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

[amazingact21]

While the reasoning for your trip to Oregon was unfortunate and sad, it's nice that you were able to spend so much time with family and reconnect with some you haven't seen in awhile. It sounds like everyone welcomed your presence and enjoyed hanging out with Izzy. I suppose that's the silver lining in it all.


Oh, wow, that lodge looks stunning! My husband's been trying to convince me to visit that part of the U.S. for awhile now, and after seeing your pictures I just might have to give in.
And, wow, that was one heck of a cup of hot chocolate! Between that and the doughnuts, I'm pretty sure I'd never leave Portland if I ever visited.



Glad to hear the return flight was much smoother. Hopefully, your next trip will be that nice, with flight attendents helping and such.

Izzy is one well-traveled kid, I have to say! And she's gotten so much bigger! I can't believe she's sitting in an adult-sized chair on her own now. Time flies!

 

[Dugette]

Your uncle sounds like he was a really cool guy! I liked reading about his life.

Thanks. I like what they wrote up - I learned some things I didn't know about him from that.

Ok I think I might need to bite the bullet and buy Caden a buckle toy. I keep thinking about it but then think "what if he doesn't like it? That's a lot of wasted money" but he LOVES buckles...I should get him one!

If he loves buckling things like his high chair and such, he will probably enjoy it. I've ordered twice and both through the manufacturer's website, due to free shipping on orders over $30. The first time, I got the little pink heart for Izzy and the turtle for her daycare (since they all love buckles there) and the second time I got the green square and the teddy bear, both for Izzy (both have zippers to play with too). The teddy bear is nice in the car, but too big to lug on a plane. We use the pink and green ones most often and they are small and easy to bring on the plane. They are also good for playing with in shopping carts. (Oh, the last order, I got that combo because it was a pre-made combo for $30, which was less than the individual ones). The downside is that I think the most buckles on one toy is 6 and I would love one with like 20. Izzy can do they pretty fast, but then needs me to undo them (which is fine on a plane, more difficult while driving a car).

Our airport is getting or just got a cool kids area like that. I guess we'll need to stop in and check it out in jan!

Yeah, it was nice to have. It wasn't anything I'd go out of my way for, but it was handy to have right by where we were waiting for our ride.

While the reasoning for your trip to Oregon was unfortunate and sad, it's nice that you were able to spend so much time with family and reconnect with some you haven't seen in awhile. It sounds like everyone welcomed your presence and enjoyed hanging out with Izzy. I suppose that's the silver lining in it all.

Very true. My cousin and his wife were so happy to have us and Izzy there.

Oh, wow, that lodge looks stunning! My husband's been trying to convince me to visit that part of the U.S. for awhile now, and after seeing your pictures I just might have to give in.
And, wow, that was one heck of a cup of hot chocolate! Between that and the doughnuts, I'm pretty sure I'd never leave Portland if I ever visited.

You should definitely visit that area at some point. Any place where you can be on a beach at the ocean in 90 degree weather one day and on a mountain with deep show at 55 degrees two days later is a pretty great destination. You will need to get yourself a nice big pink box filled with doughnuts!

Glad to hear the return flight was much smoother. Hopefully, your next trip will be that nice, with flight attendents helping and such.

I am sure hoping so!! But I'll come prepared for anything. Such is life with a toddler.

Izzy is one well-traveled kid, I have to say! And she's gotten so much bigger! I can't believe she's sitting in an adult-sized chair on her own now. Time flies!

Yes, she is way more well-traveled than I ever intended. We like to travel and wanted to take her places, but this is way more than I dreamed we'd do at this age. She has gotten bigger - and much more verbal lately. It just blows me away. Like tonight, I said "Blind Go!" (which, if you were wondering, meant that I successfully went back to the beginning of the "Let it Go" scene in Frozen, at her request, without looking ) She immediately covered her eyes. I said "blind" again and she did it again. Somehow, the kid learned what blind meant - maybe at daycare? At any rate, she's really turning into a little person and not a baby anymore. And, yeah, she doesn't usually sit in chairs without a high chair/booster, but she did a couple times in Oregon, just due to circumstance, and did well.

 

[Dugette]

How about a random little photo-based update to make up for my PTR post that had zero pictures?

A week or two ago, Dug took Izzy out to breakfast and this is what she got to eat:



If you are frighteningly knowledgable about things I've said in TRs, you may recognize this from my PTR when I was pregnant as "Baby's First Kid's Meal".

I've done a bit of Disney supply shopping for the trip. No Disney characters involved, but we got Izzy a new pair of shoes (Stride Rite) - she was pushing the limits of her other ones. Here they are:



Should be good for walking around at WDW (and her jelly sandals still fit her for the splash pad!) The other day, Izzy was pointing at her new shoes and I swear that she said, "I like these!" I asked her if she liked them, to be sure, and she said, "Yeah!!" Kid likes her shoes! Oh, and speaking of, this was from today (teddy needed to wear shoes too, of course):



I also found her a couple of cheap clearance Disney things at Old Navy:



The Cinderella shirt will be for 1900 Park Fare. And a Little Mermaid swimsuit for $2? Why not?

