Disneyland

Disneyland was SO much fun!! Addilyn was definitely too small for it. She was NOT interested in any of the rides. I think they were too dark and loud for her. All she wanted was a balloon (which for some crazy reason we couldn't find until about 3:00 in the afternoon) and once we got her one she absolutely REFUSED to leave it to go on another ride. But Carter loved the entire day. It was a long, exciting adventure and we were ALL exhausted by the time we headed home. Thanks, Nona and Papa for the great time!!

BUZZ!!! He's one of my favorite characters!

Dumbo was one of Carter's favorite rides. Addi... not so much.

Peter Pan. Carter loves to fly. Just like his Granddad.

Carter put his hat on all by himself... I thought it was a cute look. :) (But I'm his mom.)

GIVE ME MY HAT!!!

All tuckered out on our way back to the car.

Hmmm...

When Carter gets home from preschool he has some quiet time. Before quiet time he goes potty. So, today he went in, peed standing up, and then spent about 5 minutes cleaning up all the pee that didn't make it into the toilet (I'm guessing somewhere between 75-80% of it).
Anyways, I came in to check on him as he was finishing up and putting the seat back down. He asked me, "Mommy, which part of the toilet do you sit on?" I told him I sit on the seat and not the bottom part. He asked why we sit on the seat and not the bottom part, to which I reminded him of when he fell completely into the toilet a week ago because he sat on the bottom part instead of the seat and his bum was too small for that part. (Seriously, his shirt was soaked in pee/poopy water. Sick!) He then said, "But, Mommy, you could sit on the bottom if you wanted to because you have a big bum." I started laughing... because it's that or you cry, right? What woman, let alone PREGNANT woman, wants to hear that? He looked confused and said, "Do you have a big bum, Mom?" "What do you think, Carter? Do I?" He smiled and confidently said, "Yep! You do!" No comment.

The Fire Station

While we were in California last week we went to visit my cousin Neal and his cute little family. His wife and their two kids (including 2 week old baby!!) met us at Neal's work. Neal is a fire fighter. The guy's amazing. He always has been. I'm sure I've driven him crazy since we were kids but he's my cousin so he HAS to love me.

You know when you're kids... or teenagers, and you watch your stud of a water polo playing cousin vomiting in your toilet late one night from... never mind, we won't go there... anyways, you know when you're younger you wonder who will do what with their lives. I'm proud to say that Neal is one of the MOST amazing people I have EVER met. His only rival is his beautiful Italian, excuse me, Sicilian, wife. So, Neal is now a brave firefighter. I am SO proud to be associated with him; to be related to him. He has a heart of gold, amazing taste in women (always has), and is one of the VERY cutest Daddy's in the world. (obvious exception: Bryan.)

He let us have a tour of his Fire Station. When I say "tour" I mean, he let Carter put on all of his fire fighter clothes (and I got THE cutest pictures), gave both of my kids little fireman hats and stickers, gave Carter an "honorary firefighter" shirt that I can barely peal off him, and most exciting, took us all on a ride in the fire truck. They even let Carter sit shotgun and wear the head set. (3 year old sitting shotgun... safety first, I guess. :)) My only complaint is that I wasn't there for the shooting of the Fireman Calendar. HA! But I did ask if they had any fireman outfits for sale at their gift shop I could buy Bryan. I got a big eye roll from Bryan. Hey, a girl's gotta ask, right? (I just don't get why they don't have gift shops there...) Anyways, that truck ride was HOT! Don't they have AC in those things? I guess it only gets hotter where they're headed.

I can honestly say that it was the highlight of Carter's California trip (and we even went to Disneyland). When he grows up he wants to be a "fireman dentist" and now waves and yells, "Hi, Uncle Neal" EVERY time we drive by a fire truck. It's THE cutest thing ever.

I am so glad my kids are getting to know Neal. He and his two brothers and sister were the cousins we grew up with. The rest of my cousins were all over the world. We lived by the McCann's for most of our lives. All of those kids have turned out amazing... but they all have chosen kind of dangerous professions. (poor Sandie and Ted) Family is so important and watching Neal and his siblings make it through the challenges they have faced the last few years has been heartbreaking and amazing. They are some of my very favorite people... even if they do have an affinity to writing ALL over themselves. :) I LOVE them all!!

