Lily

Lily is getting so big and doing and saying so many new things! For the last couple of weeks, she has been standing herself up in the middle of the floor, but not walking at all. Sunday evening, she took three steps! She hasn't done that again - just taken 1 or 2 and then falling and crawling, but she is getting there!
She is also saying a lot! She will imitate almost anything we say, syllable-wise. But on her own, Lily will say "baby" - and she will say it when pointing at a baby or holding one of her dolls - she says "Hi!" - just started that one on Sunday morning - and "Bye" - started on Monday. She will point at her cup and say "juice" when she is thirsty. And she also says "ball" when she sees a ball.
She is totally a daredevil too - she climbs EVERYTHING! This morning Steve found her standing, on one foot, on the arm of Emmalee's little wooden rocking chair. That was an accident waiting to happen. I have a feeling she'll be climbing out of her crib earlier than the other 2 did.
Crazy Girl!

WE MADE IT!

Where did the week go? It seems we had been waiting and waiting for out trip to Disney to arrive and then just like that it was over! What a fun week we had! The weather was perfect - in the 80's each day, just the way I like it! We had about 30 minutes of rain on Monday night, but that was it!
Our resort, the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, was very nice. A LOT of people stay there, we realized. The crowd to get on the bus back to our resort at the end of the day was always the biggest, so I think we will stay somewhere else next time we go. The rooms were nice, the actual resort was great, and the kids had fun in the pool. We were on the second floor of our building, which kind of stunk with the stroller, since the only way up was by stairs. Aside from that, we were very happy there.
After travelling all day on Monday, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios that night. We grabbed some dinner and saw the Muppet 3-D show and a Little Mermaid show. By the time we were done with that, it was after 9pm and we were all exhausted, so we went back to the resort and went to bed! We had an early breakfast reservation for Tuesday at the Grand Floridian Resort - breakfast with characters! We met Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Mary Poppins, the Mad Hatter, and Alice in Wonderland. The kids were SO excited! Lily was scared by the Mad Hatter, and Emmalee and Micah didn't care for him either (on wednesday when we got Micah up for breakfast, he said "I don't want to see that hat guy again!"). After breakfast we hopped on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and spent all morning and early afternoon in Fantasyland. The kids met Chip & Dale and went on all the rides (It's a Small World, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Dumbo, the carousel - there are more that I just can't remember right now). We also drove the race cars in Tomorrowland, and then went back to the resort to swim in the pool and let Lily take a good nap until about 6pm. Then we went to Epcot and went on the Nemo ride, and then walked around the World Showcase until it was time for our dinner reservation at Akershus in Norway - dinner with the Princesses. We met Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel. Micah did NOT want his picture taken with the princesses, but he reluctantly let me take one of him with Jasmine, and when we first went in, they had their picture taken with Aurora.
Wednesday morning we had breakfast at our resort, then went to the Animal Kingdom. That was a cool park. We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari drive, and saw all kinds of animals - elephants, hippos, a rhino, gorillas, crocodiles, a lion, etc. etc. The kids enjoyed that. Steve, Emmalee and I went on the big roller coaster Expedition Everest, which was really cool! Dad walked a crying, tired Micah and Lily around while we rode. We also went to Camp Minnie Mickey, where the kids met Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. We went from Animal Kingdom back to Hollywood Studios, and Steve, Emmalee and I rode the Tower of Terror. It was fun, but not as thrilling as I had expected. Emmalee loved it. We waited in a terribly long line for over an hour to go on the Toy Story ride, which was a lot of fun, but not really worth the wait. Then the kids met Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Steve and I went on the Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster, which was CRAZY! Definitely the best and most thrilling ride I went on all week. When you take off, you go from 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds. It took my breath away, literally! We also went on the Great Movie Ride, which we all really enjoyed.
Thursday we got up and went to the Magic Kingdom for the day to cover the rest of the park. We were there ALL DAY, walked miles and miles, and had a great time! We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, Dumbo again, Pirates of the Caribbean, and so many more. I felt bad for Micah because he wasn't tall enough for some of the rides (the big ones), but he really loved the ones he was able to go on. Lily was SO good all week - I felt bad that she was stuck in the stroller all day, every day, but she was amazing!
Friday morning we got up early for our last character breakfast. This one was at the Polynesian Resort, and we met Lilo and Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto. After breakfast we had to get our bus back to the airport, and then it was home again! Coming off the plane into 60-something degree weather, when it had been 80-something when we got on, was a little disturbing. I am definitely a warm-weather person.
Anyway - that's our vacation, in a nutshell! Packed full, and full of fun!

