Our Crazy Holiday Trip (late November 2016) - update 8/16

[Christina-B-Na]

Following
Why do I always forget to check out the Disney outlet!? I love going there when I actually remember it exists. Want the hoodies you found! Definitely going to have to head over there and see what l can find for my boys.
We will be heading to Disneyland Nov 13th thru 18th with our 4yr old DS and (will be) 16mo old DS and totally want to do family/ matchy type shirts. My husband is actually on board for this idea so long as its not too cheezy. Ha! No such thing in my head!

 

[Jaina]

Following
Why do I always forget to check out the Disney outlet!? I love going there when I actually remember it exists. Want the hoodies you found! Definitely going to have to head over there and see what l can find for my boys.
We will be heading to Disneyland Nov 13th thru 18th with our 4yr old DS and (will be) 16mo old DS and totally want to do family/ matchy type shirts. My husband is actually on board for this idea so long as its not too cheezy. Ha! No such thing in my head!

It is so much fun, it's easier to keep track of everyone, and the pictures look great! (Also, I can tell which day pictures are from immediately, which can be helpful) Yeah, my husband is a little picky about what he wears, so I have to tone it down a little... I hope your November trip is great, too!

 

[Jaina]

Quick shirt update: I finally finished our green shirts (probably first day, when we're most likely to get some family pictures). The baby's shirt is lighter than everyone else's, but I was just excited to find a onesie the right size that more-or-less matched. I'm glad I made these, but I doubt I'll ever use this technique again. SO time-consuming! And you kind of need to let it dry in between paint colors, which takes forever too. Thankfully? I have to lie down a lot at this point in my pregnancy (just a few weeks left) so I would do a color, then lay down, then do another color later, etc. You get the idea.

And the Star Wars shirts have morphed a little. I returned the way-too-big grey one and found one for me (black), and DS9 (crazy pattern). But DH's doesn't fit quite right, so we also returned that and I will be on the look out for him. For the baby I just need to get a white onesie out and will probably do a simple freezer paper design in black. A stormtrooper with a bow is one I've seen.
(no pic, because Photobucket ate it)

AND now my brother's family and possibly my parents are planning to go the 2nd week of November. (one of our original dates) They said we should go at the same time, but we had gotten pretty excited about the Christmas decor and the timing we have planned right now (week after Thanksgiving). So I'm disgruntled, but not necessarily upset. It would be really fun to go with them (we wouldn't stick together the whole time) but at the same time, I see my husband getting frustrated with them, because that happens, haha. My family of origin's touring style is different than my own family's, and with 7 of us we will already be a bit of a circus. Still. My parents have gone with my brother twice now already, but haven't come along on either of our trips.

 

[Mamato4boys]

On our last trip to DLR (May 2014), we bought our then 4 month old a onesie that says,"Judge me by my size, do you?" And on the back, it shows Yoda, eating a Mickey bar, unable to go on one of the rides because he is too short. I have no idea if they are still available, but I wanted to mention it as a possibility for your Star Wars onesie. We bought it at Star Traders.

 

[Jaina]

On our last trip to DLR (May 2014), we bought our then 4 month old a onesie that says,"Judge me by my size, do you?" And on the back, it shows Yoda, eating a Mickey bar, unable to go on one of the rides because he is too short. I have no idea if they are still available, but I wanted to mention it as a possibility for your Star Wars onesie. We bought it at Star Traders.

Nice!! I forgot about that, and my 9-year-old even has that shirt..,

 

[DnA2010]

Jumping on board! Love love all your shirts you have so far especially the green ones! Well done!! I am currently expecting also (first one yikes!) due Sept 4th, and we are really hoping to go to WDW for spring break so can't wait to read all about your adventures!

 

[Jaina]

Jumping on board! Love love all your shirts you have so far especially the green ones! Well done!! I am currently expecting also (first one yikes!) due Sept 4th, and we are really hoping to go to WDW for spring break so can't wait to read all about your adventures!

Thanks for jumping in! The adventure is starting for us - I am just past 37 weeks, but they are inducing me Wednesday (for high blood pressure). Baby will be a little over 2 weeks early, but that's 2 more weeks for recovery and starting to work on getting back in walking/Disneyland shape before November, right?

 

[DnA2010]

Thanks for jumping in! The adventure is starting for us - I am just past 37 weeks, but they are inducing me Wednesday (for high blood pressure). Baby will be a little over 2 weeks early, but that's 2 more weeks for recovery and starting to work on getting back in walking/Disneyland shape before November, right?

Fingers crossed for a smooth quick delivery! Def look at it as more time for your recovery!

 

[Mamato4boys]

Ooh, how exciting to almost be baby time! 3 of my 4 have been induced early because of preeclampsia. My nearly 7 month old was 37 weeks on the dot and everything went perfectly. I couldn't have asked for an easier labor and delivery! I hope it is the same for you!!

