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! ;)

disney day 1

we left home at 7a, to catch our 9:10a flight. grandma & grandpa pierse joined us for our disney adventure, and we were lucky enough to have 5 seats in a row on the way to orlando which made traveling with the lap child MUCH easier. honestly i don't remember much about the flight there so it must have been uneventful...just the way i like my flights!

magical express worked well & we were on our way to the Old Key West resort in no time. literally NO wait. we walked right on the bus & we were off. once at OKW it took awhile to check in because i wanted a refurbished villa (we had a two bedroom villa...nearly 1400 sq feet...awesome) on the ground floor (no elevators there) that was ready for early check in. no dice. we ended up on the last bus stop (of the 5 at the resort alone) super far away from the hospitality house by 2pish. so we were basically in a condo far off on our own...but it was fully equipped with a kitchen so it wasn't a huge deal. the villa was terrific...very nice, very comfortable, & huge. gus slept in the pack n play in the little laundry room! clay & i shared the guest bedroom with 2 queen beds with luci. housekeeping brought us two bed rails to keep her from falling out. the room had a high chair in it when we checked in. talk about the comforts of home!!

once to our room the fam snacked on some grandpa bread we had brought from home while i ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to unpack & get us organized for our stay. this takes awhile when trying to enable 4 adults to be able to take care of two children in a new space (where to put diapers, cups, wipes, clothes, etc.) lu was INCREDIBLY patient and waited over an hour while i took care of that. gus & grandma & grandpa stayed back for gus to nap while clay, luci & i went to magic kingdom. lu was in awe of cinderella's castle...but unfortunately it was closed (they do this a few times a day) so we couldn't go inside. given we had billed the whole trip as "going to visit cinderella's castle" you can imagine her disappointment. when she asked me if cinderella had toys & crafts at her castle it occurred to me then that her expectation was 4 days of hanging out with cinderella in her castle...oops. we tried to distract & told her we'd go to the castle at 6p when the lady said it would open back up. she kept asking if it was 6p & whining that she wantd to see cinderella...ugh...

but we kept busy...rode it's a small world & the dumbo ride. we waited maybe 15 minutes for each ride. while waiting in the dumbo line a nice dad there with his 2 year old told me to head to toontown to find cinderella. i had read that toontown was closed, so i was pretty excited to find out it was open till february! so after dumbo we headed right over to the princess meet & greet...

clay & i weren't sure what to expect so we didn't really say much to her about why we were waiting in line. she wasn't thrilled...

till we got inside & she saw cinderella, belle & aurora...

to say she was a little overwhelmed is an understatement. the sheer awe of seeing princesses in person caused her to be a bit shy & pensive. clay & i were overwhelmed with joy as each princess spent about 5 minutes with her...looking through her little autograph book that we had brought. the intention of the book is to collect signatures & then put a photo of the kid & the character next to the autograph as a memory thing post trip. however our lu being the pea she is, had already filled the photo part with pictures of our family & her 3rd birthday princess party.
each of the princess took the time to look through the book with her. and stop at the princess party photos. and listen to luci name off each of her friends. and then they REPEATED EACH LITTLE FRIENDS NAME back to her. in fact clay interrupted cinderella at one point to tell luci to smile and cinderella put up her hand & told him there would be plenty of time for photos, that she wanted to hear more about luci's book. SOOO SWEET!!!

seriously, clay & i walked out of that meet & greet high as kites...we both told grandma & grandpa (who met up with us after that) that that 15 minutes had M.A.D.E. the entire trip worthwhile. it was so much more of a gift to clay & me than it was to luci. to have the ability to make your child feel the joy & magic that luci felt for that 15 minutes is something every parent should get to experience. we know she likely won't remember how she felt 2 years from now, but we will. it was SUCH a gift.

after that we walked through minnie's house & then walked through the castle (it was 6p)...which was underwhelming. we had dinner at pecos bill's cafe - which would have been better had we realized there was a fixins bar for our burgers BEFORE we ate them. oh well. then we headed back to the resort & got some sleep :)

luci's vote

the girl has spoken. she thinks we should move to disney world.

within a few hours of arriving we found cinderella. seriously, the 15 minutes with cinderella, belle & aurora on sunday afternoon M.A.D.E. the entire vacation for clay & me. the sheer awe on our pea's face was all we needed to know that it was all worth it.
and the boy has an admirer...just don't tell the beast!

a bunch of future posts...

