Disney World Day 2

Oh Day 2.  It was a rough one for Mommy and Grace.  Poor Grace was just not feeling awesome but she was a trooper.  For memory keeping purposes I am going to tell you about the day, its one for the record books.  However its really more a day I would love to forget!  It started out well enough.   

The boys went off to do their roller coaster/boy things.  While the girls rode tons of rides!  Grace loved the carousel.  Every time we walked by she would say "I wide dat Mama!"  I knew she wasn't feeling great but she kept smiling.  We were riding the Little Mermaid for the second time when she threw up.  Just out of the blue...all down her pants and mine.  Awesome!  I asked her if she felt better she said "oh yes mama all better."  Yep, we had to tell the cast member and that was embarrassing.  Oh well.  On to the outfit change, which of course was followed by Julianna having an accident.  So everyone had a new outfit...except Mommy.  Why would I bring extra clothes?

On to the Enchanted Tales with Belle.  Which I just love.  They get to meet Belle and be part of the story.  It's fun.  So we meet back up with the boys and the park got crowded so we decided to take the girls back for naps.  FYI - the story is going to get gross!  Grace was sitting in my lap on the bus.  And all of the sudden she pooped out of her diaper.  It's on my lap, in the seat, on the floor.  I just looked at my mom and said "what do I do?"  The bus driver had nothing!  Luckily for everyone on the bus there was another bus just behind us.  So they all got off!  Grace cleared a bus!  I thought the puking in a Little Mermaid clam was bad. Nope.  Probably the most embarrassing Mommy moment ever.

After a really long shower and nap it was time to get ready for our dinner with Cinderella.  We just had to go back to Magic Kingdom and take the monorail around to the hotel.  Sounds easy right?  Well of course we were running late. The monorail was just one stop away when it BROKE!  Yeah, they said we all had to disembark and walk.  Ugh!  So we show up 45 minutes late, sweaty and tired.  But we were going to meet Cinderella so we put on a smile and had a great time. 

Prince Charming came first.  And Julianna could not take the smile off her face.  I think she even giggled.   We also met the stepsisters, who were so funny and the stepmother.  Cinderella, of course, was the main attraction.  Grace was a little weary of the people but even she gave her a hug.  The food was really good too!  All in all a great dinner.  And to top it off as we were leaving a guy tripped and spilled BBQ sauce down the back of my shirt.  All I could do was laugh.  He and his wife apologized profusely.  My response "Don't worry about it.  It's by far not the worst thing that has been spilled on me today!"

 You can't make this stuff up!

Disney World Day 1

We are back from our fun-filled week in Disney World.  Once again we did so much every day I thought I would just write a post a day. 

The kids have been counting the days to our trip for weeks.  Jake decided we would get up super early and leave by 7am so we could get there and go to Downtown Disney (which we skipped last time).  Great plan.  Of course that means Mommy gets up at 5:30 and everyone else about an hour later.  So we had a nice quick drive down to Orlando.  The kids watched Frozen over and over and over.  They have headphones but the girls sing along.  It's actually pretty funny. 

We checked in to Port Orleans Riverside which has the New Orleans theme.  We booked beautiful princess rooms and these rooms are decked out with Princess Tiana (from Princess and the Frog).  The headboards actually light up with fireworks.  Its pretty amazing and the kids loved it.  They were super excited when Grandma finally got there!  We took a boat to Downtown Disney and got to have dinner with my Aunt Linda, Uncle Dave and cousin Molly.  It was nice to see them but the kids were wild with excitement.  So off to bed to rest for our first day at the park.

Monday morning we were up bright and early ready for fun.  Hollywood Studios was first on our list.  So, if you remember our last trip, that meant Toy Story Mania!  It's our favorite ride!  I am pretty sure there were fights over who rode with Grandma.  After our first ride we had fast passes for the Disney Junior Live show.  We made our way there and ran into Sofia the First.  The girls had to meet her. 

Just outside the show they had huge pictures of the Mickey Mouse gang.  Grace LOVES Minnie Mouse (she says Mee Mow and its too cute).  So we were standing taking pictures and a cast member asked if we would open the Clubhouse doors for the show.  I was worried it would be a big deal but really it was just yelling the password and opening the door.  But it also meant front row seats.  Yeah!  And WOW, did Grace dance!  She was a maniac!

Jake had been studying his Disney Guide and decided he wanted to eat lunch at Pizza Planet (from Toy Story).  It was a fun place and we followed it up with another ride on Toy Story Mania.  We rode lots of rides, ate great food and Grace even took a nap. 

So, it was a great first day!  Next up Magic Kingdom!

Grace is 2!

