Shaw Farms (or not at all this year.)

You might recall that last year I took the girls on a playdate (with a bunch of older kiddos) to Shaw Farms. I was so excited to go this year, with toddlers who would just love to climb and run on all of the playsets and fairy tale scenes!

Then somehow (probably thanks in large part to half of October being spent 900+ miles away!), it was nearing October 31st a lightning pace. Then crazy weather struck twice canceling our plans, but finally a friend and I set out to meet on Wednesday of this week. The weather was a bit cool (mid-50's) but not unbearably so, there was to be no rain... it was finally going to work!

Just so you know, my yard is dry as I write this (on Wednesday evening). Last week we had torrential downpours, but little or no rain this week. A sprinkle last night supposedly in some parts of town, but that's it. Or perhaps not. Apparently in East Boofoo, they got over an inch of rain the night before we were going there to play. Nobody told us, so we were shocked (and saddened!) to find that it was just one big mud hole! If the kids were a bit bigger it wouldn't have been an issue, but when you're not even 18 months old and you still climb stairs on your belly, it would have been really ugly.



















We tried to push our girls back to see the animals but it was more of a swamp than the play area. Boo!

Not all was lost, though. We headed a little farther east (you know, why not?) to an adorable play area inside Eastgate Mall. The girls got to play out of the stroller for a little while, and Stacy and I got to catch up over some Chick-Fil-A.





































Ha! I swear they enjoyed themselves more than this picture of Anna and Avery would suggest! ;)

There's always next fall for Shaw Farms... hopefully :)

Pumpkins 2009

This year, I decided to go a different route with pumpkins. Since Kyle and I have been married, we have carved elaborate designs throughout the course of a long evening together. Since he's never home while I'm awake (during this second half of October), I knew that wasn't going to work. I also knew that 16 months was entirely too young for a person to be helpful in pumpkin carving, but entirely too old to leave me alone while I attempted any such artwork.

SO... it was a family affair this year! We bought one large pumpkin with the intention of painting on it together (wanna' fingerpaint, anyone?) and one small one with the intention of "carving" it, or - at the very least - cutting it open to let the girls check out the gook inside. Earlier in the week, we picked a morning and set out to make some art memories.

You know things can't ever go exactly as planned, right?














First, the girls needed to make sure the finger paint didn't taste good. Then, Elise didn't really like touching it. Instead, I got out brushes to see if they would prefer painting them with something other than their fingers, and my little Picassos loved it!














Ok, so Elise got bored after a few minutes and was just focused on having Kyle put her shoe back on. It's important, you know, to walk around with at least one shoe on whenever possible! Avery on the other hand, loved it. She painted for nearly 15 minutes and would have kept going if we would have let her. Unfortunately though, we only had about an hour together so the fun had to end ;)

So here you have it, our "masterpiece". You can tell that one and a half 1.5-year-olds painted it, and not their perfectionist mama. ;)















After we cleaned up mess #1, we decided to dive right into mess pumpkin #2, which - as we should have predicted - wasn't very messy. It was, instead, rather anticlimactic. They each tried to eat a seed, neither of them liked the way the pumpkin innards felt. They did enjoy spinning it around, but otherwise it was a bust.


























I should have reminded them though, of what they were put through (into) last year. They would have thought touching the stuff was delightful! :)

LHBC Fall Fesitval

My adorable giraffes made a second appearance last weekend, to visit Lakota Hill's Fall Fesitval on Sunday evening (after the longest day ever, including running out of gas in the Shell parking lot (but on a hill, to where I had to fill an empty winshield wiper fluid bottle with gas (all the while reading something about danger and "unauthorized containers") and trapse over to my car to dump in 0.852 gallons in the tank (spilling some on myself, of course) in order to get up the hill. That wasn't the worst part of the day).

Anyway, the evening was nice. The girls got to try out the Roller Coaster that Kyle & I have planned to get our children for their second birthday (or, perhaps, an 18-month-old's Christmas) since before I was pregnant with said children.














They liked it (and who wouldn't?).














They got to play the duck pond game again, though really they weren't impressed with it because they really just wanted to keep the "duckies(!)".















They ate cookies, won a couple of cupcakes at the cakewalk, and didn't eat any dinner (there!) because they refused anything we gave them that resembled 'real' food.


















They recreated a picture from last Halloween, with what appears to be surprisingly little improvement in the gross motor skill, "sitting".


















And they played in the leaves with Aunt Cassi.



























