Christmas 2009

Finley had so much fun this Christmas. We went to Mimi and Poppy's house on Christmas Eve and stayed for a few days. Finley and Braden had so much fun playing and running all over the place! Finley decided she wanted to stay up all night and wait for Santa on Christmas Eve. Mommy and Daddy were struggling to stay awake on Christmas morning, but we made it and the girls had so much fun!!

Christmas Eve, about to head to Dawson to see everyone...

Christmas morning, Santa came...

Finley loves her trampoline...

Reading with Mimi...

Finley with her American Girl Bitty Baby...

Big trampoline outside, too bad it was so cold...

They had to settle for the mini trampoline inside until it gets a little warmer...

Mimi and Poppy's living room was taken over...

Poppy took the boys hunting on Saturday morning, I thought they were crazy, it was freezing!! Turned out to be a fun morning for Brandon...

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so we weren't able to make it to Sea World like we had planned. We headed to Momo and Pappa Ben's house for Finley's second Christmas. Finley had so much fun with Regan and all of the kitties. Her little people Noah's ark set from Momo was a huge hit and I think her beloved little people goat may have been replaced by the little people alligators!

Opening presents with Momo...

So many new animals to play with...

Visiting Santa

We waited until the last minute this year to visit Santa. We learned that the Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas was not nearly as crowded as Northpark so we headed down there this morning and the wait wasn't too long. Momo and Aunt GG joined us and thank goodness because sometimes it takes 4 people to watch Finley, especially when very expensive handbags and jewelry are around! We had to wait for about 45 minutes, which gave Finley plenty of time to run all over the store and go up and down the escalator several times. Finley did great, she is not afraid of "Tanta" at all.

We got a really cute "official" photo that I will add when I have a chance to get it scanned. We are heading to Corsicana tomorrow for Christmas with my family, then we are driving to San Antonio on Sunday for Christmas with Brandon's family and quick trip to Sea World. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Dinner at School

Finley's school hosted a dinner last week where her class (The Monkey Class) and the Star's class performed. Finley did great ringing her bells and singing Jingle Bells. As you can see, she didn't want to sit when it was time for the Star Class to perform. We had a yummy dinner and Finley got to play with all of her friends.

Cold Weather

All of this cold weather makes the weekend pretty challenging for us. Poor Finley hates being couped up all day so we had to find something to do. On Saturday, we went to lunch at On the Border and right next door is a Pottery Barn Kids store. It was great, nice and warm and lots of toys to play with! We didn't buy anything, but I figure we have spent so much money there in the past, that it was okay! :)

Since it was too cold to ride in the wagon outside, we did the next best thing and rode around in the house...

Thanksgiving

We went to Sherman to stay with Brandon's family for Thanksgiving. Finley had so much fun with Aunt GG, Steve, Ben and Momo (yes, Finley has changed Brandon's mom's name to Momo). Momo has so many fun things at her house, Finley loves feeding the fish in the fish pond and of course playing with all of the kitties and Regan! We had lots of yummy food. Finley slept through most of Thanksgiving on Thursday afternoon (she wasn't feeling too well). We also played with her fancy car that Momo got for her. She couldn't quite figure out that she needed to push the pedal and steer at the same time. Someone had to walk next to her to make sure she didn't run into anything. Momo also has a great playground right down the street from her house that Finley's loves.

We had to come home early on Friday to visit the doctor, Finley ended up having a sinus infection, but she is feeling so much better!

Halloween

I know this is really late, but I have gotten a little behind on blogging. Hopefully this will catch us up. We had a great Halloween. The festivities started off a week before when Brandon helped out one of our neighbors get her front yard ready for Halloween. She goes all out every year, turning her front yard into a spooky graveyard. Finley had blast while the guys were digging, even finding a couple worms. I told Brandon we need to dig a hole in our front yard, it would entertain Finley for hours! See the finished product below...

On Friday, all of the kids at Finley's school dressed up for a Halloween parade and music in Lower School. Brandon was so excited about Finley's costume this year.

On Saturday, we walked around the neighborhood and stopped at a few houses. Finley's friend Olivia, had a petting zoo in her front yard. Finley of course loved the animals! Then we stopped by Richard and Maureen's to hand out candy.

On Sunday, we went the neighborhood park for the Halloween Party and Chili Cook-off. We didn't enter this year and you can see why below. Finley and her friend Presley seemed to enjoy running around on the soccer fields instead of hanging out at the party.

You can see the fun party behind the blur of Finley running...