MDG at 10 Months

It's been another month already!  Little Mister is growing so fast and keeping everyone in the family on their toes.  He's moving all over the place and yes, already walking.  He can often be seen standing up on his own and taking several steps, which is amazing and also pretty crazy.  He's a bottomless pit in the high chair, eating just about everything he's tried and always hungry for more.  He's found his wail at last, making himself heard quite often and seeming to make up for lost time, but never without reason (Feed him!  Hold him!  Put him to bed!), and never for too long.  He has this funny nasal whimper he does that makes it kind of hard to be upset at the whining, ha ha.  He's a good sport through some recent sniffles and once we put him in his own room -- blessed day! -- started sleeping through the night again.  We're thinking he would wake up in the night and see us there and be like, what the heck, why aren't you coming to get me?? when if the same thing happens in his own room he usually just realizes no one's around and goes back to sleep.  A plan has been enacted to turn sister's room into his own space.

Such a great traveler on the airplane back from CA.

First Easter!

Look at him smiling around that binky.

Supporting Mommy at her 5K.

Post-bath surprised faces.

10 months!  Look at that smile!  Look at how the hat barely fits!

Sweet boy, keep growing but stop growing.

9 Months and 37 years, Pasadena and Hogwarts

It's not every day your young man turns 9 months, now is it, eh?

Or 37?

Well, Little Man and I both did, respectively, and on the same day.

It happened to coincide with a most auspicious event, a choir tour to Pasadena, which meant that The Wife and I had to take advantage of heading over to see Harry in Hollywood.  Having already experienced The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the other coast, and visited Disneyland just a month before, it was just the right timing to finally see That Other California Park.

We flew to teeny-tiny Long Beach airport (and lost a baby toy, alas), rented teeny-tiny Kia Rio (despite their insistence that I upgrade for a larger care and my insistence that I and my very small party picked Economy size for a reason), drove DIRECTLY to the beach (which was wonderful and different from other recent beach visits), and then made our way to teeny-tiny Ramada in Pasadena (it wasn't the best place ever but they did [eventually...] have a crib, which was of utmost importance).

The front-facing camera is a game-changer I tell you.

We missed our babies!

We had some food at the impressively named Top Restaurant and the next day headed first thing to see Harry.

When we went to Universal Orlando, Harry only inhabited one of the theme parks, and I will say that based on our experience there at the time, Hollywood's version seems almost identical.  We bought our passes online which allowed us early entrance (but not free parking -- wah waaah), and this turned out to be a really great thing.  We were able to do all the big time attractions before most people even had a chance to get into the park.  The weather was great, the rides were few but fun, the experience was unique (all the escalators!) and the tour was worth is for the Bates Motel.  I had a birthday button from the very start which I'm pretty sure led to my being chosen at Ollivander's.  It was all very magical and the wand that chose me was cool but I ended up getting the Elder Wand instead (eep!).  We borrowed a friend's interactive wand so we could try that new feature, and I didn't feel AT ALL silly waving my wand and needlessly uttering incantations in front of shop windows...

Don't think I missed an opportunity to flaunt this little baby.

Or this one!

That's what we in the fandom like to call a REAlly Hidden Mickey.

Worth the hour-long backlot tour just for this set.

There was other stuff there too, like Squishee Milhouse.

Little Mister didn't seem to realize it was his 9 months, but he had a good time anyway!

I realized only too late that we were actually driving RIGHT PAST the Disney animation studio, which seems like a huge misstep on my part not to take more advantage of, but as far as I've learned we couldn't just traipse in and ask for a tour anyway.  It was enough for now to just see it, along with all the other Disney landmarks I've heard so much about (Griffith Park, Forest Lawn, etc.).

Later that night my choir met for rehearsal and dinner, which featured a lovely birthday sing-along and delicious ice cream sundae, and then the next day was the actual purpose of the trip:

Twohey's!  AKA 2ee's.  Don't ask, I don't know.

We were invited to perform a 23-minute show at ACDA.  It's a real honor to sing there, and we made the most of our time by showing just what a community choir can do -- wide vocal range, four languages, variety of style from early sacred to contemporary musical theater, and some effective and subtle choralography to top it off.  We were informed later that this ain't Utah, not just anyone gets a standing ovation, but...

