Friday, January 9, 2009

Firsts: A Retrospective of Finn's First Year and Beyond

I love that these posts are documenting bits and pieces of Finn’s history. Like all parents I imagine, a part of me wishes Finn didn’t have to grow up, that I could freeze him exactly the way he is today and keep him as a 16-month-old forever. I ache to remember every moment of Finn’s life, to hold on to every experience of motherhood. That I cannot remember each and every detail of each and every day makes me sad. Thus, memorializing many, many of Finn’s experiences, milestones, and adventures relieves a bit of my nostalgic sorrow.

At the same time, this post may be a bit boring for the average reader. In fact, the following list is probably not that interesting to anyone other than me. Finn's Firsts. I have actually kept a more detailed version, "A History of Finn." Since keeping track of these milestones seems essential, I figured I'd post them here for history's sake. Don't worry, I resisted the urge to post my entire "History of Jason and Jen."

October 2007
8--Finley entered the world at 2:00 am.
8--First visitors in the hospital, Grandma, Grampa, Great Granny, Uncle Joe, Aunt Robyn, Sarah, Sara, and Kimberly.
10--Finn came home.
12--First walk, around the block.
14--First sponge bath, first outing--to Great Grandma's house.
17--First trip to a restaurant, Nola's Cup.
21--First family outing, to Morton Arboretum.
22--First visit to Grandma and Grampa's house.
25--First real bath.
26--First trip to the Field Museum.
27--First Block Party.

November 2007
1--Cooed.
3--Met his Pop Pop.
7--Trip to the mall.
16--Uncle Jamie came to visit.
20--Met his Nana.
22--Snow.
25--Finn realized he had hands and began to study them.

December 2007
8--Started to reach out and touch, or bat at, objects.
13--Visit to Papa's work.
14--Met first baby friend, Grace.
20--Laughed and laughed and laughed!
23--Trip to Sanibel, first airplane ride.

January 2008
27--Finn rolled over!
29--Visited Mama at work.

February 2008
2--Sat up in a "tripod."
4--Started day care at Margie's & two bottom middle teeth started to come in.
16--Sleepover at Grandma and Grampa's.
22--First cold.

March 2008
1--Sat by himself.
15--Slept for 12 hours.
16--First solid food, rice cereal.
21--Trip to PA, NY, and DC.
29--Loud babbling.

April 2008
1--Said lots of "ba ba ba ba ba."
6--Stood up by himself and ate oatmeal.
13--Ate first vegetables, peas and brown rice.

May 2008
6--Said "da da da da..."
7--Discovered shadows.
9--Woke up on his tummy and ate his first fruit, apple sauce.
15--Four top front teeth.
29--Visited Millennium Park to see Sara and Michelle.

June 2008
7--Signed "fan."
9--First fever.
10--Began to wave.
13--Took a Gymboree class with Mckinley.
26--Trip to Wisconsin.
28--Ate first proteins, tofu and egg yolk.

July 2008
2--Started crawling!
3--Loved watermelon.
4--Enjoyed a pickle.
8--Two more bottom teeth and started pointing, at birds.
10--Said first word: "touch."
23--Stood for a few seconds without holding on.
27--Climbed stairs.

August 2008
1--Learned to raise his arms when asked, "How big is Finn?"
6--Met cousins Ryan and Nathan.
12--Clapped.
14--"Cruised" along furniture.
15--Trip to Union Pier, Michigan.
20--"Walked" with walker, box, wagon, holding hands.
25--Started to put objects in and take them out with a bowl and a ball.

September 2008
1--Pointed to pictures on wall, papa, mama, and self.
3--Said "Mama" or "ma ma ma..."
15--First steps, from the bed to the windowsill.

October 2008
Officially walking!
8--First birthday!
12--First Birthday Fiesta.
13--First (real) haircut.
29--Said a version of "Grandma" and held the phone to his ear.

November 2008
--Leaned over and put his hands & head on the floor when asked to, "go upside down."
--Put his hands out, near his shoulders, as in a shrug, when asked, "where is
something?" (frequently)
--Descended the stairs on his belly.

December 2008
--Walked around the Christmas tree looking at and pointing to the ornaments.
--Loved throwing shells on the beach.
--Liked to look for the moon.

January 2009
--Learned his first letter: O.
--Obsessed with balls.

February 2009
--Began to feed himself with a spoon or fork.
--Liked to run in circles, around someone, and to play ring-around-the-rosey.

March 2009
--Climbed onto the bench in the front hall and a kitchen chair.
--Started to put two word's together: "Mama sit," "Milk please."
--Began to call himself, "Finley."

April 2009
--receives a basketball hoop!
--Singing "ABCD," and "Happy Mama" (instead of "Happy Birthday")
--first ice cream on Mama's birthday
--three word phrases: "more pasta please"


--JAK

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