The month of February was somewhat magical to the Carey family...
We planned our first trip to Disney as a family.
Melissa Baillairge and I were briefly talking about Disney one night after small group. I don't recall if she brought it up, or if I did, but regardless, we both thought Ava and Alana would enjoy seeing Disney and "all things princess" together. So, our casual plan eventually turned into a solidified trip. We were going to head down / caravan the weekend of President's Day (February 18), to take advantage of the day Doug had off work.
Doug visited Walt Disney World in Orlando with his family when he was a sophomore in high school. I visited WDW with the Metro Detroit Youth Chorus my freshman year of high school (1990). Both of us only visited the parks once. So I guess we were due!
Before the trip, the Baillairges let us know that their household was pretty sick with quite a few different illnesses. I think Alana at one point had a flu, a UTI and possibly strep. Most other family members had the flu, I think. They waited until the very last minute to cancel their trip, as they wanted to be absolutely certain they couldn't go. We really wanted to celebrate with them, but unfortunately they just weren't well enough. It's hard enough running around a park with little ones in a HEALTHY state, nevermind being run-down before already getting there! They did end-up going the next weekend, when everyone felt well enough. We definitely need to plan to go together in the coming years. :)
Grandma Pam visits!
When the plan began to materialize and my Mom spoke about coming down to Atlanta in the late Winter / early Spring for a visit, I thought she might enjoy going to WDW, too. So, she booked a flight to Atlanta (MUCH cheaper than flying in/out of Orlando) and planned to ride down with us to Orlando. We started driving on Friday, went to Epcot on Saturday, Magic Kingdom on Sunday, drove back on Monday morning. I think it was somewhere arounda a 6 hour drive. The kids did amazingly well! Boy, what a portable DVD player can't fix!
We planned our first trip to Disney as a family.
Melissa Baillairge and I were briefly talking about Disney one night after small group. I don't recall if she brought it up, or if I did, but regardless, we both thought Ava and Alana would enjoy seeing Disney and "all things princess" together. So, our casual plan eventually turned into a solidified trip. We were going to head down / caravan the weekend of President's Day (February 18), to take advantage of the day Doug had off work.
Doug visited Walt Disney World in Orlando with his family when he was a sophomore in high school. I visited WDW with the Metro Detroit Youth Chorus my freshman year of high school (1990). Both of us only visited the parks once. So I guess we were due!
Before the trip, the Baillairges let us know that their household was pretty sick with quite a few different illnesses. I think Alana at one point had a flu, a UTI and possibly strep. Most other family members had the flu, I think. They waited until the very last minute to cancel their trip, as they wanted to be absolutely certain they couldn't go. We really wanted to celebrate with them, but unfortunately they just weren't well enough. It's hard enough running around a park with little ones in a HEALTHY state, nevermind being run-down before already getting there! They did end-up going the next weekend, when everyone felt well enough. We definitely need to plan to go together in the coming years. :)
Grandma Pam visits!
When the plan began to materialize and my Mom spoke about coming down to Atlanta in the late Winter / early Spring for a visit, I thought she might enjoy going to WDW, too. So, she booked a flight to Atlanta (MUCH cheaper than flying in/out of Orlando) and planned to ride down with us to Orlando. We started driving on Friday, went to Epcot on Saturday, Magic Kingdom on Sunday, drove back on Monday morning. I think it was somewhere arounda a 6 hour drive. The kids did amazingly well! Boy, what a portable DVD player can't fix!
