Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Both kids are napping, I'm semi-watching The Voice on tivo, my sliding door is open so I can hear the rain, and I have a pumpkin cream cheese cookie. I'm in my happy place. ("Cause I got one leg, jealousssss?")

Isabelle finally "gets" Halloween this year I think. She got to choose her own costume and pick out her pumpkin and she says stuff like "ohhh thats spoooooky." Holidays are way more fun with babies and kids and stuff. We carved up our pumpkins for family home evening on Monday night and she mostly enjoyed it. I say mostly because she was not about to scoop those guts out with her bare hands! Who does that!

Most happy she got to hold a plastic knife.

Love this face.

We kind of had to take turns doing the pumpkin carving because of this hot mess:

He's so cute, even when he cries. Linc was just a super fuss for the last few days and last night after I put him down, he kept waking up screaming. He only has screamed like that once before, and it was an ear ache. I pushed on his one ear- super sensitive, more screaming. Finally ran to dads, dad used his scope to confirm ear infection in my sad little baby, sent Jazz to the pharmacy ten minutes before close. PHEW. Hope those antibiotics help. He is such a good happy boy normally that I knew something was off. Anyway.

Not a fan of the slimy insides.

Jazz was so cute- he let Isabelle draw on the pumpkin with marker, then he basically cut out around the outside of her shape. We call it the Mike Wazowsky. Mine is a ghost in the moon. Jazz did a cute jack o lantern face. SUCCESS. Next year we agreed to invest in a pumpkin carving set.

Isabelle has been wearing her costume all day today- we had lunch with Jazz at the hospital and ran a couple of errands.. Luckily we got some cute pictures outside before the rain hit- not sure how trick or treating will go in the drizzly cold. Hope you all have a fun/safe night with your families- we will be over at my parents' for their party this year featuring Effie Trinket!

insta-update vol. 9

  

baby overalls/fancy day

  

happy baby/ "wittle wipstick"

  

lassie/taylor swift morning

  

izzie's witch face/burrito makes everyone happy

  

diy glitter shellac/"helping" make the bed

  

hating grass/sweet baby margo

how to do disneyland with babies and toddlers part duex

So you've traveled. You've prepared. You've packed. And now you are at the park.

I'm not going to tell you what to do or what to see first, that's up to you. For us, there is so much to do that it brings us back 2-3 times a year. There is something so magical about walking down main street on a crisp day, listening to Hello Dolly's "Put on your Sunday Clothes" with you family in tow. That is my favorite day of my whole life- better than Christmas and my birthday combined.

I like to get family pictures including all members of our party. Sometimes that is four, sometimes it is 16. My best advice is to do it as SOON as you enter the park/ early in the morning when the light is nice. Take a picture right through the main gain is often horribly sunny and crowded, I recommend the castle or main street. If you say, "oh we will get one later," you probably will not. Your party splits up. Your baby barfs on his shirt. Your toddler won't wear shoes and also pulls out her ponytails. It gets harder and harder to get a picture. You know those disney employees that run around with cameras? Ask them to take a picture with their camera AND THEN yours. They can't say no, it's policy. They usually don't mind. Also, don't be afraid to ask a stranger..Jazz is always horrified when I flag someone down and have them snap a picture. He loves it. Jazz loves pictures. This last trip I tried to take one family picture of the four of us every day. That way, if one didn't turn out, there were other options from the trip. For every good one, we also got these gems:

And my personal favorite:

Take candids, take posed, take whatever you want. Once you get several pictures from the day, don't worry so much about getting a picture on every ride/ in front of every character.. you don't need that many I promise.

Because Disney is a family company, they cater to you bringing your kids. Be prepared for strollers everywhere. They have parking spots for them all over the park. To ride a ride- just park your stroller, leave it and hop in line.  I often leave my stuff on the stroller, minus my wallet/camera or whatever. Sometimes I end up taking a small bag with me though because you never know when your kid is gonna have a blow out on it's a small world. I have never had a problem leaving my stroller. Oh, my stroller, how I love thee. (Baby Jogger City Select Double)  A few of my favorite features: Both seats can face forward, both can face backward, or one each way. It easily converts into a single stroller as well. The shade fits over the entire seat! Imagine that, pulls all the way down. In fact, the whole stroller folds down compactly. It was great when Linc was small and in his carseat, I just clicked it right into a bar. Both seats recline! It also tap dances and dispenses diet coke. I mean, it's really perfect. My most favorite part is that it is only single wide- I can navigate through normal stores, tight spaces without running people down. I even took it to bath and body works once... a true test.

