Disneyworld

The Hunters went to Disneyworld, y'all. I have been working on this post for some time now, we had so much fun and packed so many things into our Disney vacay! Not to mention there were over 1,000 pictures between me and my sister in law.

At the end of October, we met the rest of the Hunters in Disneyworld: Big Poppa, Grammyflash, Ross, Jennifer, Julia and Natalie. I have been so incredibly excited to go with Kennedy because she is really into all things Mickey and princess. We spent two and a half days taking in the sights, sounds and fun at Disneyworld. This wasn't Kennedy's first trip to the Happiest Place in Earth, but it was her first trip that she would remember.

Highlights for Kennedy included meeting Mickey, Rapunzel and Cinderella. Going on Its A Small World (over and over). Meals with the characters and princesses. And spending lots and lots of time with her cousins, Julia (5) and Natalie (3). The girls hadn't seen each other in a while, but they instantly bonded. It was so cute to see Kennedy mimic the big girls, and both girls were really good to her. I know she is looking forward to seeing them again at Christmas.

Greg and I loved seeing Disneyworld through her eyes. Watching her take it all in was just...so...fun. It was a completely different experience being there for her. We got to sneak away to ride a couple grown-up rides, but really wanted to spend our time seeing Disney from a 2 year old's perspective. At times things got a little hectic, 2 year olds can become overstimulated rather quickly, but thankfully we had lots of help to keep her calm.

Kennedy still talks about the fireworks and seeing the castle. At least a handful of times during the week she lets me know she is ready to go to Disneyworld (backpack packed). And right now airport = Disneyworld. So she was rather upset when Daddy left for the airport Monday morning, because she legitimately thought he was going to Disneyworld with out us. Sadface.

We had an absolutely wonderful time, thank you so much Grammyflash and Big Poppa!

Kennedy's first Disneyworld trip. Barely 3 months old!

The Paci Fairy

We did it. We finally ditched the paci. Or Sasha/Sasa as it is known around the house. We knew it needed to be done after her second birthday and just kind looked the other way for a few months. After all of our October travel was finished, it was finally time to pull the plug.

I really was dreading it. See the bottle of wine behind the cut up paci? That's no coincidence. We had gotten her down to (mostly) only using the paci at night and during her naps, but occasionally during the day I would let her have it in the car. I started cutting the nubbins off and when she would ask what happened, I would tell her they were broken because she's a big girl...and pacis only work for babies.

I saved the cutting of the last paci for a Friday night, thinking if we could make it through the weekend, we would probably be ok. Operation Paci Removal actually went much smoother than I expected. The first night was no biggie. The next morning was a different story. She was upset and was missing the only soothing mechanism she has had since she was wee-one. I felt really bad for her, but Greg and I just took turns trying to help her calm down and did not cave in.

I decided it was time to introduce the idea of the Paci Fairy. I headed to the toy store to pick up a special present for the Paci Fairy to leave Kennedy. We talked about it with Kennedy, and since she is pretty into Tinkerbell these days, any mention of a Fairy sparks her attention. She gathered up all her remaining "broken" pacis and walked them out to the mailbox. She understood that the Paci Fairy would (only) come when she was asleep, pick up all the broken pacis and leave her a special Big Girl surprise.

When she woke up she found lots of streamers and ribbons left by the Paci Fairy. She also found a letter and a special owl (side note: she has a current obsession with owls.) This was a really exciting event and we left the streamers up all day as a reminder of the Paci Fairy's special visit.

Thankfully, after the weekend, there has been no mention of the paci. I think the buildup was worse than actually going through with it.

Night One. No paci, lots of sleeping friends.

Paci Fairy left decorations and a special Fairy Owl. 

Big Girls don't need pacis anymore!

Chalk Full of Fun

Have you ever met a little kid who didn't love to draw with chalk? Kennedy positively loves it. I picked up a big bucket of sidewalk chalk on Saturday and we unleashed her on the driveway yesterday afternoon. She's got raw talent. See below.

She also put on a little performance for me and Greg. She likes to sit us down and put on "The Kennedy Show." This consists of her showing us every move in her wheelhouse while stringing select parts of various songs together in one continuous, never-ending melody. She is, however, easily distracted and an airplane flying overhead disrupted her rendition of He's Got The Whole World In His Hands. 

Owls. 

Disney sketches. Maybe just a little help from Daddy. 

 Kicking, YMCA (yes, she really knows this) and Jumping

"...let me catch it!" In reference to the airplane. 

Halloween Celebration(s)

As I mentioned in the previous post, Halloween 2012 ran on for about 2 weeks for us. I'm not complaining, but I am definitely ready to focus on something else with Kennedy. She got really into Halloween this year. She loves to dress up anyway, and I've learned she likes scary and spooky things. we had a great time and can't wait for next year. Here are a bunch of pictures of our Halloween adventures!

We had a party with our playgroup at Rachel's house to decorate pumpkins and eat Halloween treats. I found these foam stickers at Target and the kids had a great (mess free) time decorating.

We met a few of our friends at the North Dallas Early Childhood PTA (what a mouthful) Halloween play date. This was our first costumed event and Kennedy was thrilled to wear her Snow White dress. I was a little worried when I saw the terrain of the playground, but she was careful with her dress.

We met up with our friend Emily at the Kidville Halloween party. They had all sorts of not-so-spooky activities including music, crafts, games and trampoline jumping to keep the kids entertained. 

Instead of Halloween, Kennedy's school hosts a Noah's Ark Day for the kids. They are encouraged to come dressed as animals, while the lessons and activities are themed around Noah's Ark. I didn't want to have to buy a separate costume, and I don't specifically remember Snow While being on the Ark, so we improvised a little with some kitty ears and face paint. Meow. 

The grand finale was trick-or-treating with our friend Audrey (and aunt Jill) on Halloween night. Since Audrey is a seasoned trick-or-treating pro, she showed Kennedy just what to do. They had a great time and brought home some goodies. I hate to say that I have already raided all the Reese's and Whoppers out of Kennedy's bucket. She was actually so distracted with the balloon, that I don't even think she knows we brought home a pumpkin full of candy.

Thriller Ballet

Kennedy's calendar was full of Halloween activities this year. We were excited to attend multiple parties with our friends, and had fun at every single one of them. I thought Kennedy might want alternate costumes, but she wanted to wear Snow White to each event. To my surprise, the costume lasted through six parties with out a stain, rip or tear and still looked new for trick-or-treating.

One of our spooky events was the Halloween party at the Y. Kennedy's ballet class 'performed' to Thriller and YMCA. It. Was. Hilarious. When I say 'perform' I mean stand still looking for mom and dad while occasionally kicking or shrugging a shoulder. And Kennedy has the shoulder shrug down.

 Lining up for the performance. 

We played "spooky" games. Kennedy loved getting a prize...and I loved when her prize was a Reese's. 

Chowing down on pizza witm Emily and Jeff. 

 Running around and hugging Princess Emily. 

Mommy and Snow White