a little light on her fairy wings.

after a near-perfect-weather-weekend last week, this one was much more characteristic of late november: cold, wet... 

cold.      wet.      (you know how it goes.)

elle & i went on a little date in the morning, but just as the afternoon sky got even darker, while mike was outside finishing our Christmas lights, and jude was crawling around trying to eat something (a shoe apparently, as noted below), there was elle- dancing around in her fairy wings. i've said it before- not in an effort to be negative, but we have our moments of butting heads. we're too similar i suppose. she didn't think too fondly of my camera, or of the wings which refused to stay on her shoulders, but it was just this funny moment that somehow got captured, and now it totally makes me smile. it was so dreary and still in those few moments. 

man, i love moments.

and those little babies of mine.

part 1, hollywood studios & the magic kingdom

let's just get something out of the way really quick- it was so hot. like, walk-outside-and-your-sunglasses-and-camera-lens-fog-up-and-stay-fogged-up-for-5-straight-minutes hot. we all came home from disney sick- although it's likely just a virus, i blame it in part on the fact that we spent 9 days going from extreme heat and humidity, into blowing, cold, a/c for hours on end. that messes with one's system, i tell you! other than the heat, it really was an incredible trip... but it does partially explain why on day 1 we have a total of, like, 6 pictures. we were all red, sweaty, worn looking folks! :)

 ^^ we got to try out the new magic bands- pretty nifty! they acted as room keys, credit cards, park passes, you name it. hence the bracelets in each picture on vacation:)

 

 ^^ we spent time each afternoon swimming to cool off. when we visited last february if was freezing cold so swimming was only on our wish list- this trip it was a must! we practically passed out into the pool when we walked by it after returning from the parks in the afternoons...

 ^^ we celebrated elle's birthday by giving her a a bunch of princess surprises on day 2. see that pin? it's pretty much a magic button that causes every cast member on disney property to pause and wish elle a happy birthday. disney knows how to charm, that's for sure:) elle loved the attention! 
(they even did a shout-out one evening on a bus ride back to the resort: "ladies and gentlemen, please be sure to greet the special guest tonight- our very own princess!" i mean- c'mon!)

back to the princess-fest: we woke up pathetically early and started with a princess breakfast at cinderella's royal table- a tiny meal that: cost more than any mean we've ever eaten in our lives, took dozens of phone calls to secure a reservation, and was probably somewhat under-apprecaited by a certain tired toddler and overly exhausted mom... oh, and jude had a blowout so mike spent the meal trying to change his diaper in a small bathroom without a changing table... oh, travel with kids. ALAS! breakfast! good times.
lucky for you, i recall every word mike said during our 40 minutes in the castle. ahem: 
"jude stinks... jude pooped everywhere... did i order food?... jude pooped on me... well, hello jasmine!!!!... more poop, gotta go..."

we were the first there at 8 am- cinderella welcomed elle and we were escorted upstairs. just after we sat down, pastries were served, as was our meal, and a somewhat-quick procession of snow white, aurora, ariel, & jasmine. 

did i ever tell you i was almost a princess back in the day when i worked at disney? remind me to tell you about that sometime. sure would be cool to brag about now that i have a princess of a daughter. any leverage i can get, you know? :) 

 ^^ next up, the bibbidy bobbidy boutique! 

i steered her away from the pop star rainbow extensions (!!!) and elle "chose" a demure bun:) they gobbed so much goobley-goo in her hair! oh the goo! add in makeup, nails, and an aurora dress and the girl barely looked up the entire day. she was twirling in heeeaaaven. the whole experience was darling- the bun? well, it resulted in a 2am scream-fest, "I HAVE A HEADACHE! HELP ME!!" she had a fever (probably from being dehydrated, too, and running around in a long sleeve dress all day. oops)- we picked and pulled at that bun and it was so shellacked in gunk, it took all our energy to pull it out. her hair literally sprung back when you pulled it down! hair gel? check. migraines for the whole family at 2am? check. this face? totally worth it:)

 ^^ every ounce of elle's demeanor was princess-esque. the way she held her hands, how she walked- hilarious. princess hand mimicking award of the year goes to this girl! spot-on, girlfriend.

