The Perfect Combo!

Being married to Pat is an adventure. I was always a planner, I liked to know my next move and prided myself on being on time. Well, 7 years in and that stuff has gone out the window. If I am going to do anything with Pat, it will most likely not be planned and we will definitely not be on time. That brings me to last weekend -- We spontaneously decided to join Jenny and the 3 older girls in DISNEY! 6 days before we left!!

The magic did not start from the moment of departure. We arrived late after nearly missing our flight (PAT!!!) followed by a 45 minute Uber ride to our hotel. Once we arrived, Pat couldn't find something he seemed to think was very important. He also didn't think it was at all strange to open our bag in the middle of the hotel lobby rummaging through, pulling out everything. We never claim to be normal and the glances we were getting from others checking in confirm we aren't going to change that any time soon. Heehee! 

We got going early (for us) the next day. Neither family told the children the others was going to be there. The moment Lily saw Jenny was one of my favorites! She ran to her, jumping in her arms! Then, we ran to where the Jacobs girls were waiting in line to meet Merida. Pure magic!!

Then there were Teacups!

Then we ran into Alice. She was my favorite! She talked to the kids a lot and was really cute. She even let Lily introduce her to Cora.

Dumbo!!

I know it's Florida but I was surprised how warm it was. We stopped to visit some characters for a break from the heat. It's funny, the last time we took Lily to Disney she loved Donald, this time she didn't even want to go meet the "boy ones"! (Cora was napping)

 The Little Mermaid!

Thunder Mountain! Lily loved the roller coasters!

One smoothie, five straws! (Hey, Disney is expensive. We save where we can! ;) )

Splash Mountain! Lily rode this twice!

I channeled my inner Christie, dawning her T-shirt and a fanny pack with a baby on my hip. I would need a few more babies, 3 times the energy and faster legs to even come close but I tried!

Day two just wasn't the same without the Jacobs but we pressed on. We chose Epcot because it's our personal favorite. Also, the new Frozen ride is there and dinner with the princesses, both a must for our little princesses. The forecast called for rain on Friday but we didn't get any....and the lines were so short! The temps dropped almost 20 degrees and Saturday was cold and windy with a little rain. This would have been a bummer but the Frozen ride is inside and the weather made for another day of great lines! Cora was a trooper and not only did she get in free but she worked to our advantage - Disney understands the pressures of parenting a little one that can't ride everything so they offer 2 rides with 1 fast pass so each parent has a chance to ride with the big kid! We took complete advantage!

Not sure if this movie was popular when it came out or not but I think it is super cute! 

Lily was so excited to meet Sadness and Joy!

The amount of detail that goes into everything Disney is one of the things I love about most. I loved ordering hot cocoa from a kiosk and getting it served like this!

It was COLD!

Not only was it cold but it was our second long day. After traveling/eating our way through the countries we ended in Norway for dinner with the princesses. By the time the princesses started making an appearance things kinda went crazy. Jenny told us to be prepared with questions but we weren't. By the end of it Pat spilled a drink (Aurora was kind enough to help clean it up), Cora had a blow out (MASSIVE blow out! I had to throw everything away....in front of a line-out-the-door packed bathroom) and Pat and I were too full from sampling the worlds finest (It was the food festival!) to even eat our (expensive) food! But.....Lily loved every minute of it! Watching her meet everyone was magical! We were all a little starstruck ;) 

Cora trying to stay warm in the only thing I had to put on her, an Elsa nightgown.

Lily on my favorite ride, Soarin'! Another magical moment, she loved it as much as I do!

Two tired girls!

This was our first time staying at a Disney resort. We weren't there long enough to take full advantage of what the hotel had to offer but the convience of getting to and from the parks was great! The morning we left Pat and Lily enjoyed the outdoor hot tub (it was 45 degrees!) and snuck in a little yoga!

Leave it to Pat to squeeze every ounce of fun out of three days! Spending the most wonderful time of the year, in the most wonderful place on earth, with the most wonderful people is a memory I will never forget! Until next time Mickey.... *Disclosure: we've never actually met Mickey.

