Disneyland (the first of many....)

so we opted out of a big party for baby girl's second birthday and instead, decided to splurge on some Disney passes. luckily, we don't have to pay for baby girl until she's 3 so we're going to make the most of this last year of the kid freebie pass to disney.  i don't anticipate blogging about disneyland all that much (*ahem unless disney decides to pick me up as a blogger *ahem) so here is my UNPAID very honest and very random (as is most of my fodder) disney musings....

we went back and forth on which pass to get. do we go with the super reasonably priced SoCal passes that basically limit your visits to weekdays and absolutely zero days in the summer and holidays?

or do we go with the next level up that gets you in on weekends, some holidays, and most of the summer?

or do we really go balls to the wall and get the zero black out date passes?

I'm a middle of the road kind of gal. i also like the idea of visiting the park on weekends so that was an easy choice for us....next up....parking.

do we buy the parking passes or do we listen to all of our friends and park at downtown disney even though it says, "no theme park parking." (disclaimer: i love to follow the rules, especially when it comes to disneyland BUT we like the idea of walking through downtown disney for food options before/after going to the park so parking there actually makes the most sense for us anyway). ultimately we decided to bypass the parking passes. and so far we've visited disney twice with our passes. The first day was a holiday and parking was free at downtown disney. the next time we went, we stayed for 3.5 hours and thought we were going to have to pay the $6 for that extra .5 hour (you get the first three hours free when you park there) but then somehow didn't get charged as we left so both days we have visited we've scored free parking!

so here we are with our passes and two official disney visits (in two weeks). We have an entire 340 days left to visit disney as much as our little hearts desire (minus the limited black out dates).

we've already discovered a ton of unknowns just by downloading the disney app and can't wait to become disney regulars that know all the shortcuts and tips and tricks....stay tuned!

in the meantime, here's the roundup of ina's second birthday celebration at disneyland!

so this ride actually has a steering wheel that you can pull up or down to adjust the height of your little rocket ship. I, however, was too focused on hanging on to my tiny toddler with one hand and gripping on to the side of the rocket with the other. the tiny toddler, however, had her arms up the entire time, yelling "WEEEEEEE!!!!!"

snacking while waiting in line to see peter pan and tinker bell. 

totally passed out -- time for mommy and daddy to eat some lunch (perhaps enjoy a drink) and wait for the rest of the gang to arrive.....

first disney family pic! Ina loves NOT looking at the camera for pictures

the disney gang. that's my sister and some of our bestest friends ever. fernando was in our wedding and gladis is just one of my favorite people on the planet. 

checking out her friend, Mickey, in the parade.

the moment she saw him...

they are just the loveliest. 

i dont remember why but ferny and i thought this was just the most hilarious pic ever. 

chillin' on mickey's chair

he somehow knew she was 2!

mickey hugs are the best. 

please note the way she has her arm around his neck like they're total pals. heart. melted. 

she allowed us to mob them for the family pic.

stopped by goofy and pluto's house in toon town but they weren't home so we killed some time in his front yard....

first churro ever.

post-churro happy dance

no better way to end the day. 

oh, hello!

i could fill this blog post with the million reasons why i haven't posted anything new since baby girl's first birthday but instead i'm going to share 1 reason why i'm finally posting.....because alas, blogging makes me happy and i want to spend a little bit more time these days on those things.

looking back on the blogs i posted last year make me a tiny bit sad (as i remember struggling through hormones and life changes and schedules and figuring out how to make it all work out) but they also fill my heart with so much joy. we made a tiny human and she thrived beautifully! she's so much more than i could've ever imagined. picture your heart swelling so much it's on the verge of bursting.....that's been my constant state of existence since the very day she entered our lives. i'm so grateful for this blog so i can revisit all those moments throughout her first year and here we are just a month shy of her second half birthday and I'm barely realizing how absent i've been from documenting all of our amazing life moments in this blog.

so i'm back! don't hold me to anything because life is a bit different than where i was last year but isn't that even more reason to try and track it all down? I'm going to summarize the last 6 months in a series of bullet-styled words (because I have created more bullet style lists in the last 6 months than i ever thought i ever would and i'm beginning to feel like i'm living my life just one bullet column after the next) so here it is:

