What Sariah is Talking About...

Well, Sariah is following in her big brother's footsteps on many things- including her speech development and crazy memorization abilities and much more...
She has a pretty large vocabulary already and it is growing daily! Just like her brother, once she learned the power of words, she decided she wants to try to learn them ALL, hehe! She of course knows plenty of basics, but she has been really focused on learning the names of toys- more specifically the names of characters because that is what Maletch is so in to.

I should also note: that all of the characters she knows- she knows very well- she can recognize the characters in all forms: whether they are on TV, or toy figures around the house, and also from photos in a book- when she spots ANY image of them, she will shout out the specific names with excitement, This is really true of all of her vocabulary though, I never count any word that she simply repeats- or even memorizes for singing- only the ones she speaks deliberately in context.

I am sure that I am forgetting plenty of her words, these are just off the top of my head right now- I will add more as I think of them.

Here are Some Words that She Says and their Translations:

"Metch" (Maletch)
"Dinaso" then "Roar" (Dinosaur)
"Danks" (Thanks) and "Dank you" (Thank you)
"Wecome" (Your Welcome)
"Peeze" (Please)
"Sowwy" (Sorry)
"Dow" (When she wants down)
"Here go" (Here you go)
"Juss" (Juice)
"Nana" (Banana)
"Cackas" (Crackers)
"Ice-cee" (Ice Cream)
"Num num" (when she wants to eat) and "Yummy" (after she takes a bite)
"Tar" (Star)
"Choo Choo Twain" (Train)
"Donna" (Donald Duck)
"Goooey" (Goofy)
“Puto” (Pluto) [from Mickey and Friends]
"Mo-Mo" (Nemo)
"Emmo" (Elmo)
"Sooby Doo" (Scooby Doo)
"Tomma" (Thomas the Train)
"Mickkey" (Mickey Mouse)
"Fesh Bee Ban" (Fresh Beat Band)
"Cack Cack" ('quack' pointing at a duck)
"Baman" (Batman)
"Shar" (shark)
"Muckey" (Monkey)
"Woo-ee" (Woody) [from Toy Story]
"Buzz-eye" (Bullseye) [from Toy Story]
"No White" (Snow White)
"Tinkabell" (Tinkerbell)

These Words She Pronounces Perfectly:

"Hi"
"Bye Bye"
"Wow" & "Oh Wow"
"Yay"
"Cool"
"Uh-Oh" and "Oh No" (Funny, I always know what happened even when I can't see her because "Uh-Oh: is when she drops something and "Oh No" is when she falls down- every single time- hehe)
"Daddy"
"Mommy"
"Hat"
"Shoes"
"Pants"
"Cup"
"Milk"
"I see"
"What?"
"Cars"
"Ball"
"Castle"
"Turtle"
"More"
"Poo poo"
"Pee pee"
"DVD" (videos)
"Can I?" (usually pointing to something she wants but either can't reach or open)
"Soda" (my diet Pepsi bottle)
"Minnie"
"Daisy" [from Mickey & Friends]
"Shaggy" [her FAVORITE from Scooby Doo & Friends]
"Buzz" [from Toy Story]
"Jessie"
"Shout" [from Fresh Beat Band]
"Twist" [from Fresh Beat Band]
"Abby" [Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street]
"Pooh" [Winnie the]
"Dora" [the Explorer]
"Scout" [a Leap Frog Character]


She Puts a Few Words Together Like:

"Where's daddy?"
"Daddy bye bye" (meaning daddy is gone, when he is at work)
"More juss" (when she wants more juice)

Here are Some of the Instructions She Understands:

"Clap your hands."
"Go get the ________" (fill in the name of object/toy)
"Come here"
"Do you need a diaper?" She will reply with "poo poo" or "uh-huh" when she needs one, OR "No" when she doesn't
"Get down."
"Sit down."
"Give mommy a kiss."
"Push the button"
"Pull it"
"Dance."
"Close the drawer/cabinet."
"Are you hungry?"
"Do you want to eat?" She will answer "num num" when she is hungry, or "no" when she isn't
It's so cute- anytime we bump into each other, she says "sowwy" as I say "Oh I'm sorry"

It is so funny that NEITHER of our kids had the "typical" first words, like: mamma, dadda, baba... Maletch's first 3 words were: juice "tuce", cracker "cwacka" and "Uh-Oh." I still remember his doctor's reaction, "He says juice?" then long pause, then, "Really?"
and Sariah's first 3 were: "Roar" when she saw dinosaurs (toys), thanks "danks" anytime you give her anything, and "Daisy" from Mickey & Friends. It is so funny that "mamma" and "dadda" came much later for both of them- seems like they didn't need to say our names since they could get our attention by just speaking to us- so they wanted to learn how to get things they wanted- like juice or a toy- hehe.

One of her favorite things to do is run around collecting toys to bring me, just so she can tell me what/who they are- this typically goes on for hours- until I have a huge mess and huge pile of toys.

She also likes to sit next to me and just talk- she wants eye contact and she just makes up her own language and talks and talks and then when I respond with a sentence in English, she stares at my mouth when I am talking, then she usually tries to repeat what I say.

Her Memory:
Like her brother, who at this age would memorize an entire 2 hour movie (even when he didn't know what the words meant)- he could narrate/ recite the entire dialogue after watching a movie only one or two times. When he wasn't familiar with the word, he would say something that sounded like the word... well she is that EXACT same way with song lyrics! She sings word for word- to every Fresh Beat Band song AND every song on TV shows, movies, and commercials. I love listening to her sing, plus she is fun to watch because she is always dancing too! Her memory is just amazing too- many times- I don't even know the words to the song- but she sure does!

She is also already trying to learn the alphabet on her own- EVERY time she sees written words she points and just starts naming "C", "D", "E"- although she is not usually correct, I have been so surprised at how many letter names she knows and that she even knows what letters are since I have NEVER taught her anything about that! Just recently I started responding with "Yeah,..." and then I point to whatever letters she was pointing to and then just name them (only once and quickly)- and to my surprise, she seems to be picking up a lot from just doing that a few times. I wasn't going to begin teaching her this early, but since she is interested, I plan to let her watch the Pre-K Hooked on Phonics videos. She loves the videos since they are all done in songs!
Another thing that surprised John and I was that we have heard her 'counting to 3' numerous times on her own and we have also heard her recite some ABC's in order, like she'll say, "A, B, C, D, E"-- we have no idea where she learned this stuff cuz it wasn't from us!

