National Portait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is a great place for us to go. It has one of the most diverse collections (not just portraits), is in a beautifull building, and had plenty of space for Finn to run aroud in.


The building is a rectangle with a center courtard that has very cool fountains that stream a film of water across sections of the floor. Kids and adults alike love to run through the water. Finn also likes running through the open space.


It's hard to get a picture of him when he is running at fullspeed, but we did our best to capture the big smile.

After he was a little tired, Finn would sit at the edge of the fountain and splash away in the water. He stayed relative dry until he dicided to run through the water and slide face first like Pete Rose through the water.


His newest phrase he can say is "soaking wet".

Trains are a continuing theme

Since it is very difficult to find time to write blog posts, I think I will concentrate more on the pictures and less on the words. I should be able to catch up on the posting with the sacrifice of my witticisms.

The Afterparty

The day after the wedding, we went to Opry Mills mall to meet with Cailin, Nicolai and Jess for lunch. While we were waiting, Finn found some snowboards he'd like to try out next year.


It was nice to see our friends who we rarely get to see anymore. It's also good to see little Amalia who we usually only see in her blog.

Kyle's Wedding

My friend from highschool got married over the long weekend in February. We drove out to Nashville, put our fancy clothes on, and went to the wedding. Finn was so excited about his "new outfit" that he would say it over and over again. I tried to teach him that men wear clothes and women have outfits, but mom's influence seems to have outweighed my own.


The wedding itself was very nice. I hope Finn didn't ruin it too much when he made a dash down the aisle with Sarah chasing him down before he reached the wedding party. The amount that they care for eachother was clear from the smiles on their faces and the looks in their eyes.


The reception was a roaring party as expected. The toasts were plentiful and truly covered the spectrum from calls for immediate pregnancy, to a reminder that being American was the greatest thing possible. The dancing was filled with memorable moments and continued long after we brought the very sleepy boy back to the hotel.


It was Finn's first wedding and set the bar for him to which all others will be judged.

Finn sees Mr. Pibb as someting not to hit (as much)

Finn has grown to enjoy Mr. Pibb's presence and has even learned that that presence can be extended if you don't pull the cat's tail or pound your fist into his side. Finn even calls him by his proper name "Mr. Pibb" and no longer just "cat" or "kitty".


Here the two are sharing a bowl of the juice from a can of tuna. While it is a favorite treat for Pibb, Finn was more content watching than drinking.

A boy and his stick

The warm weather provided a great opportunity to go down to the riverfront park and run in the newly green grass. Like all kids, Finn picked up a stick and started hitting things with it immediately. Most of the aggression was taken out in the large tree in this picture.

After walking, running and jumpig it was time to make the walk home. That walk is uphill and Finn needed a breather on the way. The little ledge on the steps up to a townhouse was a perfect spot for him to rest his feet.


There are a number of parks along the Potomac in Alexandria for us to go to. They have everything from big fields and basketball courts, to sand pits, jungle gyms, and see-saws. There is a definite difference in Finn when he gets outside and can run around for a while. His nap is longer, he is less irritable, and eats better too. It'll be great once the weather is permanently warmer and he can get out each day, even if just to the rooftop recreation deck in our building.

Back to the zoo

We took a trip to the zoo on a warmer day last month. The zoo, as with other places that Finn really likes is a difficult place to leave. We always say that it is tough to do things he likes, because it is so traumatic to leave.

The zoo had a couple things going for it that day. The first was that the orangutans were crossing the cables traversing the zoo. They can go between two buildings to get a change of view.


The second thing was the Amazon exhibit. Not only at the giant fish in the aquarium the coolest thing in the world, they have bugs. To make sure we saw the bugs, Finn would say "Papa see? Ohh yeah!" and then make the sign for bug, which he interprets as picking his nose. It is very similar.

