olivia turns three

Let's all take a moment to appreciate the fact that all mothers drop the ball from time to time.  Friday, it was my turn.  I uploaded some pictures to my computer, and I obviously didn't include them all in the upload.  It makes me very sad because the ones that didn't make it included little stinker pot's third birthday cupcakes.  

IF I had made them perfectly and taken perfect pictures, they would have looked like these:

Image: Erica's Sweet Tooth

Olivia's were similar...not as rounded on the top...no white mickey buttons...lighting not as great for the picture.  I'd say maybe it was better this way because the ones in the picture above are just so darned perfect, but then we miss Olivia's sweet little smile for her birthday cupcakes.  And you miss how three of them were lined up in front of her with a candle in each.  And you miss how she had to blow at them about 10 times to get them out because she was blowing up rather than out.  It was so cute, and I'm a bit teary-eyed just thinking about how I don't have it captured in a photo. :(  I'm sentimental like that.  

I'm sorry, Olivia.

And now I'm moving on because there is absolutely NOTHING I can do to bring back those pictures, so I'll happily show the pictures that did make the cut.  

The girls talked Olivia into a Mickey Mouse theme for her birthday party because they insisted that they do a Disney Day for Olivia since she didn't get to enjoy Disney with us in September.  They have been planning this for at least a couple of months.  They are so, so sweet to her, and they just couldn't love her more than they do.  

All three girls stayed up late on a Friday night to decorate and woke up at 6:00 a.m. the following morning to make cinnamon rolls, Mickey Mouse pancakes, and the works for breakfast.  Here's sneak peek at Disney Day:

Breakfast goodies: handwritten menus, Mickey stickers, autograph book for the day

fruit tray while we're waiting for our pancakes and cinnamon rolls

Loving the day already...and who wouldn't love Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes?

Disney employees hand these stickers out everywhere.  The girls saved them for Olivia and used them in lots of places.  Love their creativity!!

Bippity-Bobbity-Boutique right in our own home!!  Complete with glitter hairspray, a tutu, fairy wings, and a sash.

1st Visit :)

She met Minnie Mouse...

...and Princess Anna...

and Queen Elsa.

The whole group together. :)

She rode Toy Story Mania.

This is a bulls-eye from TSM.  

They had her throw little sponges at the bulls-eyes that were all over the hallway.

They had the Mad Tea Party in the kitchen and used the roller coaster scene from Despicable Me as another roller coaster ride.  They put a kitchen chair in front of the t.v. and would lean the chair all around depending on which direction the roller coaster appeared to be heading. 

Is that so sweet or what?!  

At three years old, Olivia loves...

-reading books

-playing Legos

-taking baths

-playing outside

-being with her sisters

-eating snacks

-giving hugs

-being a helper

-playing with dolls

-talking

She's not so much into...

-sitting still

-trying new foods (although once she does, she often likes them)

-having her hair brushed

-being fully potty trained

-telling Daddy goodnight (not sure why?!)

Olivia,

We love you more than words can say.  You make us laugh every single day, and we can't wait to watch you grow this year.  What a joy and a blessing you are to our family!

disney: day 6

Since Day 6 was such a long day, I didn't email home about it.  Not that I'm making it up as I go, but this post might not be as detail oriented as previous ones!

It was a lot of fun to return to Magic Kingdom for a second day.  There was still so much that we hadn't experienced!  The girls were also able to choose their favorite attractions that we could visit again.  

We started our morning visiting Rapunzel and Snow White.  The girls were amazed by the glass slipper.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meredith was up for riding the tea cups, so we packed ourselves into a single tea cup and held onto the spinner for dear life.  Thankfully, the ride didn't last too long, I was about 20 seconds away from beginning to feel a bit too sick from the circular movement (Meredith comes by it honestly).  

Appropriately, Alice was signing autographs and posting for pictures just outside of the ride, so we caught her on our way by.  

The girls wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh again, and Amelia insisted I take her photo in Eeyore's house.  On a side note, one of the girls commented that whomever designed the Pooh ride was really thinking...there are several spots to play along the wait. :)   

We rode the magic carpets again and climbed up the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house.  We had recently listened to the (13 hour!) audio book, so it was fun to see.  