It is so fun that she is able to understand so much and that we are able to communicate with her- this is such a fun stage! Although she does get frustrated when we have to take things away, and she can't understand why yet- I know that will come soon- since she is sponging up everything so fast! Maletch totally understood logical explanations at around 18 months and I expect her to do the same. We were fortunate with him because he just completely skipped the "terrible two's" and I think that was because he had such a huge vocabulary/ great communication skills that he didn't need to release his frustration that way. I realize that every child is different, but I sure hope that Sariah will be able to skip that phase too since I see her communication skills progressing the same way- fingers crossed!

Since she is learning at least one (sometimes more) words everyday, I will keep adding to this post for the next couple of months. I will try to keep an updated list until she is 18 months (like I did for Maletch). I think that makes for a cute keepsake, and I know it is a special treat for the grandparents to keep up with what she is saying- PLUS it makes it easier for you to understand her too! :)

Fun Things On Our Calendar.....

Next Month (July):
I'm so excited for the fun things that we have marked on our calendar!!! We have a 4 day mini-vacation coming next month (July)! We are going on a 5 hour road trip up to Paso Robles, where we will be attending our second Fresh Beat Band concert with VIP backstage passes to their party (Woop woop)!! We have reservations at a cute Inn for 3 nights, and we will attend the famous Mid-State fair, and more! Even though we will be in the middle of beautiful Wine Country, we aren't planning on going wine tasting since this is a family trip, but we will be exploring the sites, going to the Children's Museum, and possibly will even go up to Hearst Castle (time permitting)!

The following weekend, I am going to a Scrapbook Workshop -many of the industries top artists will be there- I am really looking forward to meeting some of them for the first time, and getting to play and learn lots of new ideas!! Fun treat for mommy!!

Between our 4th of July festivities, our vacation with concert, and my scrapbook workshop, and most likely a squeezed in Disneyland trip- the month of July is definitely going to be a whirlwind of fun!

More This Summer:
We also have plans to take the family to a few of my favorite beaches this summer too! We are planning on making a few mini vacays at the beaches (staying for 3-4 days at a time). We will be going to Redondo Bch to the Seaside Lagoon (one of my favorite spots as a kid) as well as my favorite surfing beach County Line (which is a little secret of the 'locals'- I used to be one, hehe) and surfing beaches are way better than crowded 'family/tourist beaches'.  We will also be going to Catalina Island for a few days too. 


Later This Year (November):
Maletch is also looking forward to 2 events a little further out- in November: We already have tickets to what will then be our third Fresh Beat Band concert. We also have tickets to our third "Day Out with Thomas" (the train). Thomas only comes to So Cal once a year, so he counts down to this all year long!

It is interesting/ funny what has happened with the Fresh Beat Band tour. I heard that at first many venues were reluctant to 'book them' for fear that they wouldn't sell enough tickets to fill a large venue... but as soon as they announced their tour schedule, tickets sold out everywhere (some within minutes, some within just a few days)- it was quite the frenzy! Concert promoters immediately began contacting them begging them to add their venues to their tour schedule, and immediately their tour tripled in size (with added show times and cities). They kept expanding their tour trying to accommodate the demand, but every show has sold out almost instantly, and many national newspapers and magazines have covered the story that "Fresh Beat Band tickets are harder to get than Springsteen tickets." What is terrible is the price gouging that is happening on Stub Hub: for good seats like ours, they are getting about 2000 bucks a piece and regular tickets are running between 500-1000 bucks a piece- insanity! I have even heard that a few celebrities have tried using their Hollywood connections to try to get tickets for their kids, and after being made fun of (for that being how they wanted to use their connections) even they are complaining that their connections couldn't help! VIP tickets are practically all but impossible to get since they are so limited and sell out literally- in minutes!

Needless to say, we were very lucky to get any seats to our first concert (in Feb)- let alone front row with VIP backstage passes- (that really took pulling a lot of strings)- and we have been lucky with all of our good tickets for all 3 shows! You can't believe the number of upset parents complaining that they can't get tickets to all of the sold out shows, and also the number of parents getting hosed for thousands of dollars for scalped ones! I feel really bad for those parents, especially since I am so thankful to be able to share something so fun and exciting with my kids, and knowing that we are creating memories that will last a lifetime!
Maletch has not stopped talking about his interactions with the band, "Twist thanked me for going up on stage and high-fiving him, he said that it made the songs more cool"... "Remember when Sariah was crying when Shout was holding her, why was she crying mommy?".... and endless other stories... the experiences and memories are truly priceless!
I can't wait for July!We are coming back Fresh Beats, and this time Sariah will be singing along too!
I am especially excited to watch the kids interact with the band again backstage- you know Maletch considers them best friends, hehe! Although, I imagine that Maletch will manage to interact with them again before we even get backstage, lol-- like last time during the concert! This time Sariah will definitely recognize them and she can interact too- amazing how 5 months time makes such a difference with little ones!
How lucky are we- at the end of the year, we will have been to 3 Fresh Beat Band concerts in 2012: Feb, July, Nov

You know I will be posting LOTS of photos and videos from all of the fun places will be going!! Wish you could join us!
Let me know if any of you want to plan to go to a concert next year-- once the 2013 tour schedule is posted, we can plan it VIP of course. We need to get our tickets before they go on sale to the public though- so I have to know ahead of time!!

I Love My Boy!!

Ahh he just makes me so proud! He always knows how to behave like a perfect gentleman, even when other kids are acting out of control or just not being nice.
Today made me remember when we went to Toy Story On Ice and hundreds of kids were running around and acting crazy- kids were literally running through the halls of the arena, swinging swords, yelling, and I even had 2 kids crash (literally) ran into me so hard that they fell on the ground (and almost ripped my dress off)! Not one parent in the whole place was trying to stop the madness. I couldn't believe that nobody felt that they had to control their kids, it was almost as if, 'well if other kids are doing it, then it is ok for my kids'-- so crazy! It was to the point that all the children in the place had joined in, and you could not see a child anywhere in sight that was behaving... EXCEPT ours!
Maletch lit up when he saw a group of kids run by and he excitedly asked, "Mommy can I go run to?" I simply told him, "I know you see a lot of kids running around, but they are not supposed to be doing that. Their parents need to tell them to behave, and we are going to behave because we know what we are supposed to do." He did not complain, nor did he ask again, and just remained a perfect gentleman. When the next group of kids ran by, he said, "Mommy, they are not supposed to be doing that." He made John and I so proud because we know that took a lot of self control to not join in what looked like so much fun.

