On the Mend

Finn helped mix some "get betterness" into daddy's homemade macaroni and cheese at lunch .Then we all curled up together on the living room floor.

Things are looking up tonight.

Finn Spins

Chris went back to work today after a nice break only to come home sick and crawl in bed. Maybe Finn has had a little something too since he's been fussy the last few days. Here is a video of our active little boy - obviously not feeling too bad. Hudson looks a little sick from watching Finn go round and round.

Sense of Impending Doom

Targhee and Jackson Hole were too fogged in for skiing but we still found other ways to have fun in Driggs: cooking, shopping, walking in the snow, playing competitive rounds of Blokus (and a cool-down round of Sequence), reading, relaxing...

Unfortunately, the roads were too treacherous for 2WD travel (with a baby) so we had to forgo our trip to Bozeman and head home early.

"Opening"

Merry Christmas!

It took Finn awhile to figure out the whole gift unwrapping thing, especially since he napped through Chris and I opening our gifts, but Hudson was more than willing to jump in and help show him the ropes.

Extreme Distaste

"I threw up in my mouth"Well, we tried mango today and were met with great disapproval. I've never seen Finn make such a face. Those DuRoss selective eater genes are showing through.

Christmas Break Has Officially Begun

Now I just need to make one trip to school to enter all my grades before we can truly relax and play.

Jingle Cats

This is for Selah...

Hold It

Another afternoon hanging out with the boys. The challenge was to get Hudson and Finn to sit still at the same time.

Bath Hippo

I had to have Chris grab the camera last night while I was giving Finn a bath. This is one of my favorite things to watch him do:

He traps the hippo with his legs

and draws it up to where he can grab it.

Then the hippo goes straight to the mouth.

DuRoss Heights

Profile of an American Town

DuRoss Heights, New Castle County, Delaware. A quaint little town, about 30 minutes southwest of Philly, nestled in between the river and the airport. Basketball is the theme here and a town friendly to misplaced travelers. Real estate is affordable, albeit slow (a quick check revealed zero properties for sale). Visit sometime if you take the wrong I-95 exit or are just looking for a slow town to stretch your legs, you won't regret it.

6 month Dr Appt Stats

In response to a comment by Amber I'm posting Finn's stats for the fun of seeing how he compares with his two 6 month cousins. It is always hard to get a good impression of his size in the photos. He's long and lean like his dad.

Height (in): 27.25 - 75th percentile
Weight (lb): 15.75 - 25th percentile
Head Circumference (cm): 44.5 - 75th percentile

Finn took an interest in my sunglasses as we came inside from a walk

Six Months!

Well, Finn didn't get a minivan for his half-birthday like his cousin Judah, but he still seemed pretty happy. So hard to believe that half a year has passed - I never believed folks when they said it would pass this quickly. In the video Erika talks briefly about her favorite parts of the last 6 months, but for me I think the giant smiles I receive each day when getting home from work are the most rewarding...that and seeing the way he interacts with (and loves!) his mom. The three of us sat down for an evening fireside interview, once again, I apologize for the outdated camera-video technology.

Doin' Laundry

Almost 10 pm and still wide awake! Here are a couple videos of Finn enjoying sitting up and finding new things to play with.

Such a lucky boy

Finn is so excited to get the extra daddy time now that Chris stays home with him Wednesday mornings. We are thrilled with our new nanny. She and her two year old daughter have so much fun with Finn: playing, going for walks, hitting the library and participating in music classes. The wait was totally worth the while. Many thanks to those friends that helped us out in the interim!!!!!

I Love Walking!

Hudson's enthusiasm for a walk this morning far outweighed Finn's, but after a few steps he was fully into it - talking and looking around. Of course he fell asleep by the end.

I Passed!

I had a dream last night that I received notification that I passed one of the two Geologist Licensing exams that I took last September, but that they forgot to send me notice about the second (harder) one. It has been an agonizing two months waiting for the test results - and early this morning when Hudson woke me up (out of that dream) to go out I realized we had never grabbed the mail yesterday (Sat.) - instantly thinking: I bet the letter is in there...but I didn't need potentially bad news that early in the morning. Sure enough - when Erika grabbed the mail later this morning the letter was there - and I passed (both) exams!

Milestones

This morning we awoke to a glistening white, hefty coating of snow out our window. The tree branches were laden and drooping as the giant flakes continued to fall throughout most of of the day.
This was the perfect backdrop for some quality time milling around the house together.

Of course, we couldn't spend the entire day indoors, so we took in some spectacular scenery hiking up Mill Creek's Desolation Trail.

Below is a photo of the grand finale for the day. Enthralled by the pattern on his pillow Finn reached and grasped to no avail. His persistence and balance were noteworthy but he couldn't seem to figure out how to pick up a frog. Soon I realized that he really didn't need me holding him as he continued to pursue the frogs with such concentration. Our boy is officially sitting tall!

Time to make another batch of food.

I have to laugh every time I make baby food. This just reminds me of the Playdough barbershop. Get out the scissors.
Finn's appetite is increasing. He goes through several "icecubes" of sweet potatoes or avocado in a single meal. He's a growing boy.

Wintery Weather

This morning we woke up to some long awaited winter weather - not that we didn't enjoy the 65-degree weather in mid-November!

Today is my morning with Finn; we might bundle up and head outside...or just relax and sip our coffee inside.

Precision

Finn is getting pretty accurate with his grab and everything goes straight to the mouth. There are about as many fun things to play with on Daddy's lap as there are on his new exersaucer.
Finn went to his first birthday party last night (Kaya's birthday) and came home with this dandy hunk of plastic. He loves it! Ah, the ability to stand and have access to a multitude of tactile temptations.