Emma's 1st Haircut!

Emma got her first haircut today! She was such a bald baby, it took us two and a half years to get to the point where she finally needed a trim. Emma had a bit of trepidation about the whole experience and kept telling me, "I done wanna get my hair cut Mommy." I tried comforting her, consoling her, and reasoning with her. I even agreed to go first and sat down to get my hair trimmed. She kept telling me she didn't want a turn so I finally just said, "I know you don't want to get your hair done, but you need to and we are doing it. So just deal and move on with life Emma." And you know what, she did. She sat in the chair with no problem and no tears.

We went all the way out to Riverside to a children's boutique called Monkey Dooz. The whole place is jungle themed and they have animal murals on the wall, a flat screen TV playing Madagascar, wild animal stuffed toys to play with, handheld video games, and even a jeep for the kids to sit in while they get their hair cut. Emma, being Emma, did not want to sit in the cool jeep of course. She preferred to sit in the big chair "like Mommy." Oh well,at least she finally sat still. It's not like Emma had a ton of hair at this point (which you can clearly see from the first 3 pictures, which are all "before" shots), so they really just trimmed the back, cleaned it up a bit, and gave her some bangs to keep the hair out of her eyes. I think it looks cute. :)

The people at Monkey Dooz were great. They had a lot of patience and took their time getting Emma comfortable. They gave us a "1st Haircut" Certificate, complete with a lock of hair attached to it. Emma also got a lollipop and a toy jungle frog at the end of our "Mommy & Me Haircut Special." She ended up enjoying the whole experience and is loving telling people how pretty she is.

Shopping with My Girl

I had to take my jeep into the shop this morning to have the alignment adjusted. Since we are off track, I didn't have daycare available for Emma and I didn't want to bug grandma to keep her, so I decided to just take her with me. I brought a bag of toys to keep her entertained, but then I realized the repair shop was right across the street from a 99 cent store! I usually shop online or stop at the grocery store before I pick her up from school, so Emma doesn't get to shop with me very often. She LOVED it! We had a ball looking around at all the goodies(and filling an entire handcart). I was even able to sneak in quite a few little notebooks, colored pencils, candies, and trinkets into the cart to fill up Emma, TJ, & Kayla's Easter baskets! Then we went back to the shop and, of course, my car was still not ready. So we headed up the street to KMart, where we enjoyed a slice of pizza for lunch and a little more browsing. I picked up a couple shirts for myself and a dress and some jammies for Emma. As we left the store Emma noticed the Merry-Go-Round and had to take a spin of course. I had noticed it as we went in, so I made sure to have quarters ready when we came out. We had a good time today. Like I said, I usually try to avoid shopping with the little one, but she was so good! At one point during lunch Emma looked at me, smiled and said, "This is fun. I like shopping with Mommy." That girl just melts my heart. I love spending the day with her.

California Adventure!

Emma & I spent the day at Disney's California Adventure yesterday with Todd, Kayla, & TJ. The kids had lots of fun, as usual. Emma is a little daredevil on the rides and just loves the swinging gondolas on the ferris wheel. They are hanging by wheels on an oval track that stretches from the center of the wheel to the edge, like a bunch of little radii. So as the wheel rotates, the gondolas roll on their own tracks. Mikayla & TJ like it too, but Emma just gets her maniacal giggle going as soon as we start rocking and it doesn't let up till we get off the ride. So, of course, we had to hit the ferris wheel twice. The lines were a bit longer than they were on Tuesday, so we had to wait a few minutes at each of the rides. You can see Emma found a way to entertain herself as she climbed up the walls! Mikayla is getting older too, which means she is big enough for all the grown up rides. Her general M.O. is to say she wants to ride something, get in line, freak out, start whining that she doesn't want to ride anymore. Then whichever one of us is with her tells her to knock it off and just get on the ride. By the time its over, she loves it and wants to go again! That's what happened with the roller coaster last time and with Tower of Terror this time. She's such a little drama queen, but its so much fun...

And THIS is why I'm tired...

I think I might have figured out one of the reasons my back/ neck/ head hurt sometimes. And why a day at Disney is so tiring. Lol. These kids sure are snugglebugs but man they get heavy when they pass out! To be fair, they aren't that light when they are wide awake either. Its ok though. I do love them. This was after we were leaving the Lincoln show at Disneyland and they had both fallen asleep inside. I didn't mind carrying them out, but you better believe I dumped them into their strollers right away! :)

TJ's Disney Day Pictures, Part 3!

