Wizarding World and More Florida Holiday Fun!

 As part of my resolutions for the new year, I am trying to get back on my regular blogging.  Does that mean I have about a year of backlog I need to catch up on?  Yes, yes it does.  But I caught up once before so I am going to try to do it again. What would be helpful is if I had a timeturner, but sadly, they don't actually sell those at Universal Studio's Wizarding World!

As I mentioned in our last post, the MPS Conference this year was the traditional "Disney" conference taking place in Orlando. We had attended the last Disney conference in 2019 and then the world shut down 3 months following due to Covid. Little Sweetie had been in Kinder and Will in 4th grade...it feels like a lifetime ago! 

Although we really wanted some down time this holiday (I feel we have gone nonstop since Little Sweetie and I's choir trip to Rome last Christmas), we had decided to go to this conference so that we could take our Harry Potter-loving Little Sweetie to the Wizarding World at Universal Studios and so we could have a quick visit with Mimi and Pop Pop. 

Due to school schedules, we only planned to attend the last day of the conference, but that got messed up thanks to plane delays for a broken closet door.  Ay yi yi.  We did manage to see a few Sanfilippo friends though!

Ready to travel...but ended up sitting on the plane for a few hours (with a deboarding and reboarding and a new flight plan) before we finally were able to take off. 

Finally made it to Orlando!

Will was so happy to see Ms. A!

Thankfully, our hotel room was comfortable and Little Sweetie was excited about the fainting couch and decided to sleep there. 

     

We enjoyed breakfast and got to see our friend, J, and Santa and Mrs. Claus!

And then we were off to Universal Studios! We only had one day in the park so we worked to make the most of it. 

Ready to start our adventure!

Will was getting excited while Little Sweetie rode her first roller coaster of the day!

And now, for the main event, Dragon Alley!

     

Very magical watching Little Sweetie take it all in!

The first dragon fire might have startled her a bit!

"You're a wizard, Will!"

It was bittersweet to be back at Universal nine years after's Will's Make-A-Wish trip. He's changed so much since then and it's hard not to focus on the things he's lost. But I am grateful he could visit again!

He did still enjoy Dr. Seuss Land though!

     

Now, Little Sweetie was beyond excited to pick out her own wand from Olivander's!

     

Hogwarts and chocolate frogs!

Waiting in line with Momma! Even with fast passes, we had to wait quite a bit for the Raptor coaster and for Gringott's because it kept breaking down (and broke down with us on it! Thankfully, we were at the end of the ride when it happened).

     

Platform 9 3/4 and the Leaky Cauldron (along with her new owl, Snowball)!

     

It was a long day, but so worth it!

We spent the next morning packing up and getting ready to head to Palmetto. But first a quick walk around Disney Springs!

Fueling up!

      

      

Enjoying all the sites and decoration at Disney Springs!

We then drove over to Mimi and Pop Pops for a quick visit and an early Christmas. It was so nice to enjoy family time, swimming, and holiday fun.

Will checking out the pool!

      

     

     

Lots of fun opening presents and building gingerbread houses!

Merry Christmas!

Headed home on Christmas Eve for our first Christmas in our new house!

It was a very quick trip, but worth it. I am so glad we got to give Little Sweetie the Harry Potter experience and that we got to spend time with Mimi and Pop Pop at the holiday. I wish we could have had longer, but I am glad that we made it safely home to start making Christmas traditions in our new house. What a year it has been!

Good night and Merry Christmas! 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

June 11: We've Made it to 14!

So many milestones this past month, the most important of which is celebrating our not-so-little baby turning 14! Let's dive in to all the fun of the end of school, start of summer, and recognizing the blessing of another year with our favorite boy.

One of my favorite parts of the past month was celebrating the gift of my two babies on Mother's Day! Little Sister sang that day with Choir at church, so it was a beautiful way to start the day with our close friends.

Mother's Day with some of our favorite Mommas!

