First Trip To The Dentist

That's right, we finally made it to the dentist!  I tried last summer but between a really clingy little boy and potty training, it was a bust.  I took him to my dentist and the hygienist politely suggested a children's dentist:).  So after this fall last summer in his stroller, his tooth was chipped and there is a bit of decay on one of his front teeth, so I knew I had to take him in this summer.  

Choosing a dentist was really tough!  There are so many great children's dentists.  I finally decided on Dr. Molly Gunsaulis.  I knew the building and had heard great things about her.

When we walked in, Huddy headed straight for the tv...shocker!

Then we did a pre-consult about his teeth.  Hudson did so well though.  He was patient while we chatted and even opened up a bit for the hygienist.  Then we moved to the chair.  I was worried he wouldn't get in but he did!  The glasses were an issue at first but...

before long he was wearing them and getting his teeth cleaned!

Here he is with Dr. Molly:).

We even got one x-ray of the top teeth.  He did end up having fractures on his top two teeth so they said they may turn brown:(.  We will keep up with fluoride treatments better and get better about brushing at night.  

They took a few first day pics of my boy

I was really impressed!  He did so well because the whole way there he kept saying "I don't want to go to the dentist" despite my encouragement and even reading a book or two about it!  Thank you Dr. Molly for a great office and wonderful first dentist experience!

Our Last Days In LA

This was our last day in LA.  I was ready to go home by now but Pops planned a trip to Huntington Beach which was a lot of fun.  It was just gorgeous there.  Here Pops is explaining that each night the beach closes at 10 and these big machines come through and rake the beach.  This is explains why it was flawless!  Not a rock, pebble, piece of trash on it.  

We saw this large group of junior age kids with red caps and swim suits.  My mind went immediately to Bay Watch but it wasn't, few!  Pops asked the life guard and he says its like a summer fitness camp and 80% of them don't become lifeguards but some do.  They sure were working hard!

Then after some play time we ate lunch on the beach.  I love how they served everything in these boxes so you can just take it to any where on the beach and eat.  Yum!  

Then Pops wanted to rent a bike, I guess that's what you'd call it.

We had fun driving up and down the walkway.  It was fun to look at the ocean and people.  Hudson was getting a bit tired so we quit a bit early.  He went down really late for his nap but it ended up working out really well because we had 7:45pm reservations for The Rainforest Cafe.  We were hoping to make it because we tried the night before but the wait was too long.  

My parents headed to see Joe before the traffic and we opted to have a family evening and let our boy get a good nap for his flight the next day.  Well, he woke up around 6:30 and we were off on our own to Downtown Disney.  I love how you can shop, eat, and watch entertainment without going into the park.  We rode the ART, Anaheim Resort Transportation.  It was a fun bus experience!  We came to our destination and Hudson was ecstatic!

He loved showing his bearies the aquarium!  We were lucky and had seats upstairs near the elephants, probably one of the best seats in the house!  The elephants come "to life" every so often with movements and sounds.  We were also near another huge aquarium and some Gorillas.  My favorite part were the thunderstorms.  The whole place would darken and a storm would come through with thunder, lightening, and rain/mist.  It was so cool!  We had a great family dinner.

The next day we moseyed around the hotel room and Hudson got an early nap.  When he woke up we were off on our last airplane ride(s) home!  Hudson was entertained again with his suitcase:).

The flights were great but we were ready to be home.  Hudson was a great trooper and got to watch a little Curious George on the way home for lack of entertainment sake from mommy and daddy:).  

The best part was when we got home, Hudson was so excited!  It was time to head to bed and I offered his old room (with his crib converted) even though I didn't want him to sleep there b/c I was worried he would never move into his new room, but he said "I want to sleep in my new room!"  And he did!  He was so excited to be in his new room and hasn't looked back since!  Thank you Disneyland bunk beds for transitioning my boy into his new room!

Good night sweet boy!  

You were such a delight the ENTIRE trip, we'll just have to go back:).

