Disneyland

I'm not gonna lie, I was very apprehensive about attempting Disneyland with a temperamental three-year-old and a newborn. Especially in the middle of July. BUT, I am very happy to report that overall the day went really well!

(note: these pictures aren't in order. Why is it that blogger won't always let me rearrange pictures??)
We took the day pretty slowly, deciding it would be better to see a few things pleasantly than everything amidst major meltdowns.

After waiting in line for Small World, I started to step on the boat and Liv flipped out. "I don't want to go on a boat!!" she cried. Well, I wasn't about to get out of line at that point, so I assured her that this type of boat was more like a car in water (I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean, but it calmed her down enough to get her in the boat). Then, just as the boat started moving, Chase (who hadn't heard the preceding exchange), turned to Liva and said, "Livia! We're on a boat!" at which point she, of course, flipped out again.

Luckily I was able to quickly calm her down once more, and she very much enjoyed the ride, but that could have been disastrous!

The parade was definitely a highlight for Livia. She would have been perfectly happy to spend the entire day meeting characters, so seeing them all go by was a big thrill. We had amazing seats, thanks to Tyler, Joelle, Rich, and Cheryl, so were close enough to have characters come up to us, shake hands, blow us kisses, and "talk" to us (Smee wanted to point out to me that we were both wearing blue striped shirts. Yeah, I'm cool like that).

These next two pictures should be at the end, so just pretend they are.

11:00 pm (very excited after riding Dumbo)11:05

We had one tired kid on our hands! But considering she was happy that whole night?? Pretty amazing.

Another highlight of the day was going to the coronation ceremony. They taught the little girls a short dance, and then had Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty come out and dance with them (picture a host of ecstatic, practically worshipful little girls). Then they all did a maypole together. Cinderella came so close to Livia she touched her skirt. To Livia, that was like having a brush with a favorite celebrity. Because, as you know, this is the real Cinderella. Very exciting stuff. I actually couldn't stop grinning myself--it was so cute to watch!


Showing the girls how to curtsyAnother HUGE moment. Meeting Mickey Mouse. The grin speaks for itself.


Now you've seen some of the best moments of the day...here's the worst. I needed to nurse, it was right around nap time, so we decided to see Captain EO, that 3-D movie with Michael Jackson. Now, I had never seen it, and everyone else hadn't seen it in years, so we didn't realize that it was totally and completely inappropriate for our purposes! There were some seriously creepy images in that movie. Poor Livia was burying her face in Chase's chest half the time, peeking the other half. It was LOUD, and the seats moved in time with the beat of the music. Cool...if you're not nursing. Jane was startled every 10 seconds by some movement or sound. I'd have left except we were right in the middle of a long row of people, near the front. It was, in a word, awful. Next time I'll listen to the signs that say "some images may be scary for children."
(hey, it's disneyland, I didn't think it could be that bad!)

Back to the good stuff:

The carousel was the first ride we went on. It's a little bit bigger than the one at happy hollow. Ü

Meeting Pluto. Like I said, she was at her happiest when meeting characters.
Using fast passes and parent swaps, we all managed to ride Space Mountain and the new Star Tours. We also caught the fireworks show, which caused Livia to whisper in my ear, "this is good, mom."

We had few near misses with disaster that day, most noteworthy of which was a barely made toilet run. But Liv did, in fact, make it, so we all breathed a collective sigh of relief and moved on. Disneyland is truly magical for a child. Not just fun: Magical. And seeing your kids light up and enjoy every moment is worth the (rather exorbitant) price.

I should also give mad props to Jane, who was happy in her stroller the entire day. Except for one major blowout when we first arrived, she was positively perfect. We were all very, very grateful. Because a screaming baby could have made that day a whole lot less fun. In fact, it probably would have become Not Fun At All. Thank heavens for unrealized fears!

Laguna Beach

We left Apple Valley and drove straight to Laguna Beach, where we picked up Chase from the airport and joined the rest of his family for a fun-filled week at the beach!

Chase's parents just returned from serving as mission presidents in Guatemala City. It was so wonderful to see them again and spend time with his entire family!

Here's a picture of me and Jane right by downtown Laguna Beach. I dipped her toe in the water just after this picture--that's the closest she got to actually experiencing the beach, I'm afraid. The rest of the time I had her in the moby wrap, bumbo, or someone's arms. But I didn't want her to feel totally left out. Ü


Livia has begun to really like holding Jane. For awhile Jane would cry every.single.time. But now she mostly tolerates it, which makes Livia very happy.

Livia and Ella had a blast playing together all week! I'm so glad she has a cousin so close to her in age.
This was a failed attempt at nicely holding Jane. Mike Tyson, anyone?
Here are Ella, Whitnie, and Rich.
There was a smaller, more secluded beach just a short walk from the house we rented. It was so beautiful, and I caught this picture of Chase, Tyler, and their father while I sat on the bluff above, feeding Jane.
Just hanging around the beach house. It's a pretty safe bet that they were all watching the Tour de France when I snapped this photo.
Livia and Ella again

Somehow we managed to not get any pictures of everyone all together. But here's a shot of our whole little family. Pictures of the four of us are also pretty rare these days.
It was a great week, filled with good food, good company, more than one round of Monopoly Deal, some golfing, and a whole lot of family togetherness. We spent one day at Disneyland too, but that will be a post all its own.

