Two days of fun and still going...

We've been having such a great time in Anaheim! If the first two days are an indication of how Disneyland will go tomorrow, then we are going to have a fantastic day!

Sleeping:
Now you may be thinking, "Why start here?" Well, as many of you know that have/had young kiddos, sleep runs our lives at this point. Whether it is sleeping at night or managing naps, it must be considered at all times. So, the first step was to figure out where Ava's playard would be going. The choices were either with Randy and I or with Dylan. We tried putting her in Dylan's room the first night and he was so excited about it! The plan...put her down first then have him sneak in about 30 minutes later. Well, she didn't go down so easy the first night because bedtime was later than usual and she was just feeling out of sorts.

This meant she was with us. I didn't think it would be a problem, but she is the noisiest sleeper!! She kept waking me up! Of course Randy slept right through everything and felt great. Even Dylan slept later than usual. So, the next night I decided we were going to attempt the kids' room once again. This time it worked and we're trying again tonight. Cross your fingers. :)

In regards to naps...Ava got a morning nap the first two days, but the afternoon ones have been challenging because we have been on the go! Thankfully she is such a happy girl! We haven't had an issue with her missing the 2nd nap. Yay!!! Dylan hasn't napped since we've been here, but with all of the excitement, he's been good. This has been huge!

Day One: Hockey Giant and Downtown Disney:
Because we were visiting Randy's family, we are very much surrounded by hockey. Playoff hockey has been on ALL THE TIME! Great for everyone, but me. :) We did go to Hockey Giant which is a big store to buy hockey gear. Dylan and Randy were in heaven! Since Oma and Opa were there, it was like an extended birthday for both Randy and Dylan. ;) Dylan got his first pair of hockey skates and he was SO excited! I don't have a picture because I ran around chasing Ava through the racks, making sure she didn't trip other customers and/or run out the door. Ava was little miss friendly and made friends with 3 grown women buying skates. :) I guess we weren't there for that long, but it felt like forever to me!

Next up...Downtown Disney! I was looking forward to this, but had no idea how big it was!
The last time I went there, it was brand new and there were some stores, but not like it is now! WOW! Oma has talked about how much she enjoys DD and how excited she has been to take us. After going, now I know why. :) After scouring the menus to find a place for lunch that Dylan would eat at, we went to Ride Makerz.

Ride Makerz is such a great place for anyone that loves cars! Dylan got to build his own remote control car! He chose Lightning McQueen,

but there were SO many bodies to choose from and not all were from the movie Cars. After choosing the body you then go to the tire area and choose the tires,

then the accessories like a spoiler, motor on the hood, decals, voicebox in the car, etc. Then...you get to help put it together!

Dylan was in awe. It was so cute. Randy even wants one now. :)

Next up...Build-a-Bear. Originally, we thought this would be Ava's thing, but we couldn't leave Dylan out! Once he saw he could dress his bear like Darth Vader including the lightsaber, he was sold. This was our first time at Build-a-Bear so I just loved everything about it. :) Dylan got the Downtown Disney bear with Mickey Mouse on the foot and Mickey ears on the inside part of the bear ears.

Ava got a purple Hello Kitty that she snuggled even before it was stuffed. :)

Ava got the giggle sound in her kitty and Dylan got the song, "I Want Candy" from the movie Hop in his bear. I tried to get more pictures, but all of these were taken with my phone and Ava wanted the phone. :) Here they are!

We weren't done yet! The Quicksilver/Roxy store was next. Guess who that was for...me and Randy. :) As I was casually looking around, Oma told me to choose some items since I hadn't gotten anything yet. So fun! I got the most wonderful long teal Hawaiian flower dress,

a new swimsuit,

cover-up shorts and a tee. I said thank you over and over. After over 3 hours of fun, we headed home. Despite the tiredness of the kiddos, everyone was in great spirits. I did see a Minnie Mouse red and white polka-dotted skirt/tutu that I want to get for Ava tomorrow when we actually go to Disneyland.

Day Two: Ice Skating!
Today we went to an ice rink to try out the new skates. Dylan insisted on wearing all of his gear and boy was he cute!

The hockey skates are different from the rentals (figure skates) so he had to get used to them. He was slipping all over the place, which kind of surprised him at first. Eventhough Randy warned him that it was going to be different, I don't think Dylan really believed him. :) He did a good job and even stayed positive. He kept reassuring himself by asking Randy, "Hockey players wear these skates?"

I thought it was so cute when he fell because being so padded up, he couldn't get up on his own. Kinda like one of those sumo suits! :)

I even got to skate this time! I had Randy's dad take a picture. :) I haven't ice skated since Randy and I were dating and it was at the same rink. :) I didn't do too bad! I figure if the fam is going to spend a lot of time at ice rink, I need to take my opportunities to practice. Oma chased Ava around while the rest of strutted our stuff.

She had Ava peeking through the glass waving at us.

Once open skate was over, Dylan looked like a hockey player...SWEATY!

We sat for a little while watching the zamboni then hockey practice. He wouldn't take his eyes off the ice for anything.

Opa was making faces at Ava. LOL!

For an after-skate treat, we went to Yogurtland. Yummy!

You'd think we'd be tired right? Well yes, but you know we don't get to rest. Here we are hanging around the house. :)

This was Randy's bike when he was 3!

She crawled up to sunbathe. LOL!

We even got the kids in the jacuz today. Ava is fearless! Yay and oh no at the same time. :)

Tomorrow we head to Disneyland and everyone is more than excited! Disney, here we come!