Finley Bee Day

World's longest blog post, part 4

2011-10-25T16:08:00.002-04:00

I know there are lots more things we did, like a trip to Napa in the summer, and most recently again this past weekend to see the Baedekers and the Kellys, who we saw the first time around. We also went to San Diego and Sea World somewhere in there, too. I suppose it's all a blur when you're having so much fun!

This girl still loves her dinosaurs, fish and farm animals. We've started dance classes with our school friends and had a great time at the St. Paul Fall Festival. Finley loves to cook, especially rolls, cookies and cakes, even if she's not keen on eating most of what she makes. Finley likes to sing and be silly, and is still the happiest kid we know!

World's longest blog post, part 3

2011-10-25T15:58:00.003-04:00

Toward the end of summer and into Septmber, we spent a ton of time on the water slide with Dad...
Saw family and friends in Austin...
Started our last year of preschool...
Learned how to use the new smoker...
And had a fun but short-lived stint in karate class.

The world's longest blog post, Part 2

2011-10-25T15:33:00.004-04:00

We spent the summer learning to pick out our own outfits,
Getting our face painted at school, she's a tiger here...
Having fun at the beach, building sand castles and digging for crabs...
Visiting Chico, twice!
Going to the Dinosaur Museum with schoolmate and fellow dino aficionado Finn K...
Making smores
And going to an awesome Dinosaur Train event!

The world's longest blog post, Part 1

2011-10-25T15:23:00.003-04:00

So, it's been a while. Let's start with Finley's 4th birthday...in May. We a petting zoo in the front, pony rides in the back a dinosaur cake, and tons of fun with our friends and family.

Turning 4

2011-05-06T18:11:00.003-04:00

We've been up to quite a lot since our last post, not the least of which was being sick for almost a month straight! We all passed around something or other awful, and it took us through mid-March to start feeling better again.

But, we're back in the game and doing all sorts of things. We've been enjoying birthday parties and swim lessons, and a fun visit to the Newells in D.C. for Spring Break. We went all over, to the zoo, aquarium, Natural History Museum, carousel and shopping! We were there over Palm Sunday, and attended service at the National Cathedral. Finley got to wear a beautiful dress from Carol Welch to church, she said she felt really pretty.

Once home, Finley was sick *again* during Easter, so we had to cancel all our egg hunts and brunch :(, but we still got to find eggs in the front yard, and Daddy made sure our non-chocolate eater got a few Cadbury eggs he knew she'd pass on to him :)

Birthday number 4 is coming up quickly, on the 16th of this month. We've planned a petting zoo and pony ride extravaganza, with some dinosaur decorations thrown in. And, Daddy picked up a BIKE for our big girl. It is blue, her favorite color. I think her head might spin off after all the festivities. We'll have Granny P and Grandparents Day in for the occasion, and too many friends from school and around the way to help us celebrate.

At nearly 4 Finley loves to sing and tell stories, read books and discuss dinosaurs, at length. She says hello to everyone, and skips from here to there most of the time. She rides her scooter with abandon, and loves to have play dates with her friends. Finley is a budding cook, and will get lots of fun cooking utensils from Mommy for her birthday. She's a happy, happy kid, and I think that's just about all you can ask for as a parent.

2011

2011-02-19T09:50:00.004-05:00

It's been a bumpy start to 2011, Greg's been super busy at work, and we've all had some form of illness going through the three of us. But, we've had lots of fun, too, and feel super lucky and blessed. Here are a few of Finley's new favorite things:

She may not like princesses or playing house, but Finley *loves* makeup. And having Mommy put polish on her nails. Now, she never leaves the house without a little gloss.
Our dinosaur girl expanding her knowledge of all things prehistoric with a new interest in excavation. We got this plaster of paris thing at Michael's where you dig out the bones archaeology style and then put the bones together. We did that for about two hours straight one day.

Watching Finley at the yard's bare spots for dino teeth is a fun way for Mom and Dad to get through a glass of wine at the end of the day. Oh, and if you are wondering whether your favorite dinosaur is an herbivore or carnivore, the time period from which it came and how big it is, Finley can tell you that, too.

Lily picked out this dinosaur rain ensemble for Finley, which includes an umbrella, rain coat and boots. She wears it rain or shine.

Holiday Cheer

2010-12-02T13:27:00.005-05:00

This picture of Lily post-American Girl goes first because this is *the* most important day all year for her, I think. :) The Days and the Barteks were here for our annual Thanksgiving dinner, and even Granny P was able to swing through LA before turkey day. We had 26 people this year!
Here's the table.
And then we went to The Grove for our Santa picture. Finley asked for a stegosaurus, brachiosauraus and a micro raptor for Christmas. In that order.

Fall Fun

2010-12-02T13:07:00.004-05:00

We kicked off Autumn with a trip to the pumpkin patch. Finley had fun riding the rides and picking pumpkins with her friends.
Next up was Halloween at school. This is one of Finley's favorite teachers. We had a last minute costume change from a horse to a lady bug.
Grandma, Papa, Laurie and Lily came to help trick or treat at Finley's school. Lily was a ninja or Hugh Hefner. I can't remember which.
Then we all went to Palm Springs. Much joy ensued at the Desert Zoo. We rode camels and a carousel and proceeded to swim our hearts out the rest of the week. Grandpa B and G Lynn came later in the week!

New York in September

2010-12-02T12:14:00.003-05:00

We tagged along a the last minute with Greg to NYC. He was there on business, and so were we. We had dinosaur business to attend to. The first day, Finley got to take a car seat-free taxi ride from our hotel in Tribeca to the Natural History Museum. We spent most of our time on the dinosaur floor, with a few quick glances at the animal and sea life taxidermy on the floors below.
We took our first NYC subway ride back downtown (Don't think she remembers all those Baby Bjorn subway rides in Toronto).
The next day was a stroll around Lower Manhattan and Finley's first Broadway show later that night. She was mesmerized by the singing Jane and Michael in Mary Poppins.
It was raining on the last day, so we went to Moomah for a morning of crafts and snacks. Daddy got finished with work earlier than expected, so we went back to the Natural History Museum to show him the dinosaurs.

First Day of School

2010-12-02T12:06:00.003-05:00

We made the gut-wrenching decision in August to switch Finley from the preschool she attended for a year via toddler group to our first choice preschool. And we're all so, so happy we did. While we made some great friends, the curriculum at her current school is perfect for her and her needs.

The the new school, Finley gets lots more attention, and has left her separation anxiety issues in the dust. The teachers have been sensitive to her few lingering motor issues, and as a result her confidence to try new things has skyrocketed. She can't wait to get to school every day to see her teachers and friends!

Henderson with Nancy

2010-10-20T21:35:00.005-04:00

We kicked off the month of September with a visit to Nancy's home in Henderson, Texas. We had a relaxing time in the country...

We got to pick pecans

Play with Jack, Jim McNee's beloved beagle.

Jim and Sheryl also brought Nancy's nephew Owen up for the day so Finley could chase him around. They had a blast playing with Polly Pockets and a new toy set called Dinosaur Train, based on a PBS show she'd just started watching. These wound up being the gateway toys to a whole new obsession with dinosaurs.

Growing Up

2010-08-20T17:08:00.004-04:00

Horseback Riding in Topanga

Well, people, we hate to break it to you, but our little baby is not a little baby anymore. This summer she has entered little girlhood, and it's all happening so fast! We've been up to a lot this summer, including the start of preschool, play dates and parties, farm and aquarium visits, swimming, gym class, music and horseback riding.

Laurie and Lily came to visit at the end of June, and we all traveled together back up to Chico via Monterey and San Francisco. Finley is still a big fan of sea lions, so we got to see lots as we moved from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to Pier 39. In Chico, we had daily swim practice and tons of play time with Lily.

Back home in July, we had our rescheduled bounce house party with all our friends. It was a little hot, but a great time was had by all. Finley started preschool around the same time, and made lots of new friends.

We did, however, make the difficult decision to move her to a different preschool this fall. It's a smaller school with a smaller class...in the end kind of like going from your state university safety school to your top pick private college. Both are good, but we feel she'll get more attention and stimulation to her budding math/science interests in the new preschool. Plus, it's a co-op so Mommy can come and go as she pleases as she (that's me) has a difficult time watching her baby little girl go to school.

August ushered in new lessons, including music, gym class and horseback riding. I'm just going to go ahead and say that while she likes them all, the horses have everyone beat. We went out today with our friends Kira and Izzy to Topanga, and they loved riding, too. Oh, and Grandma and Papa are here for the weekend, so there was a little extra showing off.

We have a few weeks left until school starts, so we'll be in the air and on the road, one trip to see Nancy and another to see Mickey Mouse. We'll try to be better with the updates as school starts!

And now, random photos:

Swimming with Papa in Chico

At the farm

Lily and Finley in Monterey

Sasha kisses

Things Finley Likes

2010-06-11T15:41:00.010-04:00

Hopefully these photos will give you a better idea of what we've been up to since, er, the first of the year. We had trips down from Laurie and Lily, Granny P (twice) and Grandpa Phil, & Grandma and Papa. We went to Palm Springs with Grandpa Bartek and G Lynn, and a trip to New Orleans for food, music and fun (and a little Zoo to Do for Mom and Dad).

Finley's birthday came and went, but with a fever and a party that will be rescheduled for later in the summer (hello bounce house!). The Hansens and Days were here, and that was all she needed to make her feel special on her birthday.

We've been to the zoo and aquarium, on train rides and bus rides, down to the beach to find sand dollars and sea lions. Stay and Play at school is done, and soon real preschool will start.

Finley is playing soccer with Dad, on a real team, and swimming with her face in the water and flippers on her feet. She loves music and her music lessons, and since New Orleans she requests Jeremy Davenport on the days she isn't pretending to sing and play like him.

Finley is a happy, happy girl. We get hugs and "I love yous" every morning, and lots of laughs and fun the rest of the day. We can't believe how lucky we got more than three years ago when she was born. She is our favorite girl in the whole world.

At three years old, here are some of Finley's favorite things:

Balloons from Nancy on her birthday

"Playing like Jeremy"

Being a Diver

Cookies! (Usually only three bites)

Inanimate objects that look like cats

School!

Train rides in Downtown L.A.

Friends :)

Sharing ice cream with her reindeer

Bubbles!

Beans and Rice (just rice, really)

The Beach

Swinging

Swimming

Easter in Texas

2010-04-28T17:12:00.011-04:00

Cats! Dogs! Pool! Bounce House! As far as Finley was concerned, this was the best trip...ever. We spent our first night in Texas with Grandpa B and G Lynn. If Finley was not wading in the chilly pool, she was chasing house cats Marissa and Cricket from room to room.

We spent the next evening in Downtown Dallas, after a great visit with Mark and Virginia, old friends from San Francisco. We committed a cardinal parenting sin on the way down by promising a trip to the year-round Christmas store...it was closed! So, we heard about it for the rest of the trip.

The next day we departed for Easter in Henderson, which could only be summed up in two words for Finley: bounce house. Yes, that's pretty much all she did. No egg hunting, no Easter bunny. Just bounce house. I think she vaguely remembers Nancy, Matt, Nancy's nephew Owen, and other members of her family with whom we had a great visit...

We wrapped up the Henderson visit with a nice big vomit on the Oriental rug, and then went back to Frisco for BBQ with the Barteks before heading back to Los Angeles.

Finley and Cricket

Bounce House

Jack, another animal to love.

Helping Daddy put out Easter eggs for other kids, so she could have the bounce house all to herself.

