Pride, Accomplishments, Reading, and Healing

I've totally felt this way. The way Beverly feels when Landon does something new and amazing. In our house we use words like "accomplishment" and "proud" and "amazing" more than a lot. And I'm so impressed when Lilly knows that she's done a new and totally cool thing as well. That she knows to be proud of herself, when she does something new that it's a big deal and that mommy will clap and laugh and cry, just a little. I wonder if other parents feel the way I feel - over the moon excited and completely in love - over accomplishing an every day small task? Or do they take it for granted?

I don't know, but nothing gets taken for granted around here.

Lilly loves her aunt Jenny. We spent time with my sister Jenn and niece Cassidy in Savannah a couple weeks ago when we were doing our tour of the south for Lilly's February break. And each night before Cassidy goes to bed, Jenn reads her a story, and Lilly got to sit in on their routine. They sit in Jenn's bed, and Jenn (a fantastic teacher) reads them a story the way a teacher would - asking questions, pointing to things, etc.

I have to admit, in our lives we've been lazy about books. Lilly is constantly reading on her own, but she doesn't like us to read to her anymore - she already knows what she wants the story to be, and she reads the books to us in her way. She does it a lot - we definitely are interested in books - but she doesn't want to be "read to" anymore.

Except after we saw "Aunt Jenny." When we got back from Disney World, the first night I asked Lilly: "Do you want me to read you a book the way Aunt Jenny does"? And she said "Yes! Aunt Jimmy!" (Ok, so her pronunciation of Jenny is a little off. She also calls her uncle Brian "Byron." But each night before she goes to bed, we sit in her bed and read a book "just like Aunt Jimmy."

It's the first time in a long time when she lets me read an entire story to her. I ask questions, I point to things, we talk about the plot of each page. And she loves it. She's like a sponge soaking it all in. And after I read, she reads the story. And she is so proud of herself as she learns the story, anticipates different parts, tells me what happens. And when I ask her questions, she gets them right and is so proud.

For the past 3 nights Lilly's wanted to read the book "Pete the Cat" which was given to her by Jon's parents. And not only does she love me reading the story, but she's so good at remembering the story, and telling me which colors are which (which makes both of us so proud), and singing the song that goes along with it.

So we can thank "Aunt Jimmy" for introducing Lilly and I to a new and improved bedtime routine. (And each night Lilly literally asks to read the book like "Jimmy" because she loves this routine so much.)

A few days ago, I said to Lilly: "Look at my mouth." (and I pointed). "Jennnnnny." Lilly said "Jimmmy." We did it a few more times and Lilly then said "Jennnnny!" Wow was she excited and I was too and we were so proud of ourselves for Lilly saying it the right way and me helping her to say it the right way.

I'm no speech therapist, but I do work with Lilly on pronunciations quite a bit. Like, another word she's been trying to say is "Welcome!" (Because in Annie, Daddy Warbucks' staff welcomes her to the house and shout "Welcome!" at the end of "I think I'm going to like it here" song. Anyways, Lilly has a hard time saying it, and we practice so much on her saying "Welcome!" And when she focuses, she can totally say it perfectly. And we are both so proud.

In unrelated news, Lilly was really concerned for me yesterday. I had ashes on my forehead from Ash Wednesday. And, I wasn't feeling good (we've all had a cold this week. And did I mention this is Lilly's first cold of the entire winter? She's been such a healthy girl!). So Lilly associated the ashes with me being sick and came into my room and brought out her doctor's kit. She did a full check-up on me and pronounced me healthy.

The following pictures are not from last night but from a few weeks ago, when Lilly played doctor with us. Note the real stethescope - one of the perks of having a daddy as a doctor.

A little of this and that

Today is Ash Wednesday. Which means, mass at 12:15, getting ashes on my forehead. And fasting today until dinner. And giving up Facebook, eating out, and sweets for the next 40 days.