We had just a few hours to wrap things up and get back to the airport, which is indeed teeny-tiny, and then head back home to see our other babies, from whom we had never until now spent a night apart, but who were safe and happy in the care of Nana and Papa.

Reunited!  And pretty happy about it!

It was nice to have another mini-vacation just a handful of weeks after our full-on family event, and baby boy did a great job on the airplane both ways, Julie was a great sport trooping along on my choir tour, and I mastered that last phrase of German that I had been struggling with.

Back home, back to work:

I wasn't there for my birthday but they decorated for when I came home all the same.

Then of course there was this...

This...

THIS!!!

As for Little Mister, he's still a happy healthy boy.  He's very active and crawling all over the place, he's eating plenty, he's having trouble sleeping through the night (at the time we had a plan which is now set in motion...), and he's starting to be more... vocal...  More on that in the weeks that followed.  He's really starting to prefer his mommy, especially to strangers, but he's still pleasant around relatives and friends.  He's been a champ through some sniffles and is showing real signs of more teeth appearing.  We're pretty sure he has a late-arrival birthmark, his hair is lightening considerably, and he is still tall and chubbsy.

So happy!  Even when his nose is runny!

Beach boy.

So happy!  Clever Mommy to remember to bring his li'l hat!

*blink*

 Love that boy!  I was glad to share my big day with him!  See you in a couple weeks!

Our Funny Valentine At 8 Months

8 months!  Our little man is still such a happy boy.  He's trying new foods and unfortunately sleeping not as well (plans are in place and being gradually carried out... once he's in his own room things will really improve we're sure), but he has a ready and willing smile and is babbling and crawling all over the place and starting to cruise and is generally as pleasant as ever.  He's always learning new tricks, like waving and clapping and maybe even saying recognizable words... He has two little storybook illustration bottom teeth and beautiful baby blues and his hair is growing in (surprise surprise) fine and fair.  He did a really awesome job on his first long road trip and family vacation, and obviously enjoyed his first visit to Disneyland.

It occurs to me again that for the other two kids I had spent a lot more time at home with them by this point so I kind of feel like I haven't had as much face time with this one (and not as many pictures...), but it makes the time we do spend together that much more special.  I often sit him on my lap for church meetings -- and we often nod off together, ha.

Such a happy boy. 

Best traveler!

Saying goodbye to CA.

That hat is barely fitting these days!

Everyone is smiling!  I think I was making some ridiculous face and sound effect combination but it worked.

Then there was Valentine's Day which of course I don't have a single picture to prove.  Oh wait, yes I do!

The Boy enjoyed his party at preschool and there were flowers and chocolate and promises I intend to keep, the usual family couples' sushi party with some nice modifications, and conversation hearts aplenty (two thoughts: I had some of the littler ones this year and what is the point of them if the words are so smudged you can't read them??  Also, did anyone else know these are actually specific flavors?!?  What.).  Of course I have to read them first and this was a random pick, which I showed to Julie, at which she replied, "I did!"  And I'm so glad she took the chance and sent that email, almost twelve years ago exactly.

Also a couple arts!  This one's kind of melancholy but this one makes up for it.

Until next month!  Which is like next week.

Disneyland 2018, Party of 7

A handful of months ago we realized it had been five years since we went to Disneyland, which is basically like 17 years in Regular People Time, so we decided to finally follow through with our sixth or seventh blue-skied trip and take the kids at last (the fact that our off-season scheduling coincided with a big student loans milestone and tax refund time made it all the more appealing).

SO WE DID!!!

We did it!

We took the kids to Disneyland!!!

We invited Grandma Sue to come along, so after picking her up at the airport and another day of final preparations, we loaded up our new wheels (thanks to last year's refund, ha) and in the dark of the next morning popped the kids in their car seats still in their jammies and made our way south and west.  The drive was pretty amazing, with only two stops for gas and potty and nursing (hello St. George Temple sisters and shady Baker gas stations) and had no whining whatsoever, and we didn't even do the big on-board DVD player reveal until the last couple hours!  We took a wrong turn or two in LA but we didn't have to deal with much traffic and we were so happy to see these:

We breathed in the air and checked in to our usual favorite Del Sol, literally across the street from the Disneyland entrance, opting for a family room complete with bunk beds, which were apparently the best thing that's ever happened in the history of ever.

