pollardfamily

2012-02-03T22:07:00.002-06:00

We are totally out of order here, but mama is playing catch up with pictures emailed to her from dada and Ga. First up, a lovely pic of me and my best bud Thomas as Shepards in the Christmas play at school. We are all going to miss Thomas next year! He keeps me in line, except when I convince him to behave badly (and get on red, oops).

During the holidays when Finn and I were pretty jazzed up, Ga read Finn and I Christmas stories on the Ipad. It kept us still for a half a minute.
This is Christmas Eve - Finn and I wore our best outfits, and suspenders from Ga, to welcome Santa.
A pic of me and Brenden. He puts up with a lot from me, and we all love him for it.
Finn on Christmas morning. He loved, and still loves, this rocket ship from Aunt Peggy.
Another pic of me and my buddy.
Evidence of how bad poor Finn felt. Poor baby.
The Martins!
Ga, Papa, and all their grandbabies. Has anyone ever seen Ga so happy?
Merry Christmas, again!

2012-02-02T09:41:00.001-06:00

Although the family would have liked to have seen all ones, dada thinks that one "2" for skipping is just fine. Hooray for Second Baptist. I'm enjoying my last semester there, and think I'm just about ready for Kindergarten next year.

2012-01-15T23:37:00.002-06:00

Dada flew in grandma and grandpa for mama's surprise partner party. Keegan and I were super glad that we got to hang out with them -- we even got to see them on Friday and Keegan kept that surprise from mama!

Grandma was very impressed that I am good with eating with a fork. She made me french toast and I gobbled it up.
I think the french toast helped me to keep healing up from this nasty bout of hand, foot and mouth disease. It's been horrible, and was responsible for my first trip to the ER. Thankfully I'm on the mend. Now we just need all the nasty sores to clear up.

2012-01-15T23:13:00.002-06:00

Look! Santa came! He left his boot prints at the beach and Ga didn't even get mad.

This was the Christmas of Ninjago. I think almost everything I got was Ninjago. I was excited to get lots of new ninja books too, including "chapter" books that don't even have pictures.
Kai is my favorite ninja, so I love my new Kai shirt.
We were all sick for Christmas, every last one of us. Finn especially. He felt super rotten. He tried to rally to open his gifts, but he wore out about half way through.
All these toys, and I just want to sit here.
It helped that Ga gave us so much loving.
2011 was the year of sick-o Christmas. We did have fun too, but we all hope next year is more, well, ...well.

2012-01-15T22:19:00.001-06:00

Christmas tree 2011

2012-01-15T21:52:00.006-06:00

While we were in Florida, we had a photographer come out to the resort to take some family pictures.

We did some of our little family too.
The Hochmuth clan.

How gorgeous are these girls? It's hard for mama to believe they have grown up so much.

Happy 50th Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

2011-12-28T16:11:00.008-06:00

We went to Florida to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary in November. We flew into Miami, and spent a night there so that mama could spend the day with her best friend, Dawn. We stayed in a super cool Atrium Marriot where I fed the birds french fries and Finn and I watched the fish. It was such a great time. I kept saying "I love Florida." It was not so cool when I fell and busted my forehead open, but I didn't let it get me down.

On Tuesday we drove down to the Keys. We stopped at World Wide Sportsman, which is like Bass Pro Shop times 100, because Finn was hollering and we all needed to get out of the car.

We all felt better after some strawberry daiquiris, non-alcohol for the kids, of course.

We made it just in time to see them feed the nurse sharks. Super cool.
It was like a flood of sharks.
We walked on the docks to see the wildlife and check out the fast Florida boats. We finished the drive to the resort, and met up with Grandma and Grandpa for dinner. The resort is perfect because it is right on the marina, so each of the adults took turns taking the kiddos for walks to see the boats.
On the way back to our room, I found a coconut. Grandpa helped me to crack it open and get the coconut milk out.
I was pretty jazzed to drink it up, but honestly, it was pretty gross. That didn't stop me from collecting coconuts all week though!
On Wednesday, the guys went on a fishing trip. Everyone caught fish, and Grandpa caught some big...
and some not so big. Everyone had fun, and dada is looking forward to May 2013 for his 40th birthday trip where he IS going to catch a tarpon.
Uncle Billy caught too.
The birds were scouting some fish guts when the guys got back. That night, we took a huge catch of fish to Lazy Days restaurant and they cooked it all up for us. It was so delicious, we could hardly stand it and we ate on it the rest of the week.
Since I'm too small to go out on the boat, dada and I fished behind our condo. We didn't catch anything...
but we definitely had fun.
In usual fashion, no small creature was safe. I caught a bazillion lizards during the week. I'm fast.
On Thanksgiving morning, we went to the resort to swim in the lagoon.
Mama hopes she has inherited Grandma's legs! Hot-tee.
The Hochmuth ladies watched over Finn,
while I swam with Grandpa and Jamie. Look at the water. You can see the fish swimming around your toes.
After naps, we met at Billy and Kristen's condo for Thanksgiving dinner. We got "dinner in a box" - turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, dessert, plus we had rolls and Kristen made tasty green bean casserole. It was really pretty good. We also ate leftover fish from the guys' catch.
The condo was nice since it had this outside room where Finn and I could play, since neither of us is too keen on sitting still.
Grandpa had fun teasing Finn.
The meal.
What was really great is that after that HUGE meal, we were able to take a nice walk around the resort to look at the water and boats.
We also stopped at the fire pit for a rest.
On Friday, we went to Robbie's where you can feed the tarpon fish. Grandpa held Finn so he didn't get fed to the fish.
I hit up Grandma to buy lots of buckets of fish.
Yikes - exhilarating and terrifying!
There were cool trees to climb at Robbie's too.
Back at the resort, we watched lots of wildlife. This guy was too big to catch.
I fed him banana chunks instead.
Playing at the condo.
On Saturday, mama took me to the Pirate Ship kids pool. It was fun, but I preferred to go to the "deep pool" where I could swim.
Later we met up with Uncle Billy and the gang at the big, big pool. We had a great time playing.
The Hochmuth ladies looking good. We had such a great time in Florida. Happy anniversary to our wonderful grandparents!

2011-12-28T15:44:00.002-06:00

My soccer team, the Sidekicks. We are missing two players, because one boy never showed up until half time, and another kid was sick.

Finn watching me run around the field, chasing the ball.
It was a very windy day.
So Finn got on dada's shoulders to get out of the blowing dust.
Kicking the ball.
Family time.
Wearing mama's cool glasses to keep the dust out of my eyes. What a stud.

2011-12-28T15:03:00.002-06:00

In early November, we went down to the beach for Papa's birthday weekend. We brought our good friends the Furmans with us. While the guys went fishing on Saturday morning, the mamas and the younger kids went down to the beach.

Melissa and Thalia, looking gorgeous.
I love the beach, especially when it's like this -- not so hot or windy, sunny, and with good buddies.
We all played so well, and we didn't even get too mad at Finn when he kept knocking down our castles.
Of course, Finn kept trying to sneak bites of sand. Gross.
Brothers, getting along at this particular minute.
hahahaha, mama couldn't resist.
Three generations celebrating Papa's birthday. Yay! Many more to come!
Papa got lots of good presents, including this big blue box. There was definitely a "theme" to his gifts.

2011-12-28T14:53:00.002-06:00

Happy Halloween! Probably not a big surprise that I was Bomber Bird from the Angry Birds. I was very into trick or treating and could have walked around the entire town. I was also quite controlled with the candy eating, probably because I'm still nervous about eating too much candy ever since I ate the entire bag of gummy fish and spent all night throwing up. Lesson learned.

Finn was on the Pit Crew.
He even had a (pretend) wrench in his pocket. We tricked and treated a couple blocks together, then Finn went home with mama. He had a good time passing out candy to the kids that came to our house.
Ga made a great clown. All the kids loved her costume.
Mama and dada were Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Good times.

2011-12-28T14:50:00.004-06:00

Dada took me to my first Texans' game. I had such a blast at tailgating, and then had even more fun in the stadium. I did a pretty good job sitting still, and actually crashed out in the truck on the way home. Looking forward to lots more games with dada in the future.

Heading into the stadium.

Lovin' every minute of it!

2011-12-28T14:46:00.002-06:00

We spent a lot of time at the soccer fields this fall, between soccer practice and Saturday games. I made some good new friends and it was nice to spend time running around.

Diego and I hanging out on the sidelines.
Finn spent a lot of time on dada's shoulders since he always seemed to find himself in an ant hill.

2011-12-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

I like to sit in the front window and check out the world.

2011-12-28T14:42:00.001-06:00

This is the fall of Transformers, and Legos. I am such a boy.

2011-10-21T23:02:00.007-05:00

Mama had to go to a conference in Chicago for work, which "worked" out perfectly for a trip to see Grandma and Grandpa. I had been super excited to see Legoland, so that's the first place we went. It was so cool to be there on a Wednesday evening, because we basically had the entire place to ourselves. It was awesome!

This was the Indiana Jones exhibit. I was super excited, because it was just like the game that my buddies Luke and Davis got me for my birthday. I was also a little nervous about that tiger, who was made entirely of legos (duh, legoland).
It was really amazing, all the stuff made with legos.
Because there was no one there, we got to ride all the rides, ignoring the height restrictions. Finn rode with Grandma.
There was a super cool dragon!
After we saw a movie, where there was only 1 other family in the entire theater, we went to the play area. There are big buckets of legos to build with, and ramps to test cars. It was like they knew I was coming!
Finn liked playing in the big lego playground.
After Legoland, we went to Two Toots Cafe, where the train brings your food.
Finn really liked watching the train go by!
We also had a great time playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was kind of like Christmas, with all the gifts we got. Of course, Finn liked playing in the cabinets the best. It was all fun and games, until Finn got stuck in a pot.
One day while mama was at the conference and Finn was napping, Grandpa took me to the Children's Museum. That was cool and all, but what I really wanted was to go to Portillo's for a hot dog.
On Friday after mama was done working, we went to Cosley to see the pumpkins and check out the animals.
It was cool enough that I needed to put up my hood. It felt great!
Finn liked to move the pumpkins around.
And sit in the pumpkins.
Me and grandpa checked out the horses and cows.
I enjoyed the leaves on the ground, and got down to roll around in them. This is strange stuff for a kid from Houston.
Checking out the bunnies.
We even got to feed the ducks.
Windy.
Keegan showed me how to throw the food to the ducks.
We had fun climbing the hay bales. Now this is more like Texas.
Walking amongst the corn.

What a perfect fall day!

On Saturday, we went to the Wildlife Preserve, because it was another incredible day outside.

We followed the trail by the lake.
Although we occasionally got off the trail...
and into the forest.
Keegan on the prairie!
We had such a great time in Chicago,
and can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa in Florida next month!

2011-10-21T22:40:00.003-05:00

We had a parade to the field for our first soccer game. Here I am with my best soccer buddies, Matthew and Grafton. We decorated everyone's car with our team color - RED! Red paint, balloons, and streamers. We are the Sidekicks! Dada's TaeKwonDo school is our sponsor, so the name fits.

Decorating with mama. We had such a great time.
Ready to go at the field. It's time to play ball!
Go Sidekicks!
My favorite position is goalie. Who would have suspected that I'd prefer the stand still position?
Here I am with Coach Gel's daughter, Reese. We were sideline buddies.
This nice thing about FFPS is that who knows who won the first game? We all had fun, and that's what matters!

2011-10-21T22:32:00.001-05:00

Besides finding sight words, I'm also into writing out words too, especially when I get my hands on mama's pens. I like pens more than pencils.

2011-10-21T22:26:00.002-05:00

This was our second soccer practice. I was not on my best behavior, and we'll just leave it at that. I was getting a very stern talking to here.

That being said, I did do some good kicking, when I wanted to.

2011-10-21T22:14:00.002-05:00

This year I started playing soccer with Fair, Fun and Positive Soccer. It's a good place for me to start. Mama had to watch dada gear me up because she wasn't sure where all the gear goes. Look at my super cool GREEN soccer ball!

I have some pretty strong kicks.
My team, girls and boys.
Keep control of the ball...

