2.5 years

(I did in fact start this post when Finn was turning 2.5 years old back in early May....)

Our happy, handsome, funny Finn

It is no secret that when Finn was a small infant, he was....difficult, shall we say?  Having Oscar as a newborn has certainly brought with it flashbacks of those times, as he presents with lighter shades of the same challenges.  In re-reading some of the books I have accumulated, "Happiest Baby on the Block"and "Nursing Mother's Companion," to name a couple, it has been interesting to read them with a new perspective, having a toddler. Finn was the baby that these books describe as "intense" and "highly senstive," with a "big personality," "passionate" and "explosive."  As Harvey Karp describes it, he was the baby that reacted strongly to any discomfort, annoyance, frustration and then could not calm down and stop screaming, even when presented with what he wanted/needed.  Soothing him took a looong time, and immense effort.

Back then, when I read these books, I saw that Finn fit the described temperament to a tee. Now as i re-read them, I've noticed some follow up discussion, meant to offer comfort to a struggling mom, but that which I failed to notice at the time.  He goes on to describe how fun and amazing these kids become as they grow into older babies, toddlers, and school children.  I again feel that I'm reading about Finn to a tee as Dr Karp says, "With time infants develop enough control over their immature bodies to allow them to direct the same zest that used to spill out into their shrieks, into giggles and belly laughs."
(Um, remember this video?)
He goes on to say, "Passionate infants often turn into kids who are the biggest laughers, and most talkative members of the family...So if you have a challenging baby, don't lose heart. These kids often become the sweetest and most enthusiastic children on the block!"

This was at 5:30 am, on a camping trip

Big laugher?  check. Talkative? check. Zest for life? check. Sweet? check. Enthusiastic? big check. This is my Finn. So if getting this kid, just as he is, meant that I had to struggle through a time period that left me with flashbacks, I would absolutely, unquestionably, do it again!  He is so. much. fun. He is hilarious and makes us laugh every day.


At his 2.5 year appointment he weighed in at 30 lbs and 37 inches of awesome, following his usual 50%ile weight and 75%ile height.

Finn is a bright little monkey. He is a keen observer of the world and has sharp senses. He can tell what type of truck is coming down the street just from the sound (fire, garbage or street cleaner). It seems his ears and eyes are always scanning for items of interest. He asks regularly, " what dat noisy?" (what's that noise?) when he hears something out of the ordinary. He is constantly processing info when we are out and about and it amazes me what he picks up and retains.  The other day I was running with the two kids in the double stroller. There was a red traffic light but no cars were coming as far as I could see, so I proceeded across the intersection. Finn shouted, "Mom! Red means 'a need 'a STOP!!" I am not going to be able to get anything by this kid.



He also continues to impress us with a crazy good memory, and a memory for associations he has drawn in the past.  Back when Finn was semi-small enough to ride in his carseat rear-facing, we flipped it that way for long road trips so that he would sleep more readily, as it was more reclined in this position. Just a couple weeks ago we took a road trip to Tahoe. We told him before we got in the car that we were going on a really long drive in the car. When he approached the car to get in, he said, "No! I need my carseat da udder way round!"  We couldn't believe that he recalled that, nor that he had made the association of carseat position with a long car ride. He is so good at long car rides; doesn't fuss, whine or tantrum, just kicks back with his leap top computer or his lovey or his matchbox cars.

Speaking of him calling us out on the car seat position, Finn is also a boy who wants things just so, just as they are supposed to be. If something is done one way one time, it is the way it should always be. Even songs that are sung....only the person who originally sang it to him is allowed to sing that song. "No! Dat Nana's song!" he will proclaim.  Recently he again wowed us with his memory by insisting that we could not sing "I've been workin' on the railroad."  "Dat Mamanda's song!!"  This was a song his Aunt Amanda sang to him ONE time, in the car on our England trip, almost a year ago.  Crazy kid. He scares us sometimes.

He is enjoying learning to identify flowers right now, his favorite being "calla lilies, juss like mama"
He has gone from knowing most of the letters of the alphabet, to now saying, "B is for boy. P is for papa. N is for nose. D is for goggy (my personal fave). O is for Oscar...etc etc" He is now learning to recognize numbers and is counting things.

Finn is an active little chap.  He still zooms around on his "momo" with amazing control over his speed and direction. He can successfully tackle almost every climbing and jumping opportunity at the park. He follows a ball, kicking it as he goes. The other day he was even doing "headers" with his big red bouncy ball. He likes the challenge of an extra steep hill to run down. He loves to wrestle papa. He loves to dance with mama.


 Finn is still loving his swimming lessons and will now propel himself around the pool independently, using a tube and swim fins. He can also swim underwater for a few feet, paddling his arms and kicking his feet. He's doing a great job.




Finn is definitely still a water boy.

A bubble bath is a favorite treat

His favorite thing to play is cars, trucks and trains, and he loves seeing them out around town and especially riding them.

Finn loves to spot "baby trucks" around the park

He loves to find parking places for his toy cars, all around our house. He also loves to find parking places for us as we drive around town: "Oh! Dere a pah-king place!!" City kid or what?
You can imagine his excitement when recently he rode his "momo" past an open parking spot.

