More Disneyland! (Part 4)

I have to say that I was really giddy about having a multi-day pass to Disneyland. I'd never done that before, and it was lots of fun. Since we were able to explore California adventure a bit the first day we knew that we needed to hit the Toy Story Midway Mania ride again - and, actually, not just for Noah...we adults love that ride too! Before explaining much about the ride, let me tell you about this Mr. Potato Head that is in front of the ride where you wait in line. Noah was enthralled with him. I don't mean to sound cheesy, but he was actually pretty amazing. I guess the technology used is called Audio-Animatronics, and more time was spent programming this Mr. Potato Head than any other Audio-Animatronics character designed by Disney (and says more lines than any other also). He moves, talks, can look right at a person in line that he is conversing with, has very expressive facial expressions! His mouth actually forms to words that he says as he interacts with specific people in line. It's quite bewildering at first, but really fun!

As for the ride itself - it's like they took the idea of the Buzz ride with shooting targets and just took it to another level. It uses 3D technology, and you are moved to various carnival-like games throughout the ride (throw darts at balloons, breaking plates, ring-toss, etc) being made to feel like you are the size of a toy. Here's a picture of Mark & Lincoln in line after getting our 3D glasses.

And, of course, the game keeps a tally of your score as well as your percentage of accuracy. I think that Mark always beat me on points, but I always beat him on percentage of accuracy! I look forward to a re-match! Noah even got progressively better as time went on. He figured out how to aim his cannon, and when to pull on the cord. Of course to say that we only went on that ride 5 times sounds measly compared to the Buzz Lightyear ride, but this one had a much longer line most of the time (but well worth the wait if you ask me)!

I have to mention that on our last day at Disneyland we were there without my parents (they'd gone back to Utah). I was standing in line with Noah while Mark was helping Lincoln (and was planning on jumping in line with us once we were further up). It was a long line, and all of the chains were up forcing the line to zig & zag back and forth multiple times. All of the sudden Noah decided to bolt from my side, and he just took off running. I dropped the video camera bag that I had with me and took off after him - going over and under the chains trying to catch up with him through a zig-zag maze of people (of course he fit easily between people & could run right under the chains...laughing as he ran). I'm pretty sure that everyone in line was watching me by the time that Noah hit a wall and I caught up to him. I think that he was pretty proud of himself for getting through so many people and so far away from me (I didn't find it quite as amusing). Lucky for me the guys that were ahead of me in line had picked up my video camera (and didn't run off with it). They flagged me down and had me hop back in line with them. Whew. And! I have to mention that Noah did try it one more time, but one of my now-buddies in line (one of the guys that had grabbed the camera) grabbed Noah's arm before he could get anywhere...and Noah didn't try it again (I guess he realized it was pointless if strangers were going to provide back up for me).

The last thing that we did at Disneyland before my parents had to leave was to go to Woody's Halloween Roundup. It was a super cute little area in Frontierland - kind of tucked away actually. They had it decorated all cute (like all of Disneyland) in fall/Halloween decorations. They had tables set up where they'd give the kids crayons to color, or they could decorate cookies. Occasionally Jesse or Woody would come out to mingle with the kids and take pictures, and periodically there was a cute show that they put on. Noah was in heaven. Anyhow, we snapped these two pictures of my parents with the boys right before they had to take off to catch their flight. Thanks again, Mom & Dad, for sharing our trip with us! It was sooo much fun (for all of us) to have you there!


Now for a slew of character pictures. When people ask Noah if he liked Disneyland the first thing he'll tell them is about all the characters that he got to see & hug. Here he is giving Woody five.
And giving his cowboy hero a hug of course...

And I'm not exaggerating when I say that Noah blushed when he saw Jesse. He was really excited, but somehow a bit shy about it all. In fact, I've joked that Noah already has a thing for red-heads since he really loves Jesse and Ariel (from the Little Mermaid). He isn't interested in any of the other princesses or girl characters. In fact he begged to stand in line to see Ariel, but after looking at the length of line of tiara-clad little girls waiting...we said no. Sorry little guy. But you got Jesse!

