The Happiest Place on Earth

Last weekend (Thursday through Sunday) we ventured to Disneyland and California Adventure with my parents and my brother, Michelle and Natalie for Natalie's 6th birthday! It was a big surprise for her and overall she enjoyed her first time to the Happiest Place on Earth - although that line was not always true! (: Being pregnant and having a 2 1/2 year old in tow poses some challenges as well as limitations on being able to experience the full meal deal of both parks. But I think we all had a good time and certainly enjoyed the 85+ degree weather we experienced everyday! We arrived late morning on Thursday and once we got to the hotel and checked-in, we were off to Disneyland for what turned out to be some quality time in Fantasyland. We started out in Tomorrowland and quickly learned that none of the rides there were really geared for Natalie. Alistair went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, but got upset and then didn't want to do anything and eventually passed out in the stroller - but he needed the nap since he had been up since 5:45am. He kind of came around on the Fantasyland rides, but even those took some convincing that they were pretty tame! (: My mom arranged for a van for round trip service so we didn't need to have a rental car. They greeted us outside security with a "Welcome Natalie" sign since it was her birthday! Natalie thought Alistair's leash was pretty cool. I think she forgot Alistair wasn't a dog sometimes! He used it some, but was more content than I thought he would be to ride in his stroller. They say 6 people can fit in a tea cup. I am wondering what their definition of people is - maybe 2 adults and 4 kids? We did 4 adults and 1 kid - it was quite cozy. I had to stand on the seat to close the door before I could sit down. It was quite comical! We are the teacup in the background by the way...the pink one per Natalie's choice! That night at the restaurant there was a guy making balloon objects. Miss Natalie got a birthday crown. She wore her birthday button all weekend and milked it for all it was worth! ;) Alistair got a money in a tree with bananas. That was a favorite toy in the hotel room!

On Friday we went to California Adventure and made a misstep by taking the kids to see the 3D movie "It's hard to be a Bug" by the characters in Bug's Life. It probably wouldn't have been that bad for Alistair, but it was SO loud and he is very sensitive to noise. Natalie was fine until it got a little scary and then she had had it. So we headed over to the more carnival type rides and Natalie enjoyed that. Alistair didn't come around until we got on Neptune's Carousel while my dad, Jeff, Michelle and Seth went on the roller coaster. After a break and a cold treat, we headed to A Bug's Life playground. It was full of rides for younger kids, perfect for both Alistair and Natalie. There was a little train, spinning ladybugs and flick's flyers. They both had fun on those rides and it was a relief to finally see Alistair having fun on a ride!For some reason Alistair likes to "eat" lemons. Jeff finally got a photo of his face while eating, he makes the best pucker faces.We forgot to pack any kind of hat for Alistair. I wasn't thinking of sun protection since it was so cold and up here. So we swung by the World of Disney store in downtown Disney to get him a hat. If it were up to him, he would have bought the pink Minnie hat he is displaying above! Here we are having a good time on Neptune's Carousel. My mom and I took the kids while the big kids rode the roller coaster. Natalie rode a dolphin and Alistair was on a fish. Right before the roller coaster (California Screamin') takes off, it pulls out and stops for 30 seconds and then counts down. It is a good time to get a photo of the anticipation of the riders!A glimpse of Alistair SMILING on a ride. The Bug's Life area was his speed completely and he had a good time!After spending time at the Bug's Life area, we went back to the rooms to nap and then headed to Disneyland after dinner to get a seat for the parade. We sat for over an hour to save our front row seats on Main Street USA for a 20 minute parade. The things you do at Disneyland - it truly is a magical place! ;) Natalie brought her Snow White dress my mom made for her and wore it for the parade.

Cousins waiting for the parade to start.

Jeff and the kiddiesMickey and Minnie were at the end of the parade in their dress whites. Sleeping Beauty's Castle

After the parade Jeff, Natalie, Seth and Alistair waited for 40 minutes to ride the Flying Dumbos. Then we got family photos taken in the stationary one.

