And I thought she was an original...

In Finley's Thursday playgroup there is another Finley!  What are the odds?  She is a Finley Faith and her name was selected from a baby book, instead of being named after her mom's favorite baseball player, Steve Finley.  Their names are where the similarities end, these two little girls are so opposite.  It was hysterical trying to get their pictures together.  Finley Faith just wanted to be held by her mom, Finley Anne wanted nothing to do with me (she had a stroller she was pushing around.)  Finley Anne couldn't get enough cake, Finley Faith was much more interested in a banana.  Finley Faith was wanting to stay in one place, Finley Anne was intent on running everywhere.

Back in the seventh grade when I decided I wanted my first little girl to be named Finley Anne, who knew that the name would be popular once I had a baby?  I blame Angie Harmon (Finley Faith), Daniel Baldwin (Finley Rae) and Lisa Marie Presley (Finley Presley).  But who can really blame them?  It is a fantastic name!

New TOY

On Monday, I Finley and I went to Costco.  I had my eye on the water table there and finally made the decision to buy it.  It was a good thing we went when we did, it was the second to last one at the store.  I panicked when we walked into the store because it had been on display near the front entrance, turns out they had moved it to the back (still without a price!)  I loaded it up on the cart and told Finley it was a new toy for the summer.  I carried it up to the third floor yesterday and told Finley again it was her toy.  My friend Kristina watched Finley this morning while I was at the dentist, she asked what the deal was with the big box on the third floor, Finley seemed really excited about it.  Best part, she learned another new word: TOY!

We played with the water table all afternoon, once I got it all put together.  She really loves it.  I am going to get some pea gravel for the sand portion part of it.  Sand+Water=Mud and not for me.  Sand isn't for Finley either, she tried the sand play area at Lupe Tortilla and wanted out instantly.  Not a fan of the dirt...phew.

Why do we have to stop playing with the Water Table?

Puzzling

Finley loves puzzles.  When I first brought out the puzzles (nicely stored in this rack, a fantastic birthday gift from Max), Finley was clueless.  We first worked together on getting the pieces somewhere near to where they belonged.  After lots of playing, Finley was able to manage to match nearly every piece of her puzzles. 
Sometimes there is confusion, but most of the time she figures it out.  It is so fun to watch her intently stare at the pieces to determine where they fit.  She is now working on getting the pieces to actually fit into the space where they belong.  She is better at it with the chunkier puzzles and the one that she has mastered is her dinosaur puzzle.  I always tell her the dinosaur names as she picks up the pieces, but I think we are a long way off from "Diplodocus"  and "Anklyosaurus" coming from her mouth.  I have always loved puzzles, so I am happy to see that Finley enjoys them as much as I do.  I can't wait for the day when we can complete our first jigsaw puzzle together.

Pony Rides!

We went over to the St Paul's School yesterday for their Spring Carnival. I had read there would be pony rides and since Finley didn't get to take one at the Rodeo this year, I figured that this would be her chance. She loved it! She could hold on and stay on the horse all by herself, such a natural. She was super curious about the petting zoo next door. They had ducks, a dear, a llama and baby goats. So cute!

Playgroup, Pizza and the Park

Finley and I went to playgroup on Friday and she had a blast in the ball pit, as per usual.  I would be all about a ball pit in our home, but for the fact that I would imagine that plastic balls would migrate all over our home.  For now, she can enjoy ball pits at friends' houses and at the museum.


After playgroup, we met Clifton out for some Luigi's pizza.  Finley loves pizza, she calls it "peez".  And afterwards, we treated her to some chocolate gelato.  She used two spoons for double the ice cream.  Pizza and ice cream is pretty much an ideal meal for Miss Finley Bug.

After dinner, we headed over to the park for some playtime before bedtime. Finley loved swinging with Clifton, climbing around and going down the slide.

 

Please Look After this Bear...Thank You

Miss Finley has taken to taking Paddington Bear with her wherever she goes.  Besides Bear Friend, Finley hasn't shown any loyalty to any of her stuffed animals.  Her animal friends are always around and whichever one happens to be close is usually her current favorite.  We shall see how long the attachment to Paddington lasts, my guess is she will be carrying something new tomorrow...

Indoor Picnic with Friends

We had planned an exciting picnic at the Miller Outdoor Theatre to watch the Three Little Pigs and have a picnic feast.  Sadly, it rained for the two days prior, so the mud kept us away.  But that didn't stop the fun!  Riley, Max, Courtney and Kendall all came over for some playtime and snacktime.  Everyone had fun playing together and we cannot wait to see all our friends soon.

Max, working on his music skills to impress the ladies

Riley is ready to ride

Let me give you a hand with that

Max stacks blocks with great skill

Finley knocks them down

Evil Laugh

Little Stinker!

Trying to get a group picture is near impossible.  Everyone looks to be on the border of breakdown at any moment!

Yummy!

Cooking in the Kitchen

Finley will now put pots in her oven, turn the knobs and watch things "cook". It is too cute for words! She has also taken to helping me unload the dishwasher, she is in charge of the silverware. The other day she had once again thrown her fork on the floor. When she was done with lunch, she picked up her fork, opened up the silverware drawer and put the fork back. Looks like now we need to work on the difference between clean and dirty silverware.

Here is Finley in the kitchen:


Finley has also taken to laughing, evil style. I will hear her evil laugh coming for the backseat for entire car rides. I have no clue what she finds so funny, but it is adorable when she throws her head back and laughs and laughs and laughs.

And now, for the Grandaddy of them all...Bluebonnets!

You've seen Engelmann's Daisy, you've seen Indian Paintbrush, but now it is time for the reeeally big show, the reason for driving out to Bellville...the bluebonnet pictures!

Bye Bye Bluebonnets, see you next year!

A Dairy Queen Blizzard makes for a perfect ending to a wildflower filled day

Long Bangs

Finley's nanny, Lori, had always cut her bangs. So they have been growing out for quite some time. So much so that they were starting to get into her eyes and I was pinning them back with a hair clip. I had a big debate whether or not I should let them grow out or go ahead and cut them.

Honestly, Finley is gorgeous with bangs or not, so that is what made the decision even harder.

I went ahead and chopped them last night. I am by no means an expert stylist and I am pretty sure the scissors I have are best suited for cutting through gift wrap, but I made a good effort. They aren't perfect, but they were cut with love.  The good news is we no longer have to fight to keep a bow in her hair in order to wrangle her growing bangs.  The bad news is I may not have cut them as straight as I would have liked.  So maybe no pictures of Finley until they grow out a bit more?

Nah...there is no way that could happen.  I will photograph her sassy new do today at our picnic.  And you can see my mad hair cutting skills.