Today, I consider myself incredibly lucky for the gifts in my life. Amazing family, friends, support staff, and most importantly a great husband with unconditional support and the worlds best little boy. Thanks to Grant, Taylor, Pam and Laura for keeping me going this weekend. Without these four people, I wouldn't be here. There will never be words to express my feelings of gratitude.

Lots of questions on what Grant might like for late birthday presents/holiday gifts. Please don't spoil him. He mostly wants your love and hugs! But, if you want to get him physical gifts, here are some tips. He wears a size 24 months/2T and will be in that for about a year. He could use some socks. He also has a list on amazon (search for Taylor and then look under other lists). The thing on his list that he could use most is the booster seat. He also would like some new hooded towels, but make sure they are toddler size, not for infants. And, being Grant, his very favorite thing is a book.

Grant is a lucky little boy who has lots of love and attention for the people in his life, so he really doesn't need much. We welcome the idea of you sharing a toy with a child who won't be getting a present at Christmas instead of giving something to Grant. As someone who received these presents on more than one holiday, having a new game or doll to open under the tree means the world. It can easily be a child's only present. Grant will be making a gift to Toys for Tots and welcomes you to do the same!

Enjoy Grant's newest obsession (excluding Elmo of course). We watch a minimum of three times a night...

Me and my boys love some football!

Hope you all enjoyed the game too.

Go Patriots!

Because Taylor requested a retraction-and because I love him a lot of the time, I will publicly state that Taylor is not looking for a new job and that we are not really moving to Bermuda. I would however really like to go visit Bermuda where there are no snakes and I don't' have to be afraid to go outside. Perhaps instead of being concerned about his coworkers reading my blog, Taylor could become concerned with taking his beautiful wife, the mother of his amazing son, on a vacation!

Broadcasting live from somewhere on the way to NYC-84 I think, around Hard Hitten' New Britian! I'm on my way to the city for work today and we decided the way to travel this time was by way of something called Limoliner. Totally the coolest! so, i'm in big leather seat. there are tvs every few feet and they just started a movie. I've got my own plug for my precious laptop and most important, free wifi for the trip! sadly, this means I'll be working for my few hour ride, but I guess all things considrered that isn't so bad! I've already been offered breakfast (I had the muffin) and when the move started we all got snacks. I could get used to this!

Sadly, I think I woke up sick this morning:( I had a headache all day yesterday, but wrote it off to some chemicals in the office and dehydration (we have mice where I work and I found evidence that overnight the little shit had been all over my desk-so I had to clean like hell and refused to drink from my water bottle or coffee cup because they had been there overnight so needed to be sanitized before I could use them). But, this morning it is still here and drinking some caffine and taking some tylenol hasn't seemed to help at all and i've got a stuffy nose and a cough. Leave it to me to manage to get sick on my big night in the city and my last weekend of summer. Oh well, if I ignore it, perhaps it will go away.

And yes, while I know this is fairly ridiculous, I miss Grant already. Morning time is usually just the two of us. It is often a fire fight to get ready and out the door but we have our routine and do the same things morning after morning. I wonder how he and Dad did. I'm sure they were fine, but did he like the way Taylor cut up the fruit in his yogart? Did Taylor let him point to the picture of the boat and the sandcastle before he got him dressed? I'm sure Grant required him to put lotion on his boo-boos before he was able to move on. I'll be fine, and to be perfectly honest, I'm totally looking forard to sleeping in tomorrow and not getting up at 6:00 because that is what time my littlest alarm clock decided it was time to wake. My return trip on the limoliner isn't until 9:30 and this bad boy picks me up at my hotel, so I'll get to stay in bed until at least 8 and still have time to meet my collegues for breakfast. 8:00 am, I can't even fathum what that feels like. I was up super early this morning too, so it will feel all the greater. I've only traveled for work overnight without Grant once before and so I know the key is to be exhausted when I go to sleep so I don't stay away missing him. We're doing a bar event, so I'm sure I won't him my bed until midnight, so that plus the cold that i'm igorning should be enough for me to pass out without beeling sad. I wonder if this every goes away? He's almost two! It's hardly 24 hours and he's with dad. I go plenty of crazy work days without getting to see him at all (like last Thursday when I had a two event day and missed him waking up and going to bed) but I guess that because I sneak in and check on him and tell him i've missed him and I love him it somehow feels different. Oh well-three day weekend coming for snuggles!

