I admit that we are not always the best about remembering to give thanks before we eat, but we were able to sit down to more meals together over the holidays, and made some effort. Geof said a lovely prayer before Christmas dinner, and Liam wanted to add something. He gave thanks for his family, and especially his brother. It was incredibly sweet, and brought a little tear to my eye.
As we sat down to eat a couple of days later, Liam again wanted to say grace. He gave a similar speech, saying, "I'm thankful for my family, and my brother, and for his being born because he is a really nice boy. God bless Finian David. Amen." Matt asked Finn if there was anything he wanted to give thanks for, and Finn thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I'm thankful for . . . exercise!!!!" I'm sure he is also grateful for his brother.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Christmas all over again
We all got to have a second Christmas last weekend when Geof and Lo came to town. The boys got lots and lots of vehicles, and some fun dress up clothes:
They also really enjoyed the slot car racing set from Aunt Breezy and Uncle Mike. In fact, all of the boys enjoyed it: 
Yes, all of the boys:
It's too bad we all ended up sick, because otherwise it was a great way to end the year.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Finn and Santa, Christmas, and money
Finn seems to be much more aware of Santa, and much more excited for Christmas, than Liam was at his age. I'm so glad he has a big brother to teach him such things. Several times today he asked me when Santa was coming.
We went out for a a little hike at Radnor Lake this afternoon, and before we got started, Liam had to use the restroom. As I waited with Finn, I decided to make some small talk. Knowing he'd asked Santa for a helicopter a few days ago, I casually asked him what he thought Santa would bring him. He affirmed his desire for a helicopter. When I asked him what he thought Santa might bring me, he paused, then said, "A football?" I said, sure, a football would be nice, and asked what he thought Santa would bring daddy. Again, "maybe a football?" Was I missing a latent desire or something? What was with the footballs??
Anyway, after our hike we ate a little and went to the family service at church. The boys demonstrated the worst behavior of any of the kids there. Fortunately, when the offeratory was being passed around and Finn declared, very loudly, "I WANT MY MONEY" over and over again, most people seemed eager to believe he said he wanted his mommy. In his defense, he wanted to put money in the bowl, but still.
In the spirit of the "A Christmas Story" movie, and remembering the fa-ra-ra-ra-ra's, we decided to stop by the only restaurant open on the way home and get some Chinese take out. It was the best asian food I had had in years. Yum. When we finally got the boys to bed and were able to spend a minute talking to each other without constant interruptions ("Why do people have hair? What about bald people? etc) I had a revelation, about four hours too late. Matt had brought up two gifts for the boys from his partner, and they were in gift bags under the tree. I myself had peeked a few days ago, so I knew that they contained footballs. The little sneak.
Merry Christmas!
We went out for a a little hike at Radnor Lake this afternoon, and before we got started, Liam had to use the restroom. As I waited with Finn, I decided to make some small talk. Knowing he'd asked Santa for a helicopter a few days ago, I casually asked him what he thought Santa would bring him. He affirmed his desire for a helicopter. When I asked him what he thought Santa might bring me, he paused, then said, "A football?" I said, sure, a football would be nice, and asked what he thought Santa would bring daddy. Again, "maybe a football?" Was I missing a latent desire or something? What was with the footballs??
Anyway, after our hike we ate a little and went to the family service at church. The boys demonstrated the worst behavior of any of the kids there. Fortunately, when the offeratory was being passed around and Finn declared, very loudly, "I WANT MY MONEY" over and over again, most people seemed eager to believe he said he wanted his mommy. In his defense, he wanted to put money in the bowl, but still.
In the spirit of the "A Christmas Story" movie, and remembering the fa-ra-ra-ra-ra's, we decided to stop by the only restaurant open on the way home and get some Chinese take out. It was the best asian food I had had in years. Yum. When we finally got the boys to bed and were able to spend a minute talking to each other without constant interruptions ("Why do people have hair? What about bald people? etc) I had a revelation, about four hours too late. Matt had brought up two gifts for the boys from his partner, and they were in gift bags under the tree. I myself had peeked a few days ago, so I knew that they contained footballs. The little sneak.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
More Finn'isms
A few more of Finn's funny sayings in the last two days:
Yesterday, Liam proclaimed (to Matt's horror) that his favorite candy was a peppermint candy cane. Finn replied that his favorite was a broccoli-cane. Then he laughed very loudly. A discussion of lemon-canes, chocolate canes, and mailbox-canes ensued.
Today, as we waited to see Santa (see the picture) the boys were bored, so I gave them pens to draw on the flyers. They both scribbled for several minutes, and then gave us their papers to hold. Matt looked at Finn's drawing and said, "That's a nice snowflake, Finn." Finn took the drawing back, reexamined it, and said, "No, it's a spiderweb." And really, it did look a lot more like a spider web.
Later, as we got them ready for naps, Finn asked me to take his socks off. Then he put one of his socks on his hand, said, "I'm a puppet!" Then he made the 'puppet's' mouth move, and said, "an alligator puppet!!" and chased us with it. So cute.
