Disney Day 1

We left Chef Mickeys and rode the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. We got there before the park opened, so we got to see all the characters come in on the train!

 First view of Cinderella's castle up close!

This had to be Payton's favorite ride of Disney. Go figure! Yes, I'm talking about the carousel. It was our first ride of the Disney trip. Since we got there right at opening, we went straight back to the Fantasyland (I think...) where all of the kiddy rides are to try to catch them before the lines started up. Within 1 hour we had ridden the carousel, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, and Pooh. All of which typically have very long lines! I can't say enough how much it benefited us to get to the parks early. In our case the crowds weren't bad, the temperatures were cooler, and kids were in better moods. It was a win-win situation that definitely made it worth it to get up a little earlier.

I told you our little girl started walking on the trip...

Riding Dumbo with Daddy for the first time. There many more to follow throughout the trip. Near Dumbo they also had a new Goofy roller coaster. It was a kiddie roller coaster, but it was still pretty fast. Payton seemed a little hesitant down the first hill, but she was okay after that.

We took the train to the other side of the park and spotted Pooh and Tigger. We figured we would stop while we were right there. It seemed like a great idea until they had to take a water break. I truly can't imagine wearing those costumes in that heat. We had to wait a bit, but it was worth it!

About this time we figured it was time to head back for naps.

Disney Trip...FINALLY!

I am going to attempt to take my time and recap our trip in detail. This blog serves as our family scrapbook, so I realize that I am probably including details that none of you care to read. Bare with me and feel free to skip all of my ramblings and move onto the pictures.

Exactly three days after getting out of school, we left for Disney World. When this was all originally planned, of course we had no idea that we would be closing on a house during this time. We had to be completely out of the house before departing, leaving us homeless. Thankfully my parents were gracious and welcomed us all in and allowed us to take over their house. Our house officially closed while we were out of town (thanks to Barbara and Chuck for taking care of all of that business). Jonathan decided a few months prior to the trip that he wanted Payton to fly. He thought it would be a great opportunity for her first flight (since it was only a little over an hour). Knowing that we needed a car while down there, we decided that my parents would drive down Friday with Harper, we would fly down with Payton, all load in the Expedition while down there, and then my parents would fly back while we drove back with the girls. Crazy, right? It actually worked out great. Payton has loved airplanes for some time now, but I was not convinced that she would love it quite as much when it was time to actually board. Our flight was at the crack of dawn, so that led me to question it more. Who am I kidding? The kid was not phased! We got there in time for her to look out the window and check things out. Jonathan told her that once we got in the air she could have some chips (yes, it was about 7a.m.) We kept trying to prepare her by telling her that it would feel like we were shooting straight up, it might be loud and bumpy, etc. She just kept asking, "Are we flying yet?" She didn't skip a beat the whole time, she was just ready to eat her chips. :) During landing when we finally touched the ground and the plane got bumpy, she casually said that it scared her. All in all, she had a great first airplane ride!

We spent Saturday evening at Downtown Disney walking around and checking things out. Months prior to the trip we booked breakfast at Chef Mickey's. This was a buffet style breakfast where all of the originals (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Daisy, and Goofy) eat breakfast and walk around for visits. From what I understand, this is one of the most popular so if you want to do this one, book early. One of my biggest pieces of advice to anyone going to Disney would be to do the character meals. Yes, they are expensive, but worth every penny! Chef Mickey's had really great food also. It was a buffet that had all kinds of fruit and traditional breakfast food. All along we weren't sure how Payton would take to the characters. She kept telling us that she was going to give them big hugs when she saw them, but we also know that she wasn't a fan of Santa, the Easter bunny, Aubie, etc. I think this allowed her to take them in for a minute before they came to the table to visit. The character meals kept us from standing in line at the parks for the characters, plus then you have what feels like a 30 second window to get your book signed, hugs, and pictures all in. This just allowed for more interaction and time with each character, also without standing in ridiculously long lines. Payton lit up at the sight of Mickey and didn't look back. She acted a little bashful, but was ready to give hugs and kisses. We were so thankful that she enjoyed the characters throughout the trip. Her sweet smile when she saw them made it all worthwhile.

Harper checking out Mickey's nose.

Hugs for Goofy!

Harper was okay with the characters until about this point. Donald came up behind her and she wasn't expecting him, from this point on she kind of freaked out every time she saw a character.

Notice the way that Minnie holds her skirt. Payton has been doing this since we got back.

Pluto being silly!

Since it was an early morning reservation, we were off to Magic Kingdom before they even opened. 

Mother's Day

Yes, I know it's almost July. We are just now getting a computer up and running therefore, I am just now getting my hands on pictures from May. We celebrated Mother's day at Bamama's house in Waverly. Being a mother is certainly my greatest challenge in life, but also one of the most rewarding. I am so thankful for our two precious baby girls that allow me to be a mother. I also have quite the role models who make me challenge myself to do a better job each day. Thank you to my mom, mother-in-law, and grandmother for all of the love and encouragement that they give our families. I definitely have big shoes to fill!

VBS

My aunt Barbara called Monday to invite Payton to their VBS. I was very hesitant to send her because Payton can be very shy in new situations and since she didn't know any of the kids, I was worried she would not enjoy it. Boy was I wrong! She had a blast all week!! She was the youngest, but from what I heard she hung in with the big kids pretty well. On Friday night they had a certificate presentation and sundaes. It was so fun to watch her participate because that is where I always attended VBS. Thank you Barbara and Art for inviting her!

Tennis Lessons

In an attempt to keep Payton busy this summer, I decided to sign her up for tennis lessons. Her friend Reagan is in the same class and they were so excited for their first day. She kept calling them tennis swim lessons since she was so used to saying swim lessons that she took in April. Her enthusiasm dwindled a little on the second lesson when she sat down on the court when she was tired. We still have a few weeks to go so we shall see if we have a tennis player on our hands.

11 Months

Harper hit her 11 month milestone the first day we were are Disney. I feel like within that week she grew up so much!

Size: we will got to the doctor and have stats next month, size 3 diapers, anywhere from 9-18 months clothes depending on style and brand (we are trying to get as much use out of Payton's cute summer outfits as possible)

Eating: Having only two teeth hasn't stopped her for a minute from eating. Everyone laughs that she is our little eater. While on vacation, it became quite the joke to see how much Harper would eat at each meal. Also on the trip she decided that baby food was no longer interesting and she only wanted the good stuff. So much for me buying up pouches of baby food for easy "on the go" meals. She of course loves fruit more than anything but unlike Payton, seems to be our meat eater.

Tricks: She was taking steps around 10.5 months, but right around her 11 month birthday she really started walking everywhere (hence me saying she grew up within a week). She's doing a lot of babbling, some of which I think she is attempting to make words, and sometimes I have no clue what she is trying to say. She has bye-bye, dada, mama, ba- (ball), than-you (thank you) and a few others I am sure I am forgetting.

Sleeping: She still sleeps about 10-11 hours per night and much prefers to nap in her crib versus a stroller or car seat. I kept thinking while we were at Disney World she would surely get sleepy enough and sleep in her stroller. That only happened a hand full of times. She would much prefer take a good long nap where she is comfortable.

Busy, busy!

I thought Harper's stance in this picture pretty much describes our lives lately. We feel like we are standing on or heads most days.

Since I last updated we had a wonderful trip to Disney, a little miss turned 11 months and is now walking, and we moved into our new house. I can't lie, we were a little sad to see our first little house officially belong to someone else, but we are settling in and feeling like our new house is slowly becoming home. When we have a computer up and running I have lots and lots of updating to do. Stay tuned!