Public Notice

I never remember to post on my public blog about my private blog... So we are back to one, public blog.

Disneyland 2010 Part 1

We were so lucky this year to get to go to California with the Graves' clan! I was a bit nervous for the travel aspects of the trip because we have Nate (who was almost 2) and Brooke and Dave have Aaron who was about 5 months. We flew into the Long Beach airport - the flight was pretty good, a bit stressful and cramped but still worked out very well! Nate did pretty good, the only problem was that he kept kicking the seats in front of us. Nobody complained though luckily!
We then drove to Newport Beach where we stayed at the Marriott Villa's - very beautiful! It was nice because it was a condo, so there were 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms a full kitchen and laundry. Plus the living room had a pull out sofa. Everyone was so generous, we got the bedroom next to the kitchen which had its own pull out sofa - so Nate got his own bed! (not that he slept in it alone) And we were able to make bottles as needed without waking everyone up. It was an awesome place, I think I could go there and spend a week just at the resort and the beach that is just down the hill from it. We were so busy we didn't really get to enjoy all it had to offer. - But it was alright we went to see Mickey!

We ended up renting 2 cars because the rental place said they had no 8 seater's but then when we got to the hotel we looked and the van really did seat 8, there was an attachment for the middle seat that made it a real seat - perfect for a infant carrier! (I would love the van we had it was a Toyota - Sienna? Maybe, but it was awesome) So we were able to pile in there and just use the other sedan as needed for small trips/errands and as Nate was melting down some times.

Day 1 we drove to Disneyland, it took a while, and we went straight to Buzz Lightyear it was so fun! Nate absolutely loved it!!!

We got to see Mickey Mouse Clubhouse live on stage which was so great!

 

We were all pleasantly surprised how cute it was!

Gerry fell asleep...

They also have Captain EO back on the screen to honor Michael Jackson and it was pretty cool, quite strange but fun! Nate didn't really appreciate all of the 3D effects - there is a bug thing that flies very close and he kept trying it shew it away. 

We also rode the rides in California Adventure - the kids rides are so cute there, the Bug's Life rides were so fun, Nate was laughing hysterically on the Lady Bug ride, it is kind of like the Tea Cups but you don't spin yourself. It was so much fun!

I think my favorite ride is for sure the Tower of Terror it is such a fun ride! We rode it a few times, Janet was nice enough to watch Nate for us so we could!

We went to the stage performance of Aladdin the first day also, it was really good, Nate was a squirmy worm so we watch the last part from the back.

Disneyland

Pumpkin Cake

Perfect for this time of year and sooo tasty! If you follow the directions its very easy and very delicious!


Filling:
Mix together the following in a bowl:
1 can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 large can solid pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Crust:
Put 1 cup aside to crumble on top:
3/4 cup COLD butter
1 dry yellow cake mix
Mix by **Cutting In** Dry cake mix and COLD butter.
Set aside 1/2 to 1 cup of crust mixture to sprinkle on top.
Pat in bottom of a greased 9 x 13 cake pan (DO NOT use a glass pan, it will destroy your crust).
Pour filling over crust and then crumble the crust mixture that you set aside over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Top with cool whip or icecream

**Here's a definition of what Cutting In means: When a solid fat such as butter is mixed with a dry ingredient like flour until they form into small particles. I would use a food processor fitted with a metal blade and just pulse it. You can also use your trusty fingers to do the job.

This keeps the bottom from getting hard.**

Happy Halloween - May the Force be with you!

Nate's 2 Year Check Up Update

Well in the last week Nate has been to 4 doctors... The first was on Wednesday, it was a follow up for the study he did last year for the H1N1 vaccine. The next was on Friday morning, it was a visit to the allergist to see what is going on with his allergies and skin problems, 3rd was also Friday - night - to the insta-care to get the crayon out of his nose. Finally 4th was to the pediatrician to have his 2 year check up. Its been a busy doctor week!

For the Allergy doctor we found out he is very allergic to dogs, cats and mold, and borderline to apples. We've started a new skin regimen that has improved his hand overnight!
Next the pediatrician, he like always is off the charts!

Two Too Cute

Cute Nate-isms:
I am going to try to list all the adorable things Nate says, his vocabulary is amazing, he is soo smart!
Banana (or anything that looks like a banana) he says "nana, peel peel peel (peeoo, peeoo, peeoo), He even makes the motion with his hands.
Mickey, aka Miska, he sees Mickey in everything, if his food lines up so it kind of looks like Mickey he gets so excited!
He can also say Minnie, Goofy (he calls him Goof lots of the time, they are tight like that)
He can sing the theme song and knows just when to say Roll Call!
All Done (with signs)
Mommy
Daddy
Gampa
Gamma
hot-tub
hot
bath
ouch
owies
scare
scary
clock
silly
water
juice
milk
hold you
oh no!
woah
grapes (used to be bo bo's?)
pizza
strawberries
bottle
binky, bb, beekins
puppies
doggie
kitty
elephant
giraffe
ribbit(usually sounds like biggit)
tato(potato head)
march
slide
wash (usually wash, wash, wash in a sing-song voice)
hat
swim
callie(bird)
block
ball
cars
truck
bus
train
choo choo train
Thomas (train)
sucker
candy
more please
cookie
cracker
toes
feet
hands
head
eyes
nose
mouth
tongue
teeth
ears
hair
itchy
Dave
Brooke
Aaron (usually Aaron's)
Jenna
Aubrey
Lydia (Yydia)
Kayla
Zach
Abi
Jason
Emma
beach
airplane
Disneyland
bucket
coke (he know's which is mommies coke and which is daddies coke)
Push
pull
dropped it
punch
hitting
no hitting
sorry mommy, daddy (or anyone he hits)
bed
star
heart
moon
sun
jacket
cloak
socks
shoes
boots
shirt
toot
burp
wipes
diaper
poop
tired
sleep(with signs)
awake
stairs
step
There are more, and he is so brilliant, because he is making sentences and knows possession and will follow requests ie bring me the wipes. He understands so well what we tell him and if we are smart enough to remember to explain before hand what will happen he does so much better with his behavior.
He is also starting to count it usually is two two three(tee) but he counts things and line them up in to trains and drives them around.

Birthday/Halloween Party at the Lloyd's

Here are some photo's from the Lloyd's Birthday/Halloween Party. We had so much fun celebrating Nate's birthday and it was great to see the kids costumes and have a candy search for Halloween!

Balloon Extravaganza at the Graves

From Nate's Birthday - Graves

For the party time at our house with just the Graves we had pizza, gifts and a hallway of balloons... Nate would have been happy to have just the balloons.

He is still saying "balloons, gone." Almost every time we walk past the hallway.

Aviary Adventure

We went to the Tracy Aviary with Brooke, Dave and Aaron for Nate's birthday this year, it was so much fun! We got to feed the Lorie's and had up close time with a peacock and an owl. It was so much fun! Then we went to Winger's - which was also fun, but a little close to nap time to be really fun.