{Highlight Reel} Disney, Coffee, and Rain

An impromptu trip to Disney

On our way

Dumbo the Flying Elephant 

Goofy's playground 

Princess Anna

A coffee break

Today it's rain-mageddon, we're avoiding the highways and snuggling up for a long wet weekend. I just hope the rain calms before my long run on Sunday.

Happy Weekend! 

{Highlight Reel} Favorite Moments

Disney

My photogenic bear

"Sun in my eyes mama..."

Waiting for Dumbo to start. It never started. That's our luck with Dumbo...

The little one fell asleep so I treated bear to an ice-cream break, by these beauties, to help curb some disappointment. Disney isn't always easy with a two year old sister...

New favorite read: Wild

I'm completely lost -- in a wonderful book wormy sort of way -- in this book.

Nothing makes me happier than a good book to read. 

Valentine's Day!

We made heart brownies on Thursday.

I made the girls heart shaped French toast sandwiches with bananas for breakfast on the big day! They also woke to red balloons all over their floor and a couple of surprises in the kitchen.

At the end of the day we caught a plane drawing hearts in the sky.

Hope you had a good valentine's day! 

The Force Is Strong With This One...

My wonderful bear. 

As always, she is amazing us with her new found interest in Star Wars. 

We have been watching the movies and both of my girls are getting into it... 

And it's kind of a breath of fresh air, that my girly girls are so into this story!

We took bear to Disneyland last Wednesday, without the little one. It was a day just for her! We rode Star Tours, bought her her first lightsaber (which she demanded be red, as she likes Darth Vader), and then waited for the Jedi Trainings... 

It was a good thing we waited because bear was picked! She trained on stage with the Jedi Master and then fought Darth Vader. She was also the only Jedi in the training group to fight Vader's Storm Troopers by using "The Force..."

The rest of the day she carried around her lightsaber and tried various times to use the force on other Disney guests... 

One of my favorite parts of being a mom: seeing the world again through a four year old's eyes :)

May the force be with you!

Disney

And that's pretty much the same thing....

Okay, so maybe that's not completely true... But there is something special about entering those magical gates... We always have fun together and that makes it worth every penny!

Thank you, Disney!

On My Highlight Reel

Here's what's been going on over the past few weeks:

Dudek's Oktoberfest

Haunted Corn Maze on an ATV

Disney with friends

Frankenweenie 

(The original artwork/actual set at Disney)

Two sisters playing together

Starting the girl's Halloween costumes

Life With My Bear & Roo

A lot has been going on and a lot is about to go on...

Our little roo turned 5 months old last week. She also started sleeping through the night (Can I get an amen?!...). She is still stubborn about going down at the end of the day but I'm not going to complain. I'm sleeping through the night and she's a happy girl when awake ~ that's all a mommy can really ask for.

Ah, yes, the pretty baby with the big gummy smile is all happiness and joy and it makes those hard first three months all seem worth it now. Colic, thrush, reflux, it has all slowly melted away and my beautiful roo is purely herself these days. She babbles frequently; still very expressive and spends most of her awake time busy playing and experimenting with whatever toy she can get her hands on. She is becoming a little scientist.

But the most wonderful thing of all is that over the past few weeks bear has become really loving towards her little sister - sharing her toys on occasion, offering her one of her favorite blankets, playing with her.

We actually had a small tea party all together earlier this week and roo grabbed the princess cup right up to her mouth; she's been watching us, she knows what to do!

Roo is certainly ready to start baby food! I've been really lax about it, offering rice cereal here and there... This time around I'm just not that crazy about it. We had so many tummy issues before, I'm just not ready to jump into it like I did with bear. And I can't decide for the life of me what food to start with. I'll get it together soon, roo will remind me! She frequently stares at us simultaneously with Acadia: drool slowly dribbling down her chin, eyes glazed over, ready to pounce at any sign of a roll away crumb.

And lets not forget what's going on with my sweet bear, who has been busy with potty training. It's up and down. She is ready, she knows when to go and she is very good at controlling her bladder. But she is having a hard time letting go of the diapers. After a few days of going number two on her own she has slowed down again. I'm not going to push her, it seems like the more I let her take control of the training the more willing she is to work on it. I just hope we can say goodbye to diapers soon.

Here are some favorite moments from the past two weeks:

Bear Says:

Bear finally went number two on her own and the first person she told was her little sister:

"Roo! I did it! I went poopies in the potty!" 

While at the doctors bear told the nurse all about how we went to Disneyland over the weekend:

"We watched the parade, went on Nemo, watched the fireworks, but we didn't want to get stuck in traffic..."

After explaining to bear that we can't give roo coins because she could choke and that choking could mean that we would lose roo forever, bear responded:

"And then we would buy a new baby at the hospital?" 

