bye bye papi

oh papi

you have done us so good

but, things just aren't working out

it's not you, it's us

you see, Clover is just getting to big to have a papi

and so we have to cut ties now before it gets too awkward later on

you will always have a special place in our hearts

thanks for the good memories and for sticking by us through the good times and the bad {especially the bad}

you're the best,

the irby's

We've been meaning to get rid of Clover's papi for awhile but things just kept coming up so we kept pushing it back, we at least had it narrowed down to bed time and car rides.

"we have an ultrasound coming up and the papi will help"

 

"she's sick, we'll do it when she gets better"

"we just got her sleeping in her own bed. let's deal with one thing at a time"

 

"we'll do it after the trip to California, it'd be nice to have it for the plane ride, and we don't want to deal with withdrawals while away from home"

"okay now we'll do it after we get back from Disney World, it's only 2 weeks away and it'd be nice to have it on the 7 hour car ride and the hotel room we have to share"

etc etc etc

so the time finally came. 

the dr asking me every visit just got to awkward and I hate awkward situations!

so I read a friend's blog and they had a great idea

instead of just taking the papi and throwing it away, or cutting it so they can't suck it anymore

we let her get rid of it herself

 

it's sort of the tooth fairy idea

we hung her final papi's {the last 2 that we haven't lost} on a tree outside

and if she slept well through the night the next morning she would get a surprise

so the next morning on the same tree she got big girl things

1. mousse {for her crazy curly uncontrollable hair}

2. big girl toothbrush with Cinderella on it

3. a big girl hair brush

4. and Cinderella lipstick {she loves putting my lip gloss on}

 

so after we did that she occasionally would ask where papi went and we would remind her that she traded her baby things for big girl things

 

it has actually gone great

this girl loved her papi too

she hasn't cried for it once {praise the Lord}

 {we've already had to confiscate the lip gloss because she pulled the whole stick out of the tube. But we still let her use it, just under supervision}

it's always nice when you come to things as a parent and you anticipate it being horrible {i.e. shots, potty training, big girl bed etc} and it actually turns out to be no big deal

thank you Lord for blessings like this! it seems so small, but it is so much bigger than we sometimes realize.

Disney World!!

hey hey! looky what I'm doing!

what????? another post already?!

you know that's right.

Disney World!

totally awesome experience!

I grew up going to Disneyland, so I was a little overwhelmed with the thought of Disney WORLD!

it literally is a whole new world {cue Aladdin song}

We went with zero expectations. My only goal was for Clover to meet princesses and have fun.

Well we did. We stood in line after line and met princess after princess. It was hot! But each time she got to talk to them I wanted to bawl like a baby.

{side note: what has mommyhood done to me?! I cry all.the.time. I don't know how to handle these emotions!}

We stayed at the Polynesian Resort, which has it's own beach. And across the beach you can see Cinderella's castle and fireworks. You can also take a boat across the lake to get to Magic Kingdom.

It was so much fun and we are so grateful to Brian's parents for taking us.

THANK YOU!

the night before, Clover got dressed up. 

all ready for anything that Disney World can throw at us. Rain or shine {which it did....both}

 One hour into our 7 hour journey.

 2 hours in.

 But we finally made it!

 The beach. You can see Cinderella's castle if you look closely.

 The resort pool and bebe.

 the girls spent most of their time on the splash pad though. they loved it.

 

 first visit to Cinderella's castle.

   the guy told us to do this....awkward. raise the roof!

 they're holding tinker bell.

disney maaaagic!

 celebrated 7 years of marriage! this is how I trapped him.

stud.

 having fun is exhausting.

 animal kingdom. it's dark but there's a giraffe right next to us.

 got stuck at the top of the hill on Mt. Everest.

At first I thought it was part of the ride. it was not.

 while we were stuck on Everest. Clover was making friends with this vendor.

 Tower of Terror. Rachel was just a little scared. just a little.

Everyone went on a ride and I stayed off with the baby while she slept. out of nowhere {seriously, not exaggerating} this lightening and thunder storm started. I didn't know where to go so I got under the giant {metal} mickey hat to wait it out. It poured for a long time. Brian's dad bought ponchos and at first I was like "I am not wearing this in public" well I ate my words. Everyone was wearing ponchos and I was so thankful to have it!

 I found this cinderella dress at a yard sale a year ago for around $10. And instead of taking her to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique like I wanted {too expensive} I did her hair a make up. I overheard a couple people mentioning something about Clover going to the Boutique, so I think I did a good job of faking it :) 

score one for mommy!

 

 dancing with Cinderella #1

 Cinderella #2

Belle #1

Belle #2

the weirdest rapunzel you'll meet...if she can be rapunzel at disney world than I can....I think I may try out! a dream come true!

this was seriously the best snow white...I really do think she was real.

Ariel in her human form ... duh...

Clover even gave Prince Eric a hug whoo whoo

thankfully each princess told her she had to wait 30 years till she could meet her own prince charming...thank you Disney!

 her favorite, Aurora {sleeping beauty for those who don't know princesses....Brenda!}

 Cinderella waving at her from the parade.

 trying to take the typical kid on the daddy's shoulders with the castle picture.....yeah didn't work. too hot.

it was so much fun but so exhausting too! 

Clover has said, at least once a day since then, that she wants to go to Disney World

we told her she can go again when she has kids ;)

We recorded a princess show that we saw there and she has watched it a bazillion times.

Truly a great memory!

1....2....3....

DREAMS COME TRUE! 

and now for some Jim Gaffigan jokes on Disney World:

it truly is magical. it's the one place where you can walk all day long and still gain weight

hmm....where can I take my family on vacation, where I can stand in line all day, sweat and spend a ton of money? disney.

when I was a kid I always wondered why Dad was in bad mood on vacations, now I know ... disney

August 2012

this will finish up our cali trip

prettty much just a picture update again...and then after that it's just disney world and then plain old life again.

 hopefully this time I can keep up with myself and not get so far behind!

clover did swimming lessons 5 days a week and by the end could swim pretty well on her own!

 .shiloh.

this is how a normal child is supposed to go underwater

takes a breath ... closes her eyes

 and this is how my child goes underwater

mouth open

 she likes to drink the water...which causes nasty diapers later

ugh...

Shiloh turned 1

 friends!

family! {missing Brian who was in Croatia}

 stealing birthday cake ... that's how we do.

 spending every last minute we could with friends....blowing bubbles

another disneyland pic but I had it filed under a different file and it's too cute not to post!

 cousins in matching pj's

 and a second trip to disney

and then we flew home :(

to this...

running in the rain naked {southern way to pronounce it is neh-k-ed}

ladies ... I know it's tempting, but my husband is happily married. please refrain from staring ;)