I've been wanting to post on all of these matters, but alas, no time. So for now, I'm organizing my thoughts. Mostly for me. How lucky for you ;).

1. Disney. We leave for Disney World on Sunday. I've been reading & planning like the mom of a Cinderella loving 3 year old whose husband dropped a serious amount of cash to take his 3 year old to Cinderella's Castle. I'm a little overwhelmed by the pressure...can ya tell?

2. Reclaiming the bod. a.I've joined weight watchers.com. Lost 4.8lbs in about 2 1/2 weeks. Wearing some pre-G jeans for the first time. Yet I need to lose much, much more. b. I want to run a 5K. I'm regularly running 30 minutes & walking 20 minutes. And lifting (weights).

3. Annoying health matters. I had 3 cavities filled. What is that all about?!?!?! And I have chronic plantar faciitis...which is making #2b more difficult. Waiting for my custom orthotics. And I get to wear awesome night time ski boot type things called night splints. They are taking some of the fun out of sleeping. boo.

4. Lobbying hard for #3. That's right. I'm putting it out there. We are not so good at the first year. And I am not so good at pregnancy. Yet I can't let it go.

5. Moving. Geez time flies when you are having fun. Spring/Summer of 2012 is coming up quickly somehow. That means kindergarten follows. Colorado? Minneapolis? Portland? Somewhere we haven't even considered yet? And this will [hopefully] be complicated by #4. aka #3.

1-5...to be continued...

I'M the mommy

is lu's favorite new game. "mom...I'M the mommy. YOU'RE the luci. and gusgus is dad." all day, everyday, there is a new mommy in the house. she pretend cooks, she does pretend chores, and she really wants to pick up gus! oh, and at kroger she must have her own little cart now...pretending she's the mommy all through the store, proclaiming it to everyone who smiles at her.

yes, apparently i make this job look incredibly fun, easy & glamorous ;)

so what have we been up to? lots of this lately:

trying new weight watchers tasty treats...

and making valentine's day cookies. the girl loves her a holiday.

she can actually be quite helpful in the kitchen when the outcome involves a baked good. poor thing must take after her mom. today she rolled out the cookies, pushed the cookie cutters down & put the cut cookie on the sheet all by herself. and she did a great job. just don't ask her to get her hands in any dough or batter mix though. she's not interested.



so this afternoon as we were mixing the cookies she was doing the usual "i wish I could be the mommy" bit. so for my own amusement when i dug into the dough i asked her if she was going to do that messy part when she was the mama. her brow furrowed. i poked a bit more. "luci, are your babies not going to get to have cookies? if you don't do this part your babies won't get to have any tasty cookies! not every part of being a mama is fun, some of it is hard work!" and with 100% seriousness she told me that yes, she WOULD be able to do it when she was the mama. that she'd try REALLY hard.

so that was cute.

then tonight as we were getting ready for bed she was doing the whole "I'M the mommy bit." okay, i said.

and she said, "and i'm going to try REALLY hard to do that thing so my clara baby can have cookies." (she's going to have a baby named clara) she said it with such earnestness that it touched my heart. so i decided to spend time documenting it instead of crossing something off of my enormous to do list.

cause it really is my turn to be the mommy. and you only get to be the mommy of 3 year old luci once.

well, for a whole year i guess, but ya know what i mean.

first trip to the er...

another first...a trip to the er this time. the lu, g & i packed up & headed to one of our local stand-alone er facilities last night about 6:45p. fun times, right?!?

yesterday was particularly rough for the lu. i'm not sure if she's spatially challenged, absent minded, or just plain klutzy...but the last & final injury of the day was one in a series of 6 or more that had happened in the prior 12 hours.

she hurt her chin no less than 3 times on the railing of the stairs (picture tiny head propped on hand railing while she decides to step off to another step!?!?!) and i was starting to fear her lil head was going to pop off. every time her chin hit the rail, her head snapped back & her lil body sort of popped right down. dangerous, i know.

she fell or jumped or climbed or swam from the chair to the side table...and hurt her whole torso.

she tripped while walking, looking down at her feet.

she walked into the wall, looking down at her feet.

i really don't think it's her vision. i think her mind is not thinking about her body and what it is doing.

and so i have a talk with her. about being really careful and thinking about her body & what it is doing. i tell her i love her, and i don't want her to get hurt. in an attempt to use words she'll understand, i make a big mama mistake & tell her that if she isn't careful, one of these times she's going to get so hurt she'll break. and that then we'll have to go to the doctor to get fixed. her eyes get super big & immediately i think my attempt to speak at her level has scared the you know what out of her. oops. but i wishfully think maybe it'll work anyway.

