Spotlight on my soon to be sunbeam...

My baby girl is turning three on Sunday and with me being pregnant and hormonal I am feeling extremely nostalgic- and WISHING my baby would stay little forever. Alas, it isn't happening. With her birthday being on a Sunday, and me being pregnant and working and tired, well, it's going to be a mellow affair- but with a LOT of love! Smashburger and then a taco dinner sunday.

Since I have been a slacker, Hailyn has not had her three year pics yet- we are thinking the monday after her birthday- when she is officially three. Yes, I am so behind on everything it seems. But since this is a form of journaling for me... I wanted to SPOTLIGHT my soon to be sunbeam (oh don't get me started- I'm going to cry my eyes out when she is a sunbeam- I cannot even process it right now) and sadly I have no pics for this post...maybe when I blog about her birthday in november! haha! Some fun things about my cutie pie!

Favorite foods: pizza, cheeseburgers, cheese (straight up grated cheese so funny!) and yogurt oh and apples and fries and DONUTS (anything sweet is called a donut- besides cookies) Dad's scrambled eggs (it sounds like she eats a lot I assure you I jump for joy when she eats ANYTHING!)

Favorite color: purple- hands down

Movies: Despicable Me and Rio- and the Gruffalo movie (she also likes the Disney movies but Rapunzel has taught her to use her plastic frying pan as a weapon and Ariel taught her how to use a fork as a dinglehopper so those are used sparingly)

Books: The Gruffalo (ADORABLE bookwe got her in London with a puppet she LOVES it!) and Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton

Shows: LITTLE EINSTEINS is ALL this girl will watch- she calls it her 'mission show!' and shouts 'going on a mission!' yeah mommy is trying out other shows but this is a winner for sure

Activities: she loves to make mommy pictures and take baths and go on the slide at the park and ride the 'horsies' at the mall (the carousal)

Songs: she loves I am a child of God and Popcorn popping on the Apricot Tree- working on Jesus wants me For a Sunbeam right now

Special things about Hailyn: This HILARIOUS girl always has a smile on her face. She is pure sunshine. I do not know what I did right to deserve such an incredible, loving, smart, spunky little girl- I am so blessed! She is super independant and I cannot help her get dressed (or choose her clothes) she hates getting her teeth brushed, and she will leave her hair in after I fix it for exactly 2.5 seconds. She LOVES getting manicures and pedicures (and often brings me clippers as a HINT to give her a mani and pedi:) she LOVES shoes and LOVES to go shopping (oh boy!) and she loves sunglasses and purses and has to take a purse (or two or three) everywhere we go. She is my little trooper- super easy going. I love the way she says 'thank you' 'please' and 'your welcome' she seriously says them so cute! She says milk like 'muck' working on that:) cute though! She LOVES little babies (hope that sticks) and I never have to remind her to be careful or gentle. She is such a good little mama to her babies at home and takes good care of them tucking them in bed, pushing them in strollers. She screams 'DADDY' when Ryan gets home and he gets the biggest hug ever from his baby girl. She is scared of the dark (she is so my kid! lol) and she has the KINDEST heart! I hope she always does. If a kid bites her or hits her she just looks sad and doesn't retaliate. Yet she is spunky and can hold her own. I hope she has a good balance of softness and strength. I think she will. She is always asking if a friend gets hurt if they are ok. She is a giant sweetheart and I truly LOVE spending time with my little buddy. She has her moments, but oh my I am going to miss the time of it being just her and I. We are buds. Hailyn, happy birthday... I love you like crazy cakes!

Crazy Busy Wonderful

Since we moved two years ago and Ryan started his dram job, our lives have sort of taken a new routine. From end of August til January life is on fast forward. We have the start of school, then Hailyn's birthday, family and Hailyn's photos we try and get at least once a year- (that's it once a year sad huh? We take candids all the time- sigh) Halloween, Thanksgiving (a trip to see family!) and then Christmas time! That of course is ringed with secretly shopping, wrapping gifts, setting up the house, going to Magical Forest and of course Christmas! Amazingly EVERY year on New Years we take it pretty easy. We're talking pizza or Chinese food, a Harry Potter marathon and passing out on the couch by ten. After all the craziness I think it's the perfect way to ring in the new year! Then there is usually a break from Jan til (aside from showering my hubby with lots of love and chocolate for Valentines day) April (Anniversary) then things get nutty until New Years again. Still, I love this routine. This year there will be no break as I anticipate March to be pretty crazy. What lead me to this madness is the fact that darling daughter's birthday is in less than a month I havent got a clue as to what to do or plan. And pictures for her 3rd birthday. Sigh. Better get on it. Let the crazy wonderfulness begin!

My soapbox...on gender...

Ok, so call me a feminist. Call me a hormonal pregnant lady. Whatever. I never really talk about anything controversial on here (politics, religion ect) but one area that rally irks me sometimes is on gender.

