Florida/Disney

Now that we are with child our annual Vegas trip for Western States doesn't seem as practical anymore. Luckily, NAVC is in Orlando every January. My parents usually try and travel in January and my Aunt and Uncle winter in Florida so it made sense to go ahead and go this winter. We are lucky that Allegiant flies directly to Orlando. Here we are on the plane for Viv's first plane ride. I had her under quarantine at least the week before we left to help ensure she wasn't sick on the plane. I was very nervous about how she would do (I'm not a great flier anyway). Knowing that we were flying to Orlando and the high probability of having a lot of kids on the flight helped to ease my worries. She did fantastic and was kept entertained with the iPad and a pill container filled with puffs. 

Having fun at the kiddie pool...we had fantastic weather the whole time we were there.

Playing chase on the resort's lawn...

We stole one day away from the conference to go to Walt Disney World...Nathan had never been to Magic Kingdom and I hadn't been for over 20 years. We had a beautiful day and a lot of fun. 

Yep...we were 'that family'. I ordered matching t-shirts off of Etsy for everyone for Christmas. Not too soon after we entered the park we had purchased Mouseketeer ears and Donald Duck hats. Viv had a really cute Minnie Mouse tutu as well...she got lots of compliments. 

We rode as many rides as we could...I really can't imagine going in the summer with the heat and the crowds. The lines for some rides were still 45 min-2 hrs long. 

Riding Dumbo...

Viv was obsessed with pushing her stroller. 

Waiting to ride Space Mountain...I had to 'conquer' this roller coaster because I got horribly motion sick when I rode it in 3rd grade....and I'm glad to report that I survived. And I didn't make Dad go with me this time. 

No one does a parade quite like Disney...

Taking it all in...

We got to meet Mickey! I was certainly more excited than Viv...

We all rode the carousel...

Disney'd out...I think we made it about 10 hours total in the park. I wanted to stay for the lighted parade and fireworks show....but I got out voted :( Guess I'll have to wait until she gets older. 

We visited Animal Kingdom the next day...

Nathan had to go back to Iowa to go to work so it was just the 4 of us for the Animal Kingdom. In front of the Tree of Life. 

We saw some amazing animals on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride... 

I did not 'conquer' the Mt Everest Expedition roller coaster....the ride goes backwards for a portion and I was pretty queasy after I got off. I thought it would improve as I walked around but only got worse once I got back to the hotel. I skipped dinner and caught a quick nap and felt much better. Luckily I waited until the end of the day to ride it. The dad I sat next to had ridden it 3 times that day with his two sons! 

My mom actually got a picture of me on the roller coaster. She was just going to take a pic of the people on the ride and when she looked closer she realized that I was in the picture. Can you see the red shirt? 

Mom enjoyed the Disney ice cream...

Learning about the animals. 

The park is organized into continents/countries...here we are in 'Africa'. 

Animal kingdom was a lot of fun! 

We were going to also visit Harry Potter world at Universal Studios but after doing some brief research decided against it. We'll have to wait until Viv is a bit older (not that she got a lot out of WDW, but the lines are longer and you almost have to ride the rides to the get the whole experience). We visited Downtown Disney instead and had a lot of fun shopping for all things Disney. We then drove down to visit Al and Nancy...ready for the beach! 

The weather was warm but it was a bit windy on the beach...Viv did really well in the sand. I've heard that little kids don't really enjoy sand when they are really young. She was a bit unsure about walking on it with her shoes on and actually did a lot better once you took her sandals off. 

The water was cold! 

But we had fun digging and looking for shark's teeth. 

Nancy and Mom played Blokus on the beach. 

Viv has become completely obsessed with technology and will throw a fit when she's not able to watch Elmo on the iPad/phone....Wonder where she gets it from...

Ready to head out from Al and Nancy's. We had a great time visiting! 

We spent the last day scouting out possible vacation spots around Boca Grande and Gasparilla Island. We enjoyed our fun in the sun. Our flight home was delayed but we made it! 

Just Hanging Around

Jeff and Kendra got married in November....and I'm dumb and didn't get a picture of them...but they looked great!! I did take a selfie with Gma Marie. The wedding was in Ames and was cold...and Jeff was excited to get a handwritten note of congratulations from Coach Fred Hoiberg. 

