Archives for November 2015

I get it. I get the Disney magic!

For the first time in forever… we get it.

I’m not exactly sure how it happened but somewhere between our first positive pregnancy test and our first seven-passenger car…  Somewhere between Makenzie’s first steps and the kid’s first steps into the Happiest Place on Earth… somewhere between “Honey, let’s take a small vacation this fall,” and “Honey, we’re going to Disney” (I’m still not sure how that even happened), we get it.

Denny and I are just back (well, about 4 weeks ago but that’s how long it has taken me to finish this post) from Disney and we understand why people love it soooo much.

We get why people go year after year.

We get the magic.

We get it all.

i believe in the magic

We had an awesome, short & sweet trip to the Happiest Place on Earth and we were blown away by how fun it is.  It was no doubt stressful at times to travel with 2 kiddos, but both Makenzie and Mitchell did great!   We’ll give the trip two thumbs up and we will be back soon.

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::  McGees Go To Disney!  ::

Mamaw and Makenzie’s 1st plane ride

 

We’re here! This is when I was first hit with a wave of amazement and the tears started.

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::  Chef Mickey’s  ::

Meeting this Big Man on campus.

Smitten. Makenzie had no words.

A Minnie kiss for Makenzie. Mitchell Man was reaching out to see if she was really real.

More amazement. More happy tears from me.  Denny’s tears came when we got the Chef Mickey’s bill.

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::  Art of Animation  ::

We really loved the Art of Animation Resort.  Good food, great suite set-up and ahhh-mazing pools (plural).  Two thumbs up!

The Big Blue Pool. And each day there was a Disney Jr. pool party perfect for Kenz with games & songs!

Get in there, little buddy!

 

Hanging out with some of the Cars characters. We walked down Route 66 each day to get to our room.

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Crawling through Radiator Springs.

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A bonus visit with Aunt Margie & Uncle Mike!

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::  Magic Kingdom Day  ::

Whoa, bring on the tears.  I had no idea how this place would impact me as a Mom.

7am and on our way!! Kenz thought it was awesome that she did not need a car seat. It’s the little things. 🙂

We hit up the carousel, Flying Dumbos, Little Mermaid ride, Teacups, and then it was time to meet the princesses.   Makenzie told me she was nervous and wasn’t sure what she would say to them.  Mitchell Man wasn’t as impressed but he did get a big kiss from Rapunzel, which made him very happy.

She was so sweet and Kenz didn’t want to let go of her.

And then came Cinderella. Wow! It was undoubtedly the best part of our entire trip. I’ve never seen Makenzie look so happy.

 

Ariel was super sweet too. She read Makenzie part of her book.

We took a long mid-day nap, and then when we came back we walked directly towards the Dream Along With Mickey show taking place at the castle. Such a cute show!

“Daddy, looooook!!!!!”

Minnie, Snow White & Cinderella dancing & singing… talk about the happiest three-year-old on the planet!

 

Going strong late into the night with Mamaw at MK!

Carousel ride as we waited for the Electrical Parade to start.

Hey, there’s that handsome husband of mine! Remember when we used to fill up the digital camera with pictures of just the two of us during pre-kid trips?! This is as good as it gets now, but we’ll take it. 🙂

 

And just when we thought it couldn’t get better, a last minute FastPass opened to sneak in and meet the Frozen gals.

Eeeeeek!!!!!

 

Seriously magical!

::  We’ll Miss you Disney!  ::

Like all good things, our trip had to come to an end.  We had such an awesome visit & we’ll be back.

All smiles watching for our plane to pull up.

 

See ya!

 

 

Let them be Little… tales about my growing Littles!

let them be little cause theyre only that way

Let them be little, they say…

but how is that possible, I ask… when they keep growing, growing, growing!

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I’m behind with the updates (again), but my babes keep growing.

In October, my girl turned three!

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Makenzie Ruth – I could squeeze her all day!

::  In just one year she became a dancer, a non-stop talker and a big sister.  Here are some little things about her I hope I never forget  ::

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite food: Pasta, pizza & candy

Favorite book:  Pigs in Hiding (which was mine when I was a kid) and Carl’s Birthday (she pretends she is the little girl in it)

Favorite Things to do:  Color, play hide & seek, visit the neighbors & play with her dress-up clothes.

Famous Quotes:  “Mommy, I wanna hold your hand… forever!”  Talk about melt your heart moments.

    “Ohh yeah, that’s a great idea!” when you suggest pretty much anything fun to her  🙂

    Nana: “I love you to pieces, Makenzie.”  Kenz: “But Nana, I’m not a puzzle!”

Favorite toys: Hungry Hungry hippo, puzzles and Tubes (aka Youtube when she is allowed to play with our phones)

Favorite movies:  Mary Poppins & Annie

When she grows up:   She said she wants to be a doctor, just like Doc McStuffins

Best friends:  Mitchell!  And Kenz definitely thinks that she is one of the big girls and her other best friends are the Signal Drive girls.  They are just so sweet to her!

Kenz and ‘Liva’! I love these two.

Party time:  We had a fun little party for her at her dance studio (DanSations Rocks!).  It was a great time and a perfect reason to give tutus to all!

 

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Make a Wish Makenzie Ruth!

 

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Me on my 3rd Birthday in the mid 80’s! (Thanks to my mom for bringing this to the celebration)

 

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She thought it was funny to see me this young.

 

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Family photo fun

 

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Group hug!

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Listening to the awesome Miss Liza

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Love my tiny tapper. 🙂

What this year will bring:  On the night Kenz turned three we asked her what she wanted to do this year.  You’re never too young to make a strategic plan!  She was very thoughtful and her list included… eat popcorn at night, ride a train, fly in a plane, help Mitchell to walk & teach him tricks (aka somersaults), meet Ariel & turn into a mermaid, poop on the potty (let’s hope this happens before she’s 30), and count to 100, just to name a few.

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“This one Mommy!”

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We’re a month in and we’ve already achieved some of these, score!

Makenzie is definitely a first born.  She is confident, independent and she loves to be silly & have fun.  She is incredibly maternal to Mitchell and she is so full of love.  She is a rule follower, a thoughtful little soul & the sweetest little girl we could have ever imagined.

We can’t wait to see what this year brings!

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And our Littlest M is now 9 Months and getting very close to 10 Months!

He is a busy & adorable little boy.

Favorite things to do:  Crawling, climbing, clapping (his newest trick!), saying Dada, and playing with Kenz.

Medical update:  We finally have clarity.  We know the involuntary breath holding will continue for potentially 7 more years, but we also know the stomach challenges are related to reflux.  Our pediatrician has been incredible and we will (hopefully) not have to go through any more tests.

Foods:  He finally enjoys eating.  His favorite foods are oatmeal and puffs.

 

Drummer boy.

9-month photo shoot

A blur! This boy is soooo busy! This sums up his activity level.

 

Mr. Giggles. 🙂

And more activity & giggles.

 

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M&M sure make our lives complete.  They make life crazy, exhausting & more fun that we could ever imagine.

My home is filled with toys, has fingerprints on everything and is never quiet. My hair is usually a mess and I'm always tired, but there is always love and laughter. In 20 years my children won't remember the house or my hair, but they will remember the time we spent together and the love they felt. ♥ We've got so many more fantastic parenthood quotes on Joy of Mom - drop by and visit us! ♥ www.facebook.com/... #parenthood #quote #kids #children #love #joyofmom: