He speaks!

When Stacie got home from work yesterday, she was holding Jaden, and he was having a great time talking to his Mommy, smiling and gurgling like he does. I happened to record it, so I decided to post it here. Be warned! This is nearly four minutes of cute baby talk. If you have had your sweetness quotient met for today, this might put you over the top.

You have been warned.


He speaks! from Josh on Vimeo.

Return of Lexie Nelson: Feet of fire

Lexie had another clogging competition a couple of weeks back, and I finally got a chance to put together a video. She really loves clogging, but she loves being in front of a crowd just as much. During their performance, she was so enthralled with everyone watching her that she forgot parts of her routine! But we had a fun time and Lexie did really well.



If you click the "HQ" button on the YouTube player it will play in a higher quality, which is kind of nice. If you have a slow internet connection, it might bog things down a little bit. Turn up your speakers and rock out with Lexie!

Top o' the mornin' to you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Day 11 - Final Remarks on our WDW Vacation

The alarm was set for 6am, thinking that would be plenty of time to get ready and be all packed by 9am. It was a crazy morning and time flew by way to fast, before we knew it it was 9am and I wasn't quite ready to leave. Daddy took Lexie over to Grandma and Grandpa's room where the family was going to meet at 9am. I did everything I could to finish packing, fortunately Jaden had gone back to sleep so I could focus on packing. We finished up and Daddy carried the bags to the front of the resort to check us in for our flight. Jaden and I watched the bags and Daddy went back to the room for the remainder of the bags. The rest of the group joined us shortly and we all got checked in for our flight that afternoon. (One of my favorite features of the disney resorts, you can check your bags and check in for your flights at the resort and your ready to head to the airport. What a great idea!)

We all headed for the Magic Kingdom around 11am for our final fling in the park. We wanted to get a group picture in front of the castle so everyone stuck together for a short time. Thinking back it wasn't very nice of us, everyone was waiting to take the picture at our request and Daddy and Lexie took off for the bathroom and ended up watching the Celebration Parade that began as they exited the restroom. I had walked over and was waiting in line for Lexie so she could meet Pinocchio and get him to sign her book. So, while the family waiting on us we were accomplishing some of our desires. Sorry about that family, thanks for your patience. After the family picture everyone went their seperate ways for a few hours. We were to meet back at the resort at 1:45pm for the Magical Express Bus to the airport.

We made our way to Mickey's Philharmagic with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma. Lexie loves the part when Donald is shot out of tuba and crashes through the wall, she still talks about it. Grandma and Grandpa offered to take Jaden with them back to the hotel so we could get a few things done quickly. We headed towards the character greeting for Tigger and Pooh, we'd been putting off waiting in line for their autographs but Lexie really wanted to meet them. After a long wait we got our meeting and then headed for the location of Cinderlla's family; (Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Driscella). They were such a kick to watch, just as you'd expect from the story. Lexie enjoyed meeting them and got their autographs. The one thing I wanted to do was experience the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We lucked out and got right in, it was Hilarious. We really enjoyed the show and thought it was well worth the effort to see it. We then made our way out of the park stopping to get a few things including my most favorite of all treats . . . a HUGE Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treat. I love taking it home and having a fun treat to eat after our vacation. If Dad would have let me I would have gotten one at the beginning of the trip to munch on during the trip then take one home as well. I love them that much. Unfortunately for us, we missed the Monorail by a few minutes and the next Monorail was delayed. It took forever to get back to the resort and as a result we were late. It was a mad dash to get on the bus. Jaden was crying, Grandma and Grandpa were trying to get things organized and didn't need to deal with Jaden at that moment. Dad had run into the resort to look for a last minute purchase that ended up not being available anymore. In the end, Lexie and I made it on the Bus and Dad and Jaden rode in the van with his parents. Not the ideal situation but in the end we all made it to the airport, through security (which with two kids is a huge task in and of itself) and to the gate in time to board.