Return of the Faux-hawk

A pre-bedtime bath lead to some creative hair styles on a cold February night. It is very difficult to look tough while holding a stuffed doggy in your mouth, but he' trying his best.

Butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum

In Cincinnati there was a live butterly exhibit at the Krohn Conservatory for a few weeks each year. Here the Natural history museum has a similar exhibit year-round. Finn likes the butterflies flying around, and got very exited when they landed on Sarah. Here he watches one butterfly while another ;ands on the wall behind him.

Cat games

Some games are great to play with your pet. One of those games is laser tag. You shine a laser pointer one the floor and let the cat try and tag it. It turns out this game also works great with kids. Who knew?

I do feel a little bad for playing the same game with our son as I did with our cat, but he had fun. Hopefully he won't still be playing when he is as old as Mr. Pibb.

Modern Art

We swung over to the Hirschorn to check out the best Modern Art has to give. It was underwhelming. Not that it was all bad, but the percentage of things we like is not as high as other museums.


What it does offer is a round museum with very few people in it so Finn can run the hallway endlessly.


I'm sure we'll go back sometime to check out the traveling exhibits, and it is interesting to see some of the pieces. A little variety is always good, especially in art.

Taking notes

Finn has a notebook now. He keeps a green crayon in the pad with it which he uses to jot down his thoughts and sketch the sights of the town. I thought he would only play with it once, but he asks for it and uses it all the time. While he likes the train set most and I will admit that was a purchased toy that he loves, it is another example of a good toy already sitting in our house.

Back to the ice

We headed back to the ice and took to the stakes for a second, and probably final time this year. Finn progressed to the point where he could stand on his own, even with the dullest blades in the world.


A few days ago, we were at a store to pick up some new things for the second baby and saw a rink next door. I took him in to see if there was a youth game going on; it was public skating. He kept saying "Shoes off...ice". I felt bad we had to go without skating that day.


He really got the hang of it in the second time out. It was too warm out for me though. All the skating and lifting left me very sweaty.



It'll be interesting to see next fall if he is as excited as he was his year.

Playing with the trains

Finn spends about 3 hours per day playing with the train set. The first thing he says in the morning is typically "Downstairs, train tracks." His intense concentration is amazing to me and the apparent thought behind his play is great.



The train track is without doubt, his favorite birthday gift ever.

Inaguration Day

On Inauguration day we stayed in to watch the ceremony and speeches, but then took to the streets to enjoy the rest of the day off from work. We walked down to the Old Town waterfront. Here is a nice ship of the Coast Guard ship blockading the Potomac River against raiders.


After seeing all we could, including the ice flows on the river, we all walked back to the house. Yes it was that cold, but we didn't have to be out in the weather for 8 hours like Chuck and Andi did.

Finn has increased the distance he actually walks when we go out. He's even walked the entire distance from the Metro stop to our house. Google maps calls it 0.4 miles.


Having the day off and being in a place to experience the atmosphere surrounding the events is spectacular. I wonder what the next event will be. Of course I know since this post is about 6 weeks late.

No more crib

Two years seemed long enough to sleep in a crib. Maybe less than two years if you don't count the early days when he would only sleep in the car seat. Plus the crib converts to a bed and we figured that we should use that feature for a little while before a new baby needs the crib.


Of course unleashing nap time has lead to some issues with tissues. One day he somehow got to the wipes and threw them everywhere around the room. Either before or after that, he pumped half a bottle of lotion out and put it on his head, shirt, blanket, and anywhere else he could get to. At that moment I almost regretted the words I sing when applying his lotion: "Lotion cow-dog, lotion Finn, lotion everybody".


He dosn't always stay in bed, though that is getting more common. The is a typical picture of him at nap time. He gets out and goes onto the floor to play. At some point he gets tired and wants to get back in bed, but he doesn't always make it before sleep hits.

We're getting a bit nervous about the arrival of the second. We're not really completely unpacked (but are likely to never be now) and the time is amazingly short. We're only 4 weeks away from the point when Finn was born with the second one. Yikes.

