Disney World-Day 6 & 7 (Magic Kingdom , Typhoon Lagoon & Epcot)

Friday was our last full day at the parks and also our last day with my mom and aunt with us.  They came to the park that morning hitting up all the rides we missed the first time through Magic Kingdom. 

Princess Elana...who loved Mara's dress

Cinderella

One of the highlights of this day was meeting Elena and Cinderella.  Mara loves the Disney Junior show Elena so it was really neat that she was there to meet as well.  There wasn't a lot of other rides we had missed the first day so we also got some shopping done!

Maddy wasn't so sure about this.

From there we headed backto the hotel where they got packed and said our good byes.  Lunch was served and a much needed rest was taken.  I also took on the task of laundry while the rain came down around us.  As the week went on the rain seemed to be happening earlier and earlier in the day. This actually worked out really nice for us this day. 

Naps were a must

With laundry and naps done, we headed back to Magic Kingdom. We really wanted to have the girls see the fireworks and Josh had one more roller coaster he wanted to ride.  While he headed there, I took the girls on round two of some of our favorites.  We got to do Ariel's ride and Winnie the Pooh before he caught up with us to find out spots for the show. 

glow sticks

The fireworks were magical.  I mean that sounds corney but Disney does such a great idea.  We loved watching the castle transform to the different Disney shows and the corresponding fireworks behind it.  I had also purchased some glow sticks previously so it just made a fun ending to a wonderful week.  :)

Our last day we had planned to spend at the waterpark.  Although we did get there when it opened we didn't really have a ton of time.  The Florida storms rolled in about noon and that was it for the rest of the day.  I felt really bad for Josh as he wasn't able to ride any of the larger water slides before we had to make a mad dash for the bus with the rest of the park. 

Kind of makes my heart melt

That afternoon we headed back to Epcot to meet up with one of my besties and her husband who live down there. We hadn't seen them since our last time in Florida and were excited to catch up.  We grabbed dinner in Italy at an amazing pizza place and just roamed around the countries.  We topped the night off with some fireworks!

I can't say enough about this vacation.  Sure the heat and the rain made some parts of it hard but the magic more than made up for it.  Watching my girls' faces (even Maddy at her young age) was the best.  Mara still talks in length about the trip and I cannot wait to take them back when they are older.  Thank you Usborne for such an amazing time.  I know we wouldn't have thought of this trip had it not been offered. 

Trip to Racha

One of the first trips we took when we got back to Georgia was to head into the mountians for a long weekend.  The Racha region is known for its beauty and a lot of folks from the city "escape" there for the summer.

We didn't really have anything planned activity wise and just took it as it came.  Our trip started off with a little adventure as we almost ended up in Russia driving to the South Ossetia boarder without knowing it.  Thanks goggle for that one! Thankfully it only added about 30 minutes to our drive so with a little recalulating we were on our way.

Playing at the hotel

The overall trip took about 6 hours so we were ready to be settled by the time we arrived at the hotel.  Hotel accomidations are a bit scarse in the region and ours was ok by general standards.  We did have two rooms which is nice with the girls now but the all inclusive food was pretty poor.  Cereal offered at every meal? Pasta soup? 

Beautiful mountains

We let the girls explore the grounds and play on the playground the rest of the evening to get out some of that pent up car energy. 

Overlooking the gourge

The next day we piled back in the car to explore.  Like I mentioned we really didn't have a plan but were just going to stop along the way if things looked interesting.  It was really relaxing (to a point I mean we have two kids) to just drive.  The nature was beautiful and when it got a little tiring we just got out and explored. 

Not able to go into the synagogue

but posing on the wall instead

We stopped at churches (when in Georgia!) and an abandoned gourge.  We attempted to tour a synagogue but found it locked for the day.  We stopped for a very LONG lunch and played at a playground we saw. 

My big girl being adventurous like her Daddy

The next morning we headed back to Tbilisi.  With a six hour drive ahead of us we wanted to time things so the girls would nap around stopping for lunch.  We did managed to fit in a small walk near the hotel and one last church visit on the way home :)

Church on the way home

It was an ok trip. The country was beautiful but there just wasn't a ton to do and although the trip was nice in that regard, 6 hours is a long way to drive for just beautiful.  :) Looking back on it it would have been fun to camp and do more hiking.  Being 7 months pregnant though makes that a little difficult!

Madeline-21 Months

Weight: You're are still a solid 20-22 lbs and short as ever!

Health: Nothing major happened this month.  You got a flu shot for the first time with no reactions.  We go back for the booster in a month.

Social: You are getting more and more words by the day! I love trying to figure out what you are trying to say.  Mara still seems to understand you the most.  You love playing with your sister but don't do as well with kids your own age.  When we have play groups at the house you are the toy stealer and go around making sure no one is playing with your things!

Diet: So many foods! You love: mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, bananas, apples, chips, yogurt, bread, beans, etc.

21 months

Clothes: You are in 18-24 months and fitting comfortably.  I'm thinking you're going to be in this size for awhile.  Both you and your sister would rather be naked though so we're trying to figure this one out with the winter months coming.

Mama's Favorites: You really love to cuddle and want nothing else but to be on top of me when you're sleepy.

Crying: The two year old tantrums are still fierce.  You will not be consuled and I'm finding it easier for you just to work it out for yourself.  Once you've had your frustration out you come back to us in a much better mood.

Bubble machine!!

Sleep: Sleep is pretty amazing at this point.  You go down around 8 and get up a little before 8 in the morning. You do wake during the night but you settle yourself down for the most part.  I'd say at this point you maybe wake up once in the night one night out of two weeks. Naps are pretty solid with you going down around 1 and sleeping at least an hour, two on a good day.  I'm going to be pushing naps for a bit still as with the third on the way I need you to still nap.

This Month: We headed to Kazbegi for a short get a way and did a little more exploring around Tbilisi at the Tbilisoba harvest festival.  You are still a great traveler for the most part but do wake up more often during the nights we're away because of noise from everyone else in the room.

We celebrated your sister's birthday this month and you loved being a part of it.  You helped open presents and loved playing with the new things.

ready for Mara's party!

Baby Likes: You love playing with your sister when she will share with you.  You are cautious with her because you know she sometimes takes away your toys.  You love to eat and will most of the time eat twice as much as your sister.  You love buddy and torture him at every turn.  You love your mommy in the mornings and evenings.  You love to "go" and are always ready to put on your shoes and go out the door.

Insisted on wearing the crown backwards
PS. these are 3T capri pants of Mara the babysitter put on her

Milestones: You are saying more words and putting phrases together.

You start dancing when any music is on.

You love watching movies with your sister and sit attentively.

You respond to commands.

21 months

Best of Times: Watching your dance moves on the regular.

Worst of Times: You've developed this new fad of sticking your hands up my shirt sleeves and it just drives me nuts.

Sister Diaries: We've been working on sharing a lot lately.  Mara still thinks she can just take toys away from you so we are constantly having to figure out who had it first.  You guys love to play legos together and sometimes will play princesses.

Disney World-Day 5 (Epcot)

The day started early with one of the exclusive Usborne events of the trip.  Breakfast was scheduled for Italy and Germany of the World Showcase!  We were super excited to see which characters would be at the event but even more to find out what Baby #3 was!

My girls in Italy

We decided that it was at this event we would do our own mini gender reveal.  We had talked it though before and brought a mini Mickey and Minnie mouse to the event.  We knew for sure they would be there and thought it would be fun if they told us whether it was another "Mickey or Minnie"!  We enlisted the help of the character handler giving her the envelope with the goods and waited our turn. 

Checking out one of the fountains

With the other girls we didn't do anything fun so it was really neat to feel the anticipation leading up to the reveal.  We took some pictures and then got a drum roll going.  It was another Minnie!! So neat and just a special moment of the morning. 

Just give Maddy all the Mickies

After breakfast we went directly to the Frozen ride, which was a highlight of the day for all.  It's just done so well and both my girls are familiar with the movie.  Mara even did great with the mini drop in that I thought she may be scared with. 

From there we headed to the front of Epcot to knock out the rides there.  Josh and I left the girls with my mom and aunt to do Soarin' together.  I remember doing it the last time I was there and it was even neater this time!  We also hit up Living on the Land, Finding Nemo, Spaceship Earth, The Circle of Life, and Donald's ride in Mexico. 

Belle

We headed back to the hotel for lunch and a rest as it really started to get hot in the day.  Of course right when we needed to leave for our dinner reservations again it started pouring.  We were so over the Florida down pours at this point but that night we had a very special reservation at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall which is all the princesses.  I knew there was no cancelling that!

Cinderella was a dinner favorite

Snow White

Royally wet we headed in but oh man was it worth it.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the resturant and liked that it was a buffet style character meal.  The girls got to meet Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty.  They loved it.  Mara kept asking if they would come by again.  She could have stayed there all night! Probably the highlight of my dinner was the princess parade around the dinning hall.  I didn't think Mara would partake as she's a bit shy but she lined up and did it! I was so proud of her for being brave.  Maddy even got involved when Sleeping Beauty came by and took her hand.  Gosh I am so frustrated I didn't get a picture of it!

Maddy in the parade

After dinner the rain had cleared so we made one last pit stop to meet Anna and Elsa.  Maddy was hilarious squatting down next to both of them and Mara just took it all in.  Epcot is one of my favorite parks for all the neat attractions and food.  I loved getting to share it with my girls!

Elsa!!

Look at that Maddy squat lol

Anna