Twitterpated, and other Bambi Life Lessons

Ah, love. After two children and over seven years of marriage, there is still no man I would rather see than my husband. His presence can still make my knees weak, make my heart skip a beat, and apparently make my car jump a curb.

At least that’s what happened last Tuesday evening. My parents, the kids and I were heading out for dinner reservations – Billy was running late and planned to stop by the house before meeting us at the restaurant. While leaving our neighborhood, we saw Billy driving in – I smiled and waved at my husband…and then almost jumped out of the driver’s seat at the deafening SMACK that resounded through the car when my passenger side view mirror collided with the neighbor’s mailbox, leaving the mirror hanging only by a wire. Alas, thanks to the magic of duck tape, we still made it to the restaurant on time…and my sweet husband gave me yet another reason to love him by so easily forgiving my wave that cost us a few hundred dollars.

Those of you who have traded catching the newest releases in stadium seating for the cartoon classics from your child-stained sofa may recognize that the title of this post comes from the movie “Bambi.” Funny how you never realize how many of life’s hardest lessons have to be explained in Disney movies until you watch them with a child. Alexa watched “Bambi” for the first time this week at Grandma’s house. When Bambi’s mom didn’t make it back from the field, she of course asked where she was. I explained that Bambi’s mom wasn’t there anymore, she got shot.

Later in the movie, when Bambi’s mom still hadn’t returned, Alexa asked me, “So when is Bambi’s mom going to feel better?”

Dreading this line of questioning, I answered, “She is feeling better baby, she’s in heaven now with Jesus.”

“She died?”

“Yes honey, she got shot.”

“Uh uh, you don’t die!” Alexa vehemently protested. “I got shots and I didn’t die!”

(Glad we got that little misunderstanding cleared up before the next well child visit…)

Of course a few nights later when Uncle John invited Daddy to go rabbit hunting in the woods, I wasn’t sure how to tactfully explain what they were doing. Somehow saying, “Remember what happened to Bambi’s mom, honey? Well Daddy and Uncle John are going to do the same thing to Thumper’s mom” wouldn’t have gone over so well…luckily, the rabbits remained hidden while “man was in the forest.”

A Child of Choices

At some time, I read a book on parenting that suggested you let your children make the choices that don't really matter - such as, would you like to wear your black shoes or your brown shoes? Which cereal would you like to eat today? And so on...this has worked well with Alexa since she likes to be in control. However, I learned recently that she may not be aware that there are choices BEYOND her options!! She mentioned the other day that she wanted to see Santa. Billy told her we could take her to see Santa and that when she saw him, he would ask her what she wanted for Christmas - what would she tell him? She looked at us and, because my drama queen loves to talk with her hands (didn't know that could be inherited!), raised her hands and shrugged, saying, "I don't know, I don't know what he has!"

She also has complained of a cough recently, but as long as she has "one popsicle in the morning and one at night, her cough is better." (as she tells me daily) Today, she was asking me if I wanted a popsicle (we have her rainbow ones and my fudgesicle ones) I told her I was fine, and she said, "but mommy, if your head hurts or something, just have one of your chocolate ones and everything will go away." What an early age to learn that chocolate makes everything better! :)

In other news, Brody has had quite the list of doctor's visits lately. The week before Thanksgiving, we visited the ophthalmologist and he passed his vision test, then on 11/28, we went in for his 18 month check-up - he now weighs 19lb 9oz and is 30" tall. After the 18-month check up, we drove to Florence, SC for a follow-up with the Orthopedist. They did another x-ray, still don't see any problem with his bones, feel like he will grow out of turning his left foot out, and he will walk when he wants to. His physical therapist came out on Friday and decided that she will only see him one more time before we move for his final evaluation. She does not see a need to continue weekly visits because there is no PHYSICAL reason Brody is not walking - he has the strength to do it, and he has the balance to do it based on the fact that he cruises one handed and is capable of standing solo on his two feet - he just chooses not to do it. Add to that the fact that she walks in the door and he takes one look at her, throws himself on the floor and has a tantrum. He absolutely REFUSES to cooperate with his therapist anymore! She hates seeing him so upset, and we can't FORCE him to walk, so, he's basically mastered all the skills she has taught him.

