Princess Ashlyn's Birthday Trip - That's 2 For 2! September 2010 PTR (Started my TR!)

[BabyEeyore]

Loving your countdown so far! We already have some overlap, lol. Pictures are going on my list too.

Aaron's parents must be so happy to be seeing you guys and especially Ashlyn.

We don't have cable/satellite either. We do have Netflix though and most of what our kids enjoy (Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc.) is available on instant watch through them. My kids are still excited though because the Disney Channel is one of the things they miss the most from our pre-tight budget days.

I love that your going to be able to enjoy some of the things that we take for granted that aren't available where you are. Enjoy!

Great minds think alike!!

Oh my, Aaron's parents are SO excited! I have a little countdown on my family blog and every time I talk to them they mention how many days left. It's really cute. They even said that they bought some princess plates so we can have some birthday cake to celebrate Ashlyn's birthday together.

The only Disney Channel show Ashlyn has really seen is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She's seen plenty of Disney movies, just not the shows obviously. I might see if the library has stuff like Handy Manny or something to rent.

You're really right about how we can take even things like malls or restaurants or a wide variety of anything for granted. I for sure did until I moved here! It's so easy to get caught up in the every day and forget to count your blessings sometimes. I've seen and learned a lot of things while here and if nothing else, living here has reminded me to be thankful for everything we have!

 

[BabyEeyore]

#26

BALLOONS!!!

(photo credit goes to the Walt Disney World website)

Ashlyn balloons. I try to remember to buy her one every now and then as a little treat. She's getting one tomorrow when we go grocery shopping, actually. Shhhh, it's a surprise.

Anyway, we haven't gotten her a Disney balloon before so I'm really looking forward to getting her one this trip. Maybe not as many in the picture... one might have to do. I think she'll love it.

 

[-Hope-]

Oh, she'll love getting a balloon!

I read somewhere that children staying at a resort can get a free balloon from the front desk every day- we're going to put that to the test when we're there. I doubt it's a Mickey balloon but we'll see what they get.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Oh, she'll love getting a balloon!

I read somewhere that children staying at a resort can get a free balloon from the front desk every day- we're going to put that to the test when we're there. I doubt it's a Mickey balloon but we'll see what they get.

Oh how cool, I never heard of that. I might just have to test that out, too. Thanks for the tip!

 

[BabyEeyore]

I might as well keep up with my countdown calendar while I'm doing the 30 day thing, too.

27 Days: We went for a nice little walk around the neighborhood. Ashlyn just loves being outside. She's constantly asking to go out and play!

26 Days: Today! It's still hard to believe that we'll be leaving in less than a month! Today really drove that point home for me because I started our packing lists today! I just couldn't wait any longer! And today I found the Things To Pack thread and it was really helpful. After I wrote down what I could think of, I went through the list and it definitely reminded me of a few things to write down.

It's going to be a pretty busy week and weekend for us. It'll be nice, though. I'll be updating again tomorrow!

 

[Charlefours]

Hey Christine! Catching up...

How's the weeks going without Aaron? DH was out of town last week, so I know it can be rough.

Love that you are doing the countdown too!! It will be great for you to experience things you don't normally get to at GTMO, no matter how small or how big--seeing Aaron's parents again. I want to get a balloon (or two) for DD too!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Hey Christine! Catching up...

How's the weeks going without Aaron? DH was out of town last week, so I know it can be rough.

Love that you are doing the countdown too!! It will be great for you to experience things you don't normally get to at GTMO, no matter how small or how big--seeing Aaron's parents again. I want to get a balloon (or two) for DD too!!

It's going okay, thank you for asking! It's been lonely, but so far it's been going quickly. I would be worried about the weekend being the hardest, but I am making cake pops for a friend's daughter's birthday party on Saturday and the party itself is on Sunday and I'm making her gifts, so I'll be pretty busy. The time it is extra rough is when we talk on the Windows Live Messenger and Ashlyn is up. She is always so sad after he hangs up.

Thanks for the inspiration to do the countdown! It was a lot of fun to sit down with Aaron before he left and make the list and now I look forward to sitting down each day and expanding on each one. It just makes me more and more excited for the trip!

 

[lexmas]

Balloons are so much fun! Although, I bought one at Disneyland and it was deflated the next day...J.J. was playing with it and somehow he moved the string tying it or something. That was a big waste of money. So ever since I've steered clear. But theoretically, I love the idea!

Plus, thanks so much about the packing list thread! I am going to spend too much time there, I know it!

 

[-Hope-]

Wow! That things to pack thread is THOROUGH!! Thanks for the link!

I'm glad you're doing okay while Aaron's gone.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Balloons are so much fun! Although, I bought one at Disneyland and it was deflated the next day...J.J. was playing with it and somehow he moved the string tying it or something. That was a big waste of money. So ever since I've steered clear. But theoretically, I love the idea!

Plus, thanks so much about the packing list thread! I am going to spend too much time there, I know it!

