The "Finnster, et al."

Today (Friday) I had a few cases set so Finn spent the day at JT's house. I had to be in Nashville at 7:00 to meet with a client's psychologist. I had to leave the house at 6:00 which meant I needed to be up at 4:45. Around 5:30 I was standing with my back to the door digging through my panty hose drawer. Out of nowhere I hear "hi mommy" in a very loud and excited voice. I jumped a mile; he scared me to death. After picking Finn up from JT's house we met Daddy at the Streets for dinner at Qdobas. Then we went took Finn down to the breezeway to let him run. Finn thinks the breezeway is a tunnel. Next we went to Barnes and Noble to play with the train set. After about an hour a five year old little boy came over to play too. Finn was inordinately pleasant and sweet to this little boy. He shared, spoke and played with him. When it was time for Finn to leave I asked him to give the Spencer train to Rhett (little boy) and he did. I couldn't believe it....

Finn had a big day on Thursday. He started the day at daddy's office while I went to the OB to check on Sam - passed my gestational diabetes test with flying colors. Later in the day Finn went to the pediatrician's office for his two year appointment. We learned that Finn is doing great except for one small thing - he has gained a little bit more weight this year than he should have. They like for kids between their first and second birthday to gain about 4 pounds. Finn gained 7.5. We were told that we can start with skim milk, that we should switch to lowfat peanut butter and that we should nix the nighttime raisins. She has always given us great advise so I trust her judgment. I felt like such a bad mother sitting there listening - I wanted to cry. I have always struggled with weight issues and I don't want Finn to do the same. At the end of the appointment Finn got a finger prick to check his lead levels and then he got flu shot - he screamed his guts out. He ...

Late Saturday night Michael heard a loud thump from upstairs and then heard a scream from Finn. Finn had fallen out of his toddler bed for the first time. I was sound asleep in bed and heard about it the next day. Even though he screamed pretty loud he went back to sleep pretty quickly. Sunday after church we met James, Brandon, Carissa, Addison and Ella for lunch Chili's. Finn didn't eat a whole lot and instead opted to dunk french fries in his water cup. After we got home I took Finn upstairs to bed for his nap. He asked about his Uncle James who was watching football downstairs with Daddy. I told him that he could see Uncle James when he woke up. That seemed to appease him enough to allow him to drift off to sleep. When he woke up he went downstairs to see that Uncle James was nowhere to be found. He kept asking me "where James." I pointed to his James train and said "he right there Finn." Over and over he would ask. It finally hit me that...

Saturday the Begley clan went to join Super Coop for the Buddy Walk at Centennial Park. I told Finn early in the day that we would be going to the park and he was thrilled. When we got there We took the stroller out but as it turned out Finn wanted to walk the whole way. I though the walk was a mile, but it was a half a mile. Both Finn and Coop were great - they didn't get tired and they didn't complain. Zac and Coop getting checking out the sign. Hank getting ready for the Walk Throwing "stuff" into the pond. Dad found a perfect shell and showed it to Finn. Finn took one look at it and threw it in the pond. Oops. Balancing. Super Coop crossing the finish line. The only swing Finn has ever enjoyed. After the walk we found a nice shade tree to sit under and eat lunch. It was a wonderful day for a picnic. Exhausted after the grueling walk.

After the Buddy Walk Grandad and Gigi came back to Finn's house to play - or at least that's how Finn would put it. When we first got back Finn opened a new "Sir Top Hat Caboose" and Mickey Mouse Shapes and Colors flash cards. Then Finn decided that he wanted to play outside - as if he hadn't played outside all day. First we played with the sidewalk chalk. We played the CSI version. Next Finn created his own game - he would go to the top of the driveway (the driveway is sloped) and roll a tennis ball under the front of his Daddy's car. Next he would run down along side the car. . . And try to catch the ball as it came out the back end. Finn was not quite fast enough to accomplish this goal. While I was at the post office, Finn, Grandad and Gigi walked down to the common area to play. After I got back, Lauren came to visit for a few minutes and then we all went out to eat. Finn was pretty good during dinner. He ate peanuts and a roll. When it was time ...

Within the last few weeks Finn has become the sweetest little boy. He is no longer selfish with his hugs and tell us he loves us all the time. This morning I put Finn's polar bear shirt on him, he took one look at it and said, "I love it." He will also ask me to "love" his blanket. This means that I am to hold the blanket up to my cheek. This has been an eventful work week for me meaning that Finn's blog has been neglected. In an attempt to remember a few things, I am randomly writing things down. Last Sunday Finn went to play basketball with Daddy. I was on a home visit so Michael had to take Finn to the gym for a few minutes. When I got there Finn was having so much fun. He would run around the gym with Micheal and would try to get on the court. When it was time for us to leave Finn was devastated. I decided that it would be okay for us to hangout a few more minutes and play. The only problem was when Michael actually started playing Finn would ...

Friday Finn, Michael and I met Gran, Kim, Katie and Jake at the Nashville Zoo for the Halloween event. Finn was pretty keyed up the whole night. He took to jumping for some reason. He would just jump up and down in one place over and over while saying "look mommy." He is really starting to take on the characteristics that are synonymous with being a two year old. Our first stop was to the Meer cat lair. All of the animals had been put away for the event, but there was one lone Meer car out and about. This is Katie, Finn and Gran looking at the Meer cat. Katie and her new brother Jake are the children that Gran keeps during the day (Kim is their mother). All over the Zoo there were little scary huts set up where people in costume would give candy to kids. I think I ate most of Finn's. This is the best picture I could get of Finn while on the hayride. Pretty rough. The hay ride was really fun and not too scary. Finn was more impressed with the fact he was riding o...

Today (Thursday) Finn learned to make his bed. He liked the process so much that the minute he made it up he would immediately throw all of the covers off the bed and start again. The finished process. Today was a stay at home day with mama - meaning that we drove all over town to keep busy. When we got home we played with Finn's sidewalk chalk. He is getting pretty good at recognizing shapes. I drew a square, rectangle, triangle, and circle on the driveway and he properly identified three out of four. When I asked him what shape the circle was he said "Mickey Mouse." While the answer wasn't necessarily wrong it wasn't the "most correct" answer. Just like his parents, Finn is proving to be bad at multiple choice, standardized tests. What is most impressive is Finn's ability to properly identify the shape of a stop sign. Octagon is a tough word.

This morning Finn woke at 5:45. I went into his room to coax him back to sleep by laying my head on the foot of his bed. He decided to turn his entire body around and lay his head directly on top of mine. We decided to get up instead. It wasn't so bad though - Finn only woke up one time last night and it was at 2:00. I took his nightlight out of his room hoping that the darkness would help him stay asleep. He never had a night light in his crib - so why mess with a system that was wildly successful. We'll see how it goes. After getting up we went downstairs for some breakfast. It was freezing and Finn let me know about it. He has never whined about being cold before. All I have to say is "get used to it son." Those that know us well know that we keep a cold house in the winter months. Since Finn was so cold I let him eat his eggs on the couch wrapped up in a down comforter. After breakfast Finn helped me cook a sour cream coffee cake for Sunday School. W...