The Giddings: We're Back, Alive, and with MANY updates

1.14.2011

We're Back, Alive, and with MANY updates

Boy have I missed blogging. The time I take for myself to record our family's doings is therapeutic for me; it's a hobby of mine and I am so happy to have it back in my life. I have so much to catch up on and I am excited about it. Hopefully I get it all in, and in order :) Let's start with Brooklynn's surprise... which she still talks about on a daily basis. Prior to finding renters for our home in Utah I had purchased Disney on Ice tickets for Brooklynn and I to have a fun night out. I had no idea I would be smack in the middle of moving when the date arrived, but sure enough that is what happened. A HUGE thank you to Aunt Joanna, who came to help me with the move and not only stayed with Maylee while Brooklynn and I spent our evening together in Salt Lake, but she also packed my ENTIRE kitchen so I wouldn't have lost the time from being away with B. And everyone knows the kitchen is the most dreaded room in the house to pack/unpack, so I was extremely grateful to have "missed out" on that job.

All Brooklynn knew was that I had a surprise for her. She had no idea we were about to see princesses and animals- the disney works! When we arrived at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake, I had to wake my sleeping beauty up and we walked to our entrance. When we got inside there was no shortage of Disney workers luring the little children in for animals, and pictures, and lights, and every gadget you can imagine- simultaneously raping the parents with RIDICULOUS pricing! Thankfully we passed through all the temptation without a single tantrum. We did however stop to get some tasty nachos to snack on.

Brooklynn patiently waited for the show to start and when it did she was in heaven! Her eyes never left the stage. Lion King was her favorite, but they also depicted The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, and Peter Pan. It was so fun to watch her so happy. I just kept thinking, "I wish Paul was here to see". (He of course was hard at work in Florida) So the show did 2 movies-about an hour long- and then a short intermission, then the last 2 movies for another hour. Little did I know that intermission would lead to quite the tantrum later. When the show was over, we started to walk to our car. We only got to the top of the stairs when the crying and tantrum began. Brooklynn started crying, "I want them to come back!" (The same thing she had said during intermission, in which I assured her they would be in just a bit). She was under the impression the show wasn't over, but it was just another "intermission" and they would come back some more to entertain her. Poor thing. Mind you for days prior we had been crazy busy with packing and so she was a little sleep deprived, but nonetheless, this was the BIGGEST tantrum I had seen her throw to date. Walking to the car was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I COULD NOT reason with Brooklynn for the life of me... she was SO upset. Here, all around us, kids and their parents were all smiles and laughter talking about what they just saw, and my child is hysterically crying and I obviously had NO control over her. I couldn't even get her to walk so I'm desperately trying to carry my screaming child- who did not want to be carried- yelling, "I wanna walk myself". So I'd put her down, only for her to walk at snail speed. I, of course, was desperately trying to get to our car as quickly as possible so that nobody could stare at us anymore. It was tragic. We eventually made it to the car, and called daddy to help calm her down- it's the only thing that worked. (Whenever she is upset with one of us these days, she of course cries out for the other). And within minutes, she was asleep. The exhaustion had undoubtedly gotten the better of her.

However, she thoroughly enjoyed her surprise and still talks about it. When she sees tinkerbell, she reminds me she saw her at her "surprise". She also pretends to "skate" around like all the animals did at her "surprise". Too cute. Despite her tantrum, I'm really glad we went. I knew she would love it, and she did!