Throwback Thursday

What a difference almost 5 months makes.

September, 7 and a half months

February, 1 year and a few weeks

These pictures are from our trip to visit my sister in Savannah in September and our Disney cruise earlier this month. We love that the Pittsburgh airport has a play area.

Disney Cruise - Day 3

We went to Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas. I started the day out with a 5K, and then we just spent the day mostly relaxing and wandering around. Neil did not do as well on the beach as he did in Savannah. It was really warm out but the water was cold (and refreshing once you got past the initial shock). We didn't take our camera to the water so I don't have pictures. I held Neil's hand as he walked on the sand but as soon as he stepped in the water he picked up his feet and made me carry him. I waded in the water for a bit but couldn't get him close to putting his feet in again so I gave up. Speaking of wading in, the water was crystal clear, there were no waves, and it was pretty level as far out as I walked. I think I went up a little past my knees. We could see some fish swimming around as well. I wish I had some pictures but I'm sure they wouldn't do it justice anyways.

Sunrise view from our verandah

Neil after just waking up, playing on the verandah, which he liked a lot

Relaxing on a hammock after trying the beach. Note the cruise ship in the background

Hammock time

They have a little water park for the kids.
Neil liked this one more than the finding Nemo one on the ship.
But it still took some cajoling to get him to go near the water.

Castaway Cay's Mt. Rushmore

View of the ship from the beach

Riding the tram back to the ship. Note how sweaty he is

One of his many power naps (this was as we were in line to get back on the ship)

We let him crawl the hallways- he had some energy to burn before dinner

This was dress like a Pirate night. They had a party on the deck.
Our room wasn't ready so we hung out for a bit above deck waiting for the room. (Very tired Neil here.)

Our towel animal for the night

Other pages
Travel Day
Day 1
Day 2
Day 4
Last Day

Disney Cruise - Day 2

The 2nd day of our trip we were docked in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. We chose an excursion called "See and Sea" where we started out on a boat with windows in the bottom (reminded me of that old ride at Disney World, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). After that we went on a bus tour of Nassau that included a stop at Fort Fincastle. After the excursion we had some local food and shopped a little bit. We brought back some DELICIOUS rum cakes. And of course a couple of bottles of rum.

We also got some time in the nursery and had some alone/date/no baby time in the evening. We went to a few bars, including the Skyline bar, where the "windows" show a city skyline that changes to a different city every 15 minutes. I of course had to stay long enough to see all 6 cities. It wasn't as big as it looked in videos we had seen before the cruise but it was still nice. Then we went to the Champagne themed bar called Pink. We went back to get Neil and at 11:30pm he was still awake! Guess the nursery was too exciting for him. And for that reason we decided we needed to have him in the stateroom each night so he would get enough sleep. He's really cranky if he doesn't sleep enough.

I think we got our money's worth (and we only had to pay taxes for Neil) just from Neil eating alone.

Waiting to head out on our excursion

A really good view of our ship from the boat taking us on the excursion

Looking out the glass (it was really hard to see the fish with the camera because of the way it was focusing)

Neil definitely enjoyed this

And then fell asleep in my arms. (Side note: I nursed him on this boat. Interesting to do.)

The tour guide on the boat that took us from place to place took everyone's pictures
and called Neil Sleeping Beauty

On the "see" part of the excursion (bus)

At the top of Fort Fincastle

Another family shot

Enjoying some Bahamian beer at a local restaurant in Nassau

On our way back to the ship

We decided to let Neil have some desserts a few nights.

I think he really enjoyed this strawberry shortcake. What a mess.

They turn down the beds, put chocolates on them, and we had a towel animal each night.

Other pages
Travel Day
Day 1
Day 3
Day 4
Last Day

Citrus Lane February 2014

This is the 2nd month we've gotten a box from Citrus Lane and I really really liked the box this month. We bought a six month subscription, $126 total (no additional shipping cost) so each box is $21. Neil loved opening the box, too, so I had to post some pictures of him with the box itself.

The box as it arrived...

And Neil opening the box.

These were the items that came with it

Here's a breakdown of the items and how much they would cost on Amazon as of today.

Water Bugs from Boon

This is by far Neil's favorite item in the box. He wouldn't put it down when I opened it. He was crawling around with one bug in his mouth and then a bug in each hand. And when we gave him a bath, he didn't touch any other toys and for once wasn't playing with the faucet or drain plug.

$7.99 on Amazon and eligible for Amazon Prime (free shipping for me since we belong)

Silicone Bowl from Oogaa

We haven't used this yet although I washed it. We are starting to use some plates, and we do use bowls at times so we'll definitely use this but haven't yet.

$8.99 with $5 shipping from Oogaa.com. I couldn't find this one on Amazon. There was a set with some silverware for $16.99.

Starlight Sailor from Barefoot Books

Neil calls fish "pout pout" and was immediately looking through, finding the whales, and saying pout pout. We read this a few minutes after I took these pictures and Dave read it to him at night. He loves looking at the pictures in the book.

$13.28 on Amazon and eligible for Amazon Prime.

Green Apple Age Defy Hand Cream from Juice Beauty

I will definitely use this and as a bonus it's a scent that Dave can handle. He's very sensitive to certain scents but fruits are good!
$14.00 on Amazon but on sale for $7.50 with $8.75 shipping.
or $14.80 with free shipping (WOW never expected this price at all. For 2 ounces?!)

Oogaa, Barefoot Books, and Juice Beauty all included coupon codes as well.

