California Dreaming - Disneyland!!

"Most kids don't get to go to Disneyland two years in a row" we said to Isla to which she responded "Well then how about we go three years in a row?" I think she may have missed the point. Needless to say, yes, we did take our kids to Disneyland. Again. When we learned the wedding would take place in California, it was hard to resist. Especially since Isla was now tall enough to ride on Splash Mountain. She's been talking about going on it all year and could hardly contain herself. I mean, even Jack's been on it (yeah so I might have gone on it pregnant last time...) 

Upon arriving, we didn't waste any time and pulled Isla right onto the Thunder Mountain Railroad (below) which she rode with her hands in the air. It wasn't until afterwards that she said it was too fast for her.

Emma has been on a Winnie the Pooh kick and so was DELIGHTED when 3 of the characters appeared. Last year she was petrified of all characters but this year she saw Tigger and instantly told Graham "I want to go and give him a big hug!"

Watching this was the highlight of the day for all of us I think. I am so not a Disney fanatic (Jackie, cover your eyes if you're reading this) but seeing this sure did warm my heart. Afterward, Emma recounted her experience by hugging herself and rocking back and forth while saying "He go like this," perfectly mimicking his hug. She didn't want to let any of them go. 

*melt*

I'm pretty sure I know what kind of birthday cake miss Emma will be requesting this year...

Jack was a trooper and went on as many rides as he could between naps. Grandma Crozier took all the kids on It's a Small World and said he LOVED it and was humming to the music by the end. Isla said Small World was her favorite ride and Emma loved Dumbo and the carousel the best. 

I just love seeing her smile!

We even went on the teacups as a family. Some onlookers gave us the evil eye but we didn't spin it much and so it really was pretty tame. Isla spotted Rapunzel but since her parents aren't too into princesses or waiting in line to see princesses, this was the best picture we got. 

At lunch time we stopped at the New Orleans Cafe where we enjoyed live music. The girls of course got up and danced and the musicians proceeded to throw Marti Gras beads at them. Graham joined in too and I caught a precious snippet on video.

So then came the moment we'd all been waiting for: Splash Mountain! As soon as Isla saw the ride, she changed her excited tune and immediately said it was "too fast." But, in a moment of amazing parenting, we more or less forced her aboard. She was thrilled when they let her sit with me in the back. She did great on the first drop and started to lose it on the second one. By the third one she was bawling and asking if the big one was over yet. I don't know that I've ever seen the poor girl more scared. And that, my friends, is why you can't even see her in the picture (bottom left) below. She is literally curled in a ball practically underneath me, completely out of view of the camera. And so now we have no proof but you'll have to take my word for it: Isla went on Splash Mountain! We tried to convince her to go with us a second time (bottom right) but she absolutely would not have it.

In case you're about to accuse us of unfair treatment toward our kids, never fear! We scared Emma out of her skin too! Poor girl, she got scared on Pirates of the Caribbean, she didn't like any ride that got dark (which was basically all of them) and she was absolutely petrified of the Fantasmic firework and light show. I thought that maybe she was shivering with cold as she watched but I soon realized she was literally trembling in fear. Well, if this doesn't remove us from the Parent-of-the-Year award, I'm not sure what will. 

Emma fell asleep in the stroller literally 2 minutes after Fantasmic ended and Isla walked all the way to the main gate before she fell asleep sitting up. Meanwhile, Jack partied on and laughed and giggled until well after 10:30 PM. Overall it was a good day but twice is enough for now. Sorry Isla, we won't be doing Disney again next year.