Since I've been pregnant people ask "do you want a boy or a girl next?" and I genuinely answer "Whatever God thinks, we'll be thrilled!" I TRULY feel that way. I know Hailyn was 'custom made' in a way for our little family. She just fits. I can't explain it. Other parents I'm sure understand what I'm talking about. This spunky, funny, sassy, smart, witty little girl just FITS! She is just a mix of Ryan and I that is pure awesomeness.

So when people tell me 'I hope you have a boy for the 'drama' sake, so you don't have so much drama in your house. Or what REALLY gets me is when they say 'boys are just better' WHAT?! You are saying this to a FEMALE- not just that but a STRONG female! So yes, maybe I am a feminist, if being a feminist means I believe men and women are both equally important and have divine and different COMPLIMENTARY roles in this life. And a STEP further, how about each little spirit is unique and divine in their own roles? Male or female? My little Hailyn LOVES to play with dolls, nurture her babies, make food, and then she loves to play in the dirt, with dump trucks, and can run faster than any boy I've ever seen. I've seen boys afraid of getting dirty. My niece is one of the best fisherman I know! She is quite adept in the outdoors! So I am told this 'drama' quote and then the fact that 'boys are better' (whatever that means!) and I get LIVID! RIGHT after these comments, I notice my nephew throwing his arms in a fit and pouting worse than ANY girl I have ever seen. Remember I am a preschool teacher and have had hundreds of students over the years. boys can be JUST as much drama as girls. And the whole 'boys carrying on the family name?' GARBAGE! Having a boy does not guarantee that that boy will produce offspring. I'm JUST saying people get EDUCATED!

Now this does not mean I hate boys or anything like that. I will be THRILLED if God blesses us with a baby boy- OR another baby girl! I simply TRUST GOD to find the little spirit that is going to just FIT with us- simple! I just don't think girls should be put down ANYMORE! think Ryan would love a boy if nothing else to help with 'gross yard work' and trash ect. But I grew up doing those chores and it made me a more adept and stronger woman. So if Hailyn grows up mowing the lawn, I'm ok with that.

This whole attitude that girls are drama and princesses and boys are 'easy', LIES! All children are uniquely divine and have special and important roles. Maybe this means I'll have an army of girls, to help raise STRONG women that can stand on their own and not have to have someone take care of them their whole lives. Is it 1770? SERIOUSLY people, even then WOMEN WERE STRONG! Sheesh! I can work and balance a checkbook and cook dinner and do it with a baby in tow, so yeah. I don't want my daughter EVER to feel 'not as important' because she's not a boy- she is a girl and a WONDERFUL AND AMAZING girl! I want her to be proud of it!

Next baby, BOY OR GIRL- we'll be thrilled for you!

so blessed!

So...my baby girl is good. We've had to take her to the doctors a few times, she has a few more followups but she is healing AMAZINGLY well and AMAZINGLY fast! We are SO blessed!! thank you all for prayers and support and love- you are wonderful little blogosphere world!

SPEAKING of being blessed...around the craziness of Hailyn's head injury... we found out NUMBER 2 IS ON THE WAY!!!

Yes siree we are pregnant! we are super excited! Many of you probably already know, but just in case- PREGNANT! Due march 21 2012.

So I have a LOT to catch up on...including pics from London and Paris... but they are on Ryan's computer so I'll get to them later. It was a blast!

Also school starts next week- I'm excited to be teaching again! I will end in March when baby is due. Happy first day back to school!

and happy last few days of summer! I know we are trying to soak in as much as we can before monday!

Doctors visits...

I am FINALLY getting around to updating the blog- it has been a whirlwind this past week. So update on the kiddo...

She's doing great!!! On Tuesday we had an eye doctor appt and he told me we would have to put her under and check and make sure there was no hemorraging behind her eyes. SERIOUSLY!!?? I wasn't prepared for that- I luckily had my new sis in law Jess who is amazing with me at the appointment so I didnt start bawling in front of my kid. I took a breath and got instructions. She would need to fast after midnight and I would need to put these special eye drops in her eyes an hour before we went in. He suggested doing it while she was asleep. Luckily, he scheduled her for the first appointment of the day (with her being two and a half and in pain go ahead and TRY to get her to fast longer) and the check in time was 5:45 am- and ryan is gone. Awesome. Ok, I've got this. Jess said she could meet me there (bless her!) so that was situated!

So I go to fill this eye drop prescription and NO pharmacy in Las Vegas has them. They are at a warehouse. Special order. Ok, when can they be here? I asked. Tomorrow at 10a. Um that won't work her surgery is at 545 am and I need to put those suckers in an hour before. I go home defeated and starving. Luckily my amazing neighbor sensed my hunger and lack of food in the house and brought me a ton of food! Kristi rocks:) she also brought me dinner that night. Amazing. Love her! Anyhow I call pharmacies to check on these eye drops NONE in Vegas. I call the doctor. Umm they can do it at the surgery center they'll just have to wait an extra hour to perform surgery. AH!! NOT going to work!! My kid is asleep and I am so so tired after only 3 hours of sleep the night before and the stress and panic. So I crash. HARD. for an hour. I missed Jeremy coming over to see Hailyn with a sweet rapunzel doll for her. I didn't hear the door I was so so tired!