So I'm a little grumpy - I get so hungry when I can't eat! (And it doesn't help that I'm sick, and that I did my taxes this morning - federal, VA, and NY - and for some reason can't get NY to e-file which was stressful and made me more hungry!) And while I kind of miss the ability to hop on facebook and see the latest status updates, I'm kind of relieved that I won't be on for the next month+. As I was about to sign off for the last time last night, someone on FB said that giving up FB for Lent is stupid, especially when I continue to blog. Well, I guess that's their opinion - but it is a sacrifice and my time will be much better spent not on it. And I'm not giving up blogging because I love keeping track of Lilly's life on here. And who knows who it might help along the way - I would have loved to read a blog about an adorable little 4 year old with Down syndrome when we were new in our journey. But regardless, the negative comment last night just further indicated that FB is not necessarily a positive place all the time and I'm glad to give it up for awhile.

I don't have much self-control over giving things up that I enjoy. Like, I can't diet because once I start restricting something then all I want to do is eat whatever it is. If I gave up pizza, I'd all of a sudden eat it every meal for a week straight. But, for God it is different. If I give something up for Lent, it's not me giving it up for me - it's me giving it up for God, and that's a hard guy to disappoint.

Last year I gave up facebook also, and enjoyed my time off of it. I also gave up clothes shopping (for all 3 of us) and diet coke, I think? The year before I have no recollection whatsoever; but we were in New Zealand and I felt like so many things I loved had been given up that year. In college one year, I went to mass a few days a week during Lent, which was a nice practice to get into. Another year, I gave up gum, which almost destroyed me. (It would be fine now, I'm not addicted to it anymore.) I have a vague recollection of giving up coffee, but maybe that was when I was pregnant! And one year I fasted every day until dinner, which was tough, and remembering back, I can't remember if I lasted the 40 days (or even the first week!) on that one. Maybe I just did Fridays? Not sure.

Anyways, I am all for reevaluating where I am in life, depriving myself from a few things that strengthen my relationship with God.

Speaking of God, we got the official letter of acceptance from the Catholic school that Lilly will be going to next year. So relieved.

It's interesting, our journey to find the right education for Lilly. I always said that I wanted Lilly to go to Catholic school. And I always wanted her to be in a regular class (as opposed to special education, not that there's anything wrong with that). And along the way, people told me she'd need a little extra help, maybe a regular class wouldn't provide that or support her. And then this year we see how well she's doing educationally with the extra help of really qualified special education teachers; although while she is learning so much it amazes me, I do wish that she had more social opportunities in school. (Not to worry, with her swimming, dance, and soccer classes plus her time spent with her cousins, she's well-rounded; but still). And from my experience being in a private Christian school for a few years, I really did see that as such a nurturing environment that would sincerely care about Lilly's success and well-being.

And with all that, and our hopes and prayers for Lilly's future, we suddenly found multiple options for great schools for our little girl. And I am so thankful that she has the opportunity to be in a Catholic school with a proven successful record of having kids with Down syndrome in regular classes with support where she needs it. It's a prayer answered, for sure.

And speaking of prayers: Yesterday I was in the subway while headed down to Whole Foods to pick up organic produce. In the NY subway, cell phones don't have signal, so once you go down the stairs you have absolutely no connection until you get back up on the street. Anyways, a guy gets on the subway and looks kind of suspicious - holding his jacket in a weird way. So of course I think to myself: what if he's holding a bomb in there? And so then I think to myself, this might be my last moment on earth; whatever happens I just want Lilly to be ok. So then I tell myself, Cathleen you need to pray to God that everything will be ok and to take care of Lilly if something should happen to me. And then my next thought is: I can't pray right now, I don't have signal so God wouldn't be able to hear me, since I'm on the subway.

Really? I thought that God needed cell phone reception in order to hear my prayers? Well, at least I realized what I was thinking right after I thought it, so then I went ahead and said my prayers anyways and the creepy guy got off at the next stop.

That's all for now... time to clean up the house, go to church, then walk across Central Park to Lilly's school to pick her up from soccer. I'm already counting down the hours until dinner tonite!

Magic Kingdom: Continued

So it was almost 11 on Friday morning. Magic Kingdom was starting to get packed. But we had already accomplished a few rides, a haircut, fastpasses for Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh, and a meet and greet with 3 princesses. Now that there were long lines everywhere, we easily made our way to Splash Mountain and got Lilly measured. Now, less than 3 hours after getting measured originally, Lilly was almost an inch shorter! But still measured tall enough, thank goodness – but next time we’ll make sure we always go on the height rides earlier in the day so she doesn’t shrink too much!