Well today we were in a store and a lady near us yelled, "Oh my God!" Maletch is very sensitive to this and he said very loudly and firmly, "Hey, she can't say that, she is supposed to say, 'Oh my GOSH! Mommy we need to tell her she can't say that!" He was so outraged, that he spun around looking at me like what are you going to do? I had to think quick on my feet because he WAS right, but of course I wasn't going to confront the lady. The funny thing was he said it so loud that I know she and everyone else around us heard him anyway. So, I told him he was right, nobody is supposed to say that. Later after we got home, he wanted to talk about it more so he asked,  "Mommy, God said he doesn't want us to say that right? HE said we should say Oh my Gosh, right?" We had a long talk about it and at the end of the talk, Maletch was so happy when I told him that God was very proud of him. This is something that comes up almost daily in our house, I can't believe how many "family shows" will be on in the background where somebody says that, and Maletch has ALWAYS responded by saying, "Hey, he/she can't say that, mommy this is not a nice show, we need to change it." He also knows the shows we aren't allowed to watch like "Sponge Bob", "Phineas & Ferb" and many others... and if one of those come on after something else he comes to get me to say, "Uh oh mommy, this is not a nice show, we need to change it, hurry, quick, where is the remote?"

Later same day, we were at Jamba Juice and Maletch was leaned over the water fountain and this kid came over and climbed on Maletch's back and was trying to push Maletch in the water pool. I said, "Hey, what the heck?!" and the boy's mom came running over and made up an excuse or tried playing it off by telling her kid, "Oh Hayden, he is not going to fall in, you don't have to try to save him." So I was thinking, "What?!?!?!" Maletch just turned and gave me the same look, 'trying to save me-- what??' So we let that go, UNTIL the boy started swinging his arms (like punching) all crazy- aiming towards Maletch, but not really hitting him, but like stopping right in front of his face (like within an inch of punching him) and then just when I was about to say something to the boy AND his mom, Maletch asks in such a curious and innocent tone, "Mommy is that kid, (pause), is he kind of a brat?" To be clear, he wasn't name-calling, just asking an innocent question. Ahhhhh, I just love him!! I wanted to say, yep honey, that is exactly what he is, LOL! So I just said, "Well he is not being nice, and he certainly needs to behave."
I've got to hand it to Maletch, because it wasn't until immediately after his question, that the boy's mom finally pulled him aside for a 'talk'. Not that the talk was very effective because...
Then Sariah woke from her nap (she had been in the stroller for the first part of that kid's crap) BUT the boy came back for more once Sariah started toddling around. He came over and touched Sariah and acted like he was going to push her down-- Maletch got VERY protective and stood right by her staring that kid down, he made sure he was between her and the kid. I did eventually have to say something to the kid AND the parents, but I was proud of how Maletch was nice the whole time but also got very serious when she was concerned.
The boy's mom continued to shock me with how she reacted to her kid-- she even asked me how old Maletch was, when I told her, she said, "Oh yeah 4 year olds seem like such big kids, my kid is 3, and sometimes he does things like a baby, that one year (between 3-4) makes such a difference, ya know?" It took all I had NOT to say, "What? 3 year olds don't act like that, babies don't even act like that, your kid is a brat, hello, be a parent." Hahahaha! Since I couldn't say that, but I couldn't lie and agree with her, I gave her a raised eyebrow look and walked away- point taken? I'm not sure.

On the way home, he asked, "Mommy what is a brat?" A good question, and when I explained what a brat is, he asked again about that kid. So I told him, "Yes that boy was behaving like a brat, and his mommy and daddy need to tell him to be nice." Then he asked me, "Why was that boy acting like that?" He wasn't satisfied with, "I don't know," so I further explained, that "I think that his mommy and daddy aren't doing a good job teaching him to be a nice boy like you."
Then he said, "Only nice kids get to go to Disneyland, the train station, and the concert and fun places like that. He isn't allowed to go because he is not nice, huh?" Then he added 3 other not nice kids we encountered in the past week, and said 'they, and that boy' can't go, huh? He correlates this because we have always told him that he has to behave or we won't go to the places. Maletch is "The boy who loves rules" and I need to do another post about that, because it is so funny, but I won't get side-tracked from this post. So I told him, "You are exactly right, they can't go because they aren't nice, but you sure can because mommy and daddy love taking you places because you are a nice boy and you always know how to behave. We are proud of you!" Then he added, "Sariah is nice too, so she gets to go too, right mommy?" He just put the cherry on top with his sweetness always looking out for his sister!!

Happy Birthday Sariah!!

The baker told me that the "Dress Shop Sign" can be used as a stand-up picture frame on a future cake! I thought that was pretty cool!

Her First Cake:
We started off with her "Minnie Mouse Dress Shop" cake, and she dug right in before we could sing Happy Birthday or light the candle! She helped herself to the plenty of frosting and even pulled Minnie right off the cake- it was so cute and funny how fast she tore that cake up! Of course as soon as she started taste-testing it, Maletch came over to help! I busted up laughing when I saw him standing with his tongue out licking the corner of the cake!

Busted! HaHa!

"Green Light! Its OK kids, go nuts!"....

When we actually gave Sariah a piece she immediately got rid of the plate, haha, she just dumped the cake right onto her high chair tray- apparently she thought the plate was unnecessary :) Actually, we think she wanted to get the cake off the plate so she could look at the picture of Minnie (on the Minnie plate), hehe!

She had a few 'hat changes' (you know I love my hats)! She wore the tiara above...

... and although this princess one was my favorite on her, she did not care for it (at least while she was eating)- the veil was bothering her, I guess it was in the way!

That Minnie cake was served to everyone and although she went nuts with that cake: squishing it and wearing as much of it as she ate (it was all over her hair, clothes, and everything around her) - we ALSO ordered a 2nd cake (with chocolate frosting so it would be extra messy) for her to go completely nuts with and that was SO fun (and yes, messy)!!!

The Second Cake:
I don't know if it is obvious in the photo, but we had a little mishap with Sariah's second cake- well daddy did- on the way home from the bakery. Apparently, he stopped too fast and that cake almost fell in the car, he caught it... but when he got home, I quickly found it was damaged. The top layer had slid off the cake and smashed against the side of the box. At least the main cake was unscathed and I just did a little repair job on this one (but I wasn't able to make it perfect- it was pretty jacked up, LOL).

Cake Photo Shoot:
She demolished the cake and had a lot of fun making a huge mess! She definitely wore more than she ate! Once the cake was obliterated, she began running around getting cake and chocolate frosting all over the place. The goal was to keep her in the "photo area" and 2 of us were running zone defense, but baby was smarter and quicker with her plays!
Of course big brother could hardly stand by watching all the fun, he was itching to get in and play with her! So we were also running brother defense. Even daddy and I were covered in frosting by the end of the shoot from having to pick her up and put her back, plus she flicked a lot of it, and chunks were flying everywhere! It will undoubtedly take me several days to find it and clean it all!

