Let Me Get Those Dishes For You

Finley enjoyed a banana for breakfast this morning.  I was still sitting at our breakfast bar, finishing my Instant Breakfast and I heard Finley open the dishwasher.  Next thing I know, she is loading up her dish into the machine and trying to close it.  She is such a good helper!  It is amazing how much she picks up on.  Now we just have to teach her how to organize the dishwasher.  I am probably not the best person for that, as I tend to cram way too many dishes in every load and nothing really ends up entirely clean.  I am still waiting for a house that has two dishwashers, it is really what I need.  One for the clean, one for the dirty, no need to ever unload.

Dancing Feet

Finley starts her "Creative Movement" class tomorrow morning and I am so excited for her.  We went to try on ballet shoes yesterday and found the perfect fit.  We are still on the lookout for tights, they have all been too big at the dance supply stores, but her regular tights have lines at the hip, so they don't work either.

She is just the cutest thing ever in her little ballet shoes.  I hope she enjoys the class.  Everyone is invited to her recital in May!  I cannot believe she is old enough to be in a recital.  The four other kids in our class are all friends, so I am sure they will all be happy to practice together during playdates....yeah right!

They are the perfect fit!  Finley got those little nylon footie things to wear while she tried on the ballet shoes and she was so good about it, such a little lady.  We had to try on several different pairs, since there were so many options, and she was happy through the whole endeavor. 

Pump It Up

Our friend Samantha's second birthday party was this past weekend at Pump It Up.  Finley was super clingy and scared the first half of the party.  She only wanted to be carried around, she didn't even want to "walk walk walk"."  All the kids, the loud inflatable and the crazy music intimidated Finley.  She would climb halfway up the slide, slowly gaining her confidence, would realize how high she was and would cry "down".  So back down we trekked.  It was fine by me, I wasn't too keen on going down the slide either. Once we found a bouncer full of friends, Jahan, Samantha and Leah, we were set to go.  The bouncer was full of balls and the kids loved throwing them around.  At one point, it began to deflate sending all the kids and parents into a sinkhole.  It was frightening for a moment or two. We were lucky enough not to be caught in the sinkhole, but everyone else in the bouncer was.  The looks of everyone as they went down were priceless.  Now that everyone is ok, it is fun to look back and laugh.
Finley is a birthday party super fan.  You ask her to go to a birthday party and she says "Pizza" and "Cake".  Notice how everyone is long gone from the table and Finley is there, still enjoying her cupcake.  She is the last to leave the party.

Wacky Girl

This past week, Finley has insisted on wearing her pink bib around the house, nearly all day long.  She won't wear any of her fun Keith Haring's bibs, only her old pink one.  This also applies for all meals, only the pink bib will do.  For the longest time, the pink bib had been tucked away in my PurseIn in my bag.  I recently brought it out to swap out with one of the other bibs and Finley made her preference known.

I was downstairs in our hall closet that holds a lot of our holiday stuff and wrapping paper, we had a birthday gift to wrap and Finley wanted to 'help'.  She spied the orange pumpkin she used for trick-or-treating and had to have it.  She collected all sorts of fun stuff in the bucket, but it was mainly used to contain her snack trap and her sippy cup.  Any thing that makes it easier for Finley to eat and drink is a good thing for her.



* As a total sidenote to any moms out there, the PurseIn is a savior.  I can use all my own purses, I never am stuck carrying a diaper bag.  Bonus points because I can just pull the PurseIn out of my purse and put it into Clifton's diaper bag whenever he is going out with Finley. 

Come on, Mom!

So sorry for the lack of posting the last couple of days, I have been sick with a really high fever and upset stomach.  It has been no fun.  Especially for Finley.  We have been stuck in the house, unless we were at the doctor's office.  She was really upset that I couldn't play with her like I normally do.  I am feeling much better after a much needed Z-Pack.  And Finley was so much happier this morning that we could actually play together and I could manage to make her a breakfast beyond giving her a muffin and fruit.  Thank goodness I had made a batch of the banana oatmeal muffins on Tuesday night, we only have one left.  I think she ate one nearly every meal.

I think I spent nearly the whole morning picking up and cleaning the house.  It is amazing how much of a mess a toddler can make when there is no one picking up after her.  I must have swept up at least a cup of Goldfish Cracker crumbs.  The best part is the new carpet is here, so we can roll it out tonight and have the whole house back to normal...except that now Clifton isn't feeling the best and has a doctor appointment this after.  When will the sickness end?

Waking up on the wrong side of the crib...

Yesterday, when Finley woke up from her nap she was in one foul mood.  I still have no clue what was wrong.  Nothing I tried made her happy.  She was unhappy in her crib, out of her crib, with a snack, with a drink, with her toys...it was ridiculous.  She was so upset and I felt so bad for her, but I was so confused as to what was really wrong.  After awhile, it became the tiniest bit funny.  She was a complete mess.  At one point, she was laying face down just crying "no!"

A granola bar finally seemed to calm the situation.

And finally she was back to being my sweet, happy, little girl.

