I Like Warm Hugs! - Mommy/Toddler Trip ~ Updated 6/20: New Trip Report Link!

[Leshaface]

Love this, that's so cute!

So, I basically made a full-speed lap around the track, barely slowing down for a few pictures. I saw the area, but didn’t really see the area, if you know what I mean. It was awesome, though, even cruising through it way too quickly. I didn’t see it for much longer than it will take you to look at these pictures:

They really did such a great job with this area!

(and we will likely get to do so later this year…woohoo!! )

Here’s the kiddie pool that I never had time to take Izzy to. Check out the lady laying in the spray on the left. Rob is right, it is Pop Century Resort and Spa! :

Well, turns out they go first-come, first-served by bringing the notice to the driver. And they overbook!

Are you serious?! Why the heck do they even have us make reservations then if it's first come, first served?? I'd be PO'd.

I was upset (but, you know, smiling for selfies ):

You may not be showing it, but someone else is clearly!

The best part is this bus immediately took off for the airport, leaving the bus I was supposed to ride in the dust :

That is pretty darn awesome! Guess being patient pays off sometimes.

“the Magic is over.”

The quote from Mary Poppins came to mind: "Oh that's sad. That's the saddest thing i've ever heard."

The mom and I got to talking, as she asked about Izzy’s Pacigrip (the clip that keeps her pacifier from falling on the ground). Her daughter had the same paci, but was constantly dropping and/or losing it. I told her what it was and then she told me about how her daughter was really attached to those pacis and she had made several unsuccessful attempts to get her to break the habit. She had done some of the things I’d heard recommended: tell her daughter the “paci fairy” was going to take them and leave her a gift, ask her daughter to put them in a package for a new baby that needs them, etc. Nothing worked, though. Her daughter was just too attached and refused to entertain any offers. So, this is where the story gets strange. The mom decided to take a different approach and took all the pacis one day, then told her daughter that “the mean witches came and took them.” Strangely enough, it actually worked and her daughter was okay with that explanation because, well, that’s what mean witches do. The only problem was that the “witches” only hid them instead of disposing them and failed to inform the babysitter. Naturally, the babysitter gave them all back the next day. So, now her daughter is always paranoid that the mean witches are going to come back and steal them from her. If anything, it made her even more irrationally attached to them. Yikes!

Yikes for sure! Poor kid will now be scared of witches for life!

I remember Dr. Harvey Karp (of Happiest Baby on the Block fame) came to speak to our moms’ group at work and someone asked him about pacis

That is really cool that you got to see him speak at your work. So he actually said that pacis don't cause harm at all? Not even to the structure of their teeth or anything?

Now she only uses them to fall asleep and throws them back into her crib each morning! So, thankfully, I don’t have to be that woman on the bus this trip.

That's exactly what we've been doing for a few months too! I go in there in the mornings and say, "Spit it out" and he'll do it and not look back. Naps and bedtime only. I keep saying, "after this trip i'll work on getting rid of it" but then another trip pops up and i'm like, "okay, after THAT trip, definitely!" So right now i'm saying, "After this Oregon/WA trip, we'll work on it."

Back to that bus ride: to supplement the story, the daughter did indeed drop and lose that paci on the bus ride. It was nowhere to be found (I know from experience that those things can bounce like crazy and end up way far from where they were dropped). They searched around (I tried to help look too), but gave up and left the bus at the first airport stop without her beloved paci (though I’m sure they had more).

After that whole story she ended up losing it! You're right though, those soothies roll and bounce everywhere. You know, now that i'm thinking about it, you were the one years ago that told me about the soothies. Maybe the one that fed the facts, should do the paci weaning

In general, she doesn’t like chicken nuggets , but she approves of the ones from Chick-Fil-A (and we discovered the other day that Wendy’s also received her seal of approval)

Some super “helpful” guy told me she lost her shoe. Yeah, no kidding, but I can’t get to it.

Pefect shot!

The guy behind me was super nice and helpful. He kept offering to assist me and I finally agreed to let him carry the stroller down.

That's great that he noticed you struggling a bit and offered to help.

got really excited when she saw the Oreo 2-pack…until she opened it and one was already broken. Broken food is the worst thing ever!

This just makes me die! Izzy is such a character!

