Chef Mickey and Magic Kingdom

We had a character breakfast this morning at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. Michael was so excited to finally get to meet Mickey after talking about it for several weeks leading up to the trip. Katie was feeling a little under the weather so she wasn't as excited!

We had been eating for about 5 minutes when the first character approached our table. We got to meet Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Mickey and Goofy. Michael asked Todd why the characters don't talk after meeting a few of them. He really enjoyed getting to shake their hands and have his picture taken with them. Michael happily posed for the camera while Katie was constantly keeping watch on the character.









After breakfast, we got on the monorail and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We headed to Tomorrowland after stopping to see a short show on the way there. The first ride we did was the Monsters Inc show. We got Fastpasses for the Buzz Lightyear ride and then Todd & Michael headed over to Stitch's Great Escape. We went to Buzz after that and then headed over to the Speedway. Katie was not a big fan of the Buzz Lightyear ride, probably because the 4 of us were all in one car. She loved the Speedway though, as noisy as it was. Michael did too!




We got ice cream and then went over to Mickey's Toontown. Todd and Michael rode Goofy's Barnstormer, a kid's rollercoaster. Katie and I went to play at the playground with miniature houses. We decided to head back to the hotel after this since Todd and I had an early dinner reservation.

Todd and I went out to Victoria and Albert's to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. My parents watched the kids for us, which was a nice treat. It was nice to get dressed up and go out to have a relaxing and quiet dinner, just the two of us. We got to try new foods, as well as enjoy foods we already love. Since we went to this same restaurant on our honeymoon, it was extra special to us. They even give you a personalized menu with the foods that you have chosen as a keepsake.
We thought about going out after dinner but were so stuffed that we just headed back to the room to hang out for a little while.

Blizzard Beach

We decided to go to Blizzard Beach today. It was the perfect weather. Just hot enough that the water would cool you off but not so hot that the lines were long. There was a kids' area for Michael and Katie to play in and it even had short water slides and tube slides. Michael had a blast in there and probably spent about 2 hours there. Katie went down one of the water slides but she couldn't get herself upright as she started to go down so she's not quite ready. Both kids loved the wave pool. Todd and I even got to ride a few rides without the kids!



Tonight, we ate in the country of Japan in Epcot. We had early reservations, which seemed to work well for the kids. Katie was feeling a little under the weather and didn't eat nearly as much as she did the night before. She did enjoy the Sprite that I had with dinner and Michael had his first Shirley Temple, which was a change from the chocolate milk that he had for most of the week until then.

We ate dinner with my parents and Michelle and Alex. Our chef was very entertaining and the meal was delicious. This is hibachi style dining, where your meal is prepared on a hot grill right in front of you. The kids love it as much as the adults do for the entertainment value as much as the food.





After dinner, we walked around the World Showcase. As part of the Food and Wine Festival that was going on at Epcot, different bands were playing outside. The one playing tonight was Air Supply. Todd and I laughed because Michael really seemed to like it and asked if he could stay to watch it. He sat on Todd's shoulders and swayed along to the music.

When that was over, we stayed for the nightly fireworks show, Illuminations. We found a spot to sit about 30 minutes before the show started that wasn't too crowded. We put Katie in the backpack carrier and she wasn't scared at all when the show started. In fact, she fell asleep about 5 minutes into it. When the show was over, we headed back to the hotel. Michael fell asleep in the stroller on the way there. It was another great day!

Animal Kingdom

Since we were staying at a Disney resort, we were able to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours at a different park every day. Today was an hour early at Animal Kingdom. We headed out and got there about 8:30.



We went with my parents, Michelle and Alex. Once we got into the park, Michelle and Alex headed off to get FastPasses for Expedition Everest, a rollercoaster. The rest of us headed back to the safari. We all rode the safari together and only had about a 10 minute wait. Since it was early in the morning, it wasn't hot out yet and a lot of animals were out. We saw giraffes, lions, elephants, as well as some new animals to the safari and a rare animal that only has a population of 500.



We exited the ride and got a family picture outside by a waterfall. We decided to head over to Expedition Everest and pick up passes for Kali River Rapids, a water ride. My mom, Katie, Michael and I did not go on Everest. Todd, Michelle and Alex liked it so much they rode it a second time. My dad said that once was enough for him.



The next ride we went to was Dinosaur to get passes and then tracked back to the Kali River Rapids. We took turns going on the ride since Katie wasn't tall enough. Michael liked this ride pretty well and managed to stay pretty dry. Probably because he was sitting right next to me and I protected him by getting soaked on one side. We walked back to Dinosaur after that. I think this ride was too scary for Michael because it was dark and the dinosaurs really get close to your vehicle. Fortunately, it didn't turn him off from liking dinosaurs because he really enjoyed the gift shop.

We headed to pick up lunch after that. Everyone else left the park to get back to the room to rest while Michael played in the Boneyard, a dinosaur playground with rope bridges and ropes to climb. We went to see "It's Tough to be a Bug" in the Tree of Life and then left the park around 3:00.



Since there was so time to kill before dinner, we went to one of the pools at our hotel. Michael and Katie enjoyed themselves although the water was a bit chilly. The day ended with dinner at Captain's Grille, where Katie ate NY Strip Steak, mashed potatoes, carrots and salad. I think she could have continued to eat had there been more food. Michael got a pizza and make your own sundae and fell asleep before we got on the boat to head back to the hotel. He was exhausted, which seemed to be the theme for this trip!

