Bear Hugs & Piggy Kisses - Baby's 1st Trip ~ Updated 12/6: Aulani TR Started!!!

[AprilRenee]

Awww so sweet! I'm glad you got some magic going after a kind of rough start!
And I bet you could see her reactions much better with her in your arms and not in the stroller.

 

[jeni16]

From reading a few of the replies, it's good to hear that we're not the only ones dealing with flying food & temper tantrums at the 15th month mark. Now if he would only eat something besides yogurt melts, goldfish & teddy grahams. Anyone have any suggestions or survived this stage. So stressful sometimes.


Glad to hear about your magical moment! Little ones can cause such stress but the pure joy on their faces can easily take it all away.

 

[Dugette]

Hahah! Cute!! I love that she wants it in her snack cup and doesn't just eat from the bag!

Yeah, I don't think she's figured out that she could eat from the bag yet. Snacks come from the snack cup, of course!

Awww so sweet! I'm glad you got some magic going after a kind of rough start!
And I bet you could see her reactions much better with her in your arms and not in the stroller.

Oh, you think that was rough? Ha ha, just wait for the next update!

True, I'm glad I was holding her, if nothing else, just to let Tigger easily pat her. It was really fun to see how much she liked seeing the characters come alive.

From reading a few of the replies, it's good to hear that we're not the only ones dealing with flying food & temper tantrums at the 15th month mark. Now if he would only eat something besides yogurt melts, goldfish & teddy grahams. Anyone have any suggestions or survived this stage. So stressful sometimes.

Yeah, seems like it's par for the course at this point. I'm sure others will have more advice, but the one thing I'd say regarding the tantrums is to watch Harvey Karp's "Happiest Toddler on the Block" video (we bought it on iTunes). He actually came to my work (well, Target HQ) recently to speak to the moms group there and mostly talked about toddlers. The majority of what he covered is in that video. I have used it with great success in cutting tantrums short. It's pretty much just getting to their level and agreeing with them. For example, Izzy was really fighting the car seat for a while and it was a lot of saying, "No seat! No straps! Mean mommy! Don't want!" while strapping her in. Sounds silly, but actually works (most of the time). Helps them feel heard and understood.

For the food, we're dealing with some of that right now and all I can say is keep offering different things. She seems to go through food phases and they change quickly.

Glad to hear about your magical moment! Little ones can cause such stress but the pure joy on their faces can easily take it all away.

Agreed! This trip was full of ups and down, now that I think about it. But the good times are what I mostly remember, thinking back.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Awe so cute! I love the water play pics and I am glad you all didn't get soaked! The Tigger meeting was adorable also.

It really is amazing how much they copy us once they become toddlers isn't? Charlotte is always coping me, sometimes it super cute. Other times it makes me a little embarrassed. Parenting is quite a journey!

 

[Imagineer5]

Cute!! LOVE hearing about Pooh and Tigger, and then the Minnie unexpected dance party - love that. As you said, that is the sort of memory you wanted to make, esp since it was totally unplanned! Awesome. The splash pad area is so great! I think Aria will like it more on the next trip!

Uh oh! interested to hear about the nap!!

 

[JillianLeigh]

That splash area looks so cute!! Hope it's warm enough to let Luther play there in November. I totally would have used all that water to wash a messy face, too!!

So glad you had a magical moment watching the parade and how Izzy reacted to Minnie!!

 

[Leshaface]

So glad that Dug had the camera out to get a shot of Tigger patting Izzy's head! It's always those moments where i'm thinking, "Geez, I wish DH or a PP photographer could have captured that shot." Good job Dug!

I enjoy parades actually, so i'll probably be very emotional when we get the chance to watch a parade with Calvin. So glad that all your stress seemed meaningless now

Even though you can't see the castle in the PP shot, it's an awesome pose! I love the way you're holding Izzy

 

[amazingact21]

How great that Izzy got to see Pooh and Tigger. I swear, babies are obsessed with Pooh Bear and friends.
Aww, I'm sure Izzy would have loved to dance on the float with Minnie. She would have made the perfect addition to the parade.
And it is funny how interests at Disney change and evolve once you visit with a child.

