17 months

Baby boy,
Today you turned 17 months old. Like the other months, you have begun to pick up new things, but this month has for some reason been much more noticeable. For example, you have begun jumping. I mentally picture you doing a very similar move on a skateboard some day - if your father has anything to do with it. Just tonight you told me "no" for the first time. No to the question "Since you are throwing your food on the floor, are you done?". Why you defiant little...
On a very very positive note, you have begun to go to bed like an angel. No more rocking and singing and lulling you to sleep for 20 - 50 minutes a night. We have 3 rocking chairs, all with very sad sounding creaks in them after 17 months worth of rocking you incessantly... ok, I take that back, for the first 4 months, we bounced the shit out of you on the yoga ball to get you to go to sleep. I guess as a parent, I can crack this up to 1 of 2 things, not really reading the "healthy sleeping baby books" from cover to cover on how to get you to sleep well from the start, or 2, I really enjoyed rocking you. Yeah its both.
Very late last evening, your newest friend, Anders Vergenz Ewald was born to your Auntie Saralyn and Uncle Dave Ewald (non-relation aunt/uncle). If they weren't 2000 miles away, the 3 of us would be in a car, on a plane, in a train to see them this second. I know that you 2 will get along great. You have the most gentle soul about you when it comes to being around babies. You love to say "hi baby" to other babies. If we saw them now, I know you would say the same to little Anders.
I love you baby,
-mama

While I was away...

This past weekend, I (mama) went to Phoenix to visit FINs auntie Sara. She is preparing to equip FIN with his first baby girl cousin - Madelyn Ava Yu, due May 3, 2009. I swear that while I was away he grew.

Temper

I picked up FIN from Leanie's house yesterday, and she tells me that he had his first temper tantrum - because she wouldn't let him in a drawer that obviously held the secrets to his universe if he could only get in it! He pouted his lower lip, and stomped just one foot, and made a wimpering whine.
I've been witness to this face before, its quite manipulative. He has it mastered to make me believe that when he is 21 years old and I'm ready to take him out for his first drink, that he will ditch me and remind me about how I made his life a living hell at almost 17 months.
I feel like a lot of my time is spent saying "no" to FIN, and I remind myself how important it is to let him explore and experience things... sorta like yesterday, when I went to make him dessert (boxed cake), and I got the hand mixer out, and he lost it when I turned it on - and not in a good way, and now I know that making cake with hand mixer, not a good experience. Playing with light switches till the neighbors ask if we are having electrical issues, a great experience.

Page boy

It was me and FIN at home today.

16 Months

Dear FIN,

Happy 16 months Mr. bucka bucka -

(For those that don't know, those are FINs favorite words up to this point in his life, but that is slowly changing. Listening to FIN walk/run around is like playing a game of Pac Man, except I'm the retarded ghost that just can't seem to catch Pac Man on level 1 of the game. It goes something like this "Bucka bucka bucka bucka bucka bucka weeeeeeeee", like Pac Man eating up the little dots, then getting the corner prize... yep thats what FIN sounds like running around.)

So I digress, of course you have other words in your arsenal that you use when you want to be cute, like:

"Hi",

"Baby",

"Coco" (general term for all dogs),

"No",

"E-I-E-I" (Singing Old McDonald)

"You"

"This"

"DaDa" (just to piss the Mama off),

and finally "Gampa" (Gamma D. says he uses it correctly, but he also says this when playing with the light socket - awesome)

This past weekend, you spent Thursday - Sunday w/ my parents (Gampa & Gamma) while your father and I went to Florida. No we didn't go to Disney, but you don't know what that is yet anyway. We basically pined for you all weekend. I don't know if it was the constant responsibility that we had a hard time pulling ourselves away from, or the cabin fever from days upon days of hanging out indoors while its 10 degrees outside that we missed more, but I guess in general, the overall cuteness factor of you is what we missed most. Your little pinky has to feel like weights that you are dragging around, because you've got quite a few people wrapped around them.

On a final note for this posting, you are quite the sharp little kid with electronics. I'm sure you out-wit the average RadioShack guy when it comes to gadgetry - leave you alone with your fathers Blackberry for 2 minutes, and you have some how figured out how to unlock the key pad and dial the Milwaukee emergency line... I'm not sure what you're trying to call them about, but kiddo , my cooking ain't THAT bad!

Here is a picture of you from this morning when you held still for about a nano second.

Love,

Your mama

Dancing boy

Most days, FIN wants to go in the basement and turn on cuban music and just let loose. Here is an example of what goes on in our house.

Guacamole

Video of FIN lovin' his guacamole. This makes me want to drink a margarita! (original video date 12/16/2008)

New Year's Day 2009

So, boy,

I thought it was time for your old man to write a little note about your progress. It is a short story, but, it unfortunately outlines my child-rearing skills up to this point.

I made everybody pancakes and bacon for breakfast - one of my favorite things to do on a lazy day off. We all ate ourselves silly, and I had to end up throwing away a couple of half-eaten pancakes.

We then proceeded to take our eyes off of you for a few minutes (as any parent knows, these are famous last words). At the end of that time, you approached us with evidence that you had opened the garbage can and proceeded to munch on one of those half-eaten pancakes. I can't argue with you, though. They were pretty tasty.

We love you, son.

Your Old Man

15 Month Update

Dear FIN,

On Friday last, you turned 15 months. Again, asking myself, where did the time go?! I took you to the doctor yesterday for your 15 month appointment, and I ended up lying to you - I seriously didn't know you had to get a shot. Be forewarned, you'll get 2 shots at 18 months. Your stats are:

Height: 32.5 inches - 90th percentile

Weight: 27.1 lbs - 80th percentile

Head circum.: 80th percentile

This month you have become more calm, yet more busy... if that is possible. You are predictable in what trouble you like to get into, but you are more intense with your play time. You will play with something for a half hour straight. You still are not interested in TV, which I guess is a good thing. For Christmas, Santa brought you a Jack in the Box, some puzzles, and a connector lego set. All in all it was a great Christmas. Grandpa Dahlke made you a toy box with your name on it, and the back folds down into a desk. You LOVE it! You love to sit on it properly and bang on the toy key board. Here you are on the box and with Grandpa.

Love your mama.

14 Months plus

Dear FIN,
I'm getting a late start on celebrating your 14 month mark. Its not because I haven't thought about it, I think about you every second of every day, but lets face it, this isn't about me, this is about you. You keep me very busy, as well as work these days, so I'm just now, a week and a half late getting to typing out your 14 month update.
You have started running, not metaphorically, seriously running. I got you a membership to the Betty Brinn children's museum - or indoor park, as I call it. You are a mad man there. Even though it might as well be called a giant bouncy room, you still managed to trip, fall, and get a nice scraped up cheek. The same cheek that you scraped up a week earlier when visiting your Aunt Sara & Uncle Henry in Phoenix. I should also tell you that you made your first trip to Las Vegas. You lost money. But you made friends, so its a lose/win, which in the end balances out.
I'm told by Leanie at Daycare, you can sign for more, and sign all done. You also like to play with playdough, but I'm not brave enough to have you play with that at home, mostly because either the dog or your dad might end up eating it.
You are still hanging out with 6 teeth, you swing your arms... a lot, and you are starting to understand the word "no", however, that doesn't mean you stop going after what you want that has a "no" attached to it. Good thing Leanie takes pictures of you, because I haven't been good at doing so. Here is a picture of you outside in the snow. You are so tall. My heart continues to grow with you. I love you baby.
Love your mama.