Christmastime in the City

Finn has had the chance to experience some of the holiday cheer around Sacramento this season.

Christmas light display at 53rd & S Streets. They go all out!

In front of the Capitol building. We got to hear a holiday music show inside the Rotunda.

The Christmas tree in front of the Capitol. We caught a break in the rain to see it up close.

Here's the tree inside the Crocker Art Museum where we visited on mommy's birthday.

My 6-month checkup

Here I am doing push-ups, which has led to my slimming down.

Here I am sporting my Brian Wilson mohawk.

Pound for pound, I'm the best boxer in the world.

I went in for my 6-month checkup this week. It wasn't so bad except for the four shots I had to endure.

The bottom line: I'm no longer a chunky baby. Yes, I still have big cheeks, but you can see my neck now. I haven't gained a ton of weight in the last couple of months, despite what my parents' tired arms may say. I am now in the 50th to 75th percentile for weight, a drop from the 90th-plus I'd been at.

Must be all those workout videos I've been watching.

Doc says I'm normal and that things look good. And now that I'm no longer chunky, I can have all the green beans and sweet potatoes I want at Christmas! At least that's my interpretation.

Mom Edition: 'Tis the season to celebrate Finn's 1/2 birthday

Finn turned 6 months last week on December 2nd. He's growing and changing all the time. We don't get an official update on his statistics until Monday's doctor appointment, but that doesn't mean that the monthly sock monkey photo shoot is on hold.

Finn's showing off his flexibility!

Also, last week we took the opportunity to go chop down a Christmas tree at Davis Ranch and get into the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, Finn was sleeping during the actual tree selection process, but he got to experience the drama of putting the tree on the roof of the car. We had to stop a couple of times on the way home to make sure it was secure. The tree made it home intact and into the new tree stand and fully decorated. Not sure if Finn is too impressed with the new edition to the living room, but I think he'll like it more when the presents start arriving.

Checking on the tree. Looks good!

Yay! The tree is finally standing. That's always the hardest part.

Cousin Tim came by for a visit and to supervise Finn and the tree trimming process.

Finn says, "I spy lots of presents coming my way."

Gobble, gobble

I enjoyed my very first Thanksgiving last week. It was great. I ate, watched a parade, watched football and slept. And slept some more.

We started the day at the Run to Feed the Hungry with 25,000 of our closest friends. More like Freeze to Feed the Hungry. It was frigid when we got out there. I was bundled up, but it was still bitter outside.

I'm told it's a Sacramento tradition. Like Bay to Breakers in San Francisco, but without the drunk people, costumes, streaking or public urination. Run to Feed the Hungry is more family friendly. And that's something to be thankful for.

For me, the event was more like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Let's call it Mr. Finn's Wild Ride. Mom and Dad wanted to run even though we lined up behind about 24,990 people. So my parents thought it would be fun to dodge people on sidewalks, on grass and over curbs. We nearly hit a few small kids until we left the course halfway through and went on our own run back to the car.





Then we high-tailed it down to Richmond, where the Tysells were hosting Thanksgiving dinner. We had 13 people. It was a great feast, from what I heard. I was only allowed to drink milk and have some sweet potato mush. I was the center of attention as usual.


My Dad and I also went to Grandpa and Grandma's house on Sunday for another great Thanksgiving meal (again, so I heard). I fed myself. Then I slept all the way home. I guess there's tryptophan in sweet potato mush.

Mom Edition: Fun at the park

We've discovered that it's fun to play at the park. Finn can't do too much on his own yet, but Kevin and I are game to show Finn the ropes. I'm sure it won't be too long before we'll be chasing him around the playground.

Here's what we've tried so far:

Getting into the swing of things

I'm 5 months old!

I have grown a lot in 5 months!

What a week! I'm 5 months old now. I'm a lot bigger than I used to be. I'm also making a lot more noise and laughing with my parents and goofing around. I'm more aware of lights and sounds, which means I'm more entertaining. But it also means I get distracted a lot more easily.

It was a big week. The Giants won the World Series, which was a really big deal. I waited a long time for this. Five whole months! Woo hoo!!!! I was asleep at the time it happened, but I saw the first two innings with my parents and read about the team in the paper the next day.

I suffered a lot back in the dog days of summer when we watched the Giants. If you can believe it, at the very time I was born, the Giants were in fourth place in the N.L. West. Obviously I was their good luck charm. But I haven't had to suffer as long as Daddy or my grandparents.

I have my game face on during Game 5.

I don't really know what the big deal is, actually. I mean, don't the Giants win the World Series every year? They have every year that I've been alive.

Showing off my goofy smile for the ladies.

Other than that, I saw my grandparents in Roseville on Thursday so we could let Mommy sleep. And then I met my friend Maya on Friday. She was born one day after I was, but all the way on the other side of the country. She's the daughter of my dad's college friend, Adam. Maya and I are both pretty big for our age.