Disney Day 1

My mom took Juliana and me away to Disney World.  We left the boys home with Scott who had support from my Dad and Scott's parents (and they were in daycare Monday-Thursday during the day).

We left Pittsburgh early Friday morning.  When we boarded the flight Juliana insisted that she wanted to sit near the window.  She hopped up into her seat, buckled her seat belt and insisted that we both buckle up.  As I was still getting situated she suddenly got nervous - "put your arm around me", she said.  Then I reminded her that if she sat in the middle she could have Nonni and Mommy next to her; she eagerly changed seats at that point.  So we took turns keeping an arm around her for much of the flight.  I think part of the problem was that we didn't bring her car seat onboard; she isn't used to sitting in a big seat with the seat belt.  The descent into Orlando was bumpy and her ears hurt so we were happy to be on the ground.

We headed to baggage claim and Juliana made herself comfortable on the luggage cart.

We loaded up the bags in the rental car and headed to the hotel.  This was our 3rd time staying at the Pop Century resort - it is one of the Disney value resorts.  After checking in we went ot the gorcery store and ate lunch while waiting for the room to be ready.  It was raining so we didn't want to go to a Park until our room was available.  Once our room was ready, we made the long trek from the parking lot to the room through the rain with all of our luggage on a big, unwieldy cart.  Once I returned the cart, we all unpacked and decided that we would venture to Epcot in the rain.

Before leaving we all signed our all purpose Disney room keys/Park passes/Dining cards.  Juliana did a really good job writting in such a small space.  The day she stops making her "J" backwards will be sad for me.

It was miserable at Epcot - puddles everywhere, raining the whole time.  Juliana stayed dry under her poncho with the exception of her feet and the bottoms of her pants.  We went on the Nemo ride and then looked at the fish for a while.  Then we went to the character area and saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald.  I didn't take my camera that night since it was raining so hard - I will have to wait for the Photopass CD for those pictures.  We rode Test Track which wasn't operating correctly so it wasn't much fun.  We decided to call it a night.  We took turns carrying the poncho clad Juliana to the bus stop, went back to the hotel room for dry clothes and then got dinner from the hotel food court.  We had a very early morning so an early night was a good idea.

In Juliana's Bed Today

When I took Juliana up to bed last night she insisted that she needed to take 2 stuffed animals from her play-area with her. As she climbed into bed and added those new animals to the assortment that was already in her bed, I noticed that there is a lot of stuff in there. So today I made a list of the items in her bed today.

3 pillows – 1 large and 2 small

2 blankets – the small fleece blanket that she snuggles in at night and the blanket that covers the rest of her and keeps her toes warm.

3 little silky blankies – originally she had one for home, one for daycare and a back-up in case one needed to be in the wash. When she stopped having a blankie at school she started sleeping with two. Then one of those was in the wash one night and she found out about extra blankie. Since then she has to have all 3 to sleep.

1 blue string from a lacing card set

1 pink foam circle – she discovered this when she came to visit me in the hospital when the boys were born. She insisted that it made a good hat and took it home. I’m not sure when she started to sleep with it.

1 pouch of Kleenex

A jewelry box that winds up and plays Swan Lake and currently contains 3 necklaces and a ring

1 My Little Pony, pink

1 tennis ball, pink

A plastic doll designed for practicing hair-dos along with a bag of hair accessories – she received this from her best friend at school for her birthday and she has needed to keep it close at night ever since.

A sippy cup with water in case she is coughing at night

8 stuffed animals, 2 of which play lullabies

18 books – This started during weekend naps when I told her if she wasn’t sleepy she could read books in bed and have quiet time. I had no idea the collection had grown so large.

I think that we will start by removing some of the books…

Juliana's Birthday - Part 2

After lunch Juliana, Nonni and I went to ToysRUs. Juliana had been in the store on days when other children were celebrating their birthday and she was excited to be the birthday girl. My grandmother and brother both sent money for her birthday so she had fun picking out presents for herself. Before we arrived, she told me she wanted a hula hoop – and just inside the entrance was a big box of hula hoops. She tested a few colors and sizes and decided on the purple one.

From the game board section, she wanted lots of things – mostly games that weren’t age appropriate. She decided on Chutes & Ladders – Princess Edition. She spent a long time at the train table playing.

By the end of the shopping trip, she had decided on the hula hoop, board game, game cartridge for her Leapster, toy microwave with a spinning tray that beeps, and assorted pots and pans and dishes. I let her play with her new toys for a few minutes and then it was time for a nap.

She barely protested when I took her upstairs and I had to wake her up for her evening birthday celebration.  First she needed some hula hoop time.

Nana, Papa and G arrived and she was ready to open presents.

And then it was time for cake.

