The Zoo

The oldest zoo in the country, to be exact. The Philadelphia Zoo was the first zoo in America, and yesterday we had the pleasure of partaking in its splendid offerings. It was partly sunny and 60 degrees, so it was beyond enjoyable to be outside for a change. We walked around. We saw the animals and sights. We cast shadows. We crawled on benches (well, Finnley did). We ate lunch outside! We discovered new wonders (Finnley's favorite attraction? The Bobcat. Not the animal, but the machine that was moving snow. Sigh.). We loved every second of it, and we left plastered with smiles but also aching for Spring and more days that can't help but draw you out. Soon enough, hopefully, and then we can be "done" with colds for awhile and spend some much anticipated and needed time doing ANYTHING that is not contained by four walls and a roof. Soon. Hopefully. Soon...

To My Wife

Hey look! The hubby gets to be a guest writer on the blog today. Why today? Because it's Valentine's Day. And I am on a business trip. Work gets in the way of romance again. So here are some random thoughts about my wife on this day.

My wife is amazing! This is our 9th Valentines's Day as a couple. And after 9 years I can easily say I would do it all over again, just the way we have done it so far. I love that girl more than anyone probably knows. I have seen her at her worst and I have seen her at her best. Her worst is still better than many people's best.

Patience. Tolerance. Seeing the good in others. She has taught me all of these things while teaching me to be a dog lover. I witnessed her patience first hand when we first brought our yellow lab home. As I was telling her we needed to return him, she kept her patience and told me that we needed to give him a chance because she saw something good in him as a puppy. She didn't want us to give up on a good thing. Our dog is now 7 years old, and he's the best little guy anyone could ask for. The only reason I have a friend like him is because my wife was patient with him (and me) when he was a puppy.

Go with the flow and experience life. My wife goes with the flow better than anyone I know. I moved her to different states 4 times in the first 5 years of marriage, just so I could have a better opportunity for my career. This was a girl who had never moved in her life. 4 times in 5 years (including 30 days before our wedding) would break most people. Not Megs. She smiled the whole way, never complained, and made the best of every new neighborhood. Even when I left her to go on a business trip (on a cruise ship in Portugal)right after a move, and she had to unpack every box. She has the strongest soul and the greatest outlook when it comes to adventure.

Determination. If my wife is struggling with something she remains steadfastly determined to overcome the odds. Thank God. As we struggled through fertility treatments early in our marriage, she never gave up. Not after miscarriage after miscarriage. Not after the romance was taken out of our marriage and I was giving her shots in her ass in the parking lot of a gas station...just for a chance at having a child. She even took on a full time job to save money for fertility treatments after benefits ran out. Many would give up after 5 years of this. Megan did not. Thank God.

Wife and Mom. My wife is a mom. A damn good one, too. On this day of love, I wish anyone could see my wife as she helps a toddler navigate her way through life. Unconditional love at its best. Megs and Finn are buddies. They won't always be, but right now they are. And already I get to see my wife teach our daughter patience, tolerance, and love. This is what she does. Every single day. Finnley is lucky.

I love my wife and my family! I love them each and every day. I would be happy if I were stranded on an island with this cast of characters. We have fun! We laugh. We enjoy life. Not much passes us by. We have never given up. We communicate with each other and work through things that bother us. Then we forgive, drink wine, and watch The Bachelor. HA! OK, we actually forgive, drink wine, and find that one little thing that makes us say "I would do it all over again."

Happy Valentine's Day to my wife and friend, my daughter, and my dog. I love you all unconditionally. I love you more every day. I love you.

I Heart My Husband.

Today on Valentine's Day. And on our worst days. On our best days. Each and every day.

I would marry him again in a heartbeat. I would chose him again as a best friend, soulmate in sarcasm, husband, companion for difficult journeys, partner in crime, and, ultimately, as the best father possible to our beautiful little girl.

He isn't perfect. I am not perfect. I truly believe with all that I am, though, that we are perfect for each other.

Love you, M. On this day and always. xoxoxo. M.

Fridays...

...bring out the rockstar in all of us. Don't they???

Bees.

As in, "busy as".  That usually sums us up, and this week has been no different.  We have gone to Gymboree to play with friends.  We have met other friends to have juice and then gone on to check out a preschool program with them (yes, you read that right!).  We have headed into Camden to the Adventure Aquarium to visit the hippos and fishies.  Today we went to our first ever kiddy Valentine's Day party, and we followed up that fun with a trip to the doctor (just a stye in the left eye...nothing some antibiotic drops can't fix for Ms. Finn).  Tomorrow we will head to our usual Stroller Strides class.  Saturday?  Well, Saturday maybe we will find time to breathe!  Just kidding.  We usually manage that pretty well among all of the other things that we do.  We have a good routine going, and we usually have pretty interesting and amazing days.  Not too much else we could ask for than that!

