Sunday, October 25, 2009
Disney World Final Day
The last day was pretty much a blur, I remember at one point looking at Leslie and telling her, "okay, I'll quit my job today if we can live at Disney World."
We managed to get to the Magic Kingdom with Papa Vinny for just a few rides (the hotel was AWESOME! Got us fast passes to anything we wanted, and got dad a free pass to the park for the last day!). We rode Peter Pan, then that was it for him as he had to go catch his flight home.
We rode a couple more things, I think, then headed back ourselves. The airport was busy, but we were ushered into a "special" line since we had the super duper oversized double mo-mamba-jamba stroller. The first plane ride was... wow. Ben screamed for most of it, and Emily cried for most of it.
The second flight was on one of those itty bitty jets, and after finally getting everybody situated, both kids were out for the majority of the flight.
Chebon picked us up, and we were finally home! Here is the final set of pictures from our trip. Enjoy!
We managed to get to the Magic Kingdom with Papa Vinny for just a few rides (the hotel was AWESOME! Got us fast passes to anything we wanted, and got dad a free pass to the park for the last day!). We rode Peter Pan, then that was it for him as he had to go catch his flight home.
We rode a couple more things, I think, then headed back ourselves. The airport was busy, but we were ushered into a "special" line since we had the super duper oversized double mo-mamba-jamba stroller. The first plane ride was... wow. Ben screamed for most of it, and Emily cried for most of it.
The second flight was on one of those itty bitty jets, and after finally getting everybody situated, both kids were out for the majority of the flight.
Chebon picked us up, and we were finally home! Here is the final set of pictures from our trip. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Disney World Day 5
So, I didn’t want to connect for one more day of internet here, so this will come late, but better late than never, right??
This morning started around 7 again. We got up, got ready, and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the morning/afternoon. As soon as we stepped out, we realized we’d need to buy some new clothes, since the 80 some degree weather had dropped to about 40 or so it felt. Granted, there was at least one crazy family still swimming in the arctic breeze, but it was still too cold for us in our shorts. Emily already had a sweatshirt we got last night at Epcot, but Benjamin needed some extra layers, so we got him a shirt as well to wear.
When we got to Hollywood Studios, we first ran down to get fast passes for Toy Story (Per some great advice from the Powers again!) After that, Emily told us she wanted to get a picture with Goofy and Pluto! It took five days, but she was finally ready for some character action! We stood in line for about twenty minutes (freezing) before getting to them for our picture. It was then I was thankful she hadn’t warmed up to this sort of thing earlier
After meeting those guys we went to see the Disney One Man’s Dream show. It was great! Benjamin napped while we watched the show, which I loved! We then looked around for the best place to go next, and while we were waiting, Emily and I decided to try the Muppet 3d show (Okay, Emily didn’t want to; she’s learned that any time I say “3D” she knows it will be dark, loud, and stuff will come flying out at you, usually accompanied by spraying water and such) which took too long and we were late for our lunch appointment with the Little Einsteins in the Hollywood Vine Restaurant.
We got there no problem, and Emily got to meet most of the characters (she was in the bathroom during June’s appearance, which caused some distress later, but after a final wave from her she was all better), and we got to see them dance a couple of times. After seeing that restaurant I realized that Hollywood studios was.. well.. not the Magic Kingdom
After lunch, we headed over to the “shrunk the kids” playground, and Emily LOVED climbing up the huge rope “web” and back down. It was set up like a big three dimensional maze, which led you up and over and back down again. She wanted to try it by herself the second go around, and then started screaming half way up, so I got back with her, then we did it a couple more times before needing to leave to make it to the Beauty and the Beast show in time.
The show was awesome! Emily finally got to see Belle in her yellow dress, which made her day. The show was spectacular, even for Magic Kingdom standards, so at that point I just started wondering if it was maybe the restaurant and not the whole place
So, after Belle we knew we had to get back to the hotel for a nap, in order to have time to go BACK to studios for toy story (had to wait until 5 for the fast pass). We rushed back to the hotel, and two hours later when everybody finally got back up we knew we wouldn’t have time for the ride. Not much of a big deal, after so much sensory overload, one less ride wasn’t going to kill them…
Leslie got the kids all dressed up: Emily in her Cinderella outfit and Benjamin in his scare crow outfit and we headed down to the bus. After ten minutes of Benjamin screaming, we decided to have Papa Vinny watch Ben while the three of us went to the Halloween Party.
When we got to the Magic Kingdom for the party, we soon realized that every ride was completely empty, and with no lines, we could run in and out of anything we wanted, as many times as we wanted! After finding a sweatshirt for me (I finally gave in), we went for some quick trick or treating, then the Dumbo Ride. Right before the ride a “fairy godmother” came out and sprinkled Emily with Pixie Dust. For a while she wasn’t really happy at all about that one, but came around quickly when we told her that was HER fairy godmother, and she had appeared just for her! Next, while Leslie tried out the Snow White ride (to see how scary it was) Emily and I went to Small World and enjoyed it this time around. When we got back, Leslie told Emily it wasn’t too bad, so we decided to brave it. Emily did so well, she wanted to do it again when we were done, so in we went again!
More candy, some quick food, a tea cup ride with Leslie and Emily, then Buzz lightyear a few times came next. We then hurried over and did the “rocket” ride, which was awesome, before heading to the front of the castle for the fireworks show. AMAZING!
Whew! It was almost ten by that point, and Emily was fading, so we headed back to the hotel. Once back here, I went downstairs to see what we needed to do to check out, and while they were looking at my charges (I couldn’t use my room key any more at stores because we had reached our ‘limit’ – never a good sign), they realized that some of the meal plan purchases weren’t used right, so we got about $130 refunded! Always good, especially considering how much money we had hemorrhaged this trip! They were so nice they also got us some fast passes for tomorrow while we’re at the Magic Kingdom again, so that was great as well!
Now we’re back in bed, ready for our final day here at Disney World. We certainly don’t want it to end, but we’re ready to get back to our beds and home!
This morning started around 7 again. We got up, got ready, and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the morning/afternoon. As soon as we stepped out, we realized we’d need to buy some new clothes, since the 80 some degree weather had dropped to about 40 or so it felt. Granted, there was at least one crazy family still swimming in the arctic breeze, but it was still too cold for us in our shorts. Emily already had a sweatshirt we got last night at Epcot, but Benjamin needed some extra layers, so we got him a shirt as well to wear.
When we got to Hollywood Studios, we first ran down to get fast passes for Toy Story (Per some great advice from the Powers again!) After that, Emily told us she wanted to get a picture with Goofy and Pluto! It took five days, but she was finally ready for some character action! We stood in line for about twenty minutes (freezing) before getting to them for our picture. It was then I was thankful she hadn’t warmed up to this sort of thing earlier
After meeting those guys we went to see the Disney One Man’s Dream show. It was great! Benjamin napped while we watched the show, which I loved! We then looked around for the best place to go next, and while we were waiting, Emily and I decided to try the Muppet 3d show (Okay, Emily didn’t want to; she’s learned that any time I say “3D” she knows it will be dark, loud, and stuff will come flying out at you, usually accompanied by spraying water and such) which took too long and we were late for our lunch appointment with the Little Einsteins in the Hollywood Vine Restaurant.
We got there no problem, and Emily got to meet most of the characters (she was in the bathroom during June’s appearance, which caused some distress later, but after a final wave from her she was all better), and we got to see them dance a couple of times. After seeing that restaurant I realized that Hollywood studios was.. well.. not the Magic Kingdom
After lunch, we headed over to the “shrunk the kids” playground, and Emily LOVED climbing up the huge rope “web” and back down. It was set up like a big three dimensional maze, which led you up and over and back down again. She wanted to try it by herself the second go around, and then started screaming half way up, so I got back with her, then we did it a couple more times before needing to leave to make it to the Beauty and the Beast show in time.
The show was awesome! Emily finally got to see Belle in her yellow dress, which made her day. The show was spectacular, even for Magic Kingdom standards, so at that point I just started wondering if it was maybe the restaurant and not the whole place
So, after Belle we knew we had to get back to the hotel for a nap, in order to have time to go BACK to studios for toy story (had to wait until 5 for the fast pass). We rushed back to the hotel, and two hours later when everybody finally got back up we knew we wouldn’t have time for the ride. Not much of a big deal, after so much sensory overload, one less ride wasn’t going to kill them…
Leslie got the kids all dressed up: Emily in her Cinderella outfit and Benjamin in his scare crow outfit and we headed down to the bus. After ten minutes of Benjamin screaming, we decided to have Papa Vinny watch Ben while the three of us went to the Halloween Party.
When we got to the Magic Kingdom for the party, we soon realized that every ride was completely empty, and with no lines, we could run in and out of anything we wanted, as many times as we wanted! After finding a sweatshirt for me (I finally gave in), we went for some quick trick or treating, then the Dumbo Ride. Right before the ride a “fairy godmother” came out and sprinkled Emily with Pixie Dust. For a while she wasn’t really happy at all about that one, but came around quickly when we told her that was HER fairy godmother, and she had appeared just for her! Next, while Leslie tried out the Snow White ride (to see how scary it was) Emily and I went to Small World and enjoyed it this time around. When we got back, Leslie told Emily it wasn’t too bad, so we decided to brave it. Emily did so well, she wanted to do it again when we were done, so in we went again!
More candy, some quick food, a tea cup ride with Leslie and Emily, then Buzz lightyear a few times came next. We then hurried over and did the “rocket” ride, which was awesome, before heading to the front of the castle for the fireworks show. AMAZING!
Whew! It was almost ten by that point, and Emily was fading, so we headed back to the hotel. Once back here, I went downstairs to see what we needed to do to check out, and while they were looking at my charges (I couldn’t use my room key any more at stores because we had reached our ‘limit’ – never a good sign), they realized that some of the meal plan purchases weren’t used right, so we got about $130 refunded! Always good, especially considering how much money we had hemorrhaged this trip! They were so nice they also got us some fast passes for tomorrow while we’re at the Magic Kingdom again, so that was great as well!
Now we’re back in bed, ready for our final day here at Disney World. We certainly don’t want it to end, but we’re ready to get back to our beds and home!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
I knew I forgot something..
I realized in the middle of the night (yeah, I know, weird time to realize) that I missed mentioning our safari at Animal Kingdom. As best I can remember, I think we went on the safari before the nemo show. It was a lot of fun seeing all of the animals, although right in the middle of it a car ahead of us broke down, so we sat there for a bit waiting. Our big concern was that we were going to relive the Small World incident, but all was well.
Okay, that's it for now.
Okay, that's it for now.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Disney World Days 3 and 4
The problem with not having time to sit down and write these is that everything has blurred together, and I can't remember much of anything now... Let me try to piece these past two days together.