I wake up to 15 missed calls from the doctors office, the surgery center and insurance company. They are all fighting. The insurance wont cover the procedure unless it's at a hospital, it would be about $10,000 to do that with me paying 20%. Surgery center? already set up? $400. Umm I'll be a cash patient thanks insurance company for nothing. I called the doctors office, they were missing my drivers license and insurance card and could I fax it to them. I lost it. I broke down about the eye drops, the insurance, the surgery center- I told them to talk to each other. The lady, Michelle heard me. I told her I was barely hanging on and I couldn't do it, they needed to work it out I was taking care of my injured child ALONE and didn't have a minute to waste on this nonsense and more would get done if they took out the middle man. She then told me she had drops for me, come pick them up and I could drop off info then? Um yes- thank you! She made my day less stressful- why couldn't we do that before?

Anyhow I high tail it to the doctors before they close get everything squared away. The next morning I wake up at4:17am (glad I did I shut off my alarm at 1am- had to wake her every four hours still- yaoza!) Miraculously wake up and get ready and eat (I don't want her to see me eat since she can't). And I go to wake her at 4:45am- she is wide awake. Getting the eye drops in was tough! I wasn't sure I did- and she needed two sets- ugh! I tried my best (and cursed Ryan for being gone, he should've done the eye drops! It was torture! her eye was sealed shut I wasn't sure I got any in!) and schelpped her to the car and away we went.

At the surgery center she saw an apple juice box in my purse for after and wanted it.We were signing in (and paying $400 out of pocket) She even said please. Poor girl. I hated not giving it to her! We got her signed in and the anesthesialogist came in explained what he would do. Then the eye doctor came in and explained the procedure. Hailyn the entire time cuddled on my lap. Then the nurse Megan took her ands he didn't even cry or mind. We went to the waiting room and waited an hour. Hailyn had just woken up and was asking for juice please. I raced in there and she was sleepy but sweet. Doctor said everything went very well. I changed her gave her juice and carried her to the car. I hugged Jess for being there with me. I put Hailyn in her seat and took her to Tropical SMoothie (drive thru) we ran into our friend Paul in the drive thru. We bought a smoothie and went home. She wanted to walk in the house but she was teetering from anethesia so I carried her after a second. Nurses said she may be sleepy and lethargic. I couldn't keep up with her! She was all over. Had to encourage her to take a nap. She did. Ryan came home and we schellped it to the neuro.

As we went to the neuro we are running a bit late and I hear the distinct smell all moms know- my child pooped. We get there she didn't poop she had a major diahherra explosion. Oh my- a result of anesthesia I take it. and I brought no change of clothes. I had a single pullup in my purse for 'emergencies' and Ryan had wipes. He dropped me off- and she had diaherra all up her back and her shirt. A nurse behind me was looking at me. Um yes I need to change my child I know. So I go into the bathroom the changing table is in the middle of the bathroom and I do my best. A huge chunk falls on the floor and I step in it- didn't realize. I throw away her panties and her clothes are ruined! I have no extra clothes mind you. So I clean her up as I'm chucking wipes into the nearest trash can I can find, and there is poop everywhere. I get her in a pullup get her shoes on and away we go. Ryan is trying to decon the car seat and he's going to meet us there. We looked like great parents, our kid hasa nasty black eye, no clothes just a pullup and shoes. Yep. Amazing. Ryan came in noticed a disgruntled woman cleaning the downstairs bathroom. He then put two and two together. Sorry lady! He had to throw away part of her car seat it was unsalvageable. Yup, it was the worst explosion in history, hands down.

So the neuro said everything looks good, no swimming for 4-6 weeks and no re hitting her head (duh!)but she looks good. Keep an eye out for leaking spinal fluid (ahh!) but it's rare and she should be ok (relief) Thursday the eye doc said her vision looks good and eyes are moving together so that's good! She was the sweetest and easiest patient during all of this. Even the nurses and doctors were majorly impressed with her bravery she was incredible! She wanted pizza for dinner that night- that child got her pizza I tell you what!

Her swelling has gone down she can open her eye. She has a shiner and people in Phoenix (Ryan's grandma passed away July 22 and her funeral was saturday in Phoenix-Hailyn was wonderful! Love that girl.

So she is healing well and her swelling is going down- people ask and I have to tell the whole story and that's hard. Hardest week ever. But she is ok. I have the greatest family and friends- tons of love support calls and prayers. Thank you all so much- she's on the mend!

Adventures in parentland...a big crash

Yesterday was blissful and ended with a crash. Ryan had the day off work. We spent the morning eating scrambled eggs and running errands. Hailyn napped in the afternoon. So did Ryan:) We took her to se Winnie the Pooh with her Aunt Ky. She ate half a tub of large popcorn and soda. We went home to make some mahi mahi for dinner. I heard Hailyn and Ryan laughing and playing downstairs.

