A second Disney Day - Epcot

Day two of our Disney vacation was more for Mom and Dad than Baby. The last time I was at Epcot I had been pregnant with Clara and unable to ride any of the thrill rides so Pat and I started out the morning taking turns on Mission: Space and Test Track. Then we grabbed Fast Passes for Soarin'. During the wait for Soarin' we took Clara on The Land, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. She really seemed to enjoy The Land and pointed at the plants and waved to the fish. She did well with Spaceship Earth... I was a little worried that the dark parts would scare her, but she just snuggled up in my lap. And by the time we hit Nemo the day caugh up with her. Clara was asleep before we got through the line, and she slept through the whole ride.

After Pat and I finished Soarin' we headed out to the World Showcase (or for Patrick - the Tour of Beers). We couldn't have had better weather for our walk(mid 70's with lots of sunshine). We grabbed a lunch in Mexico where we also took Clara on the Three Cabilleros ride. She really liked that one. In fact, at the end of the ride an older couple behind us said that they had more fun watching her than the ride.



But for Clara the best "ride" of the day came at then end when we decided to let her run around to tire her out before the drive home. We found a quite section of the Innovations pavillion where she ran up and down the corridor, and in and out through the automatic doors. She sqealled and giggled like crazy as I chased her or baited her with her hat.

Clara's First day in the Magic Kingdom

Today was the first day of Clara's first trip to Disney World. We started the day out with the pleasant surprise of having or resort reservations bumped from a value resort to the moderate resort Disney's Carribean Beach Resort. After checking in at the resort, we caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom and picked up our new season passes. Clara was already enjoying herself by flirting with people at the bus stop and in line at the will-call window. Here is a picture of us waiting for the bus.

Once in the park we took Clara for her first ride: It's A Small World. She didn't get super excited, but she did stand in my lap and look HARD at everything. I don't know if she even blinked she was staring at things so hard with disbelief... like she couldn't imagine that Mom and Dad would have kept something like this from her for her whole life. Here is a picture of us waiting in line for It's A Small World.

We also took Clara to ride Aladin's Magic Carpets, see Mickey's Country House and Minnie's House, play in Pooh Bears Playground, and ride the Winnie the Pooh ride. Here are some photos from those rides:

Us on a flying carpet.

Picking up the stroller from the stroller parking area (they even have stroller parking attendants... one moved our stroller while we were on a ride... sneaky)

Clara found some honey pots in Pooh's play area.

Clara and I sitting in Minnie Mouse's solarium.
And finally... the day took its toll :)

Clara and Bear - Best Friends

Clara is quite fond of her bear. Here they are in her rocking chair.

Magic Kingdom here we come

Today we're packing for Clara's first trip to Walt Disney World. She has been having a great couple of weeks, and I hope her great mood lasts through the weekend. She is so much happier now that she is walking well... she loves having the ability to go where she wants. I hope that we can find some nice toddler friendly play areas at Disney because I'm afraid that she will get grumpy if she has to sit in her stroller all day now. Below are some pictures from this week.

Clara likes to feed herself in her high chair. And she loves to sit in her rocker with her favorite bear.


I got this smile when I caught her climbing the stairs

My 10 month old - How far she's come

Today Clara turns 10 months old. What is she up to? She has given up crawling almost completely and prefers walking everywhere instead. And she getting pretty darn fast at it. She also likes to do anything dangerous she can come up with. Examples: she climbs into her rocking chair and tries to sit on the arm rest. She climbs onto of empty boxes, the ottomans in our living room, and just about anything else that is remotely sturdy enough and low enough for her to grab hold of. She has been perfecting her stair climbing and can now go up quite well, but has also started to come down them slowly.

She enjoys babbling to herself, but most of it is baby gibberish. She still has about a 4 word vocabulary (Dada, Kitty, Titty, and rarely Mama)... but she also pointed out a dog to me last weekend and said Dawdga. So maybe that's 5 words. And when she gets angry she will shake her finger at the object of contempt and babble in a disapproving tone. It is adorable.

She is becoming a much pickier eater. She turns her head away from anything on a spoon (creamy yogurt being the one exception) and only wants to eat finger foods she can feed herself. This is causing a little trouble in that she still only has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom). Her favorites are bananas and Gerber pasta pickups (for non-parents they are little toddler size ravioli without sauce). Clara also snacks on cheerios and goldfish crackers. I've been letting her try more and more table foods... except for sweets, we're saving cake and ice cream for her first birthday. She is still nursing, but mostly as a comfort activity rather than for nourishment. We've also introduced whole milk in her sippy cup...tried formula for more nutrients, but that did NOT go over well. Below you can see how messy these self-feeding sessions can be - this particular one involved toast with grape jelly (and no, I have no idea what I was thinking).

After her messy dinner times it is time for bathy. For bath time she has graduated to the 'big tub' even though I think she would have preferred to stay in the sink. Her assorted rubber duckies (she has her own flock) all join her for her nightly bubble bath.

Nighttime has also gotten a lot easier for Mom and Dad. Clara sleeps through the night almost every night. Or when she does wake up and cry she has learned to sooth herself back to sleep. Of course these long sleeping nights have resulted in little to no day time naps, but the trade-off is working ok for our family.

In about a week and a half we have planned Clara's first visit to Disneyworld - and yes, I know she won't remember any of it... but I will and I can't wait to see the awe and excitement in her eyes. Don't worry, I've got the camera charging already.

This week in pictures

My little dreamer...

Last weekend, Clara enjoyed attending the first birthday of our neighbor Addison. The party was at our neighborhood park.


And just hanging out with Mom.

Clara Walking

It has been less than a month since Clara's first steps, but she seems to be getting this walking thing down. Of course it helps that her Great Aunt Pat got her some awesome pink Crocks.