Disneyland

For our Christmas present this year my parents took us to Disneyland. We had such a great time! We went February 14-17 and we were at the park on a Tuesday and Wednesday so we didn't have to fight crowds or wait in line. The downside was that they had plenty of rides closed for refurbishment and they didn't do parades or fireworks, but I still think it was worth it. We stayed at the Grand Californian for two of the nights and it was amazing! This year Molly was tall enough to ride almost all of the bigger rides but after the Matterhorn she had no interest. Molly and Chris rode it first and Molly came walking back to us with a horrible look on her face and told me it was too fast. Then Claire and I went and she started bawling about 1/3 of the way in to the ride. I don't remember the Matterhorn being that long, but it really seemed like it would never end, especially since Claire was screaming that she wanted me to stop the ride. We decided to do Small World directly after the Matterhorn to get everyone feeling better again. But they loved everything else, especially a lot of the California Adventure rides like the ferris wheel and the swings.

The kids got took pick out one souvenir each and they both picked these Mickey ears. The hats were pretty dingy by the end of the trip.


Molly was obsessed with this poncho. It rained on Wednesday, and we knew it was going to rain, so I bought us all ponchos to bring with us. She wore it almost all day on Wednesday, even though it only sprinkled on and off. Claire on the other hand hated hers (I can't blame her, it's the equivalent of a giant plastic bag) and only wore it once for about five minutes all day.


Penny was amazingly good the whole trip. We never went back for naps, she just slept in the stroller, and she was such a trooper.


Tiana was the only princess we saw the whole trip, and only Penny, my mom and I saw her in New Orleans Square, the big girls didn't even see her. They had zero interest in meeting any characters or princesses. In general I was grateful that we didn't have to wait in line to meet anyone, but I actually kind of wanted to meet Rapunzel. She has a spot in Fantasyland but at first we thought it was a Rapunzel ride. We asked the worker and he told us it was to meet Rapunzel so the kids said no way, they only wanted to wait in line if it was a ride.


The Californian has the most beautiful pools, and they were all heated! We spent some time lounging on the pool chairs, wishing we were swimming.



We went to breakfast one morning at the Storytellers buffet, which was awesome. Lucky for us Molly took care of the bill.


Sleeping Beauty's castle!


The rockets were one of the kid's absolute favorites.



Tom Sawyer's Island.


We got to have lunch on Tuesday at the Blue Bayou, which was incredible. I don't think the kids had any idea how lucky they were to get to eat there! But in their defense, most super special restaurants don't have their menus printed on paper pirate hats.




I was afraid we'd have to spend tons of time on the carousels but luckily we only had to ride one and they got their fill.


Toy Story was also one of the favorites; I think we rode it four times. I think this must have been the only time Molly wore those 3D glasses because she refused to wear them during the ride. I think she thought it messed up her aim.



I wish I had gotten more pictures of the Californian because it really was a beautiful hotel. The lobby was incredible!

This and That...

Chris's new "glasses."


Molly and Claire putting my preschool things to good use (A few friends and I are doing a rotating preschool with Claire and their kids).


I came in the room and Claire was watching TV like this - plus it's a cute picture of Penny!


I couldn't tell you how this started, but I mentioned something about bungee jumping and the girls wanted to know what it was. We got on YouTube and watched a few videos, then with the help of stretch lace their bears went bungee jumping over the side of the staircase.


This is how we roll in Target these days. Believe it or not Claire chooses to climb under the cart and hang out there. At first I wouldn't let her but then I realized it's way easier than having her walk.


We got some awesome costumes at a garage sale for $1 each. Molly was cranky at me for something so she wouldn't smile.



One of the many dance contests at Grandma and Papa's house.



Chris broke his wrist playing in a flag football league in the middle of December. He couldn't work for a little over two months, and it was awesome to have him home.


My sister Jessie came to visit a few weekends ago and we had a great time. We did a lot of fun things, but making masks out of tortillas was the only thing I managed to get a picture of.

Toilet Paper Flowers

Probably a year ago Molly started making flowers out of toilet paper while she was using the potty. She gets a piece of toilet paper and ties a knot in one end to make a rose. They're actually pretty cute, unless she's doing it to put off going to bed. A couple of weeks ago Claire handed me a piece of toilet paper and told me it was for me, in a voice that told me it was supposed to be very special. It took me a few minutes to get it, but she was also attempting toilet paper flowers while sitting on the potty, but she couldn't quite master it so hers was just a piece of toilet paper.

