We're going...

to DISNEYWORLD!

Yippee!

The anti-traditional hippy in me feels slightly like a cookie-cutter right now - same as I did when we got a house in the suburbs and a Golden Retriever. But alas, it's all in the name of growing up and having a family. Plus it's SUPER FUN ;)

So we're going the week of February 20th and will have a ball I'm sure. Staying off-property solely for cost-effectiveness and to have a 2-room suite with free breakfast every morning and a free shuttle to the parks!

D knows we're going. He doesn't really understand the wait though - but he's going about it okay. I put a Mickey head on his bedroom calendar on the day we're going so he can watch the days pass.

In the meanwhile we rented the 1990 classic - Disney Sing Along Songs, Disneyland Fun from the library, and we've been watching it a minimum of once a day. This has been good because it is getting him in the excited mode to go (mostly for the Star Wars rides he sees on the movie). However it's bad because when the super-awesome clothes and bad hair of 1990 came on the screen for the songs, so did Roger Rabbit, who was a hit at the time. D had no idea who he was when he came on - however after the hundreds of viewings, he now fully expects to see Roger Rabbit at Disney World when we go. This is not good. We'll have to tell him Roger's on vacation (ha, that worked with his late fish, Robin, RIP).

I'm excited - I haven't been since I was in early high school. Things are going to be a lot different than they were then!

So prepare to see some cute pics when we get back.

You May Notice...

I'm doing the March for Babies again! I added my "gadget" to your right - that links to my fundraising page.
The walk is April 29th - but any donations are always appreciated early!

Let me know if you want to walk with us!

Snow Boy

Here's our little snow boy. He LOVES being out in the snow - had his first trips in the sleds we got for Christmas from Grandma Denise, made his first snow angels, and of course engaged us in many snowball fights.





These are all from day 1 in the snow - finished up with these of the hot chocolate finale!



Many more pics to come soon from today's jaunt in the snow with cousin Haven.

Bonjour

Are you sick of book reviews? TOO BAD! Ha!

We've got another SUPER cute library book at home that I don't want to forget about. Dain actually picked it out on a day he took D to the library and he's not letting me live this one down.

Everybody Bonjours - by Leslie Kimmelmana


This book is based on my husband's favorite city in the world, and one of my top favorite destinations of all time - PARIS!
The book is perfect for a cutie little one - who might be interested in French or whose parents are forcing it on him (HA) - and yes we have bi-lingual English/French books in our home!
This book focuses on how everyone says "hello" in Paris - BONJOUR! It's adorably rhymed, "They bonjour while sweeping floors, doing chores...eating petit fours. Everybody Bonjours!"
Illustrated by a family of four clearly on vacation in the city of light, they visit the Mona Lisa, Eiffel Tower, the Metropolitan subway, etc. Everywhere people are bonjouring to eachother. The graphics are almost like a watercolor painting - though a bit more vivid. They are beautiful and perfectly capture that Parisian spirit, while keeping the cartoonish flair that keeps a child glued to the page. In addition, the author and illustrator added a mouse "hidden" on each page that the little reader can try to locate. D LOVES finding the mouse!
The cute story gives Paris the benefit of the doubt - when a lot of people think that the French people as a rule are not the friendliest culture to tourists. I did not experience that at all, and I was happy to see a book that totally blew up that theory. The family bonjours all over Paris - but at the end, when they get back home "everybody HELLO's"!

Love this book. It's a quick, cute, perfectly Parisian story. And it makes me dream even more about taking our family to Paris someday. I would love to take D to that beautiful place, and let him BONJOUR all over the place! Someday my friends, someday.

Christmas Done

Well it only took me to the 10th of January (in 2012 who can believe it?!?) to share my holidays with you - but here it is.

We were so excited that D was so excited about the holidays this year. He had figured out that he was going to get presents so he was UBER excited about Santa and the idea of Christmas. He loved decorating the tree. He loved singing the songs - his favorite seemed to be "Deck The Halls" for some reason (mostly because of the "fa la la la las"), though a close second was of course "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells..." (but to be fair that's an annual favorite).

If you asked D what he wanted from Santa early on he would say "a present". We asked what kind and he said "a red stripe, and a black stripe, and a blue stripe, and a green stripe" - we figured out he was trying to describe the wrapping paper. Once we asked what he wanted inside - he wanted a trooper (from Star Wars) and a "car wash" (the game "Rush Hour" which he saw at my babysitter's house - it's too old for him, but oh well).

Here's some shots of his Christmas morning...complete with the gifts under the tree first - and his stocking (guess what that gift is?)...






It was a great Christmas - of course filled with family and fun.
And of course - today D told me something he "wants for Christmas"...it may be a long year...