Thanksgiving and a weekend filled with family for my cousin’s Aufruf has me thinking. TechyDad and I are very lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. Yes, our Ohana has always been there for all of us over the years.
In honor of our family, I want to share a special moment. When we went to Disney World in March, I really wanted to capture memories of the boys. JSL was finally getting into going to see the characters, but he was still a bit shy. Here are the boys at the meet and greet with Lilo and Stitch at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
It is amazing to see how much they grew and started to love the characters. JSL went from crying and clawing at them, to giving them hugs when he was leaving their side. Yes, this is what memories are made of thanks to Disney loving Ohana.
Since I went to SheStreams in early October, I seem to be more aware of my video camera. I want to capture those moments that are classic in our life. Yesterday, I wrote about the new Susan Egan CD called The Secret of Happiness. Our family honestly loves the music, but I do believe that my little guy has a crush on Belle, –er Nina’s Mom – I mean Susan Egan. He asks for her songs in the car and wants to listen and sing along constantly.
JSL had seen my videos of Susan from March, and watched her on Glamour and Goop (Susan’s blog with Georgia Stitt), but never really paid as much attention since he loves listening to her sing. Thanks to this, I was curious what his reaction would be to seeing the video for the first time.
After I picked JSL up at school on Tuesday, we rushed home to see the video that had been released for “Nina Doesn’t Care” that morning. Here is the video, unedited.
As you could see, JSL was trying to sing along, but became a bit too captivated. I would have taped more, but he just sat there repeating the name of the song. Now that he has seen it a lot more, he dances around the living room and sings along with Susan. Thank goodness JSL does not know how to use the camera yet.
Have you ever captured a video of your child in awe of a person that they admire like this? I would love to know – please share.
Disclosure: I received this CD reviewed earlier complimentary of Susan Egan and Levity Entertainment Group in order to facilitate that review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed are my own as a huge fan of Susan Egan and Georgia Stitt. As you can see the fun was just a major perk that I had to share.
The two of you love Phineas and Ferb. It seems to be something that both of you can agree on. While shopping with Papa one day, we spotted Phineas and Ferb Halloween Shirts. They were too funny and bought immediately since they had your sizes.
When both of you were home from school, I wanted to take a photo of you wearing the shirts. Of course, this ended up in a comedy of errors. Here are some of the photos that I used in another post.
When the shirts were bought, it reminded me that I had put away a special Halloween card for the two of you to share. Yes, since it was unique and fun – you were both to share this card. After I tried to take the photos above, I turned on the video and captured the two of you figuring out what was inside the envelope.
Capturing this moment for Daddy to see was fun. NHL, I caught the start of you singing along. Soon after, both of you were singing and dancing with the Busted song as we got your costumes ready to head out for some trick-or-treating.
The two of you showed me once again, it’s the little things that make you happy.
Love,
Mommy
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Growing up, people would always ask my parents why we would go time after time to Walt Disney World. I never really understood why people would ask these questions. The reason: it was a place where our entire family could enjoy our time together. We were able to leave the real world behind, be carefree, and see/experience something new no matter how familiar we were with the parks.
As an adult, I get it. I now understand the magic of a Disney vacation on a different level. Before we go, I have everything planned. We have our entertainment built in, our resort has many options to offer, and even meals are booked and with the meal plan only tips need to be paid. By the time we arrive in Orlando, we have paid for everything except some souvenirs and ready to enjoy our time there.
Back in March, when we were planning some dining reservations I told TechyDad that I had a request. In all of my visits to Walt Disney World, I had never eaten with the princesses. Yes, this mother of two boys wanted to see Belle, Ariel, Arora, and other important ladies in Disney history. TechyDad was not entirely sure that it was the best thing to do with two boys, but I insisted. NHL and JSL were young enough to appreciate the experience without complaints about mostly girls in their princess gear being there.
We were able to snag some lunch reservations to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot. We had a magical experience. We had our photo taken with Belle before we were seated. Then, each of the princesses came around to meet and greet every table. What impressed me the most was how the characters interacted with the boys. Check out how Ariel noticed something in the autograph book and talked about pirates.
A magical moment that we captured and can show back to the boys when they are older. Of course, we can also show JSL the goofy smile that he was sporting most of the trip when it was time for photos.
While we were waiting for our dessert, I pulled out the video camera and asked NHL what he thought of the experience. I figured it would be interesting to see what a seven year old boy, with no sisters, had to say about dining with Disney Princesses. This is what he had to say in the very distracted environment.
I do believe that we made the right choice going to this restaurant on our March vacation. I know it was a magical memory that will live with us for many years to come.
If you have any magical Disney moments to share, I would love to hear them. As always, if you have any questions about Disney – just ask away.
Imagine a box arrives at your house for an amazing event and you have to hide it from your children. Yes, that was me for the past week or so. The other day, I walked outside and a package had arrived. I managed to divert their attention away and brought the boys to school. When I got home, I opened up the box.
Yes, these were the items sent to me for hosting the “Learn, Create & Share” Party from LeapFrog. As an educator, I love toys that actively engage kids in learning – especially literacy skills. On Sunday, we finally opened up all of the items to check them out. We wanted to make sure they were ready for the party that I am planning. Here is JSL to introduce you to the first item. Warning: 4 year old boys know how to scream when excited!
The poor kid had so much excited energy, he could hardly wait while TechyDad worked on opening the package and getting everything ready.
To keep JSL busy while TechyDad worked on getting everything ready, we made another video. Here is JSL showing the other items that arrived thanks to LeapFrog.
It took a little while, but eventually the LeapPad was open and all three of the boys crowded onto the couch to check it out (I will play once they are in bed). They kept looking, checking, exploring, and trying the apps that were on the LeapPad.
Do you have a LeapPad? If you do, I would love to know what you think or any specific items that I should make sure to try with my boys. So far they have found a lot, but there is just so much more. I have a feeling this will be a hot toy this coming holiday season, so if you have any questions – just let me know in the comments.
More coming soon on the items, including video reactions of trying everything out. Now, the planning may commence for our “Learn, Create, & Share” Party.
Disclosure: As a long time LeapFrog supporter, I applied and was selected by Mom Select and LeapFrog to host a “Learn, Create, & Share” party. They provided me with all of the items shown above. The opinions are all mine and no other compensation was received. More coming soon about the party soon!