Yesterday was Animal Kingdom day. We began the day being able to sleep in, which was around 7 or so.. We got up, got ready, and headed out. When we got there, the first place we decided to try was the first show of the Lion King. As we got there (45 minutes early) not a person was in site, so we played on the stairs (see video I posted yesterday morning). While we were playing around on those steps, one of the Disney workers started chatting with us. Leslie took Emily to the bathroom, and while they were gone, Benjamin in all of his cuteness (a rare moment.. :) smiled at the worker. Shortly after, she asked if we wanted to be the "VIP Family" for the show.
Now, any other family would have jumped at this without hesitation. However, I knew better.. "Yeah, so, we'd love to.. but.. what exactly does that mean?"
"..."
"Right, well, does that mean you talk to her during the show? As her any questions? Stand her up? Give her anything? Look in her general direction from anywhere closer than sixty yards?"
"... Well, you get to go in first and sit on the front row."
"That's it?"
"... Uh, yeah." (I could tell she was sorry she asked in the first place at this point."
"Great! We're in! But remember all that other stuff, none of that then, okay? Great."
So in we went early. One of the videos posted should show us going in, if you get a chance to see it. The show started, and instead of asking Emily anything, they asked me to get up and snort like a warthog in front of our group. Enjoyable to me, still freaked Emily out.
The rest of the show was unbelievable. Dancing, singing, and Simba was there! Emily was especially impressed at Simba's ability to dance and sing.
After the show it was time for the Rainforest Cafe, so we headed down there. I've realized in my old age that the Rainforest Cafe doesn't hold near as much enjoyment to me as it once did, but oh well, at least the monkey's made noise and all.. Nothing like a $42 cheeseburger to brighten your day.
After that we decided to venture through the "Tough to be a bug" show. Yet another wonderful mistake in the sea of many this trip.. The torture began when the theater was engulfed with smoke, the lights went out, the seats started spraying us with something, and spiders came down from the ceiling. Don't remember it being near that terrifying the last time through, but let me tell you, good times there for a 5 year old and 16 month old!
Surviving that adventure, we headed over to the Nemo musical. This one was tremendous as well, Not quite the stream of tears achieved at the Lion King, but certainly a constant mist. Every event or show we see here continually reminds me of how well things are done here at Disney World. It seems that every moment of every day is planned and designed to be bigger than life, and it scores every time.
After the Musical, Papa Vinny arrived! We found him at the front, then headed back inside for more fun. At this point in the day, now that I look back on it, is where we should have packed up and headed back for a nap. Instead, the series of events that unfolded after led to total physical and mental breakdowns, unmatched by most I've seen, ever.. anywhere..
With Papa Vinny we started by finding a spot for the Animal Kingdom parade. This was about 40 minutes of waiting on the side of the road, and while the parade was wonderful, it took a toll on both kids, who were visibly worn by the end. Did we head back then? Oh no, it was still time to press on, as we wanted to listen to everybody who had told us to push on, at all costs!!!! Well, it cost us alright.. :)
Now that Papa Vinny was able to lend a hand, we decided to take Emily on the Rapids! About ten steps from the line, Emily fell and busted her knee. Stop there, nah... why at this point would we? We carried her to the boat and threw her on with us. Before the ride began Leslie, with her amazing packing skills (and the Power's great help by loaning us some) whipped out Panchos for us. Me? Pancho? Are you kidding? That hot nasty thing will just stick to me, and I won't get wet anyway.. Oops.
Emily, while enjoying the ride as best she could in her almost-coma-stupor was still in agony over the whole knee thing, so we decided THEN to head back for a nap. So, we loaded up, got back to the hotel, and took an hour nap before getting back up to head to Epcot for dinner and the fireworks.
As bad as the decisions before were to press on, the moment we decided to wake both children at 6 PM and drag them both back to the park will take the cake for this trip's mistakomatic prize. They were MISERABLE from the second they got up from their beds. Papa Vinny was nice enough to play along as we dragged them onto the bus, into Epcot and over to the Biergarten restaurant in Germany. I had managed to get reservations at the last minute for it, and it was a great place, so we tried for it. I think I had about three bites total that meal, and we were all pretty miserable throughout the entire meal. My favorite part of that meal was that Emily wanted so very much to be excited, she kept asking me to go dance with her with the polka music. I'd get excited with her, and we'd head down to the floor. She'd get down, dance about three steps, realize how extraordinarily exhausted she was, and just collapse in a heap of crying, jumbled goo. I'd scrape her off the floor and head back to our seat... two times we did this, then it was time for me to go. I took her outside and kept her almost calm while we waited for the rest of the family.
So, another great mistake in this long line was me not remembering the FIRE in this fireworks extravaganza. Have I mentioned how much Emily is scared to death of fire? Yeah, so you can imagine the outcome of that one. We got out of there as quick as we could, got back on the bus, and back to bed. Whew.
Now, this morning we got up around 8. Emily could barely hold her excitement as Leslie got her hair ready for breakfast with the princesses! We got dressed, and headed out, just the three of us, while Papa Vinny stayed back with Benjamin. I cannot imagine how we would have survived this morning with Benjamin with us, so for every attempt for me to keep Papa Vinny away, telling him we wouldn't need his help... This morning, and being able to spend it with Emily and not having to worry about Benjamin, made this trip the trip of a lifetime.
We got to the castle and checked in, only to find out we still had about 20 minutes to wait before we could go in. We decided to shop for a bit, and as we turned the corner in the back of the castle we ran right into Fairy Godmother! At this moment Emily turned a corner in the whole "No pictures, no way" attitude and wanted a picture with Fairy Godmother, so up we went! It was wonderful! As soon as we were done, it was time for breakfast.
We went in, and the first room, as soon as we entered, we saw Cinderella! She was waiting to get pictures with all the little princesses, so we got in line. I tried to hold both the still camera and the video camera as Emily got up to her, which wouldn't have been too much of a problem, other than the fact I couldn't see a thing with all the tears filling up my eyes and streaming down my face. I still haven't looked the pics/vids, so hopefully they turned out.
As if that wasn't magical enough, we then went up the castle tower to the breakfast room, and while we were eating, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Jasmine all came up to spend time with Emily! There was one moment I wish I would have been ready with the camera for, but missed entirely. Emily had leaned back in her chair, her cheek against the back, and her eyes showed complete and utter contentment and enjoyment. I've never seen a look quite like it in Emily in her entire life, and watching her react to those Princesses was one of the most magical moments I've ever seen.
We finished up, walked downstairs back to the room where Cinderella was, and noticed that while the room was now empty, her chair was still there. We decided to sneak on it and take a couple quick pics :)
On our way out and back to the hotel there was another parade, so we watched that for a bit, but Emily was too interested in "some shopping" so we went to the Emporium and picked up some princess figures, which she kept two of for the remainder of the day.
We got back to the hotel and were treated to lunch from Papa Vinny, then back out to see the Disney World Parade (the REAL parade as Leslie likes to call it.. not this party parade stuff we'd been seeing).
We got back to the Magic Kingdom, and waited for the parade at the entrance. As if we hadn't had enough crying already, here came all of the characters around again, dancing, singing, smiling and waving at Emily. She'd scream at them, hoping for a glance or a wave, and when she got one, her eyes would light up and she'd jump around with excitement... It was almost too much to handle!
Leslie had been looking for a Woody Doll for Benjamin, so after the parade we headed over to the only place we thought we'd find one, Frontier land. Sure enough, we found a great one, and his reaction to getting that was about as magical as seeing Emily's reaction at breakfast. It was nice to finally see him not so oblivious to everything going on around him!
Ugh, lots to tell in this post.. Getting tired.. Must press on! Anyway, after the doll we stayed around for a show in front of the big castle, then headed on to the monorail to Epcot.
Now, at the end of breakfast this morning, Emily and Leslie went back to the hotel, and I decided it was time to try to get a fast pass to "Soarin" over at Epcot, and maybe we could get back there later. So, I got to Epcot, only to realize I had given Leslie's and Emily's tickets back to them, so I couldn't get fast passes for them. I decided to try guest services in the hopes that I could work something out, and wouldn't you know it, yet ANOTHER person working here who was willing to do ANYTHING to make sure we were having the time of our lives! He made two new id's for Leslie and Emily, so I could use them on the fast pass!! I ran over there, swiped them, and had our tickets for later!
Now, back to Epcot at night. We got there around 6:30, and while Papa Vinny and Benjamin went on the boat ride near Soarin, Leslie, myself and Emily headed into the big ride. We ended up next to a very nice family who we chatted with for a while who knew EVERYTHING there is to know about Disney World (they have the 800 buck year passses...), and took their advice to get on the front row. It was worth it! The best part was that when we were done, the family showed us their "special" pass to get them in the ride without waiting again! So Emily and I took them up on it.
After the second ride it was getting late.. again.. so we ran over to the mexican restaurant we ate the last time we were there and managed to eat just before the fireworks again tonight. Both kids were about to pass out (Benjamin already had) so we got back on the bus and headed back to the room.
Whew! I left out a lot, but that's all I can muster for now. Just two more days!
Yesterday was Animal Kingdom day. We began the day being able to sleep in, which was around 7 or so.. We got up, got ready, and headed out. When we got there, the first place we decided to try was the first show of the Lion King. As we got there (45 minutes early) not a person was in site, so we played on the stairs (see video I posted yesterday morning). While we were playing around on those steps, one of the Disney workers started chatting with us. Leslie took Emily to the bathroom, and while they were gone, Benjamin in all of his cuteness (a rare moment.. :) smiled at the worker. Shortly after, she asked if we wanted to be the "VIP Family" for the show.
Now, any other family would have jumped at this without hesitation. However, I knew better.. "Yeah, so, we'd love to.. but.. what exactly does that mean?"
"..."
"Right, well, does that mean you talk to her during the show? As her any questions? Stand her up? Give her anything? Look in her general direction from anywhere closer than sixty yards?"
"... Well, you get to go in first and sit on the front row."
"That's it?"
"... Uh, yeah." (I could tell she was sorry she asked in the first place at this point."
"Great! We're in! But remember all that other stuff, none of that then, okay? Great."
So in we went early. One of the videos posted should show us going in, if you get a chance to see it. The show started, and instead of asking Emily anything, they asked me to get up and snort like a warthog in front of our group. Enjoyable to me, still freaked Emily out.
The rest of the show was unbelievable. Dancing, singing, and Simba was there! Emily was especially impressed at Simba's ability to dance and sing.
After the show it was time for the Rainforest Cafe, so we headed down there. I've realized in my old age that the Rainforest Cafe doesn't hold near as much enjoyment to me as it once did, but oh well, at least the monkey's made noise and all.. Nothing like a $42 cheeseburger to brighten your day.
After that we decided to venture through the "Tough to be a bug" show. Yet another wonderful mistake in the sea of many this trip.. The torture began when the theater was engulfed with smoke, the lights went out, the seats started spraying us with something, and spiders came down from the ceiling. Don't remember it being near that terrifying the last time through, but let me tell you, good times there for a 5 year old and 16 month old!
