Week 88

Nov 10-16

We have finally done it...

after 2 years of living in FL near Orlando...

we went to Disney!

So ever since we moved here we have talked about going to Disney/Universal/Sea World...all that the ever popular Orlando, FL has to offer. Well the only problem is that when we first got here I was pregnant, therefore unable to get on any ride worth going on. Then the next year we had a tiny little newborn baby and it kind of takes all the fun out of going to Disney when one person has to ride by themselves while the other watches the stroller and tends to the baby.

Long story short...we have finally come to the point where we thought Jack could handle Disney and the day would be fun for everyone. Ed's Uncle Tom, Aunt Jennifer, and Cousin Mallory go to Disney at least once a year and we don't see them very often (they live in Pittsburgh, PA), so when we heard they were coming down we figured it would be great to stop in and see them for a day.

Ed and I got up super early to get showers in before Jack woke up. We were ready by about 6:45 am and right on cue we heard him waking up. We got him dressed, gave him a little snack and a juice for the car....and we were on our way! We were meeting everyone at Animal Kingdom, which was perfect for Jack since he LOVES animals!!!

As soon as we met up with them and got through the gates, we walked straight to a fun restaurant called Tusker House. They had made reservations for brunch. It was AMAZING! Everything was catered to the kids, there were characters EVERYWHERE and they came up to your table to sign autographs and get pictures. Jack was in awe!

The first character we met was Donald Duck (Ed's favorite!). We weren't quite sure how Jack was going to react to the characters. We figured he would either completely flip out...or love them. Well he LOVED them. When he was sitting in his chair and one would walk past he would scream, "HI! HI!!!" It was so funny!

The rest of the day we walked the entire park. We got to see tons of great shows...I loved Finding Nemo!!! It was amazing! At the end there were a million bubbles and Jack went crazy! We also saw Lion King and Bugs 3-D. Jack got to go on a few rides with Mallory and they met more characters throughout the park. We had a great time! Now that we have figured out that Jack can handle the whole park thing we REALLY want to take him to Magic Kingdom!

Hopefully I will have more pictures to post soon! We brought our camera without the battery charged so I will get pictures from Aunt Jennifer!

Thanks to Uncle Tom, Aunt Jennifer, and Mallory for allowing us to join in on your vacation! It was a great time and so nice to see you guys!!!!!

Week 87

Nov 3-9

First off just want to say...

HAPPY 4TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO THE BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!

Here is a picture from our wedding day.

So Jack is sick once again. We took him to the pediatrician for the second time in his life due to illness. Grrr. I guess it's not THAT bad since he is almost 20 months but I just HATE when he is sick. The first time he was sick he just happened to have played at "KidZone" a few days before. Ed now calls it "Strepzone" and forbids Jack to play there anymore.

Last week I had a great idea (or so I thought). The CDC (Child Development Center) on our local base is amazing. It just opened within the last year and everything is nice, new, state-of-the-art. I have to admit when I went on a tour and checked it out I really wanted to hate it, but once I walked in I was nothing but impressed. I have always been skeptical about Jack going to daycare but now that he is getting a little older I can truly see some benefits of it.

He will never go on a full time basis, because I am so OCD about his schedule and I really like him to have his own bed, his own stuff, and guaranteed one-on-one attention. I was curious about the drop off situation though. I turned in all of Jacks paperwork months ago and never really thought twice about it until recently. He LOVES playing with other kids. He is a very social, extroverted little person and I have slowly come to realize that playing with mommy can get...well, boring.

On another tangent...I have not gotten to get a true, uninterrupted, blissful cleaning session in since Jack has been born. Don't get me wrong, Ed has offered to occupy Jack while I clean the house since he knows how stressed I get when things need to be cleaned...but it usually means playing with him downstairs and they get in my way even though they try not to. When I clean I get off into my own little world...put on loud music on both floors and be-bop from room to room picking things up, scrubbing, washing, cleaning, polishing, sanitizing, etc.

Ed hates it when I clean. He likes the end results but can't stand to be around while I'm "in the zone." So last week I thought it would be a great idea to get in a morning cleaning session and surprise Ed when he got home from work. Jack could go play with other kids and have a great time...what's the harm? I called the CDC that morning because for the drop off you usually are taking someones spot if they don't bring their kid in that day for whatever reason. Well they had a spot.

I was so excited/nervous! I finished up with breakfast, got Jack dressed, packed a diaper bag, and drove over to the base. I signed him in and was directed to the classroom. Yeah, Jack surveyed the room, ran off with some kids, and didn't even look over when I said goodbye. The teachers were like, "he will be okay." I was like, "I know, but I just wanted him to care and at least say bye." Oh well. Off to clean the house.

