The Griswolds Go to Disney (aka - Florida Entry #2)

Look at this optimistic family
dry and planning on a great day
(don't mind that giant storm cloud hanging over Cinderella's castle)

I think it was decided that maybe I was more excited about my first trip to Disney World than Zach was. Craig and I had never been, so it was a first for all the Wards. I was glad that I waited until I had kids to take, because Zach made the whole trip that much better.

We arrived in Orlando on Sunday afternoon with plans to see Disney World Magic Kingdom on Monday. So Sunday we just spent some time at Downtown Disney shopping and met our Uncle Rich and Aunt Lila on Sunday evening for dinner. Uncle Rich, Aunt Lila and Dylan

And that's when the rain started. We got sprinkled on at Downtown Disney, but the torrential rain started Sunday night. I was so sad we were not going to be able to go to Disney on Monday, but nothing stops the Griswolds when you have a mission

Jill and the Loch Ness Monster made of Legos

The one day whirlwind trip to Magic Kingdom was well worth it. I had a great time and we managed to ride Dumbo, Peter Pan, Tomorrowland Speedway cars, Buzz Lightyear, Monster Inc Laugh Floor, Big Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster and Zach's official first roller coaster ride - Goofy Barnstormer. Zach also managed to get his pic taken with Buzz Lightyear and Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The Disney gods were smiling on us. All of those pics were by chance encounters and did not involve long waits in any lines.

My personal favorite part of the day was the parade. We waited for about 15 mins and got a good spot - luckily the crowds were slim because of all the rain. I positioned Zach right next to the rope and had my video camera going. He got lots of high fives from lots of characters, but the best was the wicked stepmother. She came by and I believe she was trying to stretch out her time because a float had broken down behind her so there was a bit of a gap in the show. She walked over to Zach and in a loud theatrical Wicked Stepmother voice said, "Girls, look at this one. One of you should marry him. And next thing you know, one of them (don't know which one) gave him a HUGE kiss on the cheek. Even better, he immediately took his hand and gave it a big wipe to wipe off the kiss. Luckily I caught it all on camera and as soon as I can figure out how to download it, I'll see if I can cut it down and put it on here.

Disney Ponchos - $8 EACH
Stroller Rental - $12
Disney Tickets - $60
Overpriced Disney Beach Towel - $22
Being proposed to and kissed by the wicked stepsister - pricelessThe Griswolds at the end of the day - and we were still speaking to each other

Thank you Grandad and Grammy for a great trip! Thanks Amanda for your insider tips on a great day at Disney!

Florida trip - Entry #1

The "White" Family (aka The Wards) go to the beach

We are in Florida now and can check off the "firsts" list, airplane ride for Dylan. He did great. He actually slept on and off, but our children are not great public place sleepers so he didn't pass out like we would have liked. Zach is so much easier than when he was little. He really enjoyed watching the plane take off and land and seeing the ocean as we flew out of Tampa. Everyone should check out Southwest fares - ours were unbelievably cheap and the flights were nearly empty. Zach was excited to see Grammy and Granddad and we've been having fun in Florida. Between the great pool with an awesome slide (that Zach's too short to go down), the fabulous kids playground with giant treehouses, putt-putt, golf for the grown-ups and a great exercise room too, we are having a hard time even wanting to leave the neighborhood.

The play house at Eagle Landing playground. Carved into the bottom of a big tree - very cool!

We did ventured out to the beach today and everyone had fun. I can now see the great advantages of beach vacations. Zach was totally entertained in the sand and a couple of trips to the water. Other than that, it was pretty relaxing. Of course, everyone is a little sunburned - including Dylan :(. Sunscreen, a hat, umbrella and still Dylan got sun. And I forgot my sunscreen on my feet...ouch. Why do I always miss a spot?

Proof I used sunscreen - not just on Craig.

Of course, every vacation requires several photo shoots.
Grammy and Dylan - Grandad had to work :(
(maybe he'll make the 2nd trip)

So besides the trip to the ER with Craig for another round of kidney stones....we are having a great time. More on the kidney stones later. (no pics) Never a dull moment with the Wards. I just realized, April was hospital free and darn if May ruined our hospital free streak.