I also was lucky enough to get to see my good friend Megan P. while I was in the area. I hadn't seen her since just after Livia was born, so it was SO nice to get to visit with her again!

Apple Valley

July was spent with family.

We went to Apple Valley for the first week of July, and had a wonderful time! I drove down alone with the two girls. Yes, this was more than slightly terrifying. But it actually turned out really well. Livia was an angel, and spent the entire trip perfectly content in her car seat, reading books, eating snacks, listening to music, and just watching the scenery. In the entire 8 hour drive she left her car seat ONCE--to go to the bathroom--and then hopped right back in the car. I stopped more than that of course, to feed Jane, change Jane's diapers, and pop pacifiers back in. But Livia never got out those other times, and never even complained. It was rather shocking, and definitely an answer to prayer! Jane did pretty well too, though I had to let her cry sometimes. Even though it was a pleasant drive, we were all happy and relieved to arrive at my parent's home!

Livia is positively enraptured with her Uncle David and Aunt Emily. I hardly even see my child when they're around! I love that they play so well together, and that Emily is so responsible that I don't even have to worry about Livia getting into mischief/danger.
They spent some time drawing on the sidewalk
My dad got in some time holding his second granddaughter

We played pretty pretty princess (and stayed dressed up all morning)
And we also went swimming at a friend's house, which was so nice of them!
On the 4th of July there was a freak thunderstorm in Apple Valley. Livia decided she didn't want to get wet, so stayed indoors. But Emily and David ventured out and ended up completely soaked through (as you can see in the picture below). That night when we went to go see fireworks we had to drive through a patch of desert to get there, and it was so flooded from that storm we were afraid the van would get stuck. I was not looking forward to the process of un-sticking it. But we made it through alright, so all was well!
On the 4th we also introduced Livia to Chuck.E.Cheese. As you can imagine, she loved it! She particularly loved this kid version of DDR, even though she had no earthly idea how to play. She was perfectly content just jumping around to each different colored spot as the music played (and asked to play this game over and over again).
We were all so glad that my dad could join us! He works such long hours we thought he was going to have to work that day, but he stayed home and came and played with us instead. Ü
We also spent time at a couple of parks, playing games, trying to introduce Livia to as many Disney movies that we don't own as possible, and overall having a marvelous time. It's always nice to spend time with my brother Perry too, who lives close by.

Nicknames

We've discovered that Liv has a knack for creating nicknames. Over the past couple weeks she's come up with Emsters (for my sister Emily), Davey-doo (for my brother David), and Janie-Boppy (for Jane).

What's remarkable is that none of the nicknames are alike in form, and none had ever been used before in our family (which is quite a feat. we're rather prolific nicknamers. i've got at least a dozen nicknames myself).

From the mouth of babes

The following are snippets of conversations we've had with Livia during the past few months.

Livia: “Dad, give me your face. I want to kiss your lips.”

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Me: “Livia, maybe you and Daddy can have a treat while I’m gone!”

Livia (in a very resigned manner): “But I didn’t eat a good enough dinner.”

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Livia: “I had a bad dream! It was really bad. About lions, and tigers, and people. And ducks.

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Livia: (after another bad dream, spoken while sobbing hysterically) It was about a hippopotamus…who crashed…a snowman.

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Livia: Is Jesus a girl?

Me: No.

Livia: He’s a boy?

Me: Yeah

Livia: But he has long hair. Long hair like me.

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Livia: What’s that?

Me: It’s a grapefruit

Livia: What’s its middle name?

Me: Um, I don’t think it has a middle name.

Livia: I know what it is!

Me: Oh?

Livia: It’s second-third-second.

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Me: It’s time for the sacrament. It’s time to think about Jesus.

Livia: I’m thinking!...about…the candy cane. At the grocery store. That’s what I’m thinkin’ about.

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Livia: (waking up in the night, sobbing) There’s a bat!

Me: Livia, there aren’t any bats here, go to sleep.

Livia: No, it’s right there! There’s a bat!

Me: There are NO bats in here.

Livia: Get the bat!

Me: Livia—

Chase: Mary, just get the bat!

Me: (grabbing a handful of air) Oh look, I got it!

Livia: No, it’s over there!

Me: (grabbing a different handful of air) Ok, now I got it.

Livia: Throw it in the trash!!

Me: (throwing the handful of air onto the ground) Okay, it’s gone now.

Livia: (Silence, because she’s now completely calm and going back to sleep)

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Livia (from the back seat of the car): I smell like…baking powder.

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Me: Livia, you’re so cute.

Livia: I’m not cute.

Me: You’re so pretty and nice!

Livia: I’m NOT pretty and nice.

Me: You did such an excellent job.

Livia: I’m NOT es-calent!!

Me: Oookay then.

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Livia: Mommy, you’re short and fat.

Me: (bemused silence. how does one respond to such things??)