The Happiest Place on Earth

*her favorite rides: the carousel and it's a small world

Now that summer is over and our passes aren't blacked out anymore, Wendy and I have been going on a lot of mother-daughter dates to Disneyland! I've always enjoyed going to Disneyland, but getting to watch my little girl light up as she experiences it for the first time is a whole knew kind of wonderful.

Currently, her favorite part of going to Disneyland is getting to see the princesses. I really think she thinks they're the real ones. She does this slow motion running hug to them then caresses their face and hair as they talk to her. And MAN those girls are good. They do such a great job of returning the love and making her feel special. Whoever is hiring/training these girls deserves a raise.

Wendy knows EVERY Disney song and sings them to herself all day long. In her little voice and with her little lisp, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen/heard, but the girl WILL NOT perform for the video camera. I've tried everything: begging, bribes,sneaking up on her... nothing works. She always catches me because the flip beeps when it turns on. Then she stops. So no video.

The Plunge

*Harper, Wendy & Franco

The swimming lessons in Brea are somewhat of a local phenomenon. Parents camp out in line over night to get the time slots they want. I'm not that crazy, I just get up and get there by 5am with a bunch of my mom friends. Wendy's swim teacher, Brett, is amazing. He is the reason I get up and wait in that crazy line that goes all the way down Brea Blvd. We call him "The Baby Whisperer," like the dog whisperer, because of his calm/assertive ways with screaming toddlers. Like all the dogs on the show, by the end of swimming lessons, all the kids are broken in and happily swimming. This was our second year taking lessons from Brett at the Plunge. Last year, we did mommy n' me. But this year I got to watch from the sidelines while my daughter was "broken in" and taught this essential survival skill against her will.

I love the progression from terror to pure enjoyment. It was so depressing ignoring Wendy when she was sobbing for me to help her. I had to hide so she couldn't see me and call out. In the beginning, Harper kept escaping. But by the end, as you can see (if you made it that far into this long video) Wendy can't even wait for it to be her turn and Franco kept giving his mom the cutest thumbs up every time he did something cool.

P.S. vote for Wendy's amazing swim teacher BRETT MURDOCK for Brea City Council!

Summer Lovin'

This summer was Wendy's third summer on earth, but it was the first summer she really understood what it meant. She understood and really enjoyed what it meant to spend a day at the beach, at the pool, or at Disneyland.

This was also the first summer Wendy was able to play with her cousins. All three of them live in Arizona (pretty weak for a mormon/catholic family). Her cousin, Ruby, is 2 years older than her. So this was the first year they were kinda on the same level and able to hang out. At the beach house, they were pretty much joined at the hip. Wendy wanted to be just like Ruby - matching hair in pig tails, matching bathing suits, matching pajamas... I really wish they lived closer.

As they get older, two years will feel like less and less. I hope they can keep this relationship strong the way I did with my cousins who live far away. I think it's all about making family vacations a priority.