Yo-ho, Yo-ho a pirates life...

Hello world,

We are getting pretty excited about Halloween around here. I am not totally sure what Halloween is about, but mama has been dressing me up in different outfits all week. Today she put this little outfit on me and told me all about pirates. I think I will enjoy this holiday much more when I am older. Mama has already planned my costume for next year. She is keeping it a secret for now and is really excited to sew it for me.

Last week I went to a pumpkin patch for the first time. We picked out a mama, papa and baby pumpkin. We are going to carve our pumpkins and bake the seeds tomorrow. Mama said she would carve my pumpkin for me, I just need to pick a design. I am not sure what to pick because I have a rather limited visual vocabulary and most of what I see is blurry. The only thing I can think of is a boob... maybe that is because I am hungry, but you have to admit pumpkins kind of look like boobs!

Well, it is time for lunch. I am a growing little bugger and all of this talk about boobs has made me hungry for some milk. :) Have a great Halloween everyone! I can't wait to see what my neighborhood friends dress up as. 

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Soooo comfy

It might not look like it but this is the most comfortable spot in my known universe. I swear, I try to stay awake but that only lasts a few seconds. If only my parents would let me sleep here at night, I wouldn't insist on waking up so frequently.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

3 weeks of Finn.

Watch me grow...

 

 

I am growing so quickly. I hope you can keep up.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

3 weeks old.

Hello world,

We have all been a little sleepy around here due to my sad little tummy. I have had a lot of exciting things happen this week that I will post more about after a good nights sleep. Oh, and did I mention that I am 3 weeks old today. Time flies! Mama keeps telling me to stop growing so quickly. She is constantly taking photos of me so that she can document how much I am changing. I will post some recent funny face photos tomorrow. That's all for now. Good night moon.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Introducing, Houdini Baby.

Hello friends,

I just woke up from a relaxing nap. Mama came in to feed me and she found me like this. I recently began moving all about my crib in a fit of joy... and sometimes frustration. Despite my parents best efforts to swaddle me between blankets and bolsters, I love to escape their confining sleep set-up. During this particular nap I was a little hot, so I kicked off my socks, wiggled out of my pants, rolled out of my blanket, moved the bolsters and decided that sleeping perpendicular to my normal position was much cooler. Mama started laughing when she saw me like this and decided to take this photo which works well for my blogging. Thanks mama. Now, I must come up with some new tricks. Abracadabra!

Lots of love, wiggle and giggles,

Finn

2 week well baby visit.

Hi friends,

On Monday I had my two week well baby visit with Dr. Jordan. Do you remember me telling you about the nurse that I didn't like because she took off my clothes and put me on a cold scale? Well, guess what! I got my pay back. While she was putting me on the scale my mama mentioned that I would probably pee, so she casually grabbed my diaper to cover me. After weighing me, she placed me back on the exam table and removed the diaper as she began talking to my papa and... BAM! I let out a nice healthy stream of pee all across her shirt totally soaking her and the exam table. Hopefully she will think twice before putting me on that cold scale again.

Once the nurse left mama wrapped me in a blanket and papa rocked me as I quickly fell asleep in his big comfy arms. Then Dr. Jordan came in and answered a bunch of my parents questions. My mama asked him many many many questions but I didn't mind since I was happily sleeping. I think she worries a little too much about me, but I guess that is the job of the mama. 

Once Dr. Jordan and my parents ended their conversation about me, my gas, RSV concerns, room temperature for my nursery, nursing, the soft spots on my head, my eyes, sleep patterns and the many other things mama thought of... Dr. Jordan did his exam. In two weeks I have gained two pounds and grown an inch in length. This put mama's worries to rest about nursing and if I was getting enough milk. I am now 21.25 inches and 8 lbs. 4 oz. Papa keeps telling me that I better not grow to be taller than him. I am going to take this as a challenge, watch out papa here I come!

Did I mention that I got many kisses and lots of love during this visit? Besides the pee incident, I was happy as can be and very calm for Dr. Jordan as he did his exam. Mama and papa were very proud of me for being such a good boy. They apologized to the nurse even though they warned her, and they laughed about it after she left the room. Mama and papa know me pretty well so far. I think this is because I have peed on both of them many many many times.

