Yay, I am finally getting around to posting about our Disneyland trip for Addie's 5th birthday! We are total Disney dorks and love that place! We went for four days (the 2nd day being Addie's actual birthday). Cameron's mom flew in and met us for 3 of the days and we had so much fun, fun, fun! I can't lie and say we didn't have a little bit of birthday drama, but it's pretty funny now as you will see. This is the tale of our little Padawan and all of her heartbreaks and triumphs. Warning: this is going to be really long!
Our 1st Day!
His favorite thing...kickin' back and unstrapping his shoes. We lost a shoe a few times but luckily always found it.
He clearly thought it was hilarious... =)
Having lunch in the picnic area. (This is the best kept secret! Bring your own food and eat in peace and quiet.)
We had a great 1st day in the park. It was forecast to be pouring rain the first 2 days of our visit, but it hardly rained at all! It was overcast and humid but I think it only rained a total of 10 minutes. Which meant hardly any crowds, score! We did not wait in line the first 2 days at all, it was fantastic (or fantasmic, hah). Our little Addie peanut is pretty petite and right on the cusp of the 40" height requirement for most of the rides, but with some tall Skechers she just made it. Which meant lots of new rides she couldn't do last year. No scared bones in her body, she loved all the fast ones, even Space Mountain. In fact, every time we finished a ride her token response was, "AGAIN!" (And every time Gage finished a ride, he signed and said "Allll Done!", just in case we weren't sure the ride was really over, hehe.)
Old enough to drive in Disneyland...which was the last thing we got to do our first day because right after this Addie started grabbing her ear and complaining that it hurt. We went from happy, smiling, giggling, to crying, screaming, pitiful in about 2 minutes. So, we found an urgent care close by (Seriously, how did we live before smartphones?) where we got an ear infection diagnosis and some antibiotics, hooray. 1st heartbreak.
Gage stuffing his face while we waited in the hotel for Addie and Cam to return from urgent care and Grandmama to arrive from the airport. The place we stayed had these awesome kid suites with little tables and chairs, bunk beds, free crib, and free breakfast. And it was only a 10 minute walk to the gate. (Hmm, maybe they should pay me for an endorsement...)
So now we have a sick and tired little girl the night before her 5th birthday. The day I have fun stuff planned that most 5 year old girls would want. A pretty princess dress and an appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. A sweet lunch reservation where all the princesses will come to your table. Um, I wanna do this now and I'm almost 30. Anyway, this is how we started the morning...
Yeah, she's in a great mood...I guess I'll cut her a break since she was sick on her birthday. Good thing I remembered the children's Motrin! =)
Sleeping Beauty is her favorite princess movie, hence the pretty dress. So...
Fast forward to the appointment. Here she is clinging desperately to me and crying because she didn't want to sit in the chair (shyness + tiredness + ear infection= not cooperating with Mommy's big plans). So, no dress-up. She had chosen a princess wand when we first entered the shop, and yeah, we're mean and wouldn't let her get it since she didn't want to dress up. Yeeeaaaahhh, that was not a popular decision in Addie's way of thinking and prompted the worst tantrum she has ever thrown, ever. It was awful. Needless to say, it was an emotional morning. So once everything calmed down and we regrouped, we decided to just cancel the lunch reservation and relax. So, naturally we went to the Jedi training academy. No princesses here!
Cheering and waving her lightsaber around, hoping to be chosen by the Jedi master to be trained...
2nd heartbreak. Not getting chosen. She was devastated. This kid LOVES Star Wars. And after an already emotionally trying morning, not getting chosen was like salt in a wound. Poor kid. "Why didn't they pick me, Mommy??" Yes, I'm crying too. Don't judge me, it was so sad. =P
But we did manage to get this sweet pic that day-
Love it!
Needless to say, we made it our mission the next day to make sure she was chosen, even if we had to attend all the sessions for the day. As we were waiting the next day for the first session to start I told her that if she didn't get picked we would come back again until she did. Which got the attention of the family sitting next to us, and when we explained the terrible sadness of the day before, they rallied around us so we had a nice little group cheering and pointing at Addie to get picked. It was so awesome!
Yay, she was chosen! Here she is telling one of the Jedi that she is now five.
She got a spot front and center on stage. If you know how shy and timid Addie usually is, you will now know how much she wanted to do this because she had no reservations about walking right up on stage in front of hundreds of people.
She even got to have a special "talk" with the Jedi master!
Face to face with Darth Vader...
Her dream come true. Literally. Fighting Darth Vader (with a little help from the Jedi master)! I will remember this forever.
Now officially a Padawan.
She is so small compared to the other kids, they asked us to verify her age before they would choose her. Love my little peanut.
If you need any tips about The Force, ask us. We have a Jedi-in-Training.