Yeah some people think I'm nuts for doing this, but the pictures are so worth it, and the crazier and messier it got, the funnier it got! John thought the photo shoot was over when her hat wouldn't stay on anymore (the string was all stretched out), and the cake was completely gone (well smashed completely to pieces), and she was basically running around- BUT that is when I thought it was getting good! He was at work when I did the same photo shoot for Maletch's first birthday. I told him, "I know its nuts, but we'll get some good shots." He said, "This is nuckin' futs!" Hahaha!
I'll admit, once it did get completely crazy, I was chasing her more than I was shooting since I had to TRY to protect my photo equipment: like the umbrella lights and other things. Despite my best efforts, almost everything did get attacked by "King Kong Chocolate Baby!"

I took some video clips in between pictures, and I will upload a few of those too!

Costumes:
You know I love costumes, so of course my baby girl just HAD to get decked out for her first birthday party! Minnie Mouse has a few different dresses she wears, and my favorite is the pink/white polka dot dress from the Disney Clubhouse show, so I found a BEAUTIFUL one at the Disney Store. I love their costumes, they are a bit pricey, but they are very nice quality and gorgeous in person! It is so bling, fluffy, and even has the cutest bloomers. Probably a lot of people don't care about costume quality, "its just a costume," but I can't stand poor quality/cheap costumes- one of my weird pet peeves I guess!
Of course Maletch wanted to wear a costume too (he LOVES costumes), so we found him a Mickey one and he couldn't wait for the party so he could wear it! Even though he has at least 20 costumes for dress up play, he asked everyday if he could 'try on' his Mickey costume :) He reminded me everyday, "I can't really wear my Mickey costume until the party because I don't want to get it dirty, but I can just try it on, right?"
Why TWO Minnie costumes you ask? Well I also got Sariah a traditional red/black Minnie dress (in addition to the pink/white one) so she would match her brother, you know me with my 'family should be color coordinated thing'- gosh- I am so weird, LOL!

Presents:
First off, we goofed that up! We had set the wrapped presents (from us) on top of the gift table a few days before. I had caught Sariah climbing up and pulling them down a few times, so I don't know why I thought they would be OK there?? Well, they weren't! The day before her party, daddy left for work while I was in the shower. He put her in her high chair so she couldn't get into mischief while I was upstairs (or so he thought).
I came downstairs to find her NOT in her high chair and all of the presents were opened- wrapping paper everywhere AND she was playing with the toys that were still in their boxes!!
I asked a few questions all at once, "What the heck happened?" "How did Sariah get out of her chair?" etc...
Maletch told me, "She was trying to climb out, so he helped her."
Me: "How did you do that when she was strapped in?"
Maletch: "She got out of the straps by herself, and she was like this (he imitated leaning out of the chair) so I gave her a hug and pulled her down."
Me: "Who opened all the presents?"
Maletch: "Well Sariah and I did."
Me: "Didn't you know that we were supposed to wait until her party?"
Maletch: "I'm sorry mommy, are you mad?"

Uggh, the little stinkers!! I do think that Sariah was the 'main culprit' because I found her 'stack of toys' she built as her 'step stool' to reach the presents (so at least it was pre-meditated by her, LOL) since Maletch could have reached without a stack of toys/ step stool. Based on the evidence (and statement by one of the perpetrators), I believe she pulled them down and started opening and he assisted in the opening. Plus, she was on a mission with her "Houdini move" with the straps haha!
She turned over her 'ride-on lion' on it's side as the base of her ladder. That is one of the things she does, she climbs basically as high as she wants and plans it out by stacking things to get to whatever/wherever she wants. It scares me because she has no fear, and a lot of strength- and we've seen her get up pretty dang high!! I am constantly having to pull her off of things, the problem is she is determined, quick, and so dang proud of herself when she gets up on things! She stands there and makes a big verbal announcement and gestures (like a look at me gesture) and beams the hugest smile of pride- and she gets so mad when I take her down from things too! She is so much like her brother was at this age- it is crazy! I will never forget when I caught him literally swinging from the chandelier (at 18 months)- remember that? As funny as that is to look back on now, it wasn't funny at the time- I really don't want a repeat of that- and she could do it too!!

OK, so even though the presents were already opened (and they already saw everything), we decided that we would re-wrap them and do it right! So I took away all the presents that were opened and re-wrapped everything! Hahahaha!

Funny thing is that Maletch was so excited for her to open her presents (before and after their little shin-dig)! I think he was more excited than when it was his birthday! Before it was time to open them, he took one over to her, "Here Sariah this is for you, open it!" and he was jumping around all excited, it was so cute! Then when it was time, he kept trying to help her, "Here Sariah you open it like this..." No matter how many times we said, "She can do it, let's let her open them"-- he just couldn't help himself, he was too excited, and he just had to help!
Sariah enjoyed playing with the paper just as much as her new toys, so she had all kinds of fun! She certainly likes all of her new toys, especially the ones her big brother got her!

Decorations:
I will also post a couple photos of the decorations- we had fun going all out for Sariah's FIRST birthday bash! Maletch helped me pick them out and helped arrange where they would go too, hehe- but we had daddy hang the ceiling stuff, since we are not tall enough (turns out, we got a LOT of ceiling stuff)!

*Note: Bare with me, as uploading and sorting photos and videos takes a LOT of time. I have only really played with the cake photos so far and I have a LOT more to go. I posted 2 slideshows and 3 videos below, so you can get a peek of what I've done so far, but all the photos of her opening presents and the kids' costumes will be coming next...

................Scroll down to see (be sure to pause the music player for the videos)- but I am adding lots more photos...
**SAVING the BEST for LAST**............ can't wait to post pics of the COSTUMES!!!

Happy Birthday Sariah!! Slideshow!

Sariah's First Birthday- Messy Cake Photo Shoot! Slideshow!

Sariah's First Birthday! Cake Photo Shoot! VIDEO 1

Sariah's First Birthday! Cake Photo Shoot! VIDEO 2

Sariah's First Birthday! Messy Baby Cake Photo Shoot! VIDEO 3

Our Baby Girl is ONE Today!!