If we had to stand in line, I used a ring sling to pop Linc into. It's compact, easy to carry, comfortable and quick to put him in. Made things sooooo much easier.

How can you not want to bite him.

My favorite part of visiting Disneyland with a baby is the Baby Care Center, located just off of Main Street. You walk in and a couple of adorable older women in costume greet you and ask what services you need! They have six semi private wicker chairs to nurse in, plus a whole room dedicated to changing tables, and another room with an outlet for private pumping. Bonus- tiny pottys for tiny kids potty training. They also have high chairs for spoon feeding, microwaves for heating stuff, diapers and milk to buy in case you run out. They have everything. When I took linc as a two-month old, I just stuck with my family and every few hours I would peace out to the baby care center to nurse, and just rejoin them after. It's air conditioned and nice and quiet. I love this place. California Adventure also has a smaller baby care center that they have recently remodeled, making it bigger with more rooms for nursing. You will also see tons of women nursing on benches or wherever is comfortable.

ALSO. This is super important. You can do a parent swap at any ride. Just wait in line like normal (or get a fast pass.) and at the front ask for a parent pass. One person rides the ride while the other stays with the kids, then you take the pass to the front of the line and the other person gets to ride. Definitely a plus if there is a ride you just can't miss and you don't have a grandma around. It was really useful this last time when we wanted to try out the new Cars Land ride but neither kid could go with us. Worked great.

Our favorite place to eat is the mexican cantina right Thunder Mountain Railroad. The food is pretty good, the portions are nice, and they have diet sprite on tap. WITH ONE FREE REFILL. Save your receipt. Seriously, the only place in the park with a refill. Use it. The patio is covered and they have rotating fans to cool you off, or they have space heaters at night. It's a nice home base.

There are tons of shows to see- particularly the fireworks over the castle, Fantasmic, and World of Color at California. All are entertaining, if I could choose one I would probably pick Fantasmic. It does have some scary elements.. we saw this show first and every time we saw a show after that Isabelle said. "But no dragons, right? no dragons!" So, just a heads up. The parades are adorable and worth waiting for so the kids can see. Find a spot, sit down, and put a blanket down to save your spot while your spouse takes the kids on a ride. Or, get ice cream. If you plan to be at Disneyland at night after the sun has set, save some money by bringing your own glow in the dark junk. Michael's has them, and the dollar store has them- wands, necklaces, bracelets, etc. Disney sells high end glow in the dark junk for $15..I spent $3 and Isabelle was just as excited. It was fun to pull them out as a "surprise" at the end of the day, plus it kept her occupied while we were waiting for our shows.

If it is your first time or your birthday (or your kids) stop into guest services and get a free pin. All the cast members will comment on it and it makes them feel special. We always buy a light up balloon for $12. Yes, $12. Last time we brought it home with us it lasted a month, and it has an on/off switch. We usually buy it the last day so we don't have to worry about lugging it around everywhere. If you lose your balloon, or it breaks, they will replace it for free! Isabelle pulled her light-up part right out of the balloon and watched it sail away and then TEARS oh the TEARS. We saved the ribbon and got a free one the next day- keep in mind the balloon people only are out for a short time, and definitely go away an hour or more before close. First aid is right by the baby care center and they have all kinds of things- I stopped in to see if I could buy a bandaid and they handed me 3 or 4 no charge. 

Other tidbits:
     -Target is right around the corner in case you forget anything major.
     -Please, please, please, eat a corndog from the truck right by the baby care center on main street.
     -Bring a pop up round hamper in your suitcase. We just kept it in the corner and filled it up as the week went on. Kept things so neat and tidy, and made it easy to find things that I needed to wash. Tip courtesy of LannyMac.
     -Make sure to visit Toontown way in the back, lots for kids to do.
     -Crowds tend to form up to an hour before opening time.. the earlier the better.
     -Bring lots of water ($3.50 in the park, seriously.)