That's when I heard the worst sounds of my life. Ryan screaming 'Oh gosh oh gosh oh baby! baby!' I bolted downstairs and she was in his arms, a huge goose egg already on her head and her nose bleeding. I grabbed my purse and we were out the door. He handed her to me in the car and I just held her, trying to keep her awake. I pleaded to God, please help my baby please please please. Ryan was fighting tears as he bolted through the streets. I've never seen him drive like that. We were on our way to Sunrise Pediatric ER- I couldn't find the number and I was trying to keep my baby conscious. I still didn't know what happened at this point. I called my mother in law and told her, call Sunrise pediatrics er now so she did. I wanted them to know a two year old was en route and had a head trauma.

I held my baby girl and sang her songs. I am a Child of God. You are My Sunshine. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It kept her conscious. We pull up I hop out get H and I go to the triage. As I'm holding my helpless baby in my arms the nurse asks 'what's wrong?' I cried. I never cry. I broke down. Ryan was parking the car. (I'm pretty sure he broke the car getting there- it was stressful.) A kind woman waiting took the paper and a clipboard and sat down next to me. I tried to be brave for my baby. I silently prayed. She wrote Hailyn's name. Then Ryan came in and held her while my hands were shaking I tried to grasp the pen to fill out the paperwork. I was in zombie mode. The words blurred together through the tears in my eyes. I filled out the paperwork. Then I said let's go! The nurse said she's next, hang in there mama.

I paced back and forth. I couldn't wait. My baby was hurt- broken- FIX HER NOW I screamed inside. Finally they pulled us in to traige and took us right back.

She didn't have a concussion. Her nose was bleeding still so they clamped it. She HATED that. Ryan's mom and dad walked through the doors. I was so relieved to see them. I didn't ask them to come (just to call) but I guess you can't say er and head trauma without the calvary coming in- I was so SO glad they were there! His mom held my hand while Hailyn received a blessing. She kept grabbing the side o her head and saying 'owww!' I asked Ryan what happened. She wiggled out of his arms while playing (she does that!) and bam! Straight on the tile. It was awful. He fought back tears. We both did. Had to be brave for our baby.

The nurses came and were amazing. I held Hailyn on the bed and we watched cartoons. Ryan's mom bought Hailyn a little cat snuggly which she hated (haha!) and we kept the kitty close. She watched Despicable Me on my iphone. I stroked her hair gently marveling at how blessed I am to have this beautiful, amazing little girl. I'm so lucky. Then she started to cough, the cough moms recognize. She was throwing up. I shouted for the nurses across the hall HELP as loud as I could. It was blood (and popcorn sorry to be gross but it's true I'm done with popcorn for a while). Blood all over (mostly me). Over kitty, iphone, bed, Hailyn. She cried after. Nurses were there and got her a bath going and stripped her clothes. They gave me wipes (I was DRENCHED!) a nurse saw me and said let me get you scrubs. I was so grateful. We got cleaned up and changed and waited for a cat scan.

HOURS later (I was ok waiting it meant we werent ULTRA critical) we found out she has a frontal lobitial fracture. No bleeding in brain that we detected on cat scan.

Today we went to the eye doctor (oh ryan is gone this morning until tomorrow night after the craziness- long story but I wish he were here!) My sweet sis in law Jess came with me. Turns out Hailyn needs to go under tomorrow to make sure there is no hemorraging behind eye. Had issues finding the eye drops I need they had to order them and they were like get them at 10 am tomorrow (um her surgery is at 545am!) so doc office figured it out for me. It was a nightmare. Today was rough. Tomorrow is going to be crazy with surgery, no ryan and a neurological appt. I can handle it. I'm insanely lucky to have friends and family helping me.

I'm off to bed. I have to wake Hailyn every four hours. It's tough keeping an ice pack on her. She wont do it. We're out of the door at 430am. No food or drink. I hope I've got this. Off to prepare.

wish me luck...

Adventures in strollerland...

I have the most incredible daughter. Seriously. Her little spirit is just custom made for our little family.

I've been having insomnia issues. Again. Oh joy.

so sometimes I wake up with brilliant ideas.

I also need to explain I've had car issues lately. So yesterday after waiting two hours for an oil change I learned I needed another tire (yes I just got new tires in California going to disneyland. Awesome). so yes, whatever. I call ryan he picks me up. No worries. Well, I wasn't sure if he was working today and I didn't sleep last night so when Hailyn woke up and ate breakfast, Ryan was STILL asleep. I was angry I wasn't getting sleep. So I decided I wasn't waiting until noon for him to wake up to get my car. I would go now.

Remember the stroller issues I also had in California and Ryan temporarily fixed it for our florida trip? remember that. So I decided I wasn't waiting for him. It was time to get my car. I packed Hailyn, my cell phone, wallet, snacks, and TONS of water and headed out the door with my kiddo. We decided to stop at Tropical Smoothie to let her stretch her legs and grab a yummy treat. then we headed out. Well this deterred me from my original route. I thought hmm Arville, I'll go to it from Cactus. DUH! Its desert terrain! So I went further EAST (opposite direction of where I needed to go) and ended up adding two plus miles of rocky desert terrain to my journey. I SHOULD have stayed on my PAVED EASY PATH- Silverado Ranch to My 4.5 miles of easy paved road was 6.5+ miles two of which were pretty rocky...and the shantys- oh the shantys! SCARY!

