Home Again

As has become our monthly tradition, we returned last week from a trip to Disney. This time, we stayed on land and Matt had to work, so we met my parents in Orlando. Evie adores my parents and was beside herself when she woke up from her nap to find Nana within hug's reach and in close proximity to Mamo (Mickey Mouse), who she had somehow found a way to become even more obsessed with. She did ask for Matt quite a bit and she clearly missed him, but my parents tried their best to fill the void. Inexplicably, Evie decided to start calling my dad Baboo, so thus he shall be named. I truly love it.

Baboo's pretty awesome.

We started our week on a rocky note due to some painful molars that forced me to exchange 6 hours of sleep for 6 hours of listening to Evie scream. Poor thing. Consequently, her initial reactions to Mickey were a bit more subdued than I had anticipated, but after a refreshing nap she was more of herself. The best thing about taking a small toddler to the Magic Kingdom is their earnestness in believing everything. Clearly, she doesn't know what an audio animatronic is, so she can be awed by an unpopular, outdated attraction like the Country Bear Jamboree. Well, there was initial awe, but it she was ready to go about halfway through, which is kind of hilarious. She expects a lot from mammals in the entertainment business.

Sleepy, Grumpy and Bashful

Later that night, I stuffed Evie with funnel cake in order to keep her up past her bedtime to watch the Main Street Electrical parade. Initially she was bouncing off the walls from the sugar, but then that wore off and she was bouncing from the excitement of the sights and sounds. She was so wound up when it ended that she cupped my face in her hands and shrieked the happiest shriek I've ever heard. She promptly crashed within 5 minutes of the parade's end.

As has been stated, she is infatuated with Mickey. She gets excited to see the other characters, but she makes her favorite very clear. When she would spot Daisy or Pluto, she would wave her arms excitedly and put on quite a show until they got within 10 feet of her. If I would ask her to hug or greet them, she would always respond with a firm, "NAH." It was a different story for Mickey, however. He has a dedicated meeting spot in the Magic Kingdom, so we waited in line and the anticipation grew as we told Evie who she was about to see. Instead of quickly dismissing us when we asked her if she was planning to hug him, she seemed excited. When we got to the front of the line, she was so excited she was shaking. We walked up and while she definitely clung to me, she bravely leaned over and kissed his nose, trembling the entire time. As we took the picture, she reached her arm out and patted his ear, whispering, "Mamo." Adorable! Minnie made the mistake of thinking Evie was also there to see her. She won't try that again! Those mice might look similar to some, but Evie won't be fooled.

Seriously, guys. Mamo's awesome.

Even Mamo makes mistakes, however. She was scolding him here for something he'll no doubt never dare to repeat.

It was also really sweet to watch Evie's bond with my parents grow. She was so worried that they were going to go back to Charlotte that she would cry at the door whenever they would step out. It was sad, but there's nothing more precious than hearing her say, "Baboo? Baboo?" with little tears coming down her cheeks.

Teaching Nana a thing or two about makeup application

I also got a chance to catch up with some close friends from my Orlando days, which is always a blast. Not really sure why most of my best friends are choosing to live so far away (I'm looking at you, 2 of the 3 readers of this blog), but one of these days they'll wise up and move to Raleigh.

I was worried about Evie's transition back into our daily routine after such an exciting week, but she was thrilled to see her Da and the animals. When our day started to feel a little mundane, we threw a couple of quilts over our kitchen chairs and Evie had the time of her life. She spent 3 hours pulling me into that thing. We would sit in there and whisper and taunt Jack. Whenever he would peek his head in to see what all the fuss was about, Evie would grab me and squeal her happiest, silliest squeal, pushing him back out.

Disney's mission is to entertain families and they're good at it, so it's no surprise we had fun. However, Evie laughed harder and was more excited when Jack poked his head between two blankets than she was by 3 million dancing lights or 150 enchanted singing birds and flowers. We'd better take advantage of this time before she grows up and realizes how incredible the Enchanted Tiki Room really is.

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Evie has been more hilarious and full of personality than ever before, but it's not all been positive. She has begun testing her boundaries at every opportunity. She's been particularly focused on shoving her friends and loved ones (almost always accompanied by a forceful, "NAH, MOOF!"). It feels like I'm spending my days disciplining. Thankfully, her sweet post-scolding apology hugs and back pats nearly make it all worth it.

