The Merriest Place on Earth!

Since I was pregnant for most of 2009 and didn't really feel like doing any vacationing, I figured someone should take advantage of the get in free on your birthday deal. My dad's birthday is the week before Christmas, so off we went to CA!

It was so fun to be at Disneyland during the Holiday Season! The decorations are so fun,

and all the characters are dressed up in their Christmas sweaters,

and the Haunted Mansion is all decked out for the Nightmare Before Christmas!

We got to see Mickey with his Santa hat on (in the flowers) and with his sorcerer hat,

the castle looks so cool all covered with snow and ice,

and we rode some rides while waiting for the Christmas Parade!

(We heard the park was at capacity during the parade, and you could tell. So many people!)

Small World was Hayley's new favorite ride:

And Tiana was her new favorite princess for the day!

(Tiana didn't have a lot of competition.

The wait for all the other princesses was over an hour and a half!)

Hayley also loved Toon Town and any vehicles,

and went through many different faces, including the inevitable meltdown:

So much fun, but so little time...

That we're gonna go again in April, with my mom!!!

It's a Party!

The excitement starts a day early around here, on Christmas Eve's Eve. We headed to my mom's for breakfast-for-dinner, some Christmas singing, and a reading of the story of Christmas. My mom wanted a talent show, but she was out-voted.

Hayley's favorites were her Princess Barbies. Possibly because for the second year in a row, she was nosy enough before Christmas to discover her presents. Both at Grandma Heidi and Grandpa Bob's house and here at home. Sheesh.

Jeremy loved his fake hair hat (for more on that, please see the post below...), and Stacey loved Jackson. For the evening. We didn't give him away as a Christmas present. :)

The next night we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Bachman's for more yummy food and fun gifts.

I tried for a cute shot of the cousins in front of the Christmas tree...

But I guess some shots under the tree will have to do!

Christmas morning we woke up to this:

(Really, how could the four month old be so excited for Christmas?

I'd think he wouldn't even know.)

Hayley got a stash, but I think the princess castle for her little dollies was the favorite. She set up all her presents like that and told me to take a picture. (Which I did after we had a little discussion about asking, instead of being bossy.)

Here they are excited for more Christmas fun at Grandpa Dame's and Aunt Marilyn's.

I rounded out the day by taking the Christmas decorations down. Because as much fun as we had, I was also ready for the Big Day to be over!

Uncanny

His nickname at work is Beaker.

And now I understand why.

No one tell him I posted that pic.

That's what he gets for not reading the blog!

Dancing is Hot!

First up, Hayley's little group put on a show at a retirement center. Hayley's looking a little stone faced because we had a curling iron mishap that morning. After multiple discussions about how the curling iron is "Hot, HOT!" Hayley decided she needed to find out for herself. With her finger. After some tears and a "kiss" bandaid (that's the one that goes up and over the fingertip, sometimes it's a slobbery kiss if it needs Neosporin) and a "hug" bandaid (that's the one that goes around the finger to make sure the kiss stays on) on her blistered finger, we actually still made it to the performance on time. And, she actually danced, and wasn't just the crier or the stander-therer! (The criers and stander-therers are still totally cute, by the way, if you happen to have one of those!)

A few days later, she had her actual concert. This is her posing and practicing the one thing that she didn't do at the previous performance: SMILE!

And an action shot:

(She did wave and smile quite a bit at the beginning. Darling!)

All her fans were so proud of her!

(Okay, really Jackson may not have cared, but he was cute and behaved well!)

Hey, You!

What, are ya busy or somethin'?

Not many posts out there in the blog world lately, and not many comments either (ahem!), but for many of you, I only have your blog address. I don't have your email or your street address. So if you would like a Christmas card (or "Holiday" card, if you are reading this after Christmas) from the Bachman fam-damily, please email me your street address at heather_sue_98@yahoo.com.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Posts still to come in the next few days:

• An explanation of "Hug and Kiss" bandaids
• Hayley's first dance concert
• The Holiday Trip to Disneyland!

But not today. Because we got in from California at about midnight last night, after a full day at the park, and I am at work today. Feeling a little like a zombie, and not being able to type well, but at work all the same. And seriously considering putting naptime up on the class schedule for the day. Think my fourth graders would go for that?

The Joy of the Boy

Warning: If you are offended by bodily fluids, this post may be TMI. Feel free to scroll down to the next two posts, which are much more uplifting.

Here's how my morning went:

3:30 a.m. Jackson wakes up crying. This is unusual for him. Turns out he has a fever. I feed him, give him some Tylenol and put him back to bed.

6:15 a.m. I wake up Jackson for his morning feeding. He's happy, and his fever is down. (Maybe it's just the fuzzy warm winter jammies?) I'm relieved.

6:30 a.m. After he eats, I change his diaper. Turns out I'm not fast enough, and he gets a waterfall of pee on his clothes and changing table. Not too much on him though, so I wipe him and the changing table down and call it good.

6:31 a.m. Again, with the trying of the diaper change. Again, in the seconds that the old one is off he starts to pee. However, it's worse this time, because he is also yawning. That's right. Pee right in his mouth, and all over his face. Nice.

6:32 a.m. Okay, fine Jackson. You can have a bath at the crack of dawn. Happy? (Actually he was. This kid loves the bath!)

So, Jackson got an extra feeding, two eventful diaper changes, a bath, and an outfit change out of this morning. Due to these unexpected events, I didn't get to do my hair or makeup for work. But I did get in some quality time with a cute little boy.

As for the hair and makeup, at least I have an excuse.

At least for today.

Still working on all the other days.

Oh, the joy of this boy!

I Needed a Little Christmas Spirit

So, I just haven't been feeling very Christmasey this year. I don't know what it is, but Christmas is seriously close, and I still wasn't feelin' it. What's a sure cure for my bit of Grinchiness? Head to the mall at Christmas time of course!

I went out determined to have a good attitude. And I did. We skipped the Santa in the middle of the mall, the one with over an hour wait, and opted instead for the Santa with the freebie picture in Macy's. They also had a craft table set up for kids to write letters to Santa, which Hayley did happily for over 20 minutes, stopping every so often to show what she had drawn to Baby Jackson in his stroller. For once, I just slowed down and watched her. And realized how big she is getting, and how proud I am of all the learning she is doing, and how lucky I am that she took to her baby brother so well and so quickly.

After that, Hayley saw some kids with balloons, so we scouted out who was giving out the free balloons in the mall. Amazing how happy just a balloon can make a kid! Next stop was the bathroom where Hayley got her precious hug-and-kiss-bandaids wet. (Another story, another post...) She's kind of crying about it as we leave, and this nice grandma lady stops, digs in her purse a little, and comes up with a Backyardigans bandaid. Really?! What a life saver! Then she said goodbye and hurried on her way.

Next up, Jackson's hungry, so off we go to find a dressing room big enough for the four of us (no, Jer wasn't with us, but let's face it, the dang stroller counts for at least one person), with a tricky enough lock that Hayley can't escape, and without space under the stalls that she can crawl under. (She's been known to make new friends in dressing rooms.) We find one and get situated, and I'm talking to Hayley, and to Jackson, when the lady in the next stall pipes up, "I like the way you speak to your kids. You sound like a great mom." I thank her, proceed to have a little cry, and continue to reflect on my attitude and the Christmas Season.

I didn't buy anything at the mall. That wasn't the point of today's trip.

Funny the things that will change your outlook, like a unplanned Santa opportunity and a free balloon.

Funny how angels will show up with unexpected gifts and in unexpected places.

Funny how when I just slowed down and chilled out a little, I found that the Christmas Spirit was already there, all around me, all along.