Mom Edition: TGTF (Thank God Tomorrow's Friday)

As usual it's been a busy week, and I'm sure you're anxious to hear all about it. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow when we have a "day off" from our normal activities and excursions. So, without further ado, here are some photos of the past few days.

Last Saturday we hit up our local Japanese Grocery store before heading to Roseville to hang out with relatives. We were lucky enough to see Kevin's parents and two sets of great uncles and aunts all in one stop. We also visited with the Monk family who live in Rocklin.

If you need rice, Oto's Market is the place to go.

Great Auntie Aileen is a new grandma, too. Her grandson Vince was born in July.

Kayla Monk getting her baby fix in. Her babies are 2 1/2 and 5 years old.

Monday we visited friends for lunch but mostly hung around the house. Finn had a chance to try out some new activities at home such as using the swing, batting at toys on the playmat and sucking on the pacifier. He also just likes to give big grins and coo, too.

Finn hamming it up

The swing made Finn very sleepy.

Tuesday was a very hot day, so we decided to take an afternoon trip to an air conditioned place. We toured the California Museum in downtown Sacramento. There are a lot of history exhibitions and an annual "Hall of Fame" display dedicated to important and influential Californians. I'm sure Finn will be inducted there one day.

Finn preparing his future acceptance speech

Wednesday was even hotter in Sacramento (it was a record-breaking 108 degrees), so we decided to hit the road in search of cooler locales. I don't know if we succeeded in that regard, but we did get to see Grandpa Jim in Lafayette. He showed us photos and video of his recent Russia trip, and we got outdoors to hike around the Lafayette Reservoir.

Taking a break in the shade

I'm wishing I had worn a hat like Finn's.

Today, the cooling Delta Breeze took effect, so we took advantage of the drop in temperature and went on a picnic in Clarksburg. My friend from nursing school, Kim, joined us. We had a nice time relaxing on the lawn and enjoying the peace and quiet of the vineyards.

My initiation into Giants fandom

Here I am practicing my Giants cheer beforehand. It would not be of much use.

After seeing the Giants on TV, I finally went to my first Giants game a couple weekends ago. They were no better in person than they have been on TV, I have to say.

The Giants lost 8-2, and this long-haired, pot-smoking guy named Lincecum didn't pitch very well. In fact, after I went upstairs to eat lunch with Mom from innings 2 through 4, he was already gone when we came back because he'd given up so many runs. I heard that he won something called the Cy Young Award the last two years. I don't think he'll be winning many awards this season.

All the tailgating pooped me out.

Dad and I have matching hats.

I should be a Lincecum fan because, like me, he's "Hapa." That means he's half Asian. The Giants have a couple of Hapa players, between Lincecum and Travis Ishikawa. Maybe I can play for the Giants some day, too.

But my favorite player is actually Buster Posey. Like me, he is a rookie this year. He is hitting .342 and has 9 home runs and 46 RBIs in not very much time. People say he may win Rookie of the Year. He hit a two-run homer on the game I went to, and Dad bought me a Posey T-shirt in addition to my new Giants hat. Dad says Posey is like this guy named Will Clark, who emerged when Dad started watching the Giants and was his favorite player when he was a kid.

Watching the Padres score so much was tiring

This is almost as valuable as my birth certificate

Some of you are probably wondering how I managed during my debut at the major-league ballpark. Well, here's the play by play:

In the first inning, I watched the game with Mom and Dad in the seats. In the second through fourth innings, I went upstairs with Mom to eat. Then in the fifth inning I cried, in part because the Giants were losing so badly. Dad ran me back upstairs to the swanky Club Level section and calmed me to sleep by putting me in a baby carrier. Then Dad got a sandwich and some beverage in a dark bottle, and he watched the fifth and sixth innings from the Club area. In the seventh and eighth innings, all of us walked around the stadium, and in the ninth, I ate again. We then left for home and heard a bunch of angry Giants fans on the radio.

Don't get me wrong; I love the Giants. It's just that as every true Giants fan knows, this team is not easy to watch. It is always a struggle. Dad says it wouldn't have been right, anyway, for the Giants to have won in my first game. When Dad started watching the team in 1985, they lost more than 100 games.

Mom Edition: Four days of fun!