On Monday (12/3), we met with a geneticist - genetic testing is a service offered to all children in the early intervention program, and though the doctors and therapists do not see anything that would lead them to believe Brody has a genetic disorder, they recommended the testing if for no other reason, to rule some things out before we move. I am really comfortable with the staff we have been working with in Columbia and will be staring over when we move with a new set of doctors - if there is anything else to be done, I would rather it be done here. They did a physical exam and observed Brody for a while, repeating basically the same thing I hear from everyone - they do not see any physical problems, he seems to have a healthy appetite and is growing, even if he is not on the charts, and they're not sure why he's not walking or talking - some kids just don't fall in that 97% that all the stats are based off of! They took blood and are running three tests, but we won't get the results back for 4-8 weeks.

Though he is still behind his peers, Brody has made some great improvements over the last few weeks! He has FINALLY started signing for us, doing 'more' and 'open' and 'all done' much more consistently. He is also extremely proficient with cruising and prefers to cruise around the house instead of crawling - he just has to have contact with something solid, like a couch, table, or even the walls! He imitates actions now, frequently 'cleaning' his high chair tray or 'vacuuming' the floor with a toy dust buster. Once we move, he will be referred to the early intervention program in Iowa, and while I'm sure speech therapy will continue, the therapist here does not feel he will need physical therapy.

The kids and I are leaving for Texas on the 12th, riding down with my parents, and Billy will join us on the 21st! I doubt I will blog again before Christmas, so HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS!!

The House with no Front Door...

That's what we called it when we first noticed the house on our Iowa realtor's website. We'll call it home in January!

Last weekend's trip to Des Moines was fun, enlightening, and extremely busy! My awesome mom flew into Columbia on the 15th to keep the kiddos, and Billy and I flew out at 6:30am on the 16th. We met our realtor at 1:00 and looked at homes in five different suburbs until after dark. On Saturday, we focused our search on two communities and again toured possible homes. By the end of the day, after reviewing our notes on all 16 homes that we'd seen that weekend (our realtor was very patient!), we narrowed it down to two and walked through those one last time. Humorously, the final two were the same two homes Billy and I had marked as our 'favorites' at 5am Friday morning while waiting to catch our plane.

We're very excited about the house - it has three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a large lot (1/3 acre) and a finished family room in the basement complete with a separate toy room! We made an offer and worked through the details on Sunday, visited a preschool on Monday morning and then flew back to Columbia that afternoon!
















The city of Des Moines was a pleasant surprise...especially after the plane ride in. When flying in to Utah, you see mountains...in Texas and South Carolina, you see big evergreens and water. When flying in to Iowa, I saw nothing. Nothing but color-blocked earth separated by sparse roads. I began to panic. While I'd always heard Iowa was 'farm country', I had expected trees, and what about the rivers??? Then, as the plane began to descend, trees and buildings began to appear along with rivers and houses, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Des Moines is actually a really pretty place - it reminds us of Salt Lake but without the mountains. There are rolling hills and beautifully landscaped parks, trees that change colors with the seasons, as well as all the restaurants and shopping you would ever need while still maintaining a rural feel with spacious lots.

The home we chose is located in West Des Moines and the community has interconnected biking/walking trails that wind throughout the entire city. It will be hard to leave the friends we've made in Columbia, but after visiting Des Moines, we are excited about this latest adventure and the opportunity to explore a new part of the country. I do find it funny though that Billy and I seem destined to live in state capitals - Salt Lake City, UT; Columbia, SC; and now Des Moines, IA!

We had a great Thanksgiving, spending it with John and Misty at their new home in North Carolina. It is somewhat bittersweet that just when they are able to move three hours closer to us, we find out we will be moving over 1000 miles away in a mere six weeks. But I guess that is to be expected with this new career path. We just try to make the most of the time we do have together - something we should try to do whether we live ten minutes or ten hours away from our families!

