Growing baby, growing garden!

I was excited that my husband finally contributed to our blog! I have been wanting him to contribute to our family journal so that we can have both Mommy and Daddy perspectives. I eventually would like to turn these blog posts into a book format so that we can pass it down to our children and grandchildren as a family history of sorts. Finnigan was recently given a family history journal by his Great Grandmother Jocelyn, and I LOVE it. So much work and time and effort obviously went into that book, and hopefully one day - maybe forty or fifty years from now, Finnigan will appreciate that. I don't blog for popularity, or views or networking, but so that we can record these day to day moments as a family to be able to reflect back on later. For instance reading Colin's reflection on our engagement day a year later was really special. He is a loving husband to me, and goes out of his way to try to keep me happy and feel loved. He is a good father as well. Although we have different parenting styles, I am already finding, but I will save that for another post.

I had to work this weekend, but saturday I dragged myself out of bed at noon (I go to bed after work at 9am or later), so that I could actually spend some time with my friends for a change. I haven't been able to see them a lot since I have been married. Mostly because I live on the other side of town. We stopped at the Loas temple for some food on the way there, but we couldn't stay for the "boon pavate," festival, unfortunately, because it was just way too stinking hot for the baby. I never laugh as loud or as happily as I do when all of my friends and are together. Everyone is just so funny. But the funniest might be my "asian dad," this weekend he busted my gut with his line that he needs to put a fence up surrounding the backyard, because he is "afraid someone's going to seal my duck!" He was serious too. That would be a serious concern if he still lived in Laos, but in america, where people would rather buy chicken then slaughter and clean and prepare a duck, I think he's safe! Hahaha. I need to take pictures of Finnigan with my friends, or video. But I tend to forget about pictures when I am having the most fun.

Our kiddie pool garden is coming along just fine! I want it to flourish, if only in spite of Colin's negativity towards the idea that it would actually do anything except die the first night. I give him a hard time, because nine times out of ten he has a negative attitude about pretty much everything, but he says he keeps his expectations low, so that they are always surpassed. I keep my expectations high, and they are always surpassed as well, though. So I am not sure that logic works for me, but as long as it does well by him, I guess. In fairness, he has to give me a hard time because I am always naively optimistic about everything. Hopefully, we do well balancing each other out. He is my voice of reason when I need one, and I am his optimistic voice of hope when he needs one. IE pursing his dream of going to graduate school to be a Chaplain.

Day one:

And this morning: two weeks later

Nice. This garden is mostly just a practice garden. I need to research how to dry and freeze herbs, and sow seeds. But so far, it's doing ok, especially considering it's been pushing 100s all week here in Iowa. Or in the 100s, if not pushing. It's been so hot the baby has been cooped up in the house the majority of the day these past few days. Last night he was really fussy though, so as soon as the sun started setting we took him for a walk outside in the wrap to see the lakes and the ducks and he was a happy, happy camper again. He just prefers the outdoors. I think he's going to be a great camper when we take family trips. When he is a little older. I don't want a dingo, or whatever Iowa's version of that is, to eat my baby! He seems to like birds, which is good. I am deathly afraid of them, and we have been life long nemesis. So, I don't want my fear to be passed on to Finnigan, because the can SMELL it, and will attack!! True. Story. We have birds everywhere here, and so far there hasn't been an incident, but if the geese that hang out at our apartment have a tendency to get a little too close, when Finn and I are out walking (because they are used to humans, including us feeding them) and I yell at them to get away from my baby, which might look like a mental illness to people outside of my circle, but if they new my history with birds, they would understand. =)

Finnigan was three months on the 1st, but I never got around to writing a blog post for his four month birthday. I have been taking a picture on the first of every month since he was 1 month old so that we can gage how much he is growing. Kind of like I am doing the garden, haha.

At four months baby likes:

Music. The Outdoors. Walking in the Moby wrap. Eating Pears. Jumping up and down.

Baby doesn't like: Naps. Being bored. Staying in the house all day. Being held like a baby. 

We go to the doctor next week, so I will find out his stats at that time. Hopefully we are doing better than 20th percentile this time, but I am going to try not to take it personally if he's not. He's hitting his milestones and then some! He's rolling from his back to his stomach and trying to crawl like a pro! I think within the next month he will sit up by himself, and crawl within the next six weeks. He can already get an inch or two on his knees, and all they way across the floor on his back, doing the "backstroke," as Colin and I call it. Hopefully I can catch it on camera soon, but the baby tends to stop doing it as soon as I pull the camera out!

Finnigan ate an entire package and a half of pears yesterday. He loves them! He whines when you stop feeding them to him, regardless of how much he has already had. Now that we have cleared the pears, we are working on squash for the next several days. He is not a fan at all of squash, but babies have to get used to eating veggies too! He will take a few bites, then he refuses to open his mouth for the spoon. A lot of people think I should only feed him vegetables, but as he doesn't do that great of a job with veggies (we tried carrots first),  and there isn't any research that shows that order of the foods makes any difference when it comes to preference, I'd rather alternate between the foods he will eat, and the ones that he will not so that he gets the practice with the skill.

The nursery is finally re-organized, and I have taken out all the clothes that do not fit Finnigan any more, which is a bagful about as tall as I am. I just have to go through them now and see which ones I am willing to give away, as Colin's brother and his wife are going to have a little boy late this fall.  

And I will leave with a picture of the funny way that Finnigan sleeps. He has to have something touching his face when he sleeps. It's just one of his quirks, and as it's been 100 degrees, a blanket doesn't seem necessary, so we just use a burp rag:

Finngian is waking from his nap now, I hear him stirring so time to go play with my baby! This weekend is 80/35 and ONE of my FAVORITE bands, Death Cab for Cutie, is headlining. I hope to be able to take the baby if it's not too hot. It's never too early for music education, and he already loves Jeff Buckley, so we are on the right path!