Trip to Disney World (2.8 years and 14 months)

Last week we took the kids the Walt Disney World for the first time.  When I first mention to Brian about taking the kids to Disney he thought I completely lost my mind since they are still so young.  However kids under 3 are free so Brian then realized maybe this isn't such a bad idea.  I started planning this trip back in the spring.  Going into it we didn't have any expectations.  We were doing this trip to learn some things for the future.  We knew we would get some great memories while doing this.

Brian made a video that highlights various clips from our trip.  Here's a link if you want to check it out:

We flew out of Akron Canton on Monday morning.  This was Sydney's first airplane ride.  I was really nervous on how she would do but she did good all in all.  We just had to continuously entertain her.  Austin did fantastic.  He had his Kindle with Mickey Mouse headphones we got for the trip and played on it most of the trip.  I also had activities like a Magna Doodle and coloring that they did too. Sydney also enjoyed playing with the plastic cups with ice.  The airplane ride was less than 2.5 hours so it was tolerable.

We arrived in Orlando and the Disney Bus took us to our hotel.  Sydney fell asleep which was nice.  It was about a 40 minute bus ride to the Art of Animation.  We checked into our hotel and walked around.  The resorts are huge.  It was a 7-8 minute walk from the hotel lobby to our room and we did not have the furthest room.  The kids played on the playground.  We ate dinner and then went to bed.  We were tired from a long day of traveling.

On Tuesday we went to the Magic Kingdom.  I had some things planned out but also really wanted to do whatever the kids felt like doing.  Sydney woke up at 5 am which that woke up Austin and neither would go back to bed no matter how hard we tried.  Once arriving to the Magic Kingdom, Brian took some pictures of the kids by the castle.  Austin and Sydney hugged each other which was a cute picture.  Then we walked around.  Sydney fell asleep in the stroller since she woke up so early.  We decided to take Austin on some rides.

First he rode Dumbo.  Brian took him first and he loved it.  Then I took him.  It was fun.  Then we saw a little roller coaster next to Dumbo.  We thought we would give it a try.  Brian took him first.  I am not a huge fan of roller coasters and I knew that Brian would make it fun.  It was best that Brian took him.  Austin loved it!  Austin probably rode that ride 6 times between the two days we were there.  Brian took some cool pictures of it too!

Once Sydney woke up we went and saw Goofy and Donald Duck.  Then we went and saw Mickey Mouse.  This was the first time Austin got to see Mickey.  He was shy.  I think he still really liked seeing him though.  We had lunch at the park and then went back to our hotel for nap. We realized that it's easier for everyone if the kids take a nap in the stroller instead of nap in the small hotel room.  Neither of them wanted to sleep even though they were exhausted.

After they got up from nap we went back to the Magic Kingdom.  We spent a lot of time in tomorrowland.  Austin drove a car.  We went on a space ship ride, the people mover, and buzz light ride.  It was a really fun evening.  We had dinner and then stayed until the start of fireworks.  We wanted to see how far back you could see the fireworks.  Austin was getting tried and was asking to go back to the hotel so we left basically as soon as they started.

On Wednesday we were originally planned to go to Hollywood Studios but decided to do Animal Kingdom because we thought it would be a shorter day.  It was a crazy day. Austin locked the safe in the room and we did not know what code he entered (nor what he put in it, he just told us he was "cooking" something). Brian forgot his wrist band but luckily the card in his wallet worked to enter the park.  It wasn't a good start to the day.  Plus everyone was up at 5 am again!  Once arriving to Animal Kingdom we rushed over to the safari ride.  The wait wasn't long so we did that.  We got to see some animals and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

After that we took a train to the petting zoo part.  Austin wanted to ride a train so it worked out.  At the petting zoo, Sydney enjoyed petting the animals.  Austin was more interested in using the brush to brush the bench and not the animals.  There was a character we took our picture with too.