Easter dress, in front of church.

Finley at the 'Bu

2010-02-23T09:27:00.009-05:00

"Uncle" James Simpson was in over the weekend for a great visit! Among other things he & Greg had a boy's night at the Chateau Marmont and Buena Vista Cigar Club. Between the fun and odd weather (it could never decide if it would rain or be beautiful), the boy's took Finley to her favorite swings in Malibu (in the Paparazzi Free Zone, of course). Afterwards it was reward time with a cookie from Crumbs.

The Best Week Ever!

2010-02-16T13:21:00.012-05:00

What an amazing week with our amazing girl! First, the weather in Los Angeles has gone from frigid and wet to gorgeous and warm. How about 80 degrees and sunny this weekend!

Early in the week, we all had dinner with Angela's old friends from UT, Toni Harrison at Katsuya in Brentwood. We had a great time catching up, and Finley proved very popular in this restaurant!

After dinner, Finley wanted some of her new drug of choice (better known as Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream), and of course Dad decided to brave the calories and take a dip in the deep end as well. Cheers!

On Sunday, it was Daddy time in the morning, and so it was off to Finley's second-favorite L.A. establishment, the Aquarium of the Pacific, where time was fulfilled at the touch-pool with the Stingrays, and the Sea Lion exhibit. She was so excited; we even saw a "diver" in the big tank!

That evening (this is Valentine's night remember), the family Day attended a lovely dinner at our neighbor's home with another neighbor couple and their children. Our childless hosts were hardly ready for what ensued... Poor people; we will never be invited back--Finley decided to entertain us all by climbing up to their piano and playing a few... Um... Bars? Thereafter a wonderful dinner, where Finley had to depart before dessert was even served... Yes, quality neighboring. Thanks Fin! Video attached for you to enjoy; the aforementioned neighbors are planning to get married this fall. The may reconsider children now... We'll keep you posted....

Monday was a quasi-holiday for Greg. After working until mid-afternoon, we pack up the car and headed to the beautiful South Bay town of Manhattan Beach, where we had a late lunch at our favorite seafood restaurant in L.A., Rock-N-Fish, where Finley colored, while Mom & Dad enjoyed Margaritas (Angela) and pints of Stella (Gregory), along with the most amazingly fresh seafood L.A. has to offer.

After that, it was down to the beach itself (about a block down from the restaurant) for fun in the sun-and-sand. Now, for those of you regular blog-readers, you may recall that Finley has a serious aversion to sand; especially on her feet. Well... That is done! Not only did she race all over the beach, but spent so much time in the water that she was crying when she finally had to get out. What started as needing some "back-up" (i.e.; Mom or Dad hanging on to her), turned into

"Finley do it"! She was FEARLESS! The waves were HUGE yesterday. Baywatch's, er, L.A.'s finest (Lifeguards) were patrolling the surf line, as the beach was reg-flagged (experts only). But Finley was certain this was "for her" and spent nearly 2 hours in and out of the surf. This child is amazing in her ability to decide what she wants to do, and then do it, regardless of her underlying fear. Very determined little girl!

The day was so much fun that we stayed until the twilight hours, before heading off to Manhattan Village, where we stopped to get the girl some dry clothes.

It was a great week, and weekend!!!

Potty Training

2010-02-09T22:01:00.003-05:00

Potty Training officially began a few weeks back, but, this was merely the beginning. Now? It's on! Full-on bribery folks. Once the Bi-Rite Creamery emerged as Finley's drug of choice, we knew we were on to something! No potty? No Ice Cream! And with that, Operation Ben & Jerry's was born. We are on a roll... Next stop: Bye-bye pacifier....

On another note, thank you to the Baedeker clan (Peter & Erica of course, but also Bob & Rosemary, as it was their house we all invaded) for the amazing Superbowl Sunday extravaganza, where all of use New Orleans ex-patriots saw our team CRUSH the Indianapolis Colts. Who Dat indeed. While there, Finley had an amazing time with her "cousins" Taj & Tia, and her "boyfriend" Cooper. (The former are of course Peter & Erica's beautiful children, the latter is Mike & Karrie Devries' older and very tolerant son; a handsome devil in his own right!). We also had the opportunity of having an amazing hair-stylist on hand (Erica, thank you) who gave Finley a little hair cut. The back of Finley's hair (you may have noticed) was getting quite long. That was good. However, it was really only growing in the center, and thus was becoming a rat tail-mullet hybrid; that was bad. Thanks to Erica it all looks right again!

San Francisco Days, San Francisco Nights

2010-02-09T21:32:00.008-05:00

We drove up to San Francisco to see Tina & Jonathan get married. As you can see, Finley enjoys a good limo ride (aka "the GMC Acadia"). We made a mini-break out of it, and stayed at the Campton Place Hotel, which was fantastic. Finley instantly got up on the ledge against the glass, to look for "the Orange Bridge". (She is used to staying at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (our usual place) and our room generally has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is in fact, orange). After she got over the fact that the bridge was not going to be able to be seen "on demand", she settled into the room nicely. She quickly made friends with the doormen, maids, and all staff in general.
We were fortunate enough to be able to have dinner with our great friend Megan Kovacs (ne: Osborne) one evening at the new (second location) of Chez Papa. Amazing, and fun for all! We also were lucky enough to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in our old neighborhood, Delfina. It has changed a bit, but not much. Same small, but distinct menu, and wonderful, warm service. Also in that neighborhood was our old market, the Bi-Rite. Before you roll your eyes about us blogging about a market... It you haven't been.... Shut it! IT-IS-THAT-GOOD. Point being, that the 'ol Bi-Rite has expanded, and now has a creamery across the street! (Thank God this did not exist while we lived there, or we each would weigh 300 pounds!!).

At the Bi-Rite Creamery, Finley finally had her first-ever ice cream cone!! It was a real hit, and she did really well consuming it. While in the city, we also saw our friends Chip & Regan Scovic, and their beautiful daughter, Sydney. She is so sweet, and the family Scovic looks great! Speaking of looking great, Teresa Salcedo-Healy is in the final month of her pregnancy, and she and John expect their first child in early April.

Tina & Jonathan's event was fantastic. A GREAT time had by all, and we were so excited to have been invited. Laurie and Lily pinch-hit for Grandma & Pappa, who could not make it at the last minute, and without their help, we would never have been able to make the trip.

The five of us had a fun farewell brunch at La Boulange (thanks Chip & Regan!) in Angela's first S.F. neighborhood, Russian Hill. Thereafter, the Day's were on the road back to Los Angeles, and the Hansen's were off to Pier 39.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2010-01-04T17:28:00.020-05:00

Wow! The holiday season really flew by! The last time we posted (which seems like a week ago!) we had just returned from San Francisco, and we hosted friends and family for Thanksgiving. Well... Suddenly, Christmas is over and we are into a new year and new decade!

Christmas First. Finley enjoyed her third Christmas (no, the math is correct... She was born 05/16/07), and first one with "Grandma & Pappa" in Chico. She had a blast (as did we) with them, as well as Cousin Lily and Aunt Laurie.

It took a little time, to warm up to the Christmas Tree and the idea of Santa Claus, but once she decided she "was all in", it has been exceedingly difficult to explain that Christmas is just a once-a-year type of deal...

Oh, I can see the issues in a few years already... But she loves Christmas Lights, Reindeer, Santa and all things Christmas. She is still "a little bit scared" of Santa, but she is anxious for his return. She ate way "off plan" (but that's the holiday's isn't it? And didn't we all?), and we suffered for a few days, but all is right with the world again now. It did however give us the window for potty training. She likes the idea of it, but, it is terribly inconvenient.

Now onto the new year. January 1st saw the Ducks of Oregon fall to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the famed Rose Bowl! Our friends Chip & Regan were down from San Francisco, as were the Chalmers krewe with Eli, Andy and Brady for a little game time... Unfortunately (Duck fans all) the result was not what everyone had hoped for. Nevertheless, good times and a great start to the 2010!

Finley starts back to her toddler program (pre-pre-school) tomorrow, Greg is back at the office today, and Angela is getting ready for the BCS Championship Game, this Thursday (also here in L.A. at the Rose Bowl) where we hope that the Texas Longhorns will defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide! Happy New Year to everyone!!

San Francisco Visit

2009-11-30T18:09:00.008-05:00

Finley chasing birds behind the Ferry Building

The Day family recently spent a long weekend in San Francisco to attend Megan's wedding. We had a great time roaming the city before the big day, visiting old friends and old haunts. We visited Pier 39 and ate at a great pub in Ghirardelli Square with James on Thursday.

Friday was beautiful day, which we spent walking Union Square, the Marina District, Nob Hill (swings! slides! birds! fountains!) the Ferry Building and Chrissy Field. Finley had fun going "Wheeee!" down Lombard Street, and we topped the day off with a dinner at One Market.

Pretty wedding, beautiful bride

Saturday was Megan's wedding in Novato. It was a beautiful ceremony, and we had a great time catching up with old friends.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-30T17:56:00.002-05:00

Soooo, guess it's about time for me to step in here and do some blogging. We've had some, er, space issues that are now resolved so I should be able to do more frequent update without incident.

Finley just had her first "real" Halloween this year, which included a wee bit of trick-or-treating and a wee bit of ladybug costume wearing. Miles was a ladybug, too. Here's her first trick-or-treat house:

Nancy came to town, and we all got into the spirit some hat wearing and candy eating. Greg was a Keep Austin Weirdo with his trucker hat, mullet wig and tattoo arm sleeves. You can see him in the video above. We finished off the evening with a visit to Kira and Izzy's house for more trick-or-treating and a great time for the parents.

It's Raining!

2009-10-13T20:55:00.004-04:00

A rare sight in Los Angeles this time of year... Rain! And, really, Finley has never been old enough to understand what "rain is". When we moved here she was just a baby, and, well... It does not rain too often. We have tickets to Games 1 & 7 (7 only if necessary) of the National League Championship Series, which, with the Los Angeles Dodgers having the best record in Baseball in 2009, have home field advantage throughout! The Dodgers have not had a rain out at home in 20 years... Hopefully Thursday the water works get turned off. Quick post, thought the pic was super-cute.

Fall Days in L.A.

2009-10-12T14:36:00.005-04:00

Fall has come really fast here in Southern California! It was gorgeous Indian Summer weather for a couple of weeks, and suddenly... Cold! (For us wimps here anyway!) Despite the cooler weather, Finley always insists on going to the beach! The girl loves the beach and ocean. This pic was from yesterday morning after breakfast (Finley's "usual" at Coast Cafe at Shutters is "Awful", or, "Waffle").

This was followed by a day of swinging in the front yard and playing with her little buddy Miles. She loves that dog so much, it really is a shame he rarely returns the sentiment.

We are in the process of potty training (going too slowly), and speaking in complete sentences (going too quickly). She remembers where everything is, so there is no hiding anything in the house (especially cupboards). She can now count to 15, and likes to mimic Mom & Dad.

She is a very playful little girl, who is always "running", laughing, and generally smiling. (See Mickey Mouse ears, where she proclaimed "I'm a mouse!). Her "friends network" in pre-pre-school is expanding, so she is learning her social manners very well, and has decided that she will forever forgo the use of any "booster seat". She still occasionally utilizes the high-chair, but no booster, no how! Her torso is long/tall enough, whereby at most standard chairs/tables, her elbows clear the table's top, so she is most comfortable in the "big girl chair" than anyplace else.

Playdough is also a really big deal; she is obsessed, as is rolling on the grass with Miles.