He was happy to take the top bunk.

 A dip in the pool and the great hot tub and some pizza takeout and then to bed with everyone after a long day of traveling (though I was itching to get over to that esplanade and just see it...).

Did I mention that we didn't tell the kids we were going to Disneyland?

WE DIDN'T TELL THE KIDS WE WERE GOING TO DISNEYLAND.

We told them JUST the night before that we were going on a long drive in the morning when it was still dark and going to the beach, all of which was true.  So the morning of Day 1, we just were like, let's take a walk and see if there's a park around here or something...

And then we waited to see how long it would take for them to realize where we were.  We've listened to the albums and looked at a lot of our books so we thought the sights and sounds of the entryway would clue them in before too long, and I actually think Baby Girl figured it out first (though she kept calling it Wonderland -- works for me).  Then the Monorail went by and The Boy was like... whaaaaat.

Not even inside the gates and dreams already coming true.

We were prepared for the many closures and construction walls (and numerous locals) and other such things that come with going during the "off"-seasons, but even so it was wonderful.  We had also made sure to manage our expectations, since the last time we came we didn't have ANY kids of our own whatsoever and knew this trip would be a lot different, but we really made it work.  We met The Wife's aunt Carol who was so fun and join us for every day in the parks and offered many services, including coupons and a willing wait-outside-with-the-baby volunteer!  It was also great that she and Grandma had a chance to get lunch together and talk and catch up like sisters do.

Charlie meeting Charles, catching sight of the castle, my kids recreating old family photos, me happily sitting on the teacup sidelines, getting a churro despite all my intentions not to, eating Dole Whips due to all intentions to, everyone enjoying the submarines and dinner at French Market!

Date Night at Disneyland!  This particular menu item was top priority on Julie's list.  Next time I am getting that same sundae but with cookie dough ice cream om nom nom.

One of the perks of having Grandma with us is that she was ever so nice to stay with the kids while we gallivanted about for the extra hour after bedtime and before park closing like we were honeymooners again.  Enough time to catch a ride or two and a treat on the way out!

Day 2!

Top of list and mind was to immediately go to Radiator Springs.  Let it be realized that Julie and I hadn't even been here yet, as it was days away from opening the last time we were there, which was fine for us at the time, and really it worked out because first of all, crowds and lines were quite manageable and secondly, if we went there before kids we would have been like, cool, Cars, looks like the movie, now let's go do something else.  But when your kid is clearly the biggest Lightning McQueen fan in the world... it's like the best thing that's ever happened to anyone in the history of ever.  Yes, Cars Land was created for my son (in part by his own great-aunt's husband!  Amazing!!!).

It's impossible to describe the joy and amazement as it slowly dawned on him where we were and what everything was, and then the absolute glee as he recognized each and every element of the street and atmosphere, and then the tears-inducing moment when he saw his BFF live and in the... flesh?  When he saw Mickey he was like, wow, Mickey! But when he saw Lightning it was like his world was complete.

We spent most of this day in DCA, which was fun to gradually remember is quite different from last time we went.  The Little Mermaid is always great, a bug's land has taken on a whole new meaning, I should have taken my Dramamine, I had ribs at Flo's, Adelaide was TOTALLY into Turtle Talk with Crush, Thor and I acknowledged each other, Guardians of the Galaxy gets a big MEH from me, and Frozen on stage gets a smaller one.

But nothing else matters because Cars was a big win.

Date Night again!  Thanks, Ma!

-- BEACH BREAK!!! ---

I kind of wanted to immediately drive along the ocean the first day we arrived but it would have to wait... until this day.  We took our time in the morning and made our way to Huntington Beach.  I confess the entire day didn't quite live up to what I had expected, though I don't know what I was expecting since it was largely like any other time we go to the beach.  I think it was just different with little kids and we didn't quite have the supplies we needed (no beach toys?!?  Rookie mistake!) and the water was kind of cold (it is February after all).  Anyway, they were shooting some kind of fitness advertisement nearby and the bathrooms were gross and the weather was perfect so it was just great.  Also, BIG NEWS:  The Costco there has an outdoor walk-up food place.  Yes, food place.

