tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80201230135099925292012-02-14T21:05:20.301-06:00A zygote is the first step in development - a fertilized egg. This site is our way of sharing the growth of our family with the world. Our son Finian (Finn) Evert Nixon was born on May 17, 2009.dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.comBlogger2271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-7583076926948244492012-02-14T21:05:00.001-06:002012-02-14T21:05:20.315-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157629324407745/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yFJe-ntsW9k/Tzsd4HVMXeI/AAAAAAAACNQ/m9rf4RxZap4/s640/IMG_0727.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157629324407745/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Happy Valentine's Day! Finn had a great day. He got lots of treats at school and enjoyed having his face painted. When we got home, we discovered that our friends had left us some surprise cupcakes (thanks, Quinlans!) and I got a few funny photos of Finn eating his cupcake with his face paint on. Needless to say by about 7:30 the kid was totally hopped up on sugar. Silly boy.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-758307692694824449?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-65836793180732628992012-01-21T19:23:00.002-06:002012-01-21T19:24:28.270-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628974188173/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SARcnYLbvu8/TxthhUPU-iI/AAAAAAAACM0/CnpHJaHnimM/s640/IMG_0688.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628974188173/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Pond hockey at Lake Nokomis always seems to be the coldest weekend of the year. This year was no exception, with below-zero wind chills despite the relatively warm weather we had earlier this month. The ice was covered with several inches of powdery snow and the hockey players were going fast and furious after the pucks. Finn really enjoyed watching. We had to literally drag him away to get him back into the car to warm up when we left. If his interest in hockey keeps up, we are pretty sure we might be watching him play on the lake some cold January day.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6583679318073262899?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-9353165573568256722011-12-27T20:36:00.000-06:002012-01-13T20:37:09.043-06:00<p class="dropcap">One Christmas present for Finn from Dad was a shaving set - foaming body soap in a can, a shaving brush, a play razor and a mirror and comb. He was very happy to have his own set and enjoyed shaving in the tub. Now when he sees me shaving he often runs to grab his own razor and brush! Silly boy.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628859204331/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v8MS_ke6osE/TxDl5mOcnkI/AAAAAAAACMQ/852VXYlPDH8/s640/IMG_2051.JPG" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628859204331/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-935316557356825672?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-67147333687134322412011-12-26T20:32:00.000-06:002012-01-13T20:37:21.171-06:00<p class="dropcap">Christmas is so much fun with a toddler! Finn was very excited to find presents under his tree. He could hardly wait. We used an advent calendar to help him count down the days. Amy and I got up early and waited for him to wake up on Christmas morning. He had a lot of fun opening things and playing with the new toys. He was quite happy to find Duplos from his cousins, snowshoes and cars from the Nixon grandparents, a fire station playset from the Shidaker grandparents, and a vacuum cleaner from Santa. He had been asking for his own vacuum for weeks! We took lots of pictures and had lots of fun watching.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628831965047/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l33Oh74JsWA/TxDntxA4PBI/AAAAAAAACMk/ptRPcM1kVkw/s640/IMG_0584.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628831965047/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6714733368713432241?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-91451220030891019742011-12-09T19:02:00.000-06:002011-12-12T19:43:19.061-06:00<p class="dropcap">Finn's day care class participated in a holiday show. They dressed like snowflakes and sang. (Well, they sang about as well as two-year-olds do when they are being watched by a crowd of strangers!) Finn wore his reindeer antlers for extra festiveness. One video and a set of photos are linked below.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jdmtv4tO3Fo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628395473991/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9S6K79RNjDg/TuakGI9uFJI/AAAAAAAACLc/H_Ln3LLMH3s/s640/IMG_1161.JPG" width="476" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628395473991/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-9145122003089101974?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-46913643998560648262011-12-04T19:06:00.000-06:002011-12-12T19:43:06.457-06:00<p class="dropcap">Finn has been having fun with the holiday madness! I took a short video of him dancing in his reindeer antlers... dancing to the tune of a tooting ornament sent last year by Grandpa Mark and Grandma Mary. Gee, thanks guys, he loves it! :) I am also including a few photos of him trying on silly sunglasses while shopping at the mall with Dad. Yesterday I asked him what kind of nut he was. He told me he was a Finn nut. I agree.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GdN0TVuAE-Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628395555711/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VCui718HGDk/TualLDOIt4I/AAAAAAAACLs/n8kZZP8tuxY/s640/IMG_1151.JPG" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628395555711/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-4691364399856064826?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-54698112222258188782011-12-03T19:15:00.000-06:002011-12-12T19:41:16.796-06:00<p class="dropcap">We went on a trip to a local tree farm to find our Christmas tree for this year. Unlike last year, Finn stayed awake, so we had a lot more fun this time. We walked all over the place looking for the perfect tree - one that was shaggy, a little ugly, at least 4 feet taller than we needed, with some pretty good gaps between the branches, and a crooked trunk to boot. I am happy to say that we were successful on all counts! Because as my mom always knew, the ugly trees make the best ones in the end. We cut off the top 8 feet and dragged it home. It ended up looking quite a bit bigger in the house than it had outside with all the other trees. Twelve strings of lights later, we were in business. Finn is very proud of his tree.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628388444529/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1s61C29OMI/TuanR2p15GI/AAAAAAAACL8/6hmJ9fVdpKU/s640/IMG_1925.JPG" width="480" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628388444529/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5469811222225818878?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-86836013967386584212011-11-25T22:49:00.001-06:002011-11-25T22:49:17.744-06:00Sorry for the lack of updates lately - I had a pretty big backlog of photos I needed to finish processing and sorting, but finally had time to do it. Six new posts below, backdated through September to reflect when the events actually happened. Have fun looking through the photos!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8683601396738658421?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-50050602719170021422011-11-01T22:23:00.000-05:002011-11-25T22:47:57.584-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628154151383/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_LVisz-q7c/TtBiahAvUmI/AAAAAAAACK4/FXb6k-ydax4/s640/IMG_0353.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628154151383/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">The day after Halloween Finn found some costume wigs we have had for years. So, of course we had to try them on! Silly boy had a lot of laughs, and Amy and I giggled too. Enjoy the photos!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5005060271917002142?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-65019302745610178812011-10-31T22:22:00.000-05:002011-11-25T22:46:01.340-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628153979183/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7U2hDrQhzr4/TtBinszax5I/AAAAAAAACLE/7WeYBHFYOuA/s640/IMG_0313.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628153979183/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">We took Finn to the Minnesota Zoo for trick-or-treating this year. He wore his Cookie Monster suit. He seemed much more excited about it than last year, and had a lot of fun looking at the animals while he gathered his treats. Of course Mom and Dad made sure no "bad" candy went in his bag - we ate anything that looked like it would be better for us than it was for him. Like the chocolate... ha ha!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6501930274561017881?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-59050284904161892372011-10-25T22:21:00.000-05:002011-11-25T22:43:07.084-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628154107695/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hm0twonPBHc/TtBiqjea7VI/AAAAAAAACLQ/yL5cvydW1VM/s640/IMG_0259.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628154107695/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Finn helped us carve our Halloween pumpkin this year. We drew some pumpkin face ideas on a piece of paper and let him pick which style of eyes, nose and mouth we should use. He had fun scooping out the seeds, and was very interested in watching me cut the holes for the face. He was excited about seeing it light up, and sad that it had to live outside. He liked eating the roasted pumpkin seeds after we were all done!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5905028490416189237?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-5049057234347800762011-09-26T22:21:00.000-05:002011-11-25T22:39:09.410-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628153547505/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YRndjq1_TjY/TtBPxRzGq6I/AAAAAAAACKo/KP7K2pTF4bE/s640/IMG_0177.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628153547505/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Before leaving Michigan we spent an evening with my Nixon cousins in Lansing. It was fun to see everyone again, and really nice to meet baby Ann! Finn had a good time playing with Magnus, and really enjoyed making a mess with Magnus' toys!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-504905723434780076?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-1397139469930460172011-09-25T22:17:00.000-05:002011-11-25T22:35:04.022-06:00<p class="dropcap">While in Michigan we had a chance for Finn to visit with his cousins Seth, Robbie, and Sofi. Finn and Sofi had a great play date at a park in Marshall, with Aunt Sarah and my Aunt Debbie. Later that day, we visited with Seth and Robbie back in Lansing, along with Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Tami and the Pavelka family. One photo set from each visit is linked below.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628152447503/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h4QHMVFDbaw/TtBPvp9x2bI/AAAAAAAACKc/Qmta3SyouFo/s640/IMG_0042.jpg" width="426" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628152447503/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628152477941/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wqncOqcr6is/TtBPvCX8UrI/AAAAAAAACKQ/U26GwbhY8pY/s640/IMG_0108.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628152477941/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-139713946993046017?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-4002129357935460622011-09-25T22:13:00.000-05:002011-11-25T22:29:24.306-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628151076375/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Re4MHlX_rUU/TtBPe79MG1I/AAAAAAAACKE/ffykqBIZD8w/s640/IMG_9738.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157628151076375/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">In September we flew to Michigan for my cousin Hannah's wedding. Finn was the ringbearer, and our niece Sofia was the flower girl. Aunt Debbie gave Finn a new friend as a present - an orange aardvark. Finn named him "Mark". It was nice to see the family and we all had a great time!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-400212935793546062?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com011001-11999 Gorsline Rd, Battle Creek, MI 49014, USA42.34833975481568 -85.0768482685089142.34760625481568 -85.07808226850891 42.349073254815686 -85.07561426850891tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-67274006502901624222011-09-16T07:45:00.002-05:002011-11-25T22:38:58.834-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627682440094/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c_mTaGR-B70/TnNBs1wxnkI/AAAAAAAACJc/3GfLFuQBQJ8/s640/IMG_9712.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627682440094/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Cookie monster in our house! Just a few photos but so much fun I had to share. Finn loves Cookie Monster. He only wants to wear the diapers with Cookie on them. We asked him one day what he thought was in the box on our porch (just a FedEx delivery) and he thought for a moment and replied 'Cookie Monster in the box?" Well, twice now he's been right - he got a small plush Cookie to hold, and yesterday his Halloween costume was delivered. Both times we asked, and both times he guessed Cookie was inside the box. Amy decided it was silly to get the costume and then only let him wear it once. He loved it!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6727400650290162422?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-46688972436573099052011-09-11T16:20:00.002-05:002011-09-11T16:20:51.217-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627523525735/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5RialtstFA/Tm0gc9-P9gI/AAAAAAAACJI/dhj522fp3w8/s640/IMG_9685.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627523525735/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Amy signed Finny up for a kid's run at the Minneapolis Monarch Festival. We participated in the 5k last year, but this year there was no adult's race, just one for kids. Amy found a cute set of butterfly wings for Finn to wear during the run. He really enjoyed the warm-up runs, racing back and forth along the (very short) course by himself or with Mom and Dad. Unfortunately, when the real race started he just froze - Amy thinks he was so absorbed by watching the other kids run that he forgot to go with them! In the end he had a good time, and we got some good photos. Once he figures out what these races are all about we will be in trouble. We think he's got my legs and Amy's drive, and that's a dangerous combination! We won't be able to keep up with him for long!