Tuesday Animal Kingdom / Magic Kingdom

The first park we went to today was Animal Kingdom, so of course, it rained. We ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, and then headed towards Expedition Everest. At Animal Kingdom, they have a central fast pass distribution center, where there are fast pass machines for all the rides in one place - we went ahead and got fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safari. Grant rode Expedition Everest and then Kali River Rapids, while Geoff and I walked through one of the jungle walks. Then I rode Expedition Everest, although I did not ride Kali River Rapids - heavy drenching did not sound appealing to me.

Next, we watched Finding Nemo, the musical, before heading over to the Safari. Our Safari ride was really cool - we saw lots of animals this time, including the lions!

After our safari, we did the other forest walk and then went to the new Tusker House buffet. Geoff was again Mr. fuss budget during dinner, but it was a buffet, so it was easier to alternate, plus it was really loud. They had some good food - an apple walnut blue cheese salad, cous cous, salmon... and really yummy desserts!!!!

After dinner we went to the Magic Kingdom - apparently it was crowded because they extended the closing from 10 to 11. We rode the Magic Carpets of Agrabah. We were going to watch the Hall of Presidents, but the next show was 17 minutes later, and I was able to feed Geoffrey in the lobby before the show started. We instead went out and watched Spectromagic and ate Dole Whips. Then we rode Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, and Mickey's Philharmagic before heading home!

We were pretty sleepy - even Mommy fell asleep on the drive home!

Monday - EPCOT

On Monday, we went to EPCOT. We started in The Land for lunch in the Sunshine food court. Then we rode Finding Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth.

We decided to take a break so we headed over to Pop Century for a swim in the pool.

Back at EPCOT, we headed to World Showcase and spent some time in Mexico, riding the revamped boat ride featuring the Three Cabelleros, and in Norway, eating pastries and riding Maelstrom.

For dinner, we made our way to the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort to eat at the California Grill. We timed it so that we could watch the Magic Kingdom's fireworks from the rooftop observation deck.

Dinner was delicious - blt flatbread, summer salad, filet of beef for both of us, and banana chocolate creme brulee and melting chocolate cake with cherry ice cream,

Tomorrow.... Animal Kingdom!

Sunday - Pop Check in and Disney Studios

Today, we checked in to the Pop Century Hotel. We're not actually staying there, but we did bring bathing suits over so that we can swim mid day if we want. We booked the hotel so that we could get the dining plan that comes with it.

After we checked in we had lunch at Pop Century, using our dining plan. I'm excited because they have lots of good things you can use for snack credits and those I am the most concerned about using up.

Then we swam for a little bit before heading over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. We ate dinner at Jiko - an Africa restaurant. We shared: an ostrich with yogurt curry sauce appetizer, a summer peach salad, spicy crusted tuna with a cucumber tomato salad, filet mignon with macaroni and cheese, a pistachio/chocolate creme brulee, and fresh doughnuts with coffee ice cream. Everything was included on the dining plan except for the appetizer and summer salad. SO DELICIOUS! Geoff was SOOOOO tired, but he just wanted to see everything that was going on! Which meant that he was pretty fussy. However, he did finally fall asleep when dessert was brought out. Luckily, he wasn't loud at all, just antsy, and it wasn't too busy at that point.

After dinner we went over to Disney Studios. Grant rode Tower of Terror while I fed Geoff at the baby care center (not my favorite - small and messy and smelly). He also tried to ride Midway Mania, but apparently they don't have single rider there anymore - boo! We met up and rode The Great Movie Ride and then saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

After we left, we went back to Animal Kingdom to share another counter service meal as part of our dining plan at there quick service location, Mara.

Saturday - Magic Kingdom

Yesterday we went to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived in the early afternoon. We parked at the Polynesian and took the monorail so that we wouldn't have to deal with the Ticket and Transportation Center.

Although there were some big storms moving through Florida, they mostly missed us, and we had a warm, mostly dry day!

First, we got fast passes for Peter Pan - which weren't available to use until 7 PM - almost 5 hours later! That is always one long line - Geoff hasn't even ridden it at home yet! We rode its a small world, which Geoff loved, of course, despite the fact that he was getting hungry. We then watched the Hall of Presidents, a wonderful, dark, air conditioned, 25 minute presentation. Perfect! Geoffrey happily ate while we happily enjoyed the new show (which now concludes with a brand new audio-animatronic Barack Obama.)

