Olivia's Ballet Recital and More

Last night we attended Olivia's ballet recital. She has been in ballet for 2 years now, and has really come a long way in her skills. We still do not know if she is going to continue in dance or not. Some days she is begging to quit and begin karate (she thinks it will be like "Kung Fu Panda"), and other days she loves dance and wants to continue. This year was a non-costume year for the recital (odd years are costumed, even years are not at this dance studio), meaning that the dancers performed in their standard leotards. While I understand why the instructor does this (not having to spend $40 for a 75 second performance) I really missed the costumes!

Olivia demonstrating her dance moves.

Beautiful girl. While it makes me cringe to see her in make up at such a young age, she really does look beautiful and so grown up!

Olivia and good friend Abby. We carpooled to dance class with Abby's family this year, and the two of them became good friends (albeit their energy levels doubled when they are together!).

Olivia performing on stage. She is in the front row, second from left. She did a great job knowing her moves and staying on tempo. However, at the end of the performance we could see her frantically scanning the crowd looking for us and looking sad that she couldn't find us. It was a very crowded theater!

Ethan and Olivia with grandma and grandpa post-performance.

Yesterday, Olivia also had her Sports Day at school to celebrate the end of the year (last day of kindergarten is June 1!). Here is Olivia (and Ethan) with classmates Sarah, Abbey, and Marina. I have begun to explain to Olivia that some of her classmates will be in different classes next school year, and she is not happy about that! I just keep stressing that she'll get to keep her current friends AND make new ones!

I was assigned a group of 4 kids to chaperone for the Sports Day. The first activity they selected was the bounce house. The Sports Day was really fun (albeit warm!) with about 14 different activities to complete, ending with popsicles for all.

Audrey, Olivia, Will, and Seth showing off their face painting (flowers for the girls and snakes for the boys). This was a good group of kids who did a great job taking turns selecting activities and working together.

Shooting some hoops.

And, finally, the tooth fairy has become very familiar with our house lately. On May 10, Olivia lost her first tooth (bottom front right), and then on Wednesday night Joe brushed the bottom left tooth out! She had some residual lipstick (from her dance dress rehearsal) on her tooth, and when Joe attempted to brush it off, the tooth came out! She already has her new teeth starting to push through her gums. (this is not the best picture of Olivia due to her make up starting to smear on her face)

Happy 3rd Birthday to Ethan!

On May 14, Ethan turned 3 years old! Unbelievable...both that my baby is 3 and that he has made it to the age of 3 after many of the crazy stunts he does on a daily basis! His birthday celebration seemed to last several weeks, with Funshop, Disney, a family party, and a big party.

We had Ethan's big birthday bash on May 22. Many of his friends came to celebrate and he thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention! Here is Ethan and Uncle Brennan playing horseshoes.

Olivia, myself, Joe, and Ethan with his cake. Ethan had a very difficult time deciding between a Spiderman, Incredible Hulk, or Iron Man cake (he finally selected the Iron Man). His theme this year was Super Heroes, of which he has become completely obsessed with!

Happy Birthday to the Big Man! It was fairly breezy out on this day, so it took several attempts for the candles to remain lit long enough for him to blow them out!

This is about as good as I could do for a group picture with his friends (one or two are missing from this picture). But here is Dominic, Ethan, Jack, Ava, Olivia, and Liam enjoying cake.

Present opening time was complete chaos as usual. Everyone really enjoyed helping Ethan open his gifts, and thankfully he didn't mind! I had to post this picture due to Ava modeling the Spiderman mask that all of the kids received.

Playtime in the sandbox!

A few days prior to Ethan's big party, we had our smaller family party (to attempt to space out the present opening!). Ethan selected Chili's as his restaurant of choice, and after loudly announcing his birthday we all shared a complimentary brownie sundae (yum!).

Olivia and Ethan studying the new additions to their Super Hero collection.

Ethan demonstrating how to ride his new scooter.

We were in Disney World on Ethan's actual birthday. He has celebrated 3 birthdays thus far in his life, including one at Disney World and one on the beach in Marco Island, Florida. He has had some very exciting birthdays! Here is Ethan in Cinderella's Castle enjoying everyone singing Happy Birthday.

And finally here is Ethan enjoying his Funshop birthday celebration. He is given a birthday crown (he of course selected blue for his color) and sticker, and then is invited to walk around the circle while his fellow Funshop friends sing Happy Birthday to him. He was all smiles being the center of attention!

Ethan handing out birthday treats to his friends.

Disney World (again!)

Last week, the kids, Aunt Rachel, grandma, grandpa and myself traveled to Disney World. We stayed at the Dolphin hotel this time, and the kids really loved the lobby fountain. Every morning they would run to the fountain to say good morning to the dolphins ("Mr. Dolphin" as Olivia called them). *Warning...this is going to be a LONG post!*

We started our trip with a bang. We walked to Epcot and instantly ran into Donald Duck with basically no line waiting for a picture.

