Hannah's New Favorite Game

Hannah has a new favorite game (besides asking me to spell every word she can think of so she can write it). I like to think of it as "stump Mommy" because that's what she does. She chooses complex objects, ideas, or phrases and then asks me to explain them. If she were a high school or college student, many of these questions would be a little easier to explain since the true explanation often involves a basic understanding of science and/or obscure aspects of the English language. However, being that she is 4, breaking it down in terms she would understand sometimes eludes me. Still, she continues to ask and I continue to do my best to explain while she enthusiastically shakes her head and thanks me, even if some of the explanations are downright difficult to understand as I trip over my own words while attempting to carefully construct the simplest definitions I can come up with. I guess she must be getting something out of it. Or maybe she just thinks I'm funny and that's why she keeps asking...

My Little Mimics

I have often read that your children speak the way you speak, so be careful in your words. I'm not sure I truly believed that idea until I had kids. Hannah has always been quite the talker, and it's funny to listen to the words she chooses when she speaks. For instance, apparently I use the word "actually" and "perhaps" quite a bit. It was funny to listen to her use those words (correctly!), especially when she was only 2. Now she has been around enough outside influences to make her speech patterns her own, and I see that my words have less influence on her word choice than they once did. However, I have to say that I'm thrilled to see the way she speaks to her sister still mimics me, because it's both sweet and funny. Whenever Hailey is upset, she speaks to her in a soothing "Mommy" voice, reminding her that we love her, calling her names like "pumpkin" and "sweet pea" and "baby girl," and trying to give her a hug or a reassuring pat on the leg. It's the cutest thing ever.

And so as not to leave out our dear Hailey, she is turning into a little chatter box these days. She probably has around 75 words that I (and others) can identify that she uses correctly. She also says short phrases such as "that's silly," "juice please," "this is yours," etc. She seems to be at that language explosion age and picks up new words and phrases daily, often picking up the words she hears most, of course. She also mimics me in other ways, such as she touches my contact lens case and then touches her eye, puts on lotion, tries to put on makeup, zips and unzips her own PJs and coat, retrieves her own diapers/wipes, wipes her hands/face/nose, etc. Our little observer!

Our Family Vacation

Finally, a post about our long-awaited (and long-planned) vacation! Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandpa G couldn't join us and Grandma & Grandpa J and Ken had to cancel at the last minute. However, although we did wish they could join us, we had a great time and it was so nice to get away from the snow and to someplace warm. Paul and Marie were kind enough to come with us and help out with the kids, so we left for Marie's family's Christmas on Dec 30th. We hung out with family and rang in the New Year. On New Year's Day, we had the family Christmas, which was fun and unseasonably warm. We woke up on Sunday, Jan 2nd to snow and were ready to start our big trip. Rob's cousin Jen was nice enough to drop us at the airport and take the van back to her house, so we quickly packed everything up, sorted out the heavy winter clothes to leave there, and headed for our plane. It was one of those "destination" planes so it only flew to a few places, meaning the plane was smaller but the flight was cheaper and direct. Hailey was a lap child but the flight wasn't full either time so she was able to sit in her own seat. We brought tons of things to do and after a slight (half hour or so) delay, we boarded and were on our way. It took about 4 hours to fly to Vegas and when we got off the plane, we had to take a tram to our luggage. It was at that point that Hannah declared this to be the "best vacation ever." LOL We got out of there pretty quickly and immediately picked up our rental van and booked a room at the Riveria. The van was nice, a black Kia that only had 300 miles on it and even had a DVD player, and we were able to get adjoining rooms at the Riveria. We explored a little, stopping by Circus, Circus to watch a small show and play a few kid games. Here are Paul, Marie, and Hannah playing "Deal or No Deal" for tickets:



Monday morning, we got up and headed on our way (the tickets in and out of Vegas were cheaper and it was cheaper to rent a van and bring it back because the mileage was free but dropping it at a different location was not). On our way to LA:

Yes, the next pictures has snow in it. No, it pretty much never snows so apparently we brought the weather with us (or so says the guy at the reception desk in Vegas who suggested I come back to Vegas when I turn 21 - I liked him!). Mom and Dad drove and they actually just made it through the pass on Sunday night before it closed:

We made good time and got there in the late afternoon. We rented a house on Paul's recommendation. It was about the same price per night as a hotel room (maybe cheaper) and we could cook some of our own meals, wash some clothes, and let the kids run around. Matthew and I got on the site Paul recommended and spent 3 hours narrowing down choices based on location, size, and price. I gave about 10 options to everyone and they voted on this one. It was an excellent idea and we choose a great house. Here is what we pulled up to:

Our gate next to the garage:

The stairs down from the gate:

Our front door (okay I know I'm being a little silly with taking this many pictures of the house - and it's going to get worse - but it was a cool house and we looked it up; being just a few blocks from Redondo Beach made it around $1.3 million):

Standing in the living room, looking toward the kitchen. The front door is on the left, the dining room and bathroom are on the right, the kid's play area is just past the dining room, and the stairs are just past that:

Standing in the kitchen, looking at the family room (front door is now on the right):

The downstairs bathroom:

