Disneyland!!

The week after Labor Day we headed to Disneyland with our little guy! We spent 2 1/2 days there, just enough in our opinion, and we made many more wonderful memories. We were blessed with mild temperatures, thankfully for me especially since I did a lot of standing around waiting for the boys to get off the bigger roller coasters. T grew a whopping 4+ inches from last summer to this one, so he was able to go on nearly every ride this time! He is a child that loves roller coasters for sure, any ride really, so this is awesome for me since I do to...when he is older we will definitely take on Magic Mountain together, and wimpy Jason can stand and watch the next time!!
T was such an awesome traveler too! He has always been a child that does well in car rides - he learned very early on to just sleep when we were in the car longer than 30-40 min. so we have been lucky since I know many parents who don't have the same experience. He slept the first 3+ hours of our drive there, then woke up just before the Grapevine - he was hungry and immediately asked where Disneyland was!
I think we all miss Disneyland already, and although Jason and I decided that we won't go again until the new baby is about 2, I have a feeling we will visit again much sooner!
One happy boy, despite just starting our journey through the Grapevine

Bless you Crayola Magic Color Wonder markers for keeping his attention for the last 2 hours of our drive, when he woke up!

Coming off Big Thunder Mountain for the first time! 3 more rides to follow!

Getting on Splash Mountain

We went on Splash Mountain!

T liked walking through Sleeeping Beauty's Castle

His first attempt at removing the Sword in the Stone

Tweedle-Dee and Dum

Going down the rabbit hole

His all time favorite ride, the Carousel

He asked to get his face painted, and chose a scary fire-breathing dragon

Lovely

Waiting in line for Small World

The new look of It's a Small World

Contemplating going on the Matterhorn

We ended up on the Astro Orbiter so Mommy could ride something else

Cars at Disney California Adventure

Bugs Life

Cooling his jets after going on Soaring Over Califronia

Toy Story ride -so much fun

Andy's green Army men arrived to do some recruiting - guess who rose to the occasion?!

Donald Duck was being quickly rushed away but he saw T and stopped to hug him!

We spent several hours exploring caves and looking for treasures around Tom Sawyer Island

Jason is wearing the blue hat - here they are on Big Thunder Mountain again

Nap time before Fantasmik - it was early enough that we found a front row spot on the waterfront, put down a blanket, and had dinner there before the show.

Watching Fantasmic!

Doing his first "Wave!"

9 Week Appointment

A few weeks ago I had my first prenatal appointment. Jason was able to leave work for a while so that he could come, and we brought Talan with us too so he could see the baby on the ultrasound. I was just anxious to see the ultrasound and make sure the baby was there and growing and thriving.

According to the baby's measurements at this appt., the baby was at 8.5 weeks gestation, as opposed to my original calculation of 9.5weeks. But the measurement is an approximation and can be off by a week or two. My next prenatal appointment is the last week of September. I will be approximately 14+ weeks pregnant by then so the baby will have grown a huge amount so we will be able to see more of the detail of the baby's head, limbs, and hopefully a lot of movement.

Today I'm 12+ weeks. It seemed like overnight my belly pooched out and so in my opinion I definitely look pregnant. It happened sooner than I was expecting, even though all of my mom friends told me it happens sooner after the first! But it's that stage where maternity clothes are too big, but regular clothes fit poorly and definitely feel uncomfortable. Dresses have become my current best friend..thank goodness for the empire waist!

9 .5 weeks pregnant, from the waist up that is!!

Daddy and brother waiting patiently

Keeping busy in the waiting room with a sticker book

We're officially becoming a family of four

It's official, we are no longer going to be just the 3 of us, and out little guy is going to become a big brother! We are expecting a baby in March 2010! We did tell T that he is going to be a big brother and that there is a tiny baby growing every day in my belly. He asks often, "why is the baby not growing bigger?" As in, hurry up and get here, baby! He says he is going to share everything with the baby - his bed, his toys, his blankets! We'll see when the baby actually arrives!!

We are very excited, and can't wait for October when we find out the baby's gender. The Warren side is really praying for pink, or my preference purple, so we'll see! The Chinese gender prediction lunar calender says it's a boy, based on my age and the estimated date of conception!:) But ultimately we'll be happy with a healthy baby of course, and T goes back and forth between saying he wants a sister or a brother.

It is still sinking in for me I think, I just keep trying to imagine what it will be like this time next year when there is another addition to our family. Weekly beach trips with a new baby and 4 year old?! Day trips on a whim? How blessed and lucky I have been to be able to do these things with T. We'll have to see what I can handle when this baby arrives! It has been just the 3 of us for almost 4 years now and we have grown quite comfortable in our routine, and have such an amazing relationship with our little guy, adding a baby to this does leave me feeling a bit anxious. I know it is natural to feel a bit of fear and trepidation with the knowledge that your family is expanding, and this bit of anxiety is temporary.

I can't wait to actually start having a bit of a belly, so I can wear all of my cute maternity clothes! This pregnancy is occurring at the opposite time of year from when I was pregnant with T, but I hope to not have to buy too many new things. There is a faint purple line on the left!

The hat we made for a little stuffed animal to announce to Daddy we were pregnant

My intention was to make a hat that said "Big brother is 2010" so T could announce to everyone our big news.

My attempt at creativity ended in splattered paint! By the time Jason arrived home, the puff paint was still tacky, but I had told T to put his hat on when Daddy got home, so this was the end result when he put it on - "Big Brother in *&(&8(0#*" supposed to say 2010!! Oh well, this is our reality these days, having a 3 1/2 year old assist with art projects can only be expected to turn out in this special way.

7th Inning stretch

That is how many innings T made it through at his first major league Giants game, not bad! Jason planned a surprise trip for us to take T up to the city to see his first Giants game, then we took him to the Pier 39 aquarium, then the Rainforest Cafe for dinner.
We were pleasantly surprised by how attentive T was at the game, for a 3 year old baseball isn't exactly action packed, so I thought he did surprisingly well. We had ideal seats, although it was quite hot that day, and sitting in direct sun did cause my energy to wilt a bit. T seemed a little overwhelmed when we first arrived at the stadium...there is so much to see, overstimulating really. With all the flashing signage, music, things shooting off, TV screens, vendors yelling out, I don't think he knew where to look or keep his attention. I have to say the one part of the game he found most entertaining was seeing the Giants mascot riding around down on the field in a little cart throwing pizza at the crowd!
Of course the aquarium was a hit! This little guy can't get enough of sea life! He particularly liked the touch pools, where he was able to touch a bat ray and a leopard shark "with one finger" as he was instructed to do by the aquarium volunteer. The Rainforest Cafe was as crowded as we remembered from 10 years ago, as we had an hour wait before dinner! But Jason and I knew T would absolutely love being surrounded by all of the animals, hearing the sounds of the jungle and eating in a coral reef. For such an animal lover as T is, he enjoyed every moment of the more than 2 hours we spent in that restaurant! (If you are exhausted, in a time crunch, or just plain don't have patience, the Rainforest Cafe is not for you-they are not known for their impeccable service nor their gourmet dining, but we make these sacrifices for our children sometimes don't we! :)

Watching the stinky sea lions at Pier 39, I observed from wayyyy afar! Little sensitive to smells these days, so Pier 39 wasn't exactly the ideal place for me hang around for long periods!

Wasn't it a gorgeous day?!