Our trip to Disneyland Paris

Our trip to Disneyland Paris was our second family vacation.  We decided to drive there instead of taking a train.  It was about a four hour drive. We drove through the Campaign region of France which was absolutely beautiful.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.  Once we were there, we decided to check in a rest for a bit before exploring.

The week before the trip, I had been sick and was still sick but I didn't want to disappoint the kiddo so we still went.  Milana loves hotels.  I don't think it would matter where we went as long as she got to stay in a hotel.  She just gets so excited going into the room for the first time and she immediately climbs on the bed and makes herself comfortable.

Once we had rested from the car ride, we went to dinner and then decided to go to Disney Village and do a little shopping.  Milana loves Minnie Maus right now, so when she saw Minnie and Mickey stuffies together, she new what she wanted.  While we were in Disney Village, there was a maze  area set up and Milana had a blast running through the maze.  We decided to call it a night after that so that we could get up and get to the park in the morning for lots of fun and rides.

The next day we were up bright and early and at the park by eight.  The first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear's Space Adventure. Milana was a little unsure of herself at first, but once she figured out you could blast aliens from the cars, she began to have more fun.  Of course after the ride, the exit is right into a gift shop and she came away with a southern belle Minnie Maus doll.

Milana taking in a Small World
with Minnie

We went on the Small World ride next.  Milana really enjoyed this and we had to go on it two more times before we left.  We also went on the Teacups, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Haunted Mansion, World of Fairy Tales, Alice's Maze and Casey Steam Engine just to name a few.  It was really nice how many smaller children's rides were there.

Milana on Teacups

Of course no trip to Disney would be complete without a magical hat and Minnie ears.  Later we had a nice dinner and Milana had a chocolate shake.  She was quite happy.





The next day, we went to the Studio Park but we couldn't find too much to do there, so we did some more souvenir shopping instead and then headed back to the other park to ride some more rides. That night I wasn't feeling good and Milana was really tired so David went and took pictures of the 20th Anniversary show. I wish we were up to going because the pictures he took were great.

The next day we left.  Milana made out like a bandit on Disney souvenirs.  In total she got Mickey and Minnie doll set, Southern Belle Minnie doll, pink alien Stitch doll, Lady doll, Marie doll,  Minnie blanket, Rapunzel doll, Minnie dress-up doll, and some cups with Minnie and Marie on them. I think we all had a great time.  As always Disney seems to be magical no matter how old you are.

The last half of 2011

So it seems that I can only remember to write in this blog every six months.  Well so be it.  At least I remember it that often.  So what has happened in the last 6 months??  Well when you have a two year old life is always exciting!!


In September, we decided to go see Neuschwanstein castle.  Before our trip could even begin, we received a call from the day care provider saying that Milana had fallen and sliced her eyelid open.  This was our first trip to the emergency room.  We got to the ER and the doctor said she was going to need stitches.  Since the cut was on her eye, she had to have the old fashioned needle and thread stitches and couldn't get the glue stitches.  It took 6 people including myself and David to hold her down on the table while the doctor stitched up her eye.  It was just as traumatic for mom and dad as it was for her.  Needless to say, we were ready to get the heck out of there.


Two days later we packed up the car and drove about 4 hours to the castle for a mini-vacation. The I-pad was a definite help when traveling in the car to keep the little one occupied. We stayed in a beautiful cabin by the lake. The next day we spent most of the day walking around, talking pictures and touring the outside of the castle.  They gave tours of the inside of the castle but since Milana is so young we decided to for go that part. We can come back and tour it again when she is older.  Despite the little one having stitches, all seemed to be fine and we all had a great time.

For the Christmas holiday, we decided to head to David's parents.  This meant a 9 hour flight to the states and we were thankful that we had the I-pad as entertainment for her on the trip.  We went shopping, saw holiday lights, went to a zoo, and spent lots of time outdoors in the warmer weather.  Milana got her first hair cut.  My parents even came for a few days to visit.  I think Milana really enjoyed it all.

We aren't really sure what this year is going to bring as far as adventures.  It depends on when Milana's daycare has vacation.  Hopefully we will be able to see more of Europe.

Milana's 2nd Birthday

Here we go again, it has been almost two months since Milana's birthday and I am now just getting around to blogging about it.  I really must be more timely with these things if I want to remember everything that happened on said day. Did I mention I can believe my little baby is 2!!!  I remember carting my little baby around the house in my arms and now her feet dangle down and hit my knees when I walk.  What is it about kids getting older that makes you miss the baby phase even more?  I think it is the new found independence that they gain every day that makes you miss the tiny little baby you stayed up with all night.  Is this one of the reasons most women want more children, if so then I have fallen victim also along with other reasons.

I think Milana was one very happy birthday girl this year.   She got lots of wonderful books and toys from her family and friends.  Her grandparents got to watch her open her presents via Skype and see her squeal with delight at all the packages.  It is nice that they can share in her birthday even if they are so far away.





My little fairy loves Tinker Bell, so that was the theme this year. She even had her friend Yelina at her party.    We decided to take the girls to a large indoor fun center.  The girls had a blast climbing, jumping and sliding on the slides.  I think the parents had a pretty good time too doing all these things with them.  Afterwards, the girls got happy meals at McDonalds.  A fun time was had by all.  Since she turned two, it was time for a brand new big girl bed complete with slide.  Since the purchase of the bed it has been her favorite present.  She even puts herself the bed at night.  Best purchase ever and best birthday so far!!

