4. it's started.

her little besties* have officially started turning 4. there will a number of birthday parties between now & her own fourth birthday.

four.

four is so close to five. and five means kindergarten. {sigh}

where, oh where, has the time gone.

i can't believe margeaux is 4. i met trina (her beautiful mama) when I was 10 weeks pregnant with luci. and trina was 30 some weeks (i was told there'd be no math) pregnant with margeaux. seems like yesterday. and now her baby is 4. and this summer, mine will be too.

lulu & the birthday girl margeaux
a princess catwalk...

does it get any better in the eyes of the 3 to 4 year old girl set?

bustin a move on the catwalk...to justin bieber

pizza, cake & cupcake time!


about to cruise market street (the main drag) in the sweet & sassy limo!

it was her first experience getting all dolled up with makeup & glitter & hairspray & whatnot. she was waaaay more into it than i thought she'd be. in fact, per her request i attempted to replicate the 'do for school today. she insisted on glitter & all. i did an okay job, but without the entire can of hairspray they used i doubt i'll ever be able to totally replicate cause she has my fine hair. we actually broke her hairbrush last night trying to comb out her hair. but really i'm just happy she's finally letting me get that hair out of her eyes! we'll see how long it lasts**.

*hi harold & myrtle the great...besties is slang for best friends.

**it stayed in today until about 2p. she told me that her buddy zachary at school said, 'what is that on your head?' then i asked her if he liked it, and she said he did. but when she imitated zachary asking what was on her head it sounded about as you would expect it would coming from a 3 year old little boy.

***i think i found another super fun retirement job. working at one of these joints. i'm sure i'll be too uncool to lead the dance party, but maybe i could work the reception desk. the dance party was seriously so much fun we moms were jokingly asking if we could have mani/pedi/hairdo/dance party birthday party. seriously. sounds like the best moms night out i can think of! add in some drinks & a limo ride home (safety first!) and i think i've got a seriously marketable small business plan!

we love texas

well, at least in february we love texas! february is my favorite month...the weather is as close to perfect as it gets here so we are getting our fill of playing outside. last night we decided to picnic...in our backyard. with our kitchen chairs. so not sure if that technically counts as picnicking, but it made our kiddos happy so it's good enough in my book!

and what does the boy love?
he loves it when he gets his hands on sissy's cup! my goofy boy

like i said, february is the BEST here...so come visit all of you* long lost northern family & friends! come now before it gets too hot!

*in my head this sentence came out as ya'll.

it is authentic in my head, but i can't bring myself to write it yet.

hmmm.

welcome harold & myrtle the great

my fabulous and thoughtful sister, dr. brooke, hooked my grandparents up with this handy gadget. so welcome grandma & grandpa...to my blog. it is my online journal/baby book/scrapbook. i write a few times a week (as time allows) so that everyone far, far away (and close by) can keep up with our family. and so that someday my kids can read it & know how much they are treasured.

so welcome harold & myrtle the great...when you get random notes about my family that aren't specifically addressed to you, it is just an update on my blog. :)

gus & luci are excited :)

ps...can you believe those babies up there with harold & myrtle the great! that was just last august! they grow so fast. *sigh*

g @ 13 months

our boy is 13 months.

-his eating goes in serious spurts. one day he'll eat more than a grown man, the next day not much at all. it is amazing how much he can put down in one sitting.

-he's sleeping pretty well. usually 90 minutes in the am and 90 minutes or so in the pm. he goes to bed around 7p and wakes up around 6:30aish. i'm thinking about shortening the morning naps as part of the transition to one afternoon nap here in the next few months.

-he wears size 4 huggies, 12-18 month pants, 18-24 mo shirts, and 18mo pjs.

-he digs his newish shoes (size 4.5)

-he knows his shoes & socks go on his feet, and so very helpfully sets his socks on his little feet if i hand them to him.