 

[Dugette]

Awe so cute! I love the water play pics and I am glad you all didn't get soaked! The Tigger meeting was adorable also.

Thanks. Tigger was so fun!

It really is amazing how much they copy us once they become toddlers isn't? Charlotte is always coping me, sometimes it super cute. Other times it makes me a little embarrassed. Parenting is quite a journey!

It really is amazing. I can't believe all the things she's figured out how to do!

By the way, I finished reading your TR today. Really enjoyed it! Also helpful because Izzy will be around Charlotte's age when we go to Aulani, so it gives me some idea of what to expect. Can't believe how much they grow up in this year!

Cute!! LOVE hearing about Pooh and Tigger, and then the Minnie unexpected dance party - love that. As you said, that is the sort of memory you wanted to make, esp since it was totally unplanned! Awesome. The splash pad area is so great! I think Aria will like it more on the next trip!

Yes, the spontaneous character interactions were wonderful! And Izzy being wowed by Minnie was so cool. Great moments.

Uh oh! interested to hear about the nap!!

Ha ha, yeah, this next part of the day doesn't exactly go as planned (not that many things are anyway...)

That splash area looks so cute!! Hope it's warm enough to let Luther play there in November. I totally would have used all that water to wash a messy face, too!!

Glad to hear I'm not the only one! She didn't seem to mind the cleaning with all the distractions around. I bet it'll be warm enough to try it with Luther...just aim for midday sunshine, if you can.

So glad you had a magical moment watching the parade and how Izzy reacted to Minnie!!

Thanks, it was really special and unexpected.

So glad that Dug had the camera out to get a shot of Tigger patting Izzy's head! It's always those moments where i'm thinking, "Geez, I wish DH or a PP photographer could have captured that shot." Good job Dug!

Part of it was that we were using our phones as cameras, so they were generally pretty handy. But it also helped that we saw the characters coming in advance and Tigger was second, so we already had the camera going for Pooh. I'm so glad he caught it, though. I, obviously, had my hands full, so there's no way I could take any pictures.

I enjoy parades actually, so i'll probably be very emotional when we get the chance to watch a parade with Calvin. So glad that all your stress seemed meaningless now

I'm sure it will be wonderful! And we don't dislike parades or anything, they're just not really high priority for us. So glad we caught this one when we did, though. Perfect timing!

Even though you can't see the castle in the PP shot, it's an awesome pose! I love the way you're holding Izzy

Ha ha, the reason I'm holding Izzy that way is because I kept turning until she was actually facing the camera - she was always looking the wrong way! I agree, though, it did turn out kinda cute!

How great that Izzy got to see Pooh and Tigger. I swear, babies are obsessed with Pooh Bear and friends.
Aww, I'm sure Izzy would have loved to dance on the float with Minnie. She would have made the perfect addition to the parade.
And it is funny how interests at Disney change and evolve once you visit with a child.

Yes, Pooh and friends have the baby market cornered! Our Crystal Palace breakfast (later in the trip) confirmed that! I can totally see Izzy on the float doing the "baby dance" with Minnie. Yeah, for sure, Disney interests change when you bring a child. We missed so many things, but we didn't mind because Izzy was having a good time.

 

[Dugette]

I’d like to preface this update by saying: Dug is generally very, very good with directions and I am generally quite directionally-challenged and defer to him. However, he was extremely tired by this time, after having stayed out quite late at the Magic Kingdom the previous night and then gotten up early this morning. Perhaps I should have given some thought to what we were doing, rather than just blindly going along. See if you can catch the errors…

We got to the monorail platform and headed up to board. We were getting on the train that goes to the TTC. (Do you see error #1? The resort monorail would have made more sense).

Soon enough, we arrived at the TTC. As we got out, there was another monorail directly across the platform from us. Dug said, “Hurry across and we can catch the resort monorail!” So, we did. Got on the monorail shortly before it left. Good timing, right? Since it had already filled up before we got on, I was standing in the middle of the car with the stroller and Dug got a seat. We headed out of the station shortly thereafter. And then the announcement came on. I wasn’t really paying attention until I heard the word “Epcot.” WHAT?!?! I caught Dug’s eye to see if he heard it too. He seemed unaware, so I had to mouth “Epcot” to him without making us look like fools in front of all the other people who were purposely going to Epcot. He was equally surprised and horrified. Yes, that was error #2.

