Christmas Party for the Hauser Five

This morning we had five happy Hauser kiddos at our house for a Christmas play date. From picnicing in the playroom to coloring in the kitchen, they were thoroughly entertained. And since the other mamas and I managed a bit of conversation, we were happy, too.

--JAK

Gingerbread House

The picture on the side of the Gingerbread House kit sets unrealistic expectations. Nevertheless, Finley played his best Picasso and had the food stains to prove it.



--JAC

Riding The Polar Express

Our typical toddler boy is obsessed with trains. So, fittingly, we bought him the book The Polar Express, which he has now read about a dozen times in three days. Plus, we had to watch the movie. But, the kicker was going on The Polar Express ourselves! Who knew the North Pole would be a short jaunt from home?



We also took a Holiday Stroll looking for Santa - who arrived by fire truck. More alarming than this, after his arrival and his lighting of the town Christmas tree, he parked himself in the local bank where kids and parents lined up for a photo with the jolly old man. Finn, perplexed by this, said continuously and rather empathically throughout the night, and the following days, that "Santa was stuck in the bank."



More photos here.

--JAC

Thanksgiving 2009

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television. I do also like the getting-the-family-together part, but unfortunately that requires food preparation that cannot be accomplished from the couch. If my mood and the timing fall together just so, and the necessary ingredients magically appear, I actually am capable of cooking a few dishes--this year I managed pumpkin bread and goat cheese balls. Luckily Jason (with his mom's help) was willing to prepare most of the fixings. If it had been left to me, out guests would have joined me on the couch in their pajamas to watch the parade.

To see more Thanksgiving pictures, click here.

--JAK

cleaning up

Finley likes to clean! When he saw me dust busting after dinner the other day, he insisted on taking over. Now it has become part of the post-dinner clean up routine. But I won't be overly-optimistic, thinking this new habit will last. At the same time he is equally good at making a mess!


--JAK

Goodnight Song

This clip is a few months old now, but nicely demonstrates Finn's obsession with the Black Eyed Peas. He wants to sing, dance to, or otherwise "woo-hoo" what he calls the "Goodnight Song" every day. Here's one sampling of many a performance.

--JAC

Mampa

I commend Finn's efficiency, for instead of addressing us as "mama" and "papa," he is starting to more conveniently call us "mampa."

--JAK

Halloween

After some hesitation, Finn realizes being Max from Where the Wild Things Are is actually kind of fun.  Let the wild rumpus start!

Pumpkin Farm

I don't think Finn has a clue what this whole Halloween thing is all about or why I ask him on a daily basis if he wants to try on his costume.  (The answer is always, "no," with differing degrees of firmness.)  Yet pumpkins are apparently have a lot of appeal.  Our trip to the pumpkin farm this year was a huge success.


Click here to see more pumpkin farm pictures.

--JAK

2nd Birthday

The second birthday festivities are over. Finn finished off the last of the cupcakes last night, and enjoyed his seventh round of candles and singing. He seemed to believe the cupcakes and candles are at the heart of birthday celebrations.

We began the birthday with an early-morning breakfast celebration, candles in the muffin, and presents that didn't garner much excitement--a #2 t-shirt and a hat. For the actual birthday dinner we ventured to Rainforest Cafe, a dicey choice considering the possibilities for a "too scary" reaction. Yet it was a success, considering the moving gorillas and loud thunderstorm couldn't pass quickly enough. Margie was sweet enough to celebrate Finn's birthday on Friday with mini-cupcakes, the requisite cone-shaped hats, and rock star-themed presents!

The party started on Saturday with Pop Pop's arrival and really didn't end until we all fell exhausted into our beds for a Sunday afternoon nap!
Click here for more birthday pictures.

--JAK

Pick Up

Jason asked Finn last night if he was excited to go pick up Pop-Pop from the airport in the morning. Finn's reply: "No, Pop-Pop too heavy."

--JAK

Freedom!

“Mama, I want to go downstairs,” he said sweetly from his crib. “Mama, I want to go downstairs!” his voice escalated as he realized no one was answering his call. These demands quickly turned into an all-out fit of screaming and crying. I don’t know why on this particular Tuesday night, two days shy of his second birthday, Finn came to the realization that:

a) playing was a better option than sleeping, or
b) life did not stop for all members of the household at 8:00 pm, or
c) being stuck in his crib was not where he wanted to be!