Lost of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Dancin' in my grandpa pants.

Mama and papa like to listen to music while they make and eat dinner. Their favorite channel is the solid gold oldies. Tonight, while they were eating dinner, I hung out in my cradle and jammed out to some awesome music. You will have to turn up the sound on the video to hear the music I was cutting a rug to. Mama tells me that I used to do this in her belly around dinner time. Here is to dance parties in the kitchen. 5-6-7-8!

(sponge) bath time.

Hello world,

Have you ever had a sponge bath? Hmmm... I am not so sure about these. Despite my parents best efforts to keep me warm while they sponged different areas of my body, I was a little chilly. For my second sponge bath, mama and papa tried to plan ahead a bit more. They warmed the room for me and used a bigger towel which was really nice. It was great for a little while, but I still had an opinion about the whole bath thing and I wanted to tell them all about it.

 

This little moment was short lived because mama covered me in a warm towel and snuggled with me. I have come to learn that snuggling is the best, it always helps to have a nice big hug. Papa carefully dried my hair while mama kept me warm, they make a good team and make me feel so loved.

Mama was telling me that I can have a real bath now that my belly button has healed. I am excited to see what a real bath is like, I hope it is warmer than the sponge type. Either way I know that mama and papa will do their best to keep me warm and comfy. Maybe we will listen to come nice music like mama does when she takes a bath. 

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

mama, papa and baby pumpkin.

Hi friends, 

Today I am 2 weeks old. Mama thought it would be fun to celebrate by picking out mama, papa and baby pumpkins at the local pumpkin patch. Mama told me that this would be a quick little outing and that we would be back home in time to nurse... boy was she wrong! The pumpkin patch was super duper busy and much bigger than mama and papa thought it was. The traffic was awful and by the time we picked out our pumpkins, I was ready to eat and over the whole thing. Mama tried so hard to get a few photos of me with the pumpkins, but I wasn't having it. I am beginning to realize when mama says we are going for a quick little trip... it is never a quick little trip. I think she needs to slow down a bit to my speed because lets face it, right now I sort of call the shots. Other than that it was a really nice day and nursing in the car was not so bad. I guess we are all still learning and setting our schedule, something I am sure we will continue to work on for many years to come. Besides, snuggling with papa while we walking through the pumpkin patch was really nice. He is so comfy and it was a beautiful day!

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Edelweiss, the Finnster remix

Hello everyone! This is one of my favorite things to do when I wake up in the morning. This is my father's music box from when he was a child. It plays Edelweiss. My mama likes to sing along to it, although she never remembers all of the words... blame it on her lack of sleep or mama memory. Sometimes she makes up new lyrics or just dances around with me. She told me that she loves hanging out with me, especially in the morning when I am wide awake and looking around at the world. I am working on staying up during the day but sometimes it is just too hard. I get sleepy and sometimes fussy. There are times when there is a lot going on and I want to be a part of it, so I keep one eye open and sleep with the other one. This is a new technique that mama is hoping to learn from me so she can sleep and be awake with me at the same time. Once I can talk, I will share this secret with her.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Meow meow Gir-cat.

Hi friends,

Meet my friend Gir. My parents call him by many names such as Gir-face and Gir-gles. Gir-cat was their first baby followed by Ocelot, Tia and Koa and then me. When I was growing in mama's belly, Gir loved to snuggle with me and mama. He would curl up on mama's warm belly and fall asleep. As I got bigger, I would kick him when he slept on me. I would hear him purr and give him a good wiggle. At first Gir was startled by this movement of mama's belly but then he didn't seem to mind. Mama told me that Gir is very stubborn about snuggling and he will stick it out to get in a good one. Now that I am out of mama's belly, Gir and I are getting to know each other because we can't quite snuggle like we used to. Gir is also trying to get used to my baby noises and cries. So far he doesn't mind my crying but his brother Ocelot is not a fan, I will write more about that later. I am excited to get to know my furry siblings.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Too legit to quit.