We had to take the train back and then both kids fell asleep in the stroller.  Brian and I walked around the park.  We stopped for lunch and it was great not to have to rush to eat.  We enjoyed our time together while the kids napped in the stroller.   Once they woke up, we took them to a play area.  Then they rode a dinosaur ride similar to Dumbo.  There was a roller coaster then too that Austin really wanted to ride but he was too short.  That made Austin sad.  We wanted to stay for the parade but there wasn't much to do so we decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming.  They kids really liked the fountain and swimming pool at the hotel.

On Thursday we went back to the Magic Kingdom. It was extra magic hours so we got in an hour before the park opened since we stayed at a Disney Hotel.  It was nice not having a ton of people around.  We went back to the ride section and Austin rode rides while Sydney took a nap in the stroller.  Again we were up at 5 am so by 9 am she was pretty tired.  Then it was time for Chef Mickeys.  I made reservations for this months ago. I knew this way Austin would get to see Mickey Mouse.  We went for late breakfast because it was cheaper.

It was a buffet. We got our food and then the characters started coming over.  It was really cool.  We got some cute pictures of them with the characters.  Austin was shy around some of them but Sydney loved them.  It was cute.  Afterwards we went back to our hotel and took them swimming.

After nap time, we again went back to the Magic Kingdom.  We went to Adventureland since we had not been there before.  We rode on the Aladdin ride and went up in the Swiss Family Robinson House.  We walked around the park and ate dinner.  After dinner we wanted to ride a jungle cruise boat but it was closed.  So we found more rides like the tea cups, Winnie the Pooh, and the carousal.  Then it was almost 9 pm and we had to get back to our hotel.  We really enjoyed our days at the Magic Kingdom.

The Art of Animation was having bus issues that night.  We had to wait a very long time in line for a bus.  It was annoying but the kids did really well.  Once on the bus, Sydney had to scream herself to sleep but it was understandable for what she had to wait for.  We were glad when we finally made it back.

On Friday, we went to Hollywood Studios.  We first went and saw the Disney Junior Live show.  Austin did not like it at first but as the show went on he did.  Then we went and saw Mickey Mouse again.   We learned that we have to keep a hold of Austin's hands or they will be in his mouth for all pictures.  That was the last time he would see Mickey on this trip. I thought it was impressive the number of times we saw Mickey Mouse.   Then we went on a behind the scene tour of a movie set (the Backlot tour).  Because half of the tour was a ride the kids liked it.  They did not do as well just sitting an watching sometime.  There were explosives and they did not mind it.  It was kind of cool.  Then we ate some lunch.

After lunch the kids took a nap in the stroller again.  We did some shopping.  We got them some T-shirts.  They never asked for anything while there except Mickey Mouse balloons on the street.  Every time we would pass them, Sydney would scream.  She just likes balloons.  We knew we couldn't take it home so they never got a balloon.  We saw a girl at the airport give her balloon away to someone who just arrived going to Disney World which we thought was an excellent idea.  Maybe next time.

After nap, we tried to see the Disney Jr Live Show again but Austin freaked out so we left.  There was something in the beginning of the show he did not like.  We got ice cream instead.  They loved it!  Then the kids found a fountain to drop pennies in.  Austin showed Sydney how to do it.  They had fun doing that.

We decided to go back to our hotel and let the kids swim if they wanted.  Of course they did.  Brian took both of them so I could pack a little bit. Then I met them there.  It was a little chilly but they loved the water.  Afterwards we had dinner, went for a walk around our hotel, and went to bed.

We had a great time in Disney.  There is something magical about that place.  Some moments were stressful but all and all the kids did fantastic.  We have some great memories.  Brian took some amazing pictures and he is working on a video (see link up top).  Austin still love the cruise ship video so I'm sure he will love this one too.

The trip home was uneventful.  Austin did great on the plane with his Kindle and headphones.  Sydney did well too.  She would play with ice and toys.  When she would get upset a sucker would cure that.  We are lucky we have two great travelers!

