It's Disneyland!!!

We planned a surprise (and last minute) trip to Disneyland for the girls - in part to reward Kennedy for her success with the potty. Kennedy knew we were going to Las Vegas to visit Aunt Kari and Uncle Rainier, but then the next day we got back in the car and kept driving.

She didn't have a clue where we were - even after seeing Mickey Mouse balloons and a statue at the hotel or all the characters on a bus as we were riding to the park entrance! Even then it took some serious hinting on our part - the conversation went something like this:
"Kennedy, where do you think we are?"

"Umm...California!"

"Yes, but what's in California?"

"Lots of People."

"Kennedy, look at that castle. Who do you think lives there?"

"Cinderella!"

"Where is Cinderella's castle?"

"Disneyland?!..."

Our first ride was Snow White, which was a bit scary, but later Kennedy requested that we go on it again, "to see if it's better this time." She loved the next ride, Peter Pan, but I could see her covering her eyes a bit when it got really dark. She asked to have someone hold her hand in some of the rides where it was really dark, but she was so cute about it! I don't think there were any rides that she didn't like.

Macy didn't seem to care one way or the other about most of the rides, but she wasn't feeling well. She had a cold and a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and forced her to be a trooper, which she was. Especially when we kept getting her out of the stroller just after she would fall asleep. She dozed through a good part of the three days - in the stroller, in our arms while standing in line, and even on some of the rides - but got no real naps.

Macy even managed to sleep through the fireworks as we watched them from our hotel balcony. I think her favorite attraction was "it's a small world" with the music, calm boat ride, and so much to look at. They have done some cute things to update that ride with the Disney movie characters. She was able to go on just about everything with us. I think there were only three rides we went on where she was too small.

Here's the before and after from our first day in the park. Both girls were completely exhausted by the time we walked out to catch the bus back to the hotel. Eight hours in the park (after four hours driving to get to Anaheim) wore us all out!

For our second day we got to the park just after opening and went on a few rides we had missed the first day and a few of Kennedy's new favorites. We had made reservations to have lunch with the princesses in the California Adventures park. That was a huge hit with Kennedy, and we all enjoyed the food and a chance to sit down. We were greeted by Ariel, and I got one picture before the battery on the camera died.

Then each princess came to our table to visit while we were eating. Kennedy loved the special attention, but was a little shy and used her quiet voice to talk to them. She knows and loves all the princesses, even though she hasn't seen all the movies yet. The princess band aids she chose at Target were a big hit at the lunch, and all throughout the park - I'd catch people in line staring at her forehead and then smiling to themselves! We spent some time in California Adventures seeing the 3-D shows and going on the Bugs Life and Monster's Inc. rides before heading back to Disneyland for the rest of the afternoon. After ten hours we decided it was time to go back to the hotel to eat and get some rest for the night.

We saw lots of the characters. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Minnie Mouse was a big hit. Pluto was not. Kennedy went up to give him a hug and have her picture taken with him, but he grabbed her hand and started walking away with her. She did NOT like this, and started crying. She gave him a nervous hug after she was safely returned to mom.

Kennedy and Jake love the tea cup ride - I do not. Once was enough for me. I was glad to volunteer to wait with Macy so they could go on it again and really get the cup spinning.

Sunday we took advantage of the early entrance and walked on to every ride in Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land for one hour before the park opened. Jake even rode Space Mountain by himself with out a wait. It's hard to say what Kennedy's favorite ride was because she kept changing her answer every time we would ask: Dumbo, Small World, Pirates, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Nemo's Submarine, "the whale ride" (Storybook Land), Buzz Lightyear, even Snow White. We didn't ride the Matterhorn (it was closed), and Kennedy was still too small for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain.

Probably not the next King Arthur...

Making a wish in Snow White's well that we can come back again some day!

We'll be saving our money for another trip - Jake even suggested that we start a jar to collect change and let the girls earn money by doing chores. And he thought it wouldn't be a very fun trip!

Stitches for Kennedy

Yesterday when Kennedy got to school she ran down the hall and slipped right outside of her classroom. She hit her head on the door and got a cut about an inch long on her forehead. Grandpa Brent called to let me know, but said that he thought it would be OK to clean it and bandage it. He thought Kennedy seemed more upset about not being able to go to school. So after some minor first aid, Kennedy went back to her class. Sometime during the day the school put a giant bandage on her head because it was still bleeding, but everything else was just fine.

Kennedy had a fun afternoon gathering pine cones on a walk with Grandma Sue and Macy to make into treats with peanut butter and seeds for the birds. I picked the girls up as usual, and Kennedy fell asleep in the car on the way home. She slept until 5:00 when we woke her to finally get a good look at the cut.

Jake went to the store to get some butterfly bandages and grapes, Kennedy's special request. When we tried to apply the strips, we just couldn't get them to hold the cut closed. We decided it was time to head out to the emergency room. The wait at the hospital seemed like it would be a while, so we left and drove to an Insta-Care.

Kennedy was so good and so patient! I'm amazed that both girls did so well waiting the two hours we were there. Kennedy was also very brave. She held very still and only shed a few tears in anticipation of a shot - which she didn't even feel at all. We'll be back in a week to get the five stitches removed. One of the nurses turned out to be the mom of the twins in her class at school - she told my dad the next day, when they made the connection, just how amazed she was that Kennedy was such an excellent patient!

