Carter turns TWO!

Our Carter-girl had a special birthday when we returned from Disney World. I can't believe she is TWO years old! Since we basically went to Disney for her birthday, we had a very low-key celebration when we got home.  I took both of the girls to Childersburg to see my parents for her actual birthday because Felix had to travel for work. We threw a little impromptu party at my Aunt June's house. I totally underestimated how excited Carter would be. She LOVED her party.  She was about to bust with excitement when we sang to her. For months, she had been singing Happy Birthday to herself and  yelling "blow candles".  I think she thought the day would never come ;) Carter loves all things Minnie Mouse, so Minnie Mouse it was!

Carter had a very healthy check-up with Dr. Pip. She weighs 27.13 lbs (79th percentile) and she is 34 inches tall (49th percentile). At this point she is bigger than her sister was in both categories! We have recently discovered that she is allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts, so that has not been very fun to deal with. She will get tested every 6 months , so we pray that she hopefully will outgrow this allergy!

Our Carter-girl is a HANDFUL.  She definitely has one of the strongest personalities I have ever seen. She can be so sweet at times, but she can also throw a fit with the best of them. She is a great eater and eats mostly everything you give her but red meat. She always prefers fruits and vegetables first. The child also can't stand a grilled cheese. Don't ask me what is wrong with her ;) I always order it and end up eating it myself! She still sleeps so well at night. She goes down by 7 every night and sleeps until about 7:30 the next morning. Naps are hit and miss, but even if she doesn't fall asleep she plays in her bed pretty well most afternoons. Carter still sleeps in her crib and we hope it stays that way for a while! She has used the potty a handful of times, but Mommy is not ready to potty train AT ALL! Maybe we will give it a shot towards the end of the summer.  She has had such a wonderful year at school. She goes every Tuesday and Thursday, and we are so sad to see it end in a few weeks. We have recently thrown in a day at the nursery with a gymnastics class and she LOVES it. She has just mastered her forward roll (thanks to Blair), and she basically does it all over the house ;)  Carter loves to sing. Some of her favorite jams are Twinkle Twinkle, Bye Bye Black Sheep, He's Got the Whole World, Happy Birthday (to anyone at anytime), and any of the Frozen Songs.  She will also break out in Roar by Katy Perry every now and then. Carter-girl says some of the funniest things.  One of our favorites is "what's that noiiiiiiiiiiiiise?".  She says this when she hears something strange to her, and she says it in the most southern voice you have ever heard. She also says "awwww man!" often when I tell her no, which is hilarious.  She also will come hug your leg and say "I wuff you", and this suddenly erases all of her bad behavior from my memory ;) She loves her big sister SO much, and is always asking about "Bwair".  Every morning when I take her to the breakfast table, she is so excited to say "Hey Bwair!". It just melts me.  We love this little feisty girl so much. She is definitely more work than her sister was at this age, but I guess she is just keeping me on my toes!  Here are some pics I took of her on her birthday...

I also took a few shots of my Blair-bear. I can't leave her out of this post, because I am just so proud of what a good big sister she is to Carter. Carter is such a smart little cookie, and I owe most of it to Blair. She loves reading to Carter, teaching her shapes and colors, and also showing her the ropes on how to behave ;)   These girls are so fortunate to have each other!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Carter-girl! I can't wait to watch you grow!!

Disney Day 4

Okay, it's time to wrap this up. I can't seem to keep up with the ole blog these days!  On our last full day at Disney, we visited Hollywood Studios. We were very anxious to get to our breakfast at Hollywood and Vine because we heard there were some new friends in town! They have recently added Sofia and Doc to the character breakfast, and it is adorable! Jake and Handy Manny are still there as well. This is the way to go in my opinion, because this is the only place to see Doc AND this also keeps you out of the line to see Sofia in the park.  I thought this was one of the cutest things we did on this trip!

