{Travel Diaries} Disneyland 2015 - Days 1 & 2

I'm I'm We took Ellie to Disneyland and had just the best time ever!  I haven't been there in over 15 years so it was so fun to go back and finally check out California Adventure.  They were just finishing it up the last time I was there.  This is going to be quite the recap so I think I will break it down to 3 posts. #parsonsdisney2015 on IG @lifeonthefarm

It was so funny because we got a few different reactions when friends and family learned we were taking Ellie to Disneyland at 20 months old.  Lots of people were like "Wow! You're going to have so much fun!" while others immediately exclaimed "She won't remember it".  Let me just tell you regardless if Ellie will remember this trip, she had a total blast and seemed to love every minute of it.  But lets just explain why we chose to go when we did. Ultimately, Thomas and I have been dying to go to DL for a long time and its pretty expensive to go.  When we realized that Ellie could be "free" the whole way we jumped on the opportunity, since kiddos fly free until age 2 and then they get into DL for free until they are 3.  So there you have it.

Some crazy Highlights: the strollers ya'll, I mean I get that you can't bring them on the rides but just the stroller parking is hysterical and the things people leave in their strollers is wild.  I can't tell you how many iPhone 6+ I saw just chilling in the cup holders!!!  The tantrums that kids throw at the Happiest Place on Earth had me rolling (PTL that Ellie was even tempered). The amount of walking you do. And Fast Passes have got to be the most genius idea ever!

OKAY, onto our 4 days in Downtown Disney, Disneyland and California Adventure.

Travel days are always long days.  We left early on a Tuesday morning to the airport.  Ellie was very patient and just the best little traveler. (It might have something to do with our 6.5 hour roadtrip home when she was 3 days old)  I brought my trusty Ergo to carry her in while on the plane and let me tell you it is the way to fly.  We did get early boarding so we could pick our seats (Southwest) and Ellie had a great time reserving seats for Thomas and Papa.  We brought lots of snacks, some books, quiet toys, and coloring books/crayons but you were content for about 80% of the flights in the Ergo.  She slept for a majority of the first flight to Sacramento but the little girl behind us started to have a meltdown which woke Ellie up and she was not going back to sleep.  Oh well, she was a dream the rest of the flight with looking at a few books and coloring for a bit, but then Nanny pulled out her iPod Shuffle and taught Ellie how to listen through an ear bud and she was hooked!  We brought our stroller and a car seat since the airport shuttle we were using told us it was mandatory...then they didn't even make us use the damn car seat!!

When we arrived at our hotel we were starving so we checked in dropped our bags off and went to eat at the restaurant in the hotel...it was food, though not impressed.  After we ate we walked around the hotel for a bit and then back to our room.  We got Ellie a swim suit and a puddle jumper right before we left so we wanted to check out the pool - Ellie's first time in a pool (or larger body of water than a bathtub).  The water was a bit cold but she had a blast once she got used to the idea of a giant bath!  It was so much fun taking her for that first experience.  Then after the pool we went back to the room to dry off and change before we headed out to Downtown Disney!

Y'all, I don't think I can even tell you how excited I was for this.  I have never been to Downtown Disney before and it did not disappoint.  I mean the Disney Store is giant and then all the other options out there.  They have a Build-A-Bear with limited edition Disney characters for sale!!  Several restaurants to choose from and I have never been to a Lego Store before but their displays outside with larger than life Disney Characters made out of lego's is unbelievable, I mean how did them make them????  We had pizza for dinner that was so good and Ellie was definitely tuckered out after all the fun!

DAY 1 in Disneyland

We got up bright and early to get ready for our first day in Disney.  We got a 3 Day pass.  We had coffee (just the cheap stuff at the hotel) then waited in line for the first shuttle of the day.  

oops she smashed her face!

When we arrived at Disneyland they had already opened the gates and we were able to walk right in without any line waiting!  We took our selfie photo in front of the iconic flower Mickey Mouse and walked into the main square.  