• highly recommend spending your holidays with a toddler. the look on her face each time she opened a new gift was priceless.
• she skipped the crawling business and went straight to walking in time for christmas
• she was running by new years
• and has been covered in bruises from falling ever since
• she's restless like her mama
• and funny like her dada
• giving kisses is her favorite thing
• talking is her next favorite thing
• she's still not sleeping through the night
• her dada makes this journey so much fun (i don't say it enough but i love that man more than all the amazing things in life combined)
• i love to hear her say, "papa" which is what she calls my dad
• sometimes when i'm carrying her she gives me an unexpected hug and takes me somewhere so special -- i will remember those moments until my dying day
• her cheeks are the most delicious thing on earth

1

my sister surprised me with this video this morning. best darn thing i could've ever ever expected. i've been able to hold back the emotional tears but this....this opened the floodgates.

happy birthday darling precious amazing little nugget of mine. mommy loves you more than you could ever ever possibly imagine.

it's a porch party!

best. video. ever

6 beautiful months with ina

we never celebrated half birthdays growing up but i do think it's an important milestone, especially when you're only half a year old! motherhood is such an extraordinary thing. how can i even put into words the last 6 months? i honestly can't even believe it's already been a half year. it's funny how a sleepless night can feel like an eternity and yet holding this growing chunker for the last 6 months has gone by so fast that i still sometimes look down and feel like i'm holding her brand new tiny 6-pound body (my beautifully sculpted arms are a reminder that she is, in fact, 12 pounds heavier than that). it won't be long now before she can actually read these blog posts herself so in honor of your 6-month birthday this is for you:

dear ina beana (i hope we're still calling you this many years from now and you read this and think, 'man, they've been calling me that forever!'), 

it has now been 6 months since your daddy and i kissed you for the first time. in the last 6 months you have warmed our hearts a million times over. with every milestone we jump up and down and do a little dance. by now you should be very familiar with your mommy's signature happy dance, well imagine me doing this the moment we realized you were actually making eye contact, the second you cracked your first smile, when we heard your laugh for the first time, watching you play with toys, that day you said, "mama!" then the day you said, "papa," and now finally as you're getting ready to crawl and explore much of the world (or at least the house) on your own! So as you can imagine, this house has been filled with endless happy dances. 

but what's better than all these predicted milestones is the fact that we're slowly beginning to see your personality, we're getting to hear your voice and we are witnessing that spark in your eye as you develop a palate for the things you like and don't like. i see so much of your aunt caroline in you. in fact, your daddy said to me the other day, "you know what's crazy, every once in a while i'll look at her and see your sister." it made me smile real big. you're independent, loving, funny and beautiful. you are also very reserved when you first meet someone. people tell us that we have such a serious baby as you stare them down and carefully decide whether or not this stranger is worthy of your smile but once you get comfortable you begin to really show them what your daddy and i get to see every day. 

but one of my favorite qualities about you is your sense of awareness. you love to scream and i'm pretty sure you get that from your daddy. you don't necessarily crave attention but you have a voice and you want to make sure people hear it. your daddy is the greatest storyteller i've ever known, you babble with such intent that i know you already have a ton of stories that you just can't wait to share with us. 

thank you my darling for the best 6 months of my entire life. mommy can't wait to see what the rest of our lives will be like!

love you more than you can ever possibly imagine. 

happy happy happy half birthday!

5 months {coming at you super late}

it's almost time to post her 6 month pictures and here i am barely getting to the 5 month shots. here's the thing, i'm a MOM! i work from home full-time and i have a husband that needs some attention every once in a while. that on top of the fact that i'm a MOM! so i know you all are anxiously standing by for the 5 month shot pics so here you go.

as a recap, i'm trying to remember all the milestones she hit from months 4 to 5 but honestly, all i keep thinking about are all the ones that she's currently hitting so if i talk about that i'll have nothing to talk about at the 6 month post.

