"I want stick up hair"

Have you ever seen "stick up hair"? I have, but I wasn't aware it was called "stick-up hair". According to Zachary two boys he knows have stick-up hair, and he wanted hair like theirs. "Alright," I say, "let's do it." So one day during Christmas break, I do a full blown mohawk, and he loved it! Needless to say, I had to flatten it before we went out to eat dinner for fear I might embarrass his sister and father.

Well, we finally had to go for a haircut last week because Zachary's eyebrows had disappeared under his lengthy hair. While there, we discussed having "stick-up hair" every day. He liked that idea. His wonderful hairstylist, Anisha, said, "let's not go so short in case he and his dad don't like it." Good idea, I thought.

Well, he loves it, and every day, he wants "stick-up hair". John even got him some 'hair glue'. Fortunately, John will help him fix it, so it is not only left up to me. It is a messy, spiky, kind of do. I have to say, I think he is pretty cute, but of course, I am partial. So you be the judge. Let us know how you feel. Vote to the right.


P.S. It makes me kind of sad. First short socks for school, and now "cool" hair, as he referred to it the other day. I guess there is no turning back to the days of my baby being a baby. Sorry the lighting in the picture is not so great, he was starting to get upset in the other ones and this one had the best smile. His hair is also 'day-old', but it looks waaaay cool in the morning.

Disney Trip

Finally, the day came for us to head out. As most of you know, we postponed our trip back in August due to an impending hurricane. I think it was the best choice we made. We had great time!

Always the airplane ride is a little unnerving for me because I am not sure how I will handle any problems with Zachary when stuck in a capsule with no where to run should the need arise. Last time we took a plane trip I had the new problem of trying to explain to him how to pop his ears. I know you are thinking, 'open your mouth and they pop', but that is a little harder to explain to a child who can't really tell you if it worked. Nonetheless, he did better, and I came prepared with water to help him swallow and force the ears to pop. The plane was timely and the bus ride to Disney was quick. We quickly checked in, left a few things in our room and headed to Epcot. Our luggage would be delivered later that night, or so we thought.

We rode a few rides in Epcot and then separated so Lauren could go see the countries with John, and I drug Zachary all over the park on rides. I must add at this point that we received a special pass due to Zachary's short amount of patience. Any where there was a Fast Pass lane, we got to enter without a Fast Pass. That really saved us on time, not to mention there were no crowds. Nonetheless here are a few at Epcot...

1. Zachary in Bruce's mouth from Nemo, 2. 4d glasses for Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 3. Everybody has to have their picture in front of the Epcot Ball. I'm not the best photographer at night. Our favorite ride was Soarin'...it was the coolest, and I think maybe a tie for my favorite ride overall.

Now back to the hotel to find our missing luggage. With a little frustration, our luggage was delivered much later than promised , but we did not let it ruin our trip.

Animal Kingdom:
The next morning we headed out to Animal Kingdom (our least favorite park). We whizzed through in no time. I was unable to convince Lauren to ride Mt. Everest. She said, "the people are screaming," and looked at me like I was crazy. Our favorite ride was the Kilimanjaro ride. You got to see some interesting animals, and all of the animals were out unlike at the zoo.

MGM Studios:
We finished the day at MGM studios and started the next morning there. This park had a little bit for each of us, and was one of my favorite parks. Lauren's nerves were increasing, but not to the point to ride Tower of Terror. We watched Fantasmic, which was a great evening show to catch. Tip: Eat at one of the restaurants that gives a special pass for seating...totally worth it! John and Lauren enjoyed the Star Wars ride, but our favorite ride was the Woody ride where you get to shoot at targets. We actually rode this one twice. Oh yeah, I finally got Lauren on the Rockin' Roller Coaster. It really was an awesome roller coaster. Then she said she wished we had ridden Mt. Everest...you think?

The third picture, Zachary was strapped to a rocket like they used in the first Toy Story movie. I told him to look scared...aaaaaand, there you have it.


Magic Kingdom:
We finished the 3rd day at Magic Kingdom with a few rides and dinner with Pooh and his buddies. Zachary thought that was pretty neat. He was all about Magic Kingdom. Favorite ride: Zachary's was probably Dumbo (rode it 3x, I think), with Zurg and the Mad Tea Party at a close second. For me and Lauren, probably the Run Away Railroad - yes, I did get her on another roller coaster.

Zachary finally got to drive. He said a while back when he was 10, he was going to drive. He was hitting the track left and right. Lauren was behind us laughing!

We had to get a photo with Mickey and Minnie. You don't go to Disney and not get a photo with them. I think this was the longest line we had to wait in, but it wasn't too bad!

What I read about the food was absolutely correct. You don't go to Disney to eat "good" food. So the food was pricey and, well, not so good. Our last evening, we went to one of the higher rated restaurants and finally had the best meal of our trip. It was a nice way to end the trip. We stood out on the balcony at the California Grill and watched the fire works over Magic Kingdom right before dinner was served. It was truly magical.

Dinner at the California Grill

I'm not sure when we will head back to "The World", but we may visit one more time. We all enjoyed ourselves, and I think Zachary was at a good age to go. Many memories were made and plenty of pictures taken to help us remember this magical adventure.

New Year - New Room

As I have grown older, my priorities have changed. We do not normally do much for New Year's Eve, which is probably because of all the other idiots on the road. Nonetheless, I was with my family, which suits me just fine.

As part of parenting Zachary, I'm always encouraging him to "catch-up" with other children his age. We figured it was time to move on from a train themed room into a bigger sized room, as well as a 'big-boy' decorated room. So, for New Year's Eve and day, we painted his therapy room. While we are not quite done with therapy, it is nice to know we are getting so close that I can finally make some changes.

Here are a few pictures of my little helper, who boldly proclaimed, "I am a good worker." and "I am an artist." He really did help a lot, which made me wonder why my mom would never let me help paint as a child.

We did take a dinner break. We had Dungeness Crab flown in from Alaska. John has a customer that sends them every year. It is one of my holiday highlights to sit with John, eat crab, and visit. We however, have not convinced Zachary crab is a treat...more for us.

Happy New Year everyone!