Now and Then #2

I bought the sunglasses for Harrison during his first visit to Disneyland when he was only 3 months old. It was too bright for him and I had forgotten his little baby pair at home plus he absolutely insisted on facing forward in the sling (and NOT sit in the stroller).

He rediscovered how cool they were at two-years-old. And we thought that with the Mickey sun-glass part of the frames open he was reminiscent of, maybe, a blond Harry Potter.

See what I'm sayin'...

He's a keeper.

So are the glasses.

FOUR!

He woke up at 6:30am on his birthday announcing, "It's time for my birthday party at Disneyland now!"

Then he crawled into bed with us and asked, "Am I four now?"

"Yes."

"Let's go to Disneyland for my birthday party and get a Star Wars Shuttle. Am I a big boy now? I am four?... I love being four and I going to High School now!"

"Okay, let's wait on High School for a little bit..."

And with that we were up and off to Disneyland.

It poured almost the entire time.

Until we were about to leave that is...

But he still had a great time.

A couple of friends joined us too.

Yeah okay, Woody and his girl.

And these two as well...



We had breakfast and lunch there, rode a few rides, jumped in a few puddles, ate over-priced birthday cake and finished the day with a bucket of popcorn.

I think he was quite satisfied with his day.

Thanks Disneyland!!

And thanks everyone for the well wishes!
Now go wish Brittany a happy birthday and tell her I sent you!

BSM - Forgive Me Friends For I Have Slacked-off...

It has been 11 days since my last post here.

{Wow, and it went fast!}

Honestly, January has been a busy month as we prepare for the changes of the new year; hosting our Home Group, beginning the process of Spring Cleaning [two years late] and getting to know our plumber a little better with his multiple trips to our house in the last week. (I guess that's what happens when your house is a 130 years old.)

As for Harrison?

I'll let the camera do the talking.

 he was so cute in the shower the other morning, I had to snap a picture - through the glass, in aperture priority mode. Oops. But it's still a happy accident.

 This was last week's Best Shot Monday. Oh, you didn't see it?  Another - Oops! As well as another happy accident. I love this picture but I really did focus on Harrison and the camera refocused on the rail. I like how it came out anyway. It's his "King of the World!" impression, only we were at the back of the Queen Mary, not the front of the Titanic. He found a stage area and immediately started dancing around with arms out. (where did he get those genes? Hmm?)

Moving and cleaning presented Harrison with a wide open space to dance and sing - he didn't waste a moment of it. Another shot here.

 He was thrilled to see Wall-E in person! ...until he got a little put-out that Wall-E was only one-dimensional. He plans to have a conversation with the Mouse about that.

Then there was a visit to the store where he got so excited to ride on the little merry-go-round - until he realized how S-L-O-W and boring it was... this epiphany comes after recently riding Star Tours at Disneyland for the first time.

Check out that face, it says it all, "I. Am. So over this." So much so, that he started climbing off before the thing stopped, which only provided new fun. Yup, that's my almost four-going-on-14-year-old.

I introduced him to Jenga. I am no longer the only person in my household that likes it.

he loved playing it and had great laughs each time it tumbled down.

Who said you had to be eight-years-old to play this?

 And just to finish off the week, he went a second round with big  ole' Darth Vader.

Check out those rain boots! Every Padawan (Jedi in training) needs a good pair of rainboots for battle, don't you think?


Check out more Best Shots at Mother May I!

The Best Little Jedi-In-Training...

I L.O.V.E. Disneyland. Just in case anyone forgot. We pulled up today and I just became instantly happy.

More so, I love having this experience with Harrison; of being able to just get in the car and go for a couple hours at the drop of a hat.

That's what we did today after church, thanks to a Christmas gift from the G.I.D., And now it gets better because Harrison is tall enough for pretty much everything in Disneyland park.  Rock On!!

Needless to say, he's hooked on Star Tours.

And today? There was no exception to the fun, Harrison insisted on running over to see Darth Vader and the Jedi Training Academy; but not only did we watch, he raised his hand while jumping up and down excitedly to be chosen.


Chosen, he was.

He was put right up in the middle of the stage and beamed with excitment.

 

He listened and learned...

 

 Then Darth Vader appeared and the match began.

 

It was close...

But Darth Vader backed off {no full surrender today}.

And the newest Jedi-in-Training, Padawan Harrison, made his way back to his mother, certificate in hand, knowing that he defeated Darth Vader and all was well in the universe.

Isn't he the best!?
May the Force be with you this week.


Visit Mother May I for more of the best.

Theme Thursday - So Long Sweet Summer...

This spider web is the sign that Fall is almost upon us and Winter is just around the corner. What you can't tell by this photo is that the little spider in the middle of the shot is about the size of a dime, he had created this amazing web right outside our livingroom window! They appear every late Summer to late Fall, making webs everywhere. I can't tell you how many webs we've walked into from their overnight work regime.

Ugh, I admit, I really do hate them.

With that said, I thought I would give you a instant replay of the Summer and all it's glory. (Or should I say, my missed - and not missed - opportunities to post adventures.) through a series of snapshots, diptychs and 3-up collages [that is inspired by the photos at Six One Way created by Vintage Chica and Blue Yonder - 2 blogs I enjoy visiting].

