Disney World, Day One: Magic Kingdom

First day we rose early (every other day we let them sleep in) so that we could catch the opening show at the Magic Kingdom. WE made our way by foot (isn’t that awesome?) to the Magic Kingdom. We walked under the monorail along the way which is pretty fun (and makes for great pictures)

We arrived at 8:40ish, validated our tickets and then found our spot outside the doors to watch the train come in. Brady however, kept asking to go in because she was eager to meet everyone. We ended up with a VERY pouty four year old.

Then the show began and the train arrived with some of her favorite characters. Look at that change in attitude! At this point I started tearing up (okay, I out right cried). The months of planning had finally paid off and the magic in her face was well worth it. I still tear up when I think of that exact moment; the moment when for the first time in her life she got to see ‘the real’ Disney friends. Four years is the PREFECT age to bring kids to Disney World.

As soon as we walked in the gates, we turned right into line to meet three princesses. WE quickly realized we had come at the prefect week. NO LINES ANYWHERE that day…yep, we walked right up to Dumbo too. I love that Sleeping Beauty had them hold their skirts out.

Funny story about their hair… Brady likes to wear a head band to make her look like Cinderella. Reese has never ever worn a headband for more then 30 seconds so I didn’t pack one for her. Well, that morning she wanted one. I scramble around in our toiletry bags and came across this broken pearl necklace. She was very pleased, and funny thing is she got so many compliments on them.

We didn’t get a good picture, but Cinderella and the girls all twirled their skirts together.

The castle at which we got to eat breakfast in

Quick ride on Dumbo to kill time before our reservations with Cinderella.

The girls got to meet more princesses at their breakfast. We all got swords and wands and a wishing star. Reese ate four servings of breakfast and we really enjoyed our breakfast INSIDE the castle.

After breakfast we got to meet another princess, Rapunzel. Rapunzel really liked Reese’s pearls. By this point Brady got super eager to meet Minnie Mouse.

Then we walked up on this show in front of the castle. But that didn’t satisfy Brady's need to MEET Minnie.

Mickey ice creams during afternoon parade…pure Disney fun and magic.

Finally, at like 2:30 Brady got to meet Minnie Mouse…love at first sight.

Reesey Poo sandwich

Reese loved meeting all the characters except the males. I was very pleased with this because I thought the characters would all scare her. This is Terrence, Tinkerbell’s friend. He keeps all the pixie dust.

Next stop, flying carpets…

Again, no Reese since there was a male. I will have to say Naveen was perfect. He stepped away so Reese could meet Tiana. He held onto a nearby tree and said he was a tree frog.

 

After dinner, we made our way to the hotel. We watched the fireworks from a balcony there. Our first day was perfect!

 

Next stop Epcot!

Disney Trip: Traveling to

I am going to chronicle our Disney World trip day by day. I am going to add lots of details so we can remember all the magic we felt while in Orlando. Please bear with me because these posts will get lengthy.

 

We left for Disney World on Tuesday August 30th. The girls spent the morning at preschool while Karl and I dropped off the dogs and packed the van. When we picked up the girls from school we had a surprise tin box with goodies. It had squeeze applesauce (why do kids love these?), Cinderella squinkies and mini board books.

After a LONG day in the car, we made it to Disney World at dusk. We wanted to be there in day light so the girls could see everything but we barely missed the mark. Below is the first sign we saw telling us we were finally there (after MONTHS of planning).

I love the two shots below because it shows in a nutshell how the girls responded to Disney.

We stayed at the Contemporary. We didn’t stay in the building that the monorail goes through but right beside it. I HIGHLY recommend this hotel. It is walking distance from Magic Kingdom.

While I was checking in at the lobby, the girls were going CRAZY. They were excited to be there and had been in the car all day. They were throwing themselves all over the place.

Then we got to the room and there was a message from the clubhouse friends singing happy birthday.

Reese LOVED the soap with Mickey ears on it. She went to the bathroom like 6 times that night just so she could wash her hands.

