Stewarts

Most of the stuff here is written by Darienne, who met Doug in 1995. We married in 2001, welcomed Calvin to the family in 2004 and Finn in 2007. Doug works here as a lawyer; Darienne [you can reach her at darienne(at)gmail(dot)com] works for several companies -- including this one and this one -- as a copy editor. [Disclaimer: She doesn't apply her professional intensity to this site.]

In our spare time, we all enjoy reading, exploring the beautiful S.F. Bay Area, and being crafty. You can check out some of Doug's artwork here, and my craptastic work here. You also can read Doug's novel in progress or check out my stab at a 365 photo project:

We kicked things off with the sound of jackhammers Saturday morning. Sometime last week Calvin decided he wants a jackhammer and "a plane camera that really takes pictures," whatever that is, for his birthday. So he was delighted to see, hear and feel, rattling the entire house, a jackhammer just outside the playroom. We had a few hundred square feet of concrete ripped out along the side, freeing that poor, trapped maple tree and making room for a bit more grass and the future veggie garden.

Calvin took a break from watching the workers to count his money. He's been stashing change in his piggy bank. Doug sorted all the coins and took Calvin with him to the bank: Half went to Calvin's college fund, and the other half was up to Calvin to spend. He said he wanted to go to Ikea.

Of course he has no concept of what things are worth. But he did pretty well with his choices. He selected a funky little tow truck -- intended for toddlers, but that's OK. He also chose a very mod seesaw, which used up most of his funds. During the very long wait to check out, he fell in love with a neck pillow and added that to the basket. Once we got back to the car, he climbed into his seat, tucked the pillow in place, closed his eyes and went limp with a deep, satisfied "aaaaah."

Our timing was poor: We were at Ikea through dinnertime and close to bedtime, and the checkout lines were endless. But the boys passed the time laughing themselves breathless as they played with a duster Calvin found.

Three going on 14

It's been an all-over-the-place kind of week. Lots of great fun -- parks and picnics and playdates and more. But also lots of drama and angst with the preschooler. Much of the tumult can be traced to one particular development: Calvin is trying to skip his afternoon nap. That wouldn't be a problem, if he could cope with less sleep. BUT HE CAN'T. And neither can his parents.

The days he goes without a nap end -- usually early -- with tears, screaming, and flailing limbs, and often projectiles. One day last week I spent more than half an hour around dinnertime cradling Calvin in my lap while he shrieked and wailed: "Go away! Go away! Go away!"

Instead of napping, he sneaks around the house: into the kitchen to search for sweets, toothpicks, toys; into the office for Post-It notes he can affix to walls; and especially into the bathroom, where lately he has delighted in transferring the entire contents of the cabinets -- from toothbrushes to Q-tips -- to his bed.

There are similar issues in the mornings. Before we changed the clocks Saturday night, he was waking well before his parents and quietly engaging in activities that are forbidden when grownups aren't present -- like painting. One morning it involved a kid-friendly paint bottle; the next morning it was fabric paint, poured all over paper, the table, the floor, the chairs, and the pajamas he happened to have borrowed from a friend.

I don't know if it's related, but he has also taken to sleeping with an unopened 12-pack of toilet paper in his bed.

Think I shouldn't worry? The other day, he announced he wants to be Darth Vader when he grows up. Reminded that Darth Vader is not very nice and doesn't get invited to playdates, Calvin thought for a bit and said that maybe Darth Vader could get together with other mean people for playdates.

About a week into this, we began to become unglued. We started gating him in his room in the mornings, both because we can't trust him around the house on his own and because I was tired of bolting out of bed at 6:20 to find out what he had done. I don't want to feel like I'm living with an untrained puppy, so we're going to the vaunted reward system: Effective immediately, TV is a privilege he earns, not a privilege he risks losing. He's been watching one or two episodes a day of "Word World," which we're all enjoying because he's making so much progress with phonics and letters. He will start earning one episode each time he cooperates with bedtime or naptime. (He doesn't need to sleep during the latter; he can read in bed. He just can't tiptoe around the house looking for trouble.) We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday, March 11, 2007

Taking a yoga breath

Status update on Project Sleep: Calvin is 3 for 3 earning TV episodes for naptime, and 0 for 2 with bedtime. He didn't sleep at naptime today but had quiet time, which was enough to get TV time but not enough to prevent emotional collapse by dinnert. He was testy with our once-a-week sitter, whom he adores, even trying to hit her. (She handled him amazingly well; I'm glad she's going to be with us for a while.)