Can you believe it, Sariah is one year old today?!?! This year went way too fast! We will be having our official celebration this weekend, since John had to work today (Friday).
She will have SEVERAL costume changes, including TWO different Minnie Mouse costumes- LOL, PLUS we ordered TWO cakes, one to serve to everyone, and one for her to go nuts with! I'll be posting LOTS of pics....
until then, here are a few pics I took today, (This photo shoot didn't go quite as planned- we had a lot of distractions with all of the neighbors coming outside and going bananas. Her big brother was right by her side as always. He gets really nervous and protective when people get too close to her) ........
ALSO keep scrolling to see the post: "What Sariah Does All Day!"

Happy Birthday Sariah!

"What Sariah Does All Day!"

I just realized that I haven't posted in a long time the activities and events of the kids' day.
Most of you get a chance to talk to Maletch on the phone and you know that we do 'school', and that we talk ALL day, and that our all-time favorite thing to do together (at home) is dance, but I am overdue for a post about what Sariah is up to all day!

A little about Sariah's day:
Well she is a busy little toddler, and she is into everything! Her daily rounds of mischief include: turning on the dishwasher (too bad it isn't when we want it on). We also try our best to never do the dishes (load or unload the dishwasher) with her around because when it is open, she climbs onto the door (and sits on the open door) and reaches in to pull out every dish and throws them on the floor-- You put one in and she pulls it out and throws it on the floor-- yeah, not exactly helping! :) She also knows how to open the dishwasher when it is latched/locked!
I remember when Maletch was her age, he liked to open drawers throughout the house and pull everything out (almost like a cartoon: wildly throwing things above and behind his head)-- well, she loves to open drawers too-- BUT-  she loves to climb in- you can find her sitting and playing inside different drawers quite often! She will only empty it to the point she thinks she can fit, and she'll just sit on whatever else is in there (toys, clothes, pots pans, whatever it is) and just play with whatever is under and around her, hehe!
She also finds any excuse to get into the bathroom (she's sneaky and quick and will slip right in with anyone she can get past) and LOVES to play with the toilet- loves to reach in and splash, throw things in, and flush it.
She has been dancing since before she could even walk and she is quite a dancer. I am not just saying that to be funny or because I am her mom- she has always had rhythm, but she also actually has a lot of moves.  She cannot resist, when any song comes on, she drops whatever she is doing, and starts dancing!!
She is also a chatterbox like her brother! Even though she only knows how to say a few things in English, she has her own language with complicated sounds- I often wish I could understand her, because whatever she is saying sounds so important! She speaks with a lot of animation and also conviction- and boy she just talks and talks and talks! She is also a smart little bugger and has figured out things like opening a taped up shipping box (there isn't a box that she can't open)- to countless other things like how to operate her big brother's advanced toys- if it has a switch, button, or any operable parts- she knows what it does and how to do it!
Wherever Maletch goes, she follows and I just love watching them play together. One of her favorite things to do is to build and disassemble train tracks with her brother and play trains with him. He loves to put her in toy bins and push the bins all around the house- giving her 'rides'. He usually pretends she is on specific Disneyland rides, "Hey Sariah, do you want to ride the Snow White ride? Hop in and let's go!" If she doesn't climb in on her own, he picks her up and puts her inside.
One of the funniest things she does is when she plays the piano, she stops playing, then starts clapping (for her own performance) and turns around and looks at everyone to make sure they clap for her-- as soon as she is sure everybody has clapped (and said, "Yay"), then she starts playing again- then stops, claps, and turns around again, and on and on. She can put on a piano show for 30 minutes straight- but you better clap in between every song or random pauses!
As far as some of her likes: she LOVES the Fresh Beat Band- she actually knows all their songs, she tries to sing, and when you watch her dance- she knows when the tempo will change- something you probably have to see to really understand. She also loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show, when that comes on- she drops everything and runs to the TV and talks to the TV the WHOLE time.  She also lights up and starts talking excitedly if she sees any toy, photo, or image of any of the Mickey friends (Minnie, Goofy, Donald, etc). I actually can't think of a Disney character that she doesn't recognize (Princesses, Fairies, Toy Story, etc)- and she loves them all!

She will be having a Minnie Mouse themed birthday. Her thoughtful brother picked out some of her presents. Days before we even went shopping, Maletch said, "Mommy I was thinking, we should get Sariah the Talking Jessie Doll- you know the BIG one. Can we get that for her?"
I said, "Well you guys already have a small Talking Jessie Doll, do you think we should really get another Talking Jessie?"
Maletch, "Yeah, I think she would really like the big Talking Jessie, because it is like my big Talking Woody."
So I said, "I think that is really sweet that you thought of such a nice present for her, so yeah we can get it and it can be from you, OK?" He got so excited! Then (same day) he said, "I think Sariah would also like a Minnie Car. Can we get that for her too?" Then he added, "She really likes my Mickey Train and she likes all my cars, so I think she would like a Minnie car."
His 'Mickey Train' came with a mickey figure that rides inside a train (and drives around a track) and he is right- Sariah does love that toy- so I just thought that was such a great idea- so we will be looking for Minnie Mouse's car- she WILL love that! I was impressed that he had 2 thoughtful ideas without even being in a store or looking through a catalog (these were off the top of his head)- what a sweet big brother he is!!
Days later, when we went to Toys R Us to shop for her birthday gifts, he never asked for a single thing for himself (he never does- even when he sees something he LOVES- he will ask if he can look at it, then he always just puts it back afterward, NEVER: "I want this" or "can I get this?")- but this trip he asked if we could buy MANY toys for Sariah. He asked to see things that he liked, then put them back, but when he saw something 'girly', he said, "Hey Sariah would LOVE this, can we get this for her?" He impressed me so much, by being so thoughtful, mature, and selfless. I'm super proud of you Maletch!

Last night:
Maletch: "I want to give Sariah a flower and we can get married."
Me (unsure I heard correctly): "What?"
Maletch: "Tomorrow, I want to give Sariah a flower and she and I can get married. She will be a princess and I can be her prince and I will always protect her."
I melted and thought, I wish one day she does marry a boy like her brother!
Then this morning he asked, "Mommy can I marry Sariah today?"

....still working on this post..... lots more to add!!

Who is "Chuck-Chuck?"

No, he is NOT a fish.... look closer...

Did you figure it out??

