Nice and comfy with uncle Larry:
Snuggles with cousin Samantha:
Playing with uncle Rich, Aunt Sue, Aunt Sandy, and cousin Stacy:
And saying a long good-bye to cousin Jesse:
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Visiting with Family
The day after Disneyland we went to the San Bernadino area to visit with family. Some of them Alexis and Amelia had already met, but some of them were brand new faces. Yet Alexis and Amelia seemed to instantly understand that they were family. No fear, no stranger-danger. They loved it.
Nice and comfy with uncle Larry:
Snuggles with cousin Samantha:
Playing with uncle Rich, Aunt Sue, Aunt Sandy, and cousin Stacy:
And saying a long good-bye to cousin Jesse:
Nice and comfy with uncle Larry:
Snuggles with cousin Samantha:
Playing with uncle Rich, Aunt Sue, Aunt Sandy, and cousin Stacy:
And saying a long good-bye to cousin Jesse:
Disneyland 2016!
We just took Alexis and Amelia to Disneyland for the first time, and it was such a success! We didn't let a little bit of sickness and puke slow us down. They got to go on their first airplane ride too! We had a blast and can't wait to go back.
We decided to have Boris drive down to LA, while I flew with Alexis and Amelia. That way we still have our car, carseats, and all the million things we need there, but didn't have to subject the girls to the 5+ hour car ride (though we did do that on the way back due to no good flight times!).
So since dad drove down in the morning, we had nanna drive us to the airport. Alexis and Amelia were very excited to sit in cousin Cooper and Mikayla's car seats"
Alexis gets to sit forward-facing for the first time in Mikayla's carseat:
Amelia gets to sit in Cooper's car seat... which is maybe a little snug:
Finally we got to the airport. The girls were champs getting through security. Listened to me, listened to the TSA agents, and were quiet and calm. This is one of the reasons we like new places - they are always calm and respectful... for a little while.
They were SO excited to see the airplanes:
Eventually they got bored of watching airplanes, so we were very glad to have the "cheddar clouds" from nanny Penny (and Rick - thanks Rick!). (Word of advice: do not try to call them "cheddar puffs." They are Cheddar CLOUDS MOMMY).
I needed some chapstick, so we went to the little airport store. Alexis and Amelia made themselves right at home:
Since I was traveling solo, when nature calls... girls got to come with me. But they were champs and didn't touch anything in the bathroom. Advantage of airports bathrooms is that they are made to fit luggage. Work well to fit small children instead.
Eventually we got bored, and the girls got to watch some Dora the Explorer:
Finally, we made it onto the airplane!
We made it safely to Long Beach, dad picked us up, and he had already set up their beds at the hotel. Super convenient. Unfortunately both girls got sick that night... Alexis puked in her bed, then Amelia puked in the middle of the night and had a fever. I wasn't sure how that would affect our Disneyland plans that morning, but we dosed them with tylenol and decided to go anyway.
Breakfast at the hotel:
Sick girls on the way to Disneyland (it was cold and windy - not the best day to be sick):
Finally after a million lines, we made it onto our first ride! Autopia. Both girls had a blast! They loved driving their own little cars (and would not let me steer at all, so it was... bumpy):
We waited in another line to see Minnie mouse, but only Alexis had the courage to actually go give her a hug. Amelia changed her mind at the last minute:
We went on lots of other rides too. Mr. Toad's wild ride was probably too scary, but we didn't know that. Oops.
Crowd favorite - Casey train:
Say cheese!
Unfortunately, the girls decided that Disneyland is far to exciting, so even though we went all the way back to the hotel for nap time, they refused to nap. So we just came back. By 4pm, they were zombies. Here's Alexis in line for it's-a-small-world, making a scene (which didn't bother me in the slightest, but may have bothered some of our neighbors in line):
Finally we made it onto the ride!
Inside the ride, the girls calmed down to watch all the great new stuff. It was... very tiring.
About 1 minute into the ride, I realized that Alexis was a little limp. She passed out. All that calming music in a fun, dark, rocking boat... who can blame her:
And after the ride was over, she stayed asleep while I picked her up, carried her to the stroller, and plopped her inside:
Needless to say, they were asleep quickly that night. It was so fun! We can't wait to go back.
We decided to have Boris drive down to LA, while I flew with Alexis and Amelia. That way we still have our car, carseats, and all the million things we need there, but didn't have to subject the girls to the 5+ hour car ride (though we did do that on the way back due to no good flight times!).
So since dad drove down in the morning, we had nanna drive us to the airport. Alexis and Amelia were very excited to sit in cousin Cooper and Mikayla's car seats"
Alexis gets to sit forward-facing for the first time in Mikayla's carseat:
Amelia gets to sit in Cooper's car seat... which is maybe a little snug:
Finally we got to the airport. The girls were champs getting through security. Listened to me, listened to the TSA agents, and were quiet and calm. This is one of the reasons we like new places - they are always calm and respectful... for a little while.
They were SO excited to see the airplanes:
Eventually they got bored of watching airplanes, so we were very glad to have the "cheddar clouds" from nanny Penny (and Rick - thanks Rick!). (Word of advice: do not try to call them "cheddar puffs." They are Cheddar CLOUDS MOMMY).
I needed some chapstick, so we went to the little airport store. Alexis and Amelia made themselves right at home:
Since I was traveling solo, when nature calls... girls got to come with me. But they were champs and didn't touch anything in the bathroom. Advantage of airports bathrooms is that they are made to fit luggage. Work well to fit small children instead.
Eventually we got bored, and the girls got to watch some Dora the Explorer:
Finally, we made it onto the airplane!
We made it safely to Long Beach, dad picked us up, and he had already set up their beds at the hotel. Super convenient. Unfortunately both girls got sick that night... Alexis puked in her bed, then Amelia puked in the middle of the night and had a fever. I wasn't sure how that would affect our Disneyland plans that morning, but we dosed them with tylenol and decided to go anyway.
Breakfast at the hotel:
Sick girls on the way to Disneyland (it was cold and windy - not the best day to be sick):
Finally after a million lines, we made it onto our first ride! Autopia. Both girls had a blast! They loved driving their own little cars (and would not let me steer at all, so it was... bumpy):
We waited in another line to see Minnie mouse, but only Alexis had the courage to actually go give her a hug. Amelia changed her mind at the last minute:
We went on lots of other rides too. Mr. Toad's wild ride was probably too scary, but we didn't know that. Oops.
Crowd favorite - Casey train:
Say cheese!
Unfortunately, the girls decided that Disneyland is far to exciting, so even though we went all the way back to the hotel for nap time, they refused to nap. So we just came back. By 4pm, they were zombies. Here's Alexis in line for it's-a-small-world, making a scene (which didn't bother me in the slightest, but may have bothered some of our neighbors in line):
Finally we made it onto the ride!
Inside the ride, the girls calmed down to watch all the great new stuff. It was... very tiring.
About 1 minute into the ride, I realized that Alexis was a little limp. She passed out. All that calming music in a fun, dark, rocking boat... who can blame her:
And after the ride was over, she stayed asleep while I picked her up, carried her to the stroller, and plopped her inside:
Needless to say, they were asleep quickly that night. It was so fun! We can't wait to go back.
Halloween
A few months late as usual, but here are some pics from Halloween 2016!
We had two sets of costumes - Olaf (the snowman from Frozen) and Elsa (one of the princesses from Frozen). Obviously we have to have two identical sets, because god help us all if I try to force uniqueness. We find it's not a good idea to offer something to one kid unless you can offer the same thing to the other kid. One is ALWAYS better than the other. So on Halloween, we gave them a choice. They both chose Olaf, and were very excited. We practiced saying "trick or treat" and "thank you, happy halloween" and they had it all down! Of course, actually going to a stranger's house is a different story. Way scarier. So both Alexis and Amelia were pretty shy at first. Eventually they warmed up though, and had a blast. When we got home, they got to binge on candy, then we went to bed and took away the rest of the candy. I told them the next day that "you ate it all!" I think this is probably the last year that trick will work.
We had two sets of costumes - Olaf (the snowman from Frozen) and Elsa (one of the princesses from Frozen). Obviously we have to have two identical sets, because god help us all if I try to force uniqueness. We find it's not a good idea to offer something to one kid unless you can offer the same thing to the other kid. One is ALWAYS better than the other. So on Halloween, we gave them a choice. They both chose Olaf, and were very excited. We practiced saying "trick or treat" and "thank you, happy halloween" and they had it all down! Of course, actually going to a stranger's house is a different story. Way scarier. So both Alexis and Amelia were pretty shy at first. Eventually they warmed up though, and had a blast. When we got home, they got to binge on candy, then we went to bed and took away the rest of the candy. I told them the next day that "you ate it all!" I think this is probably the last year that trick will work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)