On the positive side, he's making some social strides. Calvin is very comfortable among longtime friends but reserved among unfamiliar faces. Only recently has he begun to become more relaxed in his preschool class. (That's his first school picture -- what a cutie!)

He found a playmate at a playground this week -- the first time he's befriended someone among a crowd. And his teachers tell me he's doing better at preschool as well. He's been trying to recruit playmates to join him in imaginative play -- flying a rocket, playing pirates -- with him directing people's roles. It didn't go well at first and he was frustrated, but he's finding more willing partners now.

Another encouraging development: I'll spare you the details, but Calvin has taken renewed interest in the toilet and actually agreed to sit on his potty today. He even got something into it. Must be the toilet paper snuggling at night.

Finn has made two advancements this week. Communication has been coming slowly. We've heard a few real words sporadically, plus some recognizable, more common Finn-speak. We tried signing with him for a bit, but abandoned that a ways back. Yesterday he began signing "more" at breakfast, and he's continued to use that sign. It's very helpful.

The flip side: Finn has gotten along fine with non-verbal communication. He remains generally easygoing, but he has quite a temper when frustrated. Earlier this week he was upset with me over something -- an empty sippy cup? -- and squawked angrily, then half-crawled and half-walked over to a stray sock, picked it up, turned around, and whipped it at me. Today I wouldn't let him down to play when we were picking Calvin up at preschool. Finn pushed against me, yelled at me, then made a face and got me with a very deliberate left hook. I think he's been watching his brother.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Cautiously optimistic

We've been making small changes for the better around here. We joined the Y, though we haven't gone yet. I've given up on the idea of getting any work done during the day but I'm pursuing leads for part-time/drop-in childcare. We got the garden prepped and grass set in place where the concrete was yanked out, and we're doing some planting tomorrow. We turned Finn's car seat around to face front, so he can see where we're heading. Doug had a really good review at work and is very happy. I also had a good week, work-wise, and am very happy. I started buying some clothes to replace all the boring Old Navy clothes Finn barfed on last year. Doug, whose Jetta has seen better days, just bought on eBay a small SUV to haul around the kids, their stuff, and even a friend or two -- and he humored me by getting a hybrid.

Small things all, but cumulatively we're feeling ... pretty good. In control, for a change.

Project Sleep may be working. Calvin has not napped much, and he has had only a few really good nights. But the screaming and crying and game-playing has lessened considerably, and the few nights the boy did sleep well made a tremendous difference in terms of his mood (and his parents', I'll be honest).

I even found some time to mostly assembly Calvin's long-delayed "Brokeback Mountain" vest. Picture to come when the buttons are done. I read an entire book this week, am doing reasonably well delaying AJ's inevitable victory in my first game of chess, and am fantasizing about learning to use WordPress and creating a new Web site.

We're feeling ... springlike. And it's very nice.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

If only any of us ate eggs...

The Easter bunny treated the boys to a backyard egg hunt, lots of stickers, and some nice treats (a bubble gun for Finn, activity books and a pterodactyl puzzle egg for Calvin). Calvin was very excited to fill up his basket, and Finn managed to beat him to a few obviously placed eggs. Calvin was so enamored with Easter that I couldn't get rid of the cracked, spoiling eggs until after he went to bed Monday. (Potential good news for Finn: He wandered into the kitchen at one point with blue fingers and a blue face, gnawing on a broken egg. We get a D for parenting on that one, but hey! He didn't have an allergic reaction!)

Calvin has done much better sleeping, except of course for today. He wore me out -- Finn, too, was unusually high-maintenance -- so I'm going to quit writing before I get whiny. Really, on balance they've been a lot of fun to play with lately. I'll leave you with two random weird lines from Calvin:

While playing chase games on an Easter walk: "Hey, let's pretend we're the Easter Bunny and we'll run around barfing all over everything. Because I've never seen an Easter bunny do that!"

And today: "What do you think if I go outside without my mommy or my daddy or Finn or my blankie and I drive the car in the wrong direction and crash into people?"

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Old friends

Jon has been visiting for much of the week. He leaves tomorrow morning, which has Calvin feeling desperately sad. Hopefully Calvin will be cheered by happy memories of the past few days, and the promise that Jon will be back in a few months, with Jenn too.

