We're Doing Disney Again Someday...Plus One! ~ Come Read my Trip Report!!!

[Alysa]

Oh my gosh, she is so CUTE!!!! Okay, tell me all about this fabulous, crazy, eating chunks of broccoli thing.

 

[Dugette]

Our DD did very well at 15 months. She slept in the stroller when she was tired, she will be more likely to fight the sleep now. She loved all the characters, though you never know at that age. Fireworks scare her now but she didn't mind them then. We tried to stay close to her sleep schedule at home. She is an early bird so rope drops weren't a problem but we only saw fireworks once that week and one afternoon parade due to nap times. Meals at roughly the same time also. She ate free at buffets and we shared food from our plates and her sisters for sit down meals. Christmas week definitely takes alot of planning and an adjustment of expectations but it is beautiful and should be fun with all of us together.

Noelle

Sounds like it was a good age to go. I'm so excited to take Dug Baby to WDW! We're planning along the lines of what you said...keeping the schedule similar to normal. Hope she'll like the characters, but like you said, you never know.

Oh my gosh, she is so CUTE!!!! Okay, tell me all about this fabulous, crazy, eating chunks of broccoli thing.

It's called "baby-led weaning". Essentially skipping purees and going right to finger foods. Large, stick-shaped pieces are ideal so that they can hold them in their fist and have some sticking out to munch on. I think she has actually consumed very little, but she does a lot of sucking, gumming, practice chewing, licking, etc. She seems to really be a fan of chicken so far. I recommend the "Baby Led Weaning Cookbook" for more info and ideas.

 

[Dugette]

Sorry for my super-sporadic updates. Time seems to be such a precious commodity these days. But, since Dug Baby is napping, I thought I'd forego the nap I need to get some pictures up here.

We'll start with a random assortment.

I got her another outfit for the trip. I picture her wearing this skirt and shirt in World Showcase:



Some day, if I ever get a chance, I want to put up a post with all of her Disney outfits for the trip. But, that requires getting them all out and taking pictures, which is a task for a later date.

Moving on. I was behind a vehicle with these decals the other day:



I always enjoy seeing the Disney ones, but this one seems strange to me. No people, only Disney-loving dogs in this family? Maybe they stay at the Disney kennels or something.

Dug Baby knows that her first trip to WDW is "worth the wait":



For those interested in her eating solids, here's a glimpse of her handling the spoon with some oatmeal and eating her favorite chicken:





We have been dreaming of the Poly and the warmth and sunshine of Florida, as we've had an awful non-seasonal April here. I call this "April Showers, Minnesota-style":



And, finally, Dug Baby turned a whopping 7 months old yesterday. I did our monthly photo shoot with Minnie and it started off cute, but quickly descended into chaos, thanks to a camera-loving dog, a fun-to-eat sticker, and a chair that got boring...































And the aftermath:



She's so much fun these days! She's not crawling yet (thank goodness! ), but she can sit pretty well, roll all around, pivot, etc. And she's so interactive. She loves to laugh. She loves to watch others. And she loves to imitate me when I shake my head at her. So cute! I can only imagine how fun she'll be by the time we go on this trip!

Oh, by the way, we're up to 4 $50 Disney Gift Cards now, using the Shopkick thing I mentioned in another post. Yay for extra spending money while we're there! I've still got to buy all the gift cards to pay for the trip, though, so that should be fun! Soon...

 

[dramaqueenemj22]

Dug Baby is so cute. I love the picture where she is hold both your Dog and Minnie's ear. I also love the new outfit...do they come in adult sizes?

 

[AprilRenee]

Oh my gosh!! I was laughing out loud. I love the grabbing ears pic and I especially love the one where bailey is licking her and she's eating Minnie's ear! Lol too too cute!

I'm so glad you're having fun! I loved 6-9 months the very best!! I still love him at the age he's at but I do miss my sweet 6ish month old too! like ya know how people miss having a newborn? Psh! I miss the 6 month old! Lol

I'm about to update Caden's pics with his 12 month ones! Go check it out in a bit

 

[jc040404]

This month's pics are great! That looked like fun!

Love the new outfit. It's definitely perfect for World Showcase! Even cuter is the little sleeping baby in the background.

Too funny about the Disney dogs. I've seen those before, but never without the family, too. Lucky puppies!

to that weather! I can't even imagine that now.

