sleep talking.

"I LIKE COOL STUFF!!" screams gideon, in a stone cold sleep.

so we went to disneyland.

before i forget all the little things...

we didn't try to go early and there was no rush to our day. we were staying at the park and knew we'd have time to do whatever we wanted to do. the "plan" was to go to the park when we got there and do the pool the next day. the pool with 3 water slides that we didn't tell the kids about. we didn't tell the kids about anything, actually.

we checked in and were surprised by an upgraded room. a one bedroom suite overlooking the pool and from which we could see fireworks at night. in the bedroom the headboard was one big thing over both beds with the park and fireworks done up in led lights set into wood. you could press a button to play "when you wish upon a star". amazing. we stared at the pool. and decided to skip the park that day. we spent the next few hours in the pool and hot tub. on the slides over and over. heaven. when we made it back to the room with our DVDs checked out from the lounge the kids crawled into bed and watched the 3 Caballeros until the boys passed out. Mia got her giggle on and we watched the fireworks and ate brownies Kate brought back from the lounge. And lemon bars. So. Many. Lemon bars. Then Fantasia and sleep. Followed by kids falling out of bed and switching beds and snoring and wiggling.

The "plan" to get up early and hit the park before general admission began was quickly abandoned. We slept in and barely made the check out time. We ate and lazed on over to the park around noon. Gideon hit a wall and we got a stroller right away. Mia was a champ. And ready to ride.

First we hit It's a Small World. Magic. Mia sang and we all sat in wonder (cheeeeeeesy!!) and enjoyed the AC. Then we made the mistake of doing the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Fail. After a longer than promised wait Gideon, 4.5, had the same reaction I had at that age. Terror. Screaming. Hated every second except the giant floating head of Blackbeard. And that ride? Is really long. Mia was clutching her chest and saying "I've been shot again!" And while funny...it wasn't helpful. Ha.

After the breakdown and escape from the pirate cave we found Kate and Elliott in the restaurant where they had claimed a booth and scoped the menu. Kate is amazing. A good reset button pusher.

We rode the flying rockets - even Gideon! There were no tears or freak outs. We went up and down without incident. Elliott fell asleep as soon as we were back in the strollers and on the go. We headed straight for Space Mountain with our Fast Passes. And that's when Gideon lost his shit. So tired, that one. He didn't want me to leave because he "wouldn't have anyone to snuggle!" Um..we weren't snuggling while he was in the stroller. Only so much a little man can take. But Kate is, as I've said, amazing. Mia and I ran off while Gideon stayed with Kate and her magical phone of wonder. Holy, did Mia ever have a good time. I couldn't hear or see her until the end of the ride and honestly? I have never seen her smile so big - her eyes so wide. Unfortunately you couldn't see her head at all in the photo. We ran back to Gideon and then Kate took her on one more time. Such goodness.

Off to Toon Town! Elliott was still asleep so Kate rested in Goofy's Garden and the kids and I explored all the houses. And then? Then we got to meet Mickey. Or as Gideon calls him, Mick. Oh man. That boy was so excited. You could feel it coming off of him. Mia tried not to be as excited as she was but she was in wonder, too. Pictures will be ordered. Mia and I rode the Roger Rabbit roller coaster and then we were all done. Hard to believe that's all we really did but that's it. We wandered and snacked and bought some souvenirs and were in the car (valet at the hotel) by 8:30. Easy Peasy Perfect.

Disney and cousins and swimming, oh my!

Suddenly it's mid-2011, Mia is about to start 2nd grade, Gideon is about to start kindergarten (1st of 2 years due to his birthday) and life is just...well it's changing fast around here so I figured it was time to start keeping track of it all in one place again.

The kids and I are visiting family in SoCal and are blessed with family that will take us in and share in the wealth that is the Disney Employee Discount. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in an amazing suite overlooking the pools. We watched the fireworks from the room (just the girls since the boys passed out while watching Fantasia. We gorged on desserts and snacks in the lounge. Good times.

We have been living it up in the pool, napping until late in the day, giggling and giggling.

Yesterday while Gideon was napping he rolled over and exclaimed "I like cool stuff!" and was out again. It's true, he does like cool stuff.

