Family Vacation - Part 1

It's been awhile since we went, but I wanted to capture as much as I could remember from our family vacation! We took off on Wednesday from cold Cincinnati in late February to warm, sunny Florida! The kids were great on the plane - eating lunch and hanging out. We finally got to our hotel room in the late afternoon - and after a few technical difficulties in the room - we got a beautiful 2 bedroom suite on the corner. We were nervous about the weather, but it was perfect - 80's - great for swimming, but not too warm. After we got settled in, we headed down to try out the pool. It was awesome of course! That evening we headed over to Boardwalk at Disney to look around. We had a perfect night, and it was fun to see all that was going on.

The next day, we took advantage of the pool and also headed over to Downtown Disney. Evan loved checking out the Lego store, looking at the Disney toys, and most of all, running through the fountains! I think he might have stayed there all day if we would have let him. We headed back to the hotel and headed to bed early to get ready for our trip to the Magic Kingdom the next day!

On Friday, it was the big day - heading to Magic Kingdom! We caught our shuttle from the hotel at 7am to arrive for the 8 am opening. We made it right in time to watch the train pull into the station, Mickey arrive, sing Zipity-Do-Dah, and open the gates! I must admit, watching the kids get their first glimpse and seeing the excitement in their faces made me tear up a little bit. We were off for a very fun day!

First up was a picture in front of the castle and a ride on Dumbo the Flying elephant.

Next up was Pooh's adventures. This was the first real Disney ride, and surprisingly, Evan loved it and Ainsley was completely terrified! After that, any inside ride, Ainsley was completely not interested in riding! The crowds were really light to start, so Evan rode again, then tried out Snow White while Ainsley rode the carousel (which she absolutely loved). We then all tried out a Small World, which is one of the few ride that I remember. Ainsley was okay with it, and the rest of us enjoyed watching and singing along. We checked out Peter Pan (with rider swap), which was really neat. Evan really enjoyed it, especially since we had just watched the movie.

We headed over to Tomorrow Land and the crowds started to pick up. Buzz Lightyear, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, super proud - Space Mountain, and Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor.

We were able to catch our first parade in the afternoon, and Ainsley loved dancing along.

In the afternoon, we got Ainsley to fall asleep in the stroller. (My dad was awesome, keeping her asleep for almost 2 hours.) During that time, we took a break and had some ice cream. Evan even tried out Big Thunder mountain. By the way, the FastPass is awesome! We never had to wait in any lines! Next full parade, highlight was Evan getting a pat on the head from Pluto.

Then headed over to Swiss Family Robinson, then the Jungle Cruise, then Pirates of the Caribbean. Dinner and then Mickey's Philharmonic. Headed over to the Electric parade. Magical and front row seat. Fireworks and smashed pennies. Left the park at 9:30 at night. Wonderful exhausting day!

Two Year Stats...

Sigh.. a two year old post.. wow..

But really, Ainsley is the sweetest thing. I am loving every minute I get to spend with this little girl! Ok.. it's all about Ainsley at 2...

- She is talking really well - 3-5 word sentences. We understand her almost all the time, and she lets us know what she's thinking.

- Ainsley is beginning to try out the potty. She loves her Dora big girls.. so we're trying it out. If it works, great.. if not, no big deal!
- She follows Evan around all the time and tries out everything he does. The fighting has started too :P

- I think one of her favorite phrases is "self". She likes to do everything - from buckling, getting dressed, putting shoes on, pouring cereal, and sitting on big chair - herself. It makes for quite a challenge sometime :)

- She will only drink from an open cup

- Ainsley loved sweets - seriously. Evan could take them or leave them, but this girl has a serious sweet tooth! Ice cream, fruit snacks, jelly beans, sprinkles. All other food (except cheese) is hit or miss.

- Ainsley loves to dance, loves princesses and her dolls, and is now into playing hairdresser and doctor. She also likes to draw and color. She recently started drawing and then will say, "Look Mommy" and tell me what it is. This is her first drawing, a strawberry:


- She is sleeping well - a 2 hour nap (I wake her every day) and about 11 hours at night. (She still has her bubby in her bed only.)


- Ainsley says her numbers to 13, sings the abc song, and is still working on the colors - except she knows pink!

- Her stats were: Weight: 25 lbs, 13 oz (40%), Height: 33 1/4 inches (40%), HC 48.5 cms
- She just got her first haircut and first pedicure (at home).

We love you Ainsley!