Silly old bear... roo's are not for replacing!

Events:

-Bear got her first haircut this week. I had been putting it off for a long time. I love her baby curls and was afraid it would all disappear with the cut. But it was time, she had obvious dead ends and the tangling in the morning was getting old. After a few days with the new trim it seems that her curls have stayed, thank goodness!

I took bear to the best place to get a first haircut; a 100% kid's salon with rocket ship seats, movies and toys. Easy peasy, my bear's hair was trimmed in no time. It all ended with a lolly pop so I'm pretty sure she won't fuss the next time I suggest we go.

-Tonight bear and daddy are camping with friends. The house is quite, my baby roo is sleeping and best of all I think it's almost clean in here!

Upcoming: 

Wednesday we head back to the northeast; first for a game at Fenway and then to my parents. We'll say goodbye to daddy on Sunday and spend the rest of the month at my parents. I'm looking forward to getting back to my hometown and hanging out with family and friends. But most of all I'm excited for roo's first big trip. Her big sister had already flown three times and camped twice by this age, it's about time she started catching up!

So long!

bear's mom

I think I'm ready, Hannah.

So here we are, Hannah. You're due, according to the doctor, this coming Sunday, the 20th. But we both know you'll arrive when you want to. You've tricked me once already, as I've been feeling contractions now since Monday morning around 4 AM (over 24 hours ago). Oh false labor, you can be so cruel...

I was worried we wouldn't be able to fit bear's last trip to Disney in before you arrived. I was determined to get there and perhaps my own determination slowed you down. I do not know. But either way, thank you for that time.

Whatever the case I am blessed that bear was able to have this one last moment. We saw the Christmas parade, squeezed in a few last rides, watched the fireworks for the first time, and saw snow! Foam really but you, my sweet bear, had no idea. You thought it was amazing and I enjoyed every second of that flurried snow fall right outside New Orleans Square. Disney really knows how to suck you in, I don't regret the money we spent on our pass one bit! It's made for some really magical times for us and I feel blessed that I was able to spend those moments with you, bear. We'll go again for Christmas time next year and you can show Hannah all the exciting things we experienced at Disney, for the first time, together.

The next few months are going to be rough. A new born is no easy task; delightful, a blessing, oh so exciting, yes. But I know how much I like my sleep so I'm doing my best to embrace the infant induced insomnia that I'm about to experience. The hardest part this time will be taking care of toddler while taking care of new born. But I'm certainly not the first mother to have more than one child; so many out there are taking care of much more than just two. So I will just simply pray and ask for the ability to go with the flow and to remind myself that the sleepless nights will not be forever. Some day Hannah will sleep just as well as bear but it will take time and patience.



Oh, I am so scared yet so excited! Excited to see you, meet you, smell you. Excited to see if you'll look more like me than daddy and maybe if you have some of mommy's quirks about you. Bear seems to share a lot of quirks and qualities with daddy, which are all wonderful parts of her. If you're not like mommy, that's ok. Even if you're just like your daddy, you'll still do it in your very own way.

I can't wait for you to meet your big sister, she's ready to help take care of you too. She kisses you frequently and hugs you tight. She's going to love you very much!

To my sweet Hannah, hurry up... just a little!

Moments at the Zoo

My husband and I were looking for a family fun weekend day trip after a long work week with him out of town. After some discussing, we decided on the San Diego Zoo; and we were even more excited about the trip, when we found out that for about 15 dollars more, per ticket, we could get a full year membership to both parks - The Safari Park and the Zoo. How could we say no to that? There are so many perks that come with the pass, that it almost blows our Disney pass out of the water. But nothing can truly replace Disney - It will always be the happiest place on earth!

Here are some of the special moments we shared during our Saturday at the Zoo!

All of the photos were taken with our iphones.

The Sponge of Knowledge

So here we are: all of a sudden 20 months old and talking up a storm. It was only about three weeks ago that we were still talking in one word blips but today bear is saying a variety of two word statements. It's not just "juice"any more, now it's: "apple juice (appah deuce)," or "juice please (deuce pweeese)"

But what I'm most impressed about is the fact that bear is saying two word sentences that I only once asked her to say over two months ago.

Two word sentences from long ago:                               

                       

Naked Time
  (the time in which I allow bear to run around in her diaper)

Take it

Got it/Get it
Dump it

Mickey Mouse

Fix it

Other phrases bear's using:

Mama Come/Come mommy

Chocolate milk!

Turtle eat  

Bite it 

(not sure where this one came from?)
Coco Mickey 

(coconut Mickey treat)
Self
(For: I do it myself)

Love you
Night-night time

The reason for the sudden two word boost is more due to me prompting bear to say two words. So I guess it really doesn't surprise me too much that she's saying these two word combos. What really surprises me is how fast she picked up on it, and how some of these two word statements are coming out when she's only heard them perhaps once over a month or two ago. The toddler brain definitely is a sponge of knowledge! She just soaks everything up and squeezes it back out when she's ready to let it go.

