love + merriment = family: 09.12

9.24.2012

meeting minnie

for a few months diegas and evia have a tradition of occasionally watching a couple of old disney movies. they last about 8 minutes and are cute little black and whites or redone in technicolor. her favorite one is from 1937 called hawaiian holiday. exploring u tube for old disney cartoons has made her familiar with all the disney characters. she'll recite the actions between the characters to tell the story with such enthusiasm. so when diegas' company announced the annual company picnic this year would be held at disneyland, we had one very excited little girl. my mom picked up a stuffed mickey for evia on our idaho trip at little e's request which she has carried around with her since and reminded us that in september she would be meeting mickey mouse. i also told her about a place called goofey's kitchen (a restaurant at the disneyland hotel where we were staying), where the doggie himself would be cookin' up breakfast for the family!

diegas and i haven't been to disneyland in 18 years!! since SBHS grad night. after this weekend, i learned there are avid disneyland-goers that visit the park multiple times a year. we were complete novices at theme park tactics, but as prepared as possible, had a great time exploring toone town, enjoying a few rides and meeting the characters with our little 2.5 year old and the 5 month old in tow. it was about 90 degrees and more people than i've been around, in a long time...but we made enjoying ourselves the biggest priority by taking care of all parties first and foremost and letting the rest just happen. so excited for our next visit..when the girls will enjoy it as little buddies!

when we asked evia whar her favorite part of "her" holiday was she replied "minnie."

steven and evia gettin' the bob ready to cover some theme park ground

a little r & r with our awesome hosts anna and steven in oc

mila and papa beach time

sandy toes

disney entrance decked out in fall

evia having her silhouette cut

evia and milena

dumbo ride first disney attraction

happy girl with her stuffed mickey in tow

appropriately taking a mid-day snooze

her favorite part!

goofey

company picnic special guest

d chatting with co-worker mike at company dinner

the strawberry popsicle that required a mila bib and kept her occupied through small world line at 8pm

loved the small world ride art

her one item to bring home selection...mickey ears

breakfast time

chef made her special egg-free pancakes

everyone's workin' the kitchen

watching sister and papa in pool

mama baby lounging

pool time

girls

bye bye disneyland hotel (mila didn't even make it to the lobby - zonked)

returned to sb and gave our wide-eyed-food-gazer-chew-mimicker her first taste!

she'bout wrestled me to the floor for it

9.20.2012

welcome baby mila + five month recap

mama kisses

i cannot believe it's been 5 months since my last post!! i've been wanting to post for sometime. it was only inevitable that adding a new addition to our family would make my posts fewer and far between as things are a tad busier around here. welcome baby milena. she was born at the end of april and has added a wonderful new presence to our family unit. my intention is to now stick with the blog posts again. a great way to keep family and friends updated on the lives of the z's! it's been super busy with solstice, fiesta, lots of birthday's, a 17 hour road trip to idaho and back, co-hosting a baby shower, seeing my dad graduate with his masters, a trip to cottage hospital for evia for two nights and countless visits with wonderful family and friends. with me now staying at home full time, it's been a challenge, but so rewarding and i wouldn't change it for anything. below is a collection of photos to help recapture our lives over the last several months.