Finn Henry

0387 - Lion at Knowsley Safari Park by philbeth

We work out a lot of what Finn says to us by repitition and context which explains why it took us a while to understand that he wanted to use some chairs for a lion hunt. Despite our best efforts we couldn’t work out how this game worked so we invented a new one.

We hid the Lion (a bear Saul) in the lounge room with all the lights off and then sent Finn in with a torch to find said Lion. I know this is the sort of thing I would have loved as a kid and I’m pleased to say that Finn seemed to really enjoy it to.

On most days I wish desperately for Finn to be just a little bit more self-sufficient and not need me to help with most things. Today I’ve learned to be careful what I wish for.

This morning Finn & I were playing in the front bedroom and he went off, I thought, to get a book. He got distracted and I fell asleep (what can I say … it was warm, I was tired). The next thing I knew he was back blathering on at me about the water being too hot. When I got over my initial panic that he had scalded himself and ascertained that he hadn’t I realised that he was also carrying on about something in the bathroom that needed my attention. The basin was just about to overflow when I got there. The plug wasn’t in but the hand towel had somehow made its way into the basin and blocked the plughole. It seems that someone had decided to wash his hands without asking for help to turn the tap on and was then unable to turn it off.

This afternoon I sat in the front room to give Leila a bottle while Finn played in the other room. Leila fell asleep when she finished so I sat for a while longer, since Finn sounded like he was playing happily enough. At worst I thought he’d be making a huge mess. He was, but there was much, much more going on.

When Leila woke up I went in search of the boy. I found him in Leila’s room using her baby wipes to clean his bum. We’ve been having some issues with Finn pooing in his pants, rather than leaving whatever he’s doing and going to the toilet, so we’ve been nagging him a lot about how poo belongs in the toilet. At least some of it seems to have had an effect.

Finn had still pooed in his pants, but he’d taken it upon himself to clean it up. He’d removed the poo and put it in the toilet. He used almost a whole roll of toilet paper trying to wipe his bum and when that wasn’t completely successful he’d gone to Leila’s room to use some baby wipes. When I arrived he thought he’d finished the job. Not quite. There was a pile of used toilet paper on the toilet floor. Dirty baby wipes on the floor in Leila’s room. And then those hands … I’ll be doing the rounds with a cloth and some spray cleaner shortly.

This is my penance for complaining about him needing my help every five minutes.

Before we head to bed one of us tucks Finn under his doona which is both sweet for us and completely necessary. Every single night he falls asleep with the doona pushed aside. Not only that we look a little like a bomb has gone off in his room and his body was throw across the room and landed in it’s current position.

I know all of that sounds alarming but it is very cute in its own way.

I not beeling well Nicky. I need to go to hostible. They will make me better at hostible. There will be lotta toys at hostible. There will be one boy ding and lotta grownup dings, but grownups can’t touch them. They’re just for hostible people. I not beeling well Nicky.

For the record he seems perfectly fine and has just finished eating his toast.

Finn and the Elevated Railway by MarkOMeara

One of Finn’s jobs is to feed the cats and dogs and he does this really well. To let the dogs eat he simply says “Good dogs”. Cats need no encouragement but all the same Finn firms tells them to “eat your bood”.

Other little verbal quirks that will sadly be also one day be lost include “have good day” which I particularly like. Also “eben” instead of either which is mostly accompanied by a very earnest tone.

These words, can you tell me, are Finn’s current favourites. I think he uses it sometimes when he hasn’t really heard the question and sometimes when he just doesn’t want to think about the answer.

Quite aside from that he asks so sweetly that it is terribly cute and all too easy to just tell him.