Party all day!

All dressed up and ready to go to the party.
Meerkat must be invited too.

Dancing, drumming, strumming, and singing will for sure wake up 17 sleepy toddlers on an early Saturday morning.  Finley joined in the party fun, as she waved her scarves and shook her little maraca.  As the music faded away, a familiar song wafted through the air..."Happy Birthday to you!"  That can only mean that cake won't be too far behind.  Yippee!  Finley so enjoyed her Mickey Mouse cupcake.

Back to the terrace and bubbles for more fun.

As I was looking for an outfit in Finley's closet, she spotted the little tutu outfit I had found on super sale at Target.  She instantly wanted to put it on...and so the afternoon and evening was spent twirling in a ballerina-way.  She did not want to take it off, and so we puzzled and played touting our tutu.

Grammy can be soooo embarrassing!

Dancing down the sidewalk.

Busy from sunrise to sunset

Finley spent the morning playing with a variety of toys, all great fun.  She pulled lots of toys out of her cabinet and piled them on a blanket for playtime.  Then she climbed up to the terrace for more bubble time and some time on the pedal bike.  A little exercise does a girl good, right?

After morning playtime, we took a ride to Lake Houston and enjoyed lunch on the water.  Finley tried that infamous seafood: a corn dog.  After our sumptuous fare, Finley cried, "Walk!"  So we took a sun-filled stroll along the restaurant dock.  We spotted some fish and swooping birds.  Finley did not want to leave, even though the sun was blazing hot.

Good-bye!

Meerkat has followed us everywhere all day long, and so he once again accompanied us  on a walk to collect the mail.  After dinner a special treat was planned and off we went on another ride, and we found ourselves at a gelato cafe at journey's end.  Of course, we did this with Mommy and Daddy fresh on our minds after Skyping.   

Since Finley so adores strawberries, I chose vanilla and strawberry gelato for her.  She enjoyed scooping her gelato, but she had an eye on my gelato, and quick as a snake she struck, and snatched some of my chocolate.  From then on her little dish was quickly abandoned, and mine disappeared in a blink, compliments of Finley.  The cry of "Walk!" once again resounded, and Finley was off, scampering through a tunnel and then round and round a fountain.  Time for bath and night-night, as tomorrow is a party day!

A Hot Time at the Houston Zoo

Who is pushing the stroller now?  It was a sunny morning, so we scurried around to pack for a trip to the zoo.   The temperature was beginning to soar, so we wanted to take advantage of a cooler morning.  On our walk there, we met two Houston police officers astride their trusty horses.  They were quite an attraction, and the maned creatures were the main event.  Finley wasn't sure what to make of these gentle giants, but she attempted to softly pat one when she saw grandad do the same.  

The meerkat colony was irresistible, and one of the few active animals on this warm day.  Finley was fascinated, as these little creatures scurried about, and then, perceiving danger, rounded up the clan to protect the new babies by surrounding them and pushing them down into the burrow.  We were as fascinated as Finley.

Since it was growing very hot, many animals had gone into hiding, but Finley was quite content to frolic up and down the wooden ramps to make her own fun.

As the temperature continued it's upward climb, Finley was still energized, but it was definitely time for lunch in the ac.  Last stop: the gift shop.  The question is which one of these adorable creatures does Finley adopt?   Just guess what she chose.  You got it: meerkat!

And, of course, it was meerkat who was in the seat of honor for the evening stroll.

Max! Max! Max!

Look at little Finley...teacher's (and Grammy's) pet at ballet class.

Max is coming!  Max is coming!















Max and Finley; Finley and Max.  They go together like peanut butter and jelly.   It was an exciting and exuberant afternoon.  These two charmers are an absolutely delightful duo.  They are so sweet together; it really is amazing.

Look at those happy, happy faces.  Thank you, Miss Courtney for bringing Max over to play.

Bye-bye, Max!

Finley adores music.  If you turn it on in the car, she excitedly cries, "music!"  So at Papasitos tonight, she was absolutely mesmerized by the Mariachi trio, who sang and played while she stared, enthralled with every beautiful note. (Of course, she loved the yummy food too.)

Bonjourno from Florence!

Firstly, thanks so much to Grammy and Grandad for keeping up with the blog.  It is so nice to follow Miss Finley Anne's daily activities, along with our Skype sessions.  We have been gone for just over a week, which has felt like a terribly long time to be away from Finley Bug.  I miss her very much.

Our first days were spent in Rome, which was lovely, hot, but lovely nonetheless.  We have one more day in Florence, with a day trip to Pisa, before we depart in the early morning hours for Milan for the Formula 1 Race at Monza.  It should be an exciting event to see.

After the race, it is onto Venice for a few days before we head home to see Finley.  I know it will be quite a joyful reunion.  If only there was a way to bring home some gelato for Finley, she would absolutely love it.

On a totally random note, I swear I saw Vern Yip at a cafe this morning and I was too scared to approach him...drat.

Rain, rain, go away, but Finley will find things to do, come what may!

Torrents of rain spill down,  thunder rumbles across the sky, and we are stuck inside on a dreary, rain-soaked day.  I know!  Let's visit the toy closet and pull every creature out and line the stairs with a colorful,  fluffy parade of animals.  That will surely brighten the day, and then we can chat with Mommy and Daddy in Italy, while piling up all those cuddly critters.

Puddles and raindrops did not stop Miss Finley: there were strollers to push and nuts to collect, so despite very dismal weather, she guided her stroller, with Winnie the Pooh installed in the seat, straight to her favorite nut tree.  See the pecan clutched in her little hand?

It's tent time, so collect those critters again, rustle up a snack, drag in a pillow, and try to forget that a            tropical storm is raging outside of the windows, because we're cozy in here.