A Hard Days Work Has Its' Rewards

Playing...

Swaying...

Swinging...

Swimming....

Chilling!

Ballet Ends the Day!

After our foray to the zoo, we went to ballet.  Finley showed us all of her positions.  Check out the last photo...Can you write a caption?!?

Zoo-tastic!

King of the hill....

Queen of the Carousel:See the Royal Wave...

Ruler of the Playground Domain...

Royalty on the Slide....

Captain of the Ship...

King of the Jungle!

Finley lives around the corner from the Houston Zoo, so on Monday we strolled there to enjoy a day fit for a queen.

Cute in the Kitchen

Doesn't Finley look adorable with her new microwave in her kitchen?  It was her Valentine's Day gift from Grammy and Grandad.  Grandad made it for her, now she just needs a dishwasher and she has a kitchen ready for the 21st century.

More Valentine's Fun!

Grammy and Grandad came to Houston on Valentine's evening and shared in the celebration.  Finley heated every play food she has in her new microwave that Grandad made especially for her.  Her new ladybug umbrella has been put to good use this rainy week, and now Miss Finley is singing, "I'm smiling in the rain, just smiling in the rain..."

Valentine Party

On Thursday we invited our friends over to exchange Valentine's cards and have desserts.  The kids ate brownies, cupcakes, Rice Krispies treats, sugar cookies and lots of Valentine's candy.  Needless to say, it was a crazy sugar rush.  Everyone decorated bags with stickers and paper hearts to take their cards home in.  Finley's adorable dress was made by Max's mom, she is beyond talented.

Happy Valentine's Day!

On Valentine's evening, we had a quiet evening in.  Before we had dinner, we exchanged gifts.  Finley and I got Clifton an album to keep all his ticket stubs in.  He saves ticket stubs from all the sporting events and concerts he has ever been to, so I thought it would be fun for him to keep a book of all the events he has been to with Finley, even the circus!  Finley and I got a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii in September.  Finley has her first long plane ride to Paris coming up, so let's hope that goes well since the Hawaii flights are a bit longer.  I am sure we are going to have an amazing time.  I hope everyone had as lovely as a Valentine's Day as we did.

Cookies at Beaver Creek

Finley adored the snow. When she saw snow, she wanted to touch it, jump in it, eat it...whatever. She loved making snow angels, if she saw a bank of snow, she wanted to make a snow angel.



At Beaver Creek, chefs brought out cookies every afternoon. Auntie Hodder loves cookies nearly as much as she loves ice cream. I ate one cookine. Finley and Heather ate the other five we had.



Beaver Creek also had a fun tube and play area. Finley had a blast taking the tube down, playing on the slides and climbing through the tunnels in the snow.

First Day of Skiing

Here are all the adorable pictures from Finley's first day of skiing. Auntie Hodder was the best teacher ever.  We were in Beaver Creek, Finley even skiied down the mountain, the final picture is when she fell. The only reason she fell is because I fell...and I couldn't get up. And she thought it was hysterical, so she fell too. I cannot wait to take her back to the slopes!

Happy Valentine's Day

Finley had a Valentine's Party at school yesterday.  Everyone exchanged Valentine's cards and had a yummy snack, followed by cupcakes of course!  Finley's class made a heart made of puzzle pieces with all the kids' pictures inside each.  We got the pieces to decorate a couple weeks back and Finley wanted to paint hers, can you spot Finley?  The other cute thing in her classroom was the Bee Valentine bulletin board.  Each kid had a quote, such as "I love Mommy" or "I love Daddy."  Finley's was "Say please."

Look how much Finley has grown: first Valentine's, second Valentine's and third Valentine's.

Hail Red, Hail White

My phone has the University of Houston fight song as the ringtone.  I was cooking dinner and I heard "Hail Red, Hail White" being sung along with a sweet guitar accompaniment.  She didn't know the rest (Hail Cougars!  Fight! Fight! Fight!), but I think we have a future Cougar on our hands.  Class of 2030! I love the end...no cameras...she's so over being photographed.

Play-doh Fun

Finley got a couple of sets of Play-doh for her 3rd birthday and has had a blast making all sorts of creations. She especially loves making sprinkles with the ice cream set. The only problem is that she hasn't figured out how to make the crank return to its starting position. So she needs assistance. And if her assitant is taking pictures instead of helping...you get a frustrated Finley!

Princess Play

Dressed like a princess, playing princess dolls...

Playground with Max

Finley and Max always have a blast playing together at the playground, especially going down the slide.  Too bad Finley tried to go down the spiral slide face first!  Luckily, she slowed down before she made it to the bottom and smashed her face up.  Finley now has an imaginary friend named Little Max.  He fits in her hand or in her pocket, he takes gymnastics with her, but not swim lessons and sometimes he is sick and has to go home, which I am not to sure where that is.  It is hysterical, today she refused to hold my hand because Little Max was in it, so she had to move him to her other hand.  Silly girl.

Just Like Mommy

Don't let the smiling face fool you, Finley was in tears this morning because she didn't want to wear jeans.  We have been hit with a cold snap (which in Houston means it has gotten into the 50s), so I wanted her in something warm to wear to school since they will be playing outside.  She hates jeans.  She was begging to wear a dress.  I don't think I wore jeans until high school, I hated them as well.  Maybe she will get used to them eventually.