First Bounce House

At yesterday's playgroup, our wonderful host had a bounce house in the backyard. It was muggy and hot, but super fun. Finley got in at first and didn't last long, she wanted out. I decided to try it one more time and she loved it. She was running all around and having a great time with the boys. She was running and running and running....then she got a little momentum, a little more and she couldn't stop. She landed hard (as hard as you can on a giant, inflated bounce house.) The fall scared her and that was enough bounce house for Finley. It was great to be able to play in it, normally at parties there are too many old kids for Finley to get a chance to play without being totally knocked down.

Boat Trips

We went out a couple of times on my parents' boat to see how Finley would do in her life jacket and to maybe try to feed some ducks and geese.  As long as Finley was eating, she was blissfully unaware of the life jacket.  As soon as she was done, she realized that she had a giant red, foam jacket on and would get frustrated.  Safety first!

Finley loved to feed the ducks and the geese, it usually went one piece of bread for the ducks, one piece of bread for Finley.  Imagine that!

As a side note, I made both of her hair bows in these pictures. I got a little crafty in Atlanta and I have a ton of ribbon, it was really easy to do. Finley is going to have way more hair bows than any little girls needs.

A BIG Thank You and an even BIGGER Sigh of Relief

Finley and I have arrived home from Atlanta, what a week we had!  I have so much more to blog about, but I wanted to jot a quick post tonight on our return trip.

Firstly, a big thanks to Grammy and Grandad for a great week in Atlanta.  Finley had an amazing time, I know she enjoyed every minute of her visit (especially the parts where ice cream was involved.)  It was fantastic that she got to meet my Uncle Larry and Aunt Joan, even moreso to share a baseball game with them.  Without Uncle Larry, Finley would probably not be named Finley.  It was he who turned me into the baseball fan that I am.  He is about to finish his MLB ballpark tour this summer, he only has a few more stadiums to see.  They are off to NYC next week to see both the new ballparks up there, I hope they have a wonderful time.

And the big sigh of relief is regards to Finley's plane ride home.  She did great, SO much better than the flight to Atlanta.  I wasn't embarrassed at all and it didn't even take any food bribes.  She did have a moment where she colored the tray table, but a wipe eradicates that (thank goodness!)  Maybe all is not lost in regards to flying with our precious toddler.

Bye bye Grammy and Grandad!  See you real soon...

Gwinnett Braves

Finley attended her first ever minor league baseball game, looks like it won't be her last since former Oriole Brooks Robinson is looking to bring a minor league to to Sugar Land right near Auntie Lori's house.

Uncle Larry and Aunt Joan met us at the stadium for a Sunday afternoon game in the hot sun.  Finley and I retreated to the shade for a lot of the game since there were a lot of empty seats, we both had on 70 SPF sunblock, but we were still turning pink under the glaring Georgia sun.

The Braves ended up losing, they mustered a comeback in the ninth, but it wasn't enough for the win. 

Who loves ice cream more than Finley?

Absolutely no one!  Ice Cream is Finley's most favorite treat, she likes any flavor you give her, cone or cup, sundae or plain.  She does not discriminate between soft serve or hand dipped. doesn't matter if there is fruit or chocolate sauce, it's all good in Miss Finley's eyes.  She just loves the stuff and who can blame her?  I wonder if I could carry on enough ice cream to last the nearly two hour flight time back to Houston?  A girl can dream, right?

Georgia Aquarium

Finley mainly wanted to run around, but she was happy exploring the Georgia Aquarium.  Finley was wearing her fish dress and snacking on some Goldfish crackers when we arrived, so she was all set to see the different exhibits.  The most impressive was the giant manta ray, it was huge!

Look at all those fish!

What an amazing water tunnel, so many big fish!

First Day in Atlanta

We didn't have any real big plans for our first day in Atlanta, especially since Finley needed to catch up on her beauty rest since she did no sleeping on the plane and we didn't make it to Grammy and Grandad's until midnight.

Finley got a basket full of presents!

She relaxed in her adirondack chair.

Her favorite present was the bubbles and she can now say "Bubbles Side" which translates to "Can we please go outside and blow some bubbles?"

She looked out to the lake and sorted some shells

She played with Grandad and had a great time, she had to change into a fancy dress for dinner at Bonefish Grill

And she read her Finley picture book, all about her, naturally

The calm before the storm...

Earlier, I wasn't able to upload pictures from my camera and had to rely on ones from my phone...she isn't looking like a tiny terror, but T Squared came out in full force just a few hours later.

Flying FAIL

Finley and I braved the skies to come to visit Atlanta, her Grammy and Grandad.  I am already plotting an alternate route home.  The flight was awful.  I got the comment "She sure has a set of lungs on her, doesn't she?" 

Prior to boarding, we shared an oyster and shrimp po-boy at Pappadeaux.  She loved the fried oysters, but wasn't so into the shrimp.  Because she ate so well (and so much), I got her a kids' scoop of ice cream, but she didn't even finish it.  She really had loved those oysters.

Waiting for the flight was easy, she was in a great mood.  We boarded and she was all smiles.  There was a screaming baby boarding right behind us, so I thought "Great, someone to take the heat off us if Finley ever cries."  Little did I know that the heat would be entirely on Finley.

We had a whole row to ourselves and I thought it would be perfect.  She hated being strapped in, she hated being free, she hated her books, she hated her toys, she threw most any food I gave her and she was all around miserable girl.  Poor Finley and mainly deep apologies to everyone else on the flight.  I am totally fearful of our return trip.  We are on a commuter jet, so the seats are smaller and I am paranoid beyond belief that she will meltdown the entire flight and I won't have as easy access to the toys and books that she will just hate anyhow.  Followed by lots of screaming of "NOOOOO"  Good times, good times.

I have NO pictures from the plane, it would have been impossible and it really wasn't a memory worth capturing.  Sigh.

Wish Us Luck!

Finley and I are flying to Atlanta today to visit Grammy and Grandad.  This is Finley's first ever plane ride, I sure hope she is cooperative.  The flight is under two hours and we are flying in the evening, my plan is for Finley to get some much needed sleep.  I am guessing she will have a different plan.

Can we take all these toys on the plane?  I am sure our seat mates won't mind.

18 Month Doctor Appointment

Finley got high marks from her pediatrician and we were also informed that TWO new Finley's had joined the practice since we were last there.  I sure hope her name does not get any more popular!

Finley was a model patient and her doctor said she was developing perfectly.  Finley even said "AHHH" when she had to look in her mouth, such a good girl.  The doctor said she was the best patient she had that day.  Go Finley!  She only had two shots and was a real trooper

Head: 18 1/2
Height: 31 1/2" (50 to 75%)
Weight: 23 pounds 10 ounces (25 to 50%)

She is growing right on track and is absolutely perfect, but we already knew that.

Happy Mother's Day

Finley had a fantastic Mother's Day planned and we had a wonderful day.  Finley had made me a lovely card, complete with her handprint.  We all got dressed up and headed out to brunch at Reef.  Reef is my most favorite restaurant and I was super excited to take Finley there for the first time.  We had brought her booster, but were pleased to find out that Reef had high chairs.  I think it is a sign of many more delicious meals at Reef with Finley.  Finley was ravenous, she ate a ton of fries with spicy Sriracha mayonnaise, grilled peaches, five slices of bacon and french toast.  She was a very happy eater.  She also shared our lime tart and ate raspberries, which she won't touch at home.  I tried raspberries this morning with her waffle and she still wouldn't eat them.  It was a fantastic meal, I had eggs benedict with roasted tomatoes and lump crab Hollandaise, yum!

Since Finley wasn't stuffed enough, we took G-Ma out for a big TexMex dinner and once again Finley ate a ton.  We had a great time and Finley was enthralled with the kids sitting at the table next to us.