Early Christmas

Yesterday marked Finley’s 10-month birthday. And in celebration, we had a big family get together, where we exchanged gifts. No, not really. We, in fact, celebrated Christmas a bit early with my family. It turned out that my nephew, who lives in Hawaii, was able to sneak home a little early, so in order to have the whole family there at the same time, we moved Christmas up a bit and it just happened to be the same day Finley turned 10 months.

Now some of you may be thinking that if she’s 10 months old on December 16, that would make her 12 months on February 16^th, not March 11^th, which is her actual birthday. It turns out, when you’re keeping track of babies that just like during pregnancy; everything is in weeks, not months. And since several months have a little more than four weeks in them, it throws things off a bit.

This means that when Finley turns a year old on March 11th, she will actually be just over 62 weeks old. Those of you who want to do the math can add 10 weeks to every year of your life (a month and a half) and figure out how old you REALLY are. I’m not sure this works when trying to prove you can buy alcohol, but it’s certainly a conversation starter.

At any rate, this weekend, although a bit premature, was Finley’s first foray into Christmas festivities. Of course, this meant that Momma was prepared with a little outfit that turned out to be several little outfits once we showed up to my sister’s house. Sandy, it turns out, just became a grandma in October and when she realized not just one but TWO babies would be experiencing their first Christmas, she designated herself “Official Outfitter of Baby’s 1^st Christmas, 2007. “

You would think the babies were sisters instead of second cousins, but matching outfits were the plan of the day and after several thousand photographs, we got down to business with baby gifts.

Predictably, the wrapping paper and bows were far more interesting that what was neatly wrapped inside. But once the safety measures, shoplifting devices and other packaging gauntlets were breached, we were able to hand over the prizes to Finley who’s first matter of business was to decide how each and every gift tasted.

Once the gift satisfied her palate, we spent the next several moments showing her how to play with the darned things. We really should have known better, because all of her toys, now matter how big or small, loud or quiet, colorful or bland have three main purposes:

1. To be tasted.
2. To act as some sort of drum for her to beat on.
3. To be knocked over again and again.

Anything beyond these basic principles is really just an added bonus.

For instance, she received a neat little farmhouse from our friends in Portland, Tony and Michelle. It has a little barn door that plays “Old McDonald” whenever you open it. She doesn’t quite yet know how to make it play music, but whenever one of us sets the song off, Finley bops her head and then her whole body along to the tune. It’s pretty funny. And even funnier if she hears music when she’s pulled herself up to standing. Then the knees and the rear get into the act. But the thing she’s learned to do, that I find most fascinating, is that she’s beginning to play catch with her old man.

She has this little plastic ball that’s been a chew toy for her for quite some time. The other night, I wanted to see what she would do when I got on the floor with her and rolled it her way. She immediately got the idea and in her pre-toddler way, attempted to roll the ball back to me. There were actually a few times where she rolled it to me perfectly, and as I told her “Hooray!” for each time she tried to push the ball to me, she would bop her head back and forth and smile. She could tell it was a game and she could tell she was doing it right.

Now I know that it’s not exactly catch and really just a tail and a slobbery tongue away from being considered “fetch,” but it’s the beginning of something. She knows that the ball will be coming from me and she knows she has to try and send it back to me. She’s learned the basics of action and reaction. I think that’s pretty cool.

So as we head toward the actual Christmas holiday, I know we can expect a few more toys and a few more outfits. We will have several hundred more photographs to be taken and possibly multiple wardrobe changes. I’m enjoying watching everyone watching her and seeing what I’m lucky to see everyday; this little girl who’s crawling and climbing and growing. It’s cool to see how amazed everyone is by what she’s been able to learn in just a few short months. I’m amazed every day. Not just by the things she’s learning, but by the things she’s teaching me.

It’s not only the ultimate lesson of learning to crawl and taking things slowly, but it’s a lesson in how much joy even the little things in life can and should bring. Every single thing she does makes her smile and I envy that. But then again, every single thing she does makes ME smile. So my gift this Christmas is just watching and enjoying her. It’s the greatest gift I could ever ask for.

Back in the USA

Well, we are back from Mexico and quite travel weary. So forgive me if this post winds up on the short end of things. Jet lag is a crazy thing, especially with a baby in tow! But I can safely say that Finley was a fantastic traveler on her first big adventure.

When I last left you, The Princess had just discovered the glory of the Lazy River. And, no day at the pool was complete with out two or three trips to her new favorite place. She would smile from ear to ear the entire time and do her latest noise, which is a hearty laugh, almost fake in its delivery, like she is saying, “HA-HA!” This forced laugh combined with her flailing and splashing made for quite the hilarious scene as we made our way down the Lazy River.

Of course, the trip wasn’t all swimming pools and sun. Okay, it was MOSTLY swimming pools and sun. But, when she wasn’t splashing herself like crazy, Miss Finley was practicing her standing skills as often as possible. And by practice, I mean she was pulling her self up to any and every ledge she could get her little fingers on to. But it wasn’t just standing, it was also a few falls, but her new thing is to make her way around a ledge or table with little side steps. Yep, she’s figuring out this walking thing.

I’m not sure if I should be glad she’s figuring out or not. The tough part, right now, is that as she’s literally taking baby steps, she’s also taking baby falls. For the most part, I think the crying is more about the frustration than it is the pain, but every once in a while, she takes a pretty good tumble and winds up with a bump or bruise on her noggin.

It’s tougher on the Momma than it is on me, but a crying baby is never any fun. I’m from the school that she has to take these tumbles to learn how to fall properly or catch herself or just be more careful. It all drives Heather nuts, and every time gravity asserts itself, she’s either gasping or lunging to save the day. But Momma and drama kind of go together.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want her to get hurt, either… I’ve had a couple of diving saves myself… But, as long as there’s a safe place to land, I think she can handle a drop to the ground a few times. She’s a tough kid and pretty much made of rubber at this point. But like I said, a crying baby is never any fun, so I find myself inching a bit closer to the babe as she does her acrobatics.

That being said, one of the best parts of our trip home from Mexico was seeing Finley standing up on our laps, gripping the back of the seat in front of us and beaming her cute little smile at all the passengers boarding our flight. She made quite a few friends on the way home, and actually managed to stay in a good mood and keep awake on the first of the two flights.

After a hurried but smooth trip through customs and baggage re-check in Dallas, we boarded our final flight for a four-hour ride home, not knowing if she would keep her good mood streak alive or flip out in baby rage. Luckily for us, she decided to sleep… the ENTIRE flight!

We found our seats and prepped for whichever mood she decided on. Momma gave her a bottle as we left the ground, and she was out. Simple as that. We were lucky enough to have an extra seat in our row, which happened to be the perfect size for our sleepy traveler. Two time zones later, we landed in Seattle with a happy baby and memories of a great first family vacation.

So, now that rain clouds and wind have replaced the sun and sand, we can look back at a very successful trip with the baby. Heather and I are hoping to get her used to traveling so that she can grow up as a responsible and wise traveler. The way we look at it, Finley just had her first trip in a great big world that is hers to travel whenever and wherever she wants.