Next, we rode The Haunted Mansion, which has a cool new winding staircase room that reminds me a bit of Hogwarts. Next, we saw Donald Duck taking pictures so we swung in to get our photopass started.  Photopass is honestly one of the greatest recent inventions Disney came up with for park operations - that and fast pass.

We thought Country Bear Jamboree would be a nice break, which it was, although not as cool (AC) as we would have liked. Geoff fell asleep during the show and took a nice little nap. While he napped, Grant rode Splash Mountain. I was going to ride Big Thunder next, but the ride was closed for a bit. We got fast passes for each, though, for later.

Geoff was awake again and getting hungry, so we went to Pirates, our old stand by. The only problem is that WDW's Pirated is woefully short - 7 minutes - less then half the length of ours at home. So Geoff got a snack. We went to Cosmic Rays to share the BBQ combo plate for dinner (our meal plan doesn't come into effect until today). I tried to feed Geoff there, but he would not focus, so I gave up and took him to the baby care center. It sprinkled a little bit on the way there. At the baby care center, they have a very nice nursing room, with four rockers. It was dimly lit and peaceful, although Geoff was fascinated by the Victorian lamp next to us. However, he finally did hunker down and get a nice feeding. The rockers here form a sort of circle, so it was nice to be able to chat quietly with some of the other nursing mommies.

We met Grant outside and went back to use our fast passes - I rode Splash and Big Thunder, and then he rode Big Thunder. While he rode, Geoff and I found the perfect spot to watch Spectromagic, right in front of Country Bear. I probably should have kept Geoff in his stroller, but I didn't want to block anyone's view so I held him on my lap - it was pretty warm for that and he got kind of fussy between each float. But when the floats were in front of us, he was mesmerized. We also got attention from a lot of the characters (Smee, a butterfly) who came up to say hello to Geoff (he is a people-stopper - people always comment on how cute he is!).   We were also close to some cast members who knew people in the parade, which often caused parade characters to interact with them and each other in funny ways - for example, the two ostriches that had a bird-fight. So funny!

After the parade, we used our Peter Pan fastpass. While we were on the ride, we had one of those Florida 30 second down pours. We stayed dry on the ride. Our stroller, however, did not. Luckily, I had brought the carrier, so Geoff hung out on the carrier with me. We exited the ride at 10, which is when the fireworks were supposed to start - however due to the storm, they were delayed until about 10:15, which gave us a chance to get Geoff in the carrier, grab our stuff, and find a place to watch Wishes.

After the fireworks (Geoff did pretty well - they were loud and he got a bit fussy towards the end - not sure if the sound bothered him or my attempt to cover his ears did) we went to watch Mickey's Philharmagic. We talked to the cast members and they let us stay for two shows in a row (since it was not crowded at this point and it was the last two shows of there evening) so I could nurse Geoff during the shows. We left the park at about 11:15, taking the monorail back to our car at the Polynesian and heading home.

Fun fun fun!!!!

Friday, Aug. 14th - Blizzard Beach

Today, we went to Blizzard Beach. We got there around 1:30, hoping that the afternoon would bering thinning crowds but also that we'd get a few hours before any storms came in.

After finding a spot for our stuff, We hopped in the lazy river for two rotations - The river is long and each complete circuit takes about 30 minutes! They have these cool "baby" innertubs that don't have holes in the middle - just plastic - so little ones can't fall through. It was perfect for Geoffrey!

Next, I fed Geoffrey while Grant went and rode a slide. Then, while Geoff napped, we went to ride more slides. Blizzard Beach is nice because it was quite east to navigate his stroller to the bottom of the slides, so we could switch off watching him and riding. Some of the lines weren't very long, so we got to ride those slides a few times. Geoff didn't nap for very long, but he played happily in his stroller.

After a while, we headed to the wave pool. Here, Geoff wore a life jacket. He LOVED floating on his back in the waves, and he also loved when Grant or I bounced him up and down in the water! Then Geoff and I got out so I could feed him again, and then Grant and I did a few more slides. We finished off our wonderful day with a few more revolutions in the now - pretty much empty - lazy river!

We stayed until park close at 7:30. The crowds really thinned out, the weather was overcast and not too warm (78 when we left) and no lightning forcing us out of the water. We were VERY lucky and had a fantastic time!

