The Birthday Surprise is Revealed

Last night, Madelyn found a special suitcase from Minnie Mouse on our front door step. A note was attached telling Madelyn to come meet Minnie at Disneyland. At first, Madelyn wasn't sure what to make of it all. She's never been to Disneyland, so I don't think she knew enough about it to be terribly excited. It certainly was not one of those "You're going to Disneyland!" videos you see on YouTube where kids are running around like wound-up toys at Christmas time.

But we did use YouTube to show her some videos of Disneyland, and after about the third one, it clicked. RIDES. As soon as she realized she would be going on RIDES she got so excited. We asked her before she went to bed what she was most excited about and she said, "Meeting Minnie Mouse and riding on the teacups!"

We woke up early this morning hoping to get on the road at a decent hour, but you know how that goes... never as planned. We did manage to get things packed, and have Chloe dropped off by about 9:00 am.

Bunny has a new friend. And that's saying a lot! 

Never has any other stuffed animal EVER gotten to ride 

shotgun in the car seat with Madelyn.

The drive was actually pretty short, although it seemed longer with one extreme temper tantrum along the way. I'd really like to ask other parents if this is normal because honestly, I thought it was the "terrible twos." I've even occasionally heard that it's more like the "terrible threes." I guess since we were pretty blessed through the twos and threes it is now our time to experience the joys of tantrums. And let me tell you, they are nothing short of nasty. What kind of nasty, you ask? Take a close look at the picture below. Go ahead. Zoom in. The kind of nasty where you blow boogers out of your nose because you think it will get you what you want, only to find out your parents are going to make you sit like that until you calm down. And on top of that, your mom is going to take a picture of this beautiful sight because she knows she may need it for future reference. sigh 

Notice the seat belt, also. Little Miss Houdini

But, fortunately, after about 40 minutes (non-stop, mind you), Madelyn pulled it together for the sake of her parents sanity (and perhaps her throat was hurting a little, too).

We made it to Anaheim around 1:30 pm, and checked into the condo, but decided we needed some time to just stretch our legs and get some fresh air (and Mommy and Daddy needed a drink). We headed over to Downtown Disney where there are lots of shops and restaurants, and even live music. It was the perfect start of our trip. We went to Tortilla Joe's for dinner, and I must say, Madelyn was treated like royalty. Our waitress was amazing! She kept checking on Madelyn, and she always called her by her name (Thanks, Auntie Kim. I believe her special birthday shirt was a contributing factor!)

While we waited for dinner, Madelyn got a very special birthday balloon crown. 

She liked that for awhile, but decided it made her head itch, so we set it aside for a bit. But then she wanted to try it on again. Unfortunately, I pushed it on her head a little too hard, and "POP!" Oops. "Sorry Madelyn, that was totally my fault," I said kind of laughing, and kind of wanting to cry (I was still exhausted from the tantrum an hour prior to dinner). Madelyn handled it like a champ. No tears, just a little confused look on her face. Luckily for all of us, the Balloon Man was at our table before I had time think how I could turn this into something good. This time, he made her a flower bracelet. Thank you, Mr. Balloon Man.

After we finished dinner, Madelyn even got a special dessert accompanied by her own personal choir. 

When we got back to the condo, there was a little surprise for Madelyn...

She was so excited about this huge Minnie Mouse balloon, and all the other balloons. She said, "Minnie Mouse really is my best friend." :)

All in all, it really was a good day. We are hoping that tomorrow, and the rest of the week will prove to have less moodiness, and more happiness. After all... we are going to the Happiest Place on Earth... 

Wish us luck. ;)