Strollering Along At The World (Finally!)- A PTR (Feb '12)*TR Started 2/12*

**Resort Update**

A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how I managed this but OMG I talked Chris into staying DELUXE!!!! I cannot begin to express how excited I am.

So the BIG announcement!

WE ARE STAYING AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cool1::woohoo::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay: I LOVE this resort! It's my favorite of the Deluxe out of all of them. And it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL at Christmas. Alex is going to have the BEST first WDW trip ever!! I don't know how we're gonna top this :laughing:

Also, Alex turned 4 months old on Sunday (4/17)....I try to get a picture of him in his little arm chair every month so here's Alex at 4 months

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And another for your enjoyment

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So envious of your hotel choice! Would love to stay there someday!

First let me say that your little boy is so precious, Enjoy every minute with him. I know you will! What a blessing! His first birthday at Disney will be even more meaningful :goodvibes

It's been awhile since I've traveled with ones that age. My oldest daughter is 9 1/2 now but when she was 8 months old, dh and I were in Florida visiting family and took her to SeaWorld for the day then had dinner at O'hana. Also took her to Magic Kingdom for the day when she was 1 1/2.

Can't wait to read more :)
 
Ok folks, we have a bit of a trip change here. I've been thinking about December a lot lately and realized that going to WDW, planning and having Alex's first birthday party AND Christmas all back to back would make us CARAZY!!!!! So, we have decided to go in November instead which just makes the trip that much closer so I"m SUPER excited!!!!!!! We are now going November 11th - 18th and will be there for my BFF's (Becca) birthday! I've never gotten to be with her in person to celebrate her birthday so this is going to be an AWESOME treat! AAANNNDDD Trentmom (Kelly aka Sharky) who is also here on my PTR will be there with her family around the same time. We'll be overlapping by a few days so we'll hook up with them at a park at some point while we're there. Did I already say I'm super excited!? LOL

Ok so here's the Mock Itenerary:

Thursday November 10th:Drive through the night down to Orlando. We figure this will be easiest since Alex sleeps through the night and this way we can just drive and not worry about making a million stops for him on the way making our 7-8 hour drive 9-10 hours.

Friday November 11th: Arrive at WL, let Chris sleep while I entertain Alex at the resort for a while. Once Chris wakes up we'll go to DTD and have dinner with my Grandmother.

Saturday November 12th:
8am: Morning EMH @ DHS (Alex is a morning person)
12pm: Back to resort for break & nap
4pm - Close: Back to DHS for more fun and Osbourn lights if they're up. I hope they are!

Sunday November 13th:
9am: AK. Don't want to do much here but let Alex see the animals and go on M&M's nature path thing and Rafiki's.
12pm: Back to resort for break and nap
4pm: MK for MVMCP. Won't stay till close but want Alex to see the parade and fire works and ride a few rides while the lines are short.

Monday November 14th:
Beach (if it's not too cool out) & relax day

Tuesday November 15th:
8am: Morning EMH @ EPCOT. We're going straight for the character spot as soon as it opens.
12pm: Back to resort for break & nap
4pm - close: EPCOT

Wednesday November 16th:
Relax Day - no plans - Becca's birthday :woohoo:

Thursday November 16th:
8am: Morning EMH @ MK
12pm: back to resort for break & nap
3pm - close: MK

Friday November 17th:
Relax - DTD - Sleep as much as possible (mostly Chris) then drive through the night back home :sad1:

So there you have it folks. These things are subject to change but that's what I have for now. To those that have gone with babies/young kids, does this look reasonable for an almost one year old?

Sounds very reasonable, I think taking a break from the parks for the afternoon and then the two days away from the parks is a good idea too.
 