Now, Geoff is napping, and Grant is picking up pizza for dinner. Yummy!

Dowtown Disney

Last night, we went to Downtown Disney. The pouring rain stopped, so a lot of people came back out - it was pretty crowded. First I went to guest relations to add the water parks fun and more option to our tickets. Then, we saw that on the stage by the World of Disney, there was going to be a Yo-Yo show starting in 5 minutes! That was fun to watch.

We had dinner at Fulton's Crab House - I got dungeness crab and Grant had mahi mahi. After dinner, we did some browsing in the stores and then headed for home. Geoff had another good sleeping night!

Aug. 12 and 13th

On Wednesday, we started our day with a quick swim in the pool. Then we ran some errands. We find a lady selling baby stuff on Craig's List, and bought an exersaucer and a play mat/gym for Geoff for $30. So glad we did as he has used them both lots already! We went to Costco, Verizon (my phone crapped out), and Target as well. Back at our town home, we rested (Geoff did not sleep well last night) and washed his new toys before heading out to dinner at Texas Road House - Way yummy!

Our plan for Thursday was to go to the community pool in the afternoon, and Downtown DIsney in the evening. We went to lunch at Five Brothers Burgers, which was really good, but sort of pricier then we expected. On the way back, this huge storm started up - we sat in our car in the driveway for 20 minutes while buckets poured down (you know we're not afraid of rain, and yes, the door was maybe 10 steps away - but it was POURING and the lightning was right over head!) Now we're inside,   listening to the storm. According to the weather channel, 4 inches fell in the last hour, as well as 11,000 lightning strikes. And it looks like it is going to be the worse right here over Kissimmee for the next 2 hours. I guess we'll put off our pool plans... Stay Tuned....

Orlando/Kissimmee - Arrival Tuesday, Aug. 11th

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, we left for Florida. We took Jet Blue out of Long Beach. On this flight, the plane seats are 2 and 2, and the flight was expensive, so we only bought 2 tickets, and took Geoffrey as a lap baby.

The first leg of the flight   (Long Beach to Austin) was pretty full. We gate checked Geoff's stroller and car seat, as well as one of our carry-on suitcases (the plans is small, so the larger carryons can't fit.)

I nursed Geoff on the way up to prevent ear problems, and he fell asleep. He slept for the first 45 minutes of the flight. When he woke up, he played quietly for awhile and then got a little antsy. Grant walked with him to the front of the plane and Geoff was happy up there for about 20 minutes. He fell asleep again, and slept and nursed for most of the descent into Austin.

Our plane only stopped in Austin for about 40 minutes, so those of us continuing on to Orlando were asked to stay on. Geoffrey was happy watching people get off and then laying on the seats while Grant stood and stretched. The flight to Orlando was only half full, with many empty rows in the back. Although we planned to move back, conveniently, the row directly across from us was empty, so Grant moved there and we each had our own row. Geoff followed a similar schedule of napping on the way up, playing in the air (this time, I walked him to the back, and he and I talked with a nice flight attendant), and then napping just before we landed. All in all, he did very well on the flights - no crying at all, and just a little bit of antsy fussing!

At the airport, Grant got the bags and rented the car while Geoff and I sat with the bags. We were directed to take any car in the midsize row... so we walked all the way down to the end and found a Kia Rondo - woohoo! Plenty of room!

We swung by the rental office and got our welcome packet and then came to our townhome. Our town home is at Windsor Hills in Kissimmee - this is the closest off-property place to WDW I've ever stayed! The town home is nice - it has a driveway right out front, steps from the door. On the first floor is a bedroom with a queen bed, a bathroom with a shower, a big kitchen, and a big family room. Beyond that is a screened in lanai with a small (12 x 12) pool that has one corner that is about 5 feet deep. Upstairs is a washer/drier, a bedroom with two twin beds and bathroom with a tub/shower combo, and a master bedroom with a king bed and bathrom with a shower/tub combo. The town home is awesome - we'd stay here again. The bedrooms are a little small, but otherwise, the place is great!

We went to walmart to get some needed supplies and then headed back for the night!

 

Last Night

Last night went so much better!!!

Yesterday, I made an extra concentrated effort to feed Geoffrey enough. When he stopped, I didn't give up (most of the time.) Also, he seemed tired a lot, and I took advantage of his more tired, down times, to feed him. Finally, I just settled in for an hour of feeding most times to combat his activity.

