Ryan's second birthday party was at Gymboree this past weekend. Finley had the most wonderful time, she was loving all the fun stuff that Gymboree had to play with. Mr. Michael was a fantastic host for the party and Finley loved watching him "pop the popcorn." Finley was all smiles the entire time we were there, we can see why Ryan loves Gymboree so much, I only wish it were closer. The location is only about twenty minutes away, but it is nearly 20 miles, so not entirely practical for our family. We will have to make do with the Tot Spot for now. The Gymboree closest to us doesn't have nearly the amount of open gym time that the Missouri City location has, which feels like a rip off when compared to having the option of open gym every day.
I cannot believe Ryan is two! I remember when he came over after Finley was only a few days old, he seemed so much older than she was. Now, they are perfect playmate age. It is truly amazing to watch them blossom. Ryan is so much fun!
Can you see how much Finley was loving Gymboree?
Mr. Michael was fantastic with all the kids, they all loved him
Fun in the tunnel
Pretty Riley enjoying the bubble madness
Parachute fun
Finley's favorite part of any birthday party: cake!
Notice that Finley is the last one left with cake, she was savoring every bite and being so neat about eating
We finally found a soft baby doll that has outfits to change into for Finley to stroll around with. Baby Stella, her pajamas set and toy bear arrived this week and Finley loves her already. We have changed her outfit several times, she gives her a pacifier and blanket when it is "night night" time and she feeds her all sorts of goodies from her kitchen. Such a good baby mommy!
It is so fun to watch Finley's imagination at work. Her play kitchen is her biggest source for it and now that she has found the Dairy Queen play food set, she is cooking all the more. She warns you when things are hot out of the oven and is sure to give you a cold drink with your meal. Her favorite things to serve are french fries and pizza. She has also gotten good at making a hamburger with all the fixings.
Joe's mom, aka Marianne, invited Finley over to have dinner and play with Joe and his friend Luca. Finley loved his backyard with the giant swingset and exciting water table. Joe's water table puts Finley's to shame, it is in the shape of a pirate ship and has so many neat toys to go along with it. The kids eat a little bit of pizza, but the allure of the backyard was way to strong to contain them indoors for long. Marianne filled up the water table and the "fun" began. The boys had such a good time with the table, throwing water everywhere. Finley was content moving her water from cup to cup, totally oblivious to the chaos around her. The boys got her drenched. Joe was by far the best splasher and Luca was loving getting splashed. Finley couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, she had water moving to do. It was so cute to watch them all play. It is so much fun now that Finley is old enough to play with Joe.
Thank goodness Joe had a shirt for Finley to borrow.
Poor Miss Finley Bug, she still has a fever, but doesn't seem to mind it at all. Our pediatrician said to monitor it and keep aleternating Motrin and Tylenol, if she still has it tomorrow, we are going in for an appointment. We have been stuck inside for the past two days, which has been no fun for Finley or me. She loves to go go go and so do I. She didn't wake up at all last night, so that is promising, but she was still feverish this morning when she woke up. Thank goodness for the temporal thermometer, it has been so easy to grab her temperature easily.
Here are some pictures from playgroup last week and from playing with Clifton and I afterwards. Clifton had put Finley's shoes on her Bear and she was loving it. She bosses Bear around, telling him to eat, sit and she even tickles him. If we are in the house, Bear is with her. If I forget to take Bear up with her at naptime, she calls for him, it is absolutely adorable. She cooks for him, feeds him pizza, takes him for walks around the dining room...she is good to her Bear friend.
We had a very low key Father's Day. Finley and Clifton both had small breakfasts because I was making a big roast turkey lunch. Finley wanted nothing to do with turkey, stuffing or green beans, but she loved the cranberry sauce. Weirdo. After the big meal (for some of us at least), Finley took a long nap.
Finley gave her daddy four books for them to share:
Daddy and Me, by Karen Katz
Little Critter: Happy Father's Day, by Mercer Mayer
My Daddy and Me, by Tina MacNaughton
Daddy's Girl, by Garrison Keillor (who is a favorite of my daddy)
After all the good eating and resting, we decided to hit the toy store to look for a doll that wasn't plastic that you could change their clothes. I had explained to Clifton that I had browsed at Target and hadn't seen anything, but we hit Toys R Us anyways. Clifton and Finley could spend hours in the toy store, they both love it. We did get Finley a Maclaren stroller for her doll (bear for now) to match mine and a new set of Little People Farm Blocks. She is obsessed with the stroller, she woke up this morning asking for it and "tractor" from the Little People Farm.