-he loves to go outside. and once outside he focuses on the natural things...leaves, twigs, rocks, mulch, etc. on the playground equipment he spends his time shoving leaves through the grate that makes the playground platform.

-he loves to find the biggest stick he can & swing it around within eye poking distance.

-he LOVES the cats.

-he loves to look at animals...on shows, in books...pretty much anywhere. he also really likes cows & ducks.

-i went cold turkey on the bottle about 10 days before disney. he's just now getting enough milk with the cup.

-he's drinking organic soy milk...his eczema really flared up when i started giving him the cows milk (he was on soy formula). i have lots of concerns about soy (& cow's milk, truth be told), but will probably stick with it until he's 2 and can drink almond, rice or coconut milk.

-he LOVES bread. the kid would eat nothing but bread if i let him. grandpa bread is his FAVORITE.

-just within the last week walking has become his preferred method of transportation. he's falling a lot though which is tiring him out & making him one very frustrated lil man.

-he's still manic. he's either super happy or super fussy. not much in between.

-he says uh oh, hi, hi daa (dad), muu-ha-ha-ha, and he repeats the baby einstein video & says da da da daaaaaa (beethoven's fifth)

-he is SUPER sensitive. he knows what no means & he isn't always a good listener. but if you get really stern or lose your patience & raise your voice at him (not as a plan, but as a i'm-going-to-lose-my-ever-lovin-mind if you get poop all over AGAIN instead of holding still during a diaper change) he will sob. heaving sobs with tears :(

disney day 5

our last morning we woke up early to hit one last character breakfast at akershus in epcot. the logistics of packing up, checking out & whatnot didn't go super smoothly, but i don't really want to detail all of that here. it wasn't anything a little shouting & slamming of the hand by the ole battleaxe (a nickname of mine in my previous life as a financial analyst...) on the counter couldn't fix...

ahem. right. so...onto norway in epcot for breakfast at akershus. belle greeted us & we got a nice family photo with her. the same five princesses greeted us for breakfast as had the night before. so honestly, for me, it was a bit of an overkill...originally i had planned it because i had read that jasmine & mulan would be there...the two princesses we hadn't seen anywhere else. but thankfully i took some good advice & didn't really build anything up for luci so i was the only one disappointed. and of course, it was lovely to see cinderella, belle, aurora, ariel & snow white again.

belle

ariel

snow white

some belle had a lil crush on our prince gusgus!

after breakfast we headed back to the resort to catch the bus to the airport!

more logistical details, fussy/exhausted boy...something about the longest 2 hour flight ever...blah blah blah. we left grandma & grandpa at the airport as they had decided to catch the last flight home that night straightaway. clay, luci & i made it home in time for some chick-fil-a only to get a call from poor grandma & grandpa saying their flight had been cancelled! so off clay went back to the airport and i set about getting the kids to bed & our stuff unpacked.

and that is it really!

in summary, it was an expensive vacation worth every penny. logistically almost everything went smoothly when you consider all of the moving around we did. luci was at a perfect age. gus was a little young. i really didn't want to do a family vacation without him & grandma & grandpa took excellent care of him when he his needs were different than luci's. and of course we are grateful that grandma & grandpa pierse came along & made such great memories with us.

the one thing that annoyed me is the way disney ends rides & events in stores. but one thing i couldn't be more proud of was the fact that my pea asked for only one thing the entire trip.

a balloon.

an $8-$15 balloon.

she asked for it on sunday & monday. we told her we'd get her one on our last night.

and come wednesday night?

she never asked.

i'm VERY proud. we must be doing something right.

hopefully we'll be back...luci thinks maybe when she's five....so start saving dad. ;)

day 4

wednesday...our last full day. we woke up & ran to the animal kingdom. in fact, we ran so fast we thought we hadn't brought enough warm clothes so barb & don walked back from the bus stop to retrieve some winter gear while clay, luci, gus & i took the bus to the animal kingdom. we went right in & got fast passes for the african safari. then we walked along a trail to look at some more animals while waiting for granmda & grandpa.

