Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year with several Baumberger family relatives. Addie's Grandpa Pat came to town for a long weekend, and her Auntie Jennie flew in the day after Thanksgiving. Throughout the weekend we visited the Farmer's Market, went out to dinner, spent a night on the town (well, until 10 pm) for our wedding anniversary, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Addie sure loves it when her Auntie Jen and Grandpa Pat come to visit!

The Monday after Thanksgiving Addie, Jennie, Grandma Julie, and I headed to Orlando for a quick girls trip. I had a conference to attend, so we stayed at a nice hotel not too far from Disney. We spent some time in the pool and went to Magic Kingdom - Addie's second time in a month, lucky girl!

She went on all of her favorite rides again - Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, It's a Small World, and the Carousel. She insisted that she still thought Peter Pan and Winnie-the-Pooh were too scary. She tried a couple of new rides on this trip - Aladdin's Magic Carpets (loved it!) and Jungle Cruise (not so much!). She again really enjoyed the parade and was able to meet and hug several characters. On this visit she met a couple of new characters - Ariel, Alice (in Wonderland), and the White Rabbit. When Alice asked Addie how old she was, Addie responded, "I'm two and a half" loud and clear as a bell. Everyone in line got a kick out of that.

It was fun to take Addie to Disney with Grandma Julie and Jennie. They were a bit more enthusiastic than Jay :)

Addie's First Trip to Disney's Magic Kingdom

We finally gave in and took Addie on her first trip to Disney this fall. She absolutely loved it!! We spent a long weekend at Disney's Caribbean Beach Club Resort, including a couple days of relaxation and one fun filled day at Magic Kingdom. Addie was in awe of all of the characters, especially the princesses, Mickey, and Minnie. She absolutely loved the parade and pointed out all the characters she recognized. She went on most of the rides in Fantasyland including Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, Dumbo, Winnie-the-Pooh, Magic Carousel, and the Spinning Teacups. As she tells us now, she doesn't like Peter Pan or Winnie-the-Pooh - they're too scary. She also went on the Astro Orbiter - loved it, even thought it's fast and so high.

She was able to meet Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Pluto, Goofy, Tigger, and Pooh. She hugged all of them - the characters were definitely the highlight of her day. She is now obsessed with princesses. We also spent some time at Downtown Disney where Addie had fun at the Lego store, riding the train, and eating at Rainforest Cafe.

2-1/2 Year Stats

Addie was talking up a storm with the doctor at her 2-1/2 year check-up, and the subject turned to food. When the doctor asked Addie what is her favorite food, Addie paused for a loooong while, pursed her lips and tapped them with her pointer finger, and then said, "hmmmmmm, hot dogs."  In all seriousness.  I laughed out loud because the truth is I can count on one hand how many times Addie has even eaten hot dogs!  I told the doctor that, and both she and Addie looked at me like, yeah right, I know she's lying.  At least when the doctor asked her what else she likes Addie said strawberries and blueberries. Phew!  Hopefully that convinced the doctor that I do serve things other than junk food.

Here are Addie's 2-1/2 year stats:

Weight: 25.3 lb (12th percentile)
Height: 34.8 in (32nd percentile)
Head Circ: 19 in (52nd percentile)

Halloween 2011 - The Princess Mouse

All throughout September and October when talking about what she wanted to be for Halloween, Addie would say she wanted to dress up as Marie, the little white kitten from the Aristocats movie.  I finally found her the cutest Marie costume online and ordered it for her. Wouldn't you know that once it arrived, she wouldn't even try it on.  She still hasn't!

Mandy, Addie's new nanny since August, was trying to take Addie to a Halloween party. Instead of the Marie costume, Addie wanted to wear her Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) princess dress.  Mandy had the great idea that Addie should also wear her Minnie Mouse princess hat. And ta-da, the Princess Mouse was born! Everyone commented on what a cute costume it was.

Addie also went to a Halloween event at her Waldorf school. The children all went on a "journey" where they received secret crystals and an apple and got to watch a very elaborate puppet show. It was very much a Waldorf style event...Jay was definitely amused. A reporter at the event took a great picture of Addie with her paper lanterns that we made in Waldorf class.

On Halloween night, we met up with neighbor friends Jonathan and Aimee, and Addie got to go trick-or-treating with their son Morgan. They were a cute little pair!

Dakota even got to join in the fun and was painted like a zebra, or Bengal tiger, as Addie pointed out. The neighbors thought Dakota was hilarious. He definitely was a big white (and black) beast that night! We also saw Grandma Julie's dog Shannon, who was dressed up like a pumpkin.