....and that's what little boys are made of.
Finley James is now 11 months. He is such a boy...rough and tumble through and through! He has more personality than his body can handle and it is hilarious. And loud! This child is super noisy. Incredibly vocal and passionate about what he wants or doesn't want. It is a complete one-eighty from Keagan's personality. This child makes us laugh and he makes us cry. He brings us a lot of joy and causes a
lot of sleepless nights. He has gorgeous bright blue eyes and his hair is getting fiery by the day! Finley has 4 teeth now, the last two (the top two) were a doozy to get...and I am quite certain we are in the throes of more coming in. He is a horrible teether. It is not only miserable for him but miserable for everyone around.
Finley is starting to pull-up on everything now. He has pushed a few things around taking steps, but he freezes when you hold his hands to help him walk. I thought he would be walking by a year, and he still might, but he is pretty efficient with crawling and so I think he will stay semi-grounded this way for a while. He loves his brother still, his whole body lights up when Keagan walks in the room. But he doesn't let his big brother get away with much...he grabs and scratches and screams when a toy is taken away. And he usually gets that toy back on his own. Meanness. And Keagan usually ends up crying. It's getting interesting.
Finn is not a great eater...but I am thinking it could be the teeth. (this is seriously my excuse for everything...) He doesn't like peas or green beans. He has a sweet tooth like his momma and prefers fruits to veggies and he loves ice cream. He is starting to love finger foods and is turning his head away from purees. He is also taking a sippy cup at meal times, and we are trying to wean from the bottle (he only gets bottles at daycare). He is still a great nurser but only on his terms! Which I guess is how it's supposed to be. I sometime misread his cues thinking he is hungry, try and nurse him, and he isn't interested. And he loudly protests. Along the lines of eating, he will put anything and everything into his mouth. And then further along that train of thought, the child is a danger-seeker. He has fallen down half a flight of stairs, tries to unplug cords and finds all electrical outlets. To say he keeps us on our toes is the understatement of the year.
Finn seems much "bigger" to me at this age than Keagan ever did...and I don't mean in size necessarily. Finn seems to "get" things much more than a baby his age should. For instance, the wool is not easily pulled over his eyes...he knows where you put something if you take it away. He might be tricked into eating green beans coated in applesauce once, but he won't fall for it the second time. He understands when things are "all gone" and if something (ice cream, for example) isn't all gone, he knows this and will bug you for some until it is all gone! He is already getting reprimanded and he seems to "learn" from it...well at least in the moment.
While I lovingly say that Finn is my "challenging child" I wouldn't trade him for the world. He adds a little spice to our family...and every family needs some spice! He makes things interesting. He fits this family wonderfully and in the 11 months that he's been around I have been embarrassed in public more times than I care to admit, I have learned to be on-guard and ready for anything, and I have developed more compassion for parents whose children are "unruly." I have learned a lot about myself with this baby...and I type this with a smile on my face. I used to think (no joke) that Keagan, who is my "perfect baby," is a product of perfect parenting. Go ahead and laugh. Until I had Finley I truly believed it. But then Finn came around and humbled me! We tried the same techniques on Finn that we did on Keagan, they didn't work. I have come to find that Finn is "perfect" in his own way...but nothing like his brother! And not only is that Okay, it is fine by me! I can't believe that in one month we will be celebrating One Year with this beautiful child.