 

[cindianne320]

She's so cute! Love the pic of her eating her feet, and the WS outfit is darling!

I cannot believe this snow! We got a foot here and I had my FOURTH Snow Day of the year!

 

[Leshaface]

I absolutely love the 7 month pics of her grabbing Minnie's ear and the dogs ear. So cute! Also love the picture of Dug Baby chewing on Minnie's ear and the dog licking her.

 

[Dugette]

Dug Baby is so cute. I love the picture where she is hold both your Dog and Minnie's ear. I also love the new outfit...do they come in adult sizes?

Thanks! It's funny, I didn't even know that she grabbed their ears until I saw that picture. I must have captured a very brief moment in my quick-snapping. Unless you can fit in a 5T, I think you may be out of luck on the outfit!

Oh my gosh!! I was laughing out loud. I love the grabbing ears pic and I especially love the one where bailey is licking her and she's eating Minnie's ear! Lol too too cute!

I'm so glad you're having fun! I loved 6-9 months the very best!! I still love him at the age he's at but I do miss my sweet 6ish month old too! like ya know how people miss having a newborn? Psh! I miss the 6 month old! Lol

I'm about to update Caden's pics with his 12 month ones! Go check it out in a bit

Yes, those are my two favorite pictures also! I took 160+ pictures, many of which contained a blur of dog, but ended up with a few good surprises in there!

This is a really fun age. I believe you about missing the 6 month old. I don't miss the newborn stage at all. It was about 4 months that it got pretty fun, I'd say. Before that, it's just a lot of work and no happy, laughing baby smiles.

Loved Caden's new pictures!

This month's pics are great! That looked like fun!

Love the new outfit. It's definitely perfect for World Showcase! Even cuter is the little sleeping baby in the background.

Too funny about the Disney dogs. I've seen those before, but never without the family, too. Lucky puppies!

to that weather! I can't even imagine that now.

I guess it was fun. Chaotic, but fun. At least she was in a good mood, since she was freshly fed and rested. I wondered if anyone would notice the sleeping baby in the cart under the outfit! She loves sleeping in her carseat. And she loves waking up in Target. She's easy to run errands with!

She's so cute! Love the pic of her eating her feet, and the WS outfit is darling!

I cannot believe this snow! We got a foot here and I had my FOURTH Snow Day of the year!

Thanks! She is a big fan of her feet. Every time she sees them (like during a diaper change), they go straight into her hands/mouth. Target has such cute outfits. I'm a sucker for those adorable Disney ones. I resisted this one the first time I saw it, but couldn't the second time! This snow is insane! Supposed to be going on all night. We'll see what it looks like in the morning. I'm just looking forward to next weekend, when it is supposed to finally be nice out! 70 seems like a dream at this point!

I absolutely love the 7 month pics of her grabbing Minnie's ear and the dogs ear. So cute! Also love the picture of Dug Baby chewing on Minnie's ear and the dog licking her.

Thanks, I love those ones too! Funny the things you can capture if you just keep snapping away like a maniac! I didn't think I'd have anything worthwhile in there, but those are definitely keepers!

 

[Alysa]

That was a hysterical series! Love!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Another adorable lineup of photos! I also love the double ear grab picture - excellent!

I hope the weather turns around! Whenever I speak to relatives in Minnesota and they mention (a few days ago!), "Oh, we got another few inches of snow today..." Yikes! Who isn't aware that it's spring, not winter, part II?!

 

[AprilRenee]

This is a really fun age. I believe you about missing the 6 month old. I don't miss the newborn stage at all. It was about 4 months that it got pretty fun, I'd say. Before that, it's just a lot of work and no happy, laughing baby smiles.

Loved Caden's new pictures!

Oh man! I don't miss the newborn at all EITHER!! Ugh! Newborns and the last month of pregnancy may make Caden an only child! LOL...just kidding...sorta...
I totally agree with you after 4 months is when I started thinking this parenting thing was fun! Before that it was ok...just ok. LOL

But 6-9 months? The BEST!! 12 months is pretty fun too...but that moving thing makes it all a lot more work again! haha But watching them discover and learn and seeing the lightbulbs go on in their brains is just the most awesome thing ever! Caden just figured out that the ceiling fan remote turns on and off the fan and the overhead light. He's FASCINATED by it now and will push a button and then whip his head around to look at the fan. So cool!

