A pregnant mama, Mr. Crazypants, and Ga-Gae celebrate Epcots 30th! TR LINK-10/16!

[CandleontheWater]

So, we made it to Connecticut, have gotten reasonably settled in, and now its time for another update!

I figured I'd share with you some of the photos from our last day in Alexandria, and then I have a real Disney update!

We had a wonderful last day, hitting all of our favorites (except the Mint Chocolate cupcake, it wasn't baked that day, boo!) and Everett had a blast!

Here is our house in lovely Old Town, good-bye house! (the weird blob is where I blacked out the address)

Misha's is an awesome coffee house that was conveniently located one block down my street! When Everett was a newborn, I used to put him in the becco and shuffle down there bleary eyed for coffee. It was a godsend during those early sleep deprived days!

Heading down King Street, which is the main thoroughfare in Old Town and where the shops and restaurants are concentrated.

There was so much awesome diversity in shops and restaurants, really something for everyone- there was even a wig shop! I spent the three years we lived there trying to convince my DH to buy that moustache, but it never worked. I still think it would have been hilarious!

This was our breakfast stop- home of Nutella crepes, yummy!

Market Square- home of an awesome Saturday farmers market, lots of local concerts and Everett's favorite fountain. It always reminded me of Liberty Square in WDW!

Continuing down King Street, it was a lovely place to walk around, enjoy the atmosphere and window shop!

Headed down to the waterfront to meet up with our friends the ducks!

The Marina and the Chart House restaurant.

Everett with his friends the ducks, some sparrows and one lone pigeon.

We saw lots of people having weddings on this riverboat! I'm sure it was lovely to have your reception floating on the Potomac with killer views of the capital skyline.

Everett found a really big anchor!

On the way back up King Street (on our way to cupcakepalooza) we had to stop in Everett's favorite store, the toy store! I loved that this store had a "holding pen" with a train table and kitchen. It was great because you could put your kids in there, they would play and you could shop! We stopped down there a lot!

Continued in the next post!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Now that we had eaten breakfast, fed the ducks and played with Thomas, it was time to eat some cupcakes!

Our first stop was Lavender Moon Cupcakery- home of the delectable Smores cupcake.

Everett outside the shop

Cupcake goodness!

My selection

I did have a eager helper for cupcakepalooza, who really enjoyed the marshmallow frosting!

One cupcake down, we took a little detour to Market square so Everett could run around a little.

Surprisingly Everett never ended up IN the fountain.

The rule was "no touching the water"- if I said it once, I said it 1,000 times!

A wide open space is an open invitation to run around!

We also spend some time playing on the stage. Everett loved running up and down the ramp, and then I would have to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" or "Be Our Guest" while he would dance around.

After all that activity it was time for another cupcake!

outside of Alexandria Cupcake

which one to choose?

Waiting patiently for cupcake!

Since it was getting close to nap time, I took the cupcakes home, and got to enjoy this beauty all on my own!

Guinness cupcake with baileys frosting! This cupcake was rich and heavenly, I could really go for one right now!

The rest of the night also went well, but my camera battery died, so I have no photos. My parents arrived while Everett was napping, and then we later went out to dinner on the water at the very kid friendly restaurant. One thing I love about Alexandria was how many nice restuarants were also kid (and dog!) friendly. It seems like everyone in Old town has a baby and a dog, so I guess it goes with the territory.

After dinner walked along the water, enjoying all the street performers. It is really cool how the waterfront comes alive at night, a lot like the Boardwalk resort at Disney. There are people doing magic acts, juggling, swallowing fire, making balloon animals, and playing every sort of instrument, from the harp to the bagpipes to the water glass! That's right, my favorite performer was a guy who played the "glass harp", basically about 100 different sizes of glasses strapped down to a board and then filled with water. It was amazing, it had a range of three or four octaves, and he could play everything from Americana standards to the Star Wars theme.

This is a photo from the internet, but its the same guy, and gives you an idea of what I am talking about.

