2010 In Review

January...
...was a rough month for mama and Finn as Finn was having trouble eating. During this month he was diagnosed with a pylorospasm, which meant that his tummy emptied really slowly and the milk went up the wrong way causing lots of spit up and pain for the little guy as his esophagus got inflamed. Finn learned to associate eating with pain so he would scream and refuse to eat when offered, but then scream because he was so hungry. We worked really hard to keep him fed and nourished. This meant a lot of night feeding when he was drowsy and less conscious of the discomfort. But boy when he was content, he was full of delight. He smiled with his whole body and started giggling quite early. He even rolled over when he was just 7 weeks old so he was definitely strong despite his troubles!




February...
Mama took Finn on his first airplane ride to Salt Lake City where he met his great grandma Marva, his aunt Ashley and more of his Tobler family. Grandma Bates met us there and mama got a chance to go skiing. Heavenly! Finn was unable to take naps without movement so a large percentage of this month was spent taking long walks around the neighborhood, even in the rain, to get Finn the sleep he needed (lest we deal with the overtired, screaming one....which usually happened anyway because of eating issues). We had our fun times too. Our favorite game with Finn was having him tap dance in the mirror. He loved this and for some reason we found it hilarious.



March...
Mama and papa celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with both a breakfast and dinner date! Grandma Bates came to stay for a week to help out and grandad Bates later joined (thus the day of baby-free dates). Later that month we all went to Michigan where Finn got to meet his Bates cousins who had come to Grandma and Grandad Bates house for spring break. Grandma Bates continued to save our lives by being Finn's night-time friend (and mama's). Finn woke every 20 min-2 hours, not out of hunger, but because he wanted to be soothed back to sleep by bouncing on a pilates ball listening to Elvis (true story....so true its not even funny). Finn learned to sit up at 4 months old, in Michigan! He continued to crack us up with his facial expressions and constant movement.




April...
Finn started eating baby oatmeal and later avocado (he went nutty for the latter). We went on a trip with the McMillan family to Lake Tahoe. Mama and papa got to go skiing all day together, which was absolutely a blast. Sure, it involved strange pumping sessions in the car, but it was worth it. We also had some incredible sledding adventures (Jeremy's getting serious air in that picture, if you couldn't tell). Shortly after the trip, mama went back to work 2 days per week. Finn acquired a Peruvian buddy named Laura who he quickly grew to adore. He also started to get to know grandma McMillan a lot better since she became his best friend on Fridays! Finn's favorite game was balancing his green, nobbly ball, passing it from hands to feet and rolling it back and forth between his feet like a little bear at the circus. Finn bid adieu to his true love, his binky this month since it was becoming a desperate need that was unsustainable at night!






May...
By this point Finn had become utterly easy to care for, a complete 180. He was eating without issue and sleeping great! In fact, on May 30th, he slept 12 straight hours for the first time without crying or needing to eat. Once he learned to soothe himself he just started dropping feeds on his own throughout this month. He became playfully interactive and every day was a treat to be savored. As a family we traveled to LA, Joshua Tree National Park, and Orange County. We played with tons of relatives and Finn went swimming for the first time, and loved it, to his proud father's delight. We celebrated Mother's Day with an amazing brunch with the McMillans, and Finn got his famed bouncer , quickly becoming a favorite attraction for Finn and parents alike. He caught onto it right away. Also that month he figured out how to swing himself and discovered the game of peek a boo all by himself. He was picking up on cause and effect like crazy.





June...
In June we went on lots of adventures locally including parks and pools in Marin, a goat cheese farm in Pescadero, redwoods, and tide pools. Finn loved going to several local beaches and sampling the sand. He preferred fine grain. We enjoyed visits from aunt Emily, and aunt and uncle Amanda and Michael. Finn started making raspberry noises, got his first two teeth on the bottom and was almost making it to crawl position. He started feeding himself little finger foods like cheerios. Finn's favorite game became knocking his tower of cups down. He developed the most amazing giggle.







July...
In July we enjoyed a visit from aunt and uncle Stephanie and Ryan, and Finn's cousins Todd and Ben. Aunt Emily and grandma Bates also came to town followed by our good friends Cheryl and Justin. It was so much fun! We went on little hikes, had fun at the beach and playgrounds. Finn started giving kisses in response to a request and the most delightful hugs around the neck ever. This is the way he sent mama off on her first triathlon since Finn's birth and the memory made her smile the whole duration of the race. Finn learned to turn the pages of his books (or shut them if he didn't like the book), bang things together to make noise, and make a wild Indian noise with his hand over his mouth. He experimented with mobility, pushing himself backwards and spinning himself around on his belly. He continued to be outright hilarious.