That is all for now. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada! In the U.S., try and keep the Columbus Day festivities under control. Day's... Out!

Early Fall in Texas Hill Country

2009-09-21T20:14:00.007-04:00

Just back from a wonderful week in Austin, Texas with Grandpa B & G-Lynn (better known as the family Bartek) at their beautiful vacation home at Barton Creek. It was a big Texas football weekend as well (Angela and her Father are a University of Texas alumni), with Texas avenging their only loss last year to Texas Tech, and Finley becoming a Little Longhorn (see the burnt-orange dress above~her favorite color btw!).

Golf was on hand for Greg & David (as well as Lynn a couple of days, who had her personal best score on the Canyons course!), and shopping and pool time for the girls (Greg spent all day Saturday with the family at the pool and pre-game fun). The days were amazing and the nights fun-filled with old university favorites like Maudie's and The Salt Lick, as well as some great views from Steiner Ranch, one of the best steak houses we had been to in Texas!

It was a quick trip, so we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to see, but hope to be back and visit family and old friends again soon!

Lazy Summer Days

2009-08-24T17:52:00.003-04:00

These are the lazy days of summer here in Los Angeles. The days move a little slower, and the air is a bit more still. Before we had Finley, you might have found us enjoying this type of weather on our front porch in New Orleans, sipping something cool (and Greg probably smoking a cigar) and winding the day away. Now? It's a 24/7 Finley-a-thon!

She continues to develop so well! Her speech is really improving dramatically each day (in fact we have to be careful what we say); we never realized how often we must say the word "sorry", as it has become a staple in Finley's vocabulary. Pre-pre-school starts its "fall session" in a couple of weeks, and until then, we continue to enjoy the amazing weather. Finley starts asking to "go outside?" at 6:30 a.m. She simply never wants to be indoors. After "walks" with Miles, she and our first born (the furry guy to her left in the pic above) like to stretch out on the cool grass in the front yard for a spell. If only it were long enough for Mom and Dad to relax too...

Dog Days of Summer

2009-08-10T17:33:00.008-04:00

It's tough here in Los Angeles... You know... Hot town, summer in the city.... Unless you are Finley and her best buddy Charlotte "Charlie" Collard. These two babies are living the good life, pool-side in Cabana at the Shangri-La Hotel. It's their way of... giving back. After all what good is a cabana boy if there is no one using a cabana? Win-Win I say. You go girls!

Good Habits Start Young; New Orleans Redeaux

2009-07-13T23:12:00.004-04:00

From our recent New Orleans dispatch, here is Finley learning early the social graces that are really important!

Now, at every meal, this ritual is repeated, to the joy of both Finley and all those she wishes Sante'!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T13:23:00.008-04:00

Few things are better than backyard BBQ's on the 4th, and our Independence Day did not disappoint! We started the day with a little BBQ of our own for lunch (you know, to "build a base" for the day), then after the appropriate waiting time for the food to digest, Finley went swimming in her little paddle pool, and we basically couldn't get her out in time for the Collard family's BBQ, so, arriving fashionably late, Anne, Dave, Charlie and Will provided the perfect late afternoon soiree. There were about 5 kids~All girls~so little Will was the king of the castle whether he knew it or not... Wonderful food and friends made it a 4th to remember!

And, because we could not get enough of the amazing L.A. weather, the Day's and Collard's made a trip to Malibu on the morning of the 5th for play-time on the swings there, and viewing of the fish tanks at the Lumberyard. While there, D.J. Hawaiian shirt spun some great tunes to get your hula-hoop on to! Angela did, and Finley tried...

Summertime Funtime!

2009-06-29T13:31:00.007-04:00

The summer is off and running in gorgeous Los Angeles! Finley is in the middle of two weeks of her first official Swimming Lessons! Angela and Finley are swimming every day (Monday-Friday) at a private group lesson in near-by Sherman Oaks. Some pictures of her first day...

She loves swimming, and loves to dunk her head under the water! After a successful first week, she received a reward (see below).

"...Way down South in New Orleans"

2009-06-29T12:17:00.009-04:00

That's how the song goes anyway... Greg and Peter Baedeker were supposed to be touring Spain on a "Man-Cation", when we got the great news that Peter was promoted to President of the Henry Wine Group! Naturally, the Spain trip had to be postponed, but since time-off was already scheduled, we decided to go on a family trip, and we decided to go to our old stompin' grounds of New Orleans.

Angela had not been there since Hurricane Katrina, so we thought it would be a fun trip, to see old frineds, and introduce Finley to yet another great locale! It was really beautiful, but you can tell that the city is really on a precipice. Many businesses are closed and many services are cut back.

That said, a quick highlight of the trip. First, it was H-O-T. Now, unless you have live there it is impossible to describe the overwhelming heat that seems to (Angela Day quote here) "wrap its arms around you like a hug that never lets go". We stayed in a lovely room at the Windsor Court Hotel. With W.C. as our base camp, we set out each day to show the city off to Finley. We made a couple of stops to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville on the back-side of the French Quarter. I know that most people think of it as "touristy", but even when we live there, we went all the time. We had never had a bad meal, or, perhaps as importantly, a bad drink, and that streak continued!

Most people probably do not realize that New Orleans has a lot more to do than eat and drink (although we managed to do quite a lot of that as well). They have a huge Audubon Nature Institute, and are part of the Audubon Trail. We went to Audubon Park uptown and saw the most amazing of creatures. Finley was chased by a duck! We took the street car up and down St. Charles Avenue, stopped by our old house, which has seen better days (safe to say they did not apply for FEMA aide), and went to a couple of our old neighborhood haunts, Le Boulangerie and Le Crepe Nanou. Finley got to see the Audubon Insecterium and the Aquarium of the Americas, as well as sat through (a bit restlessly as her 3-D glasses did not quite fit) her first IMAX movie: Wild Ocean; about the natural habitats of Ocean creatures along the African Coast. All of which she thought was pretty cool. Speaking of cool, she also loved playing with Eva Weigle, the adorable daughter of of great friends Kurt and Caitlin that we saw both at Sunday brunch at Commander's Palace, and at dinner at the aforementioned Le Crepe Nanou (we lived the same neighborhood).

We saw some other old friends as well. We visited Janice Padwa and Eydie Barber at the Hotel Monteleone after a day that began with Beignets at Cafe du Monde, and by 3pm had finished with Pimms Cup's at Napolean House. (How that became a New Orleans cocktail,one will never really know). We had drinks and a bite to eat with our great friend Jerome Mosley at Pat O'Brien's in the French Quarter. We had lunch with Chalon Viosca and Linda Cogliati (Fairmont alum) at Drago's and had some amazing BBQ Oysters, and we saw Mark Wilson (also Fairmont alum) there, who is now the Director of Sales and Marketing at my old hotel (formerly Fairmont), the Roosevelt, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which will (re)open soon. Dinner at Gautreau's was very emotional. The restaurant has changed a bit (for the better, if that is possible), but this was "our place". We ate there at least 2-3 times a month, and had a wonderful relationship with the staff and the owners. We had an amazing evening there. We saw our great friend Jeremy Davenport perform at his club, The Davenport Lounge at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and enjoyed the "Daveportini's" while Finley danced and cooed at Jeremy. Our final dinner was the very best of all. Restaurant August, by Chef John Besh. This was amazing! We had so much fun, and of course Finley was the perfect child, considering the late hour (we might have enjoyed the Davenportini's too long?). Although I spoke to Jeff Dennison several times, our schedules never allowed a connection, which is sad. Jeff is a really terrific friend, and not seeing him while in town was disappointing.

All in all New Orleans continues to be a place with a real draw for our family. It is hard to explain unless you have lived it. It really becomes a part of you. It is a really special city in America, and we will definitely be back. Perhaps not in June again, but....

2 Year Update

2009-06-04T11:15:00.003-04:00

I'm using the 6-week preemie rule as the reason I'm late on my 2 year update, as it's the last time I'm supposedly able to do so. Here are a few things Finley is up to these days:

-Knows whole alphabet

-Counts from 1 to 10

-Can tell you most animals, like cat and giraffe

-Speaking in full sentences, as in "I have poo!"

-Loves to garden, and smell flowers

-Keenly interested in birds and other flying objects

-Loves to dance and spin around with Mommy

-Hates school, but likes the older kids

-Still loves stickers, coloring, reading, tooth brushing and playing in water

-Likes playing basketball and soccer with Dad, says "goal!" when she throws the ball in the net

-Runs everywhere

She's definitely not a baby anymore! We're phasing out the pacifier, and since she can now tell us when she poops or pees, we'll be in full on potty training mode very soon. We're going back to New Orleans this month (finally!), so once we've blown out her excretory system with beignets and gumbo I'm sure she'll be happy to sit and expel for a while.

I went out of town last weekend for the first time away since she was born, and Finley and Daddy had a great weekend together. They went to Malibu, and BBQed with the Collards. Finley is much more adventurous with Daddy, so it was nice to come home and see her talking more and a bit more physically confident (Daddy doesn't carry her around as much as I do). Maria watched her, as did our new helper Carmen. Ah, Carmen. She speaks mostly Spanish, so now Finley does as well. We get a lot of si, si, si and dos mios from her now.

We'll update you soon on our trip and Finley's 2 year measurements!

Finley Turns Two!

2009-05-17T09:13:00.005-04:00

Finley turned two on Saturday, and we celebrated with a Blues Clues backyard birthday party. The Hansen/Day clan came down from Chico, and Aunt Val flew in from St. Louis. James "the Simpsonator" Simpson was also on hand, just down from San Francisco, to help with the bar, ice, and general babysitting duties.

Everyone really pitched in to make it a special day. Here's a link to photos from the day, with many pics courtesy of the wonderful Collard family: http://www.flickr.com/photos/finleybeeday/

We had a beautiful Southern California day on which to celebrate, and hold a few competive rounds of pin the tail on the donkey and potato sack races. Of course, we adults we dusted by Lily and Daiela. There were plenty of adult beverages and lovely food from 3 Square Bakery to soothe our egos.

With all the excitement, Finley took a powder around noon, but was back in the game just in time for some strawberry shortcake birthday cake, and some fun with balloons.

Thank you to everyone far and near who helped us celebrate, the calls, emails and birthday tokens. You really made the day special for our sweet girl.

Photos Updated

2009-04-24T18:49:00.003-04:00

Sorry it's been a while. You can likely expect fewer posts in the future, as Finley is usually attached to one or both of my arms these days. She started school last week, and is in a toddler program with me on Wednesdays. So far, so good.

The picture updates are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/finleybeeday and you will see we had lots of good times with the Welches and Newells. Grandparents Bartek also came to visit at the beginning of the month, but we got too busy to take pictures! This month we had even more friends visit, including the Hess Family, Tom and Laura Sebekos, Tina Divita, and Grandparents Day came back down as well. With so many visitors, Finley is feeling very loved, and so are we.

Finley is finally over a three week cold which coincided with her final four bottom teeth coming in. That was not fun. We went to Santa Barbara last weekend for a quick getaway. That was fun. We're heading to NYC next week for a long weekend and to see some friends there, too.

Finley will be turning two on May 16th, so if you think you might be in the area and would like to come to a Blues Clues backyard birthday brunch, email me at abartekday@msn.com and I will send you the evite.

Just a reminder on the photos, you may want to click on the Collections at the left to see all of the photos from that particular time. Otherwise you might not see them all just scrolling through the main page. I finally found our lost Christmas pictures, so you'll see those first!

Catching Up!