We had spent virtually no time in Tomorrowland on Thursday, so we hit it hard on Friday.  Amelia, Claire, and Josh rode the Buzz Lightyear ride (which they loved), and Meredith and I ran into a talking/dancing/singing trash can.

We rode the People Mover which is kind of like an elevated train that runs through Tomorrowland.  In my guide book, the "frightening level" stated that it was NOT FRIGHTENING IN ANY RESPECT.  This is not true.  It wasn't overly frightening, but for a certain someone in our party, there was a heightened level of fright when we entered a pitch black portion of the tour.  Yeah, not so good.  Thankfully, we were all in the same "car", and Josh and I were both holding her hands. :)

We took another spin at the Speedway to lighten our moods, and I'm pretty sure that Meredith and I had the slowest car on the track.  It was borderline dud-worthy.  

 

 

We spent a ton of time at the Barnstormer!  The kids wanted to ride again and again.  This worked well because the wait was usually about 10 minutes or less.  

We did catch up with the Dumbo ride on Friday since the wait was virtually none.  They have a great new play area while you wait for the Dumbo ride.  It works kind of like waiting at a restaurant.  They give you a buzzer, and when it's your turn to ride Dumbo, your buzzer buzzes.  Pretty brilliant.  

Of course, we couldn't go to Disney without meeting Tinkerbell.  Terrance was there as well.  We ate Dole Whips while we waited in line (super YUM!!).  We did wait for a bit to see Tink and Terrance, but they did spend several minutes talking with the girls.  

 

Claire, Josh, and I took turns riding Space Mountain a couple of times.  This is an interesting ride.  Even though I knew it wouldn't happen, I couldn't get past the feeling that I was going to smack my head on something above me!  (Space Mountain is pitch black other than some stars that you can see overhead).  We caught the Merry Go Round, Peter Pan, and It's a Small World for a second time on Friday as well.  

After so many turns on the Barnstormer, we almost convinced Meredith to ride Thunder Mountain, but unfortunately, we were running out of time.  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was starting at 7:00, so we had to make our way out of the park.  It was fun to see all of the kids and adults dressed for the party.  There were a lot of really good costumes!

We ended our time at Magic Kingdom day with a few last trips on the Barnstormer.  During the last few rides, we all made it our goal to keep our hands in the air for the entire ride.  What fun!  The kids just had a blast with this!!  It was the perfect way to end our trip.  

A couple of different nights, we had intended on going to Downtown Disney to let the girls pick out souvenirs, but we hadn't made it.  This was the night.

If you haven't ever driven to Downtown Disney, let me give you a little piece of advice:  where you park completely matters!!  We were looking to shop, but we parked near all of the restaurants.  Thankfully, while the girls and I were shopping, Josh hiked back to our van and moved it.  

Claire chose a bracelet, earrings, and a coffee mug (for hot chocolate).  Meredith chose three pairs of earrings and a necklace.  Amelia chose a baby Mickey wrapped in a blanket.  Josh and I chose a plush Eeyore for Olivia.  We also picked up some personalized ornaments at the Disney Christmas Store.

We arrived back at the hotel around 11:00, sent the kids to bed, and packed up.  We wanted to wake up at 4:00 in the morning and be on the road by 5:00.  I'm tired just thinking about it. :) 

disney: day 5

What an exhausting and fun day we had at Magic Kingdom!  We headed out early around 8:00 (since they opened early that day).  

We rode the Winnie-the-Pooh ride, which was a hit for all.  Although, Meredith didn't like the rain storm in the ride.  On a side note, on this trip, I've learned that Meredith hates the dark, surprise anything, and loud anything (which I knew...but this trip has sealed that deal).  

We walked to the back of the park to get our fastpasses for the Peter Pan ride, and then go on It's a Small World. While we were walking past Peter Pan, I noticed one of my mom's co-workers in line for Peter Pan.  We talked for a few seconds before our family boarded It's a Small World...seemed appropriate enough. :)  

The kids really enjoyed It's a Small World, and we enjoyed walking right onto the ride with no waiting.  We got off that ride and walked right into rain.  We didn't think it was going to rain at all, but we had packed our ponchos just in case...this was the wisest decision of the day.  We used them on and off a few times during the morning.

