Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Happiest Place on Earth

Most posts are devoted to Alexander, which is why most of you dial in. But tonight, I want to share stories of our trip to Disneyland over Thanksgiving weekend with our faithful fans (ok, Alexander's faithful fans) instead.

Grandpa picked us up at 6:00 Thanksgiving morning for transport to the airport. We kissed the little man goodbye, he waved and giggled as we shut the door and I cried all the way through security. We had a flawless flight, shuttle transfer, hotel check in, and by 1:30 that afternoon, we were in Disneyland! By this time, we had called home 2 or 3 times and the little man was doing just fine with my family. The park was relatively empty so we rode ride after ride, shopped for treats, and around 11 that night, I had had enough. But it was wonderful to walk hand in hand with Eric, soak in the sunshine, play like little kids, and realize that even with the change that life has brought us, we still just really like hanging out together.

After a lovely sleep in on Friday, we headed to California Adventure for more rides and lunch. The parks were heavier with tourists on this day so mid afternoon, we headed back for a nap to avoid the craziness. Casey and Fidelia (my cousin and wife) were going to drive down from LA to join us at the park that night so we wanted to be well rested for the fun they were sure to bring with them. It had been 10 years since we last played in Disneyland with these two and we couldn't wait for the reunion. And they did not disappoint us. I don't think any of us stopped grinning the entire time. We met up with them about 5PM and played until midnight. At some point between Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain, Fidelia and I got thirsty and started picturing pints of Blue Moon in our hands. So, we traveled to a bar in Downtown Disney and continued our evening until last call. Mmmm...we love Blue Moon. BTW Jodie, the pictures we sent were the boys' idea...we missed you.

Saturday morning brought another sleep in before we met up with my co-worker to get tickets for the park. Again, the park was pretty empty so we rode the rides, shopped even more and enjoyed yet another nap. I can see why Alexander takes naps everyday. Speaking of Alexander, it was on day 3 where we both realized we were noticing all the toddlers around us and wondering if Alexander would react the same way as these exhausted, crying children, had we brought him. The answer is a resounding yes. After a few hours of looking at other people's children, we both missed our son terribly and decided we would not return to Disneyland until the little man was at least 42 inches tall (min requirement for most rides).

Let's fast forward to Saturday night and the very reason we were at Disneyland...we were going to enter Club 33. Did you know there is a 14 year waiting list to be a member? We had reservations at 8:30 to meet at the door of Club 33 and as we walked through that door, I couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably. This is a piece of Disney history, people, and WE were about to experience it! After a few cheesy pictures, we settled down to eat an amazing meal. Eric had the vintner(sp?) option , where each course is pre-determined with a wine pairing. Deliciousness. I had prawns, chateaubriand and a blueberry tart for dessert. Deliciousness. We've had many memorable meals since we've been married and this one definitely rates in the top 5. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Crazy. It was worth every minute of missing our son who was loving life with his grandparents, Auntie "mim", Uncle RJ and cousin Lorelli. In fact, when Kim dropped him off today, he climbed back in her car and waved bye bye to me. Yes, he was just fine.

Click on the slideshow for a few fun pictures of our trip!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Happy Holidays (a few weeks early)!

Last night, we celebrated Thanksgiving/Christmas with Eric's family. His parents will be in Arizona for the winter so we have to pack a lot of celebrating into a few short hours. We started with a delicious holiday meal. Before we could eat, Alexander had to show off his Happy Feet with his entourage following behind.


are you still following me?
Finally, it was time to get down to business. Alexander opened gifts like a professional and never seemed to tire of the activity.

Gift #1


Gift #2 (batman car)


The BIG GIFT from Papa and Grandma




WHOA! How do you drive this thing?

It goes backwards? COOL!

Grandma's best boy


Gift #4 (Little people car loader from Santa!)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

APPLE CUP 2008

wsu 16 uw 13

GO COUGS!!
(4 OUT OF 5 YEARS...IN CASE ANYONE IS KEEPING TRACK!)

Friday, November 21, 2008

Funny Face

It's hard to believe Alexander turned 22 months this week. That fact hit me when I wrote 11/21 on the whiteboard today (yes, like classroom teachers PE teachers do use whiteboards when teaching). I even stopped what I was doing to share that fact with my freshmen who really could have cared less but pretend to care because it got them out of running. They are used to my strange behavior by now!
He has been in our lives for almost two years and it is hard to remember life before he arrived.


Checking on Mama at work


I'm such a big boy!


Do you think he still looks like Daddy?


Which one of these is not like the others??