2009-03-09T11:20:00.006-04:00

These are pictures from a whole month ago when Granny P was in town. We had lots of fun! This is the park behind LA County Museum of Art, and in this park you will find the La Brea Tar Pits. That's an actual pit of tar behind us in the last picture.

We've had several visitors since then, including the Kaplan family from Las Vegas and the Grandparents Bartek, who were just in last weekend. Once again, we did not take pictures, so we are relying on others to send us the ones they took

In the past month, Finley has turned into a total nut! I mean, she is C-R-A-Z-Y! She can run now, so that's what she does for a good hour or two in the evenings before bed. She makes a loop through the living room, kitchen and her room. The other night, her loop included a tasting of peanut butter in Miles' dog bowl...peanut butter that encased his anti-anxiety medication.

Yeah, so turns out it was a med that is used also for OCD in children so she got really mellow about an hour later. Our doc said it would be okay to let it pass through.

Words are getting better, she can say a few garbled sentences, and most notably "no". Finley still sounds like Nell, but we are able to translate for her.

Finley still loves to collect rocks (no more licking!), and color, color, color. She has added Tickle Time and Sticker Sticking to her list of favorite things to do. It is finally warm enough outside for her to play in her Sand and Water Activity Center, so that is an almost-daily activity as well.

We've been having fun with our friends, going to the park, the zoo, Tots Club and the indoor playground whenever we can.

I'll have more updates this month of Grandparents Bartek visit and the upcoming visits from Newells and Welches. If you haven't seen any Flickr updates, that's because I haven't done any in about 6 months. Sorry about that.

Toddler Bidness

2009-02-17T18:10:00.004-05:00

Finley has been busy with toddler business lately, and so we haven't had much time to blog! We've been coloring, running, talking, playing, throwing, kicking, clapping, dancing and visiting with friends and family. Above she is even teaching Daddy a little bit about every day Toddler Bidness, which includes Thomas the Train Tent Time.

Grandma and Grandpa Day made a quick trip down a couple of weekends ago. We went to the Hollywood Bowl overlook on Mulholland Drive where you can see all of Los Angeles, from downtown to the beach.

Even Daddy, who's deep into awards season business, took some time off, too! That's the Hollywood sign behind us. Granny P came in the weekend after, and she will be sending us some pictures soon.

Just One of Those Days

2009-01-27T14:43:00.002-05:00

It's just one of those days. The house looks like a crayon and stuffed animal explosion, and the child is running and screaming (or is that laughing maniacally?)around the house. And then this (see above). Do you pick it all up off the day-before-the-maid-comes kitchen floor, or do you just say screw it and let them keep eating? Because you know what, people? I give. Uncle. I have been defeated by the toddler.

Finley was in the bed with us for half the night snoring--on my side--and was up with Greg around 5:00 a.m. No nap yet. She definitely takes the crown today.

Operation "I Like Sand"

2009-01-25T15:44:00.004-05:00

Summer will be here before you know it, so we are trying to get Finley to like sand. We took her out to the beach today, the first day that hasn't been cold or rainy in a while, and were successful in getting her to walk on the sand with shoes on.

Finley loves playing in water, so she had fun with that for a while. So much fun in fact, that we hedged our bets and took of her socks and shoes. Yeah, that didn't go so well. Finley strongly dislikes being dirty (gee, wonder where THAT comes from...) so the sand on her feet was just not happening. Thankfully, the Welches got us a Sand & Water play center for Christmas, so once we get some sand in that, maybe it will better introduce her the notion that being a little dirty is okay.

Finley has gone from walking to running pretty much everywhere, and she has little desire to sit in her stroller. She prefers to push her stroller or the shopping cart instead of riding. She's become a head strong toddler, so we are"bringing the hammer down" in terms of letting Finley know what is appropriate behavior and what is not. Dad's still a sucker for a little screaming, but he's holding his own and not letting her push him around.

Luckily, Finley takes correction/direction well, as she now understands most of what we're saying. Her vocabulary is increasing slowly, though we can ask her to show us most objects in the house, in her favorite books or outside, and she'll point them out. We can understand clearly the words yes, no, up, down, inside, outside, It's Joe!, wow, duck, Miles, chair, shower, bath, more and Dad.

That's all the updates I can think of for now. We have family coming in starting next weekend, so you'll see steady updates and new pictures very soon!

Hope

2009-01-16T22:22:00.002-05:00

http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com

Our sweet Finley continues to entertain and amaze us. She is now running, and talking more and more. We've accepted that she's going to be "one of those kids" that just has breath holding spells, and now we know how to deal with them. We spoke to a top L.A. pediatrician who really put our minds at ease. She said that her passing out during a major tantrum/crying spell is a natural way for her body allow her to breathe again. The passing out relaxes the muscles so she can get a breathe in. So, we both are CPR certified and ready for it to happen again someday.

But when it rains it pours, and our active little girl twisted her knee--during a nap!--this week, and she was limping around the house for a good day and a half. And wouldn't you know it, once we went to the doctor she put her full weight on the injured side and ran around the doctor's office--all healed! But now she has a cold, surely contracted in at the hospital...as my sister says, Murphy's Law of Pediatrics, on both accounts.

We are gearing up for lots of visits from family and friends. First we'll see our Toronto friend Anna, and then hopefully Grandma and Grandpa Day. Next up is Granny P, followed by Aunt Laurie and Cousin Lily (and a trip to Disneyland!), then Grandma and Grandpa Bartek. Whew! You can be sure to see lots more pictures posted here and Flickr in the near future.

ZOO TIME!

2009-01-11T23:36:00.008-05:00

Greetings from beautiful Los Angeles! It is quite unfair I know to our friends in Toronto, New York, St. Louis or even New Orleans these days with this crazy weather! O.K., I'll tell you quick... January 11th and 80 degrees (25c) and gorgeous. It has been nice in the past weeks in that I have not had to work my usual 6 days since the weekend after (U.S.) Thanksgiving, but, as the Awards season is upon us, those days are over! So, after a long week, the family all went to the Los Angeles Zoo today. It is a great zoo, lots of great green space and even though it is in the city, it feels like you are far, far away. Finley was pretty impressed with a lot of the larger-scale animals (Giraffes, Elephants), and less-so with the primates. She was totally thrilled with the touch-and-feel farm (petting zoo if you will?). She was absolutely nonplussed about the entire thing. Animal moving around, bigger than her? Not a problem. She was so happy there, it was tough to drag her away. Well, back to the awards and work... Angela will be back to the blog next week, and thus, the reduction in quality only a temporary one. Have a great week!

Second Breath Holding Spell

2009-01-06T11:28:00.001-05:00

This email pretty much sums it up. See previous post for some giggles:

Hi Dr. Rampal,

Finley had another breath holding spell yesterday afternoon, which I was able to see first hand. I put her down for a nap, which she clearly didn't want to do. I was present by her crib, and as I was getting reaching into the crib to get her back up, she never caught her breath from crying and passed out.

I immediately called 911, and as the ambulance was on the way, I stimulated her feet and back, jostled her a bit and kept talking to her. No rescue breaths were administered, and in about a minute she began breathing again on her own. She stayed "sleeping" but breathing for another 3-5 minutes and "woke up" while I was on the phone with 911.

EMS came and went, and we chose to call the doctor on call instead of going into the ER. I spoke with one of your partners, can't remember which one, who advised me to not allow her to manipulate me in such a way, so as to throw a tantrum that so severe that she passes out from trying to get her way.

You partner didn't have any feedback other than that. (Lengthy, expletive-filled paragraph regarding your chilly associate deleted from this portion of the email).

Finley has been playing, eating and sleeping normally since the incident. Let me know if you have any concerns/feedback, and we'll continue to carry on as usual.

Thanks,
Angela Day
310-945-xxxx

Finley Gets on the Bus

2009-01-06T10:54:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T21:43:00.001-05:00

Finley's excited about 2009...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-24T21:52:00.003-05:00

Captured Christmas Eve 2008. Here's Daddy reading to Finley during her first Christmas in Toronto in 2007.

Miss Day Goes to Washington

2008-12-17T10:49:00.008-05:00

We had a great time last weekend visiting Matt and Nancy in Washington D.C. We arrived Thursday evening, and had an amazing dinner at D.C. Coast, which is run by some folks who worked with John Besh in New Orleans. After a long but good plane ride, we were impressed that Finley made it through dinner. She climbed all the stairs and said hello to the lobbyists in the bar.

We stayed at the Hay Adams hotel, which is located right across from the White House...and looks suspicously like a Fairmont on the inside. The location was perfect for Friday's outing to see the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, and Vietman Memorial. It was cold, but Finley was well bundled. She slept the whole way.

We saw the beginnings of construction for the inauguration, which takes place right outside the White House.

Greg found his uncle's name at the Vietnam War Memorial.

Friday night the boys went to a cigar club, and the ladies stayed in at the hotel to catch up. On Saturday we went to Mount Vernon to see George Washington's old stomping grounds....

....and the Christmas Camel. Matt and Nancy then took us to Old Town Alexandria, where we had the best Greek Food we've eaten in a long time. After a wee nap, we went back to the same area for dinner at Vermilion.

Sunday we drove around the area and spent some time shopping in Georgetown. Then it was back on the plane and home again. Matt and Nancy were wonderful hosts, and we hope to go back for a longer stay since there is so much to see in D.C.

Santa!

2008-12-15T12:44:00.002-05:00

We were in Washington D.C. visiting Matt and Nancy last weekend, and we were able to get Finley thisclose to the Santa in Georgetown! More on that trip in a later post, just wanted to show you all this photo. He was kind of a pied piper Santa, he had a recorder and some bells on his foot to lure Finley in. Plus, there were no other people in line so we had plenty of time to get the shot above. Happy Finley had a good first experience with Santa.

Bananas!

2008-12-04T13:49:00.002-05:00

This is a video of Finley's morning banana routine. As you can see, it's a fairly large banana, and she'll eat the whole thing in about 3 minutes flat. This is her second banana of the day:

I'm posting this now because we went for Finley's 18 month check up, and the doctor felt she was a tad underweight for her age. For Finley's real age, weight was in the 10th percentile, and height 25 percentile. Taking into account her six-week preemie status, she would be 25th percentile weight and 50th percentile height for her corrected age (original full-term birth date).

We thought this was kinda odd, since we and all the waiters at Coast know that Finley is a really healthy eater. She typically knocks out 16 oz. of whole milk, 2 bananas, 1/2 a spinach pizza and an Odwalla bar or chik'n nuggets, in addition to some dry cereal and 8 oz. apple juice...on a slow day. That's more than 1000 calories a day for a 22 pound being.

My theory is that she's just now started walking all over the place and burning that many more calories. Or she has a tapeworm. So bring on another serving of guacamole and an extra vat of peanut butter, Finley's gotta eat!

Here's what else Finley's up to at 18 months:
-counts to 5
-tells us she wants to get up, get down, go outside or in the car
-dances
-colors
-imitates a cow, dog, cat, chicken and sheep
-points out her eyes, ears, hair, teeth, nose, feet, hands and belly button
-drinks out of a cup
-turns on the stereo to listen to Blues Clues in Dolby digital surround sound
-brushes her hair and teeth

Leftovers

2008-12-01T15:19:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had a whirlwind of a time with Greg's family in from Chico. They got here Wednesday night, and we all went to dinner at our favorite, El Cholo.

Thursday was busy, with Greg getting up at 4:00 a.m. to start smoking the turkey, and Angela, seeing that the turkey was done at 10:30 a.m. instead of 3 p.m., went out and got another turkey to smoke. Everyone pitched in to make Thanksgiving dinner, which was fun.

