Paris: Day One (Should Be Two)

Bon Jour from Paris! We were due to arrive yesterday at mid-day, but the ever stellar (sarcasm)United cancelled our flight out of Dulles on Saturday evening. So we were stranded in Virginia for nearly 24 hours. The only silver lining was that at least I got to have a crabcake sandwich while we were there. Finley did great on the flights. She has been practicing her French and was most excited to see the Eiffel Tower. After a quick breakfast this morning, we took the Metro over to the Eiffel Tower. Turns out there was only one lift operational (which was supposed to have been completed May 1) so that line was absolutely crazy. We headed straight for a boat sightseeing tour and nearly walked right on. It was quite warm once we got on the boat and into the sun. Finley's favorite part of the boat "the phone." It played music and gave a running commentary on the sites. She kept saying she was calling Jack Black on the phone and he wasn't answering. Note her adorable smocked Eiffel Tower and pink poodle jumper...yes, I am that mom (so embarassing!)
After the boat cruise concluded, we decided it was probably time to head back to our hotel to rest for a bit. None of us had slept as much as we would have wanted to on the plane ride over. We (as in Clifton) had decided not to take the stroller, which just exhausted Finley. As soon as we got on the Metro, she was out.After we all got good naps, we headed out for dinner at Pasco. Pasco was absolutely delicious, Clifton had duck, I had Turbot and Finley had cake, ice cream and chocolate sauce. If you are in Paris, I highly recommend this restaurant. Both Clifton and I agreed our entrees were delicious. The menu was only in French, so that provided some entertainment while we tried to figure it all out. Finley decided to provide the patrons with some entertainment by singing happy birthday to herself and all her imaginary friends, including clapping and blowing out the candle. We walked over to the Eiffel Tower to play around a bit in the park and see if the line had reduced any. It had, but it was already 10:30 pm, so we decided to head back to our hotel, we have a big day in Versailles planned for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Ava Kate!

Ava Kate is turning four later this summer, but we celebrated her birthday last week at Pump It Up.  We had been to Pump It Up that morning for Rohan's birthday party.  Ava Kate's party was in the evening and the lights were off, so it was like a whole new party.  Finley had a blast playing with all her playgroup pals and was even more excited because Max was at Ava Kate's party.  More pizza, more cake and one tired Finley.  Happy birthday to Ava Kate.

Happy Birthday, Rohan!

Last Saturday was Rohan's birthday party at Pump It Up. Finley had so much fun running and sliding, she kept asking Rohan to go on the obstacle course with her. It was adorable. Of course the party ended with pizza and cake, so Finley was in heaven. Finley has so much fun with Rohan in her class. It was fun to play with all her classmates during the party. Happy birthday to Rohan!

Last Day of School

I cannot believe Finley's last day of school is here. They only have a half day today, so Clifton and I will be joining her for their lunch pizza party. After, we are going to take her to the new dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science. Finley still loves school as much as she did her first day, I hope that love continues. This summer should be interesting, I hope I am able to entertain her enough so that she won't miss school too terribly much. She will still be in swim lessons and she is signed up for two weeks of gymnastics camp. We are travelling to Paris this week and visiting Maryland in July.  Here is Finley in the same adorable dress Miss Courtney made on her first day of school.

More Crawfish

Luckily, Finley's adorable Crawfish(Lobster) dress still fit for this year's crawfish boil at Kirby's.  Look at how much she has grown from last year.  Finley is stil la huge fan of crawfish, but only when Grandma peels them and cleans them for her.  She was thrilled to watch the live mudbugs crawl around.  I am not quite sure she put it together that those same creepy creatures were what she was eating later. I am so glad I have someone in the family to eat seafood with. Clifton reluctantly came with us, but as per usual, he wouldn't touch the mudbugs.

Playgroup at Night

Our playgroup friend Meera had a genius idea for our group last week.  It was her turn to host and she invited everyone over, dads included, for a backyard barbecue.  It was so fun to have all the fathers join our group.  Finley ate three hot dogs and had a blast.  There were so many wheeled vehicles to play with in the driveway, the kids were having so much fun racing around.  Finley enjoyed being pulled in the wagon the most.  I ran her up and down the drive countless times.  She and Finley S. were giggling like crazy trying to beat the bikes and tricycles.  It was very nice for all the moms to catch up while the dads entertained all the kids.  We have been so lucky to find such an amazing group of friends.

Fort!

I am not sure where she got the idea, but Finley requested that we build a fort one day after nap time.  For all you fortbuilders out there, a Snuggie is perfect for a fort.  The arms help anchor it and it is the lightweight enough to stay in place.  The Snuggie was originally purchased for a Snuggie Christmas party, but it really has come in handy more than I ever thought it would.  Finley took all her animal friends inside her fort with her along with a slew of toys for everyone to play with.  I was not allowed in the fort with her, my role was to bring more toys and more animals.  Both animal blankets made by Grandma served as walls for the animals inside.  Building forts is a favorite childhood memory of mine.  I remember building a huge fort in our next door neighbor's basement, we even had a television in one of the rooms (yes, it had rooms!)

