It's Finally Here!!!

This afternoon when John gets home from work, we'll begin our journey to the most magical place on earth!  We're hoping to drive at least 4 hours tonight so that we only have about 5 hours to drive tomorrow. Fort Wilderness lets you check in as early as 1:00 pm, so we're hoping to pull in right about them. Yesterday the packing extravaganza began.  This trip requires A LOT of stuff!  I normally like to pack the bare minimum (I hate unpacking!!), but this time I felt like it would be better to have too much than not enough.  I ordered cases of all of the kids favorite snacks from Amazon (I'm sure our UPS delivery guy thinks we've completed our Christmas shopping early this year!  Although, I wish that was true!!).  We've had piles of trip "stuff" in the house for a few weeks, so I'm glad that we've finally been able to move everything out into the Motorhome.  Clutter is NOT my friend!  

I made little Disney welcome bags for the kids (with Mickey/Minnie pajamas, their autograph books, Mickey water bottles and Big Sister's also has a princess lunch box to take snacks/drinks into the park with us.).  I'm planning to put the bags on their beds as we go to explore the campground the first day.  

We decided to buy our City Mini Double stroller after our last trip to Disney.  Of all the double strollers we saw (and there were many!), it seemed to be the best size, have the best maneuverability and fold up the easiest.  They are not cheap, so I stalked Craigslist for months until I found one in great shape and at a great price.  We've already gotten a lot of use out of it, and for the next 2 weeks it will be our official "Disney Mobile".  I did recently buy a set of cup holder/snack holders for the stroller, since it was lacking in that department.  I also bought a set of hand holders that attach directly to the stroller for when Big Sister wants to walk.  In a place as big as Disney, I don't want to take any chances!  We're also taking our little back pack leash in case Little Bud decides to start walking on the regular while we're there.

So, I would say we are officially ready to go (aside from the fact I still have a bit of packing to accomplish)!

Welcome Bags

Parade Packs (in hopes of avoiding multiple purchases of $15 light up balloons!)

Disney Mobile

complete with cup holders and detachable Kavu bag for bringing with us on rides (thanks Jamie!)

Big Sister's Minnie dress and ears

Little Bud's Disney Shirts

Big Sister's Princess Bows

Accident

About 10 weeks ago the kids and I were in a car accident.  Thankfully everyone is okay (I'm so glad I've never considered price as a factor in making car seat decisions - safety first!!).   John's sweet cousin was unfortunately with us.  I hate that she had to experience the accident, but she was such a huge help!  She calmed the kids down when I was freaking out and kept them calm and entertained until John's mom could get there to take them back to her house.  She is such a sweet girl (as is her sister), and I'm so thankful to have them both in our kids' lives!

The bad news is that the guy who ran the stop sign and hit us didn't have valid insurance AND he fled the scene of the accident.  Later we found out he had multiple warrants out for his arrest.  At first it looked like his insurance was valid, but after a week of frustrating phone calls, Geico  finally told us that his insurance officially lapsed because of non payment the day BEFORE he hit us (of course!!!).  We then filed the claim with our insurance (and had to pay the $1000 deductible!) and thought it would be clear sailing from there.  No. Such. Luck.  I think we have the worst agent in the history of all Alfa agents.  Ever.  And our insurance adjuster wasn't any better.  After 2 months of frustration, we finally got the van back about 2 weeks ago, only to discover at our routine 30,000 mile maintenance appointment that there was an additional electrical problem that needed to be fixed.  A week and several additional frustrating phone calls later (thankfully John handled this go around for me; I will seriously never call our agent's office again - which is why we're getting our account moved to another office!) the van is officially fixed (keeping our fingers crossed!).

The good news is that I was able to drive John's car for 10 weeks while the van was in the shop (John was able to drive an extra company car).  So, at least we had transportation, but I have to say the whole experience was one of the most aggravating frustrations I've ever endured.  The end.

Sadness!!

Much better!!

The kids were so happy to have their beloved NeedToBreathe CD back :) Little Bud was excited to have his baby mirror back too, he kept grinning at his cute little self after I buckled him in ;) 

 

Sunday Afternoon Boat Ride

Yesterday while I was working on a few things around the house, John stuck his head in the door to tell me that Big Sister wanted to me come check out her boat.  This is what I saw when I walked out:

Daddies are way more fun than Mommies :)

One and a Half

Little Bud is officially a year and a half.  18 full months have passed since we first welcomed him into the world.  18 months!  I almost can't believe it!!  We went today for his 18 month check up, and he didn't have the best time.  He's cutting ALL 4 eye teeth, and to say he's grumpy would be an understatement.  His poor little gums are so swollen, and those sharp edges poking through the skin look SO painful!  We had to wait forever to be seen by the doctor, and he did not enjoy the waiting!

He still isn't walking (he'll take 10 to 15 steps at a time, but still prefers to crawl to get from place to place), but the doctor didn't seem overly concerned, since he can actually walk (and climb!).  

Aside from the current teething crisis, he is such a happy boy!  He loves to play and be silly, and has recently discovered how fun it is to "wrestle" with Daddy (Big Sister calls this "rough housin'" and she's a fan too!).  If he's awake, you can bet he's got a car in his hand.  He also loves seeing trucks when we're out and about.  If you pass us in a truck, he's sure to give you an extra special wave and smile before he says the obligatory, "vroom vroom!" (He says it so deeply, his truck voice is much deeper than his regular voice).  

Here are the stats from his check up:

Weight: 19 lbs., 2 oz.

Length: 30 1/2 in.

Circumference: 47 1/2 cm.

He's wearing 18 month shirts and 12 month pants, and is still in a size 4 diaper.

He's rocking the 2nd percentile, but he is growing on his own chart, so no worries there.  He's hitting all of the major milestones, so while it seems to me that he is so different than Big Sister was at his age, he's doing just fine.

His sweet little smile melts my heart!

 

CC Fun

Big Sister is having such a great time at Classical Conversations each week.  And, she's learning so much!  She also loves spending time with her friends and has made a few new friends too 😊

Moon Crater experiment

Counting by 3s

Review games

friends from her class

Timeline Song!

Labor Day Beach Trip

A few weeks ago we decided to spend Labor Day weekend at the beach.  John was able to take Thursday and Friday off, so we headed south as soon as he came home from work on Wednesday night.  Papa Jack and Grammie joined us on Thursday night and spent the weekend playing with Big Sister and Little Bud, digging in the sand and splashing in the waves (that were full of seaweed, but that didn't seem to hold the littles back!).  Big Sister went an an epic crab hunt and enjoyed the rides at Pier Park one night too.  It was a fun weekend filled with memory making moments!

ready for fun in the sun!!

surfing

feeding the birds

crab hunt success!

Big Sister loves meeting new friends

Pier Park

Disney Planning

Before we booked our upcoming trip to Disney, I had no idea how much thought, planning and prep work were needed to have a successful trip to the happiest place on earth!  We booked our trip 4 1/2 months ahead of time, and still had to be flexible when we made reservations for character meals (and almost weren't able to get Big Sister an appointment at the infamous Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique).  I've since learned that it's best to book everything a full 6 months ahead of time; even though I'm a planner by nature, that just seems crazy to me!

We went to Disney a few years ago with my entire family (my parents and all of the aunts, uncles, cousins and some close friends that I've always considered to be family), and it was kind of a challenging experience for our little family.  We went the week of Thanksgiving, because that's what worked best with everyone's school schedules, and the parks and transportation system were insanely crowded!  Also, Big Sister was only 2 1/2, so her ability to understand the waiting in line process was pretty non existent.  I was also 6 months pregnant with Little Bud (my poor ankles were so swollen all week!).  Overall, we were just along for the ride that week; I didn't plan ahead or do much research (except I did find out ahead of time that most of FantasyLand was closed for construction while we were there!), so we just went with the flow and because of that we missed out on a lot of things that Big Sister would have enjoyed (she of course didn't know she missed out on anything - she was happy as a lark to ride It's a Small World no leas than 27 times; she also loved Dumbo, the Magic Carpet Ride, the Jungle Safari in Animal Kingdom, the Winnie the Pooh Ride, and she was able to meet lots of characters!)  But, I decided this time that I would research, research, research to make the most of our trip.

Since we're going to be there for so many days (we have 10 days of park hopper passes), I haven't scheduled everything out (for the most part I want to be flexible and allow the kids to do what seems exciting to them at the moment), but I have familiarized myself with the rides in each of the parks (and I know which ones Big Sister meets the height requirement for), and have highlighted on my handy MyDisneyExperience app all of the rides I think Big Sister and Little Bud will be most interested in, so it will be easy to navigate what we want to do on a particular day based on how crowded the park is.  I've also noted which park opens early each day, so that we can take full advantage of the extra magic hour that Disney offers to guests who stay on property.  I know where the toddler playgrounds and play areas are inside each of the parks (climbing makes Little Bud a happy camper!).  And, every park has an infant care center that's air conditioned and has toddler sized toilets; hallelujah for not always having to take Big Sister to the scary public restrooms!

I've been accumulating fun Disney gifts for both kids.  I'm making a little welcome package from "Mickey and Minnie" for each of them to add to the magic and excitement of the whole experience (they're only little once!), and I have a little gift to leave on their bed each day (I'm hoping this will keep the souvenir shopping to a minimum).

A few months ago I started buying Disney themed shirts/outfits for the kids too.  Big Sister already has a Minnie dress that my parents bought her on our last trip (and it still fits!), so in addition to several new Mickey/Minnie t-shirts, Grammie is helping to make her a few Disney princess inspired outfits that won't be as hot and scratchy as her princess dress up clothes (and I put together a Doc McStuffins inspired outfit for her to wear to Hollywood Studios!). I also ordered a few princess hair bows and some Minnie Mouse ear bows on Etsy.  She of course hasn't seen any of her new clothes (even though she was with me when I bought most of them!), and I can't wait to see her happy little face when she gets dressed each day!!  Disney boy clothes aren't nearly as fun, but Little Bud does have several new shirts and some cute new pajamas :)

My last project is to make autograph books for Big Sister and a little photo album for Little Bud.  After reading a bit about the autograph books that they sell in the park, I decided it would be best to make some for the kids.  I'm sure Little Bud won't be worried about getting autographs, but I wanted him to have his own little photo album so that he doesn't feel left out ;)

Overall, planning a Disney trip is kind of overwhelming, but it's also fun!  I know the kids (especially Big Sister) will have a great time, and seeing their happy little faces will be a great reward for all of the hard work we've put into planning this trip!!