Delights from the week include celebrating Jon's recent birthday, cheering the Red Sox to back-to-back wins in Oakland, welcoming Doug's new car, switching Calvin from a big car seat to a booster seat, putting Finn in his first pair of real shoes, and enjoying plenty of playtime. Doug recruited Jon to help him surprise Calvin with his very own Big Papi to worship, just outside his bedroom door.

Finn hasn't had much of a chance to get to know Jon, but they got along very well indeed -- so much so that by the second day, Finn staggered forlornly (really, that's the only way to describe it) after Jon whenever he left the room.

The boys were amazing at the games. Calvin didn't pay much attention, which was fine and not surprising; the impressive part was how happy they both were for the duration. OK, to be fair, Calvin was hopped up on Mountain Dew and candy. But they stayed up to 10:30 or so Tuesday night, then came back for Wednesday afternoon's game. We were bracing for the worst, given lack of sleep and chilly weather, but the kids were... awesome. Finn happily played with our hats and ice cubes, peekabooed the people behind us -- who today included a friend Doug and Jon hadn't seen since college, amazingly, who was also visiting from Boston -- and eagerly clapped for all the good parts. The picture below was taken after we got home from today's game. We practically needed a forklift to get Calvin to his dinner.

Anyone with kids knows that strange things happen among friends after you spawn. Quite a few friends disappear, including a few you never thought would, a few more aren't sure how to deal with you now that you change diapers several times a day, and others become even closer as they extend their friendship to these little offshoots. Jon is very much in the third camp. He's another parent, caring and conscientious but much more patient than we are. (Must be the limited exposure to these boys...) He was a tremendous help, balancing kids and their meals and helping to make sure we all got to the games and home again with our sanity intact. And he is now a witness that I am not making up these tales about Calvin. Any doubts were dispelled when Calvin pranced into the living room well after bedtime tonight, coated in sugar from the sugar bowl he had swiped from the kitchen.

Hopefully Calvin will be distracted from the yawning chasm of Jon's absence by all the fun coming up, notably a boatload of birthday parties in the weeks ahead, including his own. This year's invite is below (ignore the little symbols blocking personal details). Yes, that is Spaceman Spiff's ship. And there's a bonus picture of Calvin in the "Brokeback Mountain" vest I finally finished for him. He picked the fabric out ages ago -- his "favorite cowboys," he had sighed dreamily -- and I only just got around to piecing it together for him. It goes nicely with the hat from Uncle David.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Party season

We're fully into a heavy birthday month: There's so much cake in store! This weekend we joined Matilda to celebrate her 1st birthday at a sweet new park. We have two birthday parties on Saturday, when we'll also be wishing Devon a very happy 2nd birthday, then Calvin's the following week. And there are still more birthdays noted on our calendar...

Finn and Calvin went to Dr. O's today. Get out your scorecards: Calvin is up to 32 pounds, climbing all the way up to the 15th percentile, and 38.5 inches (10th); Finn weighs 21 pounds, 1 ounce (8th) and is 30.5 inches (25th). As always, they both seem fine. I've been pretending not to be bothered that Finn doesn't have as many words at this age as Calvin did; Dr. O reminded me that Calvin was very verbal, and that Finn has more words than she'd expect at this stage. She knows how to stroke a mom's ego. Finn's blossoming vocabulary includes Mommy, Daddy and Finn-speak for Calvin, plus lookit, that, fish, turtle, alldone, and every so often book.

The only issue I wanted to discuss was Calvin's pre-dawn antics. (Doug and I got to sleep in until 8 earlier this week. We woke up to find Calvin had swiped Doug's glasses and my chapstick, had colored on the walls with marker, and had pawed through the pantry in search of sugary goods.) Dr. O didn't just endorse the use of a gate to keep Calvin in his room at night; she encouraged it -- for his safety and our sanity. The idea, though, is that it's his choice. We give him a clock and tell him when he can get up; if he gets up before then, we use the gate. The end.

On the very, very positive side, it's been a breakthrough week with potty training. Calvin has gotten something in the potty nearly every single day, and twice in the past week has climbed out of the tub to use the potty when he felt the need. THIS IS HUGE. We have not bugged him to go; he just started trying it, usually when he's supposed to be taking a nap or going to bed. It began as a way to delay sleep, but now he's getting a kick out of it. I have hope for the future... He's not wearing underwear yet. We're letting him call the shots.

