Our Dream Cruise - Day 3

Day 3 we were supposed to be at Disney's private Island, Castaway Cay. But because of high winds and a strong current, they couldn't dock the boat at the island. (The captain tried for 4 hours to dock) So, it was a day at sea instead.

We started the day with breakfast at the buffet. The buffet on this ship was incredible. It had so many different choices, and everything was delicious.

After breakfast, we wandered around the ship, and saw that we were just in time to have some pictures taken with Mickey and Goofy!

Then we decided to put Michael in the nursery, so Andrew and I could ride the Aquaduck, the ship's water coaster!

Michael did great in the nursery and had a great time. The Aquaduck was so much fun!! There is a section where you go out over the edge of the boat, and all that is under you is ocean!


 After the ride, we went up to the adults sun deck and enjoyed the fact that we were on a cruise ship in the Bahamas! We went and picked up Michael from the nursery and took him back to the room to take a nap. Andrew went up to the buffet to grab us some lunch and brought it back to the room to eat while Michael was asleep.

Later in the afternoon, they had a character "Till we meet again" greeting in the atrium so we decided to go to that one, rather than the one that was later that night. It's a good thing we did, because the lines to meet the characters were really short, and we got around to all of them in 10 minutes! All of the characters come out and sing a song and all the kids get a chance to say goodbye and take one last picture.

Then we got ready and went to dinner. That night was the "dressy" night, so we decided to have some pictures taken by the Christmas tree.

Don't you just love Michael's little outfit?
Then dinner was at Royal Palace. After we ordered our food, Michael made it very clear that he did not want to sit for dinner and was ready to leave. So, I took him back to the nursery, so we could enjoy our dinner. When we picked him up after dinner, they said he fell asleep, and slept for an hour. I guess all the lack of sleep was finally catching up with him. Dinner was wonderful. Andrew ordered 2 appetizers, 2 entrées, and 2 desserts! This was the menu he was most looking forward to. He also ate most of my appetizer and half of my entrée.
That night, we decided to go to the show in the theater. We weren't sure how Michael would do, but he did great. It was mostly music, and that was the part he really liked. During the dialogue, he got antsy, but we were able to wrangle him in until the next song started.
After the show it was time to pack our bags and put them outside our door. I went and purchased our pictures, while Andrew got Michael ready for bed. Then Andrew went and watched a movie and Michael and I went to sleep. We had to be at breakfast the next morning at 6:45, so I wanted to get to bed as early as possible.

Our Dream Cruise - Day 2

On Day 2 the ship was in Nassau, Bahamas. Andrew and I have been there before, so we opted to stay on the boat. Pushing a one year old around Nassau just didn't sound like fun to us.

So, we spent the day playing in the splash area with Michael, enjoying wonderful food, and relaxing.
I was able to get a massage and facial in the afternoon, and it was heavenly. I also had some time to lay by the pool, while Andrew and Michael were napping.

The splash area was a lot of fun. It was all themed around Finding Nemo. Michael had a great time playing in the water, and he loved the water slide!

Dinner that night was in the Enchanted Garden. It was beautifully decorated like a garden. I didn't get many pictures of the actual restaurant. But it was pirate night, so the boys were wearing their bandannas.

Again, Michael was wide awake, so we wondered around after dinner just enjoying the ship. During the cruise we spent a lot of time in the Atrium. it was a wide open space for Michael to run and he had so much fun just running around. 

Our Dream Cruise - Day 1

So, we spent all day Christmas day, driving to Florida. We arrived in Jacksonville around 6:30, checked into our hotel and went for a lovely festive dinner at Waffle House. Monday morning, we woke up and got back in the car, and made our way to Port Canaveral. We arrived at the port around 12:15 and things moved very smoothly. We unloaded our bags, parked the car, and then made our way to the terminal to check in. When we got in the terminal, Mickey Mouse was there taking pictures, but they had closed the line to meet him, so we just had to look at him from a distance. You could see that Michael recognized him right away, but wasn't overly excited to see him. This was just the first of many chances he had to see Mickey during the cruise.

So, we checked in, got our welcome aboard picture taken, and then crossed over the gangway onto our home for the next 4 days!