She's choosing an unseasonable time of year to misbehave! Hopefully Santa will be as warmed by her sweet hugs as I am!

Time Flies

I'm late in my update, but we had SO MUCH FUN on the cruise!!! Despite how high they already were, my expectations were exceeded. I knew we were off to a good start when Evie spotted Mickey in the lounge before we boarded and started yelling, "Mamo! Mamo!" and trying to run up to him. She would get so excited to see the characters and would have to be held back while waiting in line to greet them, but would stiffen and become really nervous when they got close. She bravely kissed Minnie on the nose, but I think she was shaking while she did it.

Hard to tell who was more excited.

Sail Away Party!

nervous kiss

The first full day was spent at Castaway Cay, Disney's Bahamian island. That morning I got all of our stuff together and we had a nice breakfast in one of the restaurants, but I was still so tense. As we were leaving the ship for the island, Matt asked why I was in such a hurry. After all, our only agenda was to lay on beach chairs all day. I had been so stressed in the months leading up to our vacation that it took me a solid two days to unwind and relax. By the end of the week, I was a new person. Or more like the old one, I guess. It was a good reminder of how important these breaks are for our health and sanity. I think it's also time to reevaluate my workload and try to create something more manageable.

The whole trip was so much fun, but two nights were particularly memorable. We started putting Evie in the nursery for an hour a day for the first couple of days in anticipation of our special dinner at the adults only dining spot on Tuesday. While it was heartbreaking dropping her off and listening to her desperate cries, it was almost equally heartbreaking to pick her up on the first day. She was propped against a pillow clutching her stuffed dog close to her chest and patting it reassuringly, looking completely forlorn. I didn't have high hopes on Tuesday when we dropped her off for the evening. She has never been put to bed by a stranger and I was sure we would get a call in the middle of our meal telling us to pick her up. What a huge relief it was to find out that she had put herself to bed! Unheard of! So after a spectacular meal at Palo, we stayed out for a night of fun! We had drinks at a piano bar and then headed over to a hilarious comedian/magician show. Best night I've had in ages.

Thursday was another great one. Matt and I revisited Palo for a 5 course brunch while Evie stayed in the nursery, where she did wonderfully. Palo, by the way, is worth the price of the cruise. I have never had such delicious food in my life and that's no exaggeration.

I took pictures of every course, but the dessert was pretty spectacular.

That night, we took a chance and decided to take Evie to the show, which was Broadway-style and I knew this particular one was full of classic Disney songs. We thought there was a chance Evie would be mildly amused, but we figured she would most likely get bored and throw a fit. We could not have been more wrong. She danced Stevie Wonder style to every song (never seen those moves before or since), clapped with the audience and waved excitedly with both hands at all the characters. When Aladdin sang A Whole New World, she screamed, "DAAAA! DAAAAAAAAA!!!" We think it's because Matt sang that one to her, but you can draw your own conclusions. During the finale when Mickey came out, she went absolutely nuts. She started flapping her arms and screaming (in a quiet, full theater) "MAMOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! MAMOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" So adorable and her parents couldn't have been happier to see her so excited.

waiting for the show to start

It was difficult to leave that ship after such a great week with my two favs, but it was nice to feel so refreshed and rejuvenated. Evie's a lucky girl, though! My parents are meeting us in Orlando tomorrow, so she won't have to wait too long for her next visit with Mamo. We'll miss Matt, but it will be fun to reconnect with some old friends and to see Evie's reactions to the parks.

Melmo!

Evie had a language explosion this week! It all started when I told Jack to move and Evie pointed at him and said, "moo!" That evening while taking her bath, Evie started shoving her rubber ducks from one side of the tub to the other, shouting at them to "MOO! MOOOO!" It was hilarious. Later, she gave them all hugs and kisses, no doubt in an attempt to assure them it would never happen again. They fell for it. Bossing those poor ducks around has become a bathtime staple.

