Life Is Groovy

Rides at Disney World

2009-12-22T14:13:00.003-05:00

To say Jack was excited for the rides at Disney World is a gross understatement. This past summer, we had promised him that he could ride the rides at Belleville's Strawberry Festival. He was an inch too short and could only ride the carousel.

But now, a (three inch) taller boy and more little kid friendly rides meant he could ride all he want. So what was the first ride he chose?

The carousel. We ended up riding it twice. After that, he had to go on the Dumbo ride, which he talked about the rest of the week. Luckily he got to ride it again.

He also got to ride the dinosaur ride at Mickey's Zoo, which was basically the Dumbo ride with dinosaurs.

He begged us to let him ride a roller coaster, so Kate took him on the Goofy one at Magic Kingdom. It was too fast for him and he was a little freaked out by it. So, he decided he wanted to ride the "slow roller coaster" and pointed to the (awful, boring) Tomorrowland Transit Authority. We obliged him. Look how excited he was by it.
Yeah, I think he regretted this choice. The "ride that never ends" broke down twice while we were on it and we just had to sit there. One of the times it stopped in a pitch black tunnel. Luckily, they eventually turned on the maintenance lights.

He also enjoyed riding the ferry. (I think our dislike of the monorail rubbed off on him.)

He rode several other rides (including the Tea Cups, which he thought were fabulous and the Indy race cars from which I think I got whiplash), but his absolute favorite ride was It's a Small World. Now, one of the measures of how much I love my son is that I despise that ride. But since it was his favorite, we let him ride it three times. The third time, he was standing in line jumping up and down while singing the song. (Amelie loved it, too.)

Being that he is the transportation boy, he also loved riding the train. And the parking trams. And the airplane. I think he thought the plane rides there and back were part of the Disney Magic. He was an excellent little flyer. He sat happily in his seat watching cartoons on my iPod.

Amelie at Disney World

2009-12-21T22:28:00.004-05:00

I thought I should do a little post about Amelie's experience at Disney World, since she was there too. We were not sure how should would do with all the excitement, but she was quite the little trooper and had a great time, I think.

While we were there, she started saying something new. We think. Whenever we would hand her something, or she would give us something, she would say "Tack ew." Really? Is she saying "Thank you?" Whether or not she meant it as that, Kate encouraged it and it seems to have stuck.

Oh, I never got around to blogging that two weeks ago she also started saying "Bah-buh" whenever we started making her bottle. She has been saying it quite regularly since.

Also while we were there, she finally started crawling! Correctly! Well, sometimes it is a bit of a hybrid between a regular crawl and her three-legged dog method, but mostly it is a regular crawl. She motoring all over the hotel suite by the end of the week and her favorite game became "fetch the remote." Of course, now she is into everything.

Her first ride was the carousel. She was a little unsure at first, but ended up loving it. The second time we rode, she refused to let go of the pole.

After our first day at Magic Kingdom, she was so wound up she was climbing the walls. Well, trying to at least.

Happy morning baby.

Not a fan of sunblock.

"Yay!"

She even went down the slide...Okay, not really.

I have a ton of pictures of Kate and Amelie in which they have the exact same expression on there face. That is, the expressions differ from picture to picture, but Mommy and little girl are giving me the same look.

Look at those tired little eyes!

Having fun on Dumbo.

Her two favorite parts of the trip were the Festival of the Lion King show and the Playhouse Disney show.

She went crazy clapping, "singing" along, and yelling "Yay!" at the Playhouse Disney show. It was neat to see her really get into something like that.

(I have some good videos, but Blogger is doing really strange things to them, so hopefully I can get them posted later.)

Meeting the Characters

2009-12-21T11:24:00.005-05:00

Of course, one of the major attractions of going to Disney World is getting to meet the various characters. We were not really sure how Jack would be about this. He kept saying he was excited to see the various friend s of Mickey Mouse, but we thought he would be scared or shy around costumed characters.

Boy were we wrong.

