DISNEYLAND

While out in California we went to Disneyland. And by "we" I mean, Ellie, Nick, me, Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Sue-sue. I figured this was such a big deal that it needed its own post. Disneyland is a big deal to Nick and I. If you didn't know, we got married there. So yeah, our daughter's first trip to Disneyland was pretty important. She was a little overwhelmed at first, but loved it and is still talking about her adventures.

There was round and round horses.

There was round and round elephants.

And then there was round and round tea cups.

Then we were all dizzy. But we got over than. And then we met Micky Mouse! Some of us were more excited than others.

She was more excited to see Minnie Mouse.

It was August at Disneyland and so there was waiting in lines...

We had lunch at Blue Bayou. If you don't know what that is, you are missing out. Go to Disneyland. Go on Pirates of the Caribbean. Then go to Blue Bayou. You'll be thankful I gave you this little tip. After lunch, Ellie napped and the big kids went on the big kid rides. Grandma and Grandpa went shopping with a sleeping Ellie. Then it was time for the parade. She loved it. Bunker Hill Day will never be the same.

Ellie went on tons of rides. Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, all the round and round rides, Haunted House, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters, the submarines (Nemo ride), Winnie the Pooh, watched Captain EO (yeah, its back!), Roger Rabbit...phew...pretty much every ride she was tall enough for. She doesn't know how awesome it is to be 42" tall so she can go on Space Mountain (best ride ever, in my opinion).

However, her favorite was Its a Small World. It could have been the boat ride, the music, or, most likely, all the babies. Ellie LOVED this ride. LOVED. We went on it three times. Half-way through the second time she was singing along. She would have gone on it many more times, but eventually we had to stop to go see the fireworks.

Of course we got her ears!

Ellie was one happy little girl. She loved Disneyland and is asking when we can go to Mickey's house again to see the babies. It really was a magical day.

Santa Barbara - Summer 2011

So we spent a week out in California relaxing, visiting family, and doing California things. After a 6 hour plane trip out to California, in which Ellie did really well and learned about headphones, we hit the ground running; there was eating of In 'n Out, walks on the beach, playing with starfish, picking oranges and making orange juice in the morning, picking strawberries in the backyard, birthday parties, ate some tri-tip, relaxing, botany lessons, feeding of fish, and playing with vintage toys. Oh yes, we did it all!

My parents have turned our backyard from a swing set and running around haven into a fantastic garden. You want to smell lavender, its there. You need some rosemary...pick the plant you want. Need some oranges, lemons, limes, or tangarines, go pick some. Want some strawberries for dessert? Ellie, go pick some red ones while we finish eating outside and enjoying the fabulous sunset. Thanks honey!! Yeah, we did that twice.

 

Then Aunt Sue-sue (aka Susie) came out to SB the real fun began. There was a birthday party for my grandma. Ellie is currently really into birthday parties and inisted on getting Grandma Van a balloon and that we have cupcakes at the party.

Now, although we live out in Boston, I may be raising a California girl. She was really into the whole relaxing with the sunglasses on and hanging out at the beach. Okay, not the whole the water is cold and now my feet are covered in sand part of the beach. Besides the food part of my parents garden, Ellie loved all the other plants and spent time looking at the flowers and the cactus. She was sure to tell us all, "Don't sit on the cactus, hurt your bum-bum". She learned that from Dr. Seuss books. Ellie also honed her own photography skills while in my parents garden. I have resisted posting her photos of gnomes and the sky and extreme close-ups of baby. She's getting better, she know understands making sure her "subject" is in the "picture screen" before she pushes the "big button".

But most inportantly, Ellie spent time with her great-grandparents. She bonded with Grandma Van over her birthday, Grandpa Van over toy cars, and Grandma Dolly over baby dolls. It was fun spending time with everyone and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed seeing Ellie (and us, I think). Ellie was generous with her hugs and kisses.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
One thing Ellie did not like about California, was all the driving. She really was not happy to have to climb into her car seat to go anywhere, even if it was somewhere awesome. She actually asked me if we could take the bus instead of the car. Besides riding in the car, we all had a blast out in California.

Summer in the City, Part 2

We discovered a wading pool in our neighborhood that we didn't know about...so much fun!

And we've been spending time at the Franklin Park Zoo. They have an awesome gorilla exhibit, where there is a baby gorilla, whom Ellie loves.

Happy Summer Everyone! Remember your sunscreen!