Sorry that my blog has turned into all about Grant. See, I try to think about other clever fun things to write about like i did in a world before kids, but I don't really remember what that world feels like. I love this world and at all times at least 12% of my thoughts are about Grant. When I have the time to sit down and blog, which is obviously rare, my mind gets to think about all the things I don't have time to think about otherwise, which in this and most cases is Grant. I'll work on being funny again, I promise!

Taylor is drafting for my all girls fantasy football league tonight while i'm at the bar. I know, it doesn't really seem fair because he's virtually a FF professional (and has the tee-shirt to prove it) but I couldn't set the auto draft to really hit my preferences. Besides, we aren't playing for money and i only know one of these people (all the rest work at Disney) so I don't mind if I have a slight advantage. We went over my list and how I wanted to draft, so I'm sure he'll do a super awesome job. I'm bummed to be missing my first "live" draft, but am more excited to sleep in tomorrow, so it all evens out in the end!

Being on this bus reminds me of the story that my friend told me in college. Her parents were on their way to Wheaton to visit her with her little brother and sister in the back seat. they must have been about 9 and 11 or so. They came to a light and her sister looked up and into the bus they were next to as to try to see what movie they were watching. They were watching porn. Yes, porn. How random is that? And how much does it suck to have to try to explain that to your 9 and 11 year old kids? everytime i go by a bus now (and a minivan witha dvd player) I now try to play name that film and hope against hope that someday I too will find a bus watching porn. hilarious!

I've just discovered that Bermuda doesn't have snakes and Taylor and I are considereing a move. Turns out they don't just let anyone more to the island, you need a reason/connection. Lucily for me, Bermuda is the reinsurance capital of the world and my adorable husband is the reinsurance master. i knew all of this insurance nonsense would someday work out for us! I know I know, it is really important for me that Grant grow up near family and see our country before he sees the rest of the world, but it is such a quick little flight from Boston...and we're a sailing family by nature so he could see Auntie Krissy and her fam once a year when they do their race to the island and it might just be the insperation that Papa needs to get back involved...okay, so it probably won't happen but it is nice to have a dream. Just like the dream Krissy and I have about our powerball winnings...

okay-time to work on my studid HTML project. I so hate HTML! I don't really know why this is part of what I do-I'm not very good at it-and we all know it! Oh well. I guess I could check facebook just one more time before I get started...

Heather's ready for some football! Loving the Hall of Fame Game tonight. First touchdown of the season (okay-preseason) is a trick play-a fake punt that the back up punter who will almost certainly get cut before the season starts, takes the ball 35 yards for a touchdown. Missing Madden a little, but who can complain when Sunday Night Football is back! Get out the lucky underwear and Bring on the Patriots on Thursday night!

Captain G's Big Adventure

G wanted to share the love while taking Mama, Dada, Ahh-tee (Auntie), Swalley (Uncle Awesome) and Big Daddy out for a boat ride. Luckily, he's got boating in his blood and loved every moment of his ride. He steered, he found the horn, waved to all the other boats, loved going fat and of course, being "The People's Baby", shared some love with the camera. Hope you all enjoy!

I just got back from my nightly run/walk adventure. It is amazing to me how the neighborhood quiets down so quickly on a Sunday evening. I go our after we put Grant to sleep at night and chase the final rays of sunshine around the neighborhood, though I seem to be losing that battle as it is darker and darker every night. At 7:30 there are still families outside playing-kids as far as the eye can see, dogs playing fetch in the street, the twins out for a walk. When I head out at 8:30 it is near silence. Lights are on upstairs in nearly every home as little ones take baths and head "night-night" (Grant's newest word!). It is a nice part of my nightly routine.

Yes, Emilie, I'll put of pictures of the furniture soon. I'm just being lazy. I also really want to upload some of the picture of Grant and friends having a watermelon eating contest. In case anyone was wondering-Grant kicked ass. We're so proud!

Addendum to the previous post: Grant also says Duck, Quack, Moo, and Water. Still only minivan once. bummer.

Welcome to our newest family member, baby Parker (Parker was on my list of names for Grant-it was destined to be in the family)! Born on the 3rd of July, he's Grants 5th cousin (Alessandra, Robert, Rebecca, Samuel, and now Parker). The family seems to keep growing every day! Grant also got to meet his Uncle Robert this weekend when he, Alessandra, and Robert stopped in on their way through the state. It was great to see them and the kids, as we so rarely get the chance to be together. Miles seem to get further and further each year.

We can hear the 4th of July fireworks very clearly from our house right now, but can just see the tinyest peaks of color through the trees. I'm glad we decided not to go to the show. Grant was worn out, as he has been all week, so early to bed was a smart move. We did go for "Goat Ice Cream" this evening. Grant wasn't at all interested in ice cream but was very excited to feed the goats and play on the slide. We're in trouble-this kid is fearless!

Dudek is getting married tomorrow. I'll admit, I never thought I would see the day! We really like his fiance and think the two make a sweet match. I'm looking forward to the night out. Thanks to Papa for babysitting duties. It will be hard adjusting to work again this week. I've been in and out for the last two weeks with Grant being on vacation and have rather enjoyed playing and relaxing. It is a quiet time in the office for me (but not for long-August is a beast!) so it has been nice to spend some soft time at home with my sweet little boy.

Our new family room furniture came yesterday. It is awesome! we've already begun fighting over the recliner. Grant is not a fan however, as it is higher than the old stuff and he can't climb up by himself. the good new for him is we just moved the old stuff into the playroom, so he can still climb at will.

Taylor thought you might be interested to know some of the little dude's favorite words-as he is talking more and more every day. Right now he says, Mama, Dada, Hi, Bye, Baby, Kitty, Bubble, No (and shakes his head yes, but won't say it out loud), Ball, Please, Papa, Ben, Eve, Laura, and one time only, but crystal clear, minivan. He says more than this, but this is what I've got off the top of my head. it's pretty amazing when you think where he was a year ago!

So much celebrity death!
Ed McMahon-sorry dude. you were cool in your day.
Michael Jackson-I was never really a fan. yes, someone once bought me the Thriller record player when i was really little, but he just wasn't for me. I mean, who doesn't love a little ABC, but that's about where it ends for me. I have enjoyed watching people's facebook statues in the last week as they battle about MJ good or evil.
Farrah-Sorry you got Mother Theresa-ed. Mother Theresa-ed? That's when your awesome and you die and it should really be all about you, but someone more famous for less good dies and you lose all your time. A little death of Princess Diana and suddenly all we remember from Mother Theresa's death is a fly being on her head during the service and the nun bun. oh the nun bun...that was a fun night in college with Chris and Christine!
Billy Mayes-bought a big tub of Oxiclean yesterday in your honor. Pitch it in heaven baby! Favorite Billy Mayes joke "deaths usually come in threes. Leave it to Billy Mayes to through one in for FREE!" Terrible, but funny!

