Hollywood Studios

Our first stop was Hollywood Studios.  It is currently under construction as they are building new Star Wars and Toy Story lands, so it was the perfect park to spend a half day at.

 There was still more than enough for us to do.  It was Owen's lucky day because as soon as we walked up the main path, there was Donald signing autographs.  Donald is Owen's absolute favorite!  It was so cute!  He and Joe patiently waited for their turn.  Then when the time came, Owen cautiously took a few steps towards Donald then proceeded to full out sprint towards him and went in for a big bear hug.

 Joe was a little more reserved, but still managed to give Donald a high five.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to start our vacation.  After that we went to a Disney Junior Live on Stage show.  Both boys loved it and sat completely engrossed in the show for the full half hour as puppets from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates entertained us.

   Then we got to meet all the characters.  We bought the boys autograph books so they could get signatures to look back at everyone they met on our trip.

 Next we headed over to the Toy Story ride, one of Ryan's favorites.

 But the highlight of the day for Ryan was definitely taking a picture with the Storm Trooper.  If money and location were no object, that would be Ryan's job of choice.

They were hilarious, and to be honest I can actually picture him doing a great job at it.

 We spent some time in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground,

 then headed to Hollywood & Vine for our first big character meal.

Owen loved having all of the characters visit our table

 and even got a special kiss from Daisy.

Joe, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure what to think of the characters coming up to him and would have preferred to eat his dinner in peace.

With an early start to the day and no break for naps, the boys were exhausted by the end of the day, but we had so much fun.  What a great start to our vacation!

First Trip to Disney

Back in November Ryan and I had been tossing around the idea of going to Hawaii with my Dad.  We both love it there and thought it would be fun to take a trip with the boys before the new baby came.  The more we thought about it though and envisioned the 8 hour plane ride and 5 hour time change, the more we agreed a vacation closer to home might be better.

What better vacation closer to home than a Disney vacation??  Not only would it be so much fun for Ryan and I to see how things have changed from when we were younger, but the boys would have a blast!  They love the classic Disney characters and how cool would it be for them to see them live in person?

I consulted my resident Disney expert, my sister Sarah, and began my planning.  Thank goodness I had help to steer me in the right direction because planning for Disney is seriously overwhelming, especially for a first timer.  Dining reservations open 180 days prior to your visit and fast passes are 60 days.  I was already well within the 180 days so I did my best to get open reservations at the places we wanted to eat.  It was a lot of checking and rechecking to see if things opened up, but thankfully my patience and perserverance paid off and I was able to book most everything I was hoping for.

Then came fast passes.  Not only do you need to know what park you will be at on a given day, but you need to know what rides you want a fast pass for and what time you want to go on them.  Basically I was planning out the bulk of our vacation 60 days in advance.  Don't get me wrong, the fast passes are totally worth it!  And it is actually nice having an agenda to guide the trip.  I say guide because we didn't follow everything to a T.  We switched up some fast passes the day we were supposed to use them based on the rides the boys liked and didn't like.  We also liked Magic Kingdom so much that we decided to forego our visit to Animal Kingdom on the last day of our trip and visit Magic Kingdom one more day instead.

Maybe it is because I am a planner by nature, but as overwhelming as it may seem, I fully loved the planning process and it made everything so much more fun to look forward to.  Plus we didn't really have to think about a lot when we were actually on vacation.  We knew when we should be where and we went with it.  For the amount of people visiting on a daily basis, Disney has everything so organized it is incredible.

But enough about the planning, let's get into the fun part...the actual vacation.  We woke the boys up extra early this morning and headed to the airport.  They were a little groggy, but nothing the promise of meeting Donald and Minnie couldn't cure.  And although Owen had been on an airplane when he was a baby, this was the first time they were both old enough to be aware of what was going on so they were excited for the plane ride as well.

  

After a 3 hour plane ride and a short bus ride from the airport, we arrived at our hotel.

We checked in, ate some lunch and were ready to head to the parks 

(complete with Star Wars Mickey gear of course). 

The Naked Pooper

I debated posting this, but it's too funny of a memory not to share.

I give you, the naked pooper....

It doesn't matter what time of day, what he's wearing, or if we're in a hurry to go somewhere.