2011-10-21T22:11:00.002-05:00

Things get a little crazy in the Pollard house some nights. Here, Finn is wearing my taekwondo belt and some mardi gras beads, while I do my best zombie expression. Weeee....

2011-10-21T22:04:00.002-05:00

My hairs were getting a little long, so it was time for my first haircut.

My buddy Sandy came over to do the honors. The worst offenders were my bangs!
After awhile, I needed a popsicle to help me stay still.
Ta-da! Looking so grown up, and messy.

2011-10-21T22:01:00.001-05:00

It's been nice to be able to play outside at night, since the weather has cooled off.

2011-10-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Just 'cause.

2011-10-21T21:53:00.002-05:00

I am all about finding my sight words these days. I took mama's big Land of Painted Caves book and circled all the sight words - and, it, in, see, to, on, black, brown, purple, red, green, etc. I also wrote all my sight words on flash cards that I like to go through, and on sticky notes that I post all over the house. There is not much that makes mama happier than me reading.

2011-10-21T21:41:00.002-05:00

Heeeelloooo? Who's there?

Hiiii!
It's cousin Peggy!
Cheers! We were all sooo happy to have Peggy in town.
The only bummer was the weather -- of course, it had to be really windy and a little rainy (we were not complaining about the rain, we need it!) on our holiday weekend. But, I did get a new set of crayons out of it!
Finn was also happy to have Peggy in town, who bought him a big tub of guacamole to eat.
We did take one trip down to the water, but the sand was blowing so hard we had to leave pretty quickly.
But not until we sat down to build a sand castle. Cousin Peggy, please come back soon!

2011-10-21T21:33:00.002-05:00

Mama and dada celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary (back in August). Ga made a very tasty dinner, and I was the waiter, bringing foods and drinks to them. We had margarita glasses (with water), flowers and even lit the Unity Candle from their wedding. And then we had cupcakes from Oooh La La. What a fun night!

2011-10-01T22:45:00.003-05:00

Well I'm almost 14 months old, and mama feels really guilty that she hasn't tracked all my comings and goings like she did for Keegan, so we'll take a stab at catching up.

I started walking at the end of July, although I had been "walking" for a couple months as long as I could hold on to something. Now, two months later, I'm starting to run (after Keegan, of course) and getting faster everyday. I like to stomp on stuff, and I really love to climb. I've learned how to pull things up to higher surfaces so I can climb up. For example, I pull a toy to the couch and then climb up, or my Baby Einstein table to the train table, and get up there. One of my favorite games is to put things "in" -- I take any container and fill it up, with cheerios, fruit, toys, whatever, and then take everything out; put it back in, take it out. I also love balls -- Keegan was never really into balls, so this is a new thing for my parents. Do not ever walk past a ball display at the store without stopping or I'll throw a fit. For only being 14 months, I can throw some pretty major fits. I throw fits when mama leaves, or if she's there and can't hold me, like if she's doing dishes. I don't say any whole words other than "Ga", but I do say Ma (for Mac), bah (for bark), mah (for mama) and yeah for yes. My nickname is Tooter McGhee because, well, I toot a lot, and I think it's really funny and laugh when I do. It's hilarious when I toot.

2011-10-01T22:16:00.002-05:00

I went to a seminar at dada's school to learn "see and flee" (from strangers) and bully guard (in case anyone tries to pick on me). I got to hang out with the big kids, and I paid really good attention.

2011-10-01T22:12:00.001-05:00

Keegan really likes to carry me around. I usually put up with it for a few minutes, and then start screaming.

2011-10-01T22:05:00.002-05:00

First days of school...

2 years old for 2 days a week
3 years old for 3 days a week
4 years old for 4 days a week
And now 5 years old and in Transitions, for 4 days a week. Next year, off to Kindergarten.

2011-09-24T23:23:00.004-05:00

We were so lucky to have our cousins, Jamie and Katie, come to visit us for two whole weeks.

We had tons of fun!
We both kept them very busy.
We made beautiful cookies....(thanks Grandma!)
On the weekend in between, we went down to the beach. I showed off my frogs to Jamie and Katie. They were very impressed with how many I caught.
It was nice to run around at the beach.
I ate even more sand. Weeee!
Cousins on the beach.
We can't wait to see Jamie and Katie again in November! Love you both and miss you lots!

2011-09-24T23:13:00.008-05:00

I am officially a tiger cub blue belt. Part of my testing was to do a polite and courteous greeting. I was very polite and courteous, so my instructors didn't no change me despite the fact that I'm shaking with the wrong hand.

Mama's very proud of her new blue belt.
Me and my instructor/crush Cindy. Cindy rocks.

2011-09-24T23:05:00.001-05:00

Boys!

2011-09-24T22:38:00.003-05:00

Happy first birthday to me!

I got to eat a cupcake for breakfast to celebrate. Mama hadn't frosted them yet, so she called it a "muffin." It was pretty tasty.
My brother and I are getting to be pretty good buddies, but we also have lots of wrestling matches and wrangling over toys.
I got several presents through the day. My first present was this fire truck with big legos that go in and stack on it.
We forgot to include this in Keegan's birthday post, so we'll include it here.
Keegan broke a board for his birthday!
And here I am with finished cupcake. I was very happy when everyone sang me happy birthday!
It didn't take me long to start stuffing it in my mouth. Yum.
This is how Keegan eats his cupcake. He licks the frosting off, and that's as long as he can sit still so he leaves the cake behind.
I got some other neat stuff for gifts - my first puzzle, some stacking cups, and building blocks. Good loot for a one year old.

2011-09-18T22:47:00.002-05:00

My pre-birthday birthday...

What is this noise maker blower thing?
Whatever, I'm happy because I KNOW that is a cookie. A really BIG cookie.
Keegan helped me blow out the candle because I wasn't sure what to do with it!
Keegan laughed at me because I wasn't quite sure what to make of all the sugar!
And I'm a messy eater. See all the crumbs?

2011-09-18T22:44:00.001-05:00

This picture kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Yep, I'm a little Irish houligan.
Brothers. Fools.

