All in Kids

Doll Shenanigans

Doll Shenanigans

Brittany Payne
Randomness, Kids

For Melody's first Christmas, her Nannie gave her an American Girl doll.  It took her about 6 months to really become interested in her doll, but when she did, she became obsessed!  She now sleeps with it in her crib at night, and it goes with us on almost every trip.  Well prior to us moving it to her crib, each night we would take turns setting the doll up so that it appeared she got into certain shenanigans each night.  We did this most nights for about 6 months or so.  Some nights we didn't do anything too fancy.  And a lot of nights it was a real stretch to come up with anything!  Well below are some of my favorites!

Disney Packing

Disney Packing

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Packing for Disney can be quite a challenge.  The challenge becomes even more difficult when a baby/toddler is involved.  I had to make quite a few lists in addition to my usual travel checklist.  I wanted to share some of the packing tips/tricks/advice I have.  I am certain my advice isn't perfect, but I know every little bit helps!

Melody Lately

Melody Lately

Brittany Payne
Kids

It has been awhile since I did a Melody post.  I don't have a lot of schedule changes like she did her first year, so I don't feel like I am updating about her as much.  So I thought I would do a post all about Melody lately!

Snow Day

Snow Day

Brittany Payne
Household, Kids

Over the last week, we have had a few "snow days".  In most cases, if there is a chance of snow, schools begin to close.  Schools closed Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday [so far!].  And since Monday was a holiday, they were out of school then too.  My husband's work also was cancelled for Friday and Tuesday.  Friday was lackluster, and we didn't get any snow.  However, Tuesday we did get some.  It wasn't a lot by any means, but it was enough to get out and play in for a bit.  This was Melody's first opportunity to really play in snow.  She seemed to really love it.  So much so, she wasn't very happy to come back inside!

Disney Day 6 - Friday

Disney Day 6 - Friday

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Today was a sad day.  It was our very last day at Disney!  While we were excited about some of the things we had planned, we were also sad that our trip was literally almost over.  It was also a misty day.  It wasn't raining enough for a poncho, but it was sprinkling enough to frustrate you!

Disney Day 5 - Thursday

Disney Day 5 - Thursday

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Today was an early morning.  We had a breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest at 8:20 am.  I wanted to be there fairly early so that we would be able to get in closer to 8 and take a few pictures with a fairly empty park.  Our only other reservation for the day was for Emily and Justin at Hollywood and Vine for dinner.  We also had Fastpasses scheduled in Magic Kingdom after breakfast.

Disney Day 4 - Wednesday

Disney Day 4 - Wednesday

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Today was meant to be our "break" day.  We did have lunch reservations at Biergarten at Epcot along with a couple of Fastpasses.  None of our Fastpasses were "required", but since we had a park ticket that day, we opted to book some Fatpasses just in case.  The night before, Brad and I decided to try and make it to Epcot at park opening and do a few things before lunch.  Then we could spend the afternoon and evening around the resort or at Downtown Disney.

Disney Day 3 - Tuesday

Disney Day 3 - Tuesday

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Tuesday was scheduled to be our busiest day yet.  We planned to visit three parks - Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom.  We had breakfast reservations at Garden Grill at 8:05, an hour before park opening.  Then we had Fastpasses to the Na'Vi River Journey between 7 and 8 pm.  The park closes at 8.  So it was going to be a very, very long day!  Long, hot, busy days tend to lead to breakdowns.  Check out ours below!

Disney Day 2 - Monday

Disney Day 2 - Monday

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Our second day of our trip to Disney was actually our first full day in Orlando.  Since we traveled so much the day before, we decided to take the morning easy.  We made lunch reservations at the Garden Grill for noon.  So that was our only true deadline.  Our plans otherwise were to spend the day at Epcot.  We had a few Fastpasses for that afternoon and dinner planned at Chefs de France.

Disney Day 1 - Sunday

Disney Day 1 - Sunday

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Since we opted to drive to Disney with an 18 month old, we decided to leave our house as early as possible.  We wanted Melody to sleep as much of the drive as we possibly could.  We opted to leave at 2 am.  On a "normal" drive, it takes 10-11 hours.  Plus there is an hour time difference.  We usually only stop once for food and, at most, once for gas.  I knew that was not going to be the case with this drive however.

Baby Travel Checklist

Baby Travel Checklist

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

Before having Melody, we traveled all the time.  Whether it was a visit to simply see family or small trips to the beach or even large trips to New York, traveling is a part of us.  After having Melody, traveling did slow down, but we still traveled quite a bit.  In the last six months we have tried to make an effort to slow down on traveling.  But traveling cannot be avoided.  So I decided to try and make it easier.

December 2017 Disney Planning

December 2017 Disney Planning

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

So we just got back from a trip to Disney World.  We have been planning this trip for almost a year.  Not only was it Brad, Melody, and me, but we also went with Justin, Emily (my best friend), and Lydia.  Quite a lot of planning went into this trip...a lot more than our trip back in February.  February was a much smaller trip, and there wasn't as many people to plan for!  Check out all of the details below!

Ponytail Favors

Ponytail Favors

Brittany Payne
Crafts, Parties, Kids

I recently hosted a Baby Sprinkle for my sister in law.  For her last baby shower, I made bookmark favors.  I considered making a favor that incorporated sprinkles to continue with the theme.  I thought maybe actual sprinkles, or some sort of food dipped in sprinkles and served in cute snack bags.  But I really wanted something people would use.  So I decided the favors should be ponytail holders!

Melody's Last Bottle

Melody's Last Bottle

Brittany Payne
Kids

So Melody was nearly 18 months old when she took her last bottle.  I could never get her to take formula from a sippy cup prior to 12 months old.  She would take water from a cup without a fight.  When we transferred her to milk, we did so via a bottle to make the transition from formula to milk easier.  Well that kind of bit us in the butt.  She transitioned easy, but the bottle has stuck.  She would not take milk from anything but a bottle.  Some meals I would try the milk in a cup, but she would refuse.  

Baby Sprinkle Onesies

Baby Sprinkle Onesies

Brittany Payne
Parties, Kids

Since I have a Silhouette Cameo and a heat press, I thought it was only fitting to make a few onesies for my sister-in-law's baby sprinkle that I hosted at my mother-in-law's house.  My MIL's house has a fireplace as soon as you walk in.  Ok-not literally as soon as you walk in, but you see it as soon as you walk in.  Anyhow, I knew this would be the perfect place to hang a few onesies.

Disney with a Baby

Disney with a Baby

Brittany Payne
Vacations, Kids

So we took Melody on her first trip to Walt Disney World back in February.  I have been meaning to write a post about generally doing Disney with a baby, but the baby has been occupying my time and this post has fell to the bottom of the pile.  Anyhow, it is quite different from all of my other Disney trips.  We are actually planning another trip over the holidays, so I thought I should freshen up on Disney with a baby by finally writing this post!

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