Vacation Ends--Reflections

Well our last two days of vacation were an absolute blur. We started our 4th day back at the Magic Kingdom, hitting all the highlights (teacups, Winnie the Pooh--more than once, twice, three times). We spent most of the morning there and then went home and let Joel take a longer than normal nap because we were going to take the plunge and let him see his very first fireworks show! It did not disappoint. There were a few moments during the show where the noises startled him a little bit, but for the most part, he really enjoyed it. Then, since the park crowds really slimmed down, we hit all our favorite rides with unbridled energy. If it was open, we went for a spin. We even went on the Jungle Cruise, in the dark (which even mommy found a little creepy in the dark). Joel was a trooper through the whole thing, passed out on the bus trip back to the hotel and slept all through the night with no issues. On our last day, we went to Hollywood Studios, which I really did not think would have much to keep us there, but when we left I was kind of sad because it was such a fun place, even for Joel. We started the day by RUSHING as fast as our legs could carry us to the Toy Story Midway Mania game, which is a blast. When we took our first ride, the wait time was 10 minutes. So, we decided once we got off the ride we would try to go through it one more time before the lines got too long... the wait was already at 50 minutes!! BUT, as luck would have it, right across the way, Woody and Buzz had just arrived at the picture spot, so we hustled right over there for some pictures with them. Next, we went to the Disney Junior live show, which Joel loved. There were dancing puppets, bubbles that rained from the roof, fake snow, and gold doubloons (gold paper cut into circles... but Joel loved it) and even confetti at the very end of the show. Finally, we went deep into the park to find Mike and Sullivan from Monsters Inc. We snagged a picture with them and before we knew it, it was time to go and make the trip home. I know wishes don't come true and I know magic isn't real. However, as I stood in the middle of that mass of humanity watching the "wishes" fireworks show, I could not help but smile so big I thought my face would crack. I also shed a tear or two. There were a lot of emotions racing through my mind as I watched those beautiful fireworks. First, my baby is not a baby anymore. He is two. He says words, he runs, he eats food like I do, and he (thankfully) sleeps all night long like a real person does. He has opinions (and he voices them loudly). He has things he loves and things he hates. He is not a baby. Yet, as I held him in the moments when the sounds were a little overwhelming for him, I was reminded once again of all the times I would be doing something fun or celebratory and wishing there was a little person in my life to share it with and to watch experience things for the very first time. I paused for the 17,000 time to be thankful that God saw fit to answer the cry of my heart and fill our home with this firecracker of a little boy. Second, I am so glad that we got this chance to get away from work and potty training and summer cleaning projects and just be us, the three of us. Everyone needs that time to unplug from all the responsibility and hustle and bustle that is life and just relax for a little while. Third, every time Joel learns something new or experiences something for the first time, there is just this bubbling of joy and happiness that comes over me...I cannot explain it, but I love it. Watching him genuinely love something or enjoy something makes me happy. One of my favorite moments of the whole trip was watching Joel and Ryan ride the tea cups...I got to watch their expressions as they spun around and around (all the while thankful I was not on that thing). What sweet looks on their faces!! Something I can treasure when we are in the middle of the most hectic parts of the school year. I am blessed... no other words can describe it. Blessed, blessed, blessed.

My all time favorite picture of vacation

Kisses for joel

Late night ride

Fireworks selfie

Spinning teacups

That cute little boy face!!!

Another favorite

Taking a ride on the Dumbo ride

Vacation day 3

We got to Animal Kingdom today bright and early. We headed straight for the Kilomanjaro Safaris. We knew it would be great but we had no idea how great it would be...Joel loved all of it. In fact we loved it so much we made a plan to come back later in the afternoon (in hopes that a lion would be awake).

Joel's beloved "happos".... He knew exactly what they were even though they were so far underwater.

The baby giraffes just about made me want to cry. They were between three and five months old and they were just so cute!!!

When we went back later for a second trip...the lion was finally visible but sadly Joel was fast asleep!!

Joel loves this exhibit because he can get right up next to the fish. He just kept yelling "feeshes"!!
Playing the drums in Africa 

Time for a banana break at Starbucks!!

We decided to see how Joel would handle a show. We went to the Festival of the Lion King. It was great. There were acrobats and music and animatronic animals. Joel was mesmerized. It was also a great way to escape the heat and the rain as well.

On our late afternoon return trip to safari poor Joel just could not stay up. So we enjoyed the animals while he rested up.

Vacation day 2

Today we made the trip to magic kingdom! We had a very nice but very rainy morning there. We arrived before the park opened and got a bonus of seeing Mickey up close. I highly recommend getting to the park when it opens because we walked right on to several rides with no waits at all. We rode the spinning tea cups (mommy has officially sworn off that ride forever....too much spinning for me)

Waiting for the rope to drop to open the park. 

Riding the magic carpets....this was his first ride ever at Disney when he was still just a little guy. He loved working the lever that made us fly higher and higher 

The sword in the stone....we gave it our best shot to pull it out of the stone...no luck 

Mickeys philharmagic....so much fun we did it twice. Once Joel figured out that the glasses made the movie better he was very much interested 

We had such a nice day. We really are so thankful to have time together to have fun being together as a family and watching Joel enjoy life. Ryan works so very hard that it makes me smile that for his vacation he chose Disney (because let's face it...it's a lot of work for mom and dad to tackle this place). I go to bed tonight thankful for all I have...but even more thankful for the people that have my heart!!