Ah!  Grace is 2!  It's just unbelievable to me.  She was just an itty bitty (ok, maybe not itty bitty at 8 pounds 10 ounces) baby a minute ago and now she is a walking (mostly running), talking (mostly yelling) big girl!  She will smile and say "I love you too" and your heart just melts.  And she can give some hugs!  She just squeezes your neck and its so sweet!

She actually turned 2 on Sunday the day we left for Disney World.  We were up super early opening presents and loading up the car.  She has been telling people for weeks she was two (and she only holds up one finger...it's funny to me).  Grace has definitely grown a personality.  She is loud and LOVES to sing and dance.  I find her on the fireplace singing Let It Go, which comes out Et It Oh...and all of this at the top of her lungs.  

The dancing though is funny.  I take her to the YMCA play center and we pass a Zumba class.  Every time she stops and starts trying to copy the moves.  It is so cute and of course people in the class see her and know she is the most adorable thing ever!  She loves music and loves jumping and dancing.  Maybe she will like ballet a little more than her sister!  

So Happy 2nd Birthday sweet Grace!  We are blessed to have you in our family!  We love you!

Julianna is 4!

Now just 8 days after Jake turned 6 it's Julianna's big day.  She is 4 years old today.  She woke up with a smile on her face because it was finally her day for balloons and presents.  And I got to go into her class with a sweet treat.  She was very excited!  But here is Julianna's trip down memory lane...

And now she is 4.  It's amazing.  She is so tall!  I know I shouldn't be surprised but she grew 3 inches this year!  Now she is 43.75 inches.  I feel like it should hurt to grow that fast!

Julianna is quite the little artist these days.  Santa brought her an art desk for her room and not a day goes by she doesn't sit down to color.  She makes pictures for her friends and teachers or if someone if coming to her house.  I thought her markers were wearing out because she was leaving the tops off.  Not the case!  She is just coloring that much!  She says her art is very important to her.  So maybe we need to find some art classes so she can get messy with paint...somewhere else!

Since she missed the soccer cut of by 3 days (seriously?), she wanted to do swimming.  So she has been taking lessons at the Y.  She swims with lots of joy is all I have to say.  Not a lot of swimming going on but there is splashing.  I need to take a video of her jumping in.  It's hysterical!  She just jumps straight up with arms and legs spread out.  It's so fun to watch.  So we have a couple months until the pool opens...hopefully she can get it going for pool season.

Julianna is currently in the chimp class at her preschool.  Next year she will be a Panda and will go every day.  And she is ready!  She loves the days she goes to school.  She is so sad when its Tuesday and Thursday and she has to stay home with Mommy and Grace.  No fun!

We are having a joint birthday party with Grace in a couple weeks.  It's a Frozen theme.  She has seen Disney's new Frozen movie twice and LOVES it.  The sound track plays constantly in the car.  Even Grace sings "EEGGO" which is Let It Go!  Both girls love to sing and dance.  Speaking of dance Julianna is still taking ballet and very much looking forward to getting her costume for the recital in May...not so much the recital, just the costume!  But what girl wouldn't want a beautiful tutu to dance in?

Julianna is such a loving little girl, she loves to gives hugs and cuddle.  She brightens our lives every single day with her smiles and laughter.  We are so very blessed to have her as our daughter.  We love you Julianna!

Jake is 6!!!

Every year around this time I write how fast time is going by...and it is!  Just flying!  But on Sunday Jake turned 6 years old.  He is such a wonderful little boy and we are so proud of him.  Here is a little trip down memory lane...

And now he is 6 and getting older by the minute!  He is a growing boy!  He measures 44.75 inches tall which is a 2 inch growth from last year!

So this year for his birthday, we asked him if he wanted a party or to go see the Harlem Globetrotters with his basketball buddies.  Of course he chose the Globetrotters, which is fine by me!  So in a couple weeks we will do that.  Jake just finished up his first basketball season.  He played with his two neighborhood friends and Brian was a coach.  A true test of patience for Brian and he did great!  Now he will start coach pitch baseball on Saturday.  No Brian is not coaching baseball, I can't imagine anyone having the patience to throw a ball to 6 years olds over and over, willing them to hit it.

He is doing great in Kindergarten.  He gets report cards now and they have been stellar.  Reading is his best subject.  He flies through the words and now asks if he can just read silently to himself.  But that might just be a way of getting out of doing his homework!  He can be sneaky!

Avengers (Captain America especially) are his favorite thing these days.  He is really starting to get into Legos...which frustrate him but he keeps trying.  They are hard!  The family got a Wii for Christmas so he likes the racing games and Mario Bros.  He is definitely looking forward to some warm weather so he can get outside with some of his birthday and Christmas presents.   He got some planes that loop around in the air and they have fascinated him lately.

Jake has been such a blessing to us.  He is funny, smart, kind, competitive, sweet and even loves his sisters!  Yes, he gladly kisses and hugs Grace every night!  We love you Jake!  Happy Birthday Buddy!