Father's Day

Father’s Day is a weird holiday for me. Not because of any daddy issues I have, but, I mean, being celebrated for being a father is weird. In a lot of ways, me typing this sentence out is the equivalent of what I had to do to become a father. Related: I’m not very good in the bedroom.

Maybe it will feel differently when I’m older, or when my kids are older, ehhh…I don’t know. This is going to make me sound like I’m holier-than-thou or something (so EAT IT, thou), but I feel weird being celebrated, however minimally, for doing something that I wholeheartedly want to do.

***

I’ve only ever wanted to be two things: a professional baseball player, and a dad. I mean, I’ve wanted other stuff too - a place to live, to be happy, a hot wife (check/check/CHECK, BABE) – but when anyone ever asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, those have been my answers since I was four. Even now, if someone offered me $50 a day to play for the Toledo Mud Hens, I would probably say yes. 

(PS if anyone representing the Toledo Mud Hens is reading this, I don’t why you’d want anyone who hasn’t played competitive baseball since he was 17, and not coincidentally was not actually good at any facet of baseball other than eating sunflower seeds, but YES I’LL SIGN YOUR CONTRACT. I assume you must have heard about the time I threw an 82-mile per hour fastball one time when I was 17 and then had to ice my arm for a month.)

Obviously, since I’m writing this and not playing long toss with Ronny Paulino, the baseball career didn’t work out. Believe it or not, I conceded this a long time ago. That left me with my other career goal: be a dad. Thankfully, that ended up happening, probably because my ability to hit a curveball has not (yet) been required.

***

At the moment, I have two children. Or maybe, my two children have me. I don’t mean that in the sense of “Oh, they’re so lucky to have me because I am THE BEST.” More like, they have me wrapped around their fingers, and have continually tightened that wrap every day since each of them showed up in my life.

(Disclaimer, before I gush about them: if you’ve never wanted to have kids, I totally don’t blame you. They stink all the time, even when they’re clean. They always have snot they want you to wipe away. Simple things, like putting a shirt on, take them 45 effing minutes. I literally have small greasy fingerprints on every single shirt I own. Kids are the best and the worst, and if you don’t want them, no worries.)

But I’ve always wanted to have kids, even when I was a kid. Even in my most desperate teenage moments of wanting a girlfriend – AND THERE WERE MANY; LORD WERE THERE MANY – a teeny, tiny, never-would-have-admitted-it-to-anyone-in-the-entire-world part of me would have to consider whether or not said girl would be someone with whom I’d want to be a parent. I mean, OF COURSE that wasn’t the first thing I was thinking (anyone who’s been a 15-year old boy KNOWS the first thing I was thinking), but it was there.

***

Long story short, two smaller versions of my wife and I live with us now. They are the best. My daughter does wonderful things. My son does wonderful things. Everything I hoped being a dad would be is what it actually is, including the part about being so tired I had to institute Movie Night Wednesday (code name: please watch this 90-minute movie so daddy can take an 85-minute nap, and also don’t die while he’s asleep). 

So why do I get anything for getting to do this? Our daughter always insists that I get donuts on any holiday (again, because she is the best), and I will eat the hell out of those donuts on Sunday, but I don’t need them as a gift for getting to live out the role I’ve always wanted.

The absolute best part of my day is walking in the door after work. (Granted, I haven’t won $500 million dollars in the lottery so far in life, so I don’t know if this will ALWAYS be the best part of my day.) I always look in the window before I unlock the front door, and they’re always there, doing something. Sometimes they’re coloring, sometimes they’re doing puzzles or playing with toys. Sometimes my son is already waiting at the window, and when he sees me he starts pounding on the glass like a lunatic.

When I unlock the door (if they haven’t beaten me to it first), I have about 2.3 seconds of prep before I get hug-and-kiss attacked by people who haven’t properly estimated their own strength. Sometimes I get an extra kiss, or in my son’s case, a blow to the head from a cookie sheet (it’s okay, that’s a sanctioned ‘You-Can-Only-Do-This-With-Dad’ activity). After that, I don’t think either of them stops talking to me about anything that pops in their respective heads until they’re finally asleep.

