Jake Meets Mickey & Pals and Falls In Love...

We just returned from a 7 day adventure at Disney World (Jake's first...of many, I'm sure) with my good friend Dude (Aunt Dude to Jake), Uncle Jeffry and their sons, Braden (5) and Jackson (3) and a subsequent trip back to Florida a mere 5 days later (yes, back again, don't ask) for my uncle's surprise 60th bday party and a chance for a first meeting with Jake's donor sibling, Cole. (More on that in another post)

If there's one thing I learned on this Disney adventure, it's that the "happiest place on Earth" brings out both the very best AND very worst in all of us...LOL It was truly one week where we laughed a lot, cried a lot (yes, both of us), sang a lot, screamed a lot (yes, both of us), danced a lot, and crashed a lot (only him this time...LOL). I'm convinced that there's really something about that Disney Magic that over time, drains every last bit of energy out of kids, rendering them incapable of "self regulation" (a term I'm sure was created to avoid having to say something less pleasant like...keeping themselves from turning into little monsters).

If you can manage to detach yourself from the happenings and take a small step or two back, it's amazing to see the huge roller coaster that small kids (and their parents) go on each day...

They wake up jumping and bouncing off the walls, bursting full of energy and excitement over what's to come...as parents, we try desperately to shove some amount of nutrition in but it's mostly like throwing a bunch of oatmeal or cereal on the wall, hoping a spoonful or two of it will stick. Then, just when you've finally gotten breakfast cleaned up, try potty, everyone dressed, lunch made and packed, the backpack packed with a change of clothes, wipes, a sweatshirt, jacket, snacks, water, wipes, pull-ups, wipes (yes, more), get them all dressed AGAIN (they undoubtedly find a reason to undress while you're doing all the other stuff), try potty again, find the car keys (this is not so easy with 3 little guys around), figure out which park you're headed to, find the park maps, guide book (which is never used), try potty one last time, gather them all up and head to the car...without fail, one is hungry, one is tired, and the other has to go potty!!!LOL Which is why we woke up relatively early every day and were lucky to make it to the park by lunch time...

But, whatever hassle you may have to endure becomes totally worth it when you get to witness your child's first experience with Disney!!!! I must admit, I had forgotten what it was like to view the parks through the eyes of a child...the animals are ALL real (including the dinosaurs...note to self, not a good first ride), all the pirates are real, all the children from every country around the world in "It's a Small World" are real (Jake wanted to know when they get to stop singing and eat dinner?), Tigger, Poo, Peter Pan...all of it REAL. This is an amazing thing to observe as your child's reactions are so pure and real that sometimes it even comes as a huge surprise when you realize what scares them, what makes them smile and dance and sing...all as you experience the REAL MAGIC that is Disney seen through a child's eyes. (Who knew it wasn't about riding Space Mountain or Tower of Terror as many times as possible?)

First parade... Totally in awe!!!


Notice Mickey is holding a crumpled up little flower that Jake had hidden in his pocket while we waited in line for almost an hour. It earned him a big Mickey hug...I thought he might pass out with excitement!!!

For the most part, once we did manage to arrive at the parks, the kids were all energized and ready to go. Jake was much, much more daring then I thought he would be. The only thing that really scared him into a meltdown was meeting Donald Duck...I know, go figure? Other than that, he enjoyed riding the kids roller coaster in Toon Town, and then even rode the Big Thunder Railroad roller coaster TWICE in a row...with arms in the air the entire time!!!! The man working the ride had to measure him twice, and then asked how old he was, and said he was sure that there weren't many 3 year olds that had ridden that one. (Lucky for him, he's tall for his age) We did manage to scare the heck out of all 3 kids by taking them on the Dinosaur ride...to say they were traumatized, would be the understatement of the year...LOL After that, any time we went on a ride, all 3 would ask...are there dinosaurs?!?!?! LOL, well, not really for them

The roller coaster kid!!

So, one of the cutest things happened during our first ride on the Big Thunder Roller coaster. As always, I screamed from the very first drop to the very last...and at one point towards the end of the ride, I said to Jake "How come I'm the only one screaming?!?!?" About 30 seconds later, we slowed down to round the turn to pull into the station. The entire train got quiet...you know, that time when everyone catches their breath and thinks either why the hell did I put myself through that, or woo-hoo, let's go again...there was total silence and then, out of no where, you hear this little high pitched scream (yes, from our boy) and the entire train laughed!!! The lady in front of us was laughing so much she said she had to take a picture of him...hands still in the air as we pulled back into the station. VERY funny. Needless to say, I expect we have a LOT of roller coaster rides in our future. Something my father finds amusing and somewhat apropos, as I used to drag him on all kinds of roller coasters with me as a kid and he HATED them, but did it...Ahhh, how history repeats itself, No?

Jake's favorite ride, BY FAR, was the racing cars...he drove them at least 15 times and each and every time, he laughed and giggled as we bounced from rail to rail...as he likes to say...he's a crazy driver like his nanny!!! LOL

The other funny moment came during the show "Honey, I shrunk the audience", which I had never seen before. This is one of those 3D shows, where a bunch of things come flying out at you. Jake was very intrigued by this and of course, as was every other kid in the place, he was reaching out trying to grab things that appeared to be floating right in front of his face. Very funny to watch. Then, at one point in the show, there's a pet snake that appears gigantic (because we had supposedly been "shrunk") and it comes flying out at the audience with it's mouth open wide. Well, when I tell you that Jake FLEW backwards out of his seat...I mean LITERALLY flew back... I only caught him by the bottom of one shoe. This, of course, had a very funny ripple effect in the audience as other kids were scared by this flying boy and dove left, right and backwards as well. Needless to say, we caused quite a stir...prompting an usher to ask us if we needed to leave (to which I said "no" and Jake said "YES!!!")

I know some of you have had the "pleasure" of seeing our boy at both his very best and his very worst...well, I can assure you, you have NOT actually seen the worst...or at least, I may have pushed him to an all time low. In parent speak...it's one of those rare occasions where you regretfully push your 3 yr old past the point of no return...past where bribes (ice cream, candy, money), threats (of timeout, spanking, abandonment...just kidding), pleading and begging have ANY impact at all. We did reach this point only once (thank goodness) and it culminated with me throwing him over my shoulder and carrying his weary little body back to the hotel room. Amazingly, between the car and the room, he went from kicking, screaming, crying, attempting to bite, pinching, to DEAD ASLEEP...yes, while hanging over my shoulder. It actually scared the crap out of me because for a moment, I thought maybe I banged his head on something and knocked him out or hurt him somehow...so I stopped, and shook him a little and to my relief (and dismay) he started up right where he left off. So, back over the shoulder he went and he was once again sound asleep in 30 secs flat! (Note to self...Dad is right, you NEVER wake a sleeping child!!!)

One REALLY good update...I think we're just about 99% potty trained at this point!!!! WOO-HOO!!!! I'm sure that I'll be able to buy a new car with all the money I'm going to save on pull-ups and diapers!! Even better news is that they have decided to MOVE HIM UP in school to the next level class and see if he can maintain the potty training!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can NOT even begin to tell you how THRILLED I am with this!!! Fingers cross that they don't send him back...LOL He'll make the transition in January!! BIG TIME WOO HOO!!!!!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip...More on the other Florida trip later!

Breakfast with Tigger and Poo!!!

At Kennedy Space Center...our future astronaut?

Back again soon...

p.s. Jakey lines of the week... In response to being asked..."Jake how old are you, are you 10?"... "No, not yet" Then, later that same day when told he could NOT do something because he was too little...he said "Hey, I'm almost 1o"... On the ride home from LaGuardia... "LaLa, Nanny said Is it good to be 70?" To which he, LaLa and Nanny laughed over and over and over and over!!!...Earlier tonight, to LaLa.... "LaLa you have gray hair so that means you're getting old"...oh, the things they come out with!!!!