I fed him solids twice, sweet potatoes in the morning and apples in the afternoon. He still does not seem to like apples, even mixed with rice cereal. It is the only different reaction I've seen to feeding him any kind of food - he sticks out his tongue and lets it drip out - he doesn't even try to eat it. (Yet, the other day he grabbed a lemon out of my water, and as we waited and watched for what we were sure would be an amusing reaction, he just happily licked it / put it in his mouth, with no sour face at all!)

For his last feeding, we were going to try a bottle mixed with rice cereal (1 tablespoon of cereal to 8 ounces of milk). He was so hyper and so full of energy, he would not sit still for the bottle. He wasn't fussy or hungry (in which case I think he would have taken the bottle). He had just nursed for an hour  and had some solids. I was just trying to cluster feed / tank him up. He was at that last big burst of energy before bedtime. So, he wouldn't take the bottle, but he would nurse from me (it helped him calm down), so I went ahead and nursed him.

He fell asleep and woke up 7 1/2 hours later to eat! Huzzah!!! Then he slept for two more hours. So hopefully think means my hunch was correct, and he was not eating enough during the day. Hopefully this plan continues to work!

At WDW - we can spend lots of time in the baby care center, or we can do lots of smaller feeds more often (15 minute feeds every 2 hours or so). This has worked for us in the past, and can work well if we're, say, watching shows at the parks.

I feel better. I know it is only one day - but it is amazing what a nice long chunk of sleep will do for you!!!!

 

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´*Bobbi Jo*
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5 1/2 Month Dr. Visit

On Tuesday, Geoffrey had his 5 1/2 month doctor visit. Geoffrey looks healthy and is doing well. Dr. Chang said that if he rolls over at night and we see when we check on him, then we should put him back, but it is ok if he rolls back over again.

He grew an inch - and is now 27 1/2 inches long (90th percentile), but he only gained 2 1/2 ounces (16 11 1/2) which puts him at the 50th percentile for his weight. This was a little concerning, but I know he hasn't been eating well since he gets so distracted lately. This is similar to what happened 2 months ago. I just need to make sure Geoffrey eats for a good 10 minutes on each side - which is proving to be easier said then done, but it's our goal.

Geoffrey had two shots today. They were given by a new nurse who is training. WHen it was time to get ready for the first one, I had his hands, Grant was dangling a toy, and Nurse Florence, who was supervising the new nurse, was making funny noises. Geoff thought all of this attention was great! When the nurse put his shot in, Geoffrey looked down at it, and smiled. SMILED! What? We all busted out laughing! Nurse Florence was like, "Geoffrey! You never do that for me! My ego is hurt!" Shot number two didn't earn a smile - in fact a look like he was going to cry passed over his face for a brief instant - but all of our attention kept him happy. It was the best shot experience ever! Nurse Florence was laughing about this 10 minutes later while we were checking out!!!

His next visit will be Sep. 17th - he'll be almost 7 months, and that's when he'll get his 6 month vaccinations. 

Camping

We just returned from a camping trip at Lake Edison.

On Sunday, Angie, Andrew, Cori, and Andrew's friend AJ, and Grant, Geoffrey, and I drove to Fresno. We ate at John's Incredible Pizza, and then spent the night at a Marriott Residence Inn. The next day, we drove up to the campground. The last 18 miles heads up over the Kaiser Pass on a one lane road that I thought was pretty scary. It took an hour and a half to travel those last 18 miles. Poor Geoffrey's ears hurt!

The campground was beautiful. They had two sites reserved for us (Gary and Belle drove up on Monday and met us at the Marriott.) The sites were both in a small valley, so it was like we had one big campsite.

We spent our days walking around, playing, and relaxing. We found two geocaches - one at our camp site and one across the lake. We went swimming in the lake (which we estimated to be high 50s/low 60s). Angie brought a telescope and we went down to the lake to stargaze.

Geoff did very well - as Grandpa Gary said, he was a happy camper! He slept in his pack n play for most of the night, but once the sun came up, he slept with mommy and daddy under the sleeping bag. He loved being in the carrier and walking around!

Of course - there was the bear visit! A bear broke the window on our van and got away with some of our dry food goods! I didn't hear it, but poor Angie did - didn't exactly make for a good night's sleep!

