A Night in Pictures

The past week or so, Finn has decided to stay up later than usual.  So instead of our quick and short evenings together, the past two nights we've had several hours together.  I haven't gotten as much work done as I should, but it's been great having that much time with him.  Last night we were having such a good time, I broke out the camera - some of the pictures are a little dark, but it was early evening and I was trying to avoid the flash.  

Finn's dinner is now shared with me, and he eats what I eat.  He's taken to wanting to feed me a few bites, which he thinks is hilarious, and also wanting to sample some of what's on my plate, even though we have the same food.

Mexican chicken - yum!

Then we've practiced sign language - his technique is a little off, but the message is clear.

More!

More!

More!

In the time it takes for him to eat his dinner, I eat my dinner, have an apple (which I share with Finn) for dessert and clean the kitchen.  He's a very slow eater. Perhaps I should learn from his example and eat a little more slowly, too.  It's supposed to make it easier to eat less when you eat more slowly, right?  For the past two nights, while he's eating, he's also been drinking.  Drinking what, you ask?  Drinking breast milk!  From a sippy cup!  So far it hasn't made a difference in how much he nurses at night.  Ok, so it didn't make much of a difference last night.  But maybe tonight!

Yay mommy's milk!

After he gets cleaned up (it's much harder to clean him up when he's fed himself than when I feed him), it's time to play on the floor.

Not this toy

Are you talking to me?

And now - we dance!

There's lots of giggles, playing with toys and general goofiness before heading upstairs for bed.  From here we stick to our regular routine: bath (not every night), bedtime music, soft lights, a little playtime and then a few stories.  He still fights going to sleep, but the slightly later bedtime has cut down the fight time to about 20-30 minutes.  Still way too long, but it's not as bad as it was.  He still does the up and down thing but it takes a lot less time for him to settle down and go to sleep, and so it's easier for me to tolerate without getting frustrated.  And he has (for the most part) stopped trying to throw himself off the side of the bed.  Never thought a highlight of my days would be when my baby gives up on trying to take a header off the bed.

I love these evenings.  The thing about babies is that the routine is always changing, but I hope this one stays around a while.

Before bedtime cuddles

On a completely unrelated note - several people asked me about the eggless, wheatless cake mix I got for Finn. I got it from Earth Fare, made by Cherrybrook Kitchen.  I'll let you know how it tastes!