eight months

eight sure is great and boy, you are a different baby this month! it has been our favorite month so far. we have seen more changes than ever before in your little life...it's as if you are doing something new every day - which i always thought was a lie.

you learned to pull yourself up, scoot, and crawl all in two weeks!

we introduced you to finger foods after you showed us your pincer grasp! you have fed yourself blueberries, black beans, pease, cheese, banana chunks, puffs...and you like everything we have put in front of you so far - even yogurt!

you can entertain yourself for quite some time now - it is so fun to watch you play. you concentrate really hard.

we are starting to get glimpses of your personality. i think you are pretty easy going, curious, happy, vocal, determined and tender.

you have a few new tricks. our favorites are "so big!", your lip smack, how you cry "mmmmmmmmmmm" and slap your palms on you high chair tray as you (impatiently)wait for your food, and lastly, when you babble and exclaim "mamamama". of course :)

your hair still gets you a lot of attention from strangers.

you poop more and spit up less.

your favorite thing is to be standing on two feet.

you have graduated to a big boy car seat and you really like your new view.

and you are still, our darling little boy.


and because i couldn't possibly leave this one out...

sooooo big!

seven months

it's been a big month for you, finn!

and it is your first monthday picture SITTING!

........................

* you have two bottom teeth! they are so adorable and so white!

* you are a great eater, and the only thing that you are not too fond of is avocado, which really surprises us considering that your daddy and i are obsessed with them.

* you still put everything in your mouth. as evidenced below.

* not sure what happened, but you started waking up several times during the night in the last month. not quite sure what to do about it, but we need to figure it out soon.

* you would nurse all day if you could. and all night. everytime i hold you, you rotate your body sideways, pull my shirt down, and bury your head in my chest. everyone gets a kick out of it and sometimes it makes me blush.

* you only laugh when something is really funny to you - no courtesy laughs here. but when you do let loose, it is the best sound in the whole wide world.

* your hair is finally growing in on your bald spots...and it is pretty blond!

*your favorite things are outside, daddy, your fresh food mesh feeder, and still, anything that makes a plastic, crinkly noise.

* you have become much more independent in your seventh month: and it has made for a much more productive mama.

*daddy's favorite thing this month is your excited, screaming smiley face and my favorite thing is the way you hold something and rotate your wrist back and forth, examining the object from all sides. it is adorbs.

finn, you are like the eighth wonder of the world to us. everything about you is just incredible and utterly mesmerizing.

especially those little toes.

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.

four months

four months! is it true, finn?! we just can't believe it.

this month has brought so many changes:

you can grab, hold and bring things to your mouth. its like a whole new world for you. you play with toys like its your job, furrowed brow and pursed lips.

somewhere in the last month you discovered the television and became obsessed. now the tv has to stay off until you go to bed at night otherwise you are straining your neck all day to catch a glimpse.

you have a few new nicknames: baby boy, finnegan, finnie, finner, butter cup, boos, baby boos.

you laugh! but only for your two tantes. i guess daddy and i just aren't that funny. its ok, we are working on it.

you can roll from your tummy to your back.

you are a thumbsucker! and sometimes a finger sucker. and sometimes a multiple finger sucker.

you looooooove to stand up with a lot of help...its makes you so proud.

the ergo is your new best friend. and mama's too. but you and sophie the giraffe are still pretty tight.

at times you go up to four hours in between meals...such a big boy. while it does offer us a little more freedom, a part of me misses you nursing every hour and a half. i just love having you so close to me.

we are so excited to celebrate our first christmas with you...

and we love you, baby finn. every little bit of you.

even your super serious face.

three months

oh finn boy...our sweet, sweet finn boy. how you have grown. and how our hearts have grown with you. you just get more fun by the day. but even if you weren't such a fun person, we would still love you just the same. you are just that irresistable to us.

you are quite the talker! our conversations are full of the most hilarious sounds i have ever heard. you sound like a dinosaur, a pterodactyl to be specific. and the faces that you make as you try to figure out how to make different sounds come from your mouth just kills me. your entire face contorts: you furrow your brow and purse those lips as you throw your clenched fists up in an effort to show us how hard you are trying. we are so proud of you.