That brief connection is what I hoped fatherhood would be in a nutshell. Obviously, it will change over time (truth: if my 21-year old daughter and 19-year old son are greeting me that excitedly in the future, I will think something is tremendously wrong with them), but it will be replaced by things that are equally perfect.

I don’t need a day telling me that I’m great because I happen to be a father. I need my kids, every day, reminding me that I got what I always wanted.

Happy Father’s Day, my Darling and my Sweet Boy.

(Please still get me those donuts.)

***

One other thing: I heard “For the First Time” by John Legend, uh, for the first time, about three weeks ago, and even having never heard it before, I instantly thought of how I felt the first time I held each of my babies. I’m aware it’s about finding a partner (hence the line in the second verse ‘You see through me/Strip off all my clothes), but for me, it’s about twenty-some years of hope and purpose coming together in a tiny person, or two tiny people.

(Also, if we change the meaning of the one questionable line to being metaphorically reborn as a father, then it works. So please take me off your ‘Creepy Weirdo’ list, or at least keep me on there for more legitimate reasons.)

Here it is, if you’re interested. And if you’re not interested in John Legend, I GUESS YOU DON’T LIKE NICE THINGS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JMfDJ5kzS0

Yeah, Daddy

Earlier this week, I put my iPod on shuffle for the first time in months. I feel like the shuffle setting is something I always look forward to even though I know I don’t like it. It’s the same relationship I have with tapioca pudding. This is how my interactions with shuffle always end up:

Me: Oh I know, I’ll just put it on shuffle. Whoa, I haven’t heard this forever. (Listens for ten seconds, then hits ‘Next’) Oh, haha. (Listens for five seconds, hits ‘Next’) Hmm. (Listens for two seconds, hits ‘Next’ over and over again until I get to a song I want) AHHH, here we go! (Does sexy dance moves)

Anyway, I put my iPod on shuffle, and this is the first song that pops up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05pA5U-W32c

Two things: one, whoa, I haven’t heard this forever, and two, this song has always reminded me of my dad. This seems relevant because at the time, I was driving back from the hospital where my dad had almost died.

*

Last Friday, I got a phone call from my younger brother in the middle of the day. I was home because both my daughter and wife were sick, which turned out to be a marginal blessing (since I wasn’t at work). Initially, I wasn’t going to answer – not because I didn’t want to talk to anyone, but because I hate talking on the phone (so I guess yeah, I didn’t want to talk to anyone). But I answered, and I knew something was wrong because my brother didn’t sound tough. If you know my brother, he ALWAYS sounds tough. He makes crying at the end of The Notebook sound as MANLY as punching a tiger in the face.

“Hey…dad’s in the hospital…he’s in the ICU…you need to come down as soon as you can.” All of this was said through tearful gasps of air. My brother and I have a relationship where if one of us cries, the other one doesn’t – it might be a genetic disorder, for all I know. So I didn’t cry, and I sounded as tough as I could when I responded.

Some background: my dad almost died once before. He has pretty severe asthma, and as he’s gotten older it’s gotten progressively worse. One night, about six months ago, he woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe. He passed out, stopped breathing entirely, and his girlfriend had to give him CPR and call an ambulance. Long story short, he didn’t die. But it was scary and awful and terrible.

Back to the recent present: I went in to my wife and told her my dad was in the hospital, and it sounded, well, bad. Like, he might die – tonight – bad. She was still sick, but she somehow pulled out of bed and into the shower. I think she asked me to pack some things for the kids, but I don’t remember. I sat on the bed and kind of looked around the room for no reason. I thought my dad was going to die, or worse, he was going to die and I wasn’t going to be there when he did.

*

My dad isn’t young, but he isn’t old either – he’ll turn 55 next month. To him, that’s ancient, but to me, well, I have friends younger than me who have older parents. He’s been afraid of death probably his entire life, but especially since he turned 50. He talks about dying a lot, although usually to joke about what to do with his body. My favorite recommendation: “It costs too much to bury someone, so just dig a hole in the yard and put me in there. You can put a rock or something down so you remember not to dig there again.”

*

When we got to the hospital, a lot of my family was already there. That’s the thing with Micronesians, man: those sons of bitches are loyal. Everyone looked either A) scared or B) tired or C) both. I hugged a few of them, especially my brother, and then I asked if we could see him. My brother said, “Yeah, let’s go.” While we walked down the hall, I thought about what I would say at his funeral. Right before we walked in the hospital room, my brother pulled me to him and whispered, “Brace yourself.”

