The "Finnster, et al."

When I was growing up I loved the "Ramona" books by Beverly Cleary. In one such book there is a chapter called "Ramona says a bad word." As an eight (8) year old girl, I was stunned to see such an obscene and inappropriate chapter title in a childrens book. As it turns out the "bad" word referred to was "snot." A bit of a disappointment to a girl who thrives on controversy. Well, that was until my own flesh and blood started a little controversy of his own. . . Today began like any other Thursday; it was a home day for me. As I do on most "home" days I dragged Finn along to the courthouse to get the Judge to sign an Order. On our way into the courthouse I stepped in a muddy patch and said (fairly loudly) "YUCK." From the parking lot to the courthouse Finn starts yelling his version of "yuck" on the top of his lungs. Unfortunately his version was the "f" word. I was mortified! Everyone in a 10 mile radiu...

Today Finn got a new cup. While wandering around Wal-Mart I thought it might be fun to get Finn a cup with a straw. He is always wanting to sip out of our straws so I thought he would love to have his own cup complete with a straw. Well, I was right; he loved the cup. The only problem was he didn't quite get the mechanics. He would tip the cup up as though it were a sippy cup and try to drink. When nothing would come out he would hand me the cup and say "more." These are just a few pictures of Finn eating dinner; peas and mashed potatoes. Finn LOVES peas. He will eat as many as you give him and love every minute of it. In fact, while I am typing this he just pulled the empty can out of the garbage can. Earlier today when I went to pick Finn up from Victoria's house, Finn saw me coming and ran to the door. He got there a little bit before Victoria did and started yelling "mommy, aam it" (open it) as in the door. The door was locked so there wasn't m...

Today Finn spent the whole day at home with Gran. The pictures show that Finn really enjoyed his day. While he was having fun at home I spent from 8:30 to 6:30 in Lebanon - really long day. When I got home Finn was bathed and ready for bed. Before starting to settle down Finn pushed his big Thomas around. I got the bright idea to sit on Thomas and let Finn push me around. He thought this was great fun - I found it to be quite uncomfortable. Next it was time to rock Finn to sleep. Right before going to bed he always eats an apple; this night was no different. However, on this night Finn got choked on a piece of apple. For a split second I thought Finn would be able to get it up himself. When it became evident that he couldn't, I started patting him on the back with no success. Then Michael stuck his finger in his mouth to get the piece with his finger. He told me it was really far down there and that he couldn't get it. I have never felt so scared. I told him to call 911 eve...

This morning Finn woke up to see Grandad and Gigi. Gigi got back from Denmark late last night and instead of going all the way home just to get up then next morning to come back to Nashville to help Em and Zac move, they decided to stay with us. After getting up Finn hopped in the car with Grandad and Gigi and headed to Em and Zac's. Today was a fun day for Finn. He got to play in Cooper's new playroom, crawl up and down the stairs, ride in the wagon, hang out in the uhaul, smush cheese into Em's new floors, and drive his mother completely batty! We were there from about 9:30 t0 2:00 without a nap, so Finn was less than cooperative. Once we got in the car he was sound asleep before we even got out of the driveway. At home Finn ate take-n-bake pizza and then played hide-n-seek with daddy. He read books with Mama and then watched Chess until he fell asleep. On a side note, Finn is starting to repeat eveything we say. While getting Finn ready to go pick up the pizza, Michael ...

Today Finn and I took Kodiak to the Vet. He had a nasty puss pocket under his skin that was oozing and stinking. I internet diagnosed him as having an absess - thus it was necessary to take him to see the Vet as soon as possible. He was so miserable, but I shoved him in the cat carrier anyway and threw him in the car. Finn was on cloud 9 that his kitty was in the car with him. When we got to the Vet's office I got Finn out of his carseat, grabbed the diaper bag, grabbed my purse and then grabbed the cat carrier. Even with locking the car door and opening the door to the vet's office I managed to not drop anything. When we got inside Finn immediately ran for the big black cat that lives at the office. We were called back to the see the vet pretty quick - my guess is because they were afraid Finn would drive all their animals crazy. The Vet shaved off some of Kodiak's hair and confirmed that he had an absess. Then she prescribed an antibiotic and an anti-inflamatory....