Enjoying my time off this week with my little Grant man. Friday and Monday were "Mommy Days". I've also got this Wednesday and Friday. I could literally spend every day snuggling on the couch and watching Super Y with that little bug. He's a disaster this week with falling down. Took two nice digs off the outside steps over the weekend and totally wiped-out in the driveway sunday night. Of course, he had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I was sure I was going to get questioned on the bruise on his head and cut on his nose. turns out, this is what little boys look like-they didn't even blink an eye!

been feeling nostalgic for Machias recently. My brother is there this week with my parents for the first time in a million years. and, a prom picture of me has appeared on facebook this week. has had me thinking about the fun time. don't get me wrong, i wouldn't go back to high school if you offered me 10 million dollars, but i did have so real friends and we did have some good laughs. far from Laguna Beach, but fun times all the same. I'll have to dig out some of my own pictures for a few laughs. at least by junior year I had lost the glasses...or maybe that was the prom i just decided to be blind at...it is amazing how time blurs the edges of memories and makes everything a little sweeter and softer.

Welcome Samuel Horatio!

My sweet new nephew is just a peanut! 6 pounds 2.5 ounces and just a hint shorter than baby Grant at 18.5 inches. Jenny and Brian are truly blessed. Nothing is more amazing than a little boy. I sure thought Moxy was a girl, but Grant couldn't be happier for a little boy to play with. I can see the two of them, barely 18 months apart, growing together and getting into all kinds of trouble! Tormenting their sisters, frogs in beds, running around the beach house each summer, riding space mountain, Popsicle faces, chasing girls, the list goes on and on! I'm so proud of JJ-she's going to be the most amazing mother and I can't wait to share this amazing ride with her!

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! I slept through much of the first birthday, even forgetting a few times it was my birthday in all of the post reunion exhaustion. I took a mulligan and decided to actually celebrate Friday as my birthday. Taylor took the day off (I already had the day off), so we sent Grant to daycare and headed out to do a multitude of errands. We hit 4 different furniture stores in search of a new family room set. We had one picked out and hit a quick lunch at "Red Robin". I know, Red Robin isn't all that fancy, but I do love a really good burger, so it was my birthday treat of choice. Then, we did the unthinkable-we saw a movie! It was awesome! Second time since Grant has been born-so this was a very special birthday treat. We saw Star Trek-yup-I'm a geek and loving it! Sadly, with about 15 minutes left we got the phone call every parent dreads-Daycare calling to tell you to come pick up your sick kid. Grant spiked a fever of 102 and this has been the way of life for the past 5 days. I'm home with him again today but the fever is finally gone and he's just at the cranky phase. I think he'll be able to go back to Laura's tomorrow and I'll be able to hit work again. The good news is, it wasn't last week when I couldn't be out. The bad news is, having a baby with a high temperature is so sad! Poor kiddo didn't want to do much of anything, so we just laid low all weekend. Grant discovered a Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon on TLC and fell in love with "the babies". Every time it came on, he would cheer and yell baby! baby! it was adorable though 4 days of this can get old fast. He's not usually a tv kid at all, but this weekend he really wanted a few breaks to just sit and be still. we took the cuddle time when we could, but are happy to be getting our little guy back to his little busy self. Oh-and we did get to go out and get a new family room set on Monday morning. 4 to 6 weeks before it gets here-yeah comfy couch!

Happy Birthday Julie!

And a Happy Mother's Day to all! Hug a mommy today-even if it isn't yours!

Hi Friends,

I've been a very bad blogger lately. I'll simply remind you that it is May. If you know me, you'll know that means I disappear for a length of time because it is Reunion. I'm about two weeks behind where I would like to be, a combination of a vacation in February and an illness that took the fam down for 10 days and an awesome wedding last weekend that took me away at the most inopportune of times. If you think I'm being a bad blogger, know I'm being an even worse mother. I missed putting G to bed the last two nights, tonight by mere minutes. I have so much mommy guilt when I'm away and so much work guilt when i'm here. Somewhere out there, I assume there is a balance-I hope someone teaches me all about it someday. I'm sure there was a memo about it I was too busy to read or a mommy and me class that I had to miss for work!

More in June!

Happy Birthday Princess Emilie!

Hope it was a great one!

Happy Anniversary to Taylor and Heather!

Wait, that's me!

Happy Anniversary Taylor-I love you!

Thanks for five great years!

World's Cutest Story!

