Brandon's Puppy

A little bit of Disney Magic

Well, we're back from the Magic Kingdom, and had a wonderful time!
Here's a quick re-cap:

As soon as we walked in the park, we met Mickey. Brandon was very excited! He was not taken aback by the characters like he was during our last trip. In fact, he approached all of them, giving his favorites big hugs.
Our little boy was finally old enough to have his own adventures on Tom Sawyer Island. Here he is with his daddy going across the Barrel Bridge.
The longest line we waited through was for Dumbo. The posted wait time was 60 minutes, I think we waited just under that. Brandon was a bit apprehensive about the ride, and asked to "go home" and proclaimed, "I'm scared" right before our turn, but he ended up liking the ride, using the gear on the ride to make Dumbo fly up and down. Here's a shot of us waiting in line.
There's a whole new section just for little ones in Fantasyland, Pooh's Playful Spot, especially for 2- to 5-year-olds. This was an unexpected treat, with slides and tunnels resembling tree trunks, and kiddie-sized entrances into a huge tree that is Winnie the Pooh's home. But Pooh wasn't home, we found him at the Toontown Hall of Fame, along with Eeyore, Tigger, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy. Poor Brandon was showing Tigger how he bounces and tripped and fell against a wall, but Tigger, being such great pal, started bouncing too and "somehow" lost his balance and also fell against the wall. Brandon kissed his nose to make him feel better. Quite the Kodak Moment!
We spent Sunday shopping at the Outlet mall in Orlando, and then headed home. Traffic was a bit rough--the trip, which is usually under 4 hours, took us 5 hours and a bit, but that was the worst part of the entire weekend.
Our passes have expired for this year, but we are already planning a small trip in March to celebrate Brandon's friend's birthday. We just can't get enough of the place!

On the Road

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you to all our friends who dropped by the post below to share their Thanksgiving blessings.

I'm just popping my head in to say hi because we're packing our bags. We are taking advantage of the long weekend and headed to Disney World. We'll be back on Sunday. Be good while we're gone, Santa's really watching now since he'll be here in less than a month.

Feel free to entertain yourselves by checking out the blogroll over there on the left.

BYE!

Thanksgiving blessings

Caltechgirl asks, "What are you thankful for this year?"
I was going to answer in her comments, but didn't want to kill her bandwidth, so here goes:

First of all, my family. There is nothing better than giggling the day away with Brandon. And the hubby's great too...when he's not annoying. LOL
Truthfully, I'm quite thankful for the hubby I have. We may have our disagreements, but I love him dearly. We're stuck with each other for life!

The rest of my family, all the sides--paternal, maternal, stepfamily. Everybody!
Thank you all for being a part of our lives. We love you.

Our friends. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends, the same group for the last 10+ years. And very fortunate that we've added four new little ones to that group. I hope they are as lucky to have as lasting a friendship as us "adults" have.
And of course, our other friends as well. What a wonderful feeling to know you are surrounded by people who love you.

Our home-the one I have now, and the one we expect to buy soon. We put our place on the market last month and we're looking for a bigger place, for several reasons. I'm thankful we are lucky enough to be able to afford a bigger home.

Our jobs. We may get frustrated and irritated, but we are so lucky to have those jobs. Mine in particular, which has granted me such great opportunities. And Eric's, which he claims aggravates him, but I know he loves it. (or at the very least, likes it.)

And most of all, our health. If we don't have that, we have nothing.

What are you thankful for? Let us know in the comments.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

p.s. I neglected to mention our servicemen and women when I posted this yesterday. Without them, we would not have so much to be thankful for. Thank you all for your selfless fight for our freedom.

Little Chatterbox

Brandon said the following on the way home this afternoon:

"Mommy, are we going up that hill?" (looking at off-ramp on our right)

"No, baby, we're going up that ramp over there."

"I'm not going up the ramp. I'm not driving. You're going up
the ramp." (yes, the you're was emphasized)

We bought him Thomas the Train slippers over the weekend, which he is completely attached to. It is a mission every morning to convince him that he needs to put on his sneakers, that the slippers are only for home.

Very matter-of-factly, he says:

"Mommy, when I go home, I'm going to put my Thomas slippers on."

And a couple of nights ago, as we drove past some homes decorated with Christmas lights:

"Mommy, I saw the red and white lights"

"You did?..do you know what they are for?"

"Yes. Christmas. Santa comes and brings me toys. I'm a good boy and I go
to Chuck E Cheese."

Apparently, he remembers that he needs to be good to go to CEC, and Santa has the same criteria.

Vote for Valentina!!

Aaron is holding his annual Deck of Bloggers, and right now, Val is in the top three. Go vote for BabaluBlog. He's currently the Jack of Spades, but who knows, if he makes it to Queen, maybe we'll get to see Valentina again...

vote. Here. NOW!!!

Where did my hair go??

Hey, everybody!
Look at my new haircut!!

The Babies

Here are the latest additions to our circle of friends, together for the first time (seated in order from oldest to youngest):

Matthew 2 months and 24 days old
Christian 1 month and 25 days old
Sophie 1 month and 12 days old
Andrew 19 days old

Birthday Wishes!!

Happy Birday, Beka! You are 3. You are my friend. We are going to your party.
YAY!

Veterans Day

To all of you who have fought for our freedoms: past, present and future.
Thank you. Without you, we simply would not be.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday, CalTechGirl!
May you have many, many more. Thank you for your great friendship, for putting up with all my ramblings, and for being such a fan of Brandon and his antics.

The Baby Boom Continues...

Brandon's best friend Rebeka has become a big sister! She and her mommy and daddy welcomed the newest addition to their family yesterday morning:

Andrew Alexander
Born November 3 at 4:23 AM
7 pounds, 8 ounces
20 inches long.

Congratulations, dear friends!