Camping dinners are, of course, yummy. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, beef stew, chicken and dumplings, and pot roast. We also had campfire pie, finally, which everyone agreed was a hit! (We used apples and blueberries.)

We camped for five nights, and drove home on Saturday. We followed eachother down the mountain, and then separated. Grant and I had to stop a few times to adjust the tarp that was covering the back broken window, and to feed Geoffrey. We ate at The Elephant Bar - so yummy! I would LOVE if they opened one closer to us!

All in all, we had a great vacation! I love summer! I love Grant! I love Geoff! I love Belle!

Sleep

Ok - The real Ferberizing begins!

Naps - So Geoff is now pretty good about taking naps in his crib. We are out and about a lot, so our goal is one nap a day in his crib, which seems to work well. The other naps he takes in his stroller or car seal, unless we are home.

Night - He's always been really good about falling asleep at night, so no issue there. His current routine is a feeding at 11:30, followed by a book and a song, and then in bed by around 12:15. He usually sleeps until about 10:30 - 11:30 the following day.

Middle of the Night - So here is the new part. Geoff can go 9 - 10 hours without eating, so he only needs to wake up once to eat (if at all.) At this point, I am ok, with one night feeding, but I'd ideally like to eliminate it by Disney World - we'll see though.

So what we're doing is extending the time between feedings - I know he can go 8 hours, he's done it before - but we started with 5 hours. So the first night, I fed him at 11:30, and was not going to feed him again until 4:30. He woke up at 2:30 (He must have known something was up because he never wakes up at 2:30!) So we used the progressive wait approach (Ferberize). We started with 15 minutes, because that's what we're up to a nap time. He cried for 15 minutes - so I went in to tell him I loved him, but I didn't pick him up and I didn't feed him. Next, Grant took the monitor down stairs with him (he was still awake) and came up at 3:05. Geoff was still crying while Grant walked up the stairs, but when Grant reached the door... silence - Geoff had fallen asleep! Grant waited 10 minutes to be sure, but indeed, Geoffrey was asleep. He didn't wake up to eat until 7:00!

Last night, I pushed back the waiting until 5:00 - and he woke up to eat at 5:30. Although we probably could have used the progressive wait method again, and not fed him until later, I didn't because I am ok with feeding him once at this point (and he didn't wake up again until 11:30) and beause I am going to keep pushing it out - tonight, I won't feed him until 5:30 (if he wakes up earlier, etc.)

Camping may throw a kink in it - we certainly can't let him cry at the camp ground in the middle of the night! But once we're back from camping, I'll start again with this and see how far we get by Florida. Since we'll most likely have a condo in Florida, I can still do this and not worry about his crying waking the neighbors (if it gets to that! Last night, we didn't have a middle of the night crying session, so you never know!) Hopefully by the cruise, he'll be sleeping all night - or up for just one feeding!

Sweet Potatoes

On Friday, July 10th, Geoffrey started Sweet Potatoes. We mix it in with his rice cereal, for now. He treats it pretty much the same as the rice cereal. He either lets it sit in his mouth, or chews it a bit, before eventually swallowing it. he doesn't spit it out, for the most part, but he does lose interest pretty quickly.

After Geoffrey's appointment we went on bought a food processor and some ice cube trays so we can make our own baby food. We now have 64 frozen cubed portions of sweet potatoes ready for Mr. Geofferson. Thanks, Daddy!

4 1/2 month Doctor Visit

On Thursday, Geoffrey had his next Doctor's visit with Dr. Chang. He did really well. It was nap time, so he fell asleep in the waiting room. For once, we didn't mind a long wait (there were a few newborns who always get priority after lunch) because it enabled Geoff to sleep for about a half an hour. When Dr. Chang came in, he was just ready to wake up, but still dazed enough to not resist too much when she checked his ears and mouth and everything.

He now weighs 16 pounds, 9 ounces, (75th percentile) and he is 26 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). So he is doing really well. Geoffrey's new suggested diet consists of fruits and veggies twice a day, however, this is still just practice. We're supposed to introduce a new fruit or veggie every week so that we can watch for allergies. It is also ok if we choose to skip a day because we're out because he really is not gaining nutrition from it yet.

Also, she says that Geoffrey can certainly go 10 hours without needed to eat now, so I need to get better about letting him go back to sleep without feeding him.