Grant is a little boy who is busy busy learning about the world around him! We’ve been teaching him to point to all of his different body parts and he’s picking them up pretty well. He’s great at finding him foot and his nose, for example. Last night we were all up in this room playing and I started asking him to point to different thing. I started with his nose because he always gets that one and it is good to start off with a slam dunk so he doesn’t get frustrated. After a few parts, I asked him if he could point to his ears and he stuck his little finger up in the air, pointing at something randomly over Taylor’s head. I thought he was just losing interest and so I asked again and said “Point to Grant’s ears” and again he pointed to something random up over Taylor’s head. The third time he did it, Taylor started cracking up. Yup, we’ve raised a true dork. He was pointing to his ears…his Mickey Ears! They are sitting on the top shelf of his bookshelf and he knows what they are and where they live and how to put them on his head. He didn’t seem to understand why we kept asking him to point to his ears over and over when he was clearly doing what he was told. It was a hysterical!

I'm thinking that since there is little interest in trip reports, I'll probably end now. And blog posts will continue to be spotty until we get our new computer. Stupid virus!

Friday, February 6

Today is the day! Grant’s first trip to the Magic Kingdom. Since you all know our family, you know this is a super big deal. We were up with the sun and off to the Ticket and Transportation Center to take the monorail to the park. Taylor and I love “power hour” and had a plan to get through fantasy land before the sleepy head guests even rolled out of bed. We arrived in time to see the little opening number with the train and the characters and headed “Right down the middle of Main Street USA!”. We didn’t stop for photos or enjoying the sights at all, but instead made a beeline for the promise land—DUMBO! I admit it, I love Dumbo. I love all of the “spiny rides” and so taking Grant on Dumbo was something I was really looking forward too. Plus, he was Dumbo for Halloween this year, so the significance of taking him there first was big. We got two elephants together so Pam and David could record this important moment for posterity. As with most plans, this one was over done. We didn’t account for spending the bulk of the ride trying to figure out if David had his finger in front of the lens of the video camera, or for the fact that Grant never once would look up from the up-down controller of the car for Pam to get a good family photo from above. Still, we got some cute footage and checked Dumbo off the list of things to do for the trip.

We hurried through all of the rides in Fantasyland. Grant liked rides, but wasn’t squealing with delight like we might have hoped. He seemed to really enjoy The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his mom’s favorite, It’s a Small World (no Krissy and Jen, we didn’t pick out a Grant. We can’t do that without you guys!). Grant was definitely tired that day and so as we rode on the Haunted Mansion, he was out before we saw our first Grim Grinning Ghost. This was defintily a good thing because as many of you know, I am a firm believer in naps and worried about him missing his morning nap each day. So Grant and Mommy road Haunted Mansion three times around! Grant was able to catch over 30 minutes of good sleep and I was able to enjoy the changes to the ride since it had been rehabbed. I thought they did a good job enhancing the story of the ride, though still though you needed to ride it a few times before you were able to get a feel for what the story was supposed to be about. I was happy that they didn’t touch my favorite hidden Mickey in the ride on the dining room table, but mostly just happy that they were kind enough to let me keep riding. Grant could have slept for longer, but I just didn’t feel right riding around and around while others waited in line, so after 3 spins we were off to catch up with the group and head out for lunch.

Lunch on Friday was at a favorite of ours, The Plaza Restaurant. This is a hidden gem in the Magic Kingdom. It is a sit down restaurant with air conditioning (not necessary in the frigid weather we were enjoying, but great for most FL days) that is fairly inexpensive. It is mostly salads and sandwiches but costs hardly more than a quick service meal and you get a nice break. For Taylor, this place is a little extra special because it is a cousin to the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor where he worked when he was their doing his College Program in the summer of 2000. Taylor and I both enjoyed a burger while David had a ruben (I believe) and Pam had the meal that gave me food envy for the rest of the trip, a Chicken and Strawberry salad. It looked so good! We couldn’t resist partaking in a little ice cream since it is the house specialty and all shared a brownie Sunday and a banana split. Yummy lunch!

