Thursday, May 19, 2011

Our Disney vacation (lots of photos!)

Lots of photos to share!  We had our first vacation with just the 4 of us.  We flew to Orlando from KCMO, and stayed at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter resort 5/4-5/9.  It was GREAT.  I can not wait to go back!

It was also our first time flying with kids, at all.  That was... fun.   Abby was fine, she did really well.  She sat politely the whole flight, both ways, just coloring & watching DVDs...happy as can be.  She did lock herself in the airplane bathroom once but she didn't panic, and the flight attendant got her out pretty fast by picking the bathroom lock.

Ellie on the other hand was a challenge, to put it mildly.   Not surprising, she was just bored I think, and confused by what we were doing in such cramped quarters for hours.  We also had diaper incidents on both flights (we'll just leave it at that!) despite changing her shortly before boarding. 

Once we got there, both girls had a great time.  Ellie went on every ride with us, and just loved it!  Abby surprised us with her bravery & insisted we ride Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.  I was thrilled because those are 2 of my favorites!  Ellie slept through both rides, haha! 

Here is what we did each day:


May 4- arrived, checked in, had lunch at the resort, went swimming, went to Magic Kingdom & had dinner at Columbia Harbor House

May 5- Breakfast at the resort, Hollywood studios in the morning, back to the resort for a nap, then Epcot for a few rides & dinner at San Angel Inn (Mexico, World Showcase) for Cinco de Mayo

May 6- Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, lots of fun & rides, lunch at Cosmic Ray's, more rides, then back to the resort for a rest; then we took a boat ride to Downtown Disney & had dinner at Earl of Sandwich

May 7-Breakfast at resort, Animal Kingdom in the morning, then to the resort for a rest, then to Epcot for rides & dinner at Tangierine Cafe (Morocco, World Showcase), after that we returned to the resort & went for an evening swim

May 8-Breakfast at resort, then fun at the Magic Kingdom for most of the day with lunch at Columbia Harbor House, and then we ate at the resort for dinner 

May 9- Breakfast in our room (leftover pizza, beignets, and fresh fruit), then we packed up & headed for the airport to go home


Enough yacking, on to the photos:
Breakfast in the castle, meeting Ariel

Meeting Aurora

Meeting Snow White

Meeting Belle

Abby posing with Belle, and Ellie wondering when she can get back to eating

Jeff & Abby on Dumbo

Heading to Tom Sawyer's Island

Waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion

On the People Mover


Kilimanjaro safari

Our room- mousekeeping always put Abby's pig on her bed like this :)

We rented a crib for Ellie, it fit right in!

Mousekeeper made a towel bunny for the girls :)

The girls loved to swim

In the kiddy pool

Fun fountain in the kiddy pool

Ellie had a blast in the pool, she is very bold in the water

One day we swam until after dark

Jeff & Ellie in the rocket in front of us on the Astro Orbiter

Abby on the tea cup ride

Abby on the carousel

Ellie & I on the carousel

Getting ready to ride It's a Small World




In front of a fire engine at the Magic Kingdom

Getting ready to go to breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table



Epcot world showcase

Epcot World showcase



Mickey playing peekaboo with Ellie

Minnie tickling Ellie's cheek


Ellie's reaction to seeing the princesses at the town square meet & greet



Abby getting a hug from Aurora






Abby holding Tinkerbell (thanks to Disney photopass magic)

Our recent news

The girls had check ups on 4/11, and here are their stats:
~Ellie, 15 months:
~height 29.75" (25th%); 
~weight 20lbs10oz (15th%); 
~head 47.5cm (85th%)

~Abby, 5y2m:
~height 40.75" (13th%); 
~weight 34.4lbs (11th%); 
~BMI 15

Click above for full sized chart
Click above for full sized chart
We were advised by the pediatrician to have Ellie evaluated for early intervention eligibility.  At that point she was not walking yet, and she doesn't talk yet either (other than a few words here & there and lots of gibberish).  She has since started walking, but she still qualified for EI services in the areas of gross motor skills & speech.  Her first session is scheduled for 6/6.   

Earlier this month we had a fantastic family vacation at Disney World.  We were there from 5/4-5/9.  I will post trip photos soon.


Abby had her last day of preschool on 5/16!  She had kindergarten screening and orientation on 5/12.  I can not believe she is starting K this fall.  Where has the time gone?!?
Abby at kindergarten orientation May 12, 2011