A Life Changing Weekend

The weekend before Halloween, Billy's mom was in Virginia visiting a friend, so we headed up to see them as well! The kids loved visiting their Halmoni and Sugar Emo (nickname for Sun Tok's friend) and the weather was perfect!! Here are some of our favorite photos from that weekend!










Now for the 'life changing' part of it...on our drive up on Friday (10/26), Billy got a call from the Army HRC. Back in February, he had put in a packet for AGR, or Active Guard. He would be in an active duty roll supporting a reserve unit. We had heard they would not offer those positions to soldiers currently on orders (as Billy is), so we didn't think it would happen. Friday, they offered him the choice of an AGR position in Kansas, Wisconsin, or Des Moines, IA. After looking over the positions and the areas, we chose Des Moines. We found out the next Monday that the position start date was January 7th! Our household has been a whirlwind since then. In the next 60 days, Billy needs to process out of his unit in Utah, have his orders here amended with an earlier end date so he can start his new position, actually get the orders IN HAND, pack up our house, find a new house, find a new preschool, oh yeah, and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas!

We booked a trip to Des Moines for the weekend of the 16th through 19th in hopes of finding a house and a preschool...we just need to get his orders and they are still processing paperwork.

Since September, we've had a trip to Gatlinburg, TN planned for the first weekend in November, and even though I was ready to scrap it based on the recent change of events, my husband recognized our need to get away for a little while so we took the mini-trip. It was sooo beautiful! The leaves were gorgeous, and the weather was perfect! It was great to see mountains again! We would have loved to hike, but the kids don't quite share that passion yet, so we took the tram to the top of Ober Gaitlinburg instead.










Alexa rode the alpine slide with Billy and played on their little carnival rides. Brody enjoyed the rides as well, especially driving, as you can see from the photo (although after being his back seat passenger, I now know what a sardine feels like). They had a great play area with several slides and a mini-ball pit and Brody loved that as well!














We also found a company in the area that offered 30 minute trail rides and encouraged all kids three and up to ride their own horse so Alexa got to go on her very first REAL trail ride! What made it even more special was that Alexa and I were the only ones who signed up for the 4:30 ride, so it was just the two of us and our guide (Billy let Brody get a much needed nap). Her horse Lady, was well named as she behaved perfectly and Alexa loved every minute of it!

On Sunday, we met up with some friends of ours who moved from Columbia to Knoxville and played a round of mini-golf! If you are in the military, Ripley's attractions are a great deal! We had visited the Ripley's aquarium in Myrtle Beach because of their great discount, and it turns out all Ripley's venues offer the same deals! We played mini golf at a Ripley's course, and instead of paying $9.99 per adult and $4.99 per child, we only paid $1.99 per person!! Alexa loved being able to play with Hadley again and I really enjoyed catching up with Marcy, although as is typical, we have lots of photos of the kids and none of the two of us! (how'd we let that happen, Marcy??)

I cannot guarantee how frequent my postings will be over the next 60 days, but I will do my best to keep everyone updated, even if it is brief...

ok, so maybe I don't actually know how to be brief.

Boo at the Zoo

Columbia's zoo has an annual event, Boo at the Zoo, where kids can visit the zoo during the evening and even trick or treat at stations throughout. It was a great excuse to let the kids dress up so we went on the 20th. We let Brody ride the carousel and, as his face shows, he loves it as much as his sister! In fact, he cried when his ride was over! He was my little monster and Alexa is always the princess!


















On Halloween, the preschool had a storybook dress up parade, but since I'm teaching this year, I didn't get any photos. They also had a classroom party and Alexa came home with plenty of 'treats', so instead of trick-or-treating, my little princess acted as hostess for the evening, excitedly opening the door to the trick-or-treaters and handing out the candy. I didn't realize how much Brody, too, had enjoyed our visitors until later that evening, when we had run out of candy and turned out our light, yet someone still rang the doorbell. Brody began pointing and crawling toward the door, and when we didn't get up to answer it, he started crying!

