The Yearly Trip to Princess Ashlyn's Florida Castle! March 2010 PTR

[BabyEeyore]

Your DD is precious!

So how did it go when you took her at 2 months old? As you know I’m taking an infant too, and I’m hoping it goes smoothly? Any tips or advice for taking a 10 week old?

I’m sorry to hear about your mother. My Mom passed away in September of 2008 , ((she was 51)) Unfortunately we had a falling out years ago and things were left under bad circumstances. I regret everyday that things had to be they way they were. She was never able meet any of her grandkids and I regret that more then anything else. It sounds like you and your mother had a great relationship though, and I bet you have some great memories that will last a lifetime.

We “might” be at Epcot on the same day as you. I believe that’s one of our “open” days, so I think we will do Epcot and Magic Kingdom. We’ll keep an eye out for you.

I’m loving the shirts and pillowcases….. VERY COOL!!

That is so awesome that Ashlyn and your Dad are going to meet for the first time. My Dad lives in California and we live in Colorado, so I understand how hard it is not to have “grandpa” around. I however was lucky and actually had my dad in the delivery room for both my Children’s births. So he got to meet them both right away.

Going back to one of your earlier posts about your DD being breech…. My DS was breech for the last 2 months… Actually he was flipping and flopping around for two months. I even had a C-section scheduled because he was breech, but he flipped at the last minute and I was lucky enough to have a ******l birth. However due to all the flipping and flopping he wrapped his umbilical cord around his neck 3 times and almost suffocated when I pushed him out. It was really scary and he was taken away from me and into the NICU right after birth. Now he’s a healthy beautiful 10 week old. J

Anyway….. I’m looking forward to reading more…. We both leave REALLY soon!!! YAY.

Thanks for stopping by my PTR!!! Let's see... it was just me, DH, and DD going on our trip when she was 2 months old. We didn't ride anything, just walked around, met some characters, and enjoyed the place. If my DH can go this trip, I think we will be taking advantage of Baby Swap. Definitely utilize the Baby Care Centers. We only went to MK, but I know they have them at each park. They are AWESOME!!!! Have you been in them before? LOVE them! We just took our time and based our schedule (when to take breaks, etc.) on her.

I am very sorry about your Mom. I did have a wonderful relationship with my mom, which I am thankful for. I was able to see her after she got sick and we pretty much knew there wasn't anything they could do, but I didn't go see her when she was in hospice and didn't have much time left. I was very pregnant and just couldn't make the flight from GTMO to California. I will always regret that. I am very sad that she was never able to meet Ashlyn, but at least she was around and aware and I could tell her I was pregnant and having a girl. My parents have 3 grandsons and Ashlyn is their first granddaughter. She always hoped that I would have a little girl.

We'll definitely keep an eye out for you, too! I have to go check out your schedule again, but we ended up changing ours a bit, I think. It looks like we're going to switch our Epcot and MK days. So Tuesday will be Epcot, Wednesday will be AK in the morning and MK at night, then Thursday will be MK. It just looked like it would be better for us that way. But if you're thinking you'll do Epcot and Magic Kingdom, you never know... we still might run into each other!!

That is wonderful that your dad was able to be at both of your kids' births! Very special.

Oh how scary that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Both Aaron and I were born like that. Ashlyn kept her head up in the right side of my rib cage during my whole pregnancy. We had a c-section scheduled on a Monday but she decided she wanted to come on a Friday. And she was coming quick!!! I'm very glad that the doctors live only 5 minutes away from the hospital so they got there super quickly. Seeing the pictures of your son makes me want another. He's so cute. Well, so is your DD, but you know what I mean.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Today starts the last weekend before our flight to Florida! Tomorrow will mark 7 short days before I get on a plane!!!! There is still hope that Aaron will be coming with us, but I'm trying not to get too excited because you just never know when it comes to the military. I'm hoping to hear more today when Aaron gets home, but I'm not expecting to know until Monday or Tuesday. Heck, we could not know until the day before we leave!!! That would suck, but I am happy that it isn't a "NO!" yet. So now we play the waiting game.

