Disney World!!!

Our trip to Disney World was very much anticipated. It had been booked and planned back in the fall. By planned, I mean I had daily itineraries of all the things we wanted to do and see even down to what characters would be where at various days and times. It got to a point in our house that Carter only associated his Mickey plush with an airplane! Finally the big day came....and pretty much everything went off without a hitch. Here is rough sketch of what we experienced everyday!

Day One: Our flight was at 10 am, and we were out the door at 7 am. Everything was packed the night before.  Gabrielle and Carter were both enthralled with the lights and the view of the planes. Checking in was easy. Before we knew it, we were on the plane. It wasn't full and Adam had an entire row directly behind me and the kids. The plane was full of little kids traveling to Disney World, so even though 2 hours seemed like a lot of time, we were in similar company. I can't even believe I was relieved to see other little kids and families on a plane. There was a time in my life where I would have avoided that completely!! Carter was all over the place, but luckily he had a few options. We weren't so lucky on the way home....

As we arrived in Florida, we disembarked and made our way to the exit to look for the Disney Magical Express. All we had to do was hop on and head to our hotel. Yes, it was that easy. Now need I mention that it was a fairly long walk? Not really. We were all eager to exercise our legs! Need I mention that we had to wait in line to get on the bus? Not especially. It was pretty short. The bus ride was about 35 minutes or so, but it delivered us to our hotel. We didn't have to deal with our luggage at all. It showed up in our room a few hours later. (Note: The luggage delivery is awesome, but it does require extra planning so that your carry-on bag has the things you will need for Disney World like shorts and flip-flops!) I also had a stroller delivered to our hotel from a stroller rental company. I really was going for convenience on this trip.

The hotel we chose was the Polynesian. It was a very good choice. (It is one of three hotels that are directly on the monorail line. When taking the monorail, one doesn't have to collapse any strollers, so with a slight pop up onto the monorail, you are good to go. Super convenient! I did not want to have to unload and collapse a stroller every time. The Magic Kingdom (which is the only park we visited) was only a 5 minute ride.)  We pretty much headed right to the park shortly after arriving at our hotel. It was probably 3:30ish by that time. We went straight to Fantasyland, which is largely new. It is the largest of the 4 "lands" and probably the most popular. Our very first ride was the Teacup ride followed by Dumbo. We hung out in Fantasyland for the remainder of the day. Some of our favorite ride in Fantasyland, in addition to the first two, were It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, and Ariel's Grotto. The kids loved It's a Small World. It's a Disney Classic. With the catchy tune and the ride through the different regions of the world seeing the animatronic children dancing, there is nothing scary about this boat ride! Peter Pan's ride was also very fun--dark at times--but with the happy Peter Pan music, it is a very  magical ride. We had dinner at a Pinocchio-themed fast casual restaurant. We had a meal plan that was very convenient. We stayed in the park until 8pm when the fireworks display started literally right over our heads. It was incredible really. It was long and quite amazing. It was loud for the kids, but they handled it.

Day Two: We headed to the park with the intention of having brunch at the new Be Our Guest Cafe, but the line was ridiculous long, so we had to pass on that. Definitely on my list for our next trip. We spent a little more time in Fantasyland at Mickey's Philharmagic 4D show and the The Adventure's of Winnie the Pooh. Mickey's Philharmagic was too loud and intense for Carter so I snuck our early with him. I thought the Winnie the Pooh ride would be a highlight of the day, however, it was actually kind of scary for the kids, especially Carter. There was a lot of focus on Heffalump's, and with some scary music and the some dark parts, it was too much for Carter. Gabrielle liked it. It wasn't as cool as I thought it would be, but hey, they all can't be my favorite. We were pretty hungry at this point, having only snacks for breakfast, so we headed out of Fantasyland to Liberty Square, where Adam and Gabrielle went on The Haunted Mansion ride. It is one of the best at the park, but Cartie was fast asleep in the stroller, and I have been on it many times, so the two of them had their own adventure. Gabrielle said it was kinda spooky. Adam thought it was cool. It is tastefully spooky in my opinion.  We headed into Frontierland, and had lunch at Pistol Pete's restaurant.  For the most part, the food is pretty good at the park. I never had a bad meal.