Hello world,
Today I am 11 days old. It is hard to believe that I wasn't even due until October 16th which is this coming Saturday. My mama is very happy that I came early because I was smaller and easier to deliver. The only thing about being smaller is that I don't have many clothing options. My 0-3 month clothing is still very big on me and the only onsies that fit are newborn sized. This has lead mama to using diaper pins on my hats, rolling my pants and taking in some other things. Papa thinks it is funny because it looks like I am wearing MC Hammer pants... so I am working on growing so he doesn't laugh at my so-called Hammer pants. I am beginning to fill out a bit, so I no longer look like a skinny-mini in my funny pants and I think the diaper pin in my beanie makes me look cool! So here is to growing into my clothes, mama's creative way to dress me and that MC Hammer man.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,
Finn

Like father, like son.

This is a picture of me and my papa. My mama loves taking photos of us. She keeps telling me that her heart overflows with joy when she sees us together like this. I really enjoy snuggling with papa because I fit in his arms like a puzzle piece. He is also really good at swaddling me and changing my diaper. He is already a great dad. I am one lucky little man.

Lots of love,wiggles and giggles,

Finn

1 week old.

I'm one week old today. In baby world that is like a year! I have seen so many things already, even though it is all a bit blurry to my developing eyes. So far I like this new place. I get to eat, sleep and snuggle all day. Everyone likes to hold me and talk to me. It is not a bad gig at all. 

Since I came into this wonderful and crazy world, I have reached many milestones. I am starting to smile and giggle while I am sleeping and dreaming. I am eating, sleeping and pooping well which is good so that I can keep on growing. I have fallen into a nice schedule which allows my mama and papa some much needed rest. I went on my first walk, had my first bath and first visit to my pediatrician. I have discovered that I really like to listen to music. I especially love to listen to mama's pandora stations while nursing and papa's music box (from when he was a boy) when we are all hanging out downstairs. Oh, and I have also spit-up on mama and peed on papa. Overall, I have had a great week. We have had a few cries as we have been adjusting to our schedule and getting to know each other, but the majority of the time we are all smiles and snuggles... and lots of kisses, everyone likes to give me kisses!

I am looking forward to my second week of life. Mama tells me that we will have many more adventures and that I will start to be more active during the day. Auntie Darden came over today to visit and wish me a happy birthday, I met her last Sunday. She said that I already look like I am growing, and that I look more like a baby and less like an old man. :) Later today we are going over to Aunt Bev and Great Grandma's house to celebrate. I am very excited to meet my Auntie Alyssa, my parents keep telling me how cool she is. That is all for now, bring on week 2!

Lost of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

two parts hiccup, one part sneez-aroo!

I had a great night last night! I got wasted on the boob juice and hung out with everyone downstairs. The only downside of my partying was that I got a case of the hiccups. Mama thinks my hiccups are the "cutest thing ever." I am not convinced that they are so cute, they are kind of annoying because they keep me up when I want to sleep. Silly mama had her camera out like usual, so she video taped me with my "cute" hiccups and I gave her a nice big sneez-aroo to go with them... followed by one of my finest dirty diapers. Take that mama! Cheers!

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

My first walk.

I went on my first walk today with mama, papa and grandma. We waited for the sun to come out and when it did, I decided to sleep in the warm rays as we walked around my neighborhood. Tia and Koa, my furry siblings, came along as well. They were really excited to take me on a walk and wanted to stay next to the stroller the whole time. Papa says that we are going to have to train them to get used to walking with the stroller and not crowd mama so much.

I don't remember much about this first walk since I snoozed through most of it, but mama told me she really enjoyed getting outside since we have been inside a lot lately. She was also happy to get a little exercise. Did you know that mama is a dancer? She hasn't been able to dance much during the last few months and she can't wait to get back to it. She has to wait until the doctor gives her the okay to get back to her favorite dance classes, so for now a little walking goes a long way. She does sneak in a little dance here and there when she is carrying me around, shhhh don't tell her doc.

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Like father, like son.

