Funny of the Day

Location: Ken's Artisan Pizza, one of our favorite restaurants in Portland.

I: "Finn, we went to this pizza place when you were in my tummy!"
Finn: "Did I get out and eat some?"
:)

Potty Party

Does this boy not look READY??!!! He is fierce and ready to conquer.

Rain, rain go away... little Finny wants to play!

Rain reigns in Portland during the winter. Through a friend, we discovered an indoor playground nearby and checked it out on a Sunday morning. A great rainy day spot and a fantastic place to meet other new parents. Oh...and they also have pastries. :)

Self Portrait

Someone got ahold of the camera when mommy wasn't looking... I love that he figured out how to point it at himself and actually smiled! Ha ha!

Growing, growing, gone!

The crib, that is! And what a smooth transition it was... Finn went down for his first nap in the bed yesterday without a hitch and slept until 7:20 am this morning! Success! We were a tad bit concerned as Finn's crib has lately become his cozy "nest" and he's quite attached - each morning he wakes up impersonating a different animal (squirrel, lion, hummingbird, to name a few). Throughout the past month, Finn's room has been upgraded from baby-style to big stud-style. Cute white dresser was replaced with grandiose train table, courtesy of Grosi and Grandpa! Chair where we used to read bedtime stories (and attempt to snuggle) substituted with a fun beanbag. Throw in a new bookshelf and twin bed and it's now a little man's paradise. We hemmed and hawed for months over whether we should get a toddler bed, day bed, low Ikea bed... I could go on and on. We settled on a regular twin bed on a frame. The biggest advantages being a) this will last him until his mid-30s, when he will have hopefully secured a job and moved into his own residence and b) it's high enough off the ground that he doesn't get out of bed at night!! Below you will find him showing off his new room and pretending to sleep in his big bed (he's a pretty darn good actor, if I may say so myself). I also couldn't help but take a picture of him sleeping during the last night in his crib. It still amazes me that an almost 3 year old sleeps with his little toosh up in the air! Precious.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles and a Harmonica

Christmas Day at Omi and Opa's house. Or was it?! I somehow managed to not get any pictures of Finn with his Omi and Opa. Thanks to Photoshop, they will be incorporated into these photos at a later date. We were lucky enough to celebrate with Tante Lauren and Uncle Randy, too, after their flight from Minneapolis was canceled and they drove through freezing rain to reach Chicago. It was all very worth it in the end. Finn had a great Christmas and received one of the gifts I, too, treasured as a child. A harmonica. I wasn't sure if he would know how to play it, but he played away and was quite good! I looked back at a picture I have of myself at that age playing the harmonica. We look very similar... bowlish haircuts, flannel shirts... like mother, like son. And he also inherited my gene for the love of frozen fruit salad - a holiday classic. It's essentially an '80s-esque jello/fruit mold that looks like pink head cheese. Sounds delicious, right? It is. Finn agrees.

Christkindli

Finn's Grosi and Grandpa have an amazing Christmas house, both inside and out. Their yard boasts lighted evergreens with glittery ornaments and a little shed with icicle lights. Inside, there are several themed trees, one of which had a Polar Express train encircling it. We spent alot of hours near that tree. After a delightful dinner on Christmas Eve, Christkindli came and left some goodies for Finn. He had a blast. One of the treats in his stocking was a Santa cell phone, which Finn loved. In fact, he "heard his phone ringing" while opening presents and had to dash into the family room to take a call from Uncle Randy. Ha! He gave us another good laugh with his attempt at garden gnome bowling. He didn't grasp the concept of rolling the ball and would, instead, walk right up to the gnomes and smash the ball right into their heads. These Christmases just keep getting better.

Squirrels Galore!

Squirrels. We took them for granted. That is, until we moved to Portland. Our area doesn't host many squirrels, so Finn took a grand interest in them while in Chicago. He inquired frequently as to where they were going, what they were doing, etc. He saw one up in the tree and thought, perhaps, he was "reading a book" in his nest. A trip to the arboretum let this little squirrel run free and explore! Oh, and there was a train there, too. :) An amazing place indeed - we can't wait to go back in the summertime!

Little Boy Meets Big City

As you may know, we LOVE trains right now. So a trip into Chicago on the Metra train was an opportunity not to be missed. Finn, Daddy, Omi and Opa met up with Grosi downtown to traverse through the Christkindlmarkt, admire the tree at Daley Plaza and visit the infamous department store windows. What a treat and a great way to start our Christmas bonanza in Chicago!