Finn’s had quite the extended weekend starting on Friday in San Francisco and ending yesterday back in Sacramento. We visited a museum, an historic site, a baseball game and the zoo. We also saw some good friends and family along the way and also “skyped” with Grandpa Jim and the Tysell family in Russia while on their cruise. We're pretty exhausted, so we plan on staying home for the next few weekends. Come and visit us!

Friday – The De Young Museum (http://deyoung.famsf.org/)

Exploring the permanent collection makes Finn sleepy.

A great, but cloudy view of San Francisco from the top of the museum’s tower

Saturday – Filoli (http://www.filoli.org)

The Yamamura and McDowell families in front of the Sunken Garden

We also dropped by cousin Kevin Cunningham’s house for a family gathering.

Sunday – AT&T Park (http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/)

Finn’s first Giants’ game

(He has actually already been to a Sacramento River Cats AAA baseball and Slugs softball games in preparation for the major leagues.)

Monday – Sacramento Zoo (http://www.saczoo.com)

Finn dons his wild animal bib for a trip to the zoo. The giraffe enclosure was a special treat.

Suzy holds Finn in front of the Conservation Carousel at the zoo.

Weight, Weight, Don't Tell Me

I went in for my "two-month" checkup last week. I use quotes because it was actually more than 10 weeks after I was born. Doc says I'm doing great.

It's not really news, but the scale confirmed that I'm a champion eater. I could probably hit the infant competitive eating circuit if they had a breast milk category. Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi had better watch out. I'm like Chestnut and Kobayashi combined into one.

I am thinking about what's for dinner.

Anyway, the scale says I'm 15 pounds, 3.6 ounces. At 10 weeks, that's huge. Like 95th percentile huge. I'm heavier than Mom and Dad each were at 3 months. My head circumference and length are not so huge, like 50th percentile. This means I'm chunky and healthy. At this age, it also means I'm cute, if I may say so myself.

Is this a doctor's office or a butcher shop?

I can't do too much about the length. Mom and Dad aren't exactly the tallest people around, so I guess I'm lucky if I can stay at the 50th percentile there. Dad says he's going to take me running as soon as I can run, so don't worry about those extra pounds too much.

Mom Edition: A stroll down memory lane

Finn is 10 weeks old today, and so it seems appropriate to take a look back at my little boy and how he's changed over the last two-plus months. I have put together a retrospective of never-published-before snapshots of his first nine weeks to chronicle his little life. Tomorrow Finn has his official 2-month check-up with the pediatrician, so we'll be sure to report back on his updated stats.

June 2 – 0 weeks
Here we go, all the way back to Finn's birthday.


June 8 – 1 week
A pleasant run-in with some nursing school friends at the park.

June 19 – 2 weeks
Finn's posing in front of a pretty ikebana flower arrangement sent by auntie and uncle.

June 24 – 3 weeks
Kym, another nursing school friend, takes Finn's vital signs. He's looking good.

July 3 – 4 weeks
Bobbee, Grandpa Jim's friend, hosted a Finn Fest to celebrate his one month "birthday."

July 9 – 5 weeks
Tabatha, an Explorit friend, is happy that our little science experiment is going well.

July 16 – 6 weeks
Traci, a Lindsay Wildlife Museum friend, thinks our little animal is doing just fine.

July 21 – 7 weeks
Grandma Keithette got a smile, one of Finn's first, on a recent visit.

July 28 – 8 weeks
Rick, another Explorit chum and Kaiser pediatrician, weighs Finn in his arms. He was only a couple pounds off.

August 7 – 9 weeks
Great Auntie Eileen and Great Uncle Ron size Finn up. They have four grandkids of their own, so they are pros.

Finnderland

Mom, Dad and I walked over to Funderland on Sunday. Yes, there is a place called Funderland in our neighborhood. It's been there at least since Dad was my age. I don't think the rides have changed much. It's like a permanent carnival for kids, but without the scary carnies.

At 24 inches, I didn't meet the height requirements for most rides, but I did get to ride a train. I can't think of much to say, so I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Wild horses couldn't drag me away ... from a nap.

We're waiting to board the train. It got delayed by a pack of 3-year-olds on the tracks.

Here we are on our way to Funderland Station.

I wanted to fly, but Mom says I have to learn how to crawl first.

Mom Edition: I scream, you scream…

This past week Finn took his first trip to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Gunther’s, a Sacramento institution, is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Although it’s been unseasonably cool this summer, ice cream this good is hard to pass up. And, hey, I burn a lot of calories breastfeeding (an average of 500 calories per day), so I don’t feel too much guilt.

