Max's Disney Experience

We can't leave Max out... I promise only a few more Disney posts!

This is him in the Small World ride. I think it's safe to say it was his favorite. I'm pretty sure I have a picture similar to this of Sam at 10 months old... what is it about a dark boat ride with singing puppets?

Otherwise, he slept...
ate (was a bugger about nursing, though. Preferred food or juice. Stinker!)...
and chilled with Daddy (most of the time. I'm a wimp).
Hey, this baby carrier comes with it's own chew toy!!!!

Great Grandpa Rikalo

One thing I was so glad to do while we were down in LA was to visit my Grandpa Rikalo. He still lives in the same house I used to visit him in as a child, there are so many memories there! He lives in a little harbor town on top of a hill... the backyard was such a magical place for a child!

It's been a few years since I've seen him, it was great to get this picture. The only other picture I have with him and the kids was holding Pearl as a baby (as in, two weeks old).

The things I think of most when I think of my grandpa are hard work and frugality. He is such a hard worker! He most definitely passed that trait down to my mother, who is also a hard worker, and frugal as well. Having these traits modeled for me played a big part in the decision of who I chose to marry, as Jared's work ethic is one of the things I admire most about him (or at least try to when he's working late or roving the earth....)

I'm glad we got to see Grandpa. Pearl and Sam are named after his parents, but I didn't know them, I only know him, but I'm pretty sure they taught him well for him to have lived a life as he has. From what I hear, they weren't perfect (who is) but they were hard workers. Here's to hoping my children will carry that trait on to the next generation.

Max is 7 Months

We interrupt this vacation travelogue to announce that Max is now 7 months old!

We're still waiting on a lot of skills... his girl cousins are totally beating him at things like rolling over and scooting... We've been working on it the past few days since I haven't been feeling well I have had more patience to lay on the floor with him and roll back and forth. Now he gets from his tummy to his back consistently (at least!) Then, when he gets there, he kicks and kicks but it doesn't get him anywhere yet. Still working on it. I keep showing him to put his feet up to roll back over... baby steps.
He sits with a little bit of support or something engaging (like this toy) to keep him there.
He likes food. Well, he likes the baby food that I make, not so much a jarred baby food kind of kid. I have to say I think he has discriminating taste. Once or twice I have ground up dinner that we were having in the baby food grinder... we are entering that stage. He's a pretty good self feeder, especially his puffs.
He continues to be a happy ray of sunshine in our lives. He loves people and will give the biggest grin to ANYONE willing to look at him.
He ADORES his big sister and brother. Pearl is so helpful, playing with him, feeding him a bit, helping him sit up. He thinks Sam in just plain cool, and is happy to watch whatever it is he is doing.

We're so glad to have a Max!

Pixie Hollow

Last time Pearl went to Disneyland I waited in line for over 2 hours so she could meet the princesses. It was totally worth it then, and I thought since we did that last time we could skip it this time. She hardly ever even watches those movies anymore.

I was wrong.

She really wanted to meet the princesses again. So, we went at almost closing time, they were kind enough to let me keep the sleeping baby in the stroller with me and only had to wait like half an hour. She got to meet Tiana, Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine. It was alright. The pictures didn't turn out as great as I had hoped, they had some funky lights that kept a shadow on the princesses's faces so my usual trick of not using the flash to get a better picture didn't work. She liked it, I was glad we could make her happy.

It was nothing compared to our visit to Pixie Hollow.

She was really excited to see the fairies. It's so hard to get a picture of her with a good smile, she's such a cheese, but she really was excited about this!

Ok, I had to put this picture in... so many little girls were there with their fairy outfits and their perfectly coiffed hair... and there was Pearl. I actually did make an attempt to put her hair up at least, but the rubber bands kept coming loose... so, she went as she usually is.

Just look at that! She was pretty sure Silvermist was the coolest. And, I have to say, she was. She spent the most time talking to Pearl, asking her where she flew in from, telling her she thought her pigtails must be fairy wings... Pearl totally ate it up!


After Silvermist, Tink was pretty cool too. She was very satisfied when we left, that she had hung with some real fairies:)

Oh, what a magical place for a little girl!

Mission - DESTROY ZURG!!!!!

Oh, where to begin.... first of all I wanted to say that I really didn't take VERY many pictures, you know, trying to enjoy the moment instead of becoming paparazzi. Plus the camera was heavy! So, anyway, I'm going to post them in a series that each tells a different part of our trip - sorry if this is boring to you, but it's pretty much my journal so I'm going to write whatever I want:)

The very first ride we went on was the new toy story ride in California Disney - midway mania.

It's pretty fun. You put on these 3D glasses and shoot targets and stuff like at a carnival.
Sam was a big fan. However, as much as I thought this would be his favorite ride, it wasn't.
Apparently midway games are not violent enough. Now, shooting lasers to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg, well, that's just plain cool.
This was his mostest very favoritest ride - Astro Blasters. He went on 10 times. That's right, TEN. Luckily, we practically walked on almost every time.
We sent the kids in their own car a few times... lucky the fate of the universe does not rest with them!
I thought I was doing pretty good, you know, over 100,000 points! Then I looked at Jared's score. (sigh). And he had the baby that time, so that totally wasn't my excuse. He was also the one that showed me you could spin your car (after I had been on 3 times!)
Poor Sam. The whole second day he was running a fever, but the kid just kept going without complaint. We just kept giving him Tylenol and he would make it through. He did NOT want to miss out on more Astro Blasters! That day was the day we took a break in the middle to visit Grandpa Rikalo and ended up back at the park until closing (another post). This was him at 10:00 that night, trying desperately to stay awake to watch an episode of Muppets season 2 (I sent Jared to Target... yup, that's the kind of thing he comes back with...) AND play with his laser gun.
We laid him down and turned the TV off to put him out of his misery shortly after that.
More tomorrow!

Disneyland

I know. I should have blogged before this. I usually do. But I haven't been feeling well all week (Sam and I both, we're really sick today. I just dragged myself out of bed to put Max's paci in and put in a load of laundry) and it didn't seem worth it to pay $10 for internet at the hotel just to blog. So, here's the proof that we were there. I will tell you all about it. I really will. Just let me sleep a little more first...

Shhh....

Today's the day! That's right folks, I am sneakily packing the car (well, yesterday and today I have been) and straight from church we are driving to DISNEYLAND!!!!!! The kids still don't know, it's going to be a great trick. I think I'll wait until they ask why we're not going home... I wonder how long it will take them to notice with the movies playing in the car:)

So far, as I've packed, I've been careful to pack things they won't miss. Sam has missed his flashlight and his leap reader, oops, but he is 3 and still very easily distracted:)