Emma’s First Visit to the Beach

Emma finally got to see the ocean! She was very excited. As we were walking on the sand toward the water she said to me, “Mommy, how come there’s so much sand?” I tried explaining to her that the sand was all part of the ocean and so were the shells, etc. She told me that she thought the sand was only going to be in the water. It was neat seeing her reaction to the water, waves, all the sand, seashells, birds, etc. Experiencing new things with Emma is always so much fun and eye-opening for me as she makes me aware of all the little things in our world that I sometimes pay no attention to or even take for granted.

She really enjoyed collecting seashells, building sandcastles and digging.

The sound of the waves made Emma pretty nervous- she is very sensitive to loud sounds. She was so intimidated by it that she wouldn’t even touch the water. She finally agreed to go into the water if her Daddy carried her. After about 20 minutes, she began to slowly stick her toes in the water, then her legs, and eventually her entire body. Before we knew it, she didn’t want to get out of the water.

We also visited a fishing pier so that she could look down into the ocean. The view was truly amazing. She had a wonderful time exploring the seashore!
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Disney World Adventure 2008

We recently returned from Florida where we visited Grandma Aldona who broke her arm in a fall. She was hospitalized for approximately 10 days and had two surgeries to mend her wounds. She is now back home recovering. We are praying for her.

On our way home we stopped in Orlando so that Emma could see where Mickey lives. We had taken her there when she was about 16 months old but she was too young and the experience was anticlimactic for all of us. This time around, Emma was two years 10 months old and really enjoyed Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Among the rides she rode and attractions she saw were:

“It’s a Small World”

“Cinderella’s Golden Carousel”

“Dumbo the Flying Elephant”

“Mickey’s Country House”

“The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm”

“Astro Orbiter”

“Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin”, “The Magic Carpets of Aladdin”, “Mickey’s PhilharMagic”, “Peter Pan’s Flight”, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, “Tomorrowland Transit Authority” (a.k.a. “The People Mover”), “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and “Carousel of Progress”.

Some other activities included:

Emma cooling off at Ariel’s Grotto.

Boarding the Engineer section of the Monorail

Emma riding the first car of the Monorail

Watching a show at Cinderella’s Castle

It was really neat to watch Emma have so much fun throughout the day. Her favorite part however, was meeting the characters. We hit each and every character spot and Emma didn’t mind waiting on the long lines as long as she got a chance to give them a hug and a kiss. As a parent you live for moments like these. Seeing your child’s eyes light-up in joy makes yours well-up with tears as you know they will be little and innocent only once. Elena and I had a great time with Emma and look forward to many more adventures in the future.

All tuckered-out (Finally)