Merry Christmas 2009

Evie had a very wonderful Christmas. She loved all her toys (too many to mention in this blog) but off the top of my head she got three playtents, a dozen or so books, several stuffed animals, four puzzles, and a plethora of things that go beep-boop. The video above shows Evie's reaction to her toy car keys. Obviously she loves them!!

Her mouth was wide open with amazement for at least ten minutes. In the back of this picture you'll see the toy microwave Santa brought her. She loves to put all her toy food in there and make her own lunch.

Lastly you'll see this is her playing with her new cell phone that Grammy and Pops got her. We got done unwrapping presents several hours ago and she still hasn't let this thing go. Please note in this video we are only half way done with gifts. Wrapping paper was everywhere!!!

Best of Blake

And for the grand finale for this series of posts, I present the best of Blake. Folks, this is why I love this man. Cracks. Me. Up!

My own personal Viking...

With Mickey at O'Hana...

In Adventureland...

Before: 1 liter of beer (in Epcot's Germany).

After: 1 liter of beer (in Blake) (between that and the three plates of food from the buffet, he was a little full...)

Day Four

On our last day at Disney, we visited the Animal Kingdom, which neither of us had ever been to. This was our favorite of the three parks. Here we are with the Tree of Life in the background. Though it is fake, it is still beautiful and has animals carved into the trunk and roots.

Here I am with Mt. Everest in the background. This was hands down our favorite ride at Disney. A truly awesome roller coaster!

I'm always a fan of the gorillas. Asleep or not, they are just cool!

Ready to see It's Tough to Be a Bug in 3-D! (Don't be jealous of the hotness!)

For our last night at Disney, we went to the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at our resort. The food was great (though after our V&A experience, it paled in comparison) and the show was even better. We especially enjoyed the fired dancer at the end. A-mazing.

Day Three

On Monday, we visited the Magic Kingdom.

We kicked off our day with a ride on Space Mountain, then made our way through the "lands" from there. Best rides were the coasters: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain. We also enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic show (in 3-D).

On Monday evening we hopped on the Monorail over the the Grand Floridian Resort to see the Christmas decorations and for dinner at Victoria & Albert's. We had to make a quick shopping trip to Commander Porter's to pick up some dress shoes for Blake since he'd forgotten his back home...

One of our seven courses at Victoria & Alberts. Blake upgraded his main entree to waygu (Japanese beef I believe). Whatever it was, it was delicious!

Blake's dessert. We were so full, but enjoyed every morsel of our dinner at V&A's. Although it was very expensive, it was worth the money and we highly recommend the experience to anyone who loves good food and wine.

Day Two

On Sunday, we went to Epcot. Our first ride of the trip was Spaceship Earth in the big "golf ball." Best rides in Epcot are a tie between Soarin' and the Test Track.

Entering Morocco...

Here we are in China (our favorite of the countries)...

Making a phone call in England (not really, I just really love those red phone booths...)

Blake enjoying Japan...

Day One

On Saturday, we checked in to our hotel, Disney's Polynesian Resort. When we arrived, we were greeted with leis and there was this cute towel Mickey on one of the beds in our room. Nice little touches.


I'd booked us for a "Lagoon View" room, but they upgraded us to a "Magic Kingdom View" suite in the Tahiti "long house." From our balcony, we could see Sleeping Beauty's castle and Space Mountain.

Once we were settled at the hotel, we headed over to Downtown Disney. First we hit the shops: a stop at Basin for some bath salts and bath "bombs"; Lego for Star Wars stuff; Little Miss Matched for some adorable socks for Evie and PJs for me; and Pop Gallery for a birthday gift for Blake's mom. Then, we ate dinner at Portobello (the Portobello mushroom appetizer and tiramisu were awesome). We capped our night with Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. There's only one word for that: amazing. Go if you ever have the opportunity!

Disney World Vacation

On December 12, Blake and I dropped Evie off at her Mallard grandparents' house and headed to Disney World for five days of fun. I'll go through our shenanigans one day at a time...

(The picture above was taken on Monday morning at the Magic Kingdom. Obviously, it was a little foggy that day. Kinda put a new spin on Sleeping Beauty's castle.)

What grandparents do when you leave them with the baby...

First Visit to Santa Claus

On December 6, we took Evie to visit Santa Claus. This was her first visit as she was only 4 months old last Christmas. She was all smiles and giggles until Daddy put her on Santa's lap and walked away. Then the frown and tears came out. The photo above is the best shot we could get. Still adorable in my totally biased opinion!

Using Utensils

Evie has become fascinated with using a fork and spoon to eat. Fruits and veggies that seem inedible if she has to use her fingers are suddenly delicious if you load them on a fork or let her dip a spoon in them. Here is a video we shot of her the other night trying to stab a piece of apple. Cracked us up!