Paying Tribute and Playing Around

Last weekend we decided to use our extended time off to include a day trip up to New York City. Finnley had never been there, and we hadn't been in quite some time. We figured this was a very fitting time, as well, given the upcoming 10 year anniversary of the attacks of 9/11.

We started our day at Ground Zero...which is the current construction site for ONE World Trade Center. As we walked closer to the site, we decided to stop at a local shop to purchase a flower to place at the scene in order to pay our respects to all that lost their lives that tragic day, to all those who survived the terror, and to all those who were affected by the horrific events. It was a sad and cathartic experience all at the same time. The pain of the past transitioning into the persistence of a people and a city to rebuild and to thrive. I cannot wait to see the project at its completion, with the commemorative reflection pools and the towering structure with its symbolic beacon of light and hope. And, although the experience was lost on Finnley at her young age, I am happy that she was there with us. One day she will understand, and I believe that she will reflect on first trip to this meaningful place with appreciation and awe.

After leaving the site, we flagged down a taxi to take us to Times Square to get our fill of some lights, smells, and funky noises. Finnley was a bit uneasy and unsure since she wasn't strapped into a car seat, but she quickly realized how COOL that could be...FREEDOM! She stood up, looked out the back window, sat back down, and just took it all in. After a bit of time in the car, she decided she wanted OUT! That might have something to do with the way taxi cars flit about the city with honking horns, zippy turns, and a race car attitude. Regardless, she hung in there until we arrived at our next destination: Toys 'R Us.

What can you say about a gigantic toy store in the middle of a gigantic city? Over-stimulation to the max! It delivered. Finnley didn't know where to look first or what to touch next. We spent some time there hitting each floor and checking out a bit of everything, and we managed to leave without spending a dime! That has to be something of an anomaly, but we were pretty proud of ourselves.

Next on the agenda was a bite to eat at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. It was close. It has good food. It is a great place for a toddler to eat. It worked perfectly. Finnley spent the first ten minutes at our table stacking, placing, moving, and re-stacking approximately 10 red, white, and blue plastic plates. It was an obvious process, and one in which Finnley was fully enthralled. She took a break to do some coloring before our lunch arrived. We made quick work of our food, and then walked with a purpose to our last stop...M&M World!

A shop that is all about chocolate and truly smells like chocolate? Heaven! The only negative thing about the place is the cost! But, once you are in the door...how do you resist buying a bag of candy??? You can't, and they know it. So, we left that store with one small bag and one even smaller bag of candy. Cost? $17.00. No joke. Whatever, we were all happy!

For our grand finale, we found our way to a subway station on 50th and jumped a train back to the Battery Park section of the city. Again, Finnley was a bit tenative when we started...but she quickly fell in love. She kept walking from my seat across the aisle to Matt's seat. She would look and point and squeal. She repeated "I ride choo-choo" over and over again. The mass transit system of NYC did not disappoint this toddler. Not.One.Bit.

This day was short and long all at the same time, and it exhausted Finnley completely. Two minutes after being buckled into her car seat and us getting back on the road, Finnley was passed out. I am pretty sure we will be back to THE city again soon. Paying tribute and playing around. Our girl seemed to love it, and I know that we did, too.

Out and About

Having surgery can't keep us down! It might make doing things (like picking up a toddler, changing a diaper, carrying a kicking and screaming child to her crib for nap time, cleaning house, etc.) a bit more challenging, but all of these things still manage to get accomplished in one form or another. While the sutures were still in it was most difficult, just because I couldn't get my hand / arm wet. Outside of that, things have been pretty much normal.

So, as normal, we headed out on some fun-trips. Last week we hit one of our favorite destinations, Smith's Play Place in the Fairmount Park section of Philadelphia. Finnley can't get enough of all of the outdoor equipment. She explores, climbs, rides, controls, possesses, plays, runs, and eventually gets hungry...which is when we head to a picnic table for some lunch before heading home. We need to take advantage of the days left to hit the outdoor part of the play place...it does shut down during the "colder" seasons. So, I'm sure we will have more reports from here soon.

With the fall season coming up, we have some familiar activities to throw ourselves back into and some brand new ones to add to the mix. Finnley has just started GYMNASTICS class! It is a "mom and me" class, and although she is a bit clingy and whiny at the start of class, she turns it around after a few (or several) minutes. She just LOVES it. She waits patiently for her turn and for instructions, and then she just rolls with it...literally! I think this is going to be an awesome addition to our "curriculum". This coming week we will return to our favorite music class. I can't wait because it means we will get a new CD for the car. I have nearly hit my tolerance level for the previous one, and I seriously look forward to some fresh tunes. I hope Finnley likes the new one as much as the old...she has started "singing" some of the words to the songs, and she has "dances" for each one, too.

These two classes will take up our Mondays and Fridays, leaving the middle of the week for additional outings and adventures. Who knows what those will include, but I am sure we have another fall and winter of fun ahead of us!