Anyway, so this weekend we will be breaking out our suitcases. I will be packing some things right away but a lot of it will be waiting since Monday is my big laundry day. Not to mention closer to our flight date I'll be doing all the laundry that has accumulated in those days. I think when I'm getting ready for a WDW trip (or really, any chance to go to the states for awhile and shop!) is the only time I actually enjoy doing laundry!!!

The other day I was playing the American Idol game for PS3 and Ashlyn loves to play with the microphone. It was just the two of us so as I played I let her have the second mic.

She's already practicing for the AIE!!! Aaron's dad says that she's going to win America's Next Top Model and my dad says she's going to win American Idol. We don't think much of her or anything.

Tomorrow night we are having another Family Movie Night! This time it is Finding Nemo. I can't wait! I'll post pics afterwards.

 

[reyasmommy]

Woo-hoo! Our trips are coming up quickly! I hoping to have all my packing done by sunday...except for the things I need the morning of. I even have the kids outfits picked out and hanging up for the morning we leave.

Your DD is so cute... Seeing her with the microphone reminds me of Reya.. Almost on a daily basis she walks around the living room singing with one of her fake mics singing gibberish to me and Jayden.

Hope Aaron is able to make it.

 

[lexmas]

Hi! I think I posted at the same time as you before, so I'm hoping I just got overlooked, and it's not that I'm not welcome here!

Last weekend before your trip! That's such a big milestone! I bet you're resisting the urge to just do this: all day every day!

I'm glad that Aaron might be able to come with you still. Crossing my fingers for you!

I can't believe you haven't packed yet! What self restraint! Have you at least made packing lists? I always obsessively make lists and then I'm packing at like 3 am the day I go. I should really think these things through better!

Ashlyn is so adorable! If they let babies enter the American Idol experience, she would win for sure! You should try. Just tell them, "She's 15. She's just small. Ignore the diaper."

Can't wait to hear how Finding Nemo went! That's a good choice, because the ride at Epcot is too cute. I can't wait to see what "themed" things you do this time. No fishsticks! Fish are friends, not food!

 

[BabyEeyore]

subbing!

Your DD is so cute! I'm so glad your dad is finally going to get to meet her!

OMG!!! I am SOOO sorry! It does look like you posted while I was writing one of my updates so I didn't see it. You are VERY welcome here.

My dad died of cancer at 63 while I was pregnant with DD (she was born 6 weeks after he died, on what would have been his 64th birthday), so I know how it is. I'm sorry about your mom. Cancer really does suck, I agree. It's hard enough having a parent not get to meet your child, but living far away from your dad must be hard. He's going to pack himself in your suitcase and come home with you!

I am very sorry about your dad. I definitely want to try and pack my dad in my suitcase! I would love for him to be able to move with us wherever we go. He has a cat, too, and I keep telling Aaron our cat, Ali, needs a friend!

I love those mickey oreos! What a great idea! We can't eat oreos (food allergies) but I'm going to come up with some kind of cookie to cover in chocolate and put ears on now!

Thanks! I think pretty much any cookie would taste good with chocolate on it, so I say go for it!!

I love your movie "theme" days. DS won't watch an entire movie. He gets about 20 minutes in and gets either bored or scared. Yesterday I tried to get him to watch beauty and the beast and he turned it off and told me the beast was "too grumpy for him to watch".

Awww, how cute!!! "Too grumpy for him to watch..." I love it. Ashlyn will watch half to 3/4 of a movie before her attention goes to something else. Or she'll fall asleep... depends on the time of day.