Friday was American Girl day at the Grove for Cousin Lily and Grandparents Day. She was talking about it for the two days prior, so everyone was pretty pumped for the trip. After that, I made everyone watch the Deadliest Catch marathon and eat as much of the heaps of turkey as possible.

Saturday was turkey gumbo day, and some shopping for all the girls aged 8 and over. Greg and his dad went to see Notre Dame get creamed by USC and they avoided getting shanked on the way back home.

Sunday was brunch at the hotel and on to the airport for the Chico folks, who unfortunately had to wait a few extra hours to take their one-hour flight back. But, they report to be home happy and well-armed with American Girl paraphernalia.

Next up for us is a much-anticipated trip to Washington D.C. to see Matt and Nancy on their home turf. Nancy has been travelling so much that we hope she will still remember where she lives.

Flickr Updated

2008-11-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/finleybeeday

Finley at 18 Months

2008-11-18T12:46:00.001-05:00

Video was made using Animoto.

Finley's Christmas Wish List

2008-11-14T12:47:00.001-05:00

Link is there on the top right, if there's something not on the list you'd like to get her, just email me at abartekday@msn.com.

Aaaand We're Walking!

2008-11-14T11:48:00.002-05:00

Finley started walking last week, and we got our first hidden camera shot of it on Sunday. Unfortunately, the power went out before we were able to get any more footage that night, then we were busy getting ready to go to Houston for Lois Lee Peden's funeral.

While we were there, Finley really took off. Must've been Mimi's spirit in the air, a lovely lady who lived life to the fullest, who gave Finley a little boost.

Mom and Phil are on their way here to L.A. today for a little sunshine and relaxation after a tough week. If the weather is not too hot, we're going to go to the L.A. Zoo.

A Few Photos from Cancun

2008-11-07T14:31:00.007-05:00

Mmmmm, guacamole. Finley loves guacamole. Not avocados, guacamole. She ate about a gallon of it in Cancun.

Grandpa and Finley chase the birds after breakfast. Finally got my camera on the right settings to take this pretty shot.

Finley was a bee for Halloween, though she should have just been a fish. She was in the pool every chance she got.

Cute view of her costume from behind.

Nancy and me and two little girls out trick-or-treating. All we had was Extra gum. They were pissed.

Felon.

2008-11-06T15:26:00.004-05:00

Shoplifting makes me sooo sleepy!

Adding more fuel to my concern that Finley will be a nonwalking, trash-digging delinquent, Finley has taken up shoplifting.

We were just at Baby Gap, trying to take advantage of their extra 25 percent off sale, where we saw the above cute, not-on-sale sweater. Finley nabbed it while we were on the way to the on sale section. I was in such a sale-induced haze that I forgot she grabbed it, and in my subsequent too long line-induced frustration, left the store.

The sweater blended in so well with Finley's bright pink and green outfit (the one Greg calls her "clown outfit". Obviously he doesn't like it. Of course he'd have her in boy clothes if he had the chance, but that's another blog entry altogether).

Mommy realized the sweater was on Finley's lap halfway through Macy's and one of two things may have occurred. She either a) made a mad dash for the car, stuffing the sweater in a large Bath & Body Works bag, deciding to keep the accompanying hanger in case they dug it out of the trash for DNA samples, looking behind her for walkie-talkie wielding mall security and above for hidden cameras, then hightailing it out of the parking garage, or b) she calmly returned to Baby Gap and, feeling so guilty, paid full price (something she never does in Baby Gap) for the sweater and left.

Anyhoo, we were in Cancun last week with the family, and Matt and Nancy, so pictures are forthcoming. The bulk were taken by family friend Scott Chalmers, who is still enjoying his time there with Cindy, the kids and grand kids.

American Girl

2008-10-24T21:10:00.003-04:00

Finley received her Certificate of Citizenship on Thursday, meaning she is officially recognized as a United States citizen. She does also retain her Canadian citizenship for the free college and health care upon turning 18. And, she can sponsor us back into Canada should our U.S. economy still be in the crapper.

Sorry for the lack of blog posting. I've recently become introduced and subsequently addicted to Facebook, so that's been taking up all my free computer time. We'll be on hiatus next week and back in the swing of blog things after that.

Finley's A Freegan

2008-10-16T14:21:00.005-04:00

"There's plenty of good stuff in here, people!"

After deciding that the dog's food is not so tasty, Finley has developed a fun new habit of digging through the recycling for extra nurdles of food. So now if she doesn't get into the right preschool I'm encouraged to know she could easily live a Freegan lifestyle.

And, ever since Greg started giving Finley sips of the devil's elixir, Diet Coke, she's been taking whippets of it on the sly.

Lest you think we're a bunch of trash-digging hillbillies, here's a picture of Finley at the Aquarium of the Pacific, which we visited last week. She especially loved sticking her hands in the tide pool and baby shark petting tank.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

2008-10-13T19:15:00.003-04:00

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, eh? It is that time of year when we give thanks for Canada and our Canadian baby. Tonight we'll drink some Labatt's and watch the CFL doubleheader. It is also an auspicous day because we just received notificiation that Finley can get her U.S. Certificate of Citizenship later this month! We need this to get her SSN and passport, and naturally, for preschool admission. Finley will soon be our little Canadian-American tax deduction.

Hope you all have some turkey and pumpkin pie, or you know, at least give thanks for our neighbors to the North.

In case you are seeing coverage of the fires northeast of Los Angeles, we are not really seeing much smog action down here by the coast. We are, however, starting to get sneezy from all the stuff the warm, fire-feeding Santa Ana winds are kicking up. Please think and pray for all the people in the San Fernando Valley who have lost homes, lives or are right now in harm's way.

The Great (Almost) Escape

2008-10-04T19:11:00.004-04:00

This weekend is an all-out assault on getting Finley to walk. She can't go to toddler programs in the area until she walks, which puts her at a disadvantage for getting into a good preschool, and if she can't get into the right preschool she will end up a convict instead of going to Stanford.

So, she's really not happy with us right now. In fact, she tried to escape as you can see in the video below:

Yes, she said "open". She can also say "outside" "get down" "all done" "I need/want that" "banana" and a number of other words, so maybe she can sweet talk her way into toddler school. You'll notice we have the walker out again, as suggested by Maria. So far it's worked fairly well to get her going, and not quite the devil's cousin we were told it was for getting kids to walk.

Speaking of escapes, Grandpa B and G-Lynn came in for a quick visit on Wednesday. Lynn was in on a layover, so Grandpa B took an earlier flight in to visit for the day. He'd been cleaning out the koi ponds for the prior three days, so he needed a little California relaxation.

We met up with Greg for lunch and then went down to Manhattan Beach to meet G-Lynn for dinner at Rock'N Fish, one of our favorite places to eat.

I will have more to report on Finley and toddler programs and preschool in the coming months. I went to a seminar called "Preschool Panic" on Friday and had the oldest child starting the search by a full year. So now I'm panicking.

Exhibit A

2008-09-30T18:45:00.003-04:00

Swingin' Along

2008-09-25T22:13:00.004-04:00

After a few hiccups, we're back to blogging. We had a nasty computer virus which kept the computer down all last weekend. If you ever wind up with the Antivirus XP 2008 or 2009, don't even bother with the antivirus or spyware currently installed on your computer. Three days and five foreign customer service agents later, I finally struck out on my own to find a fix for this. What I got was Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. And oh yeah, and it's free.

Also, I (Angela) badly sprained my ankle. I was making funny faces at Finley while going down a step and totally ate it. She thought it was really funny. It's mostly fine now, just took me out of commission for a few days. And, it's the most lovely shade of autumn plum. I would include a picture, but this week Chad's arm gets the Taking One for the Team blue ribbon.

We're done with Gymboree for the time being, or at least until Finley starts walking on her own. Yeah, no, not yet. But, I've found a mom's group that I'm going to check out next week, and also I'll start reporting on the preschool search. Hopefully neither will mind a crab walking 16 month-old.

Otherwise, Finley is sweet as ever, and we tell ourselves every day how lucky we are that she's ours.

Naked Days, Crazy Nights

2008-09-16T14:24:00.003-04:00

We're back from our trip to see the Welches in Missouri, and we had a great time! Finley got to meet Uncle Chad and Cousins Cooper and Lincoln for the first time. The Welches also recently moved, so we've just missed seeing each other for about a year...until now.

Finley loves her cousins. She played with 2 1/2 year old Lincoln most of the time, but absolutely fell in love with eight-almost-nine year old Cooper. Valerie was the more prolific picture taker, so check their blog sometime soon for the weekend's photos.

We went to the St. Louis Zoo, and had a couple of yummy meals out in St. Peters and Cottleville. But the best was made at home by Chad. If you haven't seen his recipes on their blog, go check them out. He's a great cook and the original source of that chili recipe most of you now have.

The little ones spent most of the days running around the house half naked, just having fun while we awaited the arrival of Hurricane Ike remnants. They blew over us just in time to make an easy flight back home. Too bad she brought the Central time zone back with her, so was up sooo early when we got back!

Unbelievable.

2008-09-08T19:23:00.005-04:00

This very large piece of play equipment arrived via FedEx today. It took two FedEx dudes to deliver it. My thinking was that this would a) encourage her gross motor development because, you know, she's still not walking, b) get her outside in the great weather, away from Blues Clues and c)allow us as a family to laugh, learn and love in an interactive and fun play environment.

Yeah well, what does Finley do? She beelines it for the rocks! You can see her chewing on them there in the background. I hope she becomes a gemologist so she recoup the cost for this at a later time, as I paid waaaay more for a bunch of plastic pieces than I'd like to admit.

Here I'm telling Finley, "start having some fun, dammit!"

I also enlisted Miles, but he's still mad about being in doggy day care over the weekend and would not help AT ALL.

Okay, there's a tunnel. Now we're having fun!

We had a wonderful, whirlwind weekend in Northern California where we saw a beautiful bride at a gorgeous wedding, two fantastic Baedeker twins and their equally fantastic parents. Too bad we didn't take pictures of any of it! Hopefully we'll be better this weekend when we go to see the Welches.

New Video

2008-08-28T13:37:00.003-04:00

Here's some new video of Finley. You can see her Evolution of Man-type walking, excessive use of the word "hi" and phrase "what's that?". Also included are better views of her baby teeth and baby mullet. And a few baby tricks. We're on our way to Toys R' Us to buy some things Gregory Day would not approve of, including unusually large yard toys and a swing. Have a lovely day!

My Daughter is an Oompa Loompa.

2008-08-22T13:00:00.003-04:00

hi. long time no blog.

We had Finley's 15 month checkup on Wednesday, and the doctor's only concern was her skin color. Apparently, Finley is somewhat orange. Not from the ample Southern California sunshine but from eating a lot of carrots and sweet potatoes (well, they are her favorites). We never noticed this before, and therefore were not too concerned with that or with her sometimes bumpy baby cheeks (yep, we covered these in good detail, too).

It's all fine and normal, it's just the price you pay when you have a newly minted pediatrician. She wants to cover eeeeeeeverything. Yes, I know not to leave her alone in the pool, and I promise not to let Finley burn to a crisp without sunscreen while drinking a Lone Star and aimlessly wandering the neighborhood.

But Finley does lick rocks. I let her do it. It makes her happy. I didn't tell the pediatrician.

