Walt Disney World: Chef Mickey and Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage

*this post is VERY picture heavy*

This year Dominick turned 5 and we decided to take him to Walt Disney World for his birthday. He had just started Kindergarten, but we really wanted to celebrate his actual birthday there so we pulled him from school for 4 days. Day 1 was his actual birthday, but we decided to keep it simple and have a birthday breakfast at Chef Mickey, go to Disney Springs so he could build a light saber and then that night we had a special surprise.

We were a mess...this was right about the time we realized Malachi was starting to get pink eye

I want to say I planned our entire trip, I didn't use a travel planner, I researched for over a year and rented our condo off of VRBO.com (The Wyndham Bonnet Creek). The location was perfect and since my parents were coming to take care of the baby it worked out flawlessly...for the most part.

Dominick woke up on September 3rd really, really excited that it was his FIFTH birthday. He came out and he was also extremely disappointed when he didn't see any presents or cake. He didn't understand that this whole trip was his birthday present...I guess we should have explained that a little better (fail!). He quickly got over it when we told him we were going to a special breakfast and he was going to get to meet a few surprise characters.

Chef Mickey's was a given for his birthday breakfast. It's a character buffet style breakfast and I just knew he would love it. The fun thing about this was my parents and Malachi also joined us. Since Kai was almost 7 months, I was still breastfeeding and it was so hot in FL at that time I didn't feel comfortable taking him to the parks with us. So he got special one on one time with the worlds best Papa and Gigi. Anyways, Dominick was SO excited when he found out who the special guests were (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy) and his smile and joy were my favorite part of this whole day.

After breakfast we went to Disney Springs and Dominick picked out his light saber. It was so hot at this point and truthfully both boys were just over it so we went to activate our tickets and the memory maker and went back to take naps. Malachi was suffering from what we thought was pink eye and Dominick needed it before a late night.

Once he woke up we went to the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage. This is extra and wasn't included in the tickets, but it was a special treat for D and he LOVED it. When we checked in I told the cast member it was Dominick's birthday and they noted it. Captain Hook and Smee were there and Dominick was pretty excited to meet them. When it was time to go to the boat Dominick got to carry Captain Hook's flag! He kept saying, "I can do it!" to Ryan and I because it was much bigger than he. It was definitely a magical moment for sure. We couldn't really see the show on the castle all that well, but it was still fun to watch and we plan on doing that again when our next little buddy turns 5.

All in all it was the perfect start to our WDW vacation!

Dominick - Five Years

Weight

43 lbs

  Height

I honestly don't know

Clothes

5T

Eating

You are a really good eater, but are also kind of picky as well. You don't love a lot of meat or vegetables. You do love watermelon, hamloaf, corn, pasta, pizza and shrimp

Sleep

You sleep through the night 

Likes

Being around your family and friends

Singing and Dancing

Swimming

Tae Kwon Do

Playing baseball

Star Wars

Paw Patrol

Going to the movies

Going on other adventures

Going to the zoo

Being at the beach

Building

 Dislikes

 Bugs

Having to be patient

Bedtime when you're not ready

Missing out on any of the fun

Getting dirty or wet 
Losing or not being first

+Your nicknames are Dom, Domi, Brown Bear, Buddy. Sometimes I'll call you baby and you absolutely HATE that. You'll immediately tell me that you are not a baby.

+You love ice cream and froyo and will NEVER be too full for that.

+You love playing on your tablet and watching movies on it as well.

+You are very independent and can play well alone, but you obviously love when we play with you.

+You are VERY active and love to run. You tell us that is your favorite part of tae kwon do.

+You are the absolute best snuggler.

+You have a great memory and can remember lots of things that we have done and places we've gone. You also remember things we told you months ago.

+You are very well behaved 90% of the time and are a great listener.

+You love reading books and always ask to read one more at bedtime.

+You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being outside. It doesn't matter what you're doing, but you love to be out side.

+Your favorite color has always been red, but lately you've said it's many other colors. I think your tried and true favorite though is red.

+We tell you we love you to the moon and back and we love you the most. You say I love you to the sun and back if the sun is out, or you love us to the heart and back. You also say I love you to the most. 

+You are super, super funny and always make us laugh.

+You LOVE Star Wars and "fighting" 

+You love to write your name and do homework in your workbook. You also started getting homework from school too.

+You do love going to school because you love to be with your friends.

+You love your family something fierce. 

+I could never explain who you are in one of these bullets, but I hope I never forget who you are at four years old.

Dominick Goes to Kindergarten!

 On August 17th Dominick started kindergarten. I didn't think it would be so hard for me, but I  think I cried from the moment he went to sleep on the 16th until I went to sleep. Dominick was SO excited he could barely contain himself. He has been ready and counting down for kindergarten for so long! To be honest I was excited for him! I know he was ready and was going to do amazing, but just knowing my baby man is growing up is a little bit hard to handle at times. I'm so proud of him though!

The one night thing about our new house is the bus stop is our drive way. So that morning we got up early, he picked out his first day of school outfit and he was ready to go! He told Ryan, "BYE!" and was wanting to walk out the door before he had even had breakfast or anything. He grabbed his backpack and we took a few pictures of our big guy. He looks SO old here.

When it was finally time for him to get on the bus he walked out and was waiting with the neighbor kids. He started jumping up and down when he finally saw the bus and he was so excited. It was pure joy! I hope to never forget his excitement on this day because it was everything and more to him. He went on the bus and Malachi and I got around. I only cried a little and thought I did pretty well holding myself together. At around 9 they had parents come in and we were able to do a little project with the students before it was time to leave them for the day. He was happy that we were there, but also ready for us to leave too. After we left I met my girlfriends at Starbucks for an afternoon of catching up. Thank goodness for them because I would have just went home and cried until 2:00.

When he got off the bus he had so much to tell me. He was truly EXHAUSTED. He went into his room for a few minutes to just settle down after school and he fell asleep. I think kindergarten is going to be a great year!

Pentwater 2017

Pentwater is a place I've gone my entire life. It's a family tradition and it's something we try to be apart of every single year. I know it means a lot to my parents and I love that we live in a location where we are able to go. When we lived in CA it wasn't as easy and I don't think we made one trip the entire time we were there. I also love that I grew up going there and now my boys have memories (Dominick at least) going too.

 

This year we drove up on the 30th and home on the 7th. We got there very late, but it was worth driving late so both boys slept the majority of the way.

Our week was spent on the beach, climbing Mt. Baldy, eating way too much ice cream, go-kart riding, putt putt golfing and celebrating America's birthday! We truly had the best week and Dominick was NOT happy to be leaving.