Surviving that adventure, we headed over to the Nemo musical. This one was tremendous as well, Not quite the stream of tears achieved at the Lion King, but certainly a constant mist. Every event or show we see here continually reminds me of how well things are done here at Disney World. It seems that every moment of every day is planned and designed to be bigger than life, and it scores every time.
After the Musical, Papa Vinny arrived! We found him at the front, then headed back inside for more fun. At this point in the day, now that I look back on it, is where we should have packed up and headed back for a nap. Instead, the series of events that unfolded after led to total physical and mental breakdowns, unmatched by most I've seen, ever.. anywhere..
With Papa Vinny we started by finding a spot for the Animal Kingdom parade. This was about 40 minutes of waiting on the side of the road, and while the parade was wonderful, it took a toll on both kids, who were visibly worn by the end. Did we head back then? Oh no, it was still time to press on, as we wanted to listen to everybody who had told us to push on, at all costs!!!! Well, it cost us alright.. :)
Now that Papa Vinny was able to lend a hand, we decided to take Emily on the Rapids! About ten steps from the line, Emily fell and busted her knee. Stop there, nah... why at this point would we? We carried her to the boat and threw her on with us. Before the ride began Leslie, with her amazing packing skills (and the Power's great help by loaning us some) whipped out Panchos for us. Me? Pancho? Are you kidding? That hot nasty thing will just stick to me, and I won't get wet anyway.. Oops.
Emily, while enjoying the ride as best she could in her almost-coma-stupor was still in agony over the whole knee thing, so we decided THEN to head back for a nap. So, we loaded up, got back to the hotel, and took an hour nap before getting back up to head to Epcot for dinner and the fireworks.
As bad as the decisions before were to press on, the moment we decided to wake both children at 6 PM and drag them both back to the park will take the cake for this trip's mistakomatic prize. They were MISERABLE from the second they got up from their beds. Papa Vinny was nice enough to play along as we dragged them onto the bus, into Epcot and over to the Biergarten restaurant in Germany. I had managed to get reservations at the last minute for it, and it was a great place, so we tried for it. I think I had about three bites total that meal, and we were all pretty miserable throughout the entire meal. My favorite part of that meal was that Emily wanted so very much to be excited, she kept asking me to go dance with her with the polka music. I'd get excited with her, and we'd head down to the floor. She'd get down, dance about three steps, realize how extraordinarily exhausted she was, and just collapse in a heap of crying, jumbled goo. I'd scrape her off the floor and head back to our seat... two times we did this, then it was time for me to go. I took her outside and kept her almost calm while we waited for the rest of the family.
So, another great mistake in this long line was me not remembering the FIRE in this fireworks extravaganza. Have I mentioned how much Emily is scared to death of fire? Yeah, so you can imagine the outcome of that one. We got out of there as quick as we could, got back on the bus, and back to bed. Whew.
Now, this morning we got up around 8. Emily could barely hold her excitement as Leslie got her hair ready for breakfast with the princesses! We got dressed, and headed out, just the three of us, while Papa Vinny stayed back with Benjamin. I cannot imagine how we would have survived this morning with Benjamin with us, so for every attempt for me to keep Papa Vinny away, telling him we wouldn't need his help... This morning, and being able to spend it with Emily and not having to worry about Benjamin, made this trip the trip of a lifetime.
We got to the castle and checked in, only to find out we still had about 20 minutes to wait before we could go in. We decided to shop for a bit, and as we turned the corner in the back of the castle we ran right into Fairy Godmother! At this moment Emily turned a corner in the whole "No pictures, no way" attitude and wanted a picture with Fairy Godmother, so up we went! It was wonderful! As soon as we were done, it was time for breakfast.
We went in, and the first room, as soon as we entered, we saw Cinderella! She was waiting to get pictures with all the little princesses, so we got in line. I tried to hold both the still camera and the video camera as Emily got up to her, which wouldn't have been too much of a problem, other than the fact I couldn't see a thing with all the tears filling up my eyes and streaming down my face. I still haven't looked the pics/vids, so hopefully they turned out.
As if that wasn't magical enough, we then went up the castle tower to the breakfast room, and while we were eating, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Jasmine all came up to spend time with Emily! There was one moment I wish I would have been ready with the camera for, but missed entirely. Emily had leaned back in her chair, her cheek against the back, and her eyes showed complete and utter contentment and enjoyment. I've never seen a look quite like it in Emily in her entire life, and watching her react to those Princesses was one of the most magical moments I've ever seen.
We finished up, walked downstairs back to the room where Cinderella was, and noticed that while the room was now empty, her chair was still there. We decided to sneak on it and take a couple quick pics :)
On our way out and back to the hotel there was another parade, so we watched that for a bit, but Emily was too interested in "some shopping" so we went to the Emporium and picked up some princess figures, which she kept two of for the remainder of the day.
We got back to the hotel and were treated to lunch from Papa Vinny, then back out to see the Disney World Parade (the REAL parade as Leslie likes to call it.. not this party parade stuff we'd been seeing).
We got back to the Magic Kingdom, and waited for the parade at the entrance. As if we hadn't had enough crying already, here came all of the characters around again, dancing, singing, smiling and waving at Emily. She'd scream at them, hoping for a glance or a wave, and when she got one, her eyes would light up and she'd jump around with excitement... It was almost too much to handle!
Leslie had been looking for a Woody Doll for Benjamin, so after the parade we headed over to the only place we thought we'd find one, Frontier land. Sure enough, we found a great one, and his reaction to getting that was about as magical as seeing Emily's reaction at breakfast. It was nice to finally see him not so oblivious to everything going on around him!
Ugh, lots to tell in this post.. Getting tired.. Must press on! Anyway, after the doll we stayed around for a show in front of the big castle, then headed on to the monorail to Epcot.
Now, at the end of breakfast this morning, Emily and Leslie went back to the hotel, and I decided it was time to try to get a fast pass to "Soarin" over at Epcot, and maybe we could get back there later. So, I got to Epcot, only to realize I had given Leslie's and Emily's tickets back to them, so I couldn't get fast passes for them. I decided to try guest services in the hopes that I could work something out, and wouldn't you know it, yet ANOTHER person working here who was willing to do ANYTHING to make sure we were having the time of our lives! He made two new id's for Leslie and Emily, so I could use them on the fast pass!! I ran over there, swiped them, and had our tickets for later!
Now, back to Epcot at night. We got there around 6:30, and while Papa Vinny and Benjamin went on the boat ride near Soarin, Leslie, myself and Emily headed into the big ride. We ended up next to a very nice family who we chatted with for a while who knew EVERYTHING there is to know about Disney World (they have the 800 buck year passses...), and took their advice to get on the front row. It was worth it! The best part was that when we were done, the family showed us their "special" pass to get them in the ride without waiting again! So Emily and I took them up on it.
After the second ride it was getting late.. again.. so we ran over to the mexican restaurant we ate the last time we were there and managed to eat just before the fireworks again tonight. Both kids were about to pass out (Benjamin already had) so we got back on the bus and headed back to the room.
Whew! I left out a lot, but that's all I can muster for now. Just two more days!
Emily's Princess Breakfast!
No time to write again, but here are the pics and videos from this morning! It was by far the best part of the trip so far! For those of you viewing notes on facebook, just head over to my picasa albums to view them. Thanks!
Disney World Day 3 - Part 1
No time to talk, so here is the latest batch of photos/movies. It'll be uploading for a while, so come back often. Sorry I'm dumping all the stuff in the same folder, but you can take a look at the new ones here:
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Disney World Day 2
When we got back to the Magic Kingdom this evening, it was almost 6, so we only had about an hour left to do stuff. We rushed over and got to ride the Pooh ride, and then squeaked out one more Buzz Lightyear ride as well. By then it was 7, and time to go.
We got back on the bus, came back to the hotel, Emily had a moment to herself in the bathroom (and had a much springier step afterward...), and then we ate dinner downstairs. After dinner came what seems to be so far the best part of the trip: swimming! Emily and I swam in the "little" pool (while the big one was under maintenance), then in the big pool for about a half hour. I dreaded asking her after we were done, because I really didn't want to hear the answer, but I asked what her favorite part so far of today had been. She replied the Pooh ride. Whew :) Nothing like coming out to Florida for the trip of a lifetime and having her tell me the pool was her favorite part!
My best moment of the trip so far? That's easy: while we were eating lunch and Leslie had to take Benjamin to the bathroom, Emily looked at me and said, "Daddy, when people don't know me here... they call me Princess."
"That's because they know you are one" I replied. She smiled and went back to eating. Now I just can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
We got back on the bus, came back to the hotel, Emily had a moment to herself in the bathroom (and had a much springier step afterward...), and then we ate dinner downstairs. After dinner came what seems to be so far the best part of the trip: swimming! Emily and I swam in the "little" pool (while the big one was under maintenance), then in the big pool for about a half hour. I dreaded asking her after we were done, because I really didn't want to hear the answer, but I asked what her favorite part so far of today had been. She replied the Pooh ride. Whew :) Nothing like coming out to Florida for the trip of a lifetime and having her tell me the pool was her favorite part!
My best moment of the trip so far? That's easy: while we were eating lunch and Leslie had to take Benjamin to the bathroom, Emily looked at me and said, "Daddy, when people don't know me here... they call me Princess."
"That's because they know you are one" I replied. She smiled and went back to eating. Now I just can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Disney World Day 1.5
We're getting ready to head back to the Magic Kingdom (been raining for a WHILE now..), but I had a second so I thought I would put up the slideshow of what we've done so far. Lots of movies in this, so make sure you click on any of these pictures to take you to the picasa album with all the movies there.
A brief recap of the day:
We woke up pretty early, and made it out just in time to see the Disney Characters on the Magic Kingdom train welcome us to the park! Emily loved it, and Leslie (okay, me too) were crying through the whole thing! Once in, we made it from ride to ride, spending no more than 10 minutes in line!! Before any rides we headed into the hat shop and got ears for the kids, with their names on them. Benjamin's started as "Benjamim" so we had to come back later for that one. Characters were out and available, but Emily decided to keep her distance for the most part.
We started with the haunted mansion. Yeah, not so great of an idea. While it was fun to go through, it seemed like a never ending nightmare for Emily. Benjamin was pretty oblivious. Next we headed out and made our way to ride Dumbo, which was nice, then over to Small World. We didn't get to enjoy that too much, as about thirty seconds into it Emily had to go pee pee, and was in agony for 99% of the ride (including the rest of us! Well, Benjamin was oblivious.. )
Next we rode the Dumbo ride, which was a lot of fun, then made it to the Mickey's Philharmagic which was great for us, but Emily didn't like the loud surprises too much (Benjamin was.. well, you get it). After a quick bite to eat we made it to Peter Pan, which everybody LOVED, then to Buzz Lightyear, which we rode twice in a row (no lines!!!) and everybody SUPER LOVED that one!
Lunch at Tony's was next, which was a great meal, but half way through Emily started to complain of needing to go to the bathroom, which has brought on tummy aches etc for the remainder of the afternoon..
