The rest of Disneyland

Since I can't seem to keep up on the blog I decided to forgo the individuals days and just lump all these pictures together.  

 We took very few family pictures and here's one of our bests!  If only Carter were taller and my arms didn't look freakishly long!  This pic was snapped on Pirates of the Caribbean.  When we came 2 years ago Carter hated this ride!  He whimpered throughout the entirety.  So to prep him for this trip we talked about how he was older now and more brave etc.  He didn't buy it and one day after I told him that we were riding the Pirate ride, "no matter what," he looked at me and said "I've changed my mind.  I think I won't go to Disneyland, I'll stay home with Grandma!"  But luckily we bribed him to go on it and after that he loved it.  He even learned the words to the song and gave a great Off Key performance!

He was just as happy on the little Carousel as any other ride.  So easy to please.  And best part, there were no lines for this ride!

He once again loved Mickey's Toon Town and spent lots of time there.  In the fun houses as well as the cars parked outside.

One of our top 2 rides was the Toy Story ride.  The last time we were there it was a brand new ride and the wait for over 2 hours!  No ride is worth a 2 hour wait in line, so we skipped it.  This time the lines were about 30 minutes(longest in the park).  We did this ride several times and loved it!

You wear 3-D glasses and go through a virtual arcade.  Great for all ages.  Not great for Neil and I's competitive sides.  He beat me handily every single time we rode.  I really should have rode with someone other than him.

This was on the lame Car's ride.  You lean to try and steer your tire.  But really you just sit and do nothing.

The new Car's ride was the other Top Ride for us.  This also had a 2 hour wait but thank heavens for Fast Passes!  We went 2 different days to this ride and both times we had to get in the fast pass line first thing in the morning to barely get some of the last passes.  It was a great ride.  

 You cruise through Radiator Springs and get ready for a big race.  Then you wait for another car to pull up and race to the finish line.  This car shows my family (except for the random Blond lady in the green shirt).  I don't have any pictures of us, just the rest of the crew.  I made sure to snap pics of my sister's family, but apparently she couldn't return the favor(kidding Carrie!)

 All the cousins in front of Radiator Springs.

Neil and I aren't souvenir people. (gasps!) There, I said it.   But Carter thinks he is.  So we told him he could pick out one toy on the last day in the park.  He picked out this Disneyland Bus the very first day and waited oh so(not) patiently until Friday when we bought it.  He was in heaven and still plays with it today.  I'm just glad he picked out something useful and not something I would have to sneak into the garbage can when we got home!

We rode Space Mountain several times.  I actually like roller coasters more now as a 30 something year old then I did as a kid.  And a big bonus, they don't make me sick anymore!

At our last stop in Toon Town we happened to be the first to catch Mickey Mouse.  What a great mouse!  He blew Kisses and Carter was very happy to pose with him.

                                       
Mitchell even jumped in the picture.  They were both pretty quiet with him were so great to pose and hold his hands.  I guess when you meet the most popular person in the park, words can and will fail you!

 Another confession, We aren't parade people either!  But Disneyland Parades fall into a different category and we enjoyed watching a couple of them.

The only picture I have of Carter on the new Car's ride.  He was very insistent that he be allowed to buckle his own seat belt!

Mitchell and Carter on the Toy Story Ride.  They loved being on rides where they didn't have to ride with an adult.  And honestly, we enjoyed a 5 minute break from them as well.  This time I'm not kidding!.....

After 4 days at the Park I was very tired and ready to be done.  We had a great time.  The weather was a little on the hot side but the lines were very manageable.  Carter even had some brave moments and went on several rides that were beyond his comfort zone.  A couple he refused to go on again, but we were just glad he was brave enough to try them once.  See you in a couple of years Disneyland.....

Disneyland Day 1 & 2

We decided back in January that we wanted to take Carter back to Disneyland this year.  We figured he was at the perfect age.  We decided to not take Jackson with us because a 1 year old is not much fun at Disneyland.  So we ditched the baby but gained many more family members.  My sister and her family and my parents all met us in Sunny California!  

