Wednesday, January 28, 2009

maybe he'll grow up to be a flight attendant

Do you want to know how I know that this little boy LOVED his first trip to DisneyWorld?He hasn't stopped talking about it since we came home. His speech has totally exploded over the past few weeks to the point where he has a hard time falling asleep at night because he is now able to tell us about all the thoughts that are going through his little brain and he doesn't know how to turn them off. It is so much fun to know exactly what he is thinking about. He goes to sleep at night talking about the Peter Pan ride and wakes up talking about going in the big ball at Epcot. Now I am getting ahead of myself... let's start at the beginning.


I was worried about two things before we left on this trip: the airplane ride and Baby G's sleep schedule (especially since I was going solo-- J had to stay home for work and school so Baby G and I just went along with my family). It was the baby's first time on a plane and I kept thinking of all the horror stories of little kids screaming the whole flight or getting sick and throwing up or frantically running through the airport with a baby and two bags trying to make the flight. I was also nervous to see how he would handle staying up so late, getting up so early, and not getting to be in his bed for naps. Bless his little heart, Baby G proved to be the best traveler this side of the Mississippi.


On the airplane he cuddled with me and looked out the window,he slept on our laps like a champ, we engaged in many, MANY childish activities (like building a "cold-man" out of clay), and my little sisters (and parents) were there to help us get where we needed to be. The reason for the trip in the first place was Ray-Ray's soccer tournament. She was in the World Championship 3 vs. 3 tournament at Disney's Wide World of Sports, so we spent a couple of days watching her play.At the soccer fields there was a person up in an airplane drawing pictures and words in the sky with the smoke. If you look closely you can see the plane next to the picture.
The rest of our time was spent at DisneyWorld. We spent a day at all four parks-- going early, staying late, running from ride to ride to get Fast Passes and make sure we got it all in. Pretty much the best part was when my 77 year old Grandma (who needed to be pushed in a wheelchair thus enabling us to get on many rides sans waiting in line) rode Space Mountain. As I was helping lift her out of the ride she complained that she felt like she has just gotten out of surgery. Pretty sure she won't be going on Space Mountain again any time soon. She was a really great sport. Here's a sampling of photos documenting our adventures.

The Rides
Baby G LOVED the big ball at Epcot. He marvelled at it all day until we took him on the ride inside the ball. From then on out whenever he would see it he would proclaim, " In da ball so sary!" Translation: "In the ball so scary!" He actually did pretty well on most of the rides. He would say they were scary and be nervous, but he ended up liking most of them. The fireworks, however, proved to be very, very "sary" for him. But see? Not crying on the rides.
He loved the safari at Animal Kingdom, especially the wildebeasts. He kept saying, "Again! Again da beasts!"
Very, very enamored by "It's a Small World."He was worried the pirates would be "so sary," but he totally liked it.The "Jungle Cruise" made Baby G feel most contemplative.
The Stroller
My normally very intelligent father nearly made the fatal mistake of making me leave my trusty stroller behind, saying that it would not fit in the rental car and that we could just rent a stroller at the Parks. Luckily my mom and I banded together to overrule his idiocy because that stroller was definitely the best thing I brought with me to DisneyWorld. All I had to do was recline the seat (which is something the rental strollers do NOT do-- also, rentals cost $15.00 a day), cover him with a blanket, and Baby G would nap for about 2 hours in that blessed stroller. It was glorious because that was something that had been stressing me out before we left.

Here we are at Magic Kingdom on Main Street with the castle behind. Notice Baby G sleeping soundly.

Ray-Ray was also pretty happy about the stroller-- she rode in it a lot of the time either with Baby G on her lap or when Baby G would walk. It got to be somewhat comical when Ray-Ray was holding Baby G in the stroller, Hannah was riding in Grandma's wheelchair pushing the stroller, and Madeline pushed the whole gang.

And here the stroller is in front of "Mitchey." Baby G and I are also there. Are you sick of the yellow hoodie yet? I basically wore it every day.
The Mickey Ears
No explanation really needed, right?


The Characters
Baby G's favorite part of the whole trip BY FAR was meeting characters. I wondered if he would be scared of them, but as you will see, he mostly just wanted to be adopted by them all.