 

[tzeitel]

Good luck! Hope everything goes smoothly and you are back up and planning soon

 

[Jaina]

Thanks for the kind well wishes! Between a full moon and a big storm, the hospital filled up and we didn't end up going in until Friday afternoon. Our baby girl was born that night (VBAC - YAY for no repeat c-section!!) just before midnight. The first few weeks are always kind of blurry with no sleep, worries about baby's weight gain, jaundice checks, and my blood pressure doing it's usual tricks of staying high for a while. She is 3 weeks old now though, and things are starting to settle a little more. Getting excited about this trip again. Very excited that I got to avoid surgery and that I'm already feeling pretty good. Her name is Bridget, and we love her.

Randomly, my SISTER's family is also planning to maybe hit Disneyland for the first time (she has 4 boys, 7 to just born) the same week my parents and brother's families are planning to go. But not the same day. They will probably just do Disneyland, just Monday, and the other part of my family is going like T or W through Friday. So strange. I'm excited for them, though, and hopefully I can help her maximize their day. She grew up going to Disney, but her husband didn't enjoy it as a kid, and she hasn't been for like 13 years. I'm kind of glad they won't be there the same days as everyone else, because I know I'd have a hard time not changing our trip to that week as well. But I'm really excited about our week-after-Thanksgiving plan, and we got a really good deal on our Stanford Inn & Suites room...

In other sort-of-trip-related news, my 2.5-year-old (he will be just shy of 3 when we go) had better make some drastic improvements in his behavior and interest in listening to us by the time we go, or it could be rough. We will have to invest in one of those backpack leash things and write our phone numbers all over his arm at the very least. He has been ridiculous lately! I'm really hoping it's just a phase. He loves the baby, but I'm hoping this is just struggling-with-changes behavior...

 

[ClaraOswald]

Adorable baby and toddler! Congratulations!

I know what you mean about the behavior thing. I am so worried about this with our son. He turns 3 in September but with his developmental delays he acts a bit younger. And since he can't communicate well it's really hard. We will definitely be bringing a little backpack with the "leash" attached.

If I were you...I would probably stick with the after Thanksgiving dates too. I think theme parks with extended family can be more stressful than fun.

 

[trishakay84]

Congratulations on your new baby girl! She's darling!

I read your previous trip report and loved it, so will definitely be following this one. Your shirts are adorable, I might have to try the freezer paper idea for ours!

We are going to Disneyland the first week of December. It will be me, DH, DS(8), DS(6), DD(2), and I am currently pregnant with another baby girl, who is due in October, so she will be about 2 months old when we go. My husband's parents are coming also, but they are planning on just 2 park days, while we are doing 5. We will be at the same hotel the whole time, they are just planning other things to do in the area since they don't quite share our Disney obsession, haha. We are staying at Dolphin's Cove with their timeshare, in 2 one-bedroom condos, so our boys will sleep in my in-laws room, and our girls with us.

Do you baby-wear at all? I'm planning to bring our Sit & Stand stroller for the girls, possibly also an umbrella stroller. We have an Ergo carrier that we'll bring for sure, and possibly a Moby wrap. I'm not sure if DD(2) will want to be held/worn, which is the reason I'm thinking of bringing 2 carriers.

I'm excited to continue reading about your plans and your trip!

 

[AusAnnie]

Congratulations on your cute new baby girl! I am looking forward to reading more of your trip plans.

 

[Jaina]

Congratulations on your new baby girl! She's darling!

I read your previous trip report and loved it, so will definitely be following this one. Your shirts are adorable, I might have to try the freezer paper idea for ours!

We are going to Disneyland the first week of December. It will be me, DH, DS(8), DS(6), DD(2), and I am currently pregnant with another baby girl, who is due in October, so she will be about 2 months old when we go. My husband's parents are coming also, but they are planning on just 2 park days, while we are doing 5. We will be at the same hotel the whole time, they are just planning other things to do in the area since they don't quite share our Disney obsession, haha. We are staying at Dolphin's Cove with their timeshare, in 2 one-bedroom condos, so our boys will sleep in my in-laws room, and our girls with us.

Do you baby-wear at all? I'm planning to bring our Sit & Stand stroller for the girls, possibly also an umbrella stroller. We have an Ergo carrier that we'll bring for sure, and possibly a Moby wrap. I'm not sure if DD(2) will want to be held/worn, which is the reason I'm thinking of bringing 2 carriers.

I'm excited to continue reading about your plans and your trip!

Sounds like we're planning similar trips with similar ages! Which week are you planning to go? Let me know if/when you start your trip report, whether it's before or after, so I don't miss it! We do baby wear, and will probably bring the Solly Wrap or Moby (DH's preference) and maybe either my ring sling or the Ergo (whichever is working best for me at that point - DH wears more though). It would be nice to bring our toddler Tula for the almost-3-year-old, but I don't see him wanting to be up very much at all, and I don't want to have to worry about packing it around or it getting stolen or something. I'm thinking if we have the Ergo and needed to put the almost-3-year-old up in it, he might fit short term. Not sure.We also will bring our double jogger like we did for the last trip to carry all our non-valuable stuff and for riding for the longer hauls, definitely for our little guy, maybe for the baby (we'll probably wear her a lot), and possibly also for the fairly whiny 6-year-old...

Congratulations on your cute new baby girl! I am looking forward to reading more of your trip plans.

Thanks! Glad to have you along! It's getting closer...

 

[ClaraOswald]

I didn't realize a toddler could fit in an Ergo. We had one when our son was young but he never liked it. Also had a Moby we never used. He barely wants to sit in his stroller anymore now. We're going to bring it to the parks for when he's tried. But I foresee pushing it around empty a lot.

 

[Jaina]

I didn't realize a toddler could fit in an Ergo. We had one when our son was young but he never liked it. Also had a Moby we never used. He barely wants to sit in his stroller anymore now. We're going to bring it to the parks for when he's tried. But I foresee pushing it around empty a lot.

They often -can-, but it won't be super comfortable. They mostly go up to 45 lbs. It would be short term, like in line if needed. Our toddler Tula is pretty comfy, even when we put our 5-year-old (40-ish lbs) in it at Legoland last fall. But it's more expensive to replace than the Ergo if something happens to it, and I don't want to carry it around all day (with all the other stuff we'll have) just in case we want to use it
.

 

[trishakay84]

Sounds like we're planning similar trips with similar ages! Which week are you planning to go? Let me know if/when you start your trip report, whether it's before or after, so I don't miss it! We do baby wear, and will probably bring the Solly Wrap or Moby (DH's preference) and maybe either my ring sling or the Ergo (whichever is working best for me at that point - DH wears more though). It would be nice to bring our toddler Tula for the almost-3-year-old, but I don't see him wanting to be up very much at all, and I don't want to have to worry about packing it around or it getting stolen or something. I'm thinking if we have the Ergo and needed to put the almost-3-year-old up in it, he might fit short term. Not sure.We also will bring our double jogger like we did for the last trip to carry all our non-valuable stuff and for riding for the longer hauls, definitely for our little guy, maybe for the baby (we'll probably wear her a lot), and possibly also for the fairly whiny 6-year-old...

We go December 3 - 10, with park days of Monday Dec 5 - Fri Dec 9. We fly in the morning of Sat Dec 3, and will use that as a beach day, and then Sunday will be more beach/Downtown Disney.

I've never done a trip report before, but I kind of want to! I'll make sure to let you know if I do start one.

DD hasn't been in the Ergo in a couple months, so I'm not sure if she will still like it, but for her first 15 or so months, I wore her several days a week while at work at my grandpa's jewelry store, the beauty of small family businesses! She's 20 months old now, and around 24 lbs, so we have awhile before she will be too big. I'm curious now to see if she will still like being worn, but will have to get DH to try, because it definitely won't work with my pregnant belly, haha.

Do your girls ever wear princess dresses in the parks, or do you tend to stick to the matching/coordinating tshirts? DD got a set of 5 princess dresses for Christmas that are starting to fit her now, so I think I will bring at least a couple with, and I want to get a princess costume for baby girl for Halloween that she could wear for a quick photo op in the park, too! I'm just not sure how practical it will be to let DD wear a princess dress all day. Maybe let her wear it in the morning and then leave it behind at the hotel if we go back for a lunch/nap break.

 

[Jaina]

We go December 3 - 10, with park days of Monday Dec 5 - Fri Dec 9. We fly in the morning of Sat Dec 3, and will use that as a beach day, and then Sunday will be more beach/Downtown Disney.

I've never done a trip report before, but I kind of want to! I'll make sure to let you know if I do start one.

Do your girls ever wear princess dresses in the parks, or do you tend to stick to the matching/coordinating tshirts? DD got a set of 5 princess dresses for Christmas that are starting to fit her now, so I think I will bring at least a couple with, and I want to get a princess costume for baby girl for Halloween that she could wear for a quick photo op in the park, too! I'm just not sure how practical it will be to let DD wear a princess dress all day. Maybe let her wear it in the morning and then leave it behind at the hotel if we go back for a lunch/nap break.

We will miss you by one day! I packed a few princess dresses last time in case they saw girls wearing them and -had- to do that too. But we had a heat wave in late February, and they wouldn't have been comfortable. I'm a little more comfort and function than cute princess dresses. Plus I didn't want to lug around an -extra- change of clothes. I do even less now that we'll have 5 kids there instead of 3. So they'll just have to be grateful they're there. They never asked about it or acted envious last time...

 

[trishakay84]

We will miss you by one day! I packed a few princess dresses last time in case they saw girls wearing them and -had- to do that too. But we had a heat wave in late February, and they wouldn't have been comfortable. I'm a little more comfort and function than cute princess dresses. Plus I didn't want to lug around an -extra- change of clothes. I do even less now that we'll have 5 kids there instead of 3. So they'll just have to be grateful they're there. They never asked about it or acted envious last time...

Aww seriously, 1 day?! I've always thought it would be so fun to meet up with a fellow DL-loving family.
I think I will bring just 1 princess dress each for my DD(s), get a few pictures taken and call it good - honestly it's more fun for me at this age than for them, rofl.