It was.

AWESOME.

I cleaned sheets, floors, windows, bathrooms...watered flowers, vacuumed, organized. The two hours seemed to stand still so I could get everything done. I finally went to go pick Jack up. They had just started nap time so some of the kids were already passed out and the others were on their way. Jack was getting his diaper changed and when he saw me he smiled and said, "hi mommy!" :)

He did care! :) I was so excited! The lady changed his diaper as he lay there patiently. She washed his hands and gave him permission to run to me. He came and gave me a big hug and said "HIIII!!!". I could tell he was in a great mood and had a great time there. The teachers handed me a picture he had made, apologized for the red stuff all over his little yellow shoes (from spaghetti sauce from lunch, how does that happen?). I said it was okay I will wash them and scooped up my little baby hugging him as he waved and said, "bye-bye, thank you" to the teachers.

They told me he had a great time, played nice, and that all the other kids followed him around all morning. He is pretty tall, they probably thought he was older because of that. The entire way home he sat in the backseat in his car seat chatting away.

I figured it was wonderful! I was so happy to tell Ed all about Jack's big debut at daycare. Ed's response..."great, now he will be sick this weekend." I was like, "don't be ridiculous, doesn't the house look amazing? I am so excited about how much I got done." So I had the next couple of days off and come Saturday morning...Jack sleeps in until 9:30. Uh-oh. I am getting ready for work and go in to check on him and he has a fever.

It is now Tuesday and he is down to a low-grade fever today. Yesterday I took him to the pediatrician and he has a pretty good upper respiratory infection, snotty nose, and the possible beginnings of a right ear infection. Our doctor (whom I love and so does Jack) gave us a prescription for an antibiotic but said she was pretty sure it was a virus and we didn't really need to fill the prescription unless he got worse over the next couple of days. He is getting better. Today I made him (and Ed who is sick as well) chicken noodle soup and chicken pot pie from scratch so they have some comfort foods. I hope they get better soon!!!

Unfortunately I really don't have any pictures for this week. We have been super busy with the whole illness thing and work...I will try and take some for next week when Jack is feeling better! :)

Week 86

Oct 27-Nov 2

This week we wrapped up the lovely month of October with some traditional Halloween fun! We started off the weekend with Boo-at-the-Zoo! It was so cute! They decorated the zoo with pumpkins and spooky Halloween themed festivities. We went on the last day they offered it so there were TONS of people. It was so fun to see all the kids in their costumes!!! Jack had a blast!

We figured this could be our dry run for trick-or-treating because the zoo had different candy stations the kids could go to. As you all know, Jack dressed as a firefighter this year. He had the cutest little costume complete with an air pack and an axe to hold onto. He even wore the hat the whole time which surprised me. It almost seemed like he was taking the role very seriously.

Of course I thought he was the cutest little firefighter I have ever seen, but that's because I'm his mother and it's only natural to feel this way. :) We had a great time at the zoo and I would recommend it for people with young kids!

The next day we had to carve our pumpkins! We had been waiting to do this when I had the weekend off. Plus, we quickly discovered when we moved year that in Florida it is necessary to hold off carving your pumpkin as long as possible because it will rot in the lovely October heat.

I have to also give kudos to our Halloween decorations. We worked very hard on them and I think they deserve a little spot here on the blog. We had a graveyard and lots of pumpkins, lights, and even scary music!!!! Some kids would not walk up to the porch alone b/c of the scary music. There were lots of people who took pictures in our graveyard. :)

This was Jack's 2nd Halloween and what a big difference from last year! He officially has become a trick-or-treating pro! It didn't take him long to figure out what he needed to do to fill his little plastic pumpkin with candy.

We had a nice quick and easy pizza dinner and then right before trick-or-treating started we walked up to the church and checked out the Fall Festival they offer for free. It was very cute! They had pony rides and sno-cones. Jack met up with some of his neighborhood friends. We saw Madilynn, Kaitlyn, and Charlotte & Vincent. He was in awe of all the kids in their costumes...especially his little friends. It was all quite adorable!

We walked back towards our house and did some trick-or-treating. Jack loved running up and knocking on the door. He got some great loot and we came back to our house so we could pass out our candy. Jack helped for awhile. He liked to pass out candy just as much as getting it. He's such a great little helper! After awhile it was creeping on his bedtime so Ed took him in and gave him a bath and put him to bed. All in all he had a great night! We finished up the evening passing out candy and then came in to watch the football game.

Can't wait to see what he will be next year! Who knows, maybe he will have his own opinion and pick out his costume. :)