Bunky's Doctor Visit

29.5 inches
22.0 lbs

G I G A N T O R B A B Y

More Cousins

Reese, Kelly, and baby Maya weren't able to join us in Michigan. So here they are - we can't be leaving them out! Maybe I should photoshop Maya into that birthday party pic...
And here's Maya with Daddy Reese before he takes off overseas on his next Navy assignment for 7-9 months. (Reese is our youngest cousin, and Maya is the youngest of the new generation of cousins, only a few months behind Finny.)


LOVE YOU!!!

Da da da da da da da da

Fintan loves to talk. And talk. And talk and talk and talk and talk. And talk. He talks to his toys. He talks to me. He talks to the high chair. He talks to the sofa. He talks to the mobile. He talks to the activity center. He talks to books. He talks talks talks. He talks when there are objects in his mouth - food, toys, books, blankets, burp cloths, his bippie, dirty pants... This is genetic. He gets it from my dad - hehe.

Mostly he says "da da da da da" and "wa wa wa wa wa" which is actually pretty close to "ba ba ba" but the lips don't quite close, but it's harder than "wa." Rarely does he say "ma ma ma ma" though occasionally when whining he'll blurt out something with a "mumum" in between other words. He loves to make gurgle (motorboat) and raspberry (airplane) noises, and he often blurts out monster growls which are scary when you think of him as zombie child.

He did try to kiss me on the plane - a big open mouth slobbery smack. Either he was trying to kiss me or eat my nose. Either way, it was pretty gross - and very wet. If I could only describe his absolute cuteness to you in some way that is close to experiencing it!

Here's a picture of Finny in his activity center.


Here's Finny camped out on Daddy's lap. He was just kickin' back, not squirming too much or anything, just lying back and enjoying his daddy-time.

Michigan Part 2: Activities

This is Part 2 of the Michigan trip. If you missed the first part, scroll down and read it first. :)


We went on some beautiful hikes. Well the same hike but it felt different each time. Oddly enough, there were not many mosquitos and we didn't encounter any chainsaw murderers, but there was a beautiful creek and lots of lovely greenery. On Tuesday evening we took the kids and Fintan on the hike (Omi and I passed him back and forth between us) and while the kids seemed to be too rambunctous to care, Fin took it all in. He really seemed to love it.


Aunt Esther (Oma, the hockey boyz' grandmother) gives Fin a ride. He was wearing a coonskin hat... I don't approve of coon pelts, but at least he thought it was like his Maine Coon kitties back home...


I wish I had gotten a photo of him playing on the beach, in the sand, at the water's edge where the teeny waves lapped up against his legs. In this case he was sitting in his personal hot tub.


Talk about exhausted!

Well, that's about it for photos from the trip. Kathy got a bunch of good ones but unfortunately I did not break out the camera enough.

Can't wait until next time!!!

Michigan Part 1: The Cousins

We're back from Michigan, and we had a great trip. In this first of two blog installments, I will go over the cousins. In the next installment, I will show some other photos. Enjoy!


Olivia had her 6th birthday party, and here we have all 7 kids. Starting with Livvy on the bottom (the only girl) and going clockwise (left, then up, then to the right, then down): Livvy, Logan, Tate, Nathan, Fintan, Devin, Reese, and back to Livvy. What a bunch of hams!


Reese, the oldest, gets to hold Finny.


Livvy was attached at the hip. I think next to Omi, she had the most time with him. Learned to change diapers, too.


Devin attempts to hold the bunky monkey.


Reese (and sometimes Devin) often fed him. It was sweet. These are two tough, cool hockey playing boys and you would think they weren't into babies, but all the cousins seemed to like Finny. Little Tate might have been a little jealous but was always asking after him. "Where's Baby Finny?"

I only wish we could be together more often!

Next in Part 2: Activities. Stay tuned!

Fin turns 7 mo. in Michigan

In a galaxy far, far away, a galaxy called Charlevoix, MI, Fintan turns 7. (Months)

Unfortunately I only have the photos Kathy sent out because I forgot she was leaving super early this morning and I didn't use her firewire cable before she packed it up. However, here are some photos of the Finster. I'll send more after the trip.

Here we have Livvy's birthday yesterday, she turned 6. She's the only girl cousin (until Maya). Pictured here in all their candid glory - Rose (aka Nana, in blue), Linda (aka Omi, with camera), Theresa in the blue hat, Uncle Larry, kids: Reese (under rose), Christi (Livvy's mom), Olivia, Logan, Tate at the bottom, and Nathan edged out next to Tate. If you go one more chair over you would have seen Devin and Fintan.

This is the "sunset" view from the deck last night just as a thunderstorm was rolling in. It rolled out pretty fast and the stars were out like crazy by the time dinner was done. Dad and I had a bet going that it is possible to see other galaxies with the naked eye, but they just look like stars to us. Well, in fact, only four are visible: M33 and Andromeda in the northern hemisphere, and the two Magellanic Clouds from the southern hemisphere. So it was fewer than I thought and more than he thought, but I won $50 and I've been gloating non-stop about it!

Here we are...

Fin has been really enjoying the trip. He gets to play in the water, in the sand, and his favorite place, the porch swing. It's nice for me because everyone else can watch him while I go on a 6-mile kayak solo or while we girls go to town or hiking on the nature trail behind the cabin. He adores his big cousins and gets a little frustrated that he can't chase after them and join them, but otherwise he's been great.

Although he is a good flyer, I do not look forward to the trip home. I just know he is going to poop on the long flight from Detroit, and there is no changing table in the lavatory...

Cute photos to print

Here are two cute photos of Fin that you can print. Just click to see the full version, and/or click on them to save to desktop. They should print as 6x4.5" photos.

Finally - an update!

First, some pictures.


Opi helps Omi get Finny ready for a big day! What's so big about it? I don't remember. But it was morning and the rest of the day seemed big in comparison.


My roxorz human boyz in the morninz... zzzz...


Bob and Sarah came to visit. Bunky was, well, cute... but he had his own agenda.


Nobody at the park loves the swing like Fin!


Look, all the Goons! The original Goon, Mini-Goon, and Baby Goon!!!

Busy & crazy - what else is new?

Sorry I haven't posted in forever... it's not that Fin isn't growing in leaps and bounds, it's just that I'm busy-crazy as usual. And lately with the A/C running all day, except when Isabel turns it off in the mid-afternoon to recreate El Salvadorian conditions, and with a utility bill over $200 last month, I have been leaving my computer off and spending more time with the Bunkster.

I have pictures from Sarah & Bob's visit, Omi & Opi's visit, and lots of other cute stuff for the past two weeks, so stay tuned.

Hugs to all!!!

Cheers & cheerios!

No pictures - just a quick update. This morning we tried Cheerios. Well, actually, we bought Organic Morning O's. They're almost identical, not cardboardy like so many other imitations. Anyway, though he is terrible at getting them into his pincer grasp, and they usually get stuck to the slobber on the back of his hand so that he can't figure out how to get them into his mouth, he's pretty cute flicking them onto the floor and stuff. If you put one in his mouth he lets it soften then swallows it. Seems to enjoy them as much as I enjoy letting him taste new things. We also tried some strawberry and watermelon this morning.

Brushing his teeth

I thought boys were supposed to hate baths and anything to do with cleaning. And I thought little kids hated getting their teeth brushed. Well, Fintan enjoys it quite a lot. I'm sure it's a big relief on his "itchy" gums, and the rubber on his toothbrush is just the right consistency (like his sippy cup).

Here's a couple photos - and also a video that would make Grandpa Moon proud!