Disneyland Day Two, California Adventure

California Adventure wasn't AS geared toward little kids as Disneyland, but they did have tons to do for the whole family, no surprise. I would say Ava's favorite ride was "Soarin' Over California". It was a 3D adventure that twisted and turned as if we were, well, flying over Cali. Some of the other rides that we rode seemed like nothing, but were really high and fast. She did great! She wanted to ride a miniature roller coaster, but was one inch shy of meeting the height requirement. We met many characters and had a ball the second day.

For lunch, we dined with the princesses at "Ariel's Grotto". It was so neat that each princess came up to our table to chat with Ava and Griffin. It was very personal, good food, and worth the extra money. This was also something that not just Ava enjoyed, but Griffin also. He LOVES Belle out of all Ava's princess figurines, so when he saw her he turned on his charm! He is SUCH a flirt and seriously planted a slobbery kiss right on her. She was a good sport and laughed it off, but we were dying laughing at him.


















Getting to see "Steamboat Willy" was a highlight for Ava. Seriously.








This park had a lot of adult rides, so we had our fun too! We traded the kids off and they enjoyed shows, smaller rides and cotton candy or naps in the stroller (Griff). Ryan and I loved the Tower of Terror and the roller coaster (?)















The Toy Story Gang was a huge success for Ava and Griffin alike. Ava wanted to pose like Buzz Lightyear for our picture with him, haha. She was so thrilled to meet them! And Griffers, well, he was just in awe and so happy to be giving them high fives.











We rode rides, met more characters and saw many shows also.

Disneyland Day One

When I tell you that this place is magical, really, you HAVE to see it to believe it.

And when I tell you that we all had a blast, we truly took it all in and had an amazing vacation.

We literally spent no less than 12 hours in the park each day and still had no meltdowns, great sleepers and overall, a happy group....means a success in my book. The kids did AMAZING. Amazing. Ava was just in awe and out to have a good time and Griff was happy as could be and would nap when it got to be too much. As long as we had snacks, we were golden.

Some pictures capturing our first day.

















Meeting the Princesses! The WHOLE reason we came to Disneyland was to meet the princesses. By asking around and figuring it out, we were able to avoid some major lines by arriving at 7:00 am before the park opens and avoid a lot of lines and waiting in Fantasyland, which put us 2nd in line for when the princesses were ready to meet and greet. Ava was so excited. She contains most of her happiness and showed her first nervous habit....playing with her hair and continually tucking it behind her ears. THAT'S how much these princesses mean to her. She was so nervous and giddy at the same time. What a dream come true for her. The princesses were so kind and really took their time talking and listening to the kids.


















Favorites for the Day--When one of the princesses asked Ava what her favorites were, she said "It's a small world", "Dumbo" and "Meeting the Princesses".
















Character Meet n Greet--There were opportunities all around the parks to meet Disney/Pixar characters and obtain autographs. Ava and Griffin were both excited to meet Tinkerbell and Terrance, Minnie and Mickey, among many many others.




























Jungle Cruise Tour--we took this tour to wind down and cool down. There are many rides like this that give you an opportunity to take a deep breath. The kids enjoyed seeing jungle animals.











Parades and Festivals--Mickey's SoundSational Parade and the Princess Coronation and Storytime

The parade had just about every character you could think of and the music was wonderful. The Princess Coronation allowed the kids to participate and dance with royalty.

Already exhausted....

Disneyland bound and we are already exhausted keeping up with the Griff at the airport and plane ride. Whew!

Updates

Ava:

-loves playing school, mommy/daughter, any pretend play.

-loves art; she will sit for a half hour coloring, drawing, cutting, etc.; her artwork is really good, too!

-loves her little brother. she has to be the first one in his room to get him up from naps and they both LOVE it. i give them a few minutes of alone time together. he, of course, eats. her. up.

-loves (finally!) her letters, sounds, and starting very basic words.

-loves staying up later in the summer and waking up a little later, which works somehow.

-loves little house on the prairie. we borrowed a video from the library and she loves to watch it. she is kind of obsessed with laura ingalls.


Griffin:

-loves to make vrrrrrrooom! noises when he pushes cars and airplanes around.

-loves hitting and whacking objects with plastic golf clubs.

-loves answering yes by nodding his head, it's so cute, too!

-loves, loves, loves to dance. i mean, if he wants to tell me he likes something....he dances. if he hears the slightest bit of music....he dances. any excuse to dance.

-loves playtime with sissy. to watch the two of them giggle is heartwarming and priceless.