five and one-half months

so much has changed in the last two weeks and i never want to forget it.

here is what five and a half months looks like for you, our little finn:

you roll like a mad man. from one end of your nursery to the other. the other day i left you in there for thirty seconds and you had rolled yourself right under the dresser. it was a moment of panic for me not to find you right where i had left you and then when i found you in a bit of a pickle, it was pretty funny. you didn't know what to do and you just kept bobbing your head up and down. and it was hilarious. two hours later, you rolled under the drying rack and i came in to find you attempting pull ups.

you eat rice cereal like a champion! from your very first bite, it was as if you had been eating from a spoon for years. it is sooooo fun.

the rice cereal really threw your little digestive tract for a loop. in fact you went twelve days without a you-know-what. at day nine, the doc wasn't too concerned being that you normally only you-know-what every five to six days anyway. but by day twelve, i was worried and called the nurse. as she was doing triage...you had a you know what. a big one. pretty funny timing.

you and i had a laugh fest the other night. all i did was making a slurping noise over and over. you found it so funny. and it was probably the highlight of my existence so far.

yesterday you napped for 2.5 hours. it was the longest nap of your life!

for some reason, you went from sleeping through the night to waking up twice and sometimes three times a night. i now know what everyone means when they talk about sleep deprivation...sheesh. its rough!

i think you are starting to form an attachment to your white fluffy blanket. or at least you are starting to associate it with sleep. you get sleepy, and you rub the silky edge against your face. and then when you are ready to go to sleep you pull it over your head. it is so cute.

you had your first experience with stranger anxiety last week. for the first time, there have been a couple of moments when i can tell that i am the only thing you want. i am not gonna lie. i love it.

lately, you do this thing where you stare at us and then gently touch our faces. it feels like affection. you cup my cheeks, and hang onto daddy's beard. sometimes you are really rough, but sometimes you are really gentle. and it is so tender.

oh yah, and you swing now! crazy...and oh-so fun.

my boys.

five months

finn, oh finn. today you are five months old. and for some reason...that feels BIG. when you were one month, two months, three months and four - you still seemed like our little baby, our little INFANT baby boy. but five months feels so....significant.

anyway. moving on. here we are at month five and we discover a little more of your personality every day. you suddenly feel like a real individual, with free will and a mind of your own. you express dismay when you drop a toy. you are interested in story time. you let us know when you don't want to be set down. you lift your head and flex your body in anticipation of being picked up. you laugh and grin as big as humanly possible...all of this tells us that you are growing up before our eyes and are learning every day. and its amazing.

you are perfecting your roll, learning how to put yourself to sleep and are very interested in grown up food. your favorite thing right now is anything that makes a crackle noise...bags, paper - it absolutely enthralls you. and no matter where we are, everyone comments on your hair first, and then how content you are. i think you may be a little shy, but that is ok. mama was too. i know this will ebb and flow, but for now, you have very good manners and are quite well-behaved in public. although you do spit up on almost everyone and it can be a little embarrassing.

when you go to sleep at night, we are usually ready for it. you are tired, and so are we. but then, after about fifteen minutes, we find that we miss you and we sit on the couch scrolling through our phones, laughing at pictures of you. your daddy and i just get a kick out of you and going to get you in the morning is such fun...we are all smiling from ear to ear.

there is just nothing like you, finn boy. and there never will be.

the park

last week we spent the afternoon at capitol park. it was finn's first time there. and we had to introduce to him to our bench. you know, the one where ryan asked and where i said yes. finn was pretty blase about the whole thing. but that's ok, i was excited for him.

we strolled the pathways. remarked on the january weather (where is my beloved winter??). we took time to read plaques and marvel at statues. we gazed at the christmas tree. and talked about what fun it will be to run through this place with finn one day.

one day soon. i am sure it will be here before we know it.

p.s. if you follow me on instagram, my recent blog posts are probably really redundant (i.e. booooooring). our new camera is on it's way and soon the blog will feature real pictures again! in the meantime, i will be running to the window every time i hear a loud truck ramble down the street hoping to see that big brown van. i am waiting for you UPSman (or woman). i can't wait to see you on my stoop!

lately...

:: we had spaghetti dinner at trela's on new years eve and spent new years day at the cabrals. mister had fun shooting skeet and i spent most of the time marvelling at all the little boys in the house. our baby boom is definitely a boy baby boom!

:: it's 2012 and finn is still mesmerized by the world. and i had a little bit of a hard time saying goodbye to his birth year.

:: baby boy had his four month well baby visit. and he weighed 16.5 pounds! we got the okay to start solids but i am not quite ready...i bought some rice cereal and i just keep staring at it. baby steps.

:: we have been eating a lot of eggs, fresh bread and avocados in our house. i am really trying to kick the chocolate addiction i developed while pregnant and i swear, i feel like a drug addict.

:: i can't help but smile when i look at this picture. and that's a lot. because i look at it like fifty times a day.

:: this boy just keeps killing us with his cuteness.
:: we had a slumber party at casa de awesome. and tante rachel made the best biscuits i.have.ever.had.
:: we hiked up the hill and tante em graciously carried the babe.
:: when we got back to sacramento, this is what the reunion looked like. i got a little misty. finn loves to grab ryan's goatee. it is so sweet.

:: santa brought me some dollars this christmas and i was able to get this duvet that i have been eyeing for a year!
:: finn likes it too!
:: we spent a day with erika and everest. as always, it was a hoot. and i had forgotten how fun mr. and mrs. potato are.
:: i managed to get a few pics of this darling boy....
:: ....but most of my pictures look like this....one big blur. that boy is on the move!
:: erika and i share many things, but among my favorite is our shared love for the moon. we watched this beauty rise over the park.
:: for some reason, ryan's watch is what makes this picture speak to me. maybe its because the the size of the watch and the size of finn's head are not all that different. but i think what i really like is the subtle reminder that time keeps marching.

:: cheeky cheers

:: tired babe. and my haircutting skills need some help. my sisters advised that i need to learn how to "feather the mohawk", rather than cut it straight across. this picture proves their point quite clearly.

surprise!

christy turned 30! and her sweet husband threw her an epic surprise birthday party at lucca. it was like a party for the mister and i too...as it was our first night out on the town since finn was born - thanks charles! the company was fabulous, the food was DELICIOUS and we loved every second celebrating this dear chica...such a friend she is.

do you spy a baby bump??!! in addition to sara's little bun...there were two other expectant mothers and three that all had babies in the last six months - crazy. my life is presently one big baby boom. i adooooooore it.

we ended the night trying to get a nice picture of trela...but that dela just couldn't muster a straight face. that's ok...i think these are perfect just the way they are. prom poses and all.

these boys of mine

one morning, not so long ago...i hung out with my big guy and my little guy. for once, time seemed to creep by.

we cuddled on the couch...

we made omelettes...


we smiled with our babe.


and all seemed right with the world.


and then the dryer buzzer, the smoke alarm and the doorbell sounded within moments of one another. ah, jeeeeeez. annoying yes, but somehow it made that perfect little bubble of bliss even sweeter. those little bubbles are treasures, aren't they?