Day Three

We started our day with the most amazing character breakfast!  It was money well spent to see Little Guy's awe struck face every time a new character walked in the door!  We had Chip and Dale, Tigger, Pooh, Captain Hook, Minnie, Tigger, Goofy, and others all stop by our table.  Little Guy left with a balloon (that was a real highlight!) and a few bottles of chocolate milk- another one of the treats Disneyland had to offer!  Right after breakfast it started to rain, just as promised...we thought we were prepared for the southern California rain, but it ended up being a freezing cold down pour!  We hid out in Toon Town only to find our strollers flooded when we finally emerged from the rides!  We trekked over to Pirates and decided that between the rain and meltdowns of the last two days, we would head back to the hotel for nap time.  It proved to be a good idea, Little Guy was out for 2 plus hours and ready to go when he woke up.  We tried for the parade, but the chance of showers had it canceled so we headed to CA Adventures and checked out Turtle Talk with Crush.  Our little guys were a little too young, so we just hung out in the animation theatre- they had a blast chasing the lights on the floor!  We caught the Pixar Parade for the second time and then had a bit of a dining disaster over at Soaring.  It all worked out in the end and we hitched a ride on Monsters Inc.  We haven't seen the movie, but after riding the ride, I think I need to see it, it was a really cute ride.  We were lucky enough to catch the crazy Mad Hatter Dance Party ( think ravers mixed with Disney kiddos, too funny!) and grab some Coldstone ice cream before watching the fireworks from our hotel sidewalk.  Phew, it was a cold, exhausting, SUPER FUN day, and we were in bed at 9:30, talk about your party animals!

Meeting Tigger!  He was the only one Little Guy would touch!

Scary...Hook!

Catching the Pixar Parade...it was freezing!

Photo Op with Mickey!

Buddies after the breakfast!

Waiting for the parade...it got rained out, but the boys had fun together!

Day Two

We met up with our besties the Santopadres for our second day of fun!  We all had matching shirts (Heather and I LOVE any reason to wear matching clothes!) and let me just say, they were darling!  We used our magic morning passes and hit up Peter Pan and Dumbo before the the park officially opened.  We then spent time exploring rides I had never been on like the story train and Winnie the Pooh- the Santopadres have Disneyland down to a science and they knew exactly where to go and what to do!  We had a delicious sandwich lunch and tried our luck at nap time again on Pirates.  It didn't happen this time, so we headed over to CA Adventures and did some more exploring, including the Little Mermaid ride and the merry-go-round!  Little Guy held on as best he could, but without a nap, he started melting down before dinner.  Daddy got to ride Tower of Terror with Uncle Chris, J, and Cory before we all headed over to the ESPN Zone for dinner.  We met our other besties, the Medinas, and the ESPN Zone gave us our own room (they must have known we had EXTRA cranky babies!) complete with TVs and plenty of room for the kiddos to run around!  It was the best dinner we could have hoped for considering four of the five kids hadn't napped and one had just gotten done with an eight hour car ride!  We decided then and there that naps were a necessity for tomorrow if we were going to try to make the Soundsational Parade and Fireworks!  We made it to bed early, wanting to get a good night's sleep before our character breakfast tomorrow!

Loving the jungle cruise!

Matching Family Shirts!

Meeting Minnie!

Our whole gang- thanks Auntie Heather for making our shirts!

Day One

Today was our first day in the happiest place on Earth, and it didn't disappoint!!! Little Guy was in awe from the moment we set foot on Main Street. Fellow ride-goers kept remarking how great it was to see him so excited- little did they know he gets pretty jazzed about everything, but it still brought a smile to everyone's face as he would clap and bounce in anticipation when we were next in line!  He loved seeing the characters from afar, but as soon as it was our chance to give them high fives, he was DONE ;) It was a beautiful day, Daddy was in shorts and Little Guy wore his first of many Mickey shirts! Here are some highlights from day one along with TDF pictures:

