The Beautiful Mess Photo Shoot

Nate and I have been meaning to have some professional photos taken ever since Finley was born, and we finally got around to it this summer when we were in NC. We used some photographers Jessica and Brett know, called The Beautiful Mess, and ended up making it a family affair. I couldn't have asked for Finley to be more cooperative the morning of the photo shoot. The whole thing was really casual; we did whatever, and they just snapped away. It was great! Hope you enjoy seeing some of our favorites! (You should be able to click on the photos to view them larger.)

At the end of our time, Finley discovered a fountain. Of course, he wanted to play in the water. It was hot, we were finished, so we figured, what the heck? Might as well!

To Nap, or Not to Nap...

We're now getting close to a month back in HK, but Finley still hasn't quite gotten his napping back to normal. He goes down fine, but then wakes up crying after anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours, and won't go back to sleep unless we rock him. Keep in mind that he needs 2-2.5 hours to be happy. Neither Nate or I, nor anyone else we've asked know what to do with him. Letting him cry doesn't work, so I guess for now we're stuck rocking him back to sleep for the second half of his nap and praying that something will change before my classes start back in a week.

Here are a couple of photos from about 3 weeks ago, when we first got back to HK. This first one I snapped because I looked at Finley walking around and was just blown away by how old he's looking these days. Bye-bye baby, hello toddler!

Speaking of Finley's growing independence, one of the first things we did when we got back was to disassemble the baby jail. In fact, this photo was taken around 6am, when we had already been up for at least an hour thanks to jet lag. We decided it was time, especially considering how space is at such a premium in our living room. We are definitely very glad we bought it, though. It was so useful during the phase where Finley was into everything but not independent enough to be trusted with anything!

Finley is learning so many new words every week! Here are some from the past few days:

• bye-bye
• moo (sometimes sounds more like "boo")
• bamboo ("bah-boo")
• go ("go-go")
• back
• cat ("c/gat")
• all finished ("all")

Summer Video

Click here to see a summer Finley video!

16 Months Old

We can't believe Finley is now 16 months old! Finley is trying out new words every day now. A couple favorites from the past few days include "na" for snack, "buh" for book, "rah rah rah" for a line from his book that says "rock and rock and rock to sleep" (he also uses it for truck), and "muh" for milk. The words we hear the most are currently "mo" for more, "yeah yeah" anytime he wants something, "bah" for ball and bath, "ga" for car (he still loves cars). Finley points all the time, at everything!

For someone who doesn't often sit still, Finley surprisingly does really like books. His favorites at the moment are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (he says the "boom boom") and We're Going on a Bear Hunt (he loves the sing-song text and sound words). Finley is getting to be a faster and faster walker, but I wouldn't say he's running just yet. He is still obsessed with being outside, to the point that it is now making mealtimes a bit difficult, because he wants so badly to go outside to play instead of eating. He points at the door or his shoes from the highchair and emphatically says, "Yeah yeah!" Then he throws a mini-fit because we won't take him out of the highchair having only eaten a stick of string cheese. Speaking of, Finley's favorite foods are string cheese, blueberries, and freeze-dried fruits at the moment. He definitely has a toddler's appetite, in that he may love a food one day and hate it the next.

Finley has been screaming like a maniac since we've been back in the Kong. In the past week, it has started to get somewhat better, which makes me think it's a phase. It also made me feel better last week when Nate came home from work and told me that another teacher's toddler who is the same age is also screaming all the time. I'm guessing it is just a phase that is made worse by any adverse conditions, such as tiredness, jet lag, grumpiness, sickness, etc. There's supposed to be a huge language burst around 18 months, so I'm looking forward to that and hoping it will seriously decrease the need for screaming.

Hoping to post some video(s) very soon from the summer, so be on the lookout!

Random Tidbits

Because I have the rest of August off from school (yes, my vacation has just nowstarted), you get to be privy to all kinds of blogging catch-up. This is just the first of several, I'm sure. Let's start with Finley, since I know that's who you're all truly interested in.

Finley is currently a biter, with me ranking #1 on the list of his favorite people to bite. Not sure if this is a result of his extreme desire to communicate but lack of verbal skills, or because he's teething like crazy with his first 2 molars coming in. I probably have about 7 bruises at the moment thanks to Finley's biting.