Here is picture view of our week:

The Escape Artist

Any time you tell Finnley that it is "time to leave"?  She runs.  Fast.  

With a smile and a giggle.  That's our girl.

Life in Training

A video of Finnley while at the Please Touch Museum earlier today.  She is such a little person now...such a silly little person.

MAGICAL...

Such is the life of a toddler at the museum on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

18 months and counting...

18 months.  Yesterday.  So hard to believe our baby is now...well, not a baby anymore!  She is a full-blown toddler at a year and a half old.  She tries hard to prove that each and every day, too.  I say, good for her (although, sometimes it is not so good for mommy).

So, how goes things at Finnley's ripe old age?  She is now clocking in at 31.5 inches (same as last appointment, which means they measured her wrong last time.  whatever).  That puts her in the 50th percentile for height.  She gained a bit of weight and is now a whopping 22 lbs 2 oz.  That puts her in the 18th percentile for weight (still tiny, but mighty!).  Lastly, I do not even remember what her noggin measured, but I do know that the measurement puts her 93rd percentile for head circumference.  According to all of this?  Well, Finnley is fairly tall, thin, and has gigantic brains housed in her gigantic head which should truly cause her to walk around with her nose scraping the floor.  It doesn't, though.  She is a wonder.  A true wonder.

Finnley is meeting or exceeding all milestone expectations put upon her at this stage.  A mom loves to hear that.  The doctor even commented that she LOVED hearing about Finnley throwing tantrums already.  Apparently she thinks this makes Finnley "smart".  I think it makes Finnley obnoxious, although I am not denying the smart aspect.  The two seemingly go hand in hand at this point.

There are only 4 more teeth for our little girl to cut, and those are her two year molars.  That is it.  Where did the time go?  Before we know it, she will start losing those same teeth.  At least there is a few year break in between all of the nonsense with oral growth, expulsion, and more growth.

Supposedly in the next 6 months, we should expect Finn to experience a verbal explosion.  "Most" kids do during this time period.  There is always a big curve for what children do and when, though, so I won't hold onto this 6 month period as "ephiphany" time in the word-world.  It would be fun to witness, though...so I do look forward to it when it does happen.  At least at this point Finnley has a great grip on the words "ma-ma" and "da-da" and uses them with accuracy quite regularly.  When she comes up to me, puts her hand on my chest to pat me, and then says "ma-ma"...I melt.  No sweeter words have fallen upon my ears.  I am sure that "da-da" feels the same when she calls out for him.  Simple, yet so amazing.

And, as Finnley continues to learn and grow...I continue to move in fast-forward motion all the time.  I am always zipping here and there, hurrying to change a diaper, scurrying to get a meal on the table fast enough for a hungry girl.  I have discovered this past week, though, that sometimes slowing down is best.  And safest.  This week I have been sick while zipping, hurrying, and scurrying.  A dangerous combination, exemplified by my taking a swig of cough syrup to soothe my throat, only to find out that it was NIGHT TIME cough syrup...and it was only mid-afternoon.  Such is the life of a mom of an eighteen month old.  And, for the record?  I stayed awake the whole rest of the day.  I even cooked dinner, bathed my child, and accomplished other expected normal daily tasks.  Toddlers are curious, explorative, adventurous, and stubborn...and they have met their match in their moms.  So, go me...and go us!

Looking forward to the next six months of delightful craziness...

Through her eyes...

Another outing to the Please Touch Museum brought about yet another opportunity to view the world through Finnley's wide eyes.  Such quiet delight.  Such simple and pure joy.  I love each and every moment that we share together on days like this. What fun it is to be a kid.  What a privilege it is to be a mom....to be Finnley's mom!

Don't just think it...

Well, it has been a long week around here.  Finnley seemed to get sick out of the blue with a head and chest cold.  Each day she got progressively worse.  For almost 5 days she barely ate (a bite of peanut butter toast here, a goldfish cracker there).  She didn't take a sippy cup of milk for at least 3 days.  For 4 nights or more there was wakefulness, with one night finding Finn crying almost every hour on the hour.  Yesterday was the culmination of the bug, and it forced my little girl to be a puddle of her normal self.  She took a two hour morning nap in her crib, and then she spent the rest of the day nestled on me on the couch in some random cuddly fashion.  She didn't even want me to put her down so I could go to the bathroom.  When I did (because, well...I had to go!), she cried.  Those tears were momentarily heartbreaking.

Today we started anew.  There was a full night of sleep for everyone, thankfully.  And, even though Finnley is still sick...she is much happier and alert.  She has finally started eating again, and she even took a little milk this morning.  There was playing to be done, and I reveled in the welcomed absence of near constant whimpering.

To take advantage of this "better day", Finnley and I ventured out to Barnes and Noble.  There was no scheduled story time today, so I knew that the children's area wouldn't be overly crowded.  I imbibed in my hardly indulgent decaf skinny cinnamon dolce' latte' while Finnley ran around "shopping".  We read some books and played some hide-and-seek amongst the book shelves.