Another breakthrough for Calvin that has been developing over many weeks: He's getting hooked on phonics. He's asking a lot about letters and sounds, and is trying to guess what letters are in words. He picked out the word "pirate" on a Happy Meal box a while back by theorizing that it began with a p and had a t somewhere in it. And the past two days have seen surprising displays of affection from big brother, who told him yesterday, "Finn, you're my best friend." Awwwww.

For his part, Finn loves giving high-fives and playing ball -- he has a good arm! Throwing anything makes him happy, but balls are especially delightful. He's also obsessed with balloons, and was beyond thrilled to get to play with some at Matilda's party. Other favorite things: tossing toys out of the bathtub, playing peekaboo by putting his blanket over my face, and (wince) eating French fries. He's also developed a weird habit of wriggling around on the floor like a puppy in hopes that you'll tickle him. He imitates Calvin constantly.

Calvin made up a new game after getting a look through the drive-through window at In-N-Out (I swear, we don't eat as much fast food as it sounds): "Running around the restaurant." Two players stand around holding food while the third dashes by, grabs some food, and runs off again.

On the grownup end: It's another busy but satisfying work week for me. Our garden elf set up drip irrigation for the veggie garden last week, and with the kids in Doug's care I spent several hours Sunday putting in plants out front, digging out a path and settling in pavers recycled from the concrete we blasted out, and planting seeds. Purple dragon and atomic red carrots, red onions, chioggia beets, peas and a bunch of herbs are hopefully germinating as I type. We have lots more to squeeze in: pumpkins, lemon cukes, zucchini, green beans, lettuce, spinach, and of course tomatoes. I'm watching the squirrels chomping the flowers in the back yard right now and trying not to think about how much of my garden they're going to eat.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

A lovely day

Let's get this out of the way: It was hot today. Like, 85 degrees. That kind of hot. I'm antsy for summer, but a gradual change would be nice.

That said, it was a great day for a birthday party double header. We celebrated Devon's 2nd birthday by toasting him with cake for two new 4-year-olds. First up was Patrick, one of the boys giving Calvin a bear hug above, who threw a bowling party. Finn really wanted to hurl a ball himself, but settled for trying to run pell-mell down the lane.

Next up: Jude, who amazed his friends by getting pal Spider-Man to organize games. Calvin was wary at first, and Finn was bawling and actually shaking with fear.

There are plenty of photos here, and if you mosey on over to our Flickr album we have an exclusive, Peter Parker-worthy shot of Spidey manning a limbo stick.

I'm going to close today's post with photographic evidence of a rare event: Calvin giving Finn a hug! And he went on to comb his little bro's wild, Nick Nolte hair.

And now, after going to two spectacular parties, I'll be spending the rest of the weekend trying to book Neil Armstrong to land in a real rocket at Calvin's birthday party.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Almost 4

There's been much lamenting and hand-wringing on this site about the turmoil that comes with being 3 and coming to terms with a little brother. In his final days of threedom, however, I have nothing but good things to say about Calvin. I've been very proud of him lately. His behavior certainly hasn't been perfect, but he's shown signs this past week of real ... maturity, I guess, in a preschool fashion.

He's done some problem-solving on his own: A boy was hitting him, he explained to us, so he decided to go somewhere else to play. (What? No screaming or whining?)

He's been more interested in helping with small projects: Sunday he helped mix and "massage" pizza dough, and he is now in charge of all pancake-flipping.

Most delightfully, he's been much kinder to his brother. He continues to humor and encourage Finn, and loves to prompt imitation. But he seems to appreciate his role as a big brother in a new way. Early last week I told him he is a teacher for Finn, and he is taken with the idea.

Typically Calvin gets angry when he spies Finn holding one of his favorite toys with dangerously small parts, roughly grabbing the toy away and yelling at him. Several times in the past few days, however, Calvin has spotted Finn clutching contraband -- and has quietly and calmly explained to Finn that he shouldn't play with toys with small parts, then gently removed the toy and placed it out of reach. He reminded his babysitter several times today to keep an eye on Finn as they played with small toys. He's engaging Finn in play by sometimes meeting him on his level, and sometimes acting like a guiding parent. There's a gentle touch, a degree of consideration when it comes to his brother that hasn't been there before. It's very encouraging and touching. I hope it lasts for a bit. I'm sure Finn does too.

