Max's Christmas Show

Max's school had a Christmas program starring all the kids in his Mother's Day Out.  Even the littlest ones were part of the show.  Finley and I went to go watch Max.  Max was a lion, but wasn't so keen on wearing his costume.  All the kids were rewarded with cookies and juice boxes after the show.  With that kind of reception, Finley will be attending all of Max's future shows.  Who am I kidding, this is Max, she would be there even if there weren't any cookies or juice boxes.

Happy Birthday, Wyatt!

Wyatt's 2nd birthday party was yesterday, so of course we were at his house to celebrate with him.  Finley has been excited for this party all week.  The party was a trian theme and Wyatt's mom had made the most amazing train cake, complete with edible rocks.  The kids loved it!  Finley picked all the candy off the cake and ate every piece.  They had a bounce house in their backyard and Finley had so much fun jumping with all the kids.   Happy birthday, Wyatt!

Santa Visits Playgroup

Waiting for Santa

Well hello Samantha

It's Santa~ let's all follow him

Jahan loved Santa, Elise was scared of him and Brielle was a little curious...Santa looked just like Daddy!

Izzy thought Santa was pretty darn fantastic.

Finley was excited to see Santa, she wasn't scared at all

And she got a candy cane

All the girls loved their candy canes

What a fun time!

Max wasn't thinking Santa was so fun

Cookie decorating time~





Sandbox time, Brielle's backyard is a toddler's dream.

Max may not like Santa, but he sure loved the chickens

More fun chickens, toddler wonderland

And a tennis court for running

And being toted around

We Love You Uncle Larry!

Finley is named after Steve Finley, a former Baltimore Oriole and a former Houston Astro.  My love of baseball began at a very young age, my Uncle Larry would take me to Baltimore Orioles games at Memorial Stadium and I was hooked.  I absolutely loved the game.  And I loved my Uncle Larry for sharing it with me.  When Camden Yards opened, he had amazing season tickets and we spent many a summer night enjoying a game together.  We flew to Cleveland for an afternoon to watch the Indians play, back when Southwest had $29 fares.  He went wit hme to Memphis to see the Houston Cougars play in the Liberty Bowl.  My love of sports is entirely because of him.  This past summer, Finley got to meet him during our visit to Atlanta.  We all took in a Gwinnett Braves game together, Finley looks so little in the pictures.  I feel happiness in my heart that she got to meet my Uncle Larry and complete sadness to hear that he passed away today.  I am so very happy they got to watch a baseball game together.  If it weren't for Uncle Larry, Finley wouldn't be named Finley.  I wouldn't love baseball the way I do.  And I am so sad that she will not get to spend more time with him.   I am devastated to lose him in our life.  We all love him so very much and will miss him terribly.

"Give that fan...a contract"  "Thank youuuuuuuu"

No Dance Class

But Finley is still such a pretty ballerina!  Her dance school is closed for a month due to some building work they are having done. She has been asking to wear her new ballerina dress ever since I bought it and it was finally a warm enough day here for her to wear it. So instead of tuts and ballet shoes, we spent the morning at Michael's, Berings and Costco. Luckily, the samples at Costco make Finley just love it. She especially like the orange slices, but she kept trying to eat the peel. Silly goose.

She loved the pink chair at Berings, they also had a matching couch.  She couldn't get enough of it!  They are just her size and in her most favorite color.  Berings is such a fun store, Finley was enjoying the dollhouse that was taller than she is!  She was captivated by the fireplaces, I don't think she quite understood what they were.

Still Waiting on that Big Girl Ducati

Finley had fun this past weekend racing motorcycles with Clifton.  She had all her Little People set up around the track to watch the big race.  It was super cute to see her set everything up so intently.  Hasn't she changed a ton in a year and a half?  She loves the Ducati race track even more now that she can actually play with it, instead of just watching the mototrcycles whiz around.

Finley has decided to play hide and seek with all her Little People princesses.  She asks for them and tells me where they are, but they are never where she says they are.  We were playing with them on Monday morning with her Little People circus, but that is the last time I saw them.  If anyone sees pink princess, blue princess or blue prince, please let me know.  I have checked all the regular hiding spots.

Making Santa Claus

Finley is so excited to see Santa Claus.  Let's hope it stays that way when she actually meets him.  I hope she isn't crying this year, like she was last year.  We plan to visit him again at the Bass Pro Shops, since the photo is free.  Today, Finley and I got a little crafty and made a Santa with cotton balls, a paper plate and some construction paper.  She was really proud of her Santa Claus and she even gave him a kiss!

Still loving Chick-fil-a

Max's mom watched Finley this week while I visited with the kids I am pen pals with at Braeburn Elementary. Finley had dance class in the morning, so she got treated to Chick-fil-a for lunch since there wasn't time to head home in between ballet and my meeting. She gobbled all six nuggets right up, but she wasn't interested in trying one of my waffle fries.

The only problem with our Chick-fil-a lunch is the price, for my meal and Finley's it was $10. Maybe next time we are in a bind, we will stop in at Thai Cottage. Finley loves the soup there and the lunch special is half the price. Did anyone buy the Cows of Reality TV Chick-fil-a calendar? Are the coupons worth it?

Waiting at the Dentist

I got a chip in my crown, so I had to drag Finley with me to the dentist office.  She did great!  She was super happy reading all the books and magazines in the office.  I strapped her into her stroller for the actual crown repair, but I think she would have even been good enough for a whole cleaning.  We chatted with Dr. Dinh about when Finley should have her first visit to the dentist and she said around age 3.  Our pediatrician said we should take her now.  Anyone have any insight?

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Sarah turns two this month, she is just one month younger than Finley. These girls are a riot when they get together. I think they are very much alike, they always are after the same toy! They love each other very much and Finley was really excited for Sarah's birthday party. Fundamentally Music was there with a great music class for all the kids. During the music class, Finley kept trying to sit with Sarah's mom, Melissa, so she could sit next to the birthday girl.  And the best part was that we got to take home our own music makers, including bells and maracas. The kids feasted on Chick-fil-a nuggets and hot pink cupcakes. It was great to see all Finley's friends have such a nice time.

Playgroup at the Park

Last Friday, after our adventure at the zoo, we headed over to Memorial Park to meet up with our Friday playgroup.  We had the best turnout, nearly everyone was there, including all the newborn babies, even the twins!  It was so much fun, the kids had a blast playing on all the ramps.  The playground is really neat, I just wish it had a fence to corral the toddlers from running all about.  Finley played her first ever game of ring around the rosie.  She did great!  Sarah and Nicolas were so good at showing her how it was done.

Return to Gymboree

We returned to Gymboree today, Grandma gave Finley a two month membership for her birthday. Finley was so thrilled to be back! She had the best time climbing all around. She has gotten so good at climbing, it is amazing how much she progressed. They played with flashlights today and she enjoyed it. She didn't participate in parachute time, I think it was because she just want to run and play with all the equipment. I am excited for her to be back in class again, especially since she loves it so much.

Return to the African Forest

The weather has cooled off considerably, which means Finley is ready with her snowman outfit.  We took Grandma to visit the African Forest today and we had a wonderful time.  The animals were all active and we even got to watch the tiger training.  Finley definitely warmed up to the African Forest, in a couple more trips, I think it may be her favorite place to go.