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-4668897243657309905?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com04920-5040 E Lake Nokomis Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA44.91385428291632 -93.2346796989440944.91244878291632 -93.23714719894409 44.915259782916316 -93.2322121989441tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-39939232078512526612011-08-26T16:11:00.000-05:002011-09-11T16:13:56.646-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627516200909/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DbvTXEU0Cqk/Tm0g6933gCI/AAAAAAAACJQ/sGenJ6Y3a-s/s640/IMG_9447.jpg" width="426" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627516200909/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">We took Finn to the Minnesota State Fair on opening day. It was his first trip to the fair! (Well, technically he might have been there before, but he was just a zygote then!) We haven't been to the fair since Finn was born because Amy and I didn't think he'd enjoy the crowds, but this year we decided he was big enough. He had fun! We met our friend Lisa and her two kids and made a day out of it. We went through the "Little Farmhands" section, where kids get to play with props designed to look like real farm animals and products. He harvested corn, drove a tractor, fed a chicken to get an egg, planted some seeds and got vegetables, milked a cow, and picked apples, then traded all of his hard-won farming products for some play money to spend in the farm store. We were proud of him - he went straight for the apples and ignored the chips and treats! We did feed him some junk food, so not all apples and sunshine. He tried corn dogs, bacon on a stick, and a milkshake at the dairy barn. Even better, he helped me milk a cow! Not a pretend cow this time, Finn and I got to get up close to a real Jersey dairy cow. He didn't actually want to touch the cow, so I did the milking, but he did get a ribbon for trying! He also really liked the pigs and sheep. After a long day he finally crashed out in his stroller, so Amy and I left (grabbing some cheese curds on the way out!) We had a lot of fun and took a lot of pictures. Hope you like them!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3993923207851252661?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0Nelson St, Falcon Heights, MN 55108, USA44.98097985625558 -93.1719803810119644.97957585625558 -93.17444788101196 44.98238385625558 -93.16951288101197tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-42330413131319614802011-08-21T16:11:00.001-05:002011-08-21T16:12:16.554-05:00<div class="dropcap">Finn and I went to the playground at Bossen Field today (Amy didn't come, because she had an appointment for some mommy pampering). We pretty much had the place to ourselves, so I let Finn loose to burn off some energy. He had fun climbing, running, and sliding. He especially liked the blue tunnels! At one point he climbed the monkey bars; he was about seven feet off the ground! He did fine but got stuck and a little scared at the top, so I rescued him. Photos are linked below!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627361398917/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2-cbKysNLu8/TlFyv3uHjFI/AAAAAAAACIw/CVewF1sxB0k/s640/IMG_9349.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627361398917/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-4233041313131961480?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-10797829297972386792011-07-26T20:31:00.002-05:002011-07-26T20:33:30.871-05:00<p class="dropcap">We visited the Shidaker grandparents. Tom got the bright idea that Finny might like to catch a fish. So, we went fishing at a nearby lake. Finn had a lot of fun! Photos and video below. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627289890190/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gbF3nPXjzOk/Ti9p2vn3nDI/AAAAAAAACHQ/czkPfqltUtE/s640/IMG_1788.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627289890190/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5ymYmW75ESg?rel=0&amp;hd=1" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1079782929797238679?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-85051834244843440412011-07-07T19:48:00.001-05:002011-08-21T16:08:49.339-05:00<div class="dropcap">We had a visit from the Nixon grandparents over the 4th of July weekend. We had a lot of fun! We went to the farmer's market, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, took a long bike ride around the lakes, and saw fireworks in Stillwater. (Well, Amy and Finn skipped the fireworks, because they didn't start until after he was in bed!) Two slideshows of photos are linked in the images below. Hope you like them!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627235996640/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BIA9Dp22q0M/Ti9dayg9fvI/AAAAAAAACG8/9MfeuCZ9a2o/s640/IMG_8911.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627235996640/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627111607115/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VMzhgyoM1gM/TiQipg7x9_I/AAAAAAAACFk/SWXibnPjwmo/s640/IMG_9005.jpg" width="426" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627111607115/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8505183424484344041?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-24477192139758630082011-07-07T19:41:00.000-05:002011-07-26T19:56:35.444-05:00<p class="dropcap">Well golly we are completely behind again on our blog posts. Perhaps it has something to do with our full time jobs as toddler wranglers! At any rate, here is one big post of photos to make up for the lack of updates. We had a visit from the Pavelka gang (minus Tom, who could not make the trip) in June. It was fun! Christina had a blast reading to her godchild and we all enjoyed our time just relaxing and talking. I am also including some candid shots of Finn being himself, because Finn is pretty funny. Enjoy both sets of photos!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627111688329/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-29iAc5HQjU0/Ti9dcqHrhBI/AAAAAAAACHA/dCx9uljeJYY/s640/IMG_8845.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627111688329/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627107088127/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cd0jggmpqZI/Ti9dZhW5MyI/AAAAAAAACG4/bpJXWWoT8Y4/s640/IMG_9232.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157627107088127/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2447719213975863008?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-59731132276479959952011-06-15T21:39:00.001-05:002011-06-15T22:35:40.199-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626847672467/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Sv3LEZuw-E/TflsSWGEIPI/AAAAAAAACCc/-Rxov5cTp4U/s640/IMG_8830.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626847672467/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Finn has had another hair cut - and this time we went with a more fun style. Have a look at the photos! We think he looks very grown up now! We love our big boy!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5973113227647995995?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-21606351825316951912011-06-14T14:27:00.000-05:002011-06-14T14:27:25.428-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626960435014/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj6NN-SgyrY/Tfezrif9NoI/AAAAAAAACCU/Nxgxu4PBMkU/s640/IMG_1720.JPG" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626960435014/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">On Friday we took Finian to his first dental appointment. He was a hoot! He was not upset or worried about the experience (probably because he doesn't understand things like "cavities" and "fillings"!). We told him we were taking him to see the "tooth doctor". He sat in the chair with Mom, tried to destroy the office during his exploration of the place, and he was very excited to get a new tooth brush (he LOVES to brush his teeth!). The dentist had Amy hold him, with his head lying down in the dentist's lap so he could see inside Finn's mouth. He has sixteen teeth (8 on top, 8 on the bottom) and all of them look good. We were told that he will probably be getting his two year molars soon, for a total of twenty teeth. We will also have to help him brush for a few years, because until kids are 4 or 5 they usually do not do very well brushing. Finn likes to try, but it is true he does spend more time chewing or sucking on the toothbrush and not enough time actually brushing properly. He is good at letting Mom and Dad help though. So, he has healthy teeth - which helps his healthy smile! Enjoy the photos!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2160635182531695191?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-37562911246611540852011-06-13T22:20:00.000-05:002011-06-13T22:20:25.257-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finny video updates! We have not added anything to the blog recently, so to make up for the delay in posting I am adding three videos of Finny. Nothing very long, just a few shots I took recently. He rides his new birthday scooter, he plays with his birthday trains, and he plays hide and seek (really good at jumping up and scaring us, but not so good at hiding!).</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PrnsE0mlSHs?rel=0&amp;hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kT_VJ9J0UG0?rel=0&amp;hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CYcVeaOeEAM?rel=0&amp;hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3756291124661154085?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-16761653766559418452011-06-02T09:59:00.001-05:002011-06-02T10:01:52.804-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626868213480/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ifS4yigihms/TeejPPTbmOI/AAAAAAAACBk/Ww2nsrFcjAc/s640/IMG_8808.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626868213480/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">We had a small get-together with our neighbors for the Memorial Day weekend. (Well, I guess we moved, so they aren't technically neighbors - but they are still our friends!) Lisa brought her camera and wanted to try my 50 mm prime lens, so I traded for her 17-85 mm lens for the afternoon. I haven't seen her photos yet, but I had fun shooting the kids playing in the yard and sharing dinner at the little table we set up for them! Hope you like the pictures! (Amy likes them, but not enough to convince her I need to buy a new lens!)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1676165376655941845?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-60172323656586182282011-05-23T09:51:00.000-05:002011-06-02T09:54:57.250-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626743908397/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ALJqtbOOFTQ/TeejJ9JfE-I/AAAAAAAACBc/M_pj07Uw7KE/s640/IMG_8762.jpg" width="640" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626743908397/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Just a couple of candid shots of Finny in the tub - he thinks it is fun to lie down in the bubbles! Amy snapped some photos because he was being cute. As usual!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6017232365658618228?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-3392768930956945562011-05-22T09:15:00.014-05:002011-06-02T10:02:32.178-05:00<p class="dropcap">Holy cow, we made it to two! Finian turned two on May 17. We had a little bit of an extended party - Grandma and Grandpa Shidaker gave him presents a little early, and gifts from the Nixon family arrived anywhere from on time to a few days later. So Finn had a lot of fun, and multiple days of birthday celebration! He likes his new trucks, play tent, scooter, work bench, and oh yeah he LOVES the trains from Mom and Dad. :) We took the day off on the 17th and brought Finn to the Como Zoo. He liked the orangutans, the big cats, and the seals, but he really was fascinated by the giraffe. He wouldn't stop staring! Poor boy ended up so tired he fell asleep in the car before we were two blocks away from the zoo! We are very proud of our big boy. He is not a baby any more... but that doesn't mean he isn't still our baby!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626743443129/show/"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EjTuUcuGsAo/TeedDE-ms_I/AAAAAAAACA0/AoX_gqif-Ms/s640/IMG_8497.jpg" width="426" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626743443129/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-339276893095694556?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-44551479091892548932011-04-28T16:38:00.001-05:002011-05-06T11:12:56.124-05:00<p class="dropcap">Over the last few days I have been redesigning the layout for this blog - the main column is now wider to allow me to post bigger pictures and larger video links. I am retroactively editing the earlier posts to accommodate the larger column size. Posts from January 2010 until today have been fixed and the remainder will be updated as time allows. Hopefully no links are broken as a result of my tinkering! Stay tuned for more Finny news and photos, and hope you enjoy the new, bigger site!<br /><br /><em>[Edit: All the old posts have been reformatted. Larger pictures, larger video. Just in case anyone wants to go back through them! It was fun for me to see the old things at any rate... wow, how things have changed with us and our little boy since that first pee-stick post!]</em> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-4455147909189254893?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-35404954637065713032011-04-25T20:59:00.001-05:002011-06-02T09:22:56.545-05:00<p class="dropcap">Happy Easter! We had fun coloring eggs with Finn. He was very careful and did not make any messes with the egg dye. We were very proud! He really liked watching the eggs turn color, and he had fun putting stickers on himself (instead of putting them on the eggs!). On Easter Morning we took some photos of him exploring his basket. He got a little candy and some new Beatrix Potter books. Mostly he played with the candy; he thought the little chocolate frog and bug were toys! He was sad when they came unwrapped and melted in his hands! We also did an egg hunt, and he found all 11 eggs with a little coaching from Mom. He was very pleased with himself! We hope your Easter was as fun as Finn's!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626577555978/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OFGqL5ybUqY/TbXrqZyw3HI/AAAAAAAAB-A/FeH_2ui0rHU/s640/IMG_8327.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626577555978/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3540495463706571303?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-17100243188053048832011-04-22T22:00:00.006-05:002011-04-25T20:55:28.775-05:00<p class="dropcap">April photo update: I realized we hadn't pulled out our DSLR since moving in to the new house, so I took a few photos of Finny playing in his new big play room, and sitting on the couch in the family room. He is getting to be such a big boy! Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626452834937/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xUlvLE2CzIs/TbXqY5WHPYI/AAAAAAAAB9U/FFzqwTIrduk/s640/IMG_8301.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626452834937/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1710024318805304883?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-1382361257143372922011-04-11T19:06:00.008-05:002011-04-28T10:04:24.723-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finn chasing the reflection from my watch - we were laughing so hard I almost couldn't film this. He did this for about 15 minutes before he got bored. What a goofball!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bb0bLdogyK0?rel=0&amp;hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-138236125714337292?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-14423883938668301132011-03-22T12:05:00.004-05:002011-04-25T20:52:18.706-05:00<p class="dropcap">A few candid shots of Finn making faces while watching a video. It was pretty funny to see! Such an expressive little boy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626201424751/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-03AvjZmuiWA/TYjVGfzms0I/AAAAAAAAB5Y/-fU4Y3qdYus/s640/IMG_8080.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626201424751/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1442388393866830113?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-70132731121523017232011-03-21T12:06:00.005-05:002011-04-25T16:47:27.744-05:00<div class="dropcap">Amy and I signed Finn up for swimming lessons over the winter. Most of the time he had fun, but there were a few days when the water was so cold we felt bad bringing him in (you will see some tears in his eyes in the pictures from the worst day!). All in all he did really well. He loved being in the water with mom and dad. He was a little unsure at first, but by the last lesson he was happy going underwater with his dad! There were several lessons so we ended up with a LOT of photos... click and see!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626326582032/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="425" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5TutBUgt6R8/TYjVdZ1bs4I/AAAAAAAAB5o/L72N2kAqySc/s640/IMG_7716.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157626326582032/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7013273112152301723?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-65183235164276984842011-02-15T11:55:00.002-06:002011-04-25T16:47:44.356-05:00<div class="dropcap">Day care Valentine's Day party! Finn played with paper hearts and ate a cupcake. Fun! Enjoy the photos!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625945723217/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UYVd8X-Xw0g/TVq9VhySBpI/AAAAAAAAB1g/Ialecm5rGko/s640/IMG_1599.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625945723217/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6518323516427698484?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-87266051677758517842011-01-27T10:31:00.001-06:002011-04-25T16:47:58.100-05:00<div class="dropcap">We threw Finny in the tub yesterday, and he gave himself a "soap beard". It was cute. We took pictures we can use to embarrass him with when he is 16 or so and we pull them out to show some future girlfriend or something. Aren't we awesome parents?</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625792279047/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TUGbxHg5tpI/AAAAAAAAByw/pxDEDpR8Keg/s640/IMG_7639.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625792279047/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8726605167775851784?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-37990461232027990212011-01-24T09:23:00.001-06:002011-04-25T16:48:11.904-05:00<div class="dropcap">Yesterday we went to Lake Nokomis to watch a little of the US Pond Hockey Championships. It was pretty nice out - sunny, and it wasn't too cold - only -4°F (no wind, so no wind chill!). Finn had fun! He had a tough time standing up on the smooth sections, but we held on to him to keep him mostly on his feet, and he liked sliding on the ice (we used him as a large hockey puck, he giggled a lot). I took some photos of Amy and Finn, and some shots of the people playing hockey. (Some of the earlier photos in the set are not as good as I wish they were - wrong ISO settings, so they were overexposed. I did the best I could to fix them!) Click the photo to see a slideshow!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625896043076/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TT2ZJ2TtFZI/AAAAAAAAByQ/XfpBAHsnWr0/s640/IMG_7571.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625896043076/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3799046123202799021?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-54356963665873086262011-01-15T16:46:00.001-06:002011-04-25T16:48:25.014-05:00<div class="dropcap">Today was nice and sunny so we took Finny for a walk around the block. I used it as an opportunity to try shooting some photos to practice what I learned in my photo class. I am pretty happy with the results - a few shots are overexposed, most were able to be fixed in Lightroom though. Shooting in RAW is actually fun, if I had used the full-automatic mode I used to use I would not have been able to control the focus the way I wished or fix the exposure on most of these shots. I hope you like the photos!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625705071697/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TTIjPwFrViI/AAAAAAAABxc/BmI0fQ5ZDEY/s640/IMG_7524.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625705071697/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5435696366587308626?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-56969470761394507492011-01-05T11:37:00.002-06:002011-04-28T10:04:02.825-05:00<p class="dropcap">Two little videos of our silly Finny. First, a shot from his day care holiday show - the Panda Room kids singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", which of course means little kids being quiet and staring in confusion as the teachers sing. Second is a video of Finn freaking out in our bedroom. He was helping Mommy make the bed, then he saw that the sheets were covered in a moose pattern, and then he seemed to go nuts. If you listen closely near the end when he points at the bed sheets you can hear him say "moosth", his cute lispy way of saying "moose". (PS - if you open the video in YouTube you can watch it in HD!)</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5C1dwVGRPes?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Qu_GvDTXi4s?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5696947076139450749?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-35553166569354496022010-12-27T21:20:00.009-06:002011-04-28T09:43:27.421-05:00<p class="dropcap">The day after Christmas we decided to take a snowshoe trip to Fort Snelling. We strapped Finny into his backpack and off we went. We didn't know whether Finn was warm enough so we kept asking if he was OK, and he kept saying "Happy!" so we knew he was having a good time. We had lots of fun and there is a surprising amount of neat things to see so close to home! We hope you enjoy pictures of our trip through the snowy woods!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625754878032/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TSPjbm1QSvI/AAAAAAAABwg/gHvExGjaPL0/s640/IMG_1501.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625754878032/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3555316656935449602?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-27288390616649144992010-12-26T21:24:00.004-06:002011-04-28T09:43:54.505-05:00<p class="dropcap">Merry Christmas! We woke up before 6 AM to make sure we caught Finny's face when he saw the tree, and the little bugger slept in until 7! When he did wake up, he wouldn't come into the living room - I think he was too surprised to know what to do. After some hugs and a little milk he was ready to attack the presents. We had a hard time keeping him on task, because he kept wanting to play with the new toys and wouldn't put them down to open another present. We didn't finish opening things until around 2 PM! We had a break for breakfast and lunch, and a few milk stops for the boy. All in all a very good day!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625753930150/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TSPkgWI5PyI/AAAAAAAABws/V4gjeR0zw6A/s640/IMG_7124.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625753930150/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2728839061664914499?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-16017277272306121702010-12-25T21:27:00.005-06:002011-04-28T09:44:23.326-05:00<p class="dropcap">We got a little more snow on Christmas Eve! Not tons, but about 4 inches at least. We took some photos of Finny playing in the snow while we shoveled the sidewalk. Also a couple bonus photos of our Christmas tree.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625628361751/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TSPlQGzXCGI/AAAAAAAABw0/OBMq2e9bZlg/s640/IMG_1448.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625628361751/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1601727727230612170?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-64054851421068883712010-12-21T09:40:00.029-06:002011-04-28T09:45:19.179-05:00<p class="dropcap">Hi, here are some more blizzard pictures Josh took with his phone. They are from our adventure to the grocery store on December 12, 2010. Happy Holidays!</p><div style="margin: 10px auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDPRTuHemI/AAAAAAAABGs/VceRGHcRGe8/s1600/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="476" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553166236806249058" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDPRTuHemI/AAAAAAAABGs/VceRGHcRGe8/s640/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDO7qpuLII/AAAAAAAABGk/a3aXz_-zyuE/s1600/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="476" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553165865004706946" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDO7qpuLII/AAAAAAAABGk/a3aXz_-zyuE/s640/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDOqe-aosI/AAAAAAAABGc/uneztkICrlk/s1600/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="476" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553165569812505282" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDOqe-aosI/AAAAAAAABGc/uneztkICrlk/s640/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDN_pG7ApI/AAAAAAAABGU/3CoNap5pTuU/s1600/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="476" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553164833798161042" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRDN_pG7ApI/AAAAAAAABGU/3CoNap5pTuU/s640/blizzard%2B12-12-2010.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6405485142106888371?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-15719596593222541142010-12-20T20:42:00.009-06:002011-04-28T09:45:51.558-05:00<p class="dropcap">Welcome our newest cousin, Ann Elaine. Her due date was January 3rd, 2011, but she decided to make her debut on December 11, 2010 at 11:32 AM. She almost made it to 37 weeks. Her weight was 6 lbs. 7 oz. and height 19.7 in. and a ton of hair! She was able to go home with mom and dad on 12-18-2010. She is a peanut, but doing great! Congratulations, Pauline and Mario (thanks for letting us share)!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAVHPVCR6I/AAAAAAAABF8/5nwEKe5-hP4/s1600/Ann%2BElaine%2B12-11-10"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552961554665850786" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAVHPVCR6I/AAAAAAAABF8/5nwEKe5-hP4/s640/Ann%2BElaine%2B12-11-10" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1571959659322254114?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-89656195472440226822010-12-11T20:20:00.006-06:002011-04-28T09:49:09.118-05:00<p class="dropcap">The biggest blizzard since Halloween 1991 in Minneapolis. The total snow accumulation was 17.1" that weekend. It took six days to clear most of the snow out of the way and still not sure where to push and shovel the rest of it. We enjoyed taking pictures of the snowfall and watching movies. Josh eventually ventured out and started to shovel our sidewalks, but our neighbor very kindly helped finish the job with his snow blower. On Sunday (12-12-10), we ventured out to the store (~mile away) with the Chariot jogging stroller with ski attachment. Cars were stuck everywhere on side roads, so we were glad we kept our car in the garage.</p><div style="margin: 10px auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAQRy89F2I/AAAAAAAABFw/cGocBSIj2Xs/s1600/ski%2Bstore%2Badventure.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552956238469076834" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAQRy89F2I/AAAAAAAABFw/cGocBSIj2Xs/s640/ski%2Bstore%2Badventure.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAPFN5IVbI/AAAAAAAABFY/Tp5ADQNSGHk/s1600/IMG_1405.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAPFN5IVbI/AAAAAAAABFY/Tp5ADQNSGHk/s640/IMG_1405.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAPFEDYUBI/AAAAAAAABFg/Wx8ju-wXKaU/s1600/IMG_1407.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAPFEDYUBI/AAAAAAAABFg/Wx8ju-wXKaU/s640/IMG_1407.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAPFS1e5wI/AAAAAAAABFo/bayclf1jhNI/s1600/IMG_1412.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAPFS1e5wI/AAAAAAAABFo/bayclf1jhNI/s640/IMG_1412.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8965619547244022682?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-75828675432010476762010-12-05T20:05:00.005-06:002011-04-28T09:50:16.100-05:00<p class="dropcap">We had fun going XC skiing on December 5, 2010 at Lebanon Hills - Dakota County Parks, Minnesota. Finn slept the whole time we were out. We skied for 1.5 hours. We took the long scenic route this time. The trails were not groomed, yet. But, skiers had been out already and the trails were in pretty good shape. We went through the Caribou drive-through on the way home and got dark hot chocolates to drink.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRALkq1MqhI/AAAAAAAABFA/MRfto2KzgoU/s1600/IMG_1388.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRALkq1MqhI/AAAAAAAABFA/MRfto2KzgoU/s640/IMG_1388.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRALkzuSmPI/AAAAAAAABFI/-HIGwJ64kDE/s1600/IMG_1392.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRALkzuSmPI/AAAAAAAABFI/-HIGwJ64kDE/s640/IMG_1392.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRALlHPRL6I/AAAAAAAABFQ/4BHe_VxdZc8/s1600/IMG_1395.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRALlHPRL6I/AAAAAAAABFQ/4BHe_VxdZc8/s640/IMG_1395.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7582867543201047676?