 

As we were passing the Character Corner (idk if that is what you call it) Pluto was just walking out, so I quick got Ellie out of the stroller and told her to go see him...she went running towards him and then he walked behind a worker and she lost sight of him, which resulted in her running around in circles looking for him (you can see the video on IG @lifeonthefarm) it was hilarious.  Then she finally caught sight of him grabbed his hand and walked to his "station" and got a photo with him #precious.  I was actually surprised with her enthusiasm with the characters since we haven't really watched any Mickey Mouse shows (maybe a total of 8 times) and had know idea if she even recognized them...I guess she did!  

After our impromptu photo sesh with Pluto we headed down Main Street to the Walt and Mickey statue for a photo - unfortunately they were repainting Cinderella's Castle so it was all covered with a screen :(  

I had heard that the meet a Princess could get crazy so we headed there first and only had a 10 minute wait.  We got to meet Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White. Of the three I think that Ellie was the biggest fan of Belle, she was great with her and since orange seems to be the color that Ellie is drawn to I think the yellow dress had something to do with it.  

After meeting with the princesses we went to Fantasyland so that Ellie could get some rides in.  We started with the carousel, since that was the recommendation by so many, and then to Dumbo.  She did great with both rides so we tried out Mr. Toad's Wild Ride = success, so onto Pinocchio and Snow White and again = success.  For some reason though those rides seemed a lot darker than my memory, anyone else?  As we passed the Tea Cups there was no line so we jumped right in, all 5 of us, and it was cramped!!! no leg room, I had to put my feet up on the seat.  The Alice in Wonderland ride had a fairly short line so we waited for about 10 minutes there and this was Ellie's favorite ride hands down!!

I think she is having fun!

We had reservations to eat lunch at the Blue Bayou in Pirates of the Caribbean so we headed that way and I don't ever recall the line for Pirates to be that short ever!!  So we took a ride on that and once again I totally didn't realize that there were two drops in that ride.  So fun and Ellie loved getting splashed with the water (we got the front row).  Then it was time to check in for lunch.  You guys!!! This was the best restaurant ever.  I have been down to NOLA back in high school and I don't remember the food being that good.  Thomas and I shared the Jambalaya and had the Gumbo for an appetizer.  I am craving Gumbo every single day now!!  (I tried making some the other night and it was good but not comparable at all)

Our plan was to head back to the hotel for Ellie's nap but she fell asleep in the stroller so we took advantage of it and Fast Passed the Indiana Jones Ride (for Thomas and Papa) then went to wait in the 15 minute line for Thunder Mountain (taking turns of course).  We did some looking around and then headed to Tomorrowland to Fast Pass Space Mountain and Star Tours (again for the boys)  They had to be back in 2 1/2 hours so we decided that we would take a break head back to the hotel and change our clothes up.  On our way down Main Street we ran into Chip and Dale actually just the one with the red nose so I guess that was Dale, Ellie grabbed his hand and walked across the street with him.  Then we spotted Mickey so we got in line for that, only about 5 groups ahead of us and then about 20 behind us - boy did we time that right?  Ya'll this was the best Mickey ever.  When it was Ellie's turn she ran up to him and gave him a hug, then he took her around the corner of the building to play hide and seek (she had no idea btw and you can watch on IG) then he took her to check out the fire truck and finally we got pictures but then he took her across the street to go window shopping!! I have no idea how Ellie got so blessed to have about 10 minutes with the guy but she was loving it! I am sure that all the people in line behind us were getting annoyed and I kept trying to tell Mickey thank you and can I have my daughter back please, but he just kept doing what he was doing.  Then we got in line for Donald, Ellie was a little hesitant of him but we still managed to get a good picture.  We spotted Goofy but he was just leaving for his break so we waited by the Character Corner and Mickey walks up again and takes Ellie over to the flower pots and teaches her how to pick the flowers, then over to the gate - which she pushes open (that wasn't supposed to happen!) and freaked all the workers out and finally he leaves to go in for his break.  About 1 minute later he comes back out with Minnie and they steal away Ellie again!! I guess you could say it was love.  She also got to see Daisy very quickly but then we thought we should high tail it out of there before some other visitors wanted to murder us for Ellie stealing all the characters!!!!  Definitely one for the memory books for sure!!

