Our first trip in 2 years! A pre-TR for our Sept. trip

[JaneJetson]

Your kids are so adorable! And I bet that they still are even at this age .
I love the picture of your son with his arm around his sister. I love candid photos like that where no one is looking at the camera. It would look awsome in black and white

Anyways, back to your TR. Really enjoying it. Can't wait to read more and see the rest of your pics!

I was bored...so here's that photo in black and white. It does look really good!

 

[MommyLove]

Hi reyasmommy, thank you for the super sweet comments! And for the encouragement about taking our 6 mo old.

davidsprincess, thanks for reading! I definitely hope to post more pics. Just have to find the time. Are you going to start a TR for your upcoming trip?

JaneJetson, that is so cool! What did you use to convert it? I use Photoshop Elements, but I use layers (I don't just do the 1-step greyscale thing).

Ok, back to bed for me (after I share some fun news!)

Then today (and Sat) we celebrate Holly's b-day!

 

[MommyLove]

So DH calls me last night (he's out of town on a job) and asks me what the diff in price is between the Park Vue and DLH. I say $100. He says, "get one more night at DLH".



I hope that's possible! If it works out that means:

3 nights at Park Vue
next four nights at DLH
last 2 nights at GC

 

[chelseagirl_lv]

Your family is adorable. I am very excited for you, especially on the great news of one more night at DLH!!! One more MM!
Happy Birthday Holly!

 

[JaneJetson]

Hi reyasmommy, thank you for the super sweet comments! And for the encouragement about taking our 6 mo old.

davidsprincess, thanks for reading! I definitely hope to post more pics. Just have to find the time. Are you going to start a TR for your upcoming trip?

JaneJetson, that is so cool! What did you use to convert it? I use Photoshop Elements, but I use layers (I don't just do the 1-step greyscale thing).

Ok, back to bed for me (after I share some fun news!)

Then today (and Sat) we celebrate Holly's b-day!

I just used microsoft office's picture program. And just did -100 saturation. That's about all I know how to do...haha. I dont' know how to use photoshop or anything. So you may be able to make it look even better with that.

 

[davidsprincess]

Yes, I will have a TR for our trip. I plan on starting it a day or two before we leave.

That is awsome if you can have another night at the DLH.

 

[davidsprincess]

I was bored...so here's that photo in black and white. It does look really good!

Looks great!! Now just add a nice white matting, a black frame and there you go!

I m just mad about black and white photos.

 

[mommaU4]

Congrats on the extra night at DLH!

 

[MommyLove]

Your family is adorable. I am very excited for you, especially on the great news of one more night at DLH!!! One more MM!
Happy Birthday Holly!

Thank you!!


As I mentioned on another thread, I've been too busy on other DIS threads to keep up with my own PTR, lol. This weekend has been pretty busy with family time, which has been AWESOME!! I'll continue my PTR in earnest on Tuesday.

To come...
*details of planning for a 6 mo. old
*did we get the extra DLH night?
*shopping at the Disney store and at the AMS travelling outlet store!
*would you believe I've already started packing?
*PS ressies for Blue Bayou and Carnation Cafe
*all those little things (like getting replacement watch batteries for our FOUR Disney watches - yes, all four of them need new batteries!)

 

[mommaU4]

Glad you had some nice family time. Can't wait to hear more about your trip planning.

 

[NWPrincess]

I've been enjoying reading your pre-trip report. My family and I will be there at the same time! September 15-20! I was happy to read about your good experiences at the Hojo as that is where we will be staying.

Your kids are adorable!

 

[MommyLove]

I've been enjoying reading your pre-trip report. My family and I will be there at the same time! September 15-20! I was happy to read about your good experiences at the Hojo as that is where we will be staying.

Your kids are adorable!

Thank you! And thanks for reading my PTR! Are you going to do a PTR and/or TR?

HoJo is great. They also have that new pool since we've been there. So it's even better now!

 

[MommyLove]

The last few days have been busy. The kids had their first day of school on Tuesday and you know how that day (and the days leading up to it) can be all filled up! Then yesterday I had to “run an errand” for Ron’s business that ended up taking nearly 7 hours! Crazy. But I will still able to do some things over the last week to get ready for the trip. One of which was checking for that extra DLH night. Sadly, I could only get a full price ($250) room and Ron and I were not excited about that. So we're sticking with our original plan.

In this installment – planning for bringing a baby to Disneyland. I’ve found some other TR’s here from mommies who brought babies and they were a great help to me, so I’m going to include a bunch of stuff here. If it doesn’t interest you, just skip it.

STROLLER:
I got a stroller for Jaimee. Up to this point, we’ve just been using the kind that’s basically just a frame for setting a car seat in, but we didn’t want to use that at Disneyland and we were going to need a regular stroller soon anyway. So it was time to shop for one. I’d spent some time researching strollers online and I didn’t want to spend a lot. Then it hit me… why don’t I check Craigslist instead of buying a new one? And I hit the jackpot! We got an awesome Graco that has all the features I wanted (reclines all the way, high handles, decent basket, access to basket when seat fully reclined, easy maneuvering, easy fold-up, etc). It’s in great condition. And even Ron liked it! And are you ready for this? I paid $35 for it. I was so proud of myself! I am the bargain queen!

Here’s Jaimee in the stoller:

I still have Jaimee in a bassinet by the bed. So another awesome thing about this stroller is that it can be a bassinet too so I can put here there at night to sleep!

That means we won’t have to bring the Pack & Play which will really save us room in the trunk of the car. And I will love the easier accessibility to her at night – Jaimee in this right next to the bed will be so much easier than trying to get to her in a playpen.