Most of all, relax. You will not see and do everything, things will not go perfectly! You might forget things and your kids will most definitely spill on their clothes. Lines may be long or short depending on the time of year- it may even rain on you.  Be excited when your kids see their favorite characters- sing loud and clap on the It's a Small World Ride.  Point out details of the castles and the grounds, wait in line to see Mickey Mouse. Try to let go of the little things because the big things are all you will remember. Happy Traveling!

                                                                                                                                  

seriously this time, going private.

I hate to do this.. but looking at our google stats doesn't give me very much confidence. 

We are making the blog private. I want to be able to let my family and friends see picture of Iz and Linc and tell funny stories without weird people getting to our blog by using a search engine.

I wish there was an easier way to do it, but the only way for me to give you access to our blog is through your email. You will basically receive in invite from my blog. Click on it, sign in, etc. It's annoying, but I love my family and my children too much to have strangers peeping our info.

I know I've said it before but this time is FOR REAL FOR REAL FOR REAL. If you would like access to the blog, and I'd love for our family and friends and nice people to keep reading- just leave a comment with your email.

Thanks.

how to do disneyland with babies and toddlers

So, you know how I feel about Disneyland. Home away from home. Heaven on Earth. All that jazz. Some people think we are crazy to make the trip as often as we do because of our small children- but there are tricks and things we have figured out along the way to make things so much easier.

Getting there:

We have both driven and flown, there are pros and cons to each option. Last time we went, we drove since it was cheaper than for us to fly now that Isabelle is over two. Not to mention, our airport is 2 hours away from us anyway... For us to drive it takes a whole day- about 9-10 hours including stops.  The key to car traveling is to be prepared. I started packing a few days in advance, but I started collecting crap for a few weeks before we left. Ten hours in a car is a long time to just "wing it" with your kids.

This is what my counter looked like the night before we left:

And that's just the car crap. I used baskets for all the kids things'- I think bags work too but they are harder for me to see whats in there and get in and out of quickly. First bucket is snacks- I took most everything out of their packages and put them in ziplock bags for storage. Snapware is also great for things you don't want to get squashed. I made sure we picked up some new snacks that Iz had never had before. New = fun. The "refill' bag was extra everything- snacks, juice boxes and baby food for linc, diapers, blankies, wipes.. to keep in the trunk. Izzie's bucket was all of her books/puzzles/toys to keep her entertained as long as possible. I started collecting crap from the dollar store and the dollar section of michael's and target- things like sticker books, a squishy football, a halloween sack of stuff, pipe cleaners, colored pencils whatever could keep her happy... as well as some of her old favorite toys and stuff from previous disneyland trips. This bucket was kept under her car seat, at her feet. Lincoln's bucket was mostly toys he had never seen before. You know, because his regular toys become totally boring after like five minutes. Baby puffs, milk, baby food, blankies, diapers, stuff to chew on etc. Also kept under his carseat. Both kids had an extra change of clothes and a pair of pajamas, just in case. The snack bucket was on the floor between the kids' buckets. Are these baskets? Yeah probably. Baskets.

Tip: put a towel down on the seats before you install your carseats... keeps trip related spills and crumbs to a minimum. Our kids have a history of car barfing so its important to us to keep the barf off of the seats as much as possible. (Remember this. !) I sat in the front and was able to reach and pass things back when I needed to. We also had Jazz's galaxy pad for Isabelle to watch a movie if we got desperate. There were definitely times that I had to crawl back there and sit between the kids to feed Linc or do stickers with Iz or whatever. Preparation is key here.

Other: Pack a handful of extra baggies. Small ones for snacks, larger ones for wet or dirty clothes, they come in handy. So does a roll of paper towels in the trunk.

