Finn Henry

The Wonder Pets Go To Mexico (or something) by Digital Tempest

Wonder Pets

It seems that a very busy weekend has caught up with The Foozle. After his trip to the snow on Friday & Saturday and a family gathering at my parents’ yesterday he’s decidedly flat today and has a bark like a seal.

I snuck some cough medicine into his morning juice and now he’s dressed warmly and parked on the couch in front of pay TV children’s programming. My planned trip to the shops might have to wait until Mark gets home this evening so I can keep today as low key as possible.

My fingers are firmly crossed that all he needs is a day’s rest and he’ll be ready to bounce off to childcare tomorrow.

This weekend just gone Finn went for his first ever trip to the snow with Cousin Danny, Aunty Fee and Uncle Fig. Although he came back super-tired, as you would expect, he seems super-excited and obviously had a wonderful time.

Unfortunately with such tiredness comes temper tantrums like we have never seen before. I hope they don’t last; we are all used to and happy with our agreeable and lovely boy and would like him back very soon.

As I backed out of Fig & Fee’s driveway this morning after handing Finn over to them I was relieved. We’d been talking to Finn all week about his trip to the snow with Danny, Uncle Big and Aunt Bee, staying overnight with them up there and being collected by Dad on Saturday and he’d seemed perfectly fine with it. A little excited even.

I’ve learned about the fickleness of boys, though, and I was prepared for him to change his mind at the very last minute and insist on coming home with me. I was sincerely hoping he wouldn’t, because I know he’ll have a great time. Fortunately he seemed to think so too and he waved happily from their car as I left. I was relieved, happy and a little excited for him.

A moment ago it occurred to me that tonight will be only the second time that Finn has slept away from home without us (the last time he stayed with Danny too). And in that moment I missed him dreadfully.

A Feat of Engineering by Nicky P

Finn getting really clever with his tracks (as well as being terribly clever generally)

Sailing Kids by MarkOMeara

Finn and James had a lovely time today on the Enterprize down at Williamstown. I am sure it’s a morning he’ll be talking about for years to come.

James and Toby by MarkOMeara

I heard about the Thomas recall this morning and hoped like hell that it didn’t apply to all the products. That would have been a tragedy of epic proportions.

Fortunately it’s only James and some other red and yellow pieces that have lead in their paint. Our James, the fire engines and a couple of signs have been removed from the toy box and stashed until I work out where to return them to.

Of course Finn has been asking for James to go out to the sand pit with the other engines. I’ve told him that he’s gone away because he’s a bit sick. We’ll be explaining James’ absence for a long time, I think.

The Boy and the Big Red Truck by MarkOMeara

Now and then Finn will tell me “They call me Finn”.

I get the impression he is talking about the other kids at childcare but generally the significance is lost on me.

Today it became “they call me Finn…because I win.”

Sounds pretty good to me.

It Monday morning and happily it is a public holiday so that means no childcare for Finn. Instead he bounced happily out of bed at twenty to eight.

Once again he wants to go to the Nursery Rhymes (his name for the Melbourne show) and once again I have had to explain that this will not be on for months yet.

Happily he is now distracted making a wonderful new track for his engines.

Before Leila was born I picked up a Thomas carrycase and 12 Thomas vehicles cheaply on Ebay, intending to use the vehicles as rewards for good behaviour after Leila came home. The idea was that when Finn had been good a vehicle would magically appear and he would never know where it came from. This didn’t really work out, though, because he worked out that the vehicles were in the top of the wardrobe in the study and began nagging daily for something from his ‘Thomas box’.

In the meantime Finn’s teacher of the deaf, Ros, had brought a Mr Potato Head toy with her on one of her visits. It made such an impression that every time Ros visited after that he would ask if she had ‘Mr Tater Head’ with her. So I bought Finn his own yesterday and thought it might distract him from his Thomas obsession for a while.

I gave Mr Potato Head to him this morning. The excitement lasted for full 15 minutes before he was back nagging about the Thomas box. So I gave in. I took the Thomas carrycase and remaining vehicles out of the wardrobe and gave Finn the lot. Mr Potato Head was packed up and put in the wardrobe, instantly forgotten.

Thomas obviously rules.