Disney World

We're back. I can't even begin to tell you how great our trip was. We had a rocky start when Tommy woke up sick in the middle of our second night there. I had to venture off myself with the kids to Animal Kingdom. It went okay, except for some fighting in the double stroller. Oh...we left our stroller in Charlotte and had to buy one at Super Walmart in Orlando (that was an interesting trip...Tommy said it was his worst shopping experience ever...no wonder he bought a huge bottle of vodka there, yes in Walmart). Anyway, I rented a double stroller in Animal Kingdom..$31 for the day, but well worth it. Thankfully Tommy started to feel better and we all went to Hollywood Studios the next day with my parents and my brother and his wife.

September is a great time to go...very little lines to wait on. Some rides had no wait at all. Some of Ashlyn and Brady's favorites were: It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Thunder Mountain (Ashlyn's favorite, even though Brady kept saying "me too, me too"...he wanted so bad to be tall enough), Splash Mountain, and the Mickey Mouse Philharmagic Show (Brady was a little scared of this one, it was 3-D). I loved Space Mountain myself...I went on it all by myself. I wanted to try the Rock-n-Roll and Mt Everest rollercoasters but Ashlyn was an inch too short. Next year she'll be tall enough but I don't think she really knows how crazy those coasters are. She may have my 'love for rollercoasters' genes though.

Ashlyn got her wish to become Princess Jasmine at the Bibbitti Bobbitti Boutique. She was so lucky that she even got picked to get made up in a special area (in the front window of the store). People were walking by waving and pointing at her. She felt like she was famous. When she was done, people asked to have their picture taken with her and some even asked for her autograph. She ate it up.

Ashlyn also got to eat lunch with 5 of her favorite princesses (Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella, Alice, and Aurora). She got many autographs and pictures taken with them. Brady got to eat breakfast with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch on his birthday. Too bad he didn't eat a thing (not even his birthday cupcake) and wanted to leave pretty much as soon as we got there. Ashlyn had fun though.

Daddy and Brady going down the water slide at our hotel for the 100th time. Brady has his own song, "Slide, um, um. Slide, um, um."

Ashlyn's favorite princess, Jasmine.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Donald Duck and the family in Mexico (Epcot).

Streesed out but excited

We're off to Disney tomorrow. Hope the car ride is okay for the kids.....

Chef Ashlyn

September 10th, Ashlyn's 5th Birthday. We made cupcakes together. Anytime we cook together, she wears her apron and hat...so cute. I am thankful that she kept her clothes on under the apron this time.

Make a wish..."I wish I could be a real princess in Disney World."

Words, Words, and more Words

Some of Brady's new favorite words: mine (top of the list), my turn (actually 'my' in front of any word), Lenna (Lennox), slide, side (outside), teeze (macaroni and cheese...his favorite food), nak (snack), kiki (his little blankie), taci (pacifier), throw, and ball (he is already a little athlete). Soon we won't be able to keep him quiet.

Potty Time

Okay, so last night we were out to dinner and Brady kept saying 'potty'. The words are flowing out now. So he and I walked to the bathroom and sure enough he wanted to use the potty. He actually did it and he is not even two yet. I'm not going to get too excited, but it would be nice if he trained himself since he wants to do everything else by himself.

School Bells

Ashlyn had a great first week back at school. She loves her teachers and classmates. Now if I could just get her to eat a full lunch there. Every day she comes home with something in her lunch box that she didn't eat. Just like me, she won't eat peanut butter and jelly. She doesn't eat sandwiches either. I feel like I have tried everything. Any ideas?

First Day of School

Ashlyn had a great first day back to preschool. I'm really glad I put her in TK. I think that this year will really be good for her. She loves her new teachers and can't wait to go each day. She is definitely MY daughter.

Zip line

Ashlyn got a zip line Saturday. Tommy put it up in the backyard. Ashlyn said, "we have the coolest backyard now!"

Matthews Festival

Saturday morning we went to the Matthews Festival that they have every year Labor Day weekend. We got there when it openned so the kids could get on all the rides before the parade at 10. It was great, no lines. Brady loved the slide and asked to do 'mo'. Ashlyn got a butterfly painted on her face while we waited for the parade to come. We met up with our friends, the Shaws. Ashlyn and Kylie have been good friends since before they both turned one. We stayed for about 2 1/2 hours then it looked like Brady had had enough.

When we got home, Brady didn't even want lunch. He wanted his crib. Wierd, it was only 11:30 am. He felt super hot, so I took his temperature. He had 102.6. Where did that come from? I gave him some motrin. He napped for less than an hour. When he got up he was acting fine so we went out to some stores to buy a birthday gift. Big mistake. Well I guess we did too much because when we got home he had 104 temperature. Straight to bed at 5:30 pm. Did I mention I didn't put any pants on him, just left him in his diaper and a pj top? He was burning up, so I thought it was a good idea at the time...until Tommy called me while I was out with Ashlyn. Um... Brady took off his diaper and...I'm sure you can figure out the rest. Tommy did a good job cleaning up, but Brady was up again. He went back to bed in clean sheets at 8 pm. He slept through the night.