When Finley is not busy biting, he is obsessed with being outside. (I've mentioned this before.) He brings us his shoes and our shoes to tell us he wants to go out, as well as pointing out the window/sliding glass door or at the real door. He doesn't care if it's 94 degrees in the shade with 99% humidity; he is just thrilled to be experiencing the out-of-doors. He especially loves to play with balls outside, swing, climb up slides (but definitely not slide down them), play hide and seek, and speed walk around. All of the guards at our apartment complex love him, and they all know who he is since we're outside about 5 times a day. Heaven help us when it rains.

Fun things Finley can do:

• Say "Cock-a-doodle-doo" for roosters. Okay, it actually sounds more like "doo-doo" but it's still cute.
• Go "aahhh" after he drinks or eats. So refreshing!
• Knock on the door if he wants it opened.
• Dance. A lot.
• Walk backwards when we say "beep, beep, beep" like a truck backing up.
• Point at everything and everyone.

A few other random tips from our travels this summer, if you're interested:

• Do not trust FedEx with very important documents. They may accidentally tear them to shreds, then tape them back together in a ridiculous fashion and mail them that way without letting you know, despite having all your contact info.
• Do trust www.rushmypassport.com for expediting passports. They were unbelievably helpful and got us a new passport for Finley in a matter of a few days!
• Do not fly Continental/United airlines to and from Hong Kong with a baby. They will not provide the child any food whatsoever (or even give you the option of buying food for him) unless he has purchased his own seat. They will only give you ice-cold milk for him. Nevermind all the fees you had to pay for the baby, or the fact that it's a 16 hour flight and you can only carry on so much food without it spoiling. Just want to point out that every other flight Finley has ever been on (even 3 hour flights) have provided him with a meal, despite him not having a seat yet. (Seats aren't required until the child is 2 years old.)
• Do shop at Trader Joe's as much as possible. Oh, how I have enjoyed our treats from there. Can someone please convince TJ's to open a store in Greensboro, NC, Traverse City, MI, and Hong Kong??

Now, if you made it through all that, you deserve a few photos! These are courtesy of Jessica & Brett from the day we went to the park with them.

Finley with his Granddad.

No, Cali isn't swinging all by herself. Brett is under there somewhere.

Finley just wanted to play in the rocks!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

5 years ago, I married my Prince Charming! Happy Anniversary, Nate! I love you more than ever!

Last Week in the States

Nate spent the last week of our vacation at a conference at Harvard for work, and Finley and I hung out in NC with my family. It was a bit of a crazy week, because not only did I have to finish all my finals for my two summer classes and pack, but Finley also lost his passport. Yes, I'm blaming Finley, because he's too young to protest, and I'm somewhat convinced he may have eaten it due to teething. Anyway, I spent hours and hours trying to round up everything we needed to get a new passport for him in a matter of days. I'm not even going to get into all the ridiculous mess we went through with FedEx in the process. It's just too much to type. But, we ended up getting the passport the day before we had to leave, and I finished all my school work, mostly thanks to my parents helping out with Finley when they weren't busy working full time jobs. They were so great with Finley, and he had a blast playing with them!

Since we've been back, Finley has been terribly jet-lagged. He slept a mere 2 hours the first night, then the second night we had to get up 6 different times with him, including almost 2 hours straight of awake time in the wee hours of the morning. Last night was only slightly better. But hey, at least we're back together as a family of 3 again. We missed Nate a lot, and I don't know what I would have done if I had to fly back alone with Finley by myself on the long flight. Very grateful the passport worked out!

Nate took the camera bag with him to Boston, but I have some photos from my parents' camera. Here are a few for your enjoyment.

Hanging out with the great-grandparents.

What Finley spent much of his time at my parents' house doing: taking plastic utensils out of the cabinet, chewing on them, then leaving them all over the house.

Playing with Aunt Jessica & Uncle Brett, building and knocking down towers.

Granddad is so entertaining!

Finley is obsessed with being outside. If he could not be outside, he wanted to stand at the window and gaze outside.

Standing on his tiptoes so he could see.

Hanging out with his grandmommy, early in the morning.