We learned a lot about Disney on this trip. We will probably not pay for a dining plan again.  We will go when they offer a free one.  We will never go in the summer.  It would be too hot and crowded.  It is nice to stay on Disney's property and not have to rent a car.  With the meal plans, I don't need to pack so much food.  We are not big fans of the sit down dinning because it seems to take away time you could be spending in the parks.  The Magic Kingdom is fantastic for little kids.  The other parks, not so much.  The next question is, when will we go back?

Happy Halloween

October is always a fun month.  We loved October before we had kids because of the beautiful weather and trees changing colors.  Now with kids it is probably one of my favorite months because there is so much to do.

On one of the warm days after work, we ran to the park and took some pictures of the kids before it got dark.  They had fun running around a we chased them to stay still for pictures.  Brian got a few good ones.

On Saturday night we went to my parents for trick or treating in their community.  Before trick or treating Sydney had a fever so we took her to the doctor.  They diagnosed her with pneumonia.  She started an antibiotic.  She hates medicine.  The only way to give it to her easily is with mommy milk.  Austin on the other hand takes his medicine easily.  I wish Sydney would learn that from Austin.  We ate dinner with my parents and then got the kids ready to trick or treat.

My mom went out with us.  The kids did really well.  Austin would say trick or treat and thank you.  It was so cute! Austin was Mickey Mouse and his costume was so cute.  Sydney was a cat that night.  She was cute too!  After we went down the street we came back and my mom took Sydney inside and we went back out with Austin.  We had a lot of fun.

Then on Sunday, Macedonia had a kids Halloween party at the fire station.  We went with Austin's friend Kaitlyn.  We got to ride on a fire truck.  That was really cool.  They also went up on the fire truck ladder.  I was happy to stay on the ground and take pictures.  They had cookies and cider there.  Austin had 3 cookies!  They had a costume contest too.  It was a great day.


On Wednesday night it was the Cavs home opener.  Before kids we had season tickets and would go to almost every game.  We still like to go to the opener and my parents were nice enough to watch the kids so we could go.  The game was close and it was a lot of fun.  It was a nice night out.

Thursday was Halloween.  The kids' school has an annual Halloween party.  I took the day off so I could go.  Brian also decided to take the day off too.  We all went to Austin's classroom.  Since Sydney is still in the baby room they really don't have a party.  In the bigger kid room, Sydney fit right in.  She sat at the table, colored, and played with stickers like the other kids.  She even enjoyed the treats.  The kids walked around the school outside too in their costumes.  We had a good time.

After school we went trick or treating at our house.  It was raining so that was a bummer.  But it was warm (around 60 degrees).  Brian was going to bring both kids, but with the rain it was too difficult.  So Sydney went to three houses and then came back home with me.  We wasn't too thrilled about the rain anyway.  Our neighbor Sherry came over and we handed out candy.  We had about 15 kids which is pretty good for us.  I enjoyed staying home with Sydney and hanging out with Sherry.

Austin and Brian had so much fun trick or treating.  They went with Bill and the kids across the street.  They are 6-10 years older than Austin but he still kept up with them.  Brian carried him between houses and then Austin would run up the driveway on his own to go to the door.  He would always remember to say thank you.  The neighbor kids are so good with him.  They would help him down the stairs as needed.  After each house, Austin would run back up to Brian to pick him up.  Each time Austin would say, "Time for our Daddy Mission."  Apparently Austin saw it as Daddy's mission to transport him.  It was so cute.  They trick or treated for the entire 2 hours in the rain!  But they all had fun!

Sydney is saying more words.  She can say na-na for night night.  She also loves to say "this".  She will point to something and say "this".  She is starting to be more picky with food.  She use to eat anything.  Now she only eats what she likes which are things like hot dogs, macoroni and cheese, and fruit.  She is not a big fan of vegetables anymore.  She also says "all done" when she is finished with her meal.  That is helpful.

This weekend we started swim class again.  We are so getting ready for Disney World.  There is so much to do but I am super excited!

