Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Sarah turns two this month, she is just one month younger than Finley. These girls are a riot when they get together. I think they are very much alike, they always are after the same toy! They love each other very much and Finley was really excited for Sarah's birthday party. Fundamentally Music was there with a great music class for all the kids. During the music class, Finley kept trying to sit with Sarah's mom, Melissa, so she could sit next to the birthday girl.  And the best part was that we got to take home our own music makers, including bells and maracas. The kids feasted on Chick-fil-a nuggets and hot pink cupcakes. It was great to see all Finley's friends have such a nice time.

Playgroup at the Park

Last Friday, after our adventure at the zoo, we headed over to Memorial Park to meet up with our Friday playgroup.  We had the best turnout, nearly everyone was there, including all the newborn babies, even the twins!  It was so much fun, the kids had a blast playing on all the ramps.  The playground is really neat, I just wish it had a fence to corral the toddlers from running all about.  Finley played her first ever game of ring around the rosie.  She did great!  Sarah and Nicolas were so good at showing her how it was done.

Return to Gymboree

We returned to Gymboree today, Grandma gave Finley a two month membership for her birthday. Finley was so thrilled to be back! She had the best time climbing all around. She has gotten so good at climbing, it is amazing how much she progressed. They played with flashlights today and she enjoyed it. She didn't participate in parachute time, I think it was because she just want to run and play with all the equipment. I am excited for her to be back in class again, especially since she loves it so much.

Return to the African Forest

The weather has cooled off considerably, which means Finley is ready with her snowman outfit.  We took Grandma to visit the African Forest today and we had a wonderful time.  The animals were all active and we even got to watch the tiger training.  Finley definitely warmed up to the African Forest, in a couple more trips, I think it may be her favorite place to go.

The African Forest

Members of the Houston Zoo got a sneak peek of the new African Forest this week.  Finley and I set off on Friday morning to see the new rhinos and chimps, as well as to see the giraffes new home.  We first stopped to visit Finley's favorite meerkats, but then it was off to the African Forest.  We took a new route to get back there, but we did stop to visit the lions, tigers and bears along the way.  Finley was noticeably unsettled when we entered the African Forest.  There were drummers and dancers, she wanted no part of it.  She held my hand and asked for "more animals".  She wasn't so into either the chimps or the rhinos, but she was delighted to see her giraffe friends again.  Hopefully, it will only take a visit or two more for her to get into the excitement of the new animals.

Honey Nut Cheerios

Three fun things in these pictures: Patrick will not let go of the Israeli flag, Finley insisted on having a bowl to pick up the Cheerios into and Honey Nut Cheerios will cling to anything, Finley's socks were a wreck.

25 (24?) Days Until Christmas!

Notice how she is already reaching for the second day door...

Message From Santa

I saw this on Sarah's blog and I knew I had to have Santa send Finley a message...

Finley's message from Santa Claus

Two Year Doctor Appointment

Finley had her two year doctor appointment, three shots, oh my!  She cried for the shots, but the crying was quickly eased with a lollipop, the girl loves her lollipops.

The stats
Head: 19.5" (50th percentile)
Height: 35" (75th percentile)
Weight: 27 pounds (50th percentile)

She is right on track and has reached all her milestones.  Yay for Miss Finley!  The doctors' office was backlogged today, note to self to never make an appointment on the Monday following a holiday weekend.  Finley was very patiently waiting for the doctor and then for her shots.  We saw her friend Jahan at the office, he was in with a tummyache and cough.  Poor guy.  The pediatrician said a virus has been going around, so that is probably what Finley had this past weekend.

Flying Reindeer

We put up the Christmas tree this morning and buried in with all the decorations was an inflatable reindeer that Finley got last year.  I blew it up and Finley wanted to ride it.  I bet she thought it was going to be like Rody, the toy that her friend Wyatt has.  Sadly, the reindeer is not as supportive as Rody.  Then Clifton had a genius idea, maybe too genius.  He told Finley that reindeer don't walk like Raffers, they fly with Santa.  And she was off!

Finley did countless laps around the house, Christmas tree and even up to her room for naptime.  She kept saying "Again!"  She loved it.  Pure joy!