This ended up being one of the most important parts of the trip for Jack. For the most part, he was not scared at all, although there were a few disappointments.

Not only did he want to meet all of the characters, he decided he had to give each of them the biggest hug he could muster. It was pretty special.

On the first day, when we still thought he would not be up to meeting many characters, we decided we would try to at least get the obligatory picture with Mickey Mouse. After waiting 30 minutes, we were surprised to find Minnie there as well. When we were ushered back into the greeting room, Jack was holding my hand. I felt it start shaking. I thought for sure he was getting scared and was going to break down. I looked down and instead saw a little boy with a huge grin on his face. Jack was quivering with excitement. He was star struck.

Unprompted, he ran up and threw himself into Mickey's arms for a hug.

And Minnie's.

We had a hard time getting him to turn around an pose for the picture.

We did not really see any more characters about after that. (Well, except for the insane lines for fairies and princess, which he seemed okay about skipping. Until we got home and he mentioned that he didn't meet Tinker Bell.)

The next day we went to Hollywood Studios, and he was so excited because we told him Lightening McQueen and Mater would be there. He watches Cars about once a week and practically has it memorized.

He didn't like them.

"Daddy, they didn't talk to me!"

Apparently, it was okay that none of the other characters talk, but he must have really wanted a "Ka-Chow!" from McQueen or a "Dag-Gum" from Mater.

He was then disappointed when we went to meet the Little Einsteins. (Or Little Einsquines as he calls them.) Along with Backyardigans and Thomas, it's his favorite TV show. He refused to go near them when we saw them.

"Mommy, they are really big."

I think he was excited to meet four kids his size, and was shocked to find Leo and June standing over six feet tall. (Seriously, they could have made them a little shorter.)

So he spurned them, and informed us that he would rather meet Handy Manny. (Or Handy Mandy, as Jack insists his name is.) Before the trip he was only mildly interested in Manny, but he suddenly became important to Jack on this trip.

Next, he wanted to meet the Incredibles. When he saw Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Frozone there, his smile went away.

"Where are Dash and Jack-Jack?"

We explained that they must not be there that day, so he refused to go up to the other characters. What fun are they if the kids are not there?

Of course, Sorcerer Mickey happened to be near the Incredibles, and Jack really wanted to meet "Mickey wearing the hat." (Or "the Mickey from Daddy's Disney movie.")

"But you already met Mickey!"

"I want to give him another hug."

We took Wednesday off from the parks and then ventured to Animal Kingdom ("Mickey's Zoo" according to Jack) on Thursday.

We thought for sure, if he was going to be freaked out by a character, it would be a six-foot bug. Nope. Flick gets a big hug, too. (Or, "the bug that cuts the wheat" as he called him prior to the vacation.) Of course, after he got his picture taken, he asked, "Where's Dot and Princess Atta?"

So, he happily had his picture taken with Flick, but then (after standing in line) refused to go up to Baloo or King Louie.

"I want to meet Mowgli."

We found Pluto and Goofy at the Animal Kingdom, as well.

If you are the observant type, you may be wondering why Amelie is not in any of these pictures. Well, almost every time we got in line for a character greeting, she zonked out and missed the action. And we are not the type of parents to wake a sleeping baby for a photo.

Eventually, she was awake for some, like Christmas Pooh.

She did not like the characters at all. Whenever one would get near her, she growled at them.

You read that right, she growled. It was pretty funny.

Now, looking at this picture you may be thinking, "Tigger is reaching for the baby." (Or, "What is Jack doing to Tigger's crotch?) It's not Amelie he is reaching for. When you see the next picture...

You should be asking, "Where is Tigger's other hand?"
Yes, Tigger got a little fresh with Kate. She claims the he didn't feel her up, but he was very friendly with her and kept hugging her and making kissing noises.

Another "must meet" for Jack were Lilo and Stitch. They have recently became some of his favorite characters. (He had to get a stuffed Stitch doll as his souvenir.)