And here's Noah getting a hug from his favorite cowgirl.

Now, Noah was frightened the first time that we took him on the Buzz Lightyear ride...but this was the only ride that he went on where he showed true terror. I felt absolutely horrible. We were in Toon Town & I saw that he was tall enough to ride their little roller coaster (which had a very short line too)! So, we went on the ride. As soon as it went down the first hill he was screaming (not a good scream) and stiff. So, I had my arm around him and talked to him the whole ride, telling him that it was ok. You can't see me very well, but I'm in the back with the pink shirt & mouse ears on my head...looking down. Luckily he recovered quickly after getting off the ride, and he didn't seem affected at all as we went on other rides *whew*

Just Noah goofing around in one of the play areas in Toon Town.

Wow, the line was long to meet Mickey, and we didn't even get a great picture. However, Noah was quite pleased that he got to see Mickey Mouse!

No, this isn't where they put children that try to run away from their parent at Disneyland...but I had to get a picture of Noah in this bendy-bar jail :)

Before leaving, my parents gave Noah a new Buzz Lightyear figure that he'd had his eyes on (the rides cleverly dump you into a themed toy store at the end). This one has little things that spin and light up when you pull his legs together. So, we saw a lot of this...especially after dark. And Noah would be sure to do it extra if he noticed another little kid looking at him doing it. Cute little show-off.
He is very intense with everything he does...including his play. "To infinity...and beyond!!"

The last ride of the night was the Astro Orbitor in Tomorrowland. The ride was either super relaxing for Lincoln, or he was really pooped after so much fun...I'm guessing the latter. It looks like Mark was having fun though!

I rode with Noah, so there's not a picture of us...but Noah enjoyed helping steer the rocket ship up and down. I looked back to snap another picture of Mark and Lincoln and saw Linc looking up at his dad - pretty cute.

I couldn't help myself from taking a picture of Noah with his "soft shark", sippy of water, and his new Buzz. He climbed right into bed and fell asleep within seconds.

Last day at Disney, a visit, & heading home (Part 5)

We began our last day at the parks back at Disney's California Adventure (DCA). We meandered through several rides that we hadn't been on yet, including this ride - the Sun Wheel. It isn't your ordinary ferris wheel! You can choose between riding in a stationary gondola or one that swings and slides along a track as it lifts you up to a fantastic 16 story view of the park. Of course we chose a mobile gondola, and it was actually really fun! As we crested the top of the arch, and headed back downward, the gondola slides along a track and then swings...it feels like it's going to launch you off the wheel into the water. My stomach was up in my throat the first time, but I loved it after that! Here are a couple picture of us on the ride:


The four of us with a view of the Paradise Pier in the background.

Before going on our vacation I opened a Disney Visa card for some of the perks we'd be able to use. For example: free stroller rentals (which we didn't end up using after all, since we brought one), discounts on food and merchandise (which we did use), and a private meet 'n' greet with a disney character (including a free 5x7 photo). After being used to throngs of people & often long lines to meet a character it was nice to walk right in to meet one, and nobody was even waiting behind us. We got to meet Chip & Dale!

Noah really liked these two chipmunks, and the two of them really spend some one on one time playing with Noah and giving him hugs. Here's Noah sitting in Dale's lap as Chip was trying to get him to laugh. What I thought was funny though is that Noah calls them "Chick & Dale"

Noah liked how soft they were, so they got a couple of goodbye hugs...

We snapped this picture after coming out of the Monsters, Inc. ride (which is pretty cute). We kept hoping to see Sully (the blue monster), but that day there were only villans wandering around that park. Noah kept a good eye on several of them that we saw, but was particularly terrifyed of the Queen of Hearts. She came over to say hi to him & quickly had to leave because he flipped out. No, I didn't take a picture of that - he was genuinely scared, so we just just hurried away.

