Day 2: Epcot

Before I get into the Epcot day, I forgot to mention that when we got back to the hotel room before dinner to shower on the first day, our room was cleaned.  On our bed or table there was a picture of Mickey Mouse with his signature.  I showed it to Grace.  She said, "Mickey Mouse was here and cleaned our room?"  It was the cutest darn thing ever so I didn't correct here.  I said, "Yep, and he left you a picture, isn't that cool?"  So the rest of the trip, everytime we would go back to a clean room, she would say something about Mickey being there.  Awesome

Day 2- Part 1
April 13:  We started out early again and there is a new ride, Soarin' at Epcot that the girls are too little to go on but I wanted Paul to be able to.  We went straight to that ride and since there was such a short wait, I said I would just walk around with the girls in the stroller.  I happened to walk by Epcot's Character Spot where you get to meet the "Big 5."  Apparently Daisy does not count in Disney's Big 5 anymore.  Don't ask me why.  Anyways there was NO line which was AWESOME!  Usually strollers aren't allowed but since I was on my own and there was nobody there, we were able to bring it inside and the girls and I got pictures will all of the Mickey and Friends characters.  The girls once again made me hold them and would not walk up to the characters.  Grace did show Minnie her light-up Mickey toy that she got the night before at the Magic Kingdom but when it came to taking pictures they were apprehensive.  Grace loved the fact that we went from character to character and kept saying, "Let's see, who's next."  I mean it makes sense.  Why would an almost 3 year old want to have some giant characters touching them.  They don't speak and it's probably better that they are slightly nervous.  Either way, when we were done, Paul was just getting out of the ride and was shocked when I showed him the pictures and that we were able to accomplish that task in that period of time.  Seeing that the line had become very busy at that point, I think he was only slightly disappointed that he missed it.  Plus he said the ride Soarin' was awesome and that I had to ride it. 

As we continued on through Epcot, we went on the Nemo ride, saw Turtle Talk with Crush, and played in the area that contained many fish tanks.  The girls could have stayed all day.  The rest of our morning we walked around and saw all of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  This may sound boring but it was amazing.  Grace loved taking her picture with all the characters that were made out of trees and flowers.  Let's be serious, they couldn't move and they still looked like the characters she loves.  You can tell from her complete change of expression that she clearly thought this was more fun than seeing the real deal.

Say Yes and No and Sleeping

Charlotte began saying "NO!" to everything right when she turned 18 months.  This past three days, I have been working with her on saying, "Yes," so I only ask her questions that she would really want to answer with it.  It seems to be working.  The No is still very prevalent but we are making progress.

At the same time we have gotten about a year of Charlotte going to bed around 6:45-7 and falling asleep right away.  This past week, she has not been tired and has been going to bed around 7:30-7:45. Oh please do not let this become a trend!

Dinner with Cinderella

We took the Monorail from the MAgic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian for our Dinner with Cinderella and Friends in the 1900 Park Fare restaurant.  Grace and Charlotte both loved the monorail which was exciting because I loved it growing up too.  Grace referred to it as the "Monitorail."  It was cute.

At dinner, Cinderella, the Prince, the Stepmother and the two Stepsisters all came by our table one at a time to take pictures with the girls.  It was a buffet so it was very easy to manage and keep the girls happy and Paul and I were able to relax.  Well minus the times they would each come by.  Bibs off, faces wiped, and picked up out of their high chairs for a picture.  Haha

Just like when we met Rapunzel, Grace made me hold her in all of the pictures because she liked the characters from far away but didn't want them to get too close.  This stayed constant throughout the whole trip.

Our travel agent who set up all of our meals also told them it was Grace's birthday and they brought out a HUGE cupcake... clearly Grace's favorite part of her meal.

After dinner, we went back to the Magic Kingdom for the parade and fireworks.  It was packed.  The girls loved every minute of it but it was a little scary weaving our way out of the park when we were done.  There were so many people.  Good thing we had our double stroller.

Magic Kingdom- Part 2

We took a break, changed the girls' clothes, ate a snack and waited to meet Rapunzel.  There were coloring pages to do while we waiting, but Charlotte was more interested in picking up leaves and giving them to random park guests.  When it was time to meet Rapunzel, neither girl was really interested.  Charlotte did seem to be interested in her hair and Grace was more excited about the chameleon from the movie, Pascal.  Oh well, at least they looked cute.

From there, we went to watch Mickey's PhilharMagic; a 3D show featuring Donald Duck.  Charlotte was on Paul's lap and Grace was on mine so they could see better.  Immediately upon the show starting (of course we were in the middle of the row with people all around us) Grace said she had to go potty.

I said to hang on for a minute while I though of what to do, and IMMEDIATELY SHE STARTED PEEING ON ME.  In order not to make a huge scene, I told her it was no big deal and that I would change her when we left.  I proceeded to use wet wipes to try to contain the mess.  After the show, I changed Grace into her original outfit, then changed a poopy diaper of Charlottes, tried to clean my pants, and had to walk around the park for about an hour looking like I was the one who had an accident.  Oh well, I didn't let it slow us down.  On to Adventureland!