Finley's fever is gone, thank goodness. She is still pretty snotty, but I am so relieved the fever is gone.  And the best part is her appetite is back.  It was so frustrating to give her snack after snack and her not eating a single one.  Not even a cookie snack, which is beyond comprehension.  I am just happy she is well again.

Thanksgiving Day

Grandma and Jack came over to share Thanksgiving dinner with us.  Finley hardly touched any of the food, but she did enjoy sharing cinnamon ice cream with Grandma.  As I went to put her to bed, I realized why she had no appetite.  She had a fever of 102.7!  She had a runny nose all day, but she was in good spirits.  It is now 48 hours later and Finley still has a fever.  We have our two year doctor appointment on Monday afternoon, so if she is not well by then, hopefully the pediatrician will fix her right up.

Finley did enjoy turkey chowder today, so she did get some turkey, just not on Turkey Day.  Finley rocked her $5 dress that I scored at Gymboree last year after Christmas, it was the perfect dress for Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are busy preparing for a small Thanksgiving here at the house.  Finley spent the morning walking around the block and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with daddy.  Grandma and Jack are coming over this afternoon to share a big turkey dinner.  Afterwards, we will watch the Texas A&M Aggies battle the University of Texas Longhorns.  Finley says "BTHO t.u.!"

Max's Second Second Birthday Party

We had just as much fun on Saturday as we did on Thursday, probably moreso because of the GIANT pizzas from NY Pizzeria, how fun are those?  Mental note for Finley's future birthday parties, NY Pizzeria has giant pizzas.  But you have to make sure they fit through your doorway first before you order them.  Do you think Max will have three birthday parties next year to celebrate his third birthday?  We can only hope so!

Max's First Second Birthday Party

Do you get the post title?  Max's second birthday party is today~ Happy Birthday to Max! And since he is two, he got to have TWO birthday parties.  We got to celebrate his doubly special birthday party twice, shouldn't that be how it is for all birthdays?  I would be celebrating for over a month...

The first party was last Thursday morning for our playgroup.  The kids had a blast eating pizza and cupcakes, Finley's favorite party treats.  They also played with Oscar's Trash Toss and decorated cookies for Cookie Monster.  Such fun!

Tummy Trouble and Muffin Time

We had a visit with the doctor today because Finley has been having some tummy trouble for the past week.  As always, Finley loves visiting with her pediatrician.  She must have the routine down pretty well because she asked for a sticker before we left.  The doctor said she was showing signs of control issues since we are starting potty training, so it was nothing to be too concerned about with and to just go ahead and increase her fiber intake as much as possible. 


Finley's favorite muffins have tons of fiber in them and even moreso since we added raisins to the mix.  For the first time ever, Finley has an active helper while I was baking.  She put all the muffin liners into the tin for me.  She did it perfectly without any assistance!  I am so proud.  I did the first one to show her how it was done and she was off, telling me the colors as I mixed the muffins.  Do you think she will be ready for Christmas cookie baking?  I sure hope so, I am so excited to bake cookies with her and have her a more active participant than just the girl who eats chocolate chips.

Too Much Fun?

We have had a crazy couple of weeks and it is only looking to get more crazy. The stretch from Halloween to New Year's provides a whole bunch of fun for Miss Finley. All sorts of holidays and birthdays, with a whole lot of presents for Finley. We have been getting more birthday gifts from her friends who weren't able to make it to her party, I think Finley is going to think she gets a present every couple of days or so at this rate. She is having such a blast playing with all her new toys, that she didn't even notice when I got rid of her old play table. I moved all her 'old' toys upstairs, so she has all her new birthday toys to play with. I can only imagine what Christmas is going to be like!

Christmas Wishes

The new Target toy catalogue came in the mail...

Finley's Second Birthday Party

Finley had so much fun.  Muffie the Clown and her rabbit, Sugar Boo, were a huge hit with all the kids.  Hot dogs, pop corn and circus animal crackers were enjoyed by all.  Finley absolutely loved her cake, her favorite part were the sugar stars, I think she ate every single one she could get her little hands on.  She even let Muffie paint her a kitty cat face.  She was so cute!  It was so much fun to hang out with all of Finley's friends to celebrate her special day.