After our break in the hotel we headed straight to Tomorrowland.  Nanny and I got in line for the Astro Orbitor and we were in that line for so long!! Thomas and Papa went on both of their rides before we even got on our ride!!!  It was actually a really scary ride to go on I felt like we were going to fly right out of the rocket!!  Then we went back for a couple of rides for Ellie in Fantasyland like It's A Small World and a churro, some shopping down Main Street (we all got the same sweatshirt), an ice cream and then to Frontierland/Adventureland/New Orleans Square which apparently are all different lands right next to each other, I thought it was all the same place!  Nanny and Papa got another Fast Pass for Thunder Mountain because I convinced them that its even better at night and then we went to The Haunted Mansion.  Since I thought we were going to have to walk a bit in that ride I put Ellie in the Ergo, she had fun in the elevator but almost as soon as we got into our Doom Buggy she was out like a light!  I was able to successfully transfer her into the stroller and then Nanny and Papa took her back to the hotel so Thomas and I could have a short date.  We went on the Jungle Cruise at night, did some window shopping and then headed back to the hotel.

she was not a fan - no problem more for me!!

just a little backwards sitting in the stroller NBD

#tripleting

Ellie was fast asleep when we got back and we were out like a light not much later! Check back next week for our day in California Adventure!

♥ Ashley

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{Toddler Tuesday} the dentist

I have been wanting to write this post all month and finally found the time to get it on the blog!

I am so happy to be writing another post for Toddler Tuesday and think that today's topic is perfect for most toddler mama's.

Yes I took my 20 month old to the dentist.  And she actually did really good and I think enjoyed the experience overall.  I don't think its too early to start good dental hygiene and as a self proclaimed addict of good teeth (its one of the first things I notice on someone) I couldn't think of a better time than 20 months and 14 teeth to start.  I didn't do a whole lot of prep work for Ellie, except for teaching her to show me her teeth (with a smile) and to open her mouth.  We have also been brushing her teeth (she does it by herself too) since she was about 14 months old. Other than that we just kind of winged it. Ellie had her first dental appointment on Thursday February 5, 2015.

Here we are in the waiting room.  Showing off her scarf (actually its mine) and practicing opening her mouth to show her teeth.

I actually was seeing the dentist as well so I went first. She got to see me sit in the chair have have the hygienist stick her fingers in my mouth first.

Then it was Ellie's turn.  She was actually quite patient with the amount of waiting time and enjoyed playing on the chair.

The sunglasses were a hit for about 1 minute and then she tried taking them off, she didn't seem to be disturbed by the bright light overhead.

Then it was time for some teeth checking.  She actually got her teeth polished (okay like 2 of them) and then got the water squirter and the spit sucker.  Like me she loved the spit sucker and wouldn't let it go!!  

She was a pro at spitting into the sucker.

Then it was time for the dentist to come in and check out her teeth.  Turns out toddlers are supposed to have gappy teeth to make sure there is room for their permanent teeth to come in and with Ellie's teeth being close together there is a very good chance she will need braces :(  We also need to make sure to keep her teeth clean and start flossing soon to prevent cavities - I guess that close baby teeth are prone to cavities? who knew!

So I would say her first dental experience was a success and hopefully she will continue to love going as much as I do.  I would go every week to get my teeth cleaned if I could!!

Have you taken your toddler to the dentist before? How did it go?

♥ Ashley

do you love this series as much as I do?  Have a story or some advice you would like to share?  I would love for you to write a guest post on this topic to share with my readers.  Just leave a comment or send me an email and I will get you on the calendar!!

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Painting, Gardening and Decorating

What a weekend! I feel like I accomplished so much but also still have a long list of things to do. Does that ever happen to you?  

On Saturday I got our kitchen all set up for Ellie to do her own type of painting project. 