California Dreaming - Pasadena and Corona

We just arrived home after a whirlwind long weekend in California - SoCal I guess we call it these days if we're hip (which I'm pretty sure I'm too old to be anymore...)  But I digress.  The original purpose of our trip was to attend the wedding of Graham's cousin Jon to his new bride Lisa. Of course we did our best to tack on all sorts of other fun adventures and kept ourselves quite busy. I have long since eliminated the word "vacation" from my vocabulary when traveling with kids (except of course when I'm trying to convince Graham to blow the wad: "We're on vacation!") Gone are the days when I would need not one but TWO books to keep me entertained through all my leisure time. We are all now fully aware that these journeys are to be referred to as trips NOT vacations. Needless to say, though the trip was far from restful, it definitely was fun and I am currently savoring the side effect of keeping our kids up past 10 every night: ALL THREE ARE NAPPING!

We really lucked out on our flight south. Our "full" plane suddenly had an extra seat available for the gentleman next to us to move to, leaving Jack with a spare (and not to mention free) spot to nap - awesome!

Alas, I made a fatal error on this trip which was to rely on cell phone pictures and keep the "real" camera stowed for the majority of the trip in the interest of "not lugging the big thing around." Now I'm regretting that choice but oh well. You live and learn. Please do not judge the quality of my photos. Though blurry, I had to post the picture (bottom right) of the way we rolled. I thought we actually packed rather light were it not for our kid-movers (read: stroller, 2 car seats and a booster seat). I told Graham next time we need to travel to a 3rd world country so we can leave the stinkin' car seats behind. Sheesh! We did use our stroller to haul children at a couple points on the trip but mostly it served as a luggage cart. Sometimes I am silenced by our ingenuity.

Once we landed at 9:15 AM at LAX (yes landed which means we left so early that I don't even want to talk about it), we picked up our rental van and met up with Grandma and Grandpa Crozier and their Italian student Anna and Uncle Scott at Euro Pane, the beloved lunch spot I fell for on our last trip to Pasadena. I have a new vision and owe part of the inspiration to the decor at Euro Pane. Stay tuned! Anyhow, it was here that Jack sported his first mow hawk, which I'm so totally digging.

After lunch, Uncle Scott played tour guide and showed us some of the sights around Pasadena which included a drive by the Rose bowl, a walk around the grounds of the impressive Gamble House and a pick-me-up at his favorite coffee shop.

That evening, we made our way to Corona where we stayed with some of Grandpa Crozier's second cousins. They had an amazing back yard, complete with pool, tennis court and playhouse on stilts with an adult-sized slide to bring you back down out of heaven. The kids ate it up and their one complaint (mine too) was that we barely had any time to enjoy their resort-like set up. Why, you ask? Stay tuned!

 

Jack 8 Months

 And HE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!! Finally.

The end.

I mean, need I say more?

Ok fine. I will. But seriously, this is big, amazing news and we are all thrilled. It was earlier in the month when I suddenly realized a week or two had gone by and he hadn't woken up at night. Funny how you forget to notice significant things like this with a third child. Probably mostly because I was worried it was a short phase and the wakings would soon resume. So far we're golden!! 

He had to know a picture like this was coming with a name like Jack...

Other big accomplishments this month include rolling from back to tummy and shaking his head and "dancing" to mirror your movements. Speaking of mirrors, he loves them:

He's found a fairly steady nap routine in the morning, and a loose routine in the afternoon. For the most part he's super chill and easy to make giggle.

He's getting kind of squirmy when you hold him and often tries to launch himself out of your arms if you aren't careful. He spends most of his floor time sitting and thinks it's funny when you try and put him on all fours to crawl.

He's eating...butternut squash, strawberries (whoops! gave him a rash - you'd think his dietitian mother would have known better but she's loosened up with time), whole milk yogurt, spinach, nectarine, peach, plum, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, fennel, pork....who knows what else - I've lost track! He's really into feeding himself right now and so we're transitioning to more finger foods though he's not fully proficient. He has managed to master the sippy cup with handle though!

He's remains the most popular member of the Crozier house (if you know what I mean) and can't hardly get a moment to himself. ;)

He seems to be thriving in his closet quarters at Grandpa and Grandma's and we're hoping for the next child protigy!

