Thanksgiving Day Parade

While I stayed home and prepped for Thanksgiving dinner, Grammy and Grandad took Finley downtown to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  They bundled up and took the light rail to downtown to watch the festivities.  Finley even got to see Santa Claus.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Finley had a most wonderful Thanksgiving. She celebrated with Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, Grandma, Grandad and Jack. She loved turkey! She had a bunch with dinner and then had a turkey snack before she went to bed. She also enjoyed cranberry sauce, rolls and green beans. Finley is not a fan of stuffing, which is just crazy. She finished off her meal with a slice of caramel apple tart and Blue Bell ice cream.  Finley is very thankful for all her family and friends.  I hope everyone had as an amazing Thanksgiving as we did.

Cute in Boots!

Three Year Check-Up

Finley had her three year old check up today.  The doctor said her heart murmur is still there, we will have her looked at by a cardiologist if she still has it by age five.  Other than that, she is just perfect.  She did great with the doctor and she is right on track with all her milestones.  We went for a doughnut before the appointment because we had a bit of a break between the time that I had to drop off some items with the organization I volunteer with and the appointment.  Finley loved her doughnut, big shocker.  I thought I was prepping her to have to deal with shots, but turns out, she didn't need any.  She did get a flu 'mist', which was really easy and hopefully it works.  Her doctor commented on how well she is, we don't get in to the doctor's office very much (thank goodness!)  I thought it might get worse with school, but we have been lucky overall all.

Finley's stats:

height: 38.25 inches (only 1.75 inches until big rides at Disney!)
weight: 32 pounds (only three pounds until I have to turn her carseat forward facing)

height: 72nd percentile
weight: 64th percentile

Birthday Party Part One

Finley's birthday party this year was held at the Downtown Aquarium.  The first part of the party was held in the actual aquarium exhibit.  Our very large group (19 kids, 2 babies and all their parents) toured the aquarium and took in all the sites.  There were so many different kinds of sea animals to see, the kids really had a great time walking through all the exhibits.  I was surprised how into it so many of them were, especially since it took nearly an hour to make it through all the different parts.  From the jelly fish to the coral reef, Finley was having a blast.  And if she lost sight of Max for more than a minute, she would exclaim, "Where's Max?"  The kids got to touch hermit crabs and sting rays, it was really interactive.  At the end of the exhibit, there was  training session for the white tigers, which was really neat to see. It was so nice to have so many people come together to help celebrate Finley's birthday party.

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

Audrey had a fantastic birthday party at her house last weekend. It included all of Finley's party favorites: juice boxes, pizza and cake. There was a great bounce house and a pinata. The pinata was really neat, instead of beating it with a stick, all the kids got to pull strings from the bottom to release all the prizes. Inside were little bottles of bubbles. The kids had a blast running around the yard chasing the bubbles. Happy birthday, Audrey!

Finley's Big 3rd Birthday

What a big day Finley had for her 3rd birthday. It was a school day and they were having their Fall Festival for the day. Finley got to have her picture taken in the pumpkins, throw bean bags in a pumpkin, played in the tunnels, got some fall temporary tattoos, make a turkey with her handprint on a tile and even had a butterfly painted on her arm. I was volunteering at the fishing and bean bag toss station. The kids had such a blast doing all the fall themed activities. It was even more special for Finley because she got to wear her birthday crown.



After nap time at school, Clifton and I joined her class to celebrate her birthday. I brought in cupcakes for all the kids and they sang Finley "Happy Birthday!" She was so excited. Miss Juliana and Miss Jackie gave Finley a piggy bank that they had decorated. We have already filled it up with coins, she loves banks of any sort!


Since Finley had actually napped at school (twice this week!), we headed over to the zoo for the rest of the afternoon. We changed her into her zebra outfit since it had warmed up since the Fall Festival in the morning. Finley got to ride the carousel twice, once with mommy and once with daddy. And we ended the visit with a trip to see the zebras. Finley picked out a stuffed zebra at the gift shop for her birthday.


Then it was home to open presents. Finley got a Cars Memory game and two Lights and Sounds vehicles from the Cars movie, Mater and Lightnin' McQueen. She had so much fun racing the cars with Daddy. She even insisted on bringing Lightnin' McQueen in the car. Which was a little strange to hear it talking over and over again in the back seat.



After presents, we headed over the Pappasitos for Finley's birthday dinner. She didn't eat terribly much since she had been sick the day before. It was so strange to see her not eat a ton at Pappasitos. She loved being sung to again.

Then we headed home for one more round of "Happy Birthday" and candles. What a VERY busy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Finley!

I will post pictures tomorrow of Finley's very busy day, but I wanted to be sure to send out a virtual happy birthday to the sweetest three year old in the world.  Finley had a rough night last night, she caught a stomach bug at school and I think we both got about three hours of sleep each.  Luckily, she was happy and healthy this morning to celebrate her birthday in full swing.  Finley spent the whole night in our bed last night, I think for the first time ever.  She would wake up every hour or so and would want to talk to me.  She asked about her birthday, my birthday, what I wanted for my birthday, what she wanted for her birthday, how she loved school and how she was excited for her birthday party.  With a lot of "I'm thirsty" from her and "small sips!" from me.  Finley's three year doctor appointment is next week, so I will have her height and weight stats then.  I love you Finley!  Happy birthday!!!

Charlie Brown and Lucy