 

 ^^ hey! jude! this sweaty stud reclined with one foot up most of the trip. except the 984 times we took him out to ride rides or get in/out of the car. 
he was so. good!

 ^^ our score (me + the kids) was 620. 
mike's was 1,690,000. i mean, you'd never know it by the look on his face..........

to be continued...

blue eyes & blue sky...

first, we started off with curls. because... well, elle is a princess. not pictured (unless you saw on instagram): elle's curls + swim suit + skirt + headband across her forehead + heart shaped fruit. 

all by request. 

i'm trying to walk the line of being the crappiest mom ever by letting her watch crazy amounts of tv while i try to survive another day pregnant, and all-the-while doing what she wants that involves me actually moving around so that we both enjoy our final weeks with just us girls in the house. 

(holy run-on sentences.)

oh, and later? (hang on) we actually went outside! i know, i know! stop it, amanda. you're just too much! my little girl was itching for air (blue sky this afternoon!), and i'm fairly certain my little boy was too- he didn't stop moving for a nanosecond (shocker)- it's like he recognized fresh air through my paper thin skin and single layer of clothing (we all know nothing is covering this belly these days)...

ps- did you see it!? GRASS?? it's peeking out. i was more excited than a dog to see grass after all these months! not to mention, it reminded me i had to pee again. so we went back inside.

elle's first dance recital = another painted face (this time, for a good reason!)...

(after halloween, i officially threw away the white face paint. i've had enough spooky white faces for one season:)

elle had her very first dance recital last weekend! my baby! dance! yes, we're "those" parents who put their kids in dance, even though the "actual dancing at the recital" rate hovers somewhere around 36.9%. 

life's been a little too crazy, so after this recital we decided to pull her out until next fall- either way, she loved her last few months as a little ballerina! or... whatever dance they do as toddlers:) this was a perfect "farewell to dance, 2012."

her "dress rehearsal" consisted of her standing alone, still, and crying, so i was pathetically nervous for the actual performance! she's normally fine, but something about her knowing i was there threw her whole persona out of whack? *oh, please, please, please just dance like we know you can!!* thankfully, she danced like a true pro for the real deal. she's a star!! clearly. right? right:) 

(can you hear me channeling my inner stage-mom!?)

don't mind my shaking arm as i'm zoomed in like crazy- she's the second from the left most of the time:)

halloween 2012- it's a good one!

ahem, let me explain.

well, try to. i mean, no one explained it to me. 

mike took a couple days off this week, including halloween. when i got home from work (at 5:15, the plan was to go trick-or-treating by about 6), i walked in the door and found this looking back at me...

AHH!

what am i going to do with him? seriously? no more face paint in our home. EVER! it means trouble.

so... mike decided to be a smurf. an hour before we left to trick-or-treat (and while i was unaware, at work). that's cool. seeing that i was... nothing... he even whipped me up a smurf hat and suspenders (yes, the sewing machine was even up and going with orange thread)! oh, halloween...!

our conversation went something like this (remember, i'm mean. and hormonal):

"mikal. why are you so weird. what are you doing? what happened to being normal? and even IF i MAYBE were to dress like a smurf, what exactly would i wear?" 

"um... a white dress!!! yah! a white dress!" 

"mikal. i don't own a white dress. and if i did, it wouldn't fit. i'm pregnant. and nothing fits. oh, and why would i want to feel even uglier than i already do!?" 

"...but... well, because! we're smurfs!"

considering that he looked like a proud (blue) boy. and that he'd already stuffed himself with pillows and blankets... i obliged. and off we went...

he held up his hips the whole night.

dreamy!

please note elle's faces below:) good thing she's not 13. can you imagine the horror of humiliation!??! :)

was that enough close-ups for you? in case you missed us. oh, and that last goodie with us trying to get the paint OFF mike's face! we're so pretty!

you're welcome.

...and now, a much more normal (chilly) trunk-or-treat at church (the weekend before halloween)...

as i sat here and posted, elle came up to me, then froze dead in her tracks: "WOOOOOOOOAH mommy! look at your giant baby! you're really big mom. ouch."

until next year, halloween.

now, bring on the christmas music!!