The kids posing with J. Worthington Foulfellow (the fox from Pinocchio that tricks Pinocchio onto the carriage that takes him to Pleasure Island). We saw a few very random characters on this trip!

The kids with Stitch from "Lilo and Stitch".

Outside the Living Seas with the seagulls from Finding Nemo in the background. These gulls caw "mine mine" repeatedly, which Ethan absolutely loves. Inside the building are some cute rides. We went to the "Turtle Talk with Crush" interactive show, and Olivia was selected to ask Crush a question (much to her delight and Ethan's jealousy!). For those who are wondering, the question was "do you have to leave the EAC to find food?" Ethan had been desperate to ask him "do turtles eat bananas and grapes?"

We were at Epcot during the Flower and Garden Expo. There were dozens of gorgeous topiaries throughout the park during our visit.

I finally remembered to take a picture of us in front of the "big Epcot ball". Olivia is showing her mask that she made in the Mexico pavilion.

The kids running through a water fountain at the end of a long travel day. The weather was gorgeous during our stay -highs in the upper 80s with no humidity, and full sun, so the water was refreshing!

While leaving Epcot we came across the Queen of Hearts standing literally by herself. We had our best luck with characters in Epcot (all near the World Showcase entrance). In the Magic Kingdom the lines were just way to long to take many character pictures.

Yet another random character - Max (Goofy's son). The kids had no idea who he was, but were still excited since he is a character.

The kids and I in front of Cinderella's Castle!

Olivia participated in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on this trip. It is a salon for girls age 3 and up, where you can have hair, make up, and nails done, and select a Princess outfit to purchase and wear around the park. It was a bit surreal to see 15 little girls sitting in thrones transforming into Princesses. I'm not sure that I would have Olivia do it again (it took a loooong time as well), but she was very happy to be transformed into Jasmine. Here she is having Pixie Dust (glitter) sprinkled on her.

The big reveal - Jasmine! Notice her regal pose.

Jasmine taking a magic carpet ride.

Of all the characters we have met, either on this trip or our previous one in October, I must say that this Jasmine and Aladdin pair were the best! It took three tries before we were able to actually meet them (I was determined since Olivia was dressed in her Jasmine outfit!). The characters chatted with both of the kids for several minutes and were appropriately excited to see Olivia dressed as Jasmine. Ethan and Aladdin had a very long talk about who only knows what, but Ethan did NOT want to leave Aladdin!

Will the real Jasmine please step forward?

A great group photo.

Pool break! Here is Olivia and grandpa swimming under the Dolphin hotel's waterfall.

Once again we ate at Morocco in Epcot - good food and fun entertainment. Olivia loved the belly dancing once again, but Ethan again refused to dance.

The kids with an Aladdin topiary.

And, once again, leaving Epcot we scored a picture with Minnie Mouse with less than a minute wait!

Now for the real reason all of us went on our Disney vacation. My dad was awarded the American Geriatric Society's National Physician of the Year Award. Here he is giving his excellent speech. Congratulations Dad! We are so so so proud of you, and know that you truly do deserve this award.

Hollywood Studios day! Here we are in front of the Sorcerer's Hat.

Olivia and Aunt Rachel posing in front of the Tower of Terror. Any fear that Olivia has for rides is gone. On this trip she and Aunt Rachel were "riding buddies" and went on Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Soarin', and Tower of Terror. The only roller coasters that Olivia did not do was Splash Mountain (because no one wanted to get wet) and Rockn' Roller Coaster because she was not quite tall enough. Olivia's favorite was Space Mountain, and she said that she will never again go on Tower of Terror!

Posing with Lightning McQueen and Mater.

Ethan and grandpa "Singin' in the Rain".

The kids were able to meet Mike Wizowski (sp?) from Monsters Inc. on this trip. There was a person in the costume, but the arms were controlled from within. The kids were so shocked when the arms started twirling in circles!

The kids playing in the Dolphin's fountain.

One night the kids, Aunt Rachel, and myself rented a surry bike for a ride around the Boardwalk. The kids had a lot of fun ringing the bell and calling out to people as we rode around the lagoon.

Back to the Magic Kingdom on our last day! Here is Ethan with grandma on the Carousel.

Both Olivia and Ethan discovered that they are not the future king of England.

Once again preparing to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table in the Castle.

The kids with Snow White in the Castle.

The kids with Sleeping Beauty in the Castle.

The kids with Belle in the Castle. Between our two Disney trips, she was the worst character we have encountered. I think she literally spent 30 seconds with the kids, and when Olivia attempted to talk with Belle about Gaston, she cut Olivia off!

The kids with Ariel.

And, finally, Happy Birthday to Ethan! He turned 3 during our vacation, and we surprised him with a cake during our Cinderella's Castle lunch. The waiter and family sang Happy Birthday to him (much to his delight) and we all enjoyed the cake. Happy Birthday Big Man! I hope it was magical!