Mommy's New Minivan (2.75 years and 14 months)

At the end of September, Austin and Brian bought me a new car and it was a minivan!  Brian and I have known for a while that we needed a minivan.  The Escape is too small with two kids on long road trips.  We had no room to sit in the back with them and if I had the two umbrella strollers in the trunk we really didn't have any trunk space either.  We kept telling Austin that he had to go buy mommy a minivan.  Brian did all the work online finding the dealership with the best price and then on Saturday morning we all went and picked it up.  He ended up getting quotes from 15 dealerships and working the pricing to about $4k below the average selling price ($1200 below invoice).  Despite the pricing set ahead of time, we were still at the dealership for 2 hours because of paperwork in financing.  We finally got the 2014 Honda Odyssey though!  As we were leaving the dealership Austin ran out screaming "I just bought mommy a new van"!  It was so cute!

Many people do not like/want minivans. I think with kids (especially two) you need a minivan.  It is an awesome vehicle.  I think it is my favorite vehicle ever!  The Odyssey is a great van. Our van has a moon roof, leather interior, heated seats, back up and right side camera, lane departure warning signaling, and Bluetooth (that actually works with my phone).  I love it!!!

We have continued to have illnesses in our household. Sydney got over hand, foot, and mouth, but then Sydney and Brian developed a GI illness.  It was about 5 days of diarrhea.  Luckily Austin and I did not get that really.  But we ended up with a terrible cough.  It has now lasted  3 weeks.  We are starting to get better but the cough is still there.  We shared it with Brian about 2 weeks ago.  He still has it bad and he can't sleep at night because of it.  Austin developed an ear infections 5 days ago.  He is now on antibiotics.  Then yesterday Sydney was diagnosed with croup and wheezing.  She now has the same cough.  She got a shot of steroids since she is a terrible medicine taker.  It is only the start of sickness season. Yuck!

Nana came up to visit with the kids a few weekends ago.  The weekend she came up I had already had tickets for our fall festivals.  The first one was at Patterson Farm with the local mom's club.  This was our first time to Patterson and it was great.  We had a beautiful day for it.  We went and picked apples and then the kids played.  We also went on a hayride.  We had a lot of fun.

After lunch we came home and Austin took a nap.  Sydney should have napped too but she refused.  After nap we went to our second fall festival at Luther Farms.  We went there last year and had a great time. This year it was about the same.  It had a nice long hayride. Plus they fire pumpkin cannon that goes for miles.  It is something to see.  Nana and Brian took the kids into the petting zoo. I can't handle that. I don't like to watch them touch gross things around the animals. We learned last year it is best if I wait outside and don't see it.  It was a really fun day.

Nana was able to stay with us on Sunday too.  We went shopping and then hung out around the house. She is going to make Austin a Mickey Mouse blanket.  Austin is going to love it. He picked out the material himself. We all had a great time. It was sad when she had to go back home.

Last Saturday night we went to Boo at the Zoo with our friends Keith and Lisa.  Austin and Kaitlyn are best friends so we decided to go together.  We had a lot of fun. The weather was a little cold but at least it wasn't raining. It rained all day but stopped around 5pm. It was perfect.  Austin ran around the zoo a lot.  This year he is Mickey Mouse since that is what he loves right now.  He is a very cute Mickey Mouse. Kaitlyn was Minnie Mouse. They looked so cute together.

Lisa let me borrow a lobster costume so Sydney wore that.  Sydney made a very cute lobster.  I also have a cat costume that I got at a consignment sale in the spring.  We have a lot of Halloween activities planned so it's good she has two costumes.  I love this time of year. It is even better with kids.  We are having so much fun!

The next week is filled with Halloween activities and then we are off to Disney World!  I can't believe we are going so soon.  I can't wait to see Austin's face.

By the way, we finished the playground.  Brian took a day off work and we sent the kids to school so we could stain it.  It took both of us about 9 hours to finish, but we got it done.  Now the swingset is complete and ready for winter!  Next year it just needs a roof.

Happy Birthday Brian (2.69 years and 13 months)

A week before Brian's birthday, he had to go to Colorado for a business trip.  He left on Wednesday morning around 10 am.  Brian decided to pack that morning which it was a little crazy since Austin wanted to help.  Austin helping meant that he would take things out of the suitcase that were already packed.  Brian finally got packed and he was off to the airport.