Maletch and I thought it would be fun to learn a science lesson and pet responsibility at the same time, so today Maletch got a pet tadpole!! He is so excited and he immediately told the tadpole, "I am going to take good care of you, I love you!"
When I asked him what he wants to name it, after thinking for a second, he said, "Chuck Chuck!" Please note: it is not 'Chuck', it is "Chuck Chuck" :)
We have a book about metamorphosis, and we will be reading and learning while watching Chuck Chuck go through 3 phases: changing from a tadpole- to a floglet- to a frog.
Maletch is in charge of feeding him, and he knows that is a big responsibility: he knows he can only feed him 'tadpole food' (not people food) since the question, "Can I give him some of my French Toast?" has already come up, hehe... AND he has to make sure that he ONLY gives him one level spoonful a day, no more, no less. I know he is going to do a great job! Chuck Chuck is in good hands! He can't wait to show everyone his new pet!
He's so excited to learn about biology, and he has a lot of great questions already!!

Conversations With Maletch...

He may have just turned 4 last month, but he is so inquisitive and insightful and he just cracks me up (and keeps me on my toes). Here are just a few conversations from this week...


Maletch: "Vultures are not nice birds."
Me: "Yeah, you're right. Some birds are nice and some are not nice, like Vultures. Let's think of some birds that are nice; I think Hummingbirds, Blue Jays, and Parrots are nice."
Maletch: "Yeah those are nice, but Vultures are not. They look like this.." (then he did an imitation making a mean face with mean eyes- it was funny). Then he asked, "There are a lot of Vultures, huh?"
Me: "A lot in the world?"
Maletch: "Yeah, there are a lot of Vultures in the world, huh?"
Me: "Yeah, I suppose."
Maletch: "How many Vultures are there mommy?"
I already know I can't get away with just an "I don't know" answer, so I shoot with...
Me: "I don't know because I can't see them all, so I can't count them."
Maletch: "Why can't you see them all?"
Me: "Well because some are very far away and the world is big so I can't see them all."

Bad Guys:
Maletch: "Mommy, why do some bad guys do bad things?"
Me: "I don't know."
Maletch: "Why don't you know?"
Me: "Well because I am not a bad guy, so I don't know why they do the things they do."
This answer has never satisfied him because he has asked me this numerous times and he REALLY wants a better answer. I understand him wanting to understand WHY there is evil in the world- that is a hard thing to just accept. I guess I don't understand it myself. If anyone knows a good way to explain this, I'm all ears. I've tried saying, "Some people are just not nice and do bad things." But he wants to know WHY.

You have a what?:
Since he NEVER mispronounces words anymore, I thought this was so cute...
He had a small cut on his finger and I saw that it was getting a little pink around it (like mildly infected), so I said, "Let me clean that cut and put a bandage on it, it looks like it is getting infected."
Maletch: "What's confected mommy?"
Me: "An infection is when germs get inside a cut and make it infected, which means it gets pink and swollen. We are supposed to keep our cuts clean and covered so germs can't get in"
Maletch: "Let's tell daddy my finger is confected."
Me: "OK, how about you tell daddy in the morning when you wake up."
Next morning, Maletch runs downstairs: "Daddy, I got confetti on my finger and it is confected, I have a confection!"

At the E.R. with Sariah (which is another story for another post, coming soon):
Maletch suddenly became very worried and upset... you know how sometimes children can feel guilt over things that are not at all their fault, I sensed that he was feeling guilty perhaps because he was the one who saw it happen- of course it was not at all his fault- and really- he saved her life because he saw it and was smart enough to tell me-- so I assured him, "Because of you, Sariah is going to be OK! You told mommy what happened, and we were able to come here and get help. You saved the day- and that makes you a hero!"
Maletch: "I am a hero?"
Me: "Oh yes you are!"
Maletch: "Like Batman?"
Me: "Yep!"
Maletch announced to daddy with such pride: "I'm a superhero, just like Batman!"

Watching Dancing with the Stars:
Maletch: "They are missing something."
Me: "What are they missing?"
Maletch: "Clothes!"
I started busting up laughing, because I hadn't really noticed the skimpy costumes.
Maletch added, "See that guy, he is missing a shirt and see that girl, she is missing.. (pause) umm.. well.. one pant."
Sure enough she had something wrapped around (going down) ONE leg, and her other leg was bare-- missing one pant, hahaha!
As soon as the dance was over (and they were walking off stage)...
Maletch: "They are going to find their clothes now and get dressed,"
Once they were in the back room and waiting/about to get their scores..
Maletch started yelling numbers excitedly (before the judges could say)..
Maletch said, "3,4,5!"
I guess because he got so many HUGE laughs out of me, he had fun pointing out everyone that were missing clothes throughout the rest of the show, and guessing scores (he does score everyone pretty low, LOL).
If you watch the show, it was the "Steve Urkel" guy (Jaleel White) and his partner (Kym). I'll see if I can upload a photo of their costumes.

"See that guy, he is missing a shirt, and see that girl, she is missing... one pant."

We dance to that show all the time and that was the first time he ever said anything like that- apparently they really needed to get dressed.

Testing:
Another thing he does that is so funny, it is almost like out of a sitcom, like something a wife would do to her husband to see if he is really listening/paying attention:
He will ask you trick questions so that you can't say, "Uh huh... uh huh", or you will get something entirely wrong- to which he will reply "What????"
He does this entirely on purpose when he knows you are a little distracted (which is so rare- but he watches for it). In the middle of him talking, he'll ask a string of questions- like all of a sudden he'll ask, "Is Maleficent nice?" (the villain from Sleeping Beauty) and if you mutter, "Uh huh" - he'll call you out, "What??? Maleficent is not nice!" He knows when you are the slightest bit distracted, and he tests if you are listening!
It is so funny, because most of you know that he talks ALL day (literally) and I love it- we have very interesting conversations... BUT through all of his talking ALL day, I know I have to pay attention to EVERY word- or I'm busted!! As funny as it is, I wanted to warn everyone else too!
It made me realize that it hurts his feelings when people 'fake listen'- so I NEVER do that! Even though it is not possible to give him every second of undivided attention- I do try my best (which literally means I don't watch TV- or do any computer work while he is awake- EVER- no exaggeration) - and now when I know I need a minute to do something- I just say, "It's hard for mommy to do this and talk, let's talk about this as soon as I am finished." He likes that much better, and he doesn't test me anymore... but he may test you- so stay tuned OR speak up and announce when you are tuning out :)

"I'm Not Big Enough"

We were watching our Toy Story on Ice videos and also the videos from the real show. As we were watching this one with Barbie and Ken doing lifts (video below):
Maletch said, "Wow she is a really good ice skater, I kept falling down."
I assured him, that he did very well for his first time. I also reminded him that he really only fell down during the first few minutes and that he got better as he practiced.
Watching the 'lifts', he said, "We can do that next time we go ice skating." Then, with such a disappointed look on his face, he said, "I can't hold you like that mommy, because I'm not big enough." Then his face lit up and he said, "Daddy can though!"
I thought it was so cute that he wanted to try to lift me, hehe! I did not dare tell him- there is no way I'm letting daddy lift me on ice skates anytime soon- haha! A few minutes later he said, "I could lift Sariah!" My heart melted as I pictured him dancing with her on the ice! Since he does lift/carry her around the house, I felt it was a good idea to explain how slippery the ice is, etc...
Then he said, "Maybe I can when Sariah gets a little bigger." :)

Then he grabbed Sariah's shoulders and put his face close to hers, and said. "We can do that Sariah, we will, but you just got to get a little bigger first!"

