Birthday Party at the Little Gym

One of our friend's, Jahan, was turning two and had a fantastic birthday party at the Little Gym.  Finley had never been to the Little Gym before and I was a little concerned how much she would like it.  She isn't super coordinated, she often falls down while just standing.  Her friend Max was also there and the two of them loved the bubbles the best, same as with Gymboree.

Finley wasn't super engaged in the song circle portion, she was much more keen on exploring all that was around her.  She was tenative with the tunnel, but was really excited about the bars.  She would hang for one second and instantly drop, but the best part is that she wanted to do it again and again.  She was frightened by the balance beam, she would climb up to the start of the beam, get scared and climb back down again.  Then she would walk alongside the beam, as if she were doing it, and then would climb back up the other side, get scared, rinse and repeat.  She really enjoyed it, even though she never really accomplished it.

She had great fun riding the soft wheel and kept tring to cut in line, she really wanted her turn!

Of course Finley loved the pizza and cake.  Once again, she was lucky enough to get a seat next to the birthday boy!

Circus Time

I am not a fan of the circus, it just isn't my thing.  The clowns scare me and I feel sorry for all the animals.  Finley and Clifton went to the circus this past weekend with his friend Mike and his son Max.  Apparently, Finley is in love with the circus.  Her favorite part was when the elephants were doing their tricks.  The circus lasted for over two hours and Finley was into it for the entire time, which is quite the accomplishment.

She woke up from her nap yesterday and kept repeating "clowns" and "circus" over and over again...I think she was disappointed when we went to Costco instead of going to the circus.  At least she was appeased with the free samples, not a circus, but very tasty.

I sent Clifton with the camera, but it had no memory card in it...so no pictures of the circus.  Here is a picture of Finleys new "Phants".  She can now count, so she always asks for her "two phants."  So cute!  I know Finley and Clifton are counting the days until Ringling Barnum and Bailey come back to town.

Presents!

Grammy and Grandad sent Finley a big bag of presents, just because.  There were more flashcards, which is her favorite toy at the moment, coloring books and stickers.  She is liking the Winnie the Pooh cards the best, but isn't naming the colors and shapes on them, she is too distracted by the characters.  She knows Tigger, Eeyore and of course "Poopy Poops" (thanks to her Daddy for that one)

Finley was also really excited to get new ladybug plates.  She washed them in her play kitchen sink almost immeadiately.  Such a clean little chef.

Finley put her new stickers all over baby Stella.  She had some on me, too.  Then she started wanting stickers to put in the gift bag.  She has been toting the gift bag around ever since she opened the gifts.  It was her most favorite part of all the gfts.  She especially likes that there is a bow on it and comments about it everytime she carries it.

Thanks to Grammy and Grandad for all the fun gifts!

Lois, Revisited

Grandma and cousin Faith came into town to visit Lois, so Finley and Clifton joined them for a visit.  Lois still hasn't opened, but when she does, Finley will get a third visit to see this amazing flower.  I am still monitoring her on the webcam and no progress has been seen yet.  HMNS closed at midnight Friday night to give Lois a break from the light and all the visitors, but that still didn't prompt her to bloom. 

San Antonio

Auntie Hodder (Heather) was in San Antonio for the week, so we made the drive out there to visit her.  Finley did great on both drives there, which was fantastic considering she had just finished a road trip to Fort Worth.  The way home she napped for nearly the entire ride.  If I hadn't stopped for gas, I am guessing she would have slept the entire way.
We went to La Cantera for lunch and stopped at Neiman Marcus for one of their famous chocolate chip cookies.  They were so yummy.  Finley and I shared one, but she ate the majority of it.  The ones in the store us mini chocolate chips, so I am going to try the recipe again.

Heather's dad was kind enough to babysit a sleeping Finley so that Heather and I could go out and meet some of her girlfriends.  We had a delicious dinner at Alamo Cafe and then headed over to Kona Grill for margaritas on the patio.  We also got a nice peek at the fireworks from Six Flags next door.  Too bad Finley was sleeping and missed the big show.

We had some yummy barbecue with Heather, her dad and her grandmother.  Finley did great and ate a ton of fried okra, as long as she doesn't see the green part, she is good with eating it.  I had a slice of lemon meringue pie, which Finley was sort of good with, but then Auntie Hodder got her a cookie and she was so much happier.  What is it with this girl and her cookies?  She is a cookie monster for sure!

We cannot wait to see Heather again, she is waiting for a new baby of her own and when he decides to arrive, we will head up to Vail to visit the new family!

Snack Time

Aren't Finley and Madeleine the cutest?  And this was Finley's third plate of food, she loves her grapes and cantaloupes.

Lois

Lois is the Corpse Flower at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  The museum is open 24 hours a day waiting for her to bloom.  We checked her out this morning and she is spectacular.  We will definitely visit again once she is in full bloom.

The Butterfly Center exhibit areas have changed since Clifton and I were married there over 5 years ago.  The exhibits are much more interactive and kid friendly.  Finley loved playing there.  We visited for 1 1/2 hours, which is saying a lot when you have a very active toddler with you.

Notice that Finley is wearing her flower dress and ladybug hair clip in honor of Lois.

Finley loved playing with the exhibits, even the roach dome

Playing with the beautiful butterflies

Finley was a little wary of all the flying butterflies, she wanted to hold hands the whole time we were there

The lovely waterfall

Finley loved the honeybee play area

The Dallas Zoo

Generally, I tend to ascribe to the belief that Houston is better than Dallas in every single way, what Houstonian wouldn't?  That being said, we went in with low expectations for the Dallas Zoo, everyone told us the Fort Worth Zoo was the one to go to.  I can only imagine what the Fort Worth Zoo is like because the Dallas Zoo is sensational.  We chose the Dallas Zoo because they accept our Houston Zoo membership card (Fort Worth Zoo does not) and it was more convenient for the drive home to Houston.  We met up with my friend Neon and her sweet son Noah as well as Shawn and his son Grayson.  Grayson's mom is due in less than a month, so she wisely stayed home and skipped the heat!

Ready for some zoo fun

Did that goat eat Finley's hat?

These shots just crack me up...everyone has such a cute look on their face and Finley just looks hot and miserable.

Monorail!

Lunch with the lions

Grayson and Finley were more interested in his Toy Story book than the Cheetah right in front of them