2011-09-18T22:40:00.001-05:00

My summer nanny Michaela got me this super cool dinosaur dig toy. I dig and dig and dig, and I eventually unearth dinosaur bones.
See? Hopefully soon I can show you the whole dinosaur!

2011-09-18T21:30:00.004-05:00

Grandma and grandpa split the difference between Finn and my birthdays and came to visit mid-July.

We didn't waste any time indoctrinating grandpa. One on top, one below.
Over the weekend, we went to the beach so we could spend time with all grandparents. Here, I was telling grandma about the ferry.
Grandma and Finn on the ferry.
We got to spend some good time at the beach, even thought it was *hot*.
I like riding in the kayak. It won't be long before I take this sweet ride out on the water.
Two handsome dudes.
I got to play with grandpa in the water. We had a great time looking at shells and other sea creatures.
I told grandpa he needed some new hair.
We had such a nice family weekend.
I love ridin' the waves on the board.
No doubt, I'm still into Angry Birds. Grandma and grandpa bought me the Angry Birds game, so I can set up my own puzzles and knock them down.
Grandma had fun entertaining Finn. What a rascal!

2011-07-24T00:16:00.002-05:00

The day after my party, we got to go to Luke's fifth birthday party. He had a Chuck E Cheese birthday. I was so jealous - next year I want a Chuck E Cheese party. I want to get in that ticket grabber.

Finn had a good time. He got to drink lemonade.
I played actual skeeball. I've been playing it on dada's phone for years, but I got to throw actual balls. Once mama showed me her skills, I got pretty good and racked up some serious tickets. I traded them in for rubber octopi, sharks and stingray.
Finn rode on Clifford. He was pretty jazzed.
Happy birthday Luke! I am excited to share many more birthday weekends with you!

2011-07-23T23:44:00.007-05:00

For my 5th birthday, we had a blow out birthday party -- Angry Birds!

Every night I play Angry Birds with dada before bed, and I like to sneak his phone and play it when ever I can. I LOVE this game! (and I'm actually pretty good)
It was a family affair - we all had t-shirts:
I was bomber bird, my favorite;
Mama's;
Dada's;
and even Finnegan joined in the fun. He's "addicted."
At the party, dada met with all the kiddos to explain the egg-hunt;
and then we went wild, finding all the goodies in the eggs.

In the eggs, there were stickers (from China!), puffs from Etsy, whistles (too loud), kooshie birds, and bird finger puppets. Mama had fun shopping for the party!

After the egg hunt, dada set up an obstacle course.
The favor bags were a hit. Dada wrapped up mini chocolate bars with Happy "Bird-day" wrappings.
And we had "Fly Into Reading" bookmarks, and Thank You notes.
Dada showed the kids how to bust open the Pig pinata with the Samurai sword, and I showed them the bag to put the candy in.
Meanwhile, the kids kept Finnegan entertained.
The PIG pinata! We love Etsy.
Pizza's here!
It was fun being the birthday boy - my buddies wanted to sit next to me.
Angry Birds cupcakes - YUM!
Mama was proud of her cupcakes.
I approved!
Dada projected the game on to the wall so that everyone could play. We had more fun running around.
Finn wished he could jump in the moonwalk, but he's too little.
We opened presents and I was really excited about everything. I got great gifts!
On the way out, everyone got a water bottle, because kids work up a thirst at parties.
The Byman boys stayed after the party for a private ninja session. This was a surly crew.

2011-07-09T22:28:00.002-05:00

Happy, happy birthday to me! Five years old!

This year was all about Transformers,
and books (about Transformers).
I had a great day of presents, a trip to the dentist (he gave me 3 toys, and a clean bill of health), play time, cooking camp, more play time, and some chill time with my new Transformers Movie, the Beast Wars. Seriously into Transformers over here.
My summer buddy, Michaela, brought me a delicious cupcake from Crave. I tore it up.

2011-07-04T21:54:00.002-05:00

This weekend we headed down to Ga and Papa's to celebrate the 4th at the beach. Mama and dada bought me this Jeep walker because I hate not being able to move around downstairs, but they don't want me crawling on concrete. I still love my swing, too, but it's nice to be on the move. Keegan was fixing the motor when mama took this picture.

We spent afternoons at the beach, which was really fun. I like to eat sand. Mama figured she would let me eat a big handful and then I would know it's gross and stop. But I don't mind sand. And I like to eat shells too. Thankfully I don't like seaweed.
Keegan and I dug a big hole, but didn't quite get to China.
Finn tried to go body surfing, but it's hard when you can't stand up.

Dada's mini-me.
Happy Fourth of July everyone!

2011-07-04T21:48:00.002-05:00

This weekend, dada taught me how to body surf.

He found good waves,
pushed me off,
and I slid all the way in to the beach.
It was awesome! I added a new word to my vocabulary - cowabunga!
Even dada took a few turns riding the waves!

2011-07-04T21:27:00.002-05:00

In 2 days, I will be 11 months. Some days, my parents feel like I should be 5 already (like today, I really put them through the ringer), and some days it's hard to believe I didn't just come home from the hospital.

I am pulling up on everything, even if it's not really safe or stable. I've also just started standing up on my own, without holding on to anything. Also, if I pull up, and I get distracted by what I'm playing with, I forget to hold on. What this all means is that I'll be walking soon and then things will really get interesting.

I am a pretty happy guy, but I do have my moments. I have a tone in my screech that can wake the dead. I love playing with my brother, and get upset when he climbs up on the dining room table to play legos without me. One of my favorite games is stealing the telephone and crawling away with it fast! I also like talking on the phone with Grandma and Grandpa in Chicago. I can yell "Ma" for Mac, and "Ma" for mama.
It's almost time for my first haircut. When the sun shines on my head, you can see some red in there, but my hair is getting lighter and lighter the more time we spend at the beach.
We are all happier now that I'm sleeping better, especially mama. Things aren't perfect, but we're making progress.

One of my favorite places is the beach. I love, love, love chasing waves. I am like a little turtle, running into the ocean. Even when the waves hit my face, I keep crawling into the waves. Guess mama and dada have another water baby on their hands.

