Finny is Seven Months Old

We interrupt our regularly scheduled postings (about sickness!) to bring you Finley's 7-month post!

 

This baby is a trip. I don't really know how else to describe him. He has so much personality and is already a little mischievous. I bet you can tell it from the pictures below. The last month has been such a blur that I might as well erase February from my year. In fact, this month has always been my least favorite month (and it's my birth month! go figure...). This February just put the nail in the coffin for all other Februaries. Does that make sense? Probably not...just nod your head and smile. I am ready for March. TOMORROW.

 

But over the past month we have seen a lot of changes in Finley. He started sitting up shortly after his 6 month mile-marker and there has been no going back. In fact, he will not lie down. The child has never (to my knowledge) rolled back-to-belly. But he is starting to try to get to quadruped positioning ("all 4s" for you non PT types) from sitting...the beginning of learning to crawl. Say What? I know why...he wants what his brother has (toys, hair, mobility...). And he tries to take what his brother has too. The boys have already begun a tug-of-war over certain toys and it's funny to watch Finn's little hands paddle as fast as they can at the toys Keagan has. It won't be funny for long, I fear. Finn is "grabby Sam" and will reach out with one or both hands for anything and everything. And his accuracy impresses me. There is no "batting" at things to get it, he aims and grabs all in one fell swoop. And then most everything goes directly into his mouth. I really think teeth are right around the corner.

 

Finley weighs 20lbs 1oz (he had a doctor appt yesterday - on his 7 month marker day - another double ear infection). He is a chunker. But he is long, too. He is starting to outgrow some of his 9-month outfits and jammies. He is a great nurser still...well, he is quick and efficient (say, 3-5 minutes a side)...but he is still ultra distracted. He has finally started to sleep through the night, but we are still working on this. It doesn't help that he has had 3 ear infections in the last month or so. He is eating "solids" twice a day. He really only likes yogurt, cereal, and sweet potatoes. He hates applesauce. He will tolerate green beans, pears, peas, and turkey...but I have to be the one to feed him and I have to catch him in a good mood. Even then, I generally have to trick him into eating it.

 

Likes: Singing to mommy, pulling hair, bouncing in the exersaucer, Keagan's trains, kissing on mommy, falling asleep in someone's arms (but not mine!), petting Oscar, playing in Keagan's room, bathtime, going for walks in his stroller, his Bubba (Keagan), balloons, mommy's left arm during diaper changes (he snuggles and kisses me...so cute), being held all.the.time., sweet potatoes, peek-a-boo 

 

Dislikes: being left alone, seeing mommy walk away (even if someone is holding him), being denied a toy/food/held, sitting in his carseat if the car isn't going, medicine, grocery shopping (this is not only unfortunate but inconvenient), Bumbo seat, tummy time, eye and nose drops, applesauce, putting his arms into sleeves

Here's a little video of Finn's favorite activity. Yes, my videography skills suck. Yes, I am jumping with camera in-hand to encourage Finn to bounce. No, the quality isn't great. But if you aren't dizzy by the half-way point and can watch the end, I realize what I am doing and stop jumping. And things improve...

The Only Mode

OK, people. The only mode we know right now is that of Survival. You've heard of this before: Survival Mode. People say time flies when you are having fun. Well it does. But it also flies when you are just trying to survive...but the flying is a bit different. It doesn't seem to fly, it seems to drag...but when you look back you can't believe how long it's been since you've [done laundry] or [shaved your legs] or [bathed your kids] or [done a blog] or [...]. You get the point. The Owens Family is in survival mode. We have been, in a sense, since Finley was born. But then we got the hang of it and we entered a different mode. Not sure what you'd call it. But then our kids got sick in December...then Josh and I got sick...then the kids got sick again. We seriously have not had a healthy week since November. And we(I) have been in Survival Mode since then. Keagan was just diagnosed today with RSV and a secondary eye infection. Need I say more? We are still in the thick of it and hopefully there will be a light at the end of this tunnel soon. Nature of the beast (of children) I presume. But as I type this my throat is killing me and I thought I was personally on the mend. Sigh.