On our way over to the children's area, we had approached a tall, well-dressed black woman donning the most fun and stylish of winter hats.  It was a wool, fleece-lined ear flap hat decorated with faux fur trimmings, and it folded up and tied together on top.  Not everyone would pick this hat to wear, nor could everyone get away with it...but she did, and she did it well.  Most days I would just think "wow, what a cool hat" to myself and continue to walk on by.  Today, though...I didn't.  I chose to go right up to this woman and tell her what a magnificent hat she had on, and that I just loved it.  I am glad I did.  She instantly lit up, told me where she had purchased it (Marshall's, Marshall's, Marshall's), and also expressed to me that I had made her day.

So, why is it that we normally keep these thoughts to ourselves?  Are we afraid to go up to strangers?  Are we so wrapped up in ourselves that we don't care to share our thoughts, no matter how kind they might be?  I'm not sure.  I would like to make a more consistent practice of opening up, even to perfectly random strangers, if I feel that I have something that is potentially worth sharing.  Why not?  If every once in awhile I can make someone's day by doing so, I think it is totally worth the small effort.

What have you done to compliment someone recently...or have you "paid it forward" in another way?  Maybe this post will give you thought to do so if you haven't.  Regardless, try to be more conscious about not just thinking things, but also saying them.  It might leave you feeling just as good as you made someone else feel.

Snow What a Relief it Is!!!

Not too hard to tell what we have been up to lately.  The forecasters all predicted a "mild" winter season for us here in the suburban Philly area.  Of course, they were totally wrong.  Firstly, December averaged about 4 degrees BELOW normal for the month.  Not mild.  Secondly, I think we have ALREADY surpassed the snowfall totals that they foresaw us accumulating for the ENTIRE season.  The big Christmas blizzard was first, followed by two coastal storms within the past couple of weeks.  Not that I am complaining.  I love the snow.  My whole little family does, so I guess we are ok with the fact that meteorologists are generally really bad at what they do.

Here is a peek at our "mild" winter to date:

Snow Much Fun!

Do not adjust your internet...you are ACTUALLY seeing TWO posts in ONE day! Amazing! An all day whispery snowfall led to a necessary late afternoon outing to play. And, you cannot play in the snow with a dog, a sled, and a toddler without taking video. It is the law. So, obey the law I did. I am just a rule follower, what can I say?

Little "Genius" Moments

A video montage of Finnley's latest and greatest "skills".  She is such a blossoming little "genius" right now, and we couldn't be more proud or entertained!  We hope you are just as impressed and amused as we are!

Out with the Old...in with the New

And so another year passes and yet another new one begins.  Last year we started off the new year with a baby in our house.  This year we start off with a full blown toddler in our presence.  What a difference a year makes.  What a huge difference.

And, just as always, I resolve to kick off my year sans resolutions.  I simply prefer to do the best with everything, for everyone, and for myself on a daily basis.  I think living up to your potential in the moment is better than making yearly promises to yourself or others that most will never keep.  That is just me.  No resolutions at forced times, no giving up anything at forced times...just living a good life as much as I can ALL the time.

In seeing all of the changes that took place for our daughter over this past year, I surely can't even being to imagine what this next year will hold for her, or for us as her parents.  Finnley begins this year a vivacious, precocious, and willfully stubborn little girl.  She is forcing her independence more and more every day, and I drink in the delight that it brings to both of us.  I also randomly cringe at the potential danger that this new-found independence brings.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, though.  And, given that, we should all surely be fiercely strong by the time she reaches the age of 3 or 4.  

Staying focused on the present, though, let me tell you how Finnley begins her new year:

• words / phrases she now uses: hi, da-da, yes, no (with the accompanying shaking of the head), doggie, hi doggie, hi Boosies (Batman), this, that, bath, ducky, hi there, ma-ma (every rare once in awhile), hot, etc.
• things she can point to / point out: nose, mouth, ears, hair/head, eyes, belly, toes/feet, hands, shoes
• using flashcards, things she recognizes and can point out:  baby, ball, jelly, doggie, keys, mirror, shoes, cat, bear, and fish
• new skills:  walking backwards, climbing just about anything, using a spoon with some success, running, consistently being able to blow kisses / wave hello and goodbye, etc.
• new teeth:  currently working on cutting all four incisors.  once this task is complete, she will only have to cut her four 2-year molars.  
• new heights:  she continues to grow up and not out.  still skinny and weighing in at less than 22 pounds.  we love her tiny and mighty!
• greatest loves:  her mommy and daddy, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, her dog (she worships him!), music, dancing, playing....this kid loves pretty much everything (except for taking long naps).  

Thank you to all who continue to follow our journey.  However you choose to begin the year 2011...may it be a blessed year for all.