Disneyland Adventures Continued

After a day of rest, we were ready to hit Disneyland/California Adventure again!  I knew everyone had to ride as many rides as possible before nap so I was bound and determined to let them ride!  With the 3 day park hopper passes, there is an early morning access.  We asked multiple workers if it worked in California Adventure as well as Disneyland, they all said yes, it's called a Magic Morning.  So we woke up extra early to get in the park around 7:30 because it opens by 8.  Well apparently that didn't work for California Adventure, just Disneyland:(.  Luckily we were still in the front of the lines because we were extra early!    This was good so the fam could go on the Radiator Springs Racers ride, it's he newest, hottest ride.  Joe and Jared stood in line for a good hour or so but got fast passes!  Nana, Hud, and I sat in Starbucks:).  Yes, the happiest place on earth serves Starbucks, it was heavenly!  Pops was still parking the car (he eventually started dropping us off) so we bought breakfast for the boys and delivered it to them in line.  Hudson enjoyed his yogurt parfait and Nana and I sipped our coffees...ah, heaven!

The only problem we ran into was that this particular day was also one of the busiest days of the year (so a worker told me) because it was the season pass holders (all local Californians) early access day too.  So people were everywhere!  The rides still weren't long with waits but people were everywhere.  I encouraged the troop to hit up a few rides and asked Hudson what he wanted to do.  This is what he chose....

Then after their ride, they always want to see what "Hudson" was doing:).  So we rode on the Jumpin Jellyfish again.

Then Pops insisted Hudson go on Soarin Over California.  Here Hudson is waiting in line.  He sure loved the ride.  Again, 3 is so fun and a height of 40 inches:).

After that ride, the troop headed out for more adventure and Hudson asked to visit some characters in Toon Town.  So off we went!  We first went through Mickey's house where walk and explore and then get a picture with Mickey.  Here is Mickey's garden.

Then it was time for autographs and pictures!

After we headed out of Mickey's house, he wanted to visit Minnie:).  

In Minnie's house it's opposite, you get your picture with her first and then tour her house.  Hudson was  enthralled with her "cake" baking in the oven and her dishwasher.

As we were playing for quite a while in Minnie's house, it was time for the troop to hit the Radiator Springs Racers ride so off they went to do that.  Hudson and I opted to hang out in Toon Town instead of hopping back to the other park.  So we climbed Chip N Dales Treehouse:).

Then we found Pluto!

And he was still on the "character" scene so we went back to the "secret spot" and hit the Western Jamboree one last time.  We found Clarabell the Cow!

Notice I'm not in the pic.  He went from me holding him, to standing next to the characters, to standing alone!  I was the only one to take the picture so he had to stand by his lonesome and he loved it!

Then he spotted one last one...

Mickey and Minnie Mouse, again!

We loved our "friends" in Disneyland.  Then we sat down for a hoedown!

The fast pass shot the troop to the front of the line and it took less than 30 minutes to get in line, ride it, and come out.  WOW that was quick.  Especially since the lines were over 4 hours later that day.  Jared and I tried to ride it later (because we had two extra fast passes and everyone said I could ride it) but even the fast pass line was 1 1/2 hours:(.  So we went home.  No worries though, I'll be back!  The troops were tired and hungry so we grabbed a bite and headed back for nap.

That evening Nana and Pops took Uncle Joe to the Blue Bayou so we were on our own!  We hit another fun parade.  Hudson loved spotting Donald and we took some pictures of princesses for baby girl:).

Then it was just easiest to follow the parade, so we are officially parade groupies:).

After some dinner, in our favorite Mary Poppins Cafe, we went on the Small World ride.  I would ask Hudson if he wanted to go on a ride or try something new.  He picked something new and boy did he like this ride!  The dolls, songs, music, it was right up his alley!

After that, we went to Fantasy Land for another carrousel, Mary Poppins!  He seriously loves carrousels!

Here is a pic of the carrousel later that evening.

Then he spotted Dumbo, which I had tried to get him on earlier, and he said he wanted to ride it.  Oh boy was he excited!

He literally giggled the whole time!  He wanted to ride it again but it was getting late so we left with the hopes of riding the Radiator Springs ride, but that didn't work.  It was another busy, fun-filled day!  

I think the family was tired and we all were ready for bed that night:).