on our way to meet up with with grandma & grandpa we ran into meeko, pocahontas' raccoon friend, so luci waited in line to see him. we had been hoping to see pocahontas herself, and despite my asking around i wasn't sure we were going to get to see her. truth be told, clay wanted to see her more than luci did i think! anyway, when luci got up to meeko clay & luci turned to go and meeko stopped clay & raised one finger as if to say, wait one minute. and as clay turned around there she was, pocahontas!

then we were off to the lion king show. it did not disappoint. we all loved it...including gusgus! after that we had pizza at pizzafari...since we had promised the lu pizza the night before & didn't deliver. after lunch we went on our safari (saw TONS of animals...luci & gus really seemed to enjoy it) and decided to head back to the magic kingdom in time for the 3p parade.

safari animals

back at the magic kingdom we scouted out a spot for the parade. we had a good time & got to see all of the princess & whatnot. it was really neat because the characters in the parade really singled out luci & walked up to her, waving, etc. it seems that the performers work really hard to make the kids feel special. and it works.

after the parade grandma & grandpa took a well deserved break at a coffee shop for some people watching while we went on a few more rides. luci & clay went on the barnstomer again while gus took a nap in the stroller & i bought gifts for a few friends back home.

clay & luci created a chant...barnstormer, barnstormer, barNstorMeR! meeting mickey & minnie

we met back up with grandma & grandpa just in time for dinner at cinderella's castle! it was by far my favorite character dining. cinderella, belle, ariel, snow white & aurora all make an appearance. luci got a wand & a star and gus got a sword & a star! it was actually real table service instead of a buffet, so that was a nice change.

cinderella

snow white

belle



ariel



aurora

and gusgus :)

after dinner grandma & grandpa took gus back to the hotel for the night while clay & i convinced luci to 'stay out after bednight' since it was our last night. best decision EVER. the park was virtually empty after 6:30pish! we were seriously running through open waiting lanes to get to the empty rides! we even got to go on the peter pan ride that had had ridiculously long lines every other time. it was awesome.
see clay in the red on the dumbo ride?

her limited experience with fireworks left her skeptical & anxious about watching them, but we had stayed at the park so late there was no real way to avoid them...and not surprisingly, she LOVED them. they know how to put on a good show.

and then it was off to bed!

disney day 3

we woke up on tuesday to a beautiful florida morning...although we knew big storms were coming around 4p so we were up & at em.

grandma & grandpa hung out with gus while clay, luci & i raced to hollywood studios to get a few fast passes. we had hoped to get one for the ariel show, but the park was so empty they weren't handing them out! the nice 'cast member' (that is what they call all employees) suggested we go get fast passes for the toy story ride so we did, even though luci doesn't like the toy story movies because they are 'scary'.

we watched the ariel show which had some super cool special effects...somehow they made you feel you were under water! next we were off to 'playhouse disney' to watch pooh, handy manny, little einsteins & the mickey mouse club house. i was a little disappointed in the show...i didn't realize it was essentially a puppet show....and that said puppet show would be best viewed from the middle back...not super close in the front...where we were.

lulu enjoyed it, nonetheless.

then the whole crew went to see the beauty & the beast show in a big amphitheater. i don't have any photos because we were too busy watching the fantastic performance! even gus loved it!

luci with june from little einsteins

after that it was off for lunch at hollywood & vine with the characters from playhouse disney. it was fun, but wasn't as great as the princess character meals. i think the fact that most of the characters are non speaking puts the 'real life' princess at the top of the character chain. especially if you are a 3 year old princess lovin girl or her mama...nothing else just quite compares. even though we have watched little einsteins every.day.for.the.last.2+.years.

luci & gus with leo from little einsteins

gus with special agent oso. g didn't love the larger than life characters.

and the fam with handy manny.