Where to stay:

There are two choices here. You can either stay further away from the Disneyland and use the parking structure and tram service OR stay close enough to the park to walk to and from the entrance, which is what I TOTALLY PREFER. This is just my own opinion, but it is so so so so worth staying close to be able to walk when you have small kids. When you take the tram, you have to fold your stroller and take all the junk out of it before you get on, so when your kids are sleeping its such a bear to move them, and hold your crap, and fold the stroller, and open those stupid tiny doors. Once we stayed near the park there was no going back for me, we will do that from now on. If your kids are older and you no longer need a stroller, it might be worth your while to save some dough and book a hotel further away and pay for parking. However, there are often long lines for the trams late at night when it is park closing, or after fireworks, etc. Just keep that in mind. If you fly to the area, you may be able to skip renting a car if you stay close enough to the park.

Another totally awesome part of staying near Disneyland is the ability to leave and return to the park in the middle of the day! Clothes are wet from splash mountain!? Run home and change! Feet need some rest? Go lay down! Kids are having meltdowns? Family nap time! It was so much hotter than we expected when we recently went (hi it was september.) that a few times we returned to the hotel from like 2-5 when it was the warmest and also the busiest, had ourselves some downtime and then returned with a second wind to stay late for shows and fireworks. 

We always stay somewhere with a hot breakfast. Nothing fancy, but is a HUGE time saver and it saves us money once we are inside the park. For us, we don't spend a ton of time in our hotel. We sleep there. Doesn't have to have tons of amenities (though they are sure a nice bonus!) If you visit in the off season, you can often get a more luxurious hotel for a lower price. When we checked in, Jazz just casually asked if they had any complimentary upgrades available and THEY DID. It probably didn't hurt that Isabelle was oozing toddler cuteness in his arms- but they gave us a suite at no extra charge. We had an extra room for Lincoln to sleep in where we could close the divider and stay up past his bedtime without waking him. Made the stay so much easier! The front desk ladies also remembered us when we returned three days later to stay again... and upgraded us again for free. They were so nice and helpful we brought them some disneyland treats from the bakery to thank them for our totally rockin' room.

Hitting the park:

Before you head to the park, get all your shiz ready the night before- this is key. You do not want to be throwing random stuff into a bag for the whole day while your toddler hangs on the doorknob screaming because they are hungry for breakfast. Our stroller becomes like a mobile home on wheels- extra clothes, pajamas, food, drinks, toys, diapers and wipes, blankies, camera, wallet, blah blah blah. I could do a whole separate post about our stroller, because it is amazing and probably the single best baby item we have ever purchased. Well, definitely in the top three. Nah, its probably the best ever.

This is what we looked like wheelin' in the gate. We call the grey and yellow bag the "disneyland bag" since it is huge. It doesn't look that big, but it is HUGE. We fit everything for the day into that big bag. I couldn't find a bag that fit all of my needs so I sewed one using this tutorial only I made it a little big bigger and the straps longer to fit over our stroller bar. When you approach the main gate, you have to have your bags checked. Having one big bag makes it a breeze to get through there, instead of unloading a purse, diaper bag, back-up bag, whatever onto the table. This also leaves our storage basket nice and neat- we usually throw a bunch of cold water bottles in there for the day. 

Inside my giant magic bag, I have several large ziplock baggies. One to keep stuff for Lincoln- extra paci's, baby spoons, baby pouches and food, bibs etc. One for 6-8 diapers and a small wipe case and pad. One for Isabelle's extra clothes and her blankie. One for snacks. One bag for grown up needs- my wallet, chapstick, sunglasses, bandaids etc. You get the idea. It was easy to keep track of stuff rather than dig through a giant bag for something small.

I've also done it the other way- bringing my regular diaper bag to hang off the stroller and using the Disneyland bag for stuff underneath the stroller. Harder to reach stuff and harder to keep track of. The nice thing about that though was that I could take my diaper bag with me if I needed to. 

Make sure to include: baby hats and sunscreen, blankies, hand sanitizer, bandaids and first aid stuff, ID for you and your kids, pajamas for night time, jackets in case it is cold. Snacks! Fun snacks for kids and for grown ups (although Churros are readily available). We take raisins, dried apples from costco, fruit snacks, bananas, pirates booty, crackers, licorice, and some other treats. Don't forget to pack your camera! We also had a sling for Lincoln, though lots of people use Ergo's or Baby Bjorns. Pack plenty of wipes- you will end up wiping down hands and tables and high chairs- all sorts of stuff. We go through them way faster than normal.

