Breakfast with Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger Too!

While at Disney, we went to the Character Breakfast at the Grand Floridian, which is Disney's nicest property. I aspire to stay at the Grand Floridian one day, however, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get over paying for two nights hotel the same amount as I pay for my montly mortgage. But we still enjoyed a really nice breakfast. Meeting the characters was the best part, especially since they all came around to our table throughout the breakfast. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter (not the scary Johnny Depp version) were there. We wondered where Mickey was, but I guess he had another engagement. At the park, there were lines an hour long to take your picture with the characters, so even though Mickey wasn't there, this was a super way to see the characters.

Brianne wasn't scared at all, and actually loved seeing the characters up close. She loved them so much that when she saw them across the restaurant, she raised her little hands over her head, as if she were saying "Hey, over here" and clapped. It was hysterical. And I think the Disney cast members got a kick out of her excitement, since almost all of them came to visit her two to three times (they visited the other tables only once).

Because of her love of Winnie the Pooh, we decided to make this the theme of her first birthday party, which will be here before you know it!

Brianne waiting for the first character to arrive. She's wearing a special Disney outfit Grandma Mimi bought her.


It was love at first site when Winnie the Pooh came around.


They had very deep conversations about life over breakfast.


Brianne gave Tigger a pat on the nose.


Brianne enjoyed a spoon full of sugar with Mary Poppins and Grandma Mimi.

Oh Mickey, You're So Fine

We recently did Baby's First trip to Disney World. All I can say is, you've never really experienced Disney until you've gone with a little kid. All the things you would normally walk by and never notice are their favorite parts and Brianne was no exception. For example, she got a big kick out of all the screaming kids and the music that is piped in to each area.

Since it was Baby's First trip to Disney, we thought it only fitting to go to the Magic Kingdom. Brianne's favorite things were the Cinderella's Carousel, It's a Small World, the Country Bear Jamboree and the Hall of Presidents (daddy was very proud).

Grandma Mimi and Grandpa Monroe went with us, and had a blast watching Brianne's reaction to everything. We had to physically restrain Mimi from buying everything in sight. It was hard for me too, so we limited ourselves to a couple small things. Grandpa Monroe enjoyed reminding us that we could buy the same exact Disney toys at Walgreens for a fourth of the price, but it wouldn't be a true Disney experience unless you overpaid.

We got a peak into the future at all these little girls dressed to the nines in full Disney Princess outfits - make up, hair, nails, dress, shoes - the works. They have this store called the Bippidy Bobbidy Boutique where for the low low price of $300, your child can get all dolled up like a Disney Princess. I used to think that it was a huge waste of money, but after the amazing time we had, I'd spend it in a second (though I'll probably wait until she's a bit older and can appreciate it).

Here we are at the Dumbo ride. We didn't technically ride, but we had fun pretending.


If this doesn't say happiness, I don't know what does. Disney could use this photo to sell tickets.


Brianne's favorite toy, a Minnie Mouse balloon. This balloon cost $8. But she loved it so much, we couldn't resist. And we've had it in our house for about 2 weeks, so we got our money's worth for sure.


Arrrrgh me mateys! Outside Pirate's of the Caribbean.

Watching the parade. Brianne clapped her little head off when Michey Mouse rolled by.

Water Baby

I finally got my wish and got to take Brianne swimming for the first time. We went to the Weston Hills Country Club pool because they have a baby wading pool. However, when we got there, I stuck my foot in the baby pool and it was ice cold. I tested out the main pool, and it was like cool bath water. So Brianne got to go in the big girl pool to splash around. We had beautiful weather that day and enjoyed spending the day pool side.

A side note about swimmy diapers, they are not very absorpent. I put Brianne in her swimmy diaper at home and sat her in her pack n' play while I loaded up the car. I went to pick her up, and she was sitting in a puddle. Ick. Lesson learned for next time.

Here's Brianne waiting patiently to hop in the pool after getting rubbed down in SPF 60 sunscreen. She thought a SPF 5 with bronzer would get her a fiercer tan, but I had to pull rank and protect her beautiful skin!

Splashin' away on the stairs.

She took to the water like a little fish. I guess we need to sign up for some baby swim lessons. Michael Phelps watch out!

Happy Easter!

We recently celebrated Baby's First Easter. Actually, the celebration of Easter was a two week affair at the Kiars. Grandma Mimi and Grandpa Monroe went away on Easter weekend, so we celebrated "Pre-ster" the weekend before. Brianne got a jump start on wearing her Easter outfits (she had about 10 different outfits), hunted for Easter eggs and waited patiently for the Easter bunny. We also went to church, and had a very nice "pre-ster" dinner with Marty's parents.

