After the worst year of our lives we are taking our first Disney World vacation!

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

I'm so excited to start planning our first family vacation to WDW but I'm sad that I'm planning it after the worst year of our lives in 2011.

We found out in November 2010 that we were expecting our third child and we were over the moon excited! I could not wait to start shopping and looking for the perfect name for our baby. Only to have our world turn upside down in March 2011 when we went in for our 20 week ultrasound. We found out that our baby boy had Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. We had our son via c-section at 37 weeks, on July 8, 2011, and found out that he also had severe club feet, imperforate anus, chiari malformation, and numerous other birth defects. He spent 69 days in the NICU, came home for 5 days, and then went to PICU where he spent the last few days of his short life and passed away at 85 days old.

We felt like we had put our other children's lives on hold while we were taking care of our baby so we decided to make this year special for them so we are taking them to Disney World. Now we just need to finalize our dates so that I can start working on our other plans.

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

my condolences to your family. prayers for healing.

I hope you have a fabulous trip!


Sarah

 

[Callymum]

Oh Honey I am so sorry for your loss, hopefully this Vacation will help heal your soul a little. Your loving Family by your side you will all get through this hard time. Love and Cuddles

 

[mjwheelerali]

So sorry to hear about your loss....so emotionally draining on all of you.

But....we just returned from Disney and you're so right that this will be a very exciting trip!!!! There is something just so magical about Disney!!!

Congrats on your upcoming Disney trip!!!!

 

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

I'm going to introduce the cast here but since I'm still new and learning everything I will try to add pictures later.

DH: AKA...Daddy.
He works very hard for our family so that I can stay at home with our kids, which I am so thankful for that. He is a full-time fire fighter and does lawn care work on his days off. He enjoys what he does and we are very proud of him.

ME: AKA...Mommy.
I'm a stay at home mom and I recently became an Independent Consultant for a newer company, at least for our area. I love being able to spend time with my kids and watching them grow and learn.

DS (3 years old):
He is full blooded boy. If he can get into it then he will get into it, I'm surprised that we have not had any broken bones or injuries, besides scratches and bruises, but I suspect they are coming because Santa brought him a 4-wheeler power wheels and he thinks he should have it on full speed at all times. His favorite characters are Woody, Buzz, Lightning McQueen. Mater, Mickey Mouse, Jack and the Neverland Pirates, and his newest is the Imagination Movers.

DD (2 yeard old):
She is all girl. She loves to sing dance, do natural pageants, and be a mommy to her babies. She loves all of the Princesses but her favorites are Ariel, Belle, and Cinderella. She also like Nemo.

DS (would be 6 months old):
He is our Angel, our Gift from God. He passed away on October 1, 2011 but during his short life he touched so many lives. I had already started thinking about a trip to WDW for him but I was never able to take him but he will be with us in spirit.

 

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

my condolences to your family. prayers for healing.

I hope you have a fabulous trip!


Sarah

Thank You! And

 

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

Oh Honey I am so sorry for your loss, hopefully this Vacation will help heal your soul a little. Your loving Family by your side you will all get through this hard time. Love and Cuddles

And Thank You!

 

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

So sorry to hear about your loss....so emotionally draining on all of you.

But....we just returned from Disney and you're so right that this will be a very exciting trip!!!! There is something just so magical about Disney!!!

Congrats on your upcoming Disney trip!!!!

Thank You! I'm excited to watch the kids faces light up when they see their favorite characters and just being in a magical place!

 

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

Sorry I have been MIA but I had the flu. So, Now I'm back to planning!

We are planning our trip for some time in October but I can not make reservations yet because I'm not sure when DH can get vacation days, but hopefully we will know within the next month or so.

As of right now we are planning on being there for a week, with 5 days in Disney parks (1 AK, 1 HS, 1 Epcot, and 2 MK) and 1 day at Sea World. I'm waiting on park hours to come out so that I can decide which days we will be in which park. Then I have to decide if we want the dining plan or the deluxe dining plan. We want to have as many character meals as possible but with a VERY picky DH we may be eating a lot of breakfast with the characters so will it be worth paying the extra money for the deluxe plan just to eat breakfast? Or do we just get the dining plan, enjoy as many character meals as we can on the plan, and stand in line for the other character? So many decisions and I feel like each choice has its pros and cons.

So while we are waiting I'm searching for custom outfits for DS and DD and shirts for DH and myself. I'm surprised that I was able to talk DH into wearing shirts with us!

 

[FireFighter's Wive 3]

Hopefully DH can pick his vacation week within the next 2 weeks so that we will know when we can make our Disney reservations for! I can't wait!!!

Until then I'm making a list of customs that I hope to get for the kids. Where is your favorite place to buy customs from? Do you have a favorite way to search for them? I want some shirts for DS and some cute and simple outfits and dresses for DD, with maybe 1-2 OTT outfits for her.

Also, do the adults in your party wear matching shirts? Do you try to match with the kids or just coordinate?