See you tomorrow 

xOXo

Amy

Vacation day 1

Our first stop today was Epcot. We had a nice (although hot) time. J is getting more and more into meeting the characters but never without a good solid death grip on me or Ryan. He is deep in the throes of wanting freedom...so there were a few moments where we had to discuss WHY it is so important to hold hands!!

We stopped after a few minutes at the park for the Coke around the world kiosk. On a hot day the free samples of goodness from Thailand and South Africa cannot be resisted. Even J had a sample or two. Joy of joys, the coffee shop had coconut mocha frappes so we enjoyed one of those as well. J saw a banana (bananut as he calls them) at the coffee shop so we munched for a few minutes before hitting the next ride.

We decided to get a fast pass for "spaceship" earth ( and aside from the so called cavemen at the start of the story, it was an interesting little trip. At the end, they show you your home in the future. Here is mom and J in their home of the future (sadly daddy is not pictured because he was holding J). 

Until tomorrow 

Xoxo

Amy 

Now We Are Two

Dear Joel, Tomorrow morning, in the middle of your very first swimming lesson, you will be turning two. I cannot believe we have had you to hold and snuggle and kiss for two whole years. Mommy loves you so very much. When I think of how quickly your little life is flying by it makes me sad. However, every time you learn something new it makes me so happy and laugh so hard that I can hardly wait to see what you are going to do next. I will never, ever, ever forget the day you were born and the sweetest sound I ever heard when they said, "He is here and he is perfect" and then I heard your little tiny voice (making very loud noises) for the first time and I knew then, I had never felt so tired and blessed and overwhelmed with love and emotion before. They put you on my chest and I kissed your perfect little head and I breathed a sigh that only a mommy understands and praised our great God that He had created you just for us! Our miracle, our little boy, our answer to prayer, our restoration of the years the locusts had eaten (reason for your name found in Joel 2:25), our Joel! Even though you are a "big boy" (at least that's what we tell you every time we successfully get you to use the potty), mommy still sneaks into your room once you are asleep to look at your sweet little sleeping face because in that moment, you are still my little baby. I still go in and remove at least 15 stuffed animals from off your face because you simply cannot sleep without Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, one dog, three monsters, and an assortment of loveys and taggies. I still keep the baby monitor on in my room because I love to hear the little sleeping sounds you make. I love that when you wake up in the morning you start with a really sweet and quiet "Mom" that grows in volume till I come get you. I love that you sometimes greet me with a "Hi" when I come in your room or you lift one of your beloved stuffed friends for me to say "Hi" to before we leave your bed. I love that you say "eat" almost immediately upon waking up (something you will doubtless do, even when you no longer live in our house and you have a wife of your own. I sure she will think its cute too). I love that you love pancakes and that you smell sweet like syrup after breakfast every time, without fail because you always drip some of that sticky goodness on your jammies. I love that you have adorable ways of saying everything. You say "peash" for please and whenever you say "bye bye" you also tell the person to "hab pun" (have fun). I LOVE that you scream "bush" anytime you see (or hear) a bus (which includes busses, trash trucks, motorcycles and any other loud vehicle). I love how you say "air pain" for airplane and "cacker" for cracker. I love that you can make every little old lady in Publix ohhhh and ahhhhh over you and your sweet antics. I love how you jump and then CLIMB the back of the couch when you hear daddy come home... the only other person that gets that kind of excitement is the garbage truck (not sure why you love the trash truck so much but that's just another little weird thing about you that I love). I love that you are not afraid to try anything. The kiddie playground... forget about it... you went right for the big leagues (much to my heart's palpitations fearing you would attempt to slide down the fireman pole). Your picky eating habits have me in torments, but mommy has gotten inventive with the word "pizza" and "French fries" in an attempt to get you to eat veggies. We have eaten "veggie fries", "pea fries" and the like. You talk a lot and a lot of the time I have no idea what you are talking about but its fun to listen to you anyways. There are days when you are probably very frustrated with me that I don't understand what you are talking about like the day you cried for a good ten minutes on the way home in the car telling mom that you wanted "pa-pie-nuts" (which mommy and daddy have yet to decode). You run and jump and play hard all day. You have never met a sport you didn't like and mommy may be a little biased but I am thinking you are the next soccer/baseball/basketball star. You love books and music and hopping around like a wild man. You sing and play with all the energy of an atomic bomb and I love that about you. Mommy has probably made many mistakes already in raising you, especially since I did not grow up with any boys in my house, but daddy is always around to remind me...." Remember, mommy, he is a boy and he is two.". It makes me smile and reminds me that you are just doing what boys do... making messes, throwing balls, being loud and smiling for hours. You love to love people and you love to give hugs to daddy and mommy. You still love to snuggle when you feel sleepy and mommy is milking that for all its worth. You know how to work a tablet and a smart phone better than mommy and you have a brain that loves to figure out how things work. Everyday is a new adventure to you and I am loving watching you discover and explore the world around you. From play-doh on the floor to crayons EVERYWHERE, I always have reminders that a busy little boy lives in my house. I am so thankful for those reminders and more importantly, for you! You are my sweet little TWO year old boy and I love you so much! Can't wait to see what you learn and discover in this upcoming year. XOXOXO, MOMMY