At the end of the visit, Geoffrey got a few more vaccines. Again, having just woken from a nap helped because he was in a pretty good mood. First he had his oral rotovirus vaccine - which he treated like he pretty much treats his food - he let it sit in his mouth without too much swallowing. But it eventually went down. Then he got two shots - PCV and DTAP (which can be painful). He handled these shots well - not getting too too upset. He cried after the first one but was easily distracted from his cries. The second one he cried more, but we could then pick him up right away, so daddy made him feel much better.

This round of vaccines were the same as the vaccines he got 2 months ago at his 2 1/2 month visit.

Chip

When we were at Goofy's Kitchen, Chip came up to Geoff and tried to engage him. Geoff had looked at most of the characters with fascination, but this time, h just wouldn't look at Chip. He was too busy staring and smiling... at me! After a few minutes, CHip shrugged and took a pen and wrote on our table cloth "He only has eyes for you...."

Ah... I love my boy.

Starting Solids

At Geoff's last visit, Dr. Chang told us to start feeding him rice cereal once he turned four months. She said it was important that he start learning how to eat solids because some babies will get so accustomed to drinking their meals that they won't adjust well when they nutritionally need solids. (I have also read somewhere that at 4 months, babies are still pretty malleable, but that the older they get, the harder it is to change routines.) Basically, solids right now or "dessert" - they are not for nutrition, but for practice.

For some reason that I have not been able to explain clearly, I was resistant to the idea of starting solids yet. I'm sure these contribute - but I don't know if they really explain it: I love breastfeeding, and do not look forward to the day when he won't need it anymore... right now, I know he is getting healthy food, but once he starts eating solids, you never know... the practicality of it - his diapers are easy to deal with and don't smell bad (and, weird as this sounds - I think I am going to miss his newborn - exclusively breastfed diapers...) ... I feel proud of myself that he is so healthy and thriving because of me, and I think in my brain I connected his lower (percentile) weight at his last doctor's visit to the fact that he is only breastfed and she wants him to start solids - so I feel like maybe I am not adequate and he needs more now (instead of at 6 months.) I know many of those reasons are silly, but it was just how I was feeling. (Grant says it is his first step towards moving out and that is why I am so resistant... hee hee)

Anyway, we decided to star solids on July 4th. The main reason was because we have a Doctor's appointment today (July 9) and I figured it was best that we at least attempted it before the doctor visit so we could discuss any issues with Dr. Chang (rather then start after and have to wait a whole month to see Dr. Chang if there ARE issues. Of course, she is great about returning calls, but still. It was a good kick in the pants for me!

We are starting Geoff on rice cereal, and he has had it on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday so far. Even on day one, he didn't spit it out - but he did make the cutest faces and sort of work it around in his mouth before swallowing. He definitely needs to learn how to swallow - I guess that's what this practice is for - but I do think the majority of it ended up in his tummy. (I guess I was thinking he might just spit it out completely, showing that he wasn't ready for solids yet - but alas - he did not.) On Sunday he started crying after about two bites, but the rest of the time he ate more.

We are starting out with 2 tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with an ounce of breast milk once a day, and he eats about half of it. We'll see what Dr. Chang says, but after about a week, we'll probably up it to twice a day.

My little boy is growing up!

20 week thoughts

On Friday, Geoff will be 20 weeks old.

Although he can roll over, he doesn't do it often. He has started playing in his exersaucer for short periods. He loves the toys, but he gets frustrated because he can't balance very well yet.

He works hard to scoot his knees under his body - he might be crawling before we know it! He also likes to "walk" when you hold his hands.

He loves to hold his feet now (and sometimes chew on them) - especially when you are trying to change his diaper.

He laughs a lot now - sometimes you can make him laugh when you tickle him or make silly noises.

He also started this silly slouching trick - when you try to hook him into his car seat - he slouches and scoots down way low - and laughs... It is both annoying and cute - I think he is trying to be funny.

Sleep - his sleep is variable. When he first got back from Vegas, he continued waking up twice at night. Then, he moved to waking up only once - sleeping 5 - 7 hours between feedings. However, this is not consistent - as the last few night he's started waking up again twice.