We landed and the girl across from us (that I mentioned earlier) got a text that some young people she semi-knew had died that night – I heard her calling her mom and saying, “remember so-and-so? Her niece and nephew died tonight.” I think I heard her say they were 32. Ugh, that’s not the news you want when you turn your phone back on after a flight. Reminds me of when our honeymoon flight landed 10 years ago and my mom called to tell me my grandpa had passed away. So sad. Overhearing that conversation made me even more grateful for all I have.

Oh that's just awful. So was this on the way to your honeymoon or coming home? That's awful, i'm so sorry

We got her right to bed and I went to bed with a headache that turned into a stomach flu the next day.

Yikes, at least this happened when you got home and not on the last day of your trip.

I know you already left but I hope you guys have an amazing time and can't wait to hear all about it! And hopefully see pics of Izzy in that cute ewok suit!

 

[LuvEeyore]

I'm all caught up again and you are done Loved all the character interaction. Loved the pictures of the petting zoo. The older girls loved the petting zoo as well as Izzie did.

 

[Dugette]

Kids. I guess Disney really is just for adults.

Yep, they just need to build some extensive daycare facilities next to the kennels or something and adults will be all set for a great vacation.

Oh wow, that whole pacifier story is the very definition of "backfire"

For sure! What a crazy story!

Oh dear, the MCO security line. The last queue of the trip, but sadly, no magical goodness on the other side.

It was the worst on that trip. I am happy to report that this past trip was very pleasant with minimal crowding, though.

What a wonderful trip and magical memories you had. Wishing you even more on your upcoming epic journey.

Thanks so much, we had another memorable trip!

Those pacifier stories are hilarious! The witches took her paci's? That's terrifying! I try not to worry about pacifiers... Maple has already started to naturally wean herself sort of like Izzy. She just has one during bedtime, if she starts to get sleepy, or if she's someplace new/traveling. I've only seen one 10 year old boy with a pacifier in his mouth -- and he was Italian. Not too worried about it!

I cannot believe that witches story! It was hard to listen to the story without my jaw dropping to the floor. Sounds like Maple's doing well and hopefully won't cause you to resort to such extreme measures!

Maple has been on flights three times so far in her young life. We've not tried to bring her car seat on board, but now that she's bigger, I'm really hoping we score some of those empty seats. I'm a slightly nervous flyer, and it makes me a bit more nervous to know that she's not secured. Given all of the regulations the airlines have, it seems AMAZING to me that we can just hold our human children on the plane! I wish they had real discounts to secure a seat... on Southwest, its a discount on the most expensive rate. Lame.

Yeah, it is really strange to think about it that way. I do find it kind-of a relief now to know that we don't have to worry about whether or not she will have her own seat, since we're required to buy her a ticket.

Looks like a fun trip, though!!

Yep!

I enjoyed your trip report a lot! I have also been following your trip planning for SWW. I cannot wait for that to start! We will be there on Saturday and I am so super excited!

Thanks! Sounds like you had a good time at SWW from what I saw on your post!

Interesting stories with the pacifiers. I know as a kid I used one and my mom had trouble getting me to stop so with my younger sister she tried to avoid it - which resulted in her being a thumb suclerk - was much harder to get her to stop. So probably not the worst thing.

That's what I've heard - you can't take the thumb away, so that tends to persist longer into childhood. And it's always with them.

That's great you wound up with so much help especially getting off the plane. while you are experienced, those plan aisles are not designed for mule packing that much.

The aisles on planes are so ridiculously narrow. The carseat barely fits through and if there's anyone in an aisle seat, I have to lift it high to not knick them as I pass by. The help is always welcome.

And how great you finish this TR just in time for your next trip!

Whew, just in a nick of time. Yay, deadlines.

Hope you had a nice Mother's Day!

It's taken me so long to reply to this that I can now say Thank You and I hope you have a happy Father's Day!

That was one relaxed piggy.

That sounds horrifying for those 2 seconds -- that felt like an eternity! Ack! And then that lady's reaction.. weird. But amazing mommy reflexes on your part!

That memory still makes me cringe. The actual fall and the lady's reaction.

How awesome!!

It was really magical.

Agreed!

I love that friendly Disney vibe that many guests put out.

That video was adorable. She just makes a beeline right for her! I melted.

Aw, thanks! She is such a character lover!

I was cracking up reading your description of this

Who knew duck eyes were so special?

Great idea!

Okay...this is awful! And so un-Disneylike!! I was infuriated for you reading this!!

I just was in shock that they do that.

Although this definitely made up for it! Karma! Thank goodness this hero bus pulled up and made things right!

Totally a bus hero!