So, the picture I'm sorry I did not manage to get? Stitch getting "friendly" with Kate. Yup, another character greeting and another uncomfortable moment for Kate. As we were walking away, she turned to me and said, "I'm done 'meeting' characters. From now on, it's all you."

We ended up meeting only one more, and it was a very sweet Donald the Duck. He made a big deal out of Jack's shirt, which read "Big Brothers Rock."

Amelie really did not like Donald. I'm laughing in this picture because she is growling again.

We did not get a chance to meet any more characters on our last two days at the Magic Kingdom. It was storming Friday, and we did not see any about. Saturday was (supposedly) one of the busiest days of the year, and we couldn't get near any of them. Still, Jack seems to have met all the important ones. We never found Peter Pan, but Jack seemed okay with that. But he did cry a little because we never found Daisy Duck.

Well, he was also a little mad he did not get to meet the Polar Express. There was a Sea World (?) billboard advertising it and Jack wanted to meet it, too. I'm not sure how one meets a train, but he is only three.

Oh well, he still had a great time.

What I Would Have Tweeted at Disney World If I Wasn't Too Cheap to Pay for Mobile Internet.

2009-12-20T22:16:00.006-05:00

We were hoping for warm weather. We were not expecting it to be record highs and having to go from 15 degrees to the high 80s. That is a bit much.

Waking up the first morning and hearing a news story on all the recent monorail accidents and malfunctions is not a good way to start a Disney vacation. We are so not riding the monorail.

What do you mean the ferry is not operating today and we have to ride the monorail?

Florida residents are wimpy. It was 60 (at the end of the week) and the pool attendant was wearing a hoodie (hood up), her winter coat (hood up), gloves, and had a blanket wrapped around her.

My son is three and he knows the words "Excuse me." Why don't you?

Why are there Christmas Decorations up, it's hot? Oh, yeah...

Why are they playing Christmas music, it's hot? Oh, yeah...

Why did that person just wish me Merry Christmas, it feels like the middle of summer! (As Kate said, Disney is surreal enough as it is, let alone being in the 80s at Christmas.)

My oh my, look at all the spandex. When did that come back in style? Oh, it didn't? (Kate: It never was, dear.)

Why is the volume so loud at all the shows? Yikes, it was painful at a couple of them.

I was beyond disturbed by the cartons of "Mickey's Milk" being sold everywhere. All I could think about was the Simpson's episode in which Fat Tony is selling rat's milk to the schools.

Speaking of the Simpson's, my head was near exploding from all the references I kept thinking of while walking around the park. ("True or False? You can get mono from riding the monorail.")

Oh wow, they are making it snow at the Magic Kingdom! I could care less since we came here to get away from it!

Ew. Lady, do you really want to be catching that chemically created fake snow on your tongue?

What is the fascination with the smoked turkey leg?

By the third time through It's a Small World in one week, you start noticing which parts are broken. The poor leprechauns were dead, and one of the hula dancers was not really shaking her hips and head anymore. It looked more like she was seizing.

Me: No Jack, you can't go swimming. It's pouring down rain.

Jack: But those kids are!

Kate: Well Jack, their Mommies and Daddies must not care if they get sick or struck by lightening.

My kids are awesome. We had so many people come up to us all week and tell us how well behaved they are. (Usually while another child was screaming or throwing a fit nearby.)

Okay, so random people also kept coming up and telling us how adorable Amelie is.

A Happy Boy at Mickey Mouse's House

2009-12-20T21:47:00.004-05:00

This summer while potty training Jack, a very frustrated Kate told him that when he was big enough to poop in the potty, we would fly on an airplane and take him to Disney World. (For the record, we had batted around the idea of going but had not made any definitive plans.)

He listened.

And remembered.

Octoborish we were driving past the Detroit airport and out of nowhere Jack casually mentioned that he was a big boy who pooped in the potty and could fly on an airplane to Mickey Mouse's House (what he called Disney World.) We try to always hold to our threats and promises. So, Kate looked at me and said, "I guess we are going to Disney World!" Since we told him that we would be going, he has talked about it all the time and been very excited...

