Finley's Backyard Birthday Bonanza

We lucked into the best weather November had to offer this year and celebrated Finley's 2nd birthday outside in our backyard with a wonderful bunch of our family and friends. With the help of Dan's mom, dad, and sister not only was our house ready for a party, but the backyard was primed for fun! All our outdoor toys came in handy, but the big piles of leaves Dan had raked were the biggest hit by far!

Finley just loved running around and through the leaves with all his pals.  Henry started tossing leaves into the air and seemed in pure heaven.  Eliot started tossing them on Henry, to his great joy, and Finley couldn't resist taking a turn.

I can't imagine a more cliche fall scene!

After a while, Finley suddenly retreated into my lap and seemed all done with his party.  Yikes, I thought, but soon I realized the kid was probably pretty hungry and running a bit low in the blood sugar department.  I snatched him up and we filled a plate of strawberries, blueberries, and pretzels.

Where there is food, toddlers will follow and soon it was a group date!

These seemlingly small, innocent children ate an inordinate amount of fruit and then went back to playing full tilt.  Mission accomplished.  But before we knew it, the pizza had arrived and we were sure if the kiddos would even want any...

There was nothing to worry about! Finley and his fellow party-goers ate their share of pizza while the parents chowed down as well.

Next, it was cake time!  Here's my creation for this year's celebration:

Please tell me it (slightly) resembles at dump truck! Everyone gathered around and Finley really enjoyed the group serenade of "Happy Birthday" before giving himself a round of applause.  

We leaned over to blow out the candle (that the wind had already blown out) and then I put Finley down to serve everyone, but before I knew it the Birthday Boy made his move.

Have at it, little man!

Soon it was time for goodbyes and we thanked everyone for coming and making his big day so special.  While Dan and his parents and sister amazingly raked all the leaves up into eight leaf bags, my sister, Finley and I went inside for some post-party wind down time.  As Caitlin and I chatted, Finley was busy at work and when we asked him what he was doing with some of his trucks and helicopter, he quickly responded, "party."  Ha! I asked him what they were eating and he answered, "cake!"

I couldn't think of a better way to end the fiesta...oh wait, Finley's 2.5 hour nap afterwards was the best way!  Thank you to all our terrific friends and family who came to the party and made it so special :) Turning 2 is pretty sweet and Finley is still coming down from the sugar high! I sure hope he enjoys his actual birthday on Wednesday and the novelty hasn't worn off....

Pre-Party Presents!

Before Finley's birthday party on Sunday morning, we carved out some time for his out-of-town guests to give Finley their gifts.  He got some fun musical flutes for the bathtub from Aunt Ellie (thank goodness for some tub toy variety!).  Pan-Pa and GG had two big boxes for Finley to open.  The first was a warm, snuggly stroller cover so we can take long winter walks (okay, that was more on my birthday list that Finley's, but he'll appreciate it soon enough).  Inside the second box was Finley's very own rolling suitcase with a removable backpack.  He couldn't wait to take it out for a spin!

We told him it was for going on airplanes and now when he pulls it around, he says "Airport, jetway, pilot!"  He's already checked to see if his two loveys fit inside (and they do!).

My sister also gave him her present, which Dan had kindly assembled the night before.  A gorgeous, shiny, red Schwinn tricycle!!

While he doesn't quite understand the purpose of the pedals yet, with some basement practice this winter--he'll probably be ready to hit the sidewalks in the spring!  

He's already mastered ringing the bike bell so that's a step in the right direction.  Thank you, Aunt Caitlin!!

Laughing with Good Friends

We had a last minute visit from some good friends on Saturday evening. Stacy, Kelvin, Aliza, and not-so-baby Levi came over and ended up staying for dinner.  Finley was great with Levi (daycare is really paying off!!).  He even shared his beloved yellow balls and built him some small towers for him to knock over.

 However, it was Aliza that really got Finley laughing.  Aliza's about six months older than Finley and cute as a button.  They are both pretty mild mannered and fun-loving, they had a great time sharing toys, dancing, and bounding around.  After a while, they shared a snack on the couch and before we knew it, they were shaking their water cups and basically it was monkey-see, monkey-do.

They were so silly, Levi had to see what all the fuss was about.

As we waited for the dads to come back with dinner, Aliza and Finley entertained themselves with their silverware and exchanging funny words and noises.  We should have dinner dates more often!

After dinner, both kiddos requested dessert (where do they learn these things?) but thankfully we had some delicious raspberries available.  Both Finley and Aliza had fun putting them on their fingers and then gulping them down.  This photo's a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea!

Sadly, the foursome headed back home to Connecticut after dinner (and lots of hugs goodbye).  We won't wait so long to see them next time, it was pure heaven to watch our kids together.

Sarasota's Beach Fun

While the weather wasn't stellar, we took Finley down to the beach after a late afternoon nap.  To his joy, Eliot was already there!  They chased each other around (after Finley realized he was in a giant sandbox and stopped pouting) and eventually they began work on a "birthday cake" by putting lots of "candles" in it.  It was pretty hysterical and Sangwha and I must have snapped dozens of photos trying to capture both of the kids in the same shot.

This was certainly some of the best playing together the kids did (as opposed to just playing near each other).

Finley and Dan kicked the soccer ball around and it was good to see that the men in our family can play other sports besides frisbee.

We finally made it down to the water and Finley enjoyed it more than I thought he would.

Some nice family shots by Sangwha, too bad Finley was not quite sure where the camera was!

Oh and Finley and Eliot were very excited to help Sangwha bring her chair back to the beach gate. Ha!