Painting a St. Patrick's Day canvas. I loved the one she made for Valentine's Day that I knew I wanted to do it again for my birthday holiday!  Of course I was too busy managing the mess that I didn't get any in process pictures but I love the end result!

I am looking forward to many more years of these projects!

After our crafting I headed to our local garden nursery to learn how to care for and prune our roses. I came home and got to work in the garden pruning our roses (and weeding as well). I hope this will make a difference and we will get plentiful blooms this year. While I was at the nursery I also picked up some more plants (I'm addicted) for both inside and outside the house. I got the indoor plants all potted and displayed in the living room and our bathroom. 

There is something about the black shamrock that calls my name every year and finally I picked one up!

Oops, I guess you get a small sneak peek of our bathroom!

Then I also did some more styling on our mantle for St. Patrick's Day. I just love the addition of Ellie's artwork!

I think I might need some sort of garland? Along the top of the mirror or the mantle?

Then on Sunday I got to work painting. But first let me share a little bit: 

Okay, so growing up we used to pick blackberries for pie and jam that my mom would make. I discovered that there are two kinds of "pickers" scatter pickers and complete pickers. I tend to be in the scatter picker category, what that means is that when picking blackberries you don't stand in one place for very long because you are picking the berries that catch your eye and seem "easy" to pick. The complete pickers will stand in one spot and get ALL the berries they can that are ripe and ready.

I think this quality comes out in other facets of life as well.  I am a great project starter but am lacking in the completion process because another idea or project catches my eye. Lets take our bathroom makeovers for example.  I started Ellie's bathroom makeover last April and I still have some "finishing touches" that I need to do before the project is complete. I've had all the supplies but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Then I decided to start doing a makeover on our bathroom and Ellie's took a second backseat!!  Well this weekend I took care of some of the finishing touches (in both bathrooms). Ellie's bathroom had all of the trim and white paint complete, now I just need to touch up the green paint and do all the caulking!! Then a that is really left are light fixtures (not a priority) and a new shower curtain and we will be done!!  While I was in the process of painting the bathrooms I thought I would paint another coat on our kitchen cabinets .. See what I mean? Scatter picker err, project'er. 

So anyways here is what Ellie's bathroom looks like now. I am so happy that all that godawful 1989 wood trim is gone from this room!!

Oh and since I had the paints out I did my own little St. Patrick's Day art. 

How was your weekend?

♥ Ashley

Linking up here today

Friday Five

Here we are at yet another Friday.  These weeks are going by so fast! We are still getting off of our Disneyland high from last week and Ellie is all about saying "no, no, no, no, no!" even when she means yes.  So we are having a bit of fun, I am sure you can imagine.  We miss Disneyland like crazy, it was so fun to have four family filled days and basically NO social media, but let me tell you it is so nice to be home! It amazes me with how much Ellie has grown and matured over the last few weeks and what a big girl she is!!

O N E 

I painted Ellie's nails for the first time this week. She LOVED it and was so good.  I have this thing about messes (I don't like them) and so far I have trained Ellie to be quite clean.  {Of course eating mashed potatoes is always a mess and usually ends up with Ellie giving herself a potato facial...maybe she is on to something!}She just stood there watching while I painted and was very patient while I held her hands in a death grip until her fingers were dry.  Then I told her to go show Dada her nails and she is such a girl and showed him "correctly" I just about died!!  She is still quite proud of her nails.  Although she is plagued with the same "skill" I have and had her pinky nail chipped within 10 minutes! I cannot get over how much older she looks now with pink nails. #wheredidmybabygo

T W O

Spring is arriving here in the PNW and I have to say that I am super excited about it.  The snow cap on the mountains is pretty low so that means that we are most likely going to have a pretty dry summer, which is always a bummer.  But with our mild weather lately I have a feeling that all our spring blooming bulbs are going to make an early appearance.  Speaking of tulips, aren't they the most beautiful flowers?  They always bring such happiness to my winter eyes.  We are so lucky to live within a few hours of the Tulip Festival in Skagit County, Washington.  Thomas and I have made it a point to visit every year since we started dating and its a Spring Date I always look forward to. You can read more about our Spring Tradition here.

T H R E E 

via

We are two days away from GREEN MONTH! You guys, as soon as Valentines Day is over I get my green on for St. Patrick's Day. Our house is decked out in green (it is my favorite color after all).  Why do I love St. Patrick's Day so much? Well because it's my birthday!! I can't believe that I will be 31 this year, how crazy is that because I swear I just turned 24.  I absolutely love having a holiday birthday because I like to think that all the stores and everyone is getting ready to celebrate my birthday.  I was looking through my St. Patrick's Day Pinterest board the other day and I have so many great recipes on there that I NEED to try out this year.  Check it our for yourself! I would love to know if you try any of them yourself.

F O U R

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I won a Minted giveaway.  Well I finally decided on what I was going to get from there and ordered them earlier this week.  I have been seeing this all over the internet and I so wanted to get one for Ellie's birthday last year but couldn't stomach the price.  Since I had "free" money I thought why not and put it right into my shopping cart.  Then I was wavering what else I should get since my order had to be over the amount I won to be able to use my "free" monies and finally decided on this for Ellie's toddler room.  I am so excited for these to come in the mail. 

F I V E 

At MOPs this week we were encouraged to share our story and then on FB yesterday I came across a story with the hashtag #ihadamiscarriage.  Nearly all of the women at my MOPs table have dealt with either a miscarriage or Infertility, God knew what He was doing when He put me at this table.  While you can read it in detail here I don't feel like I even talk about our struggle enough on the blog. Which might be a good thing actually because ya'll would probably get sick of hearing about my four miscarriages and battle with Infertility.  The thing is that miscarriage is a loss and something that the mother never forgets and often thinks about every single day.  For some reason we choose to fight this battle privately, whether its because we are ashamed that our bodies can't do their purpose, don't want to come across as a "poor me" individual, don't think that people will understand, or whatever our reason may be.  But the truth is that miscarriage defines us.  That doesn't mean that it can define us in a bad way, just how we view our world.  When we open up and start talking about our losses it is so crazy how friends and co-workers come out of the woodwork and share their story as well.  Oftentimes I find the courage to share because someone else shared before me.  I think about my four angel babies every day.  I am so thankful to have Ellie in my life and know that out of all the babies in the world God hand picked her for us, but I still think about my bio-babies up in heaven and can't help but wonder how they would have turned out.  We plan to adopt again, after we raise some money and get our finances together, but I also dream and pray daily for a miracle pregnancy.  The thought though of getting pregnant again scares me because of my past traumatic experiences with 2 ectopic pregnancies and the other two losses we have had.  But I have hope and faith and know that God will grow our family in the way that He has planned for us.  I am so thankful for this spot on the internet where I can share my heart with you and let go of some of this pain, to share my story and to give courage to others.  

♥ Ashley

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Frolic through the Tulips

Spring is just around the corner and you know what that means.  It's time to get out of hibernation and start getting some date's on.

2014

Since our second year of dating Thomas and I have made it a point to try and have some "traditions" in our lives.  One of them being a visit to the Tulip Festival in Skagit County, Washington. This is a date we look forward to every year and it is a great form of inspiration for our own gardens.


2006

Each year looks a little different.  The first year we went on this date was on a Saturday and they had a parade in downtown La Conner.  We had Thomas' parents dogs with us since we were house sitting for them.  We also didn't go into one of the major retailer's there and just stopped by the free fields for some photos.  One year we went with Thomas parents and another we went with my parents (not knowing it would be one of the last opportunities to go with my mom). One thing that has stayed the same is that we always go to the same place for lunch, The Calico Cupboard we like to try different things on the menu and haven't had a bad meal yet.  Last year we got to bring Ellie with us for the first time and it was so magical sharing this with her.