But Lilly wasn’t trusting us anymore. We’d already gotten her to ride Big Thunder, now she knew this wasn’t her typical laid back easy going magical day. As we were about to get into the fastpass line, Lilly said she had to go to the bathroom. I took her, and we were on our way again. Walked through the whole fastpass queue and as we were waiting to get in our boat, she said “potty!” I said, Lilly you just went potty. Then she said “wet!” Turns out, she was scared of new rides now. She was just a little bit wet, and I made the decision any mom would make… I mean, this was a water ride after all. I said “C’mon Lilly” and plopped her into the boat.

Anywho, she liked the ride. Loved Big Thunder more, but Splash Mountain was still good. She enjoyed the actual ride part more than the drop, but didn’t mind the drop – she was more concerned because she got a drop of water on her head, my little princess. But she didn’t absolutely love it enough to make it a priority in the future. I don’t totally love it myself, so that’s fine with me!

We bought the picture of me, Jon, my dad, Cassidy and Lilly going down the big drop, which was priceless.




Next stop was lunch at Crystal Palace. The good buffet with Winnie the Pooh characters coming around to each table. The salads were especially good, as were the desserts. As it was 11:30 am, none of us were starving but of course we left stuffed. The girls liked saying hi to Pooh, Eeyore (he came by twice!), Piglet, and Tigger. They participated in the parade around the dining room with the characters as well, although got a little lost on their way back to our table.

By now it was about 12:45, and we went to use our fastpasses on Winnie the Pooh. However, the ride had broken down so we turned around to go on It’s a Small World. Jon left for a bit to do some work, and my dad and I took the girls on the ride. Another favorite of Lilly’s, and I love hearing her sing the song.

We then went on Winnie the Pooh, which is one of Lilly’s favorites as well. And then decided to call it a morning.

We accomplished a lot in the morning – there wasn’t necessarily any “must do” that we missed. We got back to the hotel around 2, and we all laid down for naps. The girls easily fell asleep, as did my parents. I read a book, which was so relaxing to me!

The girls were up around 4, and we decided to go to the pool. Cassidy loved the slide, and Lilly loved playing in the water with Jon. Lilly went on the small slide a few times and the huge long slide once (she ended up flying down the end backwards and upside down, so note to self: maybe wait a year – but she wasn’t upset at all).

It started to get chilly, so we went up and changed and got ready to go back to Magic Kingdom for the night. I think we arrived around 7 or so. We went to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear and the Tomorrowland People Mover; however when we were about to get on Lilly said she had to go potty so Jon and Lilly and I split up from my parents while they took Cassidy on those rides. After the bathroom Lilly went on Astro Orbiter, which is another absolute favorite of Lilly’s (it’s like Dumbo but it’s spaceships and it spins fast and you can see all over Magic Kingdom because it’s high up in the sky).

Meanwhile, Cassidy rode Dumbo with my parents (like a 20 minute line, not too bad especially for Dumbo) but it was after 8pm. Lilly danced a bit at the Tomorrowland dance party (she loves dancing!) and we watched the fireworks. She has a love hate relationship with them. She doesn’t like them being so loud (like me) but she loves watching them (like Jon). So while she watches them, you basically have me covering her ears and then when they take a quick break for a minute she claps so incredibly enthusiastically, it’s like the happiest moment of her life. Then Lilly went on the Carousel twice - she loves riding a horse on there – and she made Jon and I sit on horses near her instead of standing next to her. Meanwhile Cassidy did Snow White twice, including once with just Jon. Both girls were incredibly happy by the end of the night.

It was a great day at Magic Kingdom.

Laughing to sleep

When Lilly was about 6 months old or so, she used to laugh herself to sleep. She would lie in her crib in deliousness and tiredness and just giggle herself to sleep. It was the funniest cutest thing ever - it was just so bizarre but adorable. We had an infant video monitor and would watch her from our bedroom as she performed her nightly routine for about 10 minutes. We'd even show people when they came over because it was so great.

