Long Overdue

Magic Kingdom pictures are still way overdue! I know, I know. It's going to take a little work to get several of them posted. Lordly, we'll probably have pictures from our next trip to post before I get our Magic Kingdom pictures posted. Bad, I know.

I haven't been too motivated to blog because I've been so busy reading other blogs! I know that some of you can relate!! KATIE - my new best friend and I didn't even know it.

Will's 9 month appointment

Will's 9 month check-up was yesterday and he is definitely an ACTIVE little guy. Actually, to quote the pediatrician, he is a "busy body". Will was wild as a buck during our appointment! I was quite embarrassed, but I think he just wanted to be on the floor rolling and playing. Health-wise, he is great! He now weighs 20 lbs., 8 oz (50th percentile) and is 28 1/2 inches long (50th percentile). I'm so glad he is healthy and HAPPY!

Some Firsts and Fun Stuff

• Will started "army crawling" (i.e. dragging himself across the floor) last Thursday and it's quite cute.
• He made a quick transition to actually crawling. He started crawling today! Yea!! No, it's not perfected by any means, but he's definitely doing it.
• Bill and I can't agree on if he's knowingly waving bye-bye to people. I haven't seen him deliberately wave yet.
• I've practiced blowing kisses with him and now he'll smack his lips like he's trying to kiss. SO CUTE!
• He claps a lot!
• Will LOVES American Idol! I seriously think it's because he listened to the show every week while he was still baking inside me.
• I'm sure there's more...

Now we're really going to have to work on baby proofing everything! We're already having to say "No, No" a lot. Yikes!

I know that Ami is disappointed that there are no pictures in this post. I promise that pictures will come. Patience is a virtue.

No Title Needed

I know I haven't posted about our day at Magic Kingdom yet. I will, I promise! Right now though, I want you to get a glimpse of what our ride home was like yesterday. Just imagine 10 hours in the car like this. All I can say is that we have a talented son.

Also, THANK YOU so much for the birthday wishes from everyone! It was a wonderful day at Magic Kingdom! I didn't even think about how old I'm getting because I was enjoying all of the "kiddie" stuff at Disney!

I wish Spring Break wasn't going to end!

Our family is enjoying vacation so much! We could live this life everyday. Is it time to retire yet? Can someone support us, please?

**First, if you thought that Will was sunburned in the pictures that were added to the Kodak album yesterday, you are wrong! Whew! He is not sunburned. Yes, I like to get sunburned myself, but I would not do that to my little guy. To tell the truth, I was trying to do fancy stuff with the photo editing software on the computer and it looks like all I am able to do it make someone look red. I think I need lessons on how to use the software. To save us all the worry of Will being sunburned, I did not "edit" any of the pictures from today. I'm only including pictures in the blog today - no new ones in the Kodak Album.

Now, more about today...

Today, we took our 2nd trip to Sea World and had a great time! We saw a hilarious Seal, Otter, and Walrus show. Several impromptu things happened and it made it so funny! We also went to the Shamu show. Ok, I feel terrible for saying this, but it wasn't that great. There were two other smaller whales who were performing and they had to stop the show because the whales weren't cooperating. It was quite interesting. Once they got back on track, they finished the show...or so I think. It was just kind of "off" though. Shamu came out, but only splashed the audience. Really didn't perform at all. Oh well-we can say we went and Will saw it. We also visited the polar bears, beluga whales, and penguins (again!). Have I said before that I love penguins?? I could have stayed in there all day!

**The adorable shirt was made by the same girl at school who made the mouse ears t-shirt. Isn't it so cute? Oh, and Will did an excellent job of keeping his Converse on all day! Good boy!

Oh, I almost forgot! Will had his first experience on a ride. We rode the carousel at Sea World. We had to sit on the bench because of his size, but it was still fun! Will seemed unsure of the experience (kind of like he does all new things), but he'll definitely get more practice at Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

We napped and had pool time again this afternoon and evening. Overall, a great day! I wish Spring Break wasn't going to end!

Another fun day!

We've had another great day in Orlando! We returned to Downtown Disney to get the newest (and cutest) mouseketeer his own set of mouse ears. Isn't he adorable?

We also visited Disney's Boardwalk and had a great time strolling around and eating lunch.

This afternoon, Will took a LONG nap (I guess vacation is catching up with him), so I was able to lounge at the resort pool. Once Will woke up, we visited the other pool at the resort. Will had a great time again! I am so glad that he loves being in the water. Bill and I both love the water, so it is wonderful that our little one isn't scared of it!

Hopefully we're rested up for our second day at Sea World tomorrow. We're going to see Shamu! Yea!!