(our little turkey - whose parts are present and normal but have been blurred for privacy)

you really love being outside...it is amazing how the great outdoors just changes your mood instantly. as soon as you begin to get a little bored with me, usually around four o'clock, we head outside and you instantly become mesmerized. you don't really smile or talk too much while we walk: i think you too busy absorbing all that you see.

you don't really care for the car. you detest stop lights and traffic. and you really hate tummy time.


you pretty much smile for anyone who gives you attention. which of course makes me think that i have the sweetest, most well-adapted baby there ever was. just kidding.

in the mornings sometimes we lay in bed together: while i read or try to catch a few more zzzzz's, you stare at the light on the ceiling. when i turn to look at you, sometimes you will be waiting for me with the biggest grin. i die a little everytime. one of my favorite things is when you get super excited: you flash your biggest, wide-open smile and shake your head from side to side, as if the motion will stretch your smile even bigger to match the height of your glee. this is always the moment that i think you would giggle if you knew how.

we don't know what we did to get so lucky but you are pretty easy to please, are a pro sleeper (knock on wood) and are a pretty efficient eater at this point. i absolutely can't believe how much i love nursing you. it is the most tender thing i have ever known. but you sure spit up a lot! and always just when i think the coast is clear and have just put on my good clothes. ahhhh, the plight of a young mother :)

you are a big boy, at a whopping fifteen pounds and are starting to get chubby! yessssssss! your cheeks have just exploded in the last month and i could kiss them all day long. your brand new skin is just sooooo soft and sooooo kissable. and you finally have those finger dimples and wrist rolls i have always adored on babies. it's the cutest.

we just can't get enough of you finn bear. thank goodness you are ours.

two months

:: finn finally smiles! and NOTHING has ever made me happier. it is so completely adorable and oh so addictive.

:: he is one hungry boy. and prefers that his meals be served quick, warm and every two hours.

:: this babe is still a good nighttime sleeper (knock on wood) and wakes up once or twice for a midnight (or 4 a.m.) snack.

:: he really only cries when he is hungry, bored or stuck in the carseat for too long. and he usually gives a little whimper or shriek before he begins wailing. i like to think of it as finn's warning cry-he gives me a chance to respond before really losing it. i think that's so thoughtful of him.

:: his favorite thing is to lay on his back. he kicks his legs, jerks his arms around and takes in the sights. this is when we get the most smiles and coos out of him.

:: finn takes one long morning nap and just moved on from sleeping in the swing to the crib yesterday. what a big boy! that is about it on the nap front, unless he falls asleep while being held, or in the car. but its ok-at least mama can count on a shower every morning. woo hoo!

:: this boy is wearing either 3-6 months or plain old 6 month sized clothes...it blows my mind how quickly he grows. i am pretty much packing away clothes every week! (tear)

:: every morning i wake up excited for my day with finn. and contrary to what i thought, some of my favorite days are the ones where we have nowhere to go and nothing to do and i can spend every moment just soaking him up. we truly love him more each day and wonder what we did for fun before he arrived...it's just that good.

*finn absolutely refused to look at me so this was the best shot we got. the picture i took right after this one shows a very unhappy baby. but isn't his outfit cute? does it look familiar to anyone?

today i am...

one month old!

****

dear finn:

i can't believe it has been one month since you bounded into the world, turned our lives upside down and changed our hearts forever. it has been the best (and sometimes the most challenging!) month of my life. we are so wildly and completely in love with you.



you are starting to grow and grow! all of the sudden you no longer fit into your newborn sized wardrobe and we are moving up to 0-3 months section of your closet (its bittersweet!). just this last week i have noticed that you feel a bit heavier, look a little longer and are getting much stronger! my oh my.



it feels like you are starting to really "see" us. you stick you tongue out at us, make funny noices, and finally maintain long periods of eye contact. it feels so great to interact with you. we are pretty sure that you are on the verge of smiling...what a sweet reward that will be. i can't wait!



you still sleep like a little champion at night...one nice six hour stretch each night for your tired mama. hard to complain about that! you are pretty active during the day, prefer to sleep on someone's shoulder and love having our undivided attention-our little leo :)



your favorite things are eating, bath time, laying on your changing table and anything to do with your daddy. you could just stare at him for what seems like hours. it is as if you are mystified and obsessed with him at the same time. he is pretty wacky with you and you just eat it up. you love daddy's voices and i think you feel really comfy and safe when he holds you. watching the two of you together is like christmas morning.


as for us, our favorite thing is you. every little bit.

love, mama and daddy