A big error, really. Because Izzy was falling asleep in her stroller and we wanted to get her into her Pack ‘n’ Play to nap. And we were both exhausted and wanted to nap. But we were just setting off on a long journey that not only goes to Epcot, but loops around the whole park, then we’d have to come all the way back – and then STILL manage to get to the Poly. And there was no way out. Even though we had just barely left the station, we were stuck on this ride. I tell ya, that stomach-dropping feeling of hearing “Epcot” is something I won’t soon forget. However, there was nothing we could do, so instead I reminded myself that it would at least be a good story for the Trip Report!

And I took some pictures to document our joyride. I think this was from the Epcot monorail?:



And I know this was:



Oh, look who’s sleeping:





Like father, like daughter, I guess.

Looks like Dug’s waking up in the station, I think :



We finally escaped from the Epcot monorail at the TTC. We had two options to get back to the Poly:

1.) Get on the resort monorail. The actual one. Not the Epcot one. And not the MK one.
2.) Walk the path from the TTC back to the Poly.

Given our track record, we decided to not chance any more mistakes and headed for the walking path. Izzy was out, so we reclined her:



Goodbye, Epcot monorail:



Hello Poly path:



We walked along and eventually arrived back at the Poly and made it to our room. I was a little nervous about moving Izzy to the Pack ‘n’ Play, but I’ve read lots of Trip Reports and people do it all the time, so no big deal, right? Um, error #3?

All it took was the tiniest noise from gently unbuckling her stroller harness and she was wide awake. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is where we learned to NEVER move her from the stroller when she’s napping.

Well, no problem, we’ll just put her in the Pack ‘n’ Play, turn down the lights, and she’ll go back to sleep, right? Hahahahahaha haha ha ha. Ha.

Even though we both crawled into bed and were totally ready to nap, Izzy felt that her Epcot monorail ride nap was sufficient and she was ready to go. We tried to sleep and hoped she’d follow suit, but she just wanted to stand and cry. Unendingly. I’m sure we tried some sleep-inducing rituals, but nothing was working.

Finally, I decided to try what I’ve never done and bring her into bed with us. I didn’t want to start a precedent, but we were desperate at that point and thought maybe she’d get comfy. Um, no. She loved the bed, but not for resting. It was clearly a playground of bounciness, pillows, and mom & dad.

She really loved that big cylindrical decorative pillow. What a great toy! Fun to roll, fun to ride, fun to push off the bed (then cry about). You know what else is fun? Standing at the edge of the bed and giggling. We were both trying to rest, but we had to constantly be monitoring her too, so she didn’t fall off the bed. So, yeah, she got a tiny nap in her stroller and we were the ones who got the non-nap.

Towards the end of our failed attempt to nap, Izzy walked over to me, leaned over, and gave me a kiss! Just out of the blue. And she had never done that before! I was baffled, but she came back and did it a couple more times. Hmmmm. So, then I asked her for a kiss. And she came over and gave me one. We repeated a couple times and, sure enough, she did it again. Wow! So, the ultimate test, Dug asked her for a kiss and….she walked over and planted one on him too! Awwwww! So sweet, she learned how to give kisses upon request! So, even though the nap hadn’t gone well, there was a wonderful Disney memory during nap time.

Sometime soon after that, we decided to cut our losses on the failed nap and just head back out again. At least we’d had some quiet time, I guess.

Oh, also, Dug had gotten on his iPhone to use the My Disney Experience app in order to fix our Fast Pass+ selections. He was able to select an Enchanted Tales with Belle time slot that afternoon, so we were excited. Again, we’d originally had it for that morning, but didn’t have time to get there and couldn’t get the app to work during the window to reschedule. Our original third Fast Pass+ was for Winnie the Pooh that afternoon, but we decided to drop that in favor of Enchanted Tales with Belle (we wanted to play in the Pooh queue anyway). Well, Dug clicked to confirm and got an error message saying that he (and just he – not Izzy and I) already had 3 Fast Passes that day. WHAT?! We finally realized that it was counting his just-after-midnight Space Mountain Fast Pass from the night before as one of this day’s, even though it was reserved as part of the previous day’s allotment. So, it wouldn’t let him complete our reservation change. Ugh.