Immediately following lunch, I was overruled on timing, and Grant was headed back down Main Street to the Barber Shop for his first haircut. It was very close to naptime I and thought we should wait it out another day or so and go back at a time when he was less likely to have a melt down. It turns out, I was worried over nothing. We waited while a little girl got her first hair cut. We had hoped to have Michal, a good friend of our dear friend RJ, but he had a line so instead we hit Miss Diane’s barber chair. What’s amazing to me is this is just a little hole in the wall in the middle of the Magic Kingdom. There are only two chairs in the whole place and it is just as cute as could be! When it was our turn, we dropped Grant in to the chair and let Miss Diane work her magic. She pulled out her roll of stickers and loaded Grant up! He must have had about 9 on him-arms, torso, and legs. This kept him so happy that he didn’t notice the spray bottle of water coming out or that she was brushing his hair for his very first haircut. Taylor kept the video camera rolling and while I had planned on doing stills (you know me, I have a certain series of shots in mind at all times-it comes from all those years of doing yearbook), someone had to keep on hand on the baby and that is certainly a job for his mom. Pam was nice enough to take over the duties of the camera and got a ton of wonderful pictures. Miss Diane got the first curl clipped and kept right on moving. She trimmed up his long hair on his neck (and just so we are clear, Grant really didn’t need much of a haircut at all. He got it because it was how we could justify taking a 15 month old to Disney World. If we were just getting it cut here in MA, it would have been months before I was willing to part with his sweet baby hair.) and shortened up the long stuff on top as well. She asked if we wanted her to use the clippers as well and we said, sure, why not. It seemed to us like we should do the full deal since this was the showpiece of the vacation. She was sweet-putting the clippers first to Grant’s back so he could become familiar with the vibrations. True to form, my little boy thought it was hilarious and giggled through the whole process. She was able to trim him up far better than I think she anticipated. It was over as fast as it all started. Grant played with his stickers, a dump truck and a comb and couldn’t have been happier. Miss Diane gave him his very special first haircut ears, but he decided to hold them instead as to not knock any of his super cool confetti out of his hair. To be true to the integrity of the story, I should mention that I shed a few tears. Okay, I’ll be honest, I cried from the second he sat in the chair until I got to pick him back up at the end. This really shouldn’t be a shock to any of you as you know that every milestone along the way has been a tough one for me. My little boy is growing up too fast. He’s not a baby anymore at all but runs fearlessly about in the way toddlers do and I can tell you that all too soon he’ll be running out the door to get in a car with friends on the way to his high school graduation. Those of you without kids are laughing at me, those of you with kids are silently nodding your heads thinking that I’m just at the beginning and I have no idea how true a statement this is.

Post haircut, Grant and Mommy when back to the hotel for a much needed nap! It was late in the afternoon and while G likes to nap around 2, it was closer to 4 when he finally laid down. My kiddo is a trooper! After an hour of rest, we went back into the big blue world to catch up with the rest of the family, who had moved to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Taylor had my park pass in his hand, so he came out and met us outside of the gate and we ventured in to show Grant his first glance as DHS. Unfortunately for him, it was merely a passing glance. Taylor had decided that we would see Fantasmic, the light and water spectacular. This was one of his favorite things to do when he was working at the World. The place was packed even an hour before the show and we had to sit in the second to last section, but were happy because folks who arrived 5 minutes after us were standing! Grant stayed with the Grandparents and Taylor and I ventured to the food line in the back of the park. This was a huge letdown! We ended up spending over $40 on hot dogs and soft pretzels and yes, I had to feed my kid his very first hot dog. Good news was he loved it, bad news for him, he won’t be having that kind of junk again for a long time! Grant friended everyone in the surrounding area, especially the guy in front of him who he kept grabbing his shirt and lightly pounding on the back. Thank goodness everyone in Disney is always in a good mood and most people love little kids! The show started and while Grant liked it, he wasn’t totally in love. We think he’ll like it more on his next trip. Taylor and I are Fantasmic geeks (we used the music at our wedding reception!) and so we noticed Disney cutting some corners with the number of character boats used in the show, but I think that Pam, David, and Grant all thought it was cool. Getting out of the show was a bit of a disaster as usual, but this time we had to venture into the dreaded stroller parking lot as well. Taylor took one for the team and went in to fight his way out with the super Maclaren stroller (yes, the best stroller to take to Disney by far!). We wandered slowly through stores and headed out for the night even though the park was open for a bit longer. We would be back to the Studios and were all tired from a long day. It was a good day, and we would all have a good sleep!