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-6504894010828179842010-12-05T19:57:00.004-06:002011-04-28T09:51:10.540-05:00<p class="dropcap">The snow accumulation this weekend (December 4, 2010) was 5" to 6" inches. Finn had fun playing in the snow while mom shoveled the sidewalk.</p><div style="margin: 10px auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAJkU1K1BI/AAAAAAAABEw/-Pd8J9-3erk/s1600/IMG_1381.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAJkU1K1BI/AAAAAAAABEw/-Pd8J9-3erk/s640/IMG_1381.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAJkiFmdmI/AAAAAAAABE4/Lz3Z2edBxds/s1600/IMG_1385.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TRAJkiFmdmI/AAAAAAAABE4/Lz3Z2edBxds/s640/IMG_1385.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-650489401082817984?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-77386605827129033042010-11-27T11:03:00.033-06:002011-04-28T09:52:35.708-05:00Finian had his 1.5-year (18-month well-child visit on 11/24/2010. His weight is 50th-60th percentile (average to just above average), head is below average (~5th percentile) and height is above average at ~90th percentile for a baby his age. So, our guy is still a LONG, average weight and small noggin sportin' toddler. The next well-child appointment (2-years) will be on 05/23/2011. <br /><div style="margin: 10px auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TPE8ilTv5MI/AAAAAAAABB8/cjvvuk4xzao/s1600/IMG_1364.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544279181097952450" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TPE8ilTv5MI/AAAAAAAABB8/cjvvuk4xzao/s640/IMG_1364.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TPE8KFmAaNI/AAAAAAAABB0/Ai6D4EAehag/s1600/IMG_1352.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544278760267737298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TPE8KFmAaNI/AAAAAAAABB0/Ai6D4EAehag/s640/IMG_1352.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TPE77KD0F8I/AAAAAAAABBs/QvVUkStmYvw/s1600/IMG_1363.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544278503768463298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TPE77KD0F8I/AAAAAAAABBs/QvVUkStmYvw/s640/IMG_1363.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;" width="480" /></a></div><b>Finn's Stats on 11/24/2010</b><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Weight:</span> 27 lb 2 oz (12.304 kg); with clothes/shoes on, so probably ~26 to 26.5 lbs (what we get at home).<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Height:</span> 2' 10" (0.864 m) = ~34 inches <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Head:</span> 17.99" (45.7 cm) = ~18 inches<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Temperature:</span> 97.6 (36.4 C)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7738660582712903304?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-31449657955663727882010-11-23T11:24:00.004-06:002011-04-28T09:53:42.129-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamilearebecca/5132292818/in/set-72157625280487778/lightbox/"><img alt="" border="0" height="425" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542789504590643362" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/TOvxr_3jgKI/AAAAAAAABBQ/GLm_urm9Ee0/s640/family%2Bphoto%2B10-31-2010.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><p class="dropcap">Hello! This is what we chose for our holiday photo this year. The family portraits we had done on 10/31/2010 can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamilearebecca/sets/72157625280487778/with/5132338351/">here</a>. The photo session was done by Jami Lea Karow. She does great work and was one of Finn's daycare teachers when he was in the Lamb room. But, he is a big boy toddler now in the Panda room.<br /><br />Happy Holidays!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3144965795566372788?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-81102535504397458842010-11-01T16:49:00.002-05:002011-04-28T09:54:17.463-05:00<p class="dropcap">Happy Halloween! We took Finny to the Minnesota Zoo for "Hallzooween" trick-or-treats. He was a lion this year. (He was a very convincing lion. We were careful not to let the zoo staff put him into a cage.) Finn would make some very good lion roars for us in the car but at the zoo he was too distracted to do it for anyone else. He was a little confused but he had fun walking with us, and we all had fun looking at the animals, made even more fun because the nocturnal animals were awake and playing (usually we only see them when they are sleeping!). He got some cool toys and a little candy. He especially liked the green flute and he had a lot of fun making noise with it! We hope you have fun looking at the photos!</p><b>Update:</b> I added a few photos of Finn wearing his lion suit at day care on Friday. More Finny lion fun for you!<br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625166468127/show/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TM8o1346-YI/AAAAAAAABs4/42rAKyjik3A/s640/IMG_6558.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="424" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625166468127/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8110253550439745884?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-77601881025261579802010-10-25T15:28:00.001-05:002011-04-28T09:54:39.570-05:00<p class="dropcap">Halloween is almost here! Last night we helped Finn carve his first pumpkin (we didn't do one last year). He had lots of fun! He was not sure what Mom and Dad were up to at first, but he enjoyed playing with the pumpkin guts and making a big mess. Once he saw Mom carving out the face, he wanted to help, so she gave him a plastic knife so he could poke at the pumpkin. We put electric tea lights inside, so we would not have to worry about Finn burning himself with a candle. We didn't have the prettiest pumpkin this year - the darn squirrels chewed a hole in one side, so we had to use the "ugly" side of the pumpkin to carve our face - but we think it turned out fine, and Finn sure was excited when we lit the pumpkin! Photos are up on Flickr; have fun looking!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625115471287/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TMXm3n7GzbI/AAAAAAAABrY/IvFCbOGEuKc/s640/IMG_6360.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625115471287/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7760188102526157980?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-82284114099045060062010-10-11T15:08:00.003-05:002011-04-28T09:54:58.681-05:00<p class="dropcap">It's autumn, and the leaves are turning colors! We took Finn to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to let him run wild in the woods and take a few photos of our boy playing in the leaves. We wanted to do more family-style photos, but he will NOT sit still so no luck! Oh well, we had fun, and we have lots of Finn and Mom photos (but only one Dad picture this time around). Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625115750405/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TMXklqVXA3I/AAAAAAAABrQ/eI41spHnyU8/s640/IMG_6275.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625115750405/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8228411409904506006?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-77608290819135260492010-10-04T10:51:00.001-05:002011-04-28T09:55:17.379-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finn has shed his curls! Amy and I decided that with picture day approaching we should get our boy to the barber, so we took him to Kid's Hair in St. Paul yesterday to get his first hair cut. He has had a long patch on the right side of his head for a while now, and he was developing a bit of shag in the back too. We loved his little curls, but we needed to get him trimmed, so the curls are now in an envelope to place in his baby book. We think he looks darn cute, and quite grown up with his new style! What do you think?</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625093902836/show/"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKn25SekUQI/AAAAAAAABp4/WnHIQGayzMI/s640/IMG_6136.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625093902836/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7760829081913526049?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-65382963059316446152010-09-27T13:18:00.001-05:002011-04-28T10:03:24.489-05:00<p class="dropcap">A new collection of Finny photos is up for you to see. Plus, a few bonus videos! Watch them in place, or watch them full-screen to see the HD version. We hope you have fun looking at our little guy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nDm2qBPOKU4?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FHgOelt7HUQ?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LznRDpLXUmw?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920681199/show/"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDYwE_WSOI/AAAAAAAABoA/aafcnD4waOQ/s640/IMG_0607.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920681199/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6538296305931644615?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-85854389410754484282010-09-26T12:55:00.001-05:002011-04-28T10:05:11.890-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finny's mom and dad have been running all through the month of September, getting ready for our upcoming half marathon at the end of October. We have had five races over the last three weekends - Mom and Dad each did a 10-mile run, and all three of us did three 5K runs. We met our neighbors at some of the runs, and spent some time hanging out with Finny and our neighbors at events following two of the 5Ks. Photos from the events are linked below. Each photo is linked to a set of shots from that event. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920329269/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDY2zXt0OI/AAAAAAAABoQ/Zpd339dt1aU/s640/IMG_0826.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a>Monarch Festival 5K: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920329269/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624857923247/show/"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDYuQTbFRI/AAAAAAAABn8/CWKR4Vj-i98/s640/IMG_0585.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a>Autumn Daze 5K: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624857923247/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625045097872/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDY9y8b64I/AAAAAAAABoc/wNTyWtk7EQY/s640/IMG_5974.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a>Harmon Farms Trail Run 10 Mile: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625045097872/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920597373/show/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDYx3OiS4I/AAAAAAAABoE/EYsGUuWUkHM/s640/IMG_0645.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="476" /></a>VA 5K: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920597373/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625045255624/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDZARw9JYI/AAAAAAAABog/o7A-Az5jOQ8/s640/IMG_6085.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a>Women Run the Cities 10 Mile: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625045255624/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8585438941075448428?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-62782085573924320062010-09-25T13:04:00.001-05:002011-04-28T10:05:46.451-05:00<p class="dropcap">Daddy has a silly new application on his iPhone! The Hipstamatic app takes photos that look like the shots we used to get from Polaroids and cheap cameras in the 70s and 80s. I love some of the effects in these and thought I would share. Are these pictures all Finny, or did I slip in a few scanned shots of myself as a baby? You be the judge! Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625046026310/show/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDYyollo4I/AAAAAAAABoI/c63rCcZA5Lc/s640/IMG_0658.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625046026310/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6278208557392432006?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-73244493707160850292010-09-18T13:00:00.001-05:002011-04-28T10:06:10.750-05:00<p class="dropcap">It's getting a little bit chilly outside but that won't stop Finn from playing in the yard. I took advantage of the afternoon light to get some photos of Finny while the grass is still green. I hope you like them!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625045989332/show/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDY7whDy6I/AAAAAAAABoY/y-j1huwqd88/s640/IMG_5930.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="425" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625045989332/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7324449370716085029?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-25659680019821461792010-09-06T12:56:00.003-05:002011-04-28T10:07:00.988-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finny's Grandma JoAnne and Grandpa Tom moved to Wisconsin to be closer to their grandson. After a long day of unloading the moving truck, we decided we had earned a relaxing day on a paddleboat. We took the boat down the St Croix River from Taylors Falls, MN. After the boat ride, Amy, Finn and I explored the cool rock formations in Interstate Park. I took lots of photos. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625046354506/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDY5AZuaPI/AAAAAAAABoU/bAOr4aamkqc/s640/IMG_5768.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625046354506/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2565968001982146179?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-54972575834100260932010-09-05T13:07:00.001-05:002011-04-28T10:07:23.129-05:00<p class="dropcap">While we spent a good part of our Labor Day weekend helping Grandma and Grandpa Shidaker move to Wisconsin, we did find time for a little fun. We took Finny to the pool in our hotel for his first swimming experience. Dad and Finny sure had fun playing in the water! Mom took photos, and now we are sharing them with you.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625046345896/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDY0rbcoyI/AAAAAAAABoM/6-1DwHw2XuQ/s640/IMG_0803.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157625046345896/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5497257583410026093?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-11319105030510225322010-08-31T11:00:00.002-05:002011-04-28T13:37:24.559-05:00<p class="dropcap">Just a little bit out of order! The Nixon grandparents came to visit in late July, and somehow I never uploaded the photos from the visit. So, better late than never, right? We took Grandma, Grandpa and Abby the dog down to the dog park by the Mississippi, and then we went to Sea Salt for a lunch of seafood tacos, local beer, and local ice cream. Yummy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920987121/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TKDM0KH61bI/AAAAAAAABn0/E5yU9q19ZL4/s640/IMG_5570.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624920987121/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1131910503051022532?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-25198956375615554792010-08-30T21:34:00.003-05:002011-04-28T13:37:43.985-05:00<p class="dropcap">We have added a few new photos to the July-August picture set - please take a look through the photos to check out the new ones! If you have looked at these before you will notice some repeats; the new photos will be at the end. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565828721/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/THxs049ggoI/AAAAAAAABmE/zpB45SOIW-c/s640/IMG_0691.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565828721/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2519895637561555479?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-32237743875660655192010-08-29T22:00:00.001-05:002011-04-28T13:38:47.380-05:00<p class="dropcap">We went to Sea Salt after the Minneapolis Duathlon. We ordered crabcakes. Finn liked it - then he got full and started goofing around to show off. This video is the result. Silly baby! (PS - if you open the video in YouTube you can watch it in HD!)</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oni1_qF5MMo?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3223774387566065519?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-18188573391944658462010-08-28T22:00:00.001-05:002011-04-28T13:39:11.661-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finn has discovered the desk that has been in his room since before he was born. He has been sitting there to read books, and Mom bought him some paper and crayons so that he can draw at the desk too. (She even got him some paint, but we have not been brave enough to try it with him yet!) The desk is an old schoolhouse desk - the best guess we have is that it is at least 100 years old. Finn's great-grandfather Hinman got the desk somewhere around Buchanan and refinished it. It is cool to think about how many little kids might have sat in that desk before Finn got his turn! He looks so cute at his desk that we had to take some pictures to share. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624845205510/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/THxvlQaDKjI/AAAAAAAABmM/7WEYDF_owfg/s640/IMG_0737.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624845205510/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1818857339194465846?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-84695591069574016612010-08-23T21:06:00.033-05:002011-04-28T13:40:23.837-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finian had his 15-month well-baby visit on 08/23/2010. His weight is 48th percentile (just below average), head is below average (not on the chart) and height is above average at 75th-90th (closer to 90th) percentile for a baby his age. So, our guy is still a LONG, skinny and small noggin' sportin' toddler. Finn's doctor thinks he is an <b>EASY</b> baby (most days we can't complain, either)! The next well-baby appointment (18 mos) will be on 11/24/10. We took pictures at his check-up, so enjoy viewing them (<b>see Flickr link below</b>).</p><b>Finn's Stats on 08/23/2010</b><br />Weight: 24 lb 6.4 oz (11.068 kg) = ~24.3 lbs<br />Height: 2' 8.5" (0.826 m) = ~32.5 inches <br />Head: 17 inches (43.18 cm)<br />Temperature: 97.9<br /><p>Finn enjoyed playing with the the stirrups at the examination table and the computer keyboard. A couple future career choices?! Here are photos from the appointment. Click the photo to see them as a slideshow, or use the link below the photo to browse the images manually.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624845104158/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/THxo2d0FHvI/AAAAAAAABl8/71GfE-Ve3W8/s640/IMG_0740.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624845104158/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8469559106957401661?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-78804594744954110212010-08-10T21:33:00.001-05:002011-04-28T13:40:58.392-05:00<p class="dropcap">Our baby is a nut, plain and simple. Some days he just acts like a goofball, making silly faces. Other days he makes a huge mess. Sometimes he just puts on something silly and makes us laugh. The photos in this set are a few examples of just why we smile so often when we hang out with our boy. Whether he is eating sushi or wearing rain boots for no reason, Finny always finds a way to make his parents laugh! We will probably add more to this set later this month; if we do, I will add a new post here re-linking the photos. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565828721/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGIJ-tJeUmI/AAAAAAAABkc/p0814vT9cfQ/s640/IMG_5681.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565828721/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7880459474495411021?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-30235358048021350502010-08-09T09:17:00.000-05:002010-08-10T21:38:49.998-05:00Hi everyone! We have gotten ourselves WAY behind on the Finny posts. On the bright side, a big part of that is because we were traveling to visit people in person, so hopefully not too many of you have been suffering from cute baby withdrawal!<br /><br />I have finally finished uploading some pictures of Finn from July and August. To try to keep things consistent I am back-dating all of the posts to have the pictures show up in order. There are eleven new sets of photos up in all, starting with Father's Day weekend shots. To make things easier and ensure you don't miss anything, just start with the <a href="http://our-zygote.blogspot.com/2010/06/fathers-day-2010.html">Father's Day post</a> and work your way forward from there!<br /><br /><strong>Update: All the new sets of pictures have been posted. If you think you may have missed anything, head over to my Flickr site and click on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/collections/72157618632181134/">the "Finian" collection</a> to see the latest photo sets.</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3023535804802135050?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-8732723737053948782010-07-10T18:54:00.005-05:002011-04-28T13:42:02.059-05:00<p class="dropcap">Wow, are we behind again! We have lots of photos to post from Father's Day and a few visits with family in Minnesota, along with photos from our current trip to Michigan for the 4th of July holiday. We're on our way home now and we promise to have more pictures uploaded soon <em>(Edit: They're uploaded now, see the next post for details!)</em> - until then, to help you through your obvious Finn withdrawal, here's a little video we shot on Amy's iPhone of Finny in our hotel room, making a mess and being a pest as usual. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5bFIGtbB8s?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-873272373705394878?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-81655371576696802272010-07-09T23:00:00.002-05:002011-04-28T13:42:31.210-05:00<p class="dropcap">On July 9 Finn, Amy, myself and the Shidaker grandparents were invited to dinner at Great Aunt Ann and Great Uncle Jerry's house in South Bend, IN. (July 9 was a pretty full day!) Finn had a good time destroying their house and we had a good time visiting with the Shidaker clan. As always Uncle Jerry's cooking was great and of course nobody left hungry! Photos from the visit are linked below.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624690597240/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGID7whxOrI/AAAAAAAABj0/ekf96TUJh14/s640/IMG_5522.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624690597240/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8165537157669680227?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-11034072608190605032010-07-09T22:35:00.004-05:002011-04-28T13:42:54.279-05:00<p class="dropcap">On July 9 we took Finn to <a href="http://www.fernwoodbotanical.org/">Fernwood Nature Preserve</a> near Buchanan. We went there to meet Lisa, a friend from high school, and her three boys. We used to visit Fernwood quite a bit when we were in high school and college, but neither Amy or I have been back there for some time. It was neat to see how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same. One thing that was new to us was the model train display. There were three or four separate trains running on tracks that wound through tree stumps, over bridges, through tunnels, and past waterfalls. Finn was very interested in watching the trains, and Lisa's two younger boys were so excited they could hardly sit still! We checked out the live and preserved animal specimens in one of the buildings, got to see a hummingbird nest, and had a nice lunch at the Fernwood cafe. It would be fun to take Finny back to Fernwood when he is a little older to let him explore some more of the nature preserve, but the short visit we had was about all he could handle for today! Some of the photos we took are linked below.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565942027/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGIA7KgDtfI/AAAAAAAABjo/H_wNhw6RX_0/s640/IMG_5386.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565942027/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1103407260819060503?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-10173513533112736172010-07-09T10:30:00.002-05:002011-04-28T13:43:16.428-05:00<p class="dropcap">After leaving Lansing we drove to Buchanan where we stayed with the Nixon grandparents. We had a full house! Uncle Seth, Aunt Nissa and Cousin Skyler were also visiting. We were happy to finally meet Skyler and she seemed really excited to meet all of us! Aunt Sarah and cousin Sofi stopped by, and we even had a visit from Seth and Dad's good friend Jake. We had lots of fun but somehow didn't end up with as many pictures as we sometimes do. However, we do have some photos to share, and they are linked below!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565877051/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGH-eBCTOEI/AAAAAAAABjg/Ipj1_5IIeig/s640/IMG_5349.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624565877051/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1017351353311273617?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-65978519691256336702010-07-07T22:30:00.003-05:002011-04-28T13:43:50.598-05:00<p class="dropcap">We were very happy to find out that Finny's Great Aunt Marcia would be in town when we were visiting people in Lansing. Marcia lives in Juneau so she does not get back to Michigan very often! We met for a Nixon family party at Great Aunt Melissa's house. Great Aunt Maureen, Great Uncle Chuck, and a large collection of cousins, spouses and kids were also present. It was fun to get the rugrats together to show cousin Pauline (currently pregnant) just what she is getting herself into! She and her husband Mario claim they are prepared, but I think they are in for a few surprises. Lots of photos linked below!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624690314572/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGH7eocIeEI/AAAAAAAABjY/UIhnbl1FZ8I/s640/IMG_5259.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624690314572/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6597851969125633670?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-52858420177290568662010-07-06T22:30:00.011-05:002011-04-28T13:44:13.619-05:00<p class="dropcap">On July 6 we took Finn to Patriarche Park in East Lansing for a play date with Magnus and baby Elijah. Elijah's mom Michelle worked with Amy at the <acronym title="Michigan State University">MSU</acronym> Library. Finn and Magnus played on the swings, ran around in the dirt, and generally made pests of themselves. Elijah mostly watched but I am sure he was taking notes for the future. The parents got to visit while the little guys played together. Photos from the play date are linked below!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624688890228/show/"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGH5RQ_DhvI/AAAAAAAABjQ/6Pao1gw6ayg/s640/IMG_4777.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="425" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624688890228/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5285842017729056866?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-15515726712753098532010-07-05T22:30:00.004-05:002011-04-28T13:44:37.719-05:00<p class="dropcap">On July 5 our Finny finally met his cousin Magnus. Finn and Magnus are second cousins. (Finny's dad and Magnus' mom Jessica are cousins.) Jessica and Finny's mom shared a lot of talks, baby books, advice and worries during pregnancy. They even shared a <a href="http://our-zygote.blogspot.com/2009/01/baby-shower-01-17-09.html">baby shower</a>! When we got to Lansing, Jessica just had to come over to the Pavelka house and let our family meet Magnus. The boys had fun playing blocks and running around the house. They tried to catch bubbles together and took turns feeding treats to Daisy the dog. We were very happy to finally meet Mags!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624690060206/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGH1_AjWwcI/AAAAAAAABjI/jDXn7GEl07E/s640/IMG_4619.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624690060206/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1551572671275309853?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-92219283857037263822010-07-04T22:30:00.002-05:002011-04-28T13:45:14.337-05:00<p class="dropcap">Fourth of July in Paradise, MI! We took a long road trip to Michigan for the 4th of July holiday week, starting in the U.P. and then traveling south through Michigan to Lansing and Buchanan before heading back home.<br /><br />The trip to Paradise was fairly uneventful except for one bout of carsickness that resulted in Mom and Dad cleaning Finn's car seat with paper towels and baby wipes on the side of the road in Wisconsin. The seat smelled a bit like puke, but we soldiered on. We stopped for the night in Escanaba (where Dad washed out the car seat cover) and drove the rest of the way to Paradise on the 3rd.<br /><br />Finny had a good time visiting with his Great-Grandpa Bob, his Great Aunt Debbie, cousin Sofia, Aunt Sarah, and all of his second cousins from the Robbins clan. (They're Finn's second cousins once removed. We honestly don't know what they are to Finn before we remove them.) Finn was too tired to go to the 4th of July parade this year (it was very hot and he wasn't sleeping well!) but he did find time to sample some fresh wild blueberries and play in Lake Superior. The lake was surprisingly warm - even Amy went in for a swim, and she could still feel her feet!<br /><br />Because of the heat and the difficulty getting Finny to sleep in the unfinished cabin we had to cut our visit short. We left late on the 4th, drove across the mighty Mackinac bridge with fireworks going off in St. Ignace, and stopped for the night in Gaylord en route to Lansing.<br /><br />Photos from our short stay in Paradise are linked below!