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.

The African Forest

Members of the Houston Zoo got a sneak peek of the new African Forest this week.  Finley and I set off on Friday morning to see the new rhinos and chimps, as well as to see the giraffes new home.  We first stopped to visit Finley's favorite meerkats, but then it was off to the African Forest.  We took a new route to get back there, but we did stop to visit the lions, tigers and bears along the way.  Finley was noticeably unsettled when we entered the African Forest.  There were drummers and dancers, she wanted no part of it.  She held my hand and asked for "more animals".  She wasn't so into either the chimps or the rhinos, but she was delighted to see her giraffe friends again.  Hopefully, it will only take a visit or two more for her to get into the excitement of the new animals.

Honey Nut Cheerios

Three fun things in these pictures: Patrick will not let go of the Israeli flag, Finley insisted on having a bowl to pick up the Cheerios into and Honey Nut Cheerios will cling to anything, Finley's socks were a wreck.

25 (24?) Days Until Christmas!

Notice how she is already reaching for the second day door...

Message From Santa

I saw this on Sarah's blog and I knew I had to have Santa send Finley a message...

Finley's message from Santa Claus

Two Year Doctor Appointment

Finley had her two year doctor appointment, three shots, oh my!  She cried for the shots, but the crying was quickly eased with a lollipop, the girl loves her lollipops.

The stats
Head: 19.5" (50th percentile)
Height: 35" (75th percentile)
Weight: 27 pounds (50th percentile)

She is right on track and has reached all her milestones.  Yay for Miss Finley!  The doctors' office was backlogged today, note to self to never make an appointment on the Monday following a holiday weekend.  Finley was very patiently waiting for the doctor and then for her shots.  We saw her friend Jahan at the office, he was in with a tummyache and cough.  Poor guy.  The pediatrician said a virus has been going around, so that is probably what Finley had this past weekend.

Flying Reindeer

We put up the Christmas tree this morning and buried in with all the decorations was an inflatable reindeer that Finley got last year.  I blew it up and Finley wanted to ride it.  I bet she thought it was going to be like Rody, the toy that her friend Wyatt has.  Sadly, the reindeer is not as supportive as Rody.  Then Clifton had a genius idea, maybe too genius.  He told Finley that reindeer don't walk like Raffers, they fly with Santa.  And she was off!

Finley did countless laps around the house, Christmas tree and even up to her room for naptime.  She kept saying "Again!"  She loved it.  Pure joy!



Finley's fever is gone, thank goodness. She is still pretty snotty, but I am so relieved the fever is gone.  And the best part is her appetite is back.  It was so frustrating to give her snack after snack and her not eating a single one.  Not even a cookie snack, which is beyond comprehension.  I am just happy she is well again.

Thanksgiving Day

Grandma and Jack came over to share Thanksgiving dinner with us.  Finley hardly touched any of the food, but she did enjoy sharing cinnamon ice cream with Grandma.  As I went to put her to bed, I realized why she had no appetite.  She had a fever of 102.7!  She had a runny nose all day, but she was in good spirits.  It is now 48 hours later and Finley still has a fever.  We have our two year doctor appointment on Monday afternoon, so if she is not well by then, hopefully the pediatrician will fix her right up.

Finley did enjoy turkey chowder today, so she did get some turkey, just not on Turkey Day.  Finley rocked her $5 dress that I scored at Gymboree last year after Christmas, it was the perfect dress for Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are busy preparing for a small Thanksgiving here at the house.  Finley spent the morning walking around the block and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with daddy.  Grandma and Jack are coming over this afternoon to share a big turkey dinner.  Afterwards, we will watch the Texas A&M Aggies battle the University of Texas Longhorns.  Finley says "BTHO t.u.!"