but then comes the grand finale. she had just gone potty and was washing her hands getting ready for dinner while standing on her little plastic stool, just as she's done for the last year. i hear a crash and i catch arms flailing out of the corner of my eye. i hear silence (so i know it is bad), and then the crazy, heaving sobbing. i run right over & see the blood welling up in her mouth...she bit her tongue on both sides. i think this is the worst of it. i carry her to the kitchen sink & tell her to spit. it comes out pink...not so bad...or so it seems. then i realize her chin is bleeding. and when i clean it off i see this:

and no i'm not pulling it apart just to take a photo of it. well, actually, i guess i was. but per aunt doctor brooke's instructions. cause what do you do when you have a medical situation you feel ill-equipped to deal with? you call your sister the er doc. and then you send photos using your camera phone of said medical situation.

so when your sister, the er doc says, um, yeah, that could probably use some stitches or tissue glue, you groan (if you are me) & then you listen. it wasn't that deep, but it was wide. for scaring & infection, dr. brooke said we best go. so i take notes on what to ask for and how to handle various contingencies, i feed the kids dinner (they were starving & it was all ready), pack up the dvd player (in case of a wait), and head out. at 6:45p, on a friday night.

and how was the lu, you ask? she was F.I.N.E. fine. wanted to eat her pizza and was laughing & joking. till i told her aunt brooke thought we needed to have a doctor fix her chin. then she lost it. said it was too late, it was bed time. asked if we were going to dr. b. (our pedi). i told her no, it was too late, so we'd have to go to a special night time dr. one that daddy went to once. this, of course, made her feel better. i told her aunt brookie thought mr. special doctor should glue her chin! she loves glue so i thought this would crack her up. it did not. it terrified her. she kept telling me that she wasn't broken & that she didn't want to be glued. that she'd be really, really careful.

parental FAIL.

luckily, our fabulous town in a box rocks; i drive 7 minutes to the first choice er, pay my $25 co-pay and get into the jungle book themed kids room before i can even complete the paperwork they gave me. the staff was awesome & we were in & out in less than 30 minutes.

4 pieces of a tape like substance & some tissue glue later, we are all set. no worse for the wear. should be good as new in 5-7 days. (or new as good, as she says ;) thank goodness for aunt brookie. thank goodness for aunt brookie telling me to ask for tissue glue & avoiding the whole stitches business.

but what i still can't figure out is how she actually cut it?!?! there isn't anything sharp on our sink. she says she hit it on the stool, but even if she did, again, there isn't anything sharp about it. maybe she just hit it so hard it split open?

g stats @ 12 months

g's 12 month well baby visit was this morning.

length: 30.5 inches; 68% percentile
weight: 21 lbs, 12 oz; 30% percentile
head: 18.39 inches; 57% percentile

he's stayed nicely on his own little curve, so that is reassuring. turns out poor lil thing has an ear infection! i had noticed he'd been tugging on his ears, but that really isn't anything new. figured it was just teeth (top two middle have broken through in the last day or two). his naps have been short the last few days and he's had nasty breathe...which now in hindsight suggest maybe there was a problem. he's been a bit fussy off & on, but such is life with a teething tot. i really had no idea his ear was all full of 'thick pus'. poor thing.

he also got his mmr, flow up flu, and chicken pox vaccines. we delayed luci's vaccines, but with our upcoming trip to disneyworld...where there are people & kids from all over the WORLD, our pedi really felt strongly about giving him the mmr before we left. so we did. because ultimately we trust him. i wasn't happy about giving him all of those shots at once, on top of the ear infection, but given we leave in about 10 days this seemed the best option.

he's been a trooper thought...he's a tough boy!

can you say those words?

"i made a parallelogram today, mom. and a trapezoid. they are tricky ones. can you say those words, mom?"

the boy gets his first haircut

the before...sweet lil wings over the ears... and lil fly away sprouts on the back left side of his noggin...

he was SUCH a big boy!!
he didn't cry or fuss...not even once!
not even when she brought out the trimmers!

and the after...one clean headed lil guy

from the back

i had little to no interest in getting his hair cut but clay has been anxious for months to get his hair 'cleaned up'. but i must admit...it looks pretty good.

he looks so much more grown up to me now!