The balloons we get here deflate the next day, too, so we're kinda used to that. We learned that out the hard way when we got a bunch of balloons blown up the day before her 1st birthday party and when we came downstairs the next day, they were all droopy! We made it work, but I was disappointed. Ashlyn loves balloons so much that I think it'll be worth the money at least just this once. Thanks for the heads up, though. Now that I know, if it happens to us, I won't be as disappointed.

No problem about the packing list! It was helpful for me and I know a lot of my readers are leaving soon, too, so I couldn't not post it!

Wow! That things to pack thread is THOROUGH!! Thanks for the link!

I'm glad you're doing okay while Aaron's gone.

I know, right? So helpful, though! We're pretty good about not forgetting things because we do a little walk through of the house, but I knew I was forgetting things when I was first making my packing lists and this helped me not go too crazy.

 

[BabyEeyore]

25 Days: Buy a balloon! I love buying Ashlyn a random balloon to play with every now and then. Like I said before, she just loves them. We went up to the counter and as soon as she saw the balloons, she lit up, asking for one. The lady behind the counter, and everyone we passed in the grocery store afterward, thought she was just the cutest thing. So she's been happily holding her balloon and running around the house.

And for our 30 day countdown...

#25

Rainforest Cafe

We have gone here for our past two trips (we've only been to WDW 3 times so far) and are going again in September. We like the food and it's just such a fun environment. Ashlyn loved the "thunderstorms" and watching the fish. I'm a little concerned for this time, though, now that I'm writing about it. Just a few months ago I guess she hit the age where she started being afraid of certain things. Rain is one of them. She really has only experienced rain from movies (she's been out in the rain once... it doesn't rain too much here and I try to keep her inside if it's raining) but she gets a little scared or worried when the storm comes in The Little Mermaid, for example. So... we will either try it out and see how she handles it or get dinner elsewhere. Definitely something I'll have to discuss with Aaron. What would you do?

**edited to add: I just noticed that our 25 day mark fell on the 25th. I like when things like that happens. I think it's kinda cool.

 

[-Hope-]

I'm glad Ashlyn is having fun with her balloon.

Rainforest Cafe does look so cool and its one of those things on our 'someday but not this vacation' list. There's one here in MO so we may just go to that one sometime, lol. As for the rain at the cafe I'd try to start getting her used to it now. One of the things I've (finally) figured out with my kids is that if I downplay things in tv and movies before they have the chance to get scared then they can shrug it off more easily. My kids are older so we make fun of the special effects or the silliness of a made up situation but you might try something like, "Here comes that silly storm," and making stormy noises with her and blowing things around the next time your watching Little Mermaid. Start it up right before the storm scene, make a fun game of it and keep a silly smile plastered on your face. If that helps then you'll know it will be okay but if she's still scared it just may not be a good year for RFC.

 

[BabyEeyore]

I'm glad Ashlyn is having fun with her balloon.

Rainforest Cafe does look so cool and its one of those things on our 'someday but not this vacation' list. There's one here in MO so we may just go to that one sometime, lol. As for the rain at the cafe I'd try to start getting her used to it now. One of the things I've (finally) figured out with my kids is that if I downplay things in tv and movies before they have the chance to get scared then they can shrug it off more easily. My kids are older so we make fun of the special effects or the silliness of a made up situation but you might try something like, "Here comes that silly storm," and making stormy noises with her and blowing things around the next time your watching Little Mermaid. Start it up right before the storm scene, make a fun game of it and keep a silly smile plastered on your face. If that helps then you'll know it will be okay but if she's still scared it just may not be a good year for RFC.

I always let her know that it's okay during the storm scene, but never thought of making stormy noises and stuff with her. That is a really good idea! Thank you so much! I will definitely be trying that next time. And I know next time will be soon because she's always asking to watch it! I will let you know if it works!

 

[Charlefours]

DD is nervous of the rainstorms/thunder at RFC. However, she would not remember eating there besides the last time did at the beginning of this month. Perhaps if you keep reassuring her it is just pretend, she will be fine?

 

[BabyEeyore]

DD is nervous of the rainstorms/thunder at RFC. However, she would not remember eating there besides the last time did at the beginning of this month. Perhaps if you keep reassuring her it is just pretend, she will be fine?

I'm hoping so. I talked to Aaron today about it and he thinks she'll be fine and wants to keep the ressie. So I'm going to take Hope's advice and try to get her more comfortable with storms in movies and stuff and then do like you said and keep reassuring her during the meal. I'm hoping she'll be okay... there will be lots of other things going on (people, food, coloring the kid's menu) to distract her if she gets uncomfortable.

 

[lexmas]

I guess we're spoiled by our balloons...for some reason we have had the best luck...we get the kids balloons for their birthdays and they always last well over a month. Which is INSANE!

I hope you're still coping well without Aaron! I'm sure you've been keeping busy!

Ashlyn sounds like she is loving that balloon! So cute!

Rainforest Cafe sounds like fun! We have one up here, so I always think it's silly when I see it in DTD, but I know it's not everywhere! I love traditions like that, somewhere that you always eat! I think we're going to do that with Boma, although it's pretty expensive to make it a tradition! Next time I'll have to think about cost before I happen to do something that will become a tradition!

