Finley at Three

Three.

That's how old my little man is.

Sometimes I can't believe it.

Time has really been flying by these days.

Here are some fun facts about our little man.

This is one happy kid. He is easy going, silly, and loves spending time with friends.

He is getting more independent these days, but still wants someone in the same room as him at all times.

 

We have been doing pre-school together at home and Finley loves to learn. I know that he is getting bored with things when he starts to act silly and answer wrong on purpose. I can totally see him being the class clown one day.

He is fully potty trained and has finally stopped getting up in the night to use the bathroom.

He loves to sing and dance and lately has been singing his own version of songs.

He loves being outdoors and playing any sport, as long as you share and don't steal the ball from him.

He helps me cook dinner every night and really wants to be a part of the action. Then, when he hears David pull into the garage, he either hides or pretends to be asleep at the dinner table.  Then Finley cracks up when David either tracks him down in his hiding place or comes to steal his food (since he is asleep).

He has started doing chores around the house including picking up toys, clearing the table, putting away silverware and matching socks. He is a great helper, but sometimes needs a little encouragement.

He is great at sitting through entire movies, performances, and shows. He went to see his first movie (Puss and Boots) at the movie theatre, and has been to many dance performances or concerts over the past year.

He enjoys painting, crafts, and making music. He especially loves doing the parade at the library.

Finley loves to play chase and tag around the house. He has also been having fun hiding things that aren't his around the house and then forgetting where he put them.

He loves reading books. He will sit and read with me for 30 minutes at a time.

At night time when we start our bedtime routine he loves running away from us (usually naked) and screaming.

He is a mama's boy and loves to rub it in David's face.

But he still loves helping David with yard work, home improvement projects, or even science projects.

And now for a little interview with Finley. 

Q: What is your favorite game?

A: Um . . . Candy Land (but also memory).

Q: What is your favorite TV show?

A: Fireman Sam (a British show).

Q: What is your favorite Movie?

A: Toy Story.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Tortellinis.

Q: What is your favorite treat?

A: M and M and M's.

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: Bulldozer (really? he never plays with it!)

Q: What are your favorite things to do?

A: Dance, play with friends, jump, and play soccer in the street.

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Red (but lately he has been picking out pink things)

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Books about the Dentist/Doctor and The Wheels on the Bus book at Mimi's house

Q: What is your favorite song?

A: 'I like so many songs'. (Radar Detector by Darwin Deez and The Gummy Bear Song)

This little man just melts my heart on a daily basis. He is so sweet and happy and fully of life! We are so blessed to have him in our family and love every minute we get to spend with him.

Happy Birthday Finley!

Adventures in Candy Land

Welcome to Candy Land! 

We recently celebrated Finley's 3rd birthday (a little early) in Candy Land!

Finley received this game for Christmas this past year and has been playing it multiple times a day ever since. So, naturally, we thought this would be a good theme for his birthday this year. 

Pre-Party:

Doing a Candy Land themed party isn't the easiest. I had to order a lot of items online and make several decorations from scratch. Here are the goodie boxes that Finley's friends got to take home plus some extra candy. 

I also made our own invitations to pass out using some ideas and images I found online. 

The Decorations: 

I can't take credit for a lot of the things you see here. 

I got most of my ideas from the Internet and pinterest. Isn't pinterest the best? 

I found these adorable plates and napkins through Celebrate Express. 

I made some gum drop cones to flank the cake and put left over candy inside some clear glass containers. 

I used laminated construction paper for the table runner to look like the game.

I taped two small colored plates together and then wrapped them in cellophane to look like hard candy and taped them to the windows. 

More colored construction paper on the floor. 

And we used lots of streamers too! The great part about using the Candy Land theme was that everything was so colorful. We could use all the colors of the rainbow!

I spent hours making this candy wreath. 

I stuck dum dums and gumdrops into a Styrofoam wreath. Unfortunately it did not last! Before the party even started it fell off the door and broke into a million pieces. I think it was too heavy to be supported and hung on the door like this. At least I got a picture of it though! 

More hard candy in the windows. 

We lined the walkway with balloons and construction paper. 

I originally envisioned turning the balloons into big lollipops seen here, but I ran out of time and cellophane to make it happen. Oh well!

It was still pretty festive. 

I found this adorable Candy Land shirt on eBay and ordered it for Fin. 

He was so excited to finally wear it!

The Activities:

As our guests arrived we played and colored pictures of the Candy Land characters. 

Next we made some edible bracelets! 

Using pull n peel twizzlers for the string and fruit roll ups to connect the bracelets the kids strung on all types of food and candy that had holes in it (fruit loops, gummy life savers, peach rings, etc). This also served as their snack :). This went over very well for this age group. 

I wish I had a picture of the finished product. They really came out cute. 

Next we made some candy airplane to take home using smarties, Hersey's bars, peppermint life savors, and rubber bands. Theses were harder for them to assemble and required a lot of help from the adults! 

Next we turned on some candy themed music and had a Candy Land walk. 

The kids walked around the circle and when the music stopped they had to freeze on a square. Then I pulled out a card from the board game, and the child standing on that color got a treat! 

Once everyone was good and sugared up we let them dance and play some instruments. 

Then we enjoyed some yummy lunch together. 

The Cake: 

After lunch we sang Happy Birthday and my big three year old got to blow out the candles on his Candy Land cake! 

I made this cake the night before because I knew it would take a lot of time. I used Finley's Candy Land board game as inspiration and tried to replicate it. I think it turned out pretty good! David scanned all the characters into the computer so I could print them out and stick them on the cake. This made it a lot easier trying to create each of the character's and their worlds. 

The After Party: 

After all the guests left we had some more quality time with family. 

Finley got to open his presents from Uncle Donovan, Mimi, and Pop Pop. 

He was very excited to find some new doctor supplies! This kid loves to play doctor. 

And Nani was kind enough to be his patient. 

Just a few more days and Finley will officially be 3! 

I can't believe it! The time has flown by!

If you can't tell we are into big parties and involved themes. I think everything came together very well and the best part was that Finley loved it. He kept telling me the rest of the day how lucky he was and what a great party he had. His smile and those comments made all the hard work worth it. 

He is one sweet boy. 

Easter Fun!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! 

Our family has enjoyed doing lots of fun things for Easter over the past couple of weeks. 

Twelve days before Easter we started an Easter Egg count down that I found on pinterest. It was a great way to do a mini lesson as we followed the last week of the Savior's life and discussed why we celebrate Easter.

We did this instead of our normal scripture study and Finley loved opening an egg every night and seeing what item was inside.  

As Easter approached, we had to dye some Easter Eggs. 

Finley was excited to color on each egg with a crayon. 

And watch them change colors. 

Ta-dah! 

Now we just have to figure out what to do with all those hard boiled eggs! Any ideas? 

Our friends had an annual brunch and egg hunt at their house. 

It was fun to see how our group of friends has grown and how everyone is getting bigger! I think the kids out numbered the adults this year. 

Finley was super excited, until David left his side when the egg hunt began. 

Luckily he recovered quickly and began to find eggs high and low. 

Sometimes this boy is so cheeky. 

Our strategy this year was to bring a smaller basket so we wouldn't have so much candy around the house. 

This kid is candy crazy!

Several of our friends put stickers, squirt toys, and those dissolvable pills that turn into sponges into the eggs instead of candy. Loved these ideas!  

We had a blast! Thanks again Sherwoods!

Easter eve we set out a basket and some bunny treats to entice the Easter bunny to leave us some goodies. 

It worked! 

Easter Sunday we went to visit the Dorrance clan after church. We had a combination Easter celebration and my dad & uncle's birthdays!

Here's the crew minus David. 

Here's the crew minus me. And after we took all these shots, David figured out how to set the timer on the camera :). Oh well, next time we will get everyone in the shot together. 

Hoppy Easter!