DD will be 16-17 months on our trip in September, so I can't wait to see how yours goes! I have no idea how DD will be at that age because DS was late at everything and she's early at everything so far! Is she talking? Care to explain to me what a normal baby is like? (Poor DS, me calling him not normal. That's not a nice Mommy thing of me to do. But he didn't speak in sentences until over 2.5 and he still mumbles when he's anywhere but home! He's lazy and shy which is a terrible combination in a 3 year old! In his defense, he always made himself perfectly clear, he was a very good pointer, and he used one word at a time very effectively! )

I will definitely be making a TR! DD was great when we went and she was 13 months old. I wouldn't say she's a "normal" baby. She was late with walking and doesn't say much but a few words. She understands a TON and does a few signs like "hungry" and "hurt" and does a couple animal sounds, but not much more. She always seems to get her point across, though! She was shy until this last time we went to WDW. I guess all the crowds and stuff just kinda opened her up. Now she runs and plays with any kids that are around! Well, after awhile... it takes her a little bit of clinging to my leg and taking everything in before she'll go run off and feel comfortable.

The clothes and pillowcases are too cute. I'd love to get some pillowcases for DS and DD but I have no idea how the process works. Would you mind explaining it to me? (You can send me a PM if you don't want to do it here!)

Thank you! It just involves the shirt or pillowcase, a design, and some iron transfer paper. I'll send you a PM soon! After I write this, I need to go feed Ashlyn, but then I'll write you.

Oh, and I thought the "Daddy" shirt looked fine, so I must be missing something!

I just accidentally touched part of the Mickey head with the iron so there's a little part that isn't perfect, but obviously it isn't very noticeable so I think I can live with it. Aaron said he thought it actually looks good since it is a pirate thing anyway (he didn't notice it at first, either).

Again, I am so sorry that I missed your first post!!!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Last weekend before your trip! That's such a big milestone! I bet you're resisting the urge to just do this: all day every day!

I'm glad that Aaron might be able to come with you still. Crossing my fingers for you!

Thanks! It really is hard not to explode with excitement each day! Trust me, if I find out Aaron can go, I will be!!! I think I'm focused on that and getting things in order before we go so I don't go crazy with anticipation!

I can't believe you haven't packed yet! What self restraint! Have you at least made packing lists? I always obsessively make lists and then I'm packing at like 3 am the day I go. I should really think these things through better!

I do have packing lists, lists of stuff we want to get in the states that we can't get here, and stuff like that. I make lists like mad! I think the only thing that has kept me from packing already is that the suitcases are in the garage and I'm scared to death of spiders. I've never seen one in the garage, but the storage closet in there is dark and small... I can only imagine that there could be spiders in there, just waiting to get me!

Ashlyn is so adorable! If they let babies enter the American Idol experience, she would win for sure! You should try. Just tell them, "She's 15. She's just small. Ignore the diaper."

LOVE it! Too funny.

Can't wait to hear how Finding Nemo went! That's a good choice, because the ride at Epcot is too cute. I can't wait to see what "themed" things you do this time. No fishsticks! Fish are friends, not food!

I'm definitely looking forward to the Nemo ride. I've never been to Epcot (I've only been to the Magic Kingdom... you know, not counting the parks in Cali) so I'm really excited to go. Nope, no fish sticks! I specifically told Aaron that we are having what we are because we can't eat fish.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Woo-hoo! Our trips are coming up quickly! I hoping to have all my packing done by sunday...except for the things I need the morning of. I even have the kids outfits picked out and hanging up for the morning we leave.

Your DD is so cute... Seeing her with the microphone reminds me of Reya.. Almost on a daily basis she walks around the living room singing with one of her fake mics singing gibberish to me and Jayden.

Hope Aaron is able to make it.

I know!!! I love how we're leaving so close to each other so we can get excited together!!!

Awww, Reya walking around singing to you guys sounds too adorable! Great, now I have to add a toy mic to my list of things to buy.

 

[DrMomof3]

Cute, cute, cute!!!
I'm going to live vicariously through you during your trip. We have SO much snow right now!

Amanda

 

[BabyEeyore]

Cute, cute, cute!!!
I'm going to live vicariously through you during your trip. We have SO much snow right now!

