Ready

Lily is so ready for Christmas to be here! Yesterday morning, she crawled into bed with us and after a moment of silence said "Mommy, do you think Santa Claus came last night?" I smiled to myself and said "No sweetie, I don't think he did." She immediately replied "I was just wondering though. Maybe he did come." She just can't wait to see what he brings! Also, we put our tree up over the weekend, but we haven't put the stockings out yet. More than anything, I don't want them dangling down where Mia will pull on one and pull the very heavy stocking holder onto herself - ouch! We will wait until Christmas Eve after her bedtime to put those up. Even knowing this though, Lily asks multiple times a day to put up the stockings. I'm thrilled that she is so excited about Christmas, but oh it's going to be a long 25 days!

So Thankful

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We have so much to be thankful for...our family, our friends, our health, our jobs, the list goes on and on!

On Wednesday evening, my mom brought over a gift sent down from Granny to help get in the winter spirit. Look how cute these magnets are! The girls had so much fun putting Frosty on the fridge, and they love having him up.

On Thursday, we all got up and enjoyed a nice, easy morning together. Mia actually wasn't feeling very well; a cough and runny nose had her up several times during the night. Still, we enjoyed breakfast and then watching the Macy's parade. Lily really enjoyed it, but she did get bored with all the commercials; have there always been this many? While Mia was taking a late morning nap, I started cooking our dish for our family get together. We carried on our tradition of going to my cousin, Sid and Elaine's, house. We gladly welcomed a couple of "extra" people there this year, and I believe Meme said she counted 72 people! It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone. It was a beautiful day, so the kids had a blast running around and playing outside. Mandy was able to get a picture of everyone that was there just before lunch; about 10 more family members came afterwards, but this is most of us. Ryan and Mia are on the far left of the third row while Lily and I are on the second row, second from the left (that's Mandy the photographer next to us). We stayed until the girls just couldn't stay awake any longer, and they fell asleep in the car. We came home, ate a small dinner and went to bed. What a wonderful day!

Our 4 year old blessing!
Our 2 year old blessing!

On Friday, we took it very easy. Mia had a very rough night with her coughing; we're pretty sure it turned into croup. So Friday, we just hung around and rested. Nothing too exciting! On Saturday (again, Mia had a rough night), the four of us picked up Meme and went to the Optimist's Club's annual pancake breakfast. This is a fundraiser they hold every year, and we love it. First of all, it's delicious! They serve pancakes and sausages; so yummy! Second, it's fun to see old friends and catch up. Even though Dad wasn't there because he and Mom are at the lake (he's been a member of the Optimist Club for 35+ years now), it was still a good time.

On Saturday evening, Ryan and I put the girls to bed, and then we put up our Christmas tree. We love doing this! Here's a picture of the finished product. It doesn't do it justice.

The main reason we love putting up our tree is because we get to look over our ornaments. Whenever we take a vacation, our souvenir is always a Christmas ornament. We record each one in a special book, so we'll always know where we got it. It's a fun tradition for us to look at each ornament and reminisce about the fun times we have shared together. Here is the ornament we got this summer while in Alaska. I'll admit that we actually bought it at a Wal-Mart in Anchorage, but it was the perfect reminder of the village we visited. You have the little log church close to the water with the forest all around it. Of course, we were there in the summer so we didn't see the snow or Northern Lights, but we can imagine this is what it will look like in the winter. Ryan has plans to go back in March, so he'll let us know!

On Sunday, Ryan stayed home with Mia while Lily and I went to church. Lily couldn't wait to get home though because I promised she and Mia could decorate their tree as soon as we got back. They had so much fun putting all their ornaments up; they have jingle bells, candy canes, a few homemade ornaments and some recently purchased princess ornaments. Here's a picture of them having fun decorating.

Proud of their tree.

Even though Mia didn't feel very well this weekend, it was still a lovely weekend. Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays. I try to count my many blessings daily, but I like that there is a special day set aside just for this purpose. I hope you all were able enjoy the holiday and remember all the blessings you have in your life. Know that we are thankful for you!

Disney World 2010

We had such a great time celebrating Mia's 2nd birthday at Disney World. Liz joined us, and we had so much fun! It's very possible the adults loved it more than the birthday girl! So many details and pictures to share...

We left Wednesday morning after breakfast. We played I Spy, we told jokes, the girls watched a movie; it was a good ride. We stopped in South Georgia at a Chick-fil-a that had a cool playground for the girls; once inside, my Uncle Randy came up and said hi! He was traveling with his job for a few days and ended up there too. Just a preview of how It's a Small World (hee hee). After lunch we expected a quiet ride while the girls napped, but unfortunately, that didn't happen; neither of them slept for more than a few minutes. We saw a lot of movies! We arrived in Orlando about 5:30, so we headed straight to Downtown Disney for the Rainforest Cafe. That was yummy! The girls were a little unsure of the animals "talking" to another during the rain storms, but pretty soon they were okay with it and actually enjoyed it. After dinner, we did a little shopping. First to the Christmas store where we picked up a couple of ornaments and then to the candy shop where I got the best Reece's Cup ever and Lily got a bag full of jelly beans. Everyone else shared a Ghiradelli ice cream while we enjoyed sitting outside on a beautiful evening. We were already loving the fact that there is virtually no crowd at Disney this time of year! Finally, on the way back to the car, we walked through a huge Disney store and had lots of fun trying on all the funny hats.

From here, we headed to our hotel. We were staying at Disney's Pop Century resort. We were in the 70's area which had lots of fun details to it. Mia loved the gigantic Mickey Mouse rotary phone in front while Lily loved the Twister game that we passed on the way to the food court.

We unpacked quickly and got the girls ready for bed. By this point, it was about 10 so they were exhausted (remember, no naps). We put Mia in her pack and play and then closed the little curtain that separated her area from the bedroom. Mia however didn't think going to sleep was a good plan right then though. She kept pulling back the curtain and saying "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Hi Lily!" She looked adorable even though we really wanted her to go to sleep. At one point, Lily said "Mia, this is not funny. Go to sleep right now." Finally, we all conked out.

Thursday was actually Mia's birthday. They had given her a special birthday pin to wear. Every single Disney person we saw wished Mia a happy birthday which was pretty sweet. After a quick food court breakfast, we headed to the Magic Kingdom. While Ryan got a locker, Liz and I watched the girls climb into the old-fashion fire truck and sound the siren. They thought that was pretty cool. We had to start our rides at Dumbo; it's always a favorite.

From here we hit up It's a Small World, Flight of Peter Pan and the carousel.

 

After this Ryan, Lily and I rode Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster; she loves this ride.  Bama and Mia hung out on the side.

We decided to take a break for lunch at the deli on Main Street. As we finished up, Mickey's "Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It" parade started to go by; turns out November 18 is also Mickey and Minnie's birthday! We all had fun watching this and then dancing along to the music. As the parade was leaving, Mia blew a kiss to Woody from Toy Story; he pretended to catch it and swooned. Talk about making Mommy and Bama happy!

From here, we all headed back to the Pop Century for nap time; we had a big night ahead of us, and we wanted to be rested up. After nap time, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom.

As we were walking, we passed the face painting station. Lily couldn't resist, and she settled on getting a Cinderella tiara with cheek highlights and shiny lipstick. When Mia saw it, she really wanted one too, so we let her get a Minnie Mouse bow on her forehead. I couldn't believe how well they both sat there and let their faces get painted. They looked adorable! 

At 7:30, Mickey's Christmas Party started which was great. It started with a fun show in front of the castle which the girls loved. Then they made it snow which was awesome!!! After the show, we turned around and saw a great Christmas parade. It ended with Santa coming in on his sleigh. Talk about getting us ready for Christmas!

After this, Ryan, the girls and I went through Minnie's house and then went to meet Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White and their princes. Both girls walked right up to them, hugged them and talked to them. I was amazed! I thought it was so cute too that Mia kept pointing to Cinderella and saying "Rella! Rella!" This was a lot of fun!

As this finished up, the fireworks over the castle started which completely freaked out Lily, so we stayed inside Minnie's house while they went off. Finally, we all went back to the hotel. It was about 11. Can you believe I let my kids stay up like this?!

On Friday, we headed to Epcot, and we were greeted by Daisy upon arrival. We started out at the Finding Nemo ride which was cute, and then headed to Turtle Talk with Crush which was awesome. From here, we headed over to the countries. where we had a yummy meal in France. After this, we met Aurora and Belle in France, Jasmine and Aladdin in Morocco and then Pooh and Rabbit in the UK. While in the UK, we watched a really funny comedy troupe put on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Lily and Ryan also found a new Charlie and Lola book which made Lily's day. After this, Ryan, Lily and I went on Soarin which was really cool. It really was amazing. We all loved it. Mia napped in the stroller for a few minutes, so we decided not to go back but just push through the day; in hindsight, this probably wasn't our best move because she was pretty whiny and fussy the rest of the day, but we made it.

When Mia woke up, we went to an area and met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. Both girls had a lot of fun here though Mia seemed a little unsure of Pluto and his big nose. Right after meeting them, we decided to have a little ice cream break; we all enjoyed this! After our break, we visited China where we walked through the temple and saw the terra cotta army which was pretty cool. Then we went through Germany where we saw Snow White. When we walked up to her she said "Well happy birthday Mia! By chance, did I meet you last night at Mickey's Christmas Party?" to which I surprisingly said "You did." She said "I thought so. I remember my prince and I talked about Lily and Mia being from The Princess Diaries. Well, it's lovely to see you both again" and then proceeded to talk to them some more. With all the kids she meets each day, I was very impressed she remembered our girls! 

After this, we played on the drums at The Outpost which both girls loved; they love music and noise so this was a great combination for them! We decided it was time to call it quits at this point; both girls were utterly exhausted. As we were leaving, we went out front where Ryan found the picture of us that is etched into the walls in front of Epcot; it was something they were doing the first time we visited together in 1998 while on Spring Break visiting David and Jan. It was so funny to see our picture from so long along; Lily thought it was pretty cool! The four of us headed back to have dinner at the hotel, take baths and then went to bed. We put Mia down at 7 and she didn't make a peep for 12 hours.