Taking a break with sleepy and fretful Baby after two days of vacation while everyone gets ready for the day back at our room.  So lovely that we can just walk across the street and hear the telltale music.

Good for the soul.

Why even go into the Parks?!? They were amazed beyond amazed by this fountain at Downtown Disney.

We rounded out the day by shopping at Downtown Disney and eating at last and the famous and infamous Earl of Sandwich and getting very expensive and delicious ice cream and then prepping for our last Day.

Day 3!

Filling in the gaps on all the things we didn't catch the first two days and already sad we would be leaving the next day.

Adelaide overcomes her Carrousel fears, the kids test their strength, Charlie looooves the roller coasters, stern at the helm, funny faces as the Royal Theatre (huzzah!  Also new since last time), my recent favorite, Charlie enjoying what was always my favorite Main Street attraction, MEETING RED, Julie Gets That Turkey Leg, and enjoying the great new Soarin', which just amazed Charlie.

Party of seven!

By the way, there haven't been many pictures of this poopsie, but that's because mostly he was sleeping or snuggling or being generally happy but not going on too many rides.  I mean just look at that face.

<3 td="">

Something else I did this time around that was new and different was a series of art drops.  It was hard to decide which ones of the prints I made so I just picked several, ha ha.

As far as I know all were discovered!  Though no one followed the instructions and posted as such, wups.

I wish I could take credit for the idea but I had seen other artists do this so I thought I would try.  I placed a 2-3 prints each day we were in the parks along with a few shots of clues as to their location and just walked away!  A few people reached out and let me know they found them, others I witnessed incognito and others I presume were found because they were no longer there when I (or others) checked.  So even if they were picked up by Cast Members brushing up popcorn or doing their nightly sweep they all found a home which is fun.  It was like a reverse treasure hunt or something.

We caught dinner all together where I had ribs again (Korean this time, and some too-loud live music at the Lunar New Year).  Then one last Date Night and trying to get some sleep for the inevitable drive...

A new addition to our farewell hotel photo tradition.

Then, alas, it was time to go home.  It's funny, not long after our first Disney day started The Boy was like, can we go home now? (Possibly he meant the motel, which of course is the best place ever on vacation), but I knew that it wouldn't be long after leaving that they would be asking to go back, and they have, though not ad nauseam, ha ha.

Who needs audio-animatronics?!?  Note his "squishy" Cars (bath toys). We didn't buy many souvenirs, but we did buy those, and almost left them at this gas station, ha.

The drive home was [almost] as great as the way there (though I will never again take any crap from California drivers complaining about Utah drivers... don't get me started), though of course it seemed to take twice as long.  We didn't leave in the dark of morning, but we did arrive in the dark of evening, and though the two younger kids only had a few moments of... distress (understandable, we were all pretty much over it after five days of vacation and 8 hours in the car), they were able to recoup, after a potty break and with a little help from Nemo and Lightning, and we pulled into our garage in pretty good time and very safe and the car did great.

She earned her ears.

So it was as good a trip as we could have hoped, the weather was perfect, the crowds were manageable, construction notwithstanding, the app was very handy, the kids had a great time, Mom and Dad kind of needed another vacation after, but WE DID IT.  WE TOOK THE KIDS TO DISNEYLAND.  There were some boxes that need to be checked off next time we go, but at least they've been.  Now they have context for their beloved Disneyland music and some memories are firmly in place, and we had some great Grandma/Aunt time and overall we just loved it and felt kind of unjustly jealous when some family went just a few weeks later.  Disneyland is definitely different with kids, but its own kind of magical.  It's not like we can up and go there twice a year like we used to, but I'm so glad a lot of my childhood memories' seeds have been planted.  I can definitely understand by Charlie costs and Adelaide (and younger) doesn't, as his enjoyment was exponentially higher, and Aunt Carol even remarked that she's never seen a kid more excited about Disneyland, which is gratifying and even inspiring.  Ah, youth.  Ah, magic.

Until next time, Land.