In Adventureland, we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and The Jungle Cruise.  Charlotte took a nap in the stroller for a little bit while Grace and I rode the ride.  In Tomorrowland, there is a stage set up and a DJ playing music.  Chip and Dale and Stitch were outside dancing so we stopped to do that too.  We went on the Buzz Lightyear ride which Paul called "the most overrated ride in the park," met Buzz Lightyear and saw the afternoon, "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade.  The kids loved it and were so exhausted at the end that they fell asleep in the stroller while we waiting for our bus back to the hotel.

 We went back to our hotel, showered quickly and headed back to the Magic Kingdom where we took the Monorail to the Grand FLoridian restaurant for our Dinner with Cinderella!  Stay tuned for more...

Disney Day 1- Magic Kingdom- Part 1

April 12, 2012

We got a really early start at the Magic Kingdom and I had a whole plan of which rides we were going to go on and in what order.  My IPHONE has an App that allows you to customize the rides and it optimizes the order to allow for the least amount of wait time.  We waited no more than 15 minutes for any ride.  So...

we arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 7:00 a.m. and immediately went to the Dumbo ride where there was no wait.  Of course, as soon as we got in line, Grace had to go to the bathroom.  She and I jumped out of line and ran to and from the bathroom.  Paul had already ridden with Charlotte and I was told she loved the ride.  Grace loved it too and immediately said, "Let's go on another ride," when we were done.   Next, we went on Snow White's Scary Adventures, Peter Pan's Flight, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  Grace thought they were all "scary."  Apparently since they all started in the dark, they freaked her out,  Se was scared of the Winnie the Pooh ride because it was "raining."

We took a scary ride break and went on Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel and both of the girls thought this was fantastic.  This got them back in the game wanting to go on more rides.  SUCCESS!  We then headed over to the beloved classic, It's a Small World.  They both were whipping their heads back and forth looking at all there was to see and Charlotte was dancing along with the music.  All of this before 8:30 a.m.

Disney World- Part 1, The Airport

Well, it's about time that I post our trip to Disney World!  So here it goes.  I also made a photo book to document the trip so people will have to check that out too.  I think my book is awesome and will be so much better than this post... just saying.

During the trip a few major events took place.  Charlotte said, "Minnie" and "Buzz" consistently which were really her first major words other than the typical toddler lingo.  The other major event was that Grace declared Pluto as her "favorite character."  This may not seem like a big deal but with all the Mickey and Minnie talk around our house, not to mention the Princesses, this was a huge step in the area of personal expression and freedom.

Ok... so let's start at the very beginning...

We took an evening flight from Midway to Orlando.  Grace wore her Belle shirt and Charlotte wore her Cinderella outfit (Are you surprised?  I mean we were going to Disney).  Paul's mom came with us to the airport and drive our truck home.  I felt a little bad that she wasn't coming with us because she is so much a part of the girls' lives but maybe next time.

We looked like wackadoodles at the ticket counter because we had so much stuff with us and we didn't want the girls to walk away either so I definitely broke a sweat, however we got it done somehow.   I wanted to keep our stroller with us but Paul thought it would be easier to go through security with it, so we checked it at the counter.  On the way home, we went with my method and it was MUCH better.

Grace was great on the plane and was entertained by looking out the window and talking and pointing over and to Bob, who was traveling on business.  We did not all get seats together so Paul was on the end, Grace in the middle, and Bob in the window seat.  Across the aisle, I was on the end with Charlotte on my lap (well not really).  Grace also read books on my lap for part of the flight and played on my phone.  Easy breezy.

Charlotte on the other hand was a crazy little monkey who wanted to stand, look over the seats, and move around.  Paul entertained her by giving her snacks and cps of ice.  We clearly made a mess but we survived.  When we got off the plane, Grace asked if Grandma would be meeting us in the truck.  She had no concept of flying far away to a different state.  I told her we would be taking a bus to the hotel and from that point on she kept asking me about the "school bus."

Grace loved the Orlando airport and didn't want to leave.  There was a fountain which grabbed her attention and a huge Mickey Mouse on the wall she wanted to stand by.  We took the Disney Magical Express from the Airport to the Hotel and a "Cast Member" handed out stickers while we waited for the bus.  I knew this was going to be an awesome trip.

Once on the bus, Grace kept laughing and telling everyone to hold on to the bars in front of our seats...she thought she was already on a Disney ride.  When she asked about Mickey, we told her he was sleeping and that we would see him in the morning.  She then repeated, "Mickey's sleeping for the next 30 minutes."

Once at our hotel, we had to wait for a pack n play for Charlotte which put us very late getting to sleep. The girls slept great while I was wide awake planning for our first day.  Our luggage arrived after Midnight which was only a small hiccup because I had already known this might happen and packed what we needed for the hotel in a separate carry on.

Stay tuned for Disney Day 1...

Holy Crap...

Charlotte just counted to five.  Holy S@#$.  Where is the time going.  She has been playing hide and seek with Paul and they count to five each time.  Tonight when he said, "Come on, let's hide so Grace can find us, she held up her fingers and said, "One, two, tree, four, trive."  Are you f-ing kidding me.  She is not even 19 months.  She amazes me!