Everett always loved the performers, and it was a fun (and cheap!) way to spend weekend nights. I'm really going to miss it!

So I also promised a Disney update and- ladies and gentleman! I have an itinerary! The reason I hadn't shared it all with you earlier was because- well, until yesterday it didn't exist!

I'll give you the barebones rundown, and then I'll go back and flesh out the details!

Sept 25th-
Fly out of Hartford Airport @ 8 am, land at MCO @ 10:48 am
pick of rental car, head to Contemporary
head to MK- closes at 7 for MNSSHP
go back to resort for an early night (or possible catching of EWP from balcony)

Sept 26th-
MK- all day
dinner ADR- Tony's

Sept 27th-
Epcot Morning
DHS late afternoon
Fantasmic Dining package- Brown Derby

Sept 28th-
Photo shoot
afternoon @ pool
MNSSHP- dinner adr @ LTT

Sept 29th-
AK morning
Tusker house lunch
evening at MK

Sept 30th-
Epcot all day

Oct 1st-
Epcot's 30th celebration

Oct 2nd-
breakfast at 1900 park faire
MK
depart MCO @ 2:40

I promise I'll have more in my next installment!

 

[marDgreen88]

I'm glad you got to enjoy such a nice day before you left town. It looked like it was wonderful. That glass harp guy sounds amazing! The cupcakes don't hurt either.

Your schedule looks great! It's awesome that you get to go to Epcot 30.

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow, I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but Everett sure is growing up. I'm sure he'll be a great big brother in a few months.

That looks like a great last day. Thanks for sharing the sights and sounds of your old hometown. It looks like it really is a nice place.

Although any place that has a guy playing Star Wars music on glasses has to be pretty awesome.

 

[amandaw]

Everett is sooo adorable! I can't get over how much older he seems.

Your house in Alexandria was lovely! And the whole surrounding area seems really nice. I've never lived anywhere that you could just walk to stores, etc but it seems like such a nice convenience.

Your itinerary looks great!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Waiting patiently for cupcake!

I love this picture!!! (And I'll admit, I am never this patient waiting for a cupcake!! )

Glad you guys got to spend such a nice last day around your town! You're going to have so much fun exploring your new town in CT!!

 

[amazingact21]

Alexandria looks like such a lovely town. I love places that have the capability of being able to just stroll down the sidewalks and visit small shops along the way.


Those cupcakes... they look very delicious!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm glad you got to enjoy such a nice day before you left town. It looked like it was wonderful. That glass harp guy sounds amazing! The cupcakes don't hurt either.

Your schedule looks great! It's awesome that you get to go to Epcot 30.

The glass harp guy was amazing, and I've never seen anything like it!

I'm really looking forward to Epcot's 30th! I hope they have some good speakers, and some great limited edition pins!

Wow, I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but Everett sure is growing up. I'm sure he'll be a great big brother in a few months.

That looks like a great last day. Thanks for sharing the sights and sounds of your old hometown. It looks like it really is a nice place.

Although any place that has a guy playing Star Wars music on glasses has to be pretty awesome.

He really is growing up and getting to be such an independent boy! Alexandria was a wonderful place to live, we were really spoiled living in such a wonderful location, I don't think we'll be able to live anywhere like that again.

Everett is sooo adorable! I can't get over how much older he seems.

Your house in Alexandria was lovely! And the whole surrounding area seems really nice. I've never lived anywhere that you could just walk to stores, etc but it seems like such a nice convenience.

Your itinerary looks great!

I really loved the walkability, and it is what I'll miss most. It was nice to get the exercise, and it was nice not having to worry about rising gas prices. We'd still drive to the grocery store (there is only so much I can carry! ) but there were weeks when that was the only time we'd get in the car. Truthfully I wasn't sure how much I would like urban living when we moved there, but it really grew on me, and now its my ideal.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I love this picture!!! (And I'll admit, I am never this patient waiting for a cupcake!! )

Glad you guys got to spend such a nice last day around your town! You're going to have so much fun exploring your new town in CT!!