As you walk into the atrium, they announce, "The Disney Dream would like to welcome the Wolff Family!" Very exciting moment. Then we just stood and took it all in. The atrium was beautiful! It was all decorated for Christmas, and looked incredible.

Lunch was at the Enchanted Garden. It was buffet style, so we all got our fill on whatever we wanted. After lunch, we went to check out our room. We had an inside stateroom, which was plenty big for the three of us, though the Pack and Play did take up a lot of room.

After dropping off our stuff in the room, we went to the DVC Member Party. You get a bunch of freebies, and they let you know what the special is, if you decide to add more points during the cruise. We went for the freebies...

We took some time to explore the ship, and check out the kids areas.

Then it was time for the Sail Away Party on the top deck! Michael just took everything in. Not too much excitement from him, since it was all so new. The party was fun, and the weather was so nice.

After the party, it was time for dinner. We had to be at dinner at 5:45 each night, which is a little early, but we were there until after 7:00, so we knew we had to do the early dinner with Michael. Our first night we ate at Animator's Palate, an animation themed restaurant.

After dinner we went back to the room to change clothes, and do some more exploring around the ship. We thought Michael would be ready for bed at some point, but he was wide open! So, we stuck around the atrium to see the characters!

He wasn't too impressed with the characters. He is not friendly to strangers, and to him, these characters were just strangers that he wasn't going to smile at. After a while, he did like looking at the characters, but once we got close to them, he put on his serious face again.

After all of the excitement for one day, we were exhausted and went back to our room to go to bed. Well, apparently Michael wasn't tired, and he was up running around the stateroom until 11:30, when he finally crashed!

Coming up...Day 2 - Nassau, Bahamas

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was a little different. We celebrated with my family and Andrew's family the weekend before Christmas. And then Christmas day, we drove to Florida, to get on the Cruise on the 26th. We didn't even put a tree up or any decorations at our house.
So, Here are a few pictures from Christmas.

Michael with Grandma and Papa

Our Little Family

All of the Cousins

Checking out Mimi's Christmas Tree

He loved the little shopping cart we got for him

Santa came to deliver presents!

Michael playing with his new trains

His favorite item of the night, M&M's he could shake

 We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and I know that next year, Michael will really enjoy it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Friends

On Monday, Michael and I got to go play with our best friends! Julie, Coleman, and Jennifer were up visiting family, so we were all able to get together at Jessica and Lydia's house for lunch and play time. It was so good to spend time with them and to watch the babies play together.
Here are just a few pictures from the day.

Michael's Blanket

I decided I wanted to make Michael a crochet blanket that would be big enough that he could use it for a long time. His other blanket I made very quickly to send to him when he was born. He has outgrown that blanket, so I set out making him a new one.

I started making the blanket right after his first birthday, and finished it last night. So it took about 4 months to complete. I love the colors! They are very much boy colors and this should last the rest of his life. (I still have the one my mom made for me when I was a baby.) The blanket measures 4 1/2 feet long and 3 1/2 feet wide. It is about the same length as a crib mattress, but wider. It will be great once he goes to a toddler bed.

My little Christmas Cutie

Yesterday, my sister Sarah asked if I wanted her to take some pictures of Michael. She was out taking pictures of her kids and my other sister's kids.
I was excited to have some pictures of Michael in his Christmas outfit.
Here are just a few she put on Facebook last night.
Thanks Sarah, you did a fantastic job, as always.

Christmas Parade

On Saturday, I took Michael to the Christmas Parade in town.

 My Sister and Parents were also there. It was pretty chilly, but we bundled up and kept pretty warm.
Here are some pictures from the morning.

Mom and Dad

Me and Michael

Kelly, Charlie and Leilani

SANTA!

Visit with Santa

Yesterday we took Michael to visit Santa at the mall. He wasn't too excited to be sitting on his lap, but he never did cry. Here is a little video I made from yesterday.




Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card

Here is our Cristmas Card for this year.

I took the picture when we were in Georgia over Thanksgiving, and I just loved it.  

I also made this card, but Andrew liked the one of Michael by himself, so that's the one we sent out to Friends and Family.

I am linking up again this year with Faith's Christmas Card Carousel. Go check out her blog for lots of other cute Christmas Cards.

Merry Christmas!