 

[Dugette]

That was a hysterical series! Love!

Thanks!

Another adorable lineup of photos! I also love the double ear grab picture - excellent!

I hope the weather turns around! Whenever I speak to relatives in Minnesota and they mention (a few days ago!), "Oh, we got another few inches of snow today..." Yikes! Who isn't aware that it's spring, not winter, part II?!

Thanks! I know it's been awhile since this comment, but the weather is still crazy! We had early May snow not long ago. And next Tuesday is supposed to be around 90 degrees!

Oh man! I don't miss the newborn at all EITHER!! Ugh! Newborns and the last month of pregnancy may make Caden an only child! LOL...just kidding...sorta...
I totally agree with you after 4 months is when I started thinking this parenting thing was fun! Before that it was ok...just ok. LOL

But 6-9 months? The BEST!! 12 months is pretty fun too...but that moving thing makes it all a lot more work again! haha But watching them discover and learn and seeing the lightbulbs go on in their brains is just the most awesome thing ever! Caden just figured out that the ceiling fan remote turns on and off the fan and the overhead light. He's FASCINATED by it now and will push a button and then whip his head around to look at the fan. So cool!

I was okay with pregnancy, even up to 42 weeks. Newborn was tough, though. But it does get better and better. It will be so fun to watch her learn new things!

 

[Dugette]

I finally got around to taking pictures of Dug Baby's WDW wardrobe. You already saw this outfit:



She has a bunch more, though. The other day, on the clearance rack, I found two more tops that coordinate with that skirt, so I had to get them:



I also grabbed this Minnie shirt off the clearance rack:



You can never have too many Minnie shirts, right? I should mention that all the clothes I'm posting are either 12 or 18 month sizes, so I'm hoping most fit on the trip. She'll be 14.5 months when we go.

A couple other t-shirts I got awhile back:



Some Ariel outfits, one with shorts and one with a skirt:



A Tinkerbell outfit and a Christmas Minnie shirt (clearance!), just in case we decide to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party or something:



A cute Minnie outfit and a Minnie dress (modeled by the creepy old doll):





And a pair of Minnie shorts for good measure:



A couple hoodies--Oswald the Rabbit and Minnie:



And, finally, a few pajama options:







I think that's it thus far.

Also, we had a recent shopping spree that ended with this:





Yep, that's to pay for our whole trip! I got two 10% and one 5% discount on all of them at Target. Yay!

 

[Dugette]

Not as Disney-related, but thought I'd share some recent photos of Dug Baby's adventures.

We visited the Minnesota Zoo recently and Dug Baby loved the Grizzlies (I think she thought they would be fun to pet, like our dog):







Every time we thought winter was done, it came back. Nothing like May snow:



Thank goodness it's gone now! We've had a few nice days and more coming soon.

Dug Baby is still loving eating with us. Here she is after making a mess of the tomato chicken recipe from the Baby Led Weaning Cookbook:



I had to work late the other night, so Dug decided to take Dug Baby to a new restaurant that just opened so they could have sushi together. Dug Baby really enjoyed her avocado sushi:



Last weekend, we had an out-of-town friend visit and, to kill some time before her flight out, we stopped by the state capitol in St. Paul:





It was a great outing. I wore Dug Baby in the Ergo and it worked out great with all the stairs going up to the roof and such! She loved looking around and especially loved the ceiling. She was wiped out afterwards:



Last night, we stopped over at the open house next door to see what our neighbors' place was like (just for fun). They had hardwood floors and Dug Baby LOVED them. She's not crawling yet, but she was flying backwards on those slippery floors!



Back on her 7-month birthday, we did a belated 6-month photo shoot with the same person who did her newborn pictures. Here's a sample:













Guess that's it for now. She'll be 8 months old before we know it!

 

[AprilRenee]

Wow!! First of all your gift card buy is amazing!! So if I did my math right you guys got each $50 card for less than $40? Is that right? Way too cool!
1 10% is from your job cause you get the employee discount right?
And 5% from the RED card.
What's the other 10% off from?

I was planning on saving up a set amount a month starting in jan 2014 for our trip in jan 2015. I have the RED card so I think maybe ill save via gift cards!