The best part of the evening though (x2) was the "hayride". I think if they were in the 5+ set they would have been unimpressed, but to my 1 year olds, this was the coolest hayride EVER.

They absolutely, absolutely loved it.














Aren't they adorable?!


































More pictures from both events in the Photo Album shortly!

HallZOOween & Baby Day

Last Saturday, Elise, Avery & I joined the masses at the Cincinnati Zoo - not only for HallZOOween, but also for "Baby Day" (formerly "Baby Bash", which I think they didn't like the sound of. While the newer sounds pretty dumb, at least it doesn't sound horrifying ;)). Every other year, Drs. Awadalla and Scheiber host all of the families they've worked with in the past so they can see the more rewarding side of their work as reproductive endocrinologists. I got surprisingly choked up greeting Dr. A and introducing him to the girls, and then realized I had sent announcements and holiday cards to the office but hadn't seen any of the staff since I was 8 weeks pregnant and "graduated" to my OB/Perinatologist. What a cool reunion they put together! According to their website, more than 500 people attended despite a very chilly, dreary day. It was a bit smaller crowd than previous years, but still an impressive turnout!

First, you have to see these adorable costumes I picked up at the WCMOTC sale - so stinkin' cute! I added the bows the evening before the zoo outing, and I just can't get enough of my little giraffes!














See what I mean?!



























The girls were pretty pleased with themselves in them, too!

We got hot dogs & hamburgers and the best cupcakes I think I've ever had while catching up with some of the nurses from the IRH. After lunch, the girls and I did a (very) quick loop around the outside of the zoo to hit a few of the treat stations, though I must admit I don't get all that excited about Trick or Treating ;) We stopped and watched the lions, but otherwise didn't really see many animals that afternoon. To quote a friend of mine, "[They'll] be there next time!"

I must say that the girls' favorite part of the day, hands down, was visiting the "pumpkin patch" (straw bales with tiny pumpkins thrown on them) and picking out toddler-sized pumpkins, just perfect for their little hands. To this day, they still light up when they get to hold or play with them!

Party of 6

October 4th cont'd (and finished!)

While the girls napped - and they did, falling asleep in under 10 minutes - we spent some time making goofy postcard pictures in the Imageworks! section of the Imagination Pavilion. We hung out in Innoventions, and rode the Segways... though I must admit it was awfully boring after our Curb-Jumping, Speed-Limit-Pushing Eden Park experience. I was thrilled to finally get my mom and sister (who is now 16, going on 17, and allowed riding) on one!

After the Segways, Cassi and I stood in line for the Chase Visa meet & greet. Since the girls were sleeping (and the window of opportunity would be over once they woke up), we decided to make it a sister picture. It was fun, even if Mickey did try to knock my head off with his big ears. I still like him :)

When it was nearing time for our dinner reservation at Coral Reef, we made our way back to the Seas Pavilion to try and get there early enough to score an aquarium table. We did, and the girls enjoyed the fishies, though not as much as they would have if they had gotten more than 70 minutes of sleep since 5am. There were a few meltdowns at the beginning of dinner, but we made it through and really enjoyed the meal as usual - especially the butterscotch creme brulee! (Don't worry, I would only get creme brulee maybe 1 more time this trip -- pretty good, considering in May 2007 we were there for 11 dinners and I had some variety of it 7 times! :-P)

We did run into some minor annoyances that evening. There were no cribs in our room - thankfully we called ahead to "make sure". We were told we were being charged an automatic 18% gratuity on our "party of 6" ... now don't get me wrong. We are usually very generous tippers, giving more than 18% if service is at all decent, but to consider the babies in the "party of 6" rule was downright criminal - especially when it meant poor service and/or service at buffets would be an additional 18% just because they were there. In most cases we didn't mind tipping that much or more, but the principle was still ridiculous. As was the turtle's pace of our server that night, on a night we were already reaching our limits. But I digress...

Eventually, we made our way out of the restaurant and over to Soarin' to ride with our fastpasses. Lisa and Cassi were in line for over 30 minutes (so much for fastpasses?), so Kyle and I skipped it that evening in favor of keeping our sanity, as the girls were getting pretty cranky. We stopped at the Photo Center to pick up our free 5x7 from the Visa Meet & Greet, and were on our way "home".

The bus ride to OKW was uneventful, and around 7:15pm we were finally in our rooms. My first impression was that they were all they were touted to be -- nice and open. I'm not sure it's the few extra square feet in comparison to other Disney Vacation Club rooms as much as it was just the unique layout. We put two pack & plays (not even the small cribs we had initially requested to save on space) in the room without making so much as a dent in the open space.