Except for the ones that looked like real people. Those kind made him nervous.
The Sisters
One of the best parts of this trip for me was all the time I was able to spend with my family, especially my sisters. We had so much fun together and even though there are many years separating the oldest (me) from the youngest we all seem to love so many of the same things (perhaps that has something to do with the fact that I pretty much turn into a 12 year old little girl full of giddy excitement on vacations).

We are vikings.All of us (plus my Grandma, mom, and a sleeping-in-the-stroller Baby G) in front of a picture perfect little house. Do you want to drool when you see that amazing roof? I do.

Toon Town
I used to hate Toon Town, but having my little boy there made me fall in love with it. It is SO darling, and there were so many fun things for Baby G to do.

He was obsessed with Mickey's wall of tools, but got sad when he realized he couldn't actually get the hammer down and pound things with it.

This wall represents one of the things that I adore about Disney Parks. Where else could you find such a bright and jolley rock wall? It is clear at the back of Toon Town where probably not that many people end up, but since it is Disney, every inch of the park has to be magical and fun.
Baby G taking a ride on Mickey's mailbox with his aunts.

The Journey Home
Baby G was sure that without his help Ray-Ray and Mady would have never been able to pull their suitcases.

All that work made him tired though, so luckily he was able to hitch a ride on Ne Ne's (that's what Baby G calls my mom) suitcase.
It was actually a really good thing that my hard-working husband stayed home from this trip because we may have never come home otherwise. We missed him lots and knowing that we were coming home to him was the bright spot of coming back to real life after such a lovely break from it all. I owe much gratitude to my dear family for, once again, letting Baby G and I tag along. Actually, that wasn't entirely accurate-- I should say I am grateful they let ME come. Baby G has a perma-invite to anything and everything they do. I just come because without me they can't have him. At any rate, I am happy to have made such delightful memories with people that I love. Next time it will be with the WHOLE family, I hope.

12 comments:

Danica Osborn said...

looks like such a blast!!!! i'm only a little sad i saw these pics, b/c i've wanted to take claire but have convinced myself that she's too young and that we ought to wait until next year (3 1/2-ish), but now i see she'd still have a blast...still gotta hold out! glad you had such a great trip!

the mama monster said...

looks like you had so much fun. abe has that same shirt from mini boden. i am dying to go to disneyland. maybe we should talk our moms into going and we can tag along with our kids. baby G is getting so big, what a cutie!

GregR said...

Wow! I loved these pictures and it looks like a imput overload for Baby G. I loved the picture of you and your sisters. How cute! The pictures of G at this age look identical to Baby J at that age!

Brooke said...

It looks like you guys had a blast!!! I can't belive Grandma went on Space mountain!!! My mom told her that Revenge of the Mummy at Universal studios was a tame ride and she rode that too. Eric and I laugh so hard everythime we go there and ride that ride. Poor Grandma. Baby G is soooooo stinkin cute and it looks like he had the time of his life! I'm glad you guys had so much fun!

The Edwards Family said...

I'm jealous!!! I miss Disneyland and want to go back! I'm glad your baby did so well! I'm always amazed at how stressed I get over trips with Emery and then every time she surprises me by sleeping just fine, loving the airplane rides, and napping in the stroller just like yours did! I love the picture of him riding on the suitcase because we totally did the same thing with Emery in the airport. :)

mandy said...

What a fun trip! I'm so glad he did so good on the plane ride there! It looks like everything at Dinseyworld was loads of fun! And GREAT for George for talking so well! When can we get together?

Sara said...

OK... I believe Madeline was your boys age the last time I saw her! And the only thing I have seen of Rachel is on your Dads office walls!! Reading this post made me want to go to Disneyworld SOO bad!! SOOO much better than Disneyland! He is such a cute little guy, and I LOVE his bright blue eyes!! U look awesome as well! Glad we are finally connected after all these years!! Oh, and whats with "Wendy's" hair? What the?! HA

Sara said...

What camera do you have?

Teacher Mama said...

I think your yellow hoodie is sexy.

Ani said...

Looks like such a fun trip! That picture of him in the stroller and you next to him on main street at night is insane! I love it! How did you get that?
Baby G is just way too cute!

Unknown said...

I think you guys had a great fun with your baby in the Disney world. You missed a lot your stroller as your father left behind it. Next time try our new Mickey sport pushchair as it is easy to fold and portable everywhere.

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, looks like SUCH a super blast. Glad you had so much fun!