Days 5-7; I'm 25!

The rest of this week flew by, as I knew it would. Wednesday we explored some Disney Resorts and shopped Downtown. 

Thursday was the "big" day! We did Magic Kingdom this day and it was my *gasp* 25th birthday! It was an amazing day, despite some rainfall. We truly enjoyed ourselves as we met Merida, Goofy, and Donald. Road Buzz Lightyear's ride, ate at Be My Guest, and finished the day with Mickey's Christmas Party! We got to have dessert on Tomorrowland Terrace while they performed a light show on Cinderella's Castle followed by some amazing fireworks. It was a full day and it was obvious by this day that B was getting a little overwhelmed by all of the events. My poor guy was fast asleep by 9:30 after the fireworks and stayed passed out through our shopping, ride home, and right into his crib! All in all, it was a fantastic birthday, I felt so blessed to be able to spend my special day in the happiest place on earth.

Yesterday was our last day, sadly. We spent the day in Hollywood Studios and it was very apparent on this day that B was worn out! Luckily, this is a smaller park and the first thing we did was see Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, followed by a Disney Junior live show! B was enthralled and literally caressed Jake's face like he couldn't believe he was real! The show was a blast and keeps the kids involved! I was so impressed by how they could bring the kids into Disney Junior's world! Hollywood Studios was a great close to a fantastic week full of fun and adventures. B has fallen in love with Buzz and Woody on this trip, my greatest investment were a Buzz and Woody action figure set. He's played with it every day since.

My B has been a champion this week. I think my family and myself kept him in his own boundaries. Meaning, we didn't push him. When we could tell he hit his limit we went to a quiet area of the park until he fell asleep in the stroller and let him sleep while we took turns watching him. It all worked out so well and B slept every day in the park for a nap. I know that I am a very lucky mom and my son is a very laid back kid that I can take him to Disney World for a week and not worry about him losing it from lack of routine. However, I truly believe that as parents, K and I are more laid back as well. We know our boundaries and limits, but we don't sweat the small stuff. And that has encourage B to be the child he is. So if I could give any advice for Disney bounce parents it would be to just relax! The kid will miss some things and everything won't be perfect, but what they do see and experience means the world to them. Take that with you. I've created memories on this trip that will last me a lifetime. 

Now we are about an hour away from our first stop on the long journey home. The nice thing about an action packed week is that B is so exhausted. He slept in this morning while I finished packing and then slept almost 3.5 hours on the drive today.  He will probably be up some tonight, but that's okay! My kid is awesome and this was one of the best weeks our family has shared in a long time. We needed this week and I'm so glad we got it.

Road Tripping!

Today we embarked on our journey to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL! I have been BEYOND excited for this trip. There is a 6 year old girl inside of me ready to scream and pee herself when we see those giant Mickey ears. 

We are so blessed to have my Aunt and Uncle help us with this trip. More than we deserve! They travel down every year and so, as veterans, they are hooking us up with a lot of great stops and reservations. They also got us upgraded to tree house bungalows outside of Animal Kingdom--we are staying fabulous on this trip! 

So yes, we took the brave (and cheapest) route down; driving. From our home to Orlando averages 12-14 hours driving time, and we have B with us! 

As day 1 is coming to a close I feel so proud of my little 18 month old. Stuck in his yucky car seat for almost 10 hours today he only cried about 30 minutes. No break downs, as long as the iPad was playing a movie we seemed to be under control. I packed a zipper tote full of toys new and old and I didn't have to pull out any "big guns" so far! This will be the hardest trip of the entire journey. On the way home we are more evenly split and we have more time to stop and stretch. I chose to leave around nap time today and B chose this day not to nap. I can't lie, I was concerned, but man was he a trooper! And as a result he passed out around 8:30 and has been snoozing soundly ever since. Hopefully when we get to the hotel he will transfer smoothly.

We are stopping in Savannah, GA. I have been once before, but as K and I were chatting I thought to myself, "why not stop and see some sights?" We wanted to take our time getting back on the road tomorrow so that we were not throwing B directly back into the car seat. I don't want to over use his patience with us, even if it is just 4 hours. So we were tossing ideas out about what we could do and I remember my family and I ate at Paula Deen's Lady and Sons restaurant on our previous visit. So I googled it and sure enough they just changed it so that you can make reservations for small parties online and they had times available! So we are going to spend the morning in downtown Savannah, maybe walk the river walk, and just enjoy a new family spot to mark on our maps! 

This week is going to be one to remember and I'm going to try very hard to document as much as I can, so that I can look back on this and relish in the memories!