A really cute area of the park for younger kids is called "a bug's land". There are several little rides, a couple splash areas, and everything is created to give you the feeling that you are the size of a bug! There's even a 3D movie that is interactive (with puffs of air, spurts of water, etc...don't want to ruin all the surprises), but I can see how it would be too scary for some little kids. I was surprised that Noah wasn't more afraid of a couple parts in the show (particularly a spider part...due to some spider drama at our own house), but I think it did help that he was already familiar with many of the characters in the show since he knows the "A Bug's Life" show. Here's a shot of the boys in their 3D glasses before the show. I just crack up at the expression on Noah's face in this picture. Waiting, waiting, waiting...
Here's Noah keeping a close eye on a statue of "Hopper" - who is the villan in Bug's Life.

It's nice how close the two parks (DCA & Disneyland) are to each other - their entrances face each other. So, we could just wander back and forth between the two as we pleased. So! This picture was taken back on the Disneyland side in front of a giant Mickey pumpkin. We could rarely get Lincoln to look for a picture if we had our mouse ears on because he wanted to stare at them, or grab them off somebody.

Here is a shot of me & my boys, with the Sleeping Beauty's Castle behind us. When I was little I used to tell my parents that I was going to get married there someday. Obviously that didn't happen, but I guess we did chose a temple that looks a lot like a castle/palace.

And, I think it's safe to say, this was the highlight of our trip for Noah...meeting Buzz Lightyear!! He gave Buzz five, gave him a hug...

...and then Buzz took Noah and walked with him hand in hand through a section of the park! Noah was definitely doing the "dude walk" and was loving every minute of his one-on-one Buzz time. It was so cute.

Once Buzz got to his destination we thought that he'd stick around and take pictures with people for the next 1/2 hour or so (that's usually the drill), but he had to leave to get over to the Pixar Parade - so we were extra lucky to catch him for pictures at all, let alone for a hand in hand stroll. After Buzz left, Noah was gazing off into the distance with a dreamy expression on his face (seriously) and then he said "Mom...I'm a space ranger!" Simply precious.

Quick clip. Enjoy.


We were able to attend the Pixar Parade (at DCA) two different days, and Noah absolutely loved it. After all, the Pixar movies are the bread and butter of his current movie reenacting obsession. Here is Noah smiling as Dori comes over to say hello to him.



This trip was a perfect fit for me. I love Disneyland, and I love Halloween. So, there really isn't a better time of year for me to visit the happiest place on earth. I love all the Halloween decorations, and I love that they change the traditional Haunted Mansion to the Haunted Mansion Holiday (themed with Nightmare Before Christmas & I love it!). I love how nice the temperature is there that time of year, and that the lines aren't as long. It really is the perfect time of year to go to Disneyland. Now if only everyone else doesn't figure that out...

I thought this was clever. Had to share.

Before leaving Disneyland, Noah wanted to see Woody & Jesse one more time.

I think he would have sat with Jesse for hours if we would have let him. She just held him and stroked his hair and he loved it.


After finishing our last ride (Autopia) both boys were super tired - after 3 days of fun packed, non-stop (meaning no nap) Disney excitement...they were both pretty spent. As we began
wheeling them back to the front gate of the park we ended up with both of them crying. So, we pulled out the big guns - Mickey Mouse suckers that I'd bought and stashed for such an occasion. This was Lincoln's first sucker - first sweet treat too. Any guesses...do you think he liked it?

The next day, after checking out of our hotel, we drove to Glendale to visit some good friends of ours. I grew up as best-friends with Jenny (we've known each other since 7 years old) and so it was a lot of fun to visit her at her cute place. We were able to go with her, her husband & two cuties to a local park and just relax and eat some pizza while the kiddos played. When we got back we tossed the 3 "older" kids into the bath (so cute), and then after everyone else went to bed Jenny and I sat up and gabbed until 3 am! It was sooo nice to just relax and chat with her. I don't know how I managed to leave without getting a picture with Jen in it, but here's a cute one of the bathtub fun :)

Everything went smoothly getting to the airport, and on the flight home. In fact - Noah slept the entire flight! A big thanks to our good friends Ryan & Claire for being our personal airport chauffeurs too!
Well, I think that's it (can you believe it?)! If you actually read this entire trip log, then I am super impressed & if not, then I hope that you enjoyed at least a few of the pictures!

