A letter to my {third} daughter: YOU ARE TWO!

Vivian -

From the moment I found out you were growing inside me I knew we were going to have a special bond. You came into our lives as the third little girl we would get to raise and love two (short, but sometimes long-feeling) years ago.

Ironically, I woke up this morning at just about the time I knew my contractions were the real deal and I so vividly remembered that morning as I bounced on an excercise ball, drinking coffee by the light of the Christmas tree. The excitement I felt in my heart, butterflies in my stomach knowing I would be meeting you so soon, apprehension at what my (then) baby would be feeling as I sent her off with her Aunt knowing the next time I saw her she would be a big sister. It was a crazy day – so many long moments, so many really really hard moments and then you were here and in the blink of an eye I was rewarded when they placed you on my chest and I looked in your eyes for the first time.

You were a snuggler and a mommy’s girl right from the get go and not much has changed about that.

In the past year you have learned to run (and gallop, jump, spin in circles and race “ready set go!”), talk (so much! It is fantastic!), play pretend, and (sort of) sleep in your own room.

We’ve stopped worrying so much about your peanut-stature since you have finally made your way onto the growth charts.

You became a big cousin! What fun and adventures you are going to have with your cousins – and are already starting to have. You love to see “baby Lia” and get so excited when Luci comes over. The bigger you get, the more fun you have playing!

We went on a few out of town adventures – including Columbus, Disney World (you loved it!) and Toledo!

This year, and really the past month or so, I’ve noticed a big change in your relationship with your sisters. You’ve always looked up to them and wanted to do everything that they do but the more you play and talk, the more they include you in their games adn play time. One of the things that brings me the biggest smiles as a mom is watching you three develop your own relationships with each other – watching them evolve and grow with you.

And your favorite thing to do, other than watch Snow White, is probably take care of your baby dolls. You are so nurturing and loving “baby need a pillow?” “baby need a blanket?” – you usually have no less than 2 binkies and 1 baby in your hands or within your eyesight at all times!

This year you are going to put that love for baby dolls and babies to good use when you become a big sister! It is probably going to be a tough transition, with your dislike for sharing your mommy with anyone – including your big sisters a lot of the time –

but we are going to make it and everyone is going to be alright!

In a nutshell –this past year you’ve grown in your smart, sassy, smiley, stubborn ways into your own person – a person we are so lucky to get to love and watch continue to grow and change and we wouldn’t have you any other way (except with a few more hours of sleep under your belt each night – that would be lovely!)

Keep that twinkle in those big blue eyes and that sense of mischief behind that toothy smile, my little love, those are things that make you you!

Love you more than you could know -

xo

Mommy

Disney World 2016: Hollywood Studios

Our first park day this trip was to Hollywood Studios. There is a lot of dreamworking going on in this park right now so we planned a character dinner and waited until after lunch to head to the park. It was a really nice, low-key morning at the pool which helped us to enjoy our park time!

The Disney Jr. characters are outside of the Disney Jr. theater instead of inside like they have been in years past (inside now is Star Wars themed, Mike and G met Chewbaca!) so the kids were hot and sweaty, but I think my littles enjoyed meeting some of their favorite animated characters even if they seem a little skeptical!

 

We had a snack break after riding Toy Storia Mania (which remains one of the most fun rides!) near where the new Toy Story land will be – that is going to be a super fun part of the park.

Then we found Mickey and Minnie. The line was slow moving so I was glad we had some entertainment with us!

We followed this up with dinner at Hollywood and Vine – Minnie’s Springtime Dine ate here last trip and the food was terrible. This time? That was thankfully not the case! The food was great and the character interaction was superb! I tried so hard to capture Aleesia’s amazing surprise/happy face that she made each time she saw a character – it was the best!

Our next stop was to see Olaf! This was for sure the kids’ favorite.

We did Frozen Forever which is the best sing-a-long ever. The kids had the best time. Then we rode Star Tours – it was my first time riding it and it was fun even if I have never seen Star Wars.

We stayed for Fantasmic (we got VIP seats with our dinner) for the first time since we’ve gone with kids. I am so glad we stayed, even if Aleesia got scared at the end. Gianna LOVED it!