On Saturday, we decided to head back to Magic Kingdom. We wanted to do a few more activities that we didn't fit in on Thursday. We started at the teacups; both girls loved this ride. They wanted Ryan to spin them as fast he could! After the teacups we stopped by to get new face painting. This time both girls got Sleeping Beauty tiaras painted on and shiny lipstick; they looked pretty cute!

We then rode the race cars, and Lily was thrilled that she got to drive her and Ryan's car (she didn't know that it's on a set track). Lily and Mia shared a yummy smoothie to take a little break.

At this point, Ryan took Lily over to ride the Astro Orbiter and People Mover rides; she loved both of them. While they did that, Liz, Mia and I headed over to watch people on Splash Mountain and then we enjoyed the Country Bear Jamboree. Mia was fascinated by the talking bears and deer heads on the wall!  By this point, it was lunch time, so we all met back up and ate at the Diamond Horseshoe restaurant which was a nice little break. After lunch, Liz was so kind to take Mia back to the hotel for a nap; we had learned our lesson yesterday about no napping! While they were gone, Ryan, Lily and I had lots of fun together. Lily had seen a Disney World ad at some point, and had talked multiple times about wanting to ride "the fast train" as she called it; we know it as Big Thunder Railroad. I didn't want to tell her the real name because she is scared of thunder, and I didn't want her to not try the ride because of the name. She LOVED it. We rode it twice!

After this, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean which she wasn't a huge fan of, but it didn't scare her. We rode Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride next which was very similar to Dumbo, so she enjoyed that. Next it was back to the teacups; she couldn't get enough. After this, we did the Buzz Lightyear ride which was fun but not worth the 50 minute wait. We then relaxed on the People Mover which gave some great views of the park.

After this, we met back up with Liz and Mia in front of the castle for a show which we all enjoyed. This show had all the princesses and their princes in it which Lily loved. It also has the witch from Sleeping Beauty in it; she came out in and left in fire and smoke. Lily kept asking why the mean lady was there; she has never seen Sleeping Beauty so she doesn't know there is a "mean lady" in it.

After this, it was dinner time and then back to the People Mover while Ryan got some ice cream to share. We had a little bit of time left, so we went to The Laugh Floor which is based on Monsters Inc, a movie I think is really cute. It was a pretty neat little show where they told some funny jokes. Lily is really into jokes right now, so I know she enjoyed it.

After all this fun, we headed back to Main Street and scored awesome seats for the Spectromagic Electric Parade. We had about an hour wait, but the girls did great. Liz and Mia went for a little walk while Lily and I shared some popcorn. Liz also bought the girls cool light-up spinners which they loved (and they are still playing with them). Just before the parade, an employees came around to entertain the kids. They drew hopscotch boards on the cement and handed out hula hoops. I couldn't believe Lily ran out and got a hula hoop; she had fun playing with it for a bit. Finally the parade started, and it was spectacular! I love how everything is so bright with lights. The girls were fascinated. They waved at all the characters, and Mia blew kisses. When Alice went by and waved to them, Mia started pointing to herself and saying "Mia! Mia!" Then she pointed to Lily and said "Lily! Lily!" She is so polite to introduce herself! Lily would get very excited whenever any of the characters waved to them or even looked their direction. We all loved this! This wore the girls out though as both fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel, but both went back to sleep easily.

 

 

Sunday morning arrived, and we quickly packed up our things. We had 8:40 reservations at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Hotel. First of all, the meal was delicious. All sorts of yummy fresh fruits, breakfast meats, pancakes, Mickey Mouse waffles...yum! Second, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald walk around dressed as chefs, and they stop at every table for a few minutes. Goofy was enamoured by Mia and had lots of fun with her. Minnie gave both girls kisses which made them giggle. Also, the staff brought Mia a cupcake out with a Mickey Mouse face on it. She thoroughly enjoyed it; that is certainly a breakfast treat! As we were leaving, they started playing some music, so Mia started dancing which entertained several people around us; Goofy saw her and gave her another big hug too. As we were leaving, Lily asked me where Pete was. He's in a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, so she wondered why he wasn't at breakfast.

 

After breakfast we took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian hotel where we marveled at the beautiful decorations and the amazing gingerbread house. We took a few pictures in front of their enormous Christmas tree. We also checked out their terrace and their upscale Victoria & Albert restaurant. Finally, we knew it was time to go. We took the monorail back to the Contemporary and headed home. We arrived about 7.5 hours later, and it was a fairly easy ride back.

This was such a wonderful way to celebrate sweet Mia's birthday. I think both girls had a fantastic time. I asked Lily what her favorite part was and she said "the fast train and seeing all the chefs" which refers to Big Thunder Railroad and the Chef Mickey's breakfast. I asked what she thought Mia's favorite part was and she quickly said "the teacups" which is very possibly correct. More than anything, I loved seeing how much the girls were loving this. The excitement on their faces was definitely my favorite part (with Big Thunder Railroad coming in second). We made so many great memories on this trip, and that's what I'll remember. I think the entire trip was a hit!