MORAL OF THE STORY: GET SLEEP! Be patient. NEVER take 'shortcuts' and stay on the path (gospel oriented there).

All in all I'm glad I went. Ryan called me right when I was getting there and I was like I didn't want to wait for you. I think he felt bad, I wasn't trying to make him feel bad I just wanted to GO!

What can I say, sleep deprivation makes you do some nutty things. and hey I got in a GREAT workout and go my car- and save gas.

Also, I will be fixing that stroller today. Not jogging as much nearly killed me.

DisneyWorld Day 6...

LOTS of pictures- you've been warned...
but hey, it's my blog so I guess I can do what I want right?

Our LAST day in Disney World... we were sad...



Hailyn learned even the Magic Kingdom has corners. I think she saw other kids misbehaving and decided to throw a tantrum. So yeah, some parents were chuckling at us but guess what? no issues the rest of the day. I'm still a mom, even at DisneyWorld. We saw a LOT of scary parenting there:) haha. To be fair, it was ten am, no breakfast and a looooong line. But after we FINALLY scored the best cinnamon roll I ever ate and some juice and some chairs, our blood sugar was up and we were ready to party!


I LOVE this face- waiting to go on pirates of the caribbean! One of our favorite rides (that an Haunted Mansion!)



Little hat model! Got a TON of cute ones, had to pair it down (a bit:)



Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (could've been Madame Tssuouds but they would've melted in the sun, so plastic!) haha! Spot the photo bombers? sheesh! We headed over to Downtown Disney after a morning in Magic Kingdom, at a super yummy lunch (with the best cupcakes for dessert EVER!) and got some keepsakes- luckily we aren't into spending a fortune of rwhat I think is garbage stuff but we did find a few nice little momentos to remember the trip (that weren't tacky!) and keeping with tradition, an ornament for our Christmas tree! The one I REALLY wanted was $40! um no, I settled for an $8 one that was still very sweet:)
Luckily Hailyn still buys the 'this needs to live at the store' concept!


oh and WHILE we were in Florida our good friends had their baby girl! We were sad not to be there, so we had to get a keepsake for thier new little one:)
Like how I randomly remember things and go on tangents? Again, my record keeping, bear with me! Some fun shots at Downtown Disney!






We then headed back to the Magic Kingdom, and as you can see it was raining. So Ryan busted out our overpriced ponchos and we draped Hailyn, she peeked out of the top of her stroller to say hello! This is while we were waiting for our last meal at Disneyworld, we stopped by one of our favorites, Town Square so Hailyn could devour rolls and Ryan could devour shrimp scampi...


waiting for our bus to Magic Kingdom...


colroing and waiting for dinner...


watching Lady and the Tramp- Hailyn kept screaming 'puppies!' the restaurant is based off the one in the movie and I must say thier chicken parm is amazing!


riding the carousal... the park stayed open late again for guests, so Ryan and I took advantage and repeatedour Friday night adventures... H was up and ready to go!


SO CUTE! We went on the Buzz lighyear ride (I MUST add Hailyn kicked Ryan's trash- he did not go eay on her- she got 400,800 points he got 178,00. Yup, my kid rocks, I did not help her either- she wouldn't let me!


watching the fireworks on daddy's shoulders. LOVE the fireworks!


We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, they have a ton of toys and things to keep the kids occupied while waiting in line- how come ALL rides dont do this? GENUIS!








At the gazebo, Hailyn is asleep at this point and it was such a pretty spot. Such a fun time!


Sigh. It was AMAZING! We plan to go back someday... the ONLY thing that wou;dve made it better was a beach trip (weather) and a Disney cruise:)
After this pic we headed to the buses, loaded up, and went back to the room. Our flight was at 6:15am (cheaper and nonstop- can't beat it!) EXCEPT we needed to have our stuff, baby and check out by 330am. Since it's so early well, no help! So at 315 (we got back to our room about 145am) I crashed so did Ryan, our alarms were set, Ryan woke me up at 3am, we threw everything in our suitcases and bolted downstairs with a stroller,and luggage to the main resort. It was quite a site. Two large suitcases (one was 49lbs, one more pound we would've paid, although I probably would've just moved stuff to a different suitcase) and then checkout (fun seeing our 'add it to the room' charges:) and we BARELY made the shuttle. Then we could not do early checkout from resort because our flight was too early. So we get there and wait. Ryan ran and got us a $20 mcdonalds breakfast that tasted ummm yeah, and we scarfed it and finally checked in an hour later (no one was working the counter!) The flight home was good, Hailyn slept half the way (not as good as there but still0 then she watched Beauty and the Beast the rest of the time and she was AMAZING! A GREAT traveller (hope I didn't jinx anything). We GAINED hours coming home so we landed at 8am, and then we went home. I immediately started unpacking and doing laundry so it would not sit there a month. We slept, did laundry, and chilled that day.