Other new words:

Melmo - Elmo
Babo - Big Bird (same word I used for the guy)
Mamoo - Mickey Mouse
Dadoo - Donald Duck, Cracker, Thank You
Owdoo - outside

It's a blast hearing her communicate more! She's been asking for Melmo practically constantly, so I have picked up several books and even Melmo-shaped crackers. A couple days ago we were watching Sesame Street and this clip came on. I naively thought, "My girl would love that! I'll download it and we can listen to it on occasion." It's playing right now and it has been pretty much on repeat since I purchased it two days ago. You might suggest I try to find a distraction or alternative when she points at my computer and incessantly pleads, "Melmo! Melmo!? MELMOOOO!" But it wouldn't matter. I learned the hard way that the song will never get out of your head after you hear it. NEVER. Let this serve as a warning to you.

I'm finding it hard to believe that we'll be sailing off to the Caribbean in just four days! It's been a crazy week of preparations, 24-hour flu bugs and lots of unexpected freelance work. It will serve as a good contrast when we're lounging around having fun next week!

Please?

Last weekend we took advantage of the World's Most Beautiful Day and went to the NC Fair. Previous trips had left me feeling like it was an icky and sad place, but this time we did it right and had a great time. Evie loved the animals and I loved being able to show her all of the farm animals we've been talking so much about. I did my best while visiting the petting zoo to push away thoughts of exploitation, cramped living spaces and nutritional diversity (hopefully the animals are fed something other than carrot chips at some point) and tried to enjoy the experience. The 4H areas were even better and my favorite part was enjoying hot cider while listening to a bluegrass band. Evie even happily rode around in her stroller instead of insisting on pushing it!

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On the way home from Isle of Palms, I taught Evie to say "please" by bribing her with raisins. I felt like I was training a bird, but I suppose that is inevitable at times! It's pretty cute and comes in many varied forms: (bee, bway, pee, pwee, etc.). I started to get a little nervous because once she connected the dots between saying please and getting what she was asking for, she stopped saying all other words and replacing them all with "please."

M: Evie, can you say shoe?
E: PWEEEEEEEE!!!!!
M: Evie, can you say kitty?
E: Beee? BWEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!


Thankfully, she has begun using other words again. She even learned "boo" to be extra festive. It seems she loves holidays just like her momma!
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We've really been missing Da around these parts. Last month, Matt joined a new firm started by the attorney he was working for. It seemed like he was already working a lot, but now he's gone even more. It's been pretty hard on the three of us. It will be so nice when things calm down a bit. His job will always be demanding, but it will be great to spend weekends with him again. A lazy day with just the three of us sounds like heaven. This conversation can be heard on a loop dozens of times each day:

E: Da?
M: Dada's at work, sweet girl.
E: Da? Dada!?
M: He's at work.
E: Da? DAAAA! (walking to the front door, looking out the window and yelling as loud as she can)
M: Dada's at work. He loves you very much!

It's so sad and cute. The other day she woke up in the morning and from her nap asking for Da, which means a lot coming from that momma's girl. 12 days until our cruise! 7 days together! I can. not. wait.

Learnin' Da a thing or two about the guitar.

kisses!

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On Friday, we celebrated Halloween with Evie's playgroup. Four toddlers in costumes. I nearly puked from the cuteness. Later, I felt like puking after eating a whole batch of Rice Krispie treats, kindly left by Erin (the puppy's mom). I have no self discipline whatsoever, as I discovered.

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Random Cuteness from this week:

Kissing flowers. My girl is so sweet.

I love her.

Isle of Palms

We had a great time in Charleston! The bedtimes were earlier and we watched a few more episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse this time than in previous trips, but we had just as much fun. Plus, there's nothing, nothing cuter than seeing our kids play together. Benny is the most loving, kindhearted little boy I've ever had the pleasure to know. All he wanted to do was hold Evie's hand and give her hugs. He was so gentle and adorable! She tolerated it in small amounts, but preferred a bit more personal space. Benny's account seems the most accurate: "Me hold baby hand. Baby cry." I love him!

We're already looking forward to our next visit with those guys!

Snuggles with Da. Love.

Bonding over their shared love of pouring water from sippy to glass.

I love the Evie-sized sandy handprints (sandprints?) on his back

photo enhancement courtesy of Michelle

Another attempt at holding her hand

Success!

Happy Sweet Sixteen (months) to Evie today!