And lo, the boy had the time of his life. I have lots of pictures to post and stories to tell, but I will probably do it in a very non-linear fashion, being me and all.

Here is Jack waiting for the Playhouse Disney show. This was the look on his face a majority of the trip.

Here he is our first morning in Orlando, before we went to the Magic Kingdom. He was so excited and yet had no idea what was in store for him.

What's a family vacation without eating a gummi snack on some sort of transportation? Last year it was Gummi Bears on the Gatlinburg Trolleys. This year it was Gummi Mickeys on the Magic Kingdom Ferry.

Happy boy on our last night there.

Here is the "after" picture. This is when we got back to our hotel on our last night in Florida after a long day at the Magic Kingdom. The poor boy was (and still is) completely exhausted. All he wanted to do was snuggle on the couch with Puppy and his new pal Stitch.

The Three-Legged Dog Crawl with a Bonus Bear Crawl

2009-12-11T06:21:00.000-05:00

I promised in an earlier post that I would try to get a video of Amelie doing what we call "The Three-Legged Dog Crawl" (If you have a better name for it, please suggest it in the comments.) Since I first blogged about it, her distance has increased and it seems to be the preferred method of travel for her.

Here you can see my lovely model posing so we can get a good glimpse of her technique. Being the wonderful father that I am, I did not notice that she was wearing only one sock until I started taking pictures.

And here is an action shot of the crawl.

This is the best video I have been able to get. As seems to typically happen, she does her best when I can't find the camera. And yes, I was using the laptop as bait to get her to crawl. I think she forgot I was there, so she pops right back when I say something.

Of course, then there is this phenomenon, which seemed rather bear-like. She suddenly popped up on both feet, with hands on the ground. She just stood there while I had the camera on. But as soon as I turned it off, she...walked? ambled?...over to Kate like this. So far, it was a one time experiment, but still rather amusing.

Today They Are Babies, Tomorrow They Are...

2009-12-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

Music Librarians?

(Don't worry, unlike the issue of Notes the scissors on the counter are well out of her reach.)

First Snow

2009-12-09T13:16:00.001-05:00

Hmm, probably should put up the deck furniture.

And the bubbles.

Dancing Queen

2009-12-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

The alternate title for this post is "Like Brother, Like Sister." Jack was a crazy little dancer from very early on, and it looks like Amelie is going to be the same way.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Jack favorite song of the moment is "Burning Love," and we listen to it several times a day. As soon as Amelie hears it, she starts shaking her butt. And head.

Okay, I know this is basically the same thing as the previous video, but the pink pajamas make it even better.

Okay, one more dancing video. In this one, Amelie shows why she prefers shaking her head side to side to "head-banging."

Physical Developmental Updates

2009-12-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

I haven't bragg...uh, related to the world what new and exciting developments Amelie has learned in quite awhile.

She is not crawling, yet. (Jack took awhile, too.) She has even given up on army crawling. But she does get around through a mixture of rolling and scooting on her butt.

Okay, she also does what we (inappropriately) have termed "The Three-Legged Dog Crawl." It's hard to describe (I'll attempt a video this week), but she gets up on her hands, keeps her right knee (always the right) on the floor and then kind of stands on the left foot. And moves. And it pretty much looks like a three-legged dog limping across the floor. She doesn't go very far, but far enough that she gets to whatever toy she wants.

She also cannot seem to pull herself up, yet. But once she is up (with our help), she's cruising. And walking holding on to our fingers. And standing without holding on to anyone or anything for up to twenty-thirty seconds at a time. The cart seems to be coming before the horse a bit, but I guess it will all even out eventually, right?

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T22:42:00.001-05:00

Our usual Thanksgiving day includes making a large elaborate meal and inviting over friends and/or family for the day. This year we decided we needed a quiet day to ourselves as our lives are completely out of control at the moment. (Sorry, none of the sordid details are blogable yet. Blogging may become sporadic for, oh, a few months, though.)

THE PLAN:

Stay home.

Watch movies all day.