Before we headed out back to the hotel, we noticed some music in the street, so decided to investigate. As we got closer, we realized it was a dance party, with ALL the characters, right there in the middle of main street, and everybody was welcome to get right up next to them and dance with them! Emily LOVED that, and again, I was back there filming (and crying!!!)
So, sorry if this was jumbled, been writing quick so we can get out of here back to the park. Will get back later, but until then, enjoy the pics and movies!
A brief recap of the day:
We woke up pretty early, and made it out just in time to see the Disney Characters on the Magic Kingdom train welcome us to the park! Emily loved it, and Leslie (okay, me too) were crying through the whole thing! Once in, we made it from ride to ride, spending no more than 10 minutes in line!! Before any rides we headed into the hat shop and got ears for the kids, with their names on them. Benjamin's started as "Benjamim" so we had to come back later for that one. Characters were out and available, but Emily decided to keep her distance for the most part.
We started with the haunted mansion. Yeah, not so great of an idea. While it was fun to go through, it seemed like a never ending nightmare for Emily. Benjamin was pretty oblivious. Next we headed out and made our way to ride Dumbo, which was nice, then over to Small World. We didn't get to enjoy that too much, as about thirty seconds into it Emily had to go pee pee, and was in agony for 99% of the ride (including the rest of us! Well, Benjamin was oblivious.. )
Next we rode the Dumbo ride, which was a lot of fun, then made it to the Mickey's Philharmagic which was great for us, but Emily didn't like the loud surprises too much (Benjamin was.. well, you get it). After a quick bite to eat we made it to Peter Pan, which everybody LOVED, then to Buzz Lightyear, which we rode twice in a row (no lines!!!) and everybody SUPER LOVED that one!
Lunch at Tony's was next, which was a great meal, but half way through Emily started to complain of needing to go to the bathroom, which has brought on tummy aches etc for the remainder of the afternoon..
Before we headed out back to the hotel, we noticed some music in the street, so decided to investigate. As we got closer, we realized it was a dance party, with ALL the characters, right there in the middle of main street, and everybody was welcome to get right up next to them and dance with them! Emily LOVED that, and again, I was back there filming (and crying!!!)
So, sorry if this was jumbled, been writing quick so we can get out of here back to the park. Will get back later, but until then, enjoy the pics and movies!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Disney World Day 1
What. A. Day!!!
It started at 3:45 this morning when my alarm went off. I quickly showered, called Chebon (I still don't get why he was willing to come and do this for us, but I can't thank you enough Chebon!!), offered to "re-call" him if I needed to, then started getting my stuff together. Of course, Leslie had been packing for the past two weeks, and had taken care of EVERYTHING (more with that later), but my incidentals needed packing, so I was rushing to get that done, seeing that I waited (as usual) until the last moment to get that stuff packed.
Leslie got up shortly after. While I was in the garage cleaning out the Escape to take to the airport, I see a blur whiz by from my view down the hall into our room, followed by a lot of giggling. Emily was up, and ready! Benjamin, well, not so much..
Chebon got there, we loaded up the Escape, and headed to the airport. Other than me missing the 240 exchange, that went uneventfully.
We got in to the airport, check-in went well, then came the security checkpoint. First, Emily refused to walk through the detector alone, and started throwing a serious fit, so the nice armed guard allowed Leslie to hold her while they went through. I had Benjamin, and right before I stepped through, I double checked my container with all my stuff: Phone, Wallet, Belt, Camera, Camera (yes, two), whatever else I had, all good, so through we went. Alarm.. Okie Dokie, back we go through, and again.. alarm. We did that dance about three times before I reached back in my back pocket and realized I still had Emily's iPhone in my pocket... I guess that's what I get for making sure Emily has an iPhone :)
Then came airplane time. I can't tell you now what I was more concerned with: Benjamin's behavior or my sudden onset of 24 year old angst and deathly fear of flying. We got started, and managed to make it through the first leg of our flight pumping Benjamin full of suckers, fruit snacks, apple chips, drinks, reading books, playing with toys, etc... Which leads me to my next part of this story... the HERO of this entire trip, my wife.
EVERY moment of that airplane trip was thought of in advance... Backup plans had already been thought of, and redundancies were all prepared. I could not believe the efficiency of how Leslie moved from food item to food item, prepared for what problems each item would cause.. Suckers, gottem. As soon as the sucker came out and put in Ben's mouth, an extra baggie for the trash came with it, a bib came around his shirt to protect it, and some wipes came shortly after to take care of the sticky hands. I sat there (while clutching the arms of my chairs with a grip unknown to many humans) wondering what this trip would have looked like had I taken care of the packing.. Yeah, you're there with me, no words can really give that one justice for you either, huh? Yeah..
We landed in Houston, and I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. First, we had survived the trip, which was a big bonus in my world. Second, Benjamin did really well, considering how he normally is (creature from the black lagoon, king kong, with a dash of the Tasmanian devil rolled into one). We were just off the plane when Leslie mentioned something about the tire on the stroller. Before I could even figure out what she was saying, I heard a gunshot like noise that echoed throughout the ENTIRE airport. In slow motion, my brain processed these thoughts:
- Everybody is completely still in this airport... I mean.. EVERYBODY.
- Nobody looks like they're shooting, so that's a good sign..
- What could that sound have been? I know everybody else in this place is thinking the same thing..
- What was Leslie saying about that tire... uh...oh.
"Sorry folks, just a tire!" I yell as I am pulled away riding the auto-floor mover thingy with Emily, watching Leslie look at me... well, you can imagine that look.
So, now the great stroller is pretty well useless. We made it through the second leg of our flight about the same, save some pretty serious complaints from Emily about her ears on the way down. When we got to Orlando, and after we realized we had gone to the wrong side of the airport for the shuttle (add 30 minutes to the already long morning), Emily says that she sounds funny when she talks. It didn't take me long to start working out what that meant: broken eardrum. While ignoring (as usual) Leslie's comments for me to calm down, I'm firing off texts to Kyle about signs of ruptured eardrum, while simultaneously researching it on my iPhone. After some good advice from Kyle (chill, give it some time), I was still convinced we'd be spending our first day in Orlando in the emergency room, until while we were on the bus heading to Epcot, something popped and Emily yelled, "Aaaaaaaaah!! My voice sounds normal again!" Whew, crisis averted (as if there was really ever one to begin with? Hey, at least I recognize it, that's a step, right?)
We arrived at Epcot around 3 or so. We started with the Spaceship Earth ride, which had ZERO line in it!!! This was a good sign of things to come! Emily freaked for the first second or so, but quickly eased into it, and loved it. We then rushed to our next ride and hopped on the land ride (next to Soaring, which we never got to do because of wait times, and they weren't accepting fast passes.. blah), then made it over to the nemo ride, then to the imagination ride (Emily freaked at the end of that one, little shocker) then over to the Honey I Shrunk The Audience.. Oops on that one, forgot about the lions, snakes, loud noises, etc., but she did... about as good as could be expected with all that stuff flying out at you in 3D.
By then it was close to 7 Florida time. There was some SERIOUS wear on their faces/bodies, so we made it to the countries to try to find something to eat. I was hoping to make it until 9, but after dinner, and squeezing one more land ride out of them, it was clearly time to go. Benjamin had made it the entire day with zero naps (usually two) as well as Emily, and there was no way we could wait another minute for the fireworks show. Oh well, perhaps our next trip :)
They both were out on the bus ride back to the hotel, and now we're back, kids asleep (Emily almost...) and I'm trying to sum up as best I can our first day.
Leslie told me about half way through this post that we'd need to be leaving tomorrow morning at 7AM, which is why my embellishments ceased at a clear point up above, as I'm trying to get through this as quickly as possible to get myself some rest before the Magic Kingdom tomorrow!
Thanks to Chebon for the help this morning, and to Michelle for the great travel plans (Destinations Unlimited.. Everybody should use!!!) and Michael Powers for the great advice on the outdoor Mexican food (Sorry Michael, should not have doubted your abilities to be able to tell me precisely where "Mexico" was at Epcot, you are truly they Yoda of Disney), and to everybody else for all the continued help. Pictures, videos and more posts to follow, so check me on twitter and facebook for more tomorrow.
Happy Disney Day everybody!
It started at 3:45 this morning when my alarm went off. I quickly showered, called Chebon (I still don't get why he was willing to come and do this for us, but I can't thank you enough Chebon!!), offered to "re-call" him if I needed to, then started getting my stuff together. Of course, Leslie had been packing for the past two weeks, and had taken care of EVERYTHING (more with that later), but my incidentals needed packing, so I was rushing to get that done, seeing that I waited (as usual) until the last moment to get that stuff packed.
Leslie got up shortly after. While I was in the garage cleaning out the Escape to take to the airport, I see a blur whiz by from my view down the hall into our room, followed by a lot of giggling. Emily was up, and ready! Benjamin, well, not so much..
Chebon got there, we loaded up the Escape, and headed to the airport. Other than me missing the 240 exchange, that went uneventfully.
We got in to the airport, check-in went well, then came the security checkpoint. First, Emily refused to walk through the detector alone, and started throwing a serious fit, so the nice armed guard allowed Leslie to hold her while they went through. I had Benjamin, and right before I stepped through, I double checked my container with all my stuff: Phone, Wallet, Belt, Camera, Camera (yes, two), whatever else I had, all good, so through we went. Alarm.. Okie Dokie, back we go through, and again.. alarm. We did that dance about three times before I reached back in my back pocket and realized I still had Emily's iPhone in my pocket... I guess that's what I get for making sure Emily has an iPhone :)
Then came airplane time. I can't tell you now what I was more concerned with: Benjamin's behavior or my sudden onset of 24 year old angst and deathly fear of flying. We got started, and managed to make it through the first leg of our flight pumping Benjamin full of suckers, fruit snacks, apple chips, drinks, reading books, playing with toys, etc... Which leads me to my next part of this story... the HERO of this entire trip, my wife.
EVERY moment of that airplane trip was thought of in advance... Backup plans had already been thought of, and redundancies were all prepared. I could not believe the efficiency of how Leslie moved from food item to food item, prepared for what problems each item would cause.. Suckers, gottem. As soon as the sucker came out and put in Ben's mouth, an extra baggie for the trash came with it, a bib came around his shirt to protect it, and some wipes came shortly after to take care of the sticky hands. I sat there (while clutching the arms of my chairs with a grip unknown to many humans) wondering what this trip would have looked like had I taken care of the packing.. Yeah, you're there with me, no words can really give that one justice for you either, huh? Yeah..
We landed in Houston, and I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. First, we had survived the trip, which was a big bonus in my world. Second, Benjamin did really well, considering how he normally is (creature from the black lagoon, king kong, with a dash of the Tasmanian devil rolled into one). We were just off the plane when Leslie mentioned something about the tire on the stroller. Before I could even figure out what she was saying, I heard a gunshot like noise that echoed throughout the ENTIRE airport. In slow motion, my brain processed these thoughts:
- Everybody is completely still in this airport... I mean.. EVERYBODY.
