A definite favorite day at Disneyland

It has been quite awhile since I last posted about Disneyland, so I'd say it's high time I took care of that!  Yesterday, we spent the afternoon and evening at our happy place, and I think it's safe to say that we have begun to find our new rhythm as a family of four...still some tweaking to take care of, but pretty good with two little kids!

Perfect place to spend a perfect day!  Geoffrey agrees.

Ridiculous how much I love all three of them.

Maddie and I went on the teacups for the first time together, after I had said last year that I will never have any interest ever again because my dad's spinning made me so woozy.  It was a blast!!  (Probably helped that we really didn't turn the wheel too much at all!)

"Hand's up, Mommy!!  Look at me, I'm driving!" (She really thought she was driving the teacup with her hands on the wheel in the center. Good thing she didn't know how to actually spin it!).

Priceless.

One of the best highlights of the day!  I loved this moment with my baby girl!

Geoffrey was konked out, but insisted we still have a fun time during his nap.  How sweet of him!

We took Geoffrey on the Zephyr ride at California Adventure - sort of by accident.  We thought we would be holding him on one of our laps, but that wasn't allowed.  They said he absolutely could still ride, just needed to be sitting in his own seatbelt.  You heard me. So our little man rode next to me, strapped into a flying contraption with nothing but a simple lap belt over his tiny, not well supported body.  It was really so much fun and we couldn't stop laughing throughout the ride!  I'm not sure we would have done it had we known this would be the arrangement, but we did, and he was a champ!!

Before the ride started - he was excited to be "on his own!"  He couldn't believe it, either!

Maddie and Daddy, sitting behind us.  Maddie was super tired and getting crabby, but she still "smiled" for the camera.

Are you seriously going to let me do this, Mommy?!  I can't even sit up on my own at home!!

Oooh.  This is cool!!  I like flying!

As we were flying, I tried to take a picture of us (don't look too closely, and remember we were mid flight, hence the crazyness).  Poor little man was gasping just a bit at all the air rushing at his little face.  He just stared out and sort of seemed to say, "Bring it on!" (Er, at least that's what I'm telling myself he was saying, and not, "For the love of man!! Get me off!!")

After the ride - we survived!!  I was so proud of him! :)

Perhaps the biggest news of our life right now is that Maddie has officially been potty trained!!  WOHOO!!!!!!!!  For the past 1 1/2 weeks, she has been a superstar with only a handful of accidents, that in hindsight, could have been avoided on my part.  We wanted to reward her for being such a big girl and so we surprised her with this special new Minnie Mouse backpack, as we were leaving the park.  Here she is, riding the tram, and SO excited about her new backpack.

(please excuse the odd lighting in this photo).  Our sweet girl has hardly let this back pack out of her sight in the 24 hours she has owned it.  She even had it laying on her pillow during nap time today. :)  She is so proud of it and so proud of her accomplishment.  I'd say she has a right to be!!

We had such a magical day as a family, and made many new memories.  People assume we must get tired of the same old thing, having been to Disneyland so many times.  Funny thing is, there is always something new to discover, and I think we do an excellent job and figuring that out each time we go.

A birthday party teaser

I am thick in the planning stages of Maddie's 3rd birthday party, and I am just tickled pink with excitement!!  Here is a preview of the invitations I designed and made for her special day!  The theme?  Pinkalicious! (A children's book that happens to be Maddie's all time favorite, centered around the color pink, of course!)...stay tuned for more party previews as we get closer to June!  It's going to be pinakatastic!!

Real live baby doll?

Let the record show, although I took the pictures, this was not my idea.  I was minding my own business making dinner, when some little feet strolled their way around the corner, just begging for a photo op.  This is what happens when a real baby is put into a toy baby stroller... 

What.. just.. happened?!?

This is so sad.  I'm not a baby doll!!

Well, maybe this isn't so bad!

Never mind!!  Never mind!!  Get me out of here!!!

Entering uncharted territory...for us

It's time for me to bring my faithful readers into the light of what is going on with our family.  Let me back up and say we are all happy and healthy, so please continue reading, without a heavy feeling in your gut in response to my first sentence. :)

Our little Geoffrey Patrick turns 5 months old tomorrow - 5 months!!  I can hardly believe that we are nearly 1/2 way through his first year!  Unbelievable.  He is our handsome little charmer, full of wet, gummy grins, flirtatious giggles, and kissable cheeks.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can hardly get enough of this little man - he is a heart breaker! We have been profoundly blessed to have him in our family for 5 glorious months.  There is not a day where we have thought otherwise.

Within the first 2 months of Geoffrey's life, I began to observe the shape of his head, curiously taking note from the bird's-eye-view, the asymmetry I was starting to see.  I pointed it out to Brant, but sort of left it casual, inwardly feeling the emotions warring and bubbling up inside me, anticipating what this could mean.  We kept our observations quiet from everyone, and for awhile, didn't really talk much about it together, hoping it would sort of "work itself out."  At his 2 month appointment, I immediately addressed my observations with Geoffrey's pediatrician.  She was quick to agree with the asymmetrical features his head was displaying, and said that we will want to work on that because "he's a California boy, and we want his sunglasses to fit on his face!" 

Let me pause and explain more in-depth what we were looking at at this point.  The medical term that we quickly became experts on pronouncing is plagiocephaly, which is a fancy way of saying the head is flat.  In our case, his head is flattened on the back/right side of his skull.  This early in an infant's life, their skull is quite malleable and we were given a few ideas on how to aggressively reposition the head, so the weight of his skull, along with the help of gravity, might mold the head shape back in the other direction. 

For two months, we aggressively worked on repositioning that sweet little head, and I mean aggressively.  Every time we would walk past him sleeping with his head turned to the right, we would turn it to the left.  Naps have been, and continue to be, while upright in the front pack baby carrier, or laying on his tummy on my chest, so as not to have any weight on the back side of his head.  Tummy time had its challenges to begin with, and now he is rolling over, so it is not as relevant.   You get the picture.

You may ask, why the big concern?  Is there any internal damage occurring with the growth of his brain?  On the contrary, no.  There is no internal damage going on, however, there are several other external things occurring, which we feel need to urgently be taken care of.  The right side of his face is pushed forward; his right eye is every so slightly drooped, as well as the right side of his mouth.  The right side of his forehead is protruding forward and his right ear is at least one ear length forward to that of his left ear.  Because of the severe asymmetry of his head, he could experience jaw misalignment issues and/or ear infections throughout his life, to name a few.  It is not purely cosmetic.  But, to be honest, we also are looking ahead into his future and do not want there to be any preventable reason for him to be made fun of by his peers.

Come back to one month ago.  We were increasingly aware and concerned that his head shape was not making any improvements.  Some friends of ours went through this exact same scenario with their daughter 4 years ago.  It has been incredibly helpful for us to have people in our lives who have walked in our shoes and experienced the same challenging emotional feelings one is bound to experience with this.  Through their recommendation, we set up a free consultation with a local company in Pasadena, who specializes in cranial remolding.  It was a fantastic meeting, leaving us feeling very informed and ready to move forward with the next step, which is getting Geoffrey fitted for a cranial helmet.  As is true with most complicated medical procedures, insurance had to get involved and it took us another month to get lined up with the correct facility.  God has blessed us tremendously by giving us health insurance that will cover the cost of everything.  We are truly grateful. 

And now we wait.  As it stands today, we are awaiting an appointment to be set for some time in the next 2 weeks for Geoffrey to be fitted for his little helmet.  After the fitting, it will likely take 7-10 days to create the helmet before he has to wear it.  And when I say wear it, I truly mean live in it - 23 out of 24 hours a day, he is required to have it strapped on his little head.  We won't know for sure until we see how well he is progressing, but it looks like he could have the helmet for roughly 3-4 months.  I'll be the first to admit I'm dreading the long, hot summer days, with that helmet on his head the whole time, but we will persevere.  I'm going to keep my eyes on the finish line, knowing that we are doing what is absolutely best for him in the long run.  What a gift we are able to give him, and what a blessing it is something that can be fixed short-term, and not something he has to deal with for the rest of his life.

So, as we move forward into this uncharted territory, we would appreciate your continued prayers and support.  As right as it is for us to be doing all of this, it is still a bit unnerving and emotional for me.  I have such a beautiful, sweet, gentle, content little boy, and I just want him to stay that way, and not let some durable medical equipment get in the way of that.  In the meantime, I will just cherish the moments when Maddie first discovers her baby brother has a helmet on, and she insists on wearing her princess bike helmet out of the house and everywhere we go. :)  You can count on it!

4 Month Stats

A few weeks late, but better than nothing!

Geoffrey's 4 month stats:
16.14 pounds (82%)
27 inches long (97%)

I couldn't resist this picture - it just makes me smile! :)

Special Weekend with Grandma Kris

We are just coming out of a wonderful visit with my mom, who traveled down to Pasadena for a long weekend, which also happened to be Easter, making her visit extra special! We had a full agenda in store for her stay, and we didn't miss a beat. Immediately upon her arrival, we allowed her to open her suitcase only to retrieve her bathing suit, before taking off for the swimming pool. Maddie has been taking swim lessons, and she was excited to be able to take Grandma Kris into the pool to show off her "new moves."Be still my heart.After our swimming excursion, I took my mom on an "errand" and surprised her with a pedicure date. It was a lot of fun, particularly because this was her first pedicure; let me tell you, she was giddy! No pictures for proof of our fun, but trust me, it was special. :)

On Saturday, we went to the LA Zoo. It was around 84 degrees, making for a beautiful and warm afternoon. The place was a zoo - yes, pun intended, but seriously, the place was bursting with people. This made it a little more of a challenge to see all of the animals, but we were able to see both of Maddie's favorites: the giraffes and the elephants. I told you it was hot - even the elephant agreed.Saturday evening, my mom kicked us out of the house to go on a date, with Geoffrey, but without Maddie. It was a wonderful evening, with freedom from our adorable toddler. :) We tried a new restaurant called El Cholo Cafe, and it. was. awesome. We happened to run across an autographed picture on the wall of Jack Nicholson enjoying a meal at this restaurant. That's right. My husband takes me out to dinner where the rich and famous dine. After dinner, we were able to do a little shopping which, again, without a toddler is almost blissful! It was a real treat for us to be able to do this with a loving and free babysitter at home with Maddie. Thank you, Mom!!

Easter Sunday arrived with the joy of our Risen Savior, along with another bright, warm and beautiful day. My mom bought Maddie an Easter dress and we picked up a special new get-up for Little G (yes, that is one of my most commonly used nicknames for him). Prior to church, we had a little egg hunt in our living room and Maddie thoroughly enjoyed herself. Our church service was wonderful and fulfilling, leaving us praising God for His Risen Son!

We made a special trip to The Huntington Botanical Gardens and Library for the day. It is a famous place, not 5 minutes from our house, and we had yet to make a trip over there. This was the perfect way to spend the afternoon on Easter Sunday. The sunshine was out, and everyone was in their pretty Easter outfits, smiling and taking in the gorgeous beauty that makes up the 200+ acre park. It was perfect.

Isn't my mom beautiful? Her outside beauty truly depicts what is inside as well. I am blessed.And I am way blessed by this guy, too. Oh man. I'm getting all mushy on here! I'll try to bring it down a notch. This plant has some significance for my mom, and she has a tiny version of this at home, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was called. Oh well. Still a cute picture!The Desert Garden was amazing. So many vibrant colors amongst hundreds of varieties of cacti. It always amazes me how flowers grow out of cactus plants like this.Check out how tall this one was!Entering the Koi Pond Garden.I am well aware that her face is in the sunlight, but I still really like this picture. I think it depicts an innocent beauty, and gives me a glimpse into a few years ahead.I love everything about her.Maddie chose not to be in this picture, so here we are with our little man in his special outfit...I cannot even tell you how many compliments he was given, and I'm not going to lie, I loved every single one of them!!Family photo. The best we could do.They make me so happy. :)Eek! So cute!It's true. His cheeks are that kissable.Daddy and Maddie, walking toward our special lunch at the Rose Garden Tea Room!It's tea time! We had a delightful afternoon lunch/tea, with all the little tea sandwiches, scones, salads and tiny desserts you could imagine. It was heavenly!You've got to love sibling entertainment!The Chinese Garden was another favorite of mine. I loved the architecture amongst the vegetation.
Love.This is the entrance to the Children's Garden. Maddie could not get enough of this blue door. It really fascinated her!We finished our day with a quick walk through of the famous library. Geoffrey had about had it, and decided to take a break from all the activity, by stretching out on a blanket in the shade. (In case you can't read the onesie, it says: "Lifeguard on duty. Trust me. I'm a professional." :)) It was a very memorable weekend, one which I will look back upon with fond memories. Thank you, Mom, for such a special visit. We love you!!