Day Three - Magic Kingdom

We began the day Thursday with a swim in the pool. After such a long day and late night on Wednesday, we decided to get a late start to Magic Kingdom Thursday. We rode most of the rides again with the exception of "It's a Small World" and Dumbo. Raylin really liked spinning in the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups! Thursday night, we ate at Ohana's. This was the best place we ate while we were there. It was wonderful! I definitely recommend Ohana's to anyone that is planning to visit Disney. We ended the night watching a water parade on the beach at the Polynesian Resort.

Playing in the pool with Gramp

Riding in the tea cups with Gunnar

Here is the gang in front of Thunder Mountain Railroad

Raylin posing in front of Cinderella's castle

Day Three continued - Magic Kingdom

Loving the monorail

Gunnar and Raylin at Ohana's

Watching the Electrical Light Water Parade at the Polynesian Resort

Some of the Electrical Light parade

Day Four - Animal Kingdom

On Friday, we went to Animal Kingdom. I think this was probably my favorite day. The best ride, Mount Everest, is in Animal Kingdom. This is the best roller coaster I have ever been on. It was even better than Space Mountain. Also, there is a fun water raft ride that Brigg, Julie and I got completely soaked on. We also watched a Finding Nemo musical that was great! We went on a safari jeep ride and saw lions, giraffes, elephants and rhinos which was a lot of fun! I think the highlight of Raylin's day was that she had her very first sucker. She loved it and got it everywhere. I took lots of pictures to document this wonderful experience for her. That night we ate at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was great African food.

Entering Animal Kingdom Friday morning

Raylin on the Safari jeep ride

Watching the parade

Raylin's very first sucker!!!

Day Five - Epcot

The last day we went to Epcot. Epcot was a lot of fun for the kids. There are a lot of activities for them to participate in, along with the Finding Nemo ride. My favorite ride in Epcot was Soarin. It was so much fun. Raylin wasn't tall enough to ride it, but I think she probably would have enjoyed it. I'm still not quite sure why there was a height requirement for that ride. We ate at Marrakesh, a Morrocan restaurant, for dinner. It was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Ohana's. Then we traveled through all of the countries, which was definitely not the highlight of the trip for Brigg and my daddy. Here are just a few pictures from our day in Epcot.

Elle Elise and Raylin on the Land boat ride

Raylin and I in Mexico

One of Raylin's many facial expressions on the Finding Nemo ride

Raylin and Brigg after the Journey into Imagination ride with Figment

We're off to see Mickey!!!

We are leaving tomorrow morning at 5:00 am for Disney World. I'm not sure how this trip will be with a 9 month old so I have done lots of research on the internet and read lots of advice about traveling to Disney with an infant. The best tip I read for those of you who are planning a trip: If you rent a stroller at the park, these strollers get stolen a lot of times while you are in an attraction. To prevent this, take one of your baby's diapers, wet it, roll it up like you do before you throw it away and leave it in the stroller before you go in. This will almost guarantee your stroller will be there when you get back. Not too many people want a stroller with a "used" diaper in it :)!!! Okay that's my Disney tip before we go and I'm sure I will have lots more useful info when we return. By the way, we are taking Raylin's stroller. I think she will be more comfy in it and we will definitely be needing it in the airport.

Playdate with Caroline

Saturday night, we went over to the Sharpe's house for dinner. Raylin and Caroline played on the quilt a good portion of the night. They were so cute dressed alike in their Baby Lulu outfits. They are going to have so much fun growing up together. I hope they will be the best of friends like Amy and I were. Thanks Amy and Art for a great night and a great meal. We had lots of fun!

Raylin and Caroline

Look how much longer Raylin's legs are than Caroline's. She has a good 5 inches on her! Although, they are about 5 months apart.

I know it looks like she is clobbering Caroline in this picture, but my sweet angel wouldn't do that! I bet she is just trying to give her a hug! HA!!!

They are ready to get up and go somewhere!

Nine Month Checkup

Yesterday we went for Raylin's 9 month checkup since we will be in Disney World next week. I cannot believe she will be 9 months old next week, September 4th. She had a great checkup. Dr. Joe's exact words were "She looks and acts like a perfect nine month old." So that was wonderful to hear and I'm sure he doesn't just say that to everybody :) !!! He did say that by the looks of her gums, she should be getting a tooth or some teeth in the next few weeks. That is just what she needs to happen during our Disney trip. I'm sure that will make her one happy traveler. We did get some more wonderful news. He said she doesn't have to take Alimentum formula anymore. Yeah, Brigg and I get a raise!!! He switched her to soy formula because he said that would be the easiest to transition to from Alimentum. She seemed to like it last night, so we will see. I think anything would taste better than Alimentum! She now weighs 17 pounds, 6 ounces and is just under the 5oth percentile for her weight. She is 29 3/4" long and is just over the 90th percentile for her height. Tall and skinny - great features to have!!!
I will post 9 month pics when we get back from Florida. Have a great Labor Day!!!

Cheering for the Bulldogs!!!

We went over to the Edwards' last night to watch the MSU game. Raylin and Hank cheered for the dawgs all night. Although they didn't cheer loud enough by the looks of the final score. But they sure did look cute in their MSU outfits. We had a great time! Thanks Chad and Andrea!

Dressed and ready to go!

GO BULLDOGS!!! This is where Raylin stayed most of the night. She loves Hank's swing!

Look at this cutie all dressed up to cheer for the dawgs!!!

"Mama, I'm really liking game night! Can we do this again next week?"

Happy 30th Birthday to Christine and Bryan!!!

Our good friends, Christine and Bryan, celebrated their 30th birthday Saturday evening at the new bowling alley. We had so much fun! I even won a game (Sorry Dabbs, I had to put that in)! I haven't been bowling since high school and I forgot how much fun it is. We will definitely be going back soon!

Look at my rain boots!!!

Raylin finally got to wear her rain boots. She kept bending down and staring at them. I think she was wondering what the heck her mama dressed her in. Well I hadn't posted in a while so I thought I better put a picture on here before I got a dirty email from my "two" faithful readers. Praise God for the rain!!! We definitely needed it!

My New Do!!! (Keri, this picture is just for you!)

I got my hair chopped off this week and a few peeps have asked me to post a picture so here it is. Thanks to Roxanne at Stella Salon and to my good friend Nea Nea for telling me about her. I'm really enjoying my short do!

Pinelake Baby Dedication

Tonight we had Raylin dedicated at Pinelake, but as Chip said it should be called "Parent Dedication." We promised to raise Raylin in a Godly home and to be a Godly example for her. Brigg and I will continuously pray for this precious daughter that God has given us to raise and we pray that one day she will accept Christ as her Saviour! Thank you to everyone that came to help us celebrate this special moment in Raylin's life. Our sweet friends, the Edwards' and the Segrests' were there with us along with our precious families! We love ya'll!

What else can you do when it is 105 degrees outside???

We took Raylin to the pool thinking this would be a great way to cool off. But, the pool water felt like bath water. Of course Raylin loved it, but it was just a little bit too warm for me so her daddy stayed in the water with her. She had the best time laughing and splashing water everywhere. As you can see by the pictures, I was practicing with some of the different options on my camera while they were swimming.

Happy Eight Months to Raylin

Raylin was 8 months old yesterday. She is getting so big. She is now sitting up well on her own. She will fall over when she gets excited and her head knocks her off balance. She is talking all the time. When we are in the car, she is talking or singing nonstop. She is such a joy! She still will not eat well. I am not sure what we are going to do about this. I know that she continues to grow on formula, but I really think she should be eating baby food now. She just will not have anything to do with it. She turns her head and clasps her lips shut. I have tried to give her mashed up banana, french fries, banana pudding and lemon mousse. She will not eat it. So if anyone reading this has had this problem with their child, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Raylin is scooting or rolling everywhere. When I leave her on a blanket, she is half way across the room when I come back. She will try to get up on her hands and knees, but does a nose dive everytime. I don't think she is quite strong enough for crawling yet. Everything makes her laugh now, especially the sight of her crazy mama and "Miss Spider's Tea Party."
These are just a few pictures I took the day before and the day of her 8 month birthday.


"Mommy, how many more pictures are you going to take?"

Yesterday, we went to Philadelphia to take Janet to lunch for her birthday. We also went to see Gran and my grandmother, Mom in Louisville. Raylin loved playing with Mom's face as you can see by this picture.

"Look at my long legs! I'm going to be tall just like my daddy."

"I guess I will smile once for you Mama since you have taken pictures all day!"