As fun as Summer was, we had our share of challenges too. Harrison decided that he didn't want to take naps anymore (many battles lost, but the war isn't over yet.)

He also decided that he was done with that high chair (good - he was too big) and the Jr. chair (bad - he's too small for the regular chair and REFUSES booster seats).

Potty training came to a screeching halt. We're still working on it. He's starting to really notice when he has to potty - but he doesn't want to sit on the potty. College is a little ways off so we still have time!

We started playing games together, Candy Land and Cherry Ho.

When we stay around the house, we play music, read books and, well, make messes.

We tried to get out to a few places - the "dinosaur museum", Disneyland, the Aquarium, the beach. you name it. (Although we missed quite a few places.)

After the Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits, Harrison wanted to head the local library to get books and a movie about dinosaurs. That led to a book about space and astronauts, which led us to building a rocket out of paper towel tubes and papermache. I love that Harrison ASKS to go to the library!

At camp he made binoculars out of toliet paper tubes and at Vacation bible School he made gak (slime). He watched Star Wars Episode V for the first time with his Daddy and acted out freezing Han Solo with the gak for several days (only we don't have Han Solo so CP3O had to step up to the call of duty). Luckily the guy I dig knows the Star Wars series pretty well and skipped any scary and dark parts.

He also took over big Brother's scooter and the other day we even went and got a new, better fitting bike helmet.

The most bitter-sweet moment of the summer was my annual pass for Disneyland expiring. What a blessing it has been to get in our car and go to Disneyland on a whim! We have so many wonderful memories. I know the next time we go, he will be potty-trained and tall enough to ride on Star Tours. After all, he's a "big-boy" now.

Where does the time go?


So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
I fell into you
Now you're gracefully falling away...

~ Dashboard Confessional

Go see more moments of Summer at the Land of K.A.

Run, Darth Maul, Run!

Another shot from our final day at Disneyland with the Annual Pass.
This is one of my all-time favorites, and Harrison has already added a printed version to his own photo album.





Run over to Mother May I to see more Best Shot Monday pics!

An Open Letter to the Mouse

Mr. Mickey Mouse
Disneyland® Resort
P.O. Box 3232
Anaheim, CA 92803-3232

Dear Mr. Mouse,

My three-year-old son and I went to see Turtle Talk with Crush while visiting the park on July 24, 2008. We sat down on the lily pad in the front. Crush came out, my son was delighted and began interacting right away. As Crush asked another child his name, my son responded with his own name. When Crush asked for questions from the audience my son eagerly raised his hand. I asked him what he wanted to ask and he told me his question.

The show ended and my son was not chosen to ask a question. I understood but he started to cry. We sat for a few minutes as I talked to him to calm him and help him understand; as I stood I saw that we were the last in the theater. As I ushered him quickly to the door the cast member looked at me with a smile and I said, "He's sad that he didn't get to ask Crush his question." .

The cast member asked me my son's name and I told him. He looked at my son and said, "Well Harrison, sometimes Crush doesn't swim too far away, maybe we can call him back."

For the next few minutes Crush and the two cast members gave Harrison a private question and answer time. Crush was wonderful and funny. Harrison got to ask his question, a Star Wars/Han Solo/Star Trooper laced question with short plot commentary. After a few more questions Crush offered a virtual high-five to Harrison and said good-bye.

I was truly touched by the actions of the cast members that day, even now I get emotional thinking that special audience just with Harrison. They didn't have to take the time to bring Crush back, they could have easily smiled and sweetly said, "Oh, maybe next time!" After all, we didn't win anything, we didn't ask for that, we were simply blessed by a couple cast members committed to making it the Happiest Place on Earth.

If this is a Year of a Million Dreams, then count us as two more Dreams Come True. A little boy having Turtle Talk with Crush all to himself - if for only a moment; and a mommy blessed beyond words at the delight of her child and the kindness of these cast members.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
A Very Happy Mommy

I'm Ready for My Close Up...

My annual pass officially expired last Thursday, I don't know when we will renew; but it's been a sweet journey that I will post more about over the next couple days. In the mean time here is my best shot for Monday.


EEK! Wait that's Darth Maul! Quick, someone purchase him a dental plan!!

(I'm actually quite happy with these because I shot them completely back lit not knowing if I got the focus right in my 30 seconds of time; I used fill light in Lightroom afterward and found happy [Star Wars Love] results.)

We went to the Jedi Training one more time at Harrison's request, he opted to just watch and enjoy.

Shortly thereafter the Darths arrived!

As you see, Darth Maul came and gave us some nice personal close ups.


We loved it.
Not everyone loved it as much as we did.


Here is my best shot from the Jedi Training Academy. Maybe by the time we make another visit to Disneyland Harrison will be ready to take on Darth Vader first hand!

(Click on the picture for a close up from Flickr, Blogger is doing weird things to my pictures today...or not even uploading them at all! Anyone else experience this?)

Best Shot Monday is hosted by Tracey at Mother May I - check her out for more best shots!

Mostly Wordless Wed. - Look What I Discovered!

Freckles! See them?... Right below his eye - they're new.

(click on the picture for a larger view.)

When I uploaded pictures to the computer last week- there they were!
They are so faint I'd never noticed them before. I love freckles!

What is he watching, you wonder?

A lot of this...
this..
this...
and this...


Check out more Wordless Wednesday here and here.