She outgrew that a few months later. And we've gone through all kinds of "going to sleep" routines - there were times when she hated falling asleep, loved falling asleep, needed us in there to sing to her. Luckily she's always been good at staying asleep - although at times like when she was sick she would cough all night long and we'd be up doing nebulizer treatments for days on end. But for the most part we've gotten a solid 10-12 hours of sleep from that girl since she was 2 weeks old, with either no wake-ups or maybe one wake up around midnight just to call us in and let her know we still exist.

Since she got her "big girl bed" when she turned 3, she insists on having us in there with her as she falls asleep, and while I know in theory that's "bad" I wouldn't trade that time with her for anything. She is so sweet, we talk about her day, I sing to her and often times she sings right along with me. We cuddle, we hold hands, and she falls asleep so sweetly.

Yet the nighttime routine had become challenging. She's been happy to actually go to bed, but it takes a little while to get her to all asleep. And Jon works late hours so often times it's been me putting Lulu to sleep. And so many nights I skipped through our routine quickly, trying to get her to fall asleep fast, not treasuring the moments like I should. Because I had work to do. My hours at work were long, and often times I was getting her to sleep fast so that I could work late into the night. And if not that, I was struggling to do things around the house late at night - laundry, dishes, organizing our lives. Life had become chaotic. I remember nights, saying to Lilly "Please go to sleep, mommy has to work." It became a stressful situation for us.

And the last time I cried while saying that to Lilly, in October. The next day I turned in my notice to work for leaving my job. The next month of working while finishing up my job was still stressful - still long hours, still exhaustion, but a little bit of silver lining, of freedom.

Lately Lilly loves me putting her to sleep. Loves it. Before, Lilly might sometimes choose me, sometimes Jon, to put her to sleep, if we were both around. And I'm sure the pendulum will swing back again to Jon at some point. But we have the best time, and I can understad why she loves her mommy time.

Jon said to me a couple weeks ago after I put her to bed: "Why are you guys laughing so much when you put Lilly to sleep?!"

Lilly and I are hilarious. We tell funny stories. We tell jokes. We are silly. We sing songs. We talk about our day. And we laugh so hard, sometimes Lilly literally is laughing as she drifts off to sleep.

It's moments like this that make me realize the actual quality of our lives have improved since I've taken my break from working. That it's not me doing "nothing" or being lazy by not having a job - that it's the fact that the laundry and food shopping are done during the day, the cleaning is taken care of, that nights are spent with me and Lilly (and sometimes Jon!) enjoying our family life.

Sure, I miss working - the satisfaction it gives me, the income. And sometimes I hate that I'm scrubbing floors instead of having a cleaning person do it once a month; or cleaning the kitchen after making a "real" dinner every night instead of it being perfectly spotless because we always used to eat out. But raising a happy secure little girl who is thrilled to laugh herself to sleep with her mommy is totally worth it.

A Magical Morning

Apologies in advance for going out of order. Sunday through Thursday were good days in Atlanta, Savannah, and Hilton Head, and I’ll recap them shortly. But like when we were on the trip itself, I couldn’t wait to fast forward to Disney World! Here’s our first morning at Magic Kingdom…

This post could easily be called “How to have an easy laid-back day on one of the busiest days of the year at Disney World.” Or, “the day I measured over 40 inches, by Lilly Sherman.”

The key to Disney is to go against the grain. President’s week is so crazy busy at Disney, with so many schools having off for the week. Magic Kingdom opened at 8 am on Friday in anticipation for the last weekday of that busy week. I don’t have to tell you, Jon and I left our hotel at 7:30 to catch a bus to Magic Kingdom and went through the turnstiles right after opening. Do you doubt it?

Lilly was happy to see the castle for the first time this trip, and we walked down Main Street with a mission. The goal: to get Lilly measured. You see, Barnstormer, the “kids” roller coaster, was closed due to expanding fantasyland. It had a 35 inch height restriction, so Lilly was tall enough. But with a cousin who wanted to ride the 40 inch roller coasters, we wanted to get Lilly measured ahead of time to see if she was tall enough. If not, we’d do something else when half of us went on Splash Mountain. Cassidy and my parents headed over 20 minutes after us, so we had time to get Lilly measured well.