Good riddance!

As I read this I was totally taking mommy notes for the future and I definitely like your method the best!
The witches story was totally bizarre and I can't believe it worked...and then the babysitter gave them back! Yikes! Honesty is the best policy I suppose!

Thanks! Izzy still enjoys her paci at bedtime, but lost/broke her nap time one at daycare and is still doing fine. Doesn't use them outside of her crib at all. I'm pretty happy with that.

Um yeah... that's what I was thinking! It sounds like the airport was the hardest part of being solo throughout the trip!

Airports are always a pain and especially when you are solo with a toddler.

But you handled it! And made lots of amazing memories along the way. What a fabulous mommy/daughter trip you had! Thanks for sharing I can't wait to read about the next adventure!

Thanks, it was really a fantastic trip and I'm so glad we did it!

 

[Dugette]

Awwwww - that was such a great ending to your TR. I agree with the flight attendants - I don't know how you traveled liked that, but how great of so many people to help you! That's pretty awesome!

Thanks! It wasn't so bad and the help was certainly welcome.

I was totally laughing at your paci story. My oldest son was totally addicted to his. He got to the point where he actually just chewed on it and would flip it around in his mouth using his tongue. One night I just pulled it out of his mouth when he was going to sleep and told him he couldn't have it back. It worked. He had no problems giving it up. Prior to that I would make him take it out of his mouth whenever we went out in public because I told him people would laugh at him because he was too old. He had to be 3 1/2. It makes me sound like a mean mom, but I eventually said NO MORE!

Eh, you do what you gotta do and it worked! Sounds like he was ready, but just needed that little push from mom!

I really enjoyed reading about your mommy daughter trip. What lovely memories.

And enjoy your next family trip! Bring home lots of stories and memories!

Thanks and I definitely have a lot of stories for the May TR!

I was seriously addicted to my pacifiers when I was little. I called them my bea (pronounced bee-uh - and no, I have no clue where that came from ). When I was three or so, my parents decided it was time to lose the beas. They told me that the garbage man needed to take them away. On the morning of garbage day, I gathered all of them and then placed them one by one into the garbage can. Before dropping them in, I kissed each one and said, "I love you, bea!" Needless to say, my mother almost caved and let me keep them. I was strong, though, and sent them on their way!

Aw, that's so cute! Gosh, I'd have a hard time not caving.

I'm glad you had a nice flight and that the flight attendants were so anxious to help you out!

Me too!

That's too bad that you got sick when you got home! Despite that, you had a very successful trip and managed to squeeze in tons of fun!

I'm very excited about your next report!

Yeah, getting so sick after was a bummer, but I'm just glad we had a great trip and I felt good until we got home. This next trip report will be quite a ride (and you'll even be in it)!

How sad! We "played" Disney World the other day and the boys all wore their bands and Nate pretended he was on different rides. That's one way to relive the magic, I guess!

Oh, that's adorable! I love it!

What a strange story about the little girl on the ME and the pacis! The whole evil witch thing sounds slightly traumatizing!

Totally traumatizing. Poor, paranoid, little girl!

Glad she was a brave girl! Security alone with a toddler, stroller, car seat, and carry ons must be quite the task! I'm impressed!

Yeah, it's not a lot of fun. Just gotta be organized and resourceful, I guess.

I have eaten so many broken crackers, it's ridiculous.

It sounds like a pretty nice flight! And it's great that you found lots of helpful people along the way. That makes the flight so much easier! On our return flight we had a man complain because he didn't want to sit on the same row as a baby (Jake). He demanded to switch seats but he was the last one on the flight so And he also wanted the window seat (where Jake was in his car seat) and just caused a big stink in general. Not a pleasant 2 hour flight home.

What a rude man! Maybe he would also like to sit in the cockpit and have caviar served to him, geez!

Oh no! Disney germs are no fun!

Not at all. You'd think they'd be more magical and covered in pixie dust, but no.

It's hard to believe it really was a short trip. It seems like you two did so much! Lots of Frozen fun wrapped into just a couple of days!

I totally agree. This was a ridiculously short trip, but we did SO much. Tons of memories.

The Happiest Baby on the Block saved my life when Landon was a newborn. My kid was one of those that needed all 5 steps to settle down. People thought we were nuts swaddling him up and using an app that "shushed" in his ear. But, hey, whatever works.

Hey, whatever works! We used some of them, but didn't always need all 5 of the S's. It definitely helped, though.

Landon's like Izzy with food. He loves the kid's grilled chicken meal from Chick Fil A, but won't eat any other kind of nugget. And if one of his Horizon Crackers is broken off...oh goodness. They all have to be perfectly intact. Yeesh.

Weirdly picky toddlers.

So sad that the trip came to an end. The airport sounds exhausting. Every part of it. From the long security line to having to gate check the stroller and carseat to having to keep Izzy entertained in your lap the whole time. Thank goodness there were kind people around to help you. (Too bad there weren't any of those types at the ME bus area...)

I always hate the airport time, especially going home. The enjoyment of vacation turns into hard work the second you get to MCO.

Oh dear, sorry to hear you got the stomach flu the next day! Yikes. Not the way you wanna come home. But I guess it's good that it stayed away until after your trip was over. That would have been TERRIBLE.

Exactly - it was miserable, but I was just so glad that we were home and not still at WDW.

Glad the flight went well and you made it home safely! What a bummer that you got the stomach flu. I hope it passed quickly.
Can't wait for your next TR!

It did pass pretty quick. It was worth it for that trip, though. Can't believe I'm already writing another one of these.

Great TR! You were very brave taking a little one by yourself! Loved all your pictures!

Thank you so much! It definitely helped to read other TRs with solo parents - I knew it could be done.

Just read the whoooole thing! Phew, I'm tired just from reading all you accomplished. Super impressive solo with a toddler! Seems like you had a blast and made the most of everything. Fun, fun, fun.

I know, it's exhausting, right? I cannot believe all we did in that short time. I feel like we almost did more in those three days than the 8 we had on this last trip. It was a blast.

Curious how/when you make your trip notes? Do you do it in the moment on your phone or write things down that night?

It varies from trip to trip, but I generally try to take a ridiculous amount of pictures with my phone to jog my memory. I take blurry ones that I don't intend to post (but sometimes do) just to remind me of certain stories/people/things that happened. What I need to get better at is recording video/voice of stories or things that were said - because those are so easy to forget. Some trips, I have time at night to go through my pictures and type up some notes in whatever electronic device came on that trip. Some trips, I wait until I get home and then do all the notes. This was one of those. I think I had a few notes in my phone's notes app during the travel day, but otherwise it was just all pictures and looking at my text messages from the trip and putting it back together. I did write out really insanely detailed notes on this trip (34 pages - I probably could have just posted them and called it a TR), but that really helped me later when I was trying to remember some of the little things.

 

[Dugette]

Awww - thanks! I chose to become a parent on my own, so I try not to think too much about how much easier it could be. And I know that there are some things about being an only parent that are easier - I've never been great at compromise.

I'm sure there are trade offs, but you seem to handle the challenges well.

Awwwww - so cute.

Funny that she didn't object at all. Guess she was ready to go home.

Yikes! It's so funny how these things can backfire on us. I hope you don't mind, but I just have to share how Willow gave up her binkies. So she never had binkies except in her crib, so for nap time and bedtime. That should make her less attached, I suppose, but she really loved them when she was in her crib - she had, like, 6 or 7 of them stashed in there. I can't remember for sure what the age was, but I had a set age in my head of when they needed to be gone for fear of affecting her teeth or something (can you tell that I am now a parent of an 8 year old and can't even think back a few years? ) - I think it must have been 2 years old. Anyway, we were coming up on my deadline for getting rid of them, and I was so worried about it. Well, one night, I put her in her crib, and she started toddler-mouthing off to me and getting really mad about something (I don't even remember what it was now). I was across the room from her, and she hurled one of the binkies in my direction. I picked it up and calmly said, "You don't want to be throwing things at me. If you do, you won't see them again." She looked me dead in the eye, stooped down in the crib, picked up another binky and chucked it at me. I explained to her that she was never going to see it again, so she might want to stop. Well, you can see where this is going. She threw every single binky at me that night, and she never saw them again. And, you know what? She never had a single moment of missing sleep or being worked up into a frenzy about it - I had been worried for nothing (like all those other baby milestones that I feared like getting rid of bottles, switching to a big-girl bed etc.).

Haha, love the story! Getting back at you was more important to her than all those pacis. I'm glad she moved on without issue. We've had a few times where Izzy has woken up in the middle of the night and can't find her paci (she only has 1 left now) and she has cried and cried until she found it or Dug had to go in and find it for her once. That's what worries me. She only wants it when falling asleep, but she particularly needs it if she wakes and needs to go back to sleep. And she does a great job of sleeping all night, so I hate to take that helper away.