If only I knew what was racing through his mind when he decided he would rather be downstairs than in his crib. I don’t even remember what he was playing with that night before bed that perhaps he was desperate to get back downstairs to continue.

Regardless, something pushed him over the edge. He wanted out of his crib and dog gone it, he was going to get there.

After a few minutes of listening to his ranting and raving from the next room, it was quiet...and then a thud. I rushed into the hall just in time to see his little body appear in the doorway, eyes red from crying, but wearing his devilish, “look what I did” grin. Little Finny Boy had climbed out of his crib, and apparently landed on his feet!

We put him right back in his crib, but it took a bit of coaxing to get him to settle down for sleep after that. Amazingly he didn't even try to climb out the next night. He waited until Friday for a repeat performance. My little unpredictable stinker!

--JAK

Apple Picking

Finley tromped around this apple orchard as if it was his own backyard. Once he got the hang of picking the apples off the trees, he manage to eat three or four. He even convinced Jason it was not breaking the rules to eat the apples while picking!

--JAK

Click here for more apple picking pictures.

"Mouse Show Too Scary"

We had been reading If You Take a Mouse to School for weeks. We talked and talked about going to see the "Mouse Show." We had our tickets in hand and were ready to go.

The stage looked interesting and the seats were very comfy. Yet, Mama and Papa hadn't thought to tell Finley that when the show started, the theater would get dark, the music would be loud, and the mouse would actually be a man wearing funny ears dancing around crazily!



Too scary! Finley clung to me and tried to bury his head. We clearly needed to leave. Outside the theater all Finn could tell us was that the mouse show was, "too scary." We tried to sneak back in a couple of times, but Finn was not having it. So, we went to the park instead. Much better!



--JAK

Touch a Truck

The people in Elmhurst really understand little boys. They welcomed us, for only $1, to wander a parking lot and touch a whole bunch of trucks, and a bus, a helicopter, a mini-car, a crane... Finn was literally overwhelmed by the whole thing, especially the horns, but certainly got to touch a lot of trucks.

--JAK

Grace came to visit

We were very excited to have Michelle, Paul, and Grace in town for Labor Day weekend! Finn and Grace got to practice the toddler art of sharing. The adults, after putting the kiddos to bed, got to remember what it felt like to enjoy an adult dinner and conversation!

--JAK


Click here to see Finn and Grace playing house.

Click here for more Finn and Grace.

Family Read Time

The nightly routine calls for putting on a fresh diaper and PJs (which some nights amounts to 10 minutes of collegiate wrestling), brushing teeth and then three books. However, Finn is already mastering the art of stalling before bedtime, wanting to surpass the three book quota, demanding "I want more book" and slithering off the coach, shuffling to the book basket and returning eagerly with another tome in hand. We often relent, and a fourth read it is.

This night, we finished up our third installment, Eric Carle's Baby Bear - from the Brown Bear series - after which Finn insisted on Duck in the Truck, a Jez Alborough yarn about a narcissistic duck who drives a truck that gets stuck in the muck, fortunately to be rescued by a Good Samaritan frog, sheep and goat, who for their troubles to push the truck out and back onto the track remain themselves stuck in the muck as the duck, unconcerned for his liberators, revs on down the road all smiles.

I sincerely hope Finn gets the irony.

--JAC

Appeased by Salad

We experienced a mega-toddler fit tonight. Dinner was ready. Like parents across the land Jason and I were anxious to sit down and eat. Finley wanted to go outside. We're talking tears and screaming and clinging to Mama and writhing as if in terrible pain. We showed him the yummy dinner waiting for him on his plate, but that did not help the situation.

"Are you tired; do you want to go to bed?"

"No." Grasping for any possible strategy to get on with our dinner, worrying that this was not going to be a pleasant meal, Jason and I started down the slippery slope, offering him other, possibly more enticing, food.

"How about cheese?" No response.

"How about salad?" Finn stopped crying and appeared interested.

"In a little bowl?"

"A big bowl," he insisted. OK, a big bowl of salad. Holding our breath we gathered the salad and dressing and even offered croutons, waiting for this peace brokering to fall apart. I let Finn serve himself croutons while Jason poured his dressing. Within moments our toddler boy was happily munching on his salad. He ate three servings.

--JAK

Stage

Finley loves going to Oak Park's Sunday night concerts in the park. He is obsessed with "the band." I think this interest began back in June when a band performed at our block party. Last week Finn and I drove by the park where the concerts take place and he pointed out the empty stage, wondering where the band was. When we got home, he climbed up on his new stool and declared it a stage! He has continued to put on maracas concerts for us daily.

--JAK

Sharing with Hayden

As we were getting him ready for bed tonight, we were reminding Finn that his buddy Hayden is coming over to play tomorrow morning. The big focus of the conversation was whether and which toys he would share with Hayden. Finn is in his toddler prime the moment another kid wants to play with one of his toys. "Mine!" he shouts and grabs it away, even though he drops it a few seconds later and plays with something else. Oh my!

He seemed to be able to deal with the idea of sharing his books with Hayden, but not sure about letting Hayden use his cars, trucks, and trains. Then, just as I was about to sing and put him to bed, Finn said, "share trucks with Hayden." So we talked for a minute about how Hayden could have the green truck and he could have the white one. Then he said, "Finley white truck." So I suggested Hayden have the green one. "Hayden blue one." Really warming up the idea, Finn was settling down in his crib and said, "Share bed with Hayden." I probably shouldn't tell her parents about that comment!

--JAK

Road Trip!

Click here to see more pics!

Finn added another state to his travel repertoire--"O-pie-0," the state where his Aunt Marie, Uncle Bob, and Cousin Eddie live in Hudson, outside of Cleveland. You don't need to ask Finn what he enjoyed most about the trip...he'll tell you, unprompted and out of context:

This morning when I got him out of his crib he was talking about the merry go round that we played on at the fabulous park in Hudson.

A number of times this week Finn has declared he was, "looking for deer," even among the skyscrapers of Chicago!

The choo-choo we watched cross the Cuyahoga River while we ate lunch. One train sighting was not enough for Finn. He demanded, "More choo-choo, Mama, more choo-choo, Mama" over and over again. (He also asked, as he does often and about many topics, "Where'd choo-choo go, Mama? Where'd choo-choo go?") Lucky for Finn, we saw four trains!

Other highlights of our trip:

-Finn and Eddie reading his Digger book.
-The delicious clam bake Aunt Marie made for us. Finn stuck his nose up at the clams, but loved playing with the shells!
-Finn's visit to the science museum while Jason and I snuck away to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
-Feeding the ducks.
-Kiddy Park.

--JAK

Ice cream! (Which Finn does not say, but yells.)

Thanks Grandma and Grampa!

Another Joey

Finn very often reminds me of my brother, the Joey I remember as a little kid. He has a charismatic energy that I believe he inherited from his Uncle Joe. Much of what makes him a fun, interesting, pleasure of a little boy shouts Joey to me. When Finn is acting goofy, he sometimes gets a look on his face that I would swear is straight from Joey. Finn will point out dirt or food on his hands and be unhappy about it, just like Joe used to do. Most of all, Finn likes to talk and my memory of Joey is a non-stop chatter box. At this point, Finn's non-stop talking is often very funny because it is so darn repetitive, yet logical. On the way to meet Jason at the train today, a 10-minute walk, Finn and I sustained a sort of conversation.

"Where'd _________ go, Mama?" is a common refrain in Finn's non-stop talking. We see a dog and its owner walking toward us, talk about the doggie, and say, "hi" to the doggie. Once the dog is behind us, Finn immediately starts asking, "Where'd doggie go, Mama?" over and over again.

I told him we were going to dinner at the Avenue Ale House and we would get to eat outside, on the roof. Finn pointed to the roof of the house we were passing by saying, "eat on the roof." He then spent the next few minutes looking at various roofs and repeating, "eat on the roof." We discussed how we would need a ladder to climb on the roof, even though Finley is not allowed to climb ladders, just Mommy and Papa.