**I've added more photos to the Kodak Gallery. Feel free to take a look!

Sea World, Swimming, and a little bit of Sleeping

**So, I thought that I was going to be able to upload pictures to the blog since we have a wall connection in our condo. But, Blogger is giving me lots of trouble again! BOO! More pictures have been added to the Kodak album. I think you can just log in to Kodak and look at the album again. The new pictures should be included now. Let me know if they're not.

**********

We had a great day! We spent part of the day at Sea World visiting so many different sea animals. We LOVED it! Bill and I are big sea life/aquarium fans, so we were excited to go. We are so glad that Will loved it too! We saw sting rays, manatees, dolphins, sharks, turtles, alligators, sea lions, and MY FAVORITE-penguins! Since we are able to go for a 2nd day without paying admission again, we saved the big kahuna (Shamu) for Thursday. Can't wait to go back! You know, there were a lot of people there, but it wasn't overly crowded. The weather was so nice, so it made for a perfect day.

Since we didn't make Sea World an event for the entire day, we decided to swim at one of our resort pools. It was overcast by the time we got to the pool, but we still had a blast. At first, Will was indifferent to being in the water. He didn't mind it at all, but he didn't seem to be excited either. Eventually, he LOVED it. I think it was once he was free from the float and he was able to do his own tricks. Watch him in the video - He is his own dolphin! He learned that from the dolphins he saw at Sea World today.

We finished out the day with dinner at Bahama Breeze and shopping at the outlets. Will had only taken about a 30 minute nap at 12:30 this afternoon, so he ended up sleeping through our entire dinner.

Tomorrow, we're planning to take it easy most of the day. We're going back to Downtown Disney, swimming again, and just enjoying being together. Can't wait!

Kodak Picture Gallery

I've created an album of pictures on Kodak. You have to be invited to look at the album. If you didn't get an email from me with the link to the album, then comment or email me with your email address and I'll add you to the album.

Sorry for the trouble!

Enjoy!

Some pictures from Day 1

Poor Wireless Service - the cause of not being able to upload the pictures from yesterday. So, now I am sitting on our beautiful balcony overlooking the large pool and lake. A little better service, so I've been able to upload some pictures.

Going forward, I'm just going to try to get one or two pictures put on the blog and the rest are going to go in a Kodak Gallery album. Check there for pictures updates! I will post the link to the album when it's ready.

Here are some pictures from yesterday. There are more in the Kodak album, so be sure to check there too!

This is Will's photo shoot in the condo before we went to Downtown Disney. He's in the adorable mouse ears t-shirt that a girl at school made for him. Since he has such a big grin, you can also see those two bottom teeth sticking up. So cute!!

This is the snazzy, jazzy umbrella stroller. You can't see it in all it's glory since the top isn't showing completely.

Dad and son in Downtown Disney

Mom and son in Wolfgang Puck's Cafe

Remember to check the Kodak album for more pictures!

We're off to Sea World today!

Downtown Disney

Before I start - Blogger is giving me LOTS of trouble and I can't upload any of my pictures. :( I am getting too tired to keep trying, so I will try again tomorrow.

Update on the day:
We arrived in Orlando this afternoon without any troubles. It was a great trip and Will was a fantastic traveller. Let's hope that he does this well on the way home!

Our resort is great! Granted, we've only been here for a half a day, but it seems really nice. We're not staying at Disney since we're planning to do most things outside of the parks. We're in a one-bedroom condo that is a great size. The most exciting part (totally kidding) is that we're right next to the main pool. You know, for some partiers, that would be really nice. For two old folks and a baby, I don't know how it's going to work. Yes, it will be nice during the day when we're at the pool and need to come up to the room with Will. We'll be so close and convenient. However, as I sit typing this post (9:30 p.m.), I can hear squeals of delight as kids play in the pool and a SUPERB karaoke singer (at least, I hope she's not paid). Ok, trying to think about the positive...I am tired and maybe she'll lull me to sleep.

We had a very quick photo shoot before we left for our evening at Downtown Disney. A girl at school made this super cute mouse ears t-shirt for Will. I LOVE IT!! Also, notice Will's 2 bottom teeth - Aren't they so cute!!

While we were at Downtown Disney, Will got to try out his umbrella stroller and looked like such a big guy. Well, maybe not a "big guy", but a "big girl". Yes, it happened again. He was mistaken for a girl again. What in the world??? I mean, am I going to have to put him in navy blue and brown with a "Tough Guy" t-shirt on? The Disney worker thought she (aka Will) was adorable and said that we did so well on her. Ok seriously, HE IS NOT A GIRL!!!

