Rodeo Carnival

Finley's most favorite part of the Rodeo was the carnival.  Everytime we drive by Reliant Stadium, Finley yells "Ferris Wheel".   The first ride we took was the Ferris Wheel since Finley was so excited for it.  Since Finley and I planned to go to the rodeo again with her friends, we let Daddy ride on all the rides with her.  I went on the Ferris Wheel to start, but after that, it was all Daddy.  I think she crammed him in as many small pink rides as possible.  She had so much fun!  She loves to ride on carnival rides, it was complete joy.  She doesn't even mind waiting her turn in line.

Destiny

Can we go ahead and set their wedding date? And make sure that their first dance is a sashay?

Fun on the Farm

The Fun on the Farm exhibit is my most favorite thing at the rodeo. I know she will grow out of it, but it is so neat to watch her go from place to place gathering her crops. You get feed to give the chickens to collect an egg from it, you plant a seed and get a vegetable (Finley got a carrot), you milk a cow to get a milk carton, you pick a peach from a tree and you get to harvest corn. Finley gathered all her crops in her basket and turned them all in at the store for a dollar. She traded her hard earned money in for a Rice Krispie treat. She really got it more this year than last year.  Can you even believe how much she has changed?  It is just amazing.

Finley's favorite part was when she got to drive the tractors.  She absolutely loved it. 

Pig Races

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo yesterday. I took a ton of pictures, so I am going to break it up into a few posts instead of one long Rodeo post. Finley has been excited to go to the Rodeo ever since Go Texan Day. We got her all dolled up in her cowgirl dress with boots, she was set. The pig races are a favorite, the little pigs are so cute and it is really fun to cheer them on! We got there early enough to get seats down in the front row. Our section's pig never won the race, but it was still fun cheering for them. The pigs race for Oreo cookies and Finley wanted to know where her pig race cookie was. Finley said she wants to take Max to the pig races....aw.

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Finley is getting a little bit better at playing Hungry Hungry Hippos.  She still likes to put the marbles back in play when her hippo eats them.  She also likes to put my marbles back in play after my hippo eats them.  That way, the game never really ends since all the marbles are never eaten.  As long as Finley isn't eating the marbles, we are in the clear.  Finley really likes playing games.  So far we have played Hi-Ho-Cherry-O, Chutes and Ladders, Hungry Hungry Hippos and a Charley Harper memory game.  I need to get Candyland for her.  Any other toddler games that you guys can recommend?

Playgroup

Wyatt, Tessa, Andreas, Sarah and Max came over for playgroup today.  The kids are getting so big, it is really amazing watching them grow from babies to toddlers to little kids.  Everyone was snacking on strawberry cream cheese muffins and fruit.  It is also impossible to get them all to look at the camera at the same time.  But I am still floored that all these kids are big enough to sit around the table together.

After Dance Class

I usually have to run an errand or two while we are out after dance class.  This usually means Finley is still wearing whatever outfit she chose to wear to class, inlcuding the tutu.  It is sometimes met with strange looks, but normally people think she is adorable...and I totally agree.  The sunglasses obsession has kicked into high gear.  Finley is always commenting how bright it is and that she needs her glasses.  I got two more pair at Gymboree and I am sure I will get several more pairs over the summer.  Finley is still doing great in dance class and she really loves her teacher.  I was talking to Auntie Neon on the phone this morning and Finley was coloring.  When I got off the phone, she told me she wanted to give her drawing to Mr. Carlos.  Awww... she ran into class this morning and gave him her drawing.  Though I am not sure she quite gets the concept of giving it to him because she keeps asking where the drawing is.  I tell her that she gave it to Mr. Carlos and she says that we can get it from him next week.

Happy Mardi Gras!

We were supposed to go the to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo today with Max, Jahan, Samantha and  Ava Kate, but it was a rainout.  Instead, Max came over to play with Finley.  He brought her some beads from his Mardi Gras fun in Galveston this past weekend.  Finley loved her jewels from Max. Luckily, we have rescheduled our Rodeo trip for Thursday. Wouldn't want to miss it!

Earlier in the day, she pulled out her play computer and asked to Skype with Bear Friend and Meerkat.  Bear Friend lives upstairs and isn't allowed to come out unless Finley is spending the night somewhere else.  I thought it was such a cute request and I had an idea.  After Max went home, I rigged up the laptops so that one was in her crib and the other was downstairs.  I thought she would be thrilled to Skype with Bear Friend, but I was wrong.  She wasn't really interested at all.  Ah well...

A Visit to the Vet

Poor Camden hasn't been feeling very well, so Finley and I set off to take her to the vet.  Finley did great, mainly because there were a ton of cat and dog magazines to read through.  Camden wasn't nearly as happy with having to be at the vet.  Luckily, all she needed was some medicine and the vet said she was in fantastic health for her age.  Ever since we came home from the vet, Finley's animal friends have all been sick, especially Meerkat and Bear Friend.  She takes their temperature with the "mometer" and then gives them medicine to make them feel better.  Then she sends them to the cradle to nap and rest.  It is so adorable.  If only administering the medicine to Camden was as easy. 