 Carter was excited about all aspects of the trip.  Including the ride from Park N'Jet to the airport.  Or as he calls it "Riding the Short Bus!"

Once we arrived at the airport he was so excited that he willing grabbed his own suitcase and wheeled it right in.  I wish he was always so helpful.  I guess I didn't take any pictures on the plane ride there but we flew with BlueJet and much to our delight they had TV's on the plane.  It made for a quick, easy flight.

My sister and her family met us at the airport as we'd rented a 12 passenger van for all of us!
We came back to our hotel and the first item of business was swimming in the hotel pool with cousins.

(that is none of our backsides-the lady in the black swimsuit just happened to make our photo!)
We swam several of the mornings we were there as the park didn't open til 10 am.

 After swimming we met up with my parents who had just arrived and went to dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday.

                                          
Lots of food and birthday cake for everyone!

The first day at the park brought a very cranky Carter.  I'm not sure why but he kept asking to go back to the Hotel!  After 2 hours at the park we stopped and ate lunch and after that he perked right up and was his happy(sometimes whiny self!)!

Our first stop was California Adventure and on to the New Car's Land.  It was one of the most amazing things I have seen in my short life.  No expense or detail was spared in this section of the park.  It looked exactly like the movie.

We rode Mater's Junkyard as our first ride of the trip.  It was a huge success for everyone and really fun.  Plus the wait time was only about 10 minutes!

This exhibit was labeled "Mater's Petting Zoo."  

On to the next ride in Cars.  Luigi's Flying Tires.

Do not wait in this line.  I think this was the worst ride in the park.  We waited for about 30 minutes for a ride that wasn't even fun.

The Bug's Life bumper cars were a hit with everyone.  It is one of Carter's favorite rides so we rode this one several times.  It was me and Chloe my niece against....

Carter and Neil!

Then we snuck in an adult ride.  One of my favorites is "Tower of Terror."  I think we rode this ride 3 times that day.  Thanks to a short line and fast passes we basically walked right on.

Here is the picture they snapped while on the ride.  Neil and I in front right.  And my parents and Chloe right behind us.  I couldn't believe how brave my sister's kids Chloe and Mitchell were.  Carter is the complete opposite so it was fun to ride with Mitch and Chloe sometimes.

After most of the day at Cali Adventure we headed to Disneyland!

Carter was not interested in posing for a picture since he could see and hear the train just behind us.  The train ride around the Park is another Carter Favorite.

I loved this ride because it meant I could sit down and rest my aching feet and back for 10 minutes!

Carter and his cousin Mitchell are close in age and had a great time together.  Always willing to make funny faces at the camera.  They loved rides where they could sit together, without any adults!

One of their favorite rides was Buzz Lightyear.  It is every little boys dream.  Ride in a spaceship and shoot bad guys with a gun.  I think we did this ride about 10 times in the 4 days we were there.

I love this picture of the boys.....they were so focused and every time I would turn around I thought they would lean so far that they'd fall out!

While waiting with some of the kids while others did a more "mature" ride we ran into Mickey!

Carter had no hesitation.  He walked right up to him and gave him the biggest hug!  I think this was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.  Watching Carter with Mickey.

Carter and Mickey.  The stuffed crab Carter is holding was given to him by a nice couple who won it at one of the arcade games.  He was instantly in love with it and insisted on carrying it around the whole day.

My sister and her twins, and Carter and I all posed with Mickey.  What a great way to end the first night.  We all came home and crashed and slept soooo well.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to walk the next day.....come to find out, wearing my tennis shoes over flip flops really cuts down on back pain and sore feet!

The Life of Carter

Carter had a busy month of August and September.  He experienced a lot of new things and a lot of scary things.  Carter is what we like to call "full of drama" and while it is trying sometimes, it also keeps us laughing.  

He is learning how to play with Jackson these days and they love to play chase.  He is still having a hard time wanting Jackson to touch his toys but it's coming.

