Sunday, March 29, 2009

Disneyland & Grease

Scott, William, & I went to Disneyland on Wednesday & Thursday of last week to spend time with Scott's family:
Day 1:
In the airport: getting ready for our first flight with William:Happy baby: until the plane takes off, of course. He cried or fussed for a good portion of the flight.Arriving at Disneyland: William's tired from crying so much on the plane. I love his long eyelashes, pouty lip, & everything else about him.Happy again after getting some shuteye:Saying "hello" to Grandma - I love his somber face:Preparing to fight the "Evil Emperor Zurg" - Will's psyched:Wanting to get in on the action: Will started crying about halfway through the ride because it was so loud & there was too much to look at - sensory overload:Going to dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The soft-serve ice-cream was SO good.
William w/ Aunt Karen & cousin Kayla: After we finished dinner, we took William back to the hotel to stay with Grandma & some more of the younger cousins while the rest of us went back to Disneyland. Dennis, Karen, Kayla, Scott, & I spent most of the time on Thunder Mountain. It was so much fun zooming around on the roller coaster at night - it was even better when the fireworks show started & they lit up the sky in front of us as we climbed the hill of the roller coaster - it was such a happy experience.
Day 2:
Scott & I got to the park early, so we could get pictures of William with the characters.
Really excited to meet Goofy - Will looks like he can barely contain himself ;)PlutoFlying w/ Dumbo:Going through a tunnel on Dumbo's Circus Train: William's eyes got so big - I think this was his favorite ride - it wasn't scary like Snow White & Pinocchio.Taking a break from "The Happiest Place on Earth" to get some grub at Denny's - Scott & I were craving biscuits & gravy. William had his first taste of gravy & didn't seem all that impressed:My handsome boys: I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love them (I know that might sound cheesy, but it's true).Grandma & Grandpa got William a Mickey firefighter pin - as a matter of fact, they bought pretty much everything for everyone this trip: Disneyland tickets, food, gifts - thanks Dennis & Gail!Ben & Jessie tried 3 or 4 times to get in the Jedi Training show until they were finally picked: it made their day.
Ben (in the Fantasia hat) & Jessie (in the pirate hat):Abbygail, Josh, Ben, Noelle (in the background), Gail, Scott w/ Will, Michelle w/ Barbie, & Kyle w/ Nicki (even though you can't see her):Racing to get food:Nicki, Ben, Barbie, Abbygail, Jessie (behind Barbie), & Kyle sitting pretty at Cheesecake Factory: Will loves his bottle - he starts to cry/laugh when he sees it & reaches for it with his mouth wide open: We finally got a picture with Mickey - we went back to the park after dinner w/ our only mission being to find him. Will was so tired, but he toughed it out to meet his destined-to-be-best-friend:Out like a light: You may notice the white stuff around his hairline: the suntan lotion from the previous day wouldn't rub all the way in & wouldn't wash off either (it's still there today as well, 4 days later):Well rested & happy - William was such a good boy at Disneyland, especially for being 5 1/2 months old. It's going to be so much fun to take him back when he's older & he will actually be excited to be there: When we arrived back in the bay area on Friday, we left William w/ my Aunt Bev while Scott & I went w/ my mom & dad, Steven & Amy, & Brad & Rachel (Steven & Brad are my brothers) to San Francisco. My parents bought us tickets for Christmas to see "Grease" on Broadway. We went into the city on Bart & ate at Taylor's Refresher - they have amazing burgers, fish tacos, sweet potato fries, & milkshakes. After dinner, we enjoyed "Grease" as a family - the cast did an awesome job, & we even got to see Taylor Hicks perform as Teen Angel (the "Beauty School Dropout" guy) - he was such a dork, but really good & so fun to watch.
Man, we've had a busy & amazing week!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Baby Boy Cousins

This last weekend, I went down to my parents' to visit with cousins who came into town.
William & Carter (Will was born exactly 1 week after Carter)
William, Carter, & Max (Max is 2 1/2 months)Max & Will in coordinating outfits: we didn't even plan it this way.Dani & I basically grew up as sisters. It was so fun to meet her little boy for the first time & to see what a loving mom Dani is. We had a great time together w/ our babies & our moms: Almost all of us fell asleep while watching Twilight the night before (we stayed up way too late), & then the next day, we drove to St. Helena to eat at Taylor's Refresher & to window shop.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Rice Cereal, Sod, & Golf

William tried out rice cereal for the first time last Monday (I know I'm a little late posting this). I stripped him down to his diaper, sat him in his Bumbo, & shoveled cereal in his mouth. He hardly swallowed anything - he just automatically stuck his tongue out, & after a few forced spoonfuls, I determined he needed a break. Since that first attempt, he has gotten better at swallowing the cereal, but still hates it. My mom & I also tried him on carrots this week, & he ate a surprisingly good amount. I love watching William go through these different experiences. It is so much fun to see him learn or try new things (on that note, Will rolled over on his own for the first time on Wednesday - once from back to front & then once from front to back. I think it was more a fluke than anything, but I'm so proud of him). Oh yea - William is also 5-months-old now. Wow - I really need to get better about updating this blog in a timely fashion.

Eating rice cereal for the first time - March 9
After doing so much in the backyard, Scott finally decided to hire someone to put in the sprinklers & lay the sod. So last Friday, our friend, Andrew, helped Scott carry the sod to the backyard, & then we all watched as Victor & the other worker rolled out our grass & made our backyard look so much more complete. Scott, Andrew, & our neighbor, Aaron, tried to help roll the grass out, but decided that they would be of greater assistance by staying out of the way. I'll post updated pictures of the yard later this week?
Last Saturday, we went mini golfing with our friends Jonathan & Jillian. It was such a beautiful day & we wanted to get our money's worth, so we decided to play both courses.
Scott swinging at Jonathan:Jillian (prego w/ baby Claire) & me - William was asleep (or supposed to be asleep) in the stroller.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Stanford, Here We Come

Yesterday, I (Scott) was at work & received a phone call from an unknown number. I luckily answered it, & it turned out to be Stanford's Admissions Committee Head offering a spot in their PA program. I was yelling & so excited - the guy on the other line just started laughing. He went on to tell me of the things that needed to be done by the end of the month & told me a letter would be coming explaining all that he'd said. I told him, "Good because the only thing I got out of the conversation was that I got in the program" (the other stuff was lost in the crazy news). The guy just started laughing & told me Congratulations.
I made it & we're off to Stanford for 4 months starting in September. We're so excited for this, & Liz can't wait to buy William all his Stanford gear. (We're not moving out of our house, just taking a small break from our home here - Liz & William will come back to visit, & I'll join them every once in a while.)