After lunch, Gabrielle and I went on Big Thunder Canyon. Another classic Disney ride!! Carter had fallen asleep again after having a full tummy. (While we didn't take Disney up on the offer, Adam and Gabrielle could have ridden the ride without waiting in line. Seeing as how Carter was too little to ride, there is a parent switch-a-roo option, all you have to do it see the ride attendant. Pretty cool!) Big Thunder Canyon is one of my favorites, and Gabrielle was so brave! However, it was a little too fast for her 4 1/2 year old taste... I was proud of her just for trying! Carter was awake and we visited with Woody and Jesse. Carter loves "Woogie"!!! The train station was right there, and Carter was especially delighted to ride on a real steam engine. We took a 20 minute ride around the entire park.  After the train, we headed into Adventureland. While there we went to the Enchanted Tiki Bird Room, and rode on Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride and the classic ride, The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Monday was a special day for Gabrielle as we had reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table located inside Cinderella's castle. It was a big, exciting event. Gabrielle was dressed just like her favorite princess, Aurora. Santa gave Gabrielle her dress, and she got a real Aurora tiara at Castle Couture the day before. She looked so adorable. She got to meet Cinderella when we first came in and got a professional photo with her. Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, and Jasmine all spent some time with Gabrielle at the table. Aurora gave her a lot of extra attention. The dinner was pretty fancy--even the kid's menu--Gabrielle had beef tips! The girls got wands and the boys got swords. (Oh yeah- 20 month old little boys and swords don't mix...or wands for that matter. Carter clocked me on the head with it, and I got a huge bump...and a headache!) Carter was too little for this event, but Gabrielle was at a perfect age. Luckily, I don't think the princesses noticed Carter chucking grapes at them when they were at other tables. Overall, a lovely experience for Gabrielle.

After our royal meal, we waited in a ridiculously long line to meet Tinkerbell and Periwinkle. (Periwinkle is Tinkerbell's long lost sister and a frost fairy.) Gabrielle loved meeting them, but we were not used to the long line, so unless they are a favorite character, I would pass on this attraction. We had just enough time afterward to head over to Main Street USA to get a seat (or stand rather) for the Electrical Parade. We should have arrived earlier, but no such luck. The electrical parade is not every night, so make sure not to miss it! We were about 3 rows back, but we were still able to see the parade, and it truly is a magical, must-see event!! We headed out of the park after the parade. Everyone was deliriously tired. It was a long, long day!

Day Three: It just happened to be my birthday. Celebrating birthdays at Disney World is really fun. Adam had balloons and a flower lei delivered to our room right after we checked in and that was a thoughtful touch and early bday surprise. Carter, Gabrielle, and Adam had "1st Time Visitor" buttons that they were given upon check-in, and I was given a birthday button with my name on it. Pretty much every Disney employee wished me a happy birthday, which was fun, seeing as how I have never traveled on my birthday, and for the first time ever was not in the cold! We learned from  our previous day's mistake about not have a proper breakfast, so we had a great breakfast at our hotel restaurant.

We had already seen a lot of what we wanted to see. The plan today was to revisit the favorites and see the things we had missed. We went back to Fantasyland and rode on the carousel again as well as It's a Small World. We also went on The Great Goofini which is a little roller coaster with a big top theme next to the Dumbo ride. We decided to take the train over to Adventureland again, so we had to collapse our stroller (OMG!!), and we hopped on the train. We headed back to the Agrabazaar and went on the Magic Carpet ride again. We also spent some time in Tomorrowland. There is a Buzz Lightyear ride that was fun. Overall, however, Tomorrowland was our least favorite. There are a lot of shows that are geared for kids that are a little bit older. Also, Gabrielle had no interest in Space Mountain, and I don't think she was tall enough anyway. Carter was too little to even be a passenger on the car ride, so we didn't spend very much time there! We found that our day was much more leisurely. We were able to catch the afternoon parade in which we had a great curb-side seat. The parade was awesome! A definite highlight for all. After that, we spent some time shopping on Main Street USA.

"It's a Small World After all"

We had dinner reservations for my birthday at Chef Mickey's which was located at the Contemporary hotel, and conveniently on the monorail line. This dinner was another highlight of the trip. It was a  much more laid back atmosphere as opposed to Cindy's Royal Table. All of the classic Disney characters came to the table and signed Gabrielle's autograph cook. Carter was in love. He thinks all the classic characters are so cool--Mick Mouse, Dondald, and Go-foo are his favorites. It was a nice buffet and they served alcohol with was a plus seeing as how Adam hadn't had a beer in several days! Awww, poor guy! All the characters and wait staff did a great song and dance in honor of all of those who were celebrating birthdays--there was lots of us! After dinner we moseyed back to our hotel. Another cool thing about the Polynesian was that you could see the fireworks from across the lake. It was a great view. Much better than over our heads! It was a great way to end the day and our last night at Disney World.

Day Four: I was pretty bummed that we had to leave today. We knew it was a quick trip, but I would have loved a day to lounge around. We had been pretty busy! We had a leisurely breakfast again, and Adam took Gabrielle to the pool. Check out was at 11, and it was going to take me every minute left to get us all packed up. We never had a chance to really explore the hotel, so sadly, on our last day we took a little time to look around. We found another less expensive restaurant (darn!) that had some interesting options. We also walked around and admired all the cool things at the hotel. It really felt like Hawaii with the flowers and the architecture, so that was a fun bonus, because who doesn't like Hawaii??!

The Magical Express came to get us, however, it wasn't very magical on the way home. We didn't have much time to spare at the airport, and before we knew it, we were headed back to DTW. The flight home was rough!! It was a packed flight and not a kid in sight other than my own. Gabrielle was a gem, but Carter was raring to go after is nap on the Magical Express:( He was a little pogo stick on the plane. He acted how a 20-month old should act! At one point he got his little hand stuck in the window shade. That was fun. Adam was several rows back, and he's a gem, so I'm sure he would have switched seats with me half way through, but honestly, I didn't want to put him through it. I figure the next time we fly, it can only be easier. Right?

Overall, our fun was great and our problems were few. I sold Adam on the trip and so we are already planning our return visit. Next time we'll add another park or two. We'll be traveling at a busier time, but hopefully we will have more time to spend there. It was a great "appetizer" trip as Adam likes to call it. The whole Disney experience is all very quality as many of you already know. We're planning on heading back in April 2015. Only two years from now. Spring break will hopefully be the week after Easter which also happens to be the week of Adam's and Gabrielle's birthdays. How fun would that be??!

Thanks for reading!
Colleen

January: The Big Chill

Happy 2013, Everyone! I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful year for you!

After all the hubbub of the Christmas season, January was very chill at our house. Gabrielle was very happy to get back to school as she really missed her teacher, Ms. Jayme. She also resumed her Monday afternoon dance class.  This month we tried our best to have a little indoor fun so we went bowling at Brighton Bowl. Gabrielle had a great time! Carter was not too interested, but hey, what can you do? For the toddler bowling time, there are bumpers and ramps, so you're pretty much guaranteed a strike! Well, not really, but it definitely increases one's chances! We also made a trip to Rollerama. We had a couple of playdates, and Gabrielle attended two birthday parties for friends, which was a fun thing to do on a really cold day!!

Let's see what else--Carter continues to talk like crazy. I have lost track of the number of words he knows. He has started using his first adjective: cute. If he sees something cute, he will call it out. One time when I was putting him in his car seat, he called me cute! Awwwww! In the morning we have a couple of different routines. Usually he gets up before Gabrielle, and knows to say Shhhhhhh and put his index finger over his lips as we walk past her bedroom door. (He used to just yell for her ("GAGA!! GAAAAGAAAA!!!) and that didn't work out too well as Gabrielle was very grumpy if she got woken up!) We head downstairs and he usually likes to watch a truck DVD with me, or we will watch monster truck rally footage on Youtube. Just lately, he has wanted to see cute puppy and kitty videos. Carter is a pretty nice little brother. He actually likes watching princess shows with Gabrielle. There is a new "preschool" princess on the Disney Channel called "Sofia the First" and he always wants to watch it with Gabrielle, and she is as pleased as punch when that happens! Carter also will chuck cars at her head, so he has a healthy balance of sweet and sassy. Carter's funny words of the month are "foo-fire" which is his humidifier, "coo-coo" which is  a cookie, "cotton" which is candy, "mix chix" which is Chex Mix, "fooloos" which is Fruit Loops, "Zert" which is dessert, and "chicklet" which is chocolate. Very healthy, huh? You can see what this kid prefers. Thank goodness he'll eat carrots!!

I haven't forgotten about my darling, Gabrielle. She's been doing awesome at school. She's just a really cool kid who does pretty well in the social scene. She can recognize all her letters, lower and upper case, and she is getting pretty good with letter sounds, so she is one the right track. She also is pretty good at writing when she puts her mind to it. She's super stubborn, but even though I find that quality to be very challenging, it makes me worry about her less...she knows how to hold her own.

Enough of this January banter.... February = Disney World!!!! Woohoo! As Mickey says, "See ya real soon!"

Colleen

 

STRIKE!

 

@ Brighton Bowl

 

Carter is watching his ball very intently....

 

Check out this cool activity table--Grandpops made that for Carter for a Christmas present in like 2 days! I wish I was that handy!

 

Fine Motor Practice...Let's just say more Fruit Loops went into his mouth than on the stick! HA!

 

It was a snow day! Time to play with Play-Doh and Floam!

 

This is how Carter spends hours of the day...playing with cars and trucks.

 

What a good big sis playing with Carter

December Rewind

Looking back at December only confirms what I already know. December was, without a doubt, the busiest month of 2012! Was is that way for you too? Probably. Getting ready for Christmas is always fun at our house. It's a really special time of year, so I don't really mind the hustle-bustle that consumes us. However, right after Christmas it's nice to spend the remainder of the year is total relaxation mode!

This month marked Carter's 18th month. He put together a couple of two-word sentences such as, "read book" and "help door" as he was trying to open the door of his ambulance. In the morning when I went up to get him he asked, "Dada work?" So that's pretty cool. At his 18 month check up, he weighed in at 24 pounds, so he's a pretty hefty boy. Solid, you know?! This month he also discovered a love for truck DVD's from the library. Basically, they're mostly footage of different kinds of trucks rolling and crashing around to music. His interests aren't very diverse at this point. If trucks/cars, etc., dogs, or balls are involved... he's happy.

Gabrielle had a fun month. She made her debut in The Nutcracker as a little baker. I had no idea what to expect even after several rehearsals, but the end product was very cute, and most importantly, Gabrielle really had fun and enjoyed it. She has even expressed interest in doing it again. She also was in a Christmas program at preschool which was super cute. She was dressed up as a reindeer and then as an angel. She really missed her teacher over the break which is just indicative to how much she loves school. She is really interested in writing and letters and reading and how to spell certain words.

We has parties and playdates galore! We also spent lovely time with family celebrating Christmas. Gabrielle and Carter had fun on Christmas morning. As Carter says it, "Tonta" was very generous and both kids were in seventh heaven. It was great for Adam and I to see. Gabrielle's hot ticket items this year included anything with a Disney Princess and/or Barbies. Carter's hot ticket items this year included anything with 2 or more wheels and his coffee pot. Somes kids have very varied interests, but mine don't:) This is Gabrielle's third Christmas in which princesses are "IT" and at this point in Carter's short little life, it is trucks OR BUST!

This month more than ever, probably due to Carter being a lot more communicative, Gabrielle has her brother really play together. They chase each other around, she plays cars with him, he'll sit on the couch and watch Tinkerbell with her for awhile, just to name a few. It's so endearing. And this is just the beginning!

We are looking forward to 2013--hope you are too!

Colleen

 

Christmas Eve

 

Christmas Morning 

 Christmas Morning

 Christmas Morning

 G's preschool program

 Gabrielle as a baker in The Nutcracker

 Sledding at G/G Sexton's over Christmas break!

November in Review

One of the best things about a monthly blog is reviewing all the fun that was had in the past month. For me it's a way to look back and not necessarily think about how the time flew, but to look at what can be packed in to 30 days....

November started out with a much anticipated trip to Houghton Lake. We were so busy in the month of October that we never made it up, so it was great to be back to our home away from Howell.  It was very chilly that weekend, so we spent a lot of time indoors, but we did make it outside for some much needed raking and of course, our weekend wasn't complete without a bike ride!! Carter TALKS SO MUCH--it's crazy to me--he wanted to "make" coffee all weekend, and the best toy up there was a rinky-dink coffee pot that we played with continuously. When he wants to play with the coffee pot, he says "make."

The week after out trip we started at the Treehouse in Chelsea. It is a super fun indoor playland where we met some friends. We also went to Rollerama that week. Both Gabrielle and Carter had a great time skating and dancing! The following week we had a visit with Gabrielle and Carter's great-nana at her house. It was fun for them to have her one-on-one attention and see all the interesting things at her house. Carter didn't break anything (thank goodness) but he did hand me a few of her crystal knick-knacks because he knows he isn't allowed to play with anything breakable;);)  We also started a library class, mostly for Carter, because now he is old enough to really partipate, but Gabrielle actually wanted to join us instead of going to her own class, so it's actually quite fun to have both in there with me. Going to the library is always fun, and it will be more fun when Carter doesn't want to constantly play on the stairs.......... Carter and I attended two playgroups this month and the three of us went to family night at Gabrielle's preschool where we saw a couple of folk singers sing some pretty catchy tunes. Gabrielle attended a birthday party AND took her dad to Dad's Night at her preschool where they sang a few crazy songs and together made an awesome candy house!!

Of course, it would be negligent not to mention Thanksgiving! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Thanksgiving this year. Gabrielle even sat at the kids' table--which I was not ready for--but she did quite well seeing as how she's only 4:) The following day we all went to the Fantasy of Lights parade in downtown Howell. It was the kids first parade, and it was a fun (but VERY CHILLY) event. Adam and I surprised ourselves at how adventurous we were taking the kids to a parade at night in the freezing cold!

Busy month, huh?!? Busy and wonderful if you ask me.

I am giddy just thinking about December.

Until then,
Colleen

 

"Make"

 

Our 30 degree bike ride--the kids were actually hot back there with the wind flap closed!

 

Chelsea Treehouse

 

OMG-the fastest slide EVER. It is hard to see the enormous dip. It's crazy.

 

Look at this chick!

 

Always a good time at good old Rollerama

 

Bathing Boy

 

Being goofy in the hat Grandma brought back from China!

 

Hey! It's Colleen & Adam! (@ Thanksgiving)

 

In line to see Santa...it was snowing....