Second, All those outfits are adorable!! Caden is almost 13 months now and just moved to 18 month clothing but can fit in most 12 month stuff still too (it was just all winter clothes and 18 months was all summer so we moved up). Plus he's always been a bit big for his age. So I think you'll probably be golden with the 12 & 18 month sizes! Good job guessing!

Third, love the ergo!! We STILL use ours a few times a month. It's awesome!! Especially once I figured out how to get him on my back without help! It's great for times I need a happy baby but need my hands free for something. And Caden LOVES it!! He giggles and snuggles (aka slobbers) my neck the whole time. Lol

 

[Dugette]

Wow!! First of all your gift card buy is amazing!! So if I did my math right you guys got each $50 card for less than $40? Is that right? Way too cool!
1 10% is from your job cause you get the employee discount right?
And 5% from the RED card.
What's the other 10% off from?

Good math! Yes, I think it was $38.48/each. You're right about the 10% and the 5%. The other 10% was through my health insurance's "Healthy Pregnancy Program". It was a 1-day-use 10% off reward for completing the program (it was expiring mid-May, so we had to use it soon). The other discount available (that we couldn't use because it couldn't be stacked with my bonus 10%) is the 5% off for filling 5 prescriptions at the pharmacy. So, our previous trip, we did that (10%+5%+5%). Anyone can do the two 5%s.

One thing I forgot to mention when I posted is that it took probably close to 2 hours and most of the store's management team for us to complete the transaction. Reason being: the Target Debit Card (Target Check Card if you've got an old one like me) has some sort of limit on it that nobody seems to know anything about. It doesn't matter how much money you have in the account it's linked to. And it will not allow the purchase. From past experience, I've purchased over $1000 at a time a couple times and had no problems. But, since nobody seems to know what the limit is, I would recommend not going over $2000 in a single transaction. If you have more, split it into multiple transactions (we had over $3k). In our case, the manager ended up manually giving us the discounts and having us pay with another card (but still get Red Card discount, due to the circumstances). Although the whole ordeal was a pain, it worked out okay, because I used my Delta American Express to pay and that amount was about what I needed to get my flight for this trip (hopefully, assuming prices/miles come down sometime).

I was planning on saving up a set amount a month starting in jan 2014 for our trip in jan 2015. I have the RED card so I think maybe ill save via gift cards!

Sounds like a great plan! I still need to do this myself, but I would recommend taking a picture of the back of all of the gift cards, just in case something happens to the stash between then and your trip. And remember that anything you are paying to Disney can be paid with the gift cards (hotel, food, tickets, etc.) Last trip, we paid off our room in advance with the cards over the phone, then used our Keys to the World to buy anything there, but stopped up at the front desk a few times to pay off our account with the gift cards. That way, we didn't have to bring them to the parks, just keep them in the room safe.

Second, All those outfits are adorable!! Caden is almost 13 months now and just moved to 18 month clothing but can fit in most 12 month stuff still too (it was just all winter clothes and 18 months was all summer so we moved up). Plus he's always been a bit big for his age. So I think you'll probably be golden with the 12 & 18 month sizes! Good job guessing!

Thanks! I sure hope things fit okay, so that helps to know! I started out buying things in 18 month sizes way back when, but now that I know she is nearly 8 months and wears mostly 6 month sizes, I've been getting 12s for the trip.

Third, love the ergo!! We STILL use ours a few times a month. It's awesome!! Especially once I figured out how to get him on my back without help! It's great for times I need a happy baby but need my hands free for something. And Caden LOVES it!! He giggles and snuggles (aka slobbers) my neck the whole time. Lol

This is good to hear. I'm hoping that I'll be able to use the Ergo in the parks when we go. It's an Ergo Sport, so it's supposed to keep parent and baby cooler than the regular one, so might be nice in Florida. It's worked well the few times I've used it here (capitol and zoo). With a 14.5 month old, would you recommend the back carry then? I've only tried the front so far. Any advice on how to do the back without help, as you mentioned? Sounds hard! But will be nice to not always have her in the stroller at WDW.