Mommy takes a vacation

Yes. Mommy took a vacation. Mommy went to London. Mommy and Aunt Susu went to London together. It was so much fun. We had a blast. However, we didn't realize that all of London would be under construction (with the 2012 Olympics right around the corner, we should have realized this). We made a point to do our favorite things (Westminster, British Museum, Harrods) but also did several things that we had never done before, like go to the National Portrait Gallery, which ended up being pretty cool to get to put faces to names. I finally got to see what John Smeaton (father of modern day concrete, look it up) looks like. We also made a point to go to the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221 Baker Street. Not a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle museum, but literally a museum about Sherlock Holmes, including a furnished living room complete with violin.





Fortunately Susie was okay with visiting some royal palaces including Kensington Palace and Hampton Court. Both were a lot of fun. Kensington Palace had a modern, theatrical, exhibit about various princesses who had lived in the palace and told some interesting stories. Hampton Court was a lot of fun. It was a nice day trip and we were able to learn about how Henry VIII fed his court with a tour of the kitchens which was complete with scents of the food that would have been prepared in that area (including the fish storage area, nice touch). There were also tours of the Tudor apartments as well as the more modern, William and Mary and Georgian apartments. The gardens were fantastic. There is a maze there (which Susie found every single dead end in). And we got to see the world's oldest and longest grapevine, which was pretty impressive.

We also were patrons of the arts while in London. We went to the Globe and fortunately our seats were covered so we didn't get drenched as we watched Much Ado About Nothing. It was a great show. Susie and I also had front row seats in a box (two away from the Queen's box I must add) for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. We also saw Andrew Lloyd Weber's Wizard of Oz with Michael Crawford as the wizard. We also saw Harry Potter while in London. Very broad spectrum of entertainment.

Susie and I also enjoyed some of the culinary and shopping delights that London has to offer, including high tea. We enjoyed a high tea service across the street from the royal mews (it just sounds better than the royal stables), actually, lets just say we were across the street from Buckingham Palace! We enjoyed some typical British pub fare, including warm beer. We also went shopping at Harrods, Portabello Road, and Covent Gardens. The toy kingdom at Harrods did not dissapoint!! I also made sure to find my favorite ice cream, a mint Cornetto. I love those things, and you can only get them in Europe.

Of course we hit the standard things, Westminster Abbey (one of my favorite spaces in the world), British Museum (they put the Rosetta Stone behind glass...I remember when I got to touch it, that was like 20 years ago though), checked out Big Ben and Parliament, I saw the London Eye and Millenium Bridge up close for the first time, said hi to Nelson in Trafalgar's Square, as well as Buckingham Palace (where the Queen was hosting a garden party, if we had some fascinators I'm sure we could have slipped in).

Probably my favorite thing that we did was go to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This is a museum that I had never been to, and I don't know why. It is a museum for all things beautiful and pretty. Literally. Prince Albert conceived of the museum as a place to better the public's taste. The architecture exhibit was amazing. They had the original models that architect's presented for historic structures including St. Martin-in-the-Fields (look this up too). And they had original drawings by famous architects, including drawings by Wright and Wren in the same drawer, how amazing is that! The wrought iron and the glass exhibits were amazing. From ancient to modern this museum houses all things beautiful. Jewelry, textiles, costumes, fashion, sculpture, everything. I could have spent a couple more days just exploring this place.

Susie and I had a great time, even though it rained pretty much everyday. But hey, if we wanted a warm sunny vacation, we would have not gone to London. Although it was good to take a break it was nice to come home and know which way to look to cross the street again!

Summer, in the City

Grandparentals Van visit

Over the 4th of July holiday weekend, my parents were both in town to hang out and celebrate the 4th of July with us. We had a great time. They had so much fun with Ellie. My dad left for NYC on the 5th, but my mom ended up staying a week with us, so she got a first hand account of what our daily lives are like. While my parents were here we had fun going to the zoo, grilling outside, watching the sailing of the USS Constitution, seeing a Red Sox game, and just hanging out.

Ellie at the zoo watching a butterfly

Ellie and Susie on the "round and round horsies"

Ellie and my mom



My dad, watching the USS Constitution. Would you believe me if I said Ellie took this photo? Well she did!!





Ellie and my parents



Happy Fourth of July!



The family at the turning around of the USS Constitution (in the background)

And here is some of Ellie's photography from this morning:

 (Baby)

 (USS Constitution...from Ellie's prospective)