who am i kidding, i'll have plenty to talk about at the 6 month so here's her milestones so far at 5.5 months:

she says, "mama!" that's right, my brilliant brainiac of a child can say my name! nevermind the fact that this is a common sound that babies make around this age, let's just focus on the fact that she knows my name and she says it every time she's hungry, tired or just wants some cuddles. we're working on "dada" but i think she prefers to say "papa" because that one has come out a few times.

reaching for me. oh how my heart aches every times she's laying down and throws her arms up in the air so i can sweep her up! dear darling, i will forever be here to hold you and comfort you, that is one thing i know for certain!

she's hit a ton of other milestones but those are the two that drown the rest of them out.

phenomenal design work by olson designs (that's not her company name, she's currently freelance but we're working on getting her design business up and going so for now, i will refer to her as olson designs).

4 months old

darling baby girl, you are 4 months old! i'm so proud of the little human you're becoming. i'm seeing so many little nuggets of me and your dad in you and that is just the most magical thing. one of the things i love most about my relationship with your dad is that we both love to laugh and dear sweet girl, you definitely get that from us. you laugh when you wake up, you laugh just as you're about to fall asleep, you laugh when you're hungry and you laugh when we're cleaning your dirty diapers (with good reason as i'm sure that can be very comical to watch especially when you surprise us with your blowouts). 

this has also been a huge month for milestones. you discovered your precious little hands, you are beginning to tolerate tummy time, you rolled from your tummy to your back, you are now wrapping your arms around us when we hold you (best. feeling. ever) and you are really getting to know your little puppies. i love the way you watch them play and watch them run around the house. i just know you all are going to be the best of friends. 

i'm literally afraid to blink, you're growing so fast. i know i'm going to miss holding your tiny little body as you continue to grow but i am so enjoying being your mommy and laughing with you every single day. 

no more newborn

how is it that my daughter is just shy of 4 months and i'm already missing the days that she was a tiny little peanut that could fit in one arm as I nursed her?

let's be honest, the night feedings and constant screaming was not easy but i sure do miss her tiny little sleepy black eyes discovering her mama for the first time and a small little piece of me misses those dark and silent nights that i spent feeding her. she's now sleeping through the night, which feels like a downright victory. i've been hesitant to celebrate because i've heard that everything is two steps forward and one step back. i really hope the step back isn't less sleep at night because i really really really need my sleep to give me enough energy to get through the day. she nurses almost every hour, which as you can imagine, is super exhausting. i try to catch up on some reading when she goes to sleep at 8:30 but i just end up falling asleep too. and even though she sleeps until 7am, i still find myself waking up at 3, 5 and 6 just to make sure she's ok. last night both her daddy and i woke up because we heard her making a noise. turns out she was laughing in her sleep. 

i suppose the joke is on us. silly girl. 

this picture is one of my favorites from her earlier days. image courtesy of my sister.

3 months

oh my dearest baby girl, how is it possible to continue to fall more and more in love with you? the bigger you get the harder it's going to be to just tuck you away in my pocket and keep you there always. i think the fact that i'm a "mom" hasn't quite sunk in yet but i sure do love the fact that i get to guide you into this wonderful world and feel as though i'm seeing everything for the first time again. i mean, who knew a tiny little orange plush monkey would bring so much joy? i look at orange plush monkeys in an entirely new light. 

i also can't believe its been 3 whole months since your precious little pink body was placed on me. i'm going to be honest, i never thought i'd ever see the light of day again, but here we are 3 months later and slowly but surely venturing out more often. 

i love that you love your baby bjorn. it took us a few months to figure out that you need to be facing the world in order to be happy, i suppose we couldn't keep you tucked in for too long. when we walk around town you babble at the trees and at random strangers who come up to you and admire your magical hair. i wonder if you're just learning to hear your own voice or if you really want to tell us something. perhaps you want us to know that you're happy and that you love life. soon enough you'll be able to actually communicate that but for now i'll just pretend that that's what you're saying.

we recently bought zoo memberships as well as a membership to the local botanical garden. i'm going to try my hardest to take you out to those places as much as possible. even if it's just for a quick 30-minute walk (who cares if it still takes me an hour to get you all packed up and in the car), the goal is to get a little more efficient with getting out of the house. and an even bigger goal is to get you to love your carseat. mama really needs you to love your carseat.