TRAITORS!!!

Who carried you in her belly for 9 months?
Who endured natural labor for you, because she only wants what's best for you?
Who was determined to breastfeed you, even after you made her bleed?
Who has nurtured and cared for you, stimulated you mentally and encouraged your physically, day and night for the past 6 months?

So how do you repay MAMA?
By saying DADA first!

I was trying to avoid this, but I have to admit defeat. Sam's 1st word is DADA. 
Mark and I, (and Joey too, who was, of course, on Daddy's side, DADA having been her 1st word too) have been debating what constitutes "indiscriminate" and "discriminate".

Babies make noises that sound like words before they actually say their first word. Sam has been saying  "Da-da-da-da-da..." for a while now. But I argued, and Mark agreed, because she was more singing it, not actually trying to call him with it, that it didn't count. That is what the books refer to as babbling and/or saying words indiscriminately.

But then she got sick. She was definitely calling for DaDa this past weekend while she was sick. Especially when she wanted to be saved from MaMa who was wiping her raw nose.

Mark is trying to comfort me by quoting the books that say that most babies say DaDa before they say MaMa simply because it is easier to say. The "Ma" is harder. 

Joey belongs to her Daddy. And I totally get it, being a Daddy's little girl myself. But I just one to belong to me! Maybe when we try for  the third, I'll get my Mama's boy. 

I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!

Sunday morning, and we should be going home.

But instead we convince ourselves that we can spend a morning in the park and then leave at noon.

Yeah... right!

Kid sister and me! Waiting for the boat over. (Joey basically knows the routes of the different colored boats on bay lake & 7 Seas Lagoon.)

 Kaki & Paka Rick were staying the WHOLE WEEK! Then they would do Disney with the other grandkids next weekend. That's the life!

 Sam is like me. When she's tired, she falls asleep. No fuss. Doesn't care where she is or what everyone else is doing. 

 Gaston's Tavern was awesome. Not just because of the accurate decor. 

 The pork shank is now the new turkey leg. It is smaller, but much juicier. 

Mark and I are sold!

 This Gaston was fabulous. Great Personality and interaction!

 Sam pulled herself to standing for the first time! That little fence in front of Friar Tuck's ice cream window was just the right height.

 In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki room!

 Remember we said we leave round' noon, right?

 Well here we are, at the front of the park, for the 3:00 parade.

Don't read Sam's face wrong. That is a look of extreme concentration. She LOVED IT! She reached out to touch the characters that came close and just stared in (usually open mouthed) wonder. 

 This is what happens when you try to take pictures on the way OUT of Disney.

If you want smiley happy faces, you need to take the pictures on the way IN!

BEST PHOTOBOMB EVER!

Yes. BaBoo Photobombed us.

 (That's what Joey calls Cinderella's godmother. Because she couldn't say Bibbity Bobbitty Boo.)

 She and her handler were walking somewhere when she paused to photobomb us. KaKi, who was taking the picture, couldn't stop laughing and Mark felt fabric against his leg, but by the time we knew what was happening, she was waving bye-bye!

DONALD'S 1/2 MARATHON

The Cravens (Me, Dad, Chris & Andy (Andy is an honorary Craven.)) ran the Donald 1/2 Marathon on Jan 12th. It was a blast! I have already made hotel reservations for November, so I can do the Epcot Food & Wine 1/2 marathon.

Official start time was 5:30. But with tens of thousands of people, there were different corrals and our corral, G, didn't start till closer to 6:30. The costumes, the spirit, the smiles... these were Disney folks! My kind of people!

I really liked the course. We started on the highway next to Epcot, ran down  World Drive, through Magic Kingdom, back up World Drive again, through Epcot and finished in the parking lot.

Check out the course map here: http://as1.wdpromedia.com/media/rundisney/pdf/wdw-marathon/2013-Half-Marathon-Course-Map.pdf

 Hey, where's Andy? Well, Andy was in corral F. And he didn't want to slow down to let us catch up and run together, because he hadn't been training as regularly as us and was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep up. But he did awesome! 

If I hadn't already been on a behind the scenes tour of Magic Kingdom, I would have loved the course even more because it did go back stage in both Magic Kingdom and Epcot and that is always neat to see.

When I see how much was put into this event, I realize it was worth every penny of my registration fee. I thought it was expensive, but as with everything with the Mouse, it might be expensive, but you are getting your money's worth.

That finish time is from the official start of the race. Our real finish time was 2:55. And that includes all my picture stops, including waiting in line for at least 20 minutes for a picture with Donald. (We had to wait for them to switch Donalds.)