September Wrap-Up

After enjoying our much anticipated family vacation, getting over a nasty cold, and then having issues with our internet…I am finally managing to wrap up September before moving onto a post from our great California adventure this month. So here we go: First of all, Noah is getting a tiny bit better about not hiding when I pull out the camera lately. Now and then he’ll even smile for me if I’m fast enough…and on rare occasions he has even requested for me to take a picture. Such was the case in this picture:

Of course, in wanting desperately to reinforce any behavior that includes tolerance for (or requests of) picture taking…I’ve also ended up with a slew of photos of various bugs, toys, and even bacon that we cooked the other day. If Noah requests me to take a picture of something, then I am all over it. Thank goodness for digital cameras though.

Moving on…I may have mentioned in previous posts that Noah is very into role playing and make believe right now. Anything that involves a “prop” or costume of any type, which coordinates with a movie or show, is super exciting for Noah. So, when I found used Woody & Bulls-eye costumes online a few weeks ago, we hurried over to get it. Of course Noah loves it, and likes to “ride” the horse around and sing, recite lines from Toy Story, or just yell “Ride ‘em, Cowboy!!”…which he pronounces as “Right on, Cowboy!” – pretty cute.

Lincoln isn’t doing this as much now as he used to, but I still had to include this video clip of him scooting backwards. I get a kick out of it anyway.

This last clip is from our most recent trip to the children’s museum, when we went with my friend Camille and her daughter Annie. Noah found the media section of the museum where they do “radio production” and ran into the sound booth. When I saw that he was dancing to the music I pulled out my camera, and then he grabbed the microphone and started to sing! He rambled at first, and then broke out into his version of “you’ve got a friend in me” from Toy Story. And, no, I don’t know what the hand on his tummy thing was about, but the whole thing cracked me up! Who taught my kid how to hold a mic anyway?

And this last picture is of my brothers (Josh, left & Matt, right) with our cousin Tyler in the middle. Our family all had a get together for him the day before he left to join the Marines. So, the last I heard he was at boot camp (is that the right term?) in San Diego…with a much different haircut! We love you, Tyler.

P.S. If you didn't already notice...this post is using several different fonts. Every time that I try to change all the text to the same font, my blog shows an error in the HTML and defaults back to seemingly random different fonts. Can anyone help me with this?...it's driving me nuts!

Fair Food!...and other stuff

Back in the beginning of September we were able to go to the good ol' Utah State Fair while Chelsey & Audrey were still in town (on opening day it's only $2 to get in!). My brother Josh was able to join us too, and we all had a great time. I totally admit that the reason I go to the state fair is for the food - especially the roasted corn and fresh squeezed lemonade (and bites of whatever everyone else gets!) Yum.

Now, I have to mention that our fair isn't the same caliber as the Iowa State Fair that we enjoyed while living there, and there's no butter cow, but it was perfect for taking these three kiddos (all 2 years and under). I have to giggle that Iowa already has their 2009 Fair info up complete with a countdown already! (if that gives you an idea of what a big deal the fair is there)

Anyhow! For our 2008 experience we first of all saw the animals, and Audrey & Noah even got to go brush some baby cows. Audrey was a bit shy about things, but Noah was actually pretty brave and after a little bit of coaxing enjoyed petting and brushing the cows.

Then it was off to the 'little hands on the farm' exhibit which was so cute. They planted their own "seeds"...
...and "watered" them too. (such cute cousins, huh?)

Then it was harvest time.

Next it was time to transport the produce to market. Noah was apparently quite concerned that we have enough gas for our journey - he spent quite a while very carefully "gassing up"!

Noah was freaked out about sticking his hand into the cages to collect eggs at first until we convinced him that the chickens really were just pretend. I had to include this shot to show the sweet blue ink that Noah got all over in his hair (from his hand stamp).

Noah was quite excited to show me that he got an egg. Then it was off to "sell" our goods (aka put them away) and they even gave the kids fake money to take into the little store to buy something. Noah was quite pleased about buying some crackers, which he promptly devoured.

I had to include this cute shot of Chelsey and Audrey on the carousel. Audrey was all smiles the entire ride.

Mark taking Noah on the big yellow slide. I was afraid Noah would get scared, but he loved it (he can be so unpredictable).

I told Noah that he could choose one treat. Anything that he wanted. This is what he chose. A carmeled apple with sprinkles.

And then it was over to the rodeo where we enjoyed some mutton bustin' before the bull riding. Noah loved all of it - the kids getting bucked off the sheep, the music (which he had fun dancing to), the cowboys, everything. Here's a random, quick clip of things. A couple of things about it that crack me up though...right after handing me his carmeled apple, so that he can concentrate on things, he pulls out his "laser gun" (his wrist) and starts shooting. I have no idea what made him think to do that. I'm guessing the thought process went something like this: cowboys...Woody...Buzz...laser gun. It always comes back to Toy Story somehow for him. Anyway, you can tell when the bull rider comes out because Noah stops "shooting his laser" and starts pretending to ride a horse. Then he's sure to let me know that the cowboy "fell down!". I love this kid.


I mentioned Noah being unpredictable earlier...yup. As you can see, he was NOT happy about getting on this ride, but we knew that he'd like it once it started - and this was a practice run before going to Disneyland, so that he knew better what to expect & we could do the coaxing at the state fair instead of at Disneyland.

Sure enough, the minute that the ride started, Noah realized "Hey! This is fun!" In fact, he loved it so much that I couldn't get him to look at the camera for a video clip, and we had to pry him off the ride.


I threw Lincoln's little cowboy hat on him for the fair since it seemed like a fair-ish thing to do. He was a good little dude and just chilled in the stroller most of the time that we were there.
I have to mention how strange it seemed for me to think that last year when we attended the fair, this little guy was still hanging out in my belly with still a couple of months until his debut. Feel free to take a look at the first picture on this post, which is from the fair and also happens to be my first blog post ever.

11 Months Old! (yesterday)

I have several posts waiting on the back burner, but I could not put off doing this one. I can hardly believe how quickly my baby is growing up. If I had to describe Lincoln in one word, it would be "happy"...but if I could use a few more words, then they'd include: sweet, blue-eyed, curious, chubby, and increasingly opinionated. In fact, he used to not care when Noah would take a toy from him, then he started whining or crying when it would happen...now he shrieks (loudly!) and looks for somebody to come to his rescue. However, most of the time this is the expression we see:
As far as new things about Lincoln:

• He now weighs in at 26 pounds 8 ounces (only 3 1/2 pounds to go before he catches Noah!)
• He is still doing the army crawl. Rarely we'll catch him moving up on his knees for a second before he drops back down to his belly...but boy is he fast with that army crawl!
  
• He loves "cruising" around holding onto furniture and, although he's gotten pretty good at it, he falls and bonks his head several times a day. I think that's pretty inevitable when you've got a noggin his size though. Honestly, I'm surprised that the poor guy doesn't get more bruises on his head and face than he does.
• He thinks everything that Noah does is hilarious.
• He has no idea how badly it hurts when he bites you with those 4 sharp teeth of his (so watch out!)
• He is sleeping through the night!!!

And, as for some firsts...he took his first airplane ride this month, and he was an angel. This picture of our binky-baby is the only one that I took, so it'll have to do:

He ate his first french fry (loves them):

He went to the beach for the first time (he wasn't sure what he thought of the sand):

And, lastly, Lincoln had his first sucker (his first sweet treat of any kind, actually)! While walking back to our hotel from Disneyland (after a long day of fun & no naps) both of our little guys were having meltdowns. So, we pulled out the big guns and gave them mickey mouse suckers. As you can see, Lincoln loved it!
Lincoln, we love you so much and are so very grateful that you're a part of our family. Although it's sad to continue to say goodbye to your "babyness"...we look forward to continuing to watch you learn, grow, and unfold your sweet little personality.