As for the walking, still not happening. I don't know if I covered this before since I'm ~~too lazy~~ really busy and haven't looked at older posts. The physical therapist said there is nothing stopping her, it's only when she's ready to let go and do it. So, we're going to take her to a cognitive therapist to sit down and uncover what issues are truly holding her back. Are we too permissive? Is Miles giving Finley an inferiority complex? Is the Gymboree peer pressure too much? you know I'm kidding, right?

Now, for the raw data, as Anderson Cooper would say:

29.2 inches long/tall, 25th percentile
20.6 pounds, 20th percentile
totally awesome, 100th percentile

These are all real age stats, so for corrected age, she'd be right there in the middle. Also, her awesomeness would be off the charts. She really is that good.

We are back in the swing of things after a week of fun in the 110 degree sun in Chico with Grandparents Day, Aunt Laurie and Cousin Lily. Finley and Lily got their pictures taken together (email me if you want one, abartekday@msn.com) and had a great time playing. Jeff and Patty were so sweet to drive up and back with us, as we had Miles with us (Greg stayed in LA to work). It was an easy but long drive, and I felt like Jeannie (Shaunna) in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" driving home... "I can't slow down!!!"

What's next? We're going to Heidi and Ross' wedding in...somewhere in September and then on to St. Louis to see the Welches the weekend after that. We have one more physical therapy visit on Monday and a visit to the Long Beach Aquarium on Wednesday. And, Maria is back from Australia, and back in the babysitting game. Turns out she'll be in school here for another couple of years, so we are really happy to have her around. I'll update Flickr before September when I'm not ~~too lazy~~ really busy.

San Francisco Friends Edition

2008-08-08T22:15:00.007-04:00

We've been lucky to have so many friends come to visit us already. We missed all our San Francisco friends while we were in Toronto. This entry sums up their visits in the order in which they appeared:

Finley warmed right up to Megan in late May. She brought her some hair clips and a sunshine bath towel, so cute! Look for pictures of it when Mommy finally uploads more Flickr pictures.

James came in July, and learned the Way of the Puff. It is the key to any one year-old's heart and any parent's need for a moment of sanity and quiet.

Tina was just in town last night. Finley was so well behaved when we went out to dinner. Obviously this picture is not from last night. It is circa 2002, during one of the gang's St. Patrick's Day adventures. Maybe the one where they went on the aqua bus and Megan lost Greg's dead grandpa's scarf? Since we didn't get a shot of Tina and Finley together, here is this lovely Photoshop jobbie. It actually works because Tina is one of those people who never seems to age. Seriously, she still looks as good now as she does in the six year-old pic above, while I'm looking into Restalyne before my 34th. What is her secret???

Grandparents Day are coming in tomorrow for a couple of days, and then Finley, Miles and I are off with them to Chico for the week. I fully assume I will be sleeping in, catching up on reading and working on my tan while Jeff and Patty dote on Finley all day. Right? :)

Earthquake!!!

2008-07-29T16:21:00.003-04:00

We just had a 5.4 magnitude earthquake this morning, and we are just fine. Nothing fell, and no one was sucked into a gaping hole in the ground. We happened to be in a part of the house (the closet) where there is a really thick door frame, so I just scooped up Finley and waited it out there. I'd just taken a shower and was therefore in a state of semi-undress. I really prayed hard that this wasn't the Big One, as I'd hate to be running around the neighborhood in my undies.

So what's new with Finley? I know it's been a while. As you can see from the video above, the Big One around here is learning to walk. Finley's a bit behind on this, but clearly making progress. While she's not outside of the "normal" time frame for beginning to walk, we're going to go forward with physical therapy in a couple of weeks, just to learn a few new tricks.

Finley can talk up a baby storm, mostly in her own baby language. But, we can make out a few words like glasses, duck, dog, tree and video. Yes video. She loves Baby Einstein: Riding, Sailing, Soaring and Blues Clues. I have succumbed to the television, even though some official parents group says that I'm now the devil.

Finley is getting longer and longer. She's 29 inches, which means Finley is officially half my size. She weighs about 21 pounds and has two teeth, one on top and bottom in the front, and both on the left side. Scratch that, I just felt, and she has her right front bottom tooth coming in right now! We're still learning to eat independently, she wants little to do with the spoon and everything to do with Puffs.

Last thing, her EKG came back normal, the last lingering thing from "the incident". No more concerns with that.

New photos coming soon.

The Return of the Baedeker Twins

2008-07-16T20:59:00.004-04:00

Peter, Erica, Taj and Tia came down to Southern California for the week, making a pit stop here in L.A. They are so fast that this was the only picture of them that didn't come out blurry.

We all went swimming, which was lots of fun.

ALTE, TEAL, LATE, TALE...it's all same, really

2008-07-09T17:13:00.002-04:00

Just back from the doctor, and here's our answer:

ALTE-Apparent Life Threatening Event.

Really? Really.

This is the medical term for "I have no clue what happened to your child." Finley got an EKG anyway, just for kicks.

Anyhoo, back to life as usual. I updated Flicker with about a months' worth of pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/finleybeeday/

FinleyWatch 2008

2008-07-07T11:14:00.003-04:00

So here she is, all happy and normal. We've been watching Finley like obsessive-compulsive, sleep deprived hawks all weekend. In doing my e-diagnosis via mayoclinic.com and other medical sites, we assumed a febrile (fever-induced) seizure. However, our real doctor, to whom we spoke on Saturday, does not believe this to be the case since Finley did not register a fever at any time after the incident. And we've taken her temp approximately 50 times since.

We're going to see Dr. Rampal on Wednesday, at which time she'll determine what course of action to take. From what we've told her, she thinks Finley just had a breath holding spell and that this is a one-time occurance. We've put the time between the incident and the appointment to see if she does it again, which would point back to the febrile seizure since they happen in clusters, but of course no temp registered so we're back to the breathing holding theory.

As you may have guessed, I did not get on the plane this morning to drive with Nancy. She is already on her last leg to Alexandria today. We've put the grandparents' trip down here on hold as well until we get past Wednesday.

We'll keep you posted.

Scary.

2008-07-04T01:54:00.003-04:00

We just got home from the E.R., Finley had a febrile seizure tonight. She is just fine. Our babysitter was here with her while we were out to dinner when it happened. Finley seized and went unconscious for a bit, and Maria gave her rescue breathing and some jostling to get her snap her back. Maria also called 911, and paramedics were at the house in a matter of minutes.

We are most grateful for Maria and her quick thinking and actions. She felt so horrible, but we kept telling her that she did an amazing job, which of course she did.

At the E.R., Finley had a CT scan and got poked and prodded, and was discharged without a hitch. We'll take her back to our primary care doctor in a couple of days for follow up.

We're still in a bit of shock, as you can imagine. After coming home and reading about febrile seizures, we now know that they occur in 1 in 25 children, and are often the first sign of illness or fever.

So that's our night. We'll keep you posted, though we're assured she is a-ok. Here is a cute picture of Finley in her wading pool as a mental sorbet for this serious post.

The Afternoon

2008-06-30T20:40:00.003-04:00

One of Finley's favorite afternoon activities, pulling wet wipes from the package...pantless.

So I've been thinking on this Finley's afternoon blog entry, and it's just a blur of Noggin, books, Baby Einstein, wagon rides, chasing Miles, going through all her toys 10-15 times, screaming, and eating some more. The only static activities are: walking Miles at lunchtime and dinner time, and feeding Finley three hours after her morning feed and then again three hours after that one. And one nap, no specific time on that.

We are working on walking, which she hates since she is so efficient a crawler, and enunciating our words and phonic sounds, since she talks like she has a mouthful of marbles. I have heard every letter sound out of her mouth, albeit usually at a very high pitch, so I know she knows. She does love to talk, and point and have you tell her the name of everything.

You shouldn't need to go to the store, but know that she loves riding around in grocery carts. She's beginning to dislike the stroller. We have a wading pool in the back yard, she likes that, and so does Miles. He'll want to get in and stand in it too.

Morning Routine

2008-06-25T12:00:00.005-04:00

St. Patty will be coming the week after next to watch Finley while I travel halfway cross country with Nancy. Patty would like to know our usual routine, so I am placing it here in digestible portions so Patty will not cancel if she hears it all at once. I will start with Finley's morning routine:

5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.
This is when Finley wakes up. You will have to be up, too. She will want to play for a bit, then have her bottle. Greg will walk Miles, making Greg's breakfast while he showers is optional. If you do, it's three eggs scrambled with Lawry's seasoned salt and garlic pepper, one piece of toast buttered and microwaved for 10 seconds, three links of turkey sausage microwaved for 43 seconds, large glass of orange juice and some fruit. Not bananas. Or, oatmeal with 2/3 cup hot water from the dispenser, stirred and then microwaved for 18 seconds. Yes, he knows if you do it differently.

6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
You can take advantage of the 10 minutes when Greg is eating breakfast for yourself to caffeinate, shower or eat something. Place Finley in her high chair next to Greg and she will eat a bit of toast. Go do your thing, quickly. Otherwise you're in for a pits 'n privates cleaning, or an audience for your bath or shower later (see below).

7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Playtime! Finley likes to play with all of her toys, crawl about 10 laps around the house, stick her fingers in sockets, open the fridge, grab wires, read all of her books and poop at some point. Try and get her to walk, too. This is when you can shower with an audience (see above), eat or do any You things you didn't get to do in the 10 minutes when Finley was preoccupied with toast and Dad.

You may or may not get an eye-rubbing signaling either alone-to-poop time or a nap. If you get a nap here, do not do anything for yourself, as she will sense your stepping on the treadmill or into the shower and immediately wake up. If you are lucky enough to get a nap, sit really still, thank Jesus and watch the rest of the Today Show. She may sleep for 30 minutes or an hour and a half, depending on how early she woke up. Then again, she is trying to consolidate naps and may just wait until after 12:00 p.m. to sleep, at which time she will sleep for about 2 1/2 hours.

10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Feed Finley. She gets barley cereal and a fruit. She may want her own spoon with which to fling food or make you eat pureed prunes. She will also scream at you. Keep shoveling food in her mouth anyway. Once you are done, get out of the house (with the baby). Go down to Clover Park or take a walk around the block. You can also drive to the beach, park at the hotel and walk, too. Or go to Target. She likes Target. Thursday at 11:00 a.m. is Gymboree day, so make sure you get all the dirt off her and go do that.

If you leave the house, there is the Miles routine. You will see that we have purchased what we affectionately call the Baby Jail. This is where Finley goes when you absolutely need to corral her (note: this does not apply to shower time or any other You time activity). We also use it for Miles. It goes in the front of the house. Miles' water goes in here, as does his peanut-butter filled Kong and chicken jerky. Turn on iTunes and the Miles music playlist on the computer. Do all of this last thing before leaving and put Miles in the Baby Jail. Tell him you love him and will be right back and get out of the house, quickly. Know that he will McGuyver his way out of the Baby Jail by the time you get home. Yes, he knows if you do it differently.

So there's the morning routine. I will cover noon to Daddy's home! in a few days.

Peer Pressure

2008-06-20T13:29:00.004-04:00

Finley has decided that it's time to move forward on a few things. First, she started holding her own bottle. And, Finley now joins us at the breakfast table for a spot of toast even though she still has no teeth. After our first trip to Gymboree, she's decided she wants to graduate from crawling to walking. We both had the same look on our faces like, "Crap, all these kids are walking and we're not." Once she saw how some of the kids were standing up, she immediately began working to get on her feet. Pretty cool.