This day he was being super sweet and wanting to snuggle with Jackson while he ate his bottle.  He's can be very sensitive and if he hurts Jackson's feelings or makes him cry he will give a big hug to him and try to stop the tears.

Carter had his first cavity and therefore, his first filling.  I felt like such a failure as a mother because teeth brushing is something I am a nazi about.  But what can you do?  I thought they would put the laughing gas on him but they said he didn't need it for this tiny little cavity.  I was very nervous because just the week prior Carter had to have blood drawn for allergy tests.  It did not go well.  It was terrifying for him and it took Neil and a nurse to hold him down.

Carter and Dr. Ferguson.  He was SO BRAVE.  He didn't cry and was very compliant to the dentist and his helper.  The only noise he made was to say "This is hurting just a little bit."  So they adjusted the gauze in his mouth and he was fine!  He got to pick out a "treat" from their drawer and he chose a paper fan?!?!?  I was very surprised his chose a fan over cars, stickers etc but he was pleased as punch to have a fan.  For the next several days no matter where we were, or what we were doing, he'd ask "Is it hot in here?"  And no matter your response he would bust out his fan and fan himself!  He loved the fan until the "Beast" destroyed it one day.  The Beast is a name Carter came up with for Jackson.  

The next Big event Carter had in August was a day I had been dreaming about.  Kids with allergies have an 80% chance of outgrowing their allergies.  We all know that "luck" isn't exactly on our side but I figured these statistics were pretty good.  Carter's blood test showed that his allergy levels had come down enough that it was time for him to take an oral challenge and try eating eggs.  They were right on the border but we decided to go ahead and give it a shot.  We really tried to talk this up to Carter and explain what would happen and how exciting and safe this whole procedure would be.

 Here he is on the morning of the big day.  He chose his own outfit, all his favorite pieces put together.  His Aggie Jersey, His ESPN shorts(he came up with that name on his own) and his new green shoes from Aunt Linsey.  I was calling them his lucky clothes in hopes....

The game plan was to have him start with 1 gram of scrambled eggs(which is the size of your thumbnail) and if he tolerated that we would double the amount each time.  For 5 times.
He was calm and happy............until the Nurse walked in with the tiny piece of egg on a plate.

 He immediately got scared and actually knocked the egg out of the nurses hand.  He got teary eyed and kept saying "I don't want to eat eggs.  I'm scared.  Let's just go home to Logan."  My heart was breaking as I watched him and I can't really blame him.  For 4 years we have told him over and over that he can't eat eggs and that eggs can make him really sick and that if he eats eggs he may have to get a shot.  And he still remembers the last 2 BRUTAL shots we had to give him after he ate cheese and cashews.

It took 30 minutes of consoling, bribing and more bribing before he finally ate that tiny piece of egg.  Come to find out, the ambulance with a moving ladder from Shopko was what finally changed his mind.

Once he decided to eat the egg he didn't hesitate at all.  He picked it with his hands and ate it up. After he ate the first piece he smiled and said "Mmmh.....that's pretty good."
We had to wait 20 minutes before the next bite and had to watch for hives and trouble breathing.
He passed the first test with flying colors!

The second bite was a piece of cake.  He ate it with no problems and went back to playing the Ipad.                                                
                                               
                                                 
The third bite was eaten like he had been eating cold scrambled eggs his whole life!  We were already planning all the things we could try that had eggs in them.

We were all so excited that we decided a family shot was in order.
After the 4th bite of eggs we noticed a TEENY TINY hive on Carter's neck.  The nurse called the Dr.  in and she said we would watch him for another few minutes and see what the hive did.  The hive cleared up within a minute and so she decided to carry on.  (Is the suspense killing you??!!)

