Christmas: 2016

Again, another post that is long overdue. But hey, at least it is up. 

We kicked off the holidays with Emma's first preschool program and boy was it cute. She was excited to have us all there and that showed in her performance of bouncing around and singing with extra animation. Afterwards, the girls went to dinner with Nana, Papa and aunt Alaina to celebrate Alaina's 21st birthday. Matt and I headed to the men's basketball holiday party. 

We were lucky with timing of basketball games and no weather issues to be able to head to Minnesota for a few days to celebrate with our Shoultz family. The girls got in a lot of quality family time, including their favorite, cousin Madison.

We made it back to Iowa in time for Christmas Eve service with my family, followed by dinner and opening gifts. Emma and Maggie are at such a fun age to watch open gifts. Maggie gasps in pure excitement, as if she is totally surprised, and Emma is just thrilled with all the new items she has to play with.

Christmas day was relaxed as we opened presents from Santa, played with all our new things, watched the Christmas parade and headed back to my parents' for dinner and opening our stockings from them.

We had full intentions of going to the movies, but with travel in Minnesota and celebrating back at home, the girls just wanted to play with all their new toys. So on the 26th, we went and saw "Sing" as a family. This was Maggie's first time at a movie and she did great. Such a cute movie with fun songs throughout that kept the girls engaged. Thank goodness for juice boxes, fruit snacks and family sized popcorn!
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Maggie: 20 Months

Likes/Dislikes: Maggie is our little dancer and we die over how into it she gets. She definitely has more rhythm than her sister, but some of her dance moves are a little questionable :) We started having little dance parties before bed to drain some energy and it is so funny watching the two of them. She continues to love baby dolls, dressing up, Frozen, Minnie Mouse and playing with Emma. Maggie really dislikes getting dressed when she's not ready, putting coats on or having her hair done. It's like wrestling an alligator sometimes to get her coat on. I think if she could wear pajamas and have her hair disheveled all day, she would. Personal space is still something Maggie values, so watch out if she is in a mood and you are invading her boundaries. *cough* Emma, Chloe and Rylee *cough* 

Development: I think (and fear) we may have started entering the early stages of the terrible twos with Mags. She has been refusing to get dressed or put coat/hat on and just throws a fit while throwing her body around. She's been bringing on more meltdowns and telling us "no" or "nope" a lot. She's also mastered crying that then results in laughing. Everything is funny to her. She can count to ten, and may only skip one or two numbers. And her ABC's - oh man, I love listening to her sing them. She gets the tune and skips a few letters, but I say she gets over half of them. Matt and I were able to get a full weekend alone with Maggie last week and kept talking how much more talkative and funny she was 1:1. Matt said he thinks Emma may suppress her and so she was relishing in the attention.

Sleeping: Bedtime has been closer to 7 p.m. as of late and waking up anywhere between 6:15-7:00 a.m. (except today when it was 5:45!). Trying to cut her from her morning nap, but that has been a struggle lately. She doesn't take morning naps at our house or Miss Amanda's, but does at my mom's. Taking good afternoon naps too.

Eating: Maggie is loving feeding herself things a spoon like oatmeal, cereal, soup and yogurt. She grew frustrated seeing big sister be able to do it, but after a couple messy tries, she is now fairly neat about it.

Thanksgiving: Sun, Basketball and Mickey Mouse

We had a very special Thanksgiving this year, we spent the holiday week in sunny Orlando! Hands down, a memorable trip I'll cherish forever. Everything from the weather, the company, the games, Disney experiences and the most beautiful hotel (Gaylord Palms), it was all perfect. 

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous to fly alone with Maggie and Emma. I thought it would be smart to fly at night, thinking the girls would sleep. No sleep, unless you count the last 15 minutes of the flight. The girls are active and curious who like to touch everything, chase each other and ask questions. I remember texting some friends during the hour layover in St. Louis that I would never fly alone with the girls again. It was constant re-directing. But, I took a deep breath and knew we would be in Florida soon and it would all be worth it. I truly believe that we as parents worry so much about our kids behaving, that in all reality, they are being perfectly normal acting kids. In fact many people complimented me of how great of travelers the girls were and well behaved. HA!!!! Really though, thank goodness for snacks and the iPad/LeapPad. 

We were greeted at the airport by my dad at nearly midnight for then a 20 minute drive to their condo, where we would stay for two nights until Matt and the team got to town. After a full night of rest, some breakfast and coffee (thank you Jesus), we hit the road with Nana, Papa and aunt Alaina to visit my grandparents. We haven’t seen my grandparents since Maggie was a few months old and it was nice to be able to see them again.

Tuesday, us girls were off to Animal Kingdom! Animal Kingdom was the perfect park to visit as our first park, it is much smaller and not as overwhelming. I knew we were going to Disney during the busiest time of year, so made sure to do FastPasses for both meet and greets, as well as rides. While there, the girls met Mickey and Minnie, Chip-n-Dale, Goofy and Pluto. We saw some great, cute shows: A Bug’s Life in 3D as well as the Lion King in a shortened musical. The top must experience at Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro safari ride. It was AWESOME! You felt like you were so far removed from Orlando, Florida and on a true safari. Giraffes literally walking right up to you, elephants bathing near the watering hole and a beautiful lioness on top of a rock overlooking it all.

We laid low on Wednesday: pool time during the day and then Matt and I went with the team for a special dinner at one of the Disney resorts to kickoff the tournament.

Followed with games on Thursday (Thanksgiving) and Friday.

Saturday was the big day at Magic Kingdom! Matt had an off day that he was able to join us. We arrive by 8:30 a.m. and didn't leave until 7:30 p.m. Even with all that time, we didn't make it to the Tomorrowland portion of the park. Even with it being the busiest week in the park, we got to do so much: ride tons of rides, meet Cinderella, Elena of Avalor, Ariel, Pooh and Tigger, saw a couple stage shows, the afternoon AND night parades, then a special lighting of the castle from Elsa, Anna and Olaf. It was all decked out for the holidays and even more beautiful than it is without. Magic Kingdom has the best parades with the best performers! If you ask Emma, the parades, meeting the princesses and the Dumbo ride were her favorites. It really is a kingdom full of magic, music and dancing, lights, rides and dreams come true. No matter how old you are, Magic Kingdom truly is one of the happiest places on earth. I think Matt and I enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than the girls. Plus, to see the sheer delight and joy in the girls was a memory I will cherish a lifetime.

After an eventful and fun week in Orlando, it was up and at it bright and early Sunday for the girls and I as we flew back home to Iowa. Seriously, I am still blown away with how well these girls traveled and adapted to a long week on the road. I am also incredibly grateful to have had my parents and sister there with us to share in the memories and to have help with the girls.

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