The dining room, where we ate and played games:

The kid's area, under the stairs - the kids LOVED all the toys and they even had the same play kitchen we own:

The stairs:

The living room area - you can see the stairs down on the right where the arch is. The master bedroom and bathroom is directly to our right and the other 3 bedrooms and bathroom are up those small stairs at the end:

Standing on the small stairs, looking back at where I stood to take the previous picture:

Turning around and looking up the small stairs to another sitting area with a TV:

Sarah, Paul, and Bennett's bedroom (they pushed the beds together and Ben slept with them):

Mom and Dad's room:

Paul and Marie's room:

The bathroom:

Our family's room - Hannah slept on a make-shift bed on the floor and Hailey slept in a Pack N Play we bought at Target the first night:

The master bath:

Other than the fact that the lights were a little difficult to figure out (the light switches were weird), it was even better than we'd hoped. We got settled in and ran to the store for some necessities. The next morning (Tues), bright and early (okay not that bright and early since we were still on eastern time and the kids got up at 6am), Matthew and Jessica arrived to take us to the Hollywood sign, the stars, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Santa Monica Pier.

Hollywood, baby:

My side of the family:

Rob's side of the family:

The kids ran around and played some and then we went to a lookout nearby. And by the way, any pictures you see that don't have me holding Hailey like this are probably because she was off to the side, crying, while we quickly snapped a picture without her. She was a little out of her element with all the people and places and new schedule (which didn't leave much room for naps) so she wanted me to carry her the entire trip. It was fun to snuggle with her and I guess my arms are probably super strong now:

Rob is the king of the world:

This sign was just funny - it says "Welcome to Hollywoodland Now Relax and Slow Down." It's also a little ironic since driving in that area is terrifying. It's on the side of a large hill (or maybe small mountain) and you are weaving and winding your way up. Houses are so close together that you can't see around any curve, people are parked all along the street effectively making it one lane, and drivers come whipping up and down the hill at ridiculous speeds. Seriously, it was a little scary (as was most driving since the speed limits were not even a suggestion, just something to fly past as fast as possible while weaving in and out of traffic) but this was particularly frightening, so it would have been nice if people did slow down:

We ate lunch at the mall right outside of the stars. Here is Bennett trying his hand at chopsticks. He is trying to eat a banana, which he was able to stab and eat:

Looking down at the street the stars are on:

There was a fountain that Hannah and Bennett were trying to play in. I believe Ben did succeed in getting at least a little wet:

Sarah and I posing on the only twin star:

Rob posing by Harrison Ford:

Hailey and I posing at Godzilla (when the kids are being destructive, especially at Hailey's age, we sometimes jokingly call them Hannah-zilla or Hailey-zilla):

Hannah trying her hand in Shirley Temple's at Grauman's Chinese Theater:

Walking to Santa Monica Pier:

Looking at the pier:

Closer up:

Standing, looking down the pier:

The beach was very pretty:

Rob and I at the very end of the pier:

A cool picture Rob took where you can see all the barnicles:

I just thought this sign was neat:

We stayed until the sun was setting:

Leaving the pier:

Funny Rob:

We went home and got some much needed rest. Wednesday, again, Matthew and Jessica showed up around 9am. Here was their grand entrance - they were wearing the "wedding" Mickey and Minnie hats for our visit:

Walking into the Magic Kingdom:

A neat statue:

The first thing we did was go on the carosel, which both kids loved. They also loved the candy and balloons and later Minnie Mouse stuffed animals we bought as souvenirs (well, Hailey was scared of hers at first but seems to like it now). Hannah wanted to take a picture with every single character she saw. She posed with the Queen of Hearts and the Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, Geppeddo, Pinocchio, and Donald Duck. Here she is in the cutest picture with Chip and Dale:

We waited in line to pose with Mickey. Yes, Hailey is giving me a dirty look for making her stand up there with Mickey:

Hannah desperately wanted to go on a roller coaster and Hailey fell asleep in the stroller (yay!) so we decided to give it a try. She has gone on some kid ones back home at the zoo and the State Fair, but she's never been on a real, adult rollercoaster. She really wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so we got in line. The minimum height was 40 inches and she was 45 inches, so I figured it was probably fine but the longer we stood in line (about a half hour total), the more I began to notice that the youngest kids around us were maybe 8 or so. I started to question taking a 4 year old on this ride, but she was insistent so I figured it probably wasn't a long ride, she wasn't in any real danger, and I was right there, so if she hated it, we'd know and wouldn't try it again for a while. We got on and put the lap bar down and were on our way. The first drop was in a tunnel and Hannah started screaming like everyone around us, so I figured she was either terrified or having a great time. That question was answered as we came out into the sun and she had the biggest grin on her face. It was actually a pretty long ride with lots of drops and fast turns and she loved it all. She hopped off yelling "I want to do it again!" Guess she's going to love rollercoasters like her mom and dad. :) Here Rob took a picture of us as we came back around into the station after the ride was over:

We decided to go on the Pirates of the Carribbean because it was a family ride and everyone could go on it, although Ben was asleep so Sarah opted to stay out with him. Here is the crew, practicing their pirate impressions in line:

A picture of our family:

Matthew and Rob took Hannah to get some more pictures and some more signatures (a gift from Matthew and Jessica to Hannah):

Waiting for Tinkerbell:

Tink and friend:

Leaving Disney:

Hannah didn't even make it 10 seconds on the tram back to our car before falling asleep:

Guess the day was just too exciting and fun!

