Disney World

Ah, Disney. Happiest place on earth.

Sorta.

The night before we left, Ian woke up several times, which is very unlike him. And Anja puked all over her PJs and bed. We hoped she was just super excited and maybe that her dinner (Kid's Cuisine, which she never eats) didn't sit well, gave her a quick bath, changed her clothes and sheets and put her back to bed.

On the way to the airport, she puked again.

Luckily, my dad was driving us to the airport, so he and my mom took care of cleaning up everything while we were gone so it didn't sit in a closed car for several days.

Luckily, the flight went well, despite the fact that Ian refused to nap. But, as you can see, he was a happy camper.

And Anja was very excited by the train (ie: the tram within the airport). If that's all it took to make her happy, we could just hop the light rail at home next time.

Once in Orlando, we hopped the Disney Magical Express to our resort. With about 10 minutes left in the ride, Ian fell asleep.

Once we got there, Dan decided it was a good time to mention that he wasn't feeling well, either. A few phone calls later, I had arranged for a local clinic to come pick up Dan and Ian to take them for a check up. Meanwhile, Anja and I headed to Epcot since she was feeling better.

Once there, we met up with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Ashley, and cousins Haley and Alexa. We went on the Finding Nemo ride. Anja was terrified, and considering it's mostly animation, that gave us a good idea of what was to come for the rest of our vacation. If you look closely, you can see Anja crying in this one. Good times.

Eventually, Dan and Ian arrived to join us - Ian with a clean bill of health (just teething + travel = "cranky" baby), Dan with all of the children's viruses he could handle (double ear infection, sinus infection, and probably strep throat). Sweet. Anja was very excited to see her Daddy, though, and to tell him all about the characters she had seen, but refused to go near.

The next stop was the Magic Kingdom. Might I add that I loved having the shuttles to all of the parks? Sooo nice not to have to deal with rental cars or car seats!

Once we got inside the park, Cousin Haley needed to find a princess dress, so we made a quick stop. Anja was trying to use the park map to tell us how to get out of the store!

Can you feel the magic?

First ride at the Magic Kingdom. Also the first ride she didn't get scared on...

Then off to the Jungle Cruise...

A little play time in the water squirting thingies...

Watching the Mickey show from a far off distance, and slightly from behind (for fear that she would be scared of the witch, volume, smoke, and fireworks)...

Street performers...

We finally gave in and rented a stroller and we agree that it was probably the best $15 we spent that day.

On her favorite ride - Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

For months, she's been begging for an umbrella for some reason. At Epcot, she saw someone painting some, and then saw the same type of booth multiple times at the Magic Kingdom. So at the end of the day, we made her dreams come true and got her one with her name painted on it. She still loves playing with it and is very protective of it.

Dan and I had a few hours to ourselves one evening and headed to the French restaurant at Epcot for dinner. Token cheesy picture below.

The one thing I wanted to get the kids was personalized Mickey ears. I still have mine from the last time I went when I was 9. Now they come with chin straps, which is nice. So while out on our date, we got a set for both kids and surprised them with them the next morning. Ian didn't really care one way or the other.

Anja absolutely hated hers. She tried it on once and immediately ripped it off again. Granted, it was too big. We got the junior size for her, but she needed the infant size. But her biggest issue was with her name. We got it in pink, which she liked, but the traditional, cursive font. As someone just learning how to write her own name, she was horrified at how her name looked. We did finally get this picture, though, after many, many attempts.

Those are Ian's Mickey ears. Not hers. We did promise to get her a new pair when we went to the Magic Kingdom again, though. That's the only way we got her to take the picture at all.

The first day at the Magic Kingdom, Anja loved watching the parade. So we made sure she got to watch it again the next time. We got a good spot, right on the curb, and she loved waving to all of the princesses and characters. But, in traditional fashion, she hid behind me any time a character came close.

After the parade went by, we went into the store to get her new Mickey ears, but there was a wait to get her name on them (in a "regular" font, which still had a fancy "A" that upset her, but at least she was willing to wear them). While we were waiting, we went back outside and watched the parade come back. This time, Ian was cranky due to the noise and the fact that it was his nap time. One of Cinderella's step sisters even came up and made a snarky comment: "Don't you know this is the happiest place on earth?"