A look at our trip to Smith's:

Franken-Arm

Well, I am on the first roads to recovery after having surgery on my wrist last week. I finally had my uber-bulky cast taken off today, and I am now in a splint 24/7 until I have the sutures removed next week. Due to the fact that this cyst was the "largest ganglion cyst EVER" (scientifically diagnosed and so named by my hand surgeon), my incision was much larger than the last go-around. In order to "get a good look" and to be sure to remove all of the "goop" (verbatim, I swear), my doctor this time had to slice the entire width of the back of my wrist. Hence the bruising you see in the picture, and hence the extended time in a splint / bandage. "We" are hopeful that this will be my last surgery for this issue, as the doc mentioned that he "left a huge hole" in cutting everything out and that things "inside" were much "drier" this time. Ummm...ok! So, there you have it. Hoping to be back at typing more / doing more / taking pictures more / just more more more....SOON!

Tantrums, Doctor's Appointments, and Earthquakes...OH MY!

That would pretty much sum things up around here. I recall (very clearly now) how most of my friends with children had mentioned that sometime around the age of 2, a switch is flipped. Their once happy-go-lucky, quick to nap, easy to please little toddlers "all of a sudden" turned into Jekyll and Hyde. I "believed" them. You know...in regards to THEIR children. Of course, I secretly thought that things would become more "difficult", but that I wouldn't really notice the gradual change. Uh huh. Then Finnley turned 2. And then? Somebody flipped the damn switch.

It was within a few days of returning home from Chicago that my babe's all-of-a-sudden-multiple-personalities became very difficult to keep up with. She used to be clock work. Seriously easy nap time around 1pm. A nap for up to three hours. Bed time around 8pm. All easy-peasy-breezy. A happy routine. Now? Overnight (literally), that changed to...whatever goes for the day goes. Nap time now happens (with quite usual tantrums and almost always crying) around 2pm or 2:30pm, if at all. Nap time lasts up to 2 hours, max! When Finnley refuses to go down for a nap (which happens from time to time but not without a fight), the day is long and usually a bit painful toward the end. And regarding bedtime? She now goes down around 8pm or 8:30pm, and it is also somewhat of a struggle. She has cried it out (while standing up) anywhere from 5 minutes to a half hour before finally allowing herself to crash. Teeth brushing...well, that isn't simple anymore, either. It is more of a battle at times. And tantrums? Well, those puppies are guaranteed to rear their ugly head at random moments several times a day EVERY day. At our house. In the car. At the park. With friends. At a restaurant. You name it. Finnley is stubborn, fiercely independent, a bit naughty and defiant, and still the cutest little bugger you have ever seen. There is a reason for the cuteness. God wasn't stupid on that account. If children weren't so cute during these times, a lot of mad houses would probably be filled to capacity with toddler parents at their wit's end. So, my previous "optimistically named" post referring to the "terrific twos" was all bunk. The terrific part, at least.

Now, along with all of this craziness comes some awesomeness, too. Finnley's vocabulary is growing daily. She can string 4 or 5 words together, and you can usually understand what she is saying. You can "almost" have a conversation with her now. She answers questions. You know, with real answers. One day her daddy asked her what she was going to do today. Finnley replied "play with mommy". She, with her growing verbiage and wild independent streak, is truly a little person. Her capacity for imaginative play is growing by leaps and bounds. It is so endearing. I love it. I can't wait for more of all of it, regardless of the "terrible" that rides by its side.

Since our return to South Jersey, we have also spent a lot of time at doctors' offices. I have been dealing with my recurrent ganglion cyst (which I am having surgery on tomorrow...so pardon any upcoming short-term pause on the blog). I have also been trying to get to the bottom of a bothersome foot injury. X-rays and bone scans. Time consuming non-fun. Necessary, but not my idea of a good time. For Finnley, the doctor meant her 2 year well-child visit. The results? She is above-average in her communicative abilities and her gross motor skills. She grew 3.5 inches in 6 months, putting her at 35 inches tall (in the 79th percentile for height). She also finally hit the 25 lb. mark (plus 3 oz...which is the 30th percentile for weight). They now don't need to see Finnley for a year. A year? A whole year without time to time updates? Sigh. We'll have to muscle through (meaning, I will have to muscle through).

And, lastly...earthquakes? Here? In South Jersey? Now I have seen it all! The babysitter had just left after I had returned from the bone scan of my foot. Finnley, Batman, and I were just settling in and deciding what we were going to play next. A casual moment in the family room. Then I felt the house shake, and I heard a "noise". I immediately ran to the front door to check out what I thought for sure was a sudden burst of wind, roaring and causing things to shutter. I quickly realized, though, that the leaves on the trees were barely moving...but the house was still swaying beneath my feet. It was at that moment that the word "earthquake" came to mind. I then quickly grabbed the phone with my adrenaline pumping, and I called Matt at work. He was already standing outside of his office building with his co-workers, as they had all evacuated the building due to the quake. I told him that the pictures on the mantle had shifted, and I could still see the light fixtures rocking back and forth from their chains that connect them to the ceiling. Later on, after going on a brief inspection of the house, I realized that a crack had formed in the plaster wall of the guest bedroom from all the definite but brief movement. CNN confirmed what we all thought. Earthquake. Felt all the way here in South Jersey. Crazy.

