Day 6- Magic Kingdom

Day 6 brought us back to the Magic Kingdom for what I consider our first real day at this park. I was very very excited to get back here after just a short visit on our first afternoon in town.

We bussed over like usual and were there in time to get a good spot for the Opening Show. While we waited, B huddled in his safe zone so that he could get eased into the day.





In Barrett speak, I just so love this show. It isn't anything that special but there is just something about it. Maybe because I know we are about to head into the Magic Kingdom to start our day. Anticipation at its finest!



Barrett was so funny during this show. He kept pointing out all the characters after they got off the train just like he did during the parade on our first afternoon. Our first order of business was to get group shots with the castle out of the way. I knew if we wanted to do this, we needed to get it over with because eventually we would all be going in different directions. We had a lady take our picture and then reciprocated back with her family. As much as I tried, Joe refused to display his great new T-shirt. ;)







First up on the agenda was Peter Pan's Flight. One of my very favorites! When I have certain flashbacks of Disney trips growing up, PPF is one of the first things I picture. (Along with the Peoplemover, the Main Street Electrical Parade and the water float parade on 7 Seas Lagoon.) Barrett was a little timid at first because it's pretty dark but he liked it and of course, begged to ride again as soon we got off. We luckily whisked him away just across the way to It's A Small World. It was a quick walk on and another wonderful ride. I love this one but I get that it is not for everyone. Barrett, again, asked to ride it as soon as we finished. It would soon be his M.O. for this entire day.

Everyone had Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at this time so we all split up to do various things. Rachel couldn't ride, so she and Landry walked around with the stroller. Joe was hurting for coffee so he skipped it and went to Starbucks. Barrett and I took our first of many many rides on the Carousel. I think we went on 6 in a row. We got off and got right back in line without having to stop. Eventually, Joe was able to join us. We also had Barrett try his hand at pulling the sword out of the stone. (Unsuccessful.)





When the others finished, we headed over to the Teacups (tight squeeze for the three of us!) and then split up again so the others could do Space Mountain. The boys and Mom went while B, L and the rest of us girls did Buzz Lightyear. I failed miserably at any decent score while trying to steer and get Barrett to shoot some too. Then it was time to head over to Dumbo. We had waited about 2 minutes tops from this point on but Dumbo ended up being closer to 10 minutes. I was surprised this early in the morning but it was one of the most important rides for Barrett who is constantly talking about "Flying like Dumbo" whenever he talks or sees something flying. He was so excited and absolutely loved the up and down. We were hoping to do Barnstormer next but it was closed so we went over to the Big Top Souvenir tent and met with Goofy and Donald.





HILARIOUS! It was easily our longest wait, probably 15 minutes and Barrett was trying so hard to cut and just run up to them. He could not contain his excitement. Not at all shy when it was his turn either!







Next up, everyone had Fastpasses for the Mine Train. I was a little leery for this one as it would be Barrett's first real roller coaster but he was so ready. Rachel and I had to stay this one out (seriously, such a bummer!). She went over to the shops for a bit while Mr. Landry and I hung out watching for the group to ride by. Barrett LOVED it! He was much better at this point about not asking to ride again and good thing because the crazy long line would not have allowed for him to ride again. We had a bit of time to kill before lunch so we got in a ride on Little Mermaid. Another walk on, of course. Only 2 hours that morning and we had done 10 rides (plus about 5 more on the carousel). It was nearing time for our lunch reservations at Be Our Guest and so we spent a few times watching the trains ride around and around before going inside. This also was one of his favorite activities this day. He could have watched those trains for hours, I think.

We head in and order our food and stake out a table in the Music Room. It was fairly empty but we needed two tables for all of us. Joe got the beef sandwich and I got the croque monsieur (basically grilled ham and cheese). Both were really good. This was the last thing on our morning and would also be where we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. They were going to stick in Magic Kingdom for a few more hours before heading back down south to Marco Island for another week. We got Barrett a Mickey balloon on our way out to take back with us.