We got to Big Thunder Mountain, parked the stroller, and held hand while walking slowly up to the measuring stick. We told her to stand tall and: she was 41 inches. Whew.

I don’t think we really thought through what we’d do if she was tall enough. So of course we said “all right, let’s go” and walked right on the ride. Apparently, as busy at President’s week is, not too many people want to explore Magic Kingdom before 9 am. So, no wait for us. We stood for just a minute for the next train to come in. I asked Jon if we were crazy, and he said of course, and we got on the wildest ride in the wilderness.

Lilly loves roller coasters and action and excitement and motion. I’ve loved Big Thunder as my favorite coaster since I was little. I figured she’d like it. But I forgot how LOUD it is! That was the only thing that bothered her, and we put our hands on her ears when we got to the extra loud parts. The motion of it itself was half really exciting and fun and half a little overwhelming. We interviewed her afterward for her reaction. We didn’t go on it again on this trip, but I wouldn’t be scared of her doing it in the future. She had a good time.




On the way out, we had her measured at Splash Mountain to make sure she was tall enough for that too – sometimes the measuring sticks are a little off. But she was tall enough for that as well. We got fastpasses for later, and cut through the castle pathways to Fantasyland to the Teacups.

Lilly loves the teacups. Jon and Lilly always want to spin them much more than I think we should! But Lilly had a blast. That’s the one ride that Lilly kept talking about again and again on the vacation, I feel bad that we didn’t get a chance to go back on it. After getting off the ride, we spotted the Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, and Lilly happily took a picture, even though she has no idea who he is.






We walked back down Main Street to the front of the park for Lilly’s 9 am hair cut appointment at the Barber Shop. It’s about $15 for a good kids hair cut.

When we got to the outside of it, Lilly immediately said: “I don’t want a hair cut!” She remembers everything – Jon said it’s funny how people are always saying that they’d wait until their kids are much older to do Disney, why would we bring Lilly when she wouldn’t remember? Well, this little girl remembers everything. She anticipated the castle before she saw it, she knows Main Street. When we walked past the Riverboat earlier that morning she said “Tiana! Princess and the frog!” because last year they had a Princess and the Frog performance in that spot. And she knows a building she hasn’t seen in a year has scissors in it that will chop off her long beautiful hair.

We made an appointment for this so we wouldn’t have to wait, and she was the first person they let in the door. By this time, Cassidy and my parents joined us. The barbers were so sweet to Cassidy, since she wasn’t getting a hair cut (she’d had one recently), they asked if she wanted pixie dust so she’d feel special too. And the sprayed her hair and put confetti in it. Meanwhile, Miss Rapunzel was having her hair cut off. A really good hair cut – they took the time to make sure everything was cut well and even.

Next up, Cassidy wanted to go on Haunted Mansion. It’s not one of Lilly’s favorites, but she usually doesn’t mind it. But today, after going on Big Thunder Mountain, she was a little more hesitant because she didn’t know what to expect now that we threw her on a big girl roller coaster. And the rest of the rides that day she was a little scared.

We stopped for bathrooms after that, and got a last minute reservation for lunch a couple hours later for Crystal Palace, and then walked over to the Princesses, who are now greeting people in Adventureland. It was a 15 minute wait at almost 10 am, but worth it – Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty. The girls were so precious, they held hands as they walked up to each princess to say hi. The princesses themselves are so gracious and sweet, and it was a really nice experience.






That day, I wasn’t exhausted at this point. But today? I’ve only written through 10:30 AM and I need a break! But so far it was an excellent morning, two happy girls, 4 happy adults, our fastpasses in hand to ride Splash Mountain – would it be a great adventure or Lilly’s worst moment yet? And lunch with Winnie the Pooh and friends… would the girls love it or hate it? Can continue our streak to avoid the crowds on one of the busiest days at Magic Kingdom? Will the day remain as magical as it began? Wait and see!