Today Finn demostrated that he is a boy after his Mama's heart. While patiently waiting for Finn to decide that he was ready for his morning nap, I allowed him to empty the TV cabinet. After removing a few DVDs he got stuck on one imparticular - Harry Potter. He held it out to me and said "Harry Potter"! Well, it sounded like Harry Pod, but it was adorable. Then he brought over the DVD and and wanted to read it. He climbed up in the rocking chair with his new "book" and settled in for a long read. And thus it begins . . . Around 12:00 we went to Danny's to get Finn's haircut. It was so awful - I stayed stress out the rest of the day. He screamed/cried the entire time. He seemed to be scared to death. Then to make matters worse he had to go to the doctor's office to get shots for his 18 month well baby check-up. The check-up went well. Finn weighs 29.5 pounds and is 32.5 inches tall. He was also screened for autism at this visit, which went well. F...

Last night Finn fell in the bathroom. I had just gotten him out of the bathtub and sat him on his towel. When he stood up his foot immediately slipped out from underneathe him and he came crashing to the floor. He bumped his head pretty hard and cried his little eyes out. Michael was out of town so I had nobody to freak out with. I was pretty nervous the rest of the night. I probably woke him up every hour from 8:00 through midnight. Around that time I put him in the bed with me, just in case. I tried my best to wake him up, he would stir and open his eyes, but he wouldn't wake all the way up which made me a nervous wreck. I next decided to stand him up in the bed. That didn't work, he just fell over on me. After a little while, and talk with Michael I felt better and put him back in his crib. He did just fine. He woke up at 6:30 just like normal and had a good day. When we got home from Victoria's today we took him outside and let him play on his lawnmower. He ended up ju...

This weekend was dedicated to the "soon" (as opposed to late) Henry Issac Cox, or as Emily learned this week, Coopers worst enemy. Cooper acted a little jealous this weekend when Emily held Campbell. It was a really nice shower and Finn had a great time. Cooper and Finn spent a lot of time together. Finn was pretty friendly and spent a good deal of time with his cousin The Lady Cousins (minus Anna who was having labor pains) The Sisters Don't let this picture fool you - they are only pretending to be on their best behavior. Cooper reading his new book. Eating his new Nerf football from Aunt Tracey It didn't take long for my child to strip down to his diaper. After the shower was over Finn, Cooper, Mom, Em and I went to church while Mom practiced the organ. Finn and Cooper ran around the empty sancuary. Later than night we had pizza. Finn ended up sitting up until almost 10:00. He was wild as a buck - crawling on furniture and yelling "oh man." ...

Today while I was at rork and Michael was watching basketball with his friends, Finn went to Target with Gran and ate a whole bag of popcorn. After I got home from work we three went to zaxby's for dinner where Finn begged for frenchfries. One the way home he sang the "Bushel and Peck" song. Later on in the night Finn and I went to grab something from town and he rocked out to Abba in such a way that I have never seen before (and who can blame him). He got this serious look on his face, bopped his head to the beat and swung his arms like a crazy person.

Today Finn is a year and a half going on thirty (30). In honor of this day I have decided to post a list of all of Finn's words. Nana gave me this idea a couple of weeks ago. I know I will not be able to get them all, but I will do my best. He can mimic just about anything we say so I am only going to list the words that he knows, uses consistently and uses properly. PEOPLE : Mama, which for some reason Finn is switching to Mommy. Daddy, which used to be Dada. Gran (Dan) Pa Grandad (Dan Dad) Gigi Nana Pa Cooper (Coofer) Emily JT Foods : Apple Oatmeal (ott-mall) Peanut butter (peddie-baa) Milk (Mick) Water (Wadoo) Chicken (bock bock) Eggs (Aaggs) Yogurt (gocurk) Juice Crackers (Dadu) cereal (cirral) Raisins Beans Rice (hice) Teddy Graham (Teddies) Cheese Grilled cheese. Every time we pass by any Sonic anywhere, he yells for grilled cheese Eat Drink (dink) Bread (bed) Soup Popcorn (pop pone) Colors: Red Orange Cartoons: Thomas (Domas) Mickey (Meennie) Donald Duck (Don Duck) Percy (Pe...

Today is the first day of the NCAA Tournament, meaning that Daddy is home for two (2) straight days! In order to let Michael enjoy some basketball games, Finn and I went to the Davidson County courthouse to get a summons issued. I was a little worried about how Finn might behave as it is a long walk from the parking garage to the courthouse. Much to my delight, he was a perfect angel. He was friendly to eveyone on the elevator, he was nice to the officers at the metal detector and he was very polite to the clerk. He even let me hold him the entire time which is unusual. The clerk's office only took about five (5) minutes but after just a few seconds, Finn started hamming it up. He would lay his head on my should, saying "mama" in his sweet voice, and pull my face towards his for a kiss. He did this several times. It was so sweet, but after a few times (with on end in sight) I had to put a stop to it. Once we were done I let Finn run around in the huge courtyard in f...