Daniel's First Visit to Disney World

In my previous post I blogged about our first night of our weekend getaway. Our second day was Daniel's first visit to Disney World! This trip to DW was different than any other time I've ever been, this time it wasn't about me, it was all about Daniel! I love watching him experience so many new things for the first time. He is usually a very happy little guy but I'm learning he can be very timid when experiencing something new for the first time. You will see in the pictures that comes across and then he warms up by the end of the day. A few things I learned on this trip:
1.Staying at a close Disney resort with Monorail access is a luxurious bonus which I greatly appreciated! (Not a necessity but a wonderful treat none the less!)
2.We didn't need to rent a $15 stroller once we got there. (We rented and used one of theirs in the morning, and then used our umbrella one in the afternoon and it wasn't a pain to me at all to take our own)
3.The baby station was awesome! It was a air conditioned respite! A place with multiple changing tables, high chairs, bathroom, and kitchen. I highly recommend you take advantage of it if you go to Disney with a little child (especially one still in diapers). I never knew about this little room before having a baby.
4. Next time we'll check ahead of time about the hours of operation of the park. So happened Grad Night was the day we went and the park closed at 7pm.
5. One short day is enough for our 18 month old son.



Taking in the sites of the castle for the first time...Not too sure about all of this yet.



I love this picture and Daniel's little arm and hand clutching to Mike's arm, he had quite a firm grip on daddy. This was taken in line to our first ride, It's a Small World. I think we got to the park around 11 and walked right up and onto this ride. Daniel's button on the back of his shirt says, "1st Visit", the staff at the Polynesian Resort gave it to him when we checked in.




SOOOOOOOOooooo much to take in! He started out sitting in between Mike and me and very quickly moved over into my lap where he remained the rest of the ride. I don't think he really cared for this ride so much, there is a lot going on inside, maybe a tad bit of over stimulation for this guy.




Finally a smile after riding Dumbo, the three of us squeezed into our Dumbo cart (we didn't want to split up because the fun for us was watching Daniel's face!) He did like this ride.



On our way to find something to eat, we ran into a fun parade.



After we ate lunch, we took the ferry boat back to our hotel and we all took naps, which was great for all of us! I would have never done this before having kids. I've always had the mentality, you have to pack as much as you possibly can into your day at Disney. My sisters can vouch for me that on one family trip, I chastised them for wanting to stop and eat! Saying something like, "here's a granola bar, gobble it up and lets keep going!!!" LOL! So I rode rides I've never ridden before (that I remember?) like Peter Pan and The Pooh ride, and we rode the train, which I had ridden before. Mike got to go in The Haunted Mansion while Daniel and I waited outside and watched some birds. This picture was taken towards the end of the day, we discovered that if Mike got Daniel to do "high five" it was a great way to get him to smile!



Here is our token family picture in front of the castle with 1000 other people all doing the same thing at the same time. :)



When it was time to exit the park at 7pm because of Grad Night, we decided that instead of being herded like thousands of cattle down Main Street to then go wait in another long line to board either the Monorail or the ferry, we would stop and watch the ducks until most everyone else had left. Great idea! Daniel LOVED running around the tables on a patio overlooking the water with a great view of the castle. It was the perfect way to end our day at Disney.





And then we let him run down Main Street, what is really what he wanted to do!



We made our way back to the hotel, fed Daniel a quick dinner and then took turns eating at the bar of a sushi place while the other one chased Daniel around the hotel lobby. Again, a completely different Disney experience than ever before, but in a good way! I can't wait to go back and do it all again at the most magical place on earth!

Weekend Getaway

I should have warned y'all that I was going on a blogathon! :)haha!! Back in April, Mike, Daniel and I took an opportunity to get away for the weekend and we were SO glad we did! We started our trip off spending the night with longtime friends of Mike, Blair and Hannah. After arriving on a beautiful, warm Friday afternoon, we loaded back up and headed through gorgeous neighborhoods with large, mature trees, brick streets, perfectly manicured lawns, through a swanky little down town with outdoor cafe's, boutiques, bookstores, restuarants, wine and cigar bars, to a fun little water park. It was the perfect thing for all three of the kids to cool down and burn off some energy!






Just imagine shreaks of laughter and squills!!!










I think Sam is saying, "You're not supposed to drink the water Daniel!!!"






After our fun time at the water park, we enjoyed a yummy dinner out on Blair and Hannah's back deck. Mae and Sam were so cute playing with Daniel. I loved watching the three of them interact, sharing their toys with Daniel and helping him go down their slide. Thanks for your hospitality guys, we enjoyed spending time with your family! Saturday morning we packed up and headed over to Disney, that post is coming next!! ;)

Congratulations sweet friend!

On April 10th we celebrated this sweet friend, Brooke and her baby girl, Wren! Birds were the theme, and not just because of her name. Brooke has chosen Wren's bedding which has birds on it, so we went with it for the shower. (I love birds too! And if Daniel had been a girl, the bedding would have had birds on it!)

Brooke is one of the sweetest girls I know! She if very hard working, loyal, compassionate, a good listener, funny, is always herself, genuine, an excellent mother and wife, I could go on...Her husband and Mike met in college, she and Robby were friends with Mike before I was ever in the picture and they were supportive of us from the very beginning of our relationship. Mike was in their wedding, they both were in our wedding... you get the picture. She rocked my baby to sleep in those first few days after his birth when i was exhausted and needed so desperately to sleep. I love you Brooke Wren J. and cannot wait to hold your sweet little gift from God when she makes her appearance!



Jenna found the idea for these adorable cupcakes here.










If all goes according to plan, Brooke will deliver Wren on Friday morning! Please keep her, Robby, big brother Wyatt, and sweet baby girl Wren in your prayers for a healthy baby and a safe uncomplicated delivery and recovery.

A visit to Mimi's House

Forgive me but I am still blogging about April's events. I have this thing about going in chronological order and so before I tell you about the fun things May has held, I must finish up April. The week after Easter Mike's parents left, Mike went out of town for work, my mom was on Spring break and my dad was out of town for work, so Daniel and I took a road trip to visit Mimi. The day we got there, we headed out to the beach for some shopping, there is a great new park with shops, restaurants, amphitheater, amusement rides that leads to a pier on the beach. After our little trooper had had all the shopping he could handle, we took him to the amphitheater where he could run around to burn off some energy and stretch his little legs. He LOVED this idea!!










One morning we took a walk along the boardwalk and marina, Daniel loved watching some men put their boat in the water.






This rocking chair was mine when I was a little girl. I think my sister, Ashley and I each got one for Christmas one year. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Daniel climb up in it and rock!



Mom and I also worked on a few sewing projects during our stay...A john john for Daniel





And this sweet little pillow case dress for my friend Alicia's, soon to be born little sweetie, Allie Kay.

Easter

We celebrated a wonderful Easter Sunday by going to church, fellowship with family and friends, a delicious meal, and Easter egg hunt!




Last year we traveled to see my family and this year they came to us! Yeah!




I really enjoy setting the table for special occasions! :) We used my grandmother's china and Mike's grandmother's silver and crystal.



My mom used to make these cute bunny salads when I was a child, I just felt we should continue the tradition. They are made from a pear half, sliced almonds for the ears, a raisin for the nose and a marsh mellow for the tail (or you could use cottage cheese for the tail), nestled on a lettuce leaf.




My very creative sisters brought an awesome assortment of homemade Easter cookies that were almost too pretty to eat.




My silly sis, Laura thinks she will never be too old to hunt Easter eggs, go trick or treating, have Santa or the Easter Bunny leave her surprises...she is so full of life and joy and I love that about her!





It was a wonderful day and I'm so thankful that I belong to the risen Saviour! Christ paid my debt so that I can live and he didn't stay dead in the grave, he rose again, that is reason to celebrate every day!

On another note, the day after Easter we said goodbye to Mike's parents who returned to their mountain home. Many of you probably know that they lived with us during the winter, we loved seeing their relationship with Daniel grow and they were a great help to us. We love and miss you Nani and Pa.

Hunting Eggs

I'm sorry but I'm still blogging about our Easter weekend, it was SO full and I want to make sure I remember every detail! My family arrived Friday night and bright and early Saturday morning we hit the road running (not literally, but our friend Robby did). We went to see our friend, Robby, participate in his first triathalon, it was so exciting and energizing to be around so many talented athletes as they were transitioning from the bike to running and then crossing the finish line. We are so proud of Robby and I felt priveledged to witness the tears Brooke (8 months pregnant with their 2nd child) shed as she congratulated her husband. As an asside, Mike and I, stupidly, agreed to do this very triathalon many months ago. As the months passed and we slacked off of training, we bailed. Who was I kidding, I hate to run and as I stood there that morning I was so thankful that I was not the one doing all the hard work! Still very proud of Robby for finishing and doing a GREAT job at that!



Shortly after we congratulated Robby, we hurried our way over to our church property where we attended Daniel's first Easter Egg hunt. It was awesome! There was a petting zoo, pony rides (Daniel did NOT want any part of the pony rides, he preferred to look at them from a distance), tons of bounce houses, face painting, not to mention the Easter egg hunt for all ages and a yummy barbecue lunch. Our church invited the community (one of the ways we are trying to be more "missional" and especially people from the sourounding area close to the property and it seemed like there was a great turnout! It was a gorgeous day!




Daniel was in the first age group to hunt eggs. I wasn't sure how this was going to go, we did not practice hunting eggs, but he did great! He knew exactly what to do, minus one time when he picked up a rock...



and another time when he decided he wanted to eat the plastic egg without opening it up to see what was inside :)






He was so sweet, after the hunt, he handed our little friend, Cole, an egg.




Daniel liked eating the candy that was inside his egg...





My parents and sister, Ashley (& Mike's dad - not pictured), got to join us at this fun event, I think they all had a great time watching Daniel.



A rare picture of the three of us



Saturday night we grilled shish kabobs and enjoyed an appetizer of stone crab claws out on the deck, it was a perfect ending to a perfect day with our wonderful family!!!