February School Break: In The Beginning

Where do I begin… at first I was going to start at the end, but I think I’m too obsessive compulsive to do that. So, let’s start a little before the beginning.

Friday, February 18. Almost two weeks ago now! Lilly’s life is so full that she always has so many plans, and it’s hard to keep up with them myself let alone give her a good head’s up on what’s going on! On Friday morning, waiting for the school bus, I tried to explain:

“Lilly, first you go to school, then you’re going to Sesame Street Live with your class, then I pick you up and we go to dance class, then you see Colleen, Julianne, and Lyndsey, then we come home and eat dinner and see daddy. Then tomorrow we go to swimming lessons with your friend Konstantina, then take a taxi to the airport, and fly to Atlanta to see Grandma. Sunday you’ll see Grandpa with the mustache, your other grandma (Jon’s parents), Hannah, and Paul and we’re going to daddy’s friend’s baby’s baptism, then come back to Grandma’s house and see Hannah (a different one – her cousin), Tristan, Suzanne, and your cousins Ava, Luke and Noah. The next day, Monday, you’ll see Grandma, Grandpa with the moustache, Scott, Donna, Jacob, and Aiden. Tuesday we’ll get in the car for a road trip with Grandma to Savannah to see Cassidy, Jenn and Brian. Wednesday we’ll go to Hilton Head for the day, then back to Savannah to see Cassidy and the trampoline. Thursday we’ll take Cassidy in the car with you, me and Grandma and drive to Hilton Head, where PawPaw and daddy will fly in to see us. We’ll spend the next three nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Villas go to Disney World every day, then Grandma, PawPaw and Cassidy will go home and you me and daddy will stay at All Star Movies, before flying home late Monday night. Then, back to school.”

Yeah, so that got a little confusing for my little girl, I think. But luckily she’s a “go with the flow” kind of girl, at least when she acknowledges that (a) we’re going to have fun, and (b) she doesn’t have an option to not go with the flow.

She went to school that Friday, and had a blast at Sesame Street Live with her classmates. The teachers said she was dancing hard and having a great time; they were all talking about Miss Lilly.

Then we took the subway down to Tribeca for Lilly’s hip hop class, which I am loving (and so is Lilly). She danced up a storm, and at the end her aunt and cousins came to see her, which is her favorite part. As soon as the door opens and class is over, she gives her cousins a quick greeting, then hightails it into the changing room, confident that Lyn and Jules are right behind her, with a couple additional friends. Before I can even run after her, Lilly is stripping off her purple leotard, black booty shorts (yes they make booty shorts in her little size!), and black jazz shoes. My naked girl stands there and dances, talking fast to her cousins and their friends and being bossy, and I convince her to start getting her “street” clothes back on. Weekly routine.

After hanging for a bit, Lilly and I walked to the subway and got on the 5 express. We got off at 42nd street and got on the local for a few stops. However, 5 o clock rush hour is crazy and Lilly was getting claustrophobic, not to mention we were standing the whole time (poor kid!). We were literally packed in like sardines, and my girl was not a fan. “No train! No train! I don’t want it!” Half the people on the subway were agreeing with her, telling her so, but it didn’t help. So we hopped off at 59th street and took a short cab ride the rest of the way (like $7 instead of the $30 it would have been from Tribeca, so we did save some $ by taking the train generally).

We walked into the house totally exhausted. I think at this point I’d had a migraine for two days as well, I forgot to mention – Excedrin Migraine actually helped it a lot each day but it was still there in the background, and ended up lasting like 4 days! (Lilly had blood work the previous Tuesday and waiting two days for the results was so stressful - but thankfully she's healthy! But that's where the migraine started...) And we had to pack for our trip the next day. So, for the first time in weeks, I paid for someone else to make our dinner: Little Vincent’s delivered a memorable authentic NY pizza that I’ll be curious to find out if Naples can beat, in July. It hit the spot, and Jon got home a little while later. It was a busy day, Lilly went to sleep early (7ish, when she doesn’t nap, which is usual). I packed the rest of the night. Jon, per usual, offered to help with whatever I needed, and then promptly fell asleep on the couch until 1 am. I was up until 2 getting things organized. I successfully weeded out what we didn’t really need for our trip until Lilly and I had all of our stuff in one suitcase and one carry on, which was easier to get through the airport the next day with just me and Lilly traveling.