The ISU Hein cousins who have all taken care of the beaver...Nathan received this ceramic beaver from Uncle Bob as a gift...he ended up taking it to college with him and it kinda of became a joke...he decided it needed to stay in Ames and then gave it to the next Hein cousin to attend ISU. It's since been passed to Jeff, Justin and now currently resides with Kirk. Oh, the parties it must have witnessed through the years :) 

And then I got to do this....my friend Danielle was home over Christmas and talked me into taking a silks class at our 'old' dance studio. Here Ashlynd is trying to teach me how to lock the silk on my foot. 

The class was no joke...every part of my body was shaking. It takes a lot of upper body and core strength...which I don't have a lot of either at the moment...plus I'm pretty bottom heavy so it made it even more difficult! But it was fun! and great to see Danielle and Ashlynd. 

A few poses...

Diamond Dancers...pointing to our names on the wall...

Painting has become all the rage...we had a family day at Brush and Barrel. It was a good time and we turned out some pretty pictures! 

Winter Update

Viv's palette hasn't improved much. I thought we were making progress as she started to eat mandarin oranges, peas, and a few other types of crackers. But she will no longer eat mandarin oranges or bananas. She prefers to just smash them on her tray. As much as I've tried to keep her from eating processed foods....it seems impossible as she LOVES graham crackers. She's obsessed with feeding us lately and is very intent on sharing her food. She finds it very funny when she 'fakes you out' and acts like she's going to share and then suddenly pulls her hand away from your mouth. It's quite cute and she ends up belly laughing. The one food she never turns down....cheese. Wrigley has also quickly learned the place to be during meal times as she loves to throw food on the floor. 

Here she is at her 1 year check up appointment. Her 12 month stats 18# 15.5 oz (37%) and 28.5 (25%) inches long. She's got 5 teeth- her two upper and lower incisors and her 2nd incisor on the left. Her sleeping has taken a few large steps backwards. She was doing so well but it's been about 5 weeks now since she's slept through the night. She sleeps well from 8:30-midnight- we don't hear a peep from her. But from midnight to 8 am...she's up crying multiple times. We usually don't go up to get her as it only makes it worse and she always seems to wake up happy. I don't know why she hates sleep so much! ugh! She's still taking two naps during the day. 

She is SUPER into books and loves flipping through the pages. She doesn't always want to sit and be read to but loves to lift up the flaps and turn the pages. 

More Scottie clothes...

She didn't officially start walking until around 12.5 months old. Here she is practicing with Gma Julie out to lunch with my parents for my birthday. 

And here is your token toddler picture getting into the plastics drawer and creating havoc! 

Cute black and white outfit from her birthday...complete with coat. 

Mom and baby selfie...

Trying to get my phone and modeling another outfit from Christmas and new Sperry shoes. 

Parked in front of Disney Jr at Gma and Gpas.....eating puffs. We have discovered Disney Jr- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins. Another favorite is Elmo and Sesame Street.  She is obsessed with smartphones and my iPad. I let her watch a couple episodes of Elmo's World on the iPad and she now melts down every time she sees the iPad and she doesn't get to watch something. We have a few Elmo apps and she knows how to work them- knows which 'button' to push to show a video, etc. It's amazing. I'm afraid I've created a monster....but I doubt it's much different than any other kid in her generation. She likes to hold the devices herself and tries to push my hands away if I try and hold it for her. She loves to carry my phone around (and throw it on the floor) and when she gets to a screen that she can't get out of (like to make a purchase) she knows to bring the phone to me so I can 'fix' it. 

Playing Elmo app with Gpa. 

We finally got some snow...and then it turned bitter cold. This winter isn't nearly as bad as last year but the temps finally came up enough that we could venture outside for a few minutes. We tried out the new sled and she seemed to like it. 

She received the snow suit for her birthday from Gma Jean and her Ugg snow boots from Gma and Gpa Hein. 

All bundled up...and yes, she could move but didn't seem too interested in the snow. She just wanted to climb the stairs on the deck. 

We are thinking of spring!