The Grand Finale - Magical Parade!

As I said, the last event of our day was the parade and we found a pretty good spot!

Everett was just hanging out... didn't know what all of the excitement was about.

But Emily did!  And she eagerly awaited the beginning of the parade to reach us.

(Now he gets it!)

This face can mean only one thing...

the princesses are next!

(The princesses were totally magical for Emily.  Aurora and Cinderella both blew her a kiss.  Really.  It gave ME chills to see Emily's excitement.  I think it was the tiara and the bright pink outfit on a BEAMING little girl that drew their attention.  Several other characters waved specifically at her too.  LOVED IT!)

I missed the picture, but this next guy came right up and bent down to say hello to Emily.

We didn't want it to end, but like all good things...
Our little princess was all smiles and gave the parade and Disneyland a huge thumbs up!

She had a very magical birthday.  We are so glad!

(I compiled my videos from the day together.  If you are interested in watching Emily's excitement and lots of Disney magic I think you should view it large.  Sometimes you can enlarge the ones I embed below but you could also definitely see it large by clicking HERE.  Please excuse the overly excited Mama that exclaims throughout.)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Magical Lunch

So, after a short wait...

 we were in the dining room meeting Ariel!

Then, we got to choose who we wanted in a photo with her and we chose to have all of the "birthday celebration" guests.

(When Emily saw the picture after we returned home, she said that she wished Everett was standing up and cuddling up to Ariel too.  Apparently, Ariel had said to her, "come over here and cuddle up to me!"  Emily wishes Everett got the same chance.)
They brought out some delicious appetizers and rolls pretty quickly and, as expected, Emily ate what we brought her and some rolls.

Again, we hadn't told Emily what to expect at lunch and so she was plenty delighted with just Ariel.  But, then the herald announced that several of Ariel's friends would be stopping in and Emily about fell out of her chair.  

Before too long, the first princess was announced - Aurora!  Another benefit to arriving right on time was being the second table seated.  This meant that we were the third table that the princesses visited.  Perfect!  When Aurora came over she got down between the kids to say hello.

Emily introduced herself and also her baby brother.

After a short chat and birthday wishes, Aurora posed with the kids.

The second princess announced was Snow White.

She was nice but may still have a bit of a hangover from that poisoned apple because she moved along pretty quick.

Belle was the third.  Emily was very excited and Belle was very nice and stayed for a while.

Meanwhile, Everett didn't care that much about the visiting princesses and was stuffing his face full of Emily's and his own lunch.

The last princess to come through was Cinderella!

She was very sweet to Emily as well and took some extra time to wish her a happy birthday and...

gave her lots of hugs.

She also made sure to visit Everett.  He was quite enamored,

waving and saying "bye-bye" when she moved on.

At the end of our yummy meal, they brought out a big dessert tray that included an Ariel made out of white chocolate.  Being part of her acceptable food groups, Emily happily "ate a mermaid..."

before our waiter showed up with her own special birthday cake and candle.

Who knows what she might have wished for... all of her dreams were already coming true!

 

As we left Ariel's Grotto, we paused to take a couple pictures of the princess in her best princess pose.  

And, of course, couldn't miss an opportunity to take some pictures of her and her prince!

 It was the perfect lunch!  And Emily thought so too... she says she liked the princesses and the treats!

Magical 4th Birthday!

At about 7:30AM we set out for Disneyland.  Daddy picked out some fairy kazoos for you on your birthday (you had asked what a kazoo was because it is mentioned in a song) and so I played a little "Happy Birthday" on our drive over. 

We arrived shortly after 8 - made pretty good time in rush hour!  Everyone was READY and pretty excited too!

You love maps and wasted no time figuring out where you wanted to go first...

but along the way we had to make a little stop to see Mulan.

And another to buy your first autograph book and special pen.

While there, the nice lady gave you your special birthday button and Everett's "First Visit" one too!  Then, she said that a special phone call was coming in for you...

but when the call came through, you ran away.  It was actually Goofy singing Happy Birthday to you, but without knowing that, you were very unsure and ran to me instead of taking the call.  Maybe next time.
When we met back up with Daddy and Everett we decided that it was the perfect time to visit Pixie Hollow.

Tinkerbell and Fawn were very happy to talk to a princess and asked you where your kingdom was.  You told them that it was in the woods.  :)

After Pixie Hollow we went soaring...

over to the Storybook Land ride.  You hadn't wanted to ride on it before because it starts out by floating into a huge whale's (Monstro) mouth.  But, it was one of the rides I found on YouTube to show you that it isn't scary.  As a result, when we approached the whale's mouth, you were excited instead of scared!

You were rewarded for your bravery too, the inside was full of wonderful things!

Once we were off Storybook Land, we left Disneyland and walked over to California Adventure!

It was the perfect time for you to ride your second brand new ride!  Another one that we found on the internet and that you were really excited about!  Ariel!!

You were totally captivated - literally on the edge of your seat!

As the ride was ending, you waved good bye to Ariel and Eric on their wedding altar...

but it wasn't too long before you would see them again.  We rode it three times in a row before heading over to lunch.  Daddy and I had arranged for a very special lunch at Ariel's Grotto and because we arrived right on time (a little early), we only had a short wait...

before being welcomed downstairs into the dining room.  We didn't prep you for what was to come.  Instead, when the man announced that Ariel was coming in, your eyes LIT UP and you asked excitedly for your autograph book!  (More on lunch in next post.)

After finishing our magical lunch, we rode Ariel's ride one more time before walking back to Disneyland where Daddy bought you a gift - a bubble gun.

Everyone ALL over Disneyland was enjoying your bubbles.  You went through an entire bottle in no time!

But, you did trade in your bubble gun for an Astro Blaster instead!  The third brand new ride to you for the day was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster ride.  (Another one you were able to preview and prepare for on the internet!)

And since you had seen it and we had talked about how it worked, you were all ready to fire your laser!

(At the end of the ride, we were able to find a picture of us on the ride with our scores and have it emailed to me.)

When it was over, you asked immediately if we could go back on and ran to tell Daddy how FABULOUS it was!!!

Daddy and Everett sat that one out in the hopes that Everett could catch a little nap - and it worked!  Yay!

Still reeling from the Astro Blasters, we had some time to ground ourselves again while waiting (and waiting and waiting)...

to meet Merida!

It was worth it though!  When she found out that it was your birthday, she turned to tell her cubby friends...

and you are still talking about it.  (The fact that her cubby friends told you Happy Birthday in "bear language" was REALLY magical!)

We were all excited to meet Merida...

and afterwards, we had a chance to shoot a bow and arrow (just like Merida does!).  You were too shy to try it out but I did it AND I got a bullseye!  Just in case you were wondering.  ;)
At that point it was just after 3PM and we were right next to your favorite ride, It's A Small World.  Everett was chomping at the bit for his chance to get on the famous boat...

and in no time we "set sail."

Unbelievably, it was late enough in the day now that we had to go straight from there to find a spot for the parade.  We ended up getting a pretty good one where we could park the stroller and wait.

As I said before, everyone was enjoying your bubbles and you were happy to share.

The parade was just WONDERFUL and we all had a great time.  (More on the parade in a later post.)

The parade also marked the end of our day at Disneyland, so we headed back out to the front and took a couple of pictures to remember the day!

(We weren't able to squeeze in the other ride you were excited about - Splash Mountain - so we will have to hit it first thing next time!)
By the time we got home, your tiara had only then started to go awry, but you didn't care - You received a few birthday phone calls and were very, very happy!

(You hadn't wanted to wear your special birthday button at Disneyland but have worn it proudly several times since.)