Sunday, November 16, 2008

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!

Well, Mommy and Daddy are going. Alexander is going to stay home with his grandparents this time. A co-worker has tickets to Club 33 (http://www.disneylandclub33.com/) which is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. With a little under 500 members, you really have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone to get in. We're heading to The Happiest Place on Earth over Thanksgiving weekend. We're willing to battle the airport crowds and Disney tourists to jump at this chance. Hopefully, we'll get to see Casey and Fidelia who live in LA, as well.

For the first time though, the number one reason to not go was not money; it was the guilt over leaving our son behind. But once the grandparents encouraged us to go, we put the guilt aside and clicked "purchase". He'll go visit Mickey one day but we want to take him when he can actually remember the experience.
Woohoo for a vacation! It will be the first one since 2006 and if you know us, that's a LONG time between vacations!

The troup keeps growing!

Our circle of friends welcomed another baby yesterday! Last night, Jay and Mindee celebrated the birth of their little boy. Kieran Roderick was born at 6:41PM, 7lbs, 20"inches tall. That makes eight kids under the age of six for the group. No, wait! There are ten kids under the age of six because of a recent wedding that welcomed two sweet little girls to the group. With one more baby due this spring (no, not us!), we're bound to have many fun adventures this summer!

Welcome sweet Kieran! We can't wait to meet you!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Play Date

Thanks for the wonderful day friends!
The babies enjoy their lunch


while the big boys play.

What a cute face!


Alexander found his first BMW and never really let go.



So Mason thought he'd help him along.

CHHHEEEESE! (I hate that this sweet face is blurry!)


Boys will be boys!


Tired little man

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Mommy's Day Off

I think Alexander secretly knows when Mommy has a day off. It seems on these days, be it a holiday like Veteran's Day or a weekend, he wakes long before any human should. Today was 5AM. Mommy is the morning person around here so once she hears the little man making noises, she is awake for the day. Daddy could sleep through an earthquake and is definitely more nocturnal so Alexander saves most of his sleep in days for Daddy.

But we have a fun day ahead of us so getting an early start is ok. We're joining our friends for a playdate! Stay tuned for pictures and stories...

Friday, November 7, 2008

Christmas shopping

I swore to myself that I was not going to buy gifts for Alexander this year. I told myself, "he isn't even two so he won't know, he will recieve enough gifts from family, we do not need more toys in this house, and we will buy him something for his birthday two weeks later, if he needs more toys."
How many of you are laughing at this point? Come on, raise your hand and admit to laughing. It's ok. If you are either laughing or sitting in front of the computer with your hand in the air, congratulations, you know me well. Oh, and you can put your hand down now. You know me well enough to know that was a pointless conversation I had with myself and, of course, I am going to buy my son Christmas gifts! Who was I kidding?? I LOVE shopping and I LOVE my son. That combination is bound to lead to wrapped presents!

And it gets even better...I've already broken down and given him one of his gifts! Yep, I couldn't resist. I found this fun toy on ebay (my new favorite best friend) and when it arrived this afternoon, I could not resist.
It is motorized. It makes cars crash. It is loud. Alexander loves it. Eric loves it. I do not love it (I mentioned it was loud, right?) but love that they love it. I declare this gift a success (and hereby promise to not open the remaining gifts in his closet...are you laughing again?!)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Happy Feet

We've called Alex happy feet for....well just about forever. Just like in the Abba song "Thank you for the music" he did learn to dance before he learned to walk. So today after Sesame Street we took a quick look at what was on TV. And we found "Happy Feet". He enjoyed dancing along with the penguins. I'd also like to insert that wow it looks great in high definition.

And for our second feature. In a world without horses, one boy's struggle with not being able to go "Neigh."

Alex loves seeing the horses in the "neigh"bor's yard and on our daily walks. So we were a bit surprised when he didn't like "Glow Thunder Glow".

Then a couple days ago, he found the love that his father had of the horse as a child. And yes, it was frightening to think he was playing on a 43 year old toy. Anyways, here's Alex trying to win the Tripple Crown.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

9AM?? Seriously??

After a brief wake up at 5AM, a diaper change, and rocking with Mama in the chair, our delightful young son slept until 9AM! Unbelievable. Unheard of. This kid loves routine. Bed at 7, up by 7. So, it was absolute joy to get a few extra hours of sleep this morning. I'm sure we'll be in trouble with the time change tonight but it was worth every extra minute of zzz's this morning! Now, he's sitting in his booster seat in the living room, eating breakfast and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's a remarkable day, people. And it isn't even 10AM yet!