It is very rare that Everett waits patiently for anything, so it was definitely a camera-worthy moment!

I think we're going to have a nice time in CT, Everett is already really enjoying having a real backyard with a spot for his kiddie pool and sandbox, and he's looking forward to starting swim lessons next week.

Alexandria looks like such a lovely town. I love places that have the capability of being able to just stroll down the sidewalks and visit small shops along the way.

Those cupcakes... they look very delicious!

Living in Alexandria was like a dream! I don't know if your DH will ever be stationed in the DC area, but if you are, be sure to remember Alexandria! Its a really easy commute into DC via metro (and even faster to the Pentagon). I liked it because you got all the urban feel and walkability of DC, but without the problems and the crime. It also didn't hurt that the rental prices were much more reasonable.

 

[khertz]

What a great day in what looks like a wonderful place to live! I had Alexandria on my list of things to visit when we went to D.C. two summers ago, and we never made it. Seeing these pictures, now I'm disappointed that we didn't make the time for it. Those cupcakes look delicious! Thanks for sharing the pics. Very sweet.

 

[CandleontheWater]

What a great day in what looks like a wonderful place to live! I had Alexandria on my list of things to visit when we went to D.C. two summers ago, and we never made it. Seeing these pictures, now I'm disappointed that we didn't make the time for it. Those cupcakes look delicious! Thanks for sharing the pics. Very sweet.

Its tough, there is so much to see and do in the DC area. We lived there for three years, and there is STILL stuff I wanted to do but never managed to fit in. I can imagine us going back as tourists in a few years !

The cupcakes were really yummy and it was super dangerous to have them so close by! When I was pregnant with Everett I used to get my "exercise" by walking to the bakery to get a cupcake! Maybe that's why I gained so much weight!

I haven't been able to find a good cupcake bakery here yet, but there are good canolis, and that is a close second!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Ok, so I'm making some changes (what kind of DISer would I be without last minute changes to the plan, right?)

Well the first one concerns my portrait plans. I called today to book my time, and unfortunately there was nothing available at the monorail resorts in the morning. Instead I booked at the Beach Club, for 8:30 am. I think this will be a good time, because it will be before it gets brutally hot, plus I think there will be less people around than if I booked an afternoon slot. There were afternoon slots at the GF, but with Everett the afternoons can get dicey, and I want him to be on his best behavior and at his most receptive for the photos.

The second change has to deal with Everett's wardrobe. Even though his seersucker suit is about the most adorable thing on earth, I'm not sure I'm going to have much success with getting him to wear it. I tried it on him the other day, and he spent the whole time crying "take it off, take it off!". This doesn't bode well for DH's sister's wedding next weekend. I'm going to try making him wear it a little bit every day, to get him used to it, so I'll let you know how it is going. I hope I have some success, or Everett might be wearing a Thomas the train t-shirt in all of SIL's wedding photos!

I've also been giving some thought to transportation, and no, I'm not talking rental cars, I'm talking strollers! I'm hopeful that Everett is getting to a point where we can ditch the stroller, but I don't think we are quite there yet. On all of my previous Disney trip, I've taken my full sized stroller, my Uppa Baby Vista.

Now, I love this stroller, and will continually sing its praises, but I'm thinking that it might not be the best choice for this trip. Don't get me wrong, I think its a great stroller for Disney and love its storage space and easy maneuverability. However, Everett can, and will do a lot of walking, and since it will be Sept/Oct, I'm not going to need to be hauling jackets around, and I'm hopeful that he will be potty trained by the trip (although things have not been going so well since the move), so all this means that maybe I'd be better off with an umbrella stroller!

I have an umbrella stroller, a chicco liteway. Its a nice stroller and mostly lives in my trunk for trips to target and the like, but there are a few things I don't really love about it. It has a pretty wimpy basket, even for an umbrella stroller, so pretty much zero storage. It also doesn't have a great sunshade, and most importantly, I cannot drive it one handed.

