The Great Disneyland Adventure

Your Dad and I decided a little while ago that we wanted to go on a trip just the three of us, before it becomes the four of us! We originally planned to go to the beach for a weekend, but with your recent interest in all things Disney, we changed our minds and decided that it was time to take you to Disneyland! Now that we're home and unpacked, I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you all about your first trip to Disneyland. Your Dad and I both have great memories of our first trips to Disney and we hope you'll never forget yours :)

We got off to a great start by hitting the road almost an hour early Friday morning. Mom would like to think that was all because of her stellar packing/planning in the days before. Our second great surprise was that it only took a little over an hour to get down to Anaheim. Our plan was to ditch our bags at the Disneyland hotel (they'll hold them for you until you can check in at 3pm) explore Downtown Disney and then hit the pool. As we went to check in, we found out that it really was the happiest place on earth - our room was ready and we were able to get all settled in by 11am! Yay Disneyland Hotel! After unloading all of our stuff into our spacious and very clean room, we went to Downtown Disney where we got lunch at ESPN Zone and did a little exploring. We were back at the hotel and down at the Peter Pan-themed pool by 2. They had little life jackets for kids and you LOVED it! You and dad swam around for hours and they had a little waterslide that you went down fearlessly many times. Mommy was so impressed!! Not wanting to miss anything, we spent some time in the other "cove" pool too, which was also nice since we had the whole pool to ourselves.

After a nice nap, we all headed down to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. I think this restaurant may have made your whole trip! You were so excited to see Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale that we had a hard time getting you to eat - which was amazing since it was a buffet that had just about everything a kid would ever want to eat. They interrupted the dining every 15 minutes for a dance or game in the middle of the restaurant and the characters wandered over to the table every few minutes too. You had so much fun! We ended our day walking around Downtown and watching the fireworks.

We got up early Saturday and had breakfast in bed - Mommy's favorite - before heading to the park. The park opens at 8am on Saturdays, but as Disneyland Hotel guests, we were able to get in at 7. We hopped aboard the monorail, which you loved, and were in the park by 7:30. We went straight to the new Finding Nemo submarine voyage and got in line - it was one of the few lines we would have to wait in all day and because we were so early it was only about 20 minutes - a few hours later people would have to wait 3 hours! The ride was well worth it and we all had a great time. From there, we went on to do the Buzz lightyear ride (one of your favorites), a rocketship ride, Peter Pan's ride, Alice in Wonderland's roller coaster, Pinocchio's Ride, Mr Toad's Wild ride, Dumbo's flight, the teacups, It's a Small World, Snow White's ride, Pirates of the Carribean, Winnie the Pooh's ride, King Arthur's Carousel, and I'm sure a bunch more that I'm forgetting. You were up for anything and everything and Mommy and Daddy were so proud! Around 1ish, we were all getting tired so we went back to the room for a quick nap.

We didn't wake up until 4 so we headed across the street to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. You had pasta - your favorite right now - and we were seated right next to a pair of loud elephants which you loved. After dinner we headed back to the park to ride a few more things and catch the fireworks. As it turned out, we were all too pooped to make it to the 9:45 showtime! We decided to call it a night, and on the way back to the hotel we were lucky enough to be able to ride in the front car of the monorail with the pilot - soo much fun!

We ended our short vacation Sunday morning with breakfast at Goofy's kitchen before heading home. You loved that place so much that I think we could have just taken you there and you would have been thrilled! You were so excited to see all your new "friends" again. Daddy told the waiter that it was almost Mommy's birthday and you got a kick out of hearing everyone sing to me. Then, as a perfect finish to our vacation, we made it home in an hour! Mommy was glad that she and you slept the whole way because Daddy must have driven VERY fast.

Well my dear, I hope that you enjoyed your first trip to Disneyland. I know Mommy and Daddy will never forget it! Just think, the next time we take you there, you'll be dragging your little brother around so excited to show him everything.

All my love,

Mom

A quick update...