But, anyway, it was time to change Izzy into a new outfit and head back to the Magic Kingdom for more fun! Right after stopping by the concierge desk to get help with the Fast Pass+ issue, that is.

Up next: Another unfriendly Cast Member (at Magic Kingdom Guest Services, of all things!), a really good Cast Member with delicious waffles, and Winnie the Pooh!

 

[AprilRenee]

Oh man!! I physically cringed when you started unbuckling her from her stroller. I wanted to yell "NOOOOOOOOO!!! Don't do that!!!"
I guess you know now :-/
And you could have gotten a nice nap out of it too!! so sad!

I'm scared about your mean CM encounter coming up :-/

 

[JillianLeigh]

As I read while you were walking back to the Poly I was thinking in my head, "Oh no, they're not going to try and transfer her!?" I was yelling Nooooooooooo! right along with you!!

But getting kisses all but makes up for a short nap!!

 

[amazingact21]

Oh no!

I don't want to say I laughed at your Epcot mistake, but it was quite the story. Everyone makes those mistakes (goodness knows I did) and all you can really do is laugh it off. Sleep deprivation and babies hold a lot of responsibility in that situation.


Ugh, why oh why won't babies move from their strollers without waking?


I'm sorry you couldn't get a nap that afternoon. I think anyone who's traveled to Disney with a young child knows how important nap time can be.

 

[jc040404]

Add me to the group screaming "Don't touch her!" when I realized you were trying to move her. I'm so glad Izzy decided to start kisses during your non-nap. You needed that happy memory after your crazy journey. I'm sure it was far from funny at the time, but you sure did get a story for the TR!

Ick to your FP+ troubles. I don't like the unhappy CM ahead either..

 

[Imagineer5]

LOL your monorail hopping had me laughing! I was wondering why you didn't just walk from the TTC to begin with vs hopping on the "resort" monorail but anyway, glad she got a teeny nap in. Aria loves jumping on the bed too Too funny. Love how she learned to kiss though, she must have really appreciated the vacation!!

 

[Dugette]

Gosh, where were you all when I was about to transfer her?

Oh man!! I physically cringed when you started unbuckling her from her stroller. I wanted to yell "NOOOOOOOOO!!! Don't do that!!!"
I guess you know now :-/
And you could have gotten a nice nap out of it too!! so sad!

I'm scared about your mean CM encounter coming up :-/

Yes, missing out on that much-needed nap was so sad. I've been in a chronic state of sleep-deprivation since, oh, September of 2012 and that week before the trip was particularly bad. Not really Izzy's fault - just the combo of lots of things to do and having to get up ridiculously early for work (so I can leave early and do the daycare pickup before 5pm, after my hour+ commute on the bus). Anyway, it was sad.

Ah, don't be scared. She wasn't so much of a mean CM as a I-know-better-than-you-so-stop-talking-to-me CM. But, you know, with a fake smile on her face.

As I read while you were walking back to the Poly I was thinking in my head, "Oh no, they're not going to try and transfer her!?" I was yelling Nooooooooooo! right along with you!!

But getting kisses all but makes up for a short nap!!

Ha ha, apparently Izzy isn't the only baby that wakes up easily then, based on all these responses. I just felt like we should make her more comfortable with the Pack 'n' Play vs. the stroller. And we've had late nights at home where she falls asleep in the car and we are able to transfer her to the crib (she wakes up, but goes back to sleep). Guess she knew she was in Disney and didn't want to sleep through it. The kisses were great, though. So sweet!

Oh no!

I don't want to say I laughed at your Epcot mistake, but it was quite the story. Everyone makes those mistakes (goodness knows I did) and all you can really do is laugh it off. Sleep deprivation and babies hold a lot of responsibility in that situation.


Ugh, why oh why won't babies move from their strollers without waking?


I'm sorry you couldn't get a nap that afternoon. I think anyone who's traveled to Disney with a young child knows how important nap time can be.

Oh, go ahead and laugh at our monorail errors! It was pretty ridiculous - in hindsight. Yes, the sleep deprivation was hard at work! At least we learned and were able to make future naps more effective.

