There is so much to catch up on since we’ve celebrated Myer’s first Christmas, our family trip to Disney, and some huge accomplishments from last few days. First, we’ll start with Christmas, and I can joyfully say that we had a “pretty good Christmas”, which is an inside joke amongst my side of the family. Myer didn’t quite know what all the excitement was about this year, but I’m sure that will change as years go by. We spent December 23 celebrating with the Lewis family at Amanda (Chad’s cousin) and Erik’s home in Woodstock, Ga. We got to meet the newest addition to the family that night. Chad’s youngest cousin, Katherine and Billy had a little girl on Halloween, so Myer got to meet his 2nd cousin, Willa. She slept most of the time, and Myer was sick so we kept some distance from them. Fortunately for Willa, she didn’t catch anything, but Karen and I weren’t so lucky. Therefore, on Christmas Eve, I woke up under the weather and barely made it through the evening of festivities at my parents’ house. After all I am the master of ceremonies for the entertainment on Christmas Eve involving an ice breaker, family game, and gift exchange. We made it through though and the evening went off without a hitch. Christmas morning we woke up with my family and exchanged our gifts and then headed to the mountains later that day to spend the remainder of the day with Chad’s family.
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| Myer with Great Papa Denslow |
We were all a little anxious though for what was yet to come on the 27th. That was the day we were leaving for Disney, and no one could hide their excitement for the vacation. We drove to Orlando, and I can’t say enough good things about Myer’s behavior throughout the trip but he was extremely good in the car. We relaxed and got familiar with our surroundings the first night and then after that, we were off! We visited Epcot, The Magic Kingdom, MGM, and The Animal Kingdom. We even sneaked into Germany a couple times for some adult beverages. I can’t say there were any highlights that stood out better than the others because the whole trip was simply amazing, but I would have to say the fireworks, food, and Animal Kingdom were some of my favorites. We even got a nice visit from my grandparents who drove over from Melbourne. They are Myer’s only surviving great grandparents so it was a special treat to spend the afternoon with them.
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| Fun on the "little" dinosaur ride |
Having Myer at Disney to share in the joy and to see our family spend time with him was what Chad and I had prayed for over the years. It had finally come to fruition, and I felt awesome inside knowing that God had answered our prayers. There really is a magic to Disney in that way. I pray now that both Lindsay and Jay get to experience that same feeling with their children someday that Chad and I experienced with Myer. Disney World will always be a sentimental place for us because of the memories it helped create. The trip couldn’t have gone any better, and for those that don’t think they can take a 9 month old to Disney, should give it more thought. We had a blast as the pictures posted in this blog illustrate.
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| Myer Mouse |
As for the most recent news, Myer turned 10 months on Jan. 16, and he is accelerating with his advancements. He can now sit up on his own, has 4 teeth, started to army crawl, and has said his first word. Of course, saying his first word pulls on my heartstrings the most because he has elected to make “momma” his word of choice. He hasn’t really associated it with me yet because he says it for everything, but at least I know with enough coaching he is trainable (for now at least). We are working on “da da” but right now, he’d rather say “ne ne” instead. Hearing him say an actual word is remarkable though. It is hard to put into words but hearing his actual voice is incredible and melts my heart every time. Before we know it, I’m sure he’ll be telling us all sorts of stories about how it wasn’t him that got into trouble or how he wants this and that. I will try and cherish those days just as much as I do now. Of course, I need to give a size update. At Myer’s 9month checkup, he catapulted into the 95th percentile for height at 31” and he stayed in the 50th percentile for weight at 21lbs. He also developed an ear infection that we’ve been fighting for the past month. Hopefully, he won’t need any more antibiotics after this next round, but I have suspicions that he will since he’s still rubbing his ear.
For the upcoming months, we are looking forward to celebrating his first birthday in March. I am anticipating having a family get together with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Details to follow. I haven’t officially planned anything yet.
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Half the gang at Epcot
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| MIC-KEY, M-O-U-S-E! Mickey Mouse... |