Thursday we decided to head into the valley since Matthew lived there for a few years and still works there. Our drive:

Heading up:

Hailey taking a little nap:

We took the scenic route so we stopped to take a few pictures of the valley from above:

Matthew outside his work - this is part of a space shuttle:

Lunch at the famous "In-N-Out":

Hailey sipping her ketchup like a lady. Yes she has a black eye (and a bump on her forehead you can't see) from two separate instances bumping into a table while on this trip, which is just a given when you are going to an event that will have lots of pictures:

Our food - yum:

Hannah's first bite:

Hailey enjoying:

And me showing my burger:

Friday we didn't take many pictures because it was the rehersal and the rehersal dinner and quite frankly, I think we forgot our camera. Here is a picture later that evening of Redondo beach:

Saturday - the big wedding day! The kids were in the wedding - Hannah and Hailey as flower girls and Bennett as the ring bearer. Hannah pulled Hailey and Bennett down the aisle in a wagon and they were all adorable. Here are the kids, dressed and ready to go:

Me and hubby:

Our family:

The bride and groom:

Cute picture of Daddy and Hailey:

So you can see Hailey in her dress:

And Hannah in hers:

The kids dancing:

Mother/Son dance:

Mom and Dad dancing with the kids:

Sarah and I dancing with our little ones:

Paul and Marie having fun with Hannah:

Hailey all tuckered out after too much excitement:

It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful day - warm and sunny. So nice and now I have a new sister-in-law! :)

I headed back to Jessica's parents house to watch the Colts play while Rob, Paul, Marie, and the girls headed to our rented house to meet up with Rob's cousin Bettina (who lives just south of LA) and her boyfriend. They ate dinner and then walked down to the pier by our rented house:

Rob and I had eaten here (giving us this view) a few nights earlier when Paul and Marie watched the kids so we could go out alone for a "date night." A beautiful view:

Just a pretty picture:

Sunday morning we woke up and packed up. We had to be out of the house at 10am and I think we didn't do too bad considering we were trying to get 4 families out of there. We were the last ones to leave and we were on the road by 10:10am. We decided to quickly detour down to Redondo beach since it was only a few blocks away. We wanted to walk on the sand one last time a buy a couple of souveniors. Here we are enjoying the beach - everyone touched the water, although it was too cold to get in:

More pretty beach pictures:

And more:

Hailey looking out:

A cute picture of Paul and Marie on the pier:

Back on the road again:

We got in in the early evening and went out to dinner. We spent most of the next 4 days exploring, taking in shows (we all went to a magic show with the kids; Paul and Marie went to a comedy show; and Rob and I went to Penn & Teller), and eating out. No one won big, well unless you count the two small Care Bears I pulled out of the crane machine at once for the kids, but we had a great time exploring the strip and going to the old strip. I made sure to lose a dollar at every casino we went to - gotta spread the wealth - and I even made a few dollars back at a couple of them.

Here I am on the way in to one of the casinos:

A cool picture Rob took of the Paris:

Another cool picture, this time of the Stratosphere, which is where we stayed (and luckily got adjoining rooms again with Paul and Marie, which was really helpful):

Couldn't walk past a fancy Denny's sign and not take a picture for Jen:

We watched the water show outside of the Bellagio, which was cool since we've seen it in the movies before:

Just a pretty part of one of the casinos:

The Pepper Mill was a place that Paul and Marie raved about and we were not disappointed. The portion sizes were huge. Rob and I split a meal, Hannah and Hailey split a meal, and Paul and Marie split a meal and everyone had left-overs. Here is Hannah showing her order. Yes, that is from the kid's menu:

After Penn and Teller at the Rio (which was SO good), they said our ticket stubs got us into the rooftop club for free. We didn't stay really long, but it was pretty cool to be 53 stories up.

Our last day, before our plane back, we finally went up in the Stratosphere (since we get free tickets for staying there). The view was breathtaking and they had all sorts of interesting facts about each area you were looking at as you went around. Here is just one view:

Then it was time to get on the plane and head back home. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed a half hour because they had to de-ice on the flight that was coming in and then it was delayed another 2 hours while we were sitting on the plane because the pilot's radio wasn't working. They finally got it fixed and we were on our way. They were able to take a shorter route because of the delay so the nice thing was that we only landed 2 hours late. Still, it was midnight eastern time and we felt bad making Jen come out so late. We dropped her home, stopped to grab some fast food (since we were sitting on the plane when we should have eaten and they only had snacks), and headed to Rob's aunt and uncle's house to stay the night. We pulled in at 3am and didn't get up until noon the next day because the kids finally managed to adjust to pacific time the day before we left. We drove 4 hours and finally we were home. A wonderful and fun trip, but it was nice to sleep in our own beds at last!

A great trip and a great time!!!!