So, I'm not sure what else we can do to top all the goings-on of late...but I am convinced that we will manage to come up with more excitement regardless. That is just how we do things around here. Big. And crazy. And simple. And sweet. And fun. We just can't help ourselves!

***update: figured out what we could do to try to top all of the latest happenings...throw a hurricane into the mix. come this weekend we will know better how that fits into the grand scheme of things. sheesh!***

Bring on The Terrific Twos!

A delayed and mostly less than horrible plane ride for Finnley and I, and a long-distance bonding excursion by automobile for Batman and Matt, found us all in "Chicago" to celebrate Finnley's second birthday with family and friends.  Surviving another year with a constantly changing mini-person and ringing in the start of the year of "terrific twos" is certainly cause for celebration, don't you think?

Living far from all family and friends really makes rare trips like this something in which to revel.  Finnley was surrounded by both sets of her grandparents, her youngest cousins, an aunt and uncle, great aunts and uncles, great-great aunts and uncles, a great grandmother, some second and maybe third cousins...and pretty much everyone in the surrounding area that is related to or loves her.  Not to mention there was cake, a variety of silly and simple balloons that floated in the air, and lots and lots of sparkly inviting presents.  (everyone knows that sparkly packaging is way more important than the loot inside...so, well done gift-givers.  well-done!)  Certainly not a bad way to launch yourself into the next year of a wondrous little life.  Finnley is one lucky little girl.



Beyond the birthday festivities, Finnley was able to:   go out to eat on too-many-to-count occasions, go shopping with her grandma and GG (and even hold her GG's hand), spend quality time with her nanna and granddaddy, go to Brookfield zoo and a fair with her cousins and grandparents, have an Italian dinner outing with her aunt and mommy, and sooooo many other things.  It was practically a year's worth of special family adventures all in one week's span.  The girl knows how to take full advantage of her time, which is not the least bit surprising...she is 2 now, after all.


The past year has been one of growth, smiles, change, tears, exploration, tantrums, and pure silliness.  I have expectations for much of the same for this coming year.  Each day that passes with our "baby" girl is an obvious blessing, considering the absolute everything and more we went through to bring her into our lives.  She never disappoints.  She continually gives back more than she takes.  This tiny girl has an expanding and exploding vocabulary, and she is nothing short of a parrot at all times.  She walks up stairs without holding a hand, and she is starting to become more confident when going down the stairs solo, too.  She can end a meltdown as fast as she can start one.  She sometimes potties on the big girl potty.  She pretends to read books, using real words mixed with delightful gibberish to tell her unfolding stories.  She has had under-table picnics.  She has been more places than most 4 year olds. (I think.)  She has pet pigs, cows, bunnies, goats, sheep, and chickens.  She has ridden a pony and experienced carnival rides with overflowing joy.  She loves her "babies" and her dog.  Her dexterity is becoming more skilled as she uses crayons, iPads, markers, chalk, iPhones, paint, and anything else she can put her hands on to create, play, and learn.  She impresses me and amazes me EVERY day.  That is not an embellishment, either.  She really does.  I look so forward to this next year with my terrific two year old.  I know it will go quickly, but I hope to relish every second, just as we have thus far journeying to the present day.



So, without further adieu...Happy Birthday, beautiful Finnley! Your mommy loves you more than you could ever dream up in your most fantastical of fantastic dreams.  As you gleefully blew out the candle on your party cake, I want you to know that I made my own wish for you...to be the happiest you that you can be.  Today, tomorrow...always.

A little tour

Running is good for more than just exercise.  It also gives you time to think, to relieve stress, to lose yourself in your surroundings.  I took the opportunity to do this on many occasions while traveling back "home" for Finnley's second birthday.  In just over a week I logged about 18 miles on foot.  That amount of miles provides a lot of thinking and perspective finding moments.  My favorite morning was bright and not overly hot.  In this particular light of the early day, everything just looked prettier in that sleepy little town where my parents reside.  Of course in situations like this when you really want to have your camera with you to capture reality at its finest...you don't have it.  So, I made the decision to run back home faster than I had planned (just barely under a 10 minute mile pace, thankyouverymuch!), load up my gorgeous PJ-wearing, bed-headed toddler, and snag my camera to head back out by car to freeze some beauty "on film".  Here is a bit of what we saw on our little tour of rural Illinois...

Dog and Kid gone Wild!!!

To tide you over while waiting to hear about the Peanut turning TWO (gulp!)...here is a video of Finnley and Batman being "them". The two feed off of each other, and nothing makes Finn laugh more than this dog. Seriously, nothing. Just listen to her laugh, and you will surely agree. Promise!

 And, the updates on everything WILL be coming soon. Hopefully "tomorrow" soon, if I can help it!

And, here it is...