Orlando Vacation

Day 1: We arrived in Orlando on Monday, 3/21. After picking up our rental car, we stopped at the first restaurant we saw for a quick bite (which ended up being TGI Friday's). By the time we checked into the Holiday Inn Resort at Lake Buena Vista, it was already 6pm. We decided to pay a visit to Downtown Disney, then stopped at Walmart for some water, cereal, and other food essentials before heading back to the hotel.

Day 2: We spent Tuesday, 3/22 at SeaWorld. Despite fighting a terrible cold and not being able to see Elmo (I was very disappointed that they didn't have the "Elmo and Abby's Treasure Hunt" show on that day), baby K seemed to have a good time. We met up with my sister-in-law for dinner afterwards.

Day 3: We spent the morning at a Holiday Inn Vacation Resort listening to some salespeople try to sell us a timeshare... oh wait, they don't call them timeshares anymore. Now it's referred to as "vacation homes." What a waste of three hours! I must say, they are quite persistent. We were approached by at least five different salespeople, each of them lowering the price more and more; it went from $35,999 down to $7,500. After the full three hours (even though we were told the sales pitch would only last an hour and a half), they finally gave us our discounted Disney tickets and we were off to Magic Kingdom! Baby K got to see Mickey and was happy. M and I were were also glad to see that her cold had improved from the day before. After a day of fun at Magic Kingdom, we arrived at the Nick Hotel and crashed with my brother and his family in their two-bedroom suite.

Day 4: On Thursday, 3/24 we took advantage of the benefits offered by the Nick Hotel and stayed at the resort the entire day. We saw a Spongebob Squarepants show and got to take pictures with Dora and Blues Clues. The kids went swimming in the two pools and had a blast. Day 5: Friday, 3/25 was our last full day in Orlando. We spent it at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The fact that baby K got to hang out with her cousin A made it much more enjoyable. Every time we separated from them, baby K would ask, "Where's A?" followed by "Where's Aunt K?" followed by "Where's Uncle P?" I think it was the company that made it more fun than the theme park itself. Baby K got a little scared during the Finding Nemo musical when some of the characters came up close to the audience. She also didn't have much patience to sit through the entire Lion King show while cramped inside the little theater. The highlight of the day was probably the fact that she got to take pictures with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Pluto, and Goofy. Day 6: Saturday, 3/26 was a sad sad day, since that meant our vacation was soon to be over. We took a morning flight back to the cold, wintry 40 degree weather in New Jersey. Unfortunately, our luggage never made it back with us, but good thing they found it and delivered it to us the next day. Now that we're back, I'm ready for the next vacation already! Any suggestions on location??

Almost 28 Months

Tonight was a long but productive night in the potty training front. I sat with baby K in the bathroom for over an hour before she finally peed and pooped in the toilet (and this was after she spent a half an hour crying in the kitchen because she was constipated). It was past her bedtime and despite her cries, I was determined not to let her out of the bathroom until she pooped. Eventually my stubbornness (or maybe it was the bribery) paid off; she was awarded with a new Melissa and Doug puzzle at the end of the successful night. Hopefully this brings us one step closer to getting her off diapers (though I thought that two months ago).

Baby K has become a big fan of the Fresh Beat Band. She kept singing the theme song (at least her version of it, which consists of LAA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LAA) over and over today. I've never even heard of them until I (or rather baby K) started watching Nick Jr. a few weeks ago. Now she prefers the Fresh Beat Band over Dora and Ni Hao Kai Lan. (No more mention of Elmo... Elmo? Who's Elmo??) Let's see how long this craze lasts.

Here's my little two year old behind the wheel, about to go for a spin:

After realizing she can't drive (her feet doesn't reach the pedal... not to mention she didn't have the keys), she decided to stuff herself in a USPS Priority Mail box to be shipped out instead:

March Madness

Slowly but surely, the month of March has crept up on me and is now in full swing. I started off the month going to a Rachael Ray taping in midtown Manhattan. I reserved four tickets and invited WC, SW, and KM, but apparently the show hands out more tickets than there are seats available, because by the time they got to us, there were only three spots left (good thing WC got there early to stand on line!). I felt so bad that KM didn't get to go in with us. I'll have to make it up to my sister-in-law somehow...

For the rest of March, weekends are fully booked with kids' birthday parties, family birthday celebrations, and the biannual visit to the cemetery. In between that we're also squeezing in a trip to Orlando. I can't wait for the warm weather and the much-needed time away from work! I am hoping and praying that baby K stays healthy for her travels this time around!