Repost

It seems that the video of Finn dancing didn't appear in the post about Knute the first time. I got the probem fixed, so make sure to check it out.

Building Museum

One of the coolest places in DC for kids is the Building Museum. It is in an old armory, I think. There is a giant inner courtyard with a fountain in the middle. There is also a few exhibits especially for kids. One of which is the firefighter dress-up place with big Lego pieces. It's probably good that I said that explicitly since it would not be identifiable from this picture.


There is even a mini house to play in too. There are lots of cool things for kids to do all around town and I think Finn is slowly seeing them all.

A Visit from Knute

Knute, my old roommate from the Academy was in town and stopped by for a couple days. It was nice to be able to catch up with him and spend some time with him again. Finn decided to show off to the visitor by dancing. It's the traditional family greeting that can be traced back to the old village outside Danzig (Gdansk) where people would polka for guests. Though I'm not sure if it was Justin Timberlake singing the polka back then. His job will bring him to DC often, so hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

Back to the American History Museum

Finn liked the American History museum so much he wanted to go back to see the trains. This time he wanted to bring Henry, who he calls Percy, because he looks like the train in the display. In fact, any time he sees a steam engine he says "Train, like Percy".

He gets his concentration face on every time he sees a train. The other favorite train activity is the library. He gets 2-3 train books which immediately become the only books we read.

All train books have the same plotline.

1. Here's a train track.
2. Here's a train.
3. It goes up a hill.
4. It goes through a tunnel.
5. TOOT TOOT.
6. Train in the station "ALL ABOARD!"

Finn likes every variation of that story. Because children's book are easy to make, Finn can read each of the thousand variations that exist.

Song of the Week!

This is Finn's favorite song. He dances and sings to it. It's funny to hear him sing "Banana Phone!". We need to get a video of it. Enjoy the video.

Art Museum

One fine day we set out to the art museum for a day filled with looking at boats, animals, boys and girls. Finn likes to look around and identify things he sees in the pictures.

We stopped at a fountain to watch and listen to the water. Moreover, Finn wanted to throw change into the water. It combines two of his favorite hobbies, throwing and splashing.

His major issue was that we only had 5 pennies to contribute. Maybe next time we'll have more change.

Birthday #2

Finn's second birthday was much lower key than his last one. Instead of family and friends galore, it was only the 3.5 of us.

Sarah made him a cupcake train traveling in the shape of a "2". Finn was able to use his new-found skill of blowing out candles.


In addition to uses his candle-blowing-out skills, he used his shoving-food-in-his-mouth skills. He got most of the whole cupcake in his mouth when the time came.


When the gift opening came, he dove right in saying "open, open, open...".


His gift from us was a train set. He absolutely loves it. Ever day he builds a track and spends hours driving the train over the hills and curves. We even made tunnels with the large blocks.


Finally before bed we took a picture to compare the size of our boy now and when he was first born. He looks a little bigger, a little older, and a little more into trains.


What a nice little birthday he had. It keeps getting better with each day. Seeing a person develop and interact is so enjoyable and truly awesome.

Early Birthday

When Lanny was here, we decided to open the presents he brought for Finn's birthday so he could enjoy the fun in person. On the heals on Christmas, Finn knew exactly what to do when confronted by bags and boxes.


He got a freight car-load of Thomas the Tank Engine trains to add to the growing collection. He connected them and had the long train come through the Lego tunnel.

It's amazing how quickly kids learn things. He knows the name of each train. I don't mean the ones he has, I mean the ones in the catalogue that came with the trains! He points to each one and says the nae of it.

He only gets one name wrong. He calls Henry "Percy". They are both green, but Percy is a major character in the video that he has, so it sunk in more deeply than the name Henry. Our next step is to each him to count cards.

Uncle Lanny!

My brother came out to stay with us for a few days. It was good to see him and spend some time with him. Here we are, the three Beachkofski boys.


The photo is pretty nice, but makes me wonder "Who's that kid weaseling his way into our picture?

Lanny got to be here for Finn's birthday and helped in congratulating Finn for getting some cool toys.


After meeting us at Arlington Cemetary, Sarah took Finn back home and the brothers went out sight-seeing. We went to the Sackler Galleries and saw the Asian art and the special display of the S-curve. The S-curve is much more impressive in person than in a photo.

After the art galleries we went to the Washington and Lincoln Memorials and then the White House before making our way home again. Here's a shot of Lanny comparing the reverse of a penny with the actual Lincoln Memorial for accuracy.


It was a great visit. It was nice to see Lanny outside of the normal holiday visit schedule. Good luck on the second semester of freshman year!

Chinatown

Sarah got a new haircut at the Aveda institute (thanks for the awesome tip Andi), which is located in chinatown. Finn and I came over when she was finished and we had dinner at Chinatown Garden. It was decent, not the greatest, but more authentic than the average place we've been to. That means more earthy flavors and fish sauce than Panda Express.



Since then we've gotten take out (delivery) from South China, here in Alexandria. That was better, cheaper, and Finn could act like a two-year old and not cause a scene. Still we can't buy a cheap plastic panda without actually going to Chinatown.

Meeting up with the Family

After laying the wreath, I met up with Sarah, Finn and my brother Lanny. Finn wasn't sure what to make of Arlington cemetery. But, he knew he didn't want to wear his mittens.He had to wear them since it was so cold and rainy. The low-grey skies made interesting lighting for photos. Here's one of our favorie model.

Laying a Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns

A great honor I had in early January was to be part of a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. Our office took an afternoon off to come together and pay homage to those who have sacrificed.

It was an appropriately grey day, with low diffused light.


After the laying of the wreath and the playing of Taps, we gathered for a group picture. Since being at the Academy, the playing of Taps has evokes an emotional response in me. This wasn't an exception.


It was an experience that I won't forget and am very grateful to have been able to participate in.

Morning Commute

Finn's morning commute to play in the morning is pretty nice. He has a chauffered stroller ride during which he can eat a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich and read The Onion. He was particularly interested in this article.

It's quite a life, generally only experienced by the extremely wealthy and the extremely young. Ahh, to be young again, or rich.

Skating with Finn

After being stymied by the Federal Government's working hours Christmas Day, we made it back to the Sculpture Garden on a day it was open for skating.

Excited from the outset, each lap ended with him saying "More, please." It ended with him able to stand up on his own and kicking his feet as I helped him around the rink.

I got quite a work-out going around in circles. It was pretty warm out and I ended up drenched with sweat.

When we went to leave the tears came on and Finn just wanted to stay on the ice.

We were surprised that they had Finn's size. The biggest problem was that the blades have no edges so his legs would slide out to the sides in addition to forward and back.

There were two off-ice activities that were able to old Finn's attention. The first was watching the Zamboni as it resurfaced the ice. The second was opening and closing the locker doors.

We've made it back for a second time, which made it clear we need our own skates that may have an edge. Of course we'll probably wait until next year to get them since it was 50 degrees today. It may be that the season is coming to a close. I'm sure that he'll be ready for more next year,

Dominoes!

Chuck and Andi came over for New Year's Eve. After playing with his new turtles on his rocking horse, Finn went off to bed and the grown-ups kept the party rocking. By rocking I mean we had Chinese, sat down, and played dominoes. It was a great night.


It turns out that dominoes is not just a game for old guys in the Carribean. It was fun and we'd like to play again. I've been searching on Facebook for a good dominoes game, and can only find bad ones.

So we had a simple night in that lead to a potential new obsession. As a minimum, it gives us a good pastime for our retirment years. I can see how it would be fun to play along the beach or in a park on a warn and sunny island.