I am home alone with the kids a lot so I wasn't too nervous about Brian being gone.  However I do like all of Brian's help in the evenings and knew that bedtime was going to be a lot more work for me.  It is nice to know around 5:30 pm every night Brian is home to help out.  This week I was on my own for 3 nights.  Wednesday night went fine.  I cooked dinner like usual then after dinner we went for a walk, stopped at Kaitlyn's house to play, then came home and got ready for bed.  I did what I do during nap time when I am alone.  Austin gets to watch his Kindle while I put Sydney to bed.  Then I am able to give Austin all the attention to put him to bed.  It worked well.

On Thursday, my mom came over and we went to a consignment sale.  I got some clothes for the kids and a few toys.  My mom was with me most of the day.  It was nice not to be alone.  Thursday night after we got home for a walk I gave both kids a bath.  They like taking a bath together so it works out.  After bath time was over, I took Sydney downstairs to get her dressed.  Austin ran into our bedroom and turned on the music.  Something didn't seem right so I went upstairs to check on him.  Austin had locked the door.  I asked him to unlock it and he couldn't for some reason.  Meanwhile he had turned on the music in our bedroom so loud it was hard to hear too.  Austin started to freak out.  I went downstairs to try and find the tool Brian told me to use if this happens. I found it but couldn't get it to unlock.  Then I tried a screwdriver to take the door handle off.  That did not work either.  Finally I called our nice neighbor Bill who came over and unlocked the door.  I was so grateful for him.  It was a complete mess!  I think Austin learned his lesson not to lock the doors anymore.

On Friday there were massive floods in Colorado.  During the conference they kept interrupting to update them on the weather and if they were going to make it to the airport.  Brian kept on texting me updates too.  Brian got on a bus headed to the airport with hope they would make it.  Then after driving for an hour, the bus was told by the police it had to turn around and go back because all the roads were closed.  Brian was stuck in Colorado for at least 1 more night.  I wasn't too happy but grateful that he was safe.  I felt bad for all the people out there that were loosing everything.

Brian's co-worker called him at 4 am and told him that they were leaving for the airport.  The rain had stopped briefly and the roads were passable, but more rain was coming.  They got to the airport early and Brian had already done research and knew which flights to try and fly stand by home.  He was the first one on the stand by list.  We were both hoping he would make the earlier flight so that he could get home in the afternoon before bedtime.  Luckily he did.

That day I went to a school picnic in the park.  It was crazy watching and eating with both kids but I did it.  We had fun but missed Brian.  Brian got home in time for us to go to The Little Gym open house.  We had heard about The Little Gym and wanted to check it out.  I want something to do in the winter with the kids and was hoping this would be it.  I found out they don't have a family friendly class.  Classes are all based on ages so Sydney and Austin would be in different classes.  All classes under 3 are parent and child class so that means I can't really do it alone.  It was fun to play there though.  The following week Kaitlyn invited Austin to her class.  She goes there every week.  We really got the full class experience by joining her.  We liked it, but it doesn't make sense for us since both kids can't be in the same class.  Maybe after Austin turns 3 I will sign him up.

Last year I did not celebrate Brian's birthday.  It was crazy with Sydney being born and Brian being so sick.  So this year I wanted to do something nice.  Austin made him a carrot cake and decorated it with yellow sprinkles.  Then I found some poems and the kids put their footprints on it and I framed it.  They turned out cute.  I think Brian had a good birthday.

This week Sydney came down with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease.  It is a virus common in children under 5.  They get blisters in their mouth, feet, hands, and Sydney has it on her thighs and buttock.  Sydney has been extremely fussy with a low fever.  I thought maybe she had an ear infection but it turns out she has Hand Foot and Mouth Disease.  She is getting better but I had to take off work today because she is still contiguous.   She seems to get getting back to normal so hopefully she can go to school tomorrow.