Finley had a fever last night, which explained her disinterest in eating yesterday. She woke up at 3 am and 4:30 am (when I could give her medicine again) This morning she is perky and happy, thank goodness!
I found a paint coloring book in the Hobby Lobby clearance section this week. I also got a finger painting pad there, but I haven't been brave enough to break it out yet. I had totally forgotten about these books and they are perfect for a toddler. We are looking for indoor activities because it is way too hot for outdoor play, even when a water table is involved, but that may be more for my tolerance than Finley's.
The book is all about Winnie the Pooh and his friends, which is great since we have a character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and his friends at the Crystal Palace in Walt Disney World. The bad part of this equation is Clifton has Finley saying "poop poop" when she points to a picture of Pooh...I can see it now, she spies "poop poop" and yells his name at breakfast. Appetizing.
What a difference a year makes! We went out for crablegs again this year at the Fish City Grill, yummy for me and Finley, not so yummy for Daddy. Finley feasted on crab, andouille sausage, crackers and hush puppies. She is a fiend for sausage, so much tastier than her dinner last year. I cannot believe how much she has grown. I am stuffed full of crab legs and I cannot wait for next year.
We had a big day today, I hosted our Thursday playgroup and I think everyone was in attendance. Twelve toddlers and two newborns made for an awfully chaotic house. It was like a tornado had swirled through and left remants of Cheerios, Goldfish crackers and animal crackers in its path. I also saw colored Goldfish for the first time as Idiscovered brigh green crumbs by our dining room table. Maybe next time we will meet at the park, I kid, I kid (or do I?) It is really fun to see Finley interact with her friends, she had everyone cooking up a storm in the play kitchen. She was really showing off with her flash card knowledge, she knows them all so well. I am constantly amazed at words she picks up on. I was teaching her all day to say Happy Birthday. She would say "happy" and "birthday", but couldn't string the two words together. My favorite word moment was this week when we were going through the grocery store and she exclaimed "Juice" when I picked up the orange juice. Finley only drinks water or milk, so this one really mystified me.
PS to all my buddies: al you can eat crablegs is back on Wednesday nights. Expect an email from me soon!
Finley's favorite friend came over for a playdate this afternoon and they had a great time. The neatest part is that Max will actually sit still and smile for the camera. Finley has no interest in ever sitting still, let alone smiling for the camera. She just wants to run run run everywhere she goes. Long gone are the photo sessions when I would capture over one hundred images of her, now I am lucky to get ten and she is always doing something.
Finley and Max "play" pretty well together. It is so cute how they imitate one another. The funniest part of the afternoon was when they were chasing each other around, then one would laugh, the other would laugh, one would drop to crawling and then the other one would drop to their knees. It was so adorable. The imitation continued even after Max had gone home for the day. Max had brought a crocheted blanket with him for nap time. Finley has a fantastic crocheted blanket that my dad's aunt Audrey had made for her. After Max was gone, she crawled upstairs to pull it through her crib slats, dragged it downstairs and carried it around.
Finley had a big weekend with daddy and the house was total evidence of such. I think every toy that Finley owned was all over our living room. So yesterday, I just let her run with it and she loved it. You can really tell how much spinning around and throwing in the air that went on. She tries to spin all the time and she keeps asking to be carried, thinking that I might toss her up in the air, which is not going to happen.
Finley is loving the lion I got her at the MGM Grand, the site of my big win. I asked her what his name was and she answered me with "FiFi". This is the first animal that she has given a name to, other than just calling it what it is. She has referred to it as FiFi ever since. She can tell you her own name now as well, I cannot believe how much she is growing up. We are working on learning her last name next.
I got to enjoy a fabulous girls' weekend at Aria in Las Vegas this past weekend. We had a gret trip, it was so nice for all my friends to get together and spend some time together without the little ones. Naturally, we all missed our kiddos very much. Max had Finley over for a little Vegas action of their own. It's never too soon to learn poker.
I got knocked out of the poker tournament really early this year and was pretty much break even all weekend, until I hit the Wheel of Fortune slot, winning $1000!!! The craziest part I wasn't the only one of our group to hit that big on slots.
