Funny Fin

The last in my three-part series about things I love and want to remember about my children.

I was actually worried about finding things to remember about Finley because he's still so small, doesn't move much, doesn't talk, etc. But, the first weekend in August we had our annual hemophilia conference for Arizona and he was in nanny care for most of the time. It was amazing to see how the nannies responded to him. It helped me realize I take for granted many wonderful things about him.
Mr. Square-Face
With cheeks the size of golf-balls, and with as much storage as a chipmunk's, Finley gets the most comments about them. One of the nannies said, "I could suck on those cheeks all day." True, dat. Because his cheeks are so big, it makes his face almost square.
The best part about Fin's cheeks is when he smiles. Somehow the muscles in his face have grown strong enough to lift the mass of flesh that hangs on either side of his mouth into a brilliant, enthusiastic smile. His smile takes up 90% of his face, and most of his body, too. It's not captured adequately in pictures, but everyone who met him kept commenting on his smile.

Little Birdy
When he gets excited, baby Fin will start flapping his arms and legs like a bird. I swear he wants to fly up into my arms and just sit perched while I cart him around, like his very own tree.

Bottle Lover
Breastfeeding has been a love-hate thing for me. With Jaxon, he finished nursing at 9 months, Asher was 14 months and I only weaned him because I was pregnant with Fin. So, despite his similarities to Jaxon, I was still surprised that an occasional supplemental bottle of formula became Finley's favorite thing. When he sees us shaking it up, he starts to flap and pant. Unlike when I try to nurse him and he throws his head back and cries, or worse, bites me with his 5 teeth.
So, he's a bottle baby now. He weaned himself at exactly 9 months and that's fine with me. (but, I do miss the extra 500 calories I could eat every day!)

Part of the Fun
Of course babies like to see what's going on. Fin is no different, but I was surprised this weekend to see how happy he was. He's been pretty grumpy the last few weeks, and I've realized, he just loves to watch the action. Seeing other children playing, or people talking is just delightful to him. He's thrilled by everyone that looks at him, that smiles or waves. He soaks it all in and reflects a light that's totally visible through his eyes.

Long Gone
When Mark and I went to Sunstone last week, we missed our kids so much. When Finley saw me, he looked blank for a second, then got a huge grin on his face. When I picked him up, he wouldn't stop grabbing my face, my nose, eyes, cheeks. I think he wanted to make sure I was really there.

Here's great-grandpa Starkey with Fin on our trip to Utah in July.

Here's Fin practicing his V-ups. He'll sit like this indefinitely, sill someone helps him sit up.

All About Asher

Here's segment two in the series of things I don't want to forget about my children.

The Best Spin
Asher loves to ask for things in his baby talk, then when I guess what he wants, he nods and smiles, and says, "Okay!" like "Great idea mom, I'd love some chocolate milk!."
When I ask him is he has a poopy diaper, he says, "not yet." Without realizing it, he puts a positive spin on everything.

My Vegetarian
Asher loves fruit and veggies. If I keep the fruit bowl too close, he'll eat the entire thing by the end of the day.
When he wants to be held he says, "Hold you!" and reaches his arms up.
He has no idea how big he is, he acts like a baby but is the size of a 3 year old.

Little Lover
Ash is full of sweet kisses and snuggles. Yesterday we were reading books on my bed and he kept touching his forehead to mine, then he'd give me butterfly kisses, then eskimo kisses and then a little kiss on the lips. He did this over and over. At the end, he gave me a juicy kiss right on my forehead. And I cried. It's such a blessing to have this sweet wonderful boy, so full of love and caring.

The Fan Club
At church, if Asher's not there, people will stop us and ask about him. As he walks through the halls at church, most people greet him with smiles and high fives. He's really the favorite of our family, almost everyone we know would rather spend time with him than with anyone else.

A Peacemaker
When Jaxon occasionally hurts Asher, I will get angry at Jaxon, raise my voice, etc. Then Asher will quietly walk over to Jaxon, put his arm around him and give him a hug.
My heart melts every time.

Fraidy-Cat
It's a good thing he learned the sign for frightened really early, because Asher uses that sign a lot. Whether he hears the vacuum, is stranded on a bar stool, or sees a stranger, Asher is a little fraidy-cat. It's really very endearing, and he always wants lots of hugs when he gets scared.

Loves his Daddy
For a while, Asher would cry when he saw Mark putting on his work clothes. He knew that meant Daddy was going to work. Even during the day when we hear a noise that sounds like a car door shutting, Asher jumps up with bright eyes, "Daddy home!"

Summertime Fun
My very very favorite memory of Asher is during the summer. He's wearing a swim diaper at my parents house, and although he is having so much fun swimming in the "warm pool" he climbs out because my mom has just delivered a bowlful of watermelon. Asher runs to the bowl, gets two big handfuls of watermelon and shoves the delicious fruit into his mouth as fast as he can.
I just watch in delighted awe as he smiles while chewing, the red sticky juice running down his belly.
The summer is just not complete without watermelon juice running down Asher's little tummy.

All About Jaxon

I'm imitating my best friend Leslie's post about things she doesn't want to forget about her children.
I know I write about my kids all the time, and when they're in bed, I should focus on something else, but there are wonderful things about them that I don't want to forget.
Here's the first in this series.
Jaxon
I should have named this child "Enthusiasm" because he is always so excited and happy about going places and
doing things. Each morning he asks, "Which day is it?" I answered today, "Wednesday." He says, "What do we do on Wednesdays?" meaning, "is this library day, pool day, museum day, friends day, or what?"
At the playground or the gym, Jaxon makes friends so easily. He's the first to walk up to a child and say, "Hi, I'm Jaxon, do you want to go play?" He'll share his ball, or play tag, and he always has a smile on his face.
Around the house, Jaxon can be very helpful if he wants to. When Finley was a few months old, I would mention that he needed a diaper change, and Jaxon would run to get the portable changing table (always making sure to buckle Fin, even when it was on the floor) the diaper and wipes. He can also clean his room pretty well when he puts his mind to it.
When it's time to play, Jaxon loves to play tickles on the bed, play mancala or chess, or read books. When mom or dad aren't available, Jaxon loves movies or playing games online (sesame street, calliou, or curious george).
A budding photographer, Jaxon takes pictures of me, the other kids, or his favorite items around the house.
Always the gymnast, Jaxon has been climbing since he was 18 months old and he surprised us by scaling the play gym at McDonald's without our even noticing. Today I saw him leap from the top of my dresser to the bed, just to get a laugh out of Finley. I think my oldest has a love of adventure.
Jaxon's other loves are gardens, anything that grows, Thomas the Train, things that shoot, learning about Australia, and playing the harmonica.
He is the first to comfort anyone in the house who cries and will bring a stuffed animal right away to help ease pain.
Some of my favorite memories of Jaxon:
He yells, "I'm a spleeding baris!" and runs as fast as he can down the hall.
How he answers inquiries about how he's doing, "Pretty well" or "Not pretty well." and answers invitations with, "I'd be so delighted."
He uses glorious, unbeatable, and unusually (among other big words) in amusing ways.
How I find hooks of every kind hanging strange objects all over my house. One of the most common are bungee cords and toys dangling from hangers or wall hangings. Also, he perches cars and trains precariously on the edge of the counter, waiting for them to fall.

Having Jaxon turn 6 last week has reminded me how fast the years are going and that I need to stop occasionally and remember the good, fun times, and put the irritating, stressful times in perspective.
Here's to you, Jaxon.
You're my little wonderboy!