Make Quesadillas for lunch.

Order Chinese/Vietnamese for dinner.

WHAT ACTUALLY OCCURRED:

Stayed home.

Watched two Disney movies.

Made Quesadillas for lunch

Kate and Jack napped most of the afternoon.

Called to order Chinese...and they were closed.

Called another Chinese restaurant. And they were closed.

Called O'Charley's, Culver's, and Lone Star. All closed.

Became desperate and called CrApplebee's, which advertised they were open. "I'm sorry sir, our plumbing is broken and we are not serving food this evening. You have a nice holiday, now!"

Kate suggested McDonald's.

Decided we were not that desperate.

Rummaged in the pantry and freezer and found some Trader Joe's goodies.

Drank wine.

Decided that next year, if we do this again we will call a day ahead to ensure a restaurant is open.

Still, it was a fun day with the family.

*********************************************************************

Okay, so we did head down to Kate's family for a real Thanksgiving on Saturday.

I failed miserably at taking pictures, so this is the best there is. (Jack is not in any pictures as he was too busy running with this cousins.)

The cousins and their matching hair-dos

Deer in headlights

I'm not sure what was slipped into Amelie's formula that made her decide to dance on the tables...

500th Post!

2009-12-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

Seems like we should celebrate!

Meh, I'll just share some of my favorite outtakes from our little Christmas card photo shoot.

The final product had to be seriously cropped because Homer would not stay out of the picture. 'Though most weren't quite this bad.

Most just had him lurking in the background.

Jack kept turning around and playing with his train and Amelie kept playing with ornaments, so we thought if we gave them ornaments to hold...or not.

Maybe it would be cute if Jack gives her a kiss...

Of course, that would require her to hold still for it.

And he would have to wipe off the girl cooties.

"Are we done? Can we go eat and watch the Bug Movie (A Bug's Life) now?"

Their typical facial expressions.

The Baby Moonwalk

2009-11-27T08:05:00.001-05:00

Amelie can't quite crawl, yet. She has even more issues on the slick floors. I'm a little disappointed that she does not go very far for the camera.

And with a bonus "So big!" thrown in.

Jack's "Kitty Bed"

2009-11-26T12:00:00.002-05:00

Jack stuffs a clothes hamper with blankets and pillows, climbs in, and calls it his "kitty bed." He sets it up next to a bunch of toys so he can hang out in it and play.

Love the Poses

2009-11-25T21:54:00.002-05:00

This pictures reminds me of an old lady going, "Heh? Speak up sonny, can't hear ya!"

Such a little diva.

The Spiteful Cat

2009-11-25T11:51:00.002-05:00

Jack loves Clara.

Clara can't stand Jack and will not go anywhere near him.

Kate, who does not get along with Clara either, claims that Clara's attitude toward Amelie is completely spite driven.

Clara loves Amelie. (Well, maybe "love" is too strong a word. She tolerates her, which compared to how the cat acts toward Kate and Jack is pretty amazing.)

"Hash Brown" ('Tis the Season for Giving)

2009-11-20T13:56:00.005-05:00

With the Holidays approaching we have started teaching Jack about the idea of Charity. He has been helping me get some things together to take to the Salvation Army and we give him coins to give to the bell ringers at Kroger.

Jack: Mommy, why are we giving them piggy banks?

K: Some Mommies and Daddies don't have money to buy their little boys and girls coats and mittens for the winter. We give money so they can stay warm and buy food.

J: (Very concerned) We have monies, right?

K: Yes.

J: Good, I need a coat and mittens.

Every year at Kate's hospital, they set up a "store" for select families that cannot afford Christmas gifts. (Okay, we don't know for sure how the store concept works.) Hospital employees either donate money for clothing and toys to be purchased or they can purchase items for a specific-aged child. Kate thought it would be good for Jack to pick something out, so she signed up for us to buy a toy for a three-year old boy. Over breakfast, we explained to him that after our shopping was done, we were going to buy a present for this little boy.

K: Would you like to help pick out a toy for a little boy who is three?