Where ever you stay, Carla, it will still be awesome! It's Disney!!! With ALEX!!! :love:

It won't matter where you are sleeping and showering, girl! The magical part will be pushing Alex through your happy place in his stroller! :lovestruc

More money left to spend on fun stuff for the little guy is not a bad thing either! :thumbsup2

So true so true! Just being there with him will mean more than anything. And you're right, saving money on the resort just means we can spoil Alex more. He won't have a clue about value over deluxe anyways. :goodvibes

I tend to agree. I think whichever way it falls, you'll have a great time! I hope you'll be able to stick with WL, just b/c I know y'all haven't been able to do deluxe in a long time, and it might add to the magic. BUT you know I'm a big fan of Pop too :laughing:

Yeah it would have been nice but like you and Nicole are saying, just being there with Alex instead of having this trip as a consolation prize to not being pregnant again is better than any old resort we'd spend too much $ on anyways :laughing: If we stay value we'll probably go to All Star. Pop made me mad last July.

So envious of your hotel choice! Would love to stay there someday!

First let me say that your little boy is so precious, Enjoy every minute with him. I know you will! What a blessing! His first birthday at Disney will be even more meaningful :goodvibes

It's been awhile since I've traveled with ones that age. My oldest daughter is 9 1/2 now but when she was 8 months old, dh and I were in Florida visiting family and took her to SeaWorld for the day then had dinner at O'hana. Also took her to Magic Kingdom for the day when she was 1 1/2.

Can't wait to read more :)

Don't be too envious...it looks like we're probably going to change resorts to save some money.

Thank you so much and yes we will! I'm looking forward to this trip with him so very much! I"m even going to enjoy the times where he's cranky :goodvibes

Ah so how did your DD do at sea world? I'm considering taking Alex there one day instead of the beach :confused3 I dunno though.

Sounds very reasonable, I think taking a break from the parks for the afternoon and then the two days away from the parks is a good idea too.

Thanks :goodvibes I might wind up filling at least one of those days with Sea World/Islands of Adventure. Still discussing with DH at the moment.
 
So Alex is 6 months old today! I just can't believe it! Time is just flying! My Mom and I took him to get his 6 month pictures taken yesterday and he did GREAT. I just love Portrait Innovations. The photographer did such a fantastic job and somehow he got Alex to smile for just about every picture he took. Here's a slideshow of the pictures from yesterday for your viewing pleasure.

http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r244/leger13/Alex Month 6/?albumview=slideshow

I'm hoping to get my ADR's done some time this weekend (I haven't even begun to think about where we might want to eat this trip! :scared1:) and have a trip update for y'all soon.
 

Don't be too envious...it looks like we're probably going to change resorts to save some money.

I know what you mean. I would love to stay there someday but we wind up at the moderate resorts. Not crazy about the theming of the values but we love the CBR and POR/POFQ. We stayed at the GF for our honeymoon back in 1999 but that was a once in a lifetime thing.

[/QUOTE]Thank you so much and yes we will! I'm looking forward to this trip with him so very much! I"m even going to enjoy the times where he's cranky :goodvibes

Ah so how did your DD do at sea world? I'm considering taking Alex there one day instead of the beach :confused3 I dunno though.

Thanks :goodvibes I might wind up filling at least one of those days with Sea World/Islands of Adventure. Still discussing with DH at the moment.[/QUOTE]



She did great at SeaWorld. I chose that one because I thought it was still be enjoyable for everyone. Yes, she was only 8 months old at the time but I thought that might be a better choice than IOA (my personal opinioin, nothing more). My dh loves rides but I know him and he'd wind up not doing alot of them by himself and SeaWorld was more shows and it's such a beautiful park to walk around. Plus she hadn't had any character experience yet...not until she was 1 1/2. We took her to Sesame Place and she did great when one of the characters walked up to her and she was so happy, I knew she'd do fine in DisneyWorld....and she did, the month after that. :love:
 
So Alex is 6 months old today! I just can't believe it! Time is just flying! My Mom and I took him to get his 6 month pictures taken yesterday and he did GREAT. I just love Portrait Innovations. The photographer did such a fantastic job and somehow he got Alex to smile for just about every picture he took. Here's a slideshow of the pictures from yesterday for your viewing pleasure.

http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r244/leger13/Alex Month 6/?albumview=slideshow

I'm hoping to get my ADR's done some time this weekend (I haven't even begun to think about where we might want to eat this trip! :scared1:) and have a trip update for y'all soon.


