A Trip To Madison

Finley's walking is going well; he's getting smoother, quicker and more brave. He is attempting to bend over and pick things up, he can also get to a stand without pulling up on anything. Finley loves following us everywhere. His new thing is to grab our hand and pull us wherever he wants to go...usually the door, begging to go outside. I videotape his walking often; I know he'll soon be a pro and we want footage of his wobbly walking.

On Thursday, we visited my principal and his family, they welcomed their 3rd baby (a boy, Bennett) earlier in September. But most of this "winter" day was spent inside...Finley must've been chilly, I caught him trying on Mommy's Uggs!

Friday we were busy getting ready for our road trip; I tried to entertain Finley with some coloring...he likes it, but as a true boy, the fun of coloring lasts about 30 seconds...it's interesting to watch him, a couple months ago he was all "righty" now he's looking like he'll be a "lefty". Time will tell which hand is dominate, unless he takes after Great Grandpa Juel, then he might be a little of both...which is just fine with me.
After lunch on Friday, Grandpa & Grandma picked us up and we hit the road for Madison. Our ride down was a little long; Finley had just woken up from a 90 minute nap, so the timing wasn't great. He required lots of entertainment in the car - snacks, books, toys, cell phones, a remote control and we even tried a DVD. I brought two movies, unfortunately one DVD case was empty, so we replayed the same Little People DVD (25 sad little minutes) over and over...even Grandpa was sick of the song, "The Wheels on the Boat" (yes boat, not bus).
Our first stop was Ginny & Steve's house; Ginny had an awesome happy hour set up, complete with cheese curds and crackers for the boys. Then we went out for a some-what painful dinner...it had been too much sitting for one day! Knowing the other patrons wouldn't be amused, I spent half of dinner in the entry way letting Finley practice his walking and shrieking...yum cold fish for dinner.
Finley sucks at sleeping in a hotel. BIG TIME. He slept with us both nights and I don't think any of us got sleep. Saturday morning we woke up (too early) and Patrick entertained in the lobby (hotel walls are so thin) and I snuck in a run. The front-desk must've felt bad for the kid walking around in his jammies at 6:15 a.m., they gave Finley a teddy bear wearing a t-shirt that says, I Spent the Night in Middleton, WI.
Saturday morning the big boys (Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Ryan, and Ron) headed to the Badger game...we headed to the hotel pool.
Matty brought over two of his kids, Hayden and Addie; the kids had fun splashing around.

Finley surprised me by walking in the pool; he liked his independence and it made me nervous!
After swimming we cleaned up, put on our Badger apparel, and went shopping.

After shopping, Spencer took a nap so Finley, Grandma & I went to happy hour...
...it didn't last long, this little Badger was too shrieky for the lobby bar!
Saturday night we went to Ron & Nancy's for dinner and playing.
Even though the Badger's lost, these two little Badgers were full of energy...
...unlike Grandpa, who'd obviously had a lot of Badger-Fun!

Our ride home went better, Finley slept almost two hours. We got home and he helped Daddy outside...not sure if it was the fresh air or the lack of sleep from the weekend, he took another two hour nap this afternoon!