Disneyland- Happiest Place On Earth

We returned yesterday from the best trip ever! Thanks to Disney's 'Give a Day, Get a Day' program at the beginning of the year, we were able to earn free tickets to Disneyland. (Maddie is under 2 so she was free)

We spent two nights at Homewood Suites in Garden Grove. Thanks to my Hilton points, we got a free night plus it was super affordable.. we received dinner the evening we arrived including free BEER & wine. Hot tip: The plastic cups hold more than the glasses. :) Anyhow, the room was great, had a kitchen and a separate living room so the cheeky monkey could sleep. This is the first time she's actually slept well away from home... I wonder if it's because we put her in the closet?! Think "cozy" instead of "abusive". The day we visited the park, she didn't nap and was EXHAUSTED... she passed out as soon as we got to the shuttle and couldn't wait to get to her private hideaway. :)

The hotel had a shuttle that took us to the park and picked us up when we were ready to go. The $8 ride was less expensive than the $15 parking at Disney.

The day started with free breakfast at the hotel and we were off by 9:00 am. Maddie didn't spend any time at all in her stroller but I'm so glad we brought it to lug all of our stuff.

We walked through Main Street to the castle. We stopped to have our picture taken a few times and Maddie was so excited she could hardly stand it! It was a pretty warm day (high 80's) but we made sure to drink lots of water. We went on quite a few rides and even some that Matt and I had never been on before. I didn't miss standing in line for one hour+ to get on Indiana Jones one bit.. instead we enjoyed 10 minute lines and flew to Neverland and experienced the magic through our little one's eyes. This being a mom thing is pretty cool!

I seriously teared up as we were watching the Celebration Parade. I was so excited for her and I couldn't believe we were there.

Maddie looked absolutely adorable in her Minnie Mouse dress complete with Minnie Ears, her name on the dress, and matching socks. We had a few people stop to ask if I made it.. and another mommy said she really liked the shirt I made for myself. It says "Princess Mommy" on a pink Minnie head, complete with crown. I made her a shirt for the day we left too... turned out pretty cute but it was hard to find short sleeved shirts right now so next year I'll need to plan ahead a little better.

Maddie had absolutely no fear when it came to meeting the characters. She met three princesses, Tiana from Princess Frog, Jasmine and her favorite, Cinderella. She also met Goofy, Minnie Mouse, and Mickey. They all signed her autograph book that I made just before we left on the trip. I wasn't sure if she was old enough to be ok with the masked characters, but she was fine and really happy to meet all of them. She loved Minnie's hug and she and Mickey touched noses.. so sweet. Unfortunately we missed Tinkerbell, her obsession, but we did pick up the newest Tinkerbell movie and watched it a bunch of times at the hotel. We did get to visit Pixie Hallow (where Tinkerbell lives) and that was pretty fun.

When all was said and done, we did everything we had wanted to do and it was past our normal dinner time. We walked over to Downtown Disney hoping to eat at the Rainforest Cafe, but it was 7:00 and we couldn't wait another 75 minutes to get a table.. surely we'd have a meltdown before then! We enjoyed some Mexican Faire at Tortilla Joe's. Matt and I ate there last time we went and it wasn't bad but Rainforest Cafe would have been fun... next time.

Matt, who doesn't normally like crowds or amusement parks of any kind, is actually looking forward to going again. This trip turned out better than I ever could have imagined. I found lots of printable things to make for next year and want to start on a fancy autograph book when her birthday planning is over.

Life is just Tinker-ific!

We saw sparks of magic when these two noses touched!


Here's one for the grandparent's albums



Let's watch Tinkerbell AGAIN!


Will the real Minnie Mouse, please stand up!






All smiles here!

Another Great Visit

Papa and Grandma Lena came out for a short visit before Papa's eye surgery. (Think of him on Wednesday) Of course Maddie had a boogie face again... seems to happen all the time these days.
Thank goodness we didn't run out of tissues and hand sanitizer and hopefully everyone made it back without catching anything.
Maddie is so much more active these days and I think her independence surprised them a little. Every month she can do so much more than the last.

They brought her a cookie monster to add to her "babies" collection. Hmmmm.. which one ISN'T a MONSTER?! Hard to tell on some days! lol


Maddie showed her grandparents all her favorite hangouts...

Slide Action



Of course, the swings! Higher and Higher!



Come into my "house" Papa!


Clapping for Papa as he reaches the bottom... she wore them out!!!




Here she is telling Papa she knows all her letters and numbers. This photo reminds me of one with my grandpa when he was putting together a doll house for me one Christmas... Tom reminds me a lot of my grandpa. Loves to talk to anyone and always has a story (and knowledge) about everything.


Dancing with Grandma. Hang on tight.. she's a wild one!





She amazed them with her singing ability too.. bust out that microphone and she's no longer shy. Lots of ABC's and some I'm a little TeaPot. She doesn't always take requests. :)



I wonder what she thinks is in that purse?!.. something good no doubt.


Even Syrah Got into the act.. happy belated birthday Syrah.. you turned 1 year old at the beginning of September.. you sure have changed. Still a kitty but no longer petite.. more of a 'robust' Syrah these days!



They had a great time playing and I know Maddie was missing them today. We explained we'll see them on the computer and in November we'll be visiting and seeing snow! Can't wait to take her sledding.. Papa better get some rest before we arrive.

Side Notes: Aunt Mary.. I'm sooo sorry for not writing back. I will soon, I promise!
and Kathy B, I was thinking about you and your family on the 11th and have been meaning to call forever... much love!

Happy Grandparent's Day!!

I don't think I realized such a holiday existed but thought I'd share a little love to Maddie's grandparents!
Hope you have a beautiful day and thank you for being such a special part of Maddie's life.

Yesterday we visited an alpaca farm, Alpacas At Windy Hill in Somis. Maddie woke up with a cold (again!) but she was a trooper and so we decided to go. She was pretty crabby and refused to wear pants, but once she saw those furry animals, she was all giggles and smiles. She loved feeding them and they loved to smell her hair. We weren't there very long but it was a fun experience.

They have an open house once a month, if you're looking for something to do on the second Saturday of the month, you should check them out. www.alpacalink.com

Big Smiles For Labor Day Weekend

It's always nice to have 'Daddy' home for an extra long weekend. We spent our non-laboring days at the beach with friends and today, lunch at the park. So much fun and I got some cute photos of the cheeky-monkey.







Happy Birthday Uncle Erik! (Wednesday)
Here's our little singer wishing you a good one!



Not sure how this started but we asked Maddie how old she is to prepare her to start saying "2". She must have heard me more than once tell people how old she is by saying "__ months". Well, this little smarty thinks everyone is 20 months (she's actually 22 but no telling her that).

Listen for yourself



We're now on Skype. If you have DSL or a decent internet speed and a camera for your computer (so cheap) you too can sign up for an account on Skype and video chat with us. We tried it over the weekend with Papa and Grandma Lena... so awesome!!! Free calls and they get to see Maddie, at least until she gets bored with sitting in the office. Just plug in my email address to add me to your contact list. (My mom and dad need to do this!)

Tomorrow is our first day of school (Horizon Hills 2 year old program)... it will take awhile to get into the swing of things and get going out the door without any major meltdowns. These days the smallest things seem to set them off and not taking a nap isn't helping with the mood either.. hers or mine! :)

I'm looking forward to the school year and making new friends. Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend!