Playing at the Park

On Friday afternoon, we skipped playgroup since Clifton came home from work early.  The weather was amazing so we headed over to Hermann Park to have some fun at the park.  Finley loves the park, mostly the slides.  Especially when there are steps to climb up to it, she still hasn't mastered the climbing walls or any other way up to the slide.

The Future's so Bright

Finley has been obsessed with getting sunglasses ever since she wore Samantha's at Max's birthday party. She has been asking and asking to get some and we have had such trouble finding a pair. The infant ones were too small, the kids' glasses were too big. We finally found a great pair at Target today. Finley picked them out herself!

Cute Videos with Max

The last video is especially cute...Finley is teaching Max how to sashay, like she learns in ballet class.

It's Go Texan Day!

Finley thought I was telling her we were going to a Texans game instead of saying it was Go Texan Day. Doesn't she look most adorable? The pink boots make the outfit.

We're going to the Dallas Zoo

At the entrance of the Dallas Zoo, there is this highly annoying, yet catchy song that plays on an endless loop.  "We're going to the Dallas Zoo..." over and over and over again.  When you do go to the Dallas Zoo, hope for no lines at the front entrance.  The Dallas Zoo has half price tickets for Houston Zoo members, but even better, admission was only $5 for penguin days.



Finley pleaded to go on the carousel and we  caved.  She actually loved it and wanted to go again right away!


Riding on a turtle outside the reptile house.


Petting a snake and visiting the albino alligator.


Penguins!


Watching the elephants and giraffes.


Feeding the giraffes. This was so much fun! Whenever we have tried to feed them at the Houston Zoo, the stand has been closed. I cannot wait to do it again.


A carousel ride on the way out.

A Giraffe Built for Two

Max is over for the day today and Finley is having the best time.  Max loves her riding giraffe and Finley found a way for them to ride it together.  Aren't they the cutest?

Finley had to color coordinate bibs to outfits for lunch time. Max wasn't so fired up about wearing a bib, but Finley forced the issue and he went along with it. The two of them ate a ton of chicken nuggets and macaroni n cheese. Max ate his apple slices, but Finley couldn't be convinced to try them. I thought some Max peer pressure would coax her, but she held strong.

Ready for Opening Day

The Houston Astros single game tickets went on sale last Friday at 9 am.  We got there a touch late, around 9:15 am, not that there was a huge crowd.  I had the option of getting Opening Day tickets the day before with a presale code, but the $1 child tickets weren't an option and the fees were almost as much as the tickets themselves.  We got a triple bonus by showing up to Minute Maid Park: there were doughnuts out for the fans, Finley got a Larry Dierker bobblehead and we got four free tickets to the College Classic in March.  Texas A&M and the University of Houston will both be playing, so it should be a fun event to go to, especially since the tickets are free.  Finley chose a pink doughnut to eat and ate it upside down, as she seems to do with a lot of food...pizza, biscuit with jelly, etc...it is always the messy side down.  When we got up to the window to get our tickets, the gentleman told us to go to window 9 after we had got our tickets, then window 14 to pick up our free tickets to the College Classic.  I was puzzled as to why we needed to go to window 9, but we headed over there.  Turns out, it has a big pass through box and he sent out a bobblehead just for Finley.  What a lucky day!

We are ready for baseball season, are you?

Trinity River Run

We visited the historic Fort Worth Stockyards yesterday so that Finley could ride the Trinity River Run train on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.  This wasn't Finley's first visit to the Stockyards, but it was the first time she got to ride the train.  She had a great time.  She had her nose pressed to the window for most of the train ride, watching the sites go by.  The craziest thing was that she remembered riding the small carousel with Grayson~ her memory is unbelievable.  Choo choo!

Rosy Cheeks

First Rockets Game

This wasn't Finley's first basketball game, she has been to a University of Houston basketball game and the NCAA South Regional, but it was her first ever NBA game. The start time was 7:30 pm, which is past Finley's bedtime, but we decided to go ahead and try our luck.  Finley was loving it!  So many lights, sounds and fun.  Her favorite thing was the "Bear".  Clutch is the Rockets mascot and she was totally taken with him.  Clutch rode in on a red motorcycle and kept asking where his motorcycle went the entire game.  On the elevator ride to our car, a guy had a Clutch bear and Finley thought that was too cool.  Sadly, the Rockets lost to the 76ers, but Finley had a great time.  She even made it all the way to the fourth quarter.  Such a trooper!

Me and My Shadow

Finley loves Max. It is borderline obsession. Whatever Max does, she wants to do it too. If only he would teach her his crazy math skills, Max can already add numbers together. Such a smart boy!

Max was over for the morning and Finley was beyond excited. We Skyped with Grammy and Grandad while Finley opened her Valentine's present. Once we were done, I told her it was time to say bye bye. Her response "No, no. Max stay here!"



After the two of them had a big morning of playing and snacking, with Finley insisting she hold Max's hand. It was so cute.

New Ballet Outfit

Finley and her doll got matching ballet outfits from Grammy and Grandad for Valentine's day.  She wasn't too keen on sitting with her doll, but she did love her new tutu.  For the first time in weeks, she was a little clingy at the start of dance class.  Mr. Carlos worked his magic and she was off, dancing away.  After class, all the girls went out to the playground.  It was so cute seeing 4 girls in tutus on the jungle gym. And the shoes were totally at Finley's insistence. We got them at Target on Sunday and she is obsessed. Tights with an open toe shoe? Ack!

Valentine's Party

Kelly is the best party planner I know in Houston, she is an amazing wedding planner and also a fantastic kids' party planner.  She hosted a wonderful cookie decorating party for the kids yesterday, complete with trays that we could fill with cookies to decorate and take home.  She is so clever and I am totally stealing the idea.  We just had to top the trays with Glad Press n Seal and we were ready to transport our cookies home.  She made all the cookies from scratch (whoa!) and made the cutest pink popcorn for the kids.  Finley was thrilled since they had Chick-fil-a nuggets and guacamole, what more does a girl need?   I think Finley did a gorgeous job decorating her cookies. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Finley had an amazing Valentine's Day!  She started the day off with a Valentine's party at the kid care center at my gym.  Miss Stacey had cookies for the kids and Finley had so much fun.  Finley had made a beautiful Valentine for me with Miss Stacey, she was so proud of it.  After that, we headed down south for a cookie decorating party (more on that later!)  Finley ate her weight in Chick-fil-a nuggets and sprinkles.  Tonight, we headed to Pappasitos for a family Valentine's celebration.  Apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea, since there was a 15 minute wait at 5:45 pm.  After a delcious dinner, we headed home to open presents.  Finley got a cookie decorating and baking set for her oven.  She loved it!  She gave the Valentine she made for Daddy.  Then we opened our gift from Daddy, we are going to the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland for a week.  What fun!  Finley was so excited to open the big card with the pictures of a Mickey Mouse ferris wheel.  Daddy did some research, Minnie's house is alive and well in Disneyland.  Finley will be so excited.  I hope everyone had as amazing Valentine's Day as we did.