I don't remember how long our break was this afternoon but I think it was about 4pm that we met up with the Saxtons and Baumans to head back for an evening in Magic Kingdom. Our first goal was to try to see Mickey because we hadn't yet but he had over a 20 minute wait so we hoped we could see him in the morning. Instead, we saw Tinkerbell who is also one of Barrett's favorites. He loves Peter Pan and Captain Hook and was excited to meet Tink. Of course, we get up there and he gets super shy! This was his first face character (not a costume) and he was not near as animated with them. I guess because it was a real person! He's pretty shy around strangers so it makes sense. She was soo good with him and trying to get him to warm up.





From here, we hoped on the train at the station and took it all the way around over to Fantasyland. It was such a peaceful ride and perfect as the evening was getting underway. Our destination was the Peoplemover. One of my very very favorites! It's a good length and Barrett liked that it was kinda train like and it allowed for some great views while the sun was setting. We thought about riding it a second time but wasn't sure on our allotted time so after a stop by Buzz Lightyear to get a bubble gun for Barrett, we hoofed it back over the Main Street to get prepped for the shows. (Bubble machine lasted about 15 minutes, for the record.)



For whatever reason, we don't have a real dinner plan this night. Most of us weren't really hungry so we decide to have ice cream for dinner. We get a spot to rest and eat our ice cream over by Casey's and mostly people watch and hang. It was just a really really nice, chill evening. We stake out a spot on Main Street right on the bridge to watch Celebrate the Magic and Wishes. We had talked up the "Kabooms" with Barrett and I was really looking forward to watching Wishes with him but he was soo over that. They scared him! He was not a fan and spent basically the whole show blocked with his shade in the stroller. He never likes loud noises so I'm not sure why I thought things would be different. That was one of the few bummers of the trip for me. I wanted him to love Wishes as much as I do. Oh well.





No parade tonight so we followed the masses out and make a bus right away back to our hotel. Another big bus win! We were all wiped and happy but sad for our last day in the Happiest Place on Earth!

Day 5- Animal Kingdom

Hey, remember this trip we went on? Yeah, I never finished recapping and for records sake, I need to finish. We also have another vacation planned and I don't want to do that without finishing up here so let's get back to it! We'll see how much I can remember in detail.



Our 5th day of the trip was January 6th and we would be visiting Animal Kingdom. I had never been here before actually and was looking forward to checking it out. Joe and my dad were golfing this afternoon so we needed to drive to the park in the morning so they had a car to get to the course later. The Saxtons and Baumans were bussing and we ran over to The Swan where my parents were staying to get them and my dads golf clubs. We arrived at AK just a bit early and met up with the others. We took our time heading towards the back of the park to the Kilamanjaro Safari but not without a quick bathroom break from me. This was a fun ride but it went a bit fast for my taste. I wished our driver would have stopped for a bit longer to really check out the animals more but I could tell she was in a routine and needed to keep the ride moving. Barrett thought this was neat but kept wanting to stand up (which of course, was not allowed.) After that ride, we had just a bit of time to check out the Pangani trail which had all the monkeys before going to check out the Lion King show.





I loved this show and Barrett really Loved it! His favorites were the bouncing monkey's and he just kept wanting to get up and "Jump on that bed!" It doesn't help that one of his favorite books and songs is "No more monkey's jumping on the bed." He has only seen Lion King maybe once so the story itself wasn't something he knew but I thought it was really well done. It was nearing 10:30 by the time we had finished with the show and most everyone else had FPes for Expedition Everest. Joe, B and myself were not going to do the ride so we took the time to just walk around the park the three of us. This was maybe one of my favorite points of the trip because we had no where to be and could just hang out. We checked out more of the monkey's and got an ice cream cone to share. Barrett was happy with just resting in the stroller so it was pleasant not having to worry about him wandering off. We were able to stake out a spot by the big drop and caught the rest of the gang (minus Allyson, Rachel and Landry who met up with us) going on Everest.



We were all getting hungry so we headed down to Yak and Yeti to get a seat inside. This was maybe one of my more favorite meals. I got the Kobe burger and Joe got some chicken dish, I think. So Good! We were all happy with our food and Barrett was really well behaved. I think he was getting a hang for everything at this point and it helped that we took the morning slowly so he wasn't overwhelmed. ::thumbs up::



We didn't really have much left to do this day. We had planned to see the Finding Nemo show but it wasn't for another hour and we didn't really have much else we wanted to see. Kali River Rapids was closed because of winter time and nothing much in Dinoland was of interest to anyone. Joe and Dad were needing to head to their tee time anyway so we all decided to call it quits.



