Wednesday January 17th
Sometime during the night, Andrew had fallen off the bed and was sleeping on the floor. It didnt seem to bother him any and we didnt know until we woke up. He seemed to be comfortable, so we let him sleep for a few more minutes in the morning. As hard as it was for me to believe, it was already our vacations hump day. This was our fourth day in the parks and we had three more to go. Its amazing how quickly a vacation flies by. Months and months of planning and its over in a blink. OK, enough of waxing philosophical.
As we were getting ready to head out I hear my mom calling me from her room. Andrew was throwing up in her bathroom. OK, great. He did the normal two year old freak out thing for a few minutes but we got him cleaned up and tried to assess the situation. He seemed to be feeling OK, so we decided to head over to MGM and see how the day went. Despite our extra time in the villa, we were still at the turnstiles before they opened. Andrew started crying and I knew what was next. He was sick again. My mom and I sent John and the girls in to the park now that the turnstiles were opening while we considered our next move.
This is one of the hardest things for me. What to do, what to do
We are on vacation, we have spent lots of money on tickets and the dining plan, but my little guy is not feeling well. I also didnt want anyone else to get sick, either in our family or someone Andrew inadvertently infects. We sat for a few minutes and walked towards the bus stop. Andrew didnt want to go back to the condomini and seemed much more chipper. So, I made the executive decision to enter the park and rent a stroller. Andrew was very happy to sit in it and seemed to be feeling much better. We headed to Tower of Terror, since I knew that was where John and the girls were headed. Rockin Rollercoaster was down for rehab while we were there, so I knew they werent there! My mom found a bench and I hopped in the queue hoping to catch up with them since we had still gotten in the park during the preopening show. But they were nowhere to be found, so I rode solo. I love, love, love this ride. I have no motion issues with this ride, since it doesnt turn at all. This was the first time I had been on it since the drop sequence has been randomized. What a wonderful improvement!
I met up with everyone outside the exit shop. John and the girls were very happy to see us. The girls absolutely loved the ride and begged to go on again. We had gotten FastPasses, so we told them we would later. We decided to get Andrew a soft pretzel and see how he did with it. My mom tore off a HUGE piece for him and he chomped it right down. John was a little put out with my mom, he thought we should only give him a tiny bit at a time. I agreed with John, but I shrugged it off as I was not into dealing with family squabbles right then. John and my mom have been getting along quite nicely as of late, but that has not always been the case. This is not the board for those issues, suffice it to say I was on guard for any flare ups from that point on.
Rebecca's famous!
I had casually mentioned to Anabelle that we might be able to see the Power Rangers and she was all over it. I didnt realize she liked them that much! I wanted to try to see them early in the day, so we headed over to Streets of America to see them at 10:00am. We were first in line for the Pink Ranger, much to Anabelles delight. We were talking to one of the handler CMs while we were waiting and he said that it was good we came when we did. He said that later in the day the lines get crazy and most kids dont get to see all the rangers in the 25 minutes they are out. Soon the music started and here come the rangers! The kids ended up seeing them all. Andrew was so cute, he hugged Pinks leg and said I wuv you power ranger. He sure seemed to be feeling better! (insert foreshadowing music here)
We did the backlot tour next, although we missed part of the preshow with bathroom visits. First Rebecca had to go, then Andrew. My mom took Anabelle ahead and we met up with them to get on the tram. John, Andrew, Rebecca and I were in the very last row and my mom and Anabelle were two rows in front of us. The ride was fine. Anabelle enjoyed seeing the cages from Pirates 2. At the canyon, my mom and Anabelle got soaked while those of us in the back didnt get a drop! By now we were considering our lunch options, but headed down Mickey Avenue to see who was out and about. Andrew and Rebecca saw Jojo and Goliath (Anabelle wouldnt go near them on a dare!) and Rebecca saw the Little Einsteins.
Jojo & Goliath:
Andrew wanted to be held, so he missed Leo and Annie.
