17 months

Last weekend will go down in history as one of our worst. It started Friday night when Janay’s car was broken into. The only thing that was in there was Finn’s diaper bag, which unfortunately had his birth certificate in it (it was left in there after our last trip to Phoenix). The jerk face actually stole it. I don’t know if he thought it was a computer bag or what, but once he realized it was diapers, you’d think he would leave it behind. Janay looked all over the neighborhood thinking maybe the thief chucked it, but she never found it.

This wasn’t the only incident. There have been a string of car break-ins over the last few weeks. Neighbors are organizing and working with the police to catch the thief, but meanwhile poor Finny is missing his ID, Batman (which for some reason he calls Super Why), and his toy airplane. Bastards. Who steals a diaper bag!? Enjoy the raisins, stupid.

Then, Saturday morning we woke up to bad news. Janay’s grandfather had passed away. He had been ailing, but after a long stint at the hospital and some treatment, it seemed he was going to get better. Clifford Julius Odden (Janay’s maternal grandfather) was a tall, strong, extremely funny man. He and his wife, Joyce had 8 children, 18 grandchildren, and 21 great grandchildren during their  61 years together. I’ve often admired their life together and hoped for a marriage with Janay that will be as sweet and strong as theirs. In fact, it was their wedding date and Janay’s parent’s wedding date (both in September) that made us choose ours (Sept. 20). Maybe hoping for some of that good marriage juju will rub off on us.

Cliff & Joyce Odden

I met Grandpa Odden back in 2004 while Janay and I were visiting her parents in Alaska. I had heard a lot about her grandparents before I met them (lots of stories about house building, their farm in Minnesota, the Dari Vi, their drives from Minnesota up to Anchorage, and jokes about those whacky Norwegians, Lena and Ole), it was clear to me that the two of them were well loved and respected in the family. I felt nervous about meeting them and wanted to make a good impression. But when I hugged Cliff, I hugged him so hard that he said I made his hearing aid ring. He was laughing at the time, but at that moment, I felt like I blew it – he’d seen through my desperation for acceptance, and knew that I was a dork. But Cliff and Joyce have been nothing but sweet, welcoming, and warm to me. I’m so glad we were able to spend some time with them this summer, and even more happy that Finn had the time he did with his great grandpa.

There is a very nice obituary written up for him that you can read here: http://methvenfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1304184&fh_id=11632

And a well-timed article about Cliff’s royal roots, from the Mille Lacs Messenger: http://millelacsmessenger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21658&catid=82%3Aarchives&Itemid=210

Sunday morning we arranged for Janay to fly to Minneapolis on Tuesday, but made the decision that Finn and I would stay home.  Since I just started my job, and blew all of my vacation in the first 20 days of employment, I won’t have more vacation until March 2012. On top of that, on Sunday, Finn came down with a bad cold (which he promptly shared with me).

I arranged with my work to telecommute Tuesday – Thursday (they were very understanding), and then on Friday come in to the office (I have meetings). Finn will spend the day with his little friend Neve (and parents, Scarlett and August). He’s never spent a whole day away from us, so I’m nervous about how it will go, but I feel like it will be an overall positive experience for him.

*   *   *

So today is Wednesday – day two of Project Take Care of Finn, and it’s going really well. Other than both of us being sick and requiring lots of tissue, it’s gone pretty well. I was really nervous about how I’d manage it all. Janay has been the primary caretaker all this time, and she’s done a great job. They are always out doing something, and she’s great at keeping up the entertainment. To me, although she’s probably told me a thousand times, I’m never sure what they are up to every day, and the thought of standing in her shoes for the week felt pretty daunting. It’s exhausting for sure, but it’s been really nice because I get to spend so much time one on one with Finn. And really, it doesn’t matter what we do as long as we’re having fun!

Yesterday we went to toddler gym – a basketball court filled with tot toys and a bouncy house once a week and opened to the public. It was a weird experience – it reminded me of the dog park where everyone knows the dog’s name, but not so much their parent’s.  There are parents milling about, some staring at their phones while their kid bites some other kid. Yep, a lot like the dog park. There were mostly kids Finn’s age there, but a handful of 4-5 year olds who were super fast on the trikes. One kid, looking the opposite way in which he was peddling, nearly ran Finn down. I used my super mom powers to suddenly throw myself right in the path of the trike before it ran Finn down. One benefit of being a mom – you get to scold kids you don’t even know, and you feel like you have the authority. “Hey, slow down and watch were you’re going! There are babies wandering around here.” It kinda rocks.

We also went to Lincoln Park. Have I mentioned yet that we’re putting our house on the market? We SO need a bigger place (as illustrated in this picture).

Can you find Finn in this picture?

Crazy, right? Finn really needs his own room, and Bella really needs a yard. So, yeah – our house is on the market. Now every once in a while, we get realtors coming through, and we need to make ourselves scarce. We had a realtor come yesterday, so it gave us a good reason to hit up our favorite walk spot – Lincoln Park.

The leaves on the trees are so beautiful right now. A lot of gold and green. Walking through the park Finn kept saying “beautiful” and “gorgeous” at the leaves. It’s so amazing to me that he’s able to think these things, let alone say them! I think about the kids Finn’s age who aren’t talking as much, and I realize that they’re probably thinking these things, but they just can’t say them. It’s pretty cool.

Lincoln Park

Anyway, the evening ended with some homemade chicken noodle soup  (thanks, Janay!), a warm bath, and a really easy bedtime. Finn’s been so funny about sleep lately. At night, he will go through the usual bath, books, rocking and singing, but he’ll sometimes cut you short, reaching for his bed and saying “good-night!” or “laydown!” It’s pretty hilarious. I think back to the 13 months I spent trying to get him to sleep – working through all the screaming, wailing, and pinching, and sometimes he’d cry too (kidding). And now he’s more interested in being laid down than listening to the songs I know enough to sing (think 80s music). What? He’d rather go to sleep than hear me sing “Friday I’m in Love” one more time?

Pe-shaw. Kids these days.

I uploaded a bunch of new photos to the online album. You can look at them here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/112527365288731030494/BabyD?authkey=Gv1sRgCOr7uqTC8vy5dQ

And I’m always uploading videos to youtube. This one is my current favorite…

You can watch others here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/paisleysox?feature=mhee 

Advertisement