Florida Trip!

Summer is moving along at such a fast pace! We just returned from our weeklong trip to visit Brandon's family in Orlando for a week. Although there was a good amount of work getting it scheduled and set up, it all worked out for the whole family to be in one place at the same time, which rarely happens. We got to meet our new niece (born in late February) and Lucas got to spend some quality time with his three-year-old cousin. Brandon and I enjoyed some quality pool time at the resort we stayed at while we were there, although the Florida heat/humidity combination just about killed this desert-dwelling Southern California girl.

We were extremely anxious about the plane trip there and back, given how horribly Lucas handled his previous airplane trip up to San Jose and back in April. I guess we were much better prepared this time around, because for the most part, Lucas did beautifully! We had lots of videos ready to go, a few new toys to hold his attention (Matchbox cars/trucks are a huge hit right now), and lots of treats to distract him from the fact that he can't move around or run for five hours straight. It was an exhausting day in both directions, but we survived and may even get on an airplane again someday, although not for a very long time.

It was fun watching Lucas interact with his cousins. He was mostly indifferent to the baby, although would come up and gently touch her shoulder or give her kisses occasionally. Mostly we noticed an uptick in his "showing off" behavior when people paid attention to her, which makes sense. I liked getting a sneak preview of how he may behave once baby brother arrives on the scene this fall. He loved shadowing his three-and-a-half year old boy cousin, although I'm afraid the novelty of a two-year-old shadow wore off for the older boy about halfway through the week. For the most part they played very nicely together, taking into account the vast divide of social skills that are contained in 18 months of toddlerhood.

Hanging out with the baby

Doing everything the older boy does (only louder!)

The highlight of the trip for me was getting to take Lucas to Disney World for the first time! We stuck to a single day at the Magic Kingdom park, given the heat and crowds this time of year. We arrived right when the park opened and were able to stay until around 4pm, even though the heat and crowds prevented Lucas from being able to take any type of nap which we were there.

It was definitely a different type of Disney experience for me given the addition of a toddler. We started our day with a couple turns around the park in the Disneyland steam railroad. Given Lucas's love of "choos" right now, it was the perfect choice, especially given the extremely short line.

Family picture on the Choo!

He had this slightly confused/concentrating face all day

We exited the railroad at Fantasyland and spent some time goofing around at their mini-splash pad before hopping on a few rides: Ariel's Under the Sea, It's a Small World, and the Carousel. He definitely loved the carousel the best. I wish we'd gone back to ride it a second time sometime during the day. His face was just one big grin the entire time.

I'd chosen the Tomorrowland Speedway as one of our Fast Passes, which in retrospect was not the greatest choice. He was excited to ride in the cars, but too little to operate the gas pedal or steering wheel properly. We had to go really slowly in order to keep him from being thrown around and getting scared, and I think the ride on the whole was more overwhelming than fun. In a year or so I think it will be a much bigger hit! After this we found an out of the way area of Frontierland to try and get Lucas to sleep/give him a break from the crowds but it didn't work out that well. After realizing that a nap was not a realistic option, we headed for Pirates of the Caribbean instead because the line was indoors and air conditioned. The ride seemed to scare him a bit, or else he was just really exhausted because he snuggled into my chest for almost the whole time. I think if we'd gone around a second time he probably would have fallen asleep right there in the boat.

As Lucas's mood headed downhill in the afternoon, we hopped back on the railroad for a bit and got back off at Fantasyland for our final ride, Dumbo. I misunderstood how Fast Passes work at Disney World and missed our window for the shorter line (at Disneyland they are less strict!) but the regular line was short enough that we went for it. Sadly we sacrificed Brandon's phone for the opportunity, as Lucas dropped it on the cement and smashed the screen while watching a video to distract him from the wait, but on the bright side, he really loved it and it was a great final ride to end our day!  We stopped off for a quick lunch in Tomorrowland before heading back on the ferry to our car. Despite the heat and crowds, it was a great first Disney experience with a kid. My next goal is to get him to Cars Land at California Adventure before his third birthday! Hopefully we can recruit my parents to help us juggle the baby and go next year in late winter.

We spent the rest of our week relaxing at the pool and hanging out with family. Lucas enjoyed his first s'more on Fourth of July! He slept relatively well while we were away, but it was obvious he was growing homesick as the week went on and spent the last couple days continuously asking me "Car? Home?" and being pretty bummed out when I couldn't comply. He's happy as a clam to be back in his element and Brandon and I are glad of a couple quiet days at home to regroup before getting back to our regular routine.