Disneyland - Day 1

We were just at Disney World last February, but you should know by now we're Disney addicts. Because of the timing of when we want to have our next baby, it worked out best for us to go right after Rog finished his semester and before he started his internship (and before I get pregnant again). My parents came with us and we had a great trip!

Early Monday morning we hopped on a plane to L.A. Because Peyton just turned 2, she got her own seat! She watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and part of Frozen and let me read my book (What Alice Forgot). Other than her biting my headphones and destroying them completely (while I wasn't paying attention because I was reading my book), it was a very delightful plane ride. (And I'm pretty sure Rog would say the same about his experience with Corbyn on the other side of the plane. Minus the headphone biting of course!)

We took a shuttle to our hotel, grabbed some lunch at McDonald's, and were at the park by 2:00!

Walking down Main Street we made sure to look for this window. (If you've see Saving Mr. Banks, you know why.) Yes, it really is there!

Peyton was tired after a morning of travel and fell asleep on the way to our first ride - the first of many stroller naps this trip!

Corbyn remembered the Buzz ride (Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters) from Disney World and wanted to do that one first. It was his favorite ride again this trip. We rode it 2 times while Peyton napped.

 When Peyton woke up we headed to Fantasyland. We rode the King Arthur Carrousel, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, and Casey Jr. Circus Train. 

We had told Corbyn he could get one toy during our trip. After seeing a Zurg gun in the store outside the Buzz ride, he wouldn't stop talking about it until we finally went back to get it. He took it into the park every day and has loved playing with it with his friend Stockton since we've been home. (Stockton went to Disneyland a few months ago and got a Buzz gun.)

We looked at some options in the park for dinner, but ultimately decided to go outside the park to Denny's. After dinner we used our FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This was Corbyn's favorite ride after Buzz. He called it the crazy train. With the stroller swap we got to ride it 2 times. 

We had a FastPass for Splash Mountain earlier in the day, but when we went to use it the ride had closed for a few minutes. So we went back to use it after Big Thunder Mountain. Corbyn also loved this ride and happily rode it 2 times with the stroller swap. While we were riding Splash Mountain Peyton went on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This was her favorite ride of the trip and she got to ride it many times while Corbyn was riding big kid rides.

 To finish off the night we rode Buzz again, but this time Peyton was awake and got to ride!

And that was our first day at Disneyland! 

Finals and a Big Boy Bedroom

The week before our vacation to Disneyland, Rog had a couple finals and then we didn't have a lot going on (other than packing). 

To celebrate his last final and the end of his first year I made him his favorite treat, cinnamon rolls!

Corbyn also had his last week of joy school. On the last day we had a picnic/party at a park to celebrate.

Because we didn't have a lot going on I thought it would be a good time to start working on Corbyn's room. He had been sleeping in his crib with one of the sides off, but was getting much too big for that. We got him a loft bed, so when Peyton is ready to move in with him, she can sleep on the bottom. While we're at it, I'm redecorating his room to be more gender neutral (also for when Peyton moves in there even though that won't be for at least a year).

We painted the green and blue walls white. I have big plans for decorating the room with lots of color in there, so I thought it would be best to have a blank canvas to work with.

One afternoon I dragged Corbyn with me to Target to find bedding for his new bed. Rog was studying and Peyton was napping, so it was just me and my buddy. If he had his choice we would have come home with Batman bedding, but too bad for him, he has to share a room with his sister!

We ordered his mattress from Amazon. It came vacuum packed and rolled up. Within minutes of unrolling it and cutting off the plastic, it magically transformed into a regular mattress. It was pretty crazy to watch!

He loves his new big boy bed and has done really well with it. I was so nervous he would fall off, but he hasn't.

I originally bought him a blue basic quilt, but after much deliberation decided to go with the green instead because it will go better with Peyton's purple quilt (available in stores, but not online) that will be on the bottom.

So much for an easy week! I was so busy trying to decide on the perfect bedding and get everything set up before we left that I about drove Rog crazy!

Anniversary

Now that Peyton's birthday is the day before our anniversary, our anniversary always ends up being a little (ok, a lot) overshadowed.

