Thanksgiving 2011

WARNING: Longest post ever but I wanted to remember it all!

Ah, home sweet home! We got back last night after being in California since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! It feels like we were gone forever. There were lots of highs and lows, but we got to see great friends and family and meet Mickey Mouse, so all in all it was pretty successful! I'll post pictures in another post, for now here's a breakdown of what we've been doing.

Part I: Thanksgiving with the Family

On Thanksgiving the kids were a little bit overwhelmed with the 50 or so people at our first stop, especially since we woke them up early from their nap so we could get over there. Tia Guida and Tio Vital always make the yummiest food, so we didn't want to miss out on anything! After a while they warmed up a bit, so Eric and I were able to take turns catching up with family while the other one watched the kids. I still wish the kids had let me eat more, though! It was so good!

Next we went over to Eric's grandparents house where the kids absolutely fell in love with their second cousins, who are all teenage boys! Anderson particularly enjoyed chasing after them while doing his Shrek "ROAR." It made for a loud Thanksgiving dinner, but at least we got to eat without kids in our laps! Thanks to Tia Belia for taking on the primary job of feeding us all!

We got back to Eric's grandmas house pretty early since the kids were still on TX time, so by 7 the house was quiet and we were fat and happy. Eric and I decided to be crazy and headed over to Wal Mart to take in the shopping chaos. It was pretty crazy, although since we weren't looking for anything specific it was more of a spectator sport for us.

On Friday we went to Eric's grandparents house for leftovers at lunch time and then we took the kids down to our old neighborhood in Long Beach. We walked on the beach for a little bit and then dropped the kids off with their grandparents so Eric and I could go to one of our old favorite sushi restaurants. We had fun, but I ended up getting sick and didn't feel well for most of Saturday. If you can remember way back then, the kids were actually still recovering from their stomach viruses when we arrived in California (Anderson threw up while we were waiting to be picked up at the airport and then Emery threw up twice Thanksgiving morning) so I may have caught that. Not sure if I'll be able to eat sushi there again, though :(

I started to feel a bit better Saturday afternoon so we headed down to Orange County to visit with my high school friend, Kelly. The kids up until this point had been pretty challenging since they were not used to all the people and the time change and the nap issues, but thankfully they were really well behaved so we were able to enjoy a nice dinner with my dear friend.

On Sunday we took the kids on some errands, got In-n-Out (of course!) and then sat at one of Eric's childhood parks. There were two pumpkin carriages to play on, and since the kids love Cinderella, they were in heaven! Later we went over to Eric's uncles house for a great BBQ dinner. The kids got to play with their cousin Isabella and it was such a treat to see them all running around together.

Part II: DISNEYLAND

Although we loved seeing all of our friends and family in both SoCal and NorCal, Disneyland was the absolute highlight of our trip. In fact, if I was to write out a list of my top 10 favorite days this one could easily be on that list!

We got to Disneyland a little later than we hoped after the logistics of our car rental, picking up Titia, dropping off our borrowed car, and then checking into our hotel next to DL. That was ok, though- we had Tia Jessica with us, Miss Disneyland expert! As soon as we arrived Anderson saw the big train, so he was adamant that we did that first. Before we rode away from Main Street, though, we took the kids to City Hall to get their "My First Visit" buttons. I had no idea they did that- so special! Once we checked out the Christmas tree it was time to go on our first ride! The kids LOVED the train, and as soon as we got off in Toon Town Anderson wanted to go again (we never did get the chance, ops! Next time :) ) Once in Toon Town we saw that Minnie Mouse was just arriving at her house. We just watched from outside, because I was completely convinced that Emery would freak out if we got too close. I had absolutely no expectations for getting pictures of her with any characters, especially based on our Santa Claus experience last year!

After playing around for a bit we decided to go on "It's a Small World", which truthfully is not my favorite ride. One time when I was a kid we got stuck on the ride and the song played over and over and over! Well, wouldn't you know it- we got stuck again! Luckily this time they stopped the music, and pretty soon we were on our way again.