Disney on Ice

For Christmas Chris got the girls and I tickets to see Disney on Ice. It was awesome! The girls loved every minute of it and I have to say I did too.



I let them buy one souvenir each, and luckily they opted for the snow cones. Those little beauties were $12 each and they were the cheapest things in the whole place! Unfortunately a quarter of the way into the show Molly spilled hers on the ground. I wasn't sure if she'd be able to recover (she was pretty upset) but luckily it just took a minute or two and she was okay. It helped that we had loaded up on snacks and Push Pops at the gas station beforehand.



Toally tapped after the show. Bedtime around our house is 7 and the show didn't start until then, but they were wired until we got in the car.

Haircuts!

Both girls got their hair cut short about a month ago. I was planning on taking them in to get trims, but in the car on the way there Molly told me she wanted it cut short. I was a little nervous about it at first, and I'll admit that my eyes watered during the haircut, but they both turned out darling. Claire's is a little shorter than Molly's, and it remains to be seen if they want to keep it short, but for now we're loving it. And these are terrible pictures, they don't do the haircuts justice at all!

Penny Updates

Penny started sitting about a couple of weeks ago, right about 6 1/2 months. She's a lot happier now that she can see what's happening. And she's also showing off her two razor-sharp teeth, which broke through a month or two ago. This has been bad news for me because she is a terrible biter while nursing. She's drawn blood several times, so it's been a bit of a nightmare!



Penny also started eating solids at six months, about a month ago. The other girls started closer to four since they were smaller, but we certainly don't have that issue with Penny. It's taken her a while to get used to, and she still spits it out a lot, but it's getting better.



I wish I had better pictures, but her hair is crazy. There's a completely bald spot in the back, then thick hair that resembles rattail at the nape of her neck, then balding everywhere else except on the top, which is thick and long. I'm thinking about shaving it all off and starting from scratch!

Christmas

This year for Christmas Molly and Claire both asked Santa for Rapunzel bikes. I know that's pretty specific, but I found two awesome Rapunzel bikes for a great price, and I love that they are at the age where they are so open to suggestion. Once I said "Wouldn't it be awesome if Santa could make Rapunzel bikes?" they were totally in. These are their letters to Santa this year. Molly's says "Dear Santa, I want a Rapunzel bike. Thank you, Molly." Not sure what Claire's says.



Last year after Christmas I bought a train on clearance. It's awesome! We always grew up with a Christmas train so it's very nostalgic for me. Unfortunately the spot for our tree is tiny so we had to improvise and include the TV stand in our train track. It didn't work great, and eventually we moved the train to circle around Penny's Jumperoo. Not nearly as festive, but at least it fit.


This year Molly got to be Mary in her preschool nativity. She was so excited about it. And who was Joseph? The one and only Gunnar, the little boy that gave Molly a bear last year and is completely in love with her. I can't imagine that the preschool teacher is pushing the romance, but it does seem fishy.






This year's Christmas dresses.


The 23rd and 24th we spent at my parent's cabin. We had a great time, as usual. Luckily my sister Sarah had this awesome bear suit to lend us otherwise Penny would have been miserable.


Now that my dad has a sled the sliding-down-the-stairs game has become a little more (and slightly more dangerous).


My dad is building a train track in the backyard for this awesome push car. Even only a third of the way done the kids love it! And they can both push it by themselves now, which is so much better than when I had to bend over and push them around.



We watched Polar Express and had treats and hot chocolate.




There wasn't any snow at the cabin so we found some on the drive home. Fifteen minutes in the snow was about all I could handle!



My sister Jessie made this awesome hat for Penny.





Christmas morning!




Claire was unwrapping one of her presents and we found this scorpion hiding in the wrapping. Luckily I got it away from her before he stung, but he was alive and well and mad that he had been harassed.


My mom got Molly and Claire these awesome dress-ups for Christmas. Molly had been coveting this "Winter Belle" costume at the Disney store for quite some time, and Claire makes a darling Rapunzel.



I took the kids to the dollar store to buy presents for their siblings, dad, and grandparents. They picked out these killer teeth for my dad.


Penny got a Belle teacart, which Molly and Claire are getting plenty of use out of.



They picked out sparkly glasses for my mom and mother-in-law Kathy. They picked out sparkly silly puddy for my father-in-law Larry, and as soon as he opened it Claire asked "You're going to share that with us, right Papa?"


My in-laws got the girls this amazing dollhouse, and more impressive was that it was wrapped!