Finnegan's first Rosh Hashanah

My first attempt at challah bread--surprisingly it didn't turn out all that badly.
This is Finnegan's personal round loaf of challah. Apparently you are supposed to have a round loaf of it for Rosh Hashanah. The people at PJ Libraries are definitely getting their money's worth as they are teaching both Finnegan and me about Jewish culture! :)

This is Finnegan and Jon having a special Rosh Hashanah dancing moment--as far as I can tell this isn't a proper tradition, but it may need to become one in our house. Finnegan loves being danced, waltzed especially, all around the house. Giggles generally ensue.

We didn't have apples and honey for the new year because a) Finnegan can't have honey yet and b) Finnegan hates apples (unless they are being eaten by mama or daddy in which case he wants to bite and drool on them). Finnegan did make a few new year's cards and they are quite cute. Here is what he was up to earlier in the day:

"Oh Mama, I see you're putting away the bowls and your back is turned for 15 seconds. Let's see what I can do."
"You don't mind if I throw dishes on the floor, do you? I think it's faster than putting them back into the cabinet and besides, I need to make room for my copy of The Hungry Caterpillar (see bottom rack of dishwasher)."
"What, why are you looking at me like that? I'm just trying to help. Who knew I could climb up on the dishwasher door and then jiggle the top shelf like some type of monkey?"

Here, there, and everywhere!

Finnegan is quite the explorer these days and he is interested in anything and everything. One very important part of his day is going to our stairs with ugly blue carpet and picking out the carpet fibers to try to eat them. When we first moved in we made the mistake of allowing one of our cats to scratch the stairs because we thought the carpet was ugly anyway. Unfortunately, she favored (and still does) the bottom stair and so, at any given time, Finnegan enjoys picking fibers off of the stair. He is very sneaky about turning his back on you in the living room and first waving his hand in the air as though he is only going to play with it before stealthily (and casually at the same time!) trying to pop it into his mouth.

Today was day three of my new "job" and I must say I am loving it. The finances, the wonderment of others, etc they matter so very little. I am doing the best possible thing I can think of in the world and everyday I am paid in smiles, giggles, and my personal favorite, snuggles of his head against my shoulder and his cheek smooshed against mine.

What we've been up to

The past few weeks have gone by so quickly as Jon and I are enjoying our time with Finnegan while we try to squeeze in visits with family and friends. Right now we are dealing with the trying process of purchasing a refrigerator as ours went with little to no warning and we woke up to mostly spoiled food two mornings ago. I think today is the day we will make our first adult appliance purchase though neither of us is looking forward to spending the money.

In other updates of our summer, Carmen and I went to see Cyndi Lauper a few weeks ago at Look Park and it was a lot of fun. Cyndi disappointed a bit as she played blues for nearly the entire night and mostly other people's stuff which I don't have as much respect for. I like B.B. King and many other blues artists, but if you are a well-established artist and people are paying to see you in concert, play your own music. She ended up with only four of her own songs, as the blues music is technically on her new album but I don't believe any of them are originally her own songs. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" didn't even sound like her and the audience was better at singing the right notes than she was. I was also hoping for "Good Enough" only to again be disappointed as she skipped over a cult classic. I wouldn't see her again, but I'm glad I went.