Our last activity for the evening before departing the park was riding the carousel one more time. We spent more time on carousels this trip than I think I have ever have in my lifetime! I am sure I am in store for many more trips around the carousel. But between Disneyland and CA Adventure, we probably rode 6-7 times!Saturday morning we went to a character breakfast in our hotel. I think Natalie really enjoyed it. Alistair wasn't interested in any of the characters except Pluto. He was scared of everyone else, but for some reason a really tall dog with a huge long nose posed no threat to him! We spent the morning in Disneyland and started off with Finding Nemo and the Autopia. Finding Nemo is the old submarine ride reconditioned to host Nemo characters and storyline. Natalie didn't care too much for it and we thought for sure Alistair wasn't going to like it after a while since it got so loud and kind of scary at certain points. But he loved it and wanted more when we got done - we waited 45 minutes, so more was kind of out of the question. He has seen Nemo so many times that I don't think it was scary because he recognized everything. Autopia was fun for everyone. Natalie liked driving her dad around the track, quite crazily I understand. And Alistair thought it was pretty cool to ride with Daddy in a car - he is still talking about it! Once we got done there we headed over to Toontown to meet Mickey. I got Alistair to stand next to Mickey for a photo, I didn't think it would happen! After our visit, my mom, Dad and I took the kids back to the hotel to swim and rest while Jeff, Michelle and Seth got some adult riding time. They hit most of the big coasters as well as some other fun rides. We met up with them later on for dinner and then went to California Adventure to get in a few more rides there before they closed. Then we headed back to Disneyland to do a few more rides and do some souvenir shopping. Minnie was the official greeter when we arrived.Alistair willingly walked up to Pluto for a photo. Any other character and he would cling to me!

The seagulls from Nemo - Mine! Mine! Mine!Alistair and Seth taking off on their driving adventure.Natalie keeping her eyes on the road and posing for a photo at the same time!We got to see Mickey!!Another carousel ride!Jeff got to ride the humpback whale!

Mmmmm...Ice Cream!!

It was a fun trip and something hopefully both kids will remember. I am sure Natalie will have more memories than Alistair, but he is still talking about some of the things he did, so he might remember some stuff!

Another month almost gone...

So much has happened this past month! We have been so busy I haven't had time to sit down and devote a little time to blogging. I am hoping to be better about that, but we will see! ;) First and foremost, for anyone who has yet to hear the news, I am pregnant. I will be 16 weeks this Saturday. Next week we are having a big ultrasound done with an amnio. The doctors want to be thorough in screening based on our history with Alistair. It is rare for healthy parents (heart-wise anyway) to have 2 children with heart defects, but it can happen. So far everything looks good.

Here is our little peanut at almost 13 weeks. At the time we thought I was almost 12 weeks. When they got done with the measurements, they discovered I was a week further along! (: My due date is April 18th.

Since it is fall time, we of course have thrown in a couple of activities that pertain to the season. Alistair and I joined our neighbors from down the street, Shelli and Cole, for a trip to the farm. We went to Fairbank Farm in Edmonds. We got a little tour of the farm including stops to look at all kinds of animals, to walk through the garden and to pick out a sugar pumpkin to take home.

As a family we went out to The Farm in Snohomish and did the pumpkin thing. It was pretty overwhelming with all the activities they had going on and things you could do, so we decided to bag any of that due to Alistair's reluctance to get down and just go pick out pumpkins. There were no wheelbarrows left, so we tried to pick pumpkins that were not back breakers to carry. But unfortunately for Alistair that meant he couldn't be carried and he was fairly perturbed about that! (: When we paid, luckily there was a free wheelbarrow to tow the pumpkins, and Alistair, to the car.

This week we have had a couple of Halloween events. We went to the YMCA on Sunday evening for their carnival. It was actually more of an excuse to get out of our cold house (no furnace, it got replaced the next day) and warm-up and for Alistair to make good use of his dinosaur/lizard costume my mom made for him! (: They had photos with the YMCA scarecrow for $1, so we thought what the heck! Then today in his gym class they had a costume party. We managed to get all the kids to sit/stand in one place long enough to get a few photos taken! We are getting miles out of his costume, that is for sure!