25 days!

 

[-Hope-]

I always let her know that it's okay during the storm scene, but never thought of making stormy noises and stuff with her. That is a really good idea! Thank you so much! I will definitely be trying that next time. And I know next time will be soon because she's always asking to watch it! I will let you know if it works!

Glad I could help- and I hope it works!

I just figured out recently that somehow when I was reassuring my kids with hugs and telling them it will be okay it was somehow reinforcing their fears- like there is something that I need to protect them from. But I didn't want to ignore or imply that their fears weren't important or valid either- thats when I came up with laughing at stuff and making a game of it and it has worked wonders.

 

[BabyEeyore]

I guess we're spoiled by our balloons...for some reason we have had the best luck...we get the kids balloons for their birthdays and they always last well over a month. Which is INSANE!

I hope you're still coping well without Aaron! I'm sure you've been keeping busy!

Ashlyn sounds like she is loving that balloon! So cute!

Rainforest Cafe sounds like fun! We have one up here, so I always think it's silly when I see it in DTD, but I know it's not everywhere! I love traditions like that, somewhere that you always eat! I think we're going to do that with Boma, although it's pretty expensive to make it a tradition! Next time I'll have to think about cost before I happen to do something that will become a tradition!

25 days!

Wow, a month? That's awesome!

Yeah, I've been doing okay with Aaron gone. The next 4 days are going to be super busy so they'll fly by and I always find things to do with Ashlyn during the week so it'll go by quickly (I hope!). Then once Aaron gets back, we'll have 2 weeks to get everything finished before we leave for Florida!

I've never been to Boma. I've always heard good things, though, so one day we will try it. Rainforest Cafe and CRT have been our traditions so far (except for our last minute, spontaneous trip when Ashlyn was 2 months old... we didn't have any table service meals that time or stay on property... we had decided to go to WDW on the plane over to Jacksonville! ). CRT is an expensive tradition, too, but we've always found it so worth it. If we end up moving to California next year, it'll be fun finding a new tradition at Disneyland. But if we move to Florida, we'll have to find a cheaper tradition because it would be WAY too expensive going to CRT every month!

Glad I could help- and I hope it works!

I just figured out recently that somehow when I was reassuring my kids with hugs and telling them it will be okay it was somehow reinforcing their fears- like there is something that I need to protect them from. But I didn't want to ignore or imply that their fears weren't important or valid either- thats when I came up with laughing at stuff and making a game of it and it has worked wonders.

You know, that makes a lot of sense. Ashlyn will cuddle up close when the storm happens in the movie and I'll comfort her so maybe it is reinforcing her fears. It'll be interesting to see if she reacts differently if I try to make it almost fun with the "act like a storm" trick. If it works, I may have to just make myself look like an idiot and act like a storm in RC! The things we do for our kids.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Well, I had to change my signature just a little bit... today Ashlyn is officially one month away from turning 2!! My baby is growing up way too fast. It's so much fun, too, though.

So, here we go...

24 Days: Today I'm going to start getting all our maps, door decorations, ADR info, and all that kind of stuff together and put into our travel folder. We don't have anything major for our travel folder (though I'm thinking maybe I'll decorate it this time). We just have a plain blue folder that everything goes in. I always put the papers in order of when we'll need them, that way once we use one map I can just put it in the back and the thing we'll need next is right up in front and ready. I reuse our maps, too, because our Florida trips are always about the same. Fly into Jacksonville, one day go to the children's hospital, then drive down to Orlando.

And now, the next installment of what we are looking forward to on our trip.

#24

SEEING HOW ASHLYN REACTS TO EVERYTHING!

Yes, Ashlyn's been to WDW before. Three times, actually. At 2 months... she slept most of the time.

At 1 year, she was nervous around the characters, but enjoyed everything.

And at 18 months, she tolerated the characters (except she was scared of Eeyore ) but wouldn't go up to them by herself. She enjoyed all the sights even more!

But kids change so much in 6 months so it'll be totally different and I can't wait to see how she reacts to everything this time around.

 

[lexmas]

Travel folder already...very exciting! It IS really soon, isn't it!

It will be so different this time! We always look at DS and say, "Now THIS would be a really great age to take him to disney"...but we say that ALL the time! haha. It's because we took him at 11 months, 18 months, and 21 months, and he's over 3.5 now, so we missed all those great ages! It will be exciting to see how Ashlyn does this time!

Oh, and your baby is growing up! Secretly, I like it when they get bigger though, because I love that you get to interact with them more and learn more about what they're thinking and how they see the world. Babies are cute and all, but they don't do much! Does Ashlyn talk a lot more now than she did your last trip? That would make things very exciting! My kids are late talkers...they say a whole bunch of words before one and then stop using words for a long time...J.J. stopped to learn how to walk and everything, and Sydney stopped when she learned how to: point, shake her head yes and no, and say "that!" Haha. Lazy babies.