Finnegan is getting so big and has so many new skills. It's rather astounding for a rookie parent such as myself. He is getting three teeth in all at the same time, though the top one is definitely in the lead even though one of the bottom ones made an appearance first. He can also crawl, sometimes on his knees, but mostly with some knee action and the appearance of a wounded soldier. Though he doesn't stick his butt in the air, he uses his toes to grip on and really move himself. He's had a little blister on the bottom side of one of the big ones twice already from crawling. He has also learned to pull himself up and prefers to stand to play with toys now, though he can't "cruise" anywhere other than his crib sides a little. Our leather furniture isn't great for learning this skill and we moved out the coffee table that may have helped him. It just has too many pointy corners and an over hang that is perfect for smacking your head on. We also recently had his 9 month pictures taken by Calli. She does such a wonderful job and really captures the innocence or glee in his emotions. I am grateful to her for working with us to capture his childhood in a way that I cannot. Jon was in Boston at a conference the week we had his pictures taken and so we don't have any family shots this time, but I really like this one of Finnegan and I. I wish my hair wasn't flopped over quite so much, but I like that he is looking right at the camera and isn't necessarily hamming it up. He's so serious sometimes and we rarely capture those moments on camera as it seems more second nature to reach for it during smiles and giggles. It's such a special experience to be his mom. I can't even describe how incredibly lucky and teary/sappy I feel at times that I am blessed with this little boy to love. He is so sweet and bright. I love the way he will play by himself for so long and then suddenly look up and smile before crawling over to climb into my lap for a snuggle or a story. I love the way he tenderly touches my eyebrows and strokes the small hair at the nape of my neck as I carry him. I love that he says mama now, though I'd love it even more if it wasn't always when he is trying to get me to take him out of his crib so he can miss out on nap time. What a lucky person I am in so many ways.

A bit of this and that...

A while back I posted a picture on Facebook of Finn standing on The Complete Collection of Cartoons from The New Yorker. He couldn't quite reach the floor in his Jump-a-roo without it. These days we are ready to raise it up to the next level. :)

I took Finnegan to the Easthampton 225th parade on Saturday and while there he had a photo shoot with his friends Anny and Drew; they are very cute and all within a few weeks of each other in age. Unfortunately, I didn't ask their moms permission to post their pictures and so here's one of just Finnegan with part of Anny's arm as he steals her toy and grins a look of pure glee.
Jen, a friend from work, and I found this place in Springfield and had to stop for a picture. She actually nearly got her car stuck in an abandoned lot in her efforts to pull over and get a picture. I didn't even know what she was doing initially as she had spotted it first. We decided Finnegan should celebrate his 21st here. I'll let you know if it pans out. :)

First time in the water

On Father's Day we took Finnegan to Musante Beach for his first beach and picnic experience and he seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit. We don't have any beach toys so we brought along some measuring cups and as Finnegan wasn't quite ready for the black bean salad, a few puffs and peaches.

It's so close I can taste it...

Yes, I have a few more days to go, and yes I have more than a few more research papers to go, but I am posting pictures of what is on my mind 24/7 each and every day. Who knew that one person could be so incredibly everything? I can't wait to have no where to rush to, to let him sleep as late as he wants in the morning, to not worry quite so much if bed time is a little late because I won't have to get my guy out of the house uber-early the next day. The part time gig and the money we need will come, for now nothing gets to get in the way of this feeling. :)

Do we really have to wear these dorky hats, Mama? Yes, my love, your father is a BIG fan.
Whole wheat blueberry pancakes and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, what could be better?

Rolly-Polly Finny

Hurray! Finnegan rolled over quite deliberately yesterday. At first we thought it might be a fluke as he sometimes rolls over by "accident." However, he rolled over to his left, was set back on his tummy and did it again and then again another time. It's the three-roll-rule. If it happens three times, you must be a master. We didn't get pictures of the rolls--we were too busy enjoying them, but I do have a few greatest hits from our recent moments with my boy.Finnegan knows how to rock faux Chuck Taylors like no other. These days Finnegan is in the midst of a love affair with his feet. Oh how he loves those two new toys! He will grab at them any chance he gets, stare them down when in an upright position, and try to put them into his mouth. He is absolutely delighted if you put one in his mouth for him. He also grabs on to his pant legs and pulls them towards him in an effort to see his footsies better. Such a silly boy. Finnegan is hanging old school style...

This is Lola's debut on blogger. Finnegan is fairly certain he likes her and he knows for sure that he loves to chomp on her ear. He just isn't sure he needs her in his life all of the time yet. We have been trying to introduce a "lovey" so he will have some comfort when he is sleeping on his own and at day care. So far Lola mostly substitutes as a fluffy chew toy, but hey, she'll take what she can get. Mom slept with that lovey down her shirt for two nights so it would smell like her, so she's personally hoping Lola gets promoted some day soon.

Why, oh why, must you always take my picture, Momma? I'm trying to read here!