We headed over to the Country Bear Jamboree which I found a bit lame.  The kids supposedly enjoyed it, but I was completely unimpressed.  This is obviously an older attraction that is around because of the nostalgia it provides.  It was nice to be inside for a few minutes, though, while the rain passed.  

We hoofed it back to Peter Pan, which was loved by all (Meredith didn't ride...too dark).  It was fun to feel like we were "flying" over everything!

Thunder Mountain Railroad was next.  Claire and I rode first; Josh and Claire second.  Just before getting on the coaster, we stopped at the bathroom and noticed Woody and Jessie signing autographs and taking pictures nearby.  While Josh and Claire rode the coaster, Meredith, Amelia, and I stood in line to get Woody's and Jessie's autographs.  Claire and Josh caught up after their ride in plenty of time, and we all ate lunch while we waited in line.  Perfect timing!

We spent some time on Tom Sawyer Island.  Everyone enjoyed this, and we ran into a guy that Josh used to work with.  "It's a small world after all..."

And then it POURED for about 5 minutes...and then stopped. :)  Thank you, Florida.

We headed to the Magic Carpet ride...loved by all.  Then, we rode the carousel...loved by all as well.  Claire, Josh, and Amelia rode the tea cups (Meredith and I don't like spinning rides).  We did notice that your cup doesn't HAVE to spin...we might try tomorrow.   

The Disney Train was calling our name, and we went all the way around the outside of Magic Kingdom...this was a nice break and filled our fastpass time for the Barnstormer.  

The Barnstormer is a 53 second roller coaster for young kiddos who don't want big drops, but still want to go fast and make some quick turns.  Meredith and Amelia weren't so sure about it while we were on the ride, but they both wanted to go again.  Meredith said during the ride, "I think you're enjoying this more than I am!!"  And then when it was finished, "Why is it so short?"  My response:  "So that it's over quickly if you don't like it!"  

We considered riding Dumbo (supposedly one of the most popular rides at Disney), but the wait was 50 minutes.  Ummm...no thank you...especially considering that it is the EXACT SAME RIDE as the dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom and the magic carpet ride that we already rode.  

We went back to our hotel for a swim and dinner.  Since MK closed early the following night for Mickey's Halloween Party, we could only watch the parade and fireworks on Thursday.  We had missed the parades and fireworks at all of the other parks because of rain (or warnings that a certain someone in our party would be scared), so we didn't want to miss our opportunity!  

We did both and had great seats for both!  

Of course, the photos don't even begin to do the parade justice.  At one point, Captain Hook's pirate ship arrived, and it blew cannon smoke right into Meredith's face.  She just couldn't catch a break on this trip!  Josh had watched Pete's dragon blow some smoke out his nose.  He told Meredith that it would just come out the front (not right in her face), but she didn't take any chances.  She was standing next to us in record time. :)

Unfortunately, once the parade was over, we had to trek to the other side of the park to get a good spot for the fireworks.  There were people EVERYWHERE...and that's an understatement.  

At one point, we almost got puked on by a 3 year old.  Poor little guy was puking everywhere.  It was pretty disgusting...I felt sorry for his parents.  Anyway, we found a great spot for the fireworks, and Tinkerbell soared right over us from the top of Cinderella's Castle all the way to the other side of the park...it was pretty amazing.  

The fireworks were probably the best we've ever seen.  Amelia kept saying, "That one is my favorite!!  Oh, that one is my DOUBLE favorite!!"  Over and over again...

Since half of the park was heading home at that point, we decided to do one more ride (the speedway cars) while the first wave of people left.  We had ridden the bus to the park that night, so we knew we were definitely going to be fighting crowds on the way back.  It wasn't too bad, though, and we made it home before 10:30.  

Magic Kingdom was nothing short of amazing for the kids...which is why we spent Day 6 there as well!  There was still so much to do!