We didn't have time to really unpack and settle in that night (which you know drove me nuts!) but we did have time to do our usual bedtime routine (a story, our song we sing each night, etc). We were thrilled we had decided to bring their crib toys from home (Fisher Price aquarium & rainforest toys) because they ended up making a HUGE difference throughout the whole trip. Avery and Elise still screamed like banshees when we put them down that first night, but thankfully my sweet husband was willing to sit with them while I went with my mom and Cassi to grab a few necessities from the store. (It turns out they stopped crying in under 5 minutes, but we really didn't think they would - so I still give him credit for being willing! ;))

We found out that night that the walk to the hospitality house, main pool, etc was ridiculously long and not at all scenic, but whatever. Our feelings on the resort are for another time and place, for the most part. While we were up there, we got drinks in our refillable mugs, fixed our room keys (hadn't been set to allow charging) and bought milk at $3 per half gallon (ahem, annoying! I called specifically to ask this and was told it was $3/gallon which - while steep - made it worthwhile to buy at the resort rather than have it delivered with a grocery service).

Once back at home, Kyle and I watched the Steelers game and called it a night. A few thoughts after this, our (long) first day -- We were actually 2 for 2 on hitting the buses quickly, but I wasn't becoming a believer just yet. There were still a lot more rides to consider! I still adore my stroller, and am so glad to have factored these trips into the research and purchase. Seriously, I could write an entire entry on its benefits, but I'll spare you the details. Unless you're looking for a stroller (single or double), then let me know. I promise, it's worth the investment. The crowds looked pretty substantial throughout the park this afternoon, but the lines for rides were very reasonable. For example (and very few of you reading will garner any meaning from this), Soarin' was only 40 minutes by mid-day and evening. Take my word that it's often upwards of 120 minutes by the end of the day. Really, considering we did an average of 1-2 things per day in the beginning of our March trip, this was an insanely productive day!

Regardless of any of these things we had thought all day - both good and bad - the biggest truth was this one: Elise & Avery are So. Much. Fun! While we throughly enjoyed their first trip and know they enjoyed taking in all of the sights as well, this trip was already so different and equally fun. When people are surprised we're taking the girls at this age or that, I tell them this -- if we went for a once (or twice) in a lifetime trip, this would not be the time we would choose. Absolutely true. But since that's not how our family does WDW, we are really getting SO MUCH out of each trip with them, and know they are learning and experiencing so many great things, too!

See for yourself, if I can ever get through the trip report! ;)

And with that, please check out the Day 1 pictures in the Picasa album!

A note about Picasa and WDW :)

Ok, so ordinarily I put my favorite pictures in the body of the blog entries, knowing that some people just don't have time to look through a photo album in addition to catching up on all of the blogs they read. I will continue to do that in normal circumstances, but I wanted to let you know that it won't be true for my WDW recollections. There are too many pictures that I love, so I'm simply including some that help to tell stories. You will definitely want to check out the Picasa Photo Albums when you have an extra minute, because very often the best pictures will only be there.

Except not yet!

You see, I'm not uploading all of the pictures from a given day until I've finished the entries for that day. You don't want spoilers, now do you?!

And yes, I think about this stuff probably a little too much. You love me for in spite of my quirks though, right?

:-D

"Throw It!"

October 4, cont'd

When we arrived at the airport, we found out that our plane was only about 2/3 full. I had noticed (excitedly) prior to our arrival that we had an extra seat next to us to help give us some space for the girls (and have nobody else in our row), but sometime during our wait they moved passengers from a delayed flight that was supposed to go from DAY>ATL>MCO onto our direct flight - lucky them! Not quite as lucky for us, but not really a huge deal. We did get to enjoy the empty seats while remaining zones boarded, at least! :)

Elise and Avery were surprisingly well-behaved on the plane, despite being very tired. They cried out one time each for fewer than 5 minutes at a time, and even snuck in a 15 minute catnap. It helped that I had an entire bag o' diversions (including some, um, creative ones like ribbons (you'd be surprised what 16-month-olds can do with simple things like that!)). It also helped that we turned the barf bags into "popcorn puff bags", and that Elise ate 6 of the Biscott cookies in record time, as if they were made mostly of crack. They had short attention spans (true-to-form) but we made it through the flight with very little drama. :)

At the airport, we changed the girls into their Day 1 outfits - adorable blue Nemo shorts & tank tops, perfect for our Epcot plans that afternoon. They really loved the "fishy" on their shirts, even attempting (non-stop, for a while) to give it hugs and kisses! :-P