- Nobody looks like they're shooting, so that's a good sign..
- What could that sound have been? I know everybody else in this place is thinking the same thing..
- What was Leslie saying about that tire... uh...oh.
"Sorry folks, just a tire!" I yell as I am pulled away riding the auto-floor mover thingy with Emily, watching Leslie look at me... well, you can imagine that look.
So, now the great stroller is pretty well useless. We made it through the second leg of our flight about the same, save some pretty serious complaints from Emily about her ears on the way down. When we got to Orlando, and after we realized we had gone to the wrong side of the airport for the shuttle (add 30 minutes to the already long morning), Emily says that she sounds funny when she talks. It didn't take me long to start working out what that meant: broken eardrum. While ignoring (as usual) Leslie's comments for me to calm down, I'm firing off texts to Kyle about signs of ruptured eardrum, while simultaneously researching it on my iPhone. After some good advice from Kyle (chill, give it some time), I was still convinced we'd be spending our first day in Orlando in the emergency room, until while we were on the bus heading to Epcot, something popped and Emily yelled, "Aaaaaaaaah!! My voice sounds normal again!" Whew, crisis averted (as if there was really ever one to begin with? Hey, at least I recognize it, that's a step, right?)
We arrived at Epcot around 3 or so. We started with the Spaceship Earth ride, which had ZERO line in it!!! This was a good sign of things to come! Emily freaked for the first second or so, but quickly eased into it, and loved it. We then rushed to our next ride and hopped on the land ride (next to Soaring, which we never got to do because of wait times, and they weren't accepting fast passes.. blah), then made it over to the nemo ride, then to the imagination ride (Emily freaked at the end of that one, little shocker) then over to the Honey I Shrunk The Audience.. Oops on that one, forgot about the lions, snakes, loud noises, etc., but she did... about as good as could be expected with all that stuff flying out at you in 3D.
By then it was close to 7 Florida time. There was some SERIOUS wear on their faces/bodies, so we made it to the countries to try to find something to eat. I was hoping to make it until 9, but after dinner, and squeezing one more land ride out of them, it was clearly time to go. Benjamin had made it the entire day with zero naps (usually two) as well as Emily, and there was no way we could wait another minute for the fireworks show. Oh well, perhaps our next trip :)
They both were out on the bus ride back to the hotel, and now we're back, kids asleep (Emily almost...) and I'm trying to sum up as best I can our first day.
Leslie told me about half way through this post that we'd need to be leaving tomorrow morning at 7AM, which is why my embellishments ceased at a clear point up above, as I'm trying to get through this as quickly as possible to get myself some rest before the Magic Kingdom tomorrow!
Thanks to Chebon for the help this morning, and to Michelle for the great travel plans (Destinations Unlimited.. Everybody should use!!!) and Michael Powers for the great advice on the outdoor Mexican food (Sorry Michael, should not have doubted your abilities to be able to tell me precisely where "Mexico" was at Epcot, you are truly they Yoda of Disney), and to everybody else for all the continued help. Pictures, videos and more posts to follow, so check me on twitter and facebook for more tomorrow.
Happy Disney Day everybody!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Hello. Here I am. I'm testing . . .
"Hello. Here I am. I'm testing out a new way to blog so. Ok this works. Bye bye for now"
'QuickVoice Email – spoken through SpinVox'
Monday, June 29, 2009
6/29/09
Emily is anxiously awaiting the 4th this Saturday. I'm trying to convince her/everybody that we should go to the park this year (last year the best we could do was outside my mom's house and watch it from the museum), I'm hoping I'll win. As for Benjamin, I'm not too sure about that one, but we'll see.
It's funny to see yet another difference in the way I'm handling Benjamin vs. Emily when thinking about fireworks. I remember when Emily was one, there wasn't even a conversation about taking her out, because it was so much after her bedtime. With Benjamin, the only concern I have is whether or not it's worth putting up with his screaming.. Maybe if I cared more about things like bedtime with him, he'd scream less.. hmmm..
Emily can now stroll into the computer room, turn on either computer, log in as herself, start up her web browser, and entertain herself for as long as she wants. As I sat here writing this, I watched her leave the computer room (didn't even really acknowledge I was sitting here on the couch), walk into the kitchen, grab a bowl, get some crackers, put the crackers back in the pantry... then rethink the whole thing, put everything back, grab a popsicle and sat down to enjoy it. I wondered what it would be like when she reached this point, and more than excitement, I'm starting to worry at how fast this is all going.. I fear I'll blink and she'll be off to college.
I've found new ways to worry about Benjamin lately, but before I write about those, I'll catch you up to how I've progressed: something wrong before birth, deaf, deaf some more, autistic, some other huge problem that I can't remember, and now.. He won't ever speak.
So, we went in for our year appointment a while ago, and the doctor asked how many words he could say. Compounded with the grandson of a freind of mine around the same age speaking in about ten different languages, that was enough to send me over the edge with that worry. The doctor explained that the main thing she will be looking for is understanding, not so much words. Yeah, sure.
Well, if all that is true, I think we're getting somewhere. In the past week or so, we've noticed Ben understanding quite a bit. Now we can say things like, "Let's go outside" or "let's change your diaper" or "put your passy in your bed" and he knows exactly what we're saying. If we ask him if he wants to go outside, he'll stretch his arm out as far as it can go and let it lead him to the back door, as if it were pulling him there (all while giggling).
So, we can't say mom, dad (and mean it, at least), and can't really find our nose, eyes, whatever, he sure is getting the stuff that matters to him :)
I'm off to play with Emily in the backyard before she grows another ten years or so without me noticing.
It's funny to see yet another difference in the way I'm handling Benjamin vs. Emily when thinking about fireworks. I remember when Emily was one, there wasn't even a conversation about taking her out, because it was so much after her bedtime. With Benjamin, the only concern I have is whether or not it's worth putting up with his screaming.. Maybe if I cared more about things like bedtime with him, he'd scream less.. hmmm..
Emily can now stroll into the computer room, turn on either computer, log in as herself, start up her web browser, and entertain herself for as long as she wants. As I sat here writing this, I watched her leave the computer room (didn't even really acknowledge I was sitting here on the couch), walk into the kitchen, grab a bowl, get some crackers, put the crackers back in the pantry... then rethink the whole thing, put everything back, grab a popsicle and sat down to enjoy it. I wondered what it would be like when she reached this point, and more than excitement, I'm starting to worry at how fast this is all going.. I fear I'll blink and she'll be off to college.
I've found new ways to worry about Benjamin lately, but before I write about those, I'll catch you up to how I've progressed: something wrong before birth, deaf, deaf some more, autistic, some other huge problem that I can't remember, and now.. He won't ever speak.
So, we went in for our year appointment a while ago, and the doctor asked how many words he could say. Compounded with the grandson of a freind of mine around the same age speaking in about ten different languages, that was enough to send me over the edge with that worry. The doctor explained that the main thing she will be looking for is understanding, not so much words. Yeah, sure.
Well, if all that is true, I think we're getting somewhere. In the past week or so, we've noticed Ben understanding quite a bit. Now we can say things like, "Let's go outside" or "let's change your diaper" or "put your passy in your bed" and he knows exactly what we're saying. If we ask him if he wants to go outside, he'll stretch his arm out as far as it can go and let it lead him to the back door, as if it were pulling him there (all while giggling).
So, we can't say mom, dad (and mean it, at least), and can't really find our nose, eyes, whatever, he sure is getting the stuff that matters to him :)
I'm off to play with Emily in the backyard before she grows another ten years or so without me noticing.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The problem(s) with this blog have continued to plague me. First there's the whole writing thing... I've noticed that one of my largest hold-ups is due to the fact that I stare at the "title" window for about fifteen minutes before even attempting to write anything every time I try to sit down and write a blog post.. Hence the no title to this one..
Then there's the whole content thing. I've discussed this plenty on previous posts, but here we are again: too long between posts, don't know what to try to cram in here, no idea how to start over, blah blah blah..
Then there's the whole 'other' social media outlets problem. With twitter, facebook, and youtube, I carpet bomb the world in short bits a lot more than I visit this writing post, so I excuse myself from it any chance I get.
But then, I find myself in situations where all I can think about is that if I don't find the time to document my thoughts, they'll be forgotten soon from now.
A perfect example involves Emily and swimming lately. Every time we go swimming now, I'm reminded of last year's experiences, as well as the years before that. Watching her grow a day at a time blends milestones together, but when I can see her growth in a common experience (the pool, only happening once a year), it becomes clear how much she has grown in just a few years. Where last year she was still clutching to me with all of her strength, surrounded by floaties, begging for me not to let her go... Now there's not a ten second interval that goes by without her yelling, "daddy, watch this!" as she comes up with a new trick, or how she can stay longer under the water, or how far she can jump off the side. She's been very proud of herself being self taught to swim without floaties, and manages to rope any stranger at the neighborhood pool within fifteen feet of us into watching her extraordinary talents in the water.
So, I sit there, watching her swim, jump, mess with her goggles, talk to her friends, introduce herself to strangers... grow up... right before my eyes, and all I want to do is know that in ten years I'll remember how precious this time was. But, as you can see, by the time we get back to the house, writing my thoughts down is the last thing on my mind.
I've seen many of the tech forerunners on the web give up on blogging for "better" forms of social networking, which I've mentioned above. From the inception of this blog, however, that was not the goal. My goal wasn't to network socially, but rather to digitally scrapbook our lives together. I tell myself all too often that my life is much to boring to sit and document on a regular basis, and yet I find miracles in both my kids and Leslie every day.
And yet, I find myself with another dilemma... The same dilemma many, including myself, have with other forms of digital collection: reviewing it. Like most, pictures, videos, emails, documents, blogs, etc., all are created and filed, but never really re-visited. Will Emily or Benjamin ever sit down and read any of these posts? Will I? I'll tell ya, on the days I don't write on this thing, you can bet I've convinced myself no... But times like these I think otherwise. Of course, it could just be because the philanthropist on NBC just isn't that interesting, and I love playing on my new netbook :)
So, I think I'm on year two of this blog. I think I remember the beginning being around the same time, so hopefully I'll get back on here more.
Oh, before I move on from this one, I've gotta mention a little about Benjamin. He now laughs when we laugh, just for the sake of laughing. We all should do that more often, I think.
Now, if you don't see much here, there will be tons on facebook, twitter, and my youtube page (especially now that the 3gs uploads straight to youtube.. AWESOME), so make sure you visit there often as well.
Then there's the whole content thing. I've discussed this plenty on previous posts, but here we are again: too long between posts, don't know what to try to cram in here, no idea how to start over, blah blah blah..
Then there's the whole 'other' social media outlets problem. With twitter, facebook, and youtube, I carpet bomb the world in short bits a lot more than I visit this writing post, so I excuse myself from it any chance I get.