So overall counting the "sale" prices on Amazon (and most of this stuff doesn't sell for their listed retail) the value of the box was $50.06. This was definitely a good deal for paying only $21. I think it's funny that Neil's favorite thing in the box was also the cheapest though. Go figure.

Ok so I also noticed this time that if anyone signs up and lists me as a reference, they get 50% off their first box and I get $20 in credit to spend in the shop. So if you're interested and don't mind, would you sign up through my reference link, which is here? No pressure. Just thought I'd throw it out there, especially because it might be better than other coupon codes out there. ;)

The Boy Behind the Blog - February edition

1. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

If I could live anywhere, I'd probably say Pittsburgh. I know... boring... But I do love this town. I don't really like the weather right now (snow and ice), but I love all the sports (Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates). And good beer: Rivertowne, Full Pint, Penn Brewery, East End, All Saints, Roundabout, Cellar Door, etc... I wouldn't mind living somewhere else though, just as long as I can still watch some games and still get some good brew. Maybe I'd like to live in Disney World. Not Orlando, but actually Disney World. The park. Perhaps Epcot and drink around the world everyday, or MGM (er... I mean Hollywood Studios) and ride Star Tours and Toy Story Mania all the time. Maybe I could live in Cinderella's Castle. I love going, and it's sooooo much fun! Every time we've gone, I don't want to leave. It truly is magical there at WDW!  

2. Sand or snow?

I would probably have to say sand. I'm not really a beach person, but I'm no fan of cold weather either... I'd much rather sit on a beach instead of shoveling snow. Now, if I had to eat one of the other, I'd probably prefer to eat snow (I'll just make sure it's not yellow first)

3. What winter Olympic sport would you rock at?

I actually love watching Curling, and Jen and I actually tried curling a few years ago. The Pittsburgh Curling Club (http://www.pittsburghcurlingclub.com/) held an open house, and we decided to try it out. It was a lot of fun! And it's a lot harder than it looks. It's tough keeping your balance on the ice on one foot and one knee while sliding the rock. (Short lesson for the day: The sweeping that is done in front of the rock while it's in motion actually decreases the friction between the rock and the ice, melting slightly while the rock goes over it and then refreezing, to pull the rock along farther and straighter.) I did want to become a member and try it for a year (dropping my bowling league and start this), but their schedule didn't work for me. I think it was either the dates or the ice time that didn't work, I can't remember. I'm sure if I had some more time to play, I'd become an Olympian Curler. So I'm sure I'd "rock" at that! 

4. You're cooking a romantic dinner. What is your go-to dish?

Cooking a romantic dinner... Hmm... I think the only thing that I can really cook is scrambled eggs, burgers and hotdogs on the grill, maybe some mac & cheese too... Oh, and pancakes. I guess I'd cook one of those and serve it by candlelight.  

Oh, and maybe some chocolate dipped strawberries. I've done that before, and I may even do that again...  

5. Fill in the blank: This year, I gave (your wife/girlfriend/fiance's name) a ____________________ for Valentine's Day

Geez... this is just asking for a naughty answer. At least that's how I'm reading it. ahaha! At the time of this writing (which is BEFORE Valentine's day), I would have to say that it's a secret. But one thing that we are doing the week leading up to VD is going on our first cruise. A Disney cruise! That doesn't really counts as a VD present, since she's the one who booked it (although we did book it less than a month ago). Jen even asked me (with a smirk): "You didn't answer this question with the cruise, did you?". LOL! The cruise will be fun and I can't wait to find out what's in store for us there! We do have some nursery time planned for Neil, so we will have some time to ourselves too.  

Last year I gave Jen a very long stemmed plush rose. I thought it was cute. This year, I was thinking about maybe this, but I think she'd just roll her eyes at it: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1539/ 

Update from Jen: On the cruise, Dave bought me some Tanzanite earrings and a necklace in Nassau. Beautiful! 

Disney Cruise - Day 1

Day 1 of our Disney Cruise was a ground transfer from the Orlando airport to Port Canaveral where the cruise ship docks. We were on the Disney Dream for a 4 night cruise. The first day we also left port and headed to our first stop, Nassau (but Nassau is Day 2). We spent a lot of the time on board just exploring the ship.

On the Disney ground transport

Watching the TV show they had on- they showed some cartoons

Waiting to board. Replica of the ship and you can't see it in the picture but the actual ship is in the background

Waiting to board

Standing outside the ship before boarding

Onboard, posing with Donald Duck, Dave's favorite character

Neil really liked Chip and Dale. We let him pick a stuffed animal and this is who he picked
(both of them - go figure, the most expensive stuffed animal because there were two).

The chandelier in the ship lobby

Kids under 3 aren't allowed in the pools. This is the kid's area on the ship.

Eating at the Cabanas - Peter Pan hat made by a cast member from a napkin

On the pool deck

Neil slept through the bon voyage party.

Our stateroom - our bedroom

Our stateroom - the desk/couch and sliding glass door to the balcony.

Our stateroom was very nice- 7534 on the Disney Dream. We did get an upgrade compared to what we paid. I think it was a category 5C room. There are 4-7 with 4 being the highest and 7 being the lowest. I think the letter designation just says what deck you are on. Regardless, I was really happy with what we got. 4 was the only better one and I think those were just a little bit bigger. I loved the full verandah and the fact that it had plexiglass- you could see everything below. Plus we were over other decks, not the life boats.

View from the verandah as we are leaving Florida behind

Neil sitting on the verandah chair

And resting in my arms. You can see the plexiglass here and the water below (as well as my reflection)

Neil really liked his order of fish and peas. He loves to eat.

Travel Day

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Last Day