2011-07-04T21:22:00.002-05:00

Grandpa sent us these super cool wooden discs that you can fit together to make all kinds of shapes.

Of course, Brenden had the best idea!

2011-06-23T23:03:00.002-05:00

This week I've been going to dinosaur camp at Imagination Campus. I've had a super good time and like the new friends I've made, although I never remember their names. On Tuesday we went to the "Dinosaur Museum." It was my first field trip ever, and even though I saw some awesome dinosaurs, my favorite part was riding in the bus to get there. I've never been on a field trip bus! Mama and dada were a little uneasy about me going (mama made me wear a big sticker that said "no nuts" on the back of my shirt!), but they survived and I got home safe and sound. On Monday, I made this cool dinosaur project and I even got some dinosaurs to put in it. Finn tried to eat one of the dinosaurs but we stopped him before he chomped them down. The summer is turning out to be all right.

2011-06-23T22:54:00.003-05:00

Our cousins are here! They drove all the way down from St. Joe to visit us. Marianne and I became fast friends. She thinks I'm cute, and I love that she dotes on me.

Brenden and his "favorite cousin."
Just kidding (kind of). He likes me pretty well too.
Look how happy Ga is with all her grandbabies in one room! Including Mac, who is actually the only one that is not looking at the camera.

2011-06-23T22:34:00.002-05:00

The garden is pretty sad this year, and not just because it misses Ga. There has been so little rain and water from the hose just isn't the same.

We have had a pretty good feed on squash and beans though, and Ga's okra actually grew.
Now that, my friends, is one big zucchini!

2011-06-23T22:31:00.001-05:00

We've got major Angry Birds fever over here! Who's ready to party?

2011-06-23T22:26:00.002-05:00

When I want to play with legos, I have to do it on the dining room table so that Finnegan doesn't find them and eat them. I have been warned that if I build legos and leave them where Finnegan can get them, they get taken away. I've only had them taken away once, so far.

I like to make all kinds of "Transformers" and other machines.
I also built a jail, to "put the bad guys in."

2011-06-23T22:19:00.002-05:00

I'm getting closer and closer to walking. I pull up on everything, and will let go and forget that I'm not holding on to anything, until I remember and then I drop straight down on my bum. I am walking around things, especially when mama leaves me a trail of snacks around the table. I will hold onto someone's fingers and walk a bit, but usually I just like to jump up and down and dance.

2011-06-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

Cheeks for miles.

2011-06-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

Helping dada clean the fish tank.

2011-06-23T22:08:00.002-05:00

Sometimes my brother and I really have a good time playing with each other.

This makes me very happy. Keegan is my favorite person. I love to watch him run around and do silly things, which Keegan does a lot.
One night Keegan let me get into his "boat".
We rode along on the high seas.
Two sweet boys.

2011-06-23T21:55:00.002-05:00

We got to spend a super long weekend at the beach to celebrate Memorial Day, and the best part was that the Byman boys (and Mr. Matt and Ms. Allison) stayed next door at Dale and Debra's house. We had so much fun, we could hardly stand it.

The boys played and played under Ga and Papa's house. Davis and I hid in the floaties.
Luke made cool patterns with chalk.

We thought a convict escaped from the pen, but then we realized that it was just Papa, dressed up in a jumpsuit to keep himself clean while he mowed the grass.
We ate lots of tasty meals over the weekend. Our buddy Eric brought a mess of blue crabs, which he barbecued. The kids weren't into them, but the adults had a feast.
The big deal at the beach was shaking out all the seaweed to find little sea creatures, like mini crabs and baby shrimp, and making a habitat for them. We spent hours doing this.
There were tons of hermit crabs too.
Of course, we had plenty of ice cream treats.
What a great weekend. Can't wait to have the Byman boys down to the beach again!

2011-06-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm a Hochmuth-Pollard Production. That's for sure, no doubt about it.

2011-06-23T21:48:00.001-05:00

Pop-eye the Sailor Man! Toot toot!

2011-06-23T21:45:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday dada! We all gathered around to sing,

and to eat cake! High five!

2011-06-23T21:43:00.001-05:00

While we were down at the beach, we celebrated Ms. Leslie's birthday. She had a "blue soda pop" shaped cake (AKA Miller Lite). Ga had us blow out a candle so that we didn't spit on the cake.

2011-06-23T21:25:00.002-05:00

I took my first trip to the water down at the beach since I started crawling.

I didn't waste much time sitting around.
I had places to go.
And sand to eat. Lots of sand to eat. It wasn't much fun getting it in my eyes.
Dada spent a lot of time chasing me into the water, as I had no fear and crawled right in.

2011-05-31T21:40:00.002-05:00

Finnegan Roscoe, version .75

Yep, I'm officially almost 10 months old, but this picture was taken a few weeks ago. I am wearing two different socks because I like to pull off my socks right after they are put on, so the adults put on any old sock when my toes get cold. At my 9 month appointment, I weighed 18 lbs, 3oz (11%), am 28.5 inches (54%) and my noggin is 17.25 (10%). Everyone was sure that I weighed more, but now that I'm crawling like lightening, the doctor says that I will be lean until my appetite catches up (for those keeping track, Keegan was 17lbs, 15 oz, 28.5 inches, and his head was 18 inches). I crawl so fast it's hard for everyone to keep up with me. On Easter Sunday, mama and dada moved me up to my own room (and wondered why they didn't do that sooner). I am still not a very good sleeper - I definitely try to get in the mama time I miss during the day at night (like 3-4 times a night). Mama knows that someday she will miss this time, so she tries to soak it up while buying stock in coffee. I am a pretty good eater, and have a definite opinion about what you feed me. If I don't want it (salmon, asparagus, sweet potato) I push it right off my tray (I am starting to figure out Mac eats it then, which makes me giggle). I love, love, love blueberries, pears and veggie puffs. I had 2 bottom teeth forever, and then all of a sudden I got 2 top teeth, followed by 2 more bottom teeth in a week. That was not a fun week for anyone, but we think things are getting better (although 2 more top teeth are starting to poke out some). I like to wave bye-bye, and Ga is working on high fives with me. Me and my brother are starting to hang out a little bit, when Keegan is feeling patient. Guess that's all for now.

