OUR SPIRITED BEGINNING = Casper's Magical Journey to Disney

[DisneyTeacher01]

Pirate League sounds like soooo much fun!! pixie dust:

I think that getting Casper's first hair cut at Disney would be a priceless memory….but that's just my opinion :good vibes

Can't wait to hear more about the trip!

~Jennifer

 

[mommy2mrb]

Joining in!

what beautiful children you have! love their eyes! so happy you are able to go back to WDW and bring some magic to Casper! know it will be filled with many happy moments!

so wonderful you are giving back to the Ronald McDonald house and will be a future Big Giver! warn your postal man about all the Mickey Mail that will soon be coming your way

 

[dianemom2]

I love the idea of Casper getting his first haircut at Disney. What a special memory! Make sure you get some great pictures!

My kids have never done the Pirates League. They are too old. What do they do there?

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Pirate League sounds like soooo much fun!! pixie dust:

I think that getting Casper's first hair cut at Disney would be a priceless memory….but that's just my opinion :good vibes

Can't wait to hear more about the trip!

~Jennifer

Iggy had the greatest time at Pirate League last time so I know it will be fun this time again.

I have decided it would be so much fun and very memorable too so I'm going to go ahead and do the first haircut at the Harmony Barber shop for him. I can't wait actually. I mean if I was going to pick a place to have his first trim done at I would pick WDW.

Joining in!

what beautiful children you have! love their eyes! so happy you are able to go back to WDW and bring some magic to Casper! know it will be filled with many happy moments!

so wonderful you are giving back to the Ronald McDonald house and will be a future Big Giver! warn your postal man about all the Mickey Mail that will soon be coming your way

Awe thank you so much. The boys both have amazingly blue eyes, mine are blue also but theirs are even more blue than mine are. Iggys white blonde hair makes everyone jealous.

Luckily we have a community mail box where our mail goes at the end of the street, much like a PO box really, so we have lots of room for packages.

 

[blueangel2]

Im glad you decided to do the barber shop...we are getting my ds first hair cut there as well.

Congratulations on being chosen as Big Give family. My dd was nominated by her Dr. for MAW but although she had a life threatening illness, she is ineligible based on her current health. Had she been chosen for it, I know that this is the trip she would have asked for. I hope you post pics when you start receiving all that wonderful mickey mail

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Well I think I have our days very roughly planned right now.

So far I have just figured out which parks we will do which days but it's of course all subject to how the kids do and how we feel on any given day while there. We are "go with the flow" type people, we have learned to be.

Here's what I have so far.

Arrival day:
Magic Kingdom after we are settled, I know Asia will HAVE to go ASAP once we get there.

Day #1 first full day:
Magic Kingdom

Day #2:
Animal Kingdom.
Casper I think is going to REALLY enjoy AK, with how he reacted the first time we visited the zoo over Christmas holidays I know it's going to be one of his FAVES.

Day #3:
Epcot
Hubby's FAVE. His two favorite rides are here, Test Track and Soarin. I also think Iggy will LOVE Epcot this time because he is VERY into science. He tested at a grade 4 level for science, math and reading this year in grade 1, he loves building things and taking electronics apart and LOVES space. He says he wants to be a aerospace engineer when he grows up.

Day #4:
Hollywood Studios
Both kids CANNOT WAIT to do the Jedi Academy and ride Star Tours. It was under construction when we went in 2010 so it will be exciting. Iggy ADORES Star Wars, he has watched all the movies many many times over. LOL

Day #5:
Magic Kingdom

Day #6:
Epcot

Day #7:
Animal Kingdom

Day #8:
Magic Kingdom

Day #9:
Hollywood Studios

Day #10:
Leave


Does anyone know, are there Giant Pandas at Animal Kingdom??? Casper is OBSESSED with Giant Pandas, his best friends are Er Shun and Da Mao who are the 2 giant pandas at the Toronto Zoo.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Im glad you decided to do the barber shop...we are getting my ds first hair cut there as well.

