Disney Arrival Day

Day One of yet another Disney vacation for our family.  We just can't get enough of this place.  While we usually don't tour the parks on arrival day, this year we changed it up a bit.  With the new online fast pass system, I had maximized our touring plan by including this first day.  So here we are on Main Street stopping for some pictures before heading to our first ride. 

Dumbo was our first stop.  We take turns with G&G so everyone gets a photo op.  Because it's not a vacation until I take literally thousands of pictures.  I'm excited that Jack Ryan's first Disney ride is on the iconic Dumbo.  Also exciting is the no wait thanks to Fast Pass. 

He goes for a second ride with Gampa.  The sun was setting as we watched and we got some cool pictures.     

In honor of the major hit Frozen, the castle is iced down each night.  In Disney style, it is beautiful. 

We are staying in the Grand Floridian again this year.  It is such a glorious hotel.  The Christmas decorations are astounding.  The trees are huge and there is a gingerbread house big enough that it serves as a bake shop.  I love this picture of my two babies.  No sibling rivalry here, just lots of love and happiness in the most magical place on Earth. 

G&G have reservations at the swanky restaurant Narcoossee's.  It's the start of their anniversary celebration.  While all Disney restaurants are kid friendly, we decided to let them enjoy their meal alone for once. 

Meanwhile, we were getting ready to meet Anna and Elsa.  This has been my Disney stress for months.  It's the top thing on Tessa's list but the waits are notoriously long, like five hours long.  Now, over the years, we have perfected the art of minimizing waits for our princess.  But, passes for this super popular meet and greet disappeared within minutes of going online.  I'm a dedicated Disney planner and we are staying on property which gave me an advantage.  Even still, I couldn't get one.  Thankfully, persistence pays off.  I kept checking prior to our departure and lucked in to some late night Fast Passes.  My parents planned to meet us there after dinner and Ryan happily opted to stay in the room with Little Man.  Tessa and I walked up Main Street in the crush of parade traffic.  It was so crowded and dark I could have had a mini panic attack that I might lose my precious daughter along the way, but I didn't have time for that.  We were on a mission to see the famous sisters.  Because my mom has an awesome sense of direction and sixth sense about all things Disney, they beat us there.  The Disney cast members cheerfully announced that our family was already there and escorted us right on in.  Someone is beside herself with excitement.    

Tessa was so awestruck that she got very quiet.  Of course, I'm never quiet and I chattered on and on about everything.  I said something about stuffing chocolate in our faces.  (I love quoting movie stuff to characters because they totally play along.)  Tessa about died of embarrassment.  Oh no!  Have we already gotten to that phase?   

Mission accomplished!!!  Tessa has now met the elusive Anna and Elsa.  Woohoo!!!  The rest of the vacation will be a breeze now that this task is complete.  

Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice came to town again and Tessa and I went with G&G to see it.  Ryan was happy to stay home and let Jack Ryan nap.  They will get plenty of Disney time on our upcoming trip.  As always, it was a fabulous production and Tessa loved it.  She's beginning to ask questions about the characters.  She is so close to putting it all together and figuring out that none of it is real.  But I'm trying to hold on to the magic for just a little longer. 

Thanksgiving

I love having everyone here for Thanksgiving.  My mom and Paula do most of the cooking, the boys do the clean up and I get to enjoy my family.  I have so much to be thankful for and this is the perfect time of year to reflect on that. 

 

10 Months Old

Bath time for my beautiful boy.  Look at those big blue eyes!

Gampa's Birthday

Happy Birthday Gampa!

Frozen Halloween

Like just about every other little girl in town, my princess wanted to be Queen Elsa for Halloween.  In my totally unbiased opinion she's absolutely the prettiest Elsa we saw.  Check out Ryan's awesome pumpkin carving skills.   

For trick or treating we made a pretty little Disney cocktail called Blue Snow Dream.  Tessa is drinking non-alcoholic Gatorade.

Tessa wasn't the only one dressed up.  I was Anna, Ryan was Kristoff, Jack Ryan was Olaf and Anabelle was Sven.  Look closely and you'll see that Jack Ryan is absolutely miserable in his costume. It was mostly the hat that made him scream so he spent most of the night without it.

We also went to Boo in the Zoo, a fun tradition with the grandparents.   

I had to take a few pictures of my very own Jack-o-Lantern.  Get it?  Haha!  He liked this outfit much better than the snowman suit.  It's a hand me down from Anabelle. 

Fall for Greenville

Fall for Greenville is probably my favorite event.  It was hot this year and we spent more time riding rides that ever before.  We sampled delicious food from many different restaurants, the main reason this is my favorite event.  Tessa and Daddy are sharing gelato here.  

 Little Man is not to be left out.  Have I mentioned that he likes to eat?!

 A few turns around the carousel and spins on the whirlybird. 

In other news, Tessa made this beautiful fall collage of leaves and things we collected around the yard and on our walks. 

9 Months Old

Nine months have gone by so quickly!  I think we have officially changed Jackson's name to Jack Ryan.  We'll see if it sticks.  He's precious rocking in our little rocking chair.   

We went outside for a photo shoot.  He's such a ham with the camera and gives me the best smiles.

He now has three more teeth which have caused us to lose even more sleep.  I tried putting a raw egg in his room to help with teething pain.  It's some old wives' tale that is supposed to help.  I don't know.  But, it was cheap and easy and therefore, worth a try.  Ryan and I both have spent many nights on the loveseat in Jack Ryan's room trying to get a little sleep.  Once the teeth were in we did some sleep training.  After three days we thankfully had success. 

Oktoberfest

We love our little downtown Greer.  Last week-end they had Oktoberfest and we took the kids.  They loved dancing and listening to the Polka band.  It was chilly but fun!

 I love, love, love watching them dance together.  Jack Ryan is so big that Tessa can barely hold him.

Tessa is learning that not all scary looking things are actually scary.  This time of year can really upset her with all the Halloween decorations.  For instance, we don't even go to Lowe's until the holiday is over because their decorations are just awful.  But here she's smiling pretty and bravely standing in front of this spooky tree. 

Plus we got a few pictures on the porch with our pumpkins. 

 

First Grade SEEDS Project

In order to be involved in Tessa's school, I volunteered to do SEEDS projects.  In an effort to get kids excited about reading, moms come in and do crafts to go along with books selected by the teacher.  I am not a crafty person by any means, but there is always GOOGLE to help me.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar is my first project and the kids loved it.  I'm quite disappointed that Tessa's class is so rowdy.  There seem to be at least two major trouble makers and it is not shaping up to be a good year for my darling daughter.  But, for me, the class was remarkably well behaved.  We read the book, talked about the book, did caterpillar yoga and then did our craft.  I love being able to volunteer at school.