Circus, Double the Fun

There was a single $9 ticket left for the Zing Zang Zoom Circus, how could Clifton and Finley pass up a return trip to the circus?  Finley has been talking non-stop about the circus, clowns, elephants, ever since they went last week.  Yesterday was the last day for the circus, so it was in the stars for them to make a return trip.  And to be sure to bring the camera.
They went early to see the animals up close and personal.  Finley had a blast and came home with a new stuffed clown, who she has been toting around all day today.  She is definitely a circus fan, so much so that we might be changing her birthday party theming to incorporate it. 

She even got to try some circus tricks of her very own.  So much fun!  All the training at the Little Gym must have really paid off for her. She is showing some great balancing skills standing on the ball.  Let's hope she doesn't run off with the circus anytime soon (or ever!)

The circus wears a girl out...or does it?  Finley took a 10 minute cat nap on the way home, but didn't nap at all for the rest of the day.  She was in a super happy and excited mood, she must have been really fired up by the circus.

A Girl and her Teacup

Finley became fixated on a teacup at our last visit to the Tot Spot at the Children's Museum.  She had to take the cup wherever we played.  No matter how much  I prompted her that the cup belongs on the table in the playhouse, she had to have it with her.  It was pretty funny and frustrating at the same time.  I finally got her to put it down in order for her to climb up the step to get to the slide.  The fun of the slide trumps the teacup for sure!  Sarah had the same fixation issue that Finley did, except she was all about the cars the entire time we were there.  Finley would run all over the place and would know exactly where to find Sarah, cruising in the car.

Riding in the car with Sarah, where are the teacup holders in this thing?

Playing on the ramp or playing with the ball sorter, the teacup is there to help.

A New Rocking Chair

Finley loves to rock in her glider and now she has a chair her very own size.  Uncle Larry and Aunt Joan sent Finley a rocking chair to match her table.  It was a bit of a struggle to put together, especially with Finley "helping" with the washers and bolts.  She was also desperate to sit in it, whether it was fully assembled or not.  Once it was put together, she really enjoyed rocking in it.  It was tough trying to take a picture of her because she really wanted to "help" take pictures.  She gets so excited to look at her picture in the camera, she doesn't have the patience to wait to have her photo taken.  Thank you Uncle Larry and Aunt Joan!

She is feeling better today and is loving her Pediatlyte, aka juice.  She takes her medicine so easily, I remember hating the pink stuff, so this is a pleasant surprise.  The doctor said she wasn't contagious after her first does, so we are good to go.

Finley, Clifton and I were all playing Ms PacMan this morning and I couldn't resist snapping this adorable picture.  Finley had brought over pizza, milk, yogurt and eggs for us to snack on while we played.  So cute.

Sick Bug

We have been exceedingly lucky with Finley's health.  She has only been sick once before and it was just an ear infection.  Imagine my surprise this morning when my happy little girl vomited all over the carpet.  The strangest part was that she was still so happy and playful.  I realized something was off when she didn't want to eat any of her breakfast except the strawberries and milk.  After the first incident, she couldn't even keep water down, thank goodness for washable couch cushions.  I feel like it has been a non-stop parade of laundry around here.  And handwashing.  And mopping up.  Ugh.

Clifton came home from work and we took Finley to the pediatrician.  Our regular pediatrician was not in the office today, so we saw someone new who was just subbing in the office for the day.  The nurse ran a Strep test at the start of the appointment and Finley did just great.  The doctor said it was probably just a stomach bug and told us to get her some Pedialyte to keep her hydrated.  Imagine our suprise at the end of the appointment when her Strep test came back positive.  We got her the tasty pink medicine and headed home for a 4pm nap.  Poor thing. 

Sadly, we missed the Corpse Flower blooming today, but little girls with Strep throat don't need to be smelling stinky flowers anyhow.  She was already lucky enough to visit Lois twice and we got some good webcam viewing of her this morning.  Finley says "Lois" and pointed to her on the screen, it was so cute.

Rain!

How do you get nine toddlers to stay in the same place for more than a second?  Rain!

Finley and Max were super excited because it was raining....oh joy!

Story Time

Finley loves Toddler Time at the Freed-Montrose Library.  There are stories, songs, rhymes and open play time.  This week was all about bath time.  Finley was really good and sat on my lap and quietly listened to all the stories.  I was really proud of her, even on of the other moms commented on what a well behaved little girl she was.  After Toddler Time, we ventured into the library to do some reading in the children's area.  Finley loves walking through the stacks and picking out a book to read.  We sit at the table and chairs and pour through the books.  Everytime I ask her if she wants to take any of the books home and she always declines, so she doesn't have her first library card yet.  We are lucky enough to have a lot of books here at the house, but it would sure be nice to get a little variety.  Finley is really good about picking different books at bedtime, so it really isn't that bad.  Normally, she turns the pages so quickly, that I don't get a chance to finish all the words.  I am just happy she loves reading, she loves her books and carries them around with her.  Right now she is liking The Little Engine that Could, but I am sure that will change tomorrow.

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!