Michael Jacoson Memorial

I am watching the Michael Jackson memorial - and having a very hard time. I am so sad. He really did leave to early. He had more to give, more to prove. I am mostly so terribly sad for his children - how awful to lose your parent. He was poised for a comeback. I hope he found happiness. I know there are people all over the world who die in terribly sad circumstances - and maybe Michael's death sort of represents that - but he touched so many people - so many watched him grow up - Celebrity really extends your family, for better and for worse.

Geoff is singing along with Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz... "I'll be there..." with his high pitched squeals.

Now Queen Latifah is speaking. Her eulogy is perfect.

Jennifer Hudson's - "Hold Me" with Michael's own words at the end - God, that got the tears going.

"There was nothing strange about your daddy... it was strange what he had to deal with."

Brooke Shields. Beautiful. Thank you for helping us see him.

Paris... this just is not sinking in for me. So sad.

Disneyland Trips #8 & #9

Tuesday, June 30th

Grant, Geoff, and I went to Disneyland last Tuesday. It wasn't too crowded. We got there in the afternoon. WE started out at Disneyland, riding Pirates, The Haunted Mansion, and Winnie the Pooh, before heading over to DCA to watch the Electrical Parade. Geoff LOVED the parade. He fell asleep while waiting for it, but woke up to watch it and couldn't stop staring at the bright lights. After the parade, we went back to Disneyland and rode its a small world. On our way out, we hopped on the Flying Dumbos for Geoffrey's first "flight," since there was no line. (I remember repeating my story to Grant about seeing Michael Jackson on the flying dumbos. I'm watching Micheal's memorial as I type this.)

Tuesday, July 7th

We went to Disneyland with Angela, Andrew, and Cori to celebrate Andrew's 10th birthday. We met at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel and had a yummy buffet brunch. While there, we were visited by Pluto, Fairy Godmother, Chip, Dale, Belle, Balloo, and, of course, Goofy. After lunch, we went over to Disneyland via the monorail. Once there, Angie sat with Geoff while Grant, Cori, Andrew, and I rode Star Tours. After that, Andrew tried to get into Jedi training. Unfortunately, it was VERY crowded and he didn't get picked. He was pretty bummed, so we quickly moved on - after a spin on Buzz Lightyear, Andrew was happy again.

We headed over to DCA so that Andrew could ride Tower of Terror. He rode with Grant while Angie, Cori, Geoffrey and I rode Monster's Inc. Next, we headed over to California Screamin'. Andrew and I rode (and sat in the front!) while Cori and Angie rode the carousel and Grant sat with Geoffers. Then Andrew rode the Maliboomer as a single rider. We all saw It's Tough to be a Bug, next. Then, Grant, Cori, and Geoff went to stake out a bench for the parade while Andrew, Angie, and I went on Tower of Terror.

While we waited for the parade, Angie and Grant went to get dinner (soup in bread bowls) while Cori and Andrew played in the SS Rustworthy. We ate dinner and then watched the Electric Parade. Geoff was so cute. He stared in awe again at the entire parade. When it ended, I handed him to Grant and he fell asleep within a minute. SO CUTE!

We headed back to Disneyland again. Cori slept in the stroller and I carried Geoff in his carrier. Andrew finally got to ride Indiana Jones with Angie and Grant while I sat aith Geoffrey and Cori. Then, Angie, Geoff, Drew, and I rode the Haunted Mansion while Grant sat with Cori and watched Fantasmic. We exited Haunted Mansion just as Fantasmic ended, so instead of dealing with the crowds - Angie and I sat with Geoff and Cori while Grant and Andrew went and rode Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh.

All in all, it was a great day. I think Andrew had an awesome birthday!

4th of July

What a fun day we had! Geoff, Grant, Gary, Belle, Lyon and I attended the Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade! We stopped by to see the Mosich's and sat in front of the hotel on PCH and 8th and watched the parade go by. It was a nice spot because it was shady and on the grass - which was good for us and the dogs. True, we didn't have the clearest vantage point of the parade, but I really enjoyed it!

That afternoon, we went over to DOnna and Gary's and had a yummy hot dog bbq followed by some wii. Poor Belle was wigging out from the fireworks (although Lyon couldn't care less!) At nine, we went home and headed up on the roof to watch the fireworks (last year of that for a while - I don't see myself taking a toddler up there!)

After the fireworks, we went back downstairs and watched the Macy's fireworks and Geoffrey played in his exercauser for the first time! Fun! He really liked it!

All in all, it was a very fun day - with lots of first for Geoffrey!