Thanksgiving at Disneyland

 We decided it was finally time to take our girls to Disneyland. I had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off from work this year and Washington State was in a basketball tournament in the Disneyland area. It was destiny.


We drove to Anaheim on Wednesday during the day. We got settled in the hotel and hung out for the night. Thursday was Thanksgiving. We got up, had breakfast, and headed to Disneyland. We hadn't told the girls where we were going at all. They had been happy thinking we were just taking a family trip and staying in a hotel. Ryann figured it out from conversations on the shuttle bus. She just got a big grin.

Once we were there, we headed for Fantasy Land. We rode the carousel, the Dumbo ride, and It's a Small World. Scott was a real trooper. He stood in line for the girls to meet the princesses for quite a while. I took the girls to see a princess show while he waited. They got to meet Tiana and Ariel. Later, we stood in another line and met Rapunzel.

In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to have sandwiches and naps. It may not have been a fancy Thanksgiving meal, but it worked. After recharging, we headed back to the park for the evening festivities. There was a Christmas parade with all the characters, music, and lights. It was very exciting for the girls. After that, they changed the castle lights to it's Christmas theme. They played Christmas music on Main Street and made it snow. The girls thought that was awesome. I'd have to agree. Scott and I thought it was the highlight of the trip.

Once the excitement ended, Scott headed to a basketball game and we met up with some friends. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride and Jungle Cruise then called it a day. The girls were giggly when we first got back to the hotel, but once I got them in bed, it was silent.

The next day, we headed back to the park. We met Tinkerbell and rode the Nemo ride. We took a train ride around the park then decided to take an early lunch/nap break. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We all rested up a bit before heading back for another evening round. We walked around, went on the carousel, and rode Winnie the Pooh again. Scott headed to another game while the girls and I had an ice cream then walked downtown Disney. By then, we were spent. We went back and watched a Christmas movie on TV.

We decided that 2 days was about right. I wouldn't want to do much more than that. The girls had a great time, and we saw a lot of what we wanted to for this trip. There's a lot more that we can do when they get bigger. Somehow, I ended up telling Ryann that we'd go back when she's 7. Knowing her, she'll hold us to it.

The First of Many

It finally happened. Avery took a spill bad enough for an emergency room visit. I knew it was just  a matter of time. She's our little maniac. She climbs like a monkey and isn't exactly graceful on her feet. She already has a tooth that's broken up at the root from one of her tumbles. This time, it was stitches.
We returned from our usual during-dinner trip to the potty. She began to climb up into Ryann's booster seat. She tipped backward and ended up under the table, bleeding from the mouth. She was crying and holding it. I picked her up, thinking it was the usual bloody lip. I took her to wipe her up and saw that there was quite a bit of blood. We wiped it up and I immediately knew it required a doctor visit. Avery calmed down and we took off to the urgent care office. When they saw it, they told me I needed to go to the ER. She needed stitches.
Of course the closest hospital didn't have a pediatric ER so I drove another 30 minutes. Avery was awesome. She was very calm and held a paper towel on her boo-boo the whole time. She even played in the ER waiting room. They were very nice and took good care of her. She was a very cooperative patient and they all commented on what a good girl she was. They wrapped her in a sheet to work on her, but she had no intention of moving. I didn't do as well as she did. They told me to sit down and gave me water. She ended up with 3 stitches and a teddy bear.
It was a late night. It was after 11:30 when we got home. She went right to sleep. It was a pretty scary thing for me. I didn't enjoy seeing my baby bleeding and getting stitched, but it could have been worse. I'm thankful that it went as well as it did. Knowing her, it's the first of many ER visits we'll make along the way. It hasn't slowed her down a bit!

It's a Girl!

That's right, another Dobbins girl is on the way. I had an ultrsound on November 9. Thankfully, everything looked great. The baby is growing well and everything is developed as it should be. I had tried to prepare myself to hear it was a girl, but held out hope for a boy. I guess it's just not meant to be. The good thing is, we're all set. We have lots of clothes for girls. :0) I'm looking forward to meeting our newest daughter. Now, we just need a name. It could take some time. Luckily, we have until the end of March to decide.

