Friday, November 30, 2012

Hannah’s Visit with Santa 2012

Second time was a charm.  Last year we went and had our family Christmas pictures taken and then went directly to the mall to visit Santa.  I tried the same thing this year only to find out that Santa has an earlier bed time this year and we’d missed him by about 45 mins.  Oh well…we tried.  It gave us an opportunity for Hannah to wear her other Christmas dress so the following night we had a quick supper and then dressed for Santa!
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Posing for the cameraIMG_8792
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I like taking Hannah for her visit the first week Santa is there since it’s not busy.  She barely had time to sit down to colour a picture IMG_8802
when it was her time to visit the jolly old guy himself.IMG_8805
It’s hard to hear in the video but Hannah asked Santa for a princess umbrella.  She already has one but she says she wants another one just in case the first one gets broken.  Heh…that’s my prepared little girl!
We’re both super excited that tomorrow has been set aside for everything Christmas!  Hannah has been asking for 2 weeks for us to put up our tree and tomorrow is our day!  Wheee!!!  Mommy also has some inside information that a certain little Elf will show up tomorrow morning and he’s arriving with a party in hand!  Can’t wait!!!
Merry Christmas!IMG_8800

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

First Curls

Recently I saw a neat idea on a website I follow and knew immediately that I wanted to try it on Hannah sometime.  This was our first attempt and it was fun to see my little sweetie with something a little different – curls!

Friday night we dampened her hair just a little and then rolled it up in 4 socks.IMG_8818 - Copy

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Ready for bedIMG_8822

I was wondering if sleeping might be a challenge with the socks but before I even left the room after her bedtime prayers my sweetie was sound asleep.IMG_8824

The next morning when we first took out the socks the curls were pretty fuzzy IMG_8826

but they soon settled down.   I think playing in our first snow of the season helped out.IMG_8833

This was taken about 8 hours later and the curls were still there.  Looking forward to trying this again some day as it’s a fun little change every once in a while.IMG_8852

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sigh…All Too Soon We Were Preparing to go Home

(Friday Nov 16 & Sat Nov 17, 2012)

For our final 2 days in FL we wanted to make the most of being together and being outside when we could.  The temperature had dropped a bit so we needed jackets but we happily wore them and still chose the cart as our preferred format of transportation.  We did look a little different from the others though when we had a stroller strapped to our cart rather than golf clubs. SmileIMG_8733

Hannah doesn’t use her stroller often at home but when we travel it’s great to have a place for her to be during our marathon shopping trips.   My little love has started to get lost in books so sometimes we will stop in the toy dept, pick up a few books and she will slowly page through them which allows me an option to browse.  We then return them to the shelf and she’s just fine with that.  While away I was able to make a good dent in my Christmas shopping which was fun and also takes some of the pressure off. 

One restaurant we used to have in Canada but don’t any longer is the Olive Garden.  Even though it’s been gone for many years we still miss it so try to take advantage of going when we’re away.  IMG_8735

Hannah’s napping location of choice while we were away ended up being snuggled on a lap in the cart.  Travelling from our home to the major shopping areas was 20-30 mins when using this method of travel so it was the perfect time to hunker down for a nap.  I love seeing her snuggled up to Nana enjoying this special time together.IMG_8738

Friday night we enjoyed a quiet night at home sharing time together.  I love how being away offers us a more relaxed schedule and down time that we don’t often take at home.  Hannah was in our room and this was how I found her when I went in to check on her.  Oy….is she 3 or 13??IMG_8741

Saturday morning Mom went out with my aunt and the rest of decided to head to Panera Break for breakfast.  After that we wandered over to the welcome centre to see the beautiful Christmas tree.IMG_8743

 

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We spent the day doing a variety of things and then went out for our final supper to a new place.  The wait was long but we entertained ourselves and all decided that the yummy dinner was worth the wait.

Hannah tried her hand at riding a steer.IMG_8754

Cuddling up with Grandpa to keep warm.IMG_8759

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All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and head home.  IMG_8777We love this time that we share together and we’re already talking about next year’s trip. 

