Disney Countdown: 10

Walt Disney world prep!

My name is Dana. I am over the top. I admit it. I know it. Lets move on. :)

I have been spending most naptimes and  time after the kids go to sleep the past two weeks creating our itinerary, researching rides and restaurants, figuring out fast passes, texting friends questions, coordinating reservations we made 5 months ago with plans we want now. It's been awesome. Give me something to plan and prepare for and I'm pretty much at my best. 

Last summer when we decided to do the trip my friend Shana really inspired me. I always plan for trips but she made it MAGICAL. I wanted to make sure everything we did made it magical and special for Courtney! So last summer I was so excited I made dresses and shirts and hair bows and a journal and cut out Mickeys with my Mickey circuit cartridge I borrowed from a friend. 

Dress for Animal Kingdom. 

Shirt for first day! 

Dress for dinner at Chef Mickey's. 

Not sure...I just went on a streak last year so we have an extra! 

That didn't leave me of much crafting this summer. That's fine because I've been busy with my research!! We started by watching our welcome DVD which made me cry and prompted to Courtney to ask of we could go every summer! Then she asked how many more days we had. Time to make the countdown! 

One major craft project my mom and I worked on was a dress for Courtney to wear to the Bibbidi Bobiddi Boutique. She chose Cinderella and all the beautiful ones we found were more than I wanted to pay so we made one! We modeled it after the one on the Disney store website. It needs a few finishing touches and she will be all set!

We have been having Courtney (the movie queen) watch a few movies that she isn't familiar with so she knows them when we go to WDW.  We watched Swiss Family Robinson as a family one night. I had never seen it! It was cute. She also watched Pinocchio, Toy Story and Lion King. 

These came in the mail TODAY!! We are excited to try out this interactive activity at Disney: pin trading! We don't know a lot, but our friend Carrie did it and said her girls loved looking for people to trade with. Once again, just more magic to add to the trip! 

Now that we are into our 10 day countdown, it was time to bump up the excitement a little. Last summer I started picking up a little Disney gift every now and then. They were all $1. I bought some toy figurines, coloring books, paint sets, puzzles, anything with Mickey or Minnie or a non-princess. We have plenty of those! I wrapped them all up so she would have one thing to unwrap each day. I had 10 from last summer so I didn't even have to buy anything this year! 

Now time to start packing! 

Summer - Week one

I take summer very seriously. As a teacher, aside from having a job I am passionate about and love, the next major advantage is summer's off. It's amazing to be home with my kids. That said, I also feel I have to be planned and organized or it slips away. I found a couple (okay, a lot) of really cool ideas for the summer on Pinterest. Courtney doesn't nap anymore but Dan and I would still love our little mid-day break. So, I made her Monday-Friday activity boxes. We went to the Dollar Tree and loaded up on little crafts, new coloring books, puzzles, etc. I imagine by week 4 or 5 I'll have to add some different things to keep her occupied, but so far, she's loving it!

The boxes are labeled Monday - Friday. The supply tub on top is for every day use. 

Here is a sampling of what is in a tub. This one has stickers, cheap legos, a craft to make a fairy house, black glow in the dark scratch art and wooden stars to color. Each day has a coloring book, number sheet (fill in the missing number) and an easy reader to practice and read to me when she is done. I overheard her reading one last week. She said, "What's this word? Oh, it's a bossy e word!"

Another idea to help keep her occupied is little activities for each day. I made a schedule for the whole summer but even in the first week a few things have changed! 

          Make it Monday 

                       Try it Tuesday 

                                     

                                      Water Wednesday

            

                                                        Thinking Thursday

                                                                            Field Trip Friday

Here was our first week! 

                                                  Make it Monday - Kool Aid Playdough

Ryan joined in on the fun. He HAD to have that gigi (pacifier) or else he kept trying to eat the playdough. He kept spitting it out, but also kept trying it!

                               
                                               Try It Tuesday - Berry Picking from a Patch 

So the patch was at my parents house. That counts because it was huge and the added bonus was that my parents get to see their cute grandkids picking berries. 

Ryan ate the entire berry - stem and all! 

                                Water Wednesday: Making water bombs and playing with them in the rain

I bought $3 worth of cheap sponges.  I cut them into strips, Courtney handed me 6 strips and I rubber banded them together. Since it was a rainy day, she wanted to go play with them in puddles. Sure. Why not? 

                                                                 Thinking Thursday: China

Courtney said her favorite thing she learned about China was that there was a whole bunch of people. This first leraning experience was lame because it was a busy day and I didn't plan. I did check out these books for her at the library and she read them with Dan!

Field Trip Friday: Chic Fil A with Emerson

Another reality of the week. Plans had to change and we couldn't go to the zoo as planned. I did get to move in to my new classroom though (and we got our garage back) so that was just fine. That's life. This should count as a field trip because it was Courtney's first time to Chic Fil A.  It's a HUGE step up from the grossness I feel is the McDonald's play place. Courtney never gets to go there either. Wah Wah. 

Preschool Graduation

Courtney graduated from preschool at Blue Springs High school. The ceremony was super cute. The kids sang songs and their helpers gave them awards based on their personality. Courtney got the Hug Award. The helpers also shared what the children wanted to be when they grew up. This month, apparently Courtney wants to be a firefighter. There was a slideshow and then they walked across a bridge (symbolizing crossing over into Kindergarten).

Courtney's best buddy Dathan. Dathan's mom came was Courtney's transportation to and from preschool! Thanks Ms. Natalie! 

Helper Sydney

Helper Kourtney

Helper Gracyn (who also takes dance at Cathy's)!

Not pictured: Helper Shana (she wasn't allowed to get out of class for graduation). 

Cat in the Hat song - my personal favorite!

The helpers putting on their caps. 

Walking to the bridge

Walking across the bridge. 

Taking their bow at the end!

Courtney with her teacher, Mrs. Beck!

I took the day off and took Courtney to lunch. She thought it was pretty awesome to get two lunches that day!

Lake Trip: We're back!

Having a tiny baby at the lake who needs nursing every couple of hours and a not cute bikini body was NOT my idea of a great trip to the lake. So, we skipped last summer. It was hard, but we're back! We made our first trip as a family of four. The kids were rock stars on the 2 hour drive. The water was COLD since we haven't had many warm days to warm it up, but we braved it a little!

Dinner on the road. 

We felt like Jack and Rose from Titanic...seriously, it only felt okay after your body numbed and you couldn't feel anymore. 

Always posing!

What a great weekend!