Beach fun

Tuesday was the first Florida day that was warm enough for us to brave the beach! Some of you may remember last January when Isabel did NOT like the sand on her feet. She would cry and cling to one of our legs until we picked her up. We are happy to report that this time she was much braver! She didn't mind the sand at all, and was in fact covered in it by the time we left. The water was also extremely calm, with no waves whatsoever, so she was not intimidated and was happy to explore all the way up to the water's edge and even wading in!

Testing the waters...We thought it was definitely too cold to be playing in, but a few minutes after dipping her feet in, she was getting so brave that her shorts were about to get soaked, so we promptly put her in her bathing suit and figured if she got cold, she would let us know! Kids are funny that way...they will play happily in water that adults would consider frigid.

Her first "sand castle." :) She actually had the most fun ever-so-gently collapsing the castles that Daddy would build, and many times when she smooshed one, she would say in the sweetest voice, "Oh, no!" and give us a sly smile, then do it all over again!

Look very closely...it might be hard to see in this photo but there is definitely a LOT of sand mixed in with the peaches, and grits of sand stuck to the sandwich and cheese. We set out with the goal of having the beach towel be the "sand-free zone," but Isabel had no concept of that and would toddle directly from the sand onto the towel with her sandy little feet. We decided not to correct her, since she was having so much fun, and hence, the ingredient of sand got added to the picnic lunch. However, as you can see from the next photo...

...she happily ate all the cheese, most of her "sand"wich (in the most literal sense of the word), and about half the peaches, sand and all! We had a great time at the beach with her and were happy that the weather warmed up enough for us to take her there!

A Disney Day (or two!)

Our first Disney experience with Isabel has now officially wrapped up and we have had a day to recover and unwind at Grandma and Grandpa's house! So, now I have the energy to blog about it and post some photos! The photo above is Isabel standing on Minnie Mouse's gazebo!

Our original plan was to take in Magic Kingdom on Friday, the day after we arrived in Florida. However, the forecast as of Thursday night was for a 90% chance of rain, along with probable thunderstorms throughout the day on Friday. Disney World in a Florida soaker and thunderstorm with a toddler...we decided that wasn't the greatest idea in the world. So, we changed our plans to do Magic Kingdom on Saturday, and another park on Sunday if we felt like we were all up to it!

Saturday dawned sunny :) but chilly for FL, with lows in the low 40s and a forecast high of around 60. So we bundled up in the warmest clothes we all had brought and set out, not knowing what the day would bring but curious to find out!

The positive: Magic Kingdom was beautifully decked out for the Christmas season, which is something I have never seen before. The Disney team is definitely top-notch in creativity and leaves nothing to be desired! Cinderella's castle with thousands upon thousands of Christmas lights was particularly impressive and Isabel was saying her classic "Ooh, ahh!" that Daddy has taught her to say when she sees pretty lights!

The negative: Magic Kingdom was packed from front to back, side to side, with MORE PEOPLE than either Luke or I have ever seen in a theme park (and we are both avid theme park-goers, plus Luke grew up in Florida and has been to each Disney park several times). He commented that he has literally never seen a theme park more crowded, by a long shot. Navigating through the park, with a stroller, was challenging in and of itself. The crowds also meant that we were not able to take Isabel on as many rides and to see as many shows as we had wanted to. We did manage to get a FastPass for a couple of rides, but for those that we could not, the wait each time we checked was at least 60 minutes, if not 75-90 minutes. Waiting in line that long with a toddler, especially when you cannot take your stroller in line, was just not feasible for us, so we had to miss out on It's A Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and the Mad Tea Party, all rides that we know Isabel would have enjoyed. But, despite the crowds and lines, we were determined to make the most memories we could that day!

Our favorite Magic Kingdom experience was getting front-row seats for the beautiful show Celebrate The Season, which took place right in front of Cinderella's castle and featured Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto (all of whom Isabel knows by name since she has been watching the show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). We had to arrive about 30 minutes in advance in order to get the front row, so I saved our front-row seats by sitting in the stroller to rest my aching legs and back (yes, I sat in the stroller, and yes, I fit, even 6 months pregnant!) while Daddy took Isabel on the carousel that was not too far away, where he informed me upon returning that she had ridden all by herself on a horse for the first time, and giggled and laughed as she spied herself in the mirror going up and down!

Our favorite Disney experience actually happened at Disney's Hollywood Studios (which was much less crowded than Magic Kingdom had been), where we had decided to go on Sunday. Shortly after arriving, we found out that Mickey was available for greetings and photos near where we were going to see the show Playhouse Disney: Live On Stage! We stood in about a 20-minute line, where Isabel was pretty shy and clung onto Daddy the whole time we were in line. We were not quite sure how she would react to Mickey since she tends to be a little shy and introverted with new situations, but we had high hopes because he is one of her favorite characters and we had been telling her for weeks that she was going to get to meet him! The minute we got to the front of the line, she was practically jumping out of Daddy's arms to get down. She walked right up to Mickey with no trepidation whatsoever, just like he was an old friend! Mickey bent down and Isabel got within inches of his face, touching his nose, letting him tickle her and give her kisses, and at one point she gave him a big hug, which caused the whole crowd behind us to let out a collective "Awwwww!"