Just a quick medical update from our dr.'s appt this morning! My blood pressure was normal and no signs of pre-eclampsia, which is great. My iron levels were fantastic so no supplements needed. No real swelling which is amazing! I'm only up 25lbs for the pregnancy (although when I weighed myself at home a few days ago, I was 2 lbs heavier?) which is pretty good. Little spanky was right on growth target and had a great heartrate too. Yay! I go back in three weeks (should be two, but they were booked, don't get me started...) and I also have an ultrasound on the 12th of Sept to check on the baby's size (standard procedure because of the GD). Fingers crossed that things continue this smoothly!

For Fin at 20 Months

My Dearest Fin,

Wow, what a few months will do! I can't even believe how far you've come lately! You are talking up a storm - you are almost never quiet anymore. You have mastered sentences and have no problem asking for what you want and telling Mommy and Daddy what you DON'T want. You're excellent with please and thank-you and you never forget to say bless you when someone sneezes. Over the past few days you've even got down excuse me and sorry - and you use them as needed :) Much to Mommy and Daddy's amazement, you've also managed to learn your colors! Orange and blue are your favorites and yellow and green still give you some trouble, but you'll have them all down in no time. I think the new development that makes me the most happy is that you tell me you love me. The other day, we were snuggling for a nap and you rubbed my shoulder and said "Oh Mommy, I love you." Wow. Sweeter words were never heard!

I should probably tell you what some of your favorite things are right now. When Turbo and Gran visited a few weeks ago, Turbo bought you a little bunny and you LOVE it. It goes almost everywhere with us. Which reminds me, you also learned big and little! Your favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Blues Clues and Little Einsteins. You also still enjoy Sesame Street and Wonder Pets and a little Go Diego, Go too. You talk back to the TV (I'm listening to you do it now) which cracks me up. Your favorite books are The Hungry Caterpillar, I Love you Stinky Face and Hop on Pop. There are tons of others you like too and we're reading just about every day. You're eating some baby food veggies now, but I always give them to you with fruit. I'm glad you're tolerating those since you need to get some veggies and the real thing is just not happening! As for fruits, you'll eat anything, but you love grapes and bananas.

We're not going to the park much these days - it's been over 100 for a while now and the slide would burn us up - but we're getting to the pool almost daily. You've finally adjusted to being slathered with sunscreen which is a relief since it was becoming such a struggle to get you covered. You're kicking up a storm and I'm hopeful we'll have some real swimming by next summer! Other than that we spend our days in playdates or MyGym or doing things around the house and running errands. We have "school" once a week with your little friends and the Mommies take turns planning very short "lessons" so you're getting your first taste of preschool. You're still taking one nap a day - around noon - and I still try and sneak a nap for myself in there as well. It makes me sad to think that once Spanky arrives I'll have to surrender that luxury.

Speaking of Spanky, he's kicking like a wildman and you seem eager to meet him. You talk to him throughout the day and whenever you see an ultrasound picture you scream "Spanky, Spanky!". I hope that you're as positive when he finally does arrive!

Ok, I'm off to get your snack ready. I love you and I'm so proud of you!

Mom

Reality Check...

I'm on a message board for mom's due in October. And just this week, I was feeling like October is creeping up on us faster and faster every day (nevermind that I think this babe will arrive in September anyway). So today I got quite the wakeup call.

The first baby on our October board has arrived and is thriving.

I'm both terrified and relieved. I'm sure I have a good amount of time before Spanky joins us, but at the same time it's so nice to feel like he could arrive now and do just fine.

In other news, I'm doing well. No swelling of note yet, still wearing my rings and my feet haven't even had a bad day so far - which puts me WAY ahead of where I was with Fin as I had been without my wedding rings for months already by this time with him. That's a big relief. I'm definitely feeling the lag of the third trimester set in (I can't WAIT for naptime with Fin!) and Spanky is taking up more and more space. He's also moving like a maniac and everyone can see through my clothes now. It has me a little worried that he's going to be larger since I can't remember Fin doing that this soon. Other than that, nothing new to report! I'm sure I'll have plenty to complain about in the coming weeks though!

New Cages!

The Chinchillas finally got their new cages!! Brooks has become quite the craftsman - as you can see. We went a tad dark with the stain, but it still looks fantastic. No more sheets for these babies!
Hammie and Boo, enjoying their new surroundings.


Willa, hiding :)