Add me to the group screaming "Don't touch her!" when I realized you were trying to move her. I'm so glad Izzy decided to start kisses during your non-nap. You needed that happy memory after your crazy journey. I'm sure it was far from funny at the time, but you sure did get a story for the TR!

Ick to your FP+ troubles. I don't like the unhappy CM ahead either..

Ha ha, yes we learned that no-touching-during-nap lesson. She spent several nights sleeping in the stroller next to the Pack 'n' Play before her middle-of-the-night wake-up. But at least she used her non-naptime for good with the kisses. And it's all just a funny memory now.

The CM still bugs me when I think about the way she talked to us. I just hope I can get across the feel of the interaction.

LOL your monorail hopping had me laughing! I was wondering why you didn't just walk from the TTC to begin with vs hopping on the "resort" monorail but anyway, glad she got a teeny nap in. Aria loves jumping on the bed too Too funny. Love how she learned to kiss though, she must have really appreciated the vacation!!

I think it was just one of those snap decisions...got off monorail and another was right there, almost ready to leave. We just ran over without thinking, clearly. We should have walked back from the TTC. I love it - she totally appreciated us taking her to WDW!

 

[AprilRenee]

And we've had late nights at home where she falls asleep in the car and we are able to transfer her to the crib (she wakes up, but goes back to sleep). Guess she knew she was in Disney and didn't want to sleep through it.

Ya know, I have ALWAYS been able to transfer Caden from the car to his crib. He may wake up a tad but he rolls over and falls back asleep. I have NEVER, not ONCE been able to transfer him to a pack n play. I don't even try anymore.

He hates that pack n play. I've started packing a baby sized comforter and putting it on the mattress before i put the sheet on. He actually doesn't mind it that way. But it's just so hard and uncomfortable without it, I don't really blame him.

Speaking of transferring, once, one fabulous day, I managed to transfer him from the car, to his stroller, go to target, transfer him back to the car, drive home, transfer him to his crib, and still got another hour out of him!!! I don't know how that happened!! He was so tired! Lol he didn't even stir on any of the transfers! ! He was dead to the world! And this wasn't any tiny baby either. He was over a year old. Lol. No idea! Never happened again!

 

[Dugette]

Ya know, I have ALWAYS been able to transfer Caden from the car to his crib. He may wake up a tad but he rolls over and falls back asleep. I have NEVER, not ONCE been able to transfer him to a pack n play. I don't even try anymore.

He hates that pack n play. I've started packing a baby sized comforter and putting it on the mattress before i put the sheet on. He actually doesn't mind it that way. But it's just so hard and uncomfortable without it, I don't really blame him.

Speaking of transferring, once, one fabulous day, I managed to transfer him from the car, to his stroller, go to target, transfer him back to the car, drive home, transfer him to his crib, and still got another hour out of him!!! I don't know how that happened!! He was so tired! Lol he didn't even stir on any of the transfers! ! He was dead to the world! And this wasn't any tiny baby either. He was over a year old. Lol. No idea! Never happened again!

Hmmm, you may be onto something with the Pack 'n' Play vs. the crib. We put a fairly thick quilted fitted sheet in the PnP, which makes it a little less hard and gives it some cushion, but still probably not as good as the crib, in her mind. Of course, she naps in a PnP every day at daycare, so you'd think she'd be used to it.

Caden must have been massively sleepy on that amazing day! Impressive nap transfers!!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

We had a very similar thing happen to us when we were at the Poly! We got on the TTC monorail because of DH! It was a less than stellar moment of our trip!

I hate it when Charlotte falls asleep in the car or stroller. Its like she gets enough sleep to be wide awake but not enough sleep to be in a good mood. Its amazing how much toddler's sleep can control the quality of your life isn't?

That pillow provided lots of fun for Charlotte as well! The Poly rooms really are an indoor playground for toddlers aren't they?

I am glad you enjoyed reading about our Poly stay. It really is the greatest place on earth!

 

[cindianne320]

So glad I found this! Your trip sounds wonderful so far- much like ours in October. We learned a lot of the same lessons!

How exciting about Hawaii! Those rates are unbelievable!