My brother opened the door and went in first (which I bet, subconsciously, he did on purpose to protect me from…something). I followed him but didn’t look up until I was completely inside. There was my dad on a hospital bed, with millions of tubes and other shit attached to him, in a coma, on life support. His face was puffy, and he looked smaller and older than he does in my memories. 

“We can talk to him,” my brother said. “I think he can hear us, or I hope so.” We stood at either side of his bed and held each of his hands. I think the last time I held my dad’s hand was my first day of kindergarten.

My brother said, “Hey dad, Nelson’s here. We’re both here.” I didn’t know what to say, and I’m terrible with grief, so I said, “Hey dad. You look like shit.” I think when I tell him this when he’s out of the hospital, he’ll laugh. Or he’ll headbutt me. 

We went back and forth talking to him, or maybe talking at him, without really knowing what to say. The way my dad is, if he could have heard us, he probably would have tried to wake up and walk out of the hospital, so I think I just kept telling him to take his time and get better. The only thing I really remember either of us saying was when my brother, after a lengthy silence, said, “You aren’t supposed to look like this. You need to wake up.”

*

If my brother is tough, my dad is fucking Hercules. This is the man that once scolded my cousin for wearing flip-flops to a bar because “You can’t fight in those!” As if the only reason you would even think about going to a bar would be to fight. He’s tough in a man-that-guy-is-nuts-and-so-dumb-and-if-I-ever-accidentally-find-myself-in-a-fight-and-he’s-80-I’m-still-going-to-hope-he’s-behind-me way. 

Seeing him fighting to live is both backwards and makes total sense. Backwards because, well, your dad isn’t supposed to die, and sensible because in a way, he’s been fighting to live since he came to the United States. Fighting is in his blood, it’s a defining (if not THE defining) characteristic. He was a pool shark in his 20’s, but would look forward to the inevitable fight afterwards more than fleecing the poor suckers who believed he was a meek, short guy with a limited understanding of English. The number of fights he’s been in is probably the same number of times I’ve watched ‘Twins’ and gotten choked up when Vincent and Julius realize who their mother is. (Note: that number is disturbingly larger than you’re guessing.)

So yeah, he can’t die. I mean, he will, but he won’t. I mean, I know he kind of is, but he also isn’t. All of this makes total sense to me when I’m looking at him in his hospital bed.

*

He ends up being in the coma for two days. One of the last times I saw him while he was still under, the nurses had started trying to warm his body to wake him up, so to speak. He was marginally aware of his surroundings, and my brother and I went in to talk to/at him. This time though, even though he couldn’t see or speak (the latter because of the intubation), he started moving. Not just a little, but violently trying to sit up or, as I imagine, wanting to get the hell out of there. Both my brother and I begged him to calm down, but he wouldn’t (or, probably, couldn’t). He started to vomit because of all the movement, and we decided it would be better if we left until he was AWAKE awake. We walked out of the room and I remember thinking, “Oh…please don’t let that be his first conscious memory, his boys walking out on him.”

The next day, he was awake, but verrrry groggy. When I got there, his breathing tube had been out for a few hours. My brother told me the first words out of his mouth – right after they pulled the tube out – were “What the fuck is in my throat.” Even through the crudeness, that comment was an instant source of relief: his sparkling personality seemed to be intact. He might be an asshole, but he’s our asshole. 

My brother had joked that he was probably the only patient the nurses had ever seen that was just as much of a dick when he was unconscious as when he was awake. I can’t prove that statement is true, but I believe it.

*

During the first 24 hours of my dad being awake, there were many highlights in his ‘conversations’ with people. A sampling:

Dad (garbled): Mfmmvkdfj…
His girlfriend: What? What did you say?
Dad (garbled, agitated): Mfmmvkdfj…
His girlfriend: What? I love you?
Dad (furrows brow): GRRRRRRRR.

Dad (to me): You…didn’t…mmm…have  to drive down…to see me.
Me: Yes I did – I had to see you in a position where I could actually beat you up.
Dad (smiles): Heh…I could still…kick your ass…right now…

Dad: What…floor are we on…
My Brother: The fifth floor.
Dad: Mmm…that must be…where they put…all the poor people.

