Fintan's First Race!

Fintan started school a couple weeks ago - just two days a week for half day. I am hoping this will help him adjust to going full time in September. The school is a Montessori style preschool with a great reputation and a great facility. He is already enjoying it immensely - and amazingly enough, he is so exhausted when he comes home that he apparently puts himself to bed for a nap! (Now if only we could get this to happen on weekends...)

Since I am racing in my first triathlon in September, I decided to sign Fintan up for the 7-and-under 50-yard-dash. He gets all sorts of cool stuff by participating, and he only has to raise $20 (unlike me, who has to raise $200). He doesn't really know it yet but he's going to have fun. Dad will take lots of photos of him (and maybe a few of me) in Malibu doing this big race, and we'll all have a good laugh and some fun.

Meanwhile, I promise to upload some photos soon. As it is, it's nearly 1am and I really need to get to bed - and any chance of me showing up at my 6am swim tomorrow is pretty much blown. :)

Bunky's Modeling Job (not)

Omi came to visit and Bunky was long overdue for some professional photos, so we went and had a long morning waiting our turn and riding the train... more on that later.

He was a fabulous model, doing everything asked of him, staying in the crazy poses she was putting him in, etc. But ultimately we liked the less-posed photos best. Here is my darling boy looking like a preschool model! (He really loves getting his photo taken.)

Click to enlarge (and print).

Our Big Boy & His New Bed

It's true, Fintan has been sleeping between us in our Cal King bed for over a year. Long story. That time has ended. With much celebration and child-involvement, we not only purchased our little angel his own "big boy bed" and graduated him to "big boy" status, but he has actually slept in it both nights!

It is, perhaps, the ugliest and cheapest twin bed Ikea has to offer, but we (a) didn't feel the need to spend a fortune on a bed for so little a guy, and (b) plan to graduate to a bunk bed in the next few years, because those are more fun. This one is fine - and big enough for mom or dad or grandma to curl up with him and read a story.

I think his favorite part about it is the big maple leaf blanket - it was his shower gift from Sunshine Annie. Now we really get to make use of it!



Here is our big boy snuggling in his new bed. Next to the bed is his rotating train lamp, which he can watch in the dark and dizzify himself to sleep (hey, it worked last night).

As part of our process of transforming him from "our baby" to "a big boy" we:

• made a big deal about him being a "big boy" now starting at least a week earlier
• hyped him up to help us shop for his big boy bed, which he enjoyed
• let him feel a part of the decision (although ultimately he had nothing to do with it, as we ended up going back to Ikea as a last resort)
• let him help us take down and put away the crib
• let him help Daddy build the new bed (safely)
• let him help Mama clean and rearrange his bedroom
• spent a lot of time hyping up how cozy it is
• continued making a big deal about how he was going to be such a big boy in his own bed now
• also encouraged him to use the step-stool in front of the big toilet, so that he could use the "big boy potty" instead of his little plastic potty
• snuggled with him to make him feel secure
• praised him the next morning
• etc.

All in all it's been quite successful so far!

Here's our big boy taking photos out front...

Here's our big boy in his new hockey gear! (he still needs a real helmet but everything's still a tiny bit too big for him)

He can't wait to go play hockey!!! (we'll be taking him to stick-time so he can learn to skate while being distracted by actually hitting the puck, which he does quite well out in the driveway)

Surf's Up! & Other Photos

Don't forget you can click to see the larger image. If you save photos off this blog, you'll want to save the larger image so you can print it or size it however you want. :)

I took Fin to the beach on Saturday.

We just played in the sand and got our feet wet.

He doesn't like walking on sand or grass barefoot.

Such a howlie.

Fin with Santa Monica Pier in the background.

Gremmie in the making.

Fin and Aisling have a playdate.
They got along really well!


Fin and my boss's son Vincent (8)
play at work. I had to bring him because
the nanny had a doctor appointment.

Here's a pic of Fin on Omi's boat having a blast.

Finny and Fergie on the boat.

My first bicycle ride.

I'm cute.

I'm silly.

Little drummer boy.

It's almost pre-school time

So at the very last second I decided to apply to a particular pre-school that I was previously boycotting, knowing full well my perfect child would not be accepted. It's a $100 application fee, so this is not cheap. But after all the other preschools I've looked at (well, three) that are on my way to work, none measure up to this one, and so I decided to go for it.

At worst I lost $100. At best, Fin goes to a good school that is very clean and safe and has a great program, isn't overly academic yet will continue to challenge him at his own level in both areas in which he is strong (pre-reading skills) and areas in which he is still lagging (some pre-math skills and world knowledge). Plus he'll get much more exposure to social skills and structure.

Anyway, after being put on the "waiting list" and expecting never to hear from them again (yet being tempted to bribe his way in), one day I got a call and so we decided to go for it.

He'll start part-time in July, and then work his way up to full time, depending on how we want to juggle the nanny situation and whether mark still has a job and all that. Keep your fingers crossed that he does keep his job for a while longer, because to pull Fin out of this school will break my heart.

Anyway, we have a slew of photos to upload, so stay tuned.

Fin Can Write His Own Name

Fintan can write his own name. Well, half of it, anyway. I have seen him write an "A" so the only test left is the "T" and then we'll have the whole thing. Mark this day in history, folks - Fin is only 37 months old.

Here's how the tale unfolds. Yesterday I asked him to draw Omi an "A" which I have seen him trace in his write-and-wipe books many times. He says the strokes out loud, "down, down, across," so I said draw an "A" and then helped him walk through it, down down across. Omi was impressed - honestly I was astounded. I hadn't expected him to do it.

So tonight we were playing in the bedroom and I said, "Show Daddy how you draw an 'A'," which he then did (it was more like an "H" but it was still impressive), and then Mark said, draw a "U" which he sort of did. Down, around, and up... So he erased those. On a whim I said, can you draw an "F?" and he looked ready to go so I said, "down, across, and across," and he actually drew the "F" you see below. Continuing on this roll I said, "Now draw an 'I'." I was expecting a down with a dot but he actually did the top bar and then the bottom bar and connected them with the long down-stroke. !!! You needn't ask if my heart was pounding already! "What comes next?" and Daddy said, "Draw the 'N'," which he started to do. I started to say "down" but Fin cut me off, saying, "No, no, up!" and he drew a line from the bottom up, then rounded it down like a small "n" - and then Mark said, "and back up," and so he went back up with it finishing the "N" as you see below.

And I said to Mark, quietly, "GET THE FRIGGIN' CAMERA! Nobody is going to believe this!!!"

The final product.

Someone celebrates his achievement.

Bunky at the Boat

Fintan visited Omi last week for a couple days. We missed him a lot, but we know he was having a great time and we needed a break.


I have no idea what he's up to - playing with the hose and faucets on deck or something. Silly.


And here he is with Fergalicious, his favorite dog.

Isn't he cute? :) (Need I ask?!)