Brothers

A few months ago when I wrote about Ez and Declan's relationship, Declan was just on the verge of walking but not quite there yet. He was still mobile enough to cause Ez quite a bit of grief, but walking opened up lots more doors. Toy borrowing (or stealing, depending on who you ask), following Ez's every move, fighting back, and sometimes even instigating a shoving match or two. As you can probably imagine, our roles as parents closely resemble refereeing. "Don't push your brother" "let him play with a toy too" and "Declan don't, just don't!" Make up about 80% of my vocabulary these days, with a few "which one of you smells?" sprinkled in for good measure. There is absolutely no such thing as peace and quiet at this stage of our lives. There's either loud destruction going on, or even scarier: quiet mass destruction. Oh, and there's naptime. Sweet, sweet naptime.

Obviously there are daily moments when each and every one of us are ready to pull our hair out. But then there are the other moments, the ones that make my heart so full and make me think that maybe, just maybe, we'll all survive this crazy toddler phase after all. Like when they're standing side by side in front of the window, each of them with a monster truck in hand, rolling them back and forth while making "vroom vroom" sounds. Or during rousing games of tag as they make lap after lap around the couch, laughing and screaming and tripping over the mine field of toys that is our living room. When we go to the playground or Ez's soccer practice and Declan spends a few moments staring open mouthed and adoringly at his big bro before jumping right in to do exactly what Ez is doing. The times when Declan wanders around the house lost and forlorn because his big brother isn't there, and then as soon as Ez reappears his face lights up and he gives a delighted little giggle like his world is complete again. And I especially love the times that Ez's innate big brother protectiveness comes into play and he tries to cheer up or help his crying baby brother, saying "don't cry Dec Dec." And Declan is just as protective of his big brother. There have been times when Ez is getting in trouble, usually for something he's done to Declan, and Declan will walk up to whichever one of us is disciplining Ez, stare us down, and hit us. Apparently he's got his brother's back, even if his brother did just steal his toys and push him down. I hope it continues like that forever, and that they are each other's biggest supporters when it most counts.

Even though their communication is lacking, they already have inside jokes and walk around the house making weird noises and faces at each other then cracking up. They both drop everything to do the hotdog dance when it comes on. They walk around the playground like they own the place. It makes me so happy to know that they have built in partners in crime for life.

They've each learned so much from the other. Declan has learned all about cars and vehicle sounds, plus soccer and playground antics from Ez. Ez has learned to be more assertive and a little more compassionate in his role as big brother. And they've taught us quite a bit too, like to embrace life's never ending messiness, and to get over grievances quickly and go right back to being bffs. Every day with them is an adventure and we feel so blessed to have these loud, rambunctious, loving, and snuggly little explorers in our lives.

Ez's Birthday Week, Day 4

You didn't think I was done with the Disney posts, did you? I'm just getting to the good stuff! On day 4 of our Disney trip, Ez officially turned into a threenager. Like seriously, from two to teenager overnight. His birthday fell on Friday the 13th this year. He was the last to wake up (see what I mean? Mini teenager.) and I made sure his present was sitting on the hotel bed ready to greet him as soon as he opened his eyes. Eventually we couldn't take the suspense anymore and woke him up. His groggy little eyes were barely open before he was tearing the wrapping paper off his present and exclaiming "WOW!" over and over because he got an oversized Monster Truck. He also got a toy airplane, but the Monster Truck was definitely the star of the show. He insisted on bringing them both to Disneyland with us, which took up lots of valuable stroller space, but the birthday boy gets what the birthday boy wants. 

