Where did my baby go?

Sabrina Belle turned 1 year old (10/22/2008). How did that happen? She's walking, talking (saying Mimi and Daaaeee - imagine "daddy" without the middle d's), signing (milk, more, and eat), and often responds correctly with yes and no head shakes. We ask her to do things like "put the toys away" or "find your mimi" and she does it! She loves doggies and can point them out in picture books. She tries so hard to keep up with Kendall and Owen. Fortunately, they still think she's cute and allow her to tag along most of the time.

And oh how she loves birthday cake....

The Houses visit Disney World

And what fun we had! We drove to Houston on Saturday, October 11 and spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa House, Uncle Scott, and cousins Cody, Kristopher, and Jasper. We got Sabrina settled for her week with Grandma and Grandpa and headed to the airport on Sunday afternoon. Kendall and Owen were very good travelers. Landing was a bit rough on their ears but they were very brave. It was pretty late by the time we were checked in to our hotel so we just ventured as far as Downtown Disney for some dinner and shopping. We promised Kendall and Owen they could buy one "special thing", a hat, and a T-shirt. Kendall knew before we left Dallas that her one special thing was going to be a Cinderella dress. We bought it that very first night and she wore it almost all day on Monday and Tuesday (see pictures).

We met our friends Steven, Julia, Jackson, and Robert Hall on Monday and park hopped with them all week. I think the highlight of the trip for Kendall and Owen was getting to see Jackson. The Halls moved to Phoenix earlier in the year and we hadn't seen them for about 5 months. It was great catching up.

Our agenda was something like this:

Monday - Magic Kingdom -- see as many princesses as we can see
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom -- see as many princesses as we can see, Winnie the Pooh, and maybe a pirate
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios -- see as many princesses as we can see. What? There aren't any princesses here? How about the Little Einsteins then?
Thursday - Epcot -- see as many princesses as we can see (for the novices Snow White hangs out in Germany)
Friday - Animal Kingdom -- I'm tired. I just want to hang out at the hotel. But there are cute animals and pretty flowers in the park. Ok, I'll give it a try.

It was so fun watching the kids meet their favorite Disney characters. Kendall and Owen carried on long conversations with all of the princesses. I overheard them telling Cinderella about their puppies at home and that Nana and Papa had a big dog like Bruno (Cinderella's dog). They told Belle that they named their baby sister Sabrina Belle after her. She was happy to hear that she had a name twin. And Owen, our little Casanova, got kissed by almost every princess at the park. Mulan even called him her little soldier which he still blushes about even today.

It was a great vacation. The whole family had fun and we can't wait to go back in 2-3 years when Sabrina is old enough to join us.