Disney World-Day 2 (Hollywood Studios)

Day 2 was our first real day in the parks! We decided to start with Hollywood Studios mainly because of the crowd levels on that day.  Our first stop that morning was breakfast at Hollywood Vine.  Hollywood Vine is a buffet style resturant where you can meet Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, Handy Mandy and Jake the Pirate.  Mara LOVES Disney Jr. so I thought it would be a casual way to introduce her to them and I'm all about some breakfast!

Getting into the park early for Breakfast!

breakfast with some of our favorite characters

The girls reacted exactly how I thought they would be with the characters.  They were shy and nervous never wanting to get up and talk to them or hug them.  I was completely fine with this as I really wanted this breakfast to be a sort of introduction to characters as I knew it would be a BIG part of our Disney experience.

Little did she know she would be meeting him soon!

Here comes Sofia!

After lunch we headed to the rides hitting the Great Movie Ride first.  Probably not the best use of our time because the girls didn't seem to enjoy it and were a tad scared by some of the darker parts.  My favorite ride of our entire trip was next as we had fast passes for Toy Story Adventure.  Maddy wasn't having this one either. Not sure if it was the 3D nature of the ride or that the cart moved pretty fast for her either way Josh and I had a blast competing for the top score (which I got!).

This about melted my heart

not Maddy's favorite ride ever

We split up here so Josh could ride the Tower of Terror while we met the power couple, Minnie and Mickey! The girls were adorable with this meet and greet.  Mara gave Minnie a hug and admired her pink dress and jewels.  Maddy wanted nothing to do with Minnie.  For Mickey it was the opposite! Mara was not about him but all Maddy wanted to do was play peek-a-boo giggling the entire time!

She was SO excited!

Admiring her bracelets

Just a regular game of peek-a-boo...

With the most famous mouse

As we walked out of the meet and greet we got a special treat and saw Goofy, Chip and Dale! So fun to just walk into characters on the street!

Chip and Dale stop to say hi!

It was onto the Little Mermaid from there which the girls really enjoyed.  I appreciated the air conditioning as it was starting to get pretty hot.  We reconnected with Josh from there and headed back to the hotel for a bit of a break grabbing lunch in the resturant there.

Interupted by a storm trooper parade

Later that afternoon was our first taste of the nasty rains Florida has instore.  We were able to see the Frozen show (AMAZING) but while waiting in line to see Olaf it started to downpour.  Not like a light mist but like water up to your ankles rain.

Two tired girls...and parents ready for frozen

Of course we had a time frame to keep so we had to venture out in it.  Little did we know it wouldn't be the last time we dealt with this kind of rain but we sure got our system down.  Stroller cover on.  Ignore screaming kids.  Push as hard as you can to bus stop.  Keep head down.

Once dry and fed in the hotel we tucked the kids in bed and headed out on our own.  This night was one of the special events Usborne had arranged for the trip earners.  Although the original water park plan was cancelled due to weather we had a nice time at the indoor luau.  If anything it was a night out just the two of us!  We finished it with a drink (mocktail for me) at the hotel bar and planned the attack for Day 3 at Magic Kingdom!

UBAM family

Disney World-Day 1 (Disney Springs)

When Usborne announced that the incentive trip was Disney world, I knew I had to make this happen for my family.  Mara is at such a fun age for the theme park and is pretty much obsessed with the princesses.  We were off on a whirlwind 7 days at the parks!

It's good to be an UBAM kid!

Watching cartoons at check-in

On Sunday my mom and aunt flew in and we drove down from Josh's folks in the afternon.  I wanted a pretty relaxed afternoon/evening so I had planned for us to take our time getting settled into our rooms and then head to the Disney Springs area for dinner.

Riding the boat to Disney Springs

Port Orleans Riverside, our hotel, is connected to the Disney Springs area via a river so it's pretty simple to hop on the boat and cruise on over.  This also made for a pretty relaxing trip with the kiddos.  We had reservations at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner.  I thought it would be a fun experience for the girls because of all the animals.

Dinner for the night!

Mara was convinced this was real

Initially they were a little frightened when the "rainstorm" went through but once we had experienced it once they were good.  Of course little food was actually eaten as they were too interested in the fish tanks and the monkeys that were nearby.

After dinner we walked around the area for a bit.  It was a tad crowded so I wasn't interested in going into too many stores. Plus it's so hard to actually get out of said stores with little ones and not purchase things! They want everything!!

Our princess lover

Maddy had everyone in the store "awwing" over this!

We took in the lego creations at the lego store and stopped to take pictures outside of the World of Disney.  Then after a quick chocolate treat it was back to the hotel to get to bed early.  The next morning we had breakfast planned with some Disney Junior favorites and a long day at Hollywood studios!

It's a........

With Mara and Madeline we have never done any fancy gender reveal.  We have literally just asked the ultrasound tech what we were having! This time we decided we would mix it up and find out on our Disney vacation!

This descision was spurned by the fact that Josh wasn't able to be with me at the ultrasound and I just didn't think it was right to find out without him.  We had the tech write it down in a sealed envelope and we gave it to the character handler at Disney.  We bought two dolls: Minnie and Mickey and wanted the real Minnie and Mickey to tell us!

It'll be another Minnie for the Bast clan!

