Disney World Day 3

Today we headed to Animal Kingdom.  There was so much to see and do and we did not even begin to see it all.  But we had fun with what we did see and can't wait to go back. 

When we first arrived we headed straight back to the Safari, but along the way we saw Lilo and Stich.  We were the first ones in line to get their autographs and a picture. Lauren and I felt so lucky! 

Next was the Safari ride which was really neat.  We saw several animals, including giraffes, elephants, ostrich, and several other animals that were rare and I can't remember their names!  It was a bumpy ride that Addison loved, and Lauren held on tight to Daddy. 

After the safari ride we took a little break for snacks, potty and sunscreen.  I just love this picture of Lauren and the mickey mouse sucker. 

Dino Land was next and I think this was the girls favorite area.  We were able to ride rides, see Goofy and Pluto, and run and play on a huge dinosaur playground. 

After Dino Land we headed to the Nemo show.  Addison took a nap through most of the show, and Lauren really loved it.  We wanted to see the Lion King show as well, but we decided to eat lunch and then head back to the hotel for naps. 

After naps it was dinner at 1900 Park Fare, which was a restaurant at the Grand Floridian Hotel (super nice hotel.)  It was with Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the wicked Step Mom and Step Sisters. 

Lauren loved seeing everyone and was super excited to take her picture with each character.  She especially loved Prince Charming....Addison, not so much...as you can see here! 

Love those two big smiles (even though Lauren's face is a little blurry) 

After dinner we walked around outside at the Grand Floridian and dreamed of staying there some day.  It was so beautiful and the fountains, flowers and landscaping was gorgeous.  It was a really fun night...

Tomorrow off to Hollywood Studios.  Another fun day. 

Disney World Day 2

Today was Magic Kingdom and I think it was my favorite park.  There is so much to see and do at Magic Kingdom for everyone all ages.  We started out riding Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride, then ran around the Swiss Family Robinson tree house.  For some reason, when I traveled to Disney World as a teenager I remember the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, so I wanted my girls to see it as well. 

Lauren did not want to take a picture with me in front of Cinderella's castle, and Addison was content in the stroller so I was not about to move her.  This was right when we arrived to the park, so not too crowded yet. 

Love this picture of sweet little Addison.  She was such a trooper the whole trip, slept where ever, when ever she was tired, and really never cried...except right before heading home on the plane when she was super tired (past the point of tired) and just screamed bloody murder.  I know the people that sat by us on the plane were just thrilled (but then she fell asleep for an hour and all was good)

Next we headed to see Tinkerbell and the fairies.  We got there right when it opened so we only had to wait about 20-30 minutes to see her, and well Lauren was just thrilled, as you can see here...

Mickey and Minnie's house were next, followed by a train ride around the park, which Addison decided to sleep through. 

We had lunch at Cinderella's Castle which was quite the treat.  It really is a beautiful castle, and the food was good as well.  We got a professional picture taken with Cinderella at the beginning, which was part of the package. We enjoyed a great lunch, with visits from all the princesses.  Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Aerial, and Belle.  Very fun.  Lauren finally started warming up to things with this lunch. 

After lunch we headed to the Monsters Inc show, which was nice and air conditioned.  Then we waited for the parade to start, and Lauren rested a little bit.  She was asking to find some shade and lay down and rest.  The parade was at 3 and it was blazing hot at that time.  The sidewalks were even too hot to sit on!  After the parade Mark rode a roller coaster, then we headed to the Winnie the Pooh ride and Its a Small World ride.  Both kid friendly, and very fun. 

Next was dinner at Crystal Palace, which included Pooh and all his friends; Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.  Addison loved Tigger and Lauren seemed to love them all.  After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel.  We were very hot and tired. 

We headed to the pool to end the night.  The girls really loved swimming each night.  It really was a little too cool to swim, but the girls did not seem to care.  After that it was off to bed to get ready for Animal Kingdom on day 3 of Disney.  So much fun today in Magic Kingdom. 

