quick tidbit

This was too long for a facebook blurb, so I suppose I'll stick it here. It's too funny not to write up.

So, I'm standing in the kitchen peeling Finn's second clementine for the day (he's developed an addiction I think), when I see him sneaking into his hiding spot. Our kitchen counter extends to the wall but the cabinets underneath do not since there's a heating vent on that wall. This leaves a little space perfect for Finn to hide in. Oh, and by "sneak" I mean he does everything imaginable to make sure someone notices him going into hiding. So, he's in his hiding spot and I pretend not to notice. Usually I pretend to be in a panic and yell "Where's Finn?" or something along those lines. But I didn't right away today and after waiting a few seconds I guess he got impatient because i heard "Where's Pinn? Where's Pinn?" from under the counter along with a stifled giggle.  He barely ever attempts his name since he can't make the "F" sound properly. After holding back my laughter I repeated back "Where's Finn? Where's my little boy?" and he ran out and exclaimed "Dere's Pinn!"

Oh, little man, you are priceless.

Potty monster

I don't know how it's come to this, but I'm about to rip my hair out.

Last year at this time, Finn was darn near fully potty independent. we started using EC when he was about 8 months, which is considered a late start as far as EC goes. But he did so wonderfully with it. I knew his pee scedule by heart. And if we were doing something that involved not being right by a potty, say driving, he would hold his bladder until we got to our destination and were able to get to the nearest bathroom.  And for awhile there he even got really regular with his pooping too. Very morning as soon as he'd wake up, on the potty he'd go and within a few minutes he'd be pottied and back in his jammies ready to start the day.

And then we moved into our new place. And things started going downhill. Fast. First his bm's became more irregular. Then he began wetting in between trips to the potty. He'd pee in the potty and as soon as his diaper was back on he'd wet it as well.  Then he began only wanting to sit on and use his potty if we read books. Which is fine. But then it grew into a game almost. We'd sit and read book, after book, after book. And when we'd give up and put the diaper back on...instant wetting.  Now it's to the point that he won't even sit on the potty. He screams, he kicks, he throws punches. He does the ol' stiff as a board move. He'll roll on the ground. Anything to not sit on the potty.  Just recently he's started telling us when he's peed again, which I guess is a step in the right direction since he hasn't even been doing that for the past few months. I've tried everything to get him back on track, and I'm at my wits end.   I just wish I knew what was going on in his little head.

Birthday bonanza

Finn's party on Saturday was a hit. Papa Bill showed up early in the morning (with donuts from Mighty Fine. Yum!) which pleased the birthday boy very ,very much.  Steve and his dad took off into town while Finn napped. He didn't nap long though. Just barely long enough for me to get the decorations up and put the meatballs in the crockpot. He' been awake for just a few minutes when Nana and Grammy showed up with the rest of the food for the festivities, followed closely by Steve and Bill. We made the mistake of putting his presents out, and played a rousing game of keep-away until the rest of our guests showed up.  Pap and Uncle Mike showed up, along with great Uncle Jeff and Gram Janice.  Finn hardly knew what to make of it all.  After stuffing ourselves full of super yummy food, Finn finally got to open his presents. He lost all interest in them though once he opened the computer from Steve and I.  So the adults took turns opening the presents and showing them to the toddler hunched over the laptop.  Oh well. We figured he'd be super amped about blowing out his candle, as he begs to have candles lit just so he can blow them out. But no. He extinguished his birthday candle with his hand. What a goober.  Now for some pictures!

This year's attempt at making the cake was far more successful than last year's:

Nana and Pap showed up with a huge bag of peanutbutter M&M's, so he didn't eat any of this yummy lunch. Way to go Nana and Pap...

Showing off his new Batman shirt. He was really excited about it until he saw the computer...

Crammed inside the ballpit/tent/tunnel complex from Nana and Pap. It's ginormous. We're going to have to buy the huge victorian house we've been looking at just to have somewhere to put this thing. Finn adores it though. He loves asking people to "Come in!" when they walk by.

After all the guests left, Finn lasted about another hour before he completely crashed. Easiest bedtime ever.

On Sunday, we took him to our favorite local Mexican restaurant for lunch. The boy loves tacos. He had no interest in his taco though, instead he focused his eating powers on the bowl of chips and salsa. All the while, trying to charm the little girl at the next table.  He even tried to impress her with a little dance and his Spanish skills. Okay not so much skills, as ability to repeat "gracias!"

That's about it. All in all, a very nice birthday weekend for the little guy. I have more to update, but I'll save it for another post. Later yinz guys!

Well, since I've been asked two times this week "where did your blog go?" I suppose I'll resurrect it.

So, Finn turns two this Sunday. He's somehow gone from this:

To this:

Pretty unbelievable if you ask me. I can't figure out where two years have gone. He's so darn remarkable and lightyears cooler than I will ever be. His vocabulary is astonishing and terrifying. He has little conversations with himself these days. Just yesterday he was helping in the kitchen and he plucked a magnet off the fridge and had the following exchange with himself: "Coe-lor's that? Dat's blue! No, it's not owange, it's blue! Mummy, it's blue!" So funny. He's also become obsessed with anatomy lately, and being a little boy ,his focus is on one certain body part. He delights in yelling "penis" or "my junk!" any time his pants come off. So far no public outbursts have occured, but I'm sure it's in our near future. Christmas was fun this year, since he had a little more sense of what was going on. He made out like a bandit (as usual). He has no idea what to make of this birthday business though. He knows that he gets to blow out a candle (which he's very excited about) and it involves the cake sitting in the fridge (which he's very, very excited about). I'm excited to see his face when he opens his presents. Steve's dad got him a mailbox playset, which I can already see being the hit of the party. Finn loves, LOVES to get the mail.  The playset has a big wooden USPS drop box and has letters and postcards of different sizes to sort and match up. He's going to have a blast with it. Steve and I got him a big set of wooden food that I think Finn will love as well. He played with some over Christmas and really liked telling us what each piece was and making pretend meals, so this should go over well. I'm really relieved that we're keeping it low key this year. Just having the grandparents and Uncle Mike over.  It was great seeing so many people last year, but OMG. The planning and organizing was awful. Not to mention wasting all that money on a hall rental. Ugh. That still irritates me.  I'm sure we'll have many birthday blowouts down the road to look forward to, so I doubt we'll miss one this year.

Finn turning two also means we're hitting another marker. I've said for ages now that when he turns two I'd get my IUD out and we'd start trying for velociraptor #2.  The lack of insurance is putting this on hold at the moment, but I think it's something that I'll be doing in the near future. I think we've both been having the baby pangs lately. I know I certainly have. And Steve has been quick to point out cute tiny babies when we're out and about.  Sure, Finn drives me nutso at times, but when he's his usual sweet, goofy, affectionate self...man, there's just nothing better in the world. And when he cuddles up and says "Kiss? Hug?" he just melts my heart. Another one of those? It's not even a question really.