Hi Kids! Happy Memorial Day! We spent a great day over at Ginny's parents' house in Los Altos. Steaks and fruit on the grill, beer and wine in the glass. Finn and Graham had a great time as well. All times outside are great times.
Although the weather has been moderately nice, it really hasn't been "Californian," as the winter wet season decided to extend itself until even this past week. The reservoirs are full now! Finn has enjoyed the opportunities to use his matching rain coat, boots, and umbrella. On Saturday afternoon, the day after the last rain (of the season?) there was one deep puddle left. Finn's *favorite* puddle. So we got all his gear on in the middle of the brilliant sunshine. And he went to town! We also ate outside on Sunday night on our little deck. We had a nice time, although Finn was hard to handle. Probably it was too novel. Graham had a magnificent time, as you can probably tell. Note the two little teeth!
Finn needs a lot of fluids in his system to keep himself, ah, regular, so we push a lot of milk, water, and juice at him. We also have popsicles, which he doesn't get very often. Except for one night last week. They're basically frozen juice, right? Right? He managed to eat through a brain freeze and goose bumps which eventually turned to shivers. Then we threw him into a hot bath.
He has shown no ill effects, and hasn't had another popsicle since.
We all went up to the California Academy of Sciences last weekend because Finn was talking about aquariums. (I think that was the reason. Who needs a reason?) Finn has long been a huge aquarium fan, as we detailed previously here and here. Finn had a great time, as always, and got to stand next to a model of the world's largest ever land mammal, Indricotherium. Sadly, now extinct. I could walk right underneath it. Finn wasn't so excited to see the T-Rex skeleton up close, though. "No wanna see the fingers!!!" Graham enjoyed the aquarium as well, but it didn't seem to hold his attention in quite the same way as it did for Finn, when he was of a similar age. To each their own. ;) I'm sure we'll go again soon.
Help me, Obi-Chub Kenobi; you're my only hope. So what to make of Graham? He's a really jolly fellow. He smiles a lot. He giggles. He likes to watch is brother. He REALLY loves his momma. When he gets really excited (which is often) he flails his arms vigorously. Below he and his momma are watching Finn play in the fountain. Grammy is getting more interested in moving around and standing up. I think in the next few weeks he'll start scooting around a little bit on his tummy. He's been standing up with couch or parent assistance for a while now too. Here is a little video from last Friday.
Is it just me, or does something look wrong with this bath water? Aunt Keisha and Uncle Allen gave Finn some Crayola Color Dropz which can color the bathwater a variety of colors. It you put two dropz in, you get a very impressive color. Fortunately, the boys don't come out blue (or orange, or red). Notice Graham's awesome new bath chair.
Yesterday marked our fourth visit to Happy Hollow, and our third in as many weeks. As far as Finn's concerned, it's the happiest place on earth: animals, rides, animals, playgrounds, animals, theoretically a dragon, and animals, all only about 15 minutes from our front door. (I say "theoretically" because Danny the Dragon is currently closed for repairs, so all we're hearing about lately, at the park or at home, is about how Finn wants to see him.) Finn's other intense focus lately is hermit crabs. They have two in the older kids' room at school, and he is always excited to see them when he's there, and always asking about them or asking to "go to the crabby store," aka PetCo, when he's home. We may end up getting some if they're still this exciting in August or so. They have rabbits at school, too, but that's not even on the table. Except when we order in especially fancy take out. Badum-ching!
Graham's interests these days, besides me and food, include baths, going outside, and toys. One of his absolute favorites is a drum that lights up and plays a noise when you hit it - perfect for a baby this age! (Thanks, Kim!) Another is this rattle, which was a prop for a shower game at Finn's baby shower way back in 2007. It makes noise, you can bite on it, and it's so low-tech your brother never steals it. Both boys are pretty enamored of each other, and as of Saturday are going to bed in the same room at night. I think we're at a little over 50% success rate for Graham actually staying in there all night because he's been under the weather, but they both seem to like it. Finn especially enjoys when he wakes up and Graham is still there. Unfortunately, the height we initially had Graham's mattress at made a handy ladder for Mr. Finn, and when we went in there the first morning we found Finn in the crib squishing his brother. So changing the mattress height was the first order of business Sunday morning. Then there was more playing, like this, possibly one of my favorite videos ever.
Some days are giggly from Katie on Vimeo. Also, Graham really REALLY likes bread. He's still too little to really be trusted with a teething biscuit, but with good supervision he's become very adept at rendering a nice crusty roll into a baby-friendly paste. Yum.
Graham and I had a nice Friday together yesterday. We sat outside and read. We played on the couch. We ate. He cheered me on at the UCSC intramural softball game. (I just played DH so I wouldn't have to leave him on his blanket for long stretches.) He was a big fan of the intermittent clapping. He likes clapping, generally.
Peekaboo-type games are certainly a favorite. Here are Graham and I, from my "secret" camera on the couch armrest.
Two hours ago we moved Graham's crib from the dining room (just outside our door) to Finn's room, now making it Finn & Graham's room. So they'll sleep in the same room tonight! Or at least they'll be in there together, yelling. They both go to sleep around 7:40 or so, and wake up around 6. So it should work out reasonably well, since neither of the boys wake up much at night. Actually Graham prefers a 5:30 a.m. wake up, so that could be our (only?) problem. We explained to Finn that he should keep sleeping if Graham wakes up, but I'm sure there will be some adjustment period. After that settles in, I think it'll be time to move onto potty training, as Finn will be 2 1/2 next week. Joy!
On Thursday I took a vacation day (of sorts) and we went to Happy Hollow, a little kids zoo and amusement park in San Jose. Finn has now been there 3 times in the past month. He liked this ride a lot because you got a steering wheel AND a bell. Actually, Thanks to Katie for taking this with her camera phone. Although REALLY, he spent most of his time brushing the goats. We were in there at least a half an hour. What can I say, the kid loves animals!
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