Cole Turns Three!

It is always with mixed emotions that we celebrate the twin's birthday.  When we planned the Disney trip it was intended to be on Cole's birthday so he could celebrate with Mickey.  Given he had one of the best birthday presents a kid could hope for we didn't plan a birthday party at home with his friends this year.

Daddy and the kids picked me up from the airport (coming back from the conference in TN) and we went to Red Robin for a birthday lunch, the obligatory singing from the wait staff and an ice cream sundae.  We went home after lunch so everyone could take naps and then, as with years past, we celebrated with a family picnic, a campfire and by sending a lantern to Kendall in Heaven.  A bittersweet day for us but so wonderful to spend it together as a family doing what we love.  The sunset and weather were absolutely perfect which was welcomed after last year's sketchy drizzle.  And of course Cole celebrated with his favorite food (a Schweisthal tradition) - pizza!

What truly matters in a birthday is not the presents or the party, but a celebration of birth and appreciation of having another year together.  We are so blessed to be able to spend every day with our little ironman and look forward to the next year!

I would like to dedicate this journal entry to our beautiful baby girl, Kendall Kaye.  You were with us for what felt like the blink of an eye and yet you've impacted so many people with your time here on earth.  I am thankful for the people you have brought into my life and for helping me feel such a deep sense of love for a daughter I barely knew.  A piece of my heart will always be with you and I hope you know how much your mommy, daddy, big sister Reagan and baby brother Cole love you.  We blow you kisses every night and I pray that you look over us in the way only an angel can.  I yearn for the day that we can be together again and that I can hold you in my arms and tell you everything will be okay.  

My dearest Kendall Kaye...

In life I loved you dearly,

In death I love you still.

In my heart you hold a place

no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway

and heartache make a lane,

I'd walk the path to heaven

and bring you back again.

...We love you sweet baby girl

Safe in His Arms ~ Forever in our Hearts

NANN Conference and Preemie Parent Alliance

After an amazing trip to Disney, I started to refocused and prepared for my trip to Nashville, TN.  I was asked to share my story about Kendall at the National Association of Neonatal Nurses Conference just days before the twins 3rd birthday.  Although honored to present, this time of year is especially difficult as the memories of some of the hardest days of our lives are brought back to the surface.  The goal of the presentation was to share the scenario, ask nurses to volunteer to roll play how they would have handled the situation and then have me conclude with the actual events that took place.  My goal was to share how difficult it was to take Kendall off the ventilator as Cole was going into cardiac arrest and to provide ideas for what I think could have helped during this challenging experience.

Although not a flawless presentation, I know from the tears in the audience that my story was understood and hope that sharing it gets easier with time.  If I am able to help just one nurse who can in turn help just one parent, then my experience is worth every moment of reliving that heart wrenching experience.  I have been asked to present again at the National Neonatologists Conference in February and hope I can share my story in a meaningful way once again.

In addition to supporting the presentation, I represented Preemies Today at the Preemie Parent Alliance trade show booth that was part of the conference.  All 23 organizations that are part of the Preemie Parent Alliance were formed by preemie parents to support other preemie parents.  I spent five days with an amazing group of men and women who shared their stories willingly and openly.  Each story bringing it's own unique experience to the journey of being a preemie parent.  After the NANN Conference the Preemie Parent Alliance had a separate meeting to share best practices for managing our individual groups and gathering new ideas for supporting other parents.

Disney Vacation Day 6 ~ Hollywood Studios here we come!

What a whirlwind! It was Friday already and it was our last day at the park.  We decided to start at Hollywood Studios and although we got an early start, we waited a long time for a bus and ended up at the park a little later than expected.  We started with the Little Mermaid show followed by the Disney Junior Show. Both were excellent and a big hit with the kids. They even got autographs from Jake and got some gold de blumes! Reagan also wanted to visit the shops and fell in love with Eore. When I said, "are you sure that's what you want? He looks sad." She said, "well I know, he's sad because he doesn't have a mommy! We need to buy him so he's not sad." You can't complain about that logic.