School Pictures

Finley had school pictures this spring and unlike the fall, I actually remembered she had them and sent her to school dressed appropriately. Doesn't she look sweet?  And grown up.  I cannot believe her first year of school is over in a week.  Time sure has flown.  She loves school so much, I think the summer might take some adjusting to for her.  Luckily, her first week of summer will be spent in Paris, so that should surely be entertaining enough for her.

Art Car Parade

On Saturday, Grandad took Finley to the Art Car Parade.  Her favorite car was the pink one, naturally.  If you plan on visiting Houston in May, the Art Car Parade is a highlight.  And in a Texas Tourism self promoting seque,  check out my blog post about Texas Tourism and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day. We met up at Reef with my mom, Clifton's mom, the husbands and of course, little Finley. Everyone had a wonderful time. It was so nice to be able to spend the afternoon with all the moms.  A look back at my second and third mother's days.  I still laugh that my first mother's day was spent in Las Vegas with my girlfriends...whoops!

Astros Game with Grammy and Grandad

Last week, we took Finley out of school early to attend the Wednesday afternoon baseball game.  All she was missing was her nap at school, which she rarely takes anyway, so it was worth it.  We saw the Astros sweep the Mets.  Finley was most excited for ice cream in a pink helmet cup.  Finley made me very proud, at one point Grammy asked her if she wanted to go for a walk.  She replied "we can't go now, we have to stay and watch the baseball game until it ends."  So so so proud of my little baseball fan.

Teacher Appreciation Week

It's Teache Appreciation week and Finley has been celebrating her teachers all week long. On Monday, the students in her class made fingerprint pictures for their teachers, Miss Jiuliana and Miss Sydney. On Wednesday, each student brought in a flower for each of their teachers. Finley had so much fun selecting the flowers for her teachers at the Fannin flower shop. We are lucky to have such great flower markets right by our home. Tomorrow all the kids are bringing in gift cards. What a fun week!

Finley Can Fly

If I knew that you got to fly in gymnastics, maybe I would have taken it as a kid.

Hot Diggity Dog

Finley's most favorite television show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We had a visit to the doctor this afternoon and Finley was so good that I had promised her a toy afterwards. She asked for a pink alligator, I wasn't sure we would be able to find that at the toy store, but I promised that we would look. She debated between Elefun and the Mickey Garage. Of course the Mickey Garage won out and it is the perfect addition to Minnie's House. She wanted to play as soon as we got home. I decided we should have hot dogs for dinner, since that is Mickey's favorite. I had seen a recipe online for mini corn dog muffins and thought they would be perfect. Finley helped make the batter and did all the stirring, pouring and scooping. She ate one muffin. Then she ate 12 muffins more, picking the breading off of them and only eating the hot dog...such a meat eater!

Saves You Money....Today!

This wasn't Finley's first trip to Gallery Furniture, she has been once before. Grammy and Grandad were furniture shopping for all sorts of items for their new house.  And I would be a bad Houstonian if I didn't at least introduce them to Gallery Furniture.  I think they were both overwhelmed with how big it was and how many animals were contained inside.  We left without buying any furniture, but Finley was sure happy to roll around in a frog cart for the afternoon.  What other furniture store can hold a three year old's interest for almost an hour?  And they even had cookies for her to snack on.

Happy Birthday Lila!

Beautiful Lila had a fantastic birthday party to celebrate turning three. The theme was pancakes and cupcakes, all the kids wore their jammies to the party. Finley was excited to wear her Buzz Lightyear PJs out of the house and kept saying "to infinity and beyond!" This was pretty much Finley's dream birthday party. There were pancakes, sausage, bacon, doughnut hole lollipops (!), and all of her favorite fruits to eat. And that was followed up by cupcakes. Finley was in heaven. Add in the bounce house, swingset, kitchen playset, pinata and lots of fun kids to run around with and you have Finley's idea of a pretty perfect morning. We were so happy to celebrate Lila's birthday. Major props go to Lila's mom and dad, it was one of the neatest parties I have ever been to and all the kids were having so much fun. Happy 3rd birthday to Lila!

Finley's First Soccer Game

Finley has been to multiple sporting events, Astros games, University of Houston Cougar football games, Texans games, Cougar basketball games, the Final Four, and Texas A&M football games, but she has never been to a soccer game.  Luckily, her BFF Max and many of her playgroup friends (Ava Kate, Patrick, Jahan and Finley S.) are on the same team.  We headed out on a very warm Saturday afternoon to watch Max play.  Finley played around with him and his dad during practice.  She seemed more interested in chasing Max around than actually kicking the soccer ball, but she was sort of interested once she realized you could kick the ball.  After practice it was time for the big game.  It was quite warm and Finley was a bit tired from running around so much.  We made it through the first quarter and saw Max's team score three goals, two for their team and one for the opposing team.  The solid defense shut out the opposing team. Finley gave her favorite player a bunch of hugs and kisses.