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us Mom and Dad.  Safe travels home.  We miss you!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Dining at Cape May Followed by a Stroll Through Epcot

(Thursday, November 15th, 2012)

Last November we discovered the Cape May Cafe character breakfast at the Beach Club Resort.  We knew back then that we wanted to go back and also introduce Nana and Papa to this beautiful resort and restaurant.  As we enjoyed our breakfast we were visited by 3 of our Clubhouse friends including Hannah’s favourite, Goofy!IMG_8675

I’m not sure that Goofy didn’t have a crush on Nana though.  Check him out snuggling up to her!  Papa just laughed!IMG_8679

Also there in their cute beach attire were MinnieIMG_8671

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and Donald.IMG_8667

After breakfast we enjoyed a stroll to Epcot as the Beach Club is one of the resorts that is located near the international gateway.IMG_8683

First up was Soarin’ which is one of our favourite rides.  Even though I’ve been on this ride numerous times it still takes my breath away and I love that each time this ride ends the audience still erupts in applause!IMG_8685

We spent the day enjoying many of the wonderful rides and shows that Epcot offers.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day there.  We stopped at their large store and Hannah enjoyed finding as many Cinderella accessories she could find to go with her dress and trying them all on at the same time.IMG_8701

In ‘Mexico’ the girls posed for our traditional sombrero picture.IMG_8708

Grandma bought a treat for each of the girls.  IMG_8710

I love these pics.  In the first one the girls had switched purchases to see what the other person had chosen.  IMG_8713

The second one they switched back and it’s cute to see how their faces lit up when they were enjoying their new toy.

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We found Mulan in China IMG_8717

and Alice in the UK.IMG_8725

Enjoying a quiet moment to herself.IMG_8715

We shared 2 wonderful days together at Disney!  I love that Hannah gets to experience the Happiest Place on Earth with her grandparents and cousin.IMG_8719 - Copy

An immeasurable gift.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Magic Kingdom….Great Fun and Memories Made

(Wednesday, Nov 14, 2012)

Wednesday morning we were up bright and early, ready for a day of fun at the Magic KingdomIMG_8593 - Copy

Dad decided to skip this year’s Disney trip and we missed him.  Hopefully next year he’ll join us.  He enjoyed 2 quieter days recouping from his cold and doing a little golfing with Uncle Paul.

When we arrived at the MK I recommended that we take the train to Fantasyland.IMG_8598

It may sound silly but this isn’t something that I’d choose to do again.  As much as Main Street is bustling and crowded first thing in the morning, I missed that.   I missed seeing the castle come into view and having our group picture taken with it in the background.  Yup, next time it’s crowded Main Street for us with a huge smile on my face!

We did have a great time in Fantasyland though and the first ride Hannah introduced Nana and Papa to was her favourite, the Goofy Rollercoaster.  She loves that ride and would ride it over and over again.  From there we went on a ride that all could enjoy – Dumbo!  A Disney classic and such fun.  It’s nice now that there are two Dumbo's so the lines are not as long  Bec is not a fan of heights so she and Mom ensured their Dumbo stayed down low.IMG_8609

The rest of us like to climb high and Hannah, well Hannah loves to make us bounce up and down while I tease her about her crazy driving!IMG_8613

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One of Bec’s favourite rides is the Tomorrowland Speedway and we had lots of fun there too!  Once again Hannah enjoyed driving.  IMG_8619

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We also went for a spin on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Any day at Disney is made better with a snack of our guilty pleasure:  caramel apples covered with peanuts.

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More Disney classic rides.  Prince Charming’s CarouselIMG_8628

and ‘it’s a small world.’  Hannah is in awe throughout this ride and I love to watch her little eyes as she takes it all in.  If you listen very, very carefully you can also hear her singing along  with the song.  Sorry – you’ll probably find yourself singing it all day too! Smile

We enjoyed a ride on the Liberty BoatIMG_8644IMG_8642

and then settled in to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade.  By this point Hannah was done and curled up in her stroller after the parade and went to sleep.  We left Hannah napping with the grandparents while Bec and I went in to meet the princesses.   IMG_8649

Bec had waited patiently all day to meet Rapunzel and she had such fun with her.  It was sweet to see Bec trying to be all grown up and yet at the same time – it’s Rapunzel!!  IMG_8655

We made our way to our resort which was the new Art of Animation resort and stayed in a beautiful room in the Little Mermaid wing.  If you have an opportunity to stay here I’d say to go for it for sure!IMG_8660

Tomorrow – Epcot!

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