They grow up so fast... trust me. He is such a cutie. Those are great pictures. I can't believe how many they took of him and that in ALL of them he is looking at the camera.
 
I know what you mean. I would love to stay there someday but we wind up at the moderate resorts. Not crazy about the theming of the values but we love the CBR and POR/POFQ. We stayed at the GF for our honeymoon back in 1999 but that was a once in a lifetime thing.


She did great at SeaWorld. I chose that one because I thought it was still be enjoyable for everyone. Yes, she was only 8 months old at the time but I thought that might be a better choice than IOA (my personal opinioin, nothing more). My dh loves rides but I know him and he'd wind up not doing alot of them by himself and SeaWorld was more shows and it's such a beautiful park to walk around. Plus she hadn't had any character experience yet...not until she was 1 1/2. We took her to Sesame Place and she did great when one of the characters walked up to her and she was so happy, I knew she'd do fine in DisneyWorld....and she did, the month after that. :love:

I used to love Pop but I think it's gone downhill. When we were there in July they were doing construction and we were woken up every morning at 6am to drilling and banging and such and we couldn't go back and take naps due to that either. I'm also afraid that if we stay at a value the kids and random noise will hinder Alex from napping if he naps at the hotel. So We'll probably wind up at POR. We've only stayed deluxe once too for our honeymoon. The Beach Club. Certainly a once in a lifetime thing.

Ah gotcha. Well that makes sense. I don't know, I think DH and I would enjoy the Harry Potter thing at IOA and Alex would like Suess Land and Toon Town. :confused3 We shall see. DH isn't big on coasters but he doesn't mind waiting for me while I ride. Maybe we could do half a day at IOA and half a day at Sea World. :confused3
 
They grow up so fast... trust me. He is such a cutie. Those are great pictures. I can't believe how many they took of him and that in ALL of them he is looking at the camera.

They sure do! I know I"m going to blink my eyes and he'll be a teenager. :sad1:Thank you :) Yes the photographer did a GREAT job! We had them taken at Portrait Innovations. I couldn't believe Alex didn't start crying or get cranky or anything during the shoot and the photog got him to smile for almost ALL the pics. It was so hard to pick just a few to print out. I absolutely love that place.
 
Happy father's Day to all the daddies and daddies to be out there!

Today we've celebrated with going to church, then going out to eat with chris' parents. Going to Target. We got a baby pool for Alex and a float for him for when we take him to swim at my Mom's neighborhood pool and also a few other things (books and stuff like that for Alex). Then we came home and I got the pool ready for Alex and we let him splash around in it for a bit. Video below. All in all it's been a nice day.

Here's a picture of what Alex made his daddy for his first father's day.
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Here's a picture of Chris and Alex today for Father's day
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And here's some pictures of Alex in his baby pool today
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he wasn't sure what to do in the water
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then he got the hang of it and it was SO cute!!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUCrJJdhsMY
 
Oh yeah and I also contacted a bakery about Alex's first birthday cake and smash cake (yes, I'm an overplanner and have to do everything super early). A custom cake is about $240 for what I want. Is that crazy? Am I crazy for being willing to pay that? Hah! I just want everything to be perfect. It's not every day that Alex will turn a year old. Anyways, here's a pic that we're modeling the cake after. I found it here on the cake thread.

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And here is a plate from the decorations we're getting.
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On top of the cake is going to be a bigger set of mickey ears than what's on the cake in the picture. No white ears and no balls or wires. The cake is going to be the colors that's on the plate. And at the bottom of the cake is going to be a banner that says "Happy 1st Birthday Alex". What do you guys think? I'm pretty excited.
 
Love the pool pictures! What a great Father's Day for your husband!