August...
Mama and Finn went to the SF zoo one day. Finn mostly looked at the other kids. As a family we went to Salt Lake City where we met the whole Bates crew and most of the Tobler crew for some fun times. We stayed in a cabin up a canyon for much of the time. We spent a super fun day in Santa Cruz with grandma and grandpa McMillan where Finn tried his first milkshake. He was in sensory ecstasy. At the end of the month we went to LA. We stayed with aunt and uncle Brandon and Lucy, and Finn's cousins Sam and Filipe. We also visited Finn's great grandparents and had such a nice time. Finn approved of the sand in LA as well. Finn got his first top teeth (pretty much four at once)! He started army crawling after a couple weeks of rocking on his hands and knees. He started mimicking the sounds we make and at the end of the month was saying "da-da" or "dad."






September...
Gorgeous weather allowed us to enjoy the outdoors in our neighborhood and we frequented the beach, playgrounds and walking trails. Finn and mama enjoyed meeting papa at the playground next to his work for lunch. We continued to go swimming. At this point he was so accustomed to the beach that he would make a beeline for the water. He loved splashing in the surf. We enjoyed a visit from aunt Emily that included some great play time at the beach. Finn started scooting then crawling like a mad man and pulling himself to standing this month. His favorite thing to do was pulling things off of the coffee table one by one. He would mimic songs and said "ma-ma" and "mom" which also seemed interchangeable with "na-na."







October...
We enjoyed another visit from grandma Bates who came for a conference. Later in the month we went on a big trip back East. We started in Baltimore where Liz had a conference, and then made our way to Washington DC where we enjoyed the autumn weather, the sights and spending time with friends. We then flew to New Hampshire and drove up to Maine. We spent most of our time enjoying the coastal beauties of Maine and eating great seafood. We drove through the White Mountains of New Hampshire up to Montreal. It was pretty chilly there and snowed but we made the most of it by drinking several hot chocolates every day and eating a lot of other culinary delights. Montreal was a gorgeous city and we loved seeing it, although by this point in the trip, Finn was exhausted. We drove back via Vermont and flew home from New Hampshire. Overall, we would highly recommend an East coast trip in October for the incredible leaves alone. Meanwhile Finn started saying several more words, tearing the house apart and frequenting his favorite windows, pulling himself up to watch when he heard the garbage truck, busses or dogs. Finn learned the sign for more along with the word, "muh." My personal favorite was,"O-ack, o-ack" when we pulled out his duck toy or sang the duck song.






November...
We celebrated Finn's first birthday with a shark-themed party. His aunt Emily was there and his McMillan grandparents along with many other friends. He got two push cars, which he quickly learned to ride in both directions. This month he started letting go and balancing on his feet. He started cruising along furniture and the window sills, which made watching the street action that much more complete. Finn started singing certain parts of songs, waving bye-bye, and telling us what the tiger, duck or dog says. He started "putting things away" or rearranging things in drawers, the clothes hamper or any type of box. He started walking by sliding his highchair or our kitchen chairs around the room. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the McMillans and aunt Emily at our house after Liz and Emily ran a race with their team. We continued to have some super warm days with more beach time. Some of the best news was that Finn got a new cousin, Mason at the end of November.








December...
We had another spontaneous visit from grandma Bates. I figured out that there have only been 3 months out of the whole year that she did not see her Finn boy despite living so far apart. We feel so lucky! December has been filled with parties but also had some tender, emotional moments as we remember Finn's older brother even more this month. His tree is definitely growing well, and it is beautiful. Finn took his first independent steps (now up to seven before falling in to our waiting arms, giggling). He does "gimme five!" and asks for "(s)nack?" quite regularly. He is amazing at maneuvering his car any which way. He loves to climb up the stairs at the playground and dart for the slide, going down it on his belly. One has to be super quick spotting him on the stairs, then dash over to the other side for his slide stunt. He is being much more of a toddler about his eating these days, but luckily still doesn't really favor sweets over broccoli, bell pepper or lots of other veggies.






We now prepare to go to Salt Lake City once again to be with the Bates and Tobler clan as we congregate there. We are excited to ski! We also get to meet aunt Ashley's little boy Mason while he is still so new. We will come home for New Year's with the McMillans and most of the little McMillan boys all together. Can't wait!
Now that we have Finn we are even more grateful for the many opportunities we've had to travel to be with family and friends, and for their visits here with us. We really hope this pattern continues in 2011...