2011-05-14T23:20:00.001-05:00

Sweet outfit from Jacinta, all the way from Canada. Thanks for making me look so dapper!

2011-05-14T23:13:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! We celebrated at home by letting mama go to the gym to spin, and then made her a tasty breakfast. We also celebrated at school by inviting our mamas in and singing to them. We sang Skinamarinkdeedinkdeedoo, I love you. I actually sang, and did the hand movements, even though I usually don't sing in groups. Mama was very happy and proud of me.

We also got to tell our mama's their favorite food, drink, desert and thing to cook. I said nachos, Coke, ice cream and meatloaf. Mama's not sure about nachos, although they are pretty tasty, she definitely doesn't drink Coke, I was spot-on with ice cream, and I was really thinking of Ga when I said meatloaf because everyone knows that mama doesn't really cook, much. She was a little embarrassed because her sign was next to Ms. Salad, Water, None and Healthy Dinners, but what can you do?

2011-05-14T23:02:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter everyone! Ga gets the award for being the only person looking at the camera.

Posing with mama and dada. Believe it or not, we all went to church with Ga. It was pretty nice, except that I let out a large toot and laughed. Other than that, it was good.

2011-05-14T22:53:00.002-05:00

We went to the beach for Easter weekend. I colored eggs, and Finn ate. Finn loves to eat.

After we were done coloring and eating, we went outside to play. There are no pictures of me because I am downstairs hunting frogs. Finn was sunning himself on the deck.
Happy Finn, still with two teeth.
What a perfect day, a perfect weekend.

2011-05-14T22:43:00.001-05:00

We are becoming better and better friends, now that we can wrestle.

Rico suave with 3 buttons undone...
Sweet boy (with a big scratch across my cheek from wrestling).

2011-05-14T17:53:00.002-05:00

I love my super cute blanket from Great Aunt Lorraine (a/k/a Aunt O'Rain by Keegan). Mama's also been known to borrow it after I go to bed. Thanks again Aunt Lorraine, we miss you! When are you coming to Texas again?

2011-05-14T17:49:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning shows on mama's computer.

Finn wants Baby Einstein.
I want Super Hero Squad.

2011-05-14T17:36:00.002-05:00

In April, I had my first belt testing for my TaeKwonDo Cubs class.

The whole family came to watch, even Finn.
I was on my best behavior, even *kindof* standing in line. I'm still the tiniest one.
It was neat for dada to be able to watch instead of run the testing. It was also a little stressful.
Standing on my dot and trying to listen hard and follow instructions.
Punch, punch, punch!
High blocks too!
Bounding, literally, to get my new YELLOW belt!
Me, in my new belt, and my instructors Mr. Atchley and Mr. Reade. So proud!

2011-05-14T17:22:00.002-05:00

Papa decided it was time for me to drink Guinness (directly)

I decided a little foam on his finger wasn't cutting it. Yum!

2011-05-14T17:14:00.002-05:00

We are very sad to report that Ga's sister Marilyn passed away in April. We know that we have a very special angel smiling down on us, but we miss her very, very much. She was such an amazing woman who loved life and everyone she met.

2011-05-14T17:09:00.002-05:00

This is my favorite book - That's Not My Lion. I love to feel his too soft tail, his scratchy paws and shiny teeth.

Life is good!

2011-05-14T17:05:00.001-05:00

Dada and his boys. I'm playing Angry Birds. I can't get enough of it.

Boys!

2011-05-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

Yep, no doubt about it, I love New York. Mama had to go to NYC for business for 3 days in February. Since I am still nursing, mama made it into a family trip and dada and I joined her. It was super cold there, so dada and I spent most of the time in the hotel room when mama was at work, but we did venture out some to see the city. And we did a big family walk on Friday night before flying home the next morning.

2011-04-24T13:41:00.002-05:00

Grandma and grandpa flew down from Chicago for mama's birthday weekend. Here are some of the guys on the couch just hanging out.

Meanwhile, I was outside with Grandpa doing this. Mud pies rule! And so does having grandparents come to visit.

2011-04-24T13:12:00.003-05:00

On Mama's birthday, we all went to the zoo. It was perfect weather - not too cool, not too hot, and not too sunny, but not rainy. Awesome, especially for Houston.

I checked out the big bird.
Dada and I watched the snapping turtle, and dada explained how he catches his prey.
BIG turtle.
Every time we go to the zoo, we have to stop to see Tex's relatives. Tex was mama and dada's first pet together.
This funny llama was squirming around in the sand.
Seriously cool lion. Even mama was impressed, and she usually can't get over how much better Africa was.
Walking around with my dada. I'm really growing up.
We loved this guy - he was so wise.
Fun to be at the zoo near all the skyscrapers.
Happy family.
Super happy grandparents.
Grandpa had fun with me!
I had fun with the seal!

2011-04-24T13:09:00.002-05:00

For mama's birthday, dada threw her a crawfish boil. It was super tasty (good job dada!). My buddies Luke and Davis came over for the boil (although between the three of us, we only ate 2 pieces of corn from the boil; we preferred the hot dogs from the grill), and we got really dirty playing in the yard. We took a big bubble bath to wash off the dirt. Tub full 'o boys.

2011-04-24T13:02:00.002-05:00

Grandma knows that it's dada's favorite, so she made him Sauerbraten the night before she and Grandpa flew back to Chicago. It was Finn's first time having sauerbraten. He wasn't too sure about the vinegar, but he did put a major hurting on the green beans and potato balls.

I'm still not a huge fan, but that's ok, that left more for mama and dada!

2011-04-24T12:46:00.003-05:00

I went to my very first TaeKwonDo tournament. I competed as a Tiger Cub. Mama was so happy that Mr. Dallas was the ring leader. She saw him do a Tiger Cub tournament ring years ago, and hoped someday she'd have a son in Mr. Dallas' ring. He is so great with the cubs!

Here we are warming up. Sitting stance and punches!
High block, high block!
Hi-yah! I yelled super loud. Mr. Dallas told me that I'm smart like my mama and strong like my dada.
Whoa....do you see that medal? I want a medal so bad.
Yeah! I got a gold medal! Look how proud my dada was of me!
Mr. Read entertained Finnegan. Finn's not quite ready for a tournament, yet.