His spontaneity and creativity never cease to amaze us. The fact that he is the most stubborn boy on the planet mitigates our delight somewhat, but nonetheless, he's pretty fun these days.
Yesterday, Liam proclaimed (to Matt's horror) that his favorite candy was a peppermint candy cane. Finn replied that his favorite was a broccoli-cane. Then he laughed very loudly. A discussion of lemon-canes, chocolate canes, and mailbox-canes ensued.
Today, as we waited to see Santa (see the picture) the boys were bored, so I gave them pens to draw on the flyers. They both scribbled for several minutes, and then gave us their papers to hold. Matt looked at Finn's drawing and said, "That's a nice snowflake, Finn." Finn took the drawing back, reexamined it, and said, "No, it's a spiderweb." And really, it did look a lot more like a spider web.
Later, as we got them ready for naps, Finn asked me to take his socks off. Then he put one of his socks on his hand, said, "I'm a puppet!" Then he made the 'puppet's' mouth move, and said, "an alligator puppet!!" and chased us with it. So cute.
His spontaneity and creativity never cease to amaze us. The fact that he is the most stubborn boy on the planet mitigates our delight somewhat, but nonetheless, he's pretty fun these days.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Soooo scary!
Finn sometimes says the most surprising and funny things.
Last night, after bathtime, Matt was drying Finn's hair, and the towel was draped over Finn's head and around his body. As Matt is rubbing Finn's head, Finn says, "I'm a ghost! Oooooooooooooooooo!" It was so utterly spontaneous and cute.
I need to be better about keeping the blog up to date, because I forget these cute things so quickly!!
Last night, after bathtime, Matt was drying Finn's hair, and the towel was draped over Finn's head and around his body. As Matt is rubbing Finn's head, Finn says, "I'm a ghost! Oooooooooooooooooo!" It was so utterly spontaneous and cute.
I need to be better about keeping the blog up to date, because I forget these cute things so quickly!!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Lint-man
Liam was very excited by the badge he made at school today. It consisted of a piece of brown paper on which he'd written the letter "L". One of his friends, Patrick, proudly told me that his badge had the letter "F". Obviously, this was more than just a first-letter-of-your-name badge.
On the way home, he explained excitedly that it was his superhero badge, and he wanted to make one for Finn as well. And it had to be a black letter on brown paper. The letter "L" stands for "Lint". Yes, lint. As in Lint-man! When I asked him if he knew what lint was, he said no. He was not at all phased when I told him it means tiny pieces of fuzz that stick to your clothing, and he informed me that he just made it up. Lint has a cable-charger super power (later changed to a cable-cord). It helps him catch the bad guys. Finn's superhero name is, per Lint, "Int". So Liam made him a badge with the letter "I". They ran around for a while with their badges, protecting people from bad guys.
So from now on, call him Lint.
On the way home, he explained excitedly that it was his superhero badge, and he wanted to make one for Finn as well. And it had to be a black letter on brown paper. The letter "L" stands for "Lint". Yes, lint. As in Lint-man! When I asked him if he knew what lint was, he said no. He was not at all phased when I told him it means tiny pieces of fuzz that stick to your clothing, and he informed me that he just made it up. Lint has a cable-charger super power (later changed to a cable-cord). It helps him catch the bad guys. Finn's superhero name is, per Lint, "Int". So Liam made him a badge with the letter "I". They ran around for a while with their badges, protecting people from bad guys.
So from now on, call him Lint.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Let's go Predators!
(This is long.)
So Liam and I went to an NHL hockey game last night. It was special for several reasons. This was Liam's first hockey game and only his second professional sporting event to attend. The drop was at 7:00 PM, which meant a late night. This on the heels of another late night at his Murfreesboro cousins. Luckily for everyone, he had a great nap leading up to this.
Liam was particularily excited because I had given him some information about the game since I had gone to a preseason game earlier. (The reason, in fact, that we were going to this game was because I had promised him that we could go later in the season after he became very upset that I was going to see a game without him. At his old school, "Let's go Predators" rally cry was known by at least one of his classmates, so Liam adopted it without actually knowing the context.) So I had told him that the players skated out of a giant predator head that they lowered from the arena ceiling. Thus the questions and adventure begins.
Liam had an excellent dinner, wanted a treat for eating everything, so I told him we could get something at the game. We got there early, during warmups, found our seats- which were really good- and settled in.
Liam asked for his earplugs- which I had brought because he had been very sensitive last year to the sound and lights at Sesame Street Live- so I put them in and he started asking questions while looking at the rink. He was sitting on my lap, so this made it difficult to hear him, and since he could not hear me very well, he really didn't get all the answers. Luckily, we took the plugs out after the noisy introduction.
Who are they?
Goalies, like in soccer.
Do the shoot at their golie?
No, they shoot at the Minnesota golie.
Why?
To try to score a goal.
Why?
So that they can score more points and win the game.
Can we go get something to eat? (2 minutes into the first period)
Already?
My tummy is starving!
Thus it was that Liam ate his way through the game- giant bucket of popcorn, M&M's, bottle of water, pizza, lemonade, and he would have had ice cream, but I talked him out of it. He really enjoyed the eating.