Only Rebecca would see Leo & Annie:
Rebecca and Anabelle wanted to see Sorcerer Mickey, so we got in line. While in line, Andrew started the cry so John and I took him outside and put him in the stroller to run down to the bathroom. John thought I had a bag at the ready, which I didnt, so long story short Andrew and the stroller were a big mess. Maybe John was right, he really shouldn't have eaten so much pretzle.
We got everything cleaned up as best we could (amazing what a bunch of baby wipes can do in a pinch) and put Andrew in the stroller to wait for my mom and the girls to let them know what was going on. Andrew promptly fell asleep, so I decided to stay in the park for lunch since it would really be my only chance to eat. While I was getting myself cleaned up, the girls were able to see one of their heroes, Kim Possible (and Ron Stoppable). They were disappointed that Rufus wasnt there too.
We decided to go to the ABC Commissary for lunch. It was fine, although we were there after 12 so it was much more crowded than our lunch selections earlier in the week when we ate by 11:30-11:45. Word to the wise, eat lunch early! It makes a world of difference. Andrew woke up towards the end of our lunch (we had rolled the stroller right into the restaurant). He was definitely not feeling good, it was quite pathetic. He just sat there looking dazed. As much as I hated to do it, Andrew and I parted ways with the rest of the crew. John and I saw no sense in making the girls return to the room. My mom offered to go, but a sick boy needs his mommy. I though my mom would have more fun with John and the girls than with me and a barfy boy. On the way out, I stopped in Starring Rolls to pick up an apple juice for when Andrew was feeling better. I told the cashier my woes (the place was empty) and she asked if it was OK to give Andrew a cookie. I said sure, but I didnt think hed eat it. She gave me a cute Mickey Mouse cookie for him and I broke off a little piece and gave it to him. He just clutched it in his little hand; he had no interest in eating it. The cashier looked at him very sympathetically and said that yes, he did not seem to be feeling good. She advised me to stop by the first aid station on the way out, just to see if there was anything they could do. I returned the stroller and told them what had happened and they said they had a hose in the back and theyd give it a good scrubbing. They offered to hose it down with Andrew in it, but I declined their kind offer. A security guard gave Andrew a few Junior Security stickers, which I thought was very sweet.
We stopped at the first aid station, and just as I figured the RN said there was nothing they could do since he was way past just nauseous. She did give me some of these really cool 3M single use thermometers. You put them in the armpit and dots on it turn green to show you the temperature. She said the astronauts use them on the space shuttle. Thermostrips in hand, we headed to the bus stop. It was a sad lonely bus ride back. Thankfully, I had picked up some small shopping bags from one of the stores (CMs were very nice when I asked for bags) because Andrew was sick on the bus.
We made it back to the villa and I set Andrew up with his Wiggles DVDs. The boy loves the Wiggles. He had brought three of his favorites, Wiggly Bay, Yule Be Wiggling (Christmas theme), and Live Hot Potatoes. He had been sleeping with and playing with the cases all week. So we watched the Wiggles and he fell back asleep.
Andrew's afternoon:
I did the laundry, straightened up, sat on the porch, worked on a Bible study lesson, dug through the snacks, took some pictures, wondered what the rest of the crew was busy doing at MGM and then decided I was bored.
Pictures from our deck, this one shows the path to the bus stop. I'm guessing Disney will pave it before long:
Looking towards the Carriage House:
I scanned the channels and ended up watching an old Muhammad Ali fight on ESPN Classic. It was apparently Alis 65th birthday and they were showing classic fights all day. Andrew was sick several more times, it is so hard watching your little ones not feel good. He was a trooper though and very accurate with the bowl, it you catch my drift. I missed the rest of the gang and hoped they were having more fun than we were.
Your photos from the early days just blew me away - what fantastic treasures those photos are for you and for your children in future years.
(I can't get over that old MK passport ticket!!). As for the present-time and the photos of your recent trip, they're just wonderful! Your 3 children are gorgeous. Doesn't Andrew look like Anabelle did when she was younger in that beautiful photo with Cindy??
My girls got to do that several years ago, and they still talk about it when we go into Tink's Treasures! 
The photos are gorgeous - I love Rebecca's shy little smile! 
