San Diego Legoland (photo heavy, sorry)

We pulled it off! We surprised Josh with a pre-big brother trip to a magical land where toy stores can be found at every turn, Hot Dogs are served in plenty, and the toilets are made of Legos.

Legoland.

San Diego.

It. Was. AWESOME.

We woke Josh up very early on Thursday morning and dressed him in his favorite new Lego Star Wars shirt. Chris had set up this great Lego reveal for him and after a few shocked looks at us, he finally understood.

Two hours later, we were on our way to Legoland!

Chris and I love, love, love San Diego and we wanted to share it with Josh. And, it just so happens, the little man is OBSESSED with legos- perfect fit! The day we arrived, we had to break it to Josh he had to wait one more day to go to Legoland. We drove out to Coronado Island and spent the beautiful day walking around the island.

Chris and Josh had a blast running in and out of the freezing cold Pacific Ocean.

Lucky us, it was Fleet Week in San Diego. Josh was quick to take over the photography duties and captured (very) close up pictures of all the boats, flowers, park benches, sidewalks, street signs, stranger's shoes, and bird poop that San Diego has to offer.

Finally, it was time for dinner and we made our way to the Gas Lamp District to enjoy a nice romantic meal at our favorite restaurant. We found this place in Florence and loved it and heard they opened in SD. Last year, when Chris and I went to SD by ourselves, we enjoyed a lovely romantic meal and reminisced on our days as newly weds living in London. This year...

...we enjoyed a nice family dinner on the patio at 5:00pm and discussed with Josh which rides he wanted to visit while at Legoland the next day. Still a great night, just in a very different way.

We also really wanted to get a drink at our favorite Irish Pub, but Josh was with us. What to do???? What to do???? Yep, we took him to a pub with us. He had his second taste of Guinness, and got mad at Chris for making him try it. Heehee.

Finally, it was time. Friday morning, we woke up early, had a carb-loading breakfast and headed to Legoland. Josh was in awe over the enormity of the park and all to see. Here he is with a "Lego Guy JUST like the one {he} has at home." We heard that a lot over the weekend. " Mommy! Look!!! I have a red lego, just like that one over there!!!"

First thing first! We headed straight to the Star Wars Miniland. An entire section of the park devoted to portraying scenes from the epic series. I'm not sure who was more excited... Chris or Josh. This picture, for example, was taken after Chris ran up to me and said, "Al, come take a picture of me in front of the Millennium Falcon!!!" He grabbed Josh at the last minute to make it seem less dorky.

Of course, a few hours later, I found Harry and Hagrid and was just as excited. Which makes me even more dorky.

The variety of rides was amazing. There were water rides, car rides, dinosaur rides, boat rides... anything you could ask for! And Josh was big enough to do ALL of them. So, naturally, he did.

On the other hand, I was too big to do most of the rides! There were signs everywhere making sure I knew my pregnant self wasn't welcome on any of the rides. Josh and I did find this pirate ride at the end of the day and I was so excited to finally get to have some fun with my son! Little did I know, Chris (who was watching from the side-lines) had controls over a water hose aimed straight at us!

Emily and I survived both Chris' water attack and our first day walking all over Legoland. Being 7.5 months pregnant isn't the best time to visit such a place, but we made it! Way to hang in there, Emily!!

Josh and Chris never really tired of the roller coasters and other rides, but they were both happy to take a break at the Lego Construction Zone to build their very own Lego cars to race. This was a big room FILLED with all the Legos you could dream of and the goal was to build a car and race it down a big race track. Josh LOVED it, and his super cool car even won a few times!

Josh loved this one and couldn't believe he was strong enough to lift himself and Daddy all the way up the tower.

After absolutely NO training or practice, they gave Josh his very own driver's license and put him behind a wheel. Scary stuff. Especially for that poor kid in the orange shirt.

My FAVORITE picture of the trip. We paid a pretty penny for this one, but it had to be done. This was on the biggest ride in the park and you wouldn't know it by this picture, but Josh LOVED this ride. It had one BIG drop right in front of the fence where I was watching in horror. He survived and I think Josh and Chris rode this ride about 5 times during our weekend.

Day two of Legoland meant one thing: Waterpark. Yes, they even had a water park made of legos. It was a hot day and perfect for some cool water slides and pool time.

That night, Legoland opened the park past dark and welcomed the kids in for trick or treating and fire works. What a fun surprise. Since we were staying at the hotel on the park, it was perfect for us to stay out extra late and enjoy the festivities.

I love this. Josh ran right up to Lego Darth and challenged him to a dual.

After two fun-filled days at Legoland, Josh and I were so tired. But, you can't go to San Diego without seeing the famous zoo!!

So, we headed to the zoo early on Sunday morning and although we tried to take the bus around the MASSIVE zoo acreage, it was still a lot of walking STRAIGHT UP HILL! But, but, but... seeing the animals was worth it! We saw Baby Tigers and Giraffes, Panda Bears, Elephants, Hippos, and even a couple of Polar Bears!

Oh My!!!

On our last morning in San Diego, we ate breakfast at a great little diner situated on a pier. Pancakes, coffee, ocean breeze, and palm trees- what a great way to end a great trip.

Before we caught our flight, we decided to take Josh to La Jolla to see the beatiful coast line and the sea lions that bask in the sun on the rocks.

They were cute, but so, so stinky. Josh and I could only look for a few minutes and then we ran as far away as we could.

Yuck.

It was such a fun trip for all of us. Such a special time spent with our little man. I don't think he understands how much his life will change in two short months, but I hope he will have great memories of our time, just the three of us, together in San Diego.