     

The gift of this family is one I cannot put into words.

We also celebrate MPS Awareness Day with our favorite rare disease advocate on May 15!

Care about rare!

And then the school year came to an end. Somehow, my baby boy has graduated 8th grade and is leaving intermediate school for high school next year. There is a complex amount of feelings around this milestone that involves processing grief (all milestones cause some level of grief as the life we live with Sanfilippo means that these milestones look different than what they would for a typically progressing child) and a deep sense of gratitude for even reaching this milestones (when so many other Sanfilippo families may not). 

He enjoyed this 8th grade clap out and party!

8th grade awards ceremony! Little Buddy earned both All A Honor Roll and the Language Arts Award of Merit for his program!

     

Excited for the end of school!

Last day of 8th grade! On to high school!

And now it was time to jump into summer!  Usually, the first week of summer break, we try to stay lazy.  Sadly, that wasn't in the cards this year as we used the first week to fully move into our new home! Yes, we are now living in the new place and cleaning out the old one to live in it!

Waking up for breakfast in the new house!

     

Trying out the splash pad in the new neighborhood!

Our second week of summer left little time for relaxing as well...it was time for VBS!

     

Another year as the games helper!

     

And another year of starting Little Buddy's birthday celebrations!

The end of VBS leads into our annual Lemonade Stand benefitting the Cure Sanfilippo Foundation. It was a great day of record breaking fundraising (we raised over $6,000!) and a fun way to continue Will's birthday celebrations.

Excited after a great sale!

We started the next week off with another favorite camp: WOW Science Camp! It was a bit crazy to have it and VBS back-to-back this year, but we were glad Little Buddy's birthday was also going to be during a week where he was surrounded with people who cared about him.

     

Loving the Sound unit at WOW!

And then it was someone's Birthday Eve! Little Buddy seemed excited about his last night of 13.

     

Last evening of 13!

And then it was his birthday! It was a wonderful day of family, presents, and fun surprises!

Birthday presents are ready!

Cellist playing Happy Birthday to him at WOW Science Camp!

     

It was also Color Day at camp, so he was excited to paint!

After camp, we went to celebrate at Chuy's for lunch with the special treat of Mimi and Pop-Pop being in town!

Happy birthday peach pie!

     

Present time with help from Little Sister!

     

A beautiful day for our beautiful 14 year old!

Height and Weight

Well, we had been staying consistent in weight, but today's 121.2 pounds has me a bit nervous. We are having low eating issues again which has me concerned. The dentist concerns we have two loose baby molars left and I don't think those are helping the situation at all. We are going t have to pull out all the calorie loading punches it seems!

Keep eating all the things, please!

Personality

Continued smiles and interactions, but still some sleepy beepy moments. We also think the medication he is on for his toenail fungus issues (yes, because we are basically a man now and have man feet issues!) is contributing to his sleepiness, so we will talk to his doctor about taking a break.

v     

Happy boy!

Developmental Changes

As I mentioned above, just sleepy. He is currently the king of the power nap! Overall, though, he is doing very well and adapting well to the new house. 

     

Taking a rest during VBS and after the Lemonade Stand.

But sometimes I think this "sleepiness" is an attempt to lull us into a false sense of security. I think he's sleeping and ok to be left unattended for a minute while I change the washer or go to the bathroom, only to come back to find he's somehow gotten himself off the couch by himself and set out exploring! He's still doing well with his mobility, but we don't leave his stability to chance.

 

Caught him trying to get off the couch!

     

Another time, he went for an unattended walk. Thankfully, Little Sister caught him. He was so proud of himself!

Fun Tidbits

Once again, our talented photographer, Ms. J, provided us with these beautiful birthday pictures of our favorite boy in our new neighborhood. Blessed to have these images!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

Never take one moment for granted!

What a wonderful month and birthday celebration it has been! Now we'll continue on with camps and prepare for our big trip next month to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the Badlands!

Good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma