Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing You and Yours a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful for so many things....
My health and my family's health
My son, William- the light and joy of my life
A hubby I can always count on
Sisters who are like my best friends
Devoted, considerate parents that are such a big part of my life
A happy, warm home
A stable job and income
Friends that make me laugh
Technology that lets me share photos and life

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Our room during our recent stay at the Disneyland Hotel back in August was just so cute, it deserves its own post.

As Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members (Disney's idea of a timeshare), we were able to use our points to stay here, so it didn't cost us anything out of pocket. We just had a regular room with two queen beds, but we loved all the special details and magic that Disney is known for.

Of course the lights in the bathrooms featured Mickey hands. Even the handles on the faucet were Mickey hands.

There was a huge wooden headboard behind both beds that went the length of the room. It was huge and had a beautifully carved piece of Sleeping Beauty castle. The pillows on the bed each said "A Dream is a WISH Your Heart Makes"
"When You're Fast Asleep"


And the big winner of our stay was discovered on accident....the head board lights up and plays music. William was playing with the buttons for the light on the nightstand just like most curious toddlers do. He flipped a switch and suddenly we hear the "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...." song! Then all of the stars over the castle light up. It was so amazing. We went to sleep that night sleeping with the stars on over our heads. William thought it was just the coolest thing. Okay, and so did Alan and I. No one does the magic touches like Disney.

Wednesday Williamisms

"Mommy, my butt was on fire."

"Mama, do you like the scary hotel? You know it goes up and down really fast and there is a thunderstorm on 12." .....describing the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World to his Grandma which he rode twice in October and really liked.

Wednesday Williamisms

"That's ri-doc-ul-lous."

"What's the big idea?"

"Mommy, you're pretty."

"This is how Peter Pan stands."

Tricks, Treats and Toddler

Our family loves Halloween. Fortunately, we returned from our Disney trip just in time to celebrate. It was a busy Halloween weekend.

Friday night William's school closed down early for their annual Fall Festival. William was so excited for "Halloween at school." He dressed as Peter Pan. This was his third time wearing the costume, since he wore it twice while at Disney, including for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) during our trip.

He loved bouncing in the bounce houses and playing games inside. He got a balloon animal and a tattoo. He would barely wash that hand after getting the tattoo. I assured him we could get a new tattoo if it washed off. We enjoyed some food, cotton candy and fun. He spent a lot of time on the playground. Yes, the same playground he plays on every single day.

On Saturday, October 29th, after a big morning celebrating his birthday party at Pump It Up, we headed to my parent's house for their first annual Halloween party! Usually I would help them plan and set up, but we were so busy returning to life after vacation and celebrating William's birthday that I didn't have time. They had created a small haunted house in one of their garages out back. We all had a great time at the party with family and friends. Almost everyone was in costume too. We even had a Donald Duck, one of William's favorites.

The kids had a ball in the haunted house and we can't wait to help my parents create an even better one next year. William loved bobbing for apples and chasing around all of his friends upstairs.

Finally, we went trick or treating on Halloween night. William certainly has gotten use out of his Peter Pan costume, as this was the 5th time in two weeks for him to wear it. We headed out just as one of our neighbors and his classmate, Tinsley stopped by to trick or treat. He was so excited to see her. She was cute as ever dressed as Dorothy. William and I made the rounds through our neighborhood. It is one way in and out, so usually not heavy traffic- just 50 homes in our HOA. But we did have a lot of outside traffic, families driving around that were not from our neighborhood. Maybe from some of the nearby apartments? We hit all the houses in the neighborhood with lights on, which was only about a third of them. We said hi to many of our friendly neighbors.

William said "trick or treat" each time, followed by a "thank you." I couldn't have been prouder. As we rounded towards the front of the neighborhood, we stopped at Tinsley's house, they had just returned for the night. She was so excited to give him some candy and wanted to walk him home. She is too cute. William started to complain his legs were hurting. He had four immunizations that morning for his 4 year old checkup, so he was tired and sore. We headed home to Alan running the fog machine on the porch. He had scared quite a few kids with his spooky fog.


William scored a lot of candy that he will never eat. He isn't a big sweets eater, thankfully. Unlike his mommy.

And so another fun year of tricks and treats was had by all. We look forward to an even better Halloween next year! BOO!

The Birthday That Wouldn't End

My little guy just celebrated his 4th birthday on October 30th. He was born just after 6pm on the day before Halloween. I remember it so vividly and how happy we were. That happiness hasn't left our hearts as we watch William grow and explore every day.

His birthday celebration this year seemed to go on and on. First, we celebrated during our trip to Disney. He wore a birthday button most days and received special desserts (cupcakes) at meals and many "Happy Birthdays" from friendly cast members. One cast member at the Haunted Mansion even had everyone waiting in line sing to him. Not really sure how you top a birthday at Disney!

Upon our return home, he got to celebrate with his choice of birthday parties...a Phineas and Ferb themed party at Pump It Up this past Saturday. He had family, friends from school, neighbors and more in attendance to celebrate. He loved jumping and sliding and turning into a sweaty mess. We enjoyed cake, pizza and fun with friends. He received some great gifts too, I think his favorite is the monorail from Disney (courtesy of a gift a card from my parents), some workbooks and the Phineas and Ferb roller coaster. He is still playing with all of his new toys! Thank you to all friends and family for celebrating with us.



On Sunday, October 30th, his ACTUAL birthday, we took him McDonald's to play for breakfast, followed by shopping for books and workbooks per his request. Then onto lunch. Chicken nuggets and fries at his request. He wanted to get back home and play with all of his new toys the rest of the day. I kept telling him that this day was his actual birthday and I think he almost expected another party!

William also had a birthday celebration at school yesterday, on Halloween. We brought in cupcakes for his class and goodie bags for everyone to take home. He said he had a lot of fun and that his class all sang Happy Birthday.

And so now with three behind us, we move forward to discover what this next year will hold for him! I can only imagine! Happy birthday William!