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624688766780/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGGR0CqkYfI/AAAAAAAABjA/0ouap1V-r-4/s640/IMG_0548.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624688766780/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-9221928385703726382?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-10261054207628857972010-06-27T22:30:00.002-05:002011-04-28T13:45:41.674-05:00<p class="dropcap">The Nixon grandparents were in town June 26th-27th to visit Finny and attend Molly Dougherty's graduation party in Stillwater. Finny had a great time visiting! He really liked running around the yard with Grandpa and Grandma at the Carriage House Inn in Stillwater. We took some photos to share.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624442306987/show/"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGFdL_5fykI/AAAAAAAABi4/ZqVcohzed1Y/s640/IMG_4211.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624442306987/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1026105420762885797?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-7441327656287091052010-06-24T22:30:00.005-05:002011-04-28T13:46:20.362-05:00<p class="dropcap">Uncle Jeremy came to Minneapolis in June for some Army training. He was only here for a few days but he was staying at Fort Snelling, just about two miles from our house, so of course we had to schedule some uncle time for Finny! He was a little concerned at first (we think he could not understand why Jeremy has no beard!) but after a bit he warmed up and had lots of fun playing with his uncle. After Finny went to bed Dad and Uncle Jeremy went out for a beer. It was a fun visit. We wish he could visit more often! Photos are on the Flickr site. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624442238569/show/"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGFYKIYd88I/AAAAAAAABiw/bBH0GRWD9hI/s640/IMG_4201.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624442238569/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-744132765628709105?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-84458515115705415642010-06-20T22:30:00.025-05:002011-04-28T13:47:44.850-05:00<p class="dropcap">We took Finny to Minnehaha Park on Father's Day weekend. He played on the swings and ran around in the grass. We have a set of photos and one video to share. The video is below, and the photos are up on our Flickr site - just click the photo to see the entire set!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9OnyvXWnszY?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624566898830/show/"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TGFWZCXa_dI/AAAAAAAABio/NG8ecwMZiDQ/s640/IMG_0417.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624566898830/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8445851511570541564?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-50130238349768353512010-06-08T20:12:00.004-05:002011-04-28T13:48:17.108-05:00<p class="dropcap">Ok, we have been neglecting the blog again - and we have taken a lot of photos besides the ones that we put in the last few posts. So, we are adding this pile of random photos to help round out the last month or so of fun with Finny. Click the photo to see them as a slideshow, or use the link below the photo to browse the images manually. Enjoy!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624120250967/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TBD4lIQ7dvI/AAAAAAAABe4/_invYxYGm8g/s640/IMG_3213.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624120250967/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5013023834976835351?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-25090086786331491232010-06-01T20:43:00.004-05:002011-04-28T13:48:39.954-05:00<p class="dropcap">We took Finny to the Minnesota Zoo. He had a great time!!! Finn was very alert and not sleepy like he was a couple weeks ago on his birthday for a zoo visit. He was pointing at everything, making a funny shape with his mouth and saying "oooooo" as he pointed at all the critters (2-legged &amp; 4-legged mammals). We bought Finny a new "bucket" hat at the zoo. It took a while to find a hat that was not too big for his little noggin.<br /><br />After the zoo, Finn took a nap in the car as we drove to a restaurant for lunch. We ate at the <a href="http://www.twistedforkgrille.com/">Twisted Fork Grille</a> in St. Paul. Very tasty! Photos from our day are linked below. Click the photo to see them as a slideshow, or use the link below the photo to browse the images manually.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624240629292/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TBD4NYfjE-I/AAAAAAAABes/DC2_RtI6AnI/s640/IMG_4048.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624240629292/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2509008678633149123?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-89928098321796820272010-05-25T20:39:00.013-05:002011-04-28T13:49:26.327-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finn had his 12-month well-baby visit on 05/25/2010. His weight and height are in the 50th percentile range for a baby his age. His doc thinks he still looks <b>great</b> and that we are doing a good job! Finn had three immunizations; Hepatitis A, MMR (shot against measles, mumps and rubella) and Varicella (Chickenpox vaccine). He also had blood drawn to check his HGB (hemoglobin) and a lead test. We go back for his 15-month visit on 08/23/2010. We took pictures at his check-up, so enjoy viewing them (<b>see Flickr link below</b>).</p><b>Finn's Stats on 05/25/2010</b><br />Weight: 23 lbs 6 oz (10.7 kg)<br />Height: 29.5 inches (0.7493 m)<br /><p>Here are photos from the appointment. Click the photo to see them as a slideshow, or use the link below the photo to browse the images manually.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624240583918/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TBD3bLJymQI/AAAAAAAABeg/Rq5r2CfXUqI/s640/IMG_0240.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624240583918/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8992809832179682027?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-12637423246446958902010-05-18T20:52:00.006-05:002011-04-28T13:49:57.881-05:00<p class="dropcap">On May 17 we took the day off from work/baby school and ventured to the Minnesota zoo with our Finian for his first birthday. We started the day with some birthday presents from Mom and Dad, then hit the road for the zoo. We had lots of fun, but Finny was alternating between being awake and being sleepy. He liked the animals, but by the time we were done with the aquarium, lunch, the Tropics Trail and the Minnesota Trail he was very tired! We saw grizzly bears wrestling, a tiger stalking, leopards and otters, but he was just too pooped to be very interested. He woke up in time for the farm area though, and he really liked the goats! All in all it was a very good birthday for us and our little boy. Lots of zoo photos are linked below! Click the photo to see them as a slideshow, or use the link below the photo to browse the images manually!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624099082139/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TA1N5tquCGI/AAAAAAAABeU/2_8Q8-n5H9g/s640/IMG_0143.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624099082139/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1263742324644695890?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-65519984928154119132010-05-15T20:00:00.010-05:002011-04-28T13:50:48.000-05:00<p class="dropcap">Hooray for parties! Finn had his first birthday party today. There were grandparents and friends, family and neighbors, pizza and beer (no beer for Finn of course!), pop and cupcakes, balloons and presents.<br /><br />We started the day by meeting Grandpa and Grandma Nixon at the airport. We took them out for breakfast at Hell's Kitchen. Finny had his first order of restaurant food - a GIANT pancake! He made a valiant effort but his little tummy was no match for that beast, especially not after eating an entire slice of sausage bread first!<br /><br />After breakfast Finny and the grandparents took a nice nap while Mom and Dad got things ready for the party. The pizza arrived at 1:00 and the guests began to trickle in shortly after. Finn had a great time playing with all the kids who came to the party, and he spend lots of time hanging out with the Nixon and Shidaker grandparents.<br /><br />Of course Finn got a cupcake - Dad made 60 carrot cake cupcakes for the party, and we took lots of photos as Finn devoured his first one. He did really well! Not too messy, and not a whole lot left after he was done eating!<br /><br />The weather cooperated, nice and sunny for the party, but it got cool enough in the evening that we had to have a fire! Finn sat with Grandpa and Grandma Nixon until bedtime, and the parents and grandparents stayed up as long as we could before heading to bed ourselves.<br /><br />All in all it was a great day - Finn had fun, everyone had enough to eat, and so far there don't seem to be any presents that are in danger of "accidentally" getting the wires to the speakers cut (a trick Daddy learned from Grandpa Nixon!). Lots of photos on our Flickr site linked below - click the photo to see them as a slideshow, or use the link below the photo to browse the images manually!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624087656509/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/TA1KirspdjI/AAAAAAAABeI/ERjkHhHPsu4/s640/IMG_3293.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157624087656509/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6551998492815411913?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-22418926515552181632010-05-04T09:28:00.005-05:002011-04-28T13:53:09.191-05:00<p class="dropcap">Amy said one of her goals was to get Finn walking before he turned one. She was confident he could do it. Well, Friday night Finn proved she was right! He has been walking with the help of his push car for several weeks now, and we knew it was only a matter of time before he took a few steps unassisted. On Friday he stood up and walked to his mommy. We were very proud of him! It took us a few days to actually get it on video - he seems to want to sit down just as soon as we pick up the camera - but we eventually caught him in the act. Four videos are linked below, two from a few weeks ago (04/22/2010) when he was outside walking with his car, and two from last night (05/03/2010) showing how far along he has come since then. (My favorite part is the way he attacks the camera at the end!) Enjoy!</p><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FCzbACwZWRE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lgDpQqMLSLU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PfbESH-hXyk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uLBJhK9rOuI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2241892651555218163?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-73261265668248902402010-04-11T10:40:00.007-05:002011-04-28T13:55:45.581-05:00<p class="dropcap">April photo update! Happy Easter (a little late) and happy spring! We have a few sets of Finny photos to share with you. We have pictures of Finn's first Easter and an after-candy wagon ride in his new red wagon. We have some more bath-time photos, because Finn loves his bath and Momma loves taking bath pictures. We also have some photos of Finn in a swing. We were visiting our neighbors and threw our boy in their swing set. He had a blast! Hope you enjoy the photos as much as Finn enjoyed swinging! <strong>(click on images to view more pictures)</strong></p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623831309204/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S8HthgS_TeI/AAAAAAAABcs/HVcKZHNgI48/s640/IMG_3073.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623831309204/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623831261494/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S8HtiQTjiTI/AAAAAAAABc0/Oah0mVLYM6o/s640/IMG_2981.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623831261494/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623706657781/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S8HtiuROEFI/AAAAAAAABc8/iK_lbrHG0E4/s640/IMG_2868.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623706657781/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-7326126566824890240?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-83416772584006112242010-03-29T01:42:00.012-05:002011-04-28T13:57:44.013-05:00<p class="dropcap">It's nearing the end of March, so here's some madness: A big batch of photos for you to enjoy, broken up into six different sets. First up is wiggle time on the bed with Mom and Dad, featuring Finn in his best squirming mode, and his favorite toy (a spoon) which we can't get him to put down, and can't take away unless we want to be deafened by his screams of frustration. He has taken more than one bath holding a spoon! Silly baby! Next we have bath time with Finny, including a really nice shot showing off his two little teeth! Amy took some great photos in that set. The next set is Finn after a bath - Daddy dried his hair with Mom's blower, and he ended up with a poofy crazy hairdo, so we just had to take a few photos. The fourth set is Finn and Daddy at 10 months, getting artsy with Mom behind the camera again. Fifth is a switcheroo - Dad holding the camera, with Finny and Mom's 10 month photos. Last is a short set of shots with Finn and Daddy on a walk through the park. We threw Finn into our Sherpani baby pack and off we went! He really likes being up high where he can see all the action. We love our silly boy, and we love sharing photos of him! Hope you like them! (All photos are linked directly to the slide shows - if you want to browse the images manually, go to our Flickr page using the photo link at the top of this site!)</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623600694447/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S7BL2atyWOI/AAAAAAAABbc/DQGFaX8Gwqk/s640/IMG_2410.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623600694447/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623589793245/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S7BL2uA_axI/AAAAAAAABbk/QoqGPefTuH8/s640/IMG_2392.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623589793245/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714308662/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S7BL3A0_IRI/AAAAAAAABbs/FCu8UyaZ3I8/s640/IMG_2310.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714308662/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714263624/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S7BL3RMK2bI/AAAAAAAABb0/dQ9VHnxZE3k/s640/IMG_2240.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714263624/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714198660/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S7BOXyaS5qI/AAAAAAAABcY/ID2qAw_TuaQ/s640/IMG_2106.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714198660/">Browse the photos »</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714138596/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S7BOYA4atQI/AAAAAAAABcg/CV4ZGx02KjM/s640/IMG_4547.