Gymboree was just as much of a wake up call for Mommy as it was for Finley. Finley and I were also surprised to know that I, apparently, should have been singing this whole time. Like, lalala poopy in your pants, lalala pick up your toys. Fin looked at me like, "You've been holding out on me, lady."

I also eavesdropped on the alpha mom's (there's always one, isn't there?) conversation with the teacher regarding the kid's songs CD she plays in her car over and over and over. I just kinda assumed Finley really liked Steely Dan and the new Coldplay album. To be fair, I do have the Disney Kids as a favorite button, but even Finley gets a little irritated at Miley Cyrus' raspy singing.

So, I guess we're all growing up. Even Daddy broke down and put a baby seat on the back of his cool bike. We all went out for a ride of the Santa Monica beach a couple of nights ago. Dad enjoyed it, Finley tolerated it and then fell asleep and Mommy swallowed a bug. Blech.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T11:53:00.003-04:00

This picture was taken last Sunday at the Dodgers-Cubs game, Finley's first baseball game. Finley actually made it onto the Jumbotron! We were so excited that we completely forgot to take a picture of it. Well, this is cute enough, don't you think?

This has been a bittersweet Father's Day, as we have been watching coverage of Tim Russert's passing. When we were in Toronto, we watched the NBC Buffalo feed as our regular news, so we felt a bit of that hometown adoration for him. As we listen to Russert's colleagues tell stories of his hard work, pride in family and caring nature, I cannot help but make many parallels to the honorable way Greg lives his life. And I want you all to know how proud I am of Greg as a husband, father and friend.

He's been paying the vacation toll at work this week, even working yesterday and probably some of today. I know he will always give his all to his work, and to his friends and family. He is playing on the floor with Finley as I type, keeping her occupied and happy while she goes through some painful teething. And at the end of the day, I know he will ask, did I do enough? Did I work hard enough, did I spend enough time with my family? Yes, sweetie, you did. And I love you. Happy Father's Day.

What I Did Today

2008-06-11T16:56:00.006-04:00

Today St. Vincent de Paul is supposed to show up before 3 to take away all the crap we paid to keep in Toronto storage for 2+ years. No, we didn't use any of it like we thought we would. Idiots. It is also Olga's day to come by and watch Finley for a few hours. Olga, as you may or may not know, was the former nanny of John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal. She will be leaving us next week to accompany another family on a two-month European vacation that I will probably never be able to afford in my life. Have fun, Olga.

Anyhoo, I thought I would make use of the time and finish off a couple of those annoying to-dos that we never seem to have time for. First, while Finley slept, Olga and I folded, sorted and vacuum sealed away Finley's too small clothes. Olga asked if the clothes smell like the vacuum cleaner since you use the hose to suck out all the air. You see, this is why Olga will be sunning in Andalusia for the better part of June and I will not. Very smart one, she is.

Below are more pictures of the day's activities:

I cleaned up the garage. Sections from left to right: Tools, Useful Stuff, Greg's ~~crap~~ sports mementos, Furnishings Graveyard, Finley's Things, Golf Central, Clothes Corner, Luggage, and Christmas. Not shown: things in the adjoining shed that are ok for people to steal.

I went rope-a-dope on the shrubs that impede my view into the driveway and threaten to scratch my new wheels.

Besides wheeling Miles and Finley around the house, this wagon from Grandma and Grandpa Day has been very useful. Thanks!

PS: St. Vincent truck is full. They will come back tomorrow. Good, now I can put out even MORE stuff to them to take!

Home Again

2008-06-08T16:52:00.006-04:00

Finley was on sunset watching duty at Oasis in Austin, which is why she is not looking forward in this picture.

Dad and Finley have a much needed vacation nap.

Swimming in Dallas, Finley is quite the water baby.

Lest you were concerned from the last post, Finley finally settled into vacation time and had a blast in Austin and Dallas. And so did Mommy and Daddy. Greg got to play lots of golf, and Angela went to see the Sex and the City movie with Lynn and her friend Maudie (no relation to Maudie's Tex Mex, but just as awesome :)) We all got our sale shopping on, and went swimming too. Friday we saw even more family, the Cousins Bartek in Frisco. We will see them again soon as they depart for their vacation cruise from L.A., at which time we'll be sure to include some pictures of Finley with the Bartek gang.

Meltdown in Austin

2008-06-03T11:36:00.007-04:00

Finley with Cousin Chris

Uncle Mack, Aunt Lisa and Cousin Chris just before Finley's afternoon meltdown

Finley hamming it up with Uncle Mack.

Trying a kolache with Grandpa B

We are in Austin, and it is hot! About 100 degrees yesterday and today. What better time for Finley to test out the ol' toddler meltdown? The flight was a doozy, as was the first night. She was really fussy and just wouldn't chill out. Today she is much, much better.

Finley perked up for our visit with the Neals, and stayed in good spirits for a good three hours. I think she really knew they were her family, and she gave special attention to Chris and his new beard.

We've had our fill of TexMex and BBQ, so we will take it easy on the meals when we head up to Dallas tomorrow. There we will see more family and spend some quality time by the pool.

Get Out Your Hankies

2008-05-26T19:31:00.002-04:00

Here's Finley's one year video. My apologies to those who usually watch this via YouTube. Must be temp day for the holiday since the video isn't loading. Anyhoo, here it is:

Don't forget to scroll down for other updates. I've been rather prolific with the posts in the past few days.

Doctor Update

2008-05-26T11:23:00.002-04:00

With all the crawling hubbub we forgot to give you an update on Finley's one year doctor visit. She is 19.6 pounds and 27 3/4 inches long, which is 50 percentile for weight and 10 percent for height for Finley's real age. The doctor unscientifically estimates that Finley will be 5'2" or 5'3". I said as long as she is over 5 feet I'm happy with that.

Finley is ahead of the game on fine motor, language and social skills and lagging on the gross motor development. We discussed some physical therapy to assist with crawling and walking, but since she started crawling the DAY AFTER our visit we're holding off on making any PT appointments.

Dr. Rampal also said Finley could start eating table foods, like whatever we were eating for dinner. I voiced my concern over her possibly choking since, you know, she has no teeth. The doctor then said, yeah maybe you should hold off on the table foods. She is now drinking real milk, but only warm and only when fed to her because she's picky like that.

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day, and Happy Birthday to Chad! Hope your eyeball feels better.

A New Era Begins...

2008-05-23T12:35:00.003-04:00

Many Firsts for Finley

2008-05-23T01:31:00.008-04:00

Thank you to everyone near and afar who helped celebrate Finley's birthday last weekend. We had lots of fun in Chico, and experienced many firsts, such as:

Eating ice cream!

Swimming!

Cake! Or, what the heck am I supposed to do with this?

Finley was princess for the day...

And a good time was had by all : )

Amazingly, I've uploaded all the missing photos since we moved to Los Angeles onto the Flickr site. Thank you, Grey's Anatomy season finale for keeping me up long enough to do it. And again, thank you Jenny for these many months of free Internet We will miss you and your slow, but useful, connection. One year video still to come...

Finally Finley pictures! http://www.flickr.com/photos/finleybeeday

Happy Birthday Finley Bee!

2008-05-16T14:20:00.007-04:00

A: We just can't believe it's been a whole year today that Finley came into the world! She was a teeny 4.6 pound preemie with wires attached to every end when we first saw her, quite frightening for Greg and myself. Today, Greg got another surprise when he went to wake her and she said " Hi Daddy!"

G: So much has happened in the past year, and we would never have made it through if it were not for every one's amazing support and assistance. Our families and friends, and the people at Fairmont and the Royal York really helped us as we were so far away from home... It also helped that we had our "couple soul mates" in Peter and Erica going through similar (although in comparison to Taj & Tia, Finley had a breezy time) situations.

Our little girl is growing up, and it is as exciting as it is sad...We decided to celebrate her big "0-1" in Chico, so Finley could see Grandma & Grandpa Day and her Great Grandmother Bernice! She is so excited. It will also be her first time in a swimming pool, so we have that to look forward to as well.

For me, Angela's amazing talent as a mother has been the most remarkable part of this past year. She is so patient and caring with Finley, that I cannot even fathom the skill set this must take. Finley's fine motor skills and cognitive knowledge (at least as far as games and toys are concerned) make Dad look a bit dim in comparison. I love them both so very much and thank God for them every day.

A: Since we are in Chico I can't put together a video montage, but fear not! We'll be back home Sunday and I will put something together to really make you cry. Also, we have Finley's one year check-up on Wednesday, so look for updates on her height, weight and off the charts scoring for pediatric genius, beauty and sense of humor at that time.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T09:51:00.006-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! This weekend last year we were sitting in the hospital scared out of our wits that something was really wrong with our baby before she was even born. And now here she is, a big chunky monkey, almost walking and getting teeth! Here's Mommy with Finley at her christening on Friday.

Grandma and Grandpa Day came down, as did the godmother Nancy. Jesus was there too, so, a big shout-out and thank you to the Lord our Savior!

And this post wouldn't bee (a typo but I'm keeping it) complete without a cute picture of Finley with Grandma Day. She (Finley) is wearing the pre/post-christening dress my mom sent, which she proceeded to rub orange slices all over at the christening celebration at El Cholo.

I forgot to mention that Finley has a birthday wish list on Amazon.com. Her birthday is this Friday!

Taj and Tia Turn One Year Old!

2008-05-04T20:15:00.005-04:00

These sweet babies were born May 2nd at 26 weeks (!) and are thriving with the hard work of Erica and Peter and the love and support of family and friends, which was evident at their first birthday party this Saturday.

In this video, Peter's sister Meagan taunts the children to eat, while Kari DeVries, the only sober one at the party, tries to pick up Meagan's boyfriend while we all sing Happy Birthday. A great time was had by all.

Please Stand By

2008-04-23T18:09:00.002-04:00

Here's Finley with her new activity table. I thought this would encourage her to creep along the sides of it, however, with her propensity for going backwards, she winds up doing push ups on it. And when she falls, it's painful for everyone. The pillow fort we usually have around her doesn't ease the drama, either.

This, and many. of Finley's toys have a lady that teaches numbers and the alphabet. Yes, the same lady voice on all of them. Red ap-ple...blue-berries. Or-ange cir-cle. Finley loves the repetition, I get a little zombified by the afternoon.

I'm going to slow down on posts for a couple of reasons: 1) Finley is doing amazingly interesting things at a slower rate. I guess this happens as babies get older. 2) I think Jenny is feeling the recession and has therefore downgraded her Internet speed. Or, someone else has hopped on the free WiFi bandwagon. Either way, it is taking a lot longer than usual to post or do much of anything on the 'net. Suppose we will actually have to PAY for it ourselves sooner than later.

Bonus Feature: Finley Eats!

2008-04-16T21:33:00.002-04:00

Who said we don't do this in real time? Finley has had trouble the past few nights with sleeping and we assume gas, so she just got a little dose of prunes and a baby-sized slice of pizza to top it off:

Note the crazy eyes

She started by scraping off the wee bit of pesto and cheese, then she gummed first with the front of her mouth, then with the back. There's a method to baby self-feeding, apparently.

11 Months Old

2008-04-16T18:43:00.002-04:00

Finley is 11 months old today! She is now feeding herself fruit on occasion, as she is with the lime wedge above. She can stand for a long time, and is starting to do one-handed stands and attempts to creep along a surface. She would still like to crawl but is easily frustrated and will only remain in a starting position. We think she will project forward at any moment.

Finley, up to this point, has not been a very snuggly baby. But at 11 months, separation anxiety has set in, and she wants to be held all the time. Greg was late to work this morning because she wouldn't let go of him.

