Tour de California, part two

Despite having got up at 5am the day before, we knew we had to be at Disney early, so once again we were up WAY early. We were all down having breakfast in the hotel by about 6:30. Disneyland opens at 8AM, you know, and you have to be there exactly then.

This turned out to be a good move as we were able to get quite a few rides in during the morning.

First up, LT, DT and I went on Astro Orbitor while TT was off figuring out the Fastpass system. The three of us riding this rie was a little nutty. LT sat in front, I sat in the back and held DT down on the seat in between us.

One thing about Disneyland is that most rides allow babies. Seriously.

See, here we are on the Dumbos...


So we did the Astro Orbiters, Dumbo, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (bit of a mistake, LT was terrified, but I couldn't figure out how to leave without riding once we were inside - TT reported DT tried to escape their car as well), LT & TT went on the carrousel, and Casey's Circus Train all within about an hour. Then we walked over to get Fastpasses - Autopia for TT & DT and Space Mountain for me. The way a Fastpass works is that you get a time to ride, so then we rode the railway all the way around to the Toontown, where...

We met Mickey! And LT wasn't even scared!


LT really enjoyed Toontown - here he is in Minnie's house



After Toontown, LT & TT rode Autopia (you drive a car or something like that) and had a good time and then they watched the Star Wars show while I did a quick trip on Space Mountain. LT wanted to ride the submarine, but the line was horrendous. We did the Jungle Cruise next and the Tarzan treehouse (formerly known as Swiss Family Robinson tree house). LT enjoyed the Tarzan treehouse until Indiana Jones had a mock battle with a badguy in the treehouse while we happened to be on there. Meanwhile, I got a leg cramp. By this time we were getting hungry, but decided to go on the Pooh ride first. When it was our turn, LT would not get on because the way it started off was to go into a tunnel. Who designed all their kid rides anyway? We convinced him to go on and at the end he declared it fun afterall. Then we had some lunch, ran back over to the other side to check on the submarine line. Still bad. TT asked the guy if the line ever dies down and he replied, "At 11:50 [PM]." So then we caught the parade, which was great. We didn't have a premium spot since you have to camp out for 1 hour+ for those, but we got a great view from up higher. Then we went on a search for our souvenir - I had promised LT a pencil.

The salesgal suggested we pose DT in the mound of stuffed animals. A little strange perhaps, but I felt it was only polite to do so...


Finally we went back to the hotel for a break around 4:30/5. No one napped, sadly. And then back again at about 7:30. Then we waited in line for the submarine ride because LT really wanted to ride it. It's now the "Nemo" submarine ride instead of the 20,000 leagues under the sea ride. By the time we got off (LT mostly liked it except for the part where the sub goes into a whale's mouth - that was scary), we had just enough time to grab some dinner before the fireworks show. Um, it turns out you have to camp out for like 2+ hours to get a spot for that. We had a mediocre viewing spot and decided to try to get closer and got caught up in 1 way traffic patrols. What? Then we ended up right in between to launching stations, which I thought was great, but LT thought was horrible. So we had to move again. At this point he fell asleep in the stroller (DT was sleeping on me in the wrap) and TT and I were able to enjoy the last few magical fireworks.

Phew! That was exhausting. Sorry for the long recap. I think it was necessarly to give an accurate view of our day. We won't be going to Disney again for a long while, I don't think.

Tour de California, part one

We realized we were in desperate need of a vacation a few weeks ago, and, well, plane tickets were expensive, so we decided on a road trip!

Last Wednesday we set out at 5:40 AM. We made good time with only two stops - the mandatory Starbucks stop and one rest stop - before making it to our first destination a little after 11am.

the The Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits in downtown LA

LT's on top of the world! Okay, on top of the museum


Let me in the tar pit! Note, not actual mammoths trapped in the pits...


Dire Wolf Skulls


Mammoth skeleton


How do we compare to the Short Faced Bear?



This concluded the educational portion of the trip and then we were off to our hotel in Anaheim. Too bad this involved LA traffic and it took forever. Luckily, I had realized that it is possible to feed a bottle to an infant sitting rear facing behind you in their carseat. It is even possible to pump milk for said bottle while sitting in traffic (or going down the freeway - either way with a handy AC adapter in the car!).

Swim Lessons

I finally remembered to take out the camera at swim lessons.





Big news in DT land: He rolled over!

This momentous milestone was reached on Thursday, July 17 at approximately 9:15 in the morning. Unfortunately, no one witnessed the actual roll. DT was placed on his back in the Gymini, having a ball, and the rest of us were busily eating our breakfast. All of a sudden, TT noticed that something was different - DT was on his tummy! - and we all clapped and applauded. He has not repeated since. He does roll onto his side all the time now, but since his hand is in his mouth, it blocks the roll.

Swimming!

From this weekend at the park pool...




This was after only 1 swim lesson for LT. I can't believe how much more comfotable in the water he is already! Monday's swim lesson was great. One kid finished and the other was absent, so he had the teacher all to himself. He was even going underwater, not just blowing bubbles, but all the way under!

3 boys swimming


DT likes it, he really likes it!

4th of July weekend

We had friends visit for the 4th of July weekend. LT loved the extra attention!

We went down to Santa Cruz on Sunday.

They won prizes

Built a castle island with a big moat

Even Baby took a dip!


It's such a beautiful beach ... you can see TT packing up the sun canopy on the right.

5 Years Ago

Best Day Ever!

Good Fences

We got some new fences yesterday, yeah!

Before



And after!


You can see all the way back to the hot tub down the side yard.


I love how the gate came out! You'll remember the fence by the driveway from the vine removal post. The new fence is MUCH stronger and was needed urgently since Dakota, the Rhodesian Ridgeback who lives next door, is uses that area as her dog run.

And you know how I said I liked matching outfits ...


Courtesy of Tar-jay, $8 each. DT is sporting a 6-9 month outfit. This doesn't bode well for his 3-6 month clothes, of which he's barely worn most of them. He's just growing so fast!

Strike

LT is a natural at Wii Bowling.




And it's only fair to have a video of the little one. I love babytalk! Please pardon my rendition of "Working on the Railroad."



Last night, LT had his first swim lesson. It was the cutest. He did a "monkey walk" across the edge of the pool, he did "shark arms" (like a streamline) while he blew bubbles, he did some kicking... ok, that was about all. I imagine he'll be doing the same for the next few weeks. He was very excited about it and came home to show daddy his talents in the hot tub.

Monkeying Around

When Grandma/Mom was here, she made the boys two sets of very cute outfits. One monkeys and one trains. My plan was for us to make them together, but I just didn't have the energy. There's one set left to make - pirates! I have all the pattern pieces set out and the fabric, so I'm hoping to cut it out this week and hopefully finish them before DT outgrows it!



Thanks Grandma!

8 weeks old

DT is 8 weeks old today and a cutie pie. I feel like I need to do all the things we did with LT, so I took impressions of his foot today and then a little photo shoot...



Diaper series




I bought this outfit at the Silicon Valley "Green Fair" - it's an organic free trade outfit. It even has matching socks. I was saving it for maybe his 100 day picture, but it turns out this might be one of the only times he wears it. It's a bit snug on his thunder thighs!

To remind everyone...
LT at 8 weeks old

To any cloth diaper enthusiasts, LT was wearing a small Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper in his pictures and DT is wearing a small Thirsties pocket AIO diaper (can add additional stuffing or use it as is).

Highchair Baby

We finally thought of getting the highchair out of the garage to keep DT entertained while cooking & eating. I think he likes it!


I even took a video on my camera, but I suffered from "forgot that video has to be shot horizontally" syndrome, so you will have to turn your head ...


One embarassing thing ... we apparently put the high chair away without cleaning it. I had to give it a thorough clean as there was an astonishing amount of food still in it and on it! Ack!

Bend it Like Beckham

DT has been to his first professional sports game! We went to see the SJ Earthquakes play the LA Galaxy (including Beckham) Saturday night.




Lessons learned:
1. Just because Oakland is usually only 45 min - 1 hour from SJ, 1-1/2 hours will not be enough time to get to a soccer game featuring David Beckham.
2. 40,000 people will also be driving up from San Jose at the same time.
3. Soccer games are very short. Missing the first half and then needing to wait in line for food only leaves 30 minutes of game time (there are no time outs to slow it down).
4. If you miss the ice cream man going by with only 4 minutes left, you will have to drive to the landmark Fentons Creamery to appease your 3 year old. Ok, and his mom.

This is the smallest size...


It was still fun and we plan to go to another game. Probably the next time the Galaxy is in time... only we plan to go up quite early and tailgate! It turns out our neighbors were also went to the game and they left even a little later than us. It was their highest attendance ever, so no one was really expecting the crowd/traffic.

3 Boys

I just love matching outfits!

6 week checkup

DT had his 6 week checkup with Dr. LT.

He had his heart beat listened to.


His blood pressure checked.


He did have to get a shot...


then he was proclaimed healthy by the doctor!

UhOh

Poor DT had a poospolsion at Cost Plus and Mommy forgot to bring an extra outfit ...
He had to suffer through the indignity of riding home in his skivies and his shoe socks.



One he got out of that carseat and on to the changing table, he felt much better!


He just loves that changing table!


As did LT ... here he is at almost exactly the same age (one day younger).


Do they look the same? Different? What do you think?

BabyFaces

I got a reliable series of smiles today!






Nice shirt, isn't it?