We ate dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe at the West Side of Downtown Disney. It was tasty, but little Will got quite fussy, so we didn't really get to enjoy it. We also did lots of browsing in the stores and only made purchases at 1 store. Yes, they were for me!

Tomorrow, we're off to Sea World. Yea!!

Show us your...Mouse Ears!

So, we've made it over half way to Orlando. Whew! Our trip yesterday was flawless. Whew again! Yes, it rained on us most of the way, but I did not have any freak-outs about the Sequoia breaking down. That is a miracle! Thank you for the reassurance via FB, Miranda.

Will was a PERFECT traveller yesterday. He entertained himself and slept the rest of the time. We made a stop in the oh-so-friendly city of Dothan. It earned that name from me because of the other diners in the local Wendys. Let's see, first there was the old lady (in her 70s. I know this because she got that far into conversation with me to tell me her age.) who thought our baby girl was the cutest one she'd ever seen and went on and on about how she should be on commercials and in ads. I just smiled and laughed with her. I wasn't sure how to respond when she finally asked what her name was. Hum...I thought, "Do I go with some fun, outlandish, girlie name? Do I just say Will?" I went with the most direct approach. I said, "Actually, it's a boy and his name is Will." That didn't stop her and the conversation. She then proceeded to think he was 4 months old and that he was able to walk. Oh wait, he wasn't a "he" to her though. He then became an "it" to her. So she proceeded to think that it was 4 months old and that it was able to walk. Nice friendly lady also offered to take it home with her and said we could pick it up on our way home.

Then next nice diner at Wendys was missing 2-3 front teeth and had 2 small children with her. Her first question was how much he weighed. Nice conversation starter, I thought. "About 19 lbs.", I told her. It was then that her eyes about bugged out and she started staring in disbelief to the man who was with her. I just grinned at her, not knowing what her next move was going to be. She decided to tell me that the little girl with them was over a year old and she only weighed about 16 lbs. I told her to get some food in her and stop starving her. That was the end of that conversation. However, I did continue to overhear her in the restaurant threatening to "whoop" the little boy with her several times. Oh Dothan!

We were HAPPY to get on the road again. Will continued to be a perfect traveller. I was SO proud of him!! He usually isn't a good traveller, so it was a blessing. I am praying that today goes well too.

We made it to our hotel in Tallahassee. It was one I got off of Hotwire yesterday morning. We got a major deal on it. It's a very nice place, but I am sad to say that the bed was NOT very comfortable. I've slept in some very hard beds (all of Europe) and some too soft beds, but this one was just not quite right. I am no Goldilocks because it wasn't just right. Fortunately, it was just a one-nighter place, so hopefully our bed in Orlando and for the rest of the week will be better.

So, in a couple of hours, we're off to our final destination. Woohoo!! Orlando or bust! Spring Break '09 baby! It's still a few hours away. We're planning to go to Downtown Disney this afternoon so that Will can sport his SO CUTE mouse ears t-shirt. Can't wait to post a picture of it!

Finally, some Will pictures!

Look at this little boy who is just growing up!

Will and his new friend, Ruben, from FAO. (Kind of look like twins!)

NY

Pictureless Post

I promise pictures will come soon! Still trying to get back to normal after Will's long sickness and my trip to NY.

Yes, I made it back from NY safe and sound. Miranda and I had a wonderful time visiting our friend Bradley. We took it easy most of the time, visited, shopped, and ate. The sad part of the the trip was that I missed my boys. My sweet husband was sweet enough to email pictures of Will to me so I didn't forget what he looked like. :) I loved getting my sweet updates on my boys!

Also, Will has survived the stomach virus. Bill ended up having to pick him up on Thursday morning from daycare because he had tummy issues again, so Bill decided to go ahead and keep Will home on Friday and take him to the doctor. (I love my "involved" husband!! I can count on him and didn't have to stress while on my trip.) The doctor thought it sounded like a stomach bug that was just TAKING ITS TIME to leave my little boy. Fortunately, Will didn't get sick anymore and has now fully recovered. Whew!

My good husband (a.k.a. protective father) didn't let Will enjoy his very first snow!! In a way, I'm glad that he didn't take Will out in it because I would have missed it. But, I wish that Will wouldn't have missed his first experience with snow. I am sure there will be another encounter with snow, but it could be another 10 years! Who knows!!

We're making it through this week with no big plans for this weekend. Thank goodness! We'll be making our trip to Disney World on Sunday, the 15th, so we'll have to start getting everything together for it. I am so excited about our trip! We're planning to do Sea World, Magic Kingdom, shopping, relaxing, and hanging out at our resort pool. Can't wait!!