*Sorry for the poor quality pictures, I snapped them on my phone.

Mommy's Shoes

Finley loves to wear shoes, just not her own shoes.  She will try to wear my shoes, Clifton's shoes, just not Finley's shoes.  She can be entertained for quite awhile by going up and down the stairs getting new pairs of shoes from my closet.  She especially likes my pink Pumas, so I am thinking that will be her next pair of sneakers.  They make them toddler sized!

Pretty as a Princess

Finley has really taken to dressing up lately.  She used to refuse to put anything on her head, hat or otherwise, and now she requests it.  When you are playing with Little People princesses, you might as well don some princess headware.  She also always requests to wear this ladybug romper that is two sizes to small after dance class.  Normally she demands a pink dress...she still freaks out a little when I put pants on her.  Thank goodness it is warming up enough that pants are no longer necessary.

No More Monkeys...

JUMPING ON THE BED!

Snakes and Storytime

Finley had her haircut last week, her bangs had gotten out of control.  She did fantastic with Miss Maria, but she really wanted to look up everytime she tried to snip her bangs.


After the haircut, we headed over to the Bellaire Nature Discovery Center for storytime. The stories were all about snakes. Finley got to color her very own snake and after all the kids had completed their snake masterpieces, they brought out a real snake for everyone to pet. Finley is such an animal lover, she had no issues walking right up and touching the snake. For any of the Houston moms, I highly recommend storytime, it is free and there are so many neat things for the kids to explore and learn about.  Storytime is every Wednesday at 4 pm.

Playing at the Park

On Friday afternoon, we skipped playgroup since Clifton came home from work early.  The weather was amazing so we headed over to Hermann Park to have some fun at the park.  Finley loves the park, mostly the slides.  Especially when there are steps to climb up to it, she still hasn't mastered the climbing walls or any other way up to the slide.

The Future's so Bright

Finley has been obsessed with getting sunglasses ever since she wore Samantha's at Max's birthday party. She has been asking and asking to get some and we have had such trouble finding a pair. The infant ones were too small, the kids' glasses were too big. We finally found a great pair at Target today. Finley picked them out herself!

Cute Videos with Max

The last video is especially cute...Finley is teaching Max how to sashay, like she learns in ballet class.

It's Go Texan Day!

Finley thought I was telling her we were going to a Texans game instead of saying it was Go Texan Day. Doesn't she look most adorable? The pink boots make the outfit.

We're going to the Dallas Zoo

At the entrance of the Dallas Zoo, there is this highly annoying, yet catchy song that plays on an endless loop.  "We're going to the Dallas Zoo..." over and over and over again.  When you do go to the Dallas Zoo, hope for no lines at the front entrance.  The Dallas Zoo has half price tickets for Houston Zoo members, but even better, admission was only $5 for penguin days.



Finley pleaded to go on the carousel and we  caved.  She actually loved it and wanted to go again right away!


Riding on a turtle outside the reptile house.


Petting a snake and visiting the albino alligator.


Penguins!


Watching the elephants and giraffes.


Feeding the giraffes. This was so much fun! Whenever we have tried to feed them at the Houston Zoo, the stand has been closed. I cannot wait to do it again.


A carousel ride on the way out.

A Giraffe Built for Two

Max is over for the day today and Finley is having the best time.  Max loves her riding giraffe and Finley found a way for them to ride it together.  Aren't they the cutest?

Finley had to color coordinate bibs to outfits for lunch time. Max wasn't so fired up about wearing a bib, but Finley forced the issue and he went along with it. The two of them ate a ton of chicken nuggets and macaroni n cheese. Max ate his apple slices, but Finley couldn't be convinced to try them. I thought some Max peer pressure would coax her, but she held strong.

Ready for Opening Day

The Houston Astros single game tickets went on sale last Friday at 9 am.  We got there a touch late, around 9:15 am, not that there was a huge crowd.  I had the option of getting Opening Day tickets the day before with a presale code, but the $1 child tickets weren't an option and the fees were almost as much as the tickets themselves.  We got a triple bonus by showing up to Minute Maid Park: there were doughnuts out for the fans, Finley got a Larry Dierker bobblehead and we got four free tickets to the College Classic in March.  Texas A&M and the University of Houston will both be playing, so it should be a fun event to go to, especially since the tickets are free.  Finley chose a pink doughnut to eat and ate it upside down, as she seems to do with a lot of food...pizza, biscuit with jelly, etc...it is always the messy side down.  When we got up to the window to get our tickets, the gentleman told us to go to window 9 after we had got our tickets, then window 14 to pick up our free tickets to the College Classic.  I was puzzled as to why we needed to go to window 9, but we headed over there.  Turns out, it has a big pass through box and he sent out a bobblehead just for Finley.  What a lucky day!

We are ready for baseball season, are you?