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623714138596/">Browse the photos »</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8341677258400611224?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-66097371663711715472010-03-23T21:06:00.005-05:002011-04-28T13:59:07.531-05:00<p class="dropcap">Our baby boy has learned a few new tricks. He really likes to crawl around with a set of cork coasters in his mouth, looking so much like a puppy that I tried to teach him to fetch. He has also learned how to clap his hands. He is very proud of himself for that! Finn is also getting more vocal - he says "Dada" and "Mama". Dada was his first word, but he says Mama way more often than he asks for Dad, especially when he is tired, scared or hurt. The monster is working on walking; he is getting close! He does really well moving while holding on to furniture, and has tried to walk while pushing a rolling toy Mom bought for him. He now has his <em>second</em> tooth and we think he is working on a third. Finally, Finn is playing a lot more. He has invented several little games. We have seen him play peek-a-boo with us, but we have also noticed him playing by himself, such as sliding his blocks between the slats in the back of a kitchen chair, or putting his little stuffed toys into a bowl and then taking them out again. It is a lot of fun to see him using his little brain to figure out new things he can do with his toys! We have been neglecting this blog a little too much lately. A few videos here to show off his new skills, and hopefully we will have more updates soon!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NKLKjzlra5c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wl4Ku0K4dtI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6609737166371171547?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-57994193715310159612010-03-01T22:38:00.007-06:002011-04-28T14:02:46.183-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623413672345/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S4yWWTrAHjI/AAAAAAAABac/Hj_hEsXUwoU/s640/IMG_1758.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623413672345/">Browse the photos »</a></div><p class="dropcap">It has taken a while, but Finn has his first tooth! After a lot of work (and more than a little bit of stubborn baby) he finally got the tooth to break through the gum. I first noticed it on Wednesday (2/24), just barely peeking through. Now, a week later, it is pretty easy to see (when he lets us look in his mouth, anyway) and definitely easy to feel - it is a sharp little tooth, and he likes to chew on our fingers to show it off! A few more of these and he will be ready to tackle some more difficult foods. So far he has gotten pretty good at the soft stuff (like bananas, melon chunks, sweet potato and squash cubes) but he doesn't have enough teeth to get a good grip on some tougher or more slippery foods (like grapes, peaches, and so forth). One tooth down, thirty-one more to go if he wants to catch up with his daddy!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5799419371531015961?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-21627715228394521962010-02-24T20:46:00.040-06:002011-04-28T14:06:44.487-05:00<p class="dropcap">Finn had his 9-month well-baby visit on 02/23/2010. No shots at this visit, hooray! His weight is in the 50th percentile range for a baby his age. Finn has also gotten longer; exactly why his toes are squished in his sleepers (75th percentile now). His doc thinks he looks <strong>great</strong> and that we are doing a good job! We go back in 3 months for his 12-month visit on 05/25/2010. We took pictures at his check-up, so enjoy viewing them (<strong>see Flickr link below</strong>).</p><strong>Finn's Stats on 02/23/2010</strong><br />Weight: 20 lbs 2.5 oz (9.143 kg)<br />Height: 2' 5.25" (0.743 m) = 29.25 inches (about 1/2 Mommy's height)<br />Head: 16.93" (43 cm)<br /><p>We had a couple days this week of high temps due to a virus passed around daycare. Some of the fever and grumpiness is probably teething related, too. No sign of an ear infection after the doc took a peek with his scope. When Josh dropped Finn off at daycare on 02/24/2010; he noticed a tiny bit of a tooth (incisor) "cutting through" on Finn's lower gums (right side). About time! Finn is still enjoying his transition from the "Kitten" to the "Lamb" room at baby school. Our "monster" is still pulling himself up on everything (walking soon?). We bought another baby gate to corral him more from all his exploring.</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623402947065/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AvEb6nC8LsY/Tbm6SWJGmfI/AAAAAAAAB-s/EMMPlmd90Mg/s640/IMG_4544.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623402947065/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2162771522839452196?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-108440096805647562010-02-20T11:28:00.007-06:002011-04-28T14:08:38.640-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623402822157/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S4yeI2pqggI/AAAAAAAABaw/u_8HXMHcrIc/s640/IMG_4472.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623402822157/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Happy birthday, Josh! We took Finny to the Underwater Adventures aquarium at the Mall of America for Josh's birthday. He was a little sleepy because it was a Friday night, but he sure perked up when he noticed there were turtles swimming over his head! Daddy and Finn had lots of fun looking at the fish. After the aquarium we got dinner at the Corona Cantina #1. Finn was pretty sleepy by the end, and he eventually crashed out in his stroller. We might have pushed him just a little too far, but we had fun! Next time we go to the aquarium we will try to take him earlier in the day!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-10844009680564756?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-55112448332270252492010-02-17T13:53:00.004-06:002011-04-28T14:10:33.536-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623455213642/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S3xJPnDmkSI/AAAAAAAABZw/Skav4zMXTMg/s640/IMG_4369.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623455213642/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Our Finny has now mastered the art of pulling himself up on things and standing with no help. He loves to stand in his crib! We find him standing there in the mornings and after naps. At first he would hang on for dear life because he was not sure what would happen if he just released his grip, so, he just stood and cried for help when he got tired of it! He is better at getting down on his own now, but will occasionally get stuck and ask for assistance. He usually has a big grin when we open the door because he is proud of his accomplishment, but he is also glad to be rescued. The coffee table is a favorite place to pull himself up. The couch, mom and dad have been used as a prop for standing, too. Amy is pretty sure he will transition to walking before he is a year old. We suspect he is holding on to the railing in the crib and walking because I have found him at the end of the crib several times, and we don't think there is a good way to pull himself up from the front or back of the crib - but he got there somehow!<br /><br />He is getting stronger, and faster too! He can shoot across the floor and into the bathroom in seconds if we leave the door open too long. We have to shoo him back out of there almost every morning. Getting ready to go to work is becoming more difficult because of his mobility! The cats are getting wary but they don't seem to be too afraid of him. Petey lets him get close and sometimes touch, but he will back away if Finny isn't gentle. Toby won't put up with it - if Finn gets too close, Toby runs away. He has too much hair, and Finny likes to grab and pull! The long-haired kitty is such an attractive target for little hands.<br /><br />We also threw our Minnesota baby into the snow for a few photos. He was a bit confused, but seemed to be OK with it until he started getting cold. He has tasted snow; he finds it when it gets tracked in and we have made some little snowballs for him to play with (and inevitably eat). He is not put off by the cold but gets mad if the snow is fluffy, because there's nothing to grab - it melts too fast - so I have to squish it into little lumps for him to handle.<br /><br />Still no teeth yet, but we know they are coming. Other than his stubborn refusal to get those first few teeth out, our little 9-month-old boy is doing well, growing fast, crawling faster, and enjoying his new bigger room at day care. We hope you enjoy the photos!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-5511244833227025249?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-31182837997351383182010-02-06T13:51:00.005-06:002011-04-28T14:13:19.253-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S23ILM-XYEI/AAAAAAAABXc/LBmyo-xLuuc/s1600-h/IMG_4337.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S23ILM-XYEI/AAAAAAAABXc/LBmyo-xLuuc/s640/IMG_4337.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><p class="dropcap">Finn has mastered the art of crawling. He is pretty speedy. It doesn't take him long to go from one side of the room to the other. Turn your back on him for a moment and he will get into something he is not supposed to touch! He is pulling books off of shelves, tipping over the bathroom trash can, grabbing things off of the living room table... he is a little bit of a holy terror, really. And he definitely does NOT know the meaning of the word "No" yet, even though we are trying hard to teach him!<br /><br />We have caught him standing a few times. He pulled himself upright on the living room table a few days back, and today I found him upset in his crib - he was standing up but did not know what to do next, and was holding on for dear life! He is getting better at it, and we know things will only get more interesting once he can stand and walk on his own. By the time he goes down for a nap, we usually have a big pile of baby mess to clean up - toys scattered all over, the living room in disarray, and usually one or two baby rags to pick up left from wiping off his drool. No teeth yet, but we think he is pretty close. All in all we feel pretty happy that he is doing well with his mobility. Teeth are overrated, right?<br /><br />However, his mobility is also starting to worry us more. Yesterday he caught his finger in the cat door and it pinched him, poor baby! We have also put up a baby gate in the hallway, and child locks on the cabinet in the kitchen. So far these have mostly been annoying to us, but they keep him out of trouble. He has almost tipped over the coffee table a few times, and has definitely fallen and bonked himself while trying to pull himself up on chairs and furniture. Oh, and he tries to eat everything - if he can grab it, it goes in his mouth. Amy gets nervous that he will swallow a cat toy or a dustbunny, or pull a kitchen drawer out on his head, or crack his noggin on the table, or fall backward and bonk his head on the floor. It worries me too, but we have to let him try and learn!<br /><br />We are trying to let him try new things. Teeth or no, we are determined to keep moving on with his foods. We have let him taste whole milk yogurt and cottage cheese. We tried some chunks of cooked sweet potato and squash. This morning I even made him a little buckwheat pancake, which he seemed to enjoy - he tore it into little bits, swallowed most of it, and threw the rest on the floor. This is a pretty regular pattern, unfortunately: Half of what we give him to try ends up on the floor eventually!<br /><br />No big batch of photos today, just the one above of him crawling (and yes, he is totally naked, the little scamp). We haven't taken too many since the last big post, but Amy thinks we ought to get some more video of him crawling to show off his skills. Hopefully we can have some to post pretty soon.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3118283799735138318?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-61437807232166968462010-01-29T18:20:00.006-06:002011-04-28T16:23:46.466-05:00<p class="dropcap">Well, the kid is definitely crawling now. After a week of practice he is moving pretty well. He looks a little like a wind-up toy, but he is moving. In the last few days he has gotten into the cat food, my backup drive (again!), toys in his room, and has tried to pull himself up on the living room table (he almost did it this time). Even better, today I went into the basement to put laundry in the washer. When I went back upstairs I was greeted by Finn peeking through the cat door. I had to reach through the cat door and push him to get him to move back enough to let me open the door and get out of the basement! He made a beeline back to it when I pulled him away. I got some video of the action. I think it is pretty clear that we are now in trouble. He spent the rest of the afternoon terrorizing the cats. They are faster than him, but he is like the zombie in a bad horror movie: He may be slow, but he is persistent, and eventually he is going to catch you...</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XKaX1D487KQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6143780723216696846?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-10579936413752970162010-01-28T19:15:00.004-06:002011-04-28T16:25:01.102-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623310299514/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S2OISuNZdxI/AAAAAAAABXM/NziWOs8laC8/s640/IMG_1294.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623310299514/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Finny took his first plane ride in January 2010. We flew down to Port Isabel, Texas, to visit the Shidaker grandparents on January 15. (It took a while to sort the photos, so this post is a bit out of order!) Finn did really well on the plane. He was not cranky, and did not get upset with the pressure changes. He actually giggled on takeoff, both times! What a silly boy. (Amy says of course he laughed, Finny is her boy, and she thinks it is fun to take off too!)<br /><br />We had a good visit, even if it was fairly short. We took Finny to the beach, and he got to stick his toes in the sand and feel the Gulf waves washing over his feet. We all took a tram ride tour of the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, where we saw ospreys, great blue herons, ducks and coots, lots of shorebirds, some deer and a feral hog, and even a crested caracara, the Mexican national bird. Amy and I went fishing with Tom. We didn't catch anything worth keeping, but we did feed a few pelicans from the small fish we did catch. Grandma JoAnne took Finn for a walk through the mobile home park to show off her grandson to all of her neighbors. Grandpa Tom was very happy to see Finn too - he let him "drive" the Jeep on the beach, and was the first to grab him up and squeeze him when we arrived. (Grandma was the last to let him go when we left, so we think it worked out pretty fairly on both ends!) It was nice to have a few days of warm weather, but it did seem strange to be wearing shorts in January. We had a good time, but Finn was definitely happy to be back in his own space when we returned home. He sleeps pretty well in his travel cot, but it is not the same as sleeping in his own bed and bedroom! Next time we visit we are sure he will be able to do a lot more with his grandparents! We know they certainly can't wait to see him again.