Playhouse

Grammy and Grandad finally are living in Texas and Finley couldn't be happier. But Grandad knew how to make her even happier, her very own playhouse. I had spotted it at Costco the week they were moving to town and I knew that Finley would adore it. She was really excited when we finally went to Costco to buy it. Everyone at Costco was commenting what a lucky little girl she was to be getting such a cool playhouse. I chose the one afternoon we had a thunderstorm to drive it down to League City.  Turns out driving a pick up truck isn't as hard as I thought it would be, even in a downpour.  Grandad spent many hours assembling the playhouse to be ready in time for Finley's first overnight visit. There is a phone, sink and stove inside the house, so Finley is right at home.  Note the Texas step stone in the yard...I would have never thought my parents would have that in their yard, my guess is that it won't be around for long.

Final Swim Test

Finley passed her final swim test with flying colors. For her efforts she received a bell, new t-shirt and we took her to dinner at Pappasitos. She completed this test so quickly, she made it to the wall in less than a minute. After she was done, she and Miss Crystal worked on her swim strokes. I think we will have a little dolphin in no time.

Puzzles

We recently cleaned out Finley's toy closet and in doing so discovered a lot of toys that had been lost under the pile. Some toys hadn't been touched since Finley's birthday. I guess that is a consequence of having your birthday right before Christmas, the Christmas toys quickly replace the new birthday toys and they are soon forgotten. Finley wanted to put the United States puzzle together first. She knows the state of Texas and where Houston is, we are working on the rest of the country.

Back to the Splash Pad

This past weekend we headed back out on the boat. Sadly, the water was super choppy and not very conducive for a pleasure cruise. Finley requested that we go back to the splash pad at Kemah and we were happy to oblige. She has so much fun running around and trying to predict where the water is going to spray next. I think this may be on of the last wears for my most favorite flamingo swimsuit. Note to Gymboree: you need to have a flamingo collection every year.  I am still working on convincing Finley that flip flops are totally okay to wear.  She gets so giggly whenever anything gets between her toes.  I got her special froggy flip flops and hopefully she will be cooperative and wear them this summer.

Swim Test #2

I am very happy to report that Finley successfully passed swim test #2.  Once again, it took over five minutes. She is just so chill and zen in the water.  I think she could float for years and be totally happy.  She didn't even want to grab the wall when she made it there, she just wanted to keep on floating.  Next week is the big test.  Big mainly because Finley hates wearing jeans and she won't have her swimsuit on underneath.  Hopefully she passes, as long as she gets to her float zone, I think she will be just fine.

Clean Up on Aisle 5

Max and Finley had their first date to Costco today.  Costco carts were made for sharing with that special someone and Costco samples make for one cheap date.  I grew up with Price Club and I remember having a cheap date or two there back in high school.  The lovely couple sampled orange juice.  Well maybe sampled isn't the right word, Max had four cups and Finley had two.  The also enjoyed shrimp wonton soup with a fork, which didn't seem to challenge them as much as I thought it would.  The funniest part was that both of them were obsessed with walking around the walk-in cooler where the produce is, they loved it!

Mecum Auto Auction

Clifton and Finley went to the Reliant Center on Saturday to check out the Mecum Auto Auction.  They both like watching the auction on television, so they were excited to see the auction in person.

Red Flowers

Splash Pad

On Easter Sunday we took the boat out and made a stop at Kemah so Finley could play at the Kemah boardwalk splash pad. Finley had so much fun running around and seeing where the water was going to sprout from next. She ran around so much that she slipped on her bottom, which I think scared her a bit. There were no tears, but she was done with the splash pad for the day and ready to nap on Galveston Bay.

Go Rockets!

On Wednesday night we had Rockets tickets. It was Finley's first Rockets game.  These seats were quite awesome, 4th row on the floor.  Finley was most excited about seeing Clutch, same as last time.  It seems that Finley isn't the Rockets good luck charm, since they lost again.  Hopefully the Rockets will make the playoffs and we will get to see them play another game soon.  Finley made it through the entire game and did really well.  She was pretty good about following the ball, but she had to sit on our laps to see since the rise isn't very much. 

Finley's First Swim Test

Finley has really made great progress in swim class and Tuesday was her first of three swim tests. The kdis are to wear summer clothes with sneakers. They are thrown in the center of the pool and they are supposed to flip over and float. To pass the test they either have to float to the side or stay floating for five minutes, at which point the teacher will assist them by pushing water to aim them to the side. As you can tell from the length of the video, Finley passed her test. She takes her second test this coming Tuesday and that will be in fall clothes. The final test is in jeans, Finley hates jeans, so that one could be tricky.  I am so proud of our little fish.