Disneyland!!

Brian's first picture inside Disneyland

Brian really enjoyed his first trip to Disneyland :o)

Brian and I on the carousel in California Adventure

Brian's first time swimming

The water was too cold and it was nighttime, so he didn't last long in the water

Our family at California Adventure

Our family at Disneyland (the sun was shining right at us! I'm suprised Brian wasn't crying in this picture- I couldn't open my eyes)

The view from our living room at the beach house on Sunset Beach

On the Hollywood Walk of Fame - Tom Hanks

Ben and Chuck Norris

The Kodak Theater where the Oscars are presented

Ben and Brian at the Disney soda fountain/ice cream shop

Brian and I in at the Kodak Theater in front of the Hollywood sign on the hill

Star Wars characters footprints outside of the Grohmen's Chinese Theater

Random people dressed up on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Sunset in California

We had a great time down in California last week. We went to Disneyland and California Adventure the first 3 days we were there. It was really warm and sunny and tons of people were there (although they were saying they had about 30,000 less people than normal there- it sure didn't seem like it!). Brian liked all the rides we took him on. He didn't cry or get scared by Pirates of the Carribean like I thought he might. He slept a lot and we tried to keep him out of the sun as much as possible, so we don't have a ton of pictures at the park, at least not on our camera. We took him swimming for his first time at the hotel, but we went at night when it was colder, so he didn't like it much and only lasted a minute or so in the water. We stayed at a gorgeous beach house on Sunset Beach for the last part of the week. It was great waking up and seeing the ocean and beach right outside the window. We spent a day in Hollywood seeing the Walk of Fame and foot/hand prints in front of the Grohmen's Chinese Theater and Kodak Theater. We also drove up to Hollywood Hills to see some of the fance houses, but couldn't find our way to the really big ones. It was still fun to finally see Hollywood. Brian did pretty well on the flight down and back. Overall it was a great trip! Thanks Mom and Dad for inviting us!!

Random February pics

Just some random pics from the past few weeks. The last one is a classic "picture face" by Brian. Some of the others are Brian playing in just a diaper- he loves to have his clothes taken off and still loves to be on his changing table and get his diaper changed and clothes changed. He is getting better at sitting all by himself without falling over. We also put his whale bathtub in our bathtub for the first time without the exta piece inside so he could sit up all by himself and splash in the bathtub w/out soaking our kitchen (I usually would bathe him in the whale bathtub on top of our kitchen sink, but he's splashing so much more now!). I thought he'd love splashing in our bathtub, but he mostly held on to his whale tub for dear life, ha ha. He still liked taking a bath, but he wasn't so sure about sitting up in it by himself, he was pretty timid. Brian is 7 months old today! We'll take his shoe picture later tonight and I'll do a posting of it tomorrow, probably. Ben weighed him yesterday and he's about 19lbs. 6oz! We had to go buy him a new carseat and stroller this past weekend because he can only be in his infant car seat until 20lbs, so he's almost out of it. He is getting big so fast!!

Not a performer

No matter how happy and smiley Brian is, the minute I take out the camera and point it at him, these are the faces I get. Unless he doesn't notice the camera, then I can get smiles out of him. Hopefully he learns how to smile for the camera soon! We promise- he is a happy baby!

Getting to know you

This is a survey that my sister-in-law posted on her blog and wanted to see some results from, so here goes:

1. What are some things you usually do everyday?: Wake up to feed Brian, brush my teeth, have breakfast, chat with Ben online while he's at work (it's ok, he works on his computer all day) :o), play with Brian, change diapers, give Brian a bath, feed Brian, walk the mall or go on the tredmill, clean, do the dishes, laundry, feed Brian some more, shower, help Ben fix dinner, play Peggle with Ben, and sleep.

2. What would be your dream vacation?: We get to go to California next Saturday and Disneyland- yay! But, I would love to go to Hawaii again, or Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, somewhere out of the country. Somewhere sunny, but not too hot, close to the ocean or beach.

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?: Well, actually, Ben does most of the cooking here, but I help out and am learning. On my own, if we have all the ingredients, I like to make chicken enchilada casserole and salad. I like to bake things, but we don't do that much anymore since we're eating healthier and trying to lose weight.

4. What should you be doing more of?: Exercising. I know it'll help the weight loss go quicker, but it's really hard to be motivated to do it, especially when I'm home with Brian alone- when he's asleep I feel like doing other things and when he's awake I know I should be playing with him, or he seems to always get fussy when I try to exercise, so it doesn't work so well.

5. Any OCD habits you can't kick?: Well, for those who know me, you know I have lots of OCD habits.... I have to have things clean and organized (I like to think I'm getting better about that, like right now, my DVD's are not alphabetized and it hasn't been bothering me, probably because they are in a case where you can't see them all the time). :o) I can't wear my pants twice, they have to go in the laundry if I wear them one time. I still like to have the computer monitors turned off, but I'm not as bad now that the computer is in our office and not out in the open all the time. I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them right now.

6. Have any unfinished projects?: Umm, not that I can think of. I'm usually pretty good about finishing something once I start it, because if it's not finished I get OCD about it and it bothers me, so I have to get it done. I still want to get our office more unpacked and organized but can't seem to bring myself to do it, mostly because I don't know where else we can put things in our new house.

7. What are your hobbies and interests?: Good question, and something I've been working on trying to find more of. These have changed over the years: I used to be really into movies/DVDs/CDs/Hollywood, etc, but I'm not so much anymore. My attention span seems to be shorter and I can't make it through a whole movie without getting bored or falling asleep, plus I just don't have the money to buy new DVDs and CDs all the time like I used to or go to the movies, and I'm not into the whole celebrity/Hollywood thing anymore. I like to clean and organize things, but I don't know if that counts as a hobby... maybe an interest. I love to spend time with my family and it doesn't really matter what we do. Sometimes I just like to go to the grocery store with Ben and Brian or cook dinner with Ben and that makes me happy. I love to do jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles/word searches. I like to read, but can't seem to find a new book I'm interested in- any ideas would be appreciated.

8. What are your 3 favorite movies and who are your favorite actors/actresses?: These have changed over the years, too. I used to LOVE Titanic, but not really so much anymore. My sister-in-law actually watched it while she was visiting our house over Christmas so I watched a bit with her and realized it'd been a few years since I had seen it. I love the movies A Beautiful Mind, I Am Sam, Forrest Gump, You've Got Mail, and The Sixth Sense (I can't seem to think of any others right now). More than movies I like to watch episodes of TV shows on DVD or Hulu, like Friends (though I haven't been into that as much anymore, either). I like watching The Biggest Loser, Lost, and Ellen. I like Tom Hanks (his older stuff mostly), Meg Ryan (her older stuff, too), Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Russell Crowe (in not rated R movies), and Meryl Streep. That's all I can think of now.

Spread the interview and pick a few friends: Well, I don't know who all looks at my blog, but the people who comment the most are Emily W., Emily H., Michelle, Lindsay, Aunt Judy, and Ginger. Whoever feels like doing it, feel free- I'd like to see your responses, and it gives you something to post if you can't think of anything else. :o)

Fun with cousins

I watched my nephew Benjamin and my niece Sally the other day. Benjamin got Brian to laugh so much by dancing around being goofy while he was sitting on the couch. It was so funny! Sally was there, too, holding a pillow and trying to put it on Brian- she's so helpful. ;o) Here's a video of it (hopefully it'll load.... I always have issues with blogger uploading videos):