Disney Day 3

Tuesday was by far the longest day we had at Disney.  It started with 10:00am breakfast reservations with the princesses in the country of Norway at Epcot and ended with fireworks at 11:00pm at the Magic Kingdom where we had special tickets to "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party".  Here is how our day went:

My little "Belle" 

Epcot

waiting for our table at breakfast

Bailee, Sadie, Ava, Layla

my little Belle is prettier than the "real" Belle:)

Early in the week , she is still unsure about the characters.

getting the autograph of her favorite, Princess Aurora, AKA Sleeping Beauty

parading with the princesses

This just made me laugh. Look at all the strollers!

 At this point in the day, we had a wardrobe change.  Being a princess is just uncomfortable!

we got all the way to the front of the line for this picture and Layla had to pee!  They were nice enough to let us sneak back to the front:)

Enjoying the towel animals left by the housekeeper. This was our break at the hotel before heading to the Christmas party

So Pretty!

Dance party with Toy Story characters before the parade

From our first moment at Disney, all Layla wanted was a balloon.  We bought her one at the Christmas party.  It was $10 and almost 4 weeks later it is still floating.  

Layla so excited she couldn't stand it! This parade ruined us for any parade in the future.  It was awesome.

  

So the funny thing about this last picture is that right before the fireworks we had put Layla's Pj pants on along with a diaper and she fell asleep in her stroller and slept through all the fireworks.  She later woke up while we were at the teacups and wanted to ride.  On the way to ride "the horse" on the carousel we took this pic with Donald.  She was a zombie and I don't blame her, it had been a long, exciting day!

I have a million more pics from this day but I had to draw the line somewhere:)

More than dancing

When I signed Layla up for dance over 6 months ago, I was so relieved that it was a mommy and me class. I just couldn't imagine Layla being comfortable enough to participate without me. Today, I watched her walk step in step behind the teacher forgetting that I was even around. As we are now on the down slope to three, I am so proud of my independent, sweet spirited, little girl. These Mondays of dance class have really been more than dancing. My little girl has learned to be independent and resectful of her teacher. I have had the joy of watching this process knowing that when I leave her at the door as a three year old, she will be more than ready.

Disney Day 2

We kicked off day two with a breakfast at our hotel.  We ate with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey Mouse.  Layla was excited about getting her autographs, but was still pretty hesitant on approaching the characters.  

Lilo

She was so excited to meet Mickey Mouse!

Dancing around the restaurant 

Stitch

Pluto

After breakfast, we took the bus to Hollywood Studios.  While waiting for the bus I had taken out my phone and laid it down on the bench.  I ended up hopping on the bus without it and didn't realize it until later.  Thankfully, when we had gotten back to the resort someone had turned it in! We watched a few shows at Hollywood Studios which included The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.  Layla loved both of the shows.  We watched them all again.

Jake

Handy Manny

He was one of Layla's favorites, although we never watch the show.

Beauty and the Beast.  

Layla loved beast and would ask for him when he wasn't on stage

After Beauty and the Beast it started to rain, so Lucas and I took this opportunity to run back to the room to give Layla a quick nap.  After her nap, we headed back to Hollywood Studios where we stayed until the park closed about 9.  We were able to meet a couple more characters and see some amazing Christmas lights.

Pooh

Mr. Incredible and Frozone.  Layla asked daddy to take her when she met these two:)

Disney Day 1

After the Thanksgiving holidays, we left Murfreesboro Saturday morning and drove to Atlanta.  We stopped in Atlanta mid afternoon and let Layla nap in her own bed while we watched the Iron Bowl game. We then hopped back in the car and hit the road.  Our destination was Ocala, Fla  where we then met up with our family who were coming from Baton Rouge.  We arrived there about 10pm.  We got checked in and quickly hit the sack.  The next morning, we all got up about 7:30 and headed to Disney which was about an hour away.  When we got there, we got checked in and headed into the Magic Kingdom.  