By this time we were reaching a make it or break it point. Anderson was starting to act a bit tired (quiet and cranky) so we had to decide if we were going to go back to our hotel so they could nap, or march forward and hope for the best. Well, I was having too much fun so I voted for carrying on! Eric and Tita agreed, so we tried to get Andy out of his funk. Luckily we came upon a neat globe fountain thing in Tomorrow Land (sorry, no idea what it's actually called) where Eric made a game out of the kids getting us wet. That turned everything right around and all of a sudden he was as happy as could be! After a bit we decided to refuel with lunch and then spent some time on Autopia and the Finding Nemo ride (which really scared the kids :( ).

On our way to Disneyland I told the kids that this was a very special day and that they could have anything they wanted (hey, they're two- they are happy if you give them a straw to play with so luckily I knew we could most likely deliver on any of their wishes!) After the Finding Nemo ride the kids started asking for ice cream, so we were happy to oblige! After we all shared a huge sundae it was time to head over to Fantasy Land. Emery was ecstatic about going in Sleeping Beauty's castle! All along I told her we would buy her an Aurora dress while we were at Disneyland (she already has a Cinderella dress) so we popped into the shops to try to find her the perfect one. She didn't really show any interest in any of the dresses, so I wasn't going to push it! That saved us $70 haha! :) When we came out of the shops Anderson's eyes got huge- he had spotted the Carousel. Leading up to Disneyland he had begged to ride every carousel we came upon (I guess they are pretty popular in SoCal) and we knew he was going to love this one. We were right- both kids had a blast. I thought for sure they would want to go again, but Anderson was already planning his next ride- the Dumbo ride. Emery went with daddy and Anderson came with me and Titia. They were thrilled with the ride and asked to go again when we got off. The line was a little long so we didn't go again but we thought it was a good time to go visit Santa.

Now, Titia had told us that in all the years she had an annual Disneyland pass that she rarely saw any princess characters. I was so sad to hear this, because I had convinced the kids that they would see Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. How else do you explain DL to a two year old? I had no idea, so I told them that's where their favorite characters lived. Instead of taking the short cut to Santa's house, I asked if we could go back out through the castle with the hope that we would see a character. Sure enough, as we were leaving Sleeping Beauty was standing there taking pictures! We got in line and the kids were so excited! Emery looked like she was in awe, and I still wasn't sure how things were going to go when we got to the front of the line. As we were waiting, Titia exclaimed "here comes Cinderella!" and I'm sure I gave a huge squeal of delight! I pointed her out to Emery and she just couldn't believe her eyes. Unfortunately Cinderella was walking in the opposite direction, and I didn't know whether to chase after her or stay in line :) I don't know who was more excited- me or the kids! I was so happy for them to get to meet these characters that they love so much.

Anyway, when it was our turn to meet Aurora both kids walked right up to her! Emery wasn't timid at all- yay! They gave her hugs and then when we tried to take their photo we had to call Anderson's name a bunch of times before he took his eyes off of her. We think he was in love :).

As soon as we were done, Emery asked "Where's Cinderella?" Uh oh! Now she was into it, so of course we all were! We tried to track her down but we couldn't find her (but we did say hi to her Fairy Godmother), so instead we went over to meet Tinker Belle. As were were waiting in line we got a glimpse of that silly fairy behind some leaves, and Emery quietly told me "I want to go say hi to her." Their sweetness and innocence brought tears to my eyes all day. They really were feeling the magic of the experience.

