I can’t
put into words how much this vacation was needed for my family. Spending 7 days together is something we
never get to do. We woke up early Sunday morning got the car all packed up,
which there wasn’t an inch to spare in the car. But we got it all to fit. Then
by 8:00am we were on the road. The kids did so well on the car ride. We stopped
and had lunch and even took them to a park and still made it in 6.5 hours. We
arrived at our hotel and our room wasn’t ready so we headed to downtown Disney
to do some shopping. As we were walking Brian and I looked at each other and
both said why is it so hot here. It was
humid and just hot. We went shopping got ice cream and just let the kids run
around. Brendan was running around like a crazy man. He was so happy to be free
after spending half the day in the car.
Monday
afternoon we went to pick my mom and Ed up from the airport. They decided last
minute to come and meet us for a couple days. So we were excited they decided
to come. We had planned to do family pictures at the beach while we were here
on vacation so Monday evening was when we had those planned. But of course
Brendan was extremely tired and cranky most of the day Monday. This was the
first time he had slept in a pack in play and needless to say there wasn’t any
sleeping for either of us the first night. So I kind of knew pictures was
probably going to not go well. We headed to Laguna Beach for pictures. I don’t
think any of us really thought out the fact that it was Labor Day and the
beaches would probably be crowded. Well they were packed even at 5:30. So we
had the challenge of trying to the pictures around everyone at the beach. This
was Haley and Brendan’s first time to the beach. Brendan didn’t really know
what to do. He tried to walk but kept realizing his feet stuck in the sand. It
was really funny to watch him. Then he decided that he was going to just shovel
handfuls of sand in his mouth. It was so gross but it didn’t seem to bother him
because he kept doing it. I also knew getting him to sit and pose for the
camera wasn’t going to happen. He wanted nothing to do with anybody taking
pictures of him. The poor photographer was sitting there trying to call his
name to get his attention but I had to break the news to her that he wasn’t
going to respond. Haley of course was easy because she can pose like a champ! I
am pretty sure this photo session was a big disappointment and I am lucky if
any of the pictures turn out.
Tuesday
morning has finally come and we are headed into Disneyland. Haley was so
excited! We get through the gates and the first person we see is Mickey Mouse.
We waited in line to see him and as we walked up to him Brendan had this blank
stare over him. We got right up to him and then Brendan realized it was Mickey
Mouse and then got a huge smile on his face. He just wanted to touch him. He
just kept looking up and down at him. If I had to guess what Bren was thinking
it had to have been how are you real and not on a tv screen. Lol. As we walked
away and said bye to Mickey Brendan wouldn’t take his eyes off of him. It was
really cute. We then went to city hall to let them know about Brendan’s special
needs and they gave us a pass to use on all the rides he could go on. The pass
was for us to be able to go in the wheelchair lines, they had his stroller
classified as his wheelchair. This meant he could stay in his stroller right
until we got onto a ride. Which this was going to be our saving grace. He does
great in his stroller but if you try and just hold him he doesn’t let you so standing
in the normal line I knew would never work. We were now ready to hit the rides.
The first couple rides he did pretty well on. Then we went on a couple of the
rides that were mostly in the dark and super loud and he got pretty freaked
out. I have never had him snuggle and hold onto to me so tight before. I know
he wasn’t enjoying them but I selfishly was enjoying him snuggling so tight
with me. Then we went on It’s a Small World, well he completely freaked out, he
cried so hard and just buried his head into me. What I didn’t realize is that the
ride is way over stimulating for him. There is so much going on all at once
with, lights, and music, moving characters. I felt so bad for him he was
digging his nails into my neck because he was so scared. After that ride we
decided to give him a break from the rides. We went into Toon Town and just let
him run around through the little houses and play area. At this point in the day the heat was starting
to get to all of us. It was close to 100 degrees with humidity. We all needed a
little break. We finished out the day the doing all the rides that Brendan
couldn’t go on. The good thing is that Brendan was so tired that when I put him
down for bed he crashed and pretty much never moved all night.
Wednesday
morning we went to Goofy’s Kitchen for breakfast. It was so nice the chef came
out and said he could make Brendan special pancakes or waffles that he could
eat. So he tried pancakes for the first time plain of course and liked them.
When we take him out to eat the only way to get him to sit in the highchair is
to play Mickey Mouse movie on our phone for him to watch. It was really funny
when the characters would come over and say hi to the kids because Brendan
would glance up at them and then continue to watch his show. It was almost like
they were interrupting him. The best part was Pluto coming over and pointing to
the tv at himself and trying to get Bren to look at him but it wasn’t fazing
him. We then headed to California Adventure. There wasn’t that many rides that
Brendan could ride, it was mostly for Haley and the adults. But we did go to
cars land and Brendan really loved the live Lightning McQueen and Mater driving
around. He got to go on the bumper tires with Grandma and Ed and he seemed to
enjoy that. I have to say that the new cars ride was by far my favorite ride!
We then went back over to Disneyland and had dinner and watched the Mickey
Mouse parade. Brendan was terrified of the parade. The noise was just too loud
for him plus he was so tired so that didn’t help.
Thursday
we said good-bye to my mom and Ed as they were headed back home. We had so much
fun with them and they were also a big help with the kids. We got to go to
Disneyland early with the magic morning pass but all the rides we wanted to go
back on and ride were closed for the magic morning. So we were a little bummed.
We spent the morning at Disneyland just letting Haley go back and do all the
rides she wanted to do again. The heat again was getting the best of us so we
went back to the hotel mid day to just cool down. That was the best thing for
us because then we were all rested up to spend the rest of the day and night at
California Adventure. We also ran into some friends of ours that were there to
so we got to spend the rest of the day with them which was great because then
Haley had two friends to go on all the rides with. We saw the Mickey clubhouse
show and Brendan really enjoyed that. We ended up closing the park down. Doing
3 days in Disneyland was the perfect amount of time. Haley is already asking if
we can come back next year.
Friday
was beach day. We drove to Huntington Beach and spent the day by the ocean. The
kids had so much fun. Brendan once again was sampling everything he could fit
into his mouth, mostly sand and seed weed. Haley loved building sand castles
and Brendan loved to knock them down. The cold ocean water actually felt good
since it was so hot out. We all got pretty sunburnt but of course Brian got it
the worst. It was worth it we really had such a great time.
Saturday
we got up early packed the car back up and drove to LA. We were headed to the
American Girl Doll store. This was all of our first time to the store. Haley
was just in heaven, dolls and clothes everywhere. She got a new doll with lots
of new accessories. They have a doll hair salon so she got to get her two dolls
hair done. Of course she said this was
the best part of the trip. It was worth the drive to see how happy she was. It
was a great way to end our trip.
We
have a huge week coming up. We will be starting all new therapy for Brendan. So
I hope he can handle the change. We are starting an intense 6-week class at
Southwest Autism Research Center(sarc) called Jumpstart. It is classes that is
parent and child based learning. Then Brendan is starting to get some of the
aba therapy. He wont be getting the 20 hours yet but we have decided to start
aba therapy and pay for what we can now until we can get the state service to
start paying, which I hope is soon. So everything will be new for him but this
is what he needs right now. So fingers crossed we hope it's a good week. 
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