Finn's conversation also involves a lot of narration or commentary. "Man...an on a bike...not wearing helmet," Finn describes as we both watch a non-helmet wearing man ride his bike past us down the street.

--JAK

Friends

Click here to see more pictures, courtesy of Stacy!

Summer is all the more fun when you get to spend it with friends! Finn and I had the best time playing with our Hauser buddies on Friday. We were just sad to be without Patty and Heidi.

--JAK

Noise face

Noises have increasingly attracted Finn's attention during the last few months. And when he hears a particularly loud or surprising noise, he reacts with this face!

--JAK

Driving the Wheel

Since the day he "drove" a firetruck earlier this summer, Finn has been interested in trucks, buses, and really any vehicle that appeared to have a wheel available for him to drive. The zoo parking lot was crowded with school buses one day and Finley declared, "Finley drive the bus! Finley drive the bus!" Other than a few chances to sit in the driver's seat of Mama or Grandma's car, the poor little guy was really feeling deprived.

Yet the days he spent playing with his cousins in Pennsylvania seem to have lent him an important new understanding...He can drive! He just has to stick to smaller vehicles. Finn now spends much of his free time driving trains and cars and trucks. He even keeps himself very entertained driving matchbox trucks while riding in his stroller. Yesterday he decided the candy and gum shelves in the checkout aisle at the grocery store were perfect platform for driving.

--JAK

Fresh corn!

YUM!

Funny!

Calvert was at the bottom of the stairs at bedtime tonight. Finn and I climbed half-way up and turned back to wave goodnight to Jason and to coax Calvert to follow us up. Finn encouraged Calvert up the stairs:
"Calvert, use the railing."

--JAK

Grandma Days

Finn loves spending his Wednesday's with Grandma, and usually gets to see Grampa (and his cookies) for lunch, too! Now that it is summer, both Finn and I have been going on all sorts of outings with Grandma.

So far we've hit the aquarium, Kiddie Land, Brookfield Zoo, and Navy Pier.

Click here to see more pictures.

--JAK

Friendly

I love that kids are so darn friendly. Finn is just the friendliest little fellow. This morning he waved at and said "hi" to people (and the park, the basketball hoops, the trees, birdies) out the car window on the way to Margie's house.

The other day Finn extended his friendly spirit to a local doggie. We were hanging out in the front yard and Finn noticed a familiar car parked a few houses down. We'd checked out this car before becuase it contains doggies! A local dog walker comes by every morning and a dog hangs out in the car while he walks other neighborhood dogs.

Anyway, Finn was very excited to see this white doggy in the car window and waved and said, "hi doggy" over and over again from the sidewalk. Then he walked up to the car, hoping to open the door to let the doggy out. "Come in Finley house, doggy, come in Finley house." What a friendly little invitation he extended to the doggy. Seeming to understand that he wouldn't be able to accept the invitation, the dog stuck his snout through the cracked window and barked back. Finn thought this was hilarious.

--JAk

Family Vacation Summer 2009 - Boston and Lebanon, PA

Click here to see more of our trip!

Jason, Finn, and I headed east for the Fourth of July to visit friends and family in Boston and Pennsylvania. Finn was a trooper of a traveler...on the way out there, our little man endured canceled and delayed flights and didn't sleep a wink until we finally buckled him into his car seat at 1:00 am.

Finn loved Boston for its trolleys, "Scotty's house," fun and games at Joe and Jen's wedding, and the Irish singer/guitarist at the Black Rose.

From the moment we stepped out of the car in Lebanon, PA, Finn played non-stop with his cousins, Ryan and Nathan. He spent the week in full boy-mode in heaven with trains, cars, motorcycles, bikes, drums, guitar, and on and on.

--JAK

Food!

After a food-filled day at the Taste of Chicago with Nana, Finn was looking forward to some ice cream to finish off the day. We paused in front of the ice cream booth, I leaned down and asked Finn if he wanted some ice cream, and he happily said, "yes!" I returned just a minute later with ice cream for Finn, Jason, and me. But, our sweet little boy was asleep! His ice cream sat and melted...






Luckily, after dinner at an outdoor concert, Finn got his ice cream with Grampa!





--JAK