Our first family vacation Crete 2011

Our first family vacation for our little family was all about the three of us.  We wanted to go somewhere that we could all relax and have fun.  Since we all like the water so much it was definitely going to be a beach.  We searched for a place geared towards little ones to make sure she was happy and finally decided on a resort in Crete.

We couldn't have asked for a better place to take playground, water loving two year old.  Our days were filled with sun, pools, swings, slides and sand.  The Mediterranean sea was blue and beautiful.  Milana preferred to play in the pools because they didn't have the sand or salt water.  The resort had a large covered playground for kids in case it rained.  Of course the slide queen had to go every day for a visit.  They also had children's group activities and drawing.  David and I took turns while it was nap time watching Milana. While I watched her, he would usually go take pictures of the beautiful surroundings and when it was my turn for free time I would usually go lay in a chair by the water and try not to appear too ghostly white.

 It was a really relaxing and fun vacation for everyone and it was hard to come back to reality.  Now we are getting ready for the big girl to turn 2 next week.  Lots of baking, wrapping and planning to do.

Trip 4 to the US April 2011

I have a very well traveled kid.  This will be the fourth time we have flown to the US since moving in 2009.  I think she is a pretty good little traveler but that not to say that we don't have help.  Eight hours is a long flight for a 1year old, especially one who likes to be up and about all the time.  Fortunately for us, we have a little thing called the i-pad.  It is especially useful on long flights for keeping the little one entertained.

We had some trouble on the way there and missed our flight from Chicago to St. Louis but we found a play area in the airport for Milana so the wait wasn't so bad.  Like I said this is the 4th time we have been back since moving and we did all of the usual fun things when we go to visit the G-rents.  Lots of park time where Milana became master of the slide, shopping, relaxing, shopping, getting ice cream and almost everything that would be fun for a little girl.  Milana was more interested in Mick my parents dog this time and they had a big time playing together.  We also a had a family picture taken of the three of us while we were there.  It was time for an update since we last time we had a picture taken at 5 months old.

Returning to Germany we hit another snag and missed our flight to Germany or rather Mr. Obama decided to fly into Chicago the same time we were and shut down all in coming flights.  It was ok because we got a really nice free room in the hotel and a nice meal.  Milana was exta excited because we were staying in a hotel.  This  kid loves staying hotels for some reason, maybe it's the big beds.  So the next day we left for Frankfurt.  All in all it was a nice visit and we enjoyed our time there.  Now that is Milana is older we are going to start exploring some of Europe and have our own family vacations.

Retro post Christmas 2010

All I can say is Christmas is just more fun with kids.  Seeing Milana open presents and marvel at all of the Christmas festivities is the best present of all. We took two weeks off of work to spend Christmas here at home. We did all of the traditional German Christmas activities like the Christmas Market, baking cookies, decorating the tree, etc.  We had to buy plastic ornaments this year because Milana was just a little too curious and broke a few of the glass ones that were up.

Most people in Germany do not make a Christmas dinner themselves instead they make reservations at restaurants that are open on Christmas Day.  Now this is a tradition I can get used to.  Not slaving over a stove all day and someone cooks for me, sign me up!  Our friends Marco and Nikki were nice enough to invite us to join their family at a Greed restaurant.

Milana got pampered with lots of presents.  My favorite present she received was a Frosty the Snowman book from my parents where they recorded their voices and it was like they were here reading it to her.  It was very sweet.  Something she will always have. Milana also received her very own apron from cousin Susan so she could help me make cookies. It was a great two weeks and I am looking forward to more fun next year.

Retro post Over the ocean and though the air to Grandma's house we go...

It was around Milana's birthday last year that I discovered I had 3 extra weeks of vacation to use from the previous year.  I thought and thought about what I would do with these extra days since David didn't have the same amount of vacation.  I decided that I would fly back to see my parents for two weeks.  The next question was "Do I take Milana too?".  Could I handle a nine hour flight with a toddler by myself?  More importantly could I haul all of the necessary toddler items and a energetic toddler too?  After much debate I decided I would give it a try and whatever happens happens.

The flight over was no sweat.  Milana was extra good and as the plane took off from Frankfort she was asleep.  Getting though Detroit airport was difficult with a stroller, car seat, large bag, toddler, purse and travel bag but I managed to make it with only an hour to change planes.  Once in St. Louis, Grandma and Grandpa were waiting to pick us up.  We stopped on the way home to get something to eat and Milana had her first taste of barbecue and gobbled it up.  We made it back to the house and there were lots of new toys for Milana to play with plus Mick the pampered pooch.

We had a blast while we were there.  Lots of shopping, going to the playground and trying the equipment for the first time, and relaxing.  We took a trip to an apple orchard.  Milana had a great time picking apples and eating the ones Grandpa peeled for her.  She especially liked the hayride that we went on to get to and from the orchard.  She also had her first professional pictures done. Milana was a little timid of Mick the pampered pooch but they made up eventually.


 Soon our two weeks were over and it was time for our long flight back and believe me it was a long flight.  Milana ended up getting snotty and which meant she didn't sleep at all and I had to hold her almost the entire 9 hour flight.  Once back in Germany, Daddy was waiting to greet us.  I think he really missed us.  He must have really missed Milana because when we got home there was a pink princess ball pit waiting for a certain little girl.  All in all it was a great trip and I was really glad that we had the courage to travel that far by ourselves.