Christmas

Finley got so many neat toys for Christmas, including the garbage truck.  She had so much fun playing with all her new toys and opening presents.  She really loved racing her Wheelies truck against the garbage truck.  She also had so much fun coloring on her new play house.  She also got a Cars racetrack to play with Daddy.  Finley got me the Cat in Hat game 'I Can Do That.'  If you have a pre-schooler, this game is awesome.  We have played it several times already, it generally has us all laughing by the end of the game.  Finley also got a new guitar, some Lincoln Logs, princess sets, lots of books and a Tag reader.  It didn't take long for her to catch onto the Tag reader, she was reading books with it in no time.  Finley also has really enjoyed playing with her Aquadoodle mat.  The best part is that Finley wanted to play with each toy and read every book after she opened them, it was so cute.  The garbage truck toted around all her Cars Matchbox cars.  And Santa didn't forget her AAA batteries, so her music book is back working again.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve

We headed out for an early Chinese dinner at Kam's last night around 6 pm.  Too bad lots of other people had the same idea and we had a little wait for a table.  Finley ate lots of pork dumplings, well, only the pork part.  After that she decided she would try hot and sour soup, but she wasn't a big fan.  She did love the pork from the chow mein we had, almost as much as the crispy wonton strips.  We headed home to get ready for Santa to visit.  Finley left a note asking for AAA batteries for her book and wishing Santa a Merry Christmas.  She also left him two cookies to snack on during his stay.  After Finley got into her Mickey Mouse Christmas jammies, we read The Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Finley went to bed quickly...she was ready for Santa to get here with her garbage truck, princesses and batteries.  Luckily, Santa came.  Finley insisted that she heard reindeer on our roof last night! 

Cookies for Santa

Max came over this week so his mommy could do some Christmas shopping on her own.  I decided it would be fun to bake some cookies with the kids.   I used my favorite gingerbread recipe, but I didn't take into consideration that the dough needs to be chilled in order for it to be cut easily.  Because I was working with two slabs of dough and two three year olds, speed wasn't on our side and the dough got too warm to cut out.  We only got about 6 cookies cut out and baked, but that is just the right amount for Finley with enough leftover to leave for Santa tonight.  Finley has been very excited for Santa to arrive.  She wants him to bring her a garbage truck, princesses and triple-A batteries.  The batteries were the most recent request since one of her favorite music books needs new batteries.  I bet Santa is going to be a busy guy tonight.  We have been tracking him on the Santa tracker.  Last we checked he was in Cairo, Egypt and the Ukraine.  We are going out for Chinese food tonight, then everyone will snuggle all warm in their beds to wait for Santa to arrive.  I hope Santa finds everyone well, Merry Christmas to you all!

Message from Santa

Video from Santa

Let's Visit Santa Again

We headed back to the Bass Pro Shop to meet Santa with Max. This visit, Finley asked for "Princesses." Santa said he would get Finley a whole box of princesses, all different kinds. Looks like Santa has some more shopping to do. She and Max were hysterical in the shooting range area of the Santa line. Almost as hysterical that there is a shooting range in the Santa line. We headed to Center Court Pizza afterwards to meet up with Miss Leslie and baby Caroline. Once again, Max and Finley impressed with their pizza eating skills...four slices each!

Christmas Pageant in Pictures

Finley looks pretty much the same in all her pictures on stage. She has a blank stare and is looking off in the distance. I think she was tuning out all the crazy crying that was going on around her. I asked her what her costume was and she told me she was dressed like a rat. She has been happy to sing "Twinkle, twinkle shining star" all the time since her pageant, but she wasn't happy to sing it that day. I guess she had a little bit of stage fright. We were so proud of her nonetheless and can't wait until next year's performance.

Finley's Christmas Pageant

Last Friday, Finley performed in her first ever Christmas Pageant.  She played a very serious shepherd.  She didn't sing much, but she wasn't crying like the kids around her.  Max was the breakout star this year, he sang every note perfectly, such a personality!  Finley attended this same pageant last year to watch Max.  Here are a few videos from the show. I got there 30 minutes early to get a good seat, wasn't early enough. Next year I will have to get there 45 minutes early...and maybe Finley will sing. Pictures to come tomorrow.

Santa Claus!

We took Finley to meet Santa Claus at the Bass Pro Shops today, continuing our tradition.  Here is her visit last year and here is the visit the year before that.  She is getting so big!  There were no tears this year.  Santa asked Finley what she wanted for Christmas and she gave the same reply she has been saying for weeks now....garbage truck!  Santa said that was his first request for a garbage truck, I sure hope he is able to find one for Finley.  After the visit, Finley colored a picture of a garbage truck to send in a letter to Santa Claus.

Pajama Day at School

On Wednesday, the kids were allowed to wear their jammies to school for Polar Express Day.  All of Finley's pajamas are footed, so that would have been a struggle to fit shoes over.  Luckily, there were adorable Christmas pajamas at Disneyworld and I had a 20% off coupon for them.  Finley was so excited to wear her Mickey jammies to school.  She requested piggy tails and she was set!  At the end of the school day, the class celebrated Ella's birthday with cupcakes and they had a book gift exchange.  Finley got Guess how Much I Love You and was very happy with her new book.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

The birthday party circuit is winding down for the year, but not before we celebrated Sarah's 3rd birthday at the Children's Museum.  Finley had the best time visiting all the little houses set up for different holidays.  She also made artwork with macaroni and tissue paper, it was supposed to be a Menorah, she went with an abstract interpretation of it.  The kids all played in Kidtropolis and then we all headed upstairs to play the dancing lighted squares game.  After all that fun, we headed down to the party room for Chick-fil-a and cake.  Finley was a very happy girl and was so excited to sing Sarah "Happy Birthday!"

Day Two: Disneyworld

Our second day at Disneyworld was also spent at the Magic Kingdom. Finley started her morning watching the monorail from our balcony, she loved seeing the trains go by. We hit all of Finley's favorites: race cars, carousel, the haunted mansion, It's a Small World, etc... The end of the day was spent inside Cinderella's Castle feasting with the princesses.  Finley had an amazing time all day, but she really loved the castle.  She got her very own magic wand and wishing star with the bonus of an ice cream sundae at the end!