I also found myself a new piece of clothing at Target:



Now I have something to wear to the Anna & Elsa meet and greet!

I love our Thermos straw cup for Izzy's milk and thought it would be nice to have a second one for water in the parks. I found one with Minnie on it:



Love it!

We've had something of a Disney-training weekend. Mixed results. I think it was more of a training-Mommy weekend. It started off well enough with me semi-successfully making Mickey pancakes for breakfast Saturday morning:



I will say that this is the best-looking one. I won't show you the burned and/or misshapen ones. I used the Mickey pancake mold I got at WDW last December.

Izzy enjoyed them, so that was good.

Izzy spent the morning playing around the house. She found her fairy wings in my suitcase and wanted to wear them. I guess she is the Swiffer Fairy :



Our goal this day was to go to the aquarium at the Mall of America and enjoy that and have Izzy stroller-nap at the mall (it was a rainy day). It really didn't go as planned. She basically spent two hours wide awake (but reclined and calm) in her stroller:



Eventually, she passed out, but only for an hour:



By that time, we didn't feel it was worth paying admission to the aquarium for only a short visit (had to get home for dinner and bed), so chose to save it for another day. We basically spent our afternoon roaming the mall, getting various free samples, and collecting "shopkicks".

I was going to have her play with the Duplos at the Lego Store (much like Downtown Disney's), but the place was packed and I didn't want to squeeze in there. We went through the Disney store while she was awake, but she was happy to stay in her stroller. Strangely, she was totally fine giving back the plush animals. The only one she hesitated on was a tiny Pluto. The big ones were fun to hug and move on. Although, it was cute when she had a Minnie and a Pooh and I asked her if they knew each-other and she had them touch noses.

We decided to make another attempt today, but this time at the zoo (much nicer day and we have a membership). I came "prepared" with two blankets, one for Izzy to snuggle and one to drape over the stroller to block out distractions, like Lauren does with Aria. We only had one the day before and Izzy pulled it off to snuggle with. I also brought some hair clips to attach it to the stroller, in case she tried to pull it off today.

Well, things started off well enough. We stopped for lunch on the way to the zoo and Izzy was a delight:



I'm actually feeling quite good about all the table service meals we have, because she was terrific today. Happy, not dropping things, low maintenance, easily amused. Much different than the last trip, where it was constant work to keep her happy and pick up all the things she was dropping. So, that was a good start.

We got to the zoo and it was about time for a nap. Dug asked Izzy if she was tired and she said yes. So, we reclined her right there in the parking lot, gave her a blanket to snuggle, and rigged up the blanket stroller cover:



She didn't fight it at all and we had high hopes that she'd nap. However, an hour and a half later, after we'd been across the zoo and back, she was still kicking and chattering under the blanket:



Shortly after that picture was taken, she ripped the blanket down repeatedly. The hair clips were no match for her. I think I will try to snag a few small binder clips from work tomorrow and see if those hold up better. A bit after that, we decided to cut our losses and head out and let her nap in the car. Which she did. But, again, too short - maybe 45 minutes while we took the scenic way home.

Oh, I almost forgot, here's a picture to freak you out:



Don't worry, not Disney - the MN Zoo's monorail shut down. Still sad, though.

At any rate, our stroller nap practice was pretty much an epic failure. However, I'm hoping that it will go better at Disney. We were on a delayed schedule this weekend, due to getting up later than normal, so we were also trying to put her down for naps later than normal. And, looking back, I'm thinking maybe we missed our window to get her down. She actually was starting to nod off right before lunch today, so that may have been her window and she fought sleep later. Not sure. I just know, at Disney, we'll be up early and having busy mornings, so I'm hoping she goes down easily at her normal daycare nap time. We shall see.

Only 2 days left!!!

 

[Imagineer5]

Glad to see the rest of your Oregon trip went well - so nice to spend all that time with family. Looks like Izzy had fun with her cousins. So awesome how helpful they were for you - I've never experienced that on Southwest, but when we flew Delta to CA (for DL) a flight attendant carried my very heavy stroller down to the end which was nice!!

Yeah, hopefully our busy Disney mornings and pretty early wake ups mean that they'll both be totally ready for naps when we lay them down! Glad she is doing great in restaurants!!

 

[AprilRenee]

Yikes! Stroller napping did not go so good! :-/
But I bet being at Disney and totally worn out she'll nap better than being lazy at home in the am and then going out around naptime. Fingers crossed for you!