I will mention here too that Animal Kingdom is going through an insane amount of work right now. Half of the park is separated for the new Avatarland and they are completely overhauling the entire Discovery River to create a new nighttime spectacular show. The big Tree of Life/Discovery Island was also on refurbishment along with at least another restaurant. So needless to say, Construction Walls were everywhere. It was hard to take pictures of much because they were doing so much work. It really had an affect on being able to really take in the park. 2018 is projected time for most of it to be finished and I can't wait to see what they have done to it by then.

We headed over to the busses to go back for a rest at the resort this afternoon. It was after 2pm by the time we got back but had over 3 hours to sleep before we would be heading over to the Magic Kingdom area for dinner. A little before 6pm, we all head over to the buses to make our way to Ohana for dinner. Buses only go to parks so we got off at Magic Kingdom and rather than taking the monorail, we decided to take a boat over. It was a really lovely night, not hot or cold and it was a great ride. Barrett kept calling it a pirate ship! I was excited to check out the Polynesian because it had just finished it's new remodel and it did not disappoint. I loved the new lobby! We checked in to our reservation in plenty of time and met up with my mom (who spent the afternoon at Magic Kingdom) and Joe and my dad (who had just finished up their tee time). We had to wait a bit to be seated but we ordered drinks and relaxed out by the lobby.

We were seated a bit after our reservation but walked up to about the best table in the joint! We were right by the big windows with a perfect view of Cinderella's castle across the lagoon. It was exactly what we were hoping for so that we could watch Wishes during our meal. Score! The food was excellent. It is a set menu with all-you-can-eat. It comes with bread, lettuce wraps, a lo mien type noodle dish, stirfry veggies and MEAT. Pork loin, steak, chicken wings, maybe something else. The noodles were the winner for me but Yum! Then the best part of all, BREAD PUDDING for dessert. We were all stuffed silly. It was easily the most expensive of the trip but probably the clear winner for the entire party. During dessert, they piped in the music to Wishes and we were able to watch from our table with the lights dimmed. We loved it!

Joe had our car parked in the parking lot outside the hotel so it was about a 5 minute drive home and we were in bed in no time!

Holland is 5 months old!

We have lots of fun new things happening with Holland now at 5 months old!




You can see by the picture that Sis is tri-poding really well on her own now! She is so close to being able to sit well. Her balance is the only thing keeping her from doing it for longer periods of time. She either face plants a bit or leans over to much from side to side. She is so proud of herself when he gets it good though which you can tell from her picture. This is one of my most loved milestones! Such a fun age!



One of the things holding her back on the sitting fully is her love of her FEET! She will bend way forward to try to get those darn things in her mouth. They are her favorite toy at the moment. Holland is constantly playing and eating and admiring her feet and toes. She has some awesome dexterity.



We got through the dreaded 4 month wakeful with only a bit of change in the sleep department. She wakes maybe once extra at night, going rarely more than the 3 hour span. I know it's not necessarily a hunger thing but it's just so easy to feed her and get her to go right back to sleep. When I have to wake up 4 times in the night, I will do whatever I can to get back to my bed faster. Naps are pretty much the same as before with her staying awake for about 2 hours at a time. Sometimes she sleeps for 30 minutes, sometimes it's 2+ hours. We will start moving to crib training and dropping the rock n play here very soon. I'm scared.



I can't skip this month update without mentioning that this was the first time leaving both kids for an extended amount of time. We went to Milwaukee and the PGA Championships with friends while they stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for just over 2 days. We have had some issues with Sis not taking the bottle and what do you know?….she continued with her stubborn stretch and basically ate nothing for about 36 hours. She finally succumbed to a bottle when I was about 2 hours from home after cutting the trip short. I just couldn't continue being gone knowing that she was not eating. It broke my heart a little. She was happy to see me when I got back but she was definitely off her game for a few days after the trip. Must have been making me pay by ditching her with no food source. Come on, girl?!?



