Vacation: Disney Day

 Monday morning, we slept in a bit and slowly got ready for the day.  Ahhh...love vacations.  It was 'The Boy's' real birthday so we had promised a trip to Disneyland.  We had good intentions of getting there when the park opened at 10 am but. as I always say, we never get there before 11 am. 

'The Boy' and I rode the tram while 'The Hubs' pushed 'Munchkin' in the monster stroller.  It was so nice to have a few special moments with my bud.  He told me all of the rides he wanted to go on for his birthday.  And because it was his birthday, he didn't have to wear a birthday button (though I tried really hard to convince him otherwise), he got to go on It's a Small World first, and we had pizza for lunch.

I don't have any pictures from the first part of our day (bad mommy) but I was so enjoying the time with my family that I didn't even think to pull out the camera.  After lunch we hit up Finding Nemo and then headed to the Teacups.

Waiting in line.

 'Munchkin' in pigtails and a t-shirt with her favorite Disney Princess.

There's the birthday boy!  I still cannot get over him being four!

Note: Pregnancy and the Teacups do not mix well when this man is behind the wheel.  I almost puked.

'The Littles' started getting cranky so we let them kick back while we trucked over to California Adventure.  We had promised the birthday boy a ride on the new Little Mermaid attraction.

 They both crashed out so we tried to let 'The Hubs' go on some grown up rides while they napped.  I say tried because the roller coaster he really wanted to go on was closed for maintenance.  We got some drinks and parked it in the shade for a bit unti l'The Boy' woke up. 

 We never buy the kids stuff while we are at Disney.  Only because we go so often we would end up with so much over priced crap that they would hardly play with.  Birthday's are different. We got him a Buzz Lightyear laser gun to run around with.

I took 'The Boy' on the new Little Mermaid ride and it was sooooo cute.  He loved it so much he wanted to go on again as soon as it was over so 'The Hubs' took him while I sat with a still napping 'Munchkin'.  Then the boys went on the ferris wheel in the cab that swings (yuck) and a few other rides before we headed back to Disneyland. 

'Munchkin' woke up and we conquered Fantasyland: Casey Jr., Mr Toad, Pinocchio, the Carousel, Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland twice.  All if 'The Boys' picks.

We stayed until the park closed at 8 o'clock which was perfect because the kids were done and my pregnant body had had enough.  We were going to go out to a nice dinner but 'Munchkin' crashed as soon as we turned the car on and 'The Boy' requested McDonald's.  And since it was his birthday...

Newport Coast: Day One

Back in February of this year, we made some big plans for our family vacations.  We went to Las Vegas for Mother's Day week and had booked a beautiful hotel in Ko'Olina, Oahu for our big vacation this September. 

Then, we got our little surprise and Hawaii kind of just slipped away from us.  Everything that I was looking forward to doing when we were there (surfing, hiking, etc.) required my body to be without another occupant.  Someday I'll get to paradise.  A day when my body belongs to me again.

We still wanted to go away for a week somewhere but our options were limited because I didn't want to fly.  Luckily, we were able to get a week at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas very last minute.  It seemed a bit strange vacationing an hour from home in a place where I grew up but, there was so much for us to do with the kids and since it was so close, it was truly relaxing.

We made the drive up to the resort in the afternoon during nap time.  Two cars would be needed to haul all of the stuff we would require for the week and I got to drive the kid less, silent one.  Though, I'm told the other car was pretty peaceful, too.  We had to wait a bit for our room but, it was worth it.  The perfect spot in the huge resort and we barely saw any other guests near us the whole week.

'The Littles' "helped" us bring all of our stuff into the room.  They both thought this bell cart was the perfect stage for dancing.

'The Boy' quickly realized that helping was a lot like work so he dove into a video game.

 Our villa was beautiful...

We sure know how to make a place feel like home in about 5 minutes.

The Master suite.

 The kids had their own room! 

After unpacking two carloads, we were famished.  We headed up Pacific Coast Highway to Ruby's in Corona Del Mar.  It is a perfect restaurant for the kids and the one near us closed awhile back.

 'The Hubs' helped 'The Boy' make a car.

 'Munchkin' had a car, too.  Pretty sure she ate it.

They ate this so fast and only shared with each other.

 After dinner, we went to the grocery store to get food for the week and then headed home to put 'The Littles' to bed.  We had a big day lined up for Monday so we needed them well rested.  Of course we had time for one last performance in pj's.

Fourth Birthday

 We had to celebrate 'The Boy's' fourth birthday a bit early this year.  And it was very toned down which is a big deal for me.  Nonetheless, 'The Boy' had an amazing fourth birthday, mainly because it lasted for three days straight. 

It started the Friday before...

He was so excited to celebrate his birthday at preschool with yummy cupcakes.  ( I would normally not buy cupcakes but they have a rule about home baked goods because of kids and allergies.)

The next morning, he got picked up by Gigi and Pop and had a special birthday date (still not his real birthday).  They took him to Red Robin for lunch and to see The Lion King at the theater.  He had a blast! While they were away, 'The Hubs' and I turned our house into a green party zone.  And wouldn't you know, I forgot to take a picture.

This is a horrible mobile picture of 'The Boy' sucking the last bits of ice cream down with a straw.  Smart kid.

His family came over for dinner and party time.  It was not my style (I love a big bash) but, when I asked 'The Boy' who he wanted to come to his birthday party this year he told me he just wanted his cousins to come.  I let the rest of the family join in, too.

Green= Favorite color for most every boy aged 6 and under.

Cannot believe my baby is 4!

So spoiled.

He got his first fishing pole, among other things.  He is so excited to go fishing with Daddy.

On his actual birthday, we went on vacation and spent the day at Disneyland.  Such a lucky kid!

The Best Idea I've Ever Had

I've had a lot of good ideas that have turned into utter disasters.  Painting cabinets...horrible.  Hot pink sparkly halter top...a hot mess.  Huge kid party on the hottest day of the year...nightmare.  The list goes on and on...and on.  This, however, was by far the very best idea I have ever had.  I worked it out in my head over and over and thought out different scenarios.  I cannot ever begin to express how glad I am that 'The Hubs' and I had a gender reveal dinner without knowing the gender of our little one.

A few months back, I was watching Good Morning America, and I saw a segment where two expecting couples cut into a cake that told them the gender of their unborn child by it's color.  I thought it was so brilliant that I said, and I quote, "that almost makes me want to have another baby".  Haha!  I was already unknowingly pregnant.

As soon as I found out we were unexpectedly expecting, I knew for sure that I wanted to do something exciting when we found out our baby's gender.  We had found out in front of an ultrasound technician the last two times and I wanted to do something personal and fun for us and for 'The Boy'.  I told 'The Hubs' about the gender cake and he was not impressed.  I talked him into it pretty easily and, when it came down to it, we both felt it was the best way of finding out. 

So, I moseyed on down to the cheating ultrasound place and told the technician our plan.  She turned off the screen and did an awesome job of not spilling the beans.  The gender was written on a piece of paper and then sealed tight in an envelope.  Then, I took the envelope to the bakery.

Actually, I was starving.  So, I went to lunch first.  And there that envelope sat.  Burning a hole in my purse.  Coercing me to peek.  My mom was with me and was like, "you know you want to look".  But I held strong and, with only the slightest desire to peek (haha) I ran into the bakery and shoved the envelope into the baker's hand without a word.  She was a little confused.  I explained everything, ordered our cake and went home to wait it out.  For five days!  I don't know what I was thinking!

That Saturday, we had family over for dinner and the big cake cutting.  'The Boy' came with me to the bakery to pick up the cake and told everyone he wanted a little brother.  The whole staff came out to congratulate me (without spoiling the surprise) and I looked back at them and said, "you all know I'm having don't you".  They all did and it was a bit surreal that an entire bakery knew the gender of our baby before we did.

That cake sat in my fridge for 5 hours.  It taunted us but, we resisted.  Family came over and we ate dinner and chatted for a while.  I felt really calm about the whole thing.  Not overly excited or anxious.  Just happily spending time with our family.

Then, the cake came out...

 That little smudge where it says boy is where my finger went through the cake while I was taking it out of the box.  I almost ruined the surprise.

Everybody had a guess and we had them stand on opposite sides of the kitchen. 

 The Boy side...

 ...the girl side.

And just for the record, 'The Hubs' prayed for a boy and I swore it was a girl because I was so darn sick in the beginning.

 The moment of truth.

 It's a boy!!!!!!

 I have never been so surprised in my life. 

It took me a few hours to adjust to the fact that we are having another little boy.  I always said that I didn't have a preference as to what the baby's gender was but I wanted to have another boy just a bit more than another girl because I had just had a girl.  That said, I still thought it was a girl.  First time I was wrong.

After we ate the cake, we checked out some ultrasound pictures just to make sure the bakery hadn't screwed up. 

Definatly a boy! 

We are so excited to be completing (and I mean it) our family with our little man.  

And we loved being with our family for the big surprise.  Hands down the best idea I have ever had.