Dad (out of absolutely nowhere): E.T.! PHONE…HOME…
His girlfriend: What?
Dad: I’m calling…the alien doctors…to take me out of this hospital.

*

So here we are a week later: my dad had an awful asthma attack, and almost died. He was placed into a medically induced coma. He had two seizures while unconscious, and he still doesn’t have full use of all his limbs (especially his left arm). He doesn’t like hospitals, and wants to be home (every day I’ve visited him and he’s been conscious, he says “I’ll be home tomorrow, come visit me at home.”). My brother and I - and my dad’s girlfriend - have been there every day, and we are physically and emotionally exhausted, but I know he needs us there, even if he can’t say it.

Someday my dad will die, and I’ll have to go through all of this again. 

*

That song up there at the beginning of this, uh, post, I guess, is by Nas, and it’s called “Bridging the Gap.” If I told my dad it was the song on my iPod that reminded me most of him, he would say three things. First, “An iPod is the one with music?” Second, “Who is Nas?” Third, “Ugh, I hate hip-hop.”

But it reminds me of him nonetheless. The way I hear it, the protagonist – now a grown man - is fully appreciating his father in spite of any shortcomings. He recognizes the strength he was given, regardless of how it was provided.

Near the end of the last chorus, in between his dad singing, Nas says two things: One is “Yeah, daddy!” and the last one is “Love ya, boy!” To me, that’s the sound of a man admitting he still loves his father the way he did as a child, while acknowledging their status as equals. You’re my dad, and we’re the same. Maybe Nas would shake his head at this assessment (my dad certainly would), but it helps me make sense of the last week. My dad almost died; my friend almost died. But he didn’t.

Love ya, boy.

Disneyland 2013 Day 3: California Adventure

The final day of our trip was spent at California Adventure. When we first started planning the trip, we initially thought we’d only be going to Disneyland itself. Then we decided to do the Princess Breakfast (more below), which, of course, only takes place at Ariel’s Grotto in California Adventure. Well played Disney, well played. Nelson and I were at the parks in 2005 and I didn’t remember a lot of activities for young kids in CA Adventure, but, of course, we were 2 adults without kids, so we didn’t really pay attention. As I researched more about the park, I realized there were a lot of fun things to do for them (I should have known Disney wouldn’t disappoint) and decided to go after all.

I should back track. Before going on this trip, Kalaya had no idea whatsoever Disneyland actually was. It came up last fall when we saw a stage production of The Little Mermaid at my high school, after which Kalaya got to meet Ariel. Every time we drove by the school after that Kalaya would say, “That’s where Ariel lives on the stage!!” and I had to explain that, no, in fact Ariel had left and gone back home. We started to say she lived in the ocean (of course) but then we started getting asked about Cinderella and the other princesses and eventually started talking about this magical place called Disneyland where all the princesses live, as well as Mickey and his friends and every other character from Disney movies. (it took awhile to convince her that not EVERYONE on TV lived there. “Will we see Thomas Mommy? And Elmo?” For several months as the trip was being planned, ALL she talked about was going to see Cinderella’s castle and see Mickey’s house and Ariel and Cinderella.

Oh, by the way Kalaya, Disneyland has RIDES!!!

This didn’t even come up until a few weeks before the trip. And, she had no idea what we really meant. Our family has never ridden rides at the fair and we’ve never been to another amusement park. The only thing she’s ever done is the zoo train and a couple of Merry Go Rounds. So, naturally, she had it all planned out that she would ride the Merry Go Round and Jakiah would ride the choo choo as soon as we got to Disneyland.

Day 1 at Disneyland, big sign outside the entrance listing the rides closed for the day, including King Arthur’s Carousel.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Have I mentioned my child does not handle disappointment well? Especially when we had been planning and talking about that exact ride for WEEKS?!

I seriously debated turning around and walking back to the hotel.

(and, YES, I am an informed, smart Disney mama. I had checked the website and learned which rides were going to be closed while we were there. Only the teacups and Big Thunder Moutain were listed. NOT THE MERRY GO ROUND!! DISNEY FAIL)

THANK GOODNESS we had planned on CA Adventure, because they do have a merry go round, though with sea creatures instead of horses. So, every time she got sad about the horses, we reminded her that on FRIDAY, we would ride the fish merry go round as many times as she wanted.