Disney World Day 1

Finally I get a chance to update the blog!!!  I am planning on updating it this week with a new Disney day and things that we did.  The trip was awesome.  I can't believe it is over all ready.  We had sooooo much fun and can't wait to go back.  Lauren really loved everything and Addison seemed to have fun too. 

This was Lauren at 5:00 AM ready to go.  I was planning on dragging her out of bed, getting her dressed and hoping she would fall back asleep in the car.  No way...she was sooo excited and talked the whole way to the airport.  I literally scooped Addison out of bed as Mark was strapping Lauren into the car, kept her in her jammies, did not even change her diaper, hoping she too would sleep on the way to the airport--no way, too excited too.  So after we got checked in I changed her diaper, got her dressed and combed her hair. 

The flight to Orlando was great.  Both girls did really well.  Addison slept for ~ 30 minutes and Lauren watched a movie.  It was almost a 3 hour flight, but really went by pretty quickly. 

When we first arrived Lauren and I headed to the pool.  We were able to get into our room early to that was really nice.  Mark hung out with Addison so she could take a nap and Lauren and I checked out the hotel.  We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort.  It was very nice and had a great pool.  The girls seemed to really love it. 

Heading out to dinner at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. 

This was Mark's buddy all week.  Addison just loves her Daddy.  He was definitely more exhausted from the trip than I was because he took care of Addison more than I did!  She kept saying "Daddy, Daddy."

The characters kept sneaking up on Addison and just scaring her to death.  Can you imagine that huge nose in your face if you were 1?  Poor little Addison. 

Lauren was not quite ready to take pictures with the characters quite yet, so here is Minnie Mouse and I. 

Addison decided Mickey was OK and gave him a high 5!!

Mickey was the last character to come to our table and Lauren decided it would be okay to take pictures as long as she was with her Daddy. 

Dinner at Chef Mickey's was so much fun.  Mark thinks he had more fun than the girls did.  Addison loved seeing the characters from a far, and Lauren did too.  She really enjoyed singing and dancing when all the characters danced.  We made friends with the table next so us, who had a 4 year old girl with them staying at our same hotel. 

Dinner was great, getting the girls to bed was another story.  They were both so wound up and excited.  Tomorrow, more about Magic Kingdom.  A truly magical day!!!

Cool Lauren

It seems that a lot of my posts lately have been about little Addison. Addison loves to have her picture taken and will pose for anything. Lauren on the other had does not. So I found this cute one of Lauren where she actually asked me to take her picture (this does not happen often right now) She loves my old sunglasses and just looks adorable in them!

Addison's New Favorite Toy...

her sister's barbie boom box!!

Kit Kat in the Car

This is what happens when you give a 19 month old a Kit Kat in the car. 

This is what happens when you don't clean her up quickly. 

Ready for Potty Training???

Addison will be 19 months old tomorrow! Can you believe it??? Tonight when we were getting ready for a bath I decided to put the potty chair out. When I got her undressed she said "potty" so I took her diaper off and let her sit on the potty. She got up and down several times and mainly just played. I ran downstairs to get my camera and then I heard the music play. When you go potty in this potty music starts playing...sure enough, there was potty in the potty! Big girl Addison!!!

She is saying "potty, potty."

Guess we will leave it in the bathroom and see what tomorrow brings...

Cute Pictures of the Girls

Random pictures from the weekend.  Soccer practice, Charley's 1st Birthday Party, dance, and things around the house.  Too cute not to post.  Enjoy...

Lauren's Dance Performance

This weekend was a huge weekend with Lauren's dance studio, Steppin Out.  Saturday was day of dance, and Sunday was a day full of performances and a carnival  Lauren was very excited and did awesome up on stage!  We are so proud of her!

She is dancing next to her friend Camryn (with the blond hair) and in front of her friend Madylyn (black shirt and big white bow)

Look at that move!

The end.  What a great performance Lauren!  Can't wait till showcase when all the girls are dressed alike in their costumes, hair done, and just a touch of make-up (not much for our Lauren)

Afterwards we enjoyed the carnival.  Lauren jumped in the moon walk, rode the train ride, and especially loved the petting zoo where she could feed the animals.