Finley's name.

I have always liked the name Fin or Finn and have had it on name lists throughout my life. When I was pregnant and heard  the name Finley, I shared it with George, and we knew it was just right for our girl.

Yesterday, she wrote her name for the first time. Heavy sigh. So sweet.

Of course both she and Grey play-write all the time, making vertical or horizontal marks, circles and scribbles, but this was really her name, with recognizable letters!

She got a coloring sheet as a sort of homework at gymnastics and was told to color it and bring it back next week for a wall display. She took quite a bit of care coloring it, even getting frustrated with me as I asked her a few times to come to the dinner table for dinner. She walked her little self over to me and put her hands out to her sides, "Mom, I need to tell you something. Mom, when you are talking, it is hard for me to color." Lol.

When she finally did finish she told me she wanted her name on it. I asked her if she wanted me to show her how to write it. She did.

So I wrote each letter on a piece of paper to show her, and she then wrote each letter at the bottom of her coloring paper. She was so excited and proud. Me too. Tickled pink. I think she likes her name too.

Monday morning in the park

Woo-hoo for a morning in the park!

The kids are so adventurous now that it is hard to keep up with them. Finley likes to climb the curved wall of steps up to the slide area; "Mommy, I am so brave now!" she tells me. And Grey doesn't even ask for help anymore.

So excited to be here!!!

Sliding and swinging is good for the soul.

Gotta drive the fire engine.

Lots of fun and laughter in our morning. We will return soon.

Feeding the ducks at Lakeside

So, how's that posting more often thing working out for me?

Friday, July 20, 2012

Picnic and Feeding the Ducks Day!

Well, after making it out the door late (dealing with a stray dog), dealing with a small spill on the driveway and using our daily allotment of neosporin and band-aids, and making one stop at a too-hot-to-play-on-right-now playground, we finally made it to Lakeside park for our picnic.

The plan was to find a place in the shade to eat, and then we could go and feed the ducks after lunch.

Even though it was hot, the picnic went pretty well. Grey kept saying, "This is the best picnic ever!" Finley wasn't that hungry. It could have been the heat, but I suspect she just wanted to feed the ducks.

=

Without completely finishing our picnic, we packed up and set out to feed some ducks!

We were in the middle of the park, down from the lily pads and didn't see any ducks at first. I threw some bread in the water, and it didn't take long for one, then two, then three ducks to come and check out the menu.

The kids loved it! At first I made them sit on the edge of the bank up on the grass. More and more ducks came to join the feast, and then we heard the loud white geese from further down the lake making their approach. So funny!

The kids were so excited when some of the ducks flew in and landed right in front of us on the water. We haven't been to lakeside in a while, so it was exciting and new for them again.

We shared our stale bread and pretzels with some other children interested in the ducks and had such a great time!

After we ran out of food for the ducks, we decided to walk down to see the lily pads and the bridge.

The kids were so excited to see not one, not two, but three turtles!

However, it was getting late and hot, so we made our way back to the car.

I promised the kids we could go and get popsicles and take some to George, so we were off to the store and to see Daddy.

All of this made a fun and memorable day, but not really a nappy day!

Funny, silly flower adventure

Well, we've been trying to get to the bluebonnets for a while now. We drove out to Cedar Hill State Park and made our way to Penn Farm. Alas, no bluebonnets. George saw some on the road driving in, and after a call to my trusty photographer sister-in-law, we went back to the road and put the children in the small patches on the side.

It was now closing in on 7:30, and the light was not ideal. My camera was acting funny. The children were acting silly. Here are the results. It was still a fun adventure!

Happiest Place on Earth

What an adventure.

My dad and stepmom surprised us with a trip to Disneyland for Christmas. We went along with my brother-in-law and 3-year-old nephew. Five adults and three children three and under - woo hoo! We stayed in a house just a few blocks away so were able to walk each day. We also got to ride the monorail from Downtown Disney - the kids loved that!

The kids were so excited to go and kept talking about meeting Mickey and Minnie. I wasn't sure what they would really enjoy, but I knew they would like something! My daughter was much more excited to get close to the characters than my son, but he still loved seeing them. We rode lots of rides, listened to music, fed ducks, met great people and had a wonderful time. It was so great to see the cousins bond, and to get to spend lots of time with family. I even got to see my dear friend Melissa who drove down from LA for our little superbowl party.

I can't wait to take the children back as they get older; I'm already thinking about the rides! Finley says her favorite ride was Dumbo and also liked the hula dancers in It's a Small World, and Grey liked It's a Small World and the trains. It sure was a happy time.