Congratulations on being chosen as Big Give family. My dd was nominated by her Dr. for MAW but although she had a life threatening illness, she is ineligible based on her current health. Had she been chosen for it, I know that this is the trip she would have asked for. I hope you post pics when you start receiving all that wonderful mickey mail

Casper also doesn't qualify for MAW. In Canada they are strict about the child being able to request their own wish it's one of their requirements that the child have the cognitive ability of a 3 year old at least and Casper although he is almost 2.5 years old is at a 9 month level cognitively and physically.

The child has the cognitive ability of a 3-year-old and can communicate and comprehend his/her wish

Have you looked into the other wish organizations in the US? I know I have helped a friend before who's child doesn't have a life threatening disorder but who has a medical condition that is life altering and life long and there are organizations where he qualified. I bet there is one your daughter would qualify for.

It's so incredible that the ladies of the Big Give would consider us even, but to choose us is mind blowing and just such a blessing. I will for SURE share pictures. I am a wee bit of a picture crazy Mom, trust me you might say "STOP WITH THE PICTURES" at some point.

 

[dianemom2]

No, Animal Kingdom does not have pandas. Isn't that a shame! But you can watch the baby panda on the Pandacam at the National Zoo in Washington DC. My girls watch it from time to time. The new little panda is sooooooo cute!!!!

It sounds like your plans are going really, really well! I agree with your husband about Test Track and Soarin. They are two of my favorite rides. I don't like the countries section at Epcot as much but I know a lot of people just love it.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

We got a phone call from the Sunshine Kids Foundation here in Canada, I had applied because I thought they did not have the requirement of being 3 cognitively. But after chatting with the woman from the organization on the phone they do indeed have that stipulation.

She did say that Casper does in deed qualify on all other levels for a wish from them just that we should re apply when he reaches that 3 year old cognitive age.

So at least we know he will qualify in the future and she was very sweet.

For anyone wondering about them they grant wishes to children who have life threatening conditions or a severe disability. Their mandate is a little more inclusive than some out there.

We are relaxing today and resting up because Casper has a bit of a fever again this morning and has had a couple episodes of seziures.

I have to do some tracking of his seziures and make a couple calls and then I am going to look into possibly switching our be our guest reservation for dinner to lunch instead and replacing it with something else. Not sure what yet.

Casper has been watching the pandas on the San Diego Zoo website, they have a zoo cam for the pandas too Diane. But we will definitely check out the Pandas at the Washington zoo, I know Casper will LOVE seeing a baby panda.

 

[nannye]

Joining in on your trip report!

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Joining in on your trip report!

Hi Erin Hey now I have links to read your trip reports.

 

[nannye]

Hi Erin Hey now I have links to read your trip reports.

Ha ha that would have to mean id finished it!

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

The magic has begun at our home. The kids were so excited today when they arrived to our first BIG GIVE package in the mail, they couldn't wait they opened the package BEFORE eating the brownies I had made. Now THAT'S excitement.

We can't thank Kira enough for the wicked cool Frogg Togg towels. These are such a blessing because they will help keep Casper cool in the hot August heat. He has very sensitive skin and will get burn like blisters even with sunscreen on, he also has difficulty regulating his temperature. Iggy also regularly uses ice packs and cold cloths to help with his migraines so he is VERY excited by these and wanted to try one right away.

I have never seen anything like these before so I really doubt I would have come up with something so awesome to help him, and the rest of us.

Here are the kids saying THANK YOU!

We have been looking at flights and I think we are going to book our flight soon to lock in a price and just have it done.

Casper had PT & Speech on Friday and we learned that he will need knee ankle foot orthotics to help with his newly begun walking His gait is not right and because he's hypertonic from the waist down he gets tired and is in pain from trying to walk the little bit that he is, so we are hoping the orthotics will help.

We will be starting a home ASL program also that the SLP will set up for us, this way we can focus on home therapy for speech and do more intensive physical therapy right now on site. We think it's best to focus on one at a time and not overwhelm him.