CARRYING BABY:
On occasion, I’ve used a sling with my babies, but those are only good for just short periods of time. So I needed to look for something that put more of the weight on the hips instead of just the shoulders. And something that wouldn’t get baby super hot. After researching, I decided on the Action Baby Carrier . I ordered it from www.alongfortheride.biz and they were great. It shipped out fast and free priority shipping was included. It arrived yesterday so I gave it a quick try. I love how easy it is to get on and to get her in it. And it was pretty fun to see her in it – just so stinkin cute. Today I put her in it when I went to Once Upon a Child to get her a sun hat. I love how it distributes her weight – it’s very comfy.


FEEDING/TEETHING:
Jaimee will have her 6 mo. b-day while we’re at Disneyland. And you know what that means… she could start teething while we’re there! What can ya do? I’m packing infant Tylenol and Ibuprofen as well as Baby Orajel. Now for feeding. Up to this point, Jaimee has been exclusively breastfed. I had already planned to wait until after the 6 month mark to introduce anything else so ideally there won’t be any change until after the vacation. But just in case we have breastfeeding issues or a weird emergency, I’m bringing rice cereal, formula/bottle, and also a couple of these “Fresh Food Feeders” Those things could also be good for teething if I put ice chips or frozen melon or something like that inside. But I consider the cereal and formula an “emergency kit” only. As far as where to feed, well I plan on taking advantage of the baby centers. I also read here on the DIS that POTC and the observation room at the Nemo Subs are great places to nurse as well.


MISC.
I wanted to get a stroller fan (you know, those battery-operated fans that can clip on to something) but I can’t find one that I want after checking WalMart and Target and spending a couple hours online looking. The one I really want is the One Step Ahead fan, but those won’t be available again until January and that does me no good. So I’m giving up on it. The weather is supposed to be a high in the mid-80’s while we’re there and that’s not too bad. We’ll keep her in a onesie and keep the stroller shade over her.

We plan to spend time at the pool. So I got Jaimee the cutest little suit at Target. They were in the baby supplies section in these little plastic pags on hangers – the tops and bottoms sold separately. The bottoms are great because they’re designed so that you don’t have to use those disposable swimmers. And they were on clearance with each piece being $2.98! I also got her a pair of baby sunglasses with UV protection that have a soft strap to wrap around her head, also on clearance for $2.98. I’ll be sure to get pics while were there and post them after we get back.

Next up: pics from our 2nd family trip in '05

 

[MommyLove]

preface: This was the trip of the BAD photos. It was the last year I used a film camera (I got a digi camera in Jan '06) and the film must have gotten too hot because the pics turned out grainy and some of the images were even warped. So that's a bummer. But grainy bad pics are better than none.

Moving on...

Our 2nd family trip to Disneyland was the last week of August '05. We were super psyched to be there to celebrate Disneyland's 50th birthday!!!

While we were there Hurricane Katrina was doing its damage to New Orleans. It definitely made me stop and think (and pray) while in New Orleans Place.

Family pics:

in the queue for Space Mt:

our cute kids:

after a meal at the Blue Bayou:

with Pluto:

 

[JaneJetson]

I always love hearing that other people are bargain hunters like me! It's so satisfying to get a good deal on something.

Even though the photos aren't the greatest quality...they are still really cute! It's so fun to look at old Disneyland photos.

 

[mommaU4]

Sounds like you are very well prepared with all the baby items. Great deal on the stroller!

Thanks for sharing the pics. The kids are so cute.

 

[NWPrincess]

Thank you! And thanks for reading my PTR! Are you going to do a PTR and/or TR?

HoJo is great. They also have that new pool since we've been there. So it's even better now!

I'll probably start my PTR today. I am a procrastinator at heart.

 

[NWPrincess]

I still have Jaimee in a bassinet by the bed. So another awesome thing about this stroller is that it can be a bassinet too so I can put here there at night to sleep!

That means we won’t have to bring the Pack & Play which will really save us room in the trunk of the car. And I will love the easier accessibility to her at night – Jaimee in this right next to the bed will be so much easier than trying to get to her in a playpen.

I love the look on Jaimee's face in this picture. Does she know that mommie is using her for her PTR? Priceless!

 

[wendylady36]

What great pictures! That's so awesome that your son and daughter get along so well, I'm sure that makes things loads easier for you!

How exciting that you'll be staying at DLH and GC! I can only wish that someday my prince will come. My rich, handsome prince that will take me to Disneyland all the time!

Oh, and I have to say, what the heck did you have to join our WISH thread and buy the Wii Fit for??? From what I can tell in that pic, you already look fantastic!!
(not that we don't want you with us of course. )

I was thinking the same thing!!!!

 

[MommyLove]

What great pictures! That's so awesome that your son and daughter get along so well, I'm sure that makes things loads easier for you!

How exciting that you'll be staying at DLH and GC! I can only wish that someday my prince will come. My rich, handsome prince that will take me to Disneyland all the time!



I was thinking the same thing!!!!

Ya, they get along very well. Of course they have their moments, but overall they are good friends and love each other. Which makes me soooooooooo happy!! How's your exercizing going?

Ok, so I've got three days left!! That's both and I am just running out of time! It's tough to get out of the house to run errands when you have a baby that is still nursing (as well as not wanting to interrupt nap time). DH is out of town. And the older kids have make up work for school and we're trying to get as much of it done before we go so it's not a huge drag when we get back. I was going to post pics from our '06 trip and share some other planning stuff... but I have to get off the DIS, lol!

Maybe I'll be amazing and get everything done and be all packed and then I'll have time to hang out here before we go. That would be awesome.