Saturday is the little cousin's birthday party (3! He will be 3!) and then sunday it's back to reality for a little bit. Still summer...not completely reality...but not vacation.

what's your name?

mama: hey, little dude, what's your full name?
little dude: gideon eugene GET OUT OF THAT BATHROOM!

swimming suits.

upon finding my kids in the backyard in buckets and random swimming suits...

mama: um...what's going on?
mia: gideon is wearing my swimming suit and he looks like a girl. and i fit into your suit.
mama: oh, ok.

she totally didn't fit in my suit. her bootie hung out the back. and yes, gideon looked like a girl.

snack

gideon: my penis is a snack.
mama: what was that, gideon?
gideon: i SAID... my penis. is. a snack! **sigh**
mama: oh, ok.

this time last year.

i had already been admitted and was hooked up to many an iv. the hospital was given strict instructions not to deliver this baby on valentines day. i wouldn't do that to my kid. it's in my file.

a year ago we were a family of three with no idea what kind of trouble we were in for. what kind of joy and heartache. the sleep deprivation like we'd never experienced. the joy of watching our kids love each other. the traveling nightmares. the giggles. on year. and our lives are completely different. no turning back.

the last time i updated this blog we didn't know about gideon's food allergies. we thought he was grumpy and moody and didn't sleep well and oh my god - what the hell?! and then we started feeding him solid foods. and things got worse. way worse. there was vomiting. and mucous stool. and no sleeping. and sadness. and skin reactions. turns out he's highly allergic to soy, dairy, peanuts. tree nuts, squash, tomatoes, bananas. and mildly allergic to a whole host of other things we're working on adding to his diet. it's been a hell of a ride. but sine we've eliminated these things from his (and my) diet we've met a whole new kid. sure, he still doesn't sleep - but he's HAPPY. and he's not afraid to eat anymore. every time i think about how he looked, how he cried, how he vomited in his sleep - it kills my heart a little. that it took us so long to figure it out. and yet, we figured it out and now he's just thriving.

siblings. i could not have hoped for a better relationship between my children. we braced ourselves for mia's jealousy once gideon became more active. was able to pull her hair and take toys from her (which he does). and so far it hasn't happened. she loves him so hard. takes all his abuse and only occasionally pushes him over. she hugs him and snuggles him and he pulls her hair and then tries to kiss her with his open mouth. they're friends. and i hope it lasts. they have each other forever. are more a part of each other than they are a part of either me or josh. i hope they learn that sooner than i did with my siblings.

so gideon at a year: he's still not walking but i think it's only because it takes too long to figure out right now. he's much faster on his hands and feet. hates having his diaper changed and needs restraining every. single. time. still no words. sounds, sure. but no words. no mama. all things are "da" except when he's all done eating - that's "a da". and come to think of it, he's traded in the signing for milk which changed to a clicking sound he used to tell me he wanted milk to saying "na" and signing "all done". so that's weird. and he's not sleeping through the night. at all. but whatever - we won't go there. he is getting into everything in the house that he's not supposed to, giggling as he bites my nipples, playing coy with every lady he meets, pretends to eat you as he goes to kisses you. because we eat him up so much. that's just the best. he has crazy wild hair that we won't be cutting anytime soon. he has 7 teeth.

i just. i can't imagine my life without him. but he's killing me slowly. he is, as mia says, TROUBLE. and we love it.

happy almost birthday, little man. happy valentine's day to 1/3 of my heart.

the best way to wake up.

now, we've not been getting much sleep for the past 6 months but it doesn't seem to matter once 6 (if we're lucky) rolls around. gideon stops chomping on the boob in a frantic manner and suddenly is awake. wide awake. with the giggles and the putting of his fingers in our mouths and rolling back and forth between us. and then we hear mia in the next room exclaiming, "hey guys, i made it light!" as she turns on her bug light. she's known how to do this for ages and ages but suddenly it's as though she's creating light from scratch and oh! what a miracle she's performing! and then there is family snuggling and giggling.

of course then we start in with the whining and the pooping and the rest of the things that will fill our day until nighttime. but those few minutes first thing in the morning? make the sleep deprivation worthwhile.