The flight home was long. We were all tired and ready to be home. Lexie fell asleep the last 20 minutes of the flight so Grandma tried to keep her awake. Jaden did really well and slept most of the flight home. All of our bags made it home, we collected the bags from the carousel and the guys headed out to get the vehicles. Uncle Nate had a surprise when he got to their SUV, it had a flat tire. Not really what you want to deal with when you get back from an 11 day vacation. We headed home, got the kids to bed and the bags inside the house. It was hard to believe it had only been one day, we'd done so much. Without unpacking we headed to bed. It had been a great trip and we'd deal with the aftermath tomorrow. The best part about coming home, we'd worked hard to get the house clean before we left and it was so nice to come home to things clean and organized. I don't think its been that organized since.

Well, we made it home safe and sound. Thanks for taking this journey with us and enduring our pauses and gaps in the story along the way. This vacation has been a most memorable trip we won't soon forget. Thanks to the Nelson family for a fun trip and all the fun times we shared together as a family. An extra special thanks to Mom and Dad Nelson (Grandma and Grandpa) for taking us along on this great adventure, we had a fantastic time. We love you so much and hope you know how grateful we are for all your love and support. Now its time to say goodbye to all our company . . . remember, M I C K E Y M O U S E Rules!!

Day 10 - WDW Vacation

The end of the trip is near, this was our final full day in the fabulous land known as Disney World. We took it easy in the morning then made our way to the Volcano Pool at the Polynesian Resort. Lexie is a fish, she LOVES to swim. Grandma had bought her a new Tinker Bell swimsuit and she was so excited to wear it. Dad and Lexie both braved the Volcano slide while I waited below. Grandpa helped us out by watching Jaden so we could all swim. Lexie even got to wear a life vest so we didn't have to worry about her drowning herself.

After swimming we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch at the ne TREX Restaurant. The folks who built Rainforest Cafe venture this new endeavor with Dinosaurs intstead of Rainforest animals. It was such a cool restaurant with many different "theme" rooms. We were seated in the Ice Age Room which rotated between Blue, and Pink Ice. Lexie loved the Dinosaur effects as we got to sit through many Meteor Showers. The food was very yummy, I had fried shrimp and a chocolate shake. The main reason for heading toward TREX was the one and only Build-a-Dino inside the restaurant. Lexie wanted to build her a dinosaur, since she loves Bear World (that's what she calls Build-a-Bear) and this was very similar. Out of all the cute and cuddly dinosaurs she picked the Dilophosaurus (sp?) with sharp pointy teeth and scally skin. The salesman was really cute with her and helped her put PINK to sleep for the surgery to close her up (PINK needed special attention). It took a while to pick out an outfit, Lexie wanted her to wear certain things but Mom wants her outfits to match. Silly Mom! Grandma was so kind to treat Lexie and Jaden to a new Dino friend. Jaden got a Triceratops, Dad's personal favorite.



We headed straight for Epcot from Downtown Disney. We rode Spaceship Earth then headed to get character autographs while Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma took Jaden and slowly made their way to the Mexico pavilion. The Epcot character greeting for the Fab 5 is so fun, we loved the cute backdrops for pictures. Goofy was the funnest, he wouldn't stop playing with our hair and ears for the pictures. Afterwords we dropped off Lexie with Grandma and Grandpa then did some shopping for souvenirs in Mouse Gear store. I found the jacket I'd been looking at in the correct size . . . I love it!

At the Mexico pavilion we met up with Uncle Nate and Aunt Amy. We found tables (waited for tables) while Nate and Dad waiting in line to order food. When we were done with our meal we headed inside to ride the Three Cabellero's Ride. Lexie had been on this ride several times and was most excited to show the others the Donald Duck ride. When we were nearing the end of the ride the funniest thing happened. The passengers in the boat in front of us decided they didn't want to wait to get off so the stood up and tried to exit on the walkway on the side. Hello, you need to wait for the signal to exit. I found it funny since Disney has castmembers at ALL the rides telling you when to enter and exit the ride. Guess they missed that detail.