Then on thursday Ryan's grandparents and cousins and aunt and uncle came down for an 80th birthday celebration and 60th wedding anniversary and my birthday:) we had a blast going out to eat constantly, swimming and watching movies. Hailyn was exhausted. Then it was my birthday (which was great! Ryan had to work but he made me a cake- so sweet:) and then the 4th of July. It's been a super busy but wonderful summer so far, and we have tons more plans ahead! Let the good times roll!!

DW day 5...

Ok, so these are reversed so just bear with me!!! Day five was AWESOME! We headed over to the Animal Kingdom- EARLY! Which is 9am by the time we got there. We ordered a mediocre breakfast (seriously all of our meals were INCREDIBLE except breakfast, I think we did ok eating lunch as our first meal most days:) Then we headed over to the train (Hailyn said 'choo choo' the ENTIRE time- ADORABLE!) and we went over to Rafiki's village. Oh, I need to add that Saturday's rain at Animal Kingdom that ALMOST dampened my spirits also meant the very nice leather shoes I've had forever got ruined and destroyed my feet. So Ryan went to any stand and bought me a pretty cute (yet overpriced:) pair of flip flops. I could barely walk at some points and very much considered getting a scooter or motorized wheelchair to trek around in, but decided Ryan couldn't have a wife that needed help and a stroller so I toughed it out:) Anyhow, tangent...memories... Here is our day in well reverse...

We went to the princess dinner located in Epcot- that was SO COOL! It's the ONLY reservation we actually made :) Here she is meeting Cinderella...


and Snow White... Hailyn and Snow White had an instant bond... and ALL the princesses called her Princess Caitlin- hmmm... Hailyn kpt giving Snow White high fives and Snow White was like 'what is a high five?' Ryan and I kinda laughed at that but Hailyn kept giving them! and then they did a princess march parade and Hailyn walked right up to Snow White and Snow White took her by the hand and walked with her- PRECIOUS! I have a video- AGAIN I need to figure out how to post it!



Sleeping Beauty...


and Belle! I don't know what it is about Hailyn RIGHT before she meets Princesses (same at Ariel's Grotto a week ago) she pulls out her hair and looks like a wild lion! So I am hurrying to try and do something with her hair and she is fighting me...glad Ryan captured this memory:)


OK, so AFTER Hailyns adventures on the playground, she CRASHED! Ryan and I got some great pics:) and when she woke up we went to a Moroccan restaurant and it was YUMMY! I had ribs, Hailyn ate all my fried rice and then we ate the best chocolate cake of my life. I wish I had this after every meal at Disneyworld. Seriously, so good- can you tell Hailyn loved it too?




ok so earlier in the day we're at animal kingdom and AFTER Rafiki's Village we ventured to the playground where my sweet husband (who was in comfortable shoes the entire time) chased Hailyn around while I sat and rested my poor swollen and blistered feet. I now have GREAT shoes- I WISH I had them in Florida! grr! So here she is getting tuckered out! Boy she kept up with the big kids!



Meeting Rafiki- she ept saying 'monkey'


and meeting Pocahantis, she LOVED her and Pochantis was so sweet with her and Hailyn told her all sorts of stories....



a random pic of Ryan and I at Epcot... H was asleep....


Jimeny Cricket!


AFTER our princess dinner we headed over to Hollywood Studious to watch Fantasmic and see the fireworks- such a fun day!

DW Day 4

SHOUT OUT to Allison for reading my blog and commenting- you make me feel special Allison- thanks for being incredible and can you just move to Vegas already? SERIOUSLY you rock!

Sunday was fun!!! We ventured over to Magical Kingdom, then ended at Epcot. I LOVE the monorail! Next time we go we want to stay at the Contemporary Resort (yes we plan on being rich- HAHA! RIGHT!) but seriously we LOVE the monorail! Anyhow, a fun fun day!

Fireworks at Epcot- the show- Illuminations- SO COOL! Ryan got some great stuff with his camera!


Ryan chose fish n chips for dinner. We ate lunch at the Magical Kingdom, a colonial style restaurant it was yummy. I loved geting dessert with every meal:) I chose Chinese for dinner. While I was getting my dinner, Ryan and Hailyn got some shots.











THE SHARK ATE US! At the aquarium!



The train ride at Disenyworld. I also have videos from the parade to put up here as soon as I figure out how to get it off my phone- any brains out there wanna help me out?

Our tuckered out little Draco Malfoy...


Best family vacation ever!