But then, I find myself in situations where all I can think about is that if I don't find the time to document my thoughts, they'll be forgotten soon from now.
A perfect example involves Emily and swimming lately. Every time we go swimming now, I'm reminded of last year's experiences, as well as the years before that. Watching her grow a day at a time blends milestones together, but when I can see her growth in a common experience (the pool, only happening once a year), it becomes clear how much she has grown in just a few years. Where last year she was still clutching to me with all of her strength, surrounded by floaties, begging for me not to let her go... Now there's not a ten second interval that goes by without her yelling, "daddy, watch this!" as she comes up with a new trick, or how she can stay longer under the water, or how far she can jump off the side. She's been very proud of herself being self taught to swim without floaties, and manages to rope any stranger at the neighborhood pool within fifteen feet of us into watching her extraordinary talents in the water.
So, I sit there, watching her swim, jump, mess with her goggles, talk to her friends, introduce herself to strangers... grow up... right before my eyes, and all I want to do is know that in ten years I'll remember how precious this time was. But, as you can see, by the time we get back to the house, writing my thoughts down is the last thing on my mind.
I've seen many of the tech forerunners on the web give up on blogging for "better" forms of social networking, which I've mentioned above. From the inception of this blog, however, that was not the goal. My goal wasn't to network socially, but rather to digitally scrapbook our lives together. I tell myself all too often that my life is much to boring to sit and document on a regular basis, and yet I find miracles in both my kids and Leslie every day.
And yet, I find myself with another dilemma... The same dilemma many, including myself, have with other forms of digital collection: reviewing it. Like most, pictures, videos, emails, documents, blogs, etc., all are created and filed, but never really re-visited. Will Emily or Benjamin ever sit down and read any of these posts? Will I? I'll tell ya, on the days I don't write on this thing, you can bet I've convinced myself no... But times like these I think otherwise. Of course, it could just be because the philanthropist on NBC just isn't that interesting, and I love playing on my new netbook :)
So, I think I'm on year two of this blog. I think I remember the beginning being around the same time, so hopefully I'll get back on here more.
Oh, before I move on from this one, I've gotta mention a little about Benjamin. He now laughs when we laugh, just for the sake of laughing. We all should do that more often, I think.
Now, if you don't see much here, there will be tons on facebook, twitter, and my youtube page (especially now that the 3gs uploads straight to youtube.. AWESOME), so make sure you visit there often as well.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Happy Birthday Benjamin!
Below are pictures from Benjamin's birthday party, enjoy! We had a great time, and unlike Emily, Benjamin actually got into his cake!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
8 Years
May 19, 2001, Leslie and I were married. Let me take you back to how it all started...
We met at an inter-collegiate honor band in 1999 in Tulsa. Both of our directors at our respective schools had urged us to attend, even though we both expressed hesitation before going. "You never know who you might meet," we found out later both of our directors said to us. I remember seeing her for the first time, acting "cool" (wow, at least I realize now how un-cool I've always been...), and her using my mismatched socks as an excuse to talk for the few days we were there (yup, that's the reason I still do it today).
I remember walking away as the event ended, stopping myself, and literally speaking out loud, "you have to do something before you leave.. you have to do something.." Which is when I bumbled myself through a way of asking her if she ever made it from Ada to Norman.
"Yeah, to see my boyfriend," she responded. Oops.
"Oh, right.. yeah.. okay.. so.. by then." But I still couldn't just leave it.. so in a way only I could, blurted out, "well, maybe I can... so, if you want to talk ever.. maybe we could... PHONE"
"That would be great! Do you have a pen or paper?"
"Uhh (never gotten this far before, unknown territory.. mayday, mayday).. no... But, awww.. don't worry, you're on the ECU directory right? I'll just email you."
"Great!"
And that was it for a few weeks. I stewed over it, thought about it, then finally got up the nerve to try to email her. So, yeah, back in the "day" there really weren't directories online at campuses (LOOONG before IM, twitter, facebook, blah blah blah.. all you whipper snappers don't know how good you've got it!), so she wasn't listed. Did I stop there? Nope, went into full stalker mode pretty much: I emailed the webmaster at the ECU website and asked if he/she could send along word to her. He/She responded (I don't think they were too trusting), and wouldn't you know it, a few days later received this:
Hey, Pete I tried the other day to find your e-mail adress but you
>weren't in the OU directory. You can send e-mail to
les_mes@hotmail.com
>How are things going for you at OU? Times are pretty rough right now
>for me. The guy I have been seeing for about a year, he and I just
>broke up. So things are a little tough but getting easier each day.
>Well now that you have heard my sob story How are things for you? Have
>you seen the movie She's All That? The main character reminds me of
>you. I am not sure exactly why. I think he looks a little like you.
>Well I am going to go eat dinner. Talk to you later. HAPPY VALENTINES
>DAY
>
>
> Leslie
Ah yes. So sad for her and her boyfriend. That email turned into many, then many more trips to and from Ada (more for her.. but come on.. Ada? Seriously..) which turned into a proposal (I'll give that story sometime.. it's another good one), then a wedding, then Emily Ann, then Benjamin Aaron.
My life with Leslie has put all things in perspective: family, love, and happiness. I say it countless times, and I still believe the look I get is, "yeah right" when I say it, but when anybody asks me if there's anything I want for birthdays, celebrations, or whatever, my response is always, "Is Leslie okay? Are the kids okay? I'm good."
I will tell you, there are still surprises in our relationship for me. Specifically, the one I've noticed more lately, is the progression of how we interact with each other. In the beginning, there was that awkward talk (mostly from me), with the hesitant looks. Then, as our relationship grew, we became very close, and I found a complete comfort when I looked at her, and didn't mind doing so for hours (even if she knew I was doing it). Then, as we "settled" into our marriage, we got more comfortable with each other, could read each other much better, and I found ourselves talking a little less, but still knowing what we were each thinking. What's interesting now is that I find myself looking at her, and becoming shy again if she catches me... Weird moments, too.. like when she's talking on the phone, or doing her hair. She'll glance over at me, and I find myself the bumbling idiot I was when we first met, trying to find an internal excuse for what I was doing, OTHER than looking at her..who knew after 8 years?
Every time I look at Emily or Benjamin, I see Leslie, and thank God for all that I have in this world. I've become weepier as I've grown older (as you all know), and most of it centers on how truly blessed and lucky I am to have found her. She's put up with me for 8 years, here's hoping for 80 more..
And, to celebrate, we're going to Terminator this weekend. Here's still hoping for 80 more :)
I love you Leslie, happy anniversary.
Pete
We met at an inter-collegiate honor band in 1999 in Tulsa. Both of our directors at our respective schools had urged us to attend, even though we both expressed hesitation before going. "You never know who you might meet," we found out later both of our directors said to us. I remember seeing her for the first time, acting "cool" (wow, at least I realize now how un-cool I've always been...), and her using my mismatched socks as an excuse to talk for the few days we were there (yup, that's the reason I still do it today).
I remember walking away as the event ended, stopping myself, and literally speaking out loud, "you have to do something before you leave.. you have to do something.." Which is when I bumbled myself through a way of asking her if she ever made it from Ada to Norman.
"Yeah, to see my boyfriend," she responded. Oops.
"Oh, right.. yeah.. okay.. so.. by then." But I still couldn't just leave it.. so in a way only I could, blurted out, "well, maybe I can... so, if you want to talk ever.. maybe we could... PHONE"
"That would be great! Do you have a pen or paper?"
"Uhh (never gotten this far before, unknown territory.. mayday, mayday).. no... But, awww.. don't worry, you're on the ECU directory right? I'll just email you."
"Great!"
And that was it for a few weeks. I stewed over it, thought about it, then finally got up the nerve to try to email her. So, yeah, back in the "day" there really weren't directories online at campuses (LOOONG before IM, twitter, facebook, blah blah blah.. all you whipper snappers don't know how good you've got it!), so she wasn't listed. Did I stop there? Nope, went into full stalker mode pretty much: I emailed the webmaster at the ECU website and asked if he/she could send along word to her. He/She responded (I don't think they were too trusting), and wouldn't you know it, a few days later received this:
Hey, Pete I tried the other day to find your e-mail adress but you
>weren't in the OU directory. You can send e-mail to
les_mes@hotmail.com
>How are things going for you at OU? Times are pretty rough right now
>for me. The guy I have been seeing for about a year, he and I just
>broke up. So things are a little tough but getting easier each day.
>Well now that you have heard my sob story How are things for you? Have
>you seen the movie She's All That? The main character reminds me of
>you. I am not sure exactly why. I think he looks a little like you.
>Well I am going to go eat dinner. Talk to you later. HAPPY VALENTINES
>DAY
>
>
> Leslie
Ah yes. So sad for her and her boyfriend. That email turned into many, then many more trips to and from Ada (more for her.. but come on.. Ada? Seriously..) which turned into a proposal (I'll give that story sometime.. it's another good one), then a wedding, then Emily Ann, then Benjamin Aaron.
My life with Leslie has put all things in perspective: family, love, and happiness. I say it countless times, and I still believe the look I get is, "yeah right" when I say it, but when anybody asks me if there's anything I want for birthdays, celebrations, or whatever, my response is always, "Is Leslie okay? Are the kids okay? I'm good."
I will tell you, there are still surprises in our relationship for me. Specifically, the one I've noticed more lately, is the progression of how we interact with each other. In the beginning, there was that awkward talk (mostly from me), with the hesitant looks. Then, as our relationship grew, we became very close, and I found a complete comfort when I looked at her, and didn't mind doing so for hours (even if she knew I was doing it). Then, as we "settled" into our marriage, we got more comfortable with each other, could read each other much better, and I found ourselves talking a little less, but still knowing what we were each thinking. What's interesting now is that I find myself looking at her, and becoming shy again if she catches me... Weird moments, too.. like when she's talking on the phone, or doing her hair. She'll glance over at me, and I find myself the bumbling idiot I was when we first met, trying to find an internal excuse for what I was doing, OTHER than looking at her..who knew after 8 years?
Every time I look at Emily or Benjamin, I see Leslie, and thank God for all that I have in this world. I've become weepier as I've grown older (as you all know), and most of it centers on how truly blessed and lucky I am to have found her. She's put up with me for 8 years, here's hoping for 80 more..
And, to celebrate, we're going to Terminator this weekend. Here's still hoping for 80 more :)
I love you Leslie, happy anniversary.
Pete
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
As the end of the school year approaches...
While I'm certainly aware at how sparse posts have been as of late, last night and today are definitely worthy of one, so here goes... Before that though, I've gotta ask, is there such a thing as blogger's block? I become more hesitant to post here as each day passes, so much so that lately it's been a battle, that the blog has been winning :)
Now, before I begin, I would ask you don't judge too harshly..
So, last night I woke up around 10:20. It was one of those 'why am I awake' moments; you know, when you wake up when a noise has happened, but the noise really didn't register with you, but it was enough to wake you up.. Yeah, it was one of those. I instinctively looked over at my phone, and sure enough, I had received a text from my mother (now, the fact that I now receive texts from my mother is worth a whole separate post, but I won't do that here.. let's just say... strange.. Not that I don't like it, but.. strange)
So anyway, the text read: "Are you up"
I replied, "Yes, why?"
"Tornado warning"
So, I reached over, opened my drawer, pulled out my ham radio, flipped it on, and turned on the television as well. I noticed big red areas heading toward Norman, and on the radio I began hearing things like "rotation near Norman." I found it interesting at this point that Leslie was sleeping through everything. That was to change soon..
As I continued listening, it started looking and sounding worse, and just as I got up to go put my shoes on, the siren went off. I looked over at Leslie sleeping, and I noticed her experiencing the same kind of wake up as I did.. She really didn't know why she was waking up... yet..
Then I saw in her eyes the realization of what was happening. I don't think she even sat up; she went from laying flat to instantly standing straight up (cool trick.. have to learn that one later) and went straight for the closet and started moving things around. I told her to calm down (this would be the ONLY moment of the evening when I appeared to have my wits about me.. again.. don't judge) and that it didn't seem too serious yet.
Then I started hearing street names on the ham radio that were within a block or two of our house. That's when my insanity began...
I told Leslie to grab Benjamin, I had Emily (who wasn't really happy to be awake in the first place) and away we went to the car. I jetted out of the driveway, and headed to the only basement in town I had access to at that time: school.
Now, in retrospect, there are quite a few things I could have done other than that, but there we were, rushing toward school. We got there, headed downstairs, and sat there for about 45 minutes or so, talking to dad on the phone, getting reports online and on the radio, and I think through the entire event heard maybe two or three thunder claps.. good..times...
So back home we went, and finally off to bed.
Now, this morning was much more fun. Today was Father's Day Celebration at Emily's school. When I arrived with the other dads, the class performed a couple of songs for us before we got to join in and play. My moment of glory came with the first song. The kids began to sing, and Emily was looking right at me:
"Shimmery dinky dinky dink.. Shimmery dinky doo... (wait for it..) I.... Loooooooove... you (as she made hand gestures, then pointed at me on the 'you').. So, that was it for me.. tears streamed down my face for the next three verses, and during one of them I took the time to scan the room.. yup.. only one crying... nice. After that (and after I collected my blubbery self) we sang and danced a song together, then played outside.
Now maybe when Benjamin is screaming at levels unkown to humans.. I can just insert the words of that song, and pretend he's just singing the I love you song in his own way... maybe...
Now, before I begin, I would ask you don't judge too harshly..
So, last night I woke up around 10:20. It was one of those 'why am I awake' moments; you know, when you wake up when a noise has happened, but the noise really didn't register with you, but it was enough to wake you up.. Yeah, it was one of those. I instinctively looked over at my phone, and sure enough, I had received a text from my mother (now, the fact that I now receive texts from my mother is worth a whole separate post, but I won't do that here.. let's just say... strange.. Not that I don't like it, but.. strange)
So anyway, the text read: "Are you up"
I replied, "Yes, why?"
"Tornado warning"
So, I reached over, opened my drawer, pulled out my ham radio, flipped it on, and turned on the television as well. I noticed big red areas heading toward Norman, and on the radio I began hearing things like "rotation near Norman." I found it interesting at this point that Leslie was sleeping through everything. That was to change soon..
As I continued listening, it started looking and sounding worse, and just as I got up to go put my shoes on, the siren went off. I looked over at Leslie sleeping, and I noticed her experiencing the same kind of wake up as I did.. She really didn't know why she was waking up... yet..
Then I saw in her eyes the realization of what was happening. I don't think she even sat up; she went from laying flat to instantly standing straight up (cool trick.. have to learn that one later) and went straight for the closet and started moving things around. I told her to calm down (this would be the ONLY moment of the evening when I appeared to have my wits about me.. again.. don't judge) and that it didn't seem too serious yet.
Then I started hearing street names on the ham radio that were within a block or two of our house. That's when my insanity began...
I told Leslie to grab Benjamin, I had Emily (who wasn't really happy to be awake in the first place) and away we went to the car. I jetted out of the driveway, and headed to the only basement in town I had access to at that time: school.
Now, in retrospect, there are quite a few things I could have done other than that, but there we were, rushing toward school. We got there, headed downstairs, and sat there for about 45 minutes or so, talking to dad on the phone, getting reports online and on the radio, and I think through the entire event heard maybe two or three thunder claps.. good..times...
So back home we went, and finally off to bed.
Now, this morning was much more fun. Today was Father's Day Celebration at Emily's school. When I arrived with the other dads, the class performed a couple of songs for us before we got to join in and play. My moment of glory came with the first song. The kids began to sing, and Emily was looking right at me:
"Shimmery dinky dinky dink.. Shimmery dinky doo... (wait for it..) I.... Loooooooove... you (as she made hand gestures, then pointed at me on the 'you').. So, that was it for me.. tears streamed down my face for the next three verses, and during one of them I took the time to scan the room.. yup.. only one crying... nice. After that (and after I collected my blubbery self) we sang and danced a song together, then played outside.
Now maybe when Benjamin is screaming at levels unkown to humans.. I can just insert the words of that song, and pretend he's just singing the I love you song in his own way... maybe...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
A Few Items
1. With Facebook, Friendfeed, Jaiku, Twitter, Picasa,etc, etc, etc... (list goes on, and on, and on, and on) is there a need for blogs anymore?
2. Can't remember #2..
Anyway, at least a couple things worth mentioning here. First was Leslie's run to the urgent care the other day. I walked in and she was hunched over the sink in the kitchen, and as I opened the door to enter I heard Emily asking, "mommy, do you need a bigger bandaid?" So, after looking at the blood streaming out of her finger, we decided to take a quick trip to the doctor. They ended up bandaging it up, and giving her a shot (she loved that part..)
I posted a pic from "back stage" at Emily's puppet show. Now, while that probably seems like something I'd be begging to do anyway, it was not by choice I was back there. Per the norm, as soon as the puppet show began, Emily began spinning out of control, crying herself into a pretty good frenzy. We kept telling her to head back over with her class to get started, and she finally did, but cried through the first show (involving some of her classmates). After the first one was over, she went sprinting back over to us, and I took her outisde the classroom. I, as you can imagine, don't have a lot of patience for this side of my daughter, but I tried as best I could to calm her down ("stop crying. stop crying. stop crying" -- yeah, in retrospect, probably could have been a little more thoughtful) then I told her she needed to go in and participate. Her response,
"Will you come with me?"
Lots of previous battles flashed before my eyes, and at that moment, my priority was to get her to do the puppet show, so I caved and said yes. So, there I go with Emily, walking back in with the other pre-k-ers, and ducked down beneath the bookcase as far as I could while they started singing. While I thought that was going to be good enough, not so with Emily. She grabbed my hand, and forced it up with hers while she held her puppet frog over the edge. While this was happening, I managed to get one picture, which was posted. So, there's the story behind that pic :)
Benjamin still doesn't feel like using our names yet, although he says "What is it?" or "What is that?" All of the time. No, I don't think he knows what he's saying, but it's pretty funny to listen to.
2. Can't remember #2..
Anyway, at least a couple things worth mentioning here. First was Leslie's run to the urgent care the other day. I walked in and she was hunched over the sink in the kitchen, and as I opened the door to enter I heard Emily asking, "mommy, do you need a bigger bandaid?" So, after looking at the blood streaming out of her finger, we decided to take a quick trip to the doctor. They ended up bandaging it up, and giving her a shot (she loved that part..)
I posted a pic from "back stage" at Emily's puppet show. Now, while that probably seems like something I'd be begging to do anyway, it was not by choice I was back there. Per the norm, as soon as the puppet show began, Emily began spinning out of control, crying herself into a pretty good frenzy. We kept telling her to head back over with her class to get started, and she finally did, but cried through the first show (involving some of her classmates). After the first one was over, she went sprinting back over to us, and I took her outisde the classroom. I, as you can imagine, don't have a lot of patience for this side of my daughter, but I tried as best I could to calm her down ("stop crying. stop crying. stop crying" -- yeah, in retrospect, probably could have been a little more thoughtful) then I told her she needed to go in and participate. Her response,
"Will you come with me?"
Lots of previous battles flashed before my eyes, and at that moment, my priority was to get her to do the puppet show, so I caved and said yes. So, there I go with Emily, walking back in with the other pre-k-ers, and ducked down beneath the bookcase as far as I could while they started singing. While I thought that was going to be good enough, not so with Emily. She grabbed my hand, and forced it up with hers while she held her puppet frog over the edge. While this was happening, I managed to get one picture, which was posted. So, there's the story behind that pic :)
Benjamin still doesn't feel like using our names yet, although he says "What is it?" or "What is that?" All of the time. No, I don't think he knows what he's saying, but it's pretty funny to listen to.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Super Spin
Emily and I saw Bolt the other day, and last night she got it as a present on DVD from Ann and Ryan. She loves the movie, especially the "Zoom Zoom" and the "Super Bark" parts. We were racing cars the other day, and I heard her whisper before she let hers go, "Car.. Zoom Zoom."
So, we're at the yellow park this morning, and she has now learned how to do flips on the bars. She gets tired quickly, so she has to find something else to do for a while until she's gathered enough strength to come back and try again...
I was hanging out with Benjamin on the grass some distance from her, and I noticed her sitting on the ground beneath the bar, talking to herself. Then, after a short time, she got up, slowly reached for the bars, then carefully placed one foot in front (just like bolt before his super bark), then planted her back foot as he does as well. Then she gave a huge yell out and flipped herself around. Exhausted, she fell to the ground, and started the whole process over again. She did this for about fifteen minutes. I guess that's her own special super bark :)
So, we're at the yellow park this morning, and she has now learned how to do flips on the bars. She gets tired quickly, so she has to find something else to do for a while until she's gathered enough strength to come back and try again...
I was hanging out with Benjamin on the grass some distance from her, and I noticed her sitting on the ground beneath the bar, talking to herself. Then, after a short time, she got up, slowly reached for the bars, then carefully placed one foot in front (just like bolt before his super bark), then planted her back foot as he does as well. Then she gave a huge yell out and flipped herself around. Exhausted, she fell to the ground, and started the whole process over again. She did this for about fifteen minutes. I guess that's her own special super bark :)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Spring Break!
We began the break last night by taking Emily to Bolt. I had the great idea to take Benjamin as well, so against Leslie's better judgment, we headed to the theater. About fifteen minutes into it Benjamin decided he was done watching the movie, so for the next hour and twelve minutes I walked in the lobby with him. I would get him calm, quiet, settled down, and then I would head back into the theater. By the time my foot crossed the threshold he was fussy again, every..single..time. Out in lobby: quiet and happy. Threshold: Cranky and fussy. From what I heard it was a good movie though.