 

Right now, in my opinion, this is a half day park – especially if you take advantage of late extra magic hours and/or don’t have thrill seekers who want to ride ToT or Rockin’ Rollercoaster. There are huge improvements coming and we can’t wait to go back to Hollywood Studios once all of the new areas are finished, it is going to be so great! And hopefully next time I can convince at least one of the kids to ride Tower of Terror with me!

Disney World 2016: Polynesian Review

We went to Disney World at the end of May and stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Resort for the first time. I previously really didn’t get the draw to the deluxe resorts but when we scored an awesome deal we couldn’t pass it up. Needless to say, I now FULLY understand the draw to the Monorail resorts, especially with kiddos who are still in strollers.

Let’s talk reviews because I have a lot to say!

Kingdom Strollers – we rented the CitiMiniGT and it came with a cooler and rain cover. I want to buy this stroller now, I loved it so much! And the rain cover came in handy at least once. The stroller was simple to order and pick up/return is right at the front desk.  We didn’t miss the stroller at all on our travel days – I wore Vivian in the airport and Aleesia and Gianna did great at holding our hands/navigating the airports. I could easily push any combination of girls with no issue, which was a double bonus.

Garden Grocer – We got a delivery credit from renting our stroller and it was great. We got almond milk, a case of water, gateroade and some snacks. In all honesty, I over-ordered on snacks and if we could have had 1/2 a case of water that would have been ideal. But again, ordering was so easy as was picking up the stuff that I would do it again in a heartbeat. My only “negative” was that I found their website kind of hard to navigate as far as figuring out some specifics on products before ordering, but it wasn’t a huge deal. I had also packed snacks, which I probably won’t do next time.

Polynesian Review

We did the Magical Express and were the first stop, which was really nice. We stepped off the bus and the kids were amazed, as were Mike and I. The theming and decor is beautiful, I really felt like we were stepping into Hawaii!

We had kind of a haphazard checkin process – but we did online checkin so our room was ready as soon as we got there and our bags arrived relatively quickly. We didn’t get a balcony room, which I was a little disappointed about but our room in the Aotearoa longhouse was wonderful. We had a lagoon view and the doors opened to the outside and the view was perfect – we could see the magic kingdowm fireworks from our bed and we were so close to the Grand Ceremonial House and pool. We didn’t notice much extra noise from Luau Cove except when the last show ended as the guests walked right by our room, but it wasn’t a huge deal.  The walk to the TTC wasn’t bad either.

The kids LOVED the pool! Gianna couldn’t get enough of the Volcano slide and everyone loved the splash pad. We specifically planned pool time into our days and I am SO glad we had the opportunity to enjoy the hotel and the pool. We never visited the quiet pool or the sand area, but that’s okay – everyone was happyily cooling off in the main pool area. It never felt overcroweded either, even on Memorial Day.

 

We did the dining plan this time (as we have in the past). Probably my only ‘complaint’ about the resort is that the Captain Cooks (quick service) had more limited options than at the moderate resorts. We ate lunch there a few times and felt like we were always getting the same things. We also have picky eaters, so that was part of it. The flatbread though? WAS AMAZING. Honestly, all the food was so good there – the service is a little slow so don’t be starving when you walk in.

I had a polynesian pearl drink from Trader Sam’s which was super good and the awesome pineapple drink (pictured above). The iced coffee from Kona is something I’ve been craving since we left.

Other restaurant reviews:

Kona Cafe – this is my favorite breakfast in all of Disney World, so no surprise that I loved it once again. Tonga Toast is where it’s at!

Ohana – we had breakfast at Ohana our last morning and it was SO yummy. The juice was wonderful, the fresh fruite platter was a hit and I loved all the warm food. They were so accomodating to our crabby kids! Vivian called Stitch (who is all over the hotel in the gift shops and stuff) a bunny the whole time and was so excited to see the bunny in person! She, at the end of the week, had finally warmed up to the costumed characters and loved Pluto!

 

My biggest regret is forgetting to buy our MemoryMaker/Photopass pictures in time (the day I went to purchase all of them, the first 2 days had disappeared and I didn’t realize it!)– there were just a few that I really wish we had, although I am lucky enough to have captured a version of every picture taken on my own camera. I have always discouraged against paying for MemoryMaker, but I have to say it really is worth it especially if your family splits up and there are some great ride pictures that get captured (I’m bummed not to have the pictures of Aleesia and I on the Mine Train).

 

More resort/dining reviews coming soon!

 

We’re already ready to plan a(nother) return trip….