The Magic Continues!

Truly Magic...
a family picture with all four of us looking at the camera and smiling!

The second half of our trip proved as fantastic as the first half! One bummer that started our day on Tuesday was a bright sunburn on Lainey's face. Despite many applications of sunblock, her fair skin just couldn't take all that Florida sun--just like her mom. Meanwhile, Nick's skin looked perfectly creamy as always--just like his dad. Nick definitely pepped up after Monday, but he was still kind of hit-and-miss as far as ride enjoyment and overall energy level. But, (other than the sunburn) Lainey was in love with every minute. We were truly amazed by her stamina and determination to go, go, go! As I planned and envisioned the trip, I saw the four of us together the entire time and even crossed out rides Nick wasn't tall enough to ride. But, in the end, it ended up more a Mark/Nick and Kylie/Lainey adventure, and that's okay. Everyone had more fun that way! Well, maybe not Mark, but I did all the planning, so I figured it was fair for me to reap the biggest rewards!

Getting ready to fly with my girl!

We spent Tuesday morning at Hollywood Studios and Wednesday morning at Animal Kingdom. We decided to skip Epcot in favor of returning to the Magic Kingdom both evenings. Hollywood Studios fell a little flat, because the focus is more on shows than rides, and the kids just weren't that interested. Lainey didn't even want to do the Frozen sing-along, which was the main reason I worked Hollywood Studios into the trip! However, there was a really great Toy Story ride, and a terrific "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground. Mark took Lainey on the Star Wars ride, while Nick and I headed to the playground. I think it was the most fun he had! And he and I finally got some quality one-on-one time together, since he was glued to Mark all day Monday. The other great thing about Hollywood Studios was the ease of character meet-and-greets. To meet Mickey at the Magic Kingdom is a 45-minute wait, but we walked right up to see him at HS. We also got quick meets with Jake and Sophia, and saw lots of Storm Troopers (but, didn't manage to nab a photo).

Animal Kingdom was really great! They have a safari experience that was so fun. It was also nice to be completely off our feet and out of the sun for 20 minutes. We also took in a fun Lion King show, and Lainey went on  her first true-blue, "are you really sure?" roller coaster, Expedition Everest. She just met the height requirement for this one. The coaster goes forward and backwards and is half in the dark. It was a little much for her and, unlike the Seven Dwarfs ride, there were no requests for a  repeat ride. Afterwards, we played some carnival games, where I, not Mark (although he was playing at the same time), won Nick a stuffed dinosaur  at a game of Whack a Dino. Then I promised Lainey to buy her the Simba to match her Nala. When I told Mark the deal, he rolled his eyes. I said, "What? He has two things now...Pluto and the dinosaur." Then Mark reminded me she also got Mouse Ears. Oh yeaaah. So, when the time came to buy Simba, I bought Nick a Mickey Mouse. What? It's Disney World!!!

Family picture in front of the Tree of Life

Lainey believe Tinker Bell actually landed in her hand, and she just missed it. 

As for our other adventures at the Magic Kingdom, Lainey did hit Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and took Mark on Splash Mountain. After each drop she told him, "that was a big one, Daddy, but not the big one." On the last ride of Tuesday night, we took Nick on the Barnstormer--this was one of those misses I spoke of earlier. He did not enjoy it. At all. Oops. Wednesday, I nabbed a FastPass for prime seating for the Electrical  Parade, which was awesome, and we stayed for the fireworks.

Just I was saying to Mark during the fireworks that this was the perfect way to end our stay, Lainey asked to sit in her stroller, because she didn't feel well. We get back to the room and she has a fever of 102.3. We gave her Tylenol and put her to bed. At 3am she woke with a fever of a whopping 103.8. With each tenth-degree uptick, I said, "Oh no, Mark! Oh no," and willed it to stop before 104 degrees. She was doing okay this morning, but her fever rose again on the plane ride home and is blazing tonight. So, not the best way to end things, but at least she didn't fall ill during the action. Fingers crossed this is just a quick virus!

