Friday, February 25, 2011

Dr. Brooks


I couldn't resist getting a picture of the new proud new Dad in his scrubs after delivery!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ava

Our newest niece arrived tonight around 5pm. Ava was born at 31 weeks 6 days, weighing in at 4lb 7oz and 17.5 inches long. She is currently residing in the NICU and thriving. She will be home before we know it...she just needs to finish growing. The parents are thrilled she is here and are both doing well.


There is more to this story that will be coming at a later date.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Disney on Ice

We hadn't gotten enough of Disney for one week....Gillian and I headed to see Disney on Ice with Kristina, Emma Grace and Kristina's Mom.



Friday, February 18, 2011

Day 5 Disney Vacation

Our final day on the Disney Vacation we were initially going to try to go to one of the parks one last time but we decided to relax at the resort. Craig and Gillian went for their final dip in the nice warm pool while I packed and got things ready for the trip home. We played in the arcade and just enjoyed the warmth from the outdoors.




Thursday, February 17, 2011

Day 4 of Disney Vacation

We headed to Magic Kingdom to get through our final part - Adventureland. We flew on the rugs with Aladin and we took a boat tour of the Jungle.

After Adventureland we went back to Thunder Mountain which Gillian told she us she wanted to ride (we were surprised). After the ride Gillian said she only wanted to ride it because we enjoyed it....very thoughtful of her.

After lunch we rode a steam boat.

Once off the boat we had decided we would leave Magic Kingdom to get back to the pool at the hotel....bad timing we hit the Celebration Parade. It took forever and I even wanted to use profanity to try to get out of the Happiest Place on Earth....lol I think they would have asked me to leave....lol


After leaving I was happy we got to see the parade one more time. It reminded me why were there....we were celebrating Gillian and she was having the time of her life.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Day 3 of Disney Vacation

We headed back to Magic Kingdom to try to get through Frontierland and Fantasyland.

We went to Frontierland first to try to get to Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain because we had heard they normally have the longest lines. On the way there we managed to find Donald Duck so we had pictures taken with him.


After that we did get to Splash Mountain and we were lucky that there was no wait because it wasn't overly hot yet. Craig and I enjoyed the ride...Gillian not so much. It was quite a long ride which was nice and definitely made it worth the ride but there were a lot of parts in the dark so Gillian was not a fan.

After leaving Splash Mountain we say Minnie and Mickey so went over for a picture.

From there headed to Thunder Mountain, there was a line but nothing too bad. Again, Craig and I enjoyed the ride but Gillian hated the parts in the dark.


From there we went over to Fantasyland. We rode the tea cups, flew through the air with Dumbo and rode the Carousel.


The day flew by and to relax in the evening we made time for the pool. The pool was so hot in the evening that it felt like a huge hot tub.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Favorite Picture of the Day!


Day 2 of Disney Vacation

We decided to go to Animal Kingdom for our second day. This park has shorter hours and we wanted to check out Downtown Disney in the evening.

We got to Animal Kingdom before it opened because we had heard that the early you get to the Safari ride the shorter wait. Glad we listened. We maybe waited 20 minutes to get on it and I can imagine how long the line for this ride can normally take. The ride was so much fun! We saw all sorts of animals.

Waiting in line


The Animals













Us on the ride









After the ride we headed through a walk through area where we saw turtles, fish, birds and some gorillas.


Gillian got to meet Flint from It's a Bugs Life.





We went to a bird show that taught us all about all different types of birds. I learned the Bald Eagle is no longer considered extict and we got to see one. Also Gillian loved the lady that did the show to the point that we had to go up after and Gillian wanted to give her a hug.









We also met a bunch of characters at this park.











When we finished at Animal Kingdom we headed back to our hotel because we had promised Gillian some pool time. I would have never expected the pools in Florida to be heated but they were and it was soooo nice.




After our cool off in the pool we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. There are so many shops to see and so much going on, it was a lot of fun. Gillian enjoyed dancing in on the sidewalk while a man played guitar, getting on a Harley and seeing a lifesize Leggo Woody.












Monday, February 14, 2011

Totally Spent!


This was Gillian when she couldn't walk or stand anymore at the end of day #1! She struggled through fireworks and could have cared less but we stayed just in case we didn't make it to them a different night.

Day 1 of Disney Vacation

We had to get up at 5am to be on the road by 6am to make it to Burlington air port by 7:30am for our flight at 9:10am. Craig, Gillian and I aren't morning people so you can imagine how pleasant this was....we made it through and our flight took off without any issues. Craig and I weren't sure how Gillian would do on the plane but flying Jet Blue is awesome because they have TV. Gillian watched TV until about a half hour before landing.


Craig had predicted that Gillian and I would sleep and he would not and the exact opposite happened.



We landed in sunny Florida...it was beautiful weather....75 to be exact. The Disney vacation package was a breeze and we found our way to the shuttle to the resort and off we went. Gillian didn't make it through the shuttle ride without a nap.



Before we knew it we were off the bus, checked in and on another bus headed for Magic Kingdom. No rest on vacation for us.


Upon entering the park we were purchased Gillian some mouse ears.

And we went and met the "real" Daisy Duck.





We timed it perfectly and hit the Celebrations Parade. While watching the parade we had lunch of ice cream which we explained to Gillian was only something that happens on vacation.









As soon as the parade was done we headed to Fantasyland but ended up in Tomorrowland. Gillian got to drive a car, we all rode on a spaceship, ride the people mover (felt like I was in the Jetsons), fight aliens with Buzz Lightyear and Gillian now has a complete fear of the character Stitch.










We watched the Wishes light show and fireworks display....no one does it like Disney. It was truly amazing. Best Valentine's Day Ever!!!!