Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Giraffes, Whales and Tigger Too

November has been a crazy busy month for us and December is looking to be the same.  I am not complaining though, because we were very fortunate to get to go to Walt Disney World for a few days.  Nanie and Papa had a condo in Orlando so we tagged along.  Keith was a bit hesitant about taking Grace since she is only 20 months old, but she LOVED the whole trip - amusement parks, pools, animals, oh my!



Already people watching!

The parks were already decorated for Christmas.  

Grace's very first ride.  Aladdin.  This was the first of many rides that we went on. After this she quickly figured out how fun the were and would start chanting 'Ride, Ride, Ride' when she spotted on she wanted to go on.  There was a perma-grin on her face on every ride.  Only once was she a bit scared.  

Mad Tea Party - spinning was fun!  

Keith was very excited to get to meet Jiminy Cricket - Grace wasn't as sure about him.

Recently, my Great Aunt Irma passed away.  She absolutely adored Grace even though she never got the chance to meet her.  I completely believe that she is looking over Grace from Heaven and this was confirmed when I saw the name of our Safari boat at Disney - 'Irrawaddy Irma'


This was her face throughout most of Animal Kingdom on the Safari ride.  We did it twice as a result.  She loved looking at all of the animals while on what she called the 'Choo Choo'.

No trip would be complete without a custom Minnie Mouse hat.  Too bad she wouldn't wear it until after we got home.



Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too


Unfortunately, my camera broke the morning we went to Sea World, so I don't have any pictures, but the Dolphin Show was everyones favorite.

Here are a few things that I learned on the trip.  20 months is a great age.  We brought the stroller and lots of snacks.  When Grace got tired, she took a nap in the stroller and we would ride non-toddler friendly rides and trade off watching her.  We didn't have to worry about melt downs or having to leave the park in the middle of the day.  We tried to get to each park as soon as it opened and left in time to make it home for and early dinner and bed.   We also stuck to the parks where it was geared more to stuff she could do as well.  As long as she was engaged in what was around her she was very happy.   November was a great time to go as well - less crowded and great weather.  We didn't have much more than a 25 min wait, which Grace didn't even mind.  

We can't wait to go back again.  Thanks Nanie and Papa!