The four of us kicked off our Disney day with breakfast at Ez's favorite spot: Flo's Cafe. He got to watch Disney Cars while eating waffles. It really doesn't get any better than that. We also managed to meet Red. This is at least our fourth time meeting Red, but Ez was definitely the most excited this time. In the past he's always been shy with the characters, but this trip he absolutely loved seeing all his favorites. In fact, earlier this week he was watching Cars and he immediately told us, "It's Radiator Springs! I was there. At Disneyland." Clearly this trip made an impression on him ;)

After breakfast in Cars Land we headed over to Disneyland where we tried to get some fast passes and had just enough time for Joe and Ez to take a spin on the teacups before we met up with the grandparents and uncles for a special birthday lunch. My mom is a cupcake connoisseur and kindly took note that the best birthday cupcakes in the park are at Pooh's Corner, because those are the only ones with sprinkles. We picked up four of those, and Joe got a birthday candle and lighter for us earlier in the day, so we were all set for a little birthday celebration. We chose Orleans Cafe, which I don't think I've ever eaten at before. Their shrimp po boy was delicious, and Ez ate a mountain of fruit and some mac & cheese. Then we brought out the cupcakes and he got so excited, sitting up on his knees on the chair and bouncing up and down as we lit the candle and sang Happy Birthday. It took him four or five tries to blow the candle out, but unlike last year, when I accidentally stole his thunder and blew his candle out for him, he did it all on his own and was so proud of himself. 

Joe and I left the kiddos with the grandparents after lunch and headed over to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain (now Hyperspace Mountain), and Star Tours where we happened to run into my brother. Afterward we got fast passes for Indiana Jones then headed over to Disney California. We wanted to ride California Screamin', but it was closed, and the Toy Story Mania line was long. My parents got us fast passes for Cars early in the day, so we rode that. It was Joe's first time and his impression was basically the same as mine: it's a good ride, but it's sad that the height limit is 40 inches and Ez can't ride it yet. He would love it so much. It kind of feels like we're betraying him to go on it without him. After that we wound up on the Little Mermaid, since it only had a five minute wait, then we took a walk through the play area across from Big Bear Rapids. I'd never been there before and didn't even know it existed, but it's a pretty cool little area with replica Redwood trees, rope ladders and bridges, and tire swings. Eventually we met up with the grandparents so they could go on some rides while we took Ez and Declan to cool off in the water area in Bugs Land. After that we went took them to the play area across from Big Bear Rapids where they both had so much fun running around. We probably would've stayed for a long time because they loved it so much, but they close early, like around 6ish. Then we found a quiet area next to the plane by Soaring Over California and let them run off some energy before we headed back to Disneyland to pass them off to the grandparents so we could use our Indiana Jones fast passes. They were so worn out by that time that the grandparents wound up taking them home, bathing them, and putting them to bed for us. Thanks Gangy and Grampa!

Joe and I got ourselves a cinnamon roll, happened to find some Haunted Mansion fast passes, and sat around resting our feet and waiting for our fast pass time. We happened to get out of the Haunted Mansion just as the fireworks were going off, so we watched those and then headed back to the hotel. By the end of the day we had walked 35,000 steps, or over 17 miles! 

Up next: Birthday brunch with Daisy and Stitch, followed by a long drive home. 

Day 1

Days 2 & 3

May by the Numbers

I've been attempting the daunting task of backing up and organizing the thousands of pictures on my phone and I honestly don't know how we crammed as many activities as we did into May. It's been awhile since I've done a month by the numbers post, but I think I need to write it all down just to wrap my head around all the places we've been and all the ground we've covered in the past 31 days. So, let's start off with that time we spent...

13 hours in a car for...
5 days at Disney, where we spent approximately...
20 hours watching Cars drive by Flo's Cafe and...
20 more hours in the Bugs Land water playground where Declan managed to catch...
0 drops of water, despite his persistence and determination. All for...
1 special birthday boy who somehow got...
3 birthday treats, candles and all, and managed to mobilize...
2 uncles on...
2 separate flights to spend his birthday with him. Added bonus, he acquired...
5 new monster trucks (maybe more, honestly I've lost count)

We also spent plenty of time outdoors:
2 beach trips,
2 Redwood hikes,
1 day at the zoo,
1 new to us park explored, and...
5 walks to the local Motorcycle dealership

Thanks to the grandparents we even managed:
3 kid-free dates - a new monthly record!

Other randoms:
3,167 photos and videos taken
2 wisdom teeth removed
0 toddlers potty trained
35,786 times we said "don't push your brother"
31 readings of Go Dog Go!
16 families Declan has tried to abandon us for
580,345 cheerios vacuumed off the floor
150 apples consumed by Ez
150 apple cores consumed by Declan

I think that about covers it! June is going to be a pretty exciting month too, with a certain someone's first birthday creeping up on us. I hope you all had an equally eventful, family-filled May!