We skipped baggage claim and waited about 10-15 minutes for our Magical Express bus. Old Key West was the first stop once we arrived through my favorite gates anywhere, and we were checked into our rooms around 11am! Our rooms were not ready yet (of course), so we grabbed some lunch at Goods to Go, the onsite counter-service restaurant. The experience there would be an accurate portrayal of our experience at the resort as a whole - very mediocre at best. Kind of rude, argumentative cast members that did not really exemplify the Disney spirit, little selection, tolerable but not great food. We were hungry though, so it was good enough for us at the time! After lunch (which the girls thoroughly enjoyed), we debated waiting for the room in hopes to let the youngest members of our travel party nap, or heading to Epcot knowing that it could be hours before we had anywhere to even hang out. We meandered around the Hospitality House at Old Key West, checked out the fitness center, community center, pool and playground area, Hanks Rent n Return (where guests can rent sporting equipment, boats, bikes, etc) and finally settled in at the bus stop. I'm not sure if it was just God being extra gracious knowing that I was terrified of how the trip would unfold without my own rental car, but immediately we saw our ride, there to take us to my favorite park!

When we had finally arrived, we walked in and immediately onto Spaceship Earth. My mom and sister had not ridden since it was completely refurbished (to include this really cute tech-loaded ending, where you star in your own "future"), and they really enjoyed it. The girls were enthralled as well, as they always are on any dark rides.

From there we rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment (one of my favorites! (characters, that is - not really this incarnation of the ride)), and - despite my being very anxious about a big "blast" toward the end - Avery and Elise loved every minute of it. I went ahead of the group to get Fastpasses for Soarin' (the best ride anywhere) and we met up at The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Apparently, while I was away from the group, my daughters were the cutest kids ever. I mean, I know they always are, but listen to this one :)

Upon seeing Spaceship Earth (you know, the "big golf ball" at Epcot? which apparently they hadn't noticed until we had been there an hour), they got very excited about the "ball", and encouraged everyone to "throw it!". Repeatedly. They're funny, if I do say so myself.

We walked right on to the Seas with Nemo and Friends (which surprised me, because it looked fairly crowded!) and once again, the girls loved it. It was definitely one of their favorites throughout the trip, since "fishies" always top their list anyway! After the ride, we spent some time in the rest of the pavilion looking at aquariums, etc. Despite loving them at the zoo (in a similar environment), Elise was terrified of the manatee. Apparently they're more scary in their native state, who knew? Avery loved them still, hugging and kissing the tank when they'd swim by.

We saw Turtle Talk with Crush, which Elise loved (and Avery couldn't have cared less about), then it was time for the girls to (hopefully) nap. It was obvious that we weren't going to have a room to help us with the task, but no worries. It was time to put my fabulous Stroller (which I think I need to name, because I seriously love it enough to do so) to the test. One of the features we had loved about it when doing our research was the full shades and the way it reclined -- creating sort of a "cave" in which each girl could sleep without being distracted by the outside world. We thought it would be just perfect for WDW, and really hoped we were right in this, the (first) moment of truth!

"I'm too big an insomniac to sleep!"

October 4

3:40am -- There I was, lying wide awake... not because I was "too excited to sleep" (cutest WDW commercial ever, still), but because I lie in bed awake at 3:40am (give or take a few minutes) almost every day of my life. I tried (though not too desperately, so as not to be counter-productive) to fall back asleep for 45 minutes, until the alarm would wake us up for Elise & Avery's 2nd trip to Walt Disney World(!). Then I tried to go to sleep (though not too desperately) for just 30 more minutes, to try and get a little bit more rest before what I assumed would be a long day of travel. Then, I faced the dilemma of sleeping 20 minutes - IF I could somehow fall asleep - and decided it would do more harm than good. I got out of bed, but only partially excited about our trip. I had had 11 hours of sleep (total) over the course of the previous 3 nights, had been sick yesterday (which I now attribute to medicine, but I could only hope and pray that was the case while it was a present-time dilemma), and knew we had a long day ahead of us. I was worried how the girls would sleep (if at all), whether or not this would be "The [Second] One with the Mommy Meltdown". I just couldn't muster "thrilled" just yet. Those feelings had bubbled up now and then while packing, etc... it would come!

Because I had showered the night before so that I could sleep as long as possible (always the optimist(?)), I quickly and quietly got ready while everyone else slept. I went downstairs and unloaded the dishwasher, looked for other tasks to occupy my time. Of course I always make it a priority to clean before vacation (just a weird thing I have, because I HATE to come home to a dirty house when I already don't want to be home), so there was very little to do!