You would think the 50 other rides we went on would comfort the child.

It’s a rough life.

(she’s only a little spoiled, I SWEAR. Someone with a 4 year old will understand)

SO, Friday morning, off to California Adventure we went, this time with 3 adults other, all friends from college. Which meant Nelson and I got time with friends, got time without kids, got to ride thrill rides and even got to ride a ride BY OURSELVES! It was so fun and the kids seeing Auntie Beth, Uncle Nan and Mr Curt.

Of course, the very first ride we rode was the Merry Go Round. Twice. Then The Little Mermaid ride, which I think ended up being one of Kalaya’s favorite rides of the whole trip. (No, that is not a creeper. Or my husband. But, don't we make a nice family with our friend Curt??)

Then, it was time for breakfast with the princesses!!!

I will just tell you, incase you happen to look online after reading this, Ariel’s Grotto is too expensive. I’m just being honest. It was great and the food was delicious, but when you see the price and judge (I know I would), you are correct, it was ridiculous.

But, that’s Disney. Take it or leave it. If you don’t want to pay their prices, don’t do it.

 And, frankly, I really don’t want to hear about it.

It was really fun! We got to meet 5 princesses, including Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Snow White. The whole experience was so well done and the food really was good.

I almost died when Kalaya’s meal came out. She chose a chocolate chip waffle, which apparently wasn’t enough sugar, so they made it into a boat with a bacon sail and put it on a bed of blue frosting AND included a huge cup of syrup, which she dumped over everything before we realized it. Oh, and coco krispies on the side. WOW. At one point she was swirling syrup and frosting together and eating it with a spoon.

ONLY AT DISNEYLAND PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!

(I should mention that the beautiful princess dresses were never exposed to the stickiness. They came out before the food was served. Smart.)

Needless to say, she had plenty of energy at this point and off we went to Cars Land. On the way we FINALLY met Donald Duck, which Jakiah had been waiting for the whole time. You can’t tell in the pics how excited he was, because he was eating crackers at the same time, so his mouth was full. But, he LOVES Donald and can actually say, “Donald Duck” VERY distinctly and clearly.

Cars Land is SO COOL. It is just like you are walking down town in Radiator Springs! All of us adults were in awe. And, the kids loved it, especially when Lightning McQueen himself drove by AND we got to meet him!! He really is super cool. Jakiah cried for 3 reasons. 1) it was nap time 2) he wanted to actually get in and ride inside Lightning (sorry dude) and 3) he had to leave Lightning and let someone else have a turn. But, still VERY COOL!

The rest of the day included thrill rides for the adults, including California Screamin’, Tower of Terror, Grizzly Mountain, Soarin’ Over California (which Kalaya was tall enough for and loved!) and we visited Bug’s Land which had lots of simple, small rides that the kids loved. We also caught the Pixar parade.

We also went to the Disney Junior stage show, which honestly was one of the highlights of the whole trip. It was just SO perfect for our kids ages! I will talk more in another blog about how we prepped the kids for everything Disney, but this show was one thing I had heard about. It was SO CUTE!! Every time a new show was introduced, it was like a celebrity had entered the room. Even Jakiah was saying, “Oh TOOOOODLES!!!” (if you don’t get it, you don’t have young kids) It was so sweet! It was super interactive and full of preschoolers and toddlers who were so into it singing and clapping and squealing at everything, adorable!

We finished off the day with a last ride on Ariel and the Merry Go Round. We didn’t stay for the World of Color show because 1) we were all exhausted and 2) the park got CRAZY crowded, because Disneyland had closed early for Mickey’s Halloween Party and a lot of the crowd found their way over. We finished with ice cream cones for everyone, which may have been the best part for Jakaih, since it was his first one ever!

The trip was an amazing blessing and I’m so happy we went. I can’t look back at pics, videos and even reading these blog enteries without getting choked up. It was that wonderful and magical and I will never ever EVER forget it.

See you real soon!

Disneyland 2013 Day 2

Day two was just as fun as the first day! I’m really glad we gave ourselves 2 days at Disneyland for multiple reasons; it let us take our time, we didn’t feel pressured to do too much, if we weren’t able to do something the first day, we got to the second day, etc.