after lunch grandma & grandpa took gus back to the resort to nap while clay & luci & i used our fast passes for the toy story mania ride. luci didn't totally grasp it, but clay & i really enjoyed it. i had a 60% accuracy while clay the professional scored 83%. :)

after that the three of us caught the ferry to epcot. we walked around the world showcase looking for princesses, but luci was a bit overwhelmed & spent by that point. she had no interest in waiting in a line to see anyone...not even belle & the beast or jasmine & aladdin. so...clay & i took the time to just sort of look around & enjoy things for ourselves. luci had some chocolate gelato from italy that she enjoyed while clay had a beer from germany. we went on a fun boat ride in mexico that featured donald duck that luci liked. after that we went over to the future world & checked out the under the sea ride and turtle talk with crush. luci really enjoyed the ride but wanted to leave in the middle of the adorable turtle talk (the on screen turtle really talks & interacts with the kiddos in the room). and she most certainly did NOT want to see the nemo show i was so excited about....so we didn't. and it worked out because right after turtle talk it started to rain. we knew it was going to be one heck of a storm (micro bursts & whatnot) so we decided to head back to the resort & order in pizza.

so we did. but once on the phone to order pizza we realized that said pizza was going to cost us since it wasn't covered by the dining plan. more than we've ever payed for a pizza before. so since we had extra 'quick service' meals to use up clay & i braved the storm to hit the take away quick service at our hotel. about 90 soaking minutes later we finally brought our family dinner...just in time for bed!

disney day 2

we spent all day monday at the magic kingdom.

first on the agenda was the 'perfectly princess tea party'. it cost me an arm & a leg, or several hours of work (however you want to look at it), but grandma pierse, luci & i thoroughly enjoyed it. it was hosted by 'Rose Petal' (she told a story of how she was the rose that one of sleeping beauty's fairies picked a petal from - which turned her into a human welcome at any castle anywhere). rose petal was a very talented broadway show type performer & kept us VERY entertained for 2 hours. there were only about 10 little girls at the tea party, which was in the garden view tea room of the grand floridian. luci was presented with a crown & a wand immediately, and when we were seated (they called/announced each party individually) there was a little baby aurora (sleeping beauty) doll waiting for her. she was DELIGHTED. luci was very intrigued about how the doll's eyes closed when you laid her down. a bunch of older women served the party and they were just as adorable as the performer...i decided if i ever am elderly & alone & in need of a job i want to work at that tea party ;) luci had her own little teapot (full of apple juice) and her own little tea cup, and barb & i shared a very tasty pot of tea complete with tea strainers, a tea cozy & the whole bit. our tea party food was DELICIOUS. luci was served little heart shaped pb&j tea sandwiches with grapes & cheese. barb & i had chicken curry salad tea sandwiches & grapes & berries & an assortment of seriously scrumptious cheeses (i love me a good cheese). the only thing i didn't love was that the event ended in a store (this is a theme at disney...and good on them, but annoying for me) and to keep us hostage in the store they all had to wait to get their baby aurora's birth certificate signed. other than that bit, it was my favorite event of the entire vacation. oh, and luci also got a 'friendship bracelet' from princess aurora that was folded up in her napkin...so cute!

waiting to go into the tea room at the grand floridian...so cute, ms. potts!

luci with 'rose petal'

decked out in her princess gear

check out that giant piece of princess cake!

after the tea party barb, luci & i met up with don, clay & gus. we went on rides (of particular note was pete's barnstomer...the kiddie roller coaster...luci LOVED it! i think she rode it about 5x over the course of hte trip), and checked things out until heading back to the grand floridian for dinner at 1900 park fare. there we went to the cinderella's happily ever after dinner...which included appearances by cinderella, lady tremaine (cinderella's step mother), anastasia & drizella (her stepsisters), and prince charming himself.