The more and more I use twitter, the less and less I find myself blogging. Even when I do sit down and try to create a post, I find myself using less than 140 characters initially, and have to force myself to write more. I wonder if this is where online communication is going.. rather than creative, thought out stories about our lives, we use short bursts of 'in the moment' snippets.. Or maybe I'm just lazy and it's easier to tweet than to blog (I wonder what people would have thought had I used that sentence 15 years ago... Okay, I wonder what people think when I use it now..)
In predictable form, Emily started complaining of a sore throat last night, and Benjamin has been cranky, probably due to teething. It would only make sense that on a break the family gets sick. Let's hope not!
The more and more I use twitter, the less and less I find myself blogging. Even when I do sit down and try to create a post, I find myself using less than 140 characters initially, and have to force myself to write more. I wonder if this is where online communication is going.. rather than creative, thought out stories about our lives, we use short bursts of 'in the moment' snippets.. Or maybe I'm just lazy and it's easier to tweet than to blog (I wonder what people would have thought had I used that sentence 15 years ago... Okay, I wonder what people think when I use it now..)
In predictable form, Emily started complaining of a sore throat last night, and Benjamin has been cranky, probably due to teething. It would only make sense that on a break the family gets sick. Let's hope not!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
He's on the move!
Well, Benjamin started crawling a few days ago, and now he's starting to understand he has access to anywhere he wants to go... Just like we had feared, he seems to have a radar for everything he shouldn't be near: outlets, dishes, cabinets, cleaning supplies, cords, you name it, he's in it..
Some pictures of January below, I'll post videos of the crawling when I get them uploaded.
Some pictures of January below, I'll post videos of the crawling when I get them uploaded.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The wait is finally over (at least for today..)
--BORING ALERT--
You've been warned.. This post is pretty nerdy, sappy, blah blah blah. Now, if you still feel the urge, read on :)
One of my fondest childhood memories was playing Sierra games - especially with my father. It began when my father brought home our first personal computer, the PC jr. I don't remember how old I was, but I do remember shortly after seeing King's Quest I for the first time.
I looked forward to playing Sierra games more than little else. Sitting down at the computer and playing them took me to places I never had dreamed, and with their "cutting edge" technology, I felt as if I were there with the characters in those lands. Being able to experience those adventures with my father made it all the more special to me. Some kids play ball with their dads, some kids go hunting. My father/son moments, at least for me, centered on the time we sat together playing. As I grew older, I could play more and more independently, but my father still managed to connect with me, as while I would get frustrated seeing no solution to whatever puzzle was in front of me during the game, my father would play late at night so that he could help me the next day. I remember finding his saved games one night - what a guilty pleasure that was! No more frustrations! I could cheat my way through! Then came the hint lines, BBS calls, it was a quick decline from the days of enjoying the game without help :)
Cheesy yes, nerdy yes, but, we all have our memories, and I wouldn't change those for anything.
So, as soon as I could get Emily near a mouse, I have tried to introduce her to those games. Mind you, the original Sierra games involved text inputs, so instead of "clicking" on stuff, you'd have to type what you wanted to do. Obviously, Emily being three years old was going to hinder that a bit, but as time has gone on, I've tried various other games (as Sierra evolved, they went to the point and click style) to try to spark her interest. I hadn't had much luck... Until last night.
It was after her bed time, but her door was open, and I had just downloaded the latest remake version of King's Quest I. I installed it and was playing the intro when I saw Emily behind me at the door. She asked me what I was doing, and I told her. She walked over, and immediately asked to play for a minute.
Now, I'm sure I'm projecting a lot into her reaction that probably wasn't there, but I swear I saw the same look in her eyes I remember feeling when I sat down with the original King's Quest when I was a kid. However, instead of living the dream then, I told her to go to bed and we'd try in the morning.
This morning, I got up, ran, showered, then asked her if she remembered playing the game last night. As soon as I reminded her, she asked me if we could go play. An hour and a half later, she had knocked the troll off the bridge after finding the carrot, enticing the goat, and taking the goat to the bridge. She had found the bowl, filled it with stew, given it to the woodcutter's wife, and taken the fiddle... the list goes on and on, and to be honest, I didn't help her all that much. We learned early how to save (ooooh I remember those days, forgetting to do that..), and by the end, she was interacting with everything on screen, including saving, all by herself.
Now, this may pass.. She may never want to play the game again. But for now, this morning, I got to experience a little of what my father got to when I was a kid. What a wonderful, wonderful morning.
You've been warned.. This post is pretty nerdy, sappy, blah blah blah. Now, if you still feel the urge, read on :)
One of my fondest childhood memories was playing Sierra games - especially with my father. It began when my father brought home our first personal computer, the PC jr. I don't remember how old I was, but I do remember shortly after seeing King's Quest I for the first time.
I looked forward to playing Sierra games more than little else. Sitting down at the computer and playing them took me to places I never had dreamed, and with their "cutting edge" technology, I felt as if I were there with the characters in those lands. Being able to experience those adventures with my father made it all the more special to me. Some kids play ball with their dads, some kids go hunting. My father/son moments, at least for me, centered on the time we sat together playing. As I grew older, I could play more and more independently, but my father still managed to connect with me, as while I would get frustrated seeing no solution to whatever puzzle was in front of me during the game, my father would play late at night so that he could help me the next day. I remember finding his saved games one night - what a guilty pleasure that was! No more frustrations! I could cheat my way through! Then came the hint lines, BBS calls, it was a quick decline from the days of enjoying the game without help :)
Cheesy yes, nerdy yes, but, we all have our memories, and I wouldn't change those for anything.
So, as soon as I could get Emily near a mouse, I have tried to introduce her to those games. Mind you, the original Sierra games involved text inputs, so instead of "clicking" on stuff, you'd have to type what you wanted to do. Obviously, Emily being three years old was going to hinder that a bit, but as time has gone on, I've tried various other games (as Sierra evolved, they went to the point and click style) to try to spark her interest. I hadn't had much luck... Until last night.
It was after her bed time, but her door was open, and I had just downloaded the latest remake version of King's Quest I. I installed it and was playing the intro when I saw Emily behind me at the door. She asked me what I was doing, and I told her. She walked over, and immediately asked to play for a minute.
Now, I'm sure I'm projecting a lot into her reaction that probably wasn't there, but I swear I saw the same look in her eyes I remember feeling when I sat down with the original King's Quest when I was a kid. However, instead of living the dream then, I told her to go to bed and we'd try in the morning.
This morning, I got up, ran, showered, then asked her if she remembered playing the game last night. As soon as I reminded her, she asked me if we could go play. An hour and a half later, she had knocked the troll off the bridge after finding the carrot, enticing the goat, and taking the goat to the bridge. She had found the bowl, filled it with stew, given it to the woodcutter's wife, and taken the fiddle... the list goes on and on, and to be honest, I didn't help her all that much. We learned early how to save (ooooh I remember those days, forgetting to do that..), and by the end, she was interacting with everything on screen, including saving, all by herself.
Now, this may pass.. She may never want to play the game again. But for now, this morning, I got to experience a little of what my father got to when I was a kid. What a wonderful, wonderful morning.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Lately...
We've all been pretty busy on day to day activities lately. Leslie is busy at school, getting ready to submit her papers after being selected teacher of the year at McKinley. I've been doing lots of basketball games, and the new semester began last week. Emily has been taking care of Benjamin, and Benjamin has been trying to fight through a cold.
I keep watching Benjamin every time he rolls over into the "crawl position," as he rocks back and forth a few times, and almost takes that first crawl. Right now, he just ends up flat on his stomach, then tries to roll his way over to whatever item he wants to try to swallow.
What's most interesting to me right now is the difference between Emily when she was this age. When Emily began moving around and crawling, I don't think she ever found a wire, plug, or much of anything other than her toys. Benjamin, however, already has some sensor in his brain to find anything and everything that could cause great deals of 1.pain or 2.destruction... It should be quite interesting when he becomes mobile :)
Emily's been very interested in my stories lately. Since I'm not nearly as good as Leslie when it comes to good stories, the only thing I've been able to do is recount all my Sierra games from my youth, but insert her names instead of the main characters in the games. It seems to be working pretty well, and for anybody out there who knows Sierra games, I'm on King's Quest IV right now, and Princess Emily is hiding in the Ogre's closet waiting for him to fall asleep so she can get the hen that lays the golden eggs.
--Oh, and for those that didn't know already, the "Bath time" post a few down -- That's Emily when she was Benjamin's age, and Benjamin now in the bathtub. Most people I've talked to thought it was only Benjamin, pretty close resemblance, huh?
I keep watching Benjamin every time he rolls over into the "crawl position," as he rocks back and forth a few times, and almost takes that first crawl. Right now, he just ends up flat on his stomach, then tries to roll his way over to whatever item he wants to try to swallow.
What's most interesting to me right now is the difference between Emily when she was this age. When Emily began moving around and crawling, I don't think she ever found a wire, plug, or much of anything other than her toys. Benjamin, however, already has some sensor in his brain to find anything and everything that could cause great deals of 1.pain or 2.destruction... It should be quite interesting when he becomes mobile :)
Emily's been very interested in my stories lately. Since I'm not nearly as good as Leslie when it comes to good stories, the only thing I've been able to do is recount all my Sierra games from my youth, but insert her names instead of the main characters in the games. It seems to be working pretty well, and for anybody out there who knows Sierra games, I'm on King's Quest IV right now, and Princess Emily is hiding in the Ogre's closet waiting for him to fall asleep so she can get the hen that lays the golden eggs.
--Oh, and for those that didn't know already, the "Bath time" post a few down -- That's Emily when she was Benjamin's age, and Benjamin now in the bathtub. Most people I've talked to thought it was only Benjamin, pretty close resemblance, huh?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Not even going to try
To catch you up at this point.. Part of the problem has been dreading trying to recap all the stuff that's been going on! So, we start fresh :)
Skate night was Tuesday night at Skateland (now Star Skate, apparently.. not so sure I like the new name), and Emily had a lot of fun skating. We've got some video I'll post soon.
We're still waiting for Benjamin to take that first crawl. Right now if you position him just right, he'll turn himself around, and move his body into the crawl stance, and then start rocking back and forth. From the look of one of his legs trapped underneath him, it looks like he may take after Emily and do the crawl/scoot that she did (one leg crawls, the other just keeps up behind... hard to explain - funny to see :)
Class starts next week for me. I ended up with an A last semester (whew), not looking forward to this one since it's part deux.
Skate night was Tuesday night at Skateland (now Star Skate, apparently.. not so sure I like the new name), and Emily had a lot of fun skating. We've got some video I'll post soon.
We're still waiting for Benjamin to take that first crawl. Right now if you position him just right, he'll turn himself around, and move his body into the crawl stance, and then start rocking back and forth. From the look of one of his legs trapped underneath him, it looks like he may take after Emily and do the crawl/scoot that she did (one leg crawls, the other just keeps up behind... hard to explain - funny to see :)
Class starts next week for me. I ended up with an A last semester (whew), not looking forward to this one since it's part deux.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
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