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!

It's Back to School Time!

The week isn't over yet, but it has been a fun one all around!

We started the week with some Labor Day labor.  Grandma and Grandpa Schweisthal needed a few trees cut down so the guys broke out the chain saws, extension ladders, Bobcat and several ropes, hooks and cables and down they came.  Guessing this one was close to 100' tree (the dead looking one).

Cole started his first day of preschool Tuesday at Potowmack Elementary with Ms. Carolann and Ms. China.  He has been asking to ride the bus since last year when he waited patiently for Reagan to get home from school.  For the last week he has been saying, "it's going to be so fun!"  He squealed with excitement when the bus pulled up and was eager to get on until he realized I wasn't going with him.  Luckily he has two really sweet women who drive/assist on the bus.  When he got home from school he got off the bus and immediately looked up at me and said, "I did it by myself mommy! I rode the bus!"  The tell-tale sign that he loves school was when I asked if he wanted to go back tomorrow and he said, "sure."  Unfortunately he had a harder time getting back on the bus today since he knew what to expect, but I know he will start to ease into the routine by next week.  He talked about his new friends and having lunch with Ms. Carolann all afternoon....after a really long nap.

Reagan also started preschool this week.  This is her third year of preschool (the first two at Potowmack Elementary) but her first year at The Compass School in Ashburn with Ms. Amanda.  She was very excited to meet her teacher and new friends and had been asking about them for several weeks.  A quick good-bye kiss and she was off to play.  Reagan started her day in the Nature Center, did a science experiment with milk and food coloring, played on the playground, and wrote in her journal to practice writing her name and the letter of the week.  She was especially excited that she was chosen as line leader on her first day of school! When I picked her up she didn't want to leave.  What a great sign she is ready for school!

Reagan also had physical therapy today and will have occupational therapy tomorrow.  We talked with her previous therapist (Jill) and her new therapist (Kelly) about the brace situation and serial casting.  We decided we are going to wait to try serial casting at this point given she does have range of motion in her ankle, although the muscle is very tight (spastic).  The goal of casting is to increase range of motion.  Since she already has the range of motion (but isn't using it) there is a question as to whether it will provide enough gain to warrant casting for 4-6 weeks.  We also discussed the brace situation and we still aren't certain the direction we are going to go.  Both therapists agreed that it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to find shoes that will fit the hinged DAFO 2 brace that Dr. Romnes is recommending since the hinge is so wide.  They are considering the Allard or the DAFO 3.5.  Reagan's new PT is going to email Dr. Romnes and discuss options...to include trying her without a brace for awhile and see how she does.