Palm Springs

Talk about trying to squeeze in as many things as we can before the baby comes!! We just came back from Palm Springs today, and we had such a great time. First of all, the locals in Palm Springs are awesome. All the retired grandmas and grandpas are so~ sweet and nice. They were giving LB so much love!!

Here's a shot from our hotel room. We stayed at the Hyatt Suite Palm Springs in downtown. I would totally recommend this place for many reasons. Let me start off by saying, we booked our room through travelocity and got a pretty good deal, but I have to say right off the bat, there are definitely cheaper places in the area. However, I thought it was well worth the price because each room is a suite and it came with two breakfast buffets (which ended up being FANTASTIC). The suite also came with a roomy fridge which is very important when traveling with a kid, and the hotel staff was seriously amazing. Over the summer, when we went to San Diego, the first night was terrible b/c we all had to sleep in the same room and LB was not used to Daddy's fret train snoring. Let's just say for the remainder of the trip, he had to sleep in a nearby motel 6. We learned our lesson from that trip, this time LB and I slept so peacefully in the room while Daddy was comfortably snoring in the living room.

On Saturday morning, we headed to Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Honestly, when the hubs and I first saw it...we seriously wanted to back out. Both of us are scared of heights, and we couldn't even see where the tram ride would end b/c it was so high up. Obviously, we didn't back out, but we were really thinking about just going back in the car. LOL!! Anyways, that's what the tram looked like and boy, do they pack it in...you'll be surprised how many people fit inside one of those. Doesn't that cable car look scary?? Each time it passes these towers along the way, the cable car dips and swings back and forth. It's so freaky the first few times. The hubs and I were laughing, but it was the nervous kinda laughing...like huh huh huh!

So while you are riding the tram, the floor of the tram rotates to give you 360 degree views of Palm Springs...LB was very amused by the floor, which is why she is staring at the bottom. The tram moves pretty quickly up the mountain, which makes your ears pop throughout the ride. Knowing this was going to happen, I tried to buy some suckers from the gift shop, before the ride, but the only ones they had had real scorpions inside them...gross!! Next time, I would bring some dum dums or something for the tram ride. I could tell LB's ears were bothering her in the tram b/c she kept touching them. It wasn't a huge problem or anything...but just something to prepare for next time.

Here's LB touching snow for the first time. Thank goodness I found these gloves at Walmart for $1 because LB would not have touched the snow without them. It took her awhile to get comfortable with the snow, but once she got the courage to walk alone and play with it...she really got into it.

Next time we go, I hope we can go sledding. Since the snow was really icy, the rental shop was closed.

In order to get to the big open snow area, you have to walk down this trail really steep trail. Going downhill was not bad at all, but coming back up was H-E double hockey sticks!!!!! LB had us carry her down the trail and back up, and she still needed a gatorade break. Kill me! Yes, the hike up the trail was horrible...but we would definitely go back and do it all over again.

"thank you, mad scientista for the rec"

Baby Cara

Now that I'm 27 weeks, we decided to take 4D pictures of our new baby. Personally, I think 4D pictures all look alike. Nonetheless, it was still exciting to see our new baby yawning, kicking, and moving around in my tummy. We can't wait to meet her in person!!

Here is a picture of Cara sucking her thumb. She was also sucking her thumb in a previous ultrasound session a few months ago. It'll be interesting to see if she really is a thumb sucker when she comes out. LB never cared to suck her thumb or anything else. I wonder what Cara is going to be like...I guess I'll find out in 3 months!! I'm officially in my last trimester.

Disneyland: Day 2

These days, LB doesn't leave the house w/o grabbing a few personal items. Aside from her favorite "mimi" sleepsacs, the other items are random. It could be a book, toy, food, and in this case...a hat. She's had this hat forever and recently rediscovered it at the bottom of her toy bin. She kept taking the hat and pulling it over her face...like in the picture. She would even walk around Disneyland like this...she thought it was so funny to look through the holes. Everyone is line would initially stare, but eventually bust out laughing. She is such a ham!!

When we tell LB to smile for the camera, she makes this face. I don't even know how many pictures I have of her closing her eyes...ON PURPOSE!! Why LB...why??? The hubs was able to join us on the 2nd day of Disneyland but only for a few hours. He's so crazy...the hubs had an inventory audit for work the night before and didn't come home until 6 AM and then, woke up at 7:30 AM to watch LB since I had to go to my glucose test (which i passed..whoohooo!!). Then he drove us all (my mom included) to the Disney Grand Hotel to meet my sister and her family for breakfast. I was sure, he was going to go back to their hotel room and crash at this point...but nooooo, he said he was going to join us at the park for a few hours. What a trooper!! Because of him, I was really able to enjoy my time with LB at the park and even take some pictures with her.

Our one family picture...LB refused to look at the camera. It's always hit or miss w/ her.

Of course when daddy bought her a cherry slushy, she was all smiles. Unfortunately, that was his parting gift. The rest of the day, I was on my own again to tackle Disneyland by myself. It was great...seeing how much LB loved being there made it all worth it. Listening to her talking about minnie's house every day made it all worth it. Looking back at all the pictures made it all worth it. Disneyland, I can't wait to visit you again!! You truly are the happiest place on earth!!