Chicco liteway

The real problem with not having one handed maneuverability is that when Everett is going to want to walk, I'm going to have a heck of a time holding onto his hand and pushing the stroller at the same time. Since I'm going to be doing a lot of solo park touring, I can imagine this might be an issue. Its hard enough in Target, I don't want to do it for a whole day at Disney!

So, I've been thinking, and my proposed solution is to buy a new umbrella stroller. I've been reading the reviews and I think I found one with a good sunshade, decent storage, and good one-handed steering. Ladies and Gentleman, I present, the Uppa Baby G-Luxe

It also has a full recline, a pop-out additional sunshade, and the seat pad is removable and machine washable (which will be helpful when Everett drips Mickey bar everywhere). The Uppa Baby company is wonderful and has some of the best customer service I've ever encountered, and I love their Vista, so I think this might be a home run.

I have to go try it out, and make sure that I can steer it well one handed, but what do you guys think. Am I looney to go buy another stroller?

 

[fitgirl36]

I think the Beach Club is a great idea for the photoshoot! I love the Beach Club! The only thing I would change about that resort to make it better it to have it on the monorail loop!

Good luck with the seersucker suit at the wedding! I bet it's absolutely adorable, although Thomas tshirts are probably WAY more comfortable!!

I don't think you are looney at all for buyng another stroller. I registered for both a travel system and a jogging stroller (the brand is slipping my mind) and received both for shower gifts. The stroller from the travel system is at my parents, they use it for walks around their neighborhood since they never have to actually fold it up! The first jogger is WAY to bulky too. So we went out and bought a City Mini and I love,love, love it! It has two trips to Disney under its belt and numerous trots on the jogging path by my house, not to mention many times in and out of the Jeep for shopping trips! I say a stroller is a big deal that can make a mom's life much easier so if you find one you like go for it!!

 

[khertz]

I don't think it's crazy at all! Touring the parks with just you and a toddler is going to be enough of a balancing act that you need a stroller that will travel well with the two of you. One-handed pushing is a necessity in your situation. I have to say, that is one souped-up umbrella stroller! I wouldn't mind getting pushed around the parks in one of those things.

Good luck with the suit. We had the same problem with Paxton's Halloween costume last year but thankfully we figured out the reason why he didn't want to wear it and fixed it for Trick or Treating.

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like good changes! I think the Beach Club will be lovely for photos! I hope Everett will wear his seersucker suite for the wedding.

I would definitely just go with an umbrella stroller. That's all we've had with Reid & it works great. The one you're looking at is nice, especially since it has a full recline. I wish ours had a full recline. Although, Reid seems to sleep just fine in the mini-recline position.

 

[afwdwfan]

Good luck with the suit. I think you're going to need it.

Hey, you're the one that has to push the stroller, so I'd say go with what works for you. If it will be easier and more convenient, it is worth it. We've never owned an umbrella stroller of any type because every one of them I've ever seen has been too short for me to use. DW thought it would be a good idea to borrow SiL's umbrella stroller once for a trip to the zoo and I kept asking her what it was again that was wrong with our real stroller.

 

[fi46re129]

Sounds like you had a great last day in Alexandria! Your house is adorable!

The itinerary sounds great!

You can never have too many strollers! I had 3 when Nicholas was little! Loved all of them and they each served their purpose!

 

[marDgreen88]

Oh wow, Beach Club will be a wonderful place for the photoshoot! Maybe less convenient, but I mean, it's the Beach Club.

I hope Everett starts feeling more comfortable in his little suit! Aww. I personally don't think you're crazy for wanting another stroller... especially since you have another baby on the way! It could definitely come in handy in so many ways.

 

[MHTeacher]

I followed your link from your post on my trip report!

It sounds like you have A LOT going on right now in your life---a move, a pregnancy, an anniversary trip, and a deployed husband. You definitely need this Disney trip!

Hope you're getting settled with your move!

Looking forward to more plans, and hearing about your anniversary trip!