Memorial Day Weekend

Our weekend got off to a great start with a midday bowling and lunch date while the kids hung out at my parents' house. We were planning on seeing a movie but the timing didn't work out so we opted for bowling instead, which I think turned out to be more fun, especially since I won ;) Joe made me promise to point out that he beat me by a lot at arcade basketball afterwards though. 

On Sunday we went for a hike through the redwoods. I can't get enough of living so close to such a beautiful spot and we wind up going back there a couple times a month. This is the first time we made it all the way up to the lookout spot though, which took a lot of effort between pushing the stroller and alternating carrying one or sometimes both kids, or half dragging Ez up the hills when he insisted on walking. I'm proud of how far he managed to walk on his own, even if he did collapse in a heap at one point. Eventually we made it to the top though, and the view was so worth it. It was so green and you could see all the way to the ocean.

Oh, and we saw baby deer! Two of them. They were leaping through the grass following their mama and it was the cutest thing ever:

Unfortunately on Memorial Day Ez had a fever so we laid low and watched the Golden State Warriors win game 7 against the Thunder. 

Hope you all had a great, family-filled weekend!

Mother's Day in Santa Cruz

With all our Disney adventures and other life happenings, blogging took a backseat for awhile, but I didn't want Mother's Day to slip through the cracks. We started the day with my favorite breakfast: donuts, followed by exploring Santa Cruz. I hadn't been there for many many years, and Joe, Ez, and Declan had never been there. We ate fried food on the boardwalk and then walked down to a little inlet away from the ocean that was nice and calm and shallow. There were sea lions across the way, and plenty of seashells for collecting and tossing into the water. Ez was in heaven. He kept running up to the water's edge then running away screaming while fake falling. Lately he's been in a phase where he loves to roll around in the dirt and dig holes, which reminds me a lot of a puppy. The longer I do this boy mom thing the more I realize that there are a lot of puppy parallels. I mean that in the nicest way, of course ;) Declan, on the other hand, was very conflicted on whether or not he liked the water. Anytime he got the least bit wet he'd scream bloody murder, so we'd carry him away from the water. But then he'd promptly crawl right back to the water and repeat the whole cycle. Apparently he loves to hate the ocean? He also loves to hate eating sand. Silly boy.

Happy 11 Months Declan!

Dear Declan,

We are rapidly approaching your birthday month and it's got my mind swirling. I look back at pictures from a year ago and you were still nestled safely in my belly, which seems like such a short while ago. But you've already accomplished so much in eleven short months that in some ways it's hard to believe you've been with us less than a year. You've been walking for two - yes, two - months. You're extremely talented at mimicking sounds and you communicate pretty well for such a young baby. Your personality is about ten times too big for your body and you like to think that you're the alpha dog wherever you go, no matter that everyone else is 3-4 times bigger than you. You're my little Napoleon conqueror. Anything off limits immediately has to be broken into and ransacked. We may have thought we had this parenting thing down by the time you were born, but you quickly proved that you're your own person and our old tricks weren't gonna work on you. We had to quadruple our child proofing efforts this time around. You're a wanderer that would gladly follow another family home if we aren't a step behind you at all times. You're quick to laugh, quick to scream, quick to cry loud, sobbing, dramatic tears, and then you go right back to laughing. You give the distinct impression that even you don't know what you have in store for us, but it's most likely a whole lotta trouble. 

Bedtime is your nemesis and you fight a good battle against sleep every single night. Several times a night even. The toy battles have begun in earnest with your brother and even though he's got you beat in size you're wiley and you're loud so I think you guys are pretty evenly matched. Anytime anyone walks upstairs without you your whole world ends. Ez always makes sure to tell you, "don't worry Deckles, we'll be right back," which you don't find the least bit comforting. But as soon as we walk back down the stairs your face lights right up and you give us the warmest welcome as if we've been gone weeks. You have a habit of loudly and angrily chattering at us whenever your grievances aren't being answered fast enough. It makes me a little scared to know what you're going to say when you know real words.