He loves his Daddy something fierce (the feeling seems to be very mutual) and he also seems to have a similar affection for this new thing called shoulder rides. 

And last but not least, he's started baby-talking which is so adorably entertaining.

Until next time...

Emma 33 Months

This girl is growing more and more tender by the day. She often comes and asks to "nuggle" (snuggle) or gives me hugs and says "I love you" unsolicited. She is also strikingly aware when I'm upset and tells me "It's ok Mom" or "Mom, why you sad?"

Her favorite line lately is "But it might." Hey Emma, come climb on this. "But I might fall!" Emma, look at the chipmunk! "But he might get me!" For every request or suggestion there is something that might go wrong. Sigh. I fear I am responsible for adding two more worry warts to society. But for every time she is worried, there are just as many times where she is exceptionally daring and brave. If there is a body of water, she will find it. And enter it. Be it a fountain, lake or sink, she's game! And we change her clothes a lot as a result.

Case in point.

She's our current fashionista, always changing clothes or dressing up in her swim suit or pjs. Or sometimes just plain stripping. She begs to put on her pajamas at naptime and sometimes she just does it, unbeknownst to me. This would be an important time to mention she has grown quite independent in the self care category and frequently demands to "Do it myself!" With this independence comes some disciplining and general doesn't-ever-seem-to-listen challenges. 

She loves her brother and I have to keep a close her on her these days as she's been known to pick him up, push him over, lay on him and generally just be all up in his grill....

She's balancing so well on her balance bike and begs to ride it at any and all hours of the day.

I consider myself lucky that she climbed out of her crib for the very first time this month. She proceeded to fall directly into the hamper which helped prove my point when I told her we DON'T climb out because it hurts. She hasn't attempted since. :) She's skipping her nap ~2-3 days a week and usually when I come to fetch her from her crib, she's sporting a bare butt, diaper thrown down between the crib and the wall... 

She's giving us a run for our money right now but she couldn't be more fun either!

Isla 57 Months

Oh what to say about Isla girl this month?

I think the biggest news is that WE ARE TRAINING WHEEL FREE!! Again. We had to put them on when her new bike was too big for her and she couldn't reach the ground. Unfortunately having her crutch back helped her "unlearn" balance and so it was a long process of coaching and coaxing to get her riding again. The practice bike rides were neither of our best moments. At all. But finally one day I just took them off and told her she was ready. She was rather resistant and wanted me to hold onto her. After about two seconds she tells me "Ok Mom, you can let go." And off she went.

Isla sang like an angel at her preschool spring concert this month. She's been practicing her songs and does a great job singing her heart out and putting on singing and dancing shows at home. 

As much as Isla seems to enjoy riding her bike once she is going, she is severely anxious about the idea of it and usually tells us that she is going to walk instead. I'm still trying to figure this kid out - she's couldn't be more social and outgoing and yet she has this unique side of intense fear. 

Isla has an incredible memory, which is super helpful when it comes to making sure Daddy doesn't end up lunch-less at work. She loves being in charge, being in control and being right (definitely not my child!) ;) We are also encountering this new thing called sass. I'd like to give a special thanks for preschool for that one. Sigh. The prices you pay for socialization I guess.

She's like a magnet to the lake! I love that the freezing temperatures of the water or the fact that she's fully clothed doesn't stop her. (Yes, I will say with pride this type A mom has come a long way and sometimes knows how to take a chill pill and let her kids live a little).

We got to tour the fire station with Isla's preschool last week. The kids learned to Stop Drop and Roll and, as you can see, the kids perfected it in no time.

I couldn't resist sharing this photo as it just cracks me up. Isla loves playing hide and seek though it isn't her strongest skill just yet. ;) 

Isla cannot wait to live with Grandma and Grandpa Crozier. She's been such a trooper in the whole packing and moving process and will tell you she's pretty excited to have a house with a fenced yard so she can go outside and play. Here's to hoping!