Oregon Coast: We Went There

We went on a trip!  An honest-to-goodness two-days-to-get-there road trip.  And we all survived.  In fact we had a great time and everyone did pretty well in the car, especially considering the longest they've ever sat for a drive was 3.5-4 hours (and really, they don't have much mobility, so they're pretty good sports overall).  The plan was to meet The Wife's family on the Oregon coast where a beach house had been rented, but we wanted to make the most of the drive (everyone else was flying or lives a little closer than we do) so we went a couple days early and took our time visiting the beach and doing some sightseeing.  I hadn't been to Oregon in over ten years and the kids of course had never been so we thought we would make the most of it.  It was marvelous.

Day 1: Driving.  We stopped once or twice in Idaho to stretch our legs and have lunch etc. and then made it in pretty good time to Baker City, OR, where we enjoyed the indoor pool and nice breakfast and Elena of Avalor at the local Super 8.

Some rest stops can be pretty interesting if you look around.

 Day 2: More driving, where the freeway was blocked due to fires and we ignored the gas station guy who suggested a five-hour detour and took Shelley-at-the-visitor-info-booth's advice which only cost an extra half our or so, we almost ran out of gas (I swear I had enough to make it to Portland!), did a quick drive-by of the insanely crowded Multnomah Falls, we found a funny tiny country store to get some emergency fuel (we were amazed we made it), and tried to navigate through Portland before finally arriving in Lincoln City, which was tiny and charming and our motel was a five-minute walk to the beach.

We almost left Kitty at this place.  Can you imagine the nightmare that would have been?

BEEEEACH.

 Day 3: Up to the Tillamook factory for samples and a deserted tour, further up to Cannon Beach for the most glorious time and a wonderful Goonies moment and lots of great jumping pictures (none of which I have among these), then back to Tillamook for lunch, where it was NOT deserted and we waited a long time but it was pretty good grilled cheese.

 Day 4: Exploring Lincoln City and the surrounding area of Depoe Bay etc., where we discovered an aquarium but it was way too expensive so we just had a picnic on the benches outside it instead and went exploring and met a friendly squirrel.  We did a little window shopping, and then the rest of the fam arrived and we settled in to our fun dwelling place.

O hai.

 Day 5: Beach house!  There was room to sleep all 20+ of us and we went straight to the beach, which was so close we could hear the waves through our windows.  We just relaxed and ate and played games and flew kites and dug in the sand all day.  I put on my swimsuit and intended not to remove it for three days.

Just a few minutes away from our beach house!  And the sun is out!

 Day 6: Depoe Bay!  We went to the tide pools and there was plenty of exploring to be done.  Crabs and mussels and seals (so I'm told) and lots of cool places to explore.  More food, more relaxing, more hot tub.  I took a quick morning run on the beach, which was rocky but soooo foggy and magical.

This was a really cool place.

 Day 7: Starting to wind down and preparing for our long drive home.  We went back into town for some last-minute shopping, dining and whale watching in Depoe Bay and then said our sad goodbyes as we drove back toward and through Portland (ooohhhhh, Portland... your traffic was the worst.  Thanks for adding like three hours to our drive) and made it back to Baker City where a lack of motel vacancy almost spelled disaster but a room mixup with the Super 8 management led to an upgrade and a discount.  I'll take it.

My cute girl in Depoe Bay.

 Day 8: They say getting there is half the fun but getting back blows.  We were just glad to finally roll into this valley and know we were less than an hour from getting out of the car.  But really, hardly any complaints from the back seat, they were really good for 95% of the time.

Hello, SLC.

 We were sorry to say goodbye to this cool little house, but probably even sorrier to say goodbye to this glorious (free upgrade!) rental car.  Lesson learned:  Get and use your own insurance.

We'll miss this charming seaside cottage, but we'll probably miss this luxurious RAV-4 even more...

 The Monday after, this was on my mind...

*sigh*

What a nice time to be had.  There were a few hiccups and a really unfortunate accident with a cousin involving an emergency ambulance ride for hip surgery in Portland, and The Boy is going through a weird bedtime reluctance ritual, but overall it was just nice.  It was so great to go to the beach.  The water was freezing and it was often quite windy but it was enough to see and smell and feel it.  I have come to hold the opinion that every human should see the ocean at least every other year.  It does wonders for one's perspective.  It was great to go on a real family vacation and the kids had a great time with The Wife's almost entire family, and I'm glad they've seen the big water.

Next: Disneyland?...