Frat Boy

Sometimes I can just totally imagine what he's going to look like as a young adult in college. He's such a suave boy, in his hat and plaid backpack.

M & P Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm watching Maggie and Porter, so I decided to run to the store and pick up some supplies for a couple activities I've been wanting to do (and also a couple oldies, but goodies).

Mailbox

I've been wanting to do this one for awhile. I made a little mailbox and have paper, stickers, markers and envelopes. Porter and Finn will make "letters" for the different people in our family, drop them in the box and then we'll deliver them at Thursday night dinner at my parents. (I even wrote my parents' address on the other side of the box.)

Finger Painting

I actually haven't done a ton of finger painting with Finn. I did it once a couple months ago and he wasn't that into it. I thought I'd try it again and add some other tools besides just fingers. If nothing else, I think he'll like making a mess with the tools. Plus, Porter is an old pro at it, so he'll be able to model it to Finn. I may even let Maggie have a turn at this, with Maryanne's okay, of course.

Painting the Bath Tub

I did this one with the boys a few months ago and they LOVED it. It's easy and cheap and kills some time so I thought we'd give it a go again tomorrow.

Sugar Cookies

I'm only going to do this one if naps go poorly and I have many hours until MA gets off work. The boys love making and decorating them, but they really don't need all the sugar. Finn has been on a perma sugar high for the last two weeks and I really need to cool it with him. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and if all three are up at 2:00, cookies it is!

Odyssey 1

For the few days before Christmas, our little family traveled up to Tacoma to visit a branch of JJ's family. We really had a great time hanging out with cousins, chasing cats (well, Finn enjoyed chasing the cats), watching and learning how to play with Thomas trains from 5 year old Max (again, that would be Finn), eating super yummy food and relaxing.

One afternoon after naps, a bunch of us (six littles in all), converged on a local kids' play area called Odyssey 1. It was the coolest place for kids. The only way I can think to explain it is this: tubes and balls. The main room was about the size of an elementary school gym and it was completely full of tubes to climb through, slides to descend and ball pits to jump in. At first I was afraid that it might be a little too much for Finn, but he loved it. Plus, the older cousins, Xander and Quentin in particular, took Finn up to the higher elements so he could go down the big slides.

We had a great time all three days and were so thankful for the hospitality of JJ's aunt, uncle and cousins. Merry Christmas!

I had to go in for a rescue one time :)

Finn's first ball pit....loved it!

They had this little slide that was perfect for Finn. He could climb up and slide down as many times as he wanted all by himself.

JJ had to try out the little kid scooter seats, which was rather hilarious.

A round peg in a square hole?

I wonder what this says about Finn's personality?

He is really, really good at puzzles and the shape sorter. He looks at the shape and knows instantly where it should go. However, he won't usually put it where it should go. For example, with the shape sorter, he picks a piece up, looks at it and then immediately puts it in the hole where it belongs. However, he only puts it half way in to make sure he is right and then pulls it out and tries with all his might to shove it in a hole where it doesn't belong. He does this over and over, putting it quickly where it should go and then trying to shove it where it shouldn't go.

How will this personality trait show itself as he grows?

An Update

Our lives have been busy! So here's a quick update:

1. My job was insane this fall. Things have slowed down and I'm much happier.

2. JJ's job is the same as ever. He has added a project of helping remodel one of his family's vacation condos and is enjoying that extra activity.

3. We are doing Weight Watchers again and are both feeling very motivated and good about our progress. I went to a cookie exchange and came home with about five dozen cookies. I ate one, JJ ate one and the rest were given away.

4. Finn is doing lots of what I call, "pre-talking." He doesn't say much on his own, but is repeating lots of what JJ and I say.

5. I can't believe we are well into December. It feels weird that it is almost Christmas break and pretty soon we'll be celebrating the big day (on a side note, we have a light-less tree at the moment because the one working set of lights that we had, stopped working yesterday and now I can't decide if it's really worth it to completely redecorate the whole thing.)

6. Finn is as cute and charming as ever. Below are a couple of recent photos.