2011-04-24T12:34:00.002-05:00

It was our first annual trip to the St. Patty's Day Parade, but we had so much fun, I'm sure we'll be back next year.

The fam in our green attire - I even had a green sucker!
Bagpipers - it sounded very cool in downtown Houston.
Green beads! I also gave some of my green beads to the people in the parade. I told Ga that I wanted to give some beads to the "pretty lady" on the float, so Ga walked me over and I delivered the goods.
Mama is very interested in joining the "Houston Irish Lawyers" club, especially if you get a car like this as part of your membership dues!

2011-04-24T12:27:00.002-05:00

Just another crazy weeknight at the Pollard house....no shirt...one sock...dancing in the kitchen...

while Finn eats his "heartbeets", as I call them.
What a messy dude. Finn will and does eat most everything. This kid isn't going to waste away!

2011-04-24T12:17:00.002-05:00

Can you believe how lucky I am? I got to go to the Monster Jam a second time! It was super fun to hang with the Howells family. It was nice for dada too, as Jack and Rhys got to chase me around, and give poor dada a break!

Maximum Construction (it's actually Destruction, but mama and dada don't correct me) got some major air!
Finn and mama stayed home. Sure am glad I'm the older brother!

2011-04-24T12:02:00.002-05:00

The weather wasn't too great for the Mardi Gras parade this year, but we didn't let that stop us from having an awesome time. I racked up a bunch of beads in the first couple of minutes!

It was so fun watching all the different floats come down the street.
The Pollard cheering section.
Beads, beads, beads. I was doing everything I could to get more beads. I perfected throwing kisses, which worked really well.
The fire trucks were loud!
The loot! And this is minus all the stuffed animals, coozies, and frisbees I collected.
Finn stayed home with dada out of the cold and rain, but he borrowed my beads for a picture later.
Happy Mardi Gras!

2011-04-24T11:59:00.001-05:00

Dada's favorite.

Mama's favorite.

2011-04-24T11:45:00.002-05:00

I was so excited when dada surprised me with Monster Truck tickets. I LOVE the Monster Jam!

Here I am in front of one of my favorites, Backdraft. I think my most favorite is Grave Digger, but I really like them all.
One of the best parts of the Jam is the chocolate ice cream. That's a monster jam size portion, too!
Look at Backdraft get some air!
And Grave Digger too! It is very loud at the Jam. I offered some ear plugs to the little boy that was sitting next to me, and dada was proud of me.

2011-04-24T11:40:00.002-05:00

Just because...

2011-04-24T11:30:00.002-05:00

My brother has been drinking warm milk from a straw cup since he turned one year old. Since I never would take a bottle, Ga finally cracked the puzzle -- I will drink cold breast milk from a straw cup. It's not imperfect, but it works better than anything else they've tried. I'll usually gulp, and gulp and gulp my first drink, but the second time I drink I spit it all out. Oh well, here's to trying.

In other Food Chronicles of Finn, I love the mesh baggie filled with really any kind of fruit, but especially frozen grapes. Perfect for my teeth. Speaking of, I still only have my bottom two teeth. They came in fast and furious when I was four months old, then nothing.

2011-04-24T11:26:00.001-05:00

Just like my brother, I like to read. I particularly like this book, That's Not My Lion, that I got from the Bymans for Christmas because I like to point to the different "feels" - the scratchy tongue, the soft fur, the fluffy tail.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

2011-03-14T21:52:00.002-05:00

Yes, we know, it's been far too long. Whoever said that having two kids was four times the work really knew what they were talking about. Mama will try to find time to update the blog soon, but for now, here are recent pics of her favorite little dudes.

2011-01-16T22:52:00.002-06:00

Look who has 2 teeth! They came in 1, 2 - just like that - one on Monday, one on Wednesday! For weeks I was drooling, super drooly, and my parents and Ga wondered if I was just going to always be drooly or if there were teeth causing it, and here they are. And I'm not very happy about it = crabby baby. I have had my first couple doses of Tylenol, which doesn't seem to help very much. Orajel is useless too.

In other news, I am now 5 months and 10 days. I have been laughing for a long time now, like for 8 weeks - big belly laughs that make mama feel on top of the world. She wants to post the videos she's taken on her flip camera, but she can't figure it out and can't be bothered with that now that she's back at work. I really love "how much does mama love you?" and when she pretends to sneeze - she can always get a laugh out of me with those tricks.

I won't take a bottle, absolutely won't. I had to when I was just a week old and not gaining enough weight - but only for 5 days - but I didn't have one since then and I would not take one, even when mama went back to work. The family tried 7 kinds - all the BPA frees, then just bottles, then the old fashioned yellow nipple kinds - but nothing worked. I just will not take one. My doctor told mama that if I wouldn't take 7 different kinds, then I just wouldn't take the bottle. So, Ga had to feed me with an eye dropper for the first few weeks mama when went back to work. Ga is the best. Mama worried that I was starving, so one night when I was chomping my jaws while watching mama eat, she gave me a green bean to chew on, and then a little mashed potatoes. The next day, Mama called the doctor and the doctor said to go ahead with feeding me food, since I was stubborn with the bottle. Life has been pretty good since then - I started with brown rice cereal, and then worked up to butternut squash (from the farm), apples, blueberries, pears and prunes. I like to eat frozen blueberries, ice cubes and grapes in the little pouch, since they feel good on my teeth. Mama and Ga are trying to teach me to drink from a sippy cup, but it's slow going. Who knew the bottle made life so much easier? I still love to nurse and can nurse and nurse and nurse. I'd nurse all night if mama would let me. She is pretty worn out, but knows that this is the last baby she will have, so tries really hard to appreciate the time we have together.

I still love taking baths, and sometimes mama feeds me in the bath since she can clean me right up after. I don't mind the lotion like Keegan did. I do not like getting dressed after the bath. Arm holes are the worst.

