Playdough and Thanksgiving

I was feeling in the mood to be Susie Homemaker last week and decided to make Finley some playdough. I wanted to make it myself because I wanted it to be edible. There was no doubt in my mind he would try eating it, no matter what I said to discourage it. I tasted some myself, and it tasted terrible.

Nate and I enjoyed a yummy Thanksgiving dinner with our friends from church last weekend. The feast was pretty traditional except for the spring rolls. No party in HK is complete without spring rolls!

Sorry to keep this post short, but I have a whole lot of school work to do in the next week! Looking forward to finishing it and getting a break over Christmas!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Happy birthday to Nate! We had a great birthday weekend together. Went to a movie Friday (which we hadn't done since Finley was born), brunch on the Jumbo on Saturday, hiking and fro yo on Sunday, etc. Made a whole weekend of it!

Here are a few photos from the Jumbo.

The dock where the little boat takes you to the Jumbo.

The Jumbo, complete with high rises in the background.

Our restaurant was on the top deck of the boat, where the blue awnings are, and was appropriately named Top Deck.

I have a children's book called "Chopsticks" written about these exact dragons coming to life.

This photo would have been good if only Nate didn't end up blurry. :(

Bye, bye Jumbo!

And this last one is of Finley trying to take off his own diaper to climb in the tub for his bath.

And now, a fun video of Finley's pre-bath silliness! Click here.

Thailand

Last week was HKIS's fall break, so we went to Phuket for 5 fun-in-the-sun days with our friends Kathryn and Chris, and Finley's friend Iris. (This is all part of my mission to turn Kathryn, Chris, Iris, Nate, and Finley into "beach people".) Not to be pessimistic or anything, but it was a stressful start to the trip, because a few things happened before we even got there.

• The landlord came by the day before we left to say he would likely have to rip out a large section of our floor and the concrete beneath it due to a leak, a loud, messy, 3-4 day project!
• There was supposed to be a van coming to pick all of us up at 6am for the airport, but a car showed up instead. So we had to hunt down a taxi to take with the car at the last minute. (No, they didn't charge us for the car since they messed up.)
• The computer didn't make its way into our luggage, and I had a lot of school work I was planning to do on the trip. Small freak-out over than one.
• Finley was previously sick with a slight cold that somehow turned into a chest issue that somehow turned into an ear infection a mere 36 hours before we left, which of course also gave him an upset tummy from the resulting medicines. Yes, that equals two weeks of crankiness, poor sleep, and poor appetite leading up to the trip. On the airplane, Finley screamed for 20 straight minutes during takeoff and then again during landing, because of the pressure in his ears. He also pooped on me on the airplane thanks to his tummy troubles.

So as you can imagine, by the time we landed in Phuket, we really needed a vacation! Fortunately, other than the first 36 or so hours of the trip when Finley was still recovering from his ear infection and wicked diaper rash, the rest of the trip was GREAT! Iris and Finley got along well, and it was really fun for Finley to have a pretend sibling for the week. The weather was great-- no signs of any flooding or escaped crocodiles. The resort was easy-- plenty of food options, beach, pool, children's playroom, etc. And the flight was only 3h 15m direct from HK to Phuket, with a 30 min ride from the airport to the resort, and a 1 hour time difference. We stayed on and around the resort, so didn't have to worry about dragging toddlers around on sightseeing trips, just lots of beach and pool time. I'm so glad we went, and I'm so glad we got to do it with our friends. And we totally owe them for putting up with a sick child (and a stressed out mama) for the first part of the trip! After the trip, we were all feeling more relaxed, rested, and happy. And Finley was sooo good on the flight home!

Unfortunately, I'm not going to share a lot of photos online. We spent most of the trip in swimsuits, and I'd rather not have a bunch of swimsuit photos floating around the Internet. So here's what you get:

And Finley's favorite part of the trip...a water slide! (Nate and I enjoyed it, too!)

And here's a brief video from the trip: CLICK HERE.

CEP 800 Assignment, starring Finley!

We just got back from Thailand a couple of days ago (more on that later), and I've been hard at work writing papers and making a digital storytelling project. I won't make you read my papers, but thought you might like to see the finished digital storytelling project since I made it with Finley. The class is one on how technology affects learning. Long story short, the assignment was essentially to pick a theory of learning (I chose behaviorism, specifically operant conditioning), teach something using that theory, and document the learning experience with audio and visual components. Click here to watch the video. Then, of course, I had to write a paper based around an article I read and the experience of creating the video, discussing how the aesthetics of technology affect learning.

P.S. Just because I now know how to make fancy home movies, don't expect it every time. It's a bit time-consuming!

18 Months Old!

Guess who is 18 months old now! We went in for Finley's 18 month vaccinations this week and they weighed and measured him. He's 88cm tall, head is 50cm, and weight is 12.2 kg. That translates to 60th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for head, and....drumroll, please...a whopping 95th percentile for height!

Some exciting changes have been going on in our house recently. Finley gave up his pacifier, which is great as far as I'm concerned. I wasn't even trying to take it away, it just kind of happened. Previously, the main time Finley was allowed his pacifier was when he had diaper changes. Last week, however, he started getting so angry about the diaper changes that he would throw the pacifier at me, so of course I wouldn't give it back if he threw it at me! I saw an opportunity to do away with the pacifier and went with it! My only concern now is getting through long flights without it...

Unfortunately, one negative change is that Finley suddenly hasn't been napping on his own. Finley has never been a particularly fabulous sleeper. Recently he's been sleeping very well at night (around 11 straight hours), but terribly during naps. I think we need lots of prayer for this one. I've tried everything! It's making getting all my school work done pretty difficult.

Finley keeps learning more words ("no" is a popular one at the moment, as is "hi" every time he picks up one of our phones), and his dance moves continue to improve. He wants music on almost all the time we're at home, but then he won't stop pushing all the buttons on the stereo. Finley loves to get into the drawers in the kitchen, particularly the tupperware drawer. And he currently loves baths! He will even sit down in the bathtub sometimes now! (We can hardly get him to sit down anywhere, anytime, so that's saying a lot.) Finley still loves to be outside, and he loves to play with blocks and balls and read books.

Now on to the photos!

I took this photo during Finley's nap, because he was just too cute in his diaper, with his little bum up in the air. He stayed like that for about 45 minutes straight. It's bad quality because I took it with my computer, as that was all I had there with me in the bedroom.

Finley is somewhat of a picky eater, but then he surprises me by eating things that are very flavorful, such as Indian food. The kid LOVES curries!

HKIS had Pumpkinfest this weekend. It was a bit chaotic, but Finley had a good time checking out the pumpkins. Iris preferred sitting on the pumpkins.

This one was a bit too heavy for him to pick up, but he sure tried!

Trying to take a bite out of a pumpkin when he thought no one was watching.

17 Months Video

Click here for our video and get ready to giggle!

Ch-ch-changes

Change is in the air at the Dennison house (er, apartment). Finley is so big he has surpassed the weight limit for having his car seat backwards, so we were forced to turn it around. This is a pretty great change, if you ask me, because it means I've moved back to the front seat after over 17 months of riding in the back with him!

I've also started tutoring a little, as well as some half-day substitute teaching. And I'm helping to lead the mom's Bible study at our church this year. All this is in addition to working on my masters. So that means more time away from the little man than I'm accustomed to. The beauty of it is that all those things are flexible, and I'm in control of my schedule. I can always be there when Finley needs me, which is probably more comforting for me than Finley. Finley, meanwhile, is having lots of playdates and trying to learn how to play and coexist with other toddlers. Finley will be 18 months old next week, so I'll give you more of an update on him then!