Kidnapping Mimi

David had another week of depositions down in Wilmington last week. Finley and I decided we should tag along again, and also kidnap the Mimi and make her come with us! 

Mimi didn't get to enjoy our annual family beach week to the fullest as she was sick most of the time. 

So we made sure to visit the beach on the days she didn't have dialysis. 

It was hot hot hot! But the water was nice and cool. And surprisingly a lot saltier than on TI. 

Finley became a pro at jumping the waves. 

The only draw back was that he could do it for hours and hours! 

Later in the day we brought David back to the tip of Wrightsville beach. It was so picturesque! 

On one of Mimi's dialysis days Finley and I headed downtown to the children's museum. One cool trick we learned online was to park in a parking deck a few blocks away and then ride the free trolley to the museum. This was the highlight of Finley's day! After we were all done at the museum he even made us ride around on it again for a full loop (20 minutes). 

The museum had a great boat that Finley really enjoyed playing on. 

He pretended to be a pirate and 'swab' the deck. 

Finley made this face and asked me to take a picture of it. 

He is such a funny kid sometimes. 

They also had a school bus you could check out. 

A neat toddler slide in a tree house. 

And even a space room with black lights. 

His favorite part was playing with this tree that funneled out 'lemons' you could pick.

They had a cool science lab where we mixed colors to make new colors. 

This time around we were lucky enough to get David a few afternoons and early evenings. 

One day when he got off work early we headed back to the aquarium. 

Unfortunately Mimi was sick and couldn't tag along. 

Finley had so much fun dragging David to every exhibit. We flew through the aquarium finishing in record time because Finley wanted to show David everything as fast as possible! 

He sure does love his dada. 

Some how I missed the octopus the last time we were there. 

I am glad we found him this time around. He was moving all over the place. 

They are such fascinating looking creatures. 

Of course we had to let dada have his turn touching a real shark. 

We had another great trip to Wilmington and enjoyed relaxing as a family and catching up with Mimi. I am so glad we were able to take her with us! Now I think I have just about had my fill of the sun and sand. 

Is it fall yet? 

Say What?!

7/6 - While driving in the car today Finley kept saying 'Thank you'. When I asked him what he was thanking me for he said 'Because I just love you'. 

7/6 - Finley had a little accident after David was tickling him too much. After he was cleaned up he started jumping up and down on the couch singing 'Accidents happen and that's ok!'. He must have learned this from a potty movie or something. 

7/6 - After playing outside in the hot sun Finley asked for a 'Foxicle'. I asked him if he meant a Popsicle? He said no and repeated 'foxicle'. Turned out he wanted a fudgsicle. 

7/18 - Finley and I were sitting outside of Barnes and Noble having a snack listening to the 'mall music' being played when an announcement came over the speakers. Finley very confused declared 'Who said that?' while looking around. It doesn't sound that funny, but it totally cracked me up!

7/18 - On the long ride home from Wilmington Finley was getting a little punchy in the car. He had put a sticker on his bum and couldn't reach it. (yes while strapped in his car seat). Then he said he needed a mousekatool to get it and yelled 'OH TOODLES!'. I think I know what Finley wants to be for Halloween already!

7/18 - Also on the ride home we went to stop for dinner at Taco Bell and Finley burst into tears and starting yelling "I want to go to BOJANGLES!" It was hilarious.

7/19 - I told Finley we were heading to the grocery store and he asked which one. When I told him we were going to Wal-mart he again burst into tears and said he didn't like that grocery store and wanted to go to the one near our house (The Harris Teeter with the free cookies).

7/26 - Finley will randomly declare from the backseat on many occasions "It is a beautiful day today, isn't it mama?"

8/1 - I was explaining the difference between Batman and Spider man to Finley when he pointed out "But they both spring into action right?". Yes they do!

8/8 - Finley has been pushing my buttons lately telling me "I don't like you." Then one day he said this and just as I was about to reprimand him for talking so rudely he followed up with "I don't like you . . . I love you". Nice save kid.

8/26 - While helping David in the kitchen today Finley picked up a piece of ginger and asked David "Do you need this gingerbread?"

Tumblebees

Finley had his first experience in gymnastics this summer. 

We signed him up to take summer classes at Tumblebees, where one of my friend's parents both work. 

He was reluctant the first few classes and also a little behind the other kids in strength and coordination. 

But slowly he improved as the summer went on. 

One of Finley's strong suits was jumping on the trampoline. Luckily we found out that trampoline is an Olympic event! There is hope after all for this kid. 

The first month of classes Finley needed assistance on all of the equipment, but by his last class he was doing the circuits all by himself!

Finley's least favorite apparatus - the balance beam. Who can blame him? It is a long way down!

But he kept at it!

One of Finley's favorite parts was jumping into the pit of foam blocks. He loved just hanging out in there and throwing the blocks around. 

Upside down Finley. 

Right side up Finley. 

And David's favorite move - the opossum. 

The best part about taking gymnastics this summer was that we could watch the pros on TV during the Olympics. 

Once Finley saw the 'big boys' doing the moves, he was a little more confident and hung onto the rings and bars for longer periods of time. Who knew that you could get better at a sport just by watching it on TV? 

We were sad that Finley wasn't in Taty's dad's class, but he ended up loving his teachers and having a blast! 

Maybe we will do this again next summer.