Eventually, 5am rolled around, Kyle was downstairs ready to go, and the Lawless' arrived to follow us to the airport. We got the girls up at the last possible minute (of course this was the one day they hadn't so much as stirred during the 4-6am time frame), and finally we were off!

(In case you were wondering, yes we listened to the CD I had previously created with great intentionality, just for such drives).

Check-in at the airport was phenomenal - super friendly employee, smooth and fast trip through security (other than getting the girls through - I hadn't thought about easy slip-on shoes for them, in addition to the stroller, etc). I got my Mountain Dew before heading to the Land of Coke Only (another thing I just have to do!), and we waited!

"Poop"

Yeah, it doesn't actually sound like "poop". It's really more of a "bip", but accompanied by the sign for change when Elise needs her diaper changed (because she has pooped). How great is that?! So proud (and a little glad it doesn't sound too recognizable just yet, since each time Elise says it Avery repeats her over and over!) :)

Rock Loading Zone

Yesterday, the girls and I headed back to the Duke Energy Children's Museum for this month's Signing Safari. We were so bummed to have missed October's Music & Movement class, and are looking forward to resuming next month! Silly vacation ;) (Speaking of which, all photo and video is uploaded as of this morning... so WDW posts are to follow!)

Signing class is a bit too involved to take many pictures during, but I did get a few of the end parachute activity. The girls love this one more each time!



















After class, we headed out to play. For the first time that I can ever remember, the construction area wasn't totally swamped with kids! Elise and Avery enjoyed playing with "rocks" in this fun section! (As you will see, a similar theme ensued with Avery even when we were several states away)


















We also visited the animals in the vet's office --















and said hello to some more friends around the world. Another fun visit! More photos in the album, as usual :)

Sixteen Months!

I apologize in advance, but I'm just not going to be able to take the "monthly" pictures just yet. I will try and get them on before I consider it too late, and will add them to this post if I succeed. I pared down our WDW vacation photos from 1900 to 900ish though (without even touching our photopass card yet), so I figured you'd be plenty up to speed on what the girls look like when I get around to posting those... and if I ever want to do so, I have to prioritize! :)

Here's your update though, and in perfect time. While we were gone for just 11 days, the girls seemed to age months during our vacation!

They do NOT want help eating anymore. Will absolutely refuse anything you try to feed them, including anything they think is cut up too small - they are big girls you know, not babies. We learned this the hard way when hungry babies got hungrier because they refused to eat "our way", leading to meltdowns at a few WDW tables. They want a fork and/or spoon with every meal, and are bound and determined to use it even if you or I might think it absurd. Case in point (just wait for the pictures!) - an Uncrustable sandwich eaten with a fork. Not bites, of course, because cutting it up would be babying them. The entire sandwich. Lifted with a fork.

And forget tearing off pieces of chicken for them, they want the whole darn leg, even if they can't quite figure out which parts are meat and which are not. (Yuck!) They are very entertaining at mealtimes, to say the least!

With this new found independence has also come a bit of territorial behavior. Everything is their own (unless there are two, when they share beautifully!). This led to our first "time out" this morning when Elise shoved Avery off of the rocking horse, yet again. I feared the concept would be lost on them at such a young age, but I think she understood as she literally scowled at me the entire 1 minute she sat in the chair. It was all I could do to keep from cracking up! :-P

They have mastered lots of animal signs and sounds, and LOVE making the corresponding noises whenever they see a familiar animal anywhere - in person, on a picture, on TV, etc. They have also started retaining so many songs, motions, TV show "gimmicks" (for lack of a better word) - and doing them without prompting. We were so proud when they started the "Pat pat pat... blast off!" sequence anytime they saw Rocket or any one of the Little Einsteins characters which, believe me, happened frequently the last few weeks between their (favorite) books and our trip!

We began working on "please" and "thank you" during our trip, and I was shocked at how quickly the girls picked up on the concept. I would say that about 50% of the time Avery says "Thank you" when she should, and Elise will sign it when reminded :) They both have started using "please" very frequently, though it's mostly just interchangeable with "help" .... and sometimes isn't the most well-mannered request you've ever heard. It's a start though! The last couple of days, Avery has even started piecing together phrases like "More, please" and "Help, please". Why can't we all learn as quickly and retain as much as toddlers do?!

