Disney World

Day 1 of our vacation was Disney World!!! From our beachside resort we were staying at we had about an hour and a half drive to Disney so the grand plan was to be up way early so we could be there when the gates opened. Well that didn't quite happen because we were all a wee bit tired but we made it there shortly after the parks opened. I was so pumped!! When we booked this trip a year ago I was super nervous about flying with a four year old and about taking her to Disney. Hot, humid climate, crowds, waiting in lines, and no napping could lead to a serious meltdown and I didn't want to be that parent dragging around a screaming child. But she did beautifully! Madelyn slept the entire car ride to Disney and was ready to go when we got there. I took literally hundreds of pictures while at Disney so these are just some of our favorites.

I have been to Epcot and MGM but never to Magical Kingdom and Matt and Madelyn had never been to any of the parks so we were all in for a special day! I did look at online tips from people who dedicate themselves to doing Disney Right but decided not to become the Nazi mom who has a rigid schedule that doesn't allow for food or bathroom breaks. So we just mosied around the park and enjoyed all we could do while there. And I can honestly say we rode every ride we wanted to, saw everything we wanted to, relaxed and ate amazing pineapple/orange swirl icecream when we wanted to, and had an awesome day!Definitely one our favorites was the shows put on in front of Cinderella's Castle. We caught a show about ten minutes before it was to start and got great spots up front. But half way into the show we looked back and there were thousands of people behind us. It was amazing! Every girl loves her some PRINCESSES!!Madelyn won't stop talking about this witch. Or captain hook, or the pirates! Several times during the day we had to tell her that those mean characters weren't real, they were just pretend because they upset her so much.Shortness got a boost from her Daddy.One of the first stops we made was to the gift shop to buy one of those way overpriced autograph books and pen just to get character autographs. But hey, how many times are you at Disney and get to meet your favorite characters! The first character we saw was Pinochio and Madelyn didn't know who he was. Oh well! As you can see our shy girl didn't care very much for him.Then we saw Cinderella's stepmother and evil stepsisters. They were a hit! They played their parts so well it was fun for the whole family! See she is begining to open up here.Look, now there is a smile on her face. She even gave both of them a hug. YEAH!And then there was Ariel. Madelyn is in love with her so she got a bit nervous. Ariel could tell she was nervous so she secretly flipped to the front of the autograph book to learn Madelyn's name and then said, "I bet your name is Madelyn." Oh how this scored points with our little one. She is still so impressed that Ariel just knew her name! I took tons of pictures of the sites, signs, and landscaping because it is magical!Riding the Dumbo ride with DaddyTomorrowland was one of our favorite places. We got to see Chip and Dale and Buzz.Buzz was hands down our favorite ride! You go in a little car through the ride and the riders have the ability to spin the car towards the bad guy targets and shot at the targets. We all loved this one!Miss Attitude in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. It was a truly unique treehouse with tons of stairs going up, little watering systems, and rooms filled with nick nacks. Patiently waiting in line. We did a lot of waiting. Which kind of stinks but not all of the rides had fast passes so that's what you do. We had decided not to take a stroller with us and if we thought we needed one during the day we would just rent one there but we kept seeing little babies and big kids in strollers asleep. At one point in the hot afternoon Madelyn asked me why kids go to Disney World and fall asleep. I told her they were probably just tired and taking a nap and I asked her if she was tired. She said no way, it's Disney World! What a trooper!

I love this camel, he spits water at innocent, non-suspecting bystanders walking down the path!We're on a Magic Carpet Ride!In the Jungle with lots of interesting creatures.
It truly was a magical day! At one point Madelyn looked at me and said, "Mom, Disney World is a special place."

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

Since our airplane ride to Florida for vacation was Madelyn's first plane ride I was a bit nervous to say the least! Fortunately I found very affordable nonstop flights so if it was a bad experience at least is would be a short flight. So we packed up the dvd player, her leapster, snacks, and gum. I was pleasantly surpised when she wanted to sit by the window and watch take off. Actually, I am amazed at how well she did during take off because she is such a cautious kid! She loved every minute of both flights!! She watched intently out the window, pointed out bodies of water, clouds, and wasn't bothered by an air pockets. She and Matt even got into a little arguement on the way back because they both wanted to sit by the window. It was comical!


Our resort was awesome! It was across the street from the beach and had canal to walk along on the other side. Our condo had a full kitchen and dining room, sun room, french doors, and an awesome shower. Most of the condo was tiled and we quickly found out how well sand accumulates and had to sweep the floors. I love the carefree furniture and decor of Florida. The white wicker furniture, colorful plants, and fun accent decorations definitely put us in the vacation mood!

T-ball Round 1

We branched out this year and decided to sign Madelyn up for summer t-ball and we were hoping for a good experience since she is a year older than last year's soccer attempt. Just in case you don't remember our soccer experience you can check it out here. So it couldn't be worse than soccer last year, right?? Well, it definitely started out rough!!

