A Birthday in Disneyland

This year Disneyland had a promotion that you could get in free on your birthday. So, we took Aliza for her 3rd birthday and I can't think of a more fun place to be on your special day. You get a button that says it's your birthday and every where you go, the cast members say "Happy Birthday Princess". It was so cute and so fun! Aliza also wore a birthday girl shirt, which was good since she didn't care for the button all that much.

This was our visit to Pixie Hollow to meet TinkerBell. They both insisted on waiting in the 40 min. line to get to meet her. It was worth it. She was so nice and even taught Aliza how to use her magic wand the proper way.
This is where we waited for the bus each morning to take us from the hotel to the park.
Our first day there was also the first day the park was open with all the Christmas decorations up. This was our attempt at a nice picture in front of the tree on Main St.
The first ride we had to go on was "It's a Small World". That's Aliza's favorite ride and since it was her birthday, we had to do what she wanted.

Then she wanted to ride the Tea Cups. David won't go on this ride, it makes him too dizzy.
The girls trying to get the sword out of the stone.
The Christmas parade. I have NEVER seen Aliza so excited as she was during this parade. Although the picture doesn't really show it, she was beside herself with excitement at each new character that passed. That small moment was my most favorite part of the whole trip, to see her so happy and so excited.
Getting ready to go on the Finding Nemo ride.
For the first time, Aliza got money for her birthday, so she brought it to spend at the park. She bought a new TinkerBell doll.
Sleeping Beauties castle all lit up with lights and snow.
And of course we had to go visit Santa at his house in the North Pole.
It was a great trip and very memorable. I'm so grateful that we can do things like this as a family.

The Spark Plug Award

This past week David received a special award from his Scouting Roundtable Council. (I think that's what it's called) He received the "Spark Plug" Award for being energetic, enthusiastic and for jump starting scouting in his area. He has been instrumental in "jump starting" the Varsity program in his troop. This is a great program for older boys to continue in scouting and various adventures. (ok so I don't really know all the details of the program) I am so proud of the hard work he has put in to this program. Although I have given him a very hard time and often been less than supportive in the number of hours he has spent with Boy Scouts, I am very proud of his efforts. I know he is making a great impact on very impressionable boys who look up to him as an excellent example of service, integrity and spirituality.

The girls were excited for their Dad, they wanted to be with him as he got his award.

"Varsity Scouting is part of the Boy Scouting program of the BSA. It is an alternative available to boys ages fourteen through seventeen that takes the basic Boy Scouting program and adds high adventure, sporting, and other elements that are more appealing to older youth to accomplish the aims of character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. Varsity Scouts are organized into teams, which are separate chartered units from a Boy Scout troop."

Aliza's pre-birthday party

Aliza's birthday isn't for another 6 days, but we had to celebrate a little early this year. David was leaving today to go out of town and we are meeting him later this week to go to Disneyland for her birthday. So we did family presents today and will celebrate her actual special day surrounded by the magic of Disney. And she will have a friends party after we get back.

She kept saying over and over how the presents were for her, but that she was going to share them with Carmen. This was not prompted from me or David. We were proud that she was so willing to share everything. She got some fun pencils and clothes and a mermaid costume from Oma.
This present was new Ariel panties, which she also wanted to share with Carmen!

Carmen and I went birthday shopping together for a present for Aliza. I gave her $5 to pick something out herself that would be from her. After much deliberating she finally decided on a princess white board and some bubble gum lip gloss. (which she had to get one for herself as well) She wrapped them herself and was so excited for Aliza to open them. And of course, Aliza loved them!

Her present from us was a set of all the Disney Princess Barbies, even the newest one, Tiana. She was excited to have them all and was mostly worried about Charlotte getting them. She was willing to share with Carmen, but not with Charlotte. The first thing she did when she opened the box was put all their shoes in a plastic baggie so Charlotte would not put them in her mouth!

Our little party was VERY rushed. David got home from meetings after church at 2:00 and had to leave at 3:00 to catch his airplane. So in an hours time, I baked a cake, made mashed potatoes and gravy to go with our roast. Then we sat down and had a nice sunday dinner, opened presents and had FHE. Then I decorated the cake (don't mind the Christmas sprinkles and plate) and we sang happy birthday, ate a slice and David was out the door in a hour. (Oh he also packed his bag for his trip during this hour as well) It was a fun time, but left my kitchen looking like a tornado hit it! And I don't plan on touching anything until tomorrow! I will post more birthday celebrations as they come in the next two weeks!

Charlotte - almost 8 months

Charlotte is growing so fast, it almost makes me want to have another baby, just to have a newborn again....ok, maybe not so much! She is starting to get into the stage that I love! She is exploring so much and becoming more independent each day.

One day David was holding her while eating an apple and she grabbed it right out of his hands and started eating away at it. I set her in her chair and let her continue to eat, which she did for almost an hour!! Today I really needed her to just be entertained and not need me while I got a few things done. I remembered the apple and how much she liked it. This time I peeled it for her and handed it right over. She ate the entire thing!!!

Here she is crawling around with Carmen. Carmen is almost always by her side, despite Charlotte's protests. She has even gone up the first stair a couple of times. She is starting to pull herself up and go from laying down to sitting by herself.

She is always on the go, just like her Dad. She has a hard time sitting still for even a minute and although she is constantly wanting to be held, she is impossible to hold. As soon as you pick her up, she squirms right out of your arms. She's got places to go and things to put in her mouth!

Halloween - 2009

I've decided Halloween is such a silly holiday. What is the point of it? Really, it's one I could do without. However, here are pictures of my adorable children ready for Trick or Treating.

Charlotte as a Flower

Aliza as TinkerBell

Carmen as Minnie Mouse

It was next to impossible to get a picture of all three of them looking decent. Carmen even only has half her costume on in the last picture. After going to a few houses, we came home and all sat on the porch to hand out candy with David. We even had a sing off with our neighbors who were sitting on their porch passing out candy as well. It felt good to be together like that. Maybe that's what Halloween is meant to be about. Being with your family and enjoying each other's company.