Field Trips and Fairs...

On October 11th, Alexa's preschool had their annual field trip to the pumpkin patch! We got some great photos from last year's visit, and I think this year's photos were cute as well, although it was much harder to snap photos of my oldest since she and her friend Allie spent most their time RUNNING from place to place!

Brody, on the other hand, sat perfectly still amidst the pumpkins, looking adorable as always!!
















Alexa with her classmates Allie and Ella (try saying that three times fast -Alexa, Ella, Allie)









On the 19th, we visited the South Carolina State Fair! Alexa is currently infatuated with horses (not sure where she gets it!) so we took her to their horse show. She loved it and had to have her photo taken with one of the miniature horses after the show.

Be sure to notice her pink boots- my Aunt Bev sent Alexa money for her birthday and I took her shopping to pick out some boots, picturing some cute brown ones that would go with anything...once she saw the pink ones, there was no convincing her brown was a universal color. And, I suppose when half your wardrobe is pink, they do indeed match anything!

Disney World: A Play by Play Account...

Thanks to my wonderful parents for allowing us to take our Disney trip! The original plan was that they would drive up, stay a night, and then take Brody to Texas with them while Billy and I took Alexa to Disney. Due to the flu and the breathing issues (and the ear infection/fever Brody developed Friday night), I was hesitant about him being so far away from his doctor. So, my parents volunteered to still drive up, but instead, my mom would keep Brody at our house so she could take him to the doctor if needed. This was decided on Saturday, and on Sunday (the day they began driving), Brody was doing MUCH better! He had finally slept six hours without a breathing treatment and was interested in playing again. Monday he continued to improve and I felt confident in our decision to continue with our trip when we left Tuesday morning.

We arrived at the Disney Port Orleans - Riverside resort Tuesday evening. The resort 'theme' is a riverboat on the Mississippi River and a Disney-constructed river rolls through the bayou and mansion themed units. In the center, an island with a playground and swimming pool can be reached via two wooden bridges. Boats shuttles were available from the resort dock to the Downtown Disney area. Moss hung from enormous trees and ducks and geese lazily waddled across the pathways. It felt like home (without the alligators!)

Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early to dress our little princess for her Storybook Princess Breakfast at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot's Norway. Delighted to get to wear her crown, she sashayed through the grounds, stopping when requested by her father for photo ops. "Beauty and the Beast" has always been one of her favorites, so you can imagine her delight when our arrival was announced and we were led into the restaurant, where Alexa was able to meet Belle face to face and have their photo taken.














We were then taken to our table which happened to be near 'The Door'. Her face was priceless when half way through breakfast, 'The Door' opened and Sleeping Beauty walked out! After this, she was perched on the back of her chair, watching with anticipation as the other royal guests arrived! In addition to the two already mentioned, we also met Jasmine, Snow White, and Mulan.


Epcot was beautiful and probably will be the closest we ever come to touring the world (especially in a day!) :) The food was awesome, and it was a great place to spend some more time with the characters since it was much less crowded than the Magic Kingdom.

The princesses hang out at specific countries (Sleeping Beauty in France, Jasmine in Morocco) so we were able to see a few of them again.

























We also waited at the Epcot Character greet to meet the famous faces - Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Goofy.









We rode a few of the rides (like Nemo) and then decided to return to our room for a rest. Seemed to be good timing since our princess was truly a 'sleeping beauty' by the time her stroller reached Epcot's front gates.




That evening, we headed to Magic Kingdom to catch the night time parade and fireworks, as well as tour the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and catch a ride on Aladdin's Carpets. Still dressed as a princess (she refused to change), Alexa was treated royally by all of the Disney employees (or cast members as they're called).

Each one would greet her with, "Hello Princess" and one cast member, Amanda from the fudge shop, made Alexa's wait for the parade extra special by playing with her, giving her a certificate declaring her a Special Friend, and awarding her with free cotton candy! (Not quite a stay in the castle, but we'll take it!)