Day 2 was different because we added another adult to the mix! Our good friend from college, Nan, joined us. It was great to see him, but it also added some awesome parts to our Disney experience. (1) Using Kalaya’s ticket, we were able to get 4 Fast Passes at a time (Me, Nan, Nelson, Kalaya). Since Kalaya and Jakiah are too young, we were able to ride the thrill rides and never alone, it was perfect! Nan got to do everything twice. This included Star Tours, Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain, as well as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. (not Fast Pass rides, but our kids were too young for both) (2) Nan and his wife Beth are annual pass holders, which meant we got to take advantage of their 10% discount in the stores and restaurants. Basically, just the sales tax, but every little bit helped!! (3) Another person to keep track of kiddos and give Nelson some ‘guy time’.

We started off the morning with ‘Magic Morning’, because we bought 3 day (non hopper) passes. Which means we got to enter the park and hour before it opened, meaning 8 o’clock. Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were the 2 lands open to us. We headed straight for Peter Pan’s Flight, because, seriously, that line is ALWAYS CRAZY LONG. I don’t really get it. I mean, it’s a nice ride, but it’s really short and nothing fancy. And, Disney hasn’t figured out how to make that go faster. Come on Imagineers! Anyway, even with early admission, it was one of the longer lines we waited in, but still less than 30 minutes and it went quickly. We also rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and then it was time to meet Nan up at the front of the park, while hoping to meet characters we had missed the day before. We managed to be at the front of the line for both Daisy (Kalaya’s #1 request besides Cinderella) and Goofy, but missed Donald again, much to Jakiah’s disappointment. Nan and I immediately went to ride Star Tours while Nelson took the kids to meet Merida. (Disney’s latest princess from the movie Brave, which our kids are too young for, but we highly recommend!!)

We had scheduled a character breakfast Breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn, which included an all you can eat breakfast buffet. I purposefully scheduled it close to lunch time (about the last reservation available time wise) so that we could call it lunch instead. The food was good and Nelson was very happy to EAT! There were so many characters that came through, including; the Fairy Godmother, Minnie, Suzy (one of Cinderella’s mice friends), Max (Goofy’s son), Tigger, Eeyore, Pooh, Pinocchio, Chip and Dale. Poor Dale managed to knock Jakiah completely over, he plowed RIGHT into him, Jakiah is just so tiny! He was fine though and Nelson and Nan thought it was hilarious, we’re waiting for the Dale nightmares to begin… Only downside was that the characters made the kids not interested in the food whatsoever, but I had anticipated that and it was worth it anyway. Plus, Jakiah was free!

The rest of the day was spent riding thrill rides and rides we had missed the previous day, or riding rides for the second, or third time. Some new rides included Storybook Land, the Enchanted Tiki Room and Finding Nemo (used to be the submarine ride), as well as getting our Mickey ears and picking our their special souvineers. We told them they could each pick one thing at the parks, but not until at least the second day (so they could look around). Jakiah picked a stuffed Tigger and Kalaya picked a Minnie Mouse purse. Jakiah got basic red Mickey ears and Kalaya, of course, picked the girlyest, princessiest ears in the park which included a tiara and veil.

We called it a night early that night, the kids were wiped and we wanted a good night’s sleep before California Adventures. I believe we left the park around 7pm, after arriving at 8am. Another great day!

Disneyland 2013 Day 1

I will post a separate blog or 2 about ALL of my planning, preparation and money saving ideas for our Disney trip soon. It was over a year of planning and researching and it was all so fun and totally, totally worth it!!

If you know me, at all, you will know that Disney is one of my very favorite things in the whole. wide. world. Like, serious obsession level. It is so a part of who I am and my childhood. I had a Disney wedding. (Not AT Disneyland, but lots of Disney incorporated in the ceremony and reception.) Nelson had to go to Disneyland before we could get married. (seriously.) I love it, I love it all! Needless to say, I have waited my whole life to have kids and take them to Disneyland. I had incredibly high expectations and I was beyond excited. For real, I did not sleep for 3 nights before we left. I was SO EXCITED.