So, all this to say that I have been lax in taking pictures as well as pulling out my laptop to put a blog together (pair this with a laptop that only works 1/2 the time and my standard camera lens is broken courtesy of a two year old who pulled my camera off the counter...so most candids are from the cell phone). I do upload phone pics on Facebook occasionally, but I realize not all of my readers (family!) aren't on Facebook and still want to see pictures of my lovelies. Well, here's about the best I've got so far...we've been surviving so there isn't much! :) But these babies are growing quickly and I really need to do better at documenting the little things.

 

Keagan really, really loves his Bubba. And Bubby loves him back. The proof is in the pudding:



 Keagan loves to look at pictures on the phone...so we turned the camera on ourselves and took goofy pictures. He loved it! I love the results. We took a million...but here are some of my favorites.

 Finley has finally recognized that there is a puppy dog in our house. And he loves Oscar!! Oscar likes him okay, too...I think Oscar is just happy to be touched! 

 Clearly to large/strong for his bouncy seat...it's a bit dangerous. 

First walk with Finley sitting like a big boy. He loved it! Chilled for an hour without making a peep!

 

Terribly distracted. I am trying to nurse him but something has caught his attention and he strained his neck to see...this happens every time. So annoying.

My Funny Valentines! And, yep, Finley can sit up on his own now! And Keagan is ever the ham!

 Buddha Baby.

 One day I took the boys shopping at Sam's Club. Just me and them. They were so amazingly good. It gave me hope that I can do it again. Someday when we are all healthy we will venture out in public again! (HAHA! I am only half-joking about this...) 

 Lunch at Sam's...he wanted to eat the pizza like a big boy. How is it that he is so big???

 I mean, super chunk. You'd think he was plowing through the pizza like his brother in the above picture...

 

These make me smile. "Aunt" Stacey gave Keagan a super hero costume for Valentine's Day. I'd say it was a HUGE hit...what do you think??? 

6 month "photo shoot"

I have become a cheap-o in that I decided to not hire a photographer for Finley's 3, 6, and 9 month milestones. Mainly because I really only want a few pictures to document the event (for the wall and for grandparents) and then some for the blog. I hope some day he doesn't throw it back in my face that I hired someone to do Keagan's every-3-months milestone pictures. A second baby changes things! Not only do I not want to pay for it, but I don't have time to worry about booking a photographer...or maybe I am just lazy. Whatev. So here are Finley's 6 month pictures. The "shoot" (day 1) didn't start out so great.. in fact, I was a wee bit worried that I would be needing to call someone to come do this. I was terribly disappointed with the first batch of pictures. Day 2 proved to be better and I think I got at least one or two for the wall. Of course, there are many more pictured because this baby is flipping adorable. Yes, I am biased.

 

I got a lot of great, cute ideas off "the" Pinterest. The ideas were cute, but my implementation of them didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. The biggest issue I had is that while the idea is cute, a baby's butt is not a good wall picture (sweet as it may be). So I went back to the old tried-and-true portrait type shots, and I am much happier with them.

 

Wait! That's not Finley! Keagan was my lighting test subject...and it turns out these pics of him make my heart sing!

 Here's what I am talking about with Pinterest...cute, cute baby butt and cute idea. Not a great photo for a wall.

 

 More day 1 (pinterest) ideas...with poor execution (thus the black-and-white...to hide the terrible back ground).  Yet, still sweet pics that I had to include.

Day 2 - More productive. And I am much happier with these (in fact my heart aches when I look at these...make me want to go wake the sleeping baby and love on him!! But, alas, I am having my own time now and one should never wake a sleeping baby...)

 

There are a bunch of the brotherly love pics...but I seriously couldn't pick. Personality abounds with both my boys in these pictures. I love their love for each other...

So, I am learning a couple things: Naked baby boys on mirrors can lead to disturbing photos (use your imagination...I didn't post any of those pics), infants and toddlers are hard to photograph and even more so when paired up, a great photo idea may not execute well especially if your kids aren't participatory. And it is tough to photograph a baby who can pretty much only lie on his back. Safely.