Meanwhile, we are experimenting with Finn's diet. It's been a while since we scientifically tested his reactions to items on the no-way list: anything made with corn, oats, milk or soy. He has recently noticed that the stuff on his plate is different from the stuff on our plates, and we have been gobbling many meals while he screams, points, lunges and generally complains that he wants to share our pizza, lasagne, waffles, buttered toast, and so on. We're trying to make more meals that meet his needs, but it's not always possible. I felt badly about the likelihood that we will make him feel icky and barfy with these experiments, so yesterday Calvin and I made Finn-friendly pancakes: egg-free, with rice milk. He loved them. (We didn't think they were too bad either.) He loved them so much he ate six, plus an entire grapefruit -- outeating me, which is saying something.

He had about a cup of milk, and the aftermath wasn't too bad. He barfed up a tiny bit a few hours later and had some funky diapers today, but doesn't seem bothered by any discomfort. The general prohibition against milk will remain in place, but we're somewhat encouraged that his symptoms might be easing.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Daddy's birthday letter to Calvin

Dearest Calvin,

Happy 4th birthday, buddy! What a wonderful year we’ve had. Your mom and I are encouraged that you’re growing into the genuine, kind, thoughtful, funny, toilet-trained (fingers crossed), clever little boy we hoped you could be.

You’ve made some big strides in your development this year – starting to recognize words and read, rhyming, counting to 30 and beyond, making logical connections and deducing, and dancing like a lion.

You’re a good conversationalist, which tricks us sometimes because you can sound so mature and reasonable one moment and than throw a tantrum about a T-shirt the next. We’ve tried to keep in mind that you’re still a little dude, trying to gain control over your emotions and feelings.

Traveling Man

Lots more travel this year, starting with Disneyland, New England, Hearst Castle and Monterey, Sonoma, Tahoe, Disneyland again, with Hawaii and Palm Springs coming up. You especially enjoy the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland, and are looking forward to seeing the volcanoes on the Big Island.

You love adventures and your patience and good humor make you easy to travel with. I continue to marvel at how much you’ve seen (I hope you remember at least some of it) in your young life – I didn’t get on an airplane until high school.

Social Calendar

You are a social animal, though occasionally you say you are “too shy” to talk to people on the phone or greet friends. You are in a couple of weekly playgroups and go to preschool twice a week with other friends. You seem to have natural leadership talents, recruiting playmates to engage in imaginative play, such as running a restaurant or taking the train to the baseball game. You get upset when your friends would prefer to play their own games, and we’re working with you to be more flexible to the needs of others. When you’re not playing with family or friends, you’ve found time to take piano and swim classes.

Favorite Things

You have diverse interests. You like to cook and garden with Mommy, and enjoy painting, drawing and putting stickers all over the house. You like to watch movies (Cars is the big hit) and Dad tries to get you to watch football and baseball, with mixed success. Candy is a favorite snack, particularly when its contraband. You groove to Jamiroqui and John Denver (I am not making this up), and your favorite tv shows include Word World (learning phonics) and Little Einsteins (art and music). You have a good mind for puzzles.

Finn

You have grown into a compassionate big brother. At first Finn was pretty much a nuisance to you, but now you’ve accepted he isn’t going away. He very much looks up to you and wants to play with all your toys – especially the ones with small pieces. You try to get him to “listen to my words” even though he has no clue what you’re saying yet, but you have been a good teacher for Finn. Our hope is that you and Finn will be lifelong partners in crime, looking out for one another and sharing a journey through life together.

A Home

Housing has been a bit of a worry for the Stewart clan since before you were born. California is great, but it’s also expensive. You’ve been patient as we’ve moved from our condo in Mountain View, to a rented house in Los Altos, to our home in Sunnyvale. But at last we think we’ve settled into a home you and Finn can grow up, go to school and make friends in the neighborhood. We expect to be in our home for some time and hope it is a good place to build your childhood memories.

Advice

It wouldn’t be a birthday letter if I didn’t try to slip in some fatherly advice, so here goes:

Try to find a career that gives your life purpose, that makes it easy to get up in the morning

Find a partner that is passionate, kind and honest

Don’t let anyone else shake your confidence, but don’t boast either

Be bold

Try to say yes

Travel, but don’t drift

Become an expert in at least one thing – whether its genomics, foosball or the Ottoman Empire

Acknowledge your imperfections and be able to say you’re sorry

Share your dream freely

Enjoy college – a lot

Appreciate your good fortune and try not to whine about setbacks

Care

Joy

Calvin, you and your brother have given us a tremendous amount of joy and allowed us to share our love with you as a family. Know that we think the world of you, would jump in front of a speeding train for you, and that our bonds to you are timeless and unbreakable. We love to see the wonder in your eyes as you learn and find your path, and take great comfort in your cuddles. Please know, despite whatever disappointments you may one day feel towards us as parents, that our love is unconditional and boundless. Our hope is that one day you experience as much joy as you’ve given to us.

