We are going to Disney!

Those who follow our Instagram already know that,... however if you are not following us, don't worry, I will make the big announcement here: We are going to Disney World in Orlando!!! Can you imagine how excited I am ?!?!?!?!

In fact we were looking for a vacation in a Resort or a Cruise ship where we would be able to rest and relax from this craziness that is our daily routine, but we ended up changing our minds.

This will not be our first trip to Walt Disney World. Hubby and I have been there in 2005 (feels like another lifetime) when we still lived in Brazil. That was a huge deal since it was our first trip abroad. We made the reservations through a travel agency, but we were not in any kind of guided tour or group. We were relying on our skills and abilities in an age with no wi-fi connection for internet and no GPS (we actually used something made of paper called Map - and we survived!!!!)

I remember how much we enjoyed that trip. We visited the four main theme parks from Disney World (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom) and two parks from Universal (Island of Adventures and Universal Studios).

Our first park was Animal Kingdom and there I got emotional watching the Lion King show. OMG,... that was the moment I realized that dreams do come true! We enjoyed every second of that trip,... watched the parades, got to meet the characters, picture with the princesses,... magical times.

And now I am really excited planning this trip with Isabella. This time we decided to visit only Disney Parks. Despite the fact that I am a huge Harry Potter fan, we decided not to visit Universal parks because we don't think there are many options for Isabella.

I keep wondering about her reaction when Bella sees Mickey and Minnie Mouse!!! For those who don't know the theme of Bella's 2nd birthday party was Minnie Mouse, click here.

Ok, back to the planning, we already have the flight tickets and the place to stay in Orlando booked. We still need to to buy the park tickets and rent the car.

I also need to carefully plan the Fastpasses. There is less than a month!!!

Any suggestions or advice on how to plan a visit to Disney World with a 2-year-old toddler?

Follow our Instagram for more updates!

 PS. This post is ready since last week, but I was waiting to share some pictures from our trip to Disney World in 2005. Little did I know that we don't have the 'CDs' with the pictures anymore. Another reason to create beautiful memories with the family and take lots of photos!

We are back,... oh Summer!

Summer is finally here and I couldn't be happier! We had such a long, cold and snowy winter and almost no Spring weather.

I know, we live in Canada, so we should be used to the snow and the cold weather, but it is so good to have warm temperatures and sunshine :)

A lot has happened during the past months that I did not have time to write/post. I don't know what is happening,... life is so busy, but in a good sense. We are busy with family, work, weekend activities, some family visits,...

Yes, we had family staying with us for the Holidays. Our niece came from Brazil to spend 45 days studying English here. Those were magical, busy and snowy days. We traveled to Ottawa and Niagara while she was here.

Isabella is doing well at the daycare. She loves spending the day with her teachers and friends (by the way, I received some questions on how the process to pick a daycare was, and I am writing about it). Isabella also started ballet classes - it is a 'mommy & me' type of class and we love it! Ms. Jessica (the teacher and studio's owner) is an awesome teacher, but this is old news if you follow us on Instagram, right?

Our family welcomed a new baby girl!!! Yep, I am an Auntie again,... My sister had a beautiful and precious baby girl in the end of March. My mom flew there to stay with them and help with the baby.

After staying a while with my sister and her family, my mom stopped by for a quick visit,... she came to spend the Easter weekend with us. It is always a joy to have my mom around, specially during Easter. Isabella and vovó (grandma in Portuguese) had a great time together.

It was Isabella's first egg hunt,... she was so excited (once she was able to understand how it works). The egg hunt was just for the pleasure of finding 'not so' hidden eggs - because there was no chocolate or candies inside them. We didn't give her any of those things yet.

This is a quick update on a few things we have been doing these past few months! We still have a post about Isabella's 2nd birthday coming soon,.... stay tuned!

Bye,... ciao 2015!

It's been a year since we had our closing. I can remember all the mixed feelings really well, I mean the mix of happiness and anxiety...

Seeing our house the way we planned it to be was awesome. Learning how to install the appliances, moving ourselves and installing a garage door opener (with the help of our best friends) were also great adventures.

I had so many plans for this blog and for my house however I didn't have the time I needed to make all of them happen. But I cannot complain, we achieved so much this year,... we learned so much about the house and how things work.

Some milestones lived this year:

• we moved into our home;
• we had a great time with our friends;
• we went to Brazil to visit our family;
• we saved our grass (sodding);
• we had lots of visits to Home Depot, Lowe's, Canadian Tire, Ikea and of course Home Sense;
• we enjoyed two amazing road trips, one to Frankenmuth and another to New York (posts almost ready)
• our first Halloween was spectacular;
• the Christmas atmosphere is still around;

And right now we are preparing the 1 year inspection to be submitted soon. Luckily we didn't have any major issue - only some cosmetic things.

Overall, 2015 was a great year. Just a quick recap:

Installing our appliances

Kiki helping us

Temporary shades - that are there for almost a year now!

Halloween

Halloween

First Christmas in Our New Home

Wishing you guys a fabulous 2016!

Christmas...

I can't believe another year is almost gone.

So it brings us to the beauty of the end of the year events. I love Christmas,... and this is the first one in our home.

We didn't have a Christmas tree (and ornaments) till this year. It was awesome to enjoy each moment that we planned and prepared our home for the "most wonderful time of the year".

Kiki tried to help us, but we thought she wasn't so comfortable being a Christmas tree!

We got some special ornaments from Bronner's - a store in Frankenmuth, Michigan - that is known for being the world's largest Christmas store. They customize ornaments for you. Of course we couldn't miss this opportunity, since is our first Christmas in our Home.

It says: First Christmas in Our New Home

We also got some ornaments that represent us. Ron chose a snowman in a motorcycle and we picked one for Kiki - so cute;

I am so excited for our Holidays!

We wish you a very merry Christmas and a great 2016!