Amanda

Wow. I've been to the snow once in my life. I think I was 12 or younger. I don't even remember where we went. Somewhere in California, I'm sure. And there wasn't much there anyway! I don't count the one time it lightly snowed when we lived in Virginia Beach since it didn't stick or anything. lol I would love to take Ashlyn somewhere to play in the snow one day.

 

[Charlefours]

I am glad that the top ten list made you excited!! To have your Dad to get to know your daughter in Disney--so magical!! I cannot wait to hear about how it goes (I am assuming you are going to do a TR on it). You are off so soon!!

Such cuteness!! Your DD is a heartbreaker in the making for sure (no matter is she wins Top Model or AI).

Come on up to Michigan--I think we have about 13 inches outside right now with more falling. Though some has melted...

 

[BabyEeyore]

Thanks Charlefours! Aaron's already planning on getting a shotgun when Ashlyn's older just to be able to take it out and clean it when her dates come to the door.

I feel so blessed that not only can my dad meet Ashlyn but that it gets to be in such a magical place, like you said. I already warned him (and myself) that she is pretty shy at first so she's not going to be too into him for the first couple of hours. She doesn't even like her Daddy to hold her too much when I'm around. She's a total Mama's girl right now. I'm glad she has a few days so she can get used to him and they can have fun together.

WOW 13 inches of snow! I've only seen pictures of that much snow!

 

[BabyEeyore]

In 6 days we'll be flying to Florida and in 8 days we'll be checking into Pop!!!

Last night we had our Family Movie Night. We chose Finding Nemo. That morning we went to the beach with another family and thought it would be cute to do it this morning (as opposed to Sunday morning) so we could tie it into the movie theme. The little boy is our friends' son.

Ashlyn loves the water, but doesn't really enjoy getting dirty, which explains the look on her face. The sand is so dark because it had been raining pretty heavily for a couple of days so everything was still kinda wet. Which just made it worse for her. Plus the water was still cold since it had been overcast so she didn't really enjoy that either. Poor girl, it just wasn't the right beach day for her.

For dinner, instead of surf, we had turf (hamburgers) since "fish are friends, not food!"

Sorry it's blurry but I just couldn't seem to get it to focus correctly.

We also had macaroni and cheese and Ashlyn's transformed into an anemone with Nemo, Marlin, and friends (goldfish crackers).

For dessert was Ocean Cookies! I just made some break and bake sugar cookies, covered them with blue icing gel, and put some Finding Nemo fruit snacks on top. Very cute and very yummy!

After dinner we did a little activity. I colored in some fish (3 orange, 3 blue, and 3 red), cut them out, and we did a matching game with Ashlyn. She didn't do very well, but it was her first time trying to match colors. We're going to keep trying and I know she'll get the hang of it. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of that, but it was just a simple little thing. Then after the activity we put in the movie! We're really enjoying these movie nights and are going to continue to do them every couple of weeks. Since our trip is coming up, we're going to put off our next night until the Saturday after The Princess and the Frog comes out so we can do that movie!!!

 

[lexmas]

How cute is all that theming?!?!

Poor cold baby on the beach! I just love those chubby little arms! So adorable! Did her friend mind getting dirty? Or is he "all boy" already?

I'm glad you remembered to have turf, and I love the goldfish in the mac n cheese!

Those cookies are cute, you have the best baking ideas! DS would go crazy for those. Cookies and gummies are an amazing combination!

So, did she like the movie? You never said!

We have not seen princess and the frog yet, we're anxiously awaiting it's release!

Oh and for 6 days!

 

[reyasmommy]

Adorable! Beach pictures are the best, and I LOVE Ashlynns pigtails and sunglasses.

Must be so nice to be able to go to the beach and ocean whenever you want. I'm sitting here on the couch, getting ready for the snow to start falling. I'm so excited for warmer weather!

Love your themeing and movie night ideas.

I think we'll watch Finding Nemo tonight too..... But sorry, fish sticks will probably be on the menu. That sounds pretty yummy.