 The 5th and final dose he had a good sized plate of eggs to eat.  So much in fact that they brought the eggs to him on a plate and brought a fork.  He loved them and chomped them all down.  (He's topless because they wanted to watch his back and chest to make sure no hives appeared there.)  He had to use the restroom so I took him.  As he was washing his hands he started sneezing.  I thought nothing of it-when Carter sneezes he usually sneezes 4 or 5 times in a row.  When he hit 10 sneezes in a row I started to worry.  Then his nose started runny and he became very congested.  So congested that he had trouble speaking.  We alerted the nurse who confirmed this to be an allergic reaction.  He was quickly given a dose of Benadryl to try and stop the symptoms.  But it just kept going......then he got a massive hive in the corner of his eye and on the side of his nose.  And they were big(I didn't take any pictures of them because I didn't want to worry him.  He had no idea what was happening and that the test wasn't going well.  He just thought he had a runny nose and was getting annoyed that it wouldn't stop dripping.)  Once the swelling on his face started the dr. ordered a shot of EPI just in case his breathing was threatened next.  I wanted to cry.  I thought for sure Carter would freak out at the thought of an EPI shot.  Luckily the nurse hid the needle and we told him that he just had to get a scratch on his arm(usually they give it in the thigh) and I turned his head away and she gave him the shot.  He barely cried and didn't even know he'd had a shot.  So...he didn't pass.  He is still allergic to eggs.  Our Dr. told us that she has never seen someone make it this far into the challenge before failing.  Usually if someone fails an oral challenge they fail after the first bite, not the 5th round.

He was fine after all the medicine but it sure did make him sleepy.  He came home and took an unforced 3 hour nap.  I was pretty sad about the whole thing but we are use to not using eggs in our house so nothing really changes.  We will do a blood or a skin test again in 6 months and depending on what those show, we can maybe try an oral challenge again.  Bad news is he still can't eat eggs but the good news is that it's definetly getting better and looks like, someday, he will be able to tolerate them.

The first week in September Carter started his first day of Preschool.  He was so excited.  So excited that he got himself dressed without me asking and even brushed his teeth without whining.  That is unheard of in our house!

 He had a paper sack full of 5 things about himself.  He was thrilled to be able to take some toys and things to show to his classmate.

Very excited to be wearing a backpack.  Some mornings he puts his backpack on an hour before he needs to leave.  Preschool is just what he needs as he is getting bored by being at home with his old mom.  He does however hate to write his name and I'm hoping his teacher can fix that.  Heavens knows I've tried......

Here he is on the first day walking out.  I have been dreading the first day of school for years now because of his allergies.  I worry about him eating something he can't have.  I worry about him feeling left out.  I worry about him feeling "different."  His teacher has been so great to him and so easy to work with.  She has bought a lot of treats that are safe for him and I have also sent a big bag of treats if he can't have what the others are having.  We've dealt with this his whole life but sometimes I feel so sorry for him.  (It rarely bothers him, it bothers me more.)  I hate that he can't eat what the other kids get.  The other day they were talking about Apples in class and the teacher served them Apple Crisp.  He couldn't have any and while he was happy with his Oreos instead, I could still tell that he felt a little sad.  His best friend, and neighbor is in his same class and he is in charge of treats this week.  His mom called me and asked what she could buy that was safe for Carter.  Her son was very insistent that he wanted his treats safe for Carter.  I may or may not have cried a little bit at that.......you'll never know.  It's really NOT hard to find things Carter can eat and it sure makes his mom feel good knowing people care about him and want to include him.

 He kills us with his imagination lately.  The other day he called us out to look at the campfire he had built  He used different things to construct a pit and then brought some wood over.  We roasted marshmallows over our fireless pit!

 Carter has been looking forward to the last demolition derby of the season since the first one!  This one hosted Trucks and Suburbans instead of just cars.  He has no problem sitting and watching the derby for the 3 hours it takes.  It's become a family tradition and we all love it now.

 He fell and scraped his nose last week and this picture also shows the big scabs on his nose.

He was very attentive and would clap and squeal at all the right times!

                                                 
This was Jax's first derby and he was quite enthralled as well.  He sat through 3 hours of the derby much better than he sits through 3 hours of church!

This Saturday is the monster truck rally and Carter can't miss that so we will be attending that as well.  We are headed to Disneyland Sunday but I think Carter would prefer the demolition derby.  If I had known that I could have saved a bunch of money on Tickets!