Finn, our blue eyed boy

When I first met Finn, he weighed less than 10 pounds, was puffy, all curled up...and the cutest thing I had ever seen. He was the first-born of our best friends, and as I held him and rested his newborn body on my big belly, I thought, "Soon, little Kieran will meet you, too." We didn't know whether Kieran would be a boy or girl, so we weren't sure if they would play "pirates" or "house," but we were excited that we would raise them together. We discovered that even their names were connected: Finn "fair-haired" and Kieran "little dark one."

Since then they've played t-ball together, found treasure at the beach, watched movies, fought over toys, ridden in the wagon, chased each other at outdoor concerts, ridden horses, played guitar, jumped on the sofa, and taken baths which will embarrass them when they're older. We noticed early on that they get along like brothers--not always sweetly--but with the recognition that they've been together from the start.

Yesterday was Finn's birthday, and we were honored to spend it with the big guy at Red Robin (his favorite) and the movies watching Madagascar 2. The funny guy sang his own rendition of "I like to move it, move it" at lunch, and it will forever be "his song" in my mind. (That, and "3 Little Birds"...And when Kieran asked for a bite of his birthday ice cream, Finn dipped right in and gave him one.

Finn, we love you more each day, each year. As Kieran explained to me this morning: "I like to go play baseball with Finn, cause he's on my team. He's my pirate friend, because he loves me." Happy Birthday to our Pirate Friend Finn.

Ho Ho Holy Moly!

This Christmas season is speeding by! The boys are full of energy and love the decorations throughout the neighborhood. Today, we finally put up our tree, which was...well, an adventure, we'll say. They helped put a couple of ornaments and garland on the tree, but they preferred to play with the wrapping paper rolls like "lipe savers."

Kieran's Christmas program was Friday, and he got to play Santa! I had a hard time finding a Santa costume in his size, so I made one out of a woman's thermal shirt and the cuffs off some $1 stockings. I was proud of how it turned out, and both boys have gotten use out of it, since Connery wore it Saturday night, too. Here's a video from the Christmas program. Prepare yourself for cuteness.





Friday night, we went to Sandy's company dinner, which was nice. He works with some guys we've known since they were in grad school together, but we never get to catch up with them. Now that we're married and have kids, it's a treat to dress up and have dinner together.

Saturday night was exciting, as we bundled up to ride on the Rotary Club float at the Christmas parade. Connery dressed as Santa, and Kieran dressed as a pirate, which is unusually appropriate since the theme of the float was "Parrots of the Caribbean," Rotary Club's annual fundraiser. We froze but really had fun waving at everyone while another little boy on the float did the hula dance. ;)


Lucky for us, the parade ended downtown, right next to Bandito Burrito, one of our favorite haunts. Always yummy, and more impor-tantly WARM! And apparent- ly, St. Nick loves Bandito, too, because he and Mrs. Claus showed up!! Sandy and I were excited that the boys got to see him...and we didn't have to wait in line at the mall ;) It was a little surreal watching Santa order nachos, though--like running into your elementary school teacher wearing blue jeans at the grocery store. Connery was in awe and neither one of the boys recognized that Mrs. Claus was our dear, dear friend Sabrina, the one who gave Connery his first haircut nearly a year ago!

Then Sandy and I celebrated the season at a very irreverent (but HySTeriCAL!) play "The 8: Reindeer Monologues" which featured three of my former students. At one point in the play, as we watched one of my "babies," Sandy said, "You did that." I can't describe how proud I was to see Robert, Adam and Jeremy on that stage. I'm humbled to take the blame ;) Then we danced to great reggae music at a local Kush gig. My friend Nichelle sings in the band, and we are never disappointed when we hear them play. I laughed when they played "I Shot the Sheriff"...the boys sing that song, too ;)

We've got several Christmas parties and LOTS of wrapping still ahead before the threat of "Are you being good? Or is Santa going to put you on the Naughty list?" is no longer in effect. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the Christmas lights, watch White Christmas a few more times, and try not to let the holiday rush take us over.