Disneyland: Day 1

My sister and her family came down for MLK weekend. They were originally suppose to come down the week of Christmas, but had to cancel the trip last minute because my BIL had to go to Korea for business. What a blessing in disguise because if you remember correctly, it rained (no it poured) almost every day that week. Had they come in December, we would've been cooped up in the house with no where to go. This week was perfect for Disneyland. I've been wanting to take LB for the longest time, but never found the opportunity. The hubs had to work, so he wasn't able to join us...luckily my BIL adopted LB as his 3rd daughter for the day.

Here we are, putting sunblock on before we enter the park. My sister and I love to dress the girls in same outfits when we do big things like this. Their legoland outfits were so cute too!! My sister was lovin the so cal weather this past weekend...she kept saying she couldn't believe it was January.

As you can see, LB was terrified of the characters. Look at the fear in her eyes!!

All three girls got their face painted...this was LB's first time. She sat like a statue on my lap while her face was getting painted. She actually really enjoyed it. Makes me want to hire a face painter for her bday party.

Again, LB didn't want anything to do with the characters...even Minnie. She did love going into Minnie's house though...she won't stop talking about it. We didn't ride any rides the first day because my niece wanted to meet all the princesses and the lines were still about 30 minutes long for each ride. We figured, we'd save all the rides for our 2nd day since Disneyland was suppose to be a lot less crowded. LB's first trip to Disneyland was so fun!! In the future, I would definitely want to purchase a season pass. I can see myself coming here a lot with the kids.

Parenting and Teaching

*This post was taken from a blog I follow called Chronicles of a Babywise Mom. I know the topic of teaching children and parenting is very complex and can be discussed for hours upon hours, but on a very basic level, I can't help but agree with her on this one point.

Teaching Children: Whose Job Is It?

There seems to be a large portion of parents today who are under the impression that it is not their job to teach their children. It might even be a majority. Because I am relatively young, I don't know if this is a new mentality or one parents have held for hundreds of years. No matter when this mentality came along, it is here now.

And it is wrong.

It is wrong on so many levels. Morally. Academically. Domestically. Religiously. Even athletically. I can't think of a situation when the main person in charge of teaching a child should be anyone other than the parent/guardian. And yet people leave so much in the hands of others. They rely on Primary Sunday School to teach morals and religion. They rely on teachers to teach academics. They rely on coaches to teach the rules of the game. And they rely on...well...I guess no one to teach domestic skills.

The Read Aloud Handbook has some excellent arguments for why the parent is the number one teacher in the child's life--whether he/she likes it or not. As Trelease points out, "...a child spends 900 hours a year in school and 7,800 hours outside of school. Which teacher has the bigger influence? Where is more time available for change?" (page xv).

If you see your child needs help in any area, you are the one who can best make a change. Even if that is not an area you excel at.

My neighbor was a huge sports star growing up. He still loves to play sports and is quite athletic. Given the "standard" in today's society, I was surprised that he and his wife didn't put their children in organized sports until they were much older. I thought that given his value on sports, he would want his boys started as early as possible so they could build their skills. But do you know what he says? He says the best way for a boy to learn to play baseball is not by putting him in T-ball, but by playing catch with him in the backyard.

The Read Aloud Handbook is of course concerned with education, and specifically reading. It is full of interesting studies and statistics that prove home is where knowledge is taught, and especially a love of reading. "...research shows that the seeds of reading and school success are sown in the home, long before the child ever arrives at school" (page xv).

Your child's success depends on you. You are the key. And if you feel unequal to the task, the Read Aloud Handbook is full of inspiring stories, including stories of parents with little to no education producing children who grew to be Pulitzer Prize winners and doctors and more...all with nothing more than their involvement. These mothers couldn't even read themselves. It can be done.

I read this book for the first time shortly before Brayden had started Kindergarten. I loved it and thought it all sounded great.

Once Brayden was in Kindergarten and started going to school, I was able to witness first-hand the stark truth to what Trelease had to say. Of course I believed what he had said, but it never hits home fully until you witness it.

I help in Brayden's class several times a week. I am amazed at the difference in abilities among the children. There are literally children in the class that Kaitlyn (age 3) could out-perform. I sat in my ignorance wondering why. As I visited with Brayden's teacher, who has been teaching for a long time, she told me the difference is in parental involvement. She shared that she will call parents daily to tell them what to work on at home with their children and she sees no improvement in the child. She can tell who gets the mental stimulation at home and who doesn't.

I have never felt like what I did with my children at home was huge or earth shattering. In fact, I often feel like it is inadequate and not as much as I could do. I am sure most moms feel the same way. One day, a couple of years ago, I was visiting with one of my best friends who has a degree in Early Childhood Education (holla Lisa!).

I told her my kids were just naturally smart because I hadn't done much to teach them. She told me I was very wrong. She listed off the things I have done to teach them what they know. Honestly, they are all basic things I think every parent does, but sadly, they don't.

It really is simple. The Read Aloud Handbook can give you great information on how to accomplish this. But know that by simple I don't mean "10 minutes a day" or something. This is no gimmick. Parenting takes time. That is what it is. But it is not hard. It doesn't require a special degree. And no one can do it better than you can. You are the parent for a reason. So take courage and tap into those hours at home to teach your child!