J: Who is he?

K: A little boy in Detroit whose Mommy and Daddy do not have enough money for Christmas presents.

Me: (Pleasedon'taskaboutSantapleasedon'taskaboutSantapleasedon'taskaboutSanta)

J: Just like the kids with no mittens?

K: Yes.

J: (Even more concerned than with the bells ringers...)You have money for presents, right?!?

Me: Yes.

J: Okay, let's buy him a toy...What's his name?

K: We don't know his name, it's just a boy your age.

J: But he has to have a name!

Me: I'm sure he does, but we don't know what it is.

J: (Looking at his breakfast) I think his name is Hash Brown.

Me: I'm pretty sure his name is not Hash Brown.

J: Yes it is. Let's go to Target so we can buy a toy for little boy Hash Brown.

That afternoon, after leaving the mall and on our way to Target:

Jack: Are we going home, now?

K: No, we have to go to Target to buy a toy.

Jack: Oh! We have to buy a toy for Hash Brown!

Jack and His (Dead) Leaves

2009-11-19T10:29:00.002-05:00

Jack loves picking and buying flowers for Kate. Now that it is fall, he has decided dead leaves are just as good as flowers. Every time he is outside, even just coming from or going to the car, he has to gather some off the ground. Of course, they have to immediately go into water when he brings them indoors.

After a bike ride the other day in which he gathered quite a bounty, he decided the leaves would make a good centerpiece for our kitchen table. He was quite proud and insisted Kate take pictures.

Of course, being the mean Daddy that I am, after a week I threw them away while he was at school.

Amelie's Nine Month Stats

2009-11-19T10:15:00.003-05:00

Amelie had her nine-month check up yesterday, so I thought I would post her "stats" since people seem to like hearing them.

Weight--20lb, 40z. (75th percentile)

Height-- (75th percentile)

Head--All I remember is that she is at the 90th percentile. Mommy's girl indeed. Ahem.

It has been a fast nine months.

Jack Vs Stir-Fry

2009-11-18T08:46:00.003-05:00

One of Jack's favorite meals is what he calls simply "Chicken and Rice." The boy absolutely loves Chinese-inspired food. (I hesitate to call what I cook actual Chinese.)

I happened to have the camera handy the other night for the eating of the baby corn.

Of course, he eats it just like corn on the cob. (Think Tom Hanks in Big.)

We thought we would introduce him to chopsticks to see how he did.

He didn't do too bad for his first try.

Brother and Sister

2009-11-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

A Morning Greeting

2009-11-08T21:52:00.000-05:00

The "Excited Face"

2009-11-06T17:33:00.003-05:00

When Amelie gets excited, or when she sees something she wants, she opens her mouth wide, starts wiggling her fingers, and kicks her feet.

Here you can see the excitement building...

The "Excited Face."

Why was she so excited this time?

(Every time she opens her mouth is when Jack takes a bite.)

Vogue

2009-11-05T07:51:00.002-05:00

(I didn't go anywhere near this hair, by the way. I would say blame Kate, but I'm pretty sure this is just morning hair.)

When a Bald Daddy Has to Do His Little Girl's Hair

2009-11-04T22:29:00.004-05:00

Jack has a buzz cut. I have shaved my head for three years. Prior to that, I kept it cut very short for several years. It has been over ten years since I have had need to brush hair, let alone do anything that has required coiffure dexterity. (Or anytime in my life, for that matter.)

And now I have a little girl.

With lots of hair.

That I get ready most mornings.

With no Mommy to supervise.

Oh, dear.

So far, my styling repertory consists of sticking a barrette in her hair and the infamous waterfall/whale tale. The latter of which is much more effective for Amelie's current hair length. Eventually, I get it looking okay (as evidenced, I hope, by pictures that have appeared here on the blog), but normally the first attempt (or three) look like this.

Yes, there is a rubber band in there. Or scrunchy or whatever it's called.

Regardless of the bad hair, Amelie can almost pull herself up to a standing position...