Toy Story 3 On Ice 2012 Barbie and Ken Lifts

Now he says, "Mommy you can be Barbie and daddy can be Ken, we can get you guys costumes, and you can do this!"
Daddy and I need a LOT of practice before that's gonna happen! :)

Important: Note to Parents!

Since our blog is public (opposed to private- invited readers only) I've made it a rule not to post photos of other children (Maletch's playmates). If you want to give permission to post, I am happy to.go back and add your little ones. You may chose to not have names given, etc. Out of respect for your privacy I will not post otherwise.
Most public bloggers will only post photos of immediate family in order to follow true blogging etiquette.
I wanted to be clear on why you may see photos of some kids and not others-  it will be based on permission- I don't want anyone to feel 'left out'.
I am giving deep consideration to making it private, but this would be a little inconvenient for readers to have to sign in each time.

Rockin' Toy Story Party!

Well I wish I could say that the event went off without a hitch, but during the last minute preparations everything went all kinds of wrong, haha! It is a good thing that John and I are able to laugh during crazy situations, because by the night before, we were busting a gut when we realized how out of control everything was! I might do a separate post about those details- and give you all a laugh too!
In spite of the craziest luck- a great time was had by all- and that is all that matters!! Isn't there a saying, "It doesn't matter how you get there?" Or "It isn't the journey?" or wait, "It is the journey," aw heck- I'm terrible with sayings- anyway you know what I mean, haha!

Now for the GREAT stuff:..
Ice skating was super fun, and was the main focus of our party! I was impressed that within 20 minutes Maletch was able to skate (slowly) by himself, without needing to hold on to the wall (or people, hehe). He wasn't able to get going too fast without getting squirly, but he did manage getting around all by himself. I was touched that everyone wanted to participate in skating with Maletch- and I also appreciated that a few girls (competitive skaters) that happened to be there practicing, came rushing over to help teach him!
I really enjoyed ice skating a lot! Luckily I felt comfortable on the ice pretty quickly and I really had fun doing turns and spins. When it was time to leave, I felt like a kid saying, "I want to come back tomorrow."
John wasn't able to skate that much since he was often holding Sariah, and he felt too squirly to go away from the wall with her. He is looking forward to going again and really trying it out. There were many areas for spectators (bleachers, etc)- but the best spot was the hockey team benches in the little dug-out areas right off the ice. We could have just set Sariah in a seat in the dug-out since there were plenty of people to watch her but we just didn't fetch her seat from the car.
We were so busy having fun that we did not take as many pics as I would have liked (and that never happens). Most of the pictures were taken in the first few minutes (right when we got there) which is a bummer since I feel like we didn't capture a lot of the highlights (on camera) - but at least we got some pics!
Of course we did our 'Toy Story on Ice' show, which was super funny and Maletch was so cute. There were so many "bloopers" and retakes, when one of us messed up our lines, Maletch would laugh and say, "I messed up we got to do that part again"  and we all had a great laugh when my Shepherd's Hook came apart when I put it around Woody's neck for the 'Let him look' scene.

Unfortunately it wasn't the best atmosphere for videotaping. The person with the camera was best to be off-the-ice (for stability) but that turned out to be just a little too far away to pick up our voices clearly (since we didn't have microphones)- so you really can't hear the dialogue.

Since I believe if you are going to be 'in costume'- you have to be in costume from-head-to-toe (from hats to the shoes), hehe! So you know I made sure that since Woody and Buzz are supposed to wear signature boots- that I found 'boot covers' that could be worn over (resting on top of) their ice skates! I got the idea from the real Toy Story on Ice show- when I noticed Woody wearing cowboy boot ice skates!

Conversation on our way home from the ice rink:
Maletch asked, "Mommy, have you ever seen The Fresh Beat Band on Ice before?"
Me: "No, I haven't."
Maletch: "I haven't either. We could do it, do you want to do a Fresh Beat Band on Ice show?"
I  laughed and said, "Sure we could do that, you have some pretty cool ideas."
THEN he asked, "How about Scooby Doo, have you ever seen Scooby on Ice?"
Me: "No, haven't seen that either."
Maletch: "Hey do you want to do Scooby on Ice and Fresh Beat Band on Ice shows?"
Daddy: "How about we just go regular ice skating?"
Maletch and I looked at daddy like- that's boring! haha!

Then it was back home for a party, with a crazy amount of presents, and a special cake! The party was informal and more like a trail of visitors at different times (before and after) the 2 hour skating session, which made it an extra LONG party day- super fun! It was nice since there were never too many people at one time. This was the most fun I've ever had at an event we've hosted since I did not have to keep activities going, stick to a schedule, etc. I just got to enjoy my family, learn to ice skate, and visit with our friends casually- pretty sure we'll be doing this again!

Since Maletch's idea for this birthday event came from the recent (Disney on Ice) show we went to, I knew that when we would go to the Fresh Beat Band concert and party 2 weeks before his birthday that he would not change his mind, but rather want two themes for his birthday party- I was right. Kids don't really care if a party theme is cohesive, they just like fun things, but since I do like cohesive-ness, I figured out a way to have a Toy Story themed party with Rockstar accents including stars, band posters, and instruments, and we topped it off with a custom ordered Fresh Beat Band cake that had a photo of the band- he LOVED it- and we called it a Toy Story Rockstar party!

We set up a table for gifts, but it overflowed and we ended up covering the entire wall-unit from top to ceiling stacked with gifts too!

I have no idea where we will put all of his new stuff?- but everything he got was super awesome!

It was so funny, after he blew out the candles he said, "Oh no mommy, I got frosting on my shirt!" He smashed the front of the cake with his belly trying to reach the candles, haha! You can kind of see where the cake got squished in this pic:

Oh and what Rockstar party would be complete without an appearance from The Fresh Beat Band?? You bet we put on a jam (in costumes of course)- I will be posting videos from that performance too!
Below are 2 videos of Maletch learning how to ice skate, and a slideshow (that I am still adding to). Sorry the first video is so shaky, I was skating over to them, and I just could not hold the camera steady enough.

