sweet and simple...and a dash of crazy: Hotel & Downtown Disney fun

Ok so I'm a slacker...I admit it. Do you remember when we went to Sea World...almost a month ago??? I posted about it here and here. Well we spent the night at a hotel that was like a block away. It was the first time the kids were staying in a hotel...and I admit, I was a bit scared. My kids have their own rooms and they can be a bit of a light sleeper so I was worried about them sleeping when there are other people in the room (I know first world problems!). My mom snores (loudly), Kevin sometimes snores, snorts, and when he moves in the bed, the whole entire thing shakes and he pulls all the blankets with him so there's a bit of a tug of war as I try to wrestle back some of the blankets (he will deny all of this!), plus Parker wakes up at least once a night to pee and my mom will also occasionally get up. You might realize I did not mention myself in any of this...I do not snore and I rarely have to pee in the middle of the night, the only noise I make is when I have tug back some of the blanket.

rolling around on the yucky hotel carpet. It was a nice hotel, but still. I tried to get over it and just sanitized their hands after.

So anyway, we get back to the hotel and the kids are so excited to be there that it took them a while to calm down. They were running around, squealing (sorry neighbors, we tried to keep them quiet), and rolling around the floor and on the beds. I should have thought about the hotel thing a lot more thoroughly, but it was a last minute decision. We should have gotten a suite where there is a separate bedroom so that the kids can have a quiet and dark room to fall asleep while the adults can stay up a little bit. The kids couldn't settle down with the lights and TV on so the adults went to bed too. Avery slept in the pack & play we brought. Kevin and I shared a bed and Parker and my mom slept in the other bed. Normally, we just cuddle Avery for a minute then put her down in her crib and she rarely fusses after that. That night she cried. I held her for 5-10 minutes, singing and softly talking to her (telling her it was night night time and she was sleeping in her special bed). I tried to put her down a few times, but she would grab my neck tighter, her legs would squeeze my waist, and she'd whimper. Finally, I just decided to put her in the pack & play and let her cry it out - sometimes I do this and she usually quiets down within 1-2 minutes. That night she cried (nothing crazy loud) for about 30 seconds and promptly fell asleep. Parker tossed around for a little bit, but stayed in bed and eventually fell asleep. It was way too early for me...I couldn't fall asleep. At 11 pm, I heard the fireworks go off at Sea World.

don't you just love ~~babies~~ toddlers in footsie pj's?!?

Parker woke up in the middle of the night to pee and I helped him navigate the unfamiliar room/bathroom. I tucked him back in bed and then as I was climbing back in bed I thought about how cold it was in the room so I tiptoed to the thermostat to turn the AC up a little bit. Then I made the biggest mistake...I went to check on Avery (she only had on a thin footsie pj and the rest of us had thick down comforters). The second that my fingertips grazed her cheek to feel if she was cold, her head popped up and she wanted me to hold her. I held her for a few minutes and would not let me put her down. I tried the cry it out method and would have let her cry it out for a while, but we were in a hotel and didn't think our neighbors would appreciate hearing a crying toddler at 3 am. I decided to see if she'd fall asleep between Kevin and me - no go, she alternated b/w laying down and getting up. She thought it was play time. I was deliriously tired so I got up, cuddled her for a few minutes and softly told her she had to go back night night, put her back in her pack and play - she cried for a little over a minute then fell back asleep.

Avery loves playing with Parker's iTouch!

A few hours later, I hear the toilet flush, then the shower...my mom was awake. My head popped up and I checked on the kids...conked out. Then I hear the blow dryer...hmm?!? Kids still asleep - good. Then I hear plastic being opened and see my mom over by the coffee pot trying to open the coffee...and both my kids popped up in bed. I understand the need for coffee...I do, believe me, I do. But, Mom, did you really need that coffee right then and there?!? lol We were going to go down to breakfast where she could have unlimited coffee. Sigh! I guess we will get up...I feel like I didn't get any sleep. We all got ready and went downstairs to eat...Parker loved the waffle maker and was excited to make his waffle. Avery ate mostly fruit and a little bit of cereal.

Even as a baby, Parker loved anything with buttons...still does. The alarm clock occupied him for a bit while we finished packing up.

After we checked out, we headed to Downtown Disney to walk around and have some lunch. We parked near the Lego store and Parker wanted to go in. He remembers it from when we went last summer and Lola bought him a Lego train set...I think he was trying to score more toys! Parker kept running from toy to toy...he couldn't decide where to go first. He found a huge train set for older kids and really wanted it...it was over $150 and he does not need a new train set and one that expensive. We talked him down to a small Lego set and Avery got her first set of Duplos. Then Parker wanted to go to the Disney store. He found a Mickey Mouse train set and threw a fit. He tried to carry the huge box to the register - a few customers saw him, laughed, and commented that it was cute. I probably would have said the same thing...if it wasn't my child doing it. I tried to calmly tell him that he needed to be a good boy and listen and we would write a letter to Santa asking for a train set. He was having none of it! He wanted this train set and he wanted it now. I dragged him out kicking and screaming.

Parker was starting an obsession with Toy Story and was especially excited to see a Woody and a Buzz Lego statue!

trying to carry the huge train box...

He finally calmed down and we had lunch at T-Rex. We got seated fairly quickly even though it was crowded. The kids loved all the dinosaurs. Parker was well behaved during lunch so Avery figured it was her turn to act up. She didn't like her chicken nuggets and just wanted to walk around. Kevin and I took turns walking around with her. She was especially entranced by the fish tank.

we are ready for some lunch!!!

it was a yummy lunch!

Kevin took Parker around during the "storm" that happens every 15 min or so. Parker was fine and wasn't scared of the dinosaurs...until they came to the big T-Rex. Parker was just looking up at it when Kevin came up to him and scared him. After that Parker thought the dinosaurs were after him.

Avery and I looked at the fish for quite a while...it was pretty mesmerizing. I've always wanted a saltwater tank, but I don't want the time and money associated with it. lol

we sat near this baby Triceratops...

After lunch, we walked around some more and then left...or tried to. Kevin couldn't remember where we parked. I was telling him we parked in this one lot and he insisted we parked in the other lot. We walked around for about 10 min...yep 10 min...trying to find his truck. It's not easy to miss...it's a big white truck, but you can't find it when you're looking in the wrong lot! We finally found his truck when we looked in the lot I told him we were parked at. His sense of direction is generally A LOT better than mine, but not that day!