I'm back!

Well, here we are, it's summertime again, and once again I have failed miserably at being a good blogger :o(

So, what has been going on with us in the last year you ask? Well, lots!

• Olivia started and completed her first year of preschool. We decided on a program that was only 2 mornings a week just to get her used to being away from me and be with other kids.  I have to say, she loved every single minute of it! She not only grew height wise, but in her academics and maturity as well.  As of now our little smarty pants can identify all capital and lowercase letters, write them all, tell the sounds of about 90% of them and is also starting to sound out words when trying to write them! I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming!
• I think we have an up and coming soccer star on our hands! This past spring was Olivia's first season of "real" soccer (not in the indoor stuff at the YMCA). We picked a program on the other side of town, closer to our new house and from the very first practice she was in love! We were so lucky to get the best coach ever! Coach Scoot truly took the time to get to know each girl (of the 7 on the team 3 of them were new and the other 4 were returning from the fall season). His guidance helped build Olivia's skill level and confidence and by the end of the season we saw a true soccer player standing before our eyes! We can't wait for the fall season to start up in August!
• Toby has always dreamed of being a professional wrestler and this past year he finally got to begin to realize his dream!  A brand new training facility/school opened up in our area and Toby couldn't get himself signed up fast enough.  He started training last June and has done some amazing things in this short year.  It has taken some time away from family time (sometimes more than I would like), but I have realized lately just how rare it is from someone to have a lifelong dream to do something and then when given the chance be truly amazing at it. So I have changed my attitude and Olivia and I are going to make sure we travel with him to as many matches as possible, making sure that I show him my full support as he travels around the state impressing wrestling vets from all over and winning some hard fought matches as well as coming away with quite a few championship belts. I truly hope that one day all of his dreams come true and the world is watching the amazing man that I am lucky enough to call my husband! Go Ace Adams!!
• Summer is here in full swing! Lucky for us, our new house has a pool so Olivia and I will be spending lots of time there since she is such a little fish! She is now a full fledged swimmer and can float and is currently working on her backstroke.. 2024 Olympics?....

• Disney. Of course we have been doing our fair share of Disney! The biggest news from this year is that Olivia finally made the magical 40 inch mark! This of course meant that she could ride Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Test Track, Soarin', Star Tours, and Tower of Terror! And ride them she does! She loves every single one of those rides and begs to ride each multiple times each trip (even Tower of Terror that Daddy is scared of)! We are going on another big trip this year for her 5th birthday! We are lucky enough to be staying at the brand spanking new Art of Animation hotel and are super excited!  

Well, I think that pretty much catches you up on our lives from the past year! I cannot wait to see what the summer and fall hold for us! I'm really hoping to do a better job of keeping up here, but I'm not making promises this time!

Summertime!

Since yesterday was the first official day of summer (although here in Florida it has felt like summer for months now), I would actually hop on here and do a summertime post!

So, just how will we spending these blistering hot days of summer you might ask? Well, indoors, shuffling from activities and by the pool as much as possible of course! 

Let's start with summer activities.  Here is what our schedule looks like: Monday mornings from 10:00-10:30 are swimming lessons for our little fish.  I can't say enough just how much Olivia LOVES the water!  She started swimming lessons at the ripe old age of 6 months when we did the parent/child class at the YMCA.  We did that until Livy was almost 2, which is when she transitioned to a class with other kids and no mommy in the water with her.  To say she wasn't a fan is a HUGE understatement!  We decided to take a bit of a hiatus from lessons and picked them back up when she was almost 3.  When we went back it was a polar opposite reaction.  She LOVED it.  I think it helps that her swimming teacher Miss Charlotte is as fantastic as they come.  Our little fish has made quite a bit of progress over the last few months and is so close to being called a swimmer.  In addition to swimming lessons on Monday's, we try to spend lots of time at the pool and at the local splash park!

Wednesday evenings bring on the sport of the summer: Cheerleading! This is another activity that Olivia loves. Once again, it is through the YMCA (can you tell we spent lots of time there between activities and working out?).  This works out well for Livy since she loves to be loud and jump around.  Her first game to cheer for is on Friday and I cannot wait to see her!

Friday is a busy day.  It starts with an hour of ballet for our princess.  Livy started taking dance when she was barely 2 and has loved every second of it.  Her teacher is amazing and Livy talks about Miss Jennifer all week.  At least for the summer Friday nights will be spent at the Y cheerleading. 

So there you have it. Those are just a few things we will doing this summer.  In addition, we plan to spend lots of time outside riding bikes, blowing bubbles, and playing in the water. 

How are you guys spending your summer?

My little hula hoop master!

This year the Easter Bunny brought Olivia a hula hoop! She was so excited when she saw it. She picked it right up and started wiggling her little hips. She was so determined, and by that night she could do it! By the next Sunday she was a master!!

My 3 year old wants what?!

Anyone with young children knows that conversations with them can be interesting to say the least!  Olivia is no exception to this.  

First, I should give a bit of background info.  We have 2 nieces and a nephew who live in the same city as us, so we usually see them a few times a week.  The oldest of the three is our 12 year old niece Reesie.  She has loved Olivia since the day we brought her home from the hospital.  Reesie and Olivia have always had an amazing bond, despite the 9 year age difference.  Most weekends Reesie can be found at our house hanging out and playing with Olivia.  To say Reesie is Olivia's idol would be an understatement!

Olivia wants to do everything Reesie does. I mean everything!  Reesie plays soccer.  Olivia begged to play soccer, and now she does. (Reesie is even the coaches helper on Livy's team).  Reesie wears the crazy colored mismatched socks.  Olivia now wears the crazy socks.  Reesie has cute headbands.  Olivia is the proud owner of the same cute headbands.  So, you get the picture. If Reesie does it or has it, Olivia wants to do it or have it as well.

The other day Olivia and I were relaxing on the couch and Olivia proceeds to tell me that she want big boobies so she can wear a bra like Reesie! Apparently Olivia had been shopping with my sister-in-law and they happened to buy Reesie some bras, so that is when Olivia decided that she needed bigger boobies so she can be like Reesie!  Not so fast young lady! I still want my little girl for a while longer! No boobies yet!

I know, I know... (Hangs head in shame)...

Wow, no posts since September...TOTALLY PATHETIC!!! 

I know I sound like the boy who cried wolf, but I really mean it this time, I'm getting back into my blog!  I have new motivation: I am desperate to attend next year's Disney Social Media Mom's Celebration!  I have been following all of my Disney friends Tweeting about it for the past 2 days, and I am so jealous that we are not there! It is an amazing, family friendly conference that not only has amazing social media content, but it takes place at DISNEY WORLD!!!  I have been such a slacker with this blog and Twitter for the last few months, I am determined to fix that!

So, what have we been up to since September?

*I now have 3 year old little princess!!! I still can't believe Olivia is 3 already!  She is doing amazingly well! You would honestly never know she was a 32 week preemie! 

*We have taken 2 Disney trips and just renewed our AP's for another amazing year of fun!!  Our December trip was beyond amazing!  We thoroughly enjoyed every single second together, and we so sad to leave after that week!  Olivia was turned into a beautiful princess at the Bibiddi Bobiddi Boutique!

*Olivia had her first ballet recital in December! It was so stinking cute!!!!  She is still doing ballet and loving every second of it!  She has another recital next month, and one in June.

*In addition to ballet, Olivia is now in swimming classes and just started playing soccer.  Toby is coaching her soccer team, and I am the team mom.  It is an awesome family activity for us!

*In February we took another trip to Disney (a quick 5 days) and renewed our APs so we have another year of magical fun to look forward to!  On this trip we also tried a new hotel (Port Orleans Riverside-which we LOVED), and Olivia was painfully close to the magical 40 inch mark to ride the "big girl" rides as she calls them!  I think she will make it soon (hopefully before our trip next month)!

That pretty much gets you up to date here!  I will leave you with the promise to keep up with my poor old blog, and a few pictures of Olivia.

73 Days!

For any of you that know me, you will know exactly what 73 days is referring to....our next trip to Disney World of course!! Since we started our coutdown at 108 days, 73 seems like it's getting pretty close!  We have our countdown on Olivia's door and each night she pulls one of the Mickey heads off the door.

As most of you know, this trip is to celebrate our princesses 3rd birthday! This trip is a bit of a splurge trip for us, but we wanted to make an extra week for Olivia.  Here is a quick recap for those of your just joining this journey:

Who: Myself (Erin), my wonderful hubby (Toby) and our princess Olivia

What: Olivia's 3rd Birthday trip!

When: December 5-10

Where: Disney's Pop Century Resort

Why: To celebrate of course!!

We have some amazing thing planned for this trip that I am beyond excited about:

*We are doing the Deluxe Dining Plan for the first time this trip! Disney has some wonderful restaurants to splurge on and enjoy! Here are our selections:

          ~Yak & Yeti (Lunch)

          ~California Grill (dinner)

          ~Kona Cafe (Tonga Toast here we come)

          ~Crystal Palace (lunch)

          ~1900 Park Fare (dinner with Cinderella!)

          ~Hollywood & Vine (lunch)

          ~Garden Grill (dinner)

          ~Cape May Cafe (breakfast)

          ~LeCellier (lunch-I'm dying to try the cheddar cheese soup & pretzel bread!)

          ~Ohana (dinner)

          ~Ohana (breakfast)

          ~Teppan Edo (dinner)

          ~Chef Mickey's (we love this place!)

          ~Planet Hollywood (I can't stand it, but it is Toby's only request)

*We are also taking Olivia to the Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique!!! She is super excited about this and I simply cannot wait to see her face after her transformation into Cinderella!!! 

*I am over the moon excited to be able to spend some time in the World during the holidays! I love Christmas and everything that goes with it! I made sure to schedule lots of meals in the resorts so we can experience all of their amazing holiday decor!

There you have it. A quick recap of what our upcoming trip has in store for us! I will be sure to add more details in as we get closer to our departure date, but if you want to read the nitty gritty, feel free to join in my PTR (pre trip report) over on the DIS! 

So, who else has a magical vacation in the works?

Got the Monday blues? We don't!

Well, once again, it's Monday. The most dreaded day of the week for most people. In our house Monday is actually a great day! With my husbands work schedule, his days off are Sunday and Monday. Sunday is beyond busy for us. I work in our church nursery from about 8:30-1:00. After church we head to my sister-in-laws in-laws (confusing I know) for brunch which is absolutely delicious! Once we have stuffed our bellies beyond full, we head home so Olivia can get in an afternoon nap, before she and I head back to the church nursery from about 5:30-8:30 for evening service. Whew, I'm exhausted just typing that!

So, on to Monday. They are the total opposite from Sunday! As I type, Olivia and Toby are in our bedroom watching the Lion King together and I am watching the noon news in the living room. Our plans for the day include a whole lot of nothing! No running around. No work to head to. No nothing! I might sneak in a load of laundry and I know I will have to clean up the kitchen, but other than that, we just enjoy our Monday's as it's our only day that we have to ourselves!

I think this post has been long enough! I'm off to make some lunch and then enjoy a movie with my hubby while Olivia naps!