Grosso's Blog Space

Last Wednesday was Leah's first swim lesson and she did unbelievably awesome! The instructor had her get use to the water, blow raspberries in the water, go on her back, learn to kick while holding the board and even tried teaching her how to jump into the water. This was all done within a half hour, which I found pretty amazing (little things amaze me I guess LOL). Chris and I have been trying to teach Leah to do some of the things the instructor got her to do, but she was always so fearful of letting go of us, so I was so happy to see that she felt so comfortable with the instructor. My niece and nephew also have their swim lessons at the same time, which I think made Leah feel much more comfortable seeing her cousins be brave and swim in the water :)

Here's a short clip (you'll need to make it full screen to see her):

WOW it's been so crazy around here that we just needed a break to focus on us as a family. I turned 30 this year and Chris wanted to getaway for my birthday (he's the sweetest man ever!). With much discussion, we decided that Disney was the way to go since we were able to find an amazing deal that we just couldn't pass up so we went ahead and booked a 10 night stay. To my surprise, the kids were able to do a lot more than I thought they could. Jacob was able to go on all the rides Leah went on and he had a blast.

Leah's favorite rides were Toy Story Mania @ HS, It's a Small World @ MK, Mad Tea Party (aka "tea cups" by Leah) @ MK, Magic Carpets of Aladdin @ MK, The Seas with Nemo & Friends @ Epcot, the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros @ Epcot, and TriceraTop Spin @ AK. Her favorite show would have to be The Beauty & the Beast @ HS. The most fun she had would have to be at the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground @ HS. The parades were a hit for her as well :)

Jacob's favorite rides were Toy Story Mania @ HS, It's a Small World @ MK, Prince Charming Carrousel @ MK, Dumbo @ MK, and Kilimanjaro Safaris @ AK (Seeing all the animals makes him smile & giggle).

Chris' all time favorite ride would have to be Tower of Terror @ HS...he went on it twice, but if we had more time it would've have been a lot more. He went once during the day and once at night...of course the night one was a ton better.

My favorite rides would have to be Expedition Everest @ AK, Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster @ HS, and Soarin' @ Epcot.

Leah enjoying a movie & juice on her 21st flight

Jacob's very first flight from Syracuse. He did awesome. Didn't cry at all and ended up falling asleep.

Jacob's second flight from DC - Orlando. He fell asleep again and played a bit as well.

Waiting on the Magical Express Bus to take us to DISNEY from the airport. We absolutely love this service. We checked our bags from Syracuse and didn't see our bags until it was delivered to our room at our resort. Plus they picked us up from the airport in Orlando and drop us off right in front of our resort. This was also the same when we departed to go home. We checked our bags at the resort and didn't see them until we got back to Syracuse. LOVE IT!

YAY we are entering the magical place of Walt Disney World! This is just the entrance to the grounds of Disney...it's so huge that it can be it's own city.

These Alligators are reported to be the most photographed...we stayed at this resort, Port Orleans French Quarter.

Our very first dinner was at Akershus Banquet Hall in Norway @ Epcot. We saw Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, & Aeriel. Both of them loved meeting the princesses. Jacob even got a kiss from Cinderella...he was in heaven!

Leah making a fish face

Both down for the count! They both did awesome considering we went pretty much all day (morning - night) for most of our stay. We went back to the hotel twice during our entire stay for naps but that was it. They did amazing!


Jacob getting a little exercise @ The Contemporary Resort while Leah was napping and we were waiting for dinner @ Chef Mickey's

Our day at Animal Kingdom...we had a great day seeing all the animals and ended it with an amazing dinner at Tusker House (highly recommend for dinner even though it's not a character dining)

Leah just loved all the parades....Jacob pretty much slept through all the parades. I think he was up for maybe one of them.

Dinner @ Nine Dragons Restaurant (Epcot - China)

This is the "Honey, I shrunk the kids" playground area @ HS...Leah had an absolute blast here going down the slides and crawling up the huge spider web.

We were on the boat heading to Epcot...Jacob just woke from his nap

Leah driving a mini race car @ Tomorrowland Speedway with Chris while I was at the Baby Center feeding Jacob and giving him some exercise.

This was one of the best restaurants...Chris has more pix on his phone. Leah was dancing around and having a blast. It's an All You Can Eat German Restaurant...delish!

After a long day at the park...it's bathtime before bed

Wish we had more time to spend at the resort...Leah enjoying roasting marshmallows. Every night was movie night, but by the time we got back to the resort everyone was tired and was extremely late so we weren't able to take advantage of it.

HA...I was debating whether or not to post this. Again, Chris has a lot more pictures on his phone. We were in the UK section of the World Showcase @ Epcot when I was picked to be apart of a roadside act. This is me trying to be an old crochety old hag LOL...how embarrassing!

Having a blast!

Mad party tea cup ride...we all enjoyed this one!

Waiting in line for It's a Small World...also a favorite of ours

GORGEOUS!!

Waiting for the doors to open to Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Show

Breakfast at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh & Friends. This was fun, but both kids were a little nervous with the characters. Wish I did the character dining stuff towards the end of the trip when Leah was finally warmed up to them and not scared anymore.

Waiting in line for the Aladdin ride

We went on this ride probably about 5 times. Leah loved it!

Dinner @ Chef Mickey's

HA...Jacob was scared of all the characters except for one...MICKEY MOUSE.

Mickey was the only character...besides the beautiful princesses of course, that he actually smiled at and didn't cry.

Waiting for the fireworks...the castle changes colors during the night

Kilimanjaro Safaris ride at Animal Kingdom. We are in an open off-roading vehicle going through the safari to view all the animals...very bumpy ride, but amazing!

This hippo was awesome! Absolutely amazing creature. We got to see it swim by about 4 times.

This was awesome. We were in Epcot and they have this area where water spits out from one end to another. We decided to have Leah catch the water before it landed...she was trenched LOL.

Jacob sleeping through the whole parade

More tea cups

We ate at this Moroccan restaurant that had a belly dancer. Leah was lucky enough to be chosen to dance with her, but she was so shy since everyone in the restaurant is watching her LOL...so cute! This was probably my favorite restaurant.