The kids went back to the hotel with Grandma and Granpa while Josh and I got to walk our way around the World Showcase. It was a nice end to our day, even though my feet were killing me and all I really wanted to do was sit down. We met up with Nate and Amy and headed back to the Monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center. From the TTC we got on the Monorail to the Polynesian. We had finally made it back to the resort, got the kids and went to bed. We should have stayed up and packed for the trip home but instead we went to bed with the intention of waking up early to pack.

Day 9 - WDW Vacation

Today was Early Magic Hours in the Magic Kingdom. We had a good nights rest and started off our morning with a short Monorail ride to the Magic Kingdom and arrived just in time to see Mickey, Pluto, Snow White, and Dopey welcome everyone to the park as it opened at 8am. We headed down mainstreet and straight for Fantasyland so we could get in a few rides for Lexie. We rode Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh before heading to Toontown. Dad had been waiting, with the crowds, for toontown to open. When the rope dropped he ran for the tent to wait in line to see the Disney Fairies. Even being among the first we had a 30-40 minute wait ahead of us but it was well worth the wait. We magically shrunk as we walked through the door so we were small enough to talk to Tinker Bell and her friends. Disney was even kind enough to shrink a Photopass for us to have for pictures with the fairies (so cute). Lexie even asked the Cast Member if she was big again as we were leaving, they told her she had to walk out the door and "Poof" she would be normal size again. It was really cute. Lexie even told Tinker Bell that Grandma and Granpa were coming back from the Big Boat today and gave her a Mickey Confetti that she had found outside on the ground. Tink told her she'd treasure it always. The characters were really fun and worth the wait.

We met up with Grandma and Grandpa, Great Grandma, and Uncle Nate and Aunt Amy at the Starlight Cafe for lunch. They had a great cruise and we were excited to have them back with us. Lexie was especially excited to see Grandma again and couldn't wait to tell her of all her many adventures. We all headed towards the Tomorrowland Transit or People Mover for a fun ride. Lexie wanted to sit with Grandma and Grandpa but as we took off in the cart ahead she started to cry "I want my Mommy and Daddy". Surprising to all of us because she never really has cared whether we are around or not when Grandma is present. She calmed back down but was overjoyed to see us as we came into view at the end of the ride. As we came down the ramp Lexie spotted Stitch so we ran over to get his autograph, a valued addition to her collection.

The plan was to head back to the room but I pressed our luck and we got in line to ride Buzz Lightyear. Lexie was so excited to ride with Grandma. Lexie was dancing like she had to go to the bathroom so Grandma asked her if she needed to go (since we'd already had such a great track record of accidents). She said she didn't but I forced the issue and we left the line. Grandma told her they'd save her spot but Lexie was so mad she began to throw a fit. She cried all the way to the bathroom and then threw a major tantrum while waiting in line screaming "I don't have to go". To add to the fun there were three spanish girls in line behind us laughing and making fun of the situation I was having with Lexie and it was just making me more upset. We finally left the line and walked back to Buzz. I made her sit until she could calm herself down. She wanted to ride Buzz but I told her we couldn't until she went potty. She finally agreed to go potty so we headed to a different bathroom (I didn't want to wait in the long lines again) and she finally did use the potty. By the time we got back to the ride Grandma, Great Grandma, Nate and Amy had all gotten off the ride and were looking for us. I had told Lexie she could ride Buzz if she went potty so we got back in line with Grandma and Great Grandma for Round 2. In the end Lexie enjoyed her ride on Buzz with Grandma. Grandma's prize for waiting in line a second time was getting her highest score on Buzz, thanks to Lexie's fine driving!

We made it back to the room for naps and then headed back to Magic Kingdom for a few hours of evening fun. Dad and Lexie headed towards the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse while Jaden, Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, and Grandpa moved slowly towards the treehouse. We met up with Lexie and Dad at Aladdin's Magic Carpet, she had talked him into another ride after the treehouse. We headed towards the Haunted Mansion and stopped to watch the Spectromagic Parade. Lexie loved the lights, especially on the characters outfits. I was nervous for Lexie to ride in the Haunted Mansion but it ended up that she loved the ride. Grandma kept her safe and she enjoyed being Haunted.