We knew we wouldn't be able to celebrate on our actual anniversary with it being a Sunday, so we celebrated Friday night before Peyton's birthday. We went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We split the Grilled Chicken Tostada Salad and we actually decided to get Thai Lettuce Wraps for an appetizer instead of getting dessert. (I know it sounds crazy, but we are always disappointed with our cheesecake there.) It was an excellent choice because our salad and the lettuce wraps were both amazing!

On Sunday we hardly saw each other at all! Rog had even more meetings than normal and it was his week to count tithing. My parents took care of dinner which was nice because I was totally burnt out after doing Easter, joy school, and Peyton's birthday all in one week! 

2 Years

Peyton's 2 year stats:

Weight: 27 pounds (50th percentile)

Height: 34 inches (60th percentile)

PJ at 2 years:

*Has grown up a lot in the past few months. She seems a lot older than 2 in so many ways!

*Is still our little talker. She talks in full, complete sentences and is very easy to understand. Because we can communicate with her so well, we are able to avoid some (though not all) of the typical 2 year old tantrums.

*Counts to 10.

*Asks "why" ALL THE TIME. We think she got this from Olaf on Frozen. Her doctor was quite impressed because most kids don't start this until 3 or later.

*Sings songs while she's falling asleep at night. Her current favorites are "Let it Go" and "Do You Want to Build a Snowman," but she also loves singing Primary songs.

*Lines toys up.

*Pedals her tricycle like a pro.

*Can open doors by herself.

*Insists that Grandma is not a girl, she's grandma and mom isn't a girl, she's mom. (One day we were trying to keep her inside with the girls while the boys - Corbyn, Rog, and Grandpa - were outside. We kept telling her she should stay inside with the girls and she kept saying that we were not girls, we were mom and grandma. So funny and cute!)

*Is a girly girl who loves wearing necklaces, bracelets, bows, shoes, and dresses. For awhile I had to hide her church shoes because she wanted to wear them every day and I didn't want them to get worn out too quickly!

We love our big 2 year old so much!

Peyton's Birthday

For months we have been talking about Peyton's birthday - how it would be a Minnie birthday and how she would be 2!

She came downstairs on her birthday to find a high chair and crib for her dolly. This was her want present and she loves it!

She also got a hippo towel (need), a nightgown with a matching nightgown for her dolly (wear), and her personalized Are You a Cow book (read). Of course she had to try on her new nightgown right away and dress dolly in hers too!

We had pink smoothies (her request) and then got ready for the day. It was a rainy, cold day, so we decided we'd go to the new aquarium. She was so excited to finally be turned around in her car seat as we drove there.

It was incredibly busy because it was a Saturday and it was rainy and it's new, but we still had a lot of fun. And our tickets are good for another visit before the end of August, so we'll go another time when it isn't so busy!

The penguins were our favorite. 

They'd just be swimming around and then pop right out of the water to stand on the rocks!

After checking out the whole place, we went home for lunch and a nap for the birthday girl. I had prepared as much as I could for her party ahead of time, so I could enjoy the morning and then finish up the last minute stuff during her nap.

The invitation.

The decorations. (Rog got this flower for our anniversary, but it matched too well not to double as a decoration!)

The food. Sweet and Sour Meatballs and rice.

Berry salad (lettuce, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, and candied pecans) with Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette dressing. Knorr Vegetable Dip with cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and bread for dipping. 

Citrus Water Punch.

The cake was supposed to be two layers, but I let them cool in the pans and then they would not come out! I was able to save one with generous amounts of buttercream frosting, but the second layer was not going to happen!

We also had dipped wafers and Minnie Oreos. I ordered a bow mold for the Minnie Oreos, but it didn't come until the Monday after her birthday (even though I ordered it 2 weeks before the party!), so Minnie had to go without her bow!

We hadn't really practiced blowing out candles with her beforehand, so it took her a minute to figure it out!

She had a lot of fun unwrapping her presents. She got toys for her kitchen, some fun Minnie toys...

a Scooter... 

And a Cozy Coupe!

We had to take a picture of 3 generations of Minnies all in our pink shirts (not planned)!

It was a fun day celebrating our little Minnie girl!