Disney World day 3

This is how Saturday afternoon started out...



and the day got well...

we ventured out to Animal Kingdom Saturday afternoon. We grabbed a quick lunch....and then Hailyn wanted to go on a dumbo like ride but it was dinosaurs. Ryan was in the bathroom. So I waited in line with H. For twenty minutes (the longest we waited for a ride). Then the guy cut me off and we would be first to load. There was one empty dino car I was like why couldn't we ride? Whatever we waited. Then we boarded and it started to pour, I mean POUR! We were sitting, waiting. Then after loading us in there they decided to close due to inclement weather. Grrrr. I was mad! At least let us wait in the covered line while you decide to close or not don't load us in there and let us get poured on. ryan came back and bought us all $8 ponchos with a giant mickey on the back- yeah. Damage done. So we venture into a companion bathroom (THOSE ARE THE BEST! LOVE THEM!) and we all crowded around the hand dryer, changed Hailyn's clothes ect. then we draped her stroller with a tarp. Ryan laughed he wished I chose a dinosaur closer to him to get pictures but fortunately for all the miserable wet pictures didn't happen:) Once we were kinda dry and put ponchos back on, we walked around and saw the animals while Hailyn napped. We also rode Expedition Everest, the coolest ride ever! We traded and only waited ten minutes to ride:) swapped the baby- it wa so fun! Then she woke up happy as a clam and we went on a safari- so fun! We perked up once the rain subsided, but I think I will always hate that dino ride...

chasing a squirrel...


sporting her 'elton john' sunglasses... I seriously love my kid!


Ryan loves this pic- I look wet and miserable- HA!



Perked up after her nap:)

The rest of the day we went to Epcot and got dinner at Coral Reef Resturant- the entire wall is an aquarium Hailyn was in heaven. Then we went back for an early night (11pm!) to gear up for the next day!

I swear Disney World is sprinkled with pixie dust...

Disneyworld day 2

On friday we slept in again from our late night out partying til midnight- so lunch again- as the first meal of the day. We ventured out to Disney's Hollywoods studios!

At the Honey I Shrunk the Kids backyard playground-dang that was cool! I grew up watching that movie so I thoruoughly enjoyed it. We also went to the Little mermaid show (which was incredible! it also got us out of the rain for a bit!) and the Beuty and the Beast show. Tons of fun!



picture on carousal- sorry it's blurry she moves quick:)


We also got to eat lunch at Hollywood and Vine- and meet June and Leo from Little Einsteins! Hailyn also got to meet Special agent Oso and Handy Manny. She loved it!





It started to rain later in the day as we ventured over to the Magic Kingdom around dinnertime. Hailyn was asleep in her stroller and we grabbed some burgers in tomorrowland and some good samaritans gave us thier table- we were so grateful it was packed! The park stayed open until 3am for resort guests so when Hailyn tuckered out in her stroller Ryan and I did the parent swap and went on the big kid rides. It kinda sucked not riding together but it was awesome to just walk to the front of the line and get to ride and it was still nice Ryan and I both got to do grown up rides still. So yes, we played until 3am. Then we got back to our resort, I gave Hailyn a bath and then Ryan decided we needed drinks for our mini fridge so at 4am he ran 2 miles in the wetlands to a gas station to get us milk, chocolate milk, gatorade, waters and diet coke (for the un-dsiney price. Still a lot but a gas station is cheaper than Disney!) so basically my husband rocks:) and we went to bed at 430am. awesome friday! it was so fun!

Stroller drama

Ok, so while in Disneyland, my very wonderful and not cheap jogging stroller had three flat tires- SERIOUSLY? I NEEDED this stroller to make it through the next two weeks! So we go to a gas station and pump up the tires, one is off the rim, the rim is bent. I filed it up and it was 'passable' for the next few days but it wouldnt last a week at Disneyworld. I was NOT about to rent a stroller for $25 a day. I noticed the front tire on my side was low, so I filled it and noticed a crack in the side wall. So the morning before we left (at 730am) I left my sister at her friend's house and took h to a discount tire. THREE of my tires were close to the rim! So yeah, I had to buy a set of new tires. Better than a blow out (or THREE) in the middle of a hot summers day on the way from California to Vegas (NADA out there!) but really I am grateful for the stroller tires being low, noticing the tire on my side and for the tender mercy God gave me. It could have been really bad! I'm so grateful! Good news, Ryan was able to fix the tire and we took the stroller (no carry on charge thank you airlines!) We didn't have to rent those awful plastic ones (she would NOT have slept in those) and she was comfortable. I'm grateful God was looking out for me and my sweet little family!

While it wasn't fun to do tires on vacation, it was essential and I'm grateful I didn't have a blowout. It also helped to have the magical kingdom there to ease my mind:)

Disney- ROCKS!

DISNEYWORLD Day 1...

Ok, so I have to preface this long post with I had a BLAST in Disneyland with my daughter and sister! SO FUN! But like me I didn't get pictures... so thanks to my hubby... we have over 400 from Disney world! So yeah, I'll try and pair them down but it's hard- AMAZING pics!! Anyhow... I'm breaking them up do it isn't 10 pages long (this post and all Disneyworld postswill STILL be super long but hey, whatcha gonna do? I have to journal SOMEHOW...

