Father and Son

Have I mentioned that Neil is not only the greatest husband but also THE BEST DADDY in the world? It is such a joy to watch the two of them together. Neil reads Finn stories (and the look of concentration on Finn's face is just adorable!), he sings with him, teaches him how to play ball or hide and seek. As soon as Neil gets home from work it is daddy time! Neil rides his bike to work and comes home at around 7pm. Finn and I are usually downstairs then, Finn often having his supper. From the dining table we have a good view of our backyard and the garage, where Neil puts his bike. So as soon as Finn sees Neil coming in he yells "PAPA!" and goes crazy. Some days Finn starts saying "papa" over and over at around 5pm - as if he can't wait for his daddy to come home.
But Neil does so much more than just play with his son. He changes his diapers (I get a break from poopy diapers on the weekend), gives him his bath, feeds him and gets him dressed. I know that even in this day and age this is not a given! And when Finn wakes up crying at night Neil will go in and comfort him. You can really see just how much Neil loves his little boy in everything he does. And I am not the only one noticing this! A friend from church once said to me "You know, this is what I hope heaven will be like, how God will treat us: just like the way Neil takes care of Finn."

Finn's first steps!

Our baby is walking! Yesterday morning he took his first unassisted steps, and by the time his daddy came home Finn walked across the lawn right into Neil's arms. Needless to say, Neil was thrilled!

Finn's walking style is quite funny. Arms outstretched for balance, feet being thrown out like a toy soldier, he toddles here and there. Changing direction in mid-walk is still difficult and - naturally - he often falls on his bum or his knees. Right now crawling is still Finn's preferred mode of getting places. We are sure this will change soon! I am looking forward to Finn being able to walk around outside and in stores. I don't like to let him crawl all over the place because usually the ground is so filthy. But often Finn is fed up with sitting still in his stroller or the shopping cart and wants to get out. Soon I'll be chasing him up and down the aisles in the supermarket...

A day at the office

Finn got a jumpstart on his career, in fact he was only 9 months old when he started "going to the office". We were in Canada at the time, and after breakfast Finn would sit down at his little desk and get to work. His job description included assembling, taking apart, sorting, throwing and - not the least - tasting of various kinds of wooden and plastic contraptions. Often Finn would call on his dad to have in-depth engineer conversations about the qualities of certain products (see picture).
These days Finn is quite busy, too. For his birthday he got a "Laugh and Learn Home" from his German grandparents - a door with a gazillion fun functions to discover. It plays music, teaches words and sentences. Finn can sort shapes, push buttons, open a mailbox, turn the hands on a clock, throw balls down an eaves drop and much more. Finn loves that toy and although the songs can become repetitive I love it, too! It is so nice to sit on the couch with my feet up while Finn is playing on the floor instead of climbing all over me.
His other passion is looking at books and being read to. Since Finn insists on turning the pages (at his speed and in all directions) the stories come out quite funny. We just invent them as we go along.
Finn also loves his new wooden farm animals puzzle. Neil and I showed him how to do it a few times, naming the animals and making the appropriate sounds. (By the way, Neil is GREAT at making those sounds - I just about die laughing time and time again. Next time you see Neil ask him for his turkey imitation.) Anyway, the other day I put all the pieces on the floor (there are 10 or so) and asked Finn where the cow was. I was amazed when he actually pointed it out to me (going "mmmmooo"). I then asked him for one animal after the other and he handed them to me without fail! THE KID IS A GENIUS! :-) It made me realize just how much he already understands even though he can't talk yet. Don't underestimate the little ones!

Creatures great and small

Finn loves animals. He is fascinated by the sounds they make, they way they move and how they react to him. He also loves to look at his animal picture books. Whenever our poor cat is in the house Finn is pestering her. I have to watch closely, because one of these days her patience might wear thin. The neighbours have a new kitten, Camillo, a real playful little guy. Neil made the mistake of letting him into our house, so he is trying to come in all the time now. He will also jump in the car when I put Finn in his carseat.
We are lucky to live in a small town with pastures all around. We can easily go see horses and cows. Just a couple steps from our house is a field with sheep and there is a small enclosure with goats right on "main street". But I guess Finn's favourite animal would be Jimmy, the big black dog who lives down the street. Jimmy is guarding the property gate most of the time and barks often. Finn LOVES to imitate that sound. Whenever he hears Jimmy, Finn will go "woo woo" as well. We often walk up to Jimmy and pet him (he is friendly). Finn also imitates the sheep and has added a rather shrill, high-pitched "ow ow" to his repertoire. He must have picked that up from Camillo, the kitten, who often circles our house meowing, looking for a way in.