Layla kept attempting to sleep in the car but never really got to sleep.  Perhaps it was from my picture taking.  She was a zombie by the time we got to Florida.

Left to Right: Bailee (2), Sadie (3), Ava (5), & Layla (2).  This was while we were getting checked in to our resort.  We stayed at the Polynesian, which was meant to portray a Hawaiian setting.  We were greeted with "Alohas" and Leis.  

Layla's first ride on the monorail from our resort to Magic Kingdom.  She called it a choo choo all week.  It was actually one of her favorite things to do.

all the girls.  Layla insisted on wearing her lei all day.

Waving to the characters while watching her first Disney parade

riding the "horses".  We did the numerous times throughout the week.

First "real ride"  Flying with daddy on Dumbo.  Layla rode just about everything she was tall enough too.  And she LOVED the all.  

 After the day at the Magic Kingdom, instead of running for bed, we went to dinner at another Disney Resort.  This was our first dinner with characters.  We ate with Cinderella, her prince, her step mother and sisters.  This was Layla's first experience up close with the characters.  The pics tell you how she felt about it!

Beautiful HUGE tree!

Awesome gingerbread house

Cousins!

Layla and Prince Charming

Layla and Cinderella.  She wouldn't get too close.

Step sister

Crazy step sister #2.  If you haven't been to Disney, the characters are always playing their role.  These step sisters were as funny and as crazy as they look.

Awww.......

After dinner

We headed straight back to the resort that night where Layla crashed out.  It was no earlier than 10pm.  Layla didn't nap this day but was having so much fun, she didn't care!

Sunday Sitdown

Since getting back from Disney World we have just been trying to get back to the routine of life.  That is definitely easier said than done during the holiday season.  Let me just say that we have had a blast so far this year with Layla and all the traditions of the season.  This is the first year she has even the slightest idea about what is happening.  I wish I could walk around with a video camera glued to my head so that I could just capture every moment.  In attempt to remind Layla of what the Christmas season is really all about, we have had a ton of conversations about Jesus, his family, where he was born and why he means so much to us.

In the beginning of the week I asked Layla whose was born on Christmas day and her response was "Santa Claus".  Makes since but that is exactly the lesson to be learned here.:)

Last night, I asked Layla if she remembered what Jesus's mommy's name is?  Her reply without any hesitation was, "Yes! Mommy".  Smart Girl:)

Tonight during bath time Layla was singing a song about Jesus so Lucas asked, "Why do we love Jesus"? Layla answered, "because of the song".  Lucas then replied with, "We love Jesus because he saved us from our sins."  And Layla's response was "Oh, thank you!".  What a perfect response.  This is the first time we have really talked about Jesus with many terms other than "baby Jesus" and night time prayers, dinner prayers, and praying for her boo boos.  What a sweet thing it is to watch your kids come to a tiny understanding of how big Jesus really is!

What things do you do with your kids during this season to remind them of the real meaning of Christmas? I would love some suggestions.

While we were out of town, 2 of our close friends had their babies.  Visiting these babies was at the top of our list this week.

Layla's newest girlfriend: Lucy
While we were sitting here, Layla sweetly kissed Lucy on her head.  It was so sweet.

Layla's newest boyfriend: Hamilton.  He was mid-yawn during this pic.  

Our Christmas lights! More have been added since this pic.

Fresh Mulch!  This was our after church project today:)

Layla loves the tree.  She sings "Oh Christmas tree" over and over.

Layla with her Mickey and Minnie ornament.

If you look at our tree now, there are clumps of balls hung near the bottom.  I'm sure you can guess who did that:)

After her pic with Mickey and Minnie, she wanted to pose with every other ornament.  We eventually put a stop to it.

Decorating a gingerbread house today!

She enjoyed it except when the icing stuck to her fingers.

Hope all of you are full of joy during this holiday season.  It really is the most wonderful time of year.  The 60 degree weather we have been having is also a special bonus.  Disney posts are coming soon!