He also had some profound observations:
-Golf is like hockey because they hit the ball with a stick, but hockey uses a puck.
-I thought they (they players) were all inside the Predator head, but they just came through it, they weren't IN it.
-Is anybody here from Minnesota? Why?
-Why does somebody not take our seats when we leave?
-Why does the ice not melt when everybody leaves?
-Why do they have mirrors in the bathroom?
-Is everybody leaving? (It was the end of the first period)
How is the ice painted?
The floor is painted under the ice.
Why?
It is part of the game.
How can we see it through the ice?
The ice is clear.
Oh. Why do they have Pepsi written on the wall. (I did not read that to him.)
Uh, it's marketing.
To make you buy Pepsi?
Yes.
Oh.
Mostly he did like the scoring, with the horn and the crowd singing the classic "Duh deh deh duh HEY!" rally. Though he did want to know why we we were going to beat the "heck" out of Minnesota. I told him it was not a literal beating. Since he had his hands full of popcorn most of the time, he clapped with his feet alot, which was funny since the seat would then fold up on him. That didn't stop him from giving the mascot a high five when we came by. This was a huge deal, since the last game we had gone to Liam was very afraid of the mascot. There was some confusion, though, as he then gave the beer guy a high five next time he came through, and would have done the same to the cotton candy vendor, but her hands were full.
So it was a great evening, though the Predators lost. Liam had a blast and I really enjoyed it too. To wrap it up, during one part of the game Liam saw the big screen promoting the next game (Vancouver Canucks) and Liam asked me when the whales were coming. I told him that was another game on another night. He then found out that there were many many teams in different cities and lots more games to be played. I think we'll go back, hopefully all 4 of us next time.
So Liam and I went to an NHL hockey game last night. It was special for several reasons. This was Liam's first hockey game and only his second professional sporting event to attend. The drop was at 7:00 PM, which meant a late night. This on the heels of another late night at his Murfreesboro cousins. Luckily for everyone, he had a great nap leading up to this.
Liam was particularily excited because I had given him some information about the game since I had gone to a preseason game earlier. (The reason, in fact, that we were going to this game was because I had promised him that we could go later in the season after he became very upset that I was going to see a game without him. At his old school, "Let's go Predators" rally cry was known by at least one of his classmates, so Liam adopted it without actually knowing the context.) So I had told him that the players skated out of a giant predator head that they lowered from the arena ceiling. Thus the questions and adventure begins.
Liam had an excellent dinner, wanted a treat for eating everything, so I told him we could get something at the game. We got there early, during warmups, found our seats- which were really good- and settled in.
Liam asked for his earplugs- which I had brought because he had been very sensitive last year to the sound and lights at Sesame Street Live- so I put them in and he started asking questions while looking at the rink. He was sitting on my lap, so this made it difficult to hear him, and since he could not hear me very well, he really didn't get all the answers. Luckily, we took the plugs out after the noisy introduction.
Who are they?
Goalies, like in soccer.
Do the shoot at their golie?
No, they shoot at the Minnesota golie.
Why?
To try to score a goal.
Why?
So that they can score more points and win the game.
Can we go get something to eat? (2 minutes into the first period)
Already?
My tummy is starving!
Thus it was that Liam ate his way through the game- giant bucket of popcorn, M&M's, bottle of water, pizza, lemonade, and he would have had ice cream, but I talked him out of it. He really enjoyed the eating.
He also had some profound observations:
-Golf is like hockey because they hit the ball with a stick, but hockey uses a puck.
-I thought they (they players) were all inside the Predator head, but they just came through it, they weren't IN it.
-Is anybody here from Minnesota? Why?
-Why does somebody not take our seats when we leave?
-Why does the ice not melt when everybody leaves?
-Why do they have mirrors in the bathroom?
-Is everybody leaving? (It was the end of the first period)
How is the ice painted?
The floor is painted under the ice.
Why?
It is part of the game.
How can we see it through the ice?
The ice is clear.
Oh. Why do they have Pepsi written on the wall. (I did not read that to him.)
Uh, it's marketing.
To make you buy Pepsi?
Yes.
Oh.
Mostly he did like the scoring, with the horn and the crowd singing the classic "Duh deh deh duh HEY!" rally. Though he did want to know why we we were going to beat the "heck" out of Minnesota. I told him it was not a literal beating. Since he had his hands full of popcorn most of the time, he clapped with his feet alot, which was funny since the seat would then fold up on him. That didn't stop him from giving the mascot a high five when we came by. This was a huge deal, since the last game we had gone to Liam was very afraid of the mascot. There was some confusion, though, as he then gave the beer guy a high five next time he came through, and would have done the same to the cotton candy vendor, but her hands were full.
So it was a great evening, though the Predators lost. Liam had a blast and I really enjoyed it too. To wrap it up, during one part of the game Liam saw the big screen promoting the next game (Vancouver Canucks) and Liam asked me when the whales were coming. I told him that was another game on another night. He then found out that there were many many teams in different cities and lots more games to be played. I think we'll go back, hopefully all 4 of us next time.
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