Disney World 2014 pt. 1

We spent 5 fun-filled days at Disney world last week! We all had the BEST time and it was certainly a special trip as it's the last one before our sweet baby girl #2 arrives this summer. I absolutely loved getting to focus all our attention on Hadley this trip, and not worry about work, meal planning, cleaning, cooking, etc. So thankful for our sweet time together as a family.  I spent a lot of time planning beforehand which certainly paid off when we got there! I'm splitting our trip into multiple posts :)

Day 1 - Epcot

We flew direct into Orlando and arrived around 11:00 am. We grabbed a quick lunch and headed for Epcot. It's the Flower and Garden festival and everything was so beautiful!

26 weeks pregnant!

We rode Soarin' (which was awesome!), The Seas with Nemo & Friends, and did the Talk with Turtle Crush that afternoon. Hadley loved them all!  Then we were ready for a snack. No trip to Disney is complete with Mickey ice cream!

I bought Hadley an autograph book from Etsy for all the characters to sign - it was so cute!! This puppy was completely full at the end of the week and I thought it would be a fun memento for her to remember our trip!

 I wasn't sure how Hads would do with the characters, but she did great! Mickey was the first character we met on our trip!

More topiary characters for the festival - they were everywhere!

We ate a quick bite at Epcot in Japan for dinner (it was a quick service meal on our dining plan we purchased). I have celiac disease and follow a gluten free diet. I can't say how impressed I was with ALL the restaurants we ate at during the week with my allergy. At the table service restaurants, the chef would come and talk to me directly about what they could make GF, or if it was a buffet, they pointed out them items that I could have. Usually traveling is a pain with my allergy, but at Disney, that was not the case!  We called it a day after dinner to get ready for day 2!

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

I knew we needed to get to the Magic Kingdom early to see all the characters arrive by train that morning. We used the Disney transportation from our resort to get to the park that day. I wasn't a huge fan of the Disney buses, so at night we drove everywhere on our own. If you are planning a trip to Disney, try to get to the Magic Kingdom early one day for this little show - it was so neat! I think the other parks do something similar, but this is probably the biggest show.

Now I know why they say this is the most magical place on earth....from the moment we got there, I loved everything about it. Not to mention, the weather was perfect! I never was a "Disney person" as I only went there once when I was a little girl, and a couple times while at training when I worked at KPMG. But, this trip totally converted me. I think it converted Brandon too :)  We all just LOVED it!

On day 2 we rode the Teacups, Dumbo, the Barnstormer, Peter Pan's Flight, the Carousel, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Buzz Lightyear's Space ranger spin. Brandon rode Space Mountain while Hads and me did the Lilo and Stitch ride (which she hated, and I couldn't wait till it ended!).  Most of the rides had great play areas for little ones to play on while waiting. Here we are in the Winnie the Pooh line...

We left the park that afternoon and attempted a nap, but Hadley would have none of that - she was too wound up and we were staying in a shoe box hotel room. So we relaxed a little, took showers, and headed back to the Magic Kingdom for our dinner reservation.  Before dinner that night, we did the Enchanted Tale with Belle. It was SO cute and one of my favorite experiences!  I highly recommend this one - use a fast pass on this one as it's very popular!  Both Brandon and Hadley got picked to be part of the story with Belle...

Just after our tale with Belle, we had dinner at the Be Our Guest Castle which was the Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast. It's a new place at the park and I'm glad we got to experience it!  The Beast walked around at dinner and you could take your picture with him when you left. The food was okay, but I think dining at Disney is more about the experience, and less about the food :)  

Hadley's Turkey Mickey Meatloaf!

After dinner we rode the Ariel ride and then grabbed a Dole Whip which I was SO excited to try after reading so much about them online before our trip! This thing was awesome and I ate every bite of mine.  Hadley was passed out at this point and we decided to call it a day!

What a fun day!!!

Part 2 to follow with days 3-5. I don't want to forget anything!

Note:  We purchased the Memory Maker photo package in advance, so all the photos of the 3 of us were taken by Disney photographers and loaded directly to our account for instant downloading. I'm so glad we purchased this package! 

26 & 27 weeks

How far along: 27 weeks

Gender: GIRL!