TJ and Grandma getting ready to spin in their teacup. TJ really wanted a yellow one and Grandma ran as soon as the gate opened to make sure he got his yellow teacup!


And Emma wanted a pink one, so we ran to get our seats too. Emma loves the teacups! She just giggles and giggles as we spin like crazy!


TJ chose a green lollipop and loved every chomp on it!


And Emma chose a red one. Yum!


"Is it a lollipop? Is it a magic wand? Who know, but I will eat you!"
*And WHY is blogger insisting on rotating this picture???"


Emma loved this frozen lemondade!


Time for a final ride. Just one more time on Dumbo...


And one more ride on the Ponies too...


At the end of the day, on our way out of the park, with new light up toys in hand. TJ got a Lightning McQueen toy and Emma got a Minnie Mouse whose skirt spins and lights up. Too cute. They love these overpriced goodies. Thanks again, Grandma! :)

TJ's Disney Day Pictures, Part 2!

Emma is so funny! Even after multiple Disney trips, it is STILL somehow always a surprise when the ride lifts up and we start spinning!


Such a handsome boy! Smiling away as we swing around on Flik's Flyers.


TJ and Grandma taking a spin on the Bug's Life bumper cars.


Mommy & Emma on Hermie's Caterpillar Ride.


Emma & TJ, getting their groove on during the Playhouse Disney Live! show. They love seeing the characters in this show. Its a must see during every trip.

Grandma's favorite Disney attraction is back!!! We had to see Mr. Lincoln twice today!


Mommy & Emma on the Jungle Cruise. Why is my kid rolling her eyes at the camera (or at me???) AGAIN?!?!


TJ seems so engaged, listening to Grandma's tales of the animals on the Jungle Cruise. Emma, being Emma, is more into making faces in the background rather than listening.


These kids LOVE the Dumbo ride! They were just entranced watching that pachyderm soar round and round.

TJ's Disney Day!

We didn't make it to Disneyland on Tj's birthday last year since we didn't yet have annual passes. So he was still due a "Grandma, Angela, & Emma" day. Since today was a furlough day at Cal State, we decided to head out to the happiest place on earth. We had so much fun with the little ones there! No big roller coasters or scary rides today, but it was just a fun, slow paced, giggle-filled day. Each kid only had one meltdown, which is not bad for a 12 hour day with 2 year olds! Funny enough, they were each triggered by similar situations. Emma lost it when I had the nerve to lift her onto the tram to get to the park instead of letting her climb up the stairs. Sorry kid, I was trying to load both of you, help Grandma, and get 2 strollers quickly on board! Then, later in the day, Grandma made the same mistake and lifted TJ into his stroller instead of letting him climb in. Too funny. I guess I should have learned from the first time! Anyway, other than this, the kids were REALLY well behaved. One of the best things is that Emma is now completely potty trained and TJ is almost there too, so I did not have to change a single diaper all day! Woot-woot! They really are good kids, just happy to ride along, snacking on tangerines, string cheese, fruit snacks, crackers, and apple juice boxes. They love the rides and the shows and dance along to all the music. They each even took a nap at the same time, while we watched the Mr. Lincoln show, which Grandma was SOOOO happy to see back at Disneyland. All in all, it was a great day!


Grandma and her 2 little monsters, getting ready to head into the Monster's Inc ride.


Emma on It's A Small World. She loves this ride! Just bounces in her seat and sings along. So cute!


TJ seems to be asking, "Are you telling me stories again, Grandma?"


My serious girl on the carousel...


TJ & Emma always like the "Ponies." Emma just chooses not to overtly express her joy! Lol.


Pickle time! The kids LOVE the fact that grandma always gets us fresh pickles at Disneyland. They are huge and so cold and crisp. Best pickles around.


TJ, Jasmine, and Aladdin. Emma will NOT pose with characters. She does love Jasmine though, so we were able to get a high-5 out of her here, but I couldn't get the camera loaded quickly enough to capture it on film.


Awww... See? They really do love each other. Such sweet little ones, when they want to be...


TJ and one of his ladies, aka Elastigirl!