YAY for Frozen winning last night. The kids are DYING to see it, I thought it came out last weekend but I guess it doesn't for a couple weeks, poor things got all excited LOL, so when it comes out we will have to rent it from Amazon for sure.

 

[dianemom2]

I had never heard of the Frogg Togg towels until Kira told me about them. I hope that they help keep you all cooler in the Florida heat. They look awesome!

My kids were also very excited about Frozen winning an Oscar. They hadn't seen most of the movies that were nominated for any of the other Oscars though.

I sure hope that the orthotics help Casper with his walking and minimize any pain he is having.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

You have a sweet family, congratulations on being chosen for the big give.

 

[greenjellybean]

You have a precious family!! I have to admit that I am somewhat surprised that Casper does not qualify for Canada's MAW program.

Still learning my way around, but looks like the BIG GIVE is a BIG BLESSING and loads of fun! What an amazing testament of the generosity of others! Excited to see what other blessings come your way!

 

[3pletprincesses]

I'm joining your party! I live in Ottawa and understand part of your heartaches as I had premie triplets 7 yo ago. BTw we are going to be at POR too Aug 18- 24 and have fee dining from a bounce back offer. I would be ready to bet that free dining will be available to the public in a few months. I so wish it for your family. your family is precious! I can`t wait to read more

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Well I have been MIA a bit here.

Until today not much has happened trip wise but then today Disney decided to release an offer for summer and our dates were included so I called to see if we could get the offer.

To get the offer we would have had to upgrade to a "Royal room" at Port Orleans which would have been a bit more $$$ a night otherwise we could have kept our non discount reservation or changed to Caribbean Beach in a standard room and saved almost $200 from our current reservation. Not a HUGE difference and honestly we weren't interested in staying at CB unless we could save a ton more.

SO I decided to ask about upgrading to a deluxe resort, since the discount would be more and it would mean a bigger room. Turns out switching to Animal Kingdom lodge in a standard room was only just over $100 more than going with the royal room at POR.

What's a Mom to do.........

I SWITCHED it. Yup so we are now booked at Animal Kingdom lodge from Aug 18th -28th 10 days and the kids are SOOOO EXCITED!

My only concern was the buses because I know Animal Kingdom lodge is further from the parks but the agent reminded me that AKL has dedicated buses and no internal stops so really the trip will likely seem the same or shorter. Also the room will be bigger overall and the only thing we will be missing would be the trundle which we weren't guaranteed anyway.

I think that it's worth the extra $$$ and I know the kids and Casper specifically will LOVE the animals.

Our trip is now 154 days away.

Casper is doing well. We started speech therapy and a more structured sign language program. His speech therapist evaluated him and says he has Aphasia of speech which is basically a disconnect between his brain and his function of speech that is making him not able to form words and sentences. We are hoping as he gets older he will be able to use an augmentative communication device to help him express himself but obviously won't know until he is older. Until then we will focus on sign language since he has really taken to it.

PT has also started up and we will be working on his walking and muscle strength. He has started walking and we are THRILLED. It takes him a lot of energy and work and his difficult on his muscles so the PT is going to look into KAFO's for him which should help him move around more easily.

So things are pretty status quo around here, looking forward to warmer weather HOPEFULLY at some point soon.

 

[dianemom2]

What exciting trip news! I've never stayed at AKL but I am sure it is amazing! I know your kids will love it! I wouldn't worry too much about the buses. I think that the agent was right when she said that with the dedicated buses you won't spend more time on them then you would have at Port Orleans. I wonder if you will also be able to get free dining??? Wouldn't that be amazing!

 

[3pletprincesses]

You will love AKL and so will the kids. It`s a lot of walking compare to most places but so worth it. i hope you get a bit of pixie dust and get upgraded to a savannah view. There`s nothing like waking up and walking into our balcony and see so many animals. I was just there this past February with my sister and we spent more time at the resort then at the parks