We had a bite to eat at the Sunset Market and then decided to head back to the hotel so the kids could nap before our big night at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Daddy decided to nap with Cole and Mommy took Reagan to the pool for an hour. After a quick dip in the pool the kids got dressed in their costumes and we headed to the monorail for dinner at the Magic Kingdom and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  Our last dinner was at the Liberty Tree Tavern, a family style dining. Then the kids did a little trick-or-treating and rode a few rides. Cole went back to his two favorites with Daddy, the Carousel and the Dumbo ride. Reagan never turns down the carousel but chose the roller coaster over Dumbo.

After a few rides we headed back to Main Street to watch the Halloween Parade. Although there was a significant rain delay, it finally made it's debut and it was totally worth the wait. And much to Cole's excitement, the monorail was broken yet again, so we took the boat back to the hotel and were able to watch some of the fireworks from the water. A beautiful ending to an amazing week.

Disney Vacation Day 5 ~ Animal Kingdom here we come!

Day 5 we decided to go to the Animal Kingdom while the rest of the group went to Epcot.  Although it was pouring down rain the entire bus trip there, the clouds broke and it ended up being a nice day. We walked around for a little bit and then decided to have lunch at the Pizzafari before going on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. Reagan's class in preschool has an owl for a mascot so we took Ollie all over Disney World with us.  She was especially excited to see the owl mural in the Pizzafari.  It was fun for the kids to see some animals we don't have at our zoo like the hippos, rhinoceroses and warthogs. Cole was thrilled by the bumpy ride in a cool jeep-like truck. 

After the safari ride we let the kids look around the shops and Reagan decided she needed a stuffed Simba. She's all about the stuffed animals! Cole got a pirate Mickey shirt and matching hat/ears.  Then we went a show called It's Tough to be a Bug which was a 3d show with intense sounds, fog, pitch black at times, squirting water, bees that sting you in the back and cock roaches that crawl under your legs. Both kids thought it was a lot of fun although definitely on the scary side.  Then we wandered into Dinoland and rode the Triceratops ride. After a fun visit we decided to head back to the hotel to see if Cole would lay down for a nap.

Dinner Thursday night was at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother and the wicked step sisters. The girls were dressed in their princess gowns; Abby was Snow White and Reagan was Aurora.  Once again we clamored for our autograph books and took lots of pictures.  Cole even got a kiss on the forehead from Cinderella!   

After dinner we headed back to the hotel so the kids could swim in the pool. Unfortunately Cole never did take a nap so he and Daddy went to the room after swimming for a little bit and Reagan and Mommy watched Rapunzel on the big screen on the beach in her PJs, playing in the sand with Abby, watching fireworks and eating popcorn.

Disney Vacation Day 4 ~ Magic Kingdom Take Two

On Wednesday, Day 4, we went back to the Magic Kingdom in the morning. We met almost all of the princesses and although Cole loved seeing them, he begged to ride the carousel. Reagan loved giving them hugs and asking for their autographs.  Both Reagan and Cole have autograph books.  We rode the carousel, the Dumbo ride, met Tigger and Poo and ate lunch at the Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. After lunch daddy took Cole back to the hotel for a nap and Mommy and Reagan stayed with Abby and Patti to ride the Small World ride and the Little Mermaid.

After a fun filled day in the park we returned to the hotel to change and go to dinner. Dinner was at Chef Mickey's.  The kids loved meeting Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Donald and Goofy.  We also had a cake delivered and sang Happy Birthday to Cole to celebrate him turning THREE!  After dinner we got back on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom to watch the laser light show on Cinderella's castle and the fireworks.  We also rode Aladdin's magic carpet ride and the Haunted Mansion. And with two exhausted kids we made it back to the hotel about 10pm and both slept really well!

Disney Vacation Day 3 ~ Magic Kingdom here we come!

Another magical day! When we woke up Tuesday it was still raining so we took it easy in the morning. I brought breakfast back to the room and we had Mickey waffles in bed and watched the original Mickey cartoons.  It's amazing how much they have changed! We then wandered over to the Grand Floridian to see their shops.