In other news, we have a baptism date! Finley will be baptized on Friday, May 9th at 3:00 p.m. at Saint Monica Catholic Church. No limbo for this baby, nosiree! Email me if you would like to attend, abartekday@msn.com.

Crazy Cute Pictures

2008-04-09T22:48:00.005-04:00

We're gearing up for Grandparents Day to come visit this weekend. We've been working really hard at being extra cute:

Dad came home early today, and in the 15 minutes it took me to walk the dog, Finley clapped, stood on her own for 12 seconds and put a toy ring on the stacker all by herself. Yeah, all the stuff I've been working on with her every day for the past couple 2 MONTHS. I expect she'll be reciting the Gettysburg Address by Sunday.

Gobs of Babies

2008-04-06T19:44:00.006-04:00

We had Baedekers in this weekend, and man did we have a good time. Tia and Finley greeted each other like long lost friends, and they played well together...except when Finley was pulling at Tia's hair, Tia's shirt, Tia's cheek...Taj is working on sitting, so he mainly just laughed at them and rolled around right alongside. We got to catch up with Peter and Erica, reliving some good memories from our collective days in New Orleans and San Francisco.

Taj and Tia are awesome kids. So sweet and mellow, they just go with the flow. Finley was a bit louder and more aggressive than usual, kind of like she was showing off for Taj and Tia.

If you know Peter and Erica, you can see in the pics that Tia takes after Erica and Taj looks like Peter....

...like Peter after too many beers.

Giddyup, We're Going to Texas

2008-04-02T18:56:00.004-04:00

Finley is already excited

We are officially booked to take Finley to see the home of the Longhorns and the Bushes. We'll be in Austin with Grandparents Bartek and visiting with the Neals. And eating lots of BBQ of course. Then we'll be on to Dallas to hopefully see more family.

Finley has been doing many fascinating and genius things lately. Besides waving, she says "hi" and "dat", meaning "that", which is accompanied by a point to whatever "dat" is. When she is standing up, assisted or holding on to something, she is starting to move her right leg, either like she wants to walk or she wants to to the Hokey Pokey.

Eating is less of an event now, she is just sooo over it. Two weeks ago I would have won a baby feeding speed race. Now she prefers to savor her food. I bring a magazine to every feeding. We're working on more solids, with little puffs and some Cheerios. She doesn't get the concept of putting them in her own mouth, which is good news for Miles. They have become fast friends over a few fallen cereal bits.

Finley loves to mimick now, especially hand movements and some syllables. When we pick her up we always give her a squeeze and pat her on the back. Now she does the same to us.

We are slated to see the Family Baedeker this weekend, so look for insanely cute picture posts then.

100th Post!

2008-03-27T10:42:00.002-04:00

This sums up life right now :)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T19:11:00.004-04:00

Finley in her Easter dress and bonnet from Auntie Nancy

We've had a booger-filled Easter weekend here at the Day household. Finley came down with a cold, so we've been up more than we've slept for the past two nights. Somehow through the snot and fever, she just learned how to wave. We think she's saying "hi" along with it, but Lily taught Finley "roar" last weekend, so now everything out of her mouth is "rawwwwwr!"

We went to Saint Monica's, where the Governator goes to church. The service overflow was in an outside meeting space, which was also the prime spot for parents with babies. Finley was happy and good through the service, "rawwwwring" at other babies and churchgoers toward the end.

Shortly after the above pics were taken, Finley registered a fever so we've been cooling her down and preoccupying her with Baby Einstein videos. Now that she's in a better mood she's been giving us both kisses, which to Finley means grabbing our faces and licking whatever is in front of her. I got a good tongue kiss up the nose, so I'll be counting on a cold in the next 24-48 hours.

Lily, Laurie and the Visit to American Girl Place

2008-03-19T22:28:00.006-04:00

Lily drinking the ~~kool-aid~~ pink lemonade with her doll (& 2 loaners) at the American Girl Cafe

So Aunt Laurie and Cousin Lily made the drive down from Chico to visit. We had a great time, but all we'll really remember is our visit to American Girl Place.

Jews have the wailing wall, Muslims have Mecca...tweeners have American Girl Place. If you don't know about American Girl dolls, they are this decade's Cabbage Patch Kid (yes, I'm old) or Strawberry Shortcake (really old). Nay, they are the new Barbie. Each doll comes with a historical backstory, to make them more attractive to parents...and a sweet miniskirt ensemble for your budding tart.

Upon entrance, I could immediately see that Laurie would not win any battle waged on this sacred ground, so I immediately bailed to J. Crew. Nothing's more of a buzz kill to a seven year-old than her aunt asking, "do you *really* need that?" In my absence I suspect something of a Bride of Chucky American Girl doll walked up to Laurie, commanded her to open her wallet, and took every last discretionary spending cent she had.

While perusing the summer weight cashmere sweaters, I thought of a really good American Girl doll for next year (these are AMERICAN girls, so sadly no Darfurian Daisy). Here's my idea: I think they should have Molly Magee, the Great Depression American Girl. Her brother can't get his polio medicine and her family lives on turnips and potatoes because the money she makes starring alongside Shirley Temple gets spent buying hats, gloves and shoes for her American Girl dolls.

Anyhoo, Laurie treated us all to lunch at the American Girl Cafe. They give you a loaner doll if you didn't bring (or buy, you jerk) your doll. Most importantly, they serve bellinis. And wine. Awesome.

Regardless of the booze, I am still up in the air about getting Finley entangled with this bunch. I'll get back to you in five years.

Psst, kid, I've got a line on a used Josefina in MINT condition, I'm holdin' out for a new Addy

Baedekers and Babysitters

2008-03-14T20:13:00.003-04:00

Tia and Finley are fast friends

Yesterday Finley and I drove to the O.C. to see dear friend Erica Baedeker and twins Taj and Tia. If you'll recall, they were also preemies (Week 27!) born two weeks before Finley. Miles came, too and saw his old buddies Hailey and Betty. They commiserated about their collective 2nd class status behind the babies.

The twins are just fantastic. Great personalities, growing so fast! Erica is an amazing mom...I got a few tips and was able to test drive a few of their toys.

Here's a cute video of Taj, he laughed and laughed until he finally got into the nap zone:

Tonight is a big night. We are going out and leaving Finley with a one Joanna Foster Wilson. She's the starter on our roster of go-to California babysitters. She's an actress by day, so if you see someone emoting down the street, absconding with our child, you'll know she's been benched (just jokes, Joanna, we know you'll do fine).

My Sweet Angel

2008-03-05T16:05:00.000-05:00

The Urban Sombrero

2008-02-27T12:42:00.003-05:00

G-Lynn sent us this hat along with a cute dress and socks outfit. The hat came in handy for our walk with Miles yesterday.

This is the first picture where you can really see Finley's eye color. Are they blue? Are they brown? Yes and Yes.

Gregory Day Would Not Approve of This...or This

2008-02-23T16:02:00.006-05:00

I was feeling emboldened by the doctor's go-ahead to feed Finley new things, so I gave her one of those Oreo 100 calorie pieces. She went NUTS! Looks like we have a chocoholic on our hands.

Since she was already messy from handling the Oreo bit and biter biscuit you see on the left, we just went whole hog and ate lunch with our hands. No, Daddy definitely would not approve of eating like this. He likes to wipe baby's mouth after every bite. Hope you don't mind, sweetie.

Think we might venture into more finger food eating tonight while Daddy is hobnobbing at the Elton John party. While he's rubbing elbows with George Clooney and Don Cheadle, I hope he has a chance to mention our Darfurian AIDS Babies Calendar 2009. Fingers crossed, people, fingers crossed.

Doctor Visit

2008-02-20T18:37:00.004-05:00

Finley supervises the garage clean-out last Saturday

This morning we drove a whole 4 miles in 40 minutes to the doctor's office at UCLA Medical Center. Our new pediatrician, Dr. Rampal, is super nice and took her time getting to know us. We have the same set up as we did in Toronto, with UCLA being a teaching hospital, and Dr. Rampal being a Chief Attending, as was our doc in Canada.

So, at 9 months Finley is 17 1/2 pounds, 27 inches long and her head circumference is 17 3/4 inches. She's 25th percentile real age for height and weight, and at 50th for head size. We didn't chart for corrected. The doctor also determined that neonatal follow-up is not necessary since her motor and verbal development appear to be on track. She also gave the green light for adding egg whites, berries and baby yogurt into her diet. Finley smiled at the nurses and put her arms out for the doctor to pick her up without prompting. Looks like those three weeks in Chico are paying off!

I have just received and will set up my broadband Internet service soon so I can quit mooching from Jenny and have a better connection by which to upload photos to Flickr.

Finley at 9 Months

2008-02-17T19:48:00.005-05:00

Finley turned nine months old yesterday, and we got her this little car thingy. She really likes to be pushed around the house in it. Now who's starting to look like Mommy??

Finley played outside while Mom and Dad cleaned out the garage sale garage stuff today. She liked playing with pieces of shedded bamboo.

I have more pictures from the weekend, but I think Jenny is also online this evening, so more uploads will have to wait until she goes to work tomorrow.

A Cold Day in Los Angeles

2008-02-13T22:52:00.002-05:00

Another Wednesday (and Sunday) gone by without new pictures. Sorry about that.

Finley and I went down to the 3rd Street Promenade for some good old 'merican shopping. It was the first cloudy and cold day, about 55 degrees. Oooh brrr! Our neighbor came by today with a nice gift for Finley, and she was all bundled up. I had my flip flops on.

We're in the house and all unpacked, except for the garage, which is a treasure trove of future garage sale items. Basically it's a bunch of crap we paid to store for 2.5 years.

Finley is still doing well on her sitting up and assisted standing. I have resigned myself to the fact that she will not be a crawler, as tummy time for longer than 5-7 minutes is still not enjoyable for anyone.

We introduced meat-based baby foods and she is definitely a carnivore. No tofurkey dinners in this house!

We have also started Project Feed Your Own Dang Self. This includes biter biscuits and sippy cups. Loves the biscuits, wants me to hold the cups. She likes to slap the biscuits on her new high chair tray to break them up like a caveman. Miles likes to sit below the high chair tray and wait for what doesn't make into in her mouth.

Finley still loves to talk, she's using more new syllables besides ma, da and ga. She likes ta very quietly, like she's trying to spit out a sunflower seed shell, and she likes ba for bottle. Mi (long i) means Miles. Mamamamamama means she's gassy. Lovely.

Lastly, I would like to give a shout-out tonight to Jenny. Jenny, whoever you are, thank you for leaving your unsecured wifi network up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that I have internet access while we wait for Time Warner Cable to set up ours. I only wish you were closer so I could watch uninterrupted YouTube videos.

We're Here...

2008-02-07T23:23:00.000-05:00

Miles takes in the ocean view

Coming up for air...we have all our stuff in the house and out of boxes, and will spend tomorrow making the place livable. Got to see all the things we had in long term storage while being squashed into the condo...we'll be having a very large yard sale very soon.

The trip down from Chico was uneventful...nice weather, no traffic (except for the last 4 miles into L.A.) and a baby that travels very well. Jeff and Patty were very well behaved, too. Jeff helped with the movers while Patty watched the baby and the dog.

We all went for a walk along the ocean today, and took in the great weather and ocean breezes for the first time since arriving Tuesday. Miles has made a smooth transition from snow to sand.

If I haven't already sent you new contact info, email me at abartekday@msn.com and I'll send it to you.