One other "magical moment"... When we arrived at Lake Buena Vista Inn in Orlando, I put the diaper bag on the outdoor patio table, on our balcony. It had been so sand-infested, etc, I decided it was time for the "dump and shake". So, I took everything out of it and shook. My Swiss Army watch, which was the first Christmas present Doug gave to me, fell out. Wow. I lost this watch last August. I looked for it for two months before finally deciding that I most likely threw it away in a bag of receipts and that it was forever lost. Wow, someone got lucky at the dump. :(
I was not happy with myself. Having lost jewelry in the past (in high school), I thought I had learned my lesson and really have tried to be more responsible with my jewelry. Not only is this watch NOT CHEAP, it was worth more to me sentimentally, than anthing. I really had hoped to one day give it to our kids as an heirloom piece. It was so special to me that I really don't like any other watches and haven't bothered buying any since Doug gave it to me. Seriously. So when Doug asked me what I wanted for my birthday last year, I told him he might think I was crazy, but that I would love another Swiss Army watch, just like the one I had. He asked if I was SURE I lost the watch. I told him I had checked EVERYWHERE and anywhere for two months and it still didn't turn up. He looked for the same watch everywhere, but learned that particular style had been discontinued. He found ONE. He bought it and gave it to me for my birthday. I was a happy girl, but sad that I lost the first one to begin with.
Fast forward to Disney World. Upon arriving at the hotel, out the watch pops from the diaper bag. Unbelievable. I had checked that pocket SO. MANY. TIMES. but the watch had been caught in a fold within the pocket. Go figure. Could this trip get any better? ;-) Doug just laughed. So now we have one for Ava's family when I croak and one for Liam's family, I guess?
Liam is officially potty-trained: Day AND night!
Another magical moment during the month of February. Liam potty-trained himself. We had been consistent in trying to take him to the bathroom routinely, but really hadn't been pushing hard to make sure he was fully potty-trained. While at Disney, I changed one poopy diaper (and this happened after we already took a trip to the bathroom to go #1...). That was the last diaper of his I changed. Pretty memorable, to be in the middle of Japan (at Epcot) and change his last diaper. Kind of easy to remember! We continued to put him in Pull-Ups for the rest of the month at night, just to be safe. Every morning he woke up dry, so we quit the Pull-Ups cold-turkey. Congrats, Liam, you did it yourself! What a big boy! He really has been good about letting us know when he has to go. And boy do our kids have bladders of steel!
I was not happy with myself. Having lost jewelry in the past (in high school), I thought I had learned my lesson and really have tried to be more responsible with my jewelry. Not only is this watch NOT CHEAP, it was worth more to me sentimentally, than anthing. I really had hoped to one day give it to our kids as an heirloom piece. It was so special to me that I really don't like any other watches and haven't bothered buying any since Doug gave it to me. Seriously. So when Doug asked me what I wanted for my birthday last year, I told him he might think I was crazy, but that I would love another Swiss Army watch, just like the one I had. He asked if I was SURE I lost the watch. I told him I had checked EVERYWHERE and anywhere for two months and it still didn't turn up. He looked for the same watch everywhere, but learned that particular style had been discontinued. He found ONE. He bought it and gave it to me for my birthday. I was a happy girl, but sad that I lost the first one to begin with.
Fast forward to Disney World. Upon arriving at the hotel, out the watch pops from the diaper bag. Unbelievable. I had checked that pocket SO. MANY. TIMES. but the watch had been caught in a fold within the pocket. Go figure. Could this trip get any better? ;-) Doug just laughed. So now we have one for Ava's family when I croak and one for Liam's family, I guess?
Liam is officially potty-trained: Day AND night!
Another magical moment during the month of February. Liam potty-trained himself. We had been consistent in trying to take him to the bathroom routinely, but really hadn't been pushing hard to make sure he was fully potty-trained. While at Disney, I changed one poopy diaper (and this happened after we already took a trip to the bathroom to go #1...). That was the last diaper of his I changed. Pretty memorable, to be in the middle of Japan (at Epcot) and change his last diaper. Kind of easy to remember! We continued to put him in Pull-Ups for the rest of the month at night, just to be safe. Every morning he woke up dry, so we quit the Pull-Ups cold-turkey. Congrats, Liam, you did it yourself! What a big boy! He really has been good about letting us know when he has to go. And boy do our kids have bladders of steel!
More details and pictures will follow from the days at Disney.
Peace, love and magic pixie dust,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
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