Pete and Repeat are in a Boat...

I decided Lainey and I needed some socialization so I signed us up for classes at the Little Gym. Our first class was Monday and as soon as we got there Lainey was super excited. She wasn't shy with the other kids, moms or the teacher. She loved exploring all the different things to climb on (and put in her mouth). So much so that she wasn't fully interested in paying attention to the little exercise activities we were supposed to be doing. She wanted to be free. But she hung in there with me for a little while until she just couldn't anymore.

We started an exercise where we all sat in a circle and held on to a long elastic jump rope. Then we were to sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and move the string to our feet and back up, like rowing a boat (get it?). Well, Lainey decided she absolutely had to go exploring and so she crawled away. There I was, a lone adult in a circle with kids and parents while my girl was off tasting another gym apparatus. I wasn't sure what I should do. Should I go get her? Should I stay here and finish the exercise? What do you think I did?


I kept rowing.


And after the second round of singing and rowing our boats I looked around and saw that Lainey was watching me and laughing. Oh really, Lainey? You think that's funny? Fine, you win this one. But I've got the perfect dress to wear as a chaperone to your first middle school dance. Oh yes I do.

Baby's First Vacation

DISNEYLAND!!

Lainey took her first vacation last weekend. And where better to go than the happiest place on earth?

We had a blast and were so lucky to go with Grammy and Umpa and stay at the beautiful Grand California hotel which is in the California Adventure park. Which afforded us the convenience to go back to the room in the middle of the day to recharge and then head out again. It also gave us the privilege to enter the park an hour before all the "regular" folk.

Lainey was a real trooper. Her first rides were the train, which she thought was really cool, and It's A Small World, which was a little bit of sensory overload for her. Surprisingly, the new Toy Story ride and Winnie the Pooh scared the hell out of her but she loved the Haunted Mansion and Snow White's Scary Adventure. That's my little weirdo.

To make her more comfortable we would wave at the characters on rides. On the second day I rode Splash Mountain solo and actually waved at the Brer Rabbit.

Oh yes I did.

Thank goodness I was in the back of the log and I don't think anyone saw me. I guess that's one way Disneyland changes when you go with a baby - you get to lose yourself in the magic. Here are some other ways it changes:

- You spend more time searching for the right pair of mouse ears than you do waiting in line for rides

- In the middle of screaming your guts out on Space Mountain you wonder what your baby is doing

- You constantly ask "do they really need to have the sound turned up so loud?"

- Strangers ask if they can take a picture of your baby (okay, I'm bragging here - 2 different people asked to take a picture of Lainey because she's so cute! Can you blame them? Did you see the picture at the top of the blog?)

Lainey had a great time. She loved playing in the hotel and crawling between our room and Grammy and Umpa's. She also loved people watching, shopping and eating everything we ate. Here are some more pictures showing how much fun she had.

Only a few hours into Disneyland and she's exhausted already.


Going...

Going....

Gone.

Oh goodie! She's awake and ready to play.

Oh, asleep again.

That was a really great trip you guys.