(get comfy, Addi... we wouldn't want to put you out at all...)

Too Funny

While we were in California we went to Disneyland. Bryan and my Dad took Carter on Star Tours. He loved it so they went on Space Mountain... yeah... he didn't enjoy that one quite as much. He was too small so he was sliding everywhere. Bryan had to hold him so he wouldn't bang around the seat. But this picture made me burst our laughing. SO CUTE! At least Bryan's enjoying himself. I'm just bummed that I missed out because of the ol' pregnant belly. (which is a full on belly now.)

It's a....

GIRL!!!! (just keeping you on your toes with the blue writing.)
We are SO excited and figure this will be good for Princess Addilyn... something to bring her back to earth and remind her that she isn't the only one in the universe. Carter is ready to have two baby "stisters". He's so great with Addilyn (too had it's not mutual) that I know he'll be an amazing older brother. Plus, I just don't think any other little boy could measure up to him. I'm glad he's going to be my only little man. My girls will have an older brother and they'll have sisters. Everyone needs a sister, right? (I know I couldn't live without mine!)
We have no name yet so don't ask. We'll keep you posted. Let me rephrase that: we have no name we agree on. I have a name, but Bryan still needs to warm up to it. We're working on it... and Carter has already told Bryan the baby's name... Carter agrees with me. :)

Grandma Great and Granky

I was so lucky growing up. I had four wonderful grandparents. Some people don't have any interactive grandparents. My mom's parents now live in Texas so we don't get to see them much. My dad's parent's, however, live in Carlsbad so every time we are in San Diego we get to go see them. They are OBSESSED with my kids (and my siblings kids, but I'm SURE they love mine the most!! :) ). Grandma is my most faithful blog reader. (Bryan gets on my case to keep the blog up so Grandma won't be sad.) I call them regularly because I just love talking to them.
Granky is so darling. He was "Grandpa" to us when we were kids but when us kids started having kids we wanted a more fun name. So, we adopted the name that Kelly used when she started talking. When she was learning to say Grandpa it came out Granky. Isn't that the cutest name?!? So, that's what all of our kids call him. I LOVE the name and it completely suits him. (We do occasionally tease him by calling him Cranky Granky, though.)
Granky starts chemotherapy today. As he starts this more-than-likely painful part of his life, I hope he knows how much we all love and adore him. Both he and Gigi have given us and our children more than we have ever deserved. They have spoiled us monetarily and emotionally and always make us feel like they live and breathe to hear from us and read our blogs and talk to our kids. When we go visit them they ALWAYS show off the kids to all of their friends. They make sure their friends know all the cute things our kids do. They always laugh at my Mommy Stories. They constantly tell me that I should publish pictures of my kids because I am just so very talented as a photographer (only a grandparent...) and because my children are so very cute. (they're right on that part!)
I could never truly tell them how much I love them and how grateful I am for all they have done for me. What a wonderful opportunity my children have had to get to know them. They are both in such great health overall so my kids know the REAL them. And my kids love them. LOVE THEM! My life would be incomplete without these two doting grandparents. Thank you for taking such an interest. It means the world to me. I love you both and we pray for you everyday... with extra prayers for Granky right now.

Valentine's Day

When I was growing up every Valentine's we would get doorbell ditched. Waiting at the door would be candy and balloons for all of us. It wasn't until we were a little older that we realized that my Dad was NEVER home when we got visited.... but he showed up about 5 minutes later. So, when we finally figured out it was him, the game changed. We would hide in the bushes and wait at the door to try to catch him. I'm sure my mom would call and tell him where we were because he never did catch him. He would park on the street behind our house and leave it all at the back door and knock on that one and run. I don't really know why we couldn't catch him but we loved it and looked forward to it every year.
Because this is such a great tradition from my family it is one that we have carried into my family. The kids loved it this year. Addi just kept saying "balloo" and wanting the balloons. Carter was going to town on the candy. It was so fun. It's just too bad Daddy wasn't home to enjoy it.... but he got home a few minutes later. :)
(Addi was so mad that I was making her stand by the candy for a picture. I know, the nerve of me, right?)