After breakfast, we rushed over to visit our Toy Story pals. This line was NO JOKE. We made it through, and then went to the Disney Jr. Show. After this, we decided to see more pals at the Sorcerer Hat. Blair had been begging to see Stitch. I thought she was going to faint when Lilo turned the corner and came out with him. And last but not least, Carter-girl had a precious moment with Chip and Dale. She would NOT let go of them. Dale walked her around the crowds while holding her hand. She was not afraid, and I think she would have gone home with him if she could have. It was such a sweet memory that we will always have ;)

On our last night, we had an early dinner at Ohana's (hellllooooo bread pudding),  and then went back to the Magic Kingdom after dinner. Blair had saved up her treat for the day for a candied apple. We thought it would be overrated, but it was delicious! We also used up all of our snack credits and basically bought everything in the candy shop. The girls wore their Mickey ears, ate candy, and got a last look at the castle. It was a wonderful night!

We learned during our last trip to Disney, that there is no where to eat once you leave the park. Basically, it's Gainesville after that. So, we decided to do one last fun breakfast before leaving town. Blair loves Alice and Mary Poppins, and Carter loves Tigger and Pooh. 1900 Park Fare was the perfect choice because I got to please everyone.  It was a great ending to the perfect trip! The girls were so well behaved, and Carter was surprisingly easy to handle the entire time. We love Disney so much, and we look forward to visiting again sometime in the future!

Disney Day 3

On our third day at Disney we visited the Animal Kingdom. We were very excited to try the character breakfast at Tusker house because we had never eaten there before.  It was so delicious! The breakfast buffet was amazing, and the juice that they serve is to die for! The characters were all dressed in their Safari gear. The girls loved it!

We went straight for the Safari ride after our breakfast and then visited a few more characters in the Animal Kingdom.

We did not have any plans for the afternoon, so I took Blair back to the Magic Kingdom to see Marie the cat.  We did a little bit of shopping, and maybe had an ice cream treat or two ;) We made sure to make our way back to the pool after this and swim our calories off!

And last for this day, but certainly not least, we had a wonderful dinner at California Grill. It was AMAZING. The view and the food were perfect! We will definitely be eating here again!

Disney Day 2

This day is sure to be one that I will never forget. We HAD to rearrange our entire trip in order to make room for Anna and Elsa. I had read nightmare stories over and over on Facebook and on blogs about the wait time for the Frozen princesses. No way was I waiting 3-4 hours, so I knew it was going to take some extra work on my part.  So, on Day 2 we headed over to Epcot super early in the morning. I got to the gates about 8:20 am. Felix tagged along behind with the girls. At this point there were already so many people in front of me. Luckily, they opened a new gate about 5 mins before rope drop, and I raced to that gate. When the ropes dropped, my dang magic band would not work! I literally had tears running down my face, and they felt so sorry for me that they let me go! I ran AS FAST AS I COULD to Norway. I had no bags, no kids, no strollers, nothing. Just me and my legs! By the time I got there, the line was at 1 hour and 20 minutes. So, I hopped in line and waited for the rest of the family to show up. All in, we waited about 1 hr and 40 minutes. I felt like we were successful, and I would do it again tomorrow! And yes I rewarded myself with a nice beverage from Via Napoli when I was done!

We also saw a few of Blair's favorites while we were waiting on our lunch reservation. Blair has a major Duffy obsession. Don't ask me why!

After lunch, we had to race back to the Magic Kingdom for Blair's BBB reservation. Poor Carter-girl was too young to participate this time, but we promise she will not be left out next time! Blair wanted to dress up as Snow White, and I thought she played the part well. This is such a fun experience!

Later that evening, Felix and Carter met us back at the castle for our dinner at the Royal Table. Carter-girl had gotten her "very own" Cinderella dress for her birthday, and she could not wait to wear it! Carter was so funny during this dinner. She kept calling all the princesses by name over and over. I tell you, this princess obsession comes MUCH sooner with the 2nd child ;)

One of the last stops we made this day was to visit the new talking- Mickey. Last time we were there he was silent, and this time he actually talks to you. We were so tired by this point, but it was definitely one of those moments we will never forget. Carter-girl was in love with Mickey and would NOT let go. I think she hugged him for 5 minutes. This was a perfect ending to Day 2!