Our First Trip to Disneyland for Blake's 3rd Birthday!

Okay, so it took way more time than I expected, but I was finally able to compile our first trip to Disneyland into a video montage! Now I'm tired and too lazy to write more about how awesome this trip was... and it really was! The kids were GREAT... and Mike and I even managed to squeeze in a hot dinner date while the kids snoozed in the stroller... PRICELESS!

But, before I retire from my hard work for the evening, I want to make sure that we thank those who made our trip EXTRA SPECIAL... Crystal, you ROCKED it for us that day! Much love to you and Silver! Nette & Justin, we don't have words for the thanks that we owe you for being the incredible Godparents you are and for loving our kids like they're your own! The special birthday event you planned for Blake at Disneyland was more than we could have hoped for on our first trip as a family... THANK YOU! And finally, we want to thank Blake & Addie for being such incredible sports that day! They made it through countless rides and lines without shedding a tear and were as adventurous and excited as any parent could hope for at their child's first visit to the happiest place on Earth!

P.S. - The video is more "Blake-centered" because it was his birthday trip. We have plenty more photos and video of Addie for our own viewing pleasure. :) Now that we're experienced Disney parents, we can't wait to go for Addie's 3rd birthday! We've already got big plans in store for her birthday trip to "meet the mouse"... yet again! We've got a feeling that her trip will be more "Princess-oriented" ;)

P.P.S. - The video is 16 minutes long... the end is my favorite... there's your teaser... hopefully that encourages you to grab a cup of coffee and go the extra mile! :)

Blake's 3rd Birthday... the "Party"!

This series from Blake's birthday is coming along slower than I'd like, but we took some time to thoroughly enjoy our Easter... as well as this weather! SO, for those of you waiting on "Thank You's" from Blake's party, never fear, I'm the "better late than never" gal and they're almost finished! :)

As for Blake's party, we wanted to keep it simple... and how much more simple can you get than a pancake buffet? A Mickey Mouse pancake buffet to be exact... still wishing those pancakes were as simple to make as the concept behind the whole idea! Nonetheless, we had a great time decorating our Mickey faces and the birthday boy was first in line to show his artistic expression! Blake was also supposed to be the judge for the best Mickey pancake, but it turns out that eating is way more fun than judging... and eat is exactly what that big ol' three year old did! He devoured his whole Mickey head in no time! Oh, and before the pancake eating commenced, we sang "Happy Birthday" using a pile of pancakes in place of a cake... easy peasy!

After the pancakes came some Mickey Rice Crispy treats and some gift opening! Each year brings more fun during gift-giving, as Blake becomes more aware of the whole concept. As he opened each gift he would say, "It's a... it's a.... it's a... it's a... it's a... ~fill-in-the-blank~" It was fun to see!

Once Blake had opened all of his goodies, we headed inside for some puppet show fun! I made a cheesy curtain for one of the double-sided windows in the house and Mike led the kids in an authentic puppet show! They got a kick out of it!

And finally, Blake put on his new Woody pajamas and headed to bed for his big day ahead at Disneyland... and he took his most favorite gift with him... a 30 year old stuffed Mickey Mouse that belonged to his daddy when he was a baby! Definitely a special ending to a special day!

More on the actual Disneyland trip to come...