The Coullahans arrived just in time for lunch so we had a quick bite to eat at the hotel.  Reagan and Cole were so excited their friends had arrived!  We headed for the monorail after lunch to go to the Magic Kingdom.  Luckily the rain gave way to a hot and sunny day. The kids had a great time meeting Mickey and Pluto with barely any line at all. We saw several parades, rode the Little Mermaid ride, did a little shopping (Reagan really wanted Lady from Lady and the Tramp). Then we went to Tony's for dinner. After dinner we took the boat back to the hotel. Cole didn't nap so he stayed in the hotel room with Daddy to get to bed early and Reagan and I took a quick swim in the pool before getting to bed.

Disney Vacation Day 2 ~ Visit from the Azzinaro's

Day two started with some play time at the pool and beach. Reagan built a princess sand castle and Cole loved throwing the sand. He especially loved hearing the horn from the boats as they came in to the hotel dock and left for the Magic Kingdom. After some play time we cleaned up and had lunch with Johnny's cousin who lives nearby, Donna and her husband Ronnie. They were so sweet to brings the kids lots of activity books to play with during lunch. We ate at the Kona Cafe at the hotel and enjoyed catching up. By the time lunch was over it had started to downpour and continued to rain all the way through Tuesday. Not knowing what to do, we took a ride on the monorail to waste some time and the kids thought that was fun. 

Then we cleaned up and headed on the bus for Downtown Disney for our dinner reservations at Raglan Road. It was wet and miserable the entire night, but we had ponchos and a rain cover for the stroller so we stayed relatively dry and made the most of it. We walked around downtown looking at shops. Reagan really wanted a Minnie Mouse and we had her look at all the shops and decide which one she wanted. It was an easy decision for Cole - the mouse. For Reagan she needed to decide which outfit she wanted Minnie to be wearing.  Who knew you could buy Minnie in all the princess outfits?  Not I!

The restaurant where we ate dinner is an Irish Pub that had live dancers and musicians. Unfortunately Cole didn't get a nap so he fell asleep in the stroller after we got to Downtown Disney. But we were glad he got some much needed rest. Reagan was asked if she wanted to go up on stage with several other little girls and they danced together with the Irish dancers. She thought that was great ! She did a really good job and even got her first signed autographs!

After dinner we let the kids pick out stuffed animals and we headed back to the bus for a cold and wet ride back to the hotel.

Disney Vacation Day 1 ~ Visit from the Majors

After 40 years of anticipation, we hit the road for Disney! The best part about taking two young children is that every part of the adventure is fun. The kids loved the train at Dulles Airport and Daddy knew to get us on the front car.  They both loved the plane and thought it was going really fast.  This was Cole's first trip on an airplane, but Reagan has already flown to Florida and Minnesota (twice).



After landing in Orlando we got on the Disney Magical Express Bus and headed to the Polynesian Resort. Again, another big winner sitting in the front seat of the bus and getting to ride the elevator at the hotel several times every day!  The Magical Express Bus was very handy because after we checked our luggage at the airport we didn't see it again until it was delivered to our hotel room.

Unfortunately our room wasn't ready since check-in wasn't until 4pm (and it was noon).  Also, our luggage hadn't arrived.  But we had a quick lunch at the hotel and then my first best friend from kindergarten, Aline arrived about 1pm.  She and her family lives in Tampa and they came to play at the pool for a while so we could catch up. She was with her husband Eric and three children.  Luckily she had an extra bathing suit so the Reagan could swim. Our room was ready shortly after they arrived and Johnny took Cole up to nap. After a couple hours of swimming the storms came through so we took the kids to the hotel arcade and let them play for a while before having a quick dinner at Captain Cook's quick service restaurant at the hotel.  We were most impressed by the $19 refillable insulated cups that had RFID chips inside to let the machines know they were "paid for" and to activate them to fill with drinks.

After saying our good byes, Johnny and I headed to the beach with Reagan and Cole where the hotel staff was roasting marshmallows and we let the kids play at the beach. All-in-all a relaxing first day!