Also, your Disney store looks the same as ours! Love that place

 

[amazingact21]

Cute Disney outfits! I'm sure Izzy will look adorable in Disney wearing them.


Hmm, hopefully stroller napping goes better than that. I'm sure, with the heat and the excitement, Izzy will be wiped out enough to snooze. I know when I went in May, Landon was down to one afternoon nap, but when we were in Disney, he was so exhausted from getting up early and being go-go-go, that he passed out immediately around 10 if we stuck him in the stroller.
So while I don't wish an interrupted naptime routine on you, I at least hope Izzy will be tired enough to go down easy.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

nice attempt at the Disney training. Probably also need to take in account that her awake time at Disney will be more exciting and thus tiring so naps might come easier or at least last longer

Cute Cinderella shirt you got her

Hope you all have an amazing trip!

 

[Dugette]

Glad to see the rest of your Oregon trip went well - so nice to spend all that time with family. Looks like Izzy had fun with her cousins. So awesome how helpful they were for you - I've never experienced that on Southwest, but when we flew Delta to CA (for DL) a flight attendant carried my very heavy stroller down to the end which was nice!!

That is awesome on the stroller. I'm kinda hoping they'll carry mine down to the gate check area. It's not super heavy, but it's big and a bit awkward when bagged. We'll see, I guess.

Yeah, hopefully our busy Disney mornings and pretty early wake ups mean that they'll both be totally ready for naps when we lay them down! Glad she is doing great in restaurants!!

I'm crossing my fingers! Hoping she'll be wiped out and Aria will set a good example. See you tomorrow!

Yikes! Stroller napping did not go so good! :-/
But I bet being at Disney and totally worn out she'll nap better than being lazy at home in the am and then going out around naptime. Fingers crossed for you!

Also, your Disney store looks the same as ours! Love that place

I was surprised how badly it went, since she did really well at stroller napping on our last trip. However, we haven't had much opportunity since, except in NYC, where it didn't go very well - that's why we thought we'd "train" her. Guess she showed us! I still can't believe that she hung out under the blanket for so long without really complaining, but also without sleeping (we'd peek in the flap on top and she'd have eyes wide open).

Cute Disney outfits! I'm sure Izzy will look adorable in Disney wearing them.

Thanks! I am bringing altogether way too many outfits for her for such a short trip. But I figure we'll be stopping frequently for Aria's wardrobe changes and I have them, so why not? I also am justifying the, I don't know, 3-5 outfits per day(?) with the thought of how sweaty she'll be in that heat - a change will be nice for her.

Hmm, hopefully stroller napping goes better than that. I'm sure, with the heat and the excitement, Izzy will be wiped out enough to snooze. I know when I went in May, Landon was down to one afternoon nap, but when we were in Disney, he was so exhausted from getting up early and being go-go-go, that he passed out immediately around 10 if we stuck him in the stroller.
So while I don't wish an interrupted naptime routine on you, I at least hope Izzy will be tired enough to go down easy.

Thank you - I sure hope that is the case!

nice attempt at the Disney training. Probably also need to take in account that her awake time at Disney will be more exciting and thus tiring so naps might come easier or at least last longer

Cute Cinderella shirt you got her

Hope you all have an amazing trip!

Yep, that's what I'm hoping on the naps - that she won't be able to fight it. Thank you!

 

[dtr_angel]

I hope you have a great trip!!!!! Safe travels to you and imagineer5!

 

[Dugette]

I hope you have a great trip!!!!! Safe travels to you and imagineer5!

Thank you!!

 

[olafgypsy]

Haven't been able to check the disboards in a while but I'm back just in time to see you heading off on another trip. Hope you have a wonderful time!

And for your shoe-loving Izzy! I highly recommend the book _My Favorite Shoes_. It's a touch-and-feel that my son absolutely LOVES. Bet Izzy would enjoy it, too, especially because she's already into shoes even at this young age

 

[Dugette]

Haven't been able to check the disboards in a while but I'm back just in time to see you heading off on another trip. Hope you have a wonderful time! And for your shoe-loving Izzy! I highly recommend the book _My Favorite Shoes_. It's a touch-and-feel that my son absolutely LOVES. Bet Izzy would enjoy it, too, especially because she's already into shoes even at this young age

Thanks! That sounds like a perfect book for her! Funny, I've never been much of a shoe person, but she sure is! I'll look for that book!

 

[Leshaface]

Ugh, I missed the send off! I hope you have an AMAZING time and have lots of fun with your new DIS friend. Hopefully Izzy will be great for you too.


Okay there was so much to read so i'll try to remember what I wanted to comment on.

Can't believe the CM at the Carpet Ride. I mean, wouldn't they automatically assume that a family would want to spread out in the carpet so they can take pictures?? Hello!?

You guys have such a great schedule happening. I can't wait to hear all about it when you return!