On the flip side, nothing makes you happier than the sound of bath water running. You run right to the tub and bang on the side while screaming excitedly. You love following your brother around and doing whatever he does. I've even caught you trying to do his puzzles and you're actually pretty good at them. You skipped right over baby toys and went straight to cars, which you now drive through the air while making vroom vroom sounds. Every Saturday at your brother's soccer practice you swipe a ball for yourself and kick it all over the field. It's crazy to think you weren't even walking when Ez first started soccer and now you're nearly as good as the three year olds at kicking a ball around. Seriously. I know I'm a little biased, but all the other parents comment on it too. You also love shooting baskets in our little kitchen basketball court. Anytime daddy picks the ball up you run right over all giddy with excitement. 

As far as food goes, you demand samples from anything anyone else eats, but you're still a fan of chewing the food to mush and spitting it back out. Cheerios, yogurt, avocado on tortilla, and plum organics pouches are your favorites. Whatever you're eating seems to be working though because you're now wearing size 12 months. 

Some of my favorite current traits are when you snort at me like an angry little bull, walk around with one arm straight in front of you like Frankenstein, squeal every time someone gets points on family feud, clap for yourself, and you give us the biggest smile right before you do something mischievous, like rolling up one of my magazines and chewing on it like a bad little puppy. My least favorite quirk is your habit to bite, especially my toes and legs. 

Everyday with you is an adventure and your daddy, brother, and I are so happy to be along on this ride with you. We love you more than you'll ever know.

Disney Birthday Week, Days 2 & 3

On Day 2 Ez got his first birthday treat of the week, a Mickey shaped beignet with a candle and a giant glob of whip cream. Last year he was not at all a fan of blowing out candles. He didn't really understand the concept and they seemed to scare him a little. This year he knew exactly what to do and LOVED it. It took a few tries but he blew the candle out all on his own. 

All through lunch Ez was demanding to go see the Disney Cars, so that's where we went as soon as we were done eating. Grampa and I decided watching the cars drive by was the perfect time for a little happy hour, so we sat there with our beer and margarita relaxing in the shade while Ez raced his own toy cars every time the real cars drove by. Win/win for everyone involved.

Afterward it was pretty warm so we went to the kid's water area in Bugs Land. At first Declan wanted absolutely nothing to do with the water. He loves bath time but he's not a fan of getting his hair wet, so every time the drops hit his head he'd do this deep heaving sob and run over to bury his face in my leg. But then he saw Ez get right in the water, laughing and having a great time, so he had to get in there too, right next to brother, and after that they both had the best time.

After many other rounds of kids had come and gone and my kids were still in there, teeth chattering, we decided to drag them away, get them changed, and take a ride on Flik's Flyers. That's one of Ez's favorite rides, but Declan merely tolerated it with a very serious expression the entire time. 

My brother arrived afterwards, and he and I did the single rider line for Cars ride.  Then I left the kiddos with the grandparents and went to downtown Disney for drinks with friends. I hadn't seen them since we moved in August so it was really nice to catch up, and meet my friend's adorable baby boy. We even managed to catch the fireworks from in front of the Lego store.

The next day we ate breakfast at the Mexican restaurant in Frontier Land and then my brother and I hit a bunch of rides while my parents took Ez and Declan to meet the Winnie the Pooh characters, a yearly tradition, followed by, what else? More Disney Cars, of course. My brother and I did Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, California Screamin', Tower of Terror, Soaring Over California, and Splash Mountain, where I sat in the front and got completely soaked. 

After that we met back up with everyone else so the grandparents could ride some rides while I took the kids to the Bugs Land water area. This time Declan was immediately enthralled with the water and spent a long time trying to catch the water that kept mysteriously slipping right through his fingers. He was cracking everyone in the area up because he was so determined and frustrated by the water he just couldn't catch. Once again we stayed till their teeth were chattering and then the grandparents took over again so I could go meetup with Joe who had to drive down separately because of work. 

We grabbed dinner together and then collected our sleeping kiddos from the grandparents and called it a night. 

Coming up next is Ez's actual birthday (Friday the 13th!) followed by his birthday brunch on Saturday. Thanks for following along, and if you're curious you can find Day 1 here.