Why Two Birthday Parties?

As you can see in the slide shows below, there are two birthday parties. Why? Well if you look at the first slideshow I posted (2nd one down) the very last photo says it all. Carissa fell asleep on the couch before we could sing Happy Birthday and open presents. She had so much fun and excitement the first two hours she ran out of gas when it was cake and presents time. I was trying to take a photo of Maia and Carissa together but Carissa wasn't cooperating. Out of the blue she starting crying hysterically. I laid her on the couch to try to get her to calm down and then to everyone's surprise, she fell asleep within minutes. It was bizarre and it left me in a awkward predicament. What now? We ended up just singing to Maia and Maia opened all the presents that said "To Maia" and also the ones that said "To Maia & Carissa". That night Maia said she loved the party because "I had my own birthday and my own cake". That statement right there made all the drama worth it. The next day I bought the same cake and decorated it. I invited Hailey and Grandma over again. Stacie, Bryan, and Anthony had spent the night. I even re-wrapped all the presents that said "To Maia & Carissa". Then we sang Happy Birthday to Carissa and she opened all her presents. If you look at this slideshow (Part II), you can tell by the big smile on Carissa's face that she too liked having her own party and presents. In fact, she told Scott and I over and over again that day how much she liked it and how thankful she was. So this may be a new trend for the future to have two parties. Maybe one in the morning and one in the evening. Or two days in a row like this year. Who knows? It's not an easy thing with twins. I have a lot of friends with twins I'll have to get advice from for the years to come.

5th Birthday Party Part II (for Carissa)

Carissa & Maia's 5th Birthday Party

Carissa & Maia's 5th Birthday - Repeated 5x!

Carissa and Maia had 5 birthdays to symbolize them turning 5 years old. How can that be?

1. Disneyland - March 9 (their actual birthday) - photos posted previously
2. Grandma and Grandpa Pollaccia (my parents) - March 10 - photo posted here
3. Grandma and Grandpa Larsen (Scott's parents) - March 15 - photo posted here
4. Our house - March 19
5. Our house (Part II) - March 20

Tagged!

I've been tagged by my sister-in-law. Here are the rules -- open the fourth folder of pictures, go to the fourth picture in that folder and blog about it (then tag 4 of your friends/family). I tag Marlina and Erin (I don't any other blogger friends). This is a photo of the party decorations from Carissa and Maia's 5th birthday party.

Disneyland Slideshow

Disneyland Vacation (4 days): March 7 thru 14

We had a great time at Disneyland last week! We went 4 days. Two days with my parents. One day with just the four of us. One day just Scott and I. Carissa's favorite ride? - Tea Cups. Maia's favorite ride? - It's A Small World. One night with my parent's the girls were up until Midnight at Disneyland riding the Tea Cups. Daddy sure can spin it fast!! There was a ride at CA Adventure, Jumpin' Jellyfish that Maia and Carissa wanted to go on without us. The Disneyland worker said the could go on themselves, but that we needed to ride on the Jelly Fish next to them. He was so proud of how brave they were that he gave all four of us special buttons, "Honorary Citizen of Disneyland" (see photos). Thank you Mom and Dad for the GREAT vacation at Disneyland and and at your house! You made it a very memorable 5th birthday for Carissa and Maia!

Disneyland 5th Birthday

It was just the 4 of us at Disneyland. What a way to celebrate your 5th birthday (March 9th)! The best part is getting in free for your birthday (one of the many benefits of having twins)! They give you a Birthday button with your name on it for you to wear. They loved meeting all the characters, especially the princesses (they loved Belle the best because "she's the prettiest" - Scott thought so too!). We sang Happy Birthday to them at the Main Street Cone Shop. I know, the ice creams are HUGE. No, they didn't eat it all.

Our Romantic/Fun Disneyland Date

Scott and went on a date to Disneyland on March 11th! It was so much fun! We had fun riding on all the rides we couldn't go on with Carissa and Maia. Our favorite? Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (see photo)! We liked it so much we went on it 3x in a row. Our favorite place to eat ever? Blue Bayou at Disneyland. We had the best filet mignon and lobster in our lives (see photo). We loved the Gumbo soup (I need to Google for the recipe). It was money well spent. Thank you Scott for the great birthday present!

Emma Magazine

We are on the cover! You can click on the picture to enlarge. My ex boss from Lady Fitness gave me a whole box of them! I'll cherish this forever!

My Website

I finally finished my website last night. I have a few more things to add but it's basically done. I can't believe how much time and effort goes into building a website. It's harder than I could have ever imagined. Since it's a free website, there is no technical help. I got a lot of help by doing Google searches and by trial and error. I learned a lot about HTML codes in the last few weeks.

Check it out...
http://www.christinelarsenphotography.com/

My Birthday

I'm 35 today! I feel so old. I heard tape ripping early this morning at 6am. It was Scott putting birthday signs up for me through the house. He is so sweet! Last night I told Scott that I better put on my night eye cream so that I don't wake up a year older with wrinkles.

Kindergarten

I registered Carissa and Maia for kindergarten yesterday. It took me nearly an hour to fill out all the paperwork because I have to do it 2x over (also because...Carissa and Maia were there "helping me" by getting into my purse consistently to eat Tic Tacs/getting into my makeup and redecorating the flowers and wall hangings in the admin office -- I love my 2 little monkeys). Carissa and Maia were excited to be there. They saw some of their church friends there who were coming back to class from lunch time. Maia said, "Wow Mommy, our friends go here". I could see the smiles and anticipation on their faces. I know I will definitely cry their first day of school.

Dad's 60th Birthday Photos!

Dad's 60th Birthday Party Slideshow!

Scott's Dad's 60th Birthday Party

It was a surprise party, Scottish style (Bagpipe Player and Highland Dancers)! His Dad is Scottish and served a 2 year mission in Scottland. He loved it! We had a great time. We were able to squeeze everyone onto our front room. We really enjoyed having our friends and family over, especially the Whitney's who drove all the way from Utah to come. We love and miss you Whitney's! Mom Larsen, you did a awesome job putting together all the details of the party!

After Surgery - No More Contacts/Glasses!

It's been 12 days since my surgery and my vision is about 90% better than when I had to wear glasses/contacts. Things are still blurry/out of focus and I get headaches once a day usually. The steroid drops I put into my eyes 5x/day, Flarex, tastes awful (cross taste between tires, gasoline, and engine oil). You put it in your eyes and then it eventually drains down your throat to your mouth about 1-2 hours later.

I saw Dr. Carr yesterday and he said I have nearly 20/20 vision now. I'm very excited because now I can drive. I immediately drove after the appointment to Vallejo for another doctor's appointment. I haven't driven in 2 weeks, so I was nervous to get behind the wheel on a rainy day. I did make it home safe and sound without any collisions.

I'm blessed to have my parents who financed the surgery. I'll be forever grateful to my parents who gave me the wonderful gift of sight! To wake up in the morning and be able to see the world immediately is a great gift! Thank you Mom Larsen for driving me to all my appointments and helping me out with the girls. I really appreciate your time and patience. Thanks Scott for doing chores and shopping for the household. Thank you Marlina for getting me out of the house for lunch last week - it was fun. The surgery wouldn't have been possible without the tremendous help, love, and support from all the wonderful people in my life! I love you all!

Before Surgery

February 19, 2009 Day of my eye surgery. I had Advanced Surface Treatment (AST) done on both eyes. I took this shot right before I left to the laser eye center.

Maia & Carissa

Valentine's Day - my 2 sweet girls