Princess good night story. was read, and we had to battle all that excitement for sleepy time.

 

Tomorrow off the Magic Kingdom to meet all of our Disney friends.

Wordless Wednesday: Preview of Our Memories Made

Preschool Humor

My girls are at such a awesome point in their friendship. They are so much more than sisters, they are best friends. One will say something and it just completely cracks the other one up. Then they say it back and forth and laugh hysterically for another five minutes. I have been wanting to capture this on film so you can enjoy the giggles and realize at the same time their special bond.

 

So the last night before we left for Disney, Karl was gone during dinner. I was driving home from an errand and asked the girls what they wanted for dinner. For some reason, Brady said she wanted “stinky, dirty pasta”. I don’t know where it came from, but boy did Reese and Brady think that was the funniest thing ever said!!!!

 

This video didn’t capture the initial hysterical laughter because I was driving, so by the time the video starts I had to get to a stop sign and pull out the camera. ENJOY!!!!

 

 

The biggest joke may be on me, they never would give me a real answer about what they wanted for dinner!

Sleeping Beauty Part Two

SO you know I recently posted about Reese and her habit to fall asleep while playing. Well, I have to add two more recent nights to the mix. First, I think  here she was boycotting her bedroom, and opted for the hallway…

 

On the night I was packing for Disney, Karl was flying late and I was in the bedroom packing. For those who don’t know, my bedroom is on the complete opposite side of the side from Reese’s room. She comes out to tell me about her silly pillow and asks me to put it back where it belongs. This…is what I walk into. 9:15 at night (put to bed at 7:15) and she is laying out outfits from her closet. Silly kid…

Apparently she had to set up her beanie babies too.

 

Well, I walked off and she closed her door. TWO minutes later I check the monitor, and she had the lights off and was asleep. I am trying to decide if she was waiting all night for me to discover her mischief she had made!

Wordless Wednesday: Whose Castle will you be Dining at Today?

Note: I scheduled this post before we left, so these aren’t my photos…

Practicing for Disney

Our local Chick-Fil-A is AWESOME! They are always doing fun family events; remember Valentine’s Day and Easter?

 

On Saturday, they had Princess and Prince night. Kids dressed up received a free kids meal. We had lots of fun with the free food, crafts and some of our favorite princesses. There was suppose to be a horse and carriage but something happened to it. It showed up an hour and half late, after we already had left.

 

Reese was a little hesitant about the characters but Brady loved it. Hopefully Reese will warm up to them when we are at Disney this week. They both however, wanted to be as far away as possible from the cow.

Brady wanted her hair to look like Cinderella…how did I do?

Well, it was SUPER crowded and we didn’t want to wait for the horse and carriage. So we went to the mall next door and tried out their new yogurt bar. This was our first time doing anything like it. Lots of fun and the girls really enjoyed themselves.

 

Of course, this left us hand washing their gowns when we got home. The girls helped me and they really enjoyed doing the chore.

 

What a great little ‘taste’ of all the fun we are going to have this week!!!!!

Pink Picasso

There is a group of about 8 moms that meet on Wednesdays for a playgroup. Then about once a month we go out for a mommy date. This past time we went to a painting place. You pick out a painting ahead of time and then the instructor leads you through it. LOTS OF FUN…and laughter.

Sitting ready for the fun to begin.

At this particular place, there is a rough pencil outline to help us create the initial shapes.

From there we got to feel in our own colors.

Here is our group and the final outcome.

I hung it above Brady’s bed since it matches her comforter perfectly. I would have taken a picture of it hanging up, but that would mean I would have to make her bed

Our very own Sleeping Beauty (or not)

Reese has a tough time falling asleep at night. She doesn’t usually cry, but will play and play for hours on end. She comes out and brings us toys that don’t belong in her room, read books out loud, etc. So recently most nights she falls asleep right in the middle of her floor while playing.

 

(Yes, we let her have the light on, she doesn’t like the dark)

 

Wordless Wednesday: Venturing past Taylor Swift but staying Country

Team Up!

