Disney 2013

An abundance of pictures that followed an abundance of fun at the Happiest Place on Earth!
Spring Break 2013 also fell on Mike's 40th Birthday.  He's been waiting 40 years for his mom and dad to take him to Disney (sigh), and since I got tired of waiting, and I thought our kids were the perfect age to enjoy such said vacation, we booked it and anticipated it for week on end.
We prepped, planned, discussed, and pumped up everyone to have a great time. Kade got sick a few days prior and although you couldn't tell it, he was pretty miserable those first few days.  He could barely talk, being horse from coughing so much, but he still ran circles around all of us.
Heading to the Hotel - they are crazy!

It was packed being spring break for most of the US, but the weather was perfect, and sometimes too hot, and overall we had a great time.  The kids were such troopers walking and walking and walking.  They never complained about standing in line and managed to pass the time just with excited talk.  We stayed about a half mile away from the park (which was only 3 blocks), and we walked there and back each day, and one day even twice.  I think the parents (or probably mostly myself) complained about the heat and walking more than the kids. 
Of course it's a magical place where you step inside a fantasy life.  It's part of what they do so well there.  There is nothing half-assed!  The parades and shows are spectacular and kids of all ages love them.

The kids loved meeting and randomly seeing all the characters walking around.  Reagan got 26 signatures in her autograph book and that will be a bragging point for awhile I think!!  The characters make it so fun for kids.  Most can't talk, (because of those huge heads), but the princesses, fairies, and such that can, always pay special attention to hairs in buns, colors of shirts, remarks the kids make, etc. They ask their names and then address them by that.  While waiting in line for Ariel, a footman pulled a fork out of his jacket and handed it to Reagan and said, "see if she remembers what this is".  Little touches that make it a great experience.  She exclaimed "Oh! My dinglehopper! Where did you find this?", and then she combed her hair with it :)

Tinkerbell thought it was great that Rea was wearing a green shirt, her favorite color, and that my hair was in a bun "I love buns!" she said :)

I love Kade's face here!

 Minnie and Mickey, hug, touch, and love on the kids.  They make them seem so real and so magical.

 The little gesture of holding Kade's hand was sweet :)

Goofy was so funny and mimicked Kade and he got a total kick out of that.

The highlight for Reagan was probably waiting and seeing Merida (from Brave).  She and I waited in line for probably 45 mins (the longest we waited for anything - or should I say, wanted to wait), they said right before we got there she was leaving to feed her house.  I was irritated, but then she let Reagan come up to her, gave her a hug, showed her the bear brothers, and talked about her.  Up walks Kade, and he says "Hey, I Kader-Tot (which is legally his name to him and how he approaches everyone), and Merida laughs and sweetly says "Oh, I LOOOVE tatertots" ;o)  After pictures and signatures, she grabbed their hands and said let's take a walk to my horse, and away they went down the streets of Disney skipping - or trying to skip- along.  It was so cute and so special for them.  They thought they were in a parade and waved to everyone they passed :)

The downside was the crowds, and while we mostly enjoyed Disney, California Adventure was a nightmare.  It's mostly geared for older kids anyway, but it is the one place to see the Toy Story (HELLLLLOOO WOODY!!), and the Cars Land.  By the time we got there and inside and ready to go, there were no fast passes even left for rides in the park.  So the Cars ride and Toy Story ride were 2 hours wait.  No ride is worth that kind of wait.  The kids didn't know any different and so we just walked around, did what we could, and left early to prepare for another day at Disneyland. 

This was Kade afte waiting in line for a bit to meet Woody, only to have Woody leave when we were just a few shy of getting to the front.  Thankfully, Woody, Jessie and Buzz rotated the same spot every 20 mins so they got to meet all three!!

I love the look of excitement on his face as he's showing Woody his Bullseye

(The "photo takers" at Disney have a much better one of them, so I'm definately purchasing it to have for him!)
We went early the last day and were able to do a lot of things.  Kade got to ride the Buzz ride a few times, and we enjoyed the Star Wars ride (which they both loved), and of course the family favorite (except Reagan) Splash Mountain!! Kade couldn't ride it enough.  He'd squeal with excitement and say "Let's go up, up, up, and then down, down, down".  He was just tall enough for the rides!  We rode it the first night we were there and Reagan's face and scream of fear were priceless.  The next time we rode it was in the day time and there was no WAY she was going on the ride after that:) 
Shootin' the bad guys

I thought these hats were cute.  Mike was dreading them if every picture.  But it's their personalities.