Disney Bound!

Our long-awaited vacation has finally arrived! Tomorrow morning, we will be driving to White Plains, NY to board our flight for Orlando! The kids are very excited! They know we are going to Disneyworld, but since they have never seen it, they really have no idea what they are in for! It is going to be so exciting to see their faces light up in awe and wonder and amazement at everything!
I'll post again in a week (a week which I am sure will go by very quickly for us!).
DISNEYWORLD, HERE WE COME!

Put That Boy in a Bubble!

Once again, Micah has found a way to hurt himself. Last night he nearly ended up in the emergency room getting stitches again, thanks to the bright idea of dressing up like a girl (Emmalee turned him into "Michaela") and then attempting to walk down the basement stairs in his dress.
Steve was outside with Lily, I was at the grocery store, and Micah & Em were playing. After showing Steve how cute Micah looked in a dress (and getting a picture of it!), Em and Micah went back inside. The next thing Steve knows, Emmalee is screaming that Micah has fallen down the stairs. Steve runs down the basement stairs to find Micah in the playroom, crying, with a HUGE lump over his right eye. As it continued to swell, the skin split open.
This was what I came home to: Micah, in a Disney Princess dress and a lot of jewelry, lying in the recliner, holding an ice pack wrapped in a bloody paper towel over his eye. It was a pretty nasty split.
Micah was lucky he didn't need to go get stitches. Steve and I are lucky Micah didn't need to go get stitches - I guarantee you if he ended up in that emergency room last night, someone from DCF would have been out to our house to take a look around, after his broken arm in April, and the stitches in his foot last month. This boy is an accident waiting to happen. Thank God he was okay!

Woodstock Fair, 1st Day of School, etc.

It's been a crazy week in this house! Monday morning we all got up bright and early and headed over to Woodstock, CT to attend the annual Woodstock Fair! I have been going to this fair all my life, and now my kids have been going all their lives! We met Dad, Dan, and Aileen there to walk around together. The kids all had a great time - I took Emmalee and Micah on the ferris wheel, they rode kiddie rides, and Dan and Aileen took Emmalee on the Viking Ship. We all ate a lot of junky fair food (you kids want corn dogs and cotton candy for lunch? No problem!), walked around a LOT, looked at farm animals and rednecks (some are very similar...), and all in all had a wonderful time. It was a long, tiring day, and Micah and Lily were asleep before we even left the parking lot!
On our way home, we detoured down Brickyard Road in Woodstock, where we have been told a REAL castle is being built. So we drove and drove down this woodsy road (which I never knew was so long) and suddenly, in the middle of the woods, there was this clearing and a HUGE REAL castle - I'm posting a picture of this - it's unbelievable! It has a moat and a drawbridge! We sat there on the side of the road in awe. Emmalee wondered if a real king and queen were going to live there. I wonder about who is going to live there too - and why they chose to build this castle, there in the middle of nowhere! And I wonder if they will have a dragon... :-)
School started Tuesday morning. This year Emmalee has a little bit more responsibility for herself in the mornings. Last year, I would set my alarm and then go wake her up. This year, we are setting her own alarm clock. She has to get out of her bed to turn it off, then she is to go to the bathroom and THEN she can come upstairs and wake us up. So far, this is working out well (and I don't have an obnoxious alarm in my ear!). She is loving 2nd grade this week and her teacher and her new friends. She already has an after school playdate with her new friend Quinn today. Emmalee's a real social butterfly!
Micah started preschool yesterday. He is going to a home preschool, taught by a woman who I used to work at Baby Gap with. I know a lot of people who have sent their kids to Colleen's preschool, called Little Blessings, and everyone has had nothing but positive things to say about it! Micah goes just one afternoon a week, and he has 4 other 3-year-old boys in his class. He had a great time yesterday and when I picked him up, he asked if he could go back again someday. He was very excited when I told him he would go every week!
Emmalee decided she would not be playing soccer this fall. I was surprised that she made this decision, since just about ALL of her friends play soccer and practices and games are a very social time! She has chosen instead to play basketball, which is offered through the YMCA, through the winter. That ought to be interesting! And her ballet lessons start in 2 weeks. We are also signing Micah up for an introduction to team sports class, also offered through the YMCA, for 3- and 4-year-olds. He'll play soccer, t-ball, kickball, track and field, and others. That starts in October. That will be fun to watch!