Just like my brother, I loved the pack and play diaper changer when I was little - especially the bears that hang over it. Now I am ok with it, but I much prefer the exersaucer. I like to stand more than anything else. I always want me legs to be straight. I really don't like to sit, but I would stand all day if someone would hold me up.

I am a solid little dude, so much different than Keegan. My legs are chubby with rolls and rolls. Keegan never had a roll a day in his life. I have a big belly and have to wear my pants "below the equator." I still look so much like my dada. Now people are saying that Keegan looks like mama and I look like dada, except that everyone also says I look like Keegan (although Ga and mama and dada think we look so different), which doesn't really make sense. One thing I do like mama is sweat on the bridge of my nose. What a crazy thing to inherit.

I drool like no one's business, but now that I have two teeth, it all makes sense. I have 1000 bibs, and that's not enough.

All of the dark hair I had when I was born is gone, except for a tiny little mullet at the back of my neck. It's my "party in the back" hair style.

I love looking at my hands - I am like a hand model - I turn them this way and that. I play with Keegan's first toy (a little orange and yellow circle with a rattle in the center) and pass it from hand to hand. I am really getting into toys, and lovies. I like my soft fleecy lovies, especially the bear from Ga for Christmas.

Catch y'all next time!

2011-01-16T22:51:00.001-06:00

Keegan has been coming up with some, ah, interesting lego people these days...

2011-01-16T22:44:00.003-06:00

Look who's 5 months old!

Keegan decorated some cookies for me, and I was mad because mama would not let me eat them.
But I did look super fly in my cowboy shirt, jeans and red cowboy boots. Snap.
Cheeks for miles.
This guy! He ate cookies and more cookies, and then hid some under the dining room table for later.
Mama and her 5 month old. Where does the time go?

2011-01-16T22:39:00.002-06:00

My dada got a cool pancake batter pourer from Santa in his stocking, and Ga used it to make me super cool pancakes after Christmas. These ones had chocolate chips and cinnamon candies in them.

And Ga made me a K!
Ga giving Finn some squeezes.
Mama's boys.

2011-01-16T22:36:00.002-06:00

My middle name is Roscoe, after my great great grandfather Roscoe Conkling Specking. Roscoe was the only lawyer in the family, and he was quite a character. This Christmas, Grandma gave me Roscoe's Christmas ornament, which was one of two that he hung every year in his home.

2011-01-16T22:14:00.005-06:00

On Christmas night, my uncle Billy, aunt Kristen, and cousins Jamie and Katie flew all the way from Minnesota to visit us for the week. It was the best Christmas present of all!

I got lots of fun presents, including this book called A Porcupine Named Fluffy. My Minnesota family has given me lots of cool books, including When a Moose Wants a Muffin and Piggy in the Puddle.

It was so fun hanging with our cousins.

I got super cool new Hot Wheels race tracks that I love to build all over the house.
My aunt Kristen had a good time loving on me. She hooked up mama with "another set of arms" a lot.
This was my favorite present, the duck call. I can't find it anywhere these days - I wonder where it went?
Finn got a moose animal!
I got a cool Wolverine book.
Mama loves reading to her boys.
Sweet cousin Katie - she sang me to sleep one night and I loved it and mama loved to watch it. Magical. I can't wait for Jamie and Katie to visit this summer!
Three generations here.
Happy Finn! Drooly Finn.
While we waited for the "adults" to get ready to go out to dinner one night, my cousins sang me a tune. I love listening to them sing. And they love me. See? Me and cousin Jamie, aka Jaybird.

We went to the beach for New Years Eve. It was nice to bring the Minnesota bunch down the beach in December!

Fireworks! And the moon! Uncle Billy is a good photographer.

Grandma had to cover my ears so that my ear drums didn't blow out. She loves me so much.

And more fireworks. We had a great time with the fam for the holidays. We'll see the crew again next November in Florida for Grandma and Grandpa's 50 year anniversary!!! And Minnesota for Christmas 2012. Bring on the snow.

2011-01-16T21:59:00.002-06:00

When I woke up on Christmas morning, I came downstairs and found Santa's footprints and the note he left. I was amazed. I read the "ho ho ho" part of the letter all on my own.

I told Grandma and Grandpa, who were sleeping in my room, that I had to get dressed before I could go downstairs to see what Santa left. I was so excited and in such a hurry that I put on my shirt, and pants, backwards. My underwear were on right.
Santa left all kinds of good stuff, but Ga and Papa got me Ironman! This was the year of Superheros and Transformers, for sure.
Finn hung out with Grandpa while I opened presents for the both of us. He wasn't really into opening, yet.
I opened all Finn's gifts and gave them to him.
Finn got a super cute hat from Aunt Shannon.
And he got a zebra play thing from Grandma and Grandpa. He likes playing on it, and really likes looking at the mirror on the zebra's foot.

2011-01-08T23:37:00.002-06:00

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that the Elf wouldn't fall out of there...

Me and my brother in our matching jammies were about to settle in for a longish winter nap.
Except Finn wouldn't stop trying to suck his sock off...
But after we were nestled in our beds, SANTA came down the chimney and left his footprints! And mama didn't even get mad at him!
And he left me this note!
Maybe mama saw him while she was up late peeling ten pounds of potatoes for Sauerbraten?

2011-01-08T23:26:00.002-06:00

On Christmas Eve, Ga and Papa said that I could open my gift from them, since it was 65 degrees and sunny. I walked outside and saw this HUGE present!

It was a bike! In my favorite color, green!
All decked out and ready to go. Even Santa looks happy.
No one was sure how I'd do, since I've never been good at peddling. I have a big wheel, but I prefer to push it rather than peddle. Turned out I was quite good at peddling and love to ride my bike all over now.
Dada went for a spin too. He might ride this one at the next MS150.

2011-01-08T23:24:00.000-06:00

Hanging at the beach, both of us in the pack and play. Seriously.

2011-01-08T23:21:00.002-06:00

Mama got a gingerbread house for her and I to make while Finn was napping.

It was lots of fun, no doubt because I snuck a whole mess of candy in the building process.
Like this!
Best part was that we were at the beach, so after I got all riled up on candy, mama sent me out with Papa to run my energy out. Papa had me plant onions in the garden - it will be interesting to see how they do.