 

 Ok, my face is all you see but check out Rea's sheer look of terror.  Her scream was SOOO loud.  This was the night ride.

 Star Tours ride

 Down, down, down

 Totally cool Lego store had this outside.

 Splash Mountain probably the 5th time

Tea Cups....

 

Parade fun....
Their parades are packed with music, dancing, and amazing floats.  They are only about 15 mins but the kids totally loved it.

Brunch at Goofy's Kitchen
Overpriced and memorable :)

Randoms I love

 

Awesome Lego Hulk

A busy week, a fun time, and memories to last forever!! 

Kade's Tune

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com
The video was taken when I was putting him down for the night so it was dark but I thought his voice was so very sweet :)

My "Baby" turns 3!

It is not lost on me that I am experiencing a heap of "lasts" as my little blue-eyed boy grows. Some are rejoiced in, i.e. bye-bye diapers, bottles, sippy cups, carrying around bags full of anything imaginable to satisfy or pacify a young one, baby forks that really don't work, middle of the night crying, misunderstanding what he is trying to tell you, and inconsolable crying.  But there are also the bittersweet ones. The lingering smell of baby shampoo after bath and as I read to him at night, the chubby little hand he reaches out to help be lifted up curbs, in the car, across the parking lot, and loads of snuggles. Helping him put on his shoes and pull up his undies. I've already been stricken from the bathroom after I turn on the light, and he wants to dress himself and put his own coat on. When he's dropped off at daycare he wants me to stand at the door and he cheerfully says "Bye mommy, have good day".  How much longer will I peel his bananas and open his string cheese, and wipe away those big tears as he needs a moment of love and assuring. These are the uneventful things I will miss the most. He's growing. Time is spinning. We so look forward to our kids growing, but I glance at pictures from just two years ago and the sad little ping in my heart is very noticable. 
Kade has always been a joy in our house.  While he and Reagan are so very different in so many ways, they are both alike in so many as well.  They are silly, happy, loving and outgoing.  Kade loves to smile and his eyes shine when he does something happy or mischievious.  He's free with his hugs (i.e. Schwan's man, strangers in passing, moms/teachers at the school as he walks around) and he's wild, wild at heart.  He has one volume that starts at 6:30 a.m. and goes until 8 p.m. and that's "extremely LOUD".  He's learning so, so much right now and I'm constantly assured that he learns from things we think he ignores.  He can count to 18 if he wants, knows his colors and most of his shapes.    His memory is crazy good.  He doesn't like to be in trouble and immediately says "you not mean mommy" (as if to reassure himself), or our favorite "I just smiling at you" (as if to reassure me).  You then have to smile in return and all is forgiven on both parts.
I love that he wants Noodles for breakfast and Chocolate Pancakes whenever his tummy feels the need.  The way he says "I Hungry mama".  How he still has a heart dedicated to Woody but is loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  He's got wicked karate moves, loves to play with swords, tackle and tag.  He hates getting dressed and would wear PJ's all day long if I let him.  He is a total homebody and wants to cut short any visit or lunch date with a ride home to his favorite spot.  He is my best little buddy and my constant companion. 
He anticipated his birthday for several week this year.  He understood exactly what was going to happen and that it entailed gifts :)  When asked how old he was going to be he would say "I Woody party".  Anything that appeared for his big day he would say "For ME mama?!! Cooool." So I ran with it.  I can't wait to have all the fun boy party planning hours like I enjoy his sisters "girl" parties.  The decor went up and had to be secretly taken down days later while he was preoccupied so he wouldn't freak out.  He could not wait for everyone to arrive, running down the sidewalk to greet them with "Hey, it's my party!", and immediately set to opening his presents!  He was geniunely excited for each gift and kept saying "Oooooo my gosh".  We played games and they decorated Mr. Potato Head bags for party gifts.  We had slinky dogs, Buzz's space burgers, Mr. PotatoHead fries, Refueling juice, Bo Peeps berry salad and of course.....a WOODY CAKE!!  He was exhausted after it was over and begged for a nap.  We then followed it up with a fun hour of bowling.  The big day is over and my big boy is officially three.  We sure do love you Kader Tot!