2011


We love to see what new displays they have as well as order some new tulip, hyacinth, or daffodil bulbs while we are there.  It is so nice to be able to bring some of the inspiration home with us (and a bouquet or two of fresh tulips doesn't hurt either!).  So if you live in the area I highly recommend checking out the Tulip Festival this year.  I know there are some in Oregon and I am sure in other parts of the country as well, just do a google search to see what is near you!

I am so looking forward to this years date! Ellie is going to have so much fun running around the tulip fields and its a great excuse for me to bring out my big girl camera too!

what spring date ideas do you have?

♥ Ashley

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{monthdate} 21 months

I can't believe I only have 3 of these monthdate's left!

This is by far my most favorite age yet.  Luella is growing into such a big girl with opinions, likes, and dislikes all of her own! She is also quite the communicator and the funniest girl that I know!  She has preferences in what she likes to wear and requests either a bow or scarf almost daily!! It is so cute.

Appetite:

Like with most toddlers her food preferences change on the daily (as well as how hungry she gets). As I have mentioned before the 2 1/2 year old we play with twice a week requests Mac/n/cheese every day so that is what our lunch is.  I try to add in some protein and a fruit or veggie as well.  Some days Ellie will eat her whole serving and others she won't even look at the mac/n/cheese.  Lately she doesn't like apples and is all about the strawberries.  Crackers are always a winner and she prefers hamburger meat or sausage over shredded chicken or sandwich meat.  I like to think that she has a pretty diverse palate and she actually will eat all of her veggies first about 95% of the time!

Sleep:

We have tried our best to not raise Lu with any sleep issues, which she can sleep just about anywhere at anytime with noises around. Her nighttime preference though is in our bed with us.  She usually takes one nap a day that averages about 2 1/2 hours, usually between 10:30am to 3pm depending on her wake up time and our daily schedule.  Nighttime sleep, we try to wind her down around 7-7:30 and usually is in bed by 8:30 and then wake up can be anywhere between 5 and 6:30am.  On nights she joins us in our bed it can be at 10:30, 12:00, or 2am...at this point we are more interested in our own sleep and its just easier to bring her in with us than to try and get her back down in her own crib.

Vocabulary:

Some new additions are "No", "Pooper" (Cooper), and "Mouse" for Mickey and Minnie.  She has also started to string words together like "Mama car", "Dada car" and "Nana car". She also speaks a lot of gibberish and I just love her sweet little voice. 

Milestones:

She is running everywhere, has asked to use the potty, climbing on everything in sight, is pretty good on the staircases at our nanny houses and can kick a soccer ball and throw other balls in the direction she wants!!  She also got to do her very first painting and it was a success so I see another in her near future.  Oh and she went to Disneyland and was a total champ.  She did great on the planes, meeting the characters and princesses (except for Cinderella), and loved all of the rides we went on! She got to go into a pool for the first time and loved it!  We have also started to enter the Tantrum Stage, it's just lovely.

Social:

A little butterfly at Disneyland and she does great with her nanny and church friends.  She even has her preferences with which kids to play with at church and loves to be with the babies!!  Sometimes she gets shy and I am not sure why but I guess she is a toddler and that is just what happens.  We have been working a lot on her manners lately and always have her look at the person she is saying Hi or Bye too, as well as making sure she says Thank You and waves or blows a kiss.

Stats:
Ellie is super afraid of scales (at home and the doctors office) so getting her weight is a challenge.  I was able to put her on the luggage scale at the airport without issue and she was 25lbs.  She is still a little shortcake and I love it.  I have been trying to buy up in her clothes so she has a lot of 24 month and 2T pieces but she still fits well in most of her 18 month options as well as some choice 12 month!  We have her in a size 4 diaper when using disposables but are really trying to utilize our cloth diaper stash.  I can now get almost all of her hair in a ponytail and I love to do braids in her hair as well.

My sweet little Ellie babe, I love you so incredibly much and I love watching you grow into a beautiful girl both inside and out!  Thank you so much for bringing me so much happiness in my life and making us a family.

♥ Ashley

you can see where I am linking up here
 click to view Ellie's other Monthdates