Whenever Owen has to go to the bathroom, he gets himself fully naked.  I have no idea where he learned this because this is definitely no habit of mine, but for some reason he prefers to poop in the nude.  Hey, whatever makes you comfortable buddy.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Baby Number Three

We've told our friends and family, made it Facebook official, yet I realized I never mentioned

it in my blog, so here we go...Ryan and I are expecting baby number three!

A baby boy on July 10th to be exact.

Normally I would have mentioned it much sooner, but after going through the miscarriages

I've noticed myself holding back a little bit.  Not that I am not excited, because I am beyond

excited.  But I find myself holding back on the things I normally do during my pregnancies.

 Fewer journal entries, fewer belly pics, not checking my pregnancy app to find what new

and exciting tip they have for me that day.  Maybe I'm protecting myself from getting too

emotionally invested, or maybe it is simply a lack of time.  Life with two toddlers can

be surprisingly crazy busy!  But it's weird because at times it's almost like I forget about

being pregnant.  I don't think ahead much to life with three.  I haven't spent much time

envisioning the amazing day when the baby is born, other than to be terrified of whether or

not I'll make it to the hospital on time.  It's just feels really weird.

I'm hopeful that once my belly starts getting bigger and I feel the baby moving around more

everything will become more real.  I also have my big 20 week ultrasound in 2 weeks and I

always feel way more connected after seeing the baby.  Until then I'm making a

conscious effort to take my belly pics and write in my journal because I know

there will be a time when I want to look back on it.  

9 Weeks                                          11 Weeks

 15 Weeks                                       18 Weeks

And when it comes down to it, no matter how much I hold myself back, I am still so excited

to meet this little guy.  I'm excited to see what he will look like.  Redhead?  Blonde?  Or

perhaps a brunette this time?  I'm excited to give Owen and Joe another brother and see

how much fun they have together.  Owen keeps asking if his baby is here yet. :)  It will be

fun to see how they react the first time they meet him.  I'm looking forward to starting our life

as a family of five complete with all the craziness it is sure to bring.  Emotionally I may be

holding back a little, but it won't stop me from feeling all the exciting things that are to come.

Sometimes little reminders and daydreaming are all that it takes. 

Winter Scooting

As I was laying in bed this morning two thoughts came to mind.  First, donuts sounded

delicious!!  Second, it was supposed to be a little warmer today (mid 30s) so it would be

nice to get outside a little bit.  What better way to accomplish both things on my wishlist

than to take a drive down to The 606.  We just bought Owen a new scooter and it would

be the perfect opportunity for him to take it for a test drive.

We got the boys dressed, hopped in the car and we were on our way.  Our first stop was at

Stan's Donuts.  They were just as delicious as I was imagining!  We sat and ate our donuts

hoping it would warm up a few degrees while we enjoyed the warmth inside. Then we made

our way to the path, stopping at Starbucks to grab a coffee for the walk.  Truth be told, it

seemed a little chilly and I was second guessing my plan.  But once we got up on the path

we were out of the shade and the sun warmed us right up.  

 We were up there for over an hour, but somehow didn't seem to make it very far.

I'm guessing it had to do with all the hugs, dirt exploration, wrestling and hide and seek.

The boys were also super amazed with this guy that went by on rollerblades.  They both

just stood there in awe.  Looks like we will have to buy some skates in our future.

It turned out to be a great morning!  They boys had a great time, burned lots of energy,

and I got a delicious donut....mission accomplished!!

Happy 35th Birthday Ryan!!

Happy Happy Birthday Ryan!!

After all the fun we had with Owen's week long birthday celebration, we wanted to give

Daddy the VIP treatment too.  We wanted him to see how extra special he is to us, so we

took advantage of every opportunity to celebrate with him and let him know we love him.

A couple birthday lunches, a birthday dinner while my dad was in town,  

And the grand finale....a singing telegram.  Yep, that's right people!  I sent a giant chicken to Ryan's office to bring him balloons, sing to him, and inevitably embarrass him, but completely entertain his coworkers.  He was a very good sport and seemed to have a great time with it.  And everyone was nice enough to send me some videos. ;)

The boys finished off his day with special birthday cards they made him.

I let them tell me exactly what they wanted to write in the cards...

Ryan thank you for being the most amazing husband and daddy we could ask for.  You are

so kind, thoughtful, loving, creative, handsome, patient, fun and one heck of a salesman!

 We love you more and more each day and hope you had an awesome birthday because

you deserve it!  LOVE YOU!!