Weight gain: 15 lbs at my appointment on 3/25

Maternity clothes: Yes! Tops is a mix of maternity/non-maternity, mostly maternity pants or leggings on the bottom. Really embracing the maternity clothes I've purchased!

Stretch marks: Still haven't noticed any - been using my mama belly oil I used while pregnant with Hadley.

Belly button in or out: In, but very stretched out!

Sleep: Good nights and bad nights. 

Symptoms: Achy back/legs/hips, got the pregnant lady walk going on, occasional heartburn, a few Braxton hicks contractions. But really, I feel great and love being pregnant. I think it's such an amazing and special time! So thankful I am experiencing it again :)

Best moment this week: Spending a wonderful week at Disney with my loves - a week I'll never forget. I'm sooo thankful we got to spend a whole week together as a family of 3 before things change when baby girl #2 arrives this summer. It was one of the best weeks I can remember having and seeing Hadley's face lit up all week was worth every penny. It was so nice getting to focus all my attention on her for an extended amount of time. As a working mommy, I always feel like my weekends/evenings are packed with to-do's like grocery shopping, meal planning, laundry, cleaning, and cooking.  It was SO NICE not to have to worry about any of that! Disney post coming soon!

Miss anything: Having a figure, endurance when running.

Movement: Yes, getting stronger every week!  Love how the movements are changing as baby girl gets bigger!  The movements are changing from little kicks and jabs to a whole body rolling around in there!

Cravings: Protein and fruit. Don't let me near a jar of peanut butter. Danger.

Workouts:  Running 3-4 miles three times a week now, and still going to barre about 4 times a week.

Looking forward to: The Masters this weekend! The weather is supposed to be incredible and we are planning a fun Masters Party on Sunday afternoon.

Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries and Bananas



via skinnytaste.com

Oatmeal with blueberries, bananas, honey and cinnamon. Yes please! I loved this when I made breakfast for dinner last week. It was so easy to put together and I loved eating leftovers for breakfast the next day. Plus it smelled heavenly when it was baking.

This would be a great dish to serve to overnight guests as you could prepare it the night before and bake in the morning. Making it again this weekend when we have my parents in town! 

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas, sliced
• 1.5 cups blueberries
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup uncooked oats (I used the Trader Joe's gluten free oats)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray small square baking dish with cooking spray (I use coconut oil spray for things like this).
2. Arrange sliced bananas in a single layer in the dish, sprinkle half of blueberries on top, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp of honey, cover with foil and bake about 15 minutes.
3. In a bowl combine the oats, half of the chopped nuts, baking powder, remaining cinnamon, and pinch of salt.
4. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining honey, milk, egg, and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Remove baking dish from oven and top the bananas and blueberries with the oat mixture. Sprinkle remaining nuts on top.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.

25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks

Gender: GIRL!

Weight gain: Ignorance is bliss, right? :)  Till my doctor's appointment tomorrow anyways...

Maternity clothes: Yes! Tops is a mix of maternity/non-maternity, mostly maternity pants or leggings on the bottom.

Stretch marks: Still haven't noticed any - been using my mama belly oil I used while pregnant with Hadley.

Belly button in or out: In, but very stretched out!

Sleep: Sleeping well most nights, getting a little uncomfortable though.

Symptoms: Starting to really feel pregnant finally. Achy back/legs/hips, got the pregnant lady walk going on, occasional heartburn, and taking off my boots is getting to be a challenge!
     

Best moment this week: Enjoying the sunshine this weekend AND watching the Vols make their way to the sweet 16! Hadley's half birthday was this week (3.5 years young already), and to celebrate I took a half day and we had a frozen yogurt date that afternoon (right after her dr appt, she's got a bad cold and wanted to take her in so we are well when we leave for Disney!).

Miss anything: Having a figure. Seriously...I feel like most maternity shirts make you look the size of a small country.

 

Movement: Yes, getting stronger every week!  Love how the movements are changing as baby girl gets bigger!

Cravings: Protein and fruit

Workouts:  Running 3-4 miles three times a week now, and still going to barre about 4 times a week. It feels like there is a 50 pound bag of sand on my back when I try to plank the last few weeks!

 

Looking forward to: We leave for Disney one week from today!  :)  So excited to pack this weekend and get all our last minute shopping done. Also my dad and stepmom will be in town this week and we are excited to spend some time with them.

 



25 week bumpdate!