California 2011

We went to California last week with Jed's family for the Dewsnup Reunion. Two days for Disneyland and California Adventure, and a day at the beach.

Kate probably would have stayed all day with Jessie if she could have. She was so excited to see her. By the way, Jessie did not look this scary in person :)

Nic thinks he's one of the kids.

One of Kate's favorite rides - the teacups! She wanted to spin it all by herself.

Seriously, we waited in line to see Tinkerbell for 45 minutes. Guess we won't do that again.

Jed taught Kate how to blow water through the noodle.

Kate drove the Autotopia car by (I did the gas). She loved that ride and laughed everytime she hit the guide rail.

The beach was a blast, although Jed and I got fried. Kate loved playing in the sand and even liked jumping the waves, until she got in a little too deep.

First Stitches

Kate's first stitches at 2 1/2 years old. She was running around and slipped and went head first into the railing which left a nasty cut. She was really brave as the Dr.'s looked at her and didn't cry much until they gave her the numbing shot. Two stitches and an enormous bandaid later we were headed home.

Bad news

It's been a tough week for my family. My dad lost his voice about 4 weeks ago. We first thought it was from a bad cold he had caught, then maybe acid reflux causing swelling. He went in for a scan last Friday, and the Dr.'s called Monday morning to get him in for a scope to get a better look. The believed the cancer was back, and it is. He's had various tests this past week and we get bad news over and over. First the cancer is back, then a stay overnight in the hospital because he aspirated during the scope, and now the cancer is possibly in another spot so more tests to follow. The cancerous node is pushing so much on his trachea that the Dr. is afraid it will collapse, and so he will be getting a stint this week. Without treatment, 5-6 months, with, maybe 11.

We always knew that the chances of it coming back were 85%, but this happened so fast. Now we're waiting for the next test, discussing treatment or no treatment, planning trips, filling out living wills, and planning for what may lie ahead. A million thoughts running through all our heads. No one should have to go through this. It's such a strange feeling planning for this.

I'm so thankful for such supportive family and friends, even though they make me cry with their loving words and actions, it's a good cry. This is the only way we'll get through this. And I'm especially thankful for all of my dad's friends. He has such good friends that care so much for him.


Please keep him in your prayers.

It's A...

The Zoo

Kate's first trip to the zoo. It was perfect weather and not crowded at all, we lucked out. She was pretty excited to see the animals, but loved the playground the most - go figure.

Kate's news

Kate has an announcement to make. She's going to be a...

 

I'm due the end of September, we should find out if it will be a little sister or brother the end of March. We're pretty excited about this one, it's taken a little longer than expected, but we're glad it's on the way!

Southern California

We took a last-minute trip on Friday to Southern California. Jed had Monday off, and we decided to get out of the cold. We caught a late flight on Friday and hit the beach on Saturday. It was way warmer than we had anticipated (80 degrees!). Kate quickly aced out her clothes in the ocean so we had to do a little shopping :)

She had so much fun running from the waves and playing in the sand. We headed back to the hotel and took a good long nap, then headed to Downtown Disney.

Everyone knows about Build-A-Bear, but have you heard about Build-A-Ride? You build your own car with accessories and can make it remote control. Of course they had the Cars characters, so we ended up with a Sally (I think it's more for Jed than Kate, but she did get to sleep with it that night).
Sunday we hit Disneyland. It wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be, and we were able to go on a lot of rides. First ride - Dumbo, followed by the Teacups. Kate wouldn't let us help spin the cup, she wanted to do it "by myself".

Kate was really excited to see Goofy and Minnie. She just loves Minnie. Minnie gave her a big kiss.

We were able to get the California resident hopper pass. Kate started having a melt down around lunch/nap time, so we just pushed her in the stroller until she fell asleep, got some lunch and headed over to California Adventure Park. It was the first trip there for all of us. We went on the Monsters Inc ride and Kate said "again?". Then we met Sully - he was huge as you can tell.
Then onto Flick's Flyers, the ladybugs, a train, and the splash pad - Jed and Kate's favorite by far.

Jed wanted to go on Tower of Terror (not my cup of tea) so Kate and I went to see Handy Manny (or "Hammy" as Kate calls him) instead.
And then we found Lightning McQueen and Mater! Kate was so excited. California Adventureland is opening Cars Land in 2012. Guess we'll be going back then too!
Jed also wanted to go on the Roller Coaster, so Kate and I wend on the carousel. She thought she was so cool that she was on her own animal.

Then it was time for dinner. We tried to get into Goofy's kitchen the night before when we were at Downtown Disney, but it was booked, so we made reservations for the next night. It's kinda cheezy - all you can eat buffet in a ballroom/conference room at the Disneyland hotel - but the characters come around during dinner. It was fun, but we wouldn't do it again. Kate was so excited to see Minnie. She wouldn't eat her dinner or sit in her chair, but when Minnie came over, Minnie patted Kate's seat and Kate sat then down. Then Minnie pointed to Kate's food and she started eating. Minnie gave her a few hugs and kisses and then left. Later she came out again. Of course Kate was not eating again or sitting on her chair, but when Kate saw that Minnie was getting closer, she jumped up into her chair and started eating! She did the same thing with Pluto. And Mulan came over - but Kate had no idea who she was.



After dinner we headed back over to Disneyland to go on Buzz, Autotopia, and Nemo. Kate was glued to the window of the submarine during Nemo - it's a pretty cute ride. Then we caught our bus and Kate immediately fell asleep with her Minnie's and Mickey in hand.
Monday morning we played in the pool a bit before we had to check out. The water was cold, but Kate didn't seem to mind, she was having too much fun with her Daddy.

Then she laid out for a minute - but only for a minute.

We stopped by the beach before heading back to the airport and back home. We had a great time just hanging out with Kate all weekend long.