Maddy's Accident

Fly with two kids alone...pregnant. Yep folks thought I was nuts, BUT we were doing it.  There wasn't really another option.  The day before we were pretty much packed with only those last minute things to throw in our bags.  Josh had gotten home early and we were enjoying some family time and soaking up the time together before we were seperated for the next few weeks.  

Mara wanted to play outside.  We had been letting her lately as she is pretty capable of entertaining herself.  The only problem...what Mara does, Maddy wants to do too.  So here we were with one screaming toddler inside who just wanted to be out.  Mara despite her best intentions just can't be alone outside so she was in and out attempting to shut our heavy front door by herself.  

I had never thought too much about this door until I hear Maddy's screams.  She had gotten her left pointer finger stuck in the door jam resulting in it being about 70% detached.  Talk about a parent's worse nightmare.  I didn't initially register what had happened except that there was a lot of blood.  Josh snapped me into reality and we went into go mode.  

Shoes were grabbed and keys.  Kids thrown into the car and we were off to the ER.  So scary.  So many thoughts race through your mind as a parent.  What could I have done to prevent this? How do I make this better?  

At the ER the doctors moved fast getting her into xray and then seen by a surgeon.  In just over an hour she was headed up to the operating room to reattach it.  As a mama this was the hardest thing for me.  They had me carry her up and I just couldn't consul her when they were trying to get everything started.  Finally they just told me to go....

After about an hour they were finished and we were able to be with her in recovery.  Everything went so well.  The doctor was pretty confident in the attachment and even said that after all of that we could still fly in a few hours.  

The night drug on as we waited in recovery and then finally were able to go home with Maddy.  She was in crazy good spirits (likely due to the pain killers) and blessed us both with a ton of smiles and laughs, just music to our hurt parent hearts.  

We got a quick nap (literally 1.5 hours of sleep) and headed to the airport.  The girls and I began the long trek to Tulsa.  I was so nervous as to how she would do but girl is a trooper.  She never once touched the bandage and handled any pain she may have had with ease.  

Once in the states we had her seen by local doctors and a hand surgeon.  Both came back with amazing news as to the prognosis.  Her finger would be fine.  Likely she wouldn't notice any difference besides maybe a bump on her nail and maybe some sensation lost.  The blessing is she is so young she will never know the difference.  This will just be her normal.

It was an ordeal and one I never want to repeat in the slightest but through it all we had so many blessings in the form of folks dropping their lives to help in instance, friends taking Mara, family who went with me to the doctor appointments and even our insurance who never batted an eye with our needs! 

Madeline-19 Months

Weight: You're 21 pounds and SHORT! We never really realized how short you actually were till we were back in the states this summer.  You are in the 2% for height!

Health: You are doing great this month! No illnesses to report.

pretending to nap

Social: You are still our social butterfly.  You bless everyone with your smiles and are quick to make friends.  You are very chatty and always have a "story" to tell everyone you meet.

Diet: This month we officially weened.  We cut you back pretty durastically to just before nap and bed at the beginning of the month and then cut out the nap nurse.  One night you fell asleep without it at night and we just kept going with it (like your sister).  I have had to tell you no a few times and you get a bit upset, but a few cuddles later you are back to your normal self.  Otherwise you are eating everything we are and love it.  You will try anything and are very demanding that you have a bite if someone is eating something you think looks good.

Love that your sister taught you this

Clothes: You could probably still wear 12 months but I recently switched you over to your 18 month old items.  With you so small your clothes are really getting some wear!

Mama's Favorites: I love this silly surprise face you have been doing lately.  You do it when you hear a noise or anything that surprises you.  It's hilarious and you know it.

Crying: We're a bit into the tantrums that come around two.  If you are frustrated or angry you will storm away, throw something or go cry in a corner.  It's kind of laughable as we can see that you are truly frustrated.  I wonder if you picked up this little habit from your older sister...

trying out sister's potty

Sleep: After a little struggle this month to readjust to your room/crib you are rocking this department.  You go down easily around one for an hour-2 hours daily.  You are also sleeping through the night from 8:30-8ish every day.  Such a blessing!!

This Month: We adjusted to life back here in Georgia after two months in the states.  We've been swimming at the community pool and have reached out to new folks in the neighborhood to meet new friends!

Baby Likes: You love your sister and will follow her anywhere! You love to be outside and most recently prefer to do so with bare feet and no clothes...like your sister.  You love legos and your dollies.  Buddy is your best friend (after your sister) and you love chasing him and keeping him on his toes.

surviving the 100+ heat

Milestones: You are talking up a storm. You say: stuck, mama, dada, mara, no, up, down, here, sit, and will literally repeat anything we prompt you to say.

You are getting more confident in the water and will walk around in the baby pool without much assistance.

You are getting really good with taking apart legos and stacking them up.

Reading with sister

Best of Times: Watching you bloom into a toddler.

Worst of Times: The start of the tantrums.  You are one spirited little girl.

Sister Diaries: Mara still needs her alone play time but she is including you in on her play more and more.  She loves to have you "help" her pick up her toys hahaha. She misses you so much if you guys are apart and I can see you two being a duo to reckon with as time goes on!

Will say cheese now when I pull out my camera

I'm not above bribery to get the shot