Favorite thing to do with Daddy

As is obvious in most all of my posts, you know that Maddie loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (please note previous post, with pictures of all her friends). For Christmas, we gave Maddie a set of 12 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse board books. She loves these books and they never go a day untouched.

When Maddie and I come home everyday, we are greeted by a smiling Brant, waiting to give his girls hugs and kisses and to play with Maddie to her little heart's content. Lately, the first thing Maddie likes to do when she gets into the house, is to pull out her board books and bring them to Daddy to read, one...by...one...and then, repeat! He is more than happy to oblige, thoroughly enjoying the extra amount of cuddles he gets with our active little girl, let alone to share a common interest with her: reading.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of them the other day, partaking in this favorite activity.

Maddie climbing into Daddy's lap, already excited for the story!Reading together.And maybe a little tickle here and there during page turns, just for good measure!Too sweet and so happy together!I really like this one.

Maddie and Friends

Here are a compilation of pictures of Maddie meeting her favorite pals in Disneyland, all in one post. These are shown in the order of when she met each character, and the characters included in this post are strictly Mickey's friends from the show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I just get a kick out of her growing excitement each time she meets another character! Its way too cute!

Pluto.
Turning her head, just like Pluto.
Goofy.
Mickey Mouse!
She couldn't resist giving him kisses!
Donald Duck. Can't you just hear her squealing?

And most recently, Minnie.She was very happy to meet Minnie!

It is always a treat to introduce her to a character in the park, but she turns on the waterworks when it is time for us to move on - she really hates to say goodbye to her friends!

Little Miss Personality

Wow! You are very fortunate this morning, as I have yet another video for you. Two in one week!

This video footage is taken from where we left off in the last video (early August), up through January. Enjoy! :)

Summertime Sunshine

Okay! You've patiently waited for nearly 10 months since our last video post. The day has finally arrived - a new video for your viewing pleasure! I fully intend on adding more very soon, but no promises as to when. :)

This video marks the beginning of our time here, in Southern California. In fact, it primarily is taken during the first 1 1/2 months of us officially living in the sunshine. (This is why I say there will be more videos on the way, because I couldn't possibly edit it all into one 3 minute video. We've been having too much fun!)

Our own little sunshine is growing up way too fast. Enjoy!

Hidden beauty in LA County

On the second day of my parent's visit last weekend, we went on a beautiful hike through Eaton Canyon. The trail head is a 5 minute drive from our house, which is always convenient. We have been interested in exploring the "mountains" behind our house for awhile, and it was a perfect opportunity to do so, with the weather being mild and beautiful. The hike followed a stream and the trail crossed over the water at least half a dozen times, which made for some fun rock jumping! The end of the trail had its own reward - "a beautiful, 50-foot waterfall." We were eagerly anticipating the waterfall, curious as to how it would actually look, being in Southern California and all. Maddie had plans of her own. She almost made it to the end (10 minutes from the falls), before she gave out on us and under no conditions was she going to continue on. (We had a backpack for her to ride in, but she wanted to walk most of the time...you try letting a toddler "walk" on a stream-hopping hike...it doesn't work too well, and everyone becomes frustrated). Needless to say, Maddie and I left the trail and waited by the stream. We watched the hikers pass us by, while happily throwing things into the water, and Brant and my parents continued on.I told you Maddie didn't want to be in the backpack....Dad and Brant, helping Mom, who has Maddie on her back, cross over the stream.In one of her moments of frustration, Maddie chucked her pacifier (and our only lifeline to an enjoyable time), into the rushing stream. Being the devoted, caring and understanding father that he is, Brant didn't even hesitate and charged straight into the water to retrieve the valuable item.Although it was floating in mountain water, by force of habit, Brant "cleaned" the pacifier in his mouth, before giving it to his daughter. :)He then took our frustrated little girl and carried her across the stream himself, rather than any of us having to deal with hopping rocks with her - I mean, his feet were already wet, so why not?
This is where Maddie and I had some quality alone time for about 25 minutes. I was definitely bummed that I couldn't keep moving on to see the waterfall, but a mother's duty calls (or rather, when her baby is crying and refuses to be comforted by anyone other than her).My mom's got skills. :)Just a subtle reminder that we are hiking in LA County, not some remote mountain trail in the middle of Oregon. Look at all those people! My dad is sitting down in the center of this picture, admiring the waterfall.Ta-da! The Waterfall! I hear it was absolutely beautiful.Love. Aren't they cute?And aren't they cute, too?When we were reunited by the stream, Grandpa Pat taught Maddie the art and enjoyment of throwing rocks into the water. She loved it! And so did he. :)After the hike, we enjoyed a nice lunch at home, along with some afternoon naps, before going out around Pasadena once more. This time, we drove over to the Wrigley Mansion, which is home to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses headquarters. My dad brought his high school band to this parade years ago, and he enjoyed a special breakfast at the mansion with fellow directors. It was special for him to return and walk a few blocks around the area, reliving past memories. To end our fun-filled day, my parents surprised me with an ice-cream cake from Coldstone, with which we celebrated a belated "double birthday" for me and my mom. (My mom's birthday is 3 days after mine). It was a great day and a fabulous weekend. We can't wait to have you guys come back!

What a difference a year makes!

A year ago, this is what I was looking at outside my front window, at approximately 1:45pm.A year later, this is what I'm looking at outside my front window today, at approximately 4:45pm. Hmm..where would you rather be?

The place where magic happens...

Some people might think that I blog about the same things over and over again...Maddie, Disneyland, Maddie in Disneyland, Maddie loving Disneyland, you know, those kinds of things.

I'm about to do it again, so deal with it. :)

My Mom and Dad were in Pasadena for the weekend, to soak up some quality time with us and with the sunshine. They arrived Thursday evening and had to leave this morning, which made it for too short of a visit. Nonetheless, we were up to some pretty exciting stuff!

Friday, we spent the entire day at Disneyland. When I say entire, I mean, entire. We arrived at the park around 9:45am and we walked out of the gates at closing time, which was 11pm. My parents know how to play hard! :) It was a sunny day, with the high reaching about 65 degrees, but it is still February, which means we have cool evenings. Well, it was a bit more than cool, as I believe the temperature was hovering right around 48 degrees in the thick of the evening. They didn't seem to mind too much, as the sunshine still required sunglasses to be adorned and their skin's thirst to be quenched with vitamin D!

Here we are, ready to leave today, and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy!!
Maddie played with the "big water ball" while Grandma, Grandpa and Mommy rode on Space Mountain!Maddie, excited to see all the bubbles on "Finding Nemo."Maddie talking to Grandpa about the cars on Autopia. They were pretty happy to get to ride together!There they go!Uh oh...Grandpa gave in and let Maddie take the wheel.Time for some ears!
Mom and Dad, riding the rails of the wild west!Yeehaw! You can see them waving in the back row. Maddie's favorite ride in the park, and a grandparent's favorite ride with their granddaughter!Grandpa Pat picked out this special hat - seriously, he walked into the store and excitedly chose this hat to be "his Disneyland hat". We all were thrilled!Maddie and Grandpa had a great time riding the carousel together!Fun with the hat..Seriously. Mickey with Grandpa - what could be better?! Maddie was in heaven!
I think Brant and my Mom are posing for a different picture than Maddie and Dad are. :)
Such a happy family in such a happy place!The first time I ever rode the Teacups, I was 6 years old, and I went on them with my Dad and my sister. That was the last time I ever rode them...until Friday.Are we seriously going to do this, Dad?!There we are, near the back - you can see Dad's hands high in the air! Crazy.No, I am not posing for this picture. I couldn't see a thing for a few minutes after the ride. I was SO dizzy. But I wouldn't have taken the moment back for anything. Thanks for the special memory, Dad!I just think this picture is too funny. Mickey Mouse, shooting through Dad's hat...Dad, shooting a rifle...you figure it out!Maddie showed Grandma Kris and Grandpa Pat a magical time at Disneyland! She is the expert, you know!