Act of Bravery

My brother and I took the girls to the Phoenix Zoo on Monday, Oct. 17. We rode the merry-go-round, looked at the animals, and played at the Fisher-Price Farm area as usual. The shocking twist was that Ryann wanted to ride a camel. We've tried several times before to get her to try it, but she refused. This time, she said she wanted to. We got the ticket and waited for her to freak out and change her mind. Nope. She went and liked it! She didn't whine or cry or even look scared. It was awesome. Afterward, she said, "I was very brave." I was pretty proud of her. She's not exactly adventurous. She'll only ride the giraffe on the merry-go-round because it's the only one that doesn't go up and down. This was a pleasant surprise.

Cougs Game 2011

Each year, Scott and I take a trip to see his beloved WSU Cougars play football. In the past few years, it's been a fun trip, but has had poor results. The Cougs lost each time and gave up at least 40 points. This year, however, things were different! On October 1st, we went to Boulder, CO to see the Cougs play the Colorado Buffaloes. As usual, it was a very nice trip. The girls stayed home with my mother. It's a nice campus, the weather was great, and things went fairly smoothly. As always, I enjoyed learning the mascot. They have a real live buffalo! The unusual part is...the Cougs won! It was awesome! They came back in the end and won 31-27. It was the first time I'd seen them win a football game. They're much more successful this year than in years past. That makes for a happier hubby. I like that. The only down side from the trip is that I lost my phone on the way back. I had to go over a week without one. I have a new one now, so all's well. :0)

Time Flies!

I can't believe that I haven't put a word in the blog since August. It was a crazy first quarter at school. My mentor teacher position keeps me even busier than usual. To top it off, I'm still a coordinator for our after school program. I don't have time to do anything anymore. I'm constantly trying to do what MUST be done that day. It's exhausting and I never catch up.
Luckily, I'm on Fall Break right now. I worked Monday-Thursday last week, coordinating our Fall Intersession program. Since then, I've been hanging out with my girls and catching up on stuff.

A friend of Scott's gave the girls his girls' old bikes. Ryann and Avery love them. We ride to the parks in our neighborhood. They have tons of fun.

Aside from the bike riding, we've been staying close to home. Avery is potty training. She's doing really well, but we don't want to push it too far yet. I did take her to Michael's and Target the other day. We went potty in Target and she had no accidents. I felt it was a successful outing.

Even though the pool water is getting chilly, the girls still like to splash around a bit. It's way too cold for me. My brother and Scott were swimming this week, but not me. The water was in the low 70s. Brrrrrr. I've come to appreciate 85-90 degree water. :0) Avery got in today and sat right in the water with her clothes on. I think she's insane. It's too cold for me!

Ryann is still going to preschool 2 days per week. She loves it and is doing very well. I hope it'll help her to be ready for kindergarten next year. It's coming so quickly!

In other news.... In case you haven't heard, Ryann and Avery will have a younger sibling by April 6. That's our due date, but we anticipate an end of March arrival due to the c-section. We find out November 9 if it's a boy or girl. Ryann insists that it needs to be a boy. I'm convinced it's another girl. I guess we'll see.

Preschool Has Begun!

Ryann started preschool this past week. She's going to a local church preschool two days each week. She's been begging to go for months. I took her to visit in May and she hasn't stopped talking about it ever since. Monday night, we had her backpack packed, clothes picked out, and lunch bag ready. Tuesday morning, she was excited and ready to go. We dropped Avery off at daycare and headed to preschool. We were shown to her classroom, walked in the door, and the water works began. She hid her face in my legs and cried. After a few minutes of coaxing, they were able to divert her attention with some princess toys. Imagine that. I tried to take her picture but the camera battery was dead. She seemed fine after a few minutes so I left.
Scott and I both went to pick her up that afternoon. She was VERY grumpy. The teacher had already left and the aides said they thought she had a good day. She wouldn't tell us much due to a severe case of the grouchies. I had replaced the camera battery so we did get a post preschool day grumpy picture.

On Thursday, she was happy to go to her class in the morning. She wasn't thrilled when they asked her to wait in another room for a while. I waited with her a few minutes until her room opened. I left work a little early that day so I could meet the teacher. I introduced mysef and asked how it went. She said it was good except for a little "prima donna issue." I can't say that I was surprised to hear that. Apparently, Ryann and another girl are trying to establish a pecking order, especially regarding princess toys. I told the teacher that this was excatly why she was there. :0) We try to talk to her about being a good friend and sharing, etc., but I think it'll take more formal experiences to get her to understand.
We're looking forward to a smooth week 2 this week.