VOODOO!!! SOOOO JEALOUS! They look so delicious. I would have tried all of them and you guys got a pretty good spread. That peach fritter sounds amazing! The bacon sounds different, but something I would definitely try.

Even though you were there for a funeral, glad you guys took the opportunity to do a little sightseeing. The devils punchbowl (is that what it's called? I can't remember now.) looks freaky!

I think the DIS is the perfect place to be a Debbie Downer (which I don't think you're being, BTW) Unforunately, life happens and we just need to let it out to our friends. Even though we're all not 3D friends, we're all a family and we're hear to listen. At least, that's how I feel.

Hopefully this impromptu trip will bring some happiness!

 

[jc040404]

Wow! You're at Disney again? Right now? This sounds like it will be fun a trip for all of you. Hope all is going well!

I need to catch up!

 

[Dugette]

Ugh, I missed the send off! I hope you have an AMAZING time and have lots of fun with your new DIS friend. Hopefully Izzy will be great for you too.

Thanks, we had a great time! So much fun to see the girls enjoying Disney together!

Okay there was so much to read so i'll try to remember what I wanted to comment on.

Can't believe the CM at the Carpet Ride. I mean, wouldn't they automatically assume that a family would want to spread out in the carpet so they can take pictures?? Hello!?

The weird thing is that he was giving us a whole carpet, so he probably understood that, but just wasn't communicating it effectively. If he could have said "carpet" or "car" or something like that, other than "row", it would have been helpful. I noticed that on this past trip - we didn't do the carpets, but other similar rides had CMs that phrased it more appropriately. Oh, well, just needless frustration/drama.

You guys have such a great schedule happening. I can't wait to hear all about it when you return!

Yes, the schedule looked pretty good. The rain and storms really challenged us, though. It was more than just the afternoon showers that one might expect in June and we had times that our FP+ rides were all closed. We actually did quite well, though, all things considered.

VOODOO!!! SOOOO JEALOUS! They look so delicious. I would have tried all of them and you guys got a pretty good spread. That peach fritter sounds amazing! The bacon sounds different, but something I would definitely try.

Yeah, the bacon one is kind-of their signature one, at least according to my cousins. Not really my thing, but worth trying. There's actually a place here locally (across the street from my work) that makes them too, so I guess they have spread. I LOVED the peach fritter...super good! We did have a good spread - I ate more donuts that week than I normally do in a year.

Even though you were there for a funeral, glad you guys took the opportunity to do a little sightseeing. The devils punchbowl (is that what it's called? I can't remember now.) looks freaky!

Yeah, I'm really glad we got to see so many sights while we were there. Such a great place with so many things to do. And we made some fun memories.

I think the DIS is the perfect place to be a Debbie Downer (which I don't think you're being, BTW) Unforunately, life happens and we just need to let it out to our friends. Even though we're all not 3D friends, we're all a family and we're hear to listen. At least, that's how I feel.

Hopefully this impromptu trip will bring some happiness!

Thank you, that's very nice! So many bad things were happening that I even forgot to mention another old friend who's mom died unexpectedly at 60 recently too. And (major Debbie Downer alert!) the 5-year-old made it to 6 and passed away on her birthday. The funeral took place while we were gone, so I was very glad to have this trip and not have to think about sad things like that for a few days. It was really fun and great memories made. (Side note: though Dug doesn't know this person well - really just acquaintances at best - it appears, looking at their photos, that they must have taken their daughter to Disney at least 3 times and made some great memories there, so this was maybe a fitting place to be - making our own memories - in honor of their daughter).

Wow! You're at Disney again? Right now? This sounds like it will be fun a trip for all of you. Hope all is going well!

I need to catch up!

Yay, you're here again! We were at Disney, back now. It was a really fun trip with a DIS-friend (Imagineer5) and her little girl. Too much cuteness and fun!

 

[Dugette]

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day, celebrating with the dads in your life! We had a nice afternoon at the winery with Dug's parents. Will be celebrating with my dad sometime soon also. Happy Father's Day!

 

[Denovagirl]

Hope Dug is having a great fathers day too! Love the gift! And I cant wait to hear all about your mini trip!!!

 

[Dugette]

Hope Dug is having a great fathers day too! Love the gift! And I cant wait to hear all about your mini trip!!!

Thanks, he had a nice day. Hope your family's day was good also. I can't wait to re-live the mini trip! (Of course, we still need to work out the logistics of a TR).

 

[AprilRenee]

ADORABLE gift!!! Love it!!! And major props to you for planning that and bringing those letters!

 

[Dugette]

ADORABLE gift!!! Love it!!! And major props to you for planning that and bringing those letters!

Thanks! I had them from last year - I did the same thing (at home) last year. It worked out pretty well! We also did a "PAPA" one in (Epcot) France for Dug's dad.