Hi friends, 

I did a really good job of sleeping, eating and pooping last night, which made my mama and papa very happy. At one point mama woke up to check on me and my papa and I were sleeping in the same position. My mama keeps telling me how wonderful my papa is. She says that she never knew she could love someone as much as she does and continue to have that love grow each day. She also told me that watching him hold me makes her happier than she ever imagined. I think my papa is pretty cool as well. We are getting used to diaper changes which makes both of us happy. I also like being held by his big comfy arms, it is great to have so much room to snuggle. Mama and papa make a great team, they are working very hard to take care of each other as much as they are taking care of me. We are a happy little family.

Once the sun comes out we are going to go for a walk. Right now it currently looks like it may rain. I guess the weather here in Colorado is rather fickle. My mama told me that the locals say, "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." So I think we will wait 5 minutes and then go outside. :)

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Shapes, lights and shadows oh my!

I have this really cool baby Einstein mobile that my papa's cousin Leslie and Emil sent me. I can't really make out the shapes and colors but I will be able to focus on them soon. Thank you for the wonderful gift Leslie and Emil.

What up yo!

What up yo! This is me chilling in the sun after a big meal. Mama said that I look like a little homeboy.

I was a little jaundice when I was born, so my mama's doctor recommended that I hang out in the sun for a little bit. I have seen Gir-cat do the same thing. It is very relaxing.

Day 4 in this shiny happy world.

Today was my first visit to my pediatrician Dr. Jordan's office. My parents told me it was a "well-baby" visit to see if I am getting enough milk and gaining weight. Dr. Jordan was really nice and we got along great. The nurse on the other hand was not my favorite person as she took off all of my clothes (even my diaper) and placed me on a metal scale which made me very upset. The scale was too cold for my little baby body and I wanted everyone to know about it. Dr. Jordan said that I am doing great and gaining back the weight that I lost the two days after being born which he said is very normal. He also said that I was a cutie and pretty darn perfect. My parents keep telling me the same thing. :)

After the Dr.s visit, mama and papa dropped by Target to pick up a few things they didn't get a chance to before I was born. I guess they were really planning on my birthday being in mid-October, silly parents! Since I am still very little, I stayed in the car with mama. We listened to Gershwin's "An American in Paris" on NPR while I ate with mama. She was tapping my feet to the beat of the music, which helps me stay awake during feedings. She thinks it will help my brain develop and make me a smarty pants... or make me appreciate music as much as she does. Meanwhile, papa shopped away at Target picking up things for me and mama. He is an awesome dad and is making life for mama and me pretty great. Since he can't feed me, he insists on changing all of my diapers even the really messy ones that I make for him as little gifts. I am working on a really good one right now... shhhh, don't tell him, I want it to be a surprise.

I am off to get some more milk now. I am loving the convenience of this nursing thing, it is like having my own personal drive-thru!

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn

Looking around

There are so many shapes and colors in my room.

My first picture.

This apparently was the very first picture of me in the flesh (as pasty white as I was). That is also my favorite place to be at any time of the day, in my mama's arms.

Hi, my name is Finn.

Hi, my name is Finnian Marshall Gray. I decided to come into the world two weeks early... much to the surprise of my mama and papa. When I decided I wanted to come out, my mama and papa were running some errands, thinking they had a lot of time before I arrived. They were at Costco on the frozen food aisle when I gave my mama her first contraction. Being a first time mama, she wasn't exactly sure what this new feeling was. After that they continued shopping as I danced around furiously in her belly. I wanted her to know that I wanted to meet them in person.

Later the next day, mama went in to labor. When mama and papa got the hospital it was 2 am and they were very tired from the day and oh so excited to see me. After a very long night, I arrived into this wonderful and crazy world at 12:28pm, October 2, 2010. (6 lbs. 11oz. and 20.25 inches)

My parents are going to keep this blog going for our family and friends who are out of town... who I can't wait to meet. They tell me you are all pretty darn awesome. So please swing by our little blog-aroo when you want to see what I am up to. We will try to keep this updated often, but we are all getting used to our new schedule. :)

Lots of love, wiggles and giggles,

Finn