Sydney's new favorite thing to do is wave and say bye bye.  Bye bye is her favorite word.  It is so cute.  Austin is very good at riding his bike with training wheels  It has a handle for us to hold on to.  They are both loving this fall weather and enjoying a lot of time outside on the swing set.

Happy Birthday Sydney (2.65 years and 12.5 months)

Sydney's birthday was actually on Monday. It was not a good day for her.  She cried a lot.  I am not sure why but she was definitely not happy.  When she was born she cried for the first 2 hours then she was such a happy baby.  Then on her birthday she cried most of the day.  She must not like that day of the year.  We wanted to take the kids to the park and let them do a smash cake again but since Sydney was so cranky we decided to wait until Tuesday.

On Tuesday evening, we went to the local park and set up for a second smash cake just for pictures (she also had one at her party).  Interestingly, Sydney was not a big fan of the cake this time.  Austin loved it though.  He really enjoyed getting messy and eating the icing from the cake.  Nevertheless Brian got some good pictures.  Sydney opened up her presents from Nana, Grandpa, and Great Grandma that night too.  It was a great few days of celebrating her birthday.

We love Labor Day weekend.  Usually Cleveland has its airshow but this year it was cancelled (government funding cuts).  I think Brian was bummed about that since Austin would have liked to go.  Every year on Labor Day weekend we go to the Taste of Hudson.  We get to sample some very good food pretty cheap and the kids can play in the Little Tikes area.  This year it was great because they both played there.  We were there for at least an hour and they loved it!  They also had a duck tape art project that they both did too.  Austin enjoyed cutting the tape with scissors and Sydney liked to color.  It was a lot of fun.  We enjoy doing fun family things like this.

Recently the weather has been very hot, so we went swimming in Kaitlyn's pool.  The kids love to swim and they have a very nice pool.  It makes me want a pool too but we will see.  It is also a lot of work and is dangerous with the kids being so little.  We have not been taking swim classes since this summer was so busy with the swing set.  We will probably start again in the late fall.

Also this weekend we had to make "All about Me" posters for the kid's school project.  Since Brian is so good at taking pictures we had pictures for all the things.  It is a fun project.  We learned that last year at this time we did not know Austin's favorite color.  This year we clearly know that his favorite color is yellow.  It is cute to see how much he has grown too.

On Tuesday after Labor Day, Sydney went to the doctor for her 1 year check up.  Everything looked good although it was difficult to talk with the doctor since Austin was running around and climbing on everything.  Sydney had to get 4 vaccines and Austin got his flu shot too.  There was a lot of crying.  Then they got a sticker and we went home.  The doctor wanted Sydney to have her blood drawn to check her blood count and lead levels.  I knew I could not do that by myself.  So later that week, Brian picked Sydney up early from daycare and he took her.  Sydney did so well getting her blood drawn.  She did not even cry!  The technicians couldn't believe it.  She just looked down at the needle, looked back up, and smiled at them.  The blood tests all came back normal too.

I am only nursing Sydney at bedtime and when she wakes up in the morning.  Sydney is going to bed awake now and I rub her back and lay on her floor until she falls asleep.  At least I am no longer nursing her to sleep.  She has been waking up a lot during the night and I am making her cry it out.  Last night Brian rubbed her back for 30 minutes until she finally fell asleep.  I really want to stop nursing her during the night too.

Brian puts Austin to bed every night.  They brush their teeth.  Austin now uses big kid toothpaste and is able to spit it out.  Then Brian reads to him in his room and Brian lays on his floor until he falls asleep.  It usually takes about 30 minutes.  Brian and I don't get back downstairs until about 9:30  pm.  That leaves very little time to watch any TV.

Sydney is walking all the time now.  She will rarely crawls.  She still is not saying much other then baba, dada, mama, and uh oh.  But she will go get a book or shoes if you ask.  It's clear she understands so much.  She likes to get her shoes and sit on the steps for them to be put on.  She can climb up the step ladder in the kitchen too.  She really likes to be on it.  We have to be careful because they will fight on who gets to stay on the top of it.   The kids are keeping us extremely busy, but we are having fun.