Things Kids Say and Other Ramblings

Fintan is hilarious. His brain never stops. He asks really good questions that often stump Mama and Dada. The other day he asked out of no where, "Why, if you climb up a mountain, and are getting closer to the son, does it get colder?"  or  "How did the earth start?". Jeff and I were talking about something on TV the other day that had to do with lawyers and Fin asked, "What's a lawyer?" and I said, "someone who argues for a living." Fin replied, with complete seriousness, "So I'm a lawyer?" WE JUST ABOUT DIED OF LAUGHTER. He was a little confused as to why it was so funny, but man, what a kid.


Mac is talking non-stop. He communicates more and more every day. He's funny and very independent. Says, "Mac-a do that" when he wants to do something. He has an accent, not sure why, with words that have the long a sound. For example, with the word take, he says "tye-ke" so it would rhyme with Thai. It cracks us up. Also, he loves telling stories before bed can easily ramble for 30 minutes about "a car" and "a ramp" and "go fast" and "Dada" and "Fin sad" and "cul-de-sac" and "cold out". I think he was talking about the remote control car and how it crashed. But he tells me this story quite a bit. He asks to come to work with me almost every day "I come wiff?" And when I say, "Not today." He ALWAYS says, "Maybe later." It's so sweet. He also has in his mind two places that Jeff and I go individually. For dada it's either, "Dada squash" or "Dada golf" and for Mama it's either, "Mama hospital" or "Mama exercise". And, to be honest, he's got us pretty well pegged.


Lula is doing wonderfully. She is a healthy baby. Her VSD is healing up, if not totally closed. She is growing perfectly (she went from 70th percentile to 88th for length in 2 months!), and she is great on weight, head circumference, etc. Hair is still red and she is still an absolute dream of a baby; so content, crazy happy. At night when she wakes up to nurse, she doesn't wail, she sort of chirps and when I go in a say, "Hey buddy" she giggles, smiles, nurses, and falls back asleep. Amazing. Her brothers dote on her so much. They are very aware of her, like to play with her to make her laugh, concerned when she cries, and always asking about where she is if she happens to not be with us.


We went to Mexico last week and it was well-due. I had a in-training exam (an exam that makes sure I'm learning anesthesia) prior to leaving so I had been studying quite a bit prior to leaving. The kiddos did alright on the flight (yes, there was some screaming but only from being overtired, not from misbehaving). We had a glorious week. It was so nice to just be together. Fin became super comfortable in the ocean and the pool. Mac was a little unsure about the ocean but warmed up by the end. Mac really made strides in the swimming pool and was pretty much swimming by the end. Lula was happy in the ocean or in the pool and loved splashing around. She also would doze off in the beach and sleep on a towel in the sand. We are really grateful for our yearly pilgrimage to Mexico as a family. NanaBob were also there of course as well as family friends Pete and Cheryl-ann. Always nice to see everyone-Jeff and I even got a date night out! The warmth, the water, our family, the food (and margaritas), were so great.


Grandpa and Grandma took the two boys to a motorcycle show in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. Well, Mac asks for a motorcycle or to go to the motorcycle show just about every other day!


Fin has been going to St Paul with Jeff every Saturday to play squash with some other junior kids. He's rapidly improving and loves the social aspect. It'll be great when Mac, and then Lu, are able to join. Such a special time for Jeff and the kiddos. Fin also started tennis lessons here in town and is doing wonderfully. He had a violin recital on Sunday (the day after we got back from Mexico) and he did great. He wasn't nervous and played well. He derailed a little bit in the middle of the song but powered through and recovered without issue. He didn't even mention it later! Jeff and I were both so proud that he didn't fall apart and didn't let it get him down.


Mac, Naty, and Lu hang out all day when Fin is at school. Mac has taken to taking off his diaper and swinging it above his head during naptime. He can be such a crazy person! Cracks us up.


Fin and Jeff headed to Colorado today for the US National Squash tournament. Those two little travelers! They are such little buddies. Jeff doesn't play until tomorrow night so they are going to go do some hiking in the foothills tomorrow, maybe at Red Rock Amphitheater.  I miss them so much already! Mac, Lu, and I are going to have some stellar time together though. Three of my friends from high school and I all had babies within about 12 weeks of each other so we're doing a grand meet-up this weekend. It'll be great to see everyone and have pure baby chaos.


I don't have the capacity at work to upload pictures but thought I'd get some writing in. Overall summary, it's all good. Work is obviously tough, and the hours are long (currently I see the kids for about 15 minutes in the morning and that is it) and Jeff's commute is tough, but we're doing it and prioritizing ourselves and our family and, all things considered, we're such a happy, lucky family.