Daddy got the girls up early so they could be at the finish line for Mommy!

 In taking the monorail there, they got a great view of the race!

Someone gave Mommy a special Mickey rose.

 Well we did it! And I can't wait to do it again!

THIS IS THE DAY THAT NEVER ENDS...

After our princess play date for lunch at the castle, we went on, on with the journey!

Carrousel's never get old. They are always fun whether it's your 1st ride or your 100th ride, whether you're 1 or 32.

Josephine is a avid picture taker like her mother. Daddy bought her her own camera for Christmas and she some of the many pictures she took through out the day were good shots!

Samantha LOVED the new chew toy I conveniently pinned to the center of her chest so she could easily put it in her mouth without it falling. She fell asleep clutching her favorite new toy.

 Joey & Mommy on the top of the hill of Goofy's barnstormer. (Gotta go 1st cart, we're hardcore like that.)

There was only a 15 minute wait for Dumbo.

 So Joey went twice. Once with Kaki & once with Paka Rick. (Much to Kaki's delight, Joey likes to drive. UPPPP.... DOWN.... UPPPP.... DOWN....)

 Sammy's favorite ride was Daddy's shoulders. 

Luckily, since she is under 3, she is a guest of Mickey's and we didn't pay money to find that out.

 Joey & Paka Rick were the winning team on the race track! 

 But they were gracious winners.

I love the parade that ends in front of the castle and then the characters come down and dance in the street with people. Fabulous idea of Disney. That is more of a character experience than signing an autograph and standing for a posed picture!

 Finally heading back to the cabin.

 But what's this? We get back to the cabin and find that MICKEY'S been there! He hung Happy Birthday banners, there were balloons, a chocolate candy cake, presents... A wonderful Birthday Surprise! Tinkerbell must have used some pixie dust magic to let him in while we were gone.  

This was a truly magical day, and birthday celebration, that just never seems to end!

DONALD STOP, HALF MARATHON

LUNCH BUNCH

Well, our birthday princess didn't know it, but Kaki & Paka Rick surprised her by having lunch reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table!

There is nothing in Disney that she likes more than meeting the princesses. And eating in Cinderella's castle, where they come and visit your table and talk to you and you can watch them visit others while you eat, is Joey's idea of heaven on earth.

 I have a better shot of this picture of all of that was taken by Disney and given to us as part of the reservation, but my printer isn't communicated with my computer right now so I can't scan it. This is the shot from my camera.

 Of course, Kaki let Mommy in on the secret so we had packed one of her princess dresses in a bag on the sly and loaded in the bottom of the stroller. 

 Unfortunately, the dress was a little itchy so a quick bathroom stop to put her shirt back on underneath.

 Sam loves the princesses! (Joey wasn't that devoted yet at that age.) And she seems to love commotion/excitement. That's my girl!

 Who does Joey most look like, Cinderella or Rose? Hmm... tough call. I'd say Rose though.

 Joey wants to be Jasmine for Halloween next year. Don't know if Daddy is going to let that happen. Too much bare skin for school.

 Sam loved her wand; it made a great chew toy!

SHOWING OFF FOR MICKEY

BE OUR GUEST!

Where in the (Disney) World are we?

We are standing in line for Enchanted Tales with Belle. (Sorry, no fast pass offered at this time. But on Marathon weekend the stand by line was only 45 minutes, and really we were done with the whole experience in 45 minutes.)

 There is a beautiful view of Cinderella's castle from Belle's cottage. 

Really, all of the new Fantasyland addition is beautiful done!

 Sorry no pics of us with Belle, but they ask for no flash, which means your pictures don't come out right and I refuse to pay the money for the disney pictures, that's why I bring my own camera to the parks!

 Tried some LeFu's Brew at Gaston's tavern. It's basically spiced apple juice. Kids will like it. But the more grown among us can see that this is copying the Butterbeer concept from Harry Potter World in Universal. I hate to admit it, but butterbeer is better.

 This view of Prince Eric's castle is pretty darn close to the movie! Good job Imagineers!

 Honestly, I was disappointed by the Little Mermaid ride. It's just another buggy ride. Just like Haunted Mansion. Or Nemo. I mean, there's a lot to see, and the kids love it, but I expect more from Disney then just the tried and true. I expect imagination and innovation. 

 Sam & Paka Rick are waiting for Mickey's Philharmagic. BOY, did Sam LOVE that movie! I don't see why, because since she wouldn't keep the glasses on she wasn't seeing it in 3D, but she bounced and giggled and was mesmerized the whole time!