do you see the sheer terror on her face as cinderella's stepmother touches her? to say that lu was TERRIFIED is an understatement. she actually started to cry & made us hide her little autograph book for fear lady t would want to sign it.

interestingly enough, when you think about how real & scary lady t was to her, that is equally how in awe she was at the princesses...they were absolutely real to her.

precious.

luci with drizella...the stepsisters were hilarious!

anastasia

prince charming himself

and last, but of course NOT least, luci's favorite princess - cinderella :)

and after all of that fun it was off to bed!

sick...

another stomach bug has invaded...prior to this year i can't even remember how long it has been since i've had the stomach flu...but this year? i've it had it twice since october! boo.

i think it started with gus...i'm guessing he picked it up at the gym as the other two families in the 'hood that have been struck also go to our gym. sunday he was really fussy in church...we came home, i put him down for a nap and he fussed off & on for an hour before settling in. i kept an eye on him via video monitor and he appeared fine. when he finally woke up like 3 hours later he was lying in a pool of blueberry vomit, and had been for quite some time. :( he threw up once more, and then seemed fine.

then thursday came...we went to the grocery store early, and right after lunch i started to feel icky. i was feeling better by dinnertime though so we went over to a friends house to play (where, btw, lu split her chin open a bit again...no urgent care necessary this time though). i felt crappy by the time we got home, but gave the kids their baths as scheduled, and then went right to bed myself. friday morning i woke up around 3a (actually stupid milo woke me up wanting to go outside in the ice storm...so i let him) and felt just awful. when luci woke me up at 6:45a i felt horrendous. after 15 minutes+ of throwing up i decided to fill a script for zofran that i had (anti nausea) at walgreens...right after they opened. i brought a puke bowl along in the car. fun times.


after the meds i didn't throw up again, but i felt horrible all day. i pretty much let the kids destroy the house...like playing in a sea of wrapping paper (actually i let them do that on thursday). wasteful, yes, but a cheap thrill for them nonetheless. at one point i drifted in & out of sleep on the playroom floor while they played the piano & microphone super loud right next to my head. i managed to get through the day & ordered them pizza for dinner. luci ate a TON. she didn't eat very much sunday - wednesday so i thought she had fought off whatever gus had on sunday. WRONG.

clay got last home night & put luci to bed. i went to bed pretty much right after that...around 8:30p. i fell asleep instantly. around 10p i woke up to luci groaning on the monitor. by the time i arrived in my night time ski boots clay was holding her but there was vomit EVERYWHERE. like down the inside of her bed everywhere. big pizza chunks floating in puke. sooo gross, especially when i still was far from 100% myself. clay & i managed to get it & her cleaned up, and he volunteered to sleep on her floor. less than an hour later i was back in there with more puke, but he agreed to stay with her a bit more.

at 1:30a, after vomit every 15 minutes (according got him...i was hard asleep, apparently), he was ready to tag out. i climbed into bed with her and withheld water from her...and the poor thing was so thirsty. it was really dry because the heat was running constantly (its been super cold by SE TX standards). by 3:30a she was sobbing for water. i pulled out the grammy tricks of a cold washcloth for the head, the humidifier and ice chips. i let her have 3 ice chips and 1 drink every 20 minutes from 3:30aish to 6:00aish. she threw up every hour, despite the zofran. finally she slept well from 6a - 8a.

we came downstairs & made a nest on the sofa, watched a few shows & stuck with the every 20 minutes for ice & a drink. she hadn't thrown up since about 5:30a so we tried a popsicles....which came up about 30 minutes later out of a dead sleep. here she was before that incident.

she's been sleeping ever since.

now i'm just hoping clay & gus aren't in for it...cause i'm not sure it is the same thing that gus had last weekend. fun times. so much for our super bowl plans!

more disney posts, g's 13 month notes & lu's 3.5 year notes to come! if only i didn't have to work at my paying job & at my home job i could spend the next 8 hours posting and be caught up! ;)