We decided to take our first family trip this year, while Kalaya is 4 and Jakiah is 20 months. I knew that everything, EVERYTHING would be 100% real for Kalaya. The princesses, the characters, the magic. She may only remember parts of it (though, her memory never ceases to blow my mind), but I will and we will. It was pure magic and imagination and watching it through her eyes is something I will never. ever. forget. Many people didn’t understand why we took Jakiah at such a young age, telling me he won’t remember it. Duh. But, he was FREE! The park, the airplane, the hotel and even several meals. So, who cares??? Plus, I will remember it. I’ll remember how he held his little pen and autograph book out to each character, how he looked with adoration up at Mickey, how Chip picked him up and rocked him and how when Tinker Bell told him, “Don’t fly away!” and he replied “OKAY!” Every moment was wonderful.

October was a fabulous time to go. We chose to spend 3 days in the parks, 2 in Disneyland and 1 in California Adventures. It was the perfect amount of time. 2 days let us not have to rush to try to do everything in 1 day at Disney and 1 at CA Adventures was enough, because our kids are 2 young for the thrill rides. I cannot say enough about how awesome this time of year was for the trip. Sunny California, but not too hot and the lines were so awesome! Seriously, we didn’t wait more than 20 minutes for most rides (and most of them were even less!) and even less than that for most of the characters. And we met a LOT of the characters! Both of the kids’ autograph books are completely full!!

Day one was spent in Disneyland. The main focus of that day was meeting characters, but we rode a lot of rides too, because the wait was so short for everything! They did awesome at waiting in line (and yes, it was just Nelson and I watching them both) and were very patient. We managed to meet Minnie, Chip, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and Pluto in the first hour, it was awesome! We went straight to the castle, which you can now walk through again to see the story of Sleeping Beauty, which was in Kalaya’s top favorite activities of the whole trip. And, no line, so we could do it again though out the trip! We spent most of that morning in Fantasy Land riding rides and meeting Rapunzel. Then, during lunch, we told Kalaya she was going to get her hair, nails and make up done at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which she had seen pictures of online already, but had no idea we were going to take her there. Her expression was PRICELESS (and, no, we don’t have a picture on purpose. That memory is just for us J) She was giggling and clapping and jumping up and down.

The Boutique was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I am SO happy a friend recommended it to us. Yes, it was expensive, but it was SO wonderful and worth every penny. She love, love, LOVED it and has not stopped talking about it. And, it’s been 5 days and the hairdo is still there! Basically, she got to be made over into a princess. And, the cast members through out the park called her princess the rest of the trip, which was super cute. She was adorable and so sweet and excited about every part of it. It was such a great start to the Disney magic and experience!

And, of course, the boutique is located right next to the princesses, so off we went! #1 priority was meeting Cinderella, who has been an obsession of Kalaya for over a year. It was….magical. Seriously, it was just so perfect. Kalaya was enraptured and Cinderella made it so special, teaching her to twirl, curtsy and princess wave. The look on her face was so priceless!!

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Jakiah was fantastic with the characters as well. We weren’t sure how he’d react, because so many people were pretty discouraging, saying that their kid had freaked out or that they didn’t really get it or didn’t know how it worked or who the characters were.

Not this kid.

He LOVED the characters!! He was SO CUTE, he would toddle up and say, “Hi ______!” (we have been watching many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in preparation and in line, I would have him practice saying their names) and hold up his little autograph book and pen, it was the cutest thing!!! People were just gushing over him. He was totally in love with hugging and kissing them and giving hi fives. So sweet!

We rode a LOT of rides the first day, some of them even twice!! The lines were that short! One bummer was that the carousel was closed, which Kalaya had really, really been looking forward to. Luckily, we were able to tell her we’d be riding one on Friday at California Adventures. Some highlights included; Snow White, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, It’s a Small World, Autopia, visiting Toon Town, Casey Jr train, Jungle Cruise, and Winnie the Pooh. Characters from that day included Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Chip, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Aurora, and Tinker Bell. Not bad!

We wrapped up the day with dinner at the Jolly Holiday Bakery and watching the parade, which included the princesses, Mary Poppins, the classic characters, Peter Pan and Hook, Tiana, The Lion King and Aladdin. We were at the park for 12 hours, but the kids did GREAT! Jakiah napped in the stroller with no problem and everyone had gotten a great night’s sleep the night before.