Another surprise is that bear is starting to answer me when I ask her questions such as what she wants for breakfast or what she would like to do at Disney.

"Waffles!"   "Cereal!"   "Apple Juice! (Apple deuce!)"   "Cookies"   "Treat"
(And, no I do not give her sweets for breakfast, but that doesn't stop her from asking.)

"Tiki (room)!"    "Dumbo!"    "Cups (teacups)!"    "Boat!"    "Castle!"

Previously whenever I've asked these types of questions bear would just stare at me blankly, as if I had just spoken in Klingon; frozen with a contemplative look, perhaps assuming that I had just bought a one way ticket to crazy town...

But not anymore! I'm sure she really always knew what I was trying to say, she just struggled to find the words or sounds to tell me what she wanted. And that's just fine. I knew our early one ended conversations would pay off some day in the near future.

And. Well. Here we are! In the future! The moment I've been waiting so long to see, always wondering if all that reading and talking would pay off, and it most certainly has! So go ahead and talk it up with your little one, chances are she knows just what your are saying. And if she doesn't, she'll soon figure it out.


With this new found abundance of bear words, we are now beginning to see who she really is. We now know she loves music, and which music is her favorite. We know she loves family bike rides, because she's constantly talking about bikes and her helmet. We know that she loves looking at pictures, particularly those which have her in them, as just yesterday she got very upset when the first picture I showed her was of me--"NO, NO, NO!" And we know she loves the ocean--so be careful when you drive by it, especially if you're not going to stop, because if bear catches the slightest glimpse of the water, she will beg and plead to go, with the sweetest sounding pleases you have ever heard-- so don't do it!

Some new bear tricks

-Bear can jump and get both feet off the ground.


-She can stand on her head and eat cheese, apples, or drink milk (in fact she demands one of these items as soon as she gets into this pose) all at the same time. We call it baby yoga or downward puppy...

-Bear enjoys exercise, "cise!" If she sees me doing yoga or a workout video she wants to join in. She does fairly well with mimicking what ever pose or movement I'm doing. Just yesterday she followed me as I did some sun salutes. 

-Bear has also figured out that she can stand on top of her pooh bear airplane and balance herself without falling off. Instantly following her awareness of her new skills, she figured out that she can carry the plane and bring it over to the counter and use it as a stepping stool (uh-oh...). She has yet to really put this trick to use, phew (for now)! I have also caught her doing the same balancing trick on her space heater (when not turned on), as if it were a balance beam... leaving me with a brief heart attack or palpation. We are now looking into tumbling class for her.

Turtle Time

And lastly, bear has four new turtles to go along with her original turtle. So we have a whole bale of turtles, and bear has given each one it's own name: mommy, daddy, pop pop, grammy, and baby. Baby and Grammy are the two most popular turtles, they are pretty much her babies and she takes, one or the other, every where we go. She feeds them, plays with them, and even pushes them on the swings at the playground. When the day is coming to an end, we quickly collect all of our turtles and they all sleep snuggled up close to bear (swoon!). I just love watching bear interact with her turtles. It's more the fact that she has taken them in as if they were her own babies, and I absolutely love this uniqueness about her!

Bear's fondness of turtles makes us wonder if she will grow up to study amphibians and reptiles as she also loves snakes, lizards, frogs, and dinosaurs. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. Until then, I will enjoy watching these sweet moments because some day, I'm sure, bear just might not think so much of her turtles, at least not as fondly as she does now. No matter what, I will not forget how special her turtles are.

xo
Bear's mom.

From Disney to LA and back again...

So I've been lagging on the posts lately... but only because we've had so much going on! Bear is learning new words and sounds almost every day.

Things we can say as of today (started speaking in this chronological order):

Mama

Dada

buh-bye

hat(haaa)

ball(bow)

baba

(for the sheep in "Brown bear brown bear")

more (moe)

[just started today(7/28/20)]

Words we've attempted:

Juice

all done

(We hear her attempt words often-- can't remember them all)

New Signs:

bird/duck

(used today while seeing a duck in a book)

Today uncle Josh left us to return back to NY. He spent almost a full week visiting, so we had a jammed packed few days of exploring a decent portion of LA and Orange County! We spent a good portion of Josh's visit at Disneyland.