Sorry, Finn. The chocolate-dipped coconut cone is for mommies only.

Finn also attended his first political rally at the Capitol Wednesday. He is a Sacramento baby after all. It was a cause near and dear to his heart: breastfeeding. The California Breastfeeding Coalition put on an awards ceremony recognizing baby-friendly hospitals and organizations. Both Kaiser South Sacramento, where Finn was born, and the Sacramento Bee, where Kevin works, were honored (Article from Sacbee.com).

Kevin came out to support the cause on the south steps of the capitol.

Heather, president of the Sacramento Breastfeeding Coalition chapter, visits with Finn a week before the big event.

Finn's Buyer's Guide: Summer 2010

After 9 weeks, I've had a chance to test drive a lot of baby gear. Moms and Dads get a lot of advice before having a kid on what to buy, but each of us is different. So what works for one might not work for another.

With that in mind, I offer you my first-ever review of my stuff. As fair warning, my opinion may be entirely different a week from now depending on my mood and growth spurts. Yes, I am that fickle.

1. Exercise Ball
I love the exercise ball. When I'm wailing, a couple minutes of bouncing on the exercise ball in Dad's arms is enough to calm me down. Sometimes I even fall asleep while we bounce. Not sure why Mom and Dad waited until Week 4 to discover this, but I'm glad they did. And so are they.

I have a lot of stuffed animal friends.

2. Ergo
This is a baby carrier that allows me to be close to Mom and Dad while they walk around, hike or do other things. I can't see very much from my perch in the Ergo, but that doesn't matter because 90 percent of the time I fall asleep listening to a heartbeat.

I went all this way to see the ocean, and all I got was a view of Daddy's chest.

3. BumGenius diapers
We went 97.2 percent cloth after four weeks, and these BumGenius diapers were the main reason why. I wear these at night, and they are strong enough to make it all the way through without a blowout. They are pricey at $17.95 a pop, but well worth it.

3a. Thirsties fitted diaper covers
We're going to make brief reference here to diaper covers, but we don't think they deserve their own number. After fiddling with different diaper covers, there's a clear winner in the fitted Thirsties ones. These provide a tight enough seal to contain all of my business. Right now I'm on the small size, but I'll be heading over to medium soon enough, as you know if you've seen my recent pictures.

Sock Monkey doesn't have a diaper cover. I hope he didn't soil this blanket.

4. Miracle Blanket
This is a very bizarre contraption that basically turns me into a mummy. But I still like to be swaddled, since it reminds me of the womb. Also, my arms have a mind of their own, and they'd hit me in the face and wake me up if it weren't for a tight swaddle. Dad likes this better than the "Swaddle Me" velcro sack, but Mom could go either way.

5. BOB Revolution stroller
As Mom puts it, this is the SUV of strollers. Which is funny, since Mom and Dad don't have an SUV. As most of you know, they cram me into their little Volkswagens, which work fine (though we really put that Golf to the test this weekend). Anyway, the BOB is a jogging stroller that has inflatable tires and shocks. It's what I rode in during our hikes at Point Reyes, and it's very comfy for walks around town.

Dad keeps me on a tight leash. (Don't worry, the leash is actually a safety device.)

And that's it. Watch for another buyer's guide in a few months when I review things like sippy cups and high chairs. I bet you can't wait.

Mom Edition: Blanket Coverage

Finn is now officially 2 months old. This means the monthly installment of Finn and Sock Monkey is due. He is definitely outpacing Sock Monkey in the girth – and growth – department.

Finn’s pretty proud of his growing achievements.

You’ve seen the Sock Monkey blanket a few times already. This blanket was sent especially for Finn by his Great Great Aunt Dot who lives in Huntington Beach. But Finn is lucky enough to have a lot of special blankets in his possession.

Here is a photo of his nursery which shows two handmade blankets, one quilted by Grandma Keithette (hanging over the crib) and one knitted by my college friend Tessa (hanging over the glider):


That’s not all! He has several more beautiful blankets to lounge on. From left to right is a personalized blanket from the Sterns, a crocheted hand-me-down from Great Grandma Kawasaki who made this blanket for Kevin when he was a baby, and another knitted blanket made by a co-worker of Grandpa Jim’s:


Last but not least is the blanket that Finn has been using on his playmat. He’ll sometimes lie on his back and at other times on his belly for “tummy time.” This is Grandma Emi’s first crocheting project: