The Happiest Place on Earth

Chapter 1: Bashful
Chapter 2: No nigh nigh!
Chapter 3: Thing 1 and Thing 2!
Chapter 4: Crazy Giggles in the Pool!

As many of you know, we took Harry to Orlando this weekend. Kevin was against it at the start, seeing as he was 30 the first time he got to go. I, however, needed a vacation, and I figured Orlando was a baby friendly locale. I was hoping Harry might learn to walk before we went, but he did not. No problem though. We hit REI with our Dividend dough ($3.82!) and bought a Kelty Baby Backpack (Kevin hates strollers).
Bags packed (5 for Harry, 1 for Kevin and me to share), we headed out to the airport. For some silly reason, I lost my preferred status with US Air (FMLA in 2004?) so we flew, gasp, coach! But, little man could not have been better behaved...Except for the potentially disruptive giggles! He didn't learn to walk in time for his first big vacation, but he did learn how to wave and say "Hi!" and "Hello!" Of course, as soon as someone says hi back, he gets embarrassed and buries his head! It is hilarious! Hopefully his confidence will improve once he gets used to this newfound ability to interact.
So, after a very fun plane ride, with lots of "hellos" from strangers, Harry had an even more fabulous time in the parking garage, proving once again, it's the journey that counts, not the destination. Once we got the carseat into the rental, though, the mood changed...A lesser car seat! Horrors! Once again, goin' coach, and not happy about it. You thought mommy was unhappy not being in First Class, little Harrison was even less happy to not be riding in his Britax carseat. Happy to know he appreciates the finer things, but more than a bit worried by the meager size of his bank account! Better break it to him now that he's not likely to be driving a Mercedes on his 16th birthday...at least not a new one!
Harry loved the hotel though. He could touch whatever he wanted, his toys were there, there was a big window for him to gaze out of...And a wireless keyboard to play with! I think we were all pretty excited about that one!
Once the crib finally arrived, it took Harry all of two minutes to fall asleep. He was well rested when we headed to the pool at around 7:15 the next morning. How things have changed!
After a few laps, we changed out of our suits and walked around Disney's Boardwalk to go to Epcot Center. About 7 minutes after arriving, Harry was passed out in his back pack. So, we headed to Canada and had a lovely lunch in a dimly lit Steakhouse. Harry woke up long enough to have a bite of roll and some trout. This is what I'd had in mind though...Not saying I wanted him to sleep through his vacation, but there aren't too many fine restaurants that you can bring a baby to!
After Canada, we had to have canolis from Italy. You have too! And I broke down and gave some to Harry, also. He LOVED it! I did not love sharing, but I did...
We hit Mexico and Harry seemed to like the maraccas. I bought him a little one and he shook it for the rest of the day. He really liked the large ones, but seeing as it was so close to Kevin's head, we agreed the little one was somewhat safer.
Ended up at the Living Seas. While waiting in the dark lines, Harry started to get anxious. Scared? No. Not really. Now that he can communicate, it seems he only cries because he doesn't want to go to sleep. "No nigh nigh!" is the response we now get in darkened rooms, if we lay him down for a diaper change, if he gets sleepy...Best I can tell is this kid just doesn't want to miss anything! On a side note, though, since I didn;t mention this before we left, Harry also said his first big sentence: "I want my mommy!" Crazy, huh!? This was in response to a diaper change. Of course, I, his mommy, was the one changing his diaper at the time, so I don't think he knows what the phrase means. I think he picked it up from Susanna at daycare. I could swear she said it a couple of times when I picked Harry up the other day. His enunciations are not perfect, but you can definitely tell what he is saying.
Day 3 we got an early start to Disney. We arrived at around 10:30. We first needed to grab a bite to eat. Although he doesn't always eat all of it, it is really cool to be able to order food for Harry off of the menu now. Grilled chicken strips and applesauce were a hit, but he was obsessed with his bottles the entire time. Perhaps thirsty from the heat?
I felt a little bad that Harry spent so much of the day in his pack the day before, so I made sure he had more time at Magic Kingdom to stretch his legs. His first ride was the carousel. He seemed intrigued by the horses. After that we strolled over to a little mini water park near Ariel's Grotto. There a bunch of preschoolers, Thing 1 & Thing 2 included (two little boys in perfectly suited red T'shirts bearing the names), ran around on a spongy floor through a bunch of sprinklers and mini geysers. Harry was way into it. He giggled and squealed and gave big belly laughs. Of course, the one picture we have barely shows him smiling, but take my word for it, running through the water with the other kids was the highlight of his trip, and worth every bit of money we spent to get him there! (Even worth my having to run through the geysers with him, since, as mentioned, he does not walk).
We hung out and waited for the 3:00 parade on Main Street. We didn't know how he would do, and he did start to get antsy in the hot sun, but once he saw that the people in the parade waved at him, he couldn't have been more pleased! Still, enough was enough, and it was time to go. Headed to the bus, but the bus was late. Spoke to a kindly little man from England. He gave his new buddy Harrison a Pluto "badge" (I call it a pin) that we attached to his backpack. Once the bus arrived, he got his second wind and played peekaboo with a few of the kids on the bus. Even though they seemed to be kindergarten age, they all seemed to enjoy the responses they elicited. Kevin and I did, as well, later at the pool. Little man still had the giggles going! For some reason, splashing around in the pool was the funniest thing ever (just as waving always is...he doubles over with laughter!)! No photos of this (as you can tell, I like to look at all of life as a Kodak moment). He seemed to be reacting to both of our interactions with him, so there was no way to get the camera. I think his expressions and happy little sounds will be something that ill stay with me for a long time though! Like I said, worth every penny!
Home again, home again...back to outine. Back to his Baby Einstein stackers, his books, his fingers in Bailey's eyes...