Life Goes On

 I have to admit that Christie's passing still seems surreal, I'm not sure I will ever get used to it.  But  we found ourselves back in the throes of reality before we knew it.

Lil' Ballerina

Lily started dance after Labor Day and Thursday has become one of my favorite days of the week! I love seeing her in her dance clothes and she loves it SO much!

It even worked out one week that we were able to grab an early dinner at one of our favorite places - just the two of us!

So Long Summer

The warm weather has stuck around so it seemed like summer was here to stay. You won't hear me complaining about it though. Lily has been very particular about her clothes for at least a year now.  Her taste consists of dresses, dresses that "go out" when she spins. They can have only girly colors, no black or blue (I'm not sure how I got that black leotard on her in the picture above). So basically, the tackier, the better. And she absolutely does NOT like to wear pants or long sleeves - those are for boys. I have been forced to fight this battle over the last few weeks but I am thankful for extended nice weather!

Just the other day Lily tried to convince me to fill her little pool because summer had come back. It didn't take long for her to realize it wasn't quite that warm ;)

Krazy Kids

We have gone through a few transitions over the last few months. Lily started asking to do things and "take Cora to Grammie's". So we had our dinner date as well as a movie date and I worked on making Cora's nap time a time to do big girl activities and after a few weeks things were back to normal. Cora on the other hand, she is such a stinker. She gets so upset - she throws things, including herself on the ground. Sometimes I can't help but laugh but I try to ignore it and it's only escalated to her to being put in her crib (as the pediatrician suggested) one time. She loves Lily but she doesn't like her to touch her. I think this probably came from Lily carrying her around when she was younger which didn't look very comfortable. So basically, they are siblings; they love each other most of the time with a few sticky moments in between.

"Mommy, where's your phone? I need to take a picture of Cora. She is so cute!"- Lily

Later I looked through my phone and realized this is what she was doing! Ahhh! 

Halloween

Parenthood has changed me in many ways, one of them being my feelings about Halloween. Now that I can dress my children up in adorable costumes, it has become one of my favorite holidays! And as always Grammie came through in the costume department. Lily initially said she wanted to be a butterfly (BORING!) but after talking a bit she decided coordinating her costume with Cora's would be fun. She decided on Little Bo Peep. She was so excited about it when people would ask what she was going to be she would say "Little Bo Peep", then jump up and down yelling, "and Cora is going to be my lost sheep!". And were they ever cute! Surely, we won't be able to top this next year!

See! Lily touching Cora = Cora screaming

Cora is probably whining and pushing here.

The last few years we have gone trick-or-treating with our friends and this year, without knowing it, our costumes kind of went together. If Little Bo Peep's lost sheep was lagging behind then she turned into a pilgrim with her native american friend!

Lily Turns 4!

My baby isn't a baby anymore. We've been saying it for a while, but now it's official. I set my alarm the morning of her birthday so I could inflate balloons to fill her room but I set it for the wrong day so I wasn't able to get them finished before she woke up. (I always thought I would be the type of mom that woke up early, before my kids but I am NOT. Cora will sleep 12-15 hours and Lily usually isn't an early riser and if they sleep, I sleep!) So while she was in the potty I filled the living room.

She celebrated with Grandma Christie

We had birthday breakfast!

 Grammie came over for our annual Thanksgiving pie making marathon. Lily loves to bake and pies are one of her favorites!

We finished the day with a big celebration with all of the Stier cousins at Camp Christie!

Lily got a Hatchimal. We knew nothing about them but all of the kids went crazy over that thing!

Thanksgiving

Another successful Thanksgiving with the Stier's! There was an obvious and major void in our day but we managed to make it through relatively emotionally unscathed due to the chaos that ensues when we are all together. Papa Jon came through again this year with a magic show and face painting. I wish I had more pictures to share but nobody had time for that!

We did another balloon release for Grandma Christie just before dinner. We talk about her all the time and I am realizing everyday how important that will be in keeping her memory alive for our small children. She will always be a part of everything we do!