The most magical place on Earth.

We've been back from Disney for a week now, and I think we're almost fully recovered. (We came back with two sick little ones- mostly from exhaustion.) Both kids did great on the car ride down, Abby watched a lot of movies, and both kids slept. (We left at 1pm and got there around midnight.)

In order to avoid the 9,000 questions, we chose not to tell Abby we were going to Disney. Instead we told her we were going to Orlando to visit her Aunt Linda. After last year, we made her a little photo album so she was familiar with the sights. On Sunday, we took her over to Downtown Disney to buy hats for the kids. When she rounded the corner and saw the statue of Sleeping Beauty, she stopped and yelled, "We're in DISNEY WORLD!" It was a great moment, reminiscent of the times my parents surprised my brother and sister with trips. I always knew since I was so much older, but my sister took a little longer and never figured it out until we were in line for Dumbo.
Monday morning we headed over to the Magic Kingdom, but got a bit of late start. I had also forgotten that everyone who goes to Disney starts with the Magic Kingdom, so it was SUPER crowded. As a result we didn't get much done beyond Dumbo, the Teacups and the Carousel. I was a tad bit disappointed, but Abby seemed happy.
Tuesday, however, we got to the park right as it opened and with a plan. We hightailed it over to Mickey then across the park to the Princesses. From there, it was 9:30 and I got in line for Rapunzel and Flynn with Austin. Turns out, we were one of the last people in line for the 11:15 meeting session. Since Austin needed to eat and nap, I hung out with a line of grandmothers while Dan and Abby went to the Buzz ride, more Teacups, the Carousel, and Small World. Though the line was long, it was totally worth it to see Abby dance with Flynn and Rapunzel. Around this time we were all getting tired, so went back to Linda's for a nap.Later that afternoon, we went back to do a few more rides and see the light parade. Abby will tell you that one of her favorite parts of the trip was blowing bubbles with the little girl sitting next to us on Main Street, but it was also where Austin experienced his favorite part of the trip. He was almost asleep, but woke right up at all the lights and music. He was mesmerized and stayed alert through the whole thing. (On a side note: We had gotten food for while we were waiting and Abby had asked for a lemonade. When she took a sip, she said "eeew! This lemonade is SPICY!" We looked at her funny and Dan took a sip. Turns out, it was Sprite. We've been laughing about spicy lemonade ever since.)

Tuesday was one of the most perfect days our family has had. It was full of great memories, a ton of laughter and a whole lot of fun. Dan and I couldn't get over how well it all went.

Wednesday, we went to Animal Kingdom with the rest of my family (Mom, Dad, Jordan and Kelsey). We had seen most of the key characters at the Magic Kingdom, but were missing Goofy, Pluto and Donald. We lucked out by starting our day with Pooh, Eeyore, Goofy and Pluto. We then headed over to Camp Mickey and saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Thumper and Chip and Dale. Characters = done. I was quite happy and could have almost* ended my day there. We did a few more rides and wrapped up our day around three.
The rest of our time there was spent hanging out with family and swimming. We had a BLAST. By the time it was over, we were all exhausted and a little cranky. The car ride home was a little rough, but we made it. After a few hours at home, the kids and I left Saturday night for Richmond. My dear friend is getting married in August and I went to his fiance's shower. I would HAVE not have done that for many other people on this Earth, but that's another story.

Whoosh! Disney was wonderful, but are so glad to be home.

* I say "almost" because I still had to ride the roller coaster with my brother. He has never been able to live down his fear of all things that drop. The last time we were at Disney together (15 years ago or so) he cried, pleaded, begged and even prayed the entire 45 minutes we waited for Splash Mountain. It was one of the most pathetic things you've ever seen. (sorry, bud!) Fast forward to now, he promised my sister and I that he would go on the coaster. He did, though he was very stone faced the entire time and gripped the lap bar with one hand and the front of the car with the other. He did it, though. I was proud, but not proud enough to ever let him live down the Splash Mountain tale.

Austin: 5 months

Austin,

Last month, I mentioned you would be rolling over any day now, and sure enough you did! In fact, the day after I posted the last update, you were playing on the floor at Grandma and Grandpa's and one second you were happily playing on your tummy and the next second you were on your back laughing at yourself. Grandpa and I made a big deal out of it (Grandma and Abby were in the basement) and put you back on your tummy. You then repeated your new trick 3 times, but as soon as I broke out the camera, you stopped. The next day you rolled 2 more times, but then we couldn't get you to do it again. That is, until yesterday. Without any help, you decided you'd had enough of being on your tummy and pushed yourself over, again laughing. You've repeated your trick a few more times, so hopefully it will stick around this time. Then again, you really love tummy time, so who knows?

In fact, when you are playing on your belly, you've figured out how to move around in a circle to reach all the toys on your playmat. A few times, you even figured out how to scoot forward. This particular skill has so far been reserved for your sister. Your toys aren't enough to get you scooting, but if Abby is showing you a toy or reading you a book, you try your hardest to go to her. This isn't too surprising, seeing as you LOVE your big sister. You will follow her around the room with your eyes and just a look from Abby can get you giggling. Your relationship is one of the things that makes me so happy to see!

Your other new trick this month, is blowing raspberries. It's very messy, but you are so proud and think it's hilarious. A few times, you've stopped in the middle of a feeding to look at me and spit. After a big smile and a laugh, you finish eating. We have also woken up to this joyous sound in the middle of the night.

Speaking of the middle of the night, we've seen a lot more of each other in the wee hours than we used to. I would like that to stop please. I love seeing your smile, but I would also like some more sleep. We tried a little bit of rice cereal hoping to get you to sleep longer, but you weren't quite ready for it. In fact, it had the opposite effect and you were up every 1 1/2h for a few nights with an upset tummy. We'll revisit food next month.

Of course, the biggest event this month was your first trip to Disney World! We took you on the carousal, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World and the Animal Safari at Animal Kingdom. You slept through most of them, but really enjoyed them when you were awake. Your favorite part by far, was the light parade at the Magic Kingdom. You were almost asleep when it started and your eyes got huge as the first big float passed by. For the rest of the parade, you held my hand and sat wide eyed. Whenever there was a break in floats, you'd look up and me and then start waving and kicking when you saw the next one. Overall the trip was wonderful, and you handled everything really well.

While in Orlando, you also got to meet your Great-Aunt Linda and go swimming in her pool. You really loved both of these things!

Gone are the days of infancy, and here are the days of baby-hood. You're trying to sit on your own and are quickly moving through your developmental stages. I can't believe how quickly it's all going!

You are SO much fun!

Love,
Mommy

P.S.- Not only do you have my blue eyes, fair skin and light hair, but you also seem to have a lot of my personality traits. It's so neat to see my own self reflected in you.

Success

I ran a mile today.

I, Caroline Salgado, RAN A MILE!!

A whole one. Outside. Without stopping, or even slowing down.

And you know what? It wasn't that bad.

Go me!