There was even time for one game of Chutes and Ladders before the day was over. Scott was going to play which prompted her to ask, “Can Daddy learn how to be a Princess.” After a few minutes, she removed his princess from the board (Sleeping Beauty for the record) and told us Daddy can’t be a Princess. Apparently there are some things you are just born to be.

Juliana's Birthday - Part 1

Our day was far too busy to fit into one blog post...way to many pictures to tell the story.

Scott and I woke Juliana up together.  As she sleepily opened her eyes, she realized it was her birthday and smiled.  When asked how old she was she was happy to display 4 fingers.

While she was getting dressed Scott was at the other end of the hallway with the camera.  As she tried to hide behind the door (apparently tired of pictures by 8:00 am), I would open it and Scott would snap a picture - she thought this game was amazingly funny.

A quick picture in front of the house before school.

Scott and I went to her classroom at 10:30 for snack time with her cake.  It was a cake of cupcakes - perfect for splitting up with the class, yet it could have standard cake decorations.  They sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes.  And then Juliana lounged for a few minutes before we left.

Juliana came home with us and then we went out to lunch with Nonni and G.  Juliana loves cooking shows, she is just as happy to watch the Food Network on Saturday mornings and she is to watch Playhouse Disney.  So I thought she might enjoy a Japanese Hibachi lunch.  She was very excited that we were going to have lunch at a place where they cook right on our table.  However the fire right in front of her was a bit too much and she jumped on my lap and later hid on the floor.  But she did enjoy the flashing lights and music for her birthday.

Four

Juliana is 4 years old today.

Each morning Juliana wakes up between 7:00 and 8:00 filled with energy.  During the week we walk around the block to the school where Juliana has preschool and the boys are in the infant program.  She walks with me to take the boys to their room and then we walk to her classroom where I leave her with Ms Moran.  When preschool ends at 3:00, she goes to the afterschool program until someone (usually Mommy) comes to get her and then we get the boys and walk home.

Our evenings are busy trying to squeeze in playtime, eating dinner, bath, getting ready for bed, picking out clothes for the next day, bedtime stories, prayers and finally bed....all while taking care of the boys as well.  She is generally in bed for the night by 7:45.

She has never taken good naps at school.  Although she will quietly rest for the required 20 minutes, I can count on one hand the number of times she has actually fallen asleep.  On the weekend or when she is home for any reason during the week in the afternoon, she will take a 2-3 hour nap.

She is so busy, constantly in motion.  At some point I expect her to learn to watch where she is going and stop running into things.  And at other times, she can be so focused and still.  When she watches a new episode of a favorite show it's as if she has been transported to a distant land and can't hear a word I am saying even though I am right next to her.  She will do the same thing with a Leapster game - completely focused on the game and the rest of the world fades away.

We had a busy day today, all about Juliana, and I have 249 pictures to prove it.  But for tonight I will include a trip back in time with her bear pictures from her 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st birthdays.

Field Trip - Pumpkin Farm

Today was my first field trip in a really long time.  Juliana's class, the 3-yr preschool, kindergarden and 1st grade all went to a local farm today - Triple B Farms - for their fall festival.  Every day for weeks, our morning has begun with the same question - Is today pumpkin farm day?  And finally today was the day.

There were lots of parents so I only had to watch Juliana and her friend Kamsi.  Even so, holding hands with 2 kids while moving quickly from one activity to another and trying not to slip on the muddy hills and walkways...of yeah and the 45 minute bus ride in each direction full of very excited kids.

We ended up with beautiful weather today - the sun came out in Pittburgh and it got warmer throughout the day.  We started out walking around the fairytale and other misc characters made of pumpkins - no close up pictures here with good reason (the whole thing is a little odd).  But we walked back and forth along each long row of costumes with pumpkin heads...

Then we hit the play area for some running and climbing on a big pile of hay.  We decided to take a picture of her class - Juliana is on the left-side - note her level of participation in the pictures.

Then they each had a turn on the big slides.

After lunch it was time to learn about how pumpkins grow and finally they each got to pick a pumkin to bring home.  Juliana took off running when they said to go find one - she was so excited that it was finally time.  She picked out the pumpkins for both of us.

Juliana and Wyatt - BFF

While I'm sure that Juliana loves both of her brothers, she really, really loves Wyatt.  She wants to see him as soon as she wakes up in the morning, kisses him goodbye at the door to his daycare room, and always wants to play with him.  Recently they have been having tea parties - Wyatt isn't sure what is happening, but he is so entertained by his big sister that he generally plays along with her plan.  In fact he is so entertained by her that he won't eat if he can hear her because he has to sit up and try to find her.

She also likes to read to Wyatt.  On this occasion she was reading the opposites book to him - this was one of her favorite books.