Disneyland!

Well, we are back from 5 days in Disneyland. It was a great trip, busy with two babies, but great.
All 10 of us headed to the airport for 8:30am and we managed to get there early. We had two suitcases, 2 boxes of treats for the flight crew and passengers, 2 carry on bags, an oxygen machine for the flight, 2 strollers and a car seat. It was crazy lugging all of it around and going through security. The strollers got the pat down while we are trying to manage 2 little ones and trying to keep track of our luggage and carry on bags.
With the help of grandma and grandpa, we managed to get settled probably 20 minutes before boarding. We made 190 treat bags for the flight and it was announced before we boarded the plane. The message that we included in the bags was read so that all the passengers could hear and I shamelessly included Adele's Over the Rainbow Baskets Facebook page in the little write up. Always thinking! :)

We were the first ones to board the plane, which was nice, so that we could get the girls settled and all of our junk! We had the bottle ready, the lollipops were ready to be sucked. We were going to do all that we could to avoid ear pain. Brinley was not happy when she was told that she needed to remain seated during take off, there were a few tears, but other then that, we were all ok.
The flight went really well, the girls were happy and well behaved. :) When it was time to land into LAX, Brinley was tired and hungry and not in the mood to be told to sit and stay buckled. She cried and yelled and cried and yelled all the way down. It was glorious! Thank god for the treat bags, although I don't know if they helped the passengers in the rows all around us. One lady in front of us mentioned that maybe ear plugs could have been included in the treat bags. I almost told her to shove it, but instead I focused on my wailing child. I didn't know if I wanted to spank her or hug and kiss her, all I wanted was for the plane to land. Once we touched ground, I unbuckled her and she wanted some snuggles and immediately fell asleep in my arms. Poor peanut.
Adele was happy and in all her glory for the entire flight because she was being snuggled and loved. She's pretty low maintenance when she is getting some lovin!

We made it to the hotel way later then expected...we went for dinner then got the kids ready for the Pirate Pool area. Such an awesome and fun time for the kids. There is this massive bucket that fills up with water, then it tips over and soaks the kids down below. I offered my sister 50 bucks to stand under the bucket but she refused. My dad piped up and said that he would do it for 50 bucks. I knew that there was no way that my dad would take my money, after all, I am a stay at home momma on a budget. He stood under the bucket, got soaked and gladly took my money. We tried to make him feel guilty by telling him that it was Brinley's meal money for Disneyland and that now she would have to eat ketchup packets for the entire trip, but that did nothing. He still has my 50 bucks! :)

We spent 2 days at Disneyland as a family and had a great time. Brinley isn't into rides yet, so we hung out at Toon Town and let her run around the play area. She loves to be able to control the situation, so if it's something where she can come and go, play on the structure, but stop when she wants, she is happy. 

We decided to stay at the pool on the third day. We spent 8 hours at the Pirate Pool and Brinley loved it. There is a little kiddie pool, which I called the Pee Pool, she was in her glory. It's a foot deep and perfect for a 2 year old. She would run and splash and play with her water toys. It was such a perfect day. Adele and I hung out in the shade, she napped and fed and cuddled with her Minnie Mouse. We tried to put her in the Pee Pool but she wasn't into it. We tried.

I met up with a dear friend who I met through the blog. She started reading the blog right from the start. She found out that they would be having a sweet princess with Down syndrome right around the same time as us. We chatted often and shared our fears and worries but also our excitement of meeting our little miracles. She went full term with Ella. She was to be induced. That's when her nightmare started. The cord had wrapped around Ella's neck and sadly, they lost her a few days after delivery.
I couldn't wait for her to hold Adele and snuggle her, she had been waiting a long time. She held her almost the entire time and it made me smile. It was such a great moment for all of us. I know that it was also difficult and emotional for her but I think that joy of holding Adele and actually being able to spend some time with her, eased some of the pain.

Our trip lasted 5 days and it went by so fast. We decided that this time, Brinley would sit with her cousin Danika and her Auntie for take off and landing. James and I would sit with Adele and our nephew Ryder. The flight went smashingly perfect. Brinley stayed with Danika the entire flight and we sat with the comedian.  :)
Ryder is such a hilarious kid...we call his sayings Ryder-isms. Let me share a couple from the flight.

James has a tattoo on his arm - "Uncle, you look just like a rock star. A real rock star. Wow!"
During the flight, many, many times - "Auntie, are we going down? Is the plane going down? AUNTIE, IS THE PLANE GOING DOWWWWNNNNN?"
I encouraged him to maybe not say that because it could cause anxiety in others. This meant absolutely nothing to him.
I told him during the flight to stop doing something and he looks at me - " Auntie, I sure like the way you talk to me."
Landing into Calgary - Ryder's arms are up in the air - "WEEEEEEEEEE, can we do this again? Let's do it again Auntie!"
Going through customs - "Mom, can I have my gun? It's a real gun! MOM, can I have my gun?"

The kid kills me! He is non stop and hilarious. You never know what's coming next. I get a little frightened actually and sometimes hold my breath when he opens his mouth!

Oh ya, when we were at the airport, mom, dad and I saw Joan Rivers. She was about two feet away from us. She looks the exact same in real life as she does on TV, plastic with lots of makeup. She was with an assistant, who got her to the plane and boarded before anybody else. It must be a rough life. :)

Before we left for Disneyland, we decided to throw out all of Brinley's soothers. Friends gave me many suggestions on how to get rid of the soothers, great suggestions. Tie them up in a bag, put them in the tree and tell her that the Soother Fairy would be coming to take them away, let her throw them out, put the soothers in a Build A Bear as well as many more. I suck as a mom, I put them in a Sobey's bag and chucked them when she wasn't looking. We are now soother free! My friends are way better than me and I am A-Ok with it! :)

Crazy Ry!

 

 

Danika and Ryder

 

 

 

More pictures to come! :)