 

[merbobear]

Ok, so I'm making some changes (what kind of DISer would I be without last minute changes to the plan, right?)

Well the first one concerns my portrait plans. I called today to book my time, and unfortunately there was nothing available at the monorail resorts in the morning. Instead I booked at the Beach Club, for 8:30 am. I think this will be a good time, because it will be before it gets brutally hot, plus I think there will be less people around than if I booked an afternoon slot. There were afternoon slots at the GF, but with Everett the afternoons can get dicey, and I want him to be on his best behavior and at his most receptive for the photos.

The second change has to deal with Everett's wardrobe. Even though his seersucker suit is about the most adorable thing on earth, I'm not sure I'm going to have much success with getting him to wear it. I tried it on him the other day, and he spent the whole time crying "take it off, take it off!". This doesn't bode well for DH's sister's wedding next weekend. I'm going to try making him wear it a little bit every day, to get him used to it, so I'll let you know how it is going. I hope I have some success, or Everett might be wearing a Thomas the train t-shirt in all of SIL's wedding photos!

I've also been giving some thought to transportation, and no, I'm not talking rental cars, I'm talking strollers! I'm hopeful that Everett is getting to a point where we can ditch the stroller, but I don't think we are quite there yet. On all of my previous Disney trip, I've taken my full sized stroller, my Uppa Baby Vista.

Now, I love this stroller, and will continually sing its praises, but I'm thinking that it might not be the best choice for this trip. Don't get me wrong, I think its a great stroller for Disney and love its storage space and easy maneuverability. However, Everett can, and will do a lot of walking, and since it will be Sept/Oct, I'm not going to need to be hauling jackets around, and I'm hopeful that he will be potty trained by the trip (although things have not been going so well since the move), so all this means that maybe I'd be better off with an umbrella stroller!

I have an umbrella stroller, a chicco liteway. Its a nice stroller and mostly lives in my trunk for trips to target and the like, but there are a few things I don't really love about it. It has a pretty wimpy basket, even for an umbrella stroller, so pretty much zero storage. It also doesn't have a great sunshade, and most importantly, I cannot drive it one handed.

Chicco liteway

The real problem with not having one handed maneuverability is that when Everett is going to want to walk, I'm going to have a heck of a time holding onto his hand and pushing the stroller at the same time. Since I'm going to be doing a lot of solo park touring, I can imagine this might be an issue. Its hard enough in Target, I don't want to do it for a whole day at Disney!

So, I've been thinking, and my proposed solution is to buy a new umbrella stroller. I've been reading the reviews and I think I found one with a good sunshade, decent storage, and good one-handed steering. Ladies and Gentleman, I present, the Uppa Baby G-Luxe

It also has a full recline, a pop-out additional sunshade, and the seat pad is removable and machine washable (which will be helpful when Everett drips Mickey bar everywhere). The Uppa Baby company is wonderful and has some of the best customer service I've ever encountered, and I love their Vista, so I think this might be a home run.

I have to go try it out, and make sure that I can steer it well one handed, but what do you guys think. Am I looney to go buy another stroller?

First, I agree with you, Uppa Baby makes fantastic products. The sun protection can not be beat by any other stroller on the market! I love that the G Luxe comes w/ the same great canopy extension as the Vista.

But, I have to say that I do not think it is great with one handed steering...no 'umbrella' handled (2 handled) stroller is really good for 1 handed pushing, unfortunately. To have easy maneuverability with only one hand, I think it is best to go with a 'bar' style handle (like the vista, city mini, most travel system styles, etc).

For a lightweight stroller, imo your best bet is to go with a city mini (or mini gt if you want the upgraded wheels, handle bar adjust-ability, higher weight limit, more padding in seat) or the Britax B Agile (which is mostly a copy of the mini).

I do also think you are right to go in and test the strollers out, see how Everett fits in them, see how they push with one or two hands, make sure the handles are the right height for you, etc.

Hope that helped! PS- I work in a baby store as a registry consultant and store trainer, so I'm not just some stroller obsessed weirdo haha