This time, we were by ourselves at the Magic Kingdom, so we didn't have anybody to pawn the Teacup ride on, so Anja and I braved it together. Luckily, she's not strong enough to really get it spinning, so we made it out unscathed.

Then Anja wanted to go on the "race cars" again with Daddy, so Ian and I hung out for a bit and waited for them to drive by. I think he was happy just to get out of the stroller for awhile.

This time we told Anja that we weren't going to rent a stroller for her, since we were only there for half a day. Instead, we bribed her like all parents do when at Disney World. Anytime she walked to the next ride without complaining or asking to be carried, she got one jelly bean. Yes, one. It worked great and we still have some sitting on our counter at home.

Watching the Mickey show again, this time from the complete opposite angle.

At "home" in the hotel (Port Orleans Riverside), we got our only family picture during the trip.

The last day, we went to the Animal Kingdom. The first thing we did was go on the safari, which was a ton of fun. We got to see lots of animals up close - giraffes, lions, elephants, rhinos, etc. If this gives you any idea how close the animals were, all of the pictures in this post were taken with my phone.

Later we had lunch with the whole group, which was the only time we were all together on the trip. The full group included the 4 of us, Grandma, Grandpa, Ashley, Haley, Alexa, Grandma Judy (Dan's Grandma), Andrea, Sara, Sherry, Jeff, Casey, Jaimie, Amanda, Sue, and her daughter. With a group that size, we got our own room at the Tusker House. Even Mickey came to visit. Anja wouldn't do anything other than wave, but Ian was fine with the characters.

Eventually it was time to leave and head for MN. So here's a parting shot of Anja pulling her princess suitcase down the path outside of our building at the resort.

The happiest place on earth? Not for us. This time. But we did have some fun, have lots of stories to tell, and learned a lot for the next time. Just give us a few years to recover, first.

New Years

This year, we were lucky enough to have my sister Kim and her hubby Mark volunteer to babysit the kids overnight on New Year's Eve. At a hotel. Because they drove in from Chicago.

We are very, very lucky...

Anja - 2011 Wrap-up

It's amazing to me how much Anja has changed this past year. I guess it's not so much that she's changed as much as it is that she's grown up. She is still a hysterical young lady ("Do you have a baby in your belly? Because your tummy is sticking out!" - said to Dan) who dumbfounds me with her intelligence and speech abilities. According to most "your child should be doing ___" websites, in the 3.5-4 yr range, she should be starting to form more complicated sentences of up to 6 words. I don't think Anja knows that sentences can be that short. She talks constantly and only occasionally comes up for air. But it's always entertaining! She loves to role play with her dolls (and does so in the most adorable little voice), as well as with other kids and grown-ups.

Her fascination with holidays is a new development. Luckily for us, she understands that the holiday only lasts a day (or two for Christmas). So, despite the fact that she'll talk about the holiday for days, weeks, and months to come, she doesn't think that every day should suddenly be Halloween or Christmas. She does like to talk constantly about what the next holiday will be like. For example, she's already told us several of her ideas for Halloween 2012 costumes, including, but not limited to Hello Kitty and a "baby Virginia." Also of importance is that anything she sees that she wants, she has determined she'll ask for from Santa next Christmas.

During a regular week, Anja goes to swim lessons on Monday (loves Miss Paulette, whom we'll be sad to see leave after the start of the new year),

dance on Wednesday (with Miss Gwen; probably her favorite of the 2 classes), and preschool on Friday mornings. Right before Christmas, her dance class had a little performance. They did a "dance" to the Sugar Plum Fairies Suite from the Nutcracker and otherwise did the rest of their normal class routine. The room was pretty packed with parents, grandparents, and siblings, all eager to watch the group of 3 year olds give a flawless, well choreographed and rehearsed performance. Or at least giggle and place bets on the number of girls dancing to the beat of their own drum. Anja was one of those girls. In fact, Anja decided her performance would be helping the teacher. So instead of laying on the ground and waiting for the teacher to awaken her with the magic wand, Anja went around trying to wake up the other girls. It was pretty hysterical.