Disney Vacation - Day 1

We have been planning to go to Walt Disney World since shortly after Michael was born around the time he was going to turn 5. Since he will be starting school next year, we decided to go this fall instead. It turned out to be a family vacation with my parents, sister and her husband joining us also.

We drove into Orlando on Saturday and spent the night at a hotel close to Disney. We got up this morning to check into our hotel, the Caribbean Beach Resort. This was the 3rd trip to Disney for Todd and I, but the first for Katie and Michael. We have been preparing Michael for it for a few weeks.

After checking in, we hopped on a bus and headed to the Magic Kingdom.





Since it was a weekend, it was a little busy. We rode the railroad around the perimeter of the park before getting off to ride a few rides. The first one we decided to do was Splash Mountain. We did it in shifts since Katie wasn't big enough. Michael wasn't crazy about getting his glasses wet and I don't think he cared for the big drop at the end.



We decided to eat lunch after that and then went back over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Michael, Todd and I got a Fast Pass to ride it. My sister, Michelle, and her husband, Alex, offered to take Katie back to the room with them. We took them up on their offer and spent a few hours with Michael.

Michael got to meet Goofy at Pirates of the Caribbean and then we went to watch the afternoon parade. It was pretty hot so we treated ourselves to ice cream after the parade. We headed back to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. We also got to meet Woody and Jessie from Toy Story and take some pictures with them. We had just enough time to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before heading back to the hotel to get Katie for dinner.





We went to T-Rex for dinner. They had huge dinosaur replicas outside the restaurant, as well as inside. Every 20 minutes, there was a meteor shower that caused the lights to dim. They also had an awesome aquarium in the middle of the dining area. Michael loved seeing all the dinosaurs and thought the aquarium was neat too. Katie wasn't scared by the dinosaurs and that was really all we could ask for.





We were exhausted at the end of the day and crashed shortly after returning from dinner!

It's that time of year

This week Michael had his school pictures done. And as usual, he didn't want to wear anything with buttons in the picture. For anyone who has a little boy, you have to know that 75% of the shirts out there seem to have buttons on them. If they don't, then they are usually some sort of character apparel or very casual.

A few weeks ago, Todd's mom brought over some clothes for Michael. One of the outfits was a very nice plaid button-down shirt and a pair of grey pants. Michael and I went to TJ Maxx on Monday to see if we could find a shirt that he could wear for the picture. I didn't really see anything so decided to take my chances and ask Michael if he would wear the outfit from his grandparents. He told me he would.

Tuesday morning came and Michael was adamant about not wearing anything with buttons. I asked him if he recalled our conversation from the previous day about what he was going to wear. I finally got him to put on the shirt with buttons after using a little peer pressure. I told him that most of the boys in his class would be wearing shirts with buttons. He asked if Connor (one of his best friends) would be wearing buttons. I told him I didn't know but that it was OK if he wasn't.

I dropped Michael off at school and his teacher told him about a few of his classmates who were wearing shirts with buttons. When I picked him up, he was looking handsome in his outfit and his teacher said he did great. They even got some pictures with and without his glasses.

Since he wore the shirt with buttons, I felt like we had made progress. I don't know if he will wear that shirt again but I am fine with it. And there was no crying involved!

Katie's 6 month eye check

This morning was Katie's 6 month follow-up with the opthalmologist. After the last appointment where the doctor recommended that Katie get glasses, I didn't feel very optimistic about this appointment. I was concerned that her vision had gotten worse over the past 6 months.

Trying to get Katie to wear her glasses can best be described as a challenge. It's hard to explain to her that she needs to wear the glasses to see better far away. Luckily, most of her world is close-up and she can see that. I highly doubt that she has ever worn her glasses for longer than 15 minutes at a time. I remember that Michael was just over 2 when he got his glasses and after an adjustment period of about a month, he was wearing them all the time. That has not been the case with Katie but she was a year younger when she got her glasses.

After examining her eyes today, the doctor said that her vision was unchanged over the past 6 months. What a relief! He just told me to continue to try to get her to wear her glasses. Eventually she is going to realize that wearing her glasses will help her to see better and she will cooperate. Since she is nearsighted, she is not hurting herself by not wearing the glasses. At this point, they can only help if she does decide to wear them. I am hoping that by the next appointment, she will be wearing them on a more regular basis.

Michael needs to keep an eye on his food

or else Katie is going to eat it all! Katie loves to walk by counters and tables, as well as go into the fridge when you are in there, and try to get something to eat. It has become routine to put all food out of her reach unless you are OK with her eating it. We joke about how she will eat almost anything that you give her. Whatever Michael doesn't eat usually ends up on Katie's plate!

The other day Michael was eating a peanut butter sandwich at his little table in the playroom. I asked him to keep his eye on it and bring the plate back to the kitchen if he didn't want anymore. Well, this obviously didn't happen as I saw Katie come into the kitchen eating something. Upon closer inspection, I noticed peanut butter at the edge of her mouth. This would be fine except that she has not yet had peanut butter. It is one of the only foods she hasn't eaten since I want to decrease her chances for a peanut allergy.

She was just laughing as I came up to see if she had any left in her mouth. She had already swallowed the remains of the sandwich. Thankfully, she does not appear to be allergic to peanut butter. Now this is one more thing that we can add to her already broad diet. Katie and unattended food equals an empty plate!