Oh, that's such an awful way to end a vacation.

Yeah, not cool.

Oh, gosh, I probably missed your departure by about 12 or so hours. I hope your trip is AMAZING! And I can't wait to read all about it.

It was great, thanks!

Love this, that's so cute!

That whole place is just filled with cute things to look at!

They really did such a great job with this area!

Agreed. I am still so impressed by it. And it's a VALUE resort.

Hoping DL works out. We can't really pull the trigger yet until we know some work-related things for Dug.

That lady chillin' in the splash pad really cracked me up!

Are you serious?! Why the heck do they even have us make reservations then if it's first come, first served?? I'd be PO'd.

I couldn't believe it! I always thought that if you are confirmed and get the letter, they have room for you on the bus. Guess not.

You may not be showing it, but someone else is clearly!

That is pretty darn awesome! Guess being patient pays off sometimes.

I was so happy about that.

The quote from Mary Poppins came to mind: "Oh that's sad. That's the saddest thing i've ever heard."

They should play that clip on the ME to MCO.

Yikes for sure! Poor kid will now be scared of witches for life!

I'm sure she will be. Poor kiddo.

That is really cool that you got to see him speak at your work. So he actually said that pacis don't cause harm at all? Not even to the structure of their teeth or anything?

Yeah, he was completely unconcerned about paci use and assured everyone that there was no medical issue, no dental issue, and they'd give them up when they were ready. Basically, don't stress about it. Now, is he the foremost expert in that topic? Well, no, but he is a doctor and seems to know some things. So, I don't know. Put my mind at ease a bit, though.

That's exactly what we've been doing for a few months too! I go in there in the mornings and say, "Spit it out" and he'll do it and not look back. Naps and bedtime only. I keep saying, "after this trip i'll work on getting rid of it" but then another trip pops up and i'm like, "okay, after THAT trip, definitely!" So right now i'm saying, "After this Oregon/WA trip, we'll work on it."

Ah, the problems that come with taking so many trips. I know what you mean.

After that whole story she ended up losing it! You're right though, those soothies roll and bounce everywhere. You know, now that i'm thinking about it, you were the one years ago that told me about the soothies. Maybe the one that fed the facts, should do the paci weaning

Haha, I did tell you about them. And they are insane how they bounce and roll and teleport. No clue where that little girl's paci ended up on that bus.

I just wanted to be like, "Duh! How 'bout you pick it up for me, helpful dude?"

Pefect shot!

That's great that he noticed you struggling a bit and offered to help.

He was so nice!

I cannot believe that people might actually buy and use that.

This just makes me die! Izzy is such a character!

Just goes to show that you never know what a toddler is going to flip out about. I mean, Oreos should be a good thing. But BROKEN Oreos - nightmare.

Oh that's just awful. So was this on the way to your honeymoon or coming home? That's awful, i'm so sorry

On the way home. Right after we landed and could turn our phones back on. He had actually passed away during our honeymoon, but my mom waited until I got back (barely) to tell me, since she didn't want to ruin it. Can't believe it's been almost 10 years now (October). I remember being so sad because I hadn't been able to show him wedding pictures yet (and he couldn't make it out for the wedding). Luckily, my grandma is still doing well on her own and has gotten to know Izzy and all (she's 87 now, almost 88).

Yikes, at least this happened when you got home and not on the last day of your trip.

Exactly!

I know you already left but I hope you guys have an amazing time and can't wait to hear all about it! And hopefully see pics of Izzy in that cute ewok suit!

Well, I'll tell you right now that Izzy refused the Ewok suit, so you won't see that. But you'll hear all about the trip!

I'm all caught up again and you are done Loved all the character interaction. Loved the pictures of the petting zoo. The older girls loved the petting zoo as well as Izzie did.

I'm so glad you posted, as I had totally forgotten to come back here and respond to the comments! The petting zoo is a fun little diversion from all the rides and craziness at WDW. I just started my new TR, so feel free to come on over. I'll put the link in the next post in case anyone else is looking for it.

 

[Dugette]

New Trip Report!

Hi, all! I completely forgot to post the link to the May 2015 Land & Sea Trip Report here! It just got started, though, so please come join us, if you haven't already.

"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea

Thanks for following along with our travels!

 

[Denovagirl]

Woohoo! Done with this one! Onto the next!!