Here we are celebrating "Pre-ster" with Easter outfit #1.


On the Saturday before Easter, we went to Flamingo Gardens (a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary near our home) to see the Easter Bunny. While we waited to see the Easter Bunny, we explored the Gardens. They have peacocks roaming around, and we were lucky enough to see one up close and personal (though from a safe distance).


Here is Brianne meeting the Easter Bunny, wearing Easter outfit #2. Even though this was being held in a beautiful botanical garden, they had the Easter Bunny in this weird outbuilding. And the back drop looked like a big garbage bag with Easter stickers all over it. Not too Easter-y in my opinion. Brianne did very well meeting the Easter Bunny, though she was most interested in the Easter stickers on the garbage bag wall.



On Easter Sunday morning, we were a little in a rush with having to go to church and all, so we didn't get to give Brianne her Easter basket until the afternoon. She got two baskets, one from Grandma Mimi (the one on the left) and one from the Easter Bunny/mommy and daddy (on the right).


Brianne really enjoyed both her baskets, though I think she was most fascinated by the crinkly pink paper shreds in the bottom of the basket. Go figure.

Since Marty's parents were out of town, Casey's in-laws, Dee and Jerry invited us to have Easter dinner at their home. We had a great time hanging out with everyone, and Brianne really enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Casey and Cousin Taylor.

Here is Brianne wearing Taylor's sunglasses. What a diva!

A Case of the Sillies

I don't know why I bother spending money on toys for Brianne. She enjoys playing with the silliest things, like tupperware. She is also very good at self entertaining. She can blow bubbles with her mouth, which is hilarious (and it doesn't hurt that when she does it, she says "maaaa... ma" to make the bubble).

Brianne practicing her bubble-blowing.

8 Months Old

Brianne turned 8 months old as of March 17, and we are quickly closing in on one year. She continues to do very well, and is an absolute joy to be around. People tell you, the first few months of infancy are terrible, but after 6 months, they rock. That is the Gods honest truth. Brianne has been a great baby ever since she was born, but every month after 6 months has been better than the last. She continues to surprise us with each new thing she learns.
She has been getting separation anxiety. This means she gets upset if you sit her down and walk away from her. I would feel special that she can't be without me, but she gets separation anxiety with whoever was holding her last. She is getting more and more independent, but when she reaches her little arms toward me to pick her up, it just melts my heart.

She has turned into a little parrot, and has started to mimic our noises and facial expressions. It's so cute and a little amazing that she's starting to put it together that she can make the same noises and expressions as we do.

Brianne hasn't started crawling yet, which I have mixed emotions about. Selfishly, it's really nice to be able to sit her down in one place and know she'll be there if I step away for a minute. However, I don't want her to be delayed and have to see a specialist about crawling. Marty and his brother Marc went from sitting to walking and never crawled, so maybe Brianne will be the same way. I'm sure the cheer we'll feel when she finally crawls will last about 2 minutes until she starts crawling toward light sockets or pulling the DVD tower down on herself.

She is starting to have preferences on certain things, like foods for example. She likes most orange foods (squash, sweet potatoes, etc) and has even eaten broccoli and cauliflower, but she is not a fan of peas. I keep trying different foods on her so she can be a well rounded eater. If it were up to her, she'd just eat yogurt and bananas. But I'm not giving up on peas just yet.

Bathing Beauty

I have been dying to take Brianne swimming. This is mostly because between birth and 8 months old, she has accumulated about 20 bathing suits. Now that it's warming up, it's time to break out the SPF 70 baby sunscreen and try on a new suit. The pool at Grandma Mimi and Grandpa Monroe's house was still a little nippy so we didn't actually get to swim, but Brianne enjoyed soaking her little toes-ies.

Brianne could be the Coppertone Baby. We have to slather on the sunscreen that's as thick as paste to protect that beautiful skin!

Brianne really wanted to jump right in!

Here she is modeling her bathing suit.

Old McDonald had a Farmer's Market

There are a limited number of things you can do outside the home with a baby that don't cost anything, so I have to get creative. We have a farmer's market down the street from our house, so we took a little field trip one Saturday a couple weekends ago. They have a really cool (though somewhat overpriced) gift shop with all kinds of neat garden things like fountains, wind chimes, statues and more. We spent a good hour in there just checking everything out. Brianne's favorite thing was the fountains. I took her out of her stroller and she had a blast dipping her hands into the cold running water.

Here is my current favorite picture of Brianne. I may be biased, but she is the most beautiful baby i've ever seen!


Brianne was contemplating the mysteries of Buddhism and the art of meditation.


Brianne had a great time exploring the fountains. This one was built out of a tree stump. Pretty cool!