Our second favorite experience of the trip was when we decided at the last minute to go see the show Beauty and the Beast. Isabel has never seen the movie, but I have been teaching her the Disney princesses from some toys that she has at home, and I have been wishing that Belle (the Beauty) would become her favorite since they share a name! So, we decided to brave it and hoped it would keep her attention for the 25-minute duration (pretty long for a two-year-old!) Well, keep her attention it certainly did! From the moment the curtains parted until the final applause, Isabel could barely tear her eyes away from the stage. She sat almost perfectly still in Daddy's lap and watched the entire show, leaning to one side or the other in order to see around the people sitting in front of us when she could not see what she was trying to see! In fact, every time a scene would begin that Belle was not in, Isabel would look at us and say "Belle? Belle?" We would assure her that she would be back in a minute and then she would calm down and continue watching. She enthusiastically clapped at the end of the show and kept saying "Bye-bye!" and waving to Belle and the rest of the cast. Now the plan is to get her the movie for her birthday party later in January!

Luke also had a favorite experience of his own during our day at Hollywood Studios. Ever the roller-coaster enthusiast (as am I, but couldn't go since I am pregnant!), he got to go on Rockin' Roller Coaster, which he has never been on and has had his eye on since it opened several years ago. While he went on the coaster, Isabel napped and Mommy got to sit down for 45 minutes to rest her legs and back!

A couple of things we were SO thankful for during this two-day Disney excursion were:

1) Isabel's lovey and the middle two fingers of her left hand that she sucks on to self-soothe. Isabel tends to be a little bit of an introvert and gets overwhelmed easily by new and different situations. This is part of what makes her who she is, and we love her for it. Much of the time, Disney world was very overwhelming for her, and she was generally fine as long as she had lovey and her fingers, as you can see in the photo below. We saw a LOT of this pose throughout the day!

2) The stroller canopy that our dear friends the Polzins let us borrow. Isabel, who has always had a tough time napping in her stroller, actually napped BOTH days in her stroller (an hour at Magic Kingdom and 45 minutes at Hollywood Studios), thanks to lovey, her fingers, the fleece pants we brought for her to nap in, and that canopy which darkened the stroller and prevented her from seeing all that was going on around her. Our days would have ended much earlier if not for those naps!

All in all, the two days were exhausting but fun, and we are glad that we gave Isabel this first Disney experience, but a lesson was learned for sure! Going to the parks the weekend before Christmas is not something we will ever repeat! We think the experience would be even more magical if there were just a few less people at the park and the lines were just a bit shorter! Oh well, life is all about lessons learned and we feel blessed that we have a happy, healthy daughter and the ability to take her to Disney World!

To view photos of our family in front of Cinderella's castle, and of Isabel meeting Mickey Mouse, please click here to view them on the Disney PhotoPass site, as we are unable to download them and haven't had a chance to order prints yet!

We're in "Loh-la" (translation = "Florida")

When I went into Isabel's bedroom this morning just after 7 where she was chatting happily in her crib, my conversation with her went as follows:

Mommy asked: "Where are we going today?"
Isabel promptly replied, "Up high!"
Mommy (laughing): "Yes, honey, that is right, we are going up high in an airplane. And where is that airplane taking us?"
Isabel: "Loh-la!"
Mommy: "That's right! And who lives in Florida?"
Isabel: "Mimmie!" (can be translated "Mickey" or "Minnie")
Mommy: "Right! And who else?"
Isabel: "Nahma!" (Grandma)
Mommy: "And who else?"
Isabel: "Papa!"

Ah, the adorable early morning conversations with a toddler. I will miss the mispronounciations as she grows, because with each word she learns to pronounce correctly, she is getting older and slowly but surely becoming less dependent on me. I cannot believe that she is going to be two years old in one week. The time has flown and with another one on the way, it will surely go by even faster.

So, we arrived safely in Florida to a balmy and humid (albeit overcast and drizzling) 70 degrees. Isabel did quite well on the plane for a two-year-old, and actually, shockingly, fell asleep in her stroller shortly after we landed at the Orlando airport. She NEVER EVER falls asleep in her stroller, so this was quite amazing and photo-worthy (photos will be posted soon as we are trying to figure out how to upload them from our camera to the computer)! Not to mention, she continued to sleep in that stroller for 25 minutes in what was without a doubt the loudest rental car parking garage I have ever been in. There were car alarms being set off every few minutes as people were trying to find their cars (none of the spaces were numbered, as the garage was under major construction), and at least twice, a large tractor passed by within 5 feet of her stroller dragging metal garbage cans over the concrete (take a second to imagine how loud that was!) and the kid never even fluttered an eyelash. Quite tuckered out from the long travel day...but had a great evening as we visited with our friends Jenna ("Nenna"), Aaron ("Aay-on"), and Camille ("Meel!"). The little princess is now sleeping soundly as her parents enjoy our first evening of a much needed VACATION!

"Checking her messages" after the plane landed! :)

What a tired girl to sleep through the ruckus of the parking garage!