Disney 2009 Trip Report

Please note, this trip report is many things to many different people, so if there are items you find boring, feel free to skim and skip ahead. Believe it or not some people really do want to know where we had our meals! This entry will be done in installments, as Grant doesn't often give me much time to sit and write for any length of time these days. If you would like to see our photos and didn't get the email to see them on Kodak, please let me know and I'll pass the link along to you. I decided the whole world would be bored looking at our 200+ pictures.

Wednesday, February 5, 2009

We left Sturbridge at 4:30 am in the snowy morning for Providence to pick up the Grandparents. After some delay of getting 5 adults, one child, two car seats, and a ridiculous amount of luggage in the car, we were on our way. This was Grant's first flight, so we were a bit nervous, but he did very well on the flight down. The flight wasn't full, so we were able to carry his car seat on and use it on the plane without buying a seat. this is a really good tip for all you parents and would be parents out there-worth saving $200 on a seat for a baby. Worse case, you gate check the seat and still save the money of renting a car seat at your destination. We'll be doing this on most trips! We got to Orlando and quickly found our car and were on our way. We went straight to Downtown Disney to get our credit card points transferred to our rewards card. This was key as we haven't been to Disney in two years and had a nice chunk of points to spend. This process we quick and we were hungry, so we hit our very favorite sandwich place in the whole world--Earl of Sandwich! I'm not sure what about them makes their food incredible, but the Original 1776 is the greatest roast beef sandwich on the planet! After a tasty lunch we headed to our hotel.

Because we were making such a last minute trip and were looking for multiple rooms, we ended up staying off property. I know, this sounds like a sin, and we were worried, but it really worked out great. We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana just outside of Downtown Disney in a two bedroom condo that we got a sick deal on. We had two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, kitchen, and screened in porch. It was perfect for our needs. They had high chairs and cribs, so we only needed to bring the baby for a perfect setup. Grant had the living room to himself and all of the adults had plenty of space to themselves as well. we also had a washer and dryer, which is key when traveling with a toddler.

G and I stayed in for his nap while everyone else went to Shades of Green to pick up our park passes. Taylor's dad is retired military, so we got ridiculous ticket deals. All 5 of us went on five day hopper passes for a total of $375. For comparison purposes, a normal 5 day hopper for one is about $300. See why we couldn't pass up a trip with deals like this?

We all met up later and had a nice dinner off property at some local Chinese place that we found in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. If it is good enough for Testa, it is good enough for us. A quick stop at Super Walmart to load up on diapers and bottled water and we were back to the room for a good nights rest (well, for everyone except Pam who came down with the stomach flu and spent the night in the bathroom--at least it was a nice bathroom!).

Thursday, February 6, 2009

Up with the sun, Taylor, David, Grant and I were off to Epcot to start our trip. We had planned on doing the Animal Kingdom first, but it was so cold (like 40 for the high kind of cold) that we decided there would be very few animals outside so we amended our plan. We hit Soarin first for fastpasses and a ride for the dads of the group. Then it was off to Grant's first ride, Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. He liked his journey in a clamshell. What he liked a lot more than that was the aquarium inside! He didn't want to leave all the fish and loved being able to just touch the glass with them on the other side. He actually cried a little when we took him away. We enjoyed our morning, including 3 trips around on Spaceship Earth for me, as Grant fell asleep on that ride and I just kept riding so he could get some good rest and then had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. We like it there because there is good variety and it was easy to find something to share with the little guy. We bounced around the parks a little longer before Grant and I headed back to the room for his rest and to check on our sick girl Pam.