I woke up Saturday morning with my migraine again. Took my Excedrin, and beelined it for the morning coffee that Jon so sweetly sets up for me every morning before he goes to work. I turned it on and… it didn’t work. It was acting funny, finally I got a cup to pour out and it was cold! Plus, I had no food for Lilly. Ugh… So at 7:30 am Lilly and I decided to walk downstairs and around the corner for a bagel and a coffee, which is the best thing about NYC: the convenience of everything being super close. The day before had been beautiful – in the 60’s, sunny – but it got really cold overnight, which I didn’t realize, so we weren’t exactly dressed appropriately when we stepped outside. We ran down two streets to the quickest, easiest, cheapest coffee stand – and found it to be gone, apparently he only works weekdays. So, freezing, we ran back past our apartment and in the other direction to Daisy’s café, spot number two for getting a good bagel and coffee. And, they didn’t open until 8. So we walked across another street to a pizzeria (which is not as good at Vincent’s pizza) but who happens to serve bagels and coffee in the morning, and ordered what we needed. The guy said $3 and Lilly pulled out her pink purse and took a $5 out of it. She sweetly took the change and stuffed it back in her purse. (She is such a NYC girl: yesterday when she got up, I asked her if she wanted a bagel, which I had in the kitchen waiting for her. She said “Yes” and got her monkey and her purse and some money and a jacket and started to walk out the door…)

We ran back to the apartment, Lilly already munching on the bagel. I continued to pack and organize as she played and ate, and turned my head for one minute and: she had taken my hand sanitizer out of my purse and put it all over her legs like lotion. Scared she’d get the alcohol in her eyes, I gave her a bath, even though she was going swimming in an hour.

We got dressed for the pool, and went downstairs where her friend Konstantina and her mom were waiting. We hopped in a cab, headed for the Millennium hotel, where swimming is conducted on the 27th floor pool. The girls changed, and Lilly eagerly jumped into the pool when it was their turn.

The swimming classes are great. There’s a maximum of 3 kids with one instructor, but so far it’s just been Lilly and her friend, so it’s half playdate, half private lesson. Her friend is older than her so she’s a little more advanced in swimming, but Lilly is so fearless in the water so it kind of evens out. Instead of a life vest, Lilly wears a floating thing around her waist which gives a little support but not much, and she’s very free to use her arms and legs to swim. I was so impressed by the way she maneuvered in the pool. She wants so much to be independent, and is confident in her ability. For part of the lesson she didn’t even have the floating thing on, and had to balance holding a floating weight looking thing. She’s great at kicking and going from one side of the pool to another. It was really cool to watch her. I like her instructor a lot, but also give Jon a lot of credit for working with Lilly in pools so much last summer.

We came home from swimming in the taxi with Lilly’s friend and they sang “This little light of mine” on the way, so precious. When we got here, Jon was home from work for a little while, and I finished the final touches of packing. Lilly took a bath and washed her hair from the chlorine. At 2, Lilly and I hopped in a taxi to go to LaGuardia.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time. One thing I’ve learned from NY airports is that the line is always REALLY long inside. So, when we get dropped off, even if the line is a little long to check in outside, I still do it there. It saves the hassle of going inside, seeing the long lines, and walking back out, which we did the first few times we traveled in NYC. No exception this time: one person ahead of us in line, got checked in quickly, and saw a huge line inside. Good decision making: check.

But things don’t always run smoothly. Security was out of control, the line was as long as it could be. And one thing I noticed about this round of traveling, both flying from NYC to ATL and from Orlando to NYC a week later, is that the security people have taken some lessons in sarcasm and rudeness. Dude, I travel all the time. I know the rules. I’m clearly traveling with a 4 year old who is actually really well behaved. I’m doing the best I can. You can be a little nicer to me, please. Anyways, rant over, but I will say the security customer service could be improved, and not just on the NY end.