When I was pregnant with Reese, Karl and I starting discussing how our family had 2 adults, 2 dogs, and 2 kids. As a joke we were trying to decide how we could make teams. Each team would be one adult, kid and dog. We kept going back and forth (jokingly) on how to divide these teams up. Ultimately, we broke it down by the oldest and youngest. Karl, Dewy and Brady are the oldest of each and so my team is me, Reese and Pace, and we are the youngest.

 

Well we still joke with each other about our teams’ strengths and weaknesses. The funny thing is how the teams each have similar personalities…

 

Team Karl, Dewy and Brady all…

• wake up early and bright eyed
• eat on a schedule
• LOVE to follow the rules
• are ‘teacher pets’ and what I mean by this is whether a person or dog, they are lovable to those in charge because they do as asked
• are very very very fast runners

Team Christy, Pace and Reese all..

• DON’T do mornings, we could all sleep in until at least 9 if that other team didn’t make so much noise
• are stubborn, we do things because it is what we want to do
• only follow rules if they logically fit into our lives
• have spirit, that doesn’t always fit well into large conforming settings
• are very very very slow

But luckily opposites attract and this family unit is pretty happy all together!

 

Side note: Today at preschool Reese was crying at drop off and dealing with separation anxiety. They asked me to sit in the car for 10 minutes while they tried to calm her down. Gaylene came out to tell me she had indeed stopped crying and working with Brady. Then she said, “As you may know, they have VERY different personalities.” She went on to tell me how Brady loves to conform to the rules and doesn’t have to be asked twice to do anything. Yesterday, on Reese’s first day of school they said she already showed her ‘spark’ of a spirit. Reese had something in her hands that was to be put on the top shelf. They pointed to where it should be placed, then she immediately but in on the lower shelf. They repeated where it should be and Reese told them “no, it belongs on the lower shelf.” Then Reese put it on the lower shelf and walked away! I think this story confirms that they are placed on the correct ‘teams’.

First Day of Preschool 2011

I know a lot of you are waiting on pins and needles to find out about the first day of preschool so I am posting right when I got home, for you all.

 

Today was the first day of preschool for Brady (second year) and Reese (first timer). They are in the same class since Montessori groups by 3 years. They are in 3-6 West classroom. Brady was more excited about it than Reese. However, I think Brady was most excited about having her sister in her class. There is a lot of siblings in the class together and Brady is just glad to get to experience that now, especially since Reese is truly her best friend (she just doesn’t say it yet).

 

Here are my cutie pies in front of the class.

I think I did a pretty good job at disguising the inch long bangs on Reese. Then she INSSITED on wearing a red bow with her pink outfit. There is only so much I can do, and my parents repeatedly tell me it doesn’t matter.

Reese’s individual picture since it was her first day of school ever.

Right after that short picture taking session, I started to pick up the school supplies, my purse and camera, etc. I look up to see this… SO SWEET

The teacher was holding the door open as all the kids were walking in . Reese just kinda stood there and looked in. She never looked back at me, but just was frozen. This, I believe, is because for the past year she has not been allowed through that door by herself. The teacher said" “Reese you can go in:. Then she walked right in, again not looking back at all.

 

I walked away, KIDLESS and feeling rather lonely. I decided then and there I am going to keep having babies until I am 55. Also, I knew that my place is being a stay at home mom. I can’t imagine having to go to work and leaving these cuties 40 hours a week.

 

Like last year I will give you the info they told me about the day.

 

Reese told me:

• She played two games.
• She also said there was an Emma in her class. (I find this funny since Brady said the exact same thing last year and also, Emma wasn’t there today)

Brady told me:

• She did some things with Reese and she did some things with the 5 year olds.
• The Gaylene got confused and forgot there are two Reese’s in the class.
• She also named all her friends that were there today.

Not as talkative about school as I would have liked but I am getting used to that.

 

I love these smart and beautiful little girls and I am very proud of them!