After a good nap and Grant and I headed back to the parks. Pam was feeling better but decided it wasn't worth coming in to the park for a few short hours to watch us have dinner and be freezing cold. She rested more and would join us the next day. Once back in the parks, Grant and I found the boys and walked through World's Showcase a bit. We listened to Off Kilter in Canada for awhile-they are always good for a rest and some fun music. We were having dinner at the Rose and Crown that night, so we checked in and got our beeper and decided to walk around the shops of England. We saw Mary Poppins in the back of the toy store (it was too cold for characters to be outside-did I mention it was the coldest day in FL in 10 years?). We thought it would be good to try Grant out on her as a character. As we were getting in line she was all finished and was going away. It wasn't a big deal really, but as we looked around for a moment more, Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger came out. We were second in line to see the trio. Grant got to watch them interact with the family in front of us and was able to see what it was all about. when it was his turn, we decided to just put him down and wait to see what he would do. It was hysterical. He took about 4 steps towards them, then turned back to us and started laughing. He then went a few steps more and did it again. I gave him some help moving closer to the characters and he was so excited to see these giant stuffed animals! They were great, all getting down on their knees and trying to motion him over. Pooh opened his arms, Tigger waved, and Eeyore kept covering his eyes with his ears playing peek-a-boo. When he got over to them, he snuggled in to them and just kept laughing. It was such a riot that even the people in line behind us with their own kids were busy laughing at Grant and didn't care how much time he took with the characters. We were excited that he liked the characters so much and ended up incorporating a lot of character time into our trip. Here is a photos of him with his new pals!

We had a rather uneventful dinner that night at the Rose and Crown. We were on the patio, but ended up being under two or three heat lamps and so it was the warmest we had been all day. It was a very disappointing moment for me when they brought out rolls and butter but it was just normal butter, not the incredible Guinness Butter they had on our last visit to the restaurant. Our meals were good, two fish and chips, one bangers and mash. We were all happy with our meals but declined dessert. We ended up going back to the hotel shortly after this because it was simply too cold to have Grant out (even in a onesie, shirt, pants, fleece, hooded sweatshirt, winter hat and blanket). We were out of the park and back in the hotel by 8:30 for a quick bath and night nights to rest up for our big day the next day in the Magic Kingdom!

Family Mac!

You've just survived 14 months of parenthood, moving into a new house, starting a new job, and most importantly, the first months of winter in New England!

What are you going to do now?

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

The Perfect Family Weekend

who needs to date when you've got the worlds cutest toddler!

Saturday

Sunday

The Office is freakin hysterical tonight!

I want some ice cream. I think we have some cookie and cream. I'm really cold though and I'm snuggled under a very warm blanket and I don't want to get up to get it. Taylor's currently watching season one of 24 and I know I can't convince him to get it for me.

I'm super tired right now. Keifer was far cuter in Season one than he is now, but I really miss Chloe. And, it is amazing how annoying Kim is--we haven't gotten to the trap, but I hope that this time the damn mountain lion eats her!

I'm again obsessed with Roller coaster Tycoon. Next in a slippery slope is likely to be Toon town. I can't fall victim to that again!

these people are stupid...if they ask you if you want a lawyer present, you should always say yes...always!

Did anyone see Heidi of Speidi's new nails? she is so ridiculous!

I'm excited that Jen and Ben had another girl. They're good Boston people and I have hopes that Grant will someday marry little Violet or the new little Aflick baby someday. The cutest kids on the planet, next to my own of course!

Sorry for the stream of consciousness-just my mood for the evening. First full week back at work is always exhausting and I feel like I'm fighting a bit of a cold. I think I'll forgot the ice cream and just go to bed.