We’ve had a couple of pretty magical days in the last week. Pranav’s wedding was beautiful & the weather went from slightly sprinkling in the morning to hot & sunny by the afternoon—totally perfect for the outdoor receptions that overlooked the Pacific from a Malibu estate! It poured a lot the day & night before so we were worried that it wasn’t going to turn around, but it did just in time (Mother Nature redeemed herself!). Joshua stayed with Dad at Adam’s place for 13 1/2 hours—the longest we’ve been apart since he before he came home from the hospital (quite a momentous day for me). Dad survived with flying colors & said that Joshua was very well behaved. The ceremonies were very nice & I especially enjoyed watching the Hindu festivities involved with that ceremony. Unfortunately, I had to leave early because Malibu was quite a long drive from home & I needed to get back to my little guy before he went to bed. I’m not emotionally prepared to miss out on bedtime quite yet.

Dad, Joshua, & I went to Disneyland today—what a long day! We woke up early to get there at the crack of dawn (well, maybe not quite that early, but it felt like it). We arrived before the park opened so there was time to get a photo with Mickey & get Josh his first mouse ears hat (which of course he won’t keep on for more than a few seconds at a time) with only a short line. Joshua didn’t know what to think of such a large Mickey Mouse but he was OK as long as he was in Mommy’s arms. I finally got to ride the new Space Mountain ride & then we rode the Dumbo ride which Joshua loved. As with California Adventure, I think Joshua’s favorite ride was still just the carousel, which he can go on anywhere. His other favorite things were running in the play area at Toontown, riding the railroad around the park, & just people-watching as we pushed him around in the stroller. We all went on a few of the kiddy rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, & the Jungle Cruise (Josh’s other favorite ride).  Unfortunately, the It’s a Small World ride was closed for renovation so we couldn’t go on that one—I know that Josh really would’ve liked that ride, but they had to retrofit the ride to accommodate for heavier riders (what a sad commentary on the health trends in this country!).  At least now I won’t have that song stuck in my head, so maybe it was a good thing!  Joshua finally fell asleep as we were in line to ride the monorail in the afternoon. He stayed asleep when I took him out of the stroller, throughout the entire ride, when he was put back into the stroller, & until we walked out of the gate to go home. We saw several characters throughout the day–Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Alice & the Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, Cruella Deville, Winnie & Tigger, Buzz Lightyear & Woody, & a few others I can’t think of right now. Joshua’s favorite was Alice in Wonderland, but still he needed to be held around her. In total, we spent almost 8 hours at Disneyland. A long day for all of us. Dad & Joshua both took a nice nap when we got home. I should do the same, but instead, here I am typing away (I hope you enjoy my sacrifice).

This Memorial Day weekend, we also got together with my good friend Oakley & Erick’s uncle Terry. Joshua loved showing Oak how he can spin around in circles while he “dances” to the music from his pink Barbie piano (he’s in touch with his feminine side, but the piano was a cheap toy from the thrift store so that’s why it’s got Barbie all over it). Oakley took some short videos to put on YouTube so Erick could see Joshua. I hadn’t thought much about doing that before but now I think I might try doing that myself. If you’d like to see them, let me know & I’ll send you the link to my YouTube account. Tomorrow, Joshua & I are heading down to San Diego to visit with Erick’s uncle Bob & a couple of my friends from UCSD. Just one more week left of our long trip & then we go home. Joshua is going to have some major culture-shock when it’s just the 2 of us alone in our big house like usual!