Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Disneyland!

During Spring Break, we took a quick girls trip to Disneyland. Although 2 nights and 3 days was short, we did get a LOT in! Our goal was to meet princesses, watch parades and of course go on some favorite rides. Since the boys have been a few times, they were really understanding about it all. They enjoyed all of that boy time with dad anyway!
The weather was so beautiful...upper 70's. Our group was Nany (my mom), Maddie and I as well as my sister-in-law Jessica, cousin Kylie and her Grandma Rose Mary.
Rapunzel was the first princess we met. She was so sweet and after standing in line for a half-hour, it was well worth it, even with a shy Maddie at first. This didn't last long, she warmed up quite well to the princesses!
Then there was Merida from Brave...
We spent quite a bit of our time in Fantasy Land...she loved riding the carousel :)
We made appointments for the girls at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique which was so much fun! I was wanting Mooms to go with more of the traditional princess look but she chose the Princess Diva :) SO funny! Of course, it was pink!
If you look in the mirror, you can see the girls hugging after Kylie was "revealed" in the mirror by her Fairy Godmother in training :) It was very magical and cute. Along with the hairdo, the girls got their make-up done, nails painted as well as were given a sash & bag. Nothing is cheap in Disneyland but I thought this was soo worth the money!
After their make-overs, we were off to see some more princesses! It was a short line and they hit the jackpot- getting to see Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella!
Ariel was our favorite...taking time with the girls, answering their questions, visiting with them at their eye-level. She was wonderful!
 

Nany & Maddie enjoying Casey Junior's Train ride
Pinochio's ride
Our second day, we got up early and hit a fun character breakfast at the Pink Plaza on Main Street. Maddie was excited about Minnie...I teared up thinking about Mia when I saw Minnie. She did chose a Minnie Doll as her souvenier for the trip. I guess I chose the same doll when I was 4 and at Disneyland for the first time :) I love that Minnie doesn't go out of style.
It did take her awhile to warm up...she's come a long way with these types of dressed-up characters!
 

 Pixar Parade in the Disney California Park
 That evening, Bryan surprised me by having dinner reservations all made and paid for at the Rainforest Cafe for my birthday! Here's Nany & Maddie being silly together :) The next morning, my real birthday, he had room service delivered. Such a sweet guy I have and I really missed him and the boys while away.
 
Then we saw Belle...
She loved Splash Mountain! So much fun! This was the "biggest" ride we hit and I'm afraid we have a thrill-seeker on our hands...she wanted to go again right away!

We also had the opportunity of meeting up with our California heart friends, the Masons!
Carlie & Maddie are both Right Hypoplasts...having very similar hearts. Carlie is now in 1st grade and doing fabulous! She's an amazing little dancer. She's always an inspiration to see and it's always so great to visit with Shannon :)

And right before we were to get on our shuttle to the airport, guess who we chased after...Goofy!?!
 
What a wonderful trip, filled with so many fun memories. I'm so glad we were able to get away and do the "princess experience" for our little princesses. Thanks to Bryan for handling everything at home and with the boys so well, and thanks to Aunt Lesa and family too for their help while we were away!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Maddie's 5!

Miss Maddie turned 5 on March 13th! Yes, it was a month ago and here I am, finally sharing about it. RSV left almost as quickly as it had come on with our girl. She spent a week low-key, at home and on oxygen when needed. She also ended up with an ear infection following the virus, 10 days of amoxicillin cleared that up. As of now, she's healthy and back to her norm :)
A Dora Guitar from Grandma A! Just what she wanted!
She was so excited about her new saddle! My folks found this adorable saddle and surprised us all with it! She's looking forward to riding her Sparky Boy a lot this spring...now if we just had some cooperative spring weather. The boys are pumped about it too. What a fabulous hobby for her and easy on her heart. She told me recently that she'd like to grow up to be a rodeo queen. Cute but we'll see. Not really this mama's thing!

She looks so grown up in this picture. She has had a tremendous growth spurt since her Fontan...putting her in the 90th percentile on the growth charts now! I never would have guessed this in a million years during her first couple years of life, she was so petite and little. At her well-child exam, she weighed 50 lbs & was 45.7" tall! I registered her for Kindergarten this past week...she's sooo excited, me on the other hand, that's another story.
Maddie with her girl cousins at her family birthday dinner...they're all such pretty girls!
 
 
The following day, she had her first "friend" birthday party...8 little girls under the age of 5! It was a blast! She chose a mermaid theme...so they swam in the 'mermaid lagoon' and I worked a couple of late nights sewing mermaid tales. I shouldn't wait until the last minute...
 
They wound down at the end of the birthday party with a Barbie and the Mermaid Tale movie!
And last but not least, our celebration at preschool included one of her fave's...icecream! I'd say we celebrated turning 5!