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A horoscope for Mister Finn on his birthday (from the LA Times):

Today’s birthday (Feb. 9): You’ll recommit to honing your talents this year. You’ll learn from friends and work with loved ones over the next 10 weeks. You’ll create something truly useful and perhaps employ others in May. Aries and Libra people adore you. Lucky numbers are 8, 19, 32, 17 and 50.

(All very true.)

so busy

For Christmas, this boy’s Grampa made him a play station.

As you can see, it has a variety of features especially suited for the working toddler. There’s a stove top, and multi-purpose “oven” door (which is SO fun to raise and lower and raise again to a soft magnetic click). There is storage for wooden fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products, and a generous surface for tea parties where one might use a fabric goat to stir one’s tea. Maybe cooking isn’t on the agenda today? –There’s a tools compartment filled with important things that fits in a nice vertical slot. And a drawing pad in its own horizontal slot. The whole thing is entirely multi-purpose. I say, “Oh Mister Finn, you’re so busy” and he goes about his business saying “So busy. So busy.”

First Haircut

I did it quietly without fanfare while he was playing sweetly with his Mommy in our bed. Wifey was dying a little inside as I nipped at his wispy baby hair. I felt glad to find our little family at this rite of passage. Mister Finn hardly noticed. If you look at the quantity of hair, I didn’t take off much at all; mostly I just trimmed his “bangs.” But it felt HUGE, like our baby had suddenly become a little boy. I put the small downy mass of light faun brown in an envelope in a special place.

our boy’s special talent (books)

{3 months}

Mister Finn has always been besotted with books. It is one of those traits that came with the genetic package of his person. People ask us how we taught him to love books, but I don’t think we did teach him; it’s like he already knew to love books.

{5 months}

{8 months}

He crawled rather late (10 months), so there were many glorious months when we could put him on the living room floor with a book and he would stay there, utterly engaged with it.

He would be happy if we read him books for hours at a stretch. Really.

*When he wakes up in the morning, Wifey goes and puts a stack of books in his crib. He excitedly plows through the stack, finds the one he wants, and then “reads”  for 40 minutes. Then he fusses and she puts another stack in, and goes for another 40 minutes. He’s done this for several months, and still does.

(*please don’t hate us)

{12 months}

He turns the pages one at a time and points at the pictures, “reading” the story aloud. There are some words from the actual story mixed with his own language in a continuous song-like oration.

When he’s really interested in something, he does this thing with his mouth: it gets kind of pursed, or focused, and he moves it sort of like he’s eating.

He cradles the books with his legs and holds them steady with his feet.

{15 months}

He goes in his room and shuts the door behind him, and pulls all his books off his shelves. Then he sits on top of them while he reads.

I’m assuming he has an amazing memory (and not that he can actually read) because as he brings us books to read him, he’s saying the title.

{17 months}

Often when he’s not even reading, he’s reciting to himself an entire story from one of his books.

There is no time or place unsuitable for reading a book. Also, any occasion is made better by reading a book.

{18 months}

{20 months}

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (his current favorite) sounds like: “Azenda Tebble, Hohble, Nuh Guh, Veh Bah Day.”

happy new year

Love and light to you in 2010

OMAKAI

This happened a while ago, but like many things these days I want to write it down before I forget.

A. was saying “OMAKAI” — sometimes is a slow, wistful tone (Oh. Ma. Kai.), sometimes as an exclamation (OH-MA-KAI!!).

Then one day I said “oh my god” and he said “omakai.”

We figured it would be more dainty and proper if our baby said “Gosh” instead of taking a lot of people’s Lord’s name in vain, so we started saying “Oh. My. Gosh.” and “OH-MY-GOSH!”

Mister Finn’s intonation uniquely mounts in intensity, so it’s like “oh, ma, GOSH!!!” And he says it with such purpose. Like, I took out my breast to nurse him and he said “oh, ma, GOSH!!!”  I put his food out before him and he panted “oh, ma, GOSH! oh, ma, GOSH!!!”  Sometimes he just wanders around with a domino saying “oh, ma, GOSH.” Or sitting in the car: “oh, ma, GOSH.”

hats

A. has been fashioning hats for himself and his friends, using various cutting-edge materials.

The above hats were made out of kleenex. He put the kleenex wad on the giraffe’s head, saying “Hat.” These hats were of the variety that can be worn two or three at a time.

Zip It Good

Mister Finn has been talking a lot about zippers lately, except he says zippet instead of zipper. I started singing him Push It by Salt-n-Pepa, except instead of “Push It” of course we both say “Zip It.” He zips my sweatshirt up and down and says “Oh, zip it.”  I say “Zip it good.”  And the cuddly thing in a purple panda sleeper sweetly replies “Zip it real good.” The whole routine makes me nutty and I devour his cheeks.

 

Our Daily Bread

I have very few moments where my domestic abilities flourish into a prowess that I fantasize might make Martha Stewart faint with envy. Ok, maybe there’s just one. I make Mister Finn’s food. I cook him meat and vegetables (because he bizarrely prefers them to fruit and grains), purée them in the blender, fill these little BPA-free containers, and freeze them in labeled bags. It’s actually not that hard. But I always feel proud when I peer into the freezer and see these colored bricks glistening with freezer dew.

{clockwise from top left: cherries, spinach and beef, mango and chicken, sweet potatoes, pears and pork}

As is common with preemies, Mister Finn has a now-ingrained physiological suspicion of new textures coming towards his face and going down his throat. Chunky foods cause much distress and usually end in gagging and vomiting. We are making improvement with chunky solids, but it’s really slow. We’re seeing an Occupational Therapist who maintains that we’re all doing great; even though our 17 month old can barely choke down a miniscule bite of pineapple.

Also, he is a blossoming tyrant toddler who must assert that he is the agent who will decide what and how much he eats.

Eating is emotional and precarious for all of us now. Sometimes we have peaceful lunches of roast beef (puréed to perfection, of course); other dinners feature screaming refusals of chicken and avocado (which he gobbled up happily the day before). The romance of my frozen orange and green cubes dissolves quickly. Along with the smattering of rejected offerings on the floor, which the puppy eagerly laps up while dodging more air strikes from the high chair.

The whole process can be exhausting.

I am grateful that my child is at least eating, as I’ve heard that many toddlers can’t be bothered with the activity. I figure the worst thing that could happen is he could end up eating soup and smoothies the rest of his life. Which won’t happen. (right?)

In case you live in Washington state and haven’t heard…

You need to vote YES on Referendum. 71.

What is Referendum 71?  It is a question to voters: Should gay couples be allowed to keep the rights that they already have in Washington state?

I can’t believe this is even a question.

Coupled straight people: Imagine the citizens of Washington state voting on whether or not you should be allowed to visit your spouse in the hospital without harassment.

Fathers: Imagine having to adopt your own child.

Iowa is looking really good right about now. Or sundry states on the Eastern Seaboard. Or Canada. Or Europe.