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-1057993641375297016?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-87328582799319587472010-01-26T20:35:00.013-06:002011-04-28T16:26:50.508-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/S2B6i2YhI3I/AAAAAAAAAgo/R9IUaYHcYMw/s1600-h/P1230067.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/S2B6i2YhI3I/AAAAAAAAAgo/R9IUaYHcYMw/s640/P1230067.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/S2B6iaeQeRI/AAAAAAAAAgg/67vjz0zoGZk/s1600-h/CIMG0033.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/S2B6iaeQeRI/AAAAAAAAAgg/67vjz0zoGZk/s640/CIMG0033.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a></div><p class="dropcap">We have a new niece and Finian has a new cousin. Congrats, Brian and Diana on the birth of your daughter! Eva weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 in long on 01/23/2010. We look forward to meeting your little bundle of joy at some point.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8732858279931958747?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-34307703889952228122010-01-25T10:41:00.001-06:002011-04-28T16:29:31.886-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623288765968/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S18bLSHn-cI/AAAAAAAABW8/TABpEgTPQ1Q/s640/IMG_4288.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623288765968/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">We have movement - in more ways than one! Our little boy is growing fast. In the last two weeks he has mastered the art of sitting up on his own - he can go from laying on his stomach to an upright position. This is great, but it also means that we had to lower the mattress in his crib! We don't want him to tumble over the side, but it does make it harder for Amy to get him in or out of bed. He also is starting to crawl on his own. We could see for a while now that he was trying, but he could only scoot backwards. I thought maybe he didn't have the proper motivation to go forwards, so I tried enticing him with something that I knew he wanted - my phone! He took one look at it on the floor and started worming his way forward. We got a few videos of him moving. He does it fairly well on his own, but the phone never fails to get him moving faster!</p><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/y_-szDtG1BA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CCFnq_9Akzs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><p>The downside to this is that he is getting into things. I had to stop him from pulling my coffee cup off of the table in the living room. He also went after a backup drive I had on the floor, he has made movements towards the cats (they are still too fast for him!) and he discovered that he could open the TV cabinet. I think we are in trouble. Our little monster is going to cause more than a few problems! Amy has already had to move a few things off of the bottom shelves of our bookcases...<br /><br />The other bit of news is that Finny will be moving up to a different room at day care. Now that he is mobile and eating table food well, the day care staff have decided that on February 17 he will be moving to the Lamb Room. There is more space there for him to worm around, and some bigger kids for him to play with. There are two babies in the Kitten Room who are a little older than Finn, but one is not eating table foods and the other isn't crawling yet, so our little guy is going to go to the bigger room first. Moving up at exactly 9 months! Hooray! He has spent some time in the Lamb Room for a while now; the staff take some of the bigger babies over there from time to time to get them used to the room, and if parents have a later pick-up time, a few babies from the Kitten Room are occasionally moved over for a short time late in the afternoon as some of the staff leave for the day. Some of Finn's friends have been in the Lamb Room for a few months or more, so we hope it will be fun for him to see them again.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3430770388995222812?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-69239921348422331642010-01-10T20:47:00.003-06:002011-04-28T16:33:36.809-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623060521743/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S0qRRwEgBsI/AAAAAAAABUE/m0E_kHeZbcU/s640/IMG_4097.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623060521743/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">January in Minnesota means we have snow - and snow means we need to take our Minnesota baby outside! We had a great weekend for skiing. Lots of fresh snow, freshly groomed trails, and not too cold (10 degrees on Saturday and 20 degrees today). So, we loaded up the car, grabbed the rugrat and drove to Lebanon Hills Regional Park for some skiing. Our Chariot multisport baby carrier has a ski attachment, and we wanted to test it out. It's really pretty nice! Two little Rossignol skis that latch on to the bottom, and a harness with a waist belt so we can pull it. We stuffed Finny into a snow suit (it is a little big for him but it's warm!) and put him in the carrier, inside a fleece windproof bunting made to go with the carrier. Once we had him in place, I hitched myself up to it (like a one-Josh open sleigh?) and off we went! It is very easy to pull, and doesn't add much weight. On the downhill sections the extra weight makes it harder to stop, so I have to be careful, but otherwise it is not bad at all. I was worried about how it would handle the groomed trails, but the ski base is wide enough that it sits outside of the tracks, and the skis are short enough that they slide in and out of the grooves really easily when they do drop into the groomed section. After a bit you hardly notice the ski trailer is there!<br /><br />On Saturday we did a fairly short loop, it took about an hour or so to complete. We got kind of a late start but we had plenty of daytime left and Finn seemed to have a good time. We think he did, anyway - all we could see were his eyes! We were careful to check on him every so often to make sure he was warm, and he did just fine. He was a little cranky by the time we finished, but he was past due for a bottle and a nap. On Sunday our timing was better and we did a slightly longer loop through the park. This time it was not so new for Finn, and he relaxed enough to take a nap while I pulled him. We had a lot of fun, and lots of people were interested or excited to see us on the trail with such a little guy! "That is so cute!" and "That is such a cool setup!" were the comments we got the most often. Quite a few people thought it was awesome that we were getting our Minnesota baby into the fun of winter sports at such a young age. We were really happy to have such a good reaction!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-6923992134842233164?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-6885222770019280882010-01-07T19:47:00.003-06:002011-04-28T16:35:29.950-05:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623038624205/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UsJk--8g_o/S0aOnA7-afI/AAAAAAAAAbU/OcAD4QUDNqE/s640/IMG_0091.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623038624205/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Our first 5k race of the year! We took Finn to the Team Ortho Polar Dash 5k on January 1. We all registered for the race - we registered to run, and Finn was registered to be in a stroller or stay at day care depending on the weather. It was darn cold - 1 degree, but with the wind chill it felt like -19! We dropped Finn off at the on-site day care so he would not freeze, then we went into the warm-up tent to wait for the race to start. It was crowded in the tent, but warm. We felt like "March of the Penguins" in there, huddled together to hide from the cold! The race was pretty good. Not our best time ever, but we felt good just getting out and running. At the end of the race we received big medals for finishing, and Finn got a penguin backpack and teddy bear for his time in the day care. Team Ortho is giving out medals like this for three other races in 2010. We are already signed up for the Minneapolis Duathlon in September, and we think we are going to sign up for the Minneapolis Half Marathon in June and the Monster Half Marathon in October, so we will get all four medals. Hopefully this will get us in good shape for the year! So, we are going to run a lot - what is YOUR New Year's resolution?<br /><br />(We did not bring a camera so all of the photos are from my iPhone.)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-688522277001928088?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-38459742973597778162009-12-30T13:07:00.001-06:002011-04-30T09:59:48.705-05:00<div align="center" style="margin: 0px auto 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623020912395/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S0ON2qYjI5I/AAAAAAAABSQ/klPVLDt_zN0/s640/IMG_3849.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623020912395/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Christmas, Part 2: Visit to the Nixon grandparents in Buchanan. Much like the Thanksgiving trip we packed a lot in - Finny met his cousins Robbie and Seth, and his Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Tami. We also met Nissa, Uncle Seth's fiancee, for the first time. Finny opened presents with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mark. I played Wii with Seth, Robbie and Jeremy. Finny had some play time with cousin Sofia, Aunt Tami and Aunt Sarah. We took Finny to visit his Great Aunt Ann and Great Uncle Jerry in South Bend. He also met our friend Jake, who we promised long ago could be the godfather of our kid (mostly because the title amused him... We love Jake, of course, but should we actually trust him to guide the moral and spiritual development of our boy? What were we thinking!)<br /><br />Amy and I both took a lot of pictures! There are over 200 posted to my Flickr site, so you might want to go get a sandwich and make yourself comfortable before starting the slide show!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3845974297359777816?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-38939238911069932352009-12-29T16:06:00.004-06:002011-04-30T10:01:34.897-05:00<div align="center" style="margin: 0px auto 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623015392601/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/S0Jmbv7fCjI/AAAAAAAABRU/yot9ndrm7s8/s640/IMG_0305.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157623015392601/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Christmas 2009, at home in Minneapolis. Finny had his first Christmas with Mom and Dad. He woke up early (excited, no doubt!) and after his morning bottle we opened presents together. Well, Finny wasn't so good at opening - he needed help, and he seemed to think playing with (and eating) the wrapping paper was more fun than tearing it off of things - but eventually we got through everything. Finn got some cool new toys, from the Shidaker grandparents and from Mom and Dad. By the time we got to the stockings Finny was pretty much done. He hung in there until the end but he was clearly exhausted from all the fun. Because the weather was pretty yucky (nearly 40 degrees and raining!) we stayed inside all day, but it was a good first Christmas for our boy despite the weather!<br /><br />Yes, I know there's already a Christmas post right below this one - but this is the one with the photos! :)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-3893923891106993235?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-21696664516137866232009-12-27T22:27:00.006-06:002011-04-30T10:03:18.325-05:00<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/Szg3yR2D7mI/AAAAAAAABOg/8XJgx4UzJbI/s1600-h/IMG_0356.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420143488463531618" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/Szg3yR2D7mI/AAAAAAAABOg/8XJgx4UzJbI/s640/IMG_0356.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="640" /></a><br /><p class="dropcap">Christmas at home! Finny got some toys, Amy got some music, I got a new coat and a safety razor (no serious wounds yet, hooray!). Spent a quiet Christmas day in Minneapolis, then a train ride to Buchanan to the Nixon grandparents on the 26th. Weather was cruddy - we had 7 inches of snow, then it rained all day on the 25th, then froze again with new snow, so the drive to the train station stunk! Snow, with ice on top, then more snow!<br /><br />Finny did really well on the train. We brought some Plum Baby Organics food pouches so that we could feed him solids on this trip instead of just milk like the last one. He was happy and didn't fuss much. Got to Buchanan around 9 PM EST, met Dad at the station and opened presents with the Nixon gang that night. We have had fun so far - Finny got to meet Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Tami and his cousins Robbie and Seth. He also met Uncle Seth's fiancee Nissa. Everyone thinks Finny is cute (of course!), Nissa is really sweet, and I had a blast playing Wii with the boys (even though Robbie cheats!) :)<br /><br />Tomorrow we will take Finny to visit with his great aunt Ann and great uncle Jerry. We are also supposed to meet a few friends from high school if we can work out the logistics, we will see!<br /><br />I have been taking lots of photos but haven't uploaded any yet. One photo is included here as a teaser. I'll post again when I have more pictures ready to go!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-2169666451613786623?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>dr.nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04656097817683855436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020123013509992529.post-82834223774539574542009-12-07T21:04:00.007-06:002011-04-30T10:04:27.123-05:00<div align="center" style="margin: 0px auto 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157622868457535/show/"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nqjPRkKfErU/SyUxWiDBTvI/AAAAAAAABMk/HVTE5JGbzEk/s640/IMG_0083.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_nixon/sets/72157622868457535/">Browse the photos &#187;</a></div><p class="dropcap">Happy Holidays everyone! Finny, Josh and Amy took a few photos for our holiday cards. We're sharing them with you here. Hope you are all staying warm!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8020123013509992529-8283422377453957454?l=our-zygote.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wifey Nixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374634291997886721noreply@blogger.com2