With such a late night Wednesday, we were glad to have left Thursday as a free day and let our princess sleep in! After breakfast, we took the boat to Downtown Disney and did some shopping. We told Alexa she could pick any one thing from the gigantic World of Disney. She surprised us both by passing up the dolls, costumes, clothing, and numerous other souvenirs for the small plush replica of the kitten from the Aristocats, Marie. Since Marie was quite smaller than what we were expecting, she also got to pick out a crown and a pet carrier (read - Pink Purse) for Marie. Since the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique, a place where fairy godmothers in training primp young girls into princesses, was booked up due to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (also going on while we were there), we also bought a few items that would allow us to create our own boutique. We had bought the curly hairpiece our first night there, so we picked up a crown hair comb and glitter makeup to prepare Alexa for Friday, our day at the Magic Kingdom.

We ate lunch in Downtown Disney at Wolfgang Puck's - awesome food and a great experience! Alexa ordered their children's Crazy California Roll which is filled with ham and cheese and topped with goldfish crackers. The wait staff saw her attempting to eat with chopsticks and brought her a pair of "kid friendly" chopsticks which were rubber banded around a folded piece of paper, creating oversized tweezers! Alexa loved them and quickly became quite proficient!

Upon our return that evening, we took a carriage ride around the resort - this is the only family photo taken on our trip!

On Friday, we again woke up early to catch the bus to Magic Kingdom and be there for their Little Ones Magic Hour, a program which allows Disney resort guests to enter the park an hour before the normal opening and visit Fantasyland. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was a super cute program! The characters were out to play with the children, and since it was off-season at Disney, the crowds were minimal. Alexa got to ride Cinderella's Carousel with Chip and Dale, saw Stitch on Dumbo (he was in a different elephant), did the Hokey Pokey with Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins (and no, I don't know why she was hanging out in Pooh's Corner). The waits were less than 20 minutes and by 10:00am, we had accomplished everything on my list, including the Teapots, Peter Pan's Magic Flight, It's a Small World, the Indy Speedway, and the Winnie the Pooh ride.















We then spent the most miserable thirty minutes of our life melting in the sweltering Florida heat (I thought it would be better in October) as we waited to meet Arial. Unlike the other characters who await your arrival in an air-conditioned room, Arial waits in her grotto. Which is outside. With no breeze, no shade, and did I mention no AC? There are water fountains shooting haphazardly for the children and any desperate adults to run through, but about the time I was beginning to contemplate it, the line started moving.

(Alexa chose to spend her time twirling while we waited)

And like all of the character greetings, it was worth it for Alexa to meet another one of her movie idols, although I couldn't help but laugh when her first question to Arial was, "Where's Eric?" Guess we know which PRINCE is her favorite!




After meeting Arial, we headed over to the grove for Story Time with Belle, where Alexa made her stage debut! Belle chooses members of the audience to help 'act out' her story and Alexa was chosen to play the part of Chip, the little tea cup!








After Story Time, we headed to Toon Town where we rode the Barnstormer (Goofy's roller coaster) which Alexa did great on, but informed us after the fact that she did NOT like it. We also toured Minnie's house and waited in line to meet Cinderella along with Belle and Sleeping Beauty (again). After that, we ate lunch, caught the Country Bear Jamboree, rode the train to Main Street, watched the parade, said hello to Chicken Little, then headed to our hotel around 4pm for a rest.
















That evening, we headed back to Epcot for dinner at the Moroccan restaurant. Our original plans had included Sea World on Saturday, but we opted to sleep in instead and catch Ratatouille at the Downtown Disney Theatre. It was definitely worth it to plan some 'down days' between the craziness. Despite our days of sleeping in, it has taken Alexa about three days being home to truly recover from the busy schedule and late nights! Believe it or not, these photos are actually only a small sampling! I hope to get them uploaded to the Kodak Gallery this weekend for those of you who want to see ALL of them.

You can also click here to see our Disney Photo Pass album (the photos taken by the professional photographers - again, for some reason, we never ended up with a shot of all three of us!).