We made our way out of the park stopping to watch the fireworks from behind the castle. They were extremely loud as we were closer to where they were being shot off. An interesting fact, Jaden slept through the entire show. It was so loud I wanted to cover my ears at some points so I'm amazed he remained asleep. We must have worn him out.

We got dinner for Lexie at Capt. Cook's and then took the kids back to the room for baths and jammies. The plan was to head over to Grandma and Grandpa's room after baths while Grandpa, Dad, Nate, and Jake were going to get dinner at Downtown Disney (the Earl of Sandwich). The girls met up in Grandma's room and watched Lexie watch cartoons and waited for the guys to return. It took a little longer than expected but the sandwich was yummy, we were all hungry.

Day 8 - WDW Vacation

Today we headed back to Hollywood Studios for the morning. I know what your thinking, why were we heading back for Round 3 of Hollywood Studios?? In our many trips we had yet to ride on the newest ride, Toy Story Mania. We wanted to make sure we had the opportunity to ride this ride since we'd heard such amazing things. Obviously it's fantastic as the stand by line was always 60+ minutes. We got to Hollywood Studios just as they were about to drop the rope opening the park. We joined the crowds as we headed for the most popular ride in the park. Josh got there just in time to wait in one of three long lines to get a fast pass. I headed with the kids to the end of the stand by line at Josh's request. It was quite the sight, me making a bottle for Jaden while he's screaming, holding Lexie's hand, and managing to walk forward as the line advanced. I was never so glad to have Josh join us again. He had gotten fast passes for 10:15am which we figured would be just perfect for us to ride once and then jump back on for a second ride before heading back to the room. Unfortunately, Lexie notified us once inside that she had to go to the bathroom. I grabbed her hand and headed out to the bathroom. We made it! Finally, success. We ran back to the ride and made our way through the crowds meeting up with Josh and Jaden. We were fine for about 5 minutes then Lexie said again, "I have to go poop". You think we'd have learned our lesson by now but we hadn't. Instead Josh and I argued about whether or not to leave the line and head for the bathroom. I finally grabbed Lexie by the hand and headed for the bathroom. This time she had a major blowout and we didn't make it in time. I ended up throwing her panties in the garbage because I didn't want to clean up the mess. It wasn't her fault, but I still spent the next 10 minutes yelling at Lexie for not being able to hold it. If I had just listened. We didn't make it back in time but Josh and Jaden enjoyed the ride. Josh knew Lexie would enjoy it so he put us back in line. We waited about 40 minutes and finally had our turn on Toy Story Mania. As we exited the ride it was time for our fast passes and we walked back in line for a second ride. Fortunately, we didn't have any problems this time around. It really was a cute ride but I don't know if it was worth 2 1/2 hours of our time. Hollywood Studios was by far the park where we had the most problems on our trip. We bade the park farewell and headed back for the room.



In the afternoon we headed for Animal Kingdom and Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. The parade is right in the middle of our normal nap time but its a favorite of ours and wanted to make sure and see it on our trip. We arrived just in time to find a spot for the parade. It was well worth the wait, and Lexie enjoyed watching the flamingos before the parade began.

It was extra magic hours that evening at the Animal Kingdom so as the crowds exited the park we headed for the Finding Nemo Musical Show and made it just in time to enter as the were shutting the doors. Lexie and I enjoyed the show, Jaden wanted to stand so Josh stood at the top with him during most of the show. We headed to Expedition Everest so Josh could take one last ride but while we were waiting Jaden decided he was ready to eat. Lexie, Jaden, and I raced across the park heading for the Baby Center while Josh was in the single rider line. Jaden was not feeling patient and screamed the entire way to the baby center. It's so funny to watch people as you run by pushing a screaming baby, I'm sure thinking how they are so glad its not them. I got Jaden changed and fed while Lexie watched Wall E in the playroom. Did I mention the Animal Kingdom Baby Center was my favorite? So nice and big, I loved it! Josh joined us and we made our way out of the park and back to the resort.