Anyhow, we left for the airport and picked up Ryan's little sister, she took my car and checked on our house for the week. We didnt' nap Hailyn and our flight was at 2:15pm and FORTUNATELY she slept the entire way to Miami- by the way American Airlines is wonderful! They gave us the row with extra leg room, we brought lots of Hailyn's blankets and we laid a blanket down and she slept! Then we switched planes in Miami and had enough of a layover to use the bathroom find our gate and board. Hailyn watched Despicable Me on the 35 minute flight to Orlando. We finally got to our room at 2:30am Florid time. We hadn't eaten since 11:30 that morning (chicken nuggets too, not a substantial meal). So we were starving! No dinner! We get to our room I booked with two beds (Hailyn was with us, we are not ones to share a bed with our kid, our sleep is too important to us:) and there was a king bed- ONE! It's 2:30am and we are hungry and TIRED! So I called the front desk and the profusely apologized and said they'd send up a rollaway for no charge the entire week or we could switch rooms. Seeing as how it was 2:30 am and we did not want to move our two large suitcases and a rollaway and a stroller and a two year old, and we LIKED the idea of a big bed (for us) we went with option one. They sent a double size rollaway and Hailyn slept GREAT in it and we slept GREAT in our king sized bed- and no charge:) thanks Disney world!:)

So we woke up at noon the next day... and were famished. We got dressed and quickly hopped on the first bus we saw we didn't care where it took us (Disney World has four major theme parks and two water parks- plus two golf courses they use in the PGA) and it ended up taking us to Epcot. We got in and found the nearest restaurant and scarfed burgers and fries and fruit and water and ahh it was heavenly. Wish we had dinner the night before:) We had the Disney Dining plan (saved us 40% on meals there) and oh boy was is WORTH it! LOVED it!! We are big fans!! Our dining plan was on our room key as was our park hopper tickets, and the ability to charge to the room so no debit cards were needed- it was awesome! Anyhow, after we werent' in crazy survival mode for food, we explored epcot- COOL park!!! They have one of the largest aquariams in the country and it was incredible. We went on the Nemo ride and H LOVED it! We rode a few more rides and then headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Can I just say it's INCREDIBLE!

doing Disneyland and Disneyworld literally back to back it was awesome! The best comparison I have is Disneyland is like your first home you put your heart and soul and character into and every little detail is perfect. Then you build equity and purchase your mega mansion and that's Disney World- it's basically Disneyland times 10. There is a ton of lang (Disneyland is spread over 4 square miles Disneyworld is 24...) so you take buses and monrails everywhere and we LOVED it! We hopped all over the place all the time it was great. There is so much to do there you can't possibly be bored. We were even going to go to the water park and the beach one day but it was rainy weather and yet we were still having a blast the entire time! SO much to do! I think I need to do a separate post on tips for Disney world, but here's the rest of our first day. If you are still reading KUDOS to you! And remember I have to pair down 400+ pics- so please bear with me...

Ok they uploaded in reverse and I'm too lazy to change it... here's dinner. They had these rolls that H pretty much survived on the entire time- and fruit- and chocolate milk- and desserts. We had the dining plan with a quick meal (salads, burgers, wraps ect) that came with a dessert and a table side meal that also came with dessert and a snack everyday. We did bring some snacks with us (which kept us from completely starving the night we travelled- we still needed a real meal). Here's H at dinner the first night, cute as ever. We ate at Town Square and the food was so good we went back the last night for our last meal before travelling home...






ARGGHHH matey!! Various parks opened early and closed late on different days for resort guests and given our nocturnal lifestyle of sleeping til noon (people who know me know I am up at 5am everyday!) we mostly took advantage of the late nights. And Hailyn never really adjusted to Orlando time so midnight was really 9pm Vegas time... I should mention she napped in her stroller (TIP! Disneyland strollers are great to rent, but Disney World strollers are AWFUL! we are SO grateful we had our jogging stroller and ryan fixed it- that story later) because she could lay all the way down. We draped her with a blanket to keep the cun out and the people and she slept two hours in her stroller!My awesome traveller! While she napped Ryan and I did the parent swap and went on the grown up rides- the 10% she couldn't do:) anyhow here she is after WALKING onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The longest we waited on any ride was 20 minutes for Peter Pan...



LOVE BIRDS! Cinderella's castle is gorgeous- we got at least 100 pics of the castle alone it's beautiful! oh, Hailyn was asleep in the stroller for this pic:)


The seahorse from Nemo- H LOVES seahorses...and sharks...and fish... the aquarium is beautiful!


SAFETY FIRST! Saw a Disney fire truck, H was being silly...




TEACUPS! H LOVED spinning fast- ryan and I were not so sure...:) she also LOVED It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, and basically everything we took her on she loved. We also saw a ton of shows and she loved those. More to come!


We tried to leave the park but we got roped into this section and we weren't able to leave! we were held hostage and forced to watch the electrical parade. Fortunately H loved it- even at 11pm...



I'll try and do better about consolidating and not going off on tangents- jus don't want to forget! Happy summer all!!