Our day started off with a 1 AM departure time and Little Guy made sure to get his point across...he was not a fan of the early time and let us know with an hour of screaming...once he was back to sleep it was smooth sailing and we arrived in Anaheim around 8:30.  A quick breakfast at IHOP which included Little Guy's first taste of juice  (the first of many "new" treats in Disneyland!) and we were off... our first character was Goofy, and I was bound and determined to get the photo, even if Little Guy wasn't.  We rode the Space Orbit rockets (puke!), Buzz Light Year (FUN!), and Tune Town before getting Little Guy some personalized Mickey ears ( I couldn't talk Daddy into any!).  The next ride was a highlight...the merry-go-round!  After back to back rides we hit up Pinocchio, the Jungle Cruise, and Daddy did Indiana Jones.  We managed to squeeze in lunch (TDF corn dogs!), but no naps.  Just as we were thinking Little Guy might make it without a nap, he fell victim to a meltdown and ended up asleep on Pirates of the Caribbean.  We headed over to CA Adventures with our sleeping baby, Daddy rode Soaring Over California (his FAVORITE ride!) and then we all hit up Toy Story Mania.  Daddy claims I only won because Little Guy was helping him, but I'd like to think it's my stellar aim.  We decided to grab a quick bite in the park, got lucky and had front row seats to the Pixar Parade and were home in bed by 7!  It was an amazing day, one we will never forget even if Little Guy may not remember it!  Blame the pregnancy hormones, or just being a sappy mom, but it made me tear up laying in bed that night realizing how big our baby is getting and how truly blessed we are to be sharing such a fun adventure together!

Hat, sunglasses, snacks, check!  All ready!

 

First character spotting...when did I get so pregnant?!?

Little Guy loves dogs, but this one is a little TOO big!

His favorite ride!

Cuteness!

Playing on the tree house while Daddy rides Indiana Jones

Little Guy's Halloween inspiration!

Happy birthday!

Happy happy birthday to my dear friend Alyssa!! We share a love for our Armadas, August babies, and July 7th due dates!!!! I can't wait to celebrate her big day tomorrow when they join us at the happiest place on Earth!!!!

All packed up!

We are all packed up and ready for our 1 AM departure!  Little Guy is on the mend and ready to go meet Mickey!  Mommy and Daddy can't wait to see his little face light up when he sees all the magic!  T-minus 5 hours and we'll be on the road!  M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!!!

I heart Amoxicillin

So Little Guy is clearly not better and it is just our luck that Daddy and I are both now sick too!  We spent the day, which started promptly at 2:15 AM when Little Guy announced he as "All Done" sleeping, consoling a very sad and weepy baby.  We scratched our trip to Truckee, both feeling like crud and not really sure what the deal was with the babes.  As the day wore on and Little Guy refused to sleep anywhere but on my shoulder, I decided to call the doctor.  We have friends with pneumonia and double ear infections, so I started to think maybe it wasn't just a cold plaguing my sweet boy.  Naturally, our local hospital isn't open for appointments on the weekends and the next closest hospital was all booked.  We waited to see if they could fit us in, and bless Dr. Martin's heart, he stayed late and waited for us to rush three towns over!  He listened to his chest, took one look in both ears and declared a double ear infection!  No wonder Little Guy wouldn't sleep laying down or stay sleeping for more than a few hours.  We started the magical pink medicine right  away and it was like our baby was back to new!  A good 12 hour night's sleep for EVERYONE in our house and Little Guy is feeling like a champ.  Daddy on the other hand is NOT fairing as well and will be resting up before our big trip on Tuesday! 

Getting Older

Today Little Guy and I hit up the park for a some vitamin D and fresh air.  There were two little girls there and they took an immediate liking to Little Guy.  It was cute at first...then it got depressing.  These cute little girls were full of sass and naughtiness.  They were quick to talk back and had no interest in listening to their babysitters or grandmas.  I watched them playing with my sweet guy and thought, "Oh Lord PLEASE don't tell me this is what I am in for as he gets bigger!!!"  While I sat there wishing for Little Guy to not get one day older, five year old Samantha started describing her grandma to her new friend...it went something like this:

Samantha- "See me grandma, she's the really old lady over there.  With short hair"

Friend- "Oh..."

Samantha- "Hers has gray hair and lots of wrinkles..."

So not only do they get sassier and talk back, they describe you in such a pleasant and self-esteem boosting manner...I can't wait for Little Guy to grow up, NOT!