutes of going back in the stroller. He slept through the rest of the zoo, missing the Tropics. If he had been awake maybe he would have found a little girlfriend the way Aidan did. It was kind of like Fatal Attraction, where Aidan was desperately trying to get away from this little girl, about the same age as him, but she kept running after him trying to grab his face. Her mom finally corraled her, and it was time for us to go home and eat some lunch. The rest of the afternoon was laid back. We took naps, played inside and outside, and got Italian take-out for dinner.

I got some cute bath pictures (nothing inappropriate) and then it was time for bed. Whew! We made it. Nikki and I rewarded ourselves by having a glass of wine and watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy that I had recorded on Thursday night. (I think Izzie will come back, but that George is probably dead...just my prediction.)

What is Eli doing in my bathtub???

Cuddled up after bathtime

Here are the photos from the weekend. Sunday we went back to the park, in the wagon, after Aidan woke up from his morning nap. I think we wore Eli out and hopefully he slept most of the way home for Nikki.

Remember that you can click on the slideshow and it will take to you my webshots page. Those pictures will have captions with them to describe what's going on.



Nikki and Eli’s Visit

Mixed Feelings

I'm completely bummed because the baby sign language class that Krista and I were supposed to attend tonight got canceled. Something about low enrollment. Pshh. There would have been at least two people there...Krista and I. Isn't that enough?!?! Now it's back to the drawing board. I've scoured the Internet looking for other baby sign language classes with little success. I'm thinking I might just buy some DVD's and try them out.

On the flip side, I'm SUPER excited because Nikki and Eli are coming to visit this weekend. I personally think Nikki is a crazy lady for driving six hours in a car with a 21 month old, but I haven't seen them since Christmas, so I'm going to keep my mouth shut and anxiously await their arrival. Nikki told me Eli is already 36 inches tall, so he's going to look like a giant next to Aidan. I can't wait to take pictures.

Here are some past pictures of the two of them. Notice how we can't ever get them to look at the camera? They are total boys when they are together...going constantly and can't be bothered to stop and look cute for a moment.

September 2008

At Christmas.

Aidan soaked his shirt in drool, which is why he is half naked.

Toddler Equations

As a teacher, I'm all about math. Here are some equations from my life right now.

Walking toddler + Outdoors = Scraped knees and holes in new jeans

Poopy diaper 15 minutes before bath time = Mommy doesn't want to waste a new one = Pee in the playroom

Nice weather + Aidan wanting to go outside = Tantrums x 10 (when he doesn't get his way)

Mommy + Baby sign language class = Fewer tantrums???
(I'm hoping that's how it turns out anyway. Krista and I are going to baby sign language class next Tues night)

Celebrations

Kyle's favorite...Carrot Cake

Taking a huge bite of ice cream

And then getting an ice cream headache!

A quick recovery, who can be sad after eating cake and ice cream?

Birthday Pies at Grandpa and Grandma Finn's house
(Strawberry and Pumpkin)

Make a wish!

We had three days of celebrations this weekend. Friday was Kyle's birthday, which we celebrated at home with dinner and a carrot cake. Saturday was the Kentucky Derby at Gayle and Cory's house (Gayle announced that she's pregnant YAY!), and Sunday we went to the Twins game. Although, I wouldn't really count that as a celebration since the Twins lost. Then it was back to Grandpa and Grandma Finn's house to celebrate Kyle's birthday with pie. I was worn out by the time Sunday night rolled around, but not too tired to start the next book in the Twilight Saga...Thanks Krista!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Kyle turned 28 today and Aidan wanted to say "Happy Birthday" but he can't talk yet. I told him I would help him out by making a sign.

Being a huge goofball

Flashback to last year when Aidan was 1 month old.
How much difference a year makes!