Madelyn and I drove to the recreation commission to drop off our registration in May and I started talking about t-ball hoping to get her pumped up to play, WRONG!! She starts out telling me she doesn't want to play t-ball she wants to play soccer (such a lie) and by the time I actually hand in the paperwork she is full on wailing that she never wants to play t-ball and she is going to live at Jan's house (daycare lady) so she doesn't have to play. To which I tell her that's fine if that's what she wants but I just paid for t-ball so Jan will take her to play. Such a great parenting moment, not! After I get her back into her carseat, still hysterical, I call her father just so he knows what were dealing with!! This was our first clue that t-ball might not go well!

Then a few weeks before the league was to start I hadn't heard anything from the coach so I called the recreation commission to find out our coach hadn't picked up his things yet. No big deal but I did ask a few questions about the league and found out there was no instructional piece or practice just games. Well great! Who doesn't have any instructional piece in a four year old league?? Clue number 2.

So the first night of t-ball we get all prepared. Camera, check. Water bottles because it's 95 degrees, check. Adorable pink t-ball glove, check. What's missing? The team t-shirt! Our coach brought the t-shirts to the first game and the kids changed on the field. This is where it all went horribly wrong!! There was absolutely NO way our little one was taking her shirt off in front of anyone. There were tears and tugging on our arms to get us to leave, a large fit. Eventually Madelyn and I walked way out away from everyone else just to switch shirts. Then there was a little hat issue. She wanted nothing to do with their team hats. Not having it, no way! So we didn't wear the hat.

By now Matt and I are tired and Madelyn's team has already taken the field. But we're ready to play now! So Matt starts to walk her to the dug out and I can see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice, this isn't going to be pretty. So I hurry to get out the camera. They made it almost to the dug out and this is what happened. A full on dead spring back to mommy! Clue number 3.

I love this shy, cautious girl! She reminds me so much of myself. Sometimes that makes me sad because I know she will be so guarded that she will sometimes miss out on fun things so I'm trying to model more outgoing things for her. I know regardless, she is who she is, and I love her!


Eventually she and I made it to the dugout to cheer on her team.

A big step, sitting in the dugout by herself!

Looky there, she made it out on the field

In the end, she did field for a few innings and even threw the ball back to the coach. And she batted once! So there was definite progress.

My Little Gardener

For Easter this year my mom and dad gave Madelyn a little gardening set complete with her own princess gardening gloves, a shovel, and cushy pad for her knees. She sure loves them!

This year we had some new fiber optic grass to plant up front in the flower beds that Matt's mom and dad gave us. And we did our annual veggie shopping trip in the pouring rain which makes it interesting because we grabbed as quickly as we could and apparently I was in the mood for peppers because we sure bought several variety of pepper plants and I'm the only one that eats them! We also bought roma tomatoes, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, cilantro, basil, oregano, and cat nip. They are really doing great will all the rain we've had!

Easter at Home

First there was the annual coloring of the eggs which we all love to do. I don't know why but there is something fun about dunking eggs into colored water, putting stickers on them, and using a wax crayon to write on them that takes everyone back to fond childhood memories.

Concentrate, Concentrate, don't drop it

I love this photo! Such sweetness and innocence!


Easter is the holiday we usually celebrate at home by ourselves because our school doesn't give us Friday or Monday off and that would make it a super short trip to share between both our families and extended families in Larned. We did church in the morning and had our egg hunt just after church. In order to get the eggs hid I took Madelyn to the back yard to start hunting while Matt hid the eggs in the front yard. She looked and looked all over the back but couldn't find any and just when she was starting to get frustrated Matt came out and suggested the bunny might have hid them in the front instead. She said, "Good idea Dad, let's check!" Off she went!

It is so fun to see her excitement and joy through the holiday!

Easter at the YMCA

We attended the Easter event at the Platte County YMCA where Matt works and loved it. They had the Easter Bunny to get photos taken with but you'll seen no photos with our little doll with the bunny, you know how that goes for us!! She did sit "close" to the bunny after several hours of being there but there was a definate NO for the photo! Oh well, it was a little chilly so we enjoyed a very quick egg hung outside.

Showing off all her goods!

Inside their gym they had several cool kids activities. What kid doesn't love the bounce house?!

She is getting so much better at trying things and not being as shy, especially around other kids. She still has to warm up a bit but as she grows in confidence and makes new friends she grows braver and braver every time. I'm so proud of her.

Such concentration on the balance beam!

Learning how to do a flip on the bars. She totally loved all the gymnastics events. Matt and I have always thought with her short body type she would make a good gymnast and it was fun to see her try out some of it.

Coming up next, pictures of Easter at our house. I know I'm still behind but I'm getting there!