A Magical Day

We are incredibly tired from a long day, so instead of writing I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Goodnight!

Universal Studios

This morning we went to Universal Studios and we had an awesome time! A big part of that was the special pass Oliver got to bypass all the lines, he was treated like royalty! We were also very impressed with how simple it was for him to be allowed to use his stroller as a wheelchair, and thus be able to bring it anywhere a wheelchair can go, and not have to "park it" out front and carry him everywhere (when he gets tired he is a real sack of potatoes) We simply asked at Guest Services, and they printed us a card, took less than a minute and it was really helpful.

We went on Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Shrek 4-D and Disaster. (this was his favorite, he liked the rumbling and rocking of the subway car). We also walked around Curious George Goes to Town but Ollie was getting sleepy at this point and wasn't paying much attention to his best little monkey buddy. As we were leaving we walked right past the Simpsons family and had our picture taken.

My parents plane just landed and are heading to The Polynesian Resort in WDW now, we're meeting them for a character dinner at Chef Mickey's later. Right now it is nap time.... for all three of us.



Shrek is funny


"I do not like this Dad"


"Ahhh time to cool down!"


Too tired and hot to enjoy his best buddy


Slept right through meeting the Simpsons


Zzzzzzzzzz


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A Little Bit of History

Today we visited the Castillo De San Marcos, which was constructed in 1672 to protect the city of St. Augustine from invasion. It is one of only two fortifications in the world built out of a semi-rare form of limestone called coquina (The other is Fort Matanzas National Monument 14 miles south). After we purchased our tickets we were kindly asked not to sit on any of the cannons, so Oliver the rebel sat on a this instead....




He's such a trouble maker...




He was locked up for his insubordination




Daddy gives Oliver a history lesson




There will be a quiz on this later Ollie. To which Ollie replied that he'd rather be put back into that jail cell than take one of his Daddy's history quizzes.








He started to get very hot. Children with MLD have difficulty regulating their body temperatures. That's a small portable fan that clips onto his stroller. It's wonderful. And we just bought a few mist fans for Disney. We leave tomorrow for Orlando and Give Kids the World! We are very excited!




Don't sit on that cannon Uncle Steve




Ariel view of the fort

We've been having so much fun! Oliver's Uncle Steve and Uncle Billy drove all the way down to Florida to stay the week with us. They were here only a few hours before we headed to Oasis to eat dinner. We also went there the next morning for breakfast but who's keeping count?




Pool fun with Daddy




All the boys




Hanging out with Uncle Steve




Just before anembarrassing shuffleboard loss...




Kate makes dinner for the group(butternut squash ravioli)




Jacksonville Zoo today-It was so hot, even though we got there nice and early!








Ollie loved the train




"Those are snakes Dad!"

Ollie didn't nap very well today, despite being exhausted after going to the zoo this morning. He slept about 45 minutes and woke up very stiff and irritable. His neck seems to be hurting him a lot and when we tried to go out to dinner tonight he was miserable before we even pulled out of our parking space so the uncles are bringing us some take out from Sonny's BBQ instead.

We've been watching The Lion King and trying to get him comfortable. We gave him some medicine but even the smallest movement causes him to wince. This has happened before, and after a good rest he's felt better. Let's hope this is the case again.

Happiness mixed with sadness

We had a lovely day yesterday. We spent our morning at the beach, and afterwards we ate lunch at a place called "Aunt Kate's". It overlooks the water and Ollie liked watching the boats. Chris had a fish wrap and I had blackened fish tacos. I've never had fish tacos before, how come nobody ever told me how delicious they are? I would have started eating them about 28 years sooner. Ollie had a cheese quesadilla, we tried to get him to order fish but he can't bring himself to eat any of Nemo's friends.

We watched the fireworks over the Castillo de San Marcos. They were beautiful, Oliver liked them even more than the fireworks on the ceiling of the limo. Each brilliant burst of color made him smile more than the last, and his eyes didn't leave the sky once during the 20 minute display. Talk about great toddler attention span.

We didn't even see the fireworks, not really, we took turns holding Oliver so that we could each watch HIM. We didn't stop smiling either, watching him enjoy something with such innocence, reveling in the simple joy of bright light and loud sound, was better than any fireworks display in the entire world. But at the same time it brought us an incredibly deep sense of sadness, because despite it all, and despite how hard we try to live in the moment, we could not stop wondering about the very real possibility of this being the last 4th of July display Oliver would ever be able to see.

But we can't allow ourselves to think like that, we can only think about the present, and presently we are about to go in the pool, which Oliver has been loving! Enjoy each moment and go give someone you love a hug and kiss.

More photos from the photo shoot

We have so many favorites! Here are a few of all three of us. Happy 4th of July everyone.

Travel Day

We woke up bright and early, earlier than Dunkin Donuts even opens. Our limo came and picked us up at our house and it was a great having someone else drive and not feeling rushed. Ollie thought the firework lights on the ceiling were magical! He was so cute, he kept pointing to them and looking at us, as if to say "Uh guys, are you seeing this too??"

Our flight was delayed, but only by 25 minutes so we had time for breakfast and watched other planes take off. Ollie won "Toddler Traveler of the Year", he did so great on the plane! On the other hand I had to keep telling Chris to stop throwing his Cheerios and kicking the seat in front of him. ;)

We arrived in Jacksonville without a hitch, picked up our sweet Chevy Malibu and headed to Saint Augustine. We spent some time in the pool, picked up some supplies at Target and had butternut squash ravioli for dinner. Here are some pictures:

Sitting next to Dad in the limo




Playing with my new JetBlue plane




Daddy flying my new airplane




Oooo this pool is so warm!




I cannot believe how many Disney animals are at the condo!