Day 7 -WDW Vacation

Our next day saw us reach the one week mark of our trip. It is so amazing to see how fast time goes when you're in the midst of a wonderful vacation; things happen so fast that it generally takes some time after the fact to take inventory of the amazing things that we did. This little recap has been great for me to do just this. Going through the photos and relating what happened makes me realize how much we got to do!

If you will recall, our last day was quite trying, and we were pretty much worn out, but we were looking forward to our first fun day in EPCOT, starting with a breakfast with the princesses in the Norway pavilion restaurant Akershus. We set the alarm to give us enough time to make our 9:00 a.m. reservation, but in the midst of a late night of laundry, a VERY early morning feeding for Jaden, and hitting the snooze once, we woke up just after 8:00 a.m. OH, CRAP! We started throwing clothes on, waking up Lexie and dressing her, everything that we had planned to do (with the exception of a shower) in ten minutes instead of ninety, and hoped that we could make it in time. Just as we were about to leave, I couldn't find the camera anywhere. I had it in my hand that morning, but now it was MIA. Our video camera was toast (see Day 6), and we were going to a special breakfast with a gaggle of princesses, so we really had to find the camera. We looked for 20 solid minutes...under the beds, in the closets, over and over. As stressed as we were, I couldn't believe that the camera had disappeared in the twenty feet of hotel room that I traveled while I got ready to go. Finally, I found it at the bottom of our computer bag (that Stacie had checked twice before). We were off!

We raced to the monorail station, which was not close, got to EPCOT, and I ran with Jaden to the Norway pavilion, which was conveniently located at the opposite side of the park. Stacie and Lexie made good time as well, and once they got to the restaurant we were being seated. Sure, we were 45 minutes late, but they were nice enough to honor our reservation. Upon entering the restaurant, Lexie had her picture taken with Belle, and then we were seated. We helped ourselves to a great fruit and pastry bar, and they brought us eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage on a family style platter. Then, in succession, Aurora, Snow White, Jasmine, and Mulan visited us. Lexie was completely awestruck. She looked into their eyes, and wouldn't look away, regardless of what was said. She was pretty cute to watch, and made sure that they all signed her autograph book as well as posing for a picture.

After breakfast, we jumped into line for the Maelstrom ride in Norway, which was just about to open for the day. We then went next door to Mexico, and got to ride the Gran Fiesta tour with the new Three Caballeros overlay. It was so nice to not have a long wait, so we went several times. After, we walked over to Future World to see Figment (Lexie loved the part where he was taking a bath on the ceiling), and we also found Nemo several times. Our last order of business that morning was going on Spaceship Earth (the big golf ball). Lexie and I took one seat, while Stacie and Jaden rode behind us. It is a very interactive ride with a touch screen right in front of you. Lexie started pushing buttons while I sat down, and we came within a couple of seconds of listening to the entire ride narration in German. I'm sure that my two years of junior high school German classes would have come in handy, but we enjoyed it in our native tongue just fine.

We went back to the room for a nap (learning from the day before's mistakes), and went back to EPCOT for the afternoon and evening. We had a sit-down chat with Crush the turtle, found Nemo a couple more times, and finally cashed in our FastPass for Soarin'. Lexie was a little apprehensive about it, and I managed to film her with our still camera during the ride. At first, she is nervous as the room goes dark and we go up in the air, then her eyes get really big, and then she starts going "YAYYYYY!!". I've watched it over and over because it really captures her and her fearless attitude. Those times certainly trump the more difficult times. Lexie took her mom on the ride next, and Jaden and I waited in the foyer.

Once again, we closed the park, leaving with the last of the crowd. Jaden decided that it was time to eat RIGHT THEN, so I knocked on the door of an ice cream shop that was closed and begged for some hot water. We mixed the hot with some water from a drinking fountain so that it was the right temperature, and we were in business (it was kind of amazing to see how quickly and efficiently we were able to perform this task after a week in WDW). Our trip back to the resort was very nice, and we geared up for another fun day.