** Remember to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog, or the sounds will be battling.

Note: In progress--- just beginning this post-- Lots of photos, videos, and more details still coming.....

Woody's First Ice Skating Lesson VIDEO!!

"Toy Story on Ice" Birthday Party VIDEO!

Toy Story on Ice Birthday Party Slideshow!!

Sariah Dancing to The Fresh Beat Band VIDEO!!

Aww Geez... Dilemmas!

Yay, A few packages arrived today, and one of them is the Cardboard Cutout (stand up style) of Woody and Buzz!! I thought it would be a cute party decoration and also a cool photo prop to have the kids stand next to!

Silly me, I opened it up to check it out right away, but now I can't get it folded back up, haha... so NOW the trick is going to be keeping Buzz & Woody safe until his birthday! I worry my little monsters will trash it before the big day!! I'm trying to figure out where to put it for safe keeping- problem is- it is HUGE measuring 45 in. x 60 in.
Plus this dang thing is in my way... Buzz & Woody are all up in my business! :)

Maletch on the Turntables, er, I mean... Train Table!!

Maletch has not wanted to take off his "Twist sweatshirt" since the concert! I have to pry it off of him at bedtime. He says, "But I still want to be Twist" I have to tell him, "Twist doesn't wear his clothes to bed." hehe...  I think I need to get some "Twist pajamas!" :)
Maletch likes to "DJ scratch" like Twist on the Train Table, hehe! I am so excited to surprise him for his birthday with a real DJ mixer so he can really scratch like Twist!! I know he is going to LOVE it!

 I found these TWO that looked cool, so I decided to order both so we could 'test' them and see which one he likes better! They both allow you to 'scratch' and mix your own MP3's- it is going to be so COOL (and fun)!! I think daddy is going to love it as much as Maletch- he used to DJ (as a hobby) - back in the day! :)

As you know, we already have the other instruments for the band: Marina plays drums (drum set, check), Kiki plays guitar (guitar, check), and Shout plays the keyboard (piano, check), so now Twist will finally have his own proper instrument- for when the whole family is jammin!! I will be posting videos later this week of that (of course we will put on our costumes just for the occasion :)
Also, be watching for videos from our Disney on Ice show- we will be performing this weekend! I can't wait!! See previous post ("Fun Plans for Maletch's Birthday") for details!!

Below is a short video of Maletch dancing to 'Loco Legs.' The dance moves (the wobbly legs and the lean & spin) are part of the choreography the Fresh Beats do to this song :)... but my favorite part is when I caught him "scratching" on the 'turntables' er, I mean Train Table for you!! Even though he does it all the time, I have never caught it on tape!!

Reminder: Be sure to pause the music player at the bottom of my blog before you play the video, or the sounds will be battling. The pause button is towards the top left corner of the player. The same button will resume the music if you wish :)

Maletch and Sariah Dancing & "Scratching" to The Fresh Beat Band Loco Legs VIDEO!

Fresh Beat Band ROCKS!!

OMGOSH! We probably had the BEST night ever! My face hurts from smiling and laughing all night!
First of all, we were lucky enough to score just about the best seats you could get- we were front row (Row A) right behind the pit which is like a hole in the ground where 3 rows of people sat- and their necks had to be hurting from looking up (they were below the band)- we were SMACK in front of them... which allowed Maletch to catch the attention of GUESS WHO?? Yep... Twist!! Woot Woot!

During the concert, Twist made several trips over to Maletch giving him high fives, talking to him, and dancing with him. He liked his shirt- we had an exact replica of Twist's shirt made for Maletch (since they are not sold). Maletch even went on stage a few times, hehe!  It was so friggin cute!!
Note: For those of you observant peeps: based on the pics I posted, you might say, "Their sweatshirts don't look alike?"... Answer: the characters have a few 'versions' of their costumes, but they have a 'main' one they almost always wear, and the one we had custom ordered for Maletch is the one Twist wears in every episode and he also wore for the first half of the concert :)

This is the one he always wears!

I was really impressed when this arrived! (the color is the same too, although it looks different in the pics)

After the concert which was a great show BTW, loved every second of it, we got to go to the backstage party! But just before we left our seats, I noticed a small crowd gathering around us. People were lined up on both sides of us, blocking us in our seats, and just when I leaned over to ask John, "What is going on, what are these people doing?" I started hearing questions... it was a line of dads asking me where I got the Twist sweatshirt, "I've looked everywhere..." and moms asking if their daughters (dressed like Kiki) could take their pics with Maletch, "I have to get a pic of Kiki and Twist..." The funny thing was before I could ask Maletch, "Do you want to take a picture with these girls?".. he already had his arms around them and was smiling all big, hehe! He posed for a few pics (flirted with the girls) and we headed for the party where the whole band took notice of my whole family. The 4 of us were dressed like all 4 of them- and they made the HUGEST deal over it!
Kiki was so sweet, she gave me a huge hug and practically asked us to join her show, lol! She was asking if John and I were performers, for some reason she thought we were, LOL!

Even though traveling with a toddler and infant is usually challenging for us, this trip went a lot smoother I think because we stayed in a hotel (rather than someone's house). Luckily we were able to get a suite at the Marriott where we had lots of space and plenty of amenities which made us more comfortable. Being served a hot breakfast (rather than Continental) was a nice touch too! It was funny, Maletch was so excited when I told him we were going to sleep at a hotel for 2 nights, BUT, when I later casually used the term "we'll stay at the hotel," he freaked about the 'staying' part and said, "Mommy I don't want to stay there, I want to go home." It took a little explaining, but then he was excited again, hehe! We did bring our swimsuits for the heated INDOOR pool (which would have been perfect in this Feb weather) BUT we just couldn't find the time to go. We were a little disppointed by that (especially Maletch who was really looking forward to it). Thankfully, we had such a great time with the Fresh Beat Band that it was easily dismissed!

Still adding to this post (I have a LOT of pics to go through and a TON of videos too)- I'll eventually get this finished, hehe!

But below is a Sneak Peek Slideshow....
A few details about the few pics I posted:
The pics of Maletch and Twist were during the live concert. There is also a funny pic of Shout holding Sariah and she was crying because she got upset when she realized 'Hey, you aren't my daddy.' They were wearing the same clothes so I think she felt 'tricked', haha! She didn't mind when Marina was holding her :)
I have literally 150 GREAT pics and TONS of great videos, so I will post more this weekend.