His other favorite games are playing with his farm, and playing groceries with his shopping cart, fake food, and an old FSA credit card of ours. 

Finn could sit and devour books all day. He absolutely loves being read to and is very interactive during reading time. He also loves hearing stories told without books, from mama, papa or grandad's imagination. Sometimes he corrects us when he doesn't approve of the direction the story has taken. I can tell Finn already has a big imagination.  Right now his favorite books are, "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go," "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," read with his Peter doll by our side, "The Giving Tree," and "The Little Blue Truck." But he is really not picky. He enjoys every book that someone will take the time to read him.

Finn has insisted on cooking with us since shortly after he could stand. He loves it, and participates almost every time we cook. He is actually getting helpful with some of the tasks, like peeling carrots and garlic, and cracking eggs. Part of his love of cooking is because he just always wants to be where we are. He does not entertain himself at all. He would rather be standing by me, bored, while I dry my hair, than out playing with his toys. Makes no sense!  Also quite annoying sometimes! 

He's just a super social guy, he loves people (and us) to pieces.  For example, trying to write this record today I put him at the table with his snack (he was suuuper hungry), told him to eat it while I worked, and came to the computer. He literally could not even take one bite by himself and was by my side within seconds. 

Finn's social behavior extends to strangers when we are out and about. He joins in with whatever kids are playing on the playground...this week that included a group of 12 year old dudes playing cards, who were looking at him like, "who's this kid??" He has stories for random people who strike his fancy, whether it is showing them his fire truck shirt or telling them about "da worker guys" down the street.

Over the past 6 months since he was 2, his language skills have transitioned from words strung together to express ideas (Nana bye-bye car) to being fully conversational. He still has a lot of hilarious words that only we can understand. Some of our favorites are listed below. 

Finn Language

Palli-later= Caterpillar

Rer-rert= Yogurt

Frump frup= Dump truck

Hack-a-later= Hellicopter

Hog Horn= Fog Horn

A libba bip=  A little bit

Sire ruck= Fire truck

Hinnie/ Hinn= Finn

Das a deeya deeya= That's a good idea!
Suboo boo= Swimming pool

He loves sand/ dirt play, especially if it includes shovels and digger/ dump trucks.  In fact, he hoards these toys like no other.

Finn struggles to find a balance between his love of food and his love of playing. Playing always wins out. Most successful are family meals where we talk and sing songs. His favorite foods (other than obvious treat foods) are:
Red soup (tomato soup), beans, fish, olives, popcorn, corn on the cob, yogurt, ice (yes, frozen water), fishy crackers, cashews, avocado rolled up in a tortilla, and milk.
His favorite treats are french fries, ice cream, cupcakes (esp frosting), and M&Ms (Emma-Emmas, he calls them).
He is good about eating carrots (especially likes to mine them out of soup), broccoli and cauliflower. His favorite fruits are pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, plums, peaches, pears and cherries. He's a summer fruit guy, like his mama.  He's really a great eater for a toddler. He even eats quinoa, lentil soup and other super healthy things. It should be no surprise that this pleases me to no end!

Finn loves to read about food in his books. He wants to try pickles because of the pickle car in "Cars and Trucks."  He was super excited to go buy plums because of the plums in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," a book that he loves because of all the food. He gobbled his first plum in seconds flat. He gets excited to see treats in books (I like cake!!). He assigns a cupcake to everyone he loves in his book that counts 8 cupcakes. "Dis one's for nana, dis one's for papa, dis one's for granran, etc..."

Finn is a goofball and likes to try to make us laugh or trick us. He knows exactly what is silly.

He still loves throwing rocks...

"Dat a BIG one!"

...and adores his papa, an affection that has amplified with Oscar's arrival and mama's full hands.

Finn is a good big brother. He has really been a sport about Oscar's entry into our home. He does act out to get our attention, but he never takes out his frustrations on Oscar. He is loving with him and runs to his side when Oscar wakes up. It is funny to hear Finn do baby talk with Oscar, something like, "A geen-geen-geen."

I'm so proud of this boy. With Jeremy being at home so much and all of our recent visitors, sometimes I realize I haven't spent much one on one time with him and it just hits me how much I miss him. As Oscar is growing and requiring less constant attention from me, it has been nice to be able to play with him a bit more. He's been thrilled by it and I can tell he's glad that he still gets his mama. I'm so grateful that he loves his papa and me so much; he is so very loving. Sometimes I feel undeserving of this, and humbled by his resilient and forgiving nature after I've been less patient with him. I'm so lucky to be his mama.

Finn is getting to be such a big boy. I look at him, and he is so big and so smart that he just seems like a kid. But then I see his diaper sticking out of his pants, and I notice his dimpled knuckles and I remind myself that he's still a toddler. Not really very big at all. I really do treasure this time.  I never want to hear him say "dump truck" instead of "frump frup."

He's had a couple successful potty experiences but isn't keen on trying very often

2 1/2 cheers for Finn!