Aside from not taking a bottle, I don't have anything to note on the eating front. She is still quick and to the point and we have a great system down. She can easily go 4 hours between feeds but I stick close to the 3 hour mark for my comfort. It's weird to think that with Barrett, I was basically done with nursing all together. By 5 months, he was down to only a morning and night feed and on formula for the rest. Man, is it different this time around! Sister has had a total of 1 oz of formula her whole life. Pumping has ended now that our trip is over and I have no need to continue the stash. I have about 165oz frozen and not really sure if/when I'll get around to using it.



Squeaks and squeals are rampent around here with her and she is chewing on everything she can get her hands on. Material is the best option but of course, Sophie gets a lot of love around here too. We busted out the jumperoo this month and she seems to tolerate it much more than her brother ever did. She doesn't love it yet and is still a little short but she likes to sit up in it and I like that it gets her head off the ground some more.



She is just the best best best! (But take a bottle for me, will ya, Sis?)

Holland is 4 months old!

Another month down at the speed of light.





Holland had her 4 month doctor visit a few days after her month day and she came in weighing 13 lbs, 8 oz which is 39th%. She is very average but man, does she look like a little chunkier with her cheeks. She is still rockin the thigh rolls, too! We will be moving to mostly 6 month size stuff here very soon and have for some things already. Of course, most of those size stuff that I've already purchased are for fall items so I need to get more summer stuff. Oh darn! I figure we will get another 2 months out of those sizes and it will be good for when we go to Florida in October, as well. She is in size 2 diapers but I don't think they will last much longer.



Sleep this month has made a slight change in that she is going smaller stretches at night. That darn 4 month wakeful! It's not awful and usually about every 3-4 hours. She was easily going 6 and then stretches of 3 but that doesn't happen near as often anymore. We cannot manage to get her to move her bedtime earlier so she usually goes down between 8-9pm. No matter what, we treat it as still nighttime for the next 12 hours. So if we get lucky and she goes down at 7:30, she stays in her bed for the next 12 hours. If she goes to bed at 9pm, then she doesn't wake up until 9am. She takes 3 or 4 naps during the day. The morning nap is about 1 hour, early afternoon nap is about 2 hours and then late afternoon nap is another hour. Depending on how long she slept throughout the day will determine if she takes another nap in the evening. This nap lasts maybe 30 minutes but no matter what we do, she will not stay asleep for the night.



Her night time wake ups are only about 12-15 minutes long. Just enough for her to eat on one side, diaper change and eat on the other. She will either fall asleep while eating or I can put her to bed awake and she will drift off on her own. A complete change from her brother is that she is still not in my bed. She's only done that about 5 times ever. She needs her own room, bed and very loud white noise and she is good to go on her own.



Eating is absolutely no change. She eats on both sides every 3 hours. Occasionally, she pushes closer to 4 hours and certainly has no problem doing that when we are out of the house or she has activity keeping her entertained. Bottles are still a struggle. We got the go-ahead to start solids but I don't plan to do that for a little while longer. We started Barrett at 5 1/2 months and will probably stick close to that. She is very interested in watching us eat so I think it will go okay. It's just one less thing I need to worry about yet.



Holland is getting more of her voice this month. She squeals and coos and talks to you when you are talking to her. She is very laid-back with her emotions though. We have a hard time finding her tickle spot. She is just so chill. Big laughs are hard to come by but they are so awesome when she does give them to us.



I don't think she is teething yet but she has her hands and fingers in her mouth 24/7. She is a slobber machine too. Sister kicks butt at tummy time lately. She is very happy to hang out on her stomach and kick and push up some. She loves her playmat both for laying on her back and tummy. She is a big fan of the tv and anything with lots of colors. We've busted out the bumbo and she tolerates it much more than her brother ever did. She will play with a few teether toys and can transfer them from one hand to the other. Her A&A blankets are a very favorite. We never leave home without one. She loves to chew on them and she hugs it tightly while she sleeps. I need to order a few more to add to our collection so I don't have to worry about keeping up with laundry so much.



We take her outside as much as possible during the day and she is so content to chill out on a blanket in the yard under a shady tree and watch her brother and I play around. Wind in her face is the best! She had a slight reaction to her 4 month shots which made her cranky at first but then gave us 2 solid days of wonderful sleep. Fighting off disease can be hard work!



She really is just the most content little lady! We can't get enough of her!