As for the 1st birthday...it only happens once. Looking back I have found that the 1st birthday really is not for the child but for the parents (mom mainly). You do what you want for this party...the cake is lovely and you have lots of reasons to celebrate this milestone in a BIG way! I personally HAD to bake my children's 1st birthday cake...no I am in no way a cake decorator...but there was something about making the first birthday cake that was important to me...in fact MIL and I about came to blows over dd first cake (she is could be a professional).
 
Love the pool pictures! What a great Father's Day for your husband!

As for the 1st birthday...it only happens once. Looking back I have found that the 1st birthday really is not for the child but for the parents (mom mainly). You do what you want for this party...the cake is lovely and you have lots of reasons to celebrate this milestone in a BIG way! I personally HAD to bake my children's 1st birthday cake...no I am in no way a cake decorator...but there was something about making the first birthday cake that was important to me...in fact MIL and I about came to blows over dd first cake (she is could be a professional).

Thanks! Yeah he seems to have enjoyed himself.

And thank you so much for making me feel less crazy for wanting to drop that kind of cash on Alex's birthday cake LOL! For subsequent parties I will get a regular sheet cake but as you said, this birthday is special in so many ways! That stinks that you and your MIL butted heads over making the first birthday cake. My Mom and MIL seem to be leaving me alone about Alex's first birthday so far. So hopefully it will stay that way.
 
OMG! I can't wait to see how the cake turns out. The decorations and cake are going to be sooo amazing. That pic is too cute. Spendy or not... Alex is your miracle baby so lots to celebrate! Enjoy the day. He will only be one once... and believe me you want to make this memorable. :goodvibes
 
awesome baby pics -- I'm sure Chris loved it!!

Yes, I believe the Osboure lights will be up during your travel dates, at least at the end. But they haven't announced the official dates yet, so just keep checking.

Last year, they weren't supposed to go up until like the 17th or so but then they turned them on earlier (I can't remember the exact dates)

Well, I guess I have to differ. Spending over $200 for a cake seems very high to me. But that's just my opinion. I started to fret when I paid $55 for a special cake. Normally I just do a grocery store cake for around $20-30, depending on size and then decorate it myself with kid's themed toys. (Wegmans had pink and black polka dots all around the cake with pink trim and then I added Minnie Mouses. It was great!)

If I were you (and I am not), I'd try to do a cake for about 1/4 to 1/2 that and save the rest of the money for decorations, other food, gifts, college fund, disney trip.

but whatever you do -- Enjoy!! Everyone values different things.

I bought a $130 Dooney & Bourke Mickey purse ... where my mom/sister only pay about $10 for a purse. So they thought I was crazy!:rotfl2:
 
I'm glad to hear that! I have to say I'm a little nervous about it being right on Halloween! We haven't missed party in 4 years but it's always been in September or early October. Thanks for the info...if your Doc goes every year on that day, it must be ok!!!



It is one my favorite things! I guess my DD is just used to celebrating Halloween at Disney in September and then having the real Halloween at home. School just has to get in the way of my plans :laughing:

I want that party CD!!! Just love the parade music :lovestruc



I was also not around here for a while. Just glad I'm here now :thumbsup2

Yeah, we just don't know how Kgarten is going to go so I'm just a little nervous to pull her. She is off 2 days that week and then she'll miss 3 days so I felt like that was better than missing 5. I'm starting to homeschooling is sounding pretty good :rotfl:



I need to look up the attendance policy....I have no idea. Good thought! Kgarten is 1/2 day so she won't be missing much at all!

Did I tell you that I booked WL? :woohoo:

Yeah, look at policy and do what works best for you for sure

Oh sweet....WL looks great :wizard:

So Alex is 6 months old today! I just can't believe it! Time is just flying! My Mom and I took him to get his 6 month pictures taken yesterday and he did GREAT. I just love Portrait Innovations. The photographer did such a fantastic job and somehow he got Alex to smile for just about every picture he took. Here's a slideshow of the pictures from yesterday for your viewing pleasure.

http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r244/leger13/Alex Month 6/?albumview=slideshow

I'm hoping to get my ADR's done some time this weekend (I haven't even begun to think about where we might want to eat this trip! :scared1:) and have a trip update for y'all soon.

