Brooke was especially thrilled to see all the characters she watches and reads about every day (Mickey & crew, the princesses, etc.) She enjoyed most of the rides we went on, though she wasn't a big fan of the Pinnie the Wooh ride and she fell asleep on It's a Small World (and who could blame her...) Overall, I'd say she was really good, considering she wasn't quite two years old and we were pushing her to her limit every day. She got a nap each day, which was my goal, and once she even napped in the stroller so we didn't have to leave Magic Kingdom. And she slept well in the big bed all by herself, something I was worried about - she'd never slept in a real bed other than her own.
Joe was a model baby on the trip! Carting an infant around the airport/parks was a whole different experience for us. Thankfully, at 2.5 months old, he was still in that sleeps-most-of-the-day stage. However, he was also in that super-needy stage, too. As long as he was fed when he wanted to be (I can now say that I've breastfed at the foot of Cinderella's castle & in Norway) and had a pacifier close by, he was a fairly amicable baby.
I think one reason it has taken me this long to blog about it (you know, other than the fact that we were insanely busy for the weeks following the trip,) is because I was/am overwhelmed by the number of pictures I have. 615 pictures, and very few actual good ones of my kids. And, yes, it makes me sad that I don't have a great shot of the kids with Mickey & Minnie or one of all the girls wearing their matching Minnie shirts/bows or one of Brooke wearing her Mickey ears...but then I remember that I was juggling 2 kids, a huge pile of stuff, and a giant camera. Not to mention Brooke is going through her "I refuse to look at the camera and simultaneously smile" phase and Joe was only 2 months old when we went on the trip.
But among the 615 pictures were a few good shots that depict the fun we had on this magical vacation, and that is what I'll share with all of you.
This is the only picture I have of Joe on his first plane ride. This was taken shortly after I changed his dirty diaper on the tray table while we were 35,000 ft in the air.
Our first day was spent at Magic Kingdom. The girls wore their princess dresses for most of the morning, which surprises me because Brooke will usually only wear it for about 5 minutes before she's done.
One of the sweetest moments of the trip was watching Brooke meet the princesses she'd been reading about for months. She was super excited to show them her dress. She was a little timid but not really afraid, which I was impressed with. Up first was "Sleeping Judy".
Next was Mommy's favorite, Belle.
And finally, the lady of the hour, Cinderella. Brooke seemed especially smitten with "Cindawewa". And Cinderella seemed especially smitten with her, too...
...so much so, that she left her a little reminder of their visit. :)
Our kids are so lucky to have such awesome, hands-on aunts and uncles. Everyone helped out with the kids while we were there, holding hands and hoisting kids on shoulders. There was always someone willing to help us parents out, and I can't even begin to explain how grateful I was. At any given time, one of my brothers could be seen holding Joe's pacifier or giving Brooke a lift. Their arms were probably sore from holding my heavy kids or our heavy crap all week!
This was hands-down my favorite part of the whole trip. The "Move it! Shake it! Street Party" was a mini-parade that stopped right in front of Cinderella's castle. We were surrounded by Disney characters on floats shaking their groove thing. The kids had a BLAST dancing along to the music. And, honestly, so did the grown-ups. We made a little circle around the munchkins and let them just go to town. At one point, we even had our own little family conga line going :)
A Disney employee saw our kids rockin' out and came over to dance with them. She taught them all the correct dance moves. Brooke paid very close attention to her and would mimic her every move. You should see my girl shake her tail feather - hilarious!
Magic Kingdom was certainly the most toddler-friendly of all the parks, in my opinion. Especially for little girls :)
This is the only picture I have of Brooke in her ears. I was a very nice wife and did not force the husband to wear ears (the same can't be said for a certain sister of mine...Greg, you are a trooper!)
Dancing wasn't just reserved for Magic Kingdom. The little lady was jammin' all over the place!
I kinda love this one. (And, in case you were wondering, my sister and I wore matching "Original Mouseketeer" shirts to the park...proudly.)
Cousin Hannah is a fan favorite around here. She & Brooke get along great (they are 7 months apart) and had a blast riding in the stroller together. And she & Joe are fascinated with each other in a completely adorable way. Such a sweet little thing!
The best family shot we could get in front of our hotel.
p.s. It was flippin' hot down there for the end of November.
We loved these little beach snowmen!
Joe spent a good portion of Epcot passed out like this. Lucky boy got to just sleep whenever and wherever he felt like it. We used his Mickey ears to shield his head from the hot sun since Mother of the Year over here didn't think to get the boy a sun hat for the trip.
As anticipated, Brooke was afraid of Mickey and Minnie and clung to her Daddy pretty tight. Boy do we look like a hot mess as a family!
Silly girl on her way into a 3D show!
Has there been a picture of Joe awake yet? There weren't many, I tell ya. He'll get to soak it all in the next time we go. (Can you even handle this cuteness right now? I mean, seriously!)
All of these little munchkins had such an incredible time meeting Mickey and all of his friends. We are so incredibly grateful to my parents for helping make this dream vacation a reality. The memory of Brooke & Joe's 1st trip to Disney will live with me forever!
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