But Lilly and I easily survived. They didn’t do any of the new security procedures like x-raying our bodies with that special machine, or patting us down. Lilly knew the routine, took off her shoes and put them in the basket herself, and put them back on at the other end. Thank goodness she’s easy.

We got through with plenty of time to spare. Like, over an hour. We walked to the gate and since the last time we flew, about 6 weeks earlier, the gate had been turned into what looked like one of those video poker cheap restaurants. There were all these mini booths with small computer/video game/advertisement things on them. There was hardly anywhere for normal people to sit. We didn’t want to order food at the booth; plus there’s just room for one person at each spot. It was really ridiculous and whoever planned that wasn’t thinking about efficiency.

But, we found seats and Lilly really was good at entertaining herself. Another travel tip: don’t pull out all the good stuff early on, you never know when you’ll need an emergency stash of something to occupy or entertain a child. A successful trip is one in which you open up the backpack when you’re unpacking and find 3 or 4 things you hadn’t even touched.

Lilly had almost fallen asleep in the taxi on the way to the airport earlier, so I was certain she’d fall asleep on the plane. Instead, when we got on, she read People and Us Weekly (such a good mom I am, right?), colored, and entertained herself. Which is fine, but exhausting, and I still had part of my migraine.

We arrived in Atlanta a couple hours later and finally ended up at the front of the airport to see my mom. I was so happy to see her (and have a little child care relief!). We stopped at the bathroom on the way and one thing that makes me really happy about the Atlanta airport bathrooms are that they have a stool for kids to stand on to wash their hands. Which is so nice, since airports and traveling definitely necessitates an extra good hand washing.

Our luggage arrives and we get in the car. Lulu falls asleep 10 minutes after we leave the airport. At this point, it’s 8pm or so. I’m still migrained out, starving, exhausted. When we got to my parent’s house (my dad was out of town) we got Lilly in her pj’s and she went to bed. My mom made me a great salad, and not too much later we were all asleep.

Wow. So that’s vacation day one (and the pre-vacation day). I’m exhausted already. I’m sure the rest of the trip will be easier… right?

Say "Cheese!"

I feel like whenever I talk about Lilly, or Disney World, I all of a sudden sound a lot like the Bachelor. I start saying things like "amazing" and "incredible" and "once in a lifetime." And when you get Lilly IN Disney World, it gets even worse (better).


It's not about the characters, or the rides, or the high quality of service that Disney World always has, although those things are definitely good. For people who don't "get" Disney, it's more about the way Lilly laughs when she gets excited about something new. It's about the way our family bonds over a few days of nonstop togetherness. It's about all the special moments, that keep us coming back for more.

There's so much I want to write about our week away - about our trip to Atlanta, Savannah, Hilton Head, and Disney World. I love traveling with Lilly because she's such a good traveler, but also because we get to spend so much quality time together. I feel like I get to appreciate all the different layers of Lilly and our family when we are together 24/7.


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On Saturday, we decided to do a Disney Photopass professional photography session. It's $100 for a 20 minute session and $130 for 40 minute session and you get a cd included with all the pictures and the rights to do whatever you want with them. We've seen more expensive packages in New York and Virginia and Atlanta, so to us it was worth it to do this photo session at Disney World. You can pick most of the Deluxe resorts to do this at, and we picked Animal Kingdom Lodge since we were staying at their Kidani Villas. While it's probably a little bit prettier at the Polynesian or Yacht and Beach Club, it was nice for the convenience of not dragging two little girls around the Disney property before a photo shoot.


Two girls? My niece Cassidy joined me, Jon, Lilly, and my parents for our trip. For the photo session, you can do any combination of places/people, which is also nice. Lilly didn't do school pictures this year (we were in transition at the time) so it was nice to get shots of her by herself, plus family shots, pictures of my parents, and even Cassidy had her own photo shoot within the 40 minutes - 209 pictures total! It was definitely worth the session, in my opinion. The photographer we had was flexible and willing to follow us around and take candid shots as well, and if the girls were doing something cute, she caught it. At two different points, Lilly just started posing near a wall - she looked like a fashion model doing different poses and expressions - and the photographer caught it all on film.


Here are just a few pictures from our session: