Kim

I See Castle!

So we did it.  We successfully ventured to Disney World with our 18-month-old, in August, while one of us was 22 weeks pregnant, and had a great time.  Honestly, we couldn't have wished for things to go any better.  All-in-all, every convenience we spent paid a little extra for was completely worth it (staying at the Contemporary Resort, right by the Magic Kingdom, having monorail access at our resort, being able to see the Magic Kingdom from our balcony, etc.).  Our only complaint is that we couldn't stay longer.  It seriously almost feels like it didn't happen.  But it did.  And the memories are priceless, and I am so thankful we just did it.  Oh, and I think Henry had a great time too.  (Warning: this is going to be a long play-by-play.  I don't want to forget anything!)

We woke up at 3am Thursday night and started the drive. It's about 8 hours from here and we knew we'd have to stop a time or two.  All-in-all, we made it in 9 hours.  Pretty good.  We had everything ready to go and literally picked Henry out of his crib, changed his diaper, and put him in his car seat, hoping he'd go right back to sleep.  No dice.  He actually didn't sleep the ENTIRE time.  He sleeps all the time in the car, so it was sort of ridiculous, but I think he was just excited that he was going to Disney World ;)  However, he was pretty happy, which was a blessing.  For the first couple of hours he just rode quietly (half asleep probably, but his eyes were wide open).  Then we had downloaded some movies to the Ipad for him to watch (Pooh and Mickey Mouse, of course), and that mesmerized him.  We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Savannah and we stopped on other time to stretch our legs, but that was it.  He did really well, especially for not sleeping.  He got a little grumpy at the end because he was so tired, but he would not let himself fall asleep!

We made it to our hotel around 12 noon.  Check-in wasn't until 3pm, so we knew our room might not be ready, but we were hoping we'd get lucky.  Not so much.  However, we were all glad to be out of the car and it felt wonderful to be at Disney finally.  We ate lunch at the hotel and did some exploring.  Henry hung in there, but was so, so tired.  As luck would have it, our room wasn't ready until 3:30pm.  This was really the only "glitch" in the weekend.  We were tired and a bit annoyed, admittedly, but it was what it was and we were just happy to have our room.  They did set up a roll-away crib in the room for us, which worked out perfectly.  With two queen beds in the room, we were able to create a little nook for the crib where Henry had some privacy.  He was definitely "over-tired" at this point and had a bit of breakdown, but finally fell asleep.  We let him nap for a bit so that he would actually make it through dinner. 

Playing in the water-area at the hotel.
We had dinner that night at a restaurant in the Grand Floridian Resort.  It was fun to hop on the monorail and ride over there.  Matt's goal for the weekend was not to get into the car once while we were there and we succeeded.  Henry loved riding the "choo-choo" and had it all figured out by the end of the night.  Dinner was delicious.  It was probably my favorite meal of the whole trip.  My shrimp and grits were amazing.  It was also fun to see another resort.  We had considered staying there, but after seeing it, given our circumstances with Henry, etc., we were glad we went with the Contemporary.  After dinner and a short walk around the resort, we headed back to our hotel.  We were all so tired and knew we had a big day on Friday.
Riding the monorail.

Henry was up and ready to go Friday morning, as always. We had breakfast at the hotel and made it to the Magic Kingdom just before the gates opened.  We actually were there in time for the opening ceremony, but the crowd was so big you really couldn't see much of it.  We were starting to get a little nervous about the crowd, but once the gates opened and everyone dispersed inside, you realized that it really wasn't that many people.  We were able to ride 5 rides in just over an hour, and we didn't have to wait in a single line!  It was amazing.  We rode Dumbo first.  Henry did great.  He really didn't know what was going on at all at that point, but he was happy.  His favorite ride, by far, was It's a Small World. He was clapping his hands and dancing in the little boat by the end of it.  We actually rode it again the next day because he loved it so much.  We also rode the Little Mermaid ride, Winnie-the-Pooh (also cool, but a bit of a disappointment because it moved too quickly through the storyline), Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean (I thought Henry was going to be scared, but he was just fine), and the Haunted Mansion (at this point, Henry was so tired, he actually fell asleep on Matt during the ride...lol).  I might be leaving one or two out, but needless to say, we rode a lot.  We knew we pretty much only had until lunchtime before it'd be time to let Henry nap, and since the lines were short, we got in as much as we could.  Henry was mesmerized by most of the rides and it was a lot of fun. 

We ended the morning with a quick trip to see Mickey.  Henry didn't have much reaction to him then. I think he was so tired, and Matt held him the whole time, so he did fine.  And we finally got to take a family picture with Mickey.  We might look a little hot and tired, but that is one of those things you just have to do if you go to Disney, you know?
MICKEY MOUSE!

We headed back to the hotel and made the (really smart) decision to just order lunch from the cafe in the bottom of the resort and take it up to our room.  This gave everyone a chance to relax and refuel.  We just sat Henry in his stroller with the tray on it and it made the perfect little highchair for him. 

After lunch, Henry napped, I rested, and Matt spent some time by the pool.  We had dinner reservations at the Garden Grill in EPCOT that night, so we headed to that park around 4pm.  There isn't as much for Henry to do at EPCOT, but we still enjoyed riding a few rides before getting caught in a downpour.  Luckily, it only lasted a little bit, and it actually drove us inside to the Nemo ride, which turned out to be really cool.  Henry loved looking at the fish and the real aquariums that are part of it. 

Dinner was delicious (except that we forgot to tell them that Henry would just eat off of my plate, and got charged for a Disney kids meal, which is *slightly* overpriced - didn't make that mistake again!).  It was actually a character dinner with Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale. This was Henry's first real experience with the characters and his reaction was mixed.  He didn't love them, but he didn't scream and cry either.  He mostly just clung to me and looked at them.  We did manage to get a few pictures though.  We didn't stay in EPCOT too long after dinner (we actually didn't even make it to the "Around the World" part of the park), but headed back to the hotel.  Henry had his bath and headed to bed. Matt and I sat on our balcony, enjoyed some desserts and watched the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom.  It was a pretty spectacular show, as you'd expect. 
View from our balcony.  Pretty amazing, right?

Saturday started with breakfast at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom with the Pooh characters. This reservation was totally worth it because we got to go into the Magic Kingdom before it was open to the public.  It was so fun to see the castle and take pictures in front of it without fighting all the crowds.  Henry loved the castle and kept saying, "I see castle!"  This was his refrain for most of the trip, actually. 

Breakfast was good, but the characters were slow to come around and we only saw Tigger and Piglet.  Henry had about the same reaction as he did the night before.  He didn't love them, but he wasn't terrified.  We spotted Pooh and Eeyore from afar, and Henry did love when they played the Pooh songs and marched around the restaurant.  Again, this meal was totally worth it just to get into the park early.  Oh, and we got one of my favorite pictures of the trip with Tigger, so that was cool. 

T-I-double g-er!

We spent the morning at the Magic Kingdom riding more rides and enjoying the sites.  We rode the Jungle Cruise, Aladdin's Carpets and a few others.  It was sunny on Saturday, so things heated up a lot quicker than they did the day before.  We started choosing rides based on whether or not they were indoors, which worked out as a nice way to keep us cool.  Henry had the hang of things this time and really seem to enjoy the rides more.  We kept our routine the same and headed back to the hotel for lunch in the room and a nap.  It was so convenient to just be one monorail stop away from the hotel.  Henry was a champ riding in his stroller and things went smoothly on all fronts.
The castle!

Our dinner reservation that night was the new Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom (Matt spent a lot of time preceding the trip working out our reservations and FastPass selections so that everything was just so...and it did all work out wonderfully).  This restaurant is really cool because it is located in the beast's castle (from Beauty and the Beast) and has a french theme.  The meal was decent and the atmosphere was great.  Henry was doing well, so we decided to just see how long he'd make it after dinner.  The Magic Kingdom is so cool at night because everything lights up.  He did great.  We rode the train all the way around, Dumbo again, and even gave Matt a chance to ride Space Mountain.  We stayed until 9pm and caught a glimpse of the light parade (one of my personal favorites).  We didn't watch the whole thing though, because we knew better than to press our luck.  Back to the hotel, bath and bedtime for Henry.  Fireworks from the balcony for us.  We were exhausted, and started to get sad that we already had to leave, but we had to admit that we had had a great two days.
A night-time shot with the castle.

Sunday we ate breakfast and hit the road.  The routine was about the same coming home, 9-hours total, stopped for lunch and one other time, and Henry did great.  He actually slept this time, and enjoyed his movies for most of the rest of the time.  Matt and I had fun re-living our favorite memories from the trip.

All-in-all it was so much fun, and I am so glad we did it.  As I mentioned, Henry loved seeing the castle and riding the "choo-choo" (monorail).  The monorail also came directly through our hotel, so that was always a big highlight for him.  His favorite ride was It's a Small World (go figure), but he was pretty into Dumbo the second time we rode it.  He definitely figured out who Mickey was and still points out every Mickey he sees.  Disney is testing these new MagicBands which were really cool.  We were able to pay for things, unlock our room door, get into the park and link our FastPasses all through our bracelets.  It was super convenient.  We locked our wallets in the room safe and didn't need them until we left.  Like I said, staying on property and getting a room with a view was totally worth it.  I cannot wait until we can go again (with 2 boys!).  I know Henry won't remember it, but that wasn't really the point.  It was mostly for me and Matt, and we will always remember it and the look on Henry's face as he took in all the new sites.  I can't believe it is over.  I am so ready to go back!

 
 
(We have so many pictures - I tried to pick some of the best ones to put here, but they are all my favorites, really!)
Kim

Random Things

We are back from Disney and had a fantastic time.  I will do an entire blog post on it soon, I promise.  In the meantime though I have been thinking about all the fun things Henry is saying/doing these days that I don't want to forget, so I thought I'd do a fast little post about them.
Just practicing my golf swing.
  • He has finally started calling Fisher by her name, sort of.  We call her "Fisher Dog" a lot (apparently), so now when he says her name he calls her, "sher dog."  It is so precious to hear him say it.  He loves to say that and to tell her to "go on," while he is tempting her to chase him with food.  I definitely think they are best friends in the making.
  • Henry has started saying 2 and 3-word sentences.  Mostly they start with, "I see."  Matt likes to play a game with him where he says, "Do you see a...?"  So now, Henry says, "I see ball!" or "I see castle!" and other things like that all the time.  He is in full-on parrot mode, so you have to pay attention to what you say.  He will repeat it right back to you before you know you've said it.  He's hilarious though. 
  • While still a great eater, we have definitely entered the picky toddler phase of food.  Henry used to devour string cheese...now he hides it under his cup in his cup holder (seriously!) so he doesn't have to eat it.  I don't know what changed.  He's fickle with his meals.  He'll eat a big lunch and then a small dinner, or vice-versa.  Today for breakfast, he refused everything, but an hour later he ate a whole piece of banana bread.  I mostly make him at least sit in his highchair and eat something (don't want him to get into any bad habits), but I try not to worry about it too much.  He is getting plenty of food and eats great when he is hungry.  I think it is really just a phase he's going through...asserting his independence and all.
  • As I mentioned, I am going to do a whole post on our trip soon, but it did feel like Henry really "grew up" in some ways while we were there, especially at restaurants.  For example, he sat in a booster seat (not a high chair) for the first time at dinner (although he was very wiggly and made me a little nervous).  He also actually colored with crayons they gave him with the children's menu (instead of just trying to eat them--although there was plenty of that too).  He started drinking through a straw again, and he really tried to use a spoon to eat. He also got his first set of skinned knees, when he tripped on a bridge in the Magic Kingdom.  It was nothing traumatic, he didn't even really cry, but still...such a big guy!
Let's be honest, this might be the most time he gets to spend in a sled around here!

Summer is coming to an end and preschool starts back just after Labor Day.  Henry moves up to a big kid class this time.  I bought him a little backpack and lunch box!  No more diaper bag :(  He already knows his teacher though and will probably know most of the kids in his class, so I am sure he will do great.  I am excited for him to start back.  We've had a good summer and have been blessed with great babysitters, but he loves the social interaction of preschool and really gets a lot out of it. 

Things are moving along with babe #2.  I have started to feel him moving more, which is nice.  I try not to worry too much when I don't feel him a lot, but it is definitely comforting.  He is certainly growing and I feel "pregnant." I have noticed a little spike in my energy lately, but definitely still have my tired moments.  All-in-all though, I can't complain, and we are getting excited to meet this little guy.  We've got a lot to do between now and December, but I know we'll get it done. 

Disney post to come soon!
Kim

It's Pooh! It's Pooh!

So Henry's love of characters continues, but it has particularly rooted itself in Winnie-the-Pooh.  I bet we watch at least one Pooh-centered thing a day, and I can pretty much quote you both of the Pooh movies we own.  Matt and I go to bed and wake up singing Winnie-the-Pooh songs, and all you have to do is hum a few bars of one and Henry immediately gets excited and says, "Pooh!"  In all actuality, I like Pooh, and I am glad that if Henry is going to be fixated on something, at least it is Pooh and not a more annoying cartoon/character.  He loves it though.

In other news, he had his 18 month check-up at the doctor.  Only two shots this time, which is good, but it was so sad because as I was holding Henry down and the nurse was giving him the shots he started crying out, "All done, all done!"  I felt so bad for him.  Luckily, he was ok after it was all over.  He weighs 26lbs and is 33 1/4" long.  This puts him in about the 80th percentile for both.  After hanging out with Henry for a few minutes the doctor commented on his large vocabulary and said that he seemed to be more on level for a 2-year-old with his talking than an 18-month-old.  We know he is talkative!  He's really started to put 2 words together now too, and he's very good at telling you exactly what he wants.  There is no doubt that we have a toddler now.  Overall his demeanor is still sweet and happy.  You know when he's tired or hungry, but he's pretty agreeable most of the other times.  He does like to be social though.  There is no preschool this month, so he is home with a babysitter each day.  While he loves them and has a lot of fun, I can definitely tell that he gets tired of being in the house and not seeing other people.  As I think I've mentioned before, I try to set up lots of playdates when his schedule is like that, but this week we've been mostly at home and I can definitely tell he's going stir-crazy.

Things with babe #2 are going well.  I'm 20 weeks (halfway there!) which is hard to believe.  I have my next appointment on Monday, so I'll be glad to go to that and know that everything is well.  I am feeling him move from time to time, still nothing consistent yet, but besides being tired, I really have no complaints.  I can feel the aches and pains of the added weight when I sleep, but it hasn't been anything unbearable yet.  I am having tons of crazy dreams though.  Maybe I am so tired because I am not sleeping soundly at night?  Oh well, I know that is only going to get worse, so I am glad for what I get now! 

Oh, and call us crazy, but Matt and I got a wild hair and decided to take a mini-vacation to Disney World!  We leave in a couple of weeks and will be gone Thursday - Sunday.  Henry's coming and we are really excited for him to see all the sights and sounds.  We know it will be a relatively low-key trip and we are tempering our expectations, but I think we've planned things well and it is really fun to have something like that to look forward to.  Both Matt and I love Disney and we figure if we don't go now, we definitely won't be able to go with two little ones for a while, so why not?  I'll let you know how it goes.  We are counting down the days. 

I can't believe summer is almost over.  It rained so much at the beginning of the season that it honestly just now feels like summer has started.  I will be glad for Henry to be back at preschool though and to have a normal schedule with that again.  Also, each passing month means we are one month closer to meeting babe #2!  That is exciting and overwhelming all at the same time.
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