Day One: Disneyworld

Finley and I headed out to Disneyworld yesterday early in the morning.  After an easy flight out of Hobby, we arrived in Orlando having watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and doing more stickers than I care to count.  We checked into the Grand Floridian and were lucky to have a room available straight away.  I watched my poor Cougars get crushed by Southern Mississippi and we had lunch at the hotel.  Grammy and Grandad arrived and we headed off to the Magic Kingdom.  For weeks, Finley has been asking to go on the Jungle Cruise first.  We were happy to oblige.  When we arrived into the park, the crowd was the biggest I had ever seen in Disneyworld.  It was complete chaos and Main Street was wall to wall people.  Justin Beiber had made a surprise appearance and they were filming for the Christmas day parade.  By the time we finally made it to the Jungle Cruise, we had a bit of a wait ahead of us.  Finley was so happy to ride the Jungle Cruise.  After the Jungle Cruise, Finley wanted to ride the Magic Carpets right across the way followed by the Tiki Birds.  Then we headed over to Tommorowland for The People Mover and Buzz Lightyear.  We also caught a show at the Castle and got to see it all lit up for Christmas.  We headed back to our hotel to watch fireworks from the balcony and let Finley get some rest.  Grammy and I headed back to the Magic Kingdom for more rides...we didn't get as much rest. I will be able to blog most of the trip during the trip since the WiFi is now free. Considering last year there wasn't even WiFi in the hotel, this is a major upgrade. Paying for wired internet really was not cool.

Happy Birthday, Max!

Finley's best friend in the whole wide world celebrated his birthday with an amazing party in his backyard.  There was a bounce house, petting zoo and a pony to ride.  Too bad Finley only wanted to play on the swings.  She wasn't in the best of moods and she only wanted to swing.  Once I got her to ride the pony, she loved it. The animals in the petting zoo were amazingly friendly with all the kids. Finley had her fair share of doughnuts and had such a fun time at Max's party. Happ birthday to Max!

Helicopter Fun

Clifton got a remote control helicopter and Finley is sort of obsessed with it.  Problem is that it only flies for about 7 minutes before it needs to be recharged for 45 minutes.  "More helicopter!" I don't think Max was such a fan of the helicopter. I don't think the cats were either. But Finley is a huge fan....huge! Just as an FYI, the helicopter was under $20 on Amazon, it would make for a great gift. Too bad my husband is too impatient.

Finley's Birthday Party: Part Two

After touring the Aquarium, the whole party headed upstairs for lunch.  It was controlled chaos to say the least!  All the kids got lunch, stuffed dolphins and balloons.  After we all ate, it was time to slice Shannon's amazing cake.  I say it every year, but this year's was my favorite.  She is so talented!  When everyone had their fill of cake, we all headed out side to the rides.  We all rode the Ferris Wheel, Shark Voyage Train and Carousel.  Finley did not want to leave, so after everyone headed home, we rode the Ferris Wheel again.  It was such a fun party!

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.