DISNEY DAY 1: Traveling! (And things that go BUMP in the night.)

We are home! We emerged from Disney still alive. But tired. Very tired. We had a great week but now I need another vacation. Maddie LOVED Disney. Loved it. There is a ton of pictures of Maddie that you will see, not quite as many of Syd. Mainly because, she doesn't sit still long enough. So she was usually running from us while we tried to get her to smile. And, she runs even faster if she thinks she might be contained for any length of time. Stinker. 

I will probably be recapping this trip for awhile - we took a ton of pictures!!

At the last minute, I wound up driving with Mercedes. She was staying for a few extra weeks to work and wanted a travel buddy. Since I was off on Friday, we headed out at 4:30 AM and headed straight for Orlando…with a pitstop in Atlanta for On The Border!

 Mercedes in heaven.

Chris, the girls and my parents flew down Saturday morning and we met them at the hotel, Saratoga Springs. 

Evidently the plane bumped bumped bumped for awhile en route. This girl loved that. (SO glad I missed that. Not a fan of flying.)

This girl scared everyone away from being her seat partner. And then proceeded to move back and forth between Chris and my dad for 2 solid hours. 

It was our first time at this resort and we loved it! 

Our room wasn't quite ready so we walked to Downtown Disney for lunch.

 All smiles in Florida!

Tia wasted no time teaching Maddie the art of pin trading. 

I am in a store called the World of Disney. How did I let my wife talk me into this? 

Maddie with her pins, her "First Visit" button and her "Happy Birthday" button. 

We checked into our rooms and the girls both napped while we unpacked. That night we headed over to the neighboring resort, Old Key West, for dinner at Olivia's.

Maddie enjoyed her "build your own sundae" dessert.

It was dark, so we took the bus back. 

We went to bed early in preparation for Magic Kingdom the next day. Everyone was sound asleep when BUMP - out fell Maddie from her bed. And she screamed and screamed. She got herself so worked up she made herself sick. It was a little hard to go back to sleep after that. 

Next up: Magic Kingdom!

Life Lately…a whole bunch of random!

Today, I'm catching up on A TON of pictures I have on my phone. So bear with me…

We've been playing a lot with our new toys.

Maddie went shopping with her money from her aunt and uncle!

Sandy is only a penny at Meijer!

Madeline loves to shop, she's got some real stamina for it. Sydney is kind of "meh" about it.

It has been beautiful out the last couple of days! It's been around 50 so the girls and I have been trying to get out a bit each day.

Maddie was JAZZED to be riding her bike again. She toots her horn and rings her bell at EVERYONE.

Sweet, sweet Sydney.

Sydney was too busy changing the radio station to look.

But I got her here!

We have been visiting friends, starting with Hudson over the weekend.

Sydney can't wait to play with Sloane, but since she's too little right now, she just steals her toys.

We also had breakfast with Soley! This was two days before her little sister was born!

We can't wait to meet baby Rainey.

Maddie had her dentist appointment. Since she's been 3 visits cavity-free she made the No-Cavity Club and gets her name in the paper. 

Sydney's been doing a little bit of reading.

And, she's learning how to brush her teeth!

Maddie has been a very big helper lately. She loves to help me with Sydney. Doesn't she look so old here?!

I don't think I shared her final bedding--how cute is this?

During Sydney's afternoon naps, Maddie and I have been crafting.

She really liked picking out colors and making her first potholder!

I wasn't sure if she was nimble enough, but she sat there and really concentrated and got her hoops weaved!

Then, we took our old crayons...

And made new ones!

My team is moving back downtown. Granted, we all work from home, but we have work space at our Blankenbaker office for our monthly meetings. I am pretty ambivalent about the change since I rarely go in, but I do love my team!

Chris and I have been really good about working out so far….except when Stella gets in the way.

The last couple of weeks have been busy, but in the midst of the chaos, we've been getting very excited…and counting down the days until Disney World!

Yep. Call us crazy. We're taking these two to Disney World.

And yes, I'm terrified. But, I'm really excited to. I've been planning this trip for a sweet forever. Seriously, with Disney you have to book everything really far in advance. I had to make our dining reservations in July, people!

The girls are PSYCHED about Disney.

Maddie knows all of her favorite princesses and characters live there and can not wait. We've got a ton of stuff planned but I left a lot of room for downtime too. Maddie is excited about seeing Belle, Anna and Elsa, Doc McStuffins…she's ready for it all! Every day she asks me funny questions about Disney.

"Mommy, does Disney World have syrup" was probably my favorite. Um, yes. 

Sydney doesn't really get it obviously, but she loves to dress up, so I'm thinking she will dig all of the characters.

The trip is so close I can taste it. We got our magic bands in the mail - yay!

So, brace yourself, folks. You will have a lot of Disney pics and posts to come in the following weeks.

For now, I leave you with this.

I begged Chris to get behind me to make a family train but he declined. HAHA!

Daddy-Daughter Dates

On Thursday, I had my monthly GNO with my Humana girls. We went to a great restaurant called Louvino and enjoyed a few hours of great food and laughs.

 We started with a wine and cheese flight - delish! - and then shared a bunch of small plates.

While I was out, Sydney went to grandma's and Maddie went out with daddy. She picked Qdoba and Barnes and Noble for their date. When I got home, I found these pictures on Chris's phone.

They both look so happy!

On Sunday, I went to a baby shower for my friend Kristin whose baby was delivered at 24 weeks. Baby Kensley is in the NICU but she is doing amazingly well. She was born at 1 lb, 1 oz and we think about baby Kensley every day! Kristin got all kinds of great gifts so that she will be ready when baby girl gets released to come home!


Chris had the girls again (he was super dad this week) and he took lots of pictures for me.

The new thing they like to do is squeeze in a play tunnel and run around the play room.

 I love how Sydney is looking at Madeline here. She ADORES her big sister.

 And then, this cracked me up. All 3 of them are vacuuming. 

I love seeing Chris be a daddy to our two little girls!