After we met Tinker Belle and her friend Vidia (who Amelia dressed up as for Halloween!) we were finally going to go see Santa. As we were walking away, Titia spotted Cinderella again! This time I grabbed Emery and followed her! We were first in line when it was time for photos, and Anderson went right up to her at full speed with arms extended for a big hug! As far as I was concerned the day was a success at that point! Luckily it was only half over. :)

We met up with Titia's friend (hi Katie!) and went to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I was concerned the kids would be scared, and they were a little bit. They didn't cry or anything, but Emery will tell you now that it was a "wittle bit scawy." At this point we parted ways with Titia and got the kids some popcorn (per their request- remember I was in a spoiling mood!). We decided a mini break was in order so we walked back to our hotel for refreshments and picked up our jackets. As we were leaving the park Mickey Mouse came out! The kids were first in line again to meet him, and we were able to take an adorable picture of the three of them together. By the time we got back to the park a little while later it was time to find our spot for the parade. It took a while to reach us, but once it did it was great! The kids were pointing out characters and asking to see more each time a float went by.

When the parade ended we took the kids to a huge souvenir shop so they could pick something out. They originally chose a Mickey and Minnie stuffed animal (much to their adorable daddy's delight :)) but later decided on a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet instead. That was fine, again- anything they wanted! As wer were checking out they spotted some lollipops so of course we had to buy them :). We went back to the park to get our spot for fireworks and just as were were walking down Main street Sleeping Beauty's castle was lit and it started "snowing." I swear we were at the right place at the right time all day! The kids loved the snow and the music, and I think that must have capped off the day for them because within minutes they were both asleep in their stroller! Eric and I finished off their lollipops and walked around feeling so happy! We watched the fireworks (Emery woke up for them but Anderson didn't flinch) and ended our day with one last photo in front of the Christmas tree.

With toddlers, you just never know what you're going to get. I was trying really hard leading up to this day to manage my expectations and not get too excited because there was a chance the kids wouldn't be into it at all. I am happy to report that the day was so much better than I ever could have wished for. It made me feel so lucky to be a parent, and so happy to share these experiences with Eric. We are so unbelievably lucky to have these two kiddos, and we can't wait for many more magical moments with them.

I fell asleep replaying the day over and over in my head.

Unfortunately the next day started bright and early at 4 am!

Part III: San Francisco
Now, as seasoned travelers with these two kiddos I fully expected this trip to go off without a hitch. Boy, was I wrong.

I won't go into all the details, but in short I made a bunch of rookie mistakes (namely skipping naps most days) due to the nature of relying on public transportation. Because it took so long to get anywhere (walk to bart, take train, transfer to bus, walk to museum etc) I wanted to maximize my time with the kids once we got there so I decided to forgo naps. Big mistake. My kids need to nap, or they are grumpy, which results in a grumpy mom, which the kids feed off of. Needless to say none of the three of us were our best versions of ourselves last week! Luckily Eric had some great meetings and enjoyed the work he needed to do, so the trip wasn't a complete loss ;) The best part for me was getting to spend time with some of my childhood friends, Sarah, Jami and Chris. We had some yummy meals together and even drove out to Sonoma to help J&C cut down their Christmas tree.

One day me and the kids ventured out to Oakland (an easy bart ride) and played at a drop-in art center. The kids loved painting, playing with play doh and making crafts. Mommy loved that for $8 per child they were entertained for hours and there was no mess to clean up! We even took Eric there over the weekend because the kids were begging to go back!

There is definitely a lot to do in San Francisco, I just think it would have been much easier if we'd had a car! Luckily we rented one for the weekend so that made things a bit easier.

Other highlights include a dinner at Benihana (the kids loved it!), going on a horse drawn carriage ride, watching the kids get excited when our train would arrive, playing in Golden Gate park, and eating In-n-Out in the car while the kids slept :)

The kids (and me!) were definitely ready to come back to our "Texas House" as they call it. It was a full day of travel yesterday but the kids did great.

Noteworthy quotes from the kids:

Emery, pointing to some graffiti: "Mom, painting? That's not paper!"
Anderson, in an excited voice at every bus or bart stop: "Is this our stop?"
Emery, after a couple days riding in bart/muni elevators: "There's no pee pee in this elevator" as we rode the elevator in Nordstroms.
Anderson, as I'm pushing him and his sister in the stroller up the steepest hill ever on our way to a museum: "I'm tired."