Sebastian at Six Weeks and the Day We Went to Pixar

First things first, moving is so not cool with an infant, especially one that needs to be held all time. My mom has been a doll coming over to help but I have to stop and breastfeed Sebastian every hour and a half or so it's difficult. They've been able to spend some good time together though and for that I'm grateful.

They went for a walk using the Moby.



They read stories.



They shared lots of smiles. Sebastian seems to think Gramma is the silliest and smiles for her the most.



My mom is going to have an emotional breakdown when we leave for sure.

Unfortunately, packing is going uber slow and I'm freaked out that I only have 9 days to finish. I have so much crap, I don't know how it'll get done, nor do I know how it'll all fit in the U-haul.

Also, in other moving news, Alex is doing well on the job front. He has three interviews and four separate companies are highly interested in him and loved his resume. We also have a townhouse rental unless we find something we like better. Contracts will remain unsigned until Alex gets there.

The best part of our week happened on Tuesday when our family went to Pixar Studios. It all happened because we are huge ass nerds who loved Wall-E so much we got I heart Wall-E vanity plates.



Some dude followed Alex home one afternoon because he saw these plates. Turns out he works for Pixar and wanted to ask if he could take a picture of said plates and send it to his boss. His boss turned out to be Andrew Stanton who directed Wall-E, Finding Nemo, and A Bugs Life. He also wrote most of Pixar's films. Stanton went nuts for the license plate and, long story short, we were invited to Pixar.


The entry gates


Luxo, Jr. and the ball at the front of the main building. These are huge.

Now, I didn't take many pictures, sadly. Most areas I was not allowed to and the rest of the time I was breastfeeding Sebastian. Oh yes, even in Pixar.

For more pics than mine and of places I mention in this post check out:

Rotten Tomatoes Tours Pixar

Anyway we check in and are able to first tour the main lobby which is like an atrium. It's huge and light and airy. It was built by Steve Jobs who apparently was anal enough to have one brick wall demolished two times before it was good enough. He also had each bolt hand riveted rather than machine riveted. That's pretty nifty.

They have a cafe, a cereal bar where everything is free, a shop, and a mail room. There were various Pixar figures, lifesize and larger, around the lobby. Some employees were getting around on skateboards and these crazy mini skateboard things that were only big enough for one foot each and each with only two wheels.

We weren't able to go into the theater or screening rooms because all were occupied. As we were standing there the director of Toy Story 3 came out of one with all of his animators. That was pretty cool.

Like I said, much of the areas were closed off to us, like the head honcho's offices. We were told they used to use these garden sheds (like they sell at Orchard Supply)to store supplies but now they use them as office cubicles. At the link I posted you can see a picture of one of them.

Next we saw where some of the sound was recorded, though most is done at Lucas's Skywalker Ranch. On the wall were the signatures of people who had recorded there. Often employees get picked to be voice extras which is pretty neat. My favorite was the huge scrawl of the little boy who voiced Nemo.

Then we were able to go upstairs and check out the gallery. They always have concept art up for the current film which was UP. I felt bad saying I hadn't seen it yet but, shoot, I was busy having a baby. The concept art was crazy amazing. There were models and sculptures, and plenty of paintings and sketches. I loved the concept drawings of the scouts badges. Who wouldn't want to earn a badge for "sushi eating" and "money grubbing"? Hidden in different places were stickers of the badges that child visitors could find. They must have done the same for Ratatouille because sketches of rats were here and there in random places.



After seeing the gym, the pool, and the beach volleyball court, we headed down another hall to the "Renderfarm". This huge room was filled to the brim with lit up computer banks. I thought Alex was going to pee himself. Right at the front of the room was an original Pixar computer. Turns out they had to buy that one back on Ebay for a hell of a lot more than it was in the first place. Funny.

Throughout the building and in the offices we saw, there were tons of funny signs, jokes (a foot coming out from under one of the Renderfarm racks for example), and toys and more toys. I could not believe how many trinkets and toys there were. Some people even had couches and chandeliers in their offices. It really made for a fun and creative atmosphere.

Before we left we were given a bag of swag that Andrew Stanton left for us (He was filming in Utah). Kick ass. He gave us some Wall-E toys, notebooks, jackets, an art book printed especially for Academy members that was to persuade them to vote for Wall-E in the Academy Awards, and The Art of Wall-E book that he autographed.


Notice what he drew in Wall-E's hands

It was a pretty awesome day. I was glad Sebastian got to be a part of it even if he never will remember it. We have his Pixar visitor name tag to put into his baby book along with this picture he and I took next to Sully, who was very soft and furry.




In other Sebastian news, he's been smiling a lot more and each smile melts our hearts, making us gush and goo. We also have an approximate weight for him. I say approximate because since his next pedi appointment isn't until September 3, I had to try to get a weight at my 6 week postpartum appointment. I had them take my weight first (8lbs to go) and then take it again with me holding him. He weighs approximately 13 pounds! This figures seeing how he has grown out of his infant cloth diapers and out of his size one overnight disposables. He is fully in 0-3 clothes and who knows if some of those will last much longer.

Another highlight of our week was a fabulous Greek dinner with great friends. It was a goodbye of sorts, certainly the last time we'll be together until next August when Alicia and Ken get married. That thought made me cry. Sebastian was unhappy too bu mainly because he had been in the car most of the day driving back and forth to Santa Cruz for my appointment, driving back and forth from San Jose to go wedding dress shopping with Alicia before she heads back to Kiev, and then to the restaurant. He was a little trooper though.



Additional Sebastian cuteness of the week.


Couch nap with mama




Big smiles


Hanging out with Eve at David's Bridal right before he had a colossal blow out on Eve and the David's Bridal couch