Anja's version of "Pique, pique, back to the middle"

After the show, Nana and Boppa and I took Anja to Baker's Square for dinner and pie. The girl loves her some pie! While we were there, Boppa thanked her for letting him come to her dance class. She immediately interjected, "Dance show, Boppa! Not dance class! Silly Boppa!" She may not be much for attention to detail in the class/show, but she certainly is when it comes to how people reference it!

Here are some of the things that Anja currently enjoys doing:
- singing (usually along with some musical toy of Ian's; naked whenever possible)

- jumping rope (ie: jumping from the top of the 2 stairs into the living room while holding said rope)
- playing music (our piano, Ian's toy piano, Ian's toy drum, her harmonica, flute, or maracas) This also usually occurs in band form, so someone else must be involved. Also, she loves to sing while playing, especially if a guitar is involved somehow. Frequently, the song is "I totally rock" (from "Bubble Guppies". Sigh).

- painting

- taking baths with Ian (won't take a bath without him; must be a shower if she's on her own)

- swimming (with or without her kitty hat and pink goggles)

- art projects (at daycare and preschool mostly)
- doing her "homework" (using a dry erase marker in a wipe off workbook to practice her letters and "dot the dots" - ie: connect the dots)
- drawing (crayons, colored pencils, markers, pretend markers, Magna Doodle)

- going shopping (Target and Fleet Farm are her favorites, but she does like Ace's popcorn)
- going to the Swiper Ride Store (MOA); she's finally gotten over her fear of the rides, just in time for Disney World!
- going to the zoo, where she recently met Diego!

- playing with her dollies and kitty
- helping with Ian and trying to make him laugh (which she's really good at!)

We are very lucky to have a sweet, loving, funny, intelligent, caring, talkative, inquisitive, and talented little girl!

Ian - 2011 Wrap-up

As 2011 draws to a close, Ian has a few more accomplishments to add to his list.

*Ian now takes baths in the big bath tub. If he's by himself, it's an ok experience.

If he's with his sister, it's like he won the lottery.

*He now says mama, dada/daddy, hi, and bye. Those were in order of how often he uses them. He's still definitely a mama's boy. But he's still a man's man and loves remotes and hanging out in his diaper, playing on the computer.

*He has also started waving. But only if you wave first. And usually after you've already left.

*Despite the constant uttering of the phrase "He's going to be crawling any day now!" that has been repeated almost daily for the past several months, Ian still refuses to actually crawl. He loves standing and is getting quite proficient at scooting, but shows no interest in crawling or walking. But why bother? He's got lots of people to just pick him up!

*Ian is now transitioning to being a formula baby full time. We made it to 9 1/2 months and will fully transition by the time he's 10 months. At the same time, he's starting to use a sippy cup (with assistance). On a related note, Ian now has 4 teeth up top, 2 on the bottom, and at least 2 more on the way.

*Our little man is a big eater. He's really interested in table food and is frequently seen trying to swipe food off of someone's plate, even his cousin's.

(He was eventually successful.)

He loves pancakes, waffles, bread, peas, potatoes, yogurt melts, ice cream, cake (store bought or homemade), crackers (goldfish, townhouse, cheez-its, etc) noodles, yogurt...well, you get the picture. In addition to whatever he can have off of our plates, he'll often eat 2-3 containers of baby food, a handful of some sort of snacky food (Cheerios, puffs, etc), and then some water or formula. He's a growing boy!

(When he couldn't reach any more of his cousin's food,

he just grabbed the full pancake off of my plate!)

*As a growing boy, Ian is quite proud of how big he is getting and loves to show off that he's "soooooo big!" and then clap profusely for himself. Most of the time he forgets to do the "soooo big" part. But he's also very polite and will clap for you if you do it for him.

*Despite the fact that our little man is getting quite large, we still lug him around in his infant car seat. He can't wear a coat while he's in it, otherwise he doesn't fit, so we just tuck a warm blanket all around him and hope he doesn't untuck himself before we get to the car. It's a catch 22: If we move him to a rear-facing convertible car seat because of his size, we have to carry him around and can't just set him down. But we want to move him to the rear-facing convertible car seat because he's so heavy in his infant seat. We keep saying that we'll move him when it gets cold enough to warrant it. Since it was a pretty green Christmas, it may be a bit before that happens.

Happy 2011, Mr. Man! You've come a long way and we're thrilled to have you in our lives!