 

[AprilRenee]

Good math! Yes, I think it was $38.48/each. You're right about the 10% and the 5%. The other 10% was through my health insurance's "Healthy Pregnancy Program". It was a 1-day-use 10% off reward for completing the program (it was expiring mid-May, so we had to use it soon). The other discount available (that we couldn't use because it couldn't be stacked with my bonus 10%) is the 5% off for filling 5 prescriptions at the pharmacy. So, our previous trip, we did that (10%+5%+5%). Anyone can do the two 5%s.

Cool...maybe I need to do some prescription transfers! Either way I figure 5% off is good no matter what.

One thing I forgot to mention when I posted is that it took probably close to 2 hours and most of the store's management team for us to complete the transaction. Reason being: the Target Debit Card (Target Check Card if you've got an old one like me) has some sort of limit on it that nobody seems to know anything about. It doesn't matter how much money you have in the account it's linked to. And it will not allow the purchase. From past experience, I've purchased over $1000 at a time a couple times and had no problems. But, since nobody seems to know what the limit is, I would recommend not going over $2000 in a single transaction. If you have more, split it into multiple transactions (we had over $3k). In our case, the manager ended up manually giving us the discounts and having us pay with another card (but still get Red Card discount, due to the circumstances). Although the whole ordeal was a pain, it worked out okay, because I used my Delta American Express to pay and that amount was about what I needed to get my flight for this trip (hopefully, assuming prices/miles come down sometime).

Yeah, I'd be buying them in $200ish increments so it should be ok


Sounds like a great plan! I still need to do this myself, but I would recommend taking a picture of the back of all of the gift cards, just in case something happens to the stash between then and your trip. And remember that anything you are paying to Disney can be paid with the gift cards (hotel, food, tickets, etc.) Last trip, we paid off our room in advance with the cards over the phone, then used our Keys to the World to buy anything there, but stopped up at the front desk a few times to pay off our account with the gift cards. That way, we didn't have to bring them to the parks, just keep them in the room safe.

Good idea...I'm just always so scared we'd go over the money we had. Or it would accidentially get charged to our CC instead and I can't use disney gift cards to pay a disney visa balance...can i?


Thanks! I sure hope things fit okay, so that helps to know! I started out buying things in 18 month sizes way back when, but now that I know she is nearly 8 months and wears mostly 6 month sizes, I've been getting 12s for the trip.

Yeah! She should be good. Caden was in 9 month size by 8 months (he went exactly by the Carter's sizing. for 0-3 months he wore til his 3 month birthday when we switched to 3-6 months til his 6 month birthday...etc. And right after his 1 yr birthday we moved to the 12-18 months! LOL But even the 18 month stuff will probably fit her ok when she's wearing 12 month size. He wore a 24 month outfit today even though he's solidly in the 18 month size. It was just barely big on him and I'm the only one who would ever notice it.

This is good to hear. I'm hoping that I'll be able to use the Ergo in the parks when we go. It's an Ergo Sport, so it's supposed to keep parent and baby cooler than the regular one, so might be nice in Florida. It's worked well the few times I've used it here (capitol and zoo). With a 14.5 month old, would you recommend the back carry then? I've only tried the front so far. Any advice on how to do the back without help, as you mentioned? Sounds hard! But will be nice to not always have her in the stroller at WDW.

Oh it's super easy! Takes a few times of practice. Do it over the bed or couch til you're comfortable with it. But I get him in in 15 seconds now standing next to the car before going into a store. This is how I learned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q36idyn7g0
There are other ways too so just youtube "Ergo back carry" and see which one makes the most sense to you.
But by 14 months I would DEFINITELY put her on your back. I could barely do a front carry by 9 months (but Caden seems like he was probably a good bit bigger at 8 months than Dug Baby is right now). Now at 12 months there is no way I could carry him on my front. It would hurt my back too much I think. And he likes back carry much better cause he can see over my shoulder.

 

[AprilRenee]

Oh and I love using the Ergo in crowded places (like Disney would be) cause I don't have to think about space for a stroller 4 ft in front of me, I only have to think about my own personal bubble of space. The ergo keeps them so close that it's just like being me in a crowd. It's nice.

And I feel like he's safer. No one can grab him off my back. Not that anyone would actually grab my stroller, but I can look around at stores and not have to keep a hand and an eye on him, cause he's attached to me.

 

[Mom&RN]

Happy Mother's Day on your very first Mother's Day!! I love the picture of you and Dug Baby together - you are both beautiful I also love all the Disney clothes! She is set for her first trip