Disney!!!

Yesterday was Papa's birthday, and we spent the entire day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. Papa has been wanting to take Emily for years, and I am SOOOOO glad we finally went! Jessica came along with us, and we were all there from open to close! The girls were fantastic and never complained one bit. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Although I have to admit, visiting Disney with two young children is quite different from the last time we went, when I'd only been married for 1 whole week. :)

I have over 80 photos (this is narrowed down from 200) and several videos. Obviously I can't post them all here, so I've just chosen a few of our favorites. But you'll be able to see the rest of the photos when I send out my monthly Shutterfly album in a few days.

Thanks to having a Disney Guest Assistance Card for people with disabilities, waiting for the rides was not stressful. The card allowed us to use the alternate entrance, and to have Emily's stroller considered as her wheelchair. They even had decals for the stroller already made up for this kind of thing--this worked out so well, because we would have had to wait in the lines while we were holding Emily. She would have been miserable in those crowds and she's getting ridiculously hard to carry!! I don't think we waited more than 5 or 10 minutes for any of the rides we went on. So we went on a ton of rides, and Emily enjoyed every single one of them (and Madi rode everyone too!!). Emily especially liked the bouncing up and down on Winnie the Pooh (which used to be Mr. Toad's wild ride--we took her on this ride twice), spinning on the teacups (Madi and Papa sat out on this one), and going over the waterfall (in the dark) on Pirates of the Caribbean. We were sitting in the very front row of the boat, and she actually threw her hands up in the air and yelled! She also liked the simulated waterfall that we go through at the beginning of the ride. It was just mist and lights, but it really looked like water. Just as we started to go through it, she stretched out her arms, squeezed her eyes shut, and yelled with a big smile! She really thought she was going to get wet! :) Madi's favorite ride was Winnie the Pooh. She was staring at all the signs as we were waiting, and her eyes were huge while we were on the ride!

Of course, the absolute best part of the day was when we took Emily to meet Mickey and Minnie. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has been her favorite show for almost a year now, so we were all excited for this part of the trip. We were the last ones in our line of people, so we weren't rushed to get out of the way for the next person. I think Emily could have stayed with them forever. She was smiling like crazy when we were in line and she could see them up ahead. Then when it was her turn, she went right up to them, grabbed their faces, and blew bubbles on their nose. (When Emily does this on your face, it's her way of giving a kiss). She had all of us choked up with happiness. It made us all so thrilled to see her so happy, and really just in awe of Mickey and Minnie. The video doesn't do it justice, but I'm glad we had the camera recording!

We left with lots of treats and Mickey Mouse souveniers (and completely empty wallets!). :) It was just an amazing day, and I think probably the best day of Emily's life. Poor Emily though--Papa said she probably thinks it's her new school! :)