The world is alight with possibility, drenched with wonder. Discover.

Happy birthday, Calvin!

Love,

Daddy

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Great 4th Birthday Blowout Bash comes to an end

You'd think it was his coming-of-age party, what with the days and days of celebration, but no, Calvin just turned 4. We had a fun week, and his birthday party came together nicely without too much stress on his parents' part. Doug and I mulled some ideas for a few weeks before, and pulled things together last week. Doug made a solar system mural and we cut out rockets for pin-the-rocket-on-the-solar-system; only a few kids played it, but it made a nice backdrop. Kids tossed around planets (a gift from Michele) and colored space shuttle pictures, and found toys stashed about that we'd forgotten we had.

The big hit was the obstacle course. I loved these things when I was a kid, and we fashioned them out of sawhorses and planks of wood. With the babies and the exuberance of a dozen sugared-up preschoolers, we worried about someone getting hurt with such a DIY setup, so Doug picked up an inexpensive set and an inflatable tumbler -- which was the best toy ever.

I had vowed to make the Little Einsteins Rocket cake I didn't get to make last year. I made the mistake of looking at Cheryl's train cake for Devon before I started crafting Rocket: If nothing else, our mama taught us how to make ridiculous cakes. That lovely spectacle was a blow to my confidence, but I felt better as Rocket miraculously came together. It took two entire jars of no-taste red food coloring to get that plastic-toy sheen, and only a day or two to get the red stain out from under my fingernails.

Follow this link if you want to see tons more photos of Calvin and his friends partying.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

And away I go

I have tickets to see Mike Doughty on Saturday night. Correction: One ticket. And the concert is in Portland.

It's my weekend off! I leave tomorrow morning and am due to meet up with Carol for lunch and orientation, then I'm on my own. I've packed two books (this new one, which frankly I will enjoy more when I read it on a plane without kids whining and climbing on me, and an old favorite I haven't read in ages), stationery for writing a few overdue letters, and good shoes for lots of walking. I've picked a place for breakfast, but that's the extent of my planning.

This is my chance to relax, to breathe, to spend lots of time window shopping and never buying anything, to play with my camera, to take in a movie and an afternoon beer, to lose track of time in Powell's City of Books. Yes, I did have an overnight in S.F. late last year, but this is a long-dreamed-of weekend, compensation (in my view, at least) for a whole bunch of bachelor parties and a solitary weekend in Tahoe enjoyed by Doug. We hope to make a habit of this, of taking turns setting each other free.

The boys should do well. They've been a lot of fun lately, and have been playing together well. Doug bought some candy last weekend for movie-watching while I'm gone, and Calvin has checked every single day to make sure we haven't broken our promise and opened up the Mike & Ikes and "Stickers" bars. (We haven't.)

Finn has been trying to grow up quickly. When he hears it's time to go, he runs off to pick up his blankie and his puppy, Boo-Boo (a gift from Calvin), and tries to open the sliding door. If Doug isn't leaving with us, Finn crosses the atrium chattering "Daddy Daddy Daddy" to wave goodbye to Doug in his office, and he is crestfallen when Doug is absent. He continues to work on words and games. New favorites including pointing at people and exclaiming, "You!" He loves "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and does most of the moves. He also loves trying to shoot webs from his wrists like Spider-Man (though he only does it because Daddy did it), throwing anything and everything he can, and getting tickled. Finn still enjoys slides and trying to go in the opposite direction of where his parents are going. He is starting to enjoy childcare at the Y, though he still pretends he doesn't.

The milk experiment didn't go so well: Finn threw up once or twice a day for several days afterward. Next we tried egg: Yay! No reaction. That's a huge help: Egg and rice milk can be used to make all sorts of good things, like French toast, which Finn now enjoys heartily. Other favorite foods are Aidell's sausages, clementines, bananas, rice and sweet potatoes. Oh, and French fries. We're now experimenting with corn, and oats and soy will follow.

Have a nice weekend -- I will.

Thursday, April 24, 2008