YAY!!!! 6 days for you and 4 days for me!!! WOOOO HOOOO!!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

How cute is all that theming?!?!

Poor cold baby on the beach! I just love those chubby little arms! So adorable! Did her friend mind getting dirty? Or is he "all boy" already?

I'm glad you remembered to have turf, and I love the goldfish in the mac n cheese!

Those cookies are cute, you have the best baking ideas! DS would go crazy for those. Cookies and gummies are an amazing combination!

So, did she like the movie? You never said!

We have not seen princess and the frog yet, we're anxiously awaiting it's release!

Oh and for 6 days!

Thank you! Our friends' son (10 months old) is already all boy. He didn't mind crawling, digging, etc. in the wet sand. His parents kept having to dip him in the ocean so he wouldn't just be caked with dirt the whole time!

Oh, Ashlyn really liked the movie. She didn't sit and watch the whole thing. She just doesn't have the attention span to do that right now. But she watched a whole lot of it and really enjoyed what she did see. We watched The Little Mermaid tonight, just for fun, and she LOVES the music from that movie. Ashlyn's big into music and art already.

We loved The Princess and the Frog. Again, Ashlyn loved the music. She was only awake for half of it. Here in GTMO we have an outdoor theater which is really cool, but that means the movies are only on at night. So the movie was on at 8pm (they just recently switched to starting at 7pm). Her bedtime is 8pm but we let her stay up a little bit longer to watch some of the movie. Let me know what you think of it if you buy it!!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Adorable! Beach pictures are the best, and I LOVE Ashlynns pigtails and sunglasses.

Must be so nice to be able to go to the beach and ocean whenever you want. I'm sitting here on the couch, getting ready for the snow to start falling. I'm so excited for warmer weather!

Love your themeing and movie night ideas.

I think we'll watch Finding Nemo tonight too..... But sorry, fish sticks will probably be on the menu. That sounds pretty yummy.


YAY!!!! 6 days for you and 4 days for me!!! WOOOO HOOOO!!!

Thank you! She just looks so much older when she's in pigtails! I do love her sunglasses, too. She's just too cute in them.

We are definitely very lucky to live somewhere where it's warm all year round. It is extremely isolated, though. We have been here for 2 years and will be here for 1.5 more. It will be weird moving back to the states!!! It has been a wonderful place to start our family.

Fish sticks are good for Finding Nemo. You can always say it's the meal before entering the fish are friends, not food program.

Yay for 4 days!

 

[-Hope-]

cute cute cute!! We did the mac-n-cheese anemone with goldfish crackers for our Nemo movie day too. We laughed so hard that some people were eating fish sticks at theirs- we agreed with you fish are friends not food!

Soooo jealous that your trip is so close!

 

[Charlefours]

The picture from the beach is adorable--I am so jealous of your weather right now. It is freezing here!! Though we did get up to 40 today Adorable FN meal--I love how you incorporated the beach trip with it.

Almost time to go!!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

cute cute cute!! We did the mac-n-cheese anemone with goldfish crackers for our Nemo movie day too. We laughed so hard that some people were eating fish sticks at theirs- we agreed with you fish are friends not food!

Soooo jealous that your trip is so close!

Thanks! I couldn't think of anything more clever than hamburgers for dinner. It worked for us, though! Ashlyn doesn't like ground beef (unless it's in a soft taco ) so it was just for Aaron and me. I LOVE seeing your movie nights. They are always SO cute and fun!

The picture from the beach is adorable--I am so jealous of your weather right now. It is freezing here!! Though we did get up to 40 today Adorable FN meal--I love how you incorporated the beach trip with it.

Almost time to go!!!

Thanks! We are definitely very lucky. We do freeze when it's 70 degrees, though. We've been spoiled. It's an excuse to go out and buy cute gloves and jackets (I've been wanting a cute trench coat forever!) when we move back to the states, though!

1 more week until we're on Disney property!!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

I just have to celebrate... 1 week from today we will be on Disney property!!!!

Excuse me while I go start packing!