Siblings and Such

 So, it looks like 2013 will be the year of Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang. Tiana's not in love with them yet, but she will grow to be.

When Vinny was two years old, we got annual passes to Disneyland. We always said we would do it again someday, and we were considering doing it again when I got pregnant with Tiana, so then we said we would do it again when she turned two. Well... she turned two, but Disney raised their prices to  ridiculously out of our budget for family entertainment. However, it turns out that Knotts is quite reasonable. Yeah, it is not Disneyland, but it is a lot more preschooler-friendly than Magic Mountain. Plus, talk about cheap! We got a deal today for $66 for all of 2013, and we got to go today for free and can buy additional 2012 visits for only $10, and we get 10% off everywhere in the park and in the Knott's Marketplace. 

I cannot even believe that we are so close to the end of the year already. I started talking New Years plans this week. Time is flying. I was looking at my blogs from 2010 and 2011 and just tripping on how different my kids are from even just a year ago. Which reminds me... in blogging a lot less lately, I do much less chatting about the little things. How cute my kids are and such. They really are adorable. 

Tiana is just a little pistol. She was all about the rides. She didn't even really know what was in store for her when we pulled up, but she started cheering, "Yea! Rides," before she even left her car seat. And she just dominated Camp Snoopy. It is so cute how she looks at Vinny before every ride and says, "Ready? Are you ready, Inny?"  (Yeah, she calls him Inny.  It's actually kind of cute). She was all smiles on all the rides.

      We wore her out so thoroughly, she took like a four and half hour nap today and then was wired when she woke up. 

Look at her with her little hands in the air. 

She looks at Vinny as her constant playmate, and he is pretty obliging. Realistically, he kind of thinks of her the same way. If I'd had my druthers, I would have spaced my kids out farther, honestly, because I just wasn't ready to be pregnant again when I got pregnant with Tiana, but now I sure am glad that she is already old enough to play with him. The other day at dinner, Vinny spontaneously said, "I love you, Tiana," and she surprisingly didn't miss a beat, returning quickly with, "I love you, Inny." I hope they always love each other this much. 

 

 It has been a glorious fall break for me this week, catching up on time with my kids, getting through some grading and paperwork, and focusing on my work for grad school. I wish I could say I am completely caught up and ready to hit the ground running next week, but that is far from true. I have two midterms due next week. One I am halfway done with, but the other I haven't started. Plus, grades are due Tuesday, and I still have a full class set of essays to read. Parent conferences are on Wednesday and Thursday, so that leaves very little time for me to get much of anything done.

Sigh... back to the grindstone for me.