Chris bought bear and I the premium year round (every day of the year we can go to Disney at any time that we want to!!!) pass to both Disneyland and California Adventure. I now plan on taking bear to Disney once a week! Just entering the parking lot and walking around Downtown Disney makes me feel like a kid again. I am so blessed to be able to take bear whenever we feel like going. No need to make big plans, or leave town, the most magical place on earth is located 20 minutes north east of home! I am really looking forward (besides the general excitement of it all) to Christmas time at the park! Bear will be 16 months at that point, fully walking and a lot more aware of Christmas (at least a lot more aware than she was last year!). With all of the special events that they have for the holidays, I know it will make SoCal feel more Christmas-ey when we visit. I am so excited! A year ago I had never been to either Disney and now we can go anytime that we want! And, even for such a little bear, there is a lot to do at both parks. We are also fortunate enough to have amazing neighbors who go to the park weekly too~ So bear's little friend T. will be there to play with from time to time. And lets be honest, playing at Disney is a lot more fun than playing at the park!

As for Chris, he's still out of town on business during the weeks so it was really nice to

have someone else here in the house to keep us company. Having an extra set of hands certainly wasn't bad either! Acadia was great with Josh the entire visit, though she seemed to think Josh was a sucker for her cuteness and wouldn't stop begging him to play or give her attention, as she thinks only Chris and I know what's she's up to. And of course she assumes that Josh came to visit just to see her...

Every morning that Josh was here we continued our usual morning routine: when bear wakes up at 6 am sharp we change, pack up and head out for Acadia's 45 min. walk (with catch time included). I'd try hard to keep quite as we worked on getting out of the house (a surprisingly strenuous event that happens between wake up and walk "take off") so Josh wouldn't be disturbed. When I wasn't able to keep full tabs on Acadia she would sneak away and lick Josh in the face; it's Acadia's personal morning wake up call... she'd do it to us too but our bed is too high off the ground...

"Hey Josh, It's time for my walk, then we play catch and after that we eat... maybe I'll share some kibble with you... get up!"~ I'm guessing this is what Acadia was thinking...

Over the weekend when Chris was home, Josh and I took off to hang out at Disney for the adult rides. Tower of Terror was by far our favorite, I'm dying to go on it again!!! I could ride it all day I think... We also spent a day in LA checking out the regular tourist traps: The walk of Stars and the Hollywood sign. On our way up to LA we stopped right out side the main city in search of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and we were lucky enough to find it! It was fairly well hidden in the middle of a huge industrial/factory area. It was the only building that looked brand new and well kept. We did not see Rob or any MTV stuff. If we lived closer I'd probably start stalking the area, waiting to see some camera's... it's a good thing LA is, at minimum, a 45 min. drive...

At the end of our LA tour we drove by "The Ivy." I, sadly, watch TMZ regularly and I knew that paparazzi hung out in front of the cute little picket-fenced (with ivy...) restaurant in Beverly Hills. It was neat to see the place but no luck regarding celebrities or paparazzi.

Later in the week, when Chris headed out to Nevada, we took Josh to our favorite new Cafe! It's a 100% green cafe and they have a play area for kids which is enclosed! Bear explored toys while Josh and I ate and drank coffee. Bear also took a lot of mini snack breaks every few minutes to sit with mommy and sneak a few pieces of my chocolate donut. Aaaaah, the life of a toddler! Playing and donuts...

After our cafe stop we visited Oakley's head quarter's which is located pretty much around the corner from us. The location of the building is pretty amazing, it opens up to a nice view of Saddleback mountain (the horribly long and pain-

ful mountain Chris and I climbed 3 years ago only to find the top covered in satellite and cell phone towers...yuck, fortunately you can't really see them from afar...). At the top of the long hilly drive way, an army tank is parked to the side of the road with "Oakley" printed across it. There were also a variety of other army like cars parked around the building, painted with Oakley's branding on it. The building itself looks like it's straight from a video game or a futuristic Sci-Fi movie. There is an "O" store right in the lobby and you can try on any pair of glasses without requesting that it be unlocked first...

To the side of the entrance, was a very

nice dirt racetrack for remote control cars and a bunch of the employees were enjoying their break by racing their cars... Or maybe they get paid to do this? Either way, it looks like working for Oakley is a lot of fun!

Our last day with uncle Josh was spent at Disney for one

last ride and then a late afternoon trip to Huntington Beach.

Our neighbor happened to be at Disney that day too and offered to watch bear while we went on a few rides. Bear certainly didn't mind leaving mommy for a bit as she was able to play with her best friend T. I don't think she even noticed that I left :).

I was then able to go on splash mountain with Josh (we originally planned for Josh to go by himself), the only adult ride we weren't able to ride over the weekend. We had a lot of fun but we were freezing by the time we made it back to bear.

Later that day we took Josh for a late lunch at Huntington beach. It was too chilly (for us) to go swimming so we hung out on the pier and had lunch at Ruby's~ Which provides the only perfectly clear view of the ocean in probably all of Orange County.

Before we knew it, it was departing day. We got up, got ready, and dropped him off.

Hopefully he will come back soon!