ALSO, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT. I see people all the time wearing cute summer wedges, or really funky flat flip flops. Dare I even say- high heels. Every thing has a time and a place, and for me- Disneyland means ugly shoes. Wear the most comfortable shoes you own. Make sure they are good and broken in. I always wear Nikes and my Dankso clogs, though I have a new pair of Allegria's that I love love love. And all three pairs are not high on the cute scale. But I'll tell you what, when I'm doin laps around the lady in heels sitting on a bench I do not mind the ugly thing AT ALL. We stand a LOT and we log upwards of 12,000 steps in a day...you can choose if they are going to be comfortable or painful. Just saying.

This post is so long so I broke it up.. next I'll talk about how we navigate the park!

new table.

THANKS CRAIGSLIST for having great crap. 

For $150, you too can have a new table and chairs.

Bonus: With a leaf!

I love finding stuff on craigslist, but this time it was Jazz who scored. It's a really heavy, durable table with four pretty decent chairs. I'm itchy to recover them in something more modern/my style. Easy peasy! We've been looking for a bigger table since the one we had was a drop-leaf originally for our small 2-person apartment... we have been eating buffet style for awhile and I'm thrilled to have some more space. The trick is to be patient...something good always pops up! (Chlorox wipees are the other trick, fyi.)

Lincoln Michael 9 Months

Little Lincoln, not so little anymore! Linc is so joyful and is seriously the happiest baby I have ever met. He thinks everything is just hilarious and if you even threaten to tickle him he will lose it. So ticklish. Chin, legs, arms, ribs, it doesn't really matter. Giggle fits. Mostly I just want to bite his cheeks and that spot on the back of his neck that was made just for the mamas. 

Linc learned a lot this month. He was just barely learning to crawl and now he is a master crawler. Can get everywhere, even through the blockades we set up to keep him in the family room. Stairs? NO PROBLEM. Sunday we were at my parents' house and he went up the entire flight, like it was no big deal. It's so cute when he crawls, I can hear his little hands slap slap slap on the tile. He is pulling to a stand on basically anything- the wall, couch, fridge, any thing he can grab and stand up. Which is super fun but also sometimes a hazard? Like tile floor and a soft baby head don't mix that well? He seems to be less sensitive than Isabelle was, I bet its all that man baby testosterone. It's a good thing we lowered the crib when we did... 

Because Lincoln is moving so much, his little body and face have really thinned out. His thigh chub is gone and he really only has one chin now. But his cheeks! Still fluffy! He is sleeping pretty good, definitely down to two naps a day which has been really nice. Sometimes he wakes up at night screaming and we go in there and he is sitting up, looking all confused like WHO SAT ME UP I WAS SLEEPING. He is taking less milk and more food- he always has preferred food and really doesn't care to drink his bottle as much as he used to. Definitely eating more finger food, his pincer grasp is getting really good and he loves to do it himself. 

Isabelle and Lincoln are the best of friends. He is always looking for her, and wants to be doing whatever she is doing. We were doing puzzles on the kitchen table and he kept crawling and getting stuck under all the chairs because he was trying so hard to see what Iz was up to. Did I mention he is obsessed with Olivia? Like, totally attached to it. Always wants to carry her around in his mouth like a little dog. We put it on the counter, he crawls to the counter and tries to get it. He loves it. Isabelle is not amused though..we got one for him that is similar to Olivia but he hasn't quite taken to it yet. He also loves to chase balls all around the house, around and around trying to catch them. We call him Linc, Linc-ers, Linc-y Loo, Linc-erton, and "baby winc."

My prisoner.

yep, it's a pink sleep sack. He has almost grown into the blue one, whatever.

We love having Linc around, hard to remember life before he joined us! I keep saying that if all babies were like Lincoln, I'd have about twelve more. 

insta-update vol. 8

 

best buds/breakfast

 

fat baby feet/ first pony tail

 

early swings/ sleepybye

 

crawling cowboy/stuck

 

fancy day/in the tunnel

 

pulling up/party prep

 

mama and her girls/pirate day in ballet