While we waited, there were two emergency cases in the bed next to us. The first was a man suffering from what the doctor believed to be blood clots or a pulmonary embolism (obviously there were no walls in this clinic). He insisted on leaving, even though the doctor said it was totally against medical orders. Next, the bed was filled by a man complaining of chest pains and nausea. He and his wife tried to rationalize with the doctor that he was just fine...there's no history of heart disease in my family - except for my mom, but she didn't have problems until her 80s (he was 76). The doctor called him an ambulance, but the man and his wife were concerned about going to the hospital that was right down the street. Why? Because they weren't sure if their insurance would be accepted.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweethearts in our lives! We had fun making our own cards for Kennedy's teachers and for our family. She also made some adorable heart-butterfly valentines with Grandma Sue to take to her friends at school. Kennedy loved helping with the scissors and gluing on the candy hearts.

We went out to dinner at The Club to celebrate Grandpa Ray's 89th birthday. Kennedy was very excited to "get dressed up all fancy!"

We love books!

Our family loves to read. Jake and I don't always have time to relax with our favorite selections, but we always find time to read to the girls. Macy is getting more interested in books, especially the lift-the-flap ones, and will sit and turn the pages all by herself.

Jake is reading Kennedy an abridged version of Robinson Crusoe for kids. It's her first real chapter book, and she loves it. She also loves to pull out the bookmark, which is a great frustration to Jake!

Shubilee, Marshall and Isabelle

Kennedy loves to be told a good story, and her favorite place to hear these stories is when she's sitting on the potty. She has different requests depending on who is with her and what bathroom she is using. When Grammie is telling the story (or, if I'm helping her in Grammie's bathroom), it usually involves Silly Sally, Waldo, a cheetah and a duck. When it's Grandma Sue's turn, it's the story of the three little pigs. With me, Kennedy either wants to hear about "Curious George and the Yellow Man" or Shubilee and Marshall.

Who? Well, Shubilee (sounds like Jubilee with "shoe" instead of the "j") is a name I made up one day when I was telling her a story. Somehow Kennedy remembered the name and kept asking to hear more about this girl. Then Kennedy added to the story that Shubilee has a baby sister named Marshall, "Shubilee is the big girl, and Marshall is the baby". These make believe girls love to go to Disneyland, stay in a hotel, and go on their favorite rides. Sometimes Kennedy wants the plot to include that their mom and dad get "really angry (which she says with a very stern looking face) with them because they aren't listening and they run away and hide." Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy usually have to help search for them. But, where do the mom and dad finally find the girls? Why in a backroom of Cinderella's castle, of course! Kennedy sure knows a lot about Disneyland for a girl who has never been there!

Isabelle is trickier to describe. Sometimes Kennedy says she is Isabelle, but it could be "Isabelle the Dad" or "Isabelle the Mom" or "Isabelle Kennedy" - and if she says this is who she is, you'd better be sure to call her by the right name. Other times Isabelle is someone else, like her baby. This morning she got Pink Baby, sat down by Macy and me, unzipped her jammies and said, "Look! We are two moms feeding our babies! Yours is named Macy and mine is named Isabelle." Then a few minutes later Kennedy was back to being Isabelle.

Play time

Music School

Kennedy plays the drums, Macy's on the keyboard, and I play the bells. Kennedy says, "We rock!" Macy loves to stand at the little piano and pound on the keys - she's getting really good at standing, and pulls herself up on everything. It was about a week ago that I found her one morning standing up in her crib for the first time. And she's crawling all over now, a skill she mastered exactly on her nine-month birthday. Hooray for Macy!

Restaurant

We take turns setting the table, taking the orders as the waiter, and cooking and serving the food. Kennedy named her restaurant "Vanilla" and the special was a vanilla soup - "It's delicious, darling. You must try some!" Kennedy is always thoughtful and orders something for Macy, but "it has to be baby food, mom!" I guess she's not yet ready for the vegetable soup, pepperoni pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches, cookies, or pie that we like to make in our restaurant.

Mirror, mirror on the floor

Kennedy and Macy were looking at themselves in the mirror last night and Kennedy said, "I see two beautiful girls!" I know I'm biased as their mom, but I can't deny it, they are both beautiful! And Kennedy especially loves it when they are dressed like twins.

The birthdays continue

Monday was my mom's birthday. We did a family art project and made her a bead bracelet. It had two strands - one with "Grammie" and one with "K" and "M". I also volunteered to make the cake, which turned out to be cakes. The first one stuck to the pan, and a big pile of crumbs is just not right for a birthday party. Kennedy and I whipped up a yellow cake (from scratch!) and then decided at the last minute to throw in an extra spice from the cupboard. No one could guess what it was, but it had a very distinct taste - lavender. I thought it was so interesting when I found it in the store, but I have had no idea what to use it in. It was actually pretty good, but it is also strange to be eating something that smells so much like soap. Kennedy asked if she could play with her colors, so I set her up with the project while I did the dishes. She loves to mix, stir and pour glasses filled with different colors of water. It kept her out of my hair for awhile, and she only broke one glass. A small sacrifice.

My mom is amazing. She's generous, trustworthy, loyal, and always looking out for the people she cares about. And she's a great example for the kind of mom that I'm trying to be. I love you mom, and I wish you a year filled with much happiness!