The gang was all there as well

The party guests got Etch A Sketches, army guys, refueling juice, & candy.  They made the party bags to carry it all home in.

 

I just LOVE his facial expression here :)

I wish I made the cake but I forked over some money to alleviate the stress :)

Oops, I almost didn't edit this photo enough :) He has his favorite "purple guy" mask and ninja stick with him at all times!

 

 

 

Christmas 2012 and a Fresh Start

Christmas 2012
Every year I say "This year we are going to do....", Living the life of retail, wherein your world and finances are comsumed by "Christmas", it gets increasingly hard to create a true Christmas Spirit.  I'm hoping as the kids get older and can understand certain things, that will be much easier.  I wouldn't change the way our life is or the circumstances that have us here.  It is what it is and Mike loves having his own business.  It happens to be in retail, but it pays the bills, allows us to raise our kids how we would like, and we are able to spend wonderful time together.  The last few months of the year Mike gets a little cranky (he'll role his eyes at this), and we all just get exhausted.  There are parties to plan and attend, long, long hours on your feet dealing with unhappy shoppers, rude people, but also grateful people!  There are gifts to wrap, lists to be made, crowds to fight with a toddler running around, and then, in the sum of 24 hours, it's over.  And you think, we survived.  It wasn't that bad.  And you start planning for next year:)  While we love that the last few months allow us to live our lives comfortably, we also relish a fresh start in January!

Reagan has been in hip-hop this year and loves her teacher.  She had a great recital and was so cute :)

We traveled to our parents Christmas Eve and were able to spend a few days with family.  Repetative I know, but we are so grateful for them being close and that we are able to have our kids connect with grandparents and have their own special relationships with them and with cousins.  I didn't have that growing up.  Mike did, and it's something that is really, really important to us.  The kids had a great time and got more than their share of presents. Kade was awesome this year and was genuinely excited about all his presents and the concept of the holiday.  It is currently February, and he still tells Daddy every night, "Merry Chrismess Daddy".  It's turned into a little game who can say it first but we love it anyway.

 Man I love his cute little expressions :)

 This was our "tree" adventure.  We thought it would be fun to cut our own tree down this year.  I mean, we are only miles from some great forestry!  So we loaded up the kids in the truck on a dreary, freezing Sunday and purchased a tree tag in St Anthony (about 45 min away and only another 15 into Island Park).  As we started to drive into Island Park to the designated areas, the rain started drizzling down.  We drove several miles back into the forest praying we wouldn't get stuck in the mud drenched back roads.  We all got out as a family and began walking around looking for the perfect tree.  Then the rain got heavier and the kids got colder.  Notice Kade is missing a coat.  No thanks to the fantastic mom he has :(  Then we left them under a pine tree as we decided to go further along to find one.  The kids panicked because they couldn't see us and Reagan was screaming for us and Kade was bawling.  We threw the kids into the truck and we were all soaking wet, but by gosh, we were going to find a silly tree!! So Mike and I proceeded to get in and out of the truck at different areas as the rain is now pouring down on us.  Soaking wet, kids crying, and not finding a tree...we finally gave up.  Those trees are not as they appear :)  We drove home and the next night we went to the YMCA and found our BEST. TREE. EVER!!! Good times though, right!

We were SOOO glad we finally got snow as well and the kids were pulled around on the 4-wheelers at Grandmas house and then we were able to come home and do some sledding.  There is a perfect park by our house that has just the right size of hills for the kids.  And I love that they are willing and able this year to carry their own sleds back up the hill!

Kade is very creative :)

This was Reagan's earned reward that she loved :)

She also had her 2 lower teeth pulled in November.  I nearly died when I noticed the teeth behind her baby teeth one day.  To think, I ignored her "sores in her mouth" for a month! The permanent teeth magically appeared behind those and they were loose but would not come out.  She thinks all her teeth are going to come out with a little magic air and a nice reward from the dentist.  I fear her freaking out when the next one is getting yanked out!

January also brings promises of new beginnings. It's always a time to reflect on where you want your year to go and what fun things and goals you want to have. We did pretty good on our goals for last year and are excited for the upcoming year, and especially summer!