More Disney Moments

It's taken us 2 1/2 weeks to recover - all of us had colds and the poor kids were really sick.

It's still fun to look back on some of the best Disney moments . . .

TWIRLING

PRANCING

WAVING

Eleven

The 2011 Noble/Ocampo family Disney trip was decidedly a success.

True - there were some rough patches when Ellie got scared of Captain Hook but most of the time she had the look of wonder in her eye that I was hoping for.

So here is my photo-journalistic TOP 11 of Disneyland

#1: Thrills! Drew insisted on taking Ellie on the mini-roller coaster in Toon Town. I was trepidacious because she had gotten so scared on Peter Pan but he dreams of having kids that love thrills as much as we do and since she was willing, I held my tongue and hoped for the best. And verdict is . . . she loved it! And even wanted to go on again. I breathed a big sigh of relief and Drew was ecstatic. He's already making plans for more roller coaster rides. #2: Dress-up: Ellie really wanted to wear make-up like the princesses and outside the Princess Fantasy Faire (a new princess meet and greet area) they had the most amazing face painting artists. I tell ya - Disney employs some very talented people! #3: Treats. The buzz is that Disneyland has terrible food - and that may be true if you only eat off the food carts stocked with corn dogs. But we found some yummy treats like Beignet's shaped like Mickey Mouse in New Orleans square and MaMop spoiled Ellie with cotton candy - twice! #4: Surprises! After the Captain Hook incident I was worried Ellie wouldn't like any rides. Who knew she would LOVE a 200 ft tall Ferris wheel or the spinning Tea Cups!

#5: Naps! I think both kids (and Drew) were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in the park even though it wasn't busy by Disney standards. Jude did a great job napping in the sling and, thank goodness, BaPop has the baby touch and could always get him to sleep. But for the first 2 days Ellie didn't nap at all - then I mentioned she should take a sleep in the stroller. Within minutes she was snoozing - it was like the thought hadn't occurred to her. Funny little girl.

#6: Mid-September is . . . Halloween . . .? Yep, the entire park was decorated for Halloween. This was a bummer when it came to the Haunted Mansion because it was all re-done in a Nightmare Before Christmas theme, which definitely seemed out of place in September. But Ellie looked super cute next to the fall decorations in her Belle dress.

#7: The Best Moment. On the last day we happened upon Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother and Susie, the mouse. Ellie was very comfortable around the characters at this point and their interaction was priceless. They twirled, curtsied and gave a princess wave. This was my favorite moment!

#8: Family. To be able to go on this vacation with my parents was awesome. We all got along great and Drew and I even got to head back to the park late one night to go on the big rides and see the fireworks.

#9: The Dichotomy of Disneyland. The debate of when to take kids to Disneyland is always a hot one. If they're too young then they may be scared or not remember the whole experience. If you wait too long they won't truly believe in the magic of it all.

We decided to go this year because Ellie is so enchanted by the princesses right now (and Jude isn't crawling so he is more portable)

I'm so glad we decided to go because she looked at the Princesses just as I imagined. She even asked Cinderella "Did the mice make your dress?"

But in the same way she believed the Cinderella was real - she also believed the Queen of Hearts was real - and she was scary.

So many times I heard myself saying "Of course, that's Sleeping Beauty's castle" and then in the next breathe "No, Cruella Deville is just a person, she won't get you"

So we got the wonderment but also some of the fear. Just like a Disney movie - some scary parts but always a happy ending. #10: The Belle dress. MaMop and BaPop bought Ellie a princess dress in the park, which was a very special treat. I was hoping she would pick Tiana's dress from Princess and the Frog but Ellie chose Belle. She danced around Main Street, loving her puffy dress.

#11: Smiling Faces. I think this is the mark of a good trip: The morning we woke up at home after returning from California, Ellie asked "How many more sleeps till we get to go back to Disneyland?."

Well Ellie, if we go when Jude is 4 then that's just

One Thousand Four Hundred and Sixty

more sleeps.

Disney Dreaming

Home from Disneyland - exhausted but happy.

Lots of details to come!

1 more sleep

ONE MORE SLEEP,

O N E M O R E S L E E P till Disneyland!

Can you tell - the Nobles household is very excited

I tried to capture some of that excitement on video but Ellie wasn't exactly in the mood.

Oh well, here are my 2 attempts at documenting her thoughts before our inaugural trip to visit the mouse

Quote to remember: "I'm brave"

Quote to remember: "I'm ok with that too"

Disneyland ... .. . . . here we come!

9 month update

Yesterday, the Juder turned 9 months old

Here are some of his latest accomplishments

• This boy has 7 teeth - yep - SEVEN!
• He is so very very close to crawling. He lunges forward and rocks back and forth. If Ellie didn't always get his toys for him - I bet he'd make more of an effort :)
• He loves food! Apple sauce, kale, pears, squash, zucchini and even avocado.
• His favorite way to drink water is to lap it from a shot glass - don't judge
• He's extremely ticklish. Most kids love to be tickled and take cues from their parents' smiling faces - but I think Jude is truly the most ticklish kid ever!
• He doesn't sleep! The last 2 weeks he has been up every 2 hours A L L night long!

• Has laugh attacks! But he just doesn't laugh . . . he cackles!

p.s. 2 more sleeps 'til Disneyland

First Day

This week marked another milestone in Ellie's preschool career.

On Monday, she started the Ladybugs Class.

This class meets 3 times a week and is filled with 18 giggling 3 and 4 year olds.

Last year, preschool was just 2 days per week and much shorter. Now, Ellie goes twice a week by herself and stays for almost 3 hours!!

She had a bit of trouble with drop-off at the end of last year so I was a bit nervous but of course she surprised me.

Mommy - Ellie date

Before dropping her off at school I took her out for a donut. (of which, she only eats the icing!) Can't believe we started this preschool before she could even talk and now she's a big almost 4 year old!

So confident walking 'the rose way' into school

Showing Teacher Paula her 'Allison' doll she brought for show-and-tell.

(Yes, she calls this doll 'Allison' - as in - Alice IN wonderland)

So happy to be back at school!

Sister Week Part Two

We just finished up a week of more sisterly love.

Drew's big sister Shaneen, her husband Anthony and baby Stella Marie started their trip with a nightmare travel experience that lasted 2 days!

But we were so glad they toughed it out and made it to Seattle.

The fam

Noble women doing what Noble women do . . . Breastfeed their babies!

Babies in backpacks

This was the first time we had met Stella (unbelievable since she is 6 months old!). She is such a doll and Jude loved pinching her.

Cousins! Ellie was very tolerant during the photo shoot - just smiling and smiling while waiting for 2 babies to look in the same direction!

Fun spent in the sand with family. Life is good!