Physically they are developing more and more, too! They climb up and down stairs (and anything else) like they've done it all their lives, though they often need reminders to do it safely! They push toys over to use as step-stools where they need them (usually where they aren't allowed climbing) and run at lightning speed (or so it looks with their tiny little legs). They are both really into mimicking whatever grown-ups are doing, my favorite instance of which (again, wait for the pictures!) is Elise's new found fondness of standing with her arms "crossed" - to the best of her ability. They also "join in" conversations adults are having, listening oh-so-intently and moving their mouths, shaking their heads yes/no, etc. It's hysterical!

I'm sure you'll get a better glimpse at their daily activities and accomplishments as I (eventually) write out a report from our vacation, but I wanted to deliver this month's update before it got lost in my to-d0 swamp! I held a friend's 3-month-old today and can't remember having babies so small. Where does the time go!?

We're home!

Despite scorching hot weather (record highs each day - so instead of 75-80 degrees it was 95 degrees with 90-95% humidity), we had an absolutely awesome time. The girls could not have been any cuter if they tried, and were often a bit of an attraction themselves (including several guests asking to take their picture). Hilarious!

I have tons to share of course, but am trying to figure out the best way to do so. Stay tuned, and I'll do my best to get around to it sooner than later!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Hello from WDW! Of course, I am actually writing this before we leave, so that's sort of cheating. Still, it's been two whole years and ChateauKaufman.com is still up and running.... I thought that was worth noting! :)

Anyway, let's recap:

October 9, 2007: CK.com is "launched", in all its simplicity; I address my flaws in keeping up websites, assume this one would flop as well, but try to give it a whirl (motivated by some big things going on in our lives at the time that we hoped might some day be worth sharing)

October 9, 2008: First anniversary! Two babies provide lots of material worth reading, which is the only reason I think it's lasting. I realize that blogging is SO much easier than maintaining an entire website... but of course I can't help but dabble in some code and changing a few things around. All the time. As you know I still do.

September 30, 2009: People I have never met tell me they enjoy reading, because so-and-so's coworker's sister's fiancee showed them a cute video. According to statcounter, I have had several hundreds of unique visitors, and average between 75 and 150 views per day, from visitors around the US and the world (and not "only" Clare and Kim! :)).


That's all fun for me to look at, but the things that matter most are the friendships that have been rekindled via a blog (for real! who knew?!), the family members that get to watch the girls grow up even though they live too far away to have met just yet, and the memories I get to be reminded of every time I browse back through and look at my giant belly, my tiny peanuts-for-daughters, and all of the fun times we've shared already in Elise's & Avery's still-new lives. If I ever get around to checking "blog books" off of my to-do list (a list that probably still includes some things that were on it when mentioned in CK.com's first post!), I will have a better chronicle for each year of my girls' lives than I could have ever kept otherwise. I so look forward to reading it together as my babies grow up, as I so fondly recall looking at my baby book over and over again.

Thank you guys, for motivating me to do this in the first place - you know who you are. Thank you all for continuing to encourage me, understanding when I don't post for a while, laughing and crying with me via your comments (here or in person).... here's to at least 2 more years!



What? I have to be realistic now! ;)

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane...

We're off to DAY to catch our favorite flight (#703) bound for MCO! This is a bit longer trip, so I hope you don't miss us too much. I promise I'll have lots of details and even more pictures for you when we return! Interested in seeing where we'll be for the next 11 days? Check out the website... or at least this picture --














As I mentioned the last time we headed off to Walt Disney World, one of the biggest draws for Kyle and me is the ability to escape from reality while we're there. We won't be utilizing the free internet except for a few necessities, so you won't hear from me here... at least not in real time! ;)

Have a wonderful week and a half!

"Keep Moving Forward!"

Or "start sitting forward", as the case may be! Elise's and Avery's carseats are now forward-facing!

They hit the weight limit a while back, but we kept them rear-facing a bit longer for safety's sake. Now when they first got in, Elise's face more accurately describes their reaction - "Whatever, mom...". It was really quite anti-climactic!















I must say they're enjoying the simplest things though - seeing us and saying, "Hi!" every time Kyle or I get in the front seat... watching in awe as voices come out of the radio when we turn it on :). They are easily frustrated by toys that fall on the floor though, since they remain in plain sight. Avery also spends half of every car ride trying to see behind her. Goofball.

And check out the room I regained! We can fit the stroller behind the seats now when we need the trunk for, say, suitcases?















And I also must admit, it makes it MUCH easier to keep them awake when we're trying to beat the sleep and get home in time for naps!