evening routine with extra cuteness

Wow. sometimes with kids the simplest most boring night can turn into a funfest. Finley was in super cuteness mode tonight after we got home from school and work. He fell asleep in the car on the drive home from school and then when we got into the house he acted all bewildered to be home. then when he saw his daddy, Fin lit up and giggled and started running around the kitchen and that was just the beginning. Lately his favorite book is the Dr. Suess "Foot Book" which we are totally sick of reading and re-reading to him but he just can't get enough and he is always brining that book to us! funny.

he went and read books and played trains with his dad while I made dinner. we just got out the little push train set with little wooden tracks on saturday (today is monday) and the first day he was mr.destrcutor and was onyl interested in destroying the tracks and pulling apart the train. then yesterday we played with it again and he started to figure out how to be more gentl but overall he was still pretty rough with it and always tore apart the cars and tracks. then suddenly this evening Finley was very gentle with it and was making "toot, toot" noises and oushing thre cars along ther tracks with his dad. Finley was even getting upset when the train cars wuld separate or fall off the track-and he would start fake-crying. Bill and I were amazed at this quyick transpofrmation in play from rough to gentle with the desire to make the trains work right in just 2 days. we laughed but then realized that we did not know if we should help Fin "fix" the traiun when it fell off the track and Fin would "cry" or if we should make Fin figure it out himself. (oh the confusion of parenting).

so as the evening went on, every little bit Fin would come running and skipping into the kitchen to show me a book or a toy. he was hugging and kissing his stuffed animals (which he usually ignores).

we had lasagna and he scarfed down the dinner and made a big mess and started yelling "down, down" at the dog. (I wonder where he gets that?).

of course he finished dinner first so we let him run around while Bill & I finished up and cleaned up. Finley ran into the living room and was dancing to the music we had playing during dinner.

then he started doing some sort of little sign (arm bent by his chest near armpit) at us over and over again while skipping and jumping-and it was so cute so we looked it up in our baby sign language flashcards and it was the sign for "happy"!!! we were so surprised and proud-it made us want to cry.

then the dog started smelling his butt so we knew Fin probably pooped so we asked him if he wanted to get changed (and I did the sign for this) and Fin started doing the hand sign for "change" over and over again and clapping for himself!! it is so awesome to see him learning so fast right before our eyes!.

Finley has also learned to give people "five" up, down and middle. hilarious. and Finley is just now starting to learn how to point to body parts-right now he only knows "nose" reliably (he'll point to his own and yours when you ask "where's my nose?").

I's 8:30pm and Finley just went to bed for the night. it is a cold (30 degrees) and windy evening. Bill went to the grocery store to grab a few things for us. and I am supposed to be doing work on my computer but I really don't want to do it. BT's investors are coming to town on wednesday so we have a big presentation t do. I am just so tired of work lately I just want to crawl in a hole and write and write. and ignore all people. and keep doing this until I FINALLY get all the writing done that has been plaguing me for months. I have so many manuscripts and grants and job applications to write-it is ridiculous. I just never ever have time to "catch up" on any of it. there is always something new to attend to. ugh. I don't know when I am going to get anything on my "to do" list done b/c new things keep getting added.