Time really is flying

His pictures are great and his smile is great in all of them

such a cutie :cutie:
 
Alex looks just like DH in that pic :goodvibes

Glad you all had a nice Father Day. Alex looks like he had a blast in the pool :goodvibes


That cake is amazing

I normally would not spend that much money on a cake, but considering what you went through to have him, I could justify that. It is a celebration for you and Chris and for Alex as well

Cute Bday plates:goodvibes
 
OMG! I can't wait to see how the cake turns out. The decorations and cake are going to be sooo amazing. That pic is too cute. Spendy or not... Alex is your miracle baby so lots to celebrate! Enjoy the day. He will only be one once... and believe me you want to make this memorable. :goodvibes

Thanks so much! So true so true. I know I'm not the only one that's gone a little crazy with the first bday cake. I know he won't care but it matters to me.

awesome baby pics -- I'm sure Chris loved it!!

Yes, I believe the Osboure lights will be up during your travel dates, at least at the end. But they haven't announced the official dates yet, so just keep checking.

Last year, they weren't supposed to go up until like the 17th or so but then they turned them on earlier (I can't remember the exact dates)

Well, I guess I have to differ. Spending over $200 for a cake seems very high to me. But that's just my opinion. I started to fret when I paid $55 for a special cake. Normally I just do a grocery store cake for around $20-30, depending on size and then decorate it myself with kid's themed toys. (Wegmans had pink and black polka dots all around the cake with pink trim and then I added Minnie Mouses. It was great!)

If I were you (and I am not), I'd try to do a cake for about 1/4 to 1/2 that and save the rest of the money for decorations, other food, gifts, college fund, disney trip.

but whatever you do -- Enjoy!! Everyone values different things.

I bought a $130 Dooney & Bourke Mickey purse ... where my mom/sister only pay about $10 for a purse. So they thought I was crazy!:rotfl2:

Awesome! I really hope they are!

And yeah, I'm having a little anxiety over how much the cake is. I'm going to get a few more quotes. I haven't booked it yet but I have the option to. I'll definitely look and see what Publix and Kroger has to offer with cakes but if I'm not impressed, trust me, I'll spend what it takes to get the perfect cake. He may not remember it but he can look back on the pictures. Plus I'll probably go over board for his 16th and 21st too.

And you're right, to each their own. I wouldn't spend that much $ on a purse ;)

Yeah, look at policy and do what works best for you for sure

Oh sweet....WL looks great :wizard:



Time really is flying

His pictures are great and his smile is great in all of them

such a cutie :cutie:

It sure is

thanks Kelly!

Alex looks just like DH in that pic :goodvibes

Glad you all had a nice Father Day. Alex looks like he had a blast in the pool :goodvibes


That cake is amazing

I normally would not spend that much money on a cake, but considering what you went through to have him, I could justify that. It is a celebration for you and Chris and for Alex as well

Cute Bday plates:goodvibes

Thanks girl!

Yeah I'm excited about it. And yes, that's exactly why I'm going a bit nuts with it haha! That and the fact that we won't be giving him any gifts from us for his bday. His bday present is Disney World.

I was thinking the sane exact thing.:rotfl:

:goodvibes
 
We're still alive. Sorry for the lack of updates and posts out of me. Teething has taken over my life. First it was the bottom two (those finally popped through) and now it's the top two (he's still working on those). I still haven't made my ADR's or done anything else for this trip. This is the least I've planned so far for any disney trip. I have a feeling we're gonna have to wing a lot of stuff and that's making me crazy just thinking about it. :scared1:
 
Isn't it funny how babies just seem to take over our entire lives?! :lmao: Hang in there with the teething. I did find that mine loved teethers that were cold...so I would pop them into the freezer for about an hour. Baby ora-gel is a life saver at night!!!!
 





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