So, those are the main deets on our Disney World/first family vacation! Going into this whole thing, I really believed  this would be a one and done kind of trip, but now I don't know. I could definitely see us going back when Nick is a few years older--say around the time the new Star Wars section is finished, perhaps? That may be just enough to get Mark back on board!

The Most Magical Place on Earth!

Wow! Disney World is intense! But, once we got over the inital hustle, bustle and "where is what" shock, we are having a blast! That's not to say there haven't been outbursts and tantrums, but you see some other parents struggling with their kids about every 30 feet, so you don't feel so bad about it.

I'm happy to report that the kids did great on their first flight and the entire airport experience was pretty low stress. We got to the hotel around 2pm yesterday and headed straight to the Magic Kingdom. We knocked out quite a bit, hitting some of the tamer rides to see how the kids faired. They really loved the Tea Cups--best quote from Nick, "Daddy, I can feel the wind in my hair!" The rides may have been great, but the winners of the day in the kids' eyes were the giant lollipops.

The winner of our day was our hotel. Such an amazing location and much bigger than I was expecting. We sprung for a condo (although at a very discounted rate through the DVC Rental Store), so we have a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and Mark and I have our own bedroom. But, it also has two bathrooms and the kids each have their own pull-out bed. We were able to have groceries delivered to our room while we were at the park yesterday, so we were all set when we came back last night. Awesome!

Nick had kind of a tough day today, because he got shorted a bit on sleep and the poor boy hadn't pooped in almost three days. But, everything is righted in that department now and he is happy as can be. He wasn't really into the rides today (and who could blame him, given how uncomfortable he must have been), but he did enjoy some of the shows. His big moment of the day, however, was meeting Pluto--who would have thought?--but, he was really into him. Lainey chose to hang in the stroller for this one, because she was not into Pluto. No biggie, she got to bask in all the princess glory at our breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, where Snow White, Aurora, Aerial, and Jasmine also stopped in for a visit. Lainey was GLOWING!!! We were worried after she completely melted down over being in arm's reach of Belle Sunday night, but she was nothing but smiles and twinkling eyes this morning.

Another awesome event today was the Fantasy Parade, because we got excellent seating through a contact I have. We were on benches in the shade right at the start of the parade route. The kids got to directly interact with all of the walking characters, including high fives and a belly tinkle from  Mr. Smee for Nick. And they could hear the characters on the floats shouting to them. It was pretty great; even Mark seemed to really enjoy it.

Final note, before wrapping it up for the night, is Lainey is a dare devil it seems. She LOVED the fast rides and was so enamored with the Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride that she said, "I don't care what it takes or how long I have to wait. I want to ride it again!" But, that ride has a 90-minute wait (we had a FastPass to jump to the front of the line for the first spin), so we were NOT waiting for another turn. She accepted Splash Mountain as her consolation prize and loved it even more than the mine ride. So, it seems we'll have to hit Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before this trip ends.

Ah! I was worried I was going to regret the investment we put into this trip, but so far it has been well worth it. Even with the tantrums and the crowd stress, we are making some awesome memories--that perhaps (most likely) won't stick with the kids, but will stay with Mark and me forever.

The Big Reveal

Mark didn't think I had it in me, but I managed to keep our Disney World trip a secret until this afternoon. Nick reacted exactly as I expected...not enthused. Lainey was excited, but seemed almost annoyed that we're going to Cinderella's castle for breakfast. My dear daughter, this will be the most expensive breakfast you'll ever have in your life...so get pumped.

Regardless of the kids' excitement level, I'm brimming with it! Orlando here we come...

Sucker

Little Charmer

This kid. After years of poking fun at Mark for being such a softie on Lainey and virtually incapable of disciplining her, I have to sheepishly admit that I am just as bad (possibly worse) with Nick. He has me wrapped around every single one of his 10 little fingers and isn't letting go any time soon. I don't know if it's because he's a boy or if it's because he's my youngest or if it's because he went through that long, torturous period when he wanted nothing to do with me, but I am a true blue, 100% SUCKER for him!

All is takes is his little voice saying, "Mama" or his tilted head, all-teeth-showing smile or his fish-face pucker to lay a kiss on me and he can have whatever he wants. Even when he's being a little devil, I seem to have unending tolerance. And even though I know he's old enough to be held accountable for bad behavior, I just can't seem to take a strong stand with him--something that is not going unnoticed by Lainey (because I do not have the same patience with her). I'd be willing to bet that if she knew what her middle finger could mean, she'd be flinging it my way frequently these days. I know it's not fair that he gets away with everything, including torturing his sister, but, but, but...this face...

His pouty face is irresistible to me!

<Sigh> Sometimes the heart is stronger than the mind. And my heart belongs to this little guy right now. So, buddy, enjoy the ride. Mama's not getting tough any day soon.

Another Level!

The basement renovation, which took MUCH longer than it should have, is at long last finished! Last Friday, we finally had the carpet laid and the final piece is selecting the granite for the cabinet top. But, we now have three habitable levels in the house and the basement is fully operational for play, play, play!!! 

The kids went crazy last weekend with excitement. Lainey immediately started carrying all the toys from the dining room downstairs--we barely had to do anything. They LOVE their hand-me-down tent from their cousins, Jacob and Ben, and, so far, are happy to play down there by themselves for decent periods of time. Mark and I actually sat in the kitchen quietly drinking coffee and reading the news last Saturday. I think that's the first time in over four years!

For now, we're not planning to put any furniture down there. Eventually our living room couch will make its way downstairs, but we don't have the time or energy to focus on searching for new furniture at the moment. So, until we do, this space is for the kids to be free to run, throw, and be all-around crazy. 

Now we just need to figure out what to do about the empty dining room...

Immediately after the carpet was installed

About 15 minutes after the kids got home...Lainey works fast!

I don't care about piles of toys anymore...this room is all theirs!

Where did January go?

Well, here we are...five weeks into the new year already. And a jam-packed five weeks it has been! We've done a lot of fun stuff...Shedd, Disney on Ice, family and friend gatherings...it's been pretty non-stop. Lainey is already asking what we're going to to do this weekend, to which I reply, "SLEEP!"

Add work and house management stresses to the mix, and you'll find one exhausted lady. Motivation to do anything but the essentials for survival has been very, very low, so the blog has taken a back burner.

This is me most nights...and by "night" I mean 7:30pm

But, there are a few highlights from January to put down in the books...

 1. We moved Lainey to a booster seat in the car. She loves it and it gives us so much more flexibility for getting around, because we now have a car seat in both vehicles. We can actually schedule separate activities for the kids!!! Last weekend it was gymnastics for Lainey, haircut for Nick. Amazing! Sometimes it's the small wins...

2. We had a conference with Lainey's preschool teacher a few weeks ago. She is really excelling and, per the teacher, is ready to go to Kindergarten  now. I say, "Not so fast lady..."

3. After a promising start, Nick has stalled out on potty training. LOTS of resistance to the potty right now. At this point, we're going to wait until after Disney to do a big push again. It will just be easier, if we don't have to worry about getting him to a bathroom. But, we are soooo ready to ditch the pull-ups. 

4. Nick is finally pedaling his tricycle!  I was starting to think he'd never do it. Go Nick!

5. Nick is like a real kid now. I can see all his baby-ness quickly dissolving away, and I am clinging to it with all my might! He dresses himself now (most of the time) and can have real conversations. But, I still totally baby him--shamefully so. I carry him much more than a nearly three-year-old should be carried, and he gets away with so much more bad behavior than Lainey did/does. One of the perks of being the youngest, I guess. (And I should know).  

6. The biggest (and aruably best) news is the basement is ALMOST finished. Carpet gets installed tomorrow, and we should be ordering the granite top for the cabinets early next week. Toys will go downstairs and we get a dining room back. A big, empty dining room...

So, that's some quick hits on what's been up in our world. Hoping for a calmer February, as we gear up for the madness of Disney World!!! 30 more days!!!

Close, Buddy

I came into the kitchen yesterday and caught Nick trying a new technique for eating his vegetables...