Jack

I believe that things happen in our lives for a reason, whether it be the hand of God pushing or pulling us to do things or fate, or whatever you want to call it...I rarely believe in coincidences. Monday night for some reason I decided to call the NICU and find out when the nurses we had known were going to be working. Dylan was just being so happy and smiley and such a miracle that I thought it was high time I made a visit to "show him off." I planned my trip to Joplin for Thursday morning. As I was walking in the hospital and going up the elevator, holding my now "perfect" child - I can say that because I'm his Mom - the emotions overtook me and I was all teary eyed. I walked into the NICU and reintroduced ourselves to the staff. Some remembered pretty quickly who Dylan was, but we reminded everyone of our ordeal and I think most of them remembered him. As we were standing there ooohing and aahing over happy Dylan (and he was watching all these silly women talking to him with curiosity), a woman who had just finished the ritual handwashing of the NICU asked about our story. She said she couldn't help but overhear and asked about his situation. Trying to be brief, I explained he was born full term but came out with an APGAR of 1. Since she was a NICU visitor, she recognized the importance of that fact. Another nurse had held Dylan in front of a room of the NICU and said to the parents inside, "See, it will be okay (or something to that effect)." I quickly realized and was told that they had gone through a similar situation as Dylan. Of course, I wanted to speak to this mom.
Sadly, I realize now I didn't catch her name, but the important thing is her son's name is Jack. God had a plan for Dylan and me today. I talked to Jack's mom and found out that Jack also had a rough delivery. He was born around 8lbs 7oz and full term just like Dylan. Jack's mom pushed for 2 1/2 hours (which is how long I pushed with Zach oddly enough) but had no luck getting Jack out. Since his heart rate dropped, they decided they needed to do an emergency C-section - sound familiar?- and out came Jack. His head was bruised due to the pushing and it seems like this caused some trauma to Jack. From the information I got, it seems he had seizures similar to Dylan. The true blessing was I got to tell this Mom it can be okay!!!! I was so glad I could tell her. I so wished I could have had a Mom who had been through it first hand tell me it CAN be okay. He CAN be "normal", you CAN have your perfect baby still. I can't say you WILL because we just don't know all the answers, but I can say it's posssible...there IS HOPE! HOPE is such a strong word and feeling and it's all you need or want some days when you're sitting there looking at your little baby struggle. My words were nice, but the best part was Dylan. He was there as a shining example of how great Jack's future can be! The one thing that I won't forget was the "handwashing woman" looking at Jack's Mom and with this tone saying, "His APGAR was a 1." To me, that said it all. They knew and we knew with just those words what a miracle he was and what awesome miracles are possible.
Of course, I shared tears with Jack's mom (b/c you all know me and I'm never short on tears!). I think the real power was in sharing a similar situation. When you are in the NICU with all the preemies, you kind of feel lost with your "monster" 8lb baby. You are so happy that they are strong physically, but you just don't know the rest. And the situation we are/were in happens, but it doesn't happen as often as preemies. If you have a preemie, you have so much more information on what to worry about, what to look for as they develop, heck you even have your own formula if you need it. Our situation is so different and each baby in this situation is so different, it's just scary at the time. So as much as I shared tears, I hope I can share understanding as well. Jack's Mom, I hope you're reading this (of course I gave her my blog address) and please contact me with updates on Jack. I will be praying for him, although I know after my visit today - God knows exactly how Jack is and he's watching over you and that little boy. I believe he put me in that hospital today to give you hope and also give me the gift of helping another mother through a tough time. Please know I'll be praying for all of you and hope my family and friends will do the same!

The kicker of the story - they were in the same room we were in....again, I don't believe in coincidences.

FYI - Not sure about going private with the blog now...maybe it's meant to be shared. I'll have to think about it some more.

Oh, also meant to take pics of Dylan with the nurses and totally forgot in all the talking with Jack's mom. Bummer...oh well, maybe we'll have to go back for his 1st birthday! :)