happy 15 year anniversary mom and dad!

we all celebrated together by going to mickey and minnie's house. you will see the story unfold in a series of multiple posts beginning with this one. (it truly begins over 15 years ago, but that's a whole other story.)

there was some intense packing going on on the evening of tuesday, june 23, 2009. amalea had mentioned at one point, "i packed some of my things". not much notice was paid to this until the little ones were snug in bed, and the grown ups ran across this:

upon opening the bag multiple minnies, a mickey, and an additional blankie were found.

in the box yet another minnie, daisy, a ballerina bunny, pokemon figurines, and amalea's stash of expendable funds.

the next day and we were there. the magic kingdom was our first stop. yes, yes, yes, amalea was tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides. so, dad and amalea hightailed out in a race to the mountains. in frontierland they rode on big thunder mountain railroad and then splash mountain. later amalea said that her neck still hurt so she could not (would not) ride on big t again. she cried going down the drop on splash mountain. isabel and mom's first ride kept them safely in fantasyland: dumbo the flying elephant. isabel grew in confidence as the trip progressed and later claimed the pink dumbo by declaring "it's my pink dumbo" (screamed out in a shrill voice).

check out our 3-d specs for mickey's philharmagic.

sometimes the time is spent oh so sweetly. here we are awaiting dumbo, round two, the following morning.

but that can change in almost an instant.

the first big meeting with the big cheese's themselves.

amalea loved, loved, LOVED the barnstormer at goofy's wiseacre farm. this is an insane little roller coaster. she was funny to watch riding this thing as she would sit perfectly still with a stoic expression about her.

here are some views of the savanna from our "hut" at the animal kingdom lodge. ankole cattle have been domesticated by the african people. BIG horns. born that way. were observed walking slightly lopsided at times.

the greater kudu. mom's favorite. check out those nifty spiral shaped horns.

the eastern white pelicans in the watering hole were definitely our noisiest neighbors. they would grunt a whole lot at one another. jiggling their pouches and flapping their wings were some of their other favorite moves (scientifically done for cooling off in the intense heat). and boy was it sultry here!

just keep swimming onto epcot we went to round out the day. amalea was the luckiest to get to go on soarin' twice because of the parent swap deal (hey, wasn't that a disney film?). sometimes kids get all the breaks! by the way, mom could only refer to soarin' as "soaring" because of her proper enunciation issues.

the seas with nemo and friends ride was one of our all time favorites. later during our vacation it became a joke with amalea's nosebleeds and we would chant, "just keep dripping, just keep dripping!" as she hung her head down to leak blood all over the ground at various disneyworld locations.

fly to your heart

that was the title of the song that accompanied amalea's ballet routine at her spring dance recital. she was in full stage makeup and wore a lime green leotard, tutu, and wings. the following photos take you on a magical fairy flight from the day of the dress rehearsal to the evening of the performance. amalea will provide the fairy dust!

summer begins!!!

summer vacation officially began right about at 8 a.m. on thursday the 18th (that's when the 3 girls woke up). in great anticipation the big girl panties were slapped on the baby. it went fairly well the first day (one big pee on the tile and poop in the panties). we even went out to the park and to run some errands with no event. the next day, after blasting through every single pair of panties we had, all hope was lost, and the diapers were back on. maybe in july...

yeah, we're right there with you amalea: summer vacation is the bomb! (isabel got to strike a pose in the granny-esque panties with big sister right there providing some pep to cheer her on in her newest endeavor.)

and summer weather came as well. humidity. sun. we were out in the yard in the kiddie pool. the tornado siren went off the next day with a touchdown in a field in neighboring lake in the hills. since we're off on asides, here's just about one of the coolest things isabel has ever said... the whole family was bouncing around on the bed yesterday morning. isabel was doing "snuggles" with daddy (yep, snuggling). amalea came charging around the foot of the bed. isabel shrieked out in defense of her situation, "leave him alone, he's my dadda!" (although her enunciation was impeccable, amalea still continued to assail.)

isabel OPENS doors

isabel now opens doors. this happened this weekend. need we say more.

we will elaborate as this is a major developmental milestone in isabel's life and has literally opened countless doors of opportunity to a whole new world of exploration. above is isabel caught in the act after opening and closing, opening and closing, (repeated tirelessly) doors. that is a rather proud look on her face, isn't it? she is seen here employing the one-handed door pull to close a door. her seemingly unplanned path is easy to follow, as she joyfully romps from room to room, leaving a wake of destruction behind. no door is left closed, no contents of closets, drawers, or any other storage receptacle are left untouched. and she does not clean up after herself, much like a natural disaster spinning out of control and fueled by unpredictable forces.
opening a door requires much more dexterity and sheer rotational and grasping force, thus the two-handed approach (and the need for sunglasses?). this photo was taken shortly after apprehending isabel, who had barricaded herself into the master bathroom. she smelled faintly of men's deodorant, which had been dumped into the sink, and had a reddish streak above her top lip. upon questioning isabel confessed that she had applied some of mom's "lips" (bonne belle dr. pepper lipsmackers). shortly thereafter, isabel's efforts were thwarted and mom was referred to as a "bad girl" by the little culprit. 

wounded

here is isabel yesterday, after amalea and mom finally figured out what she was weeping and wailing about:prior to the discovery, isabel had dashed off into some shrubbery to evade mom's grasp and ultimately escape being entrapped in her car seat. she was caught, but not before she flailed and flung her shoes off of her feet. her poor little footsie got attacked while it was exposed, unbeknownst to all but herself. isabel wept and wept for much of the way home. the wound was noticed after much questioning during the car ride. at home, and only after getting a bandage on her foot and being propped up on a pillow, was mom even allowed to touch the foot to elevate it. amalea brought her extra blankets, her 2nd sheepie,  a stuffed animal, and a snack as well. of course, magic kisses were administered to isabel's foot by both mom and amalea. later, isabel told dad that she was "wounded". oh, the suffering and the drama of isabel's most major injury thus far. (even this morning, she refused to stand up and walk until her injury was properly re-bandaged. and then again when dad got home, her bandage had come loose and she cried out until dad reattached it - my oh my.)

and then she was 2

so, our giant baby is 2. and she really is a giant in stature. she had her 2 year doctor appointment during her birthday week and checked in at a chart-topping (100% - the top!) 35 inches tall (her weight was a mere 25 pounds 10 ounces, only 25%). 

here are some photos starring isabel on her terrific 2 day. the partying did eventually go to the birds when the riding of the flamingos began (otherwise referred to as "mingos" or prior to that "kick-ens" - chickens - by the birthday girl).

3 weeks ago 'twas easter

the easter dress photo shoot was dominated by two sisters: one speed racing and one ever-so peaceful.