Julianna is 3!

On March 3rd Julianna turned 3.  It was a big day.  She woke up early and was very excited to open presents.  Julianna is very into princesses so she got lots of fun princess stuff.  I think her favorite was the princess bathing suit.  Since she turned three she is able to start swimming lessons.  Wow is she excited about that!  

She and Jake had a joint birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.  It's rare that they agree on anything but they were both adamant Chuck E Cheese was the place for their party.  Fine by me...I just have to show up with a cake, or two.  Jake invited all of his friends from school, our neighbors, old friends and lots of family.  I have no idea how many people were there but I am thinking about 25 kids.  It was crazy but you could just tell Jake and Julianna were have the time of their lives.  This is Jake and his best bud Mason.

Julianna had a princess cake, of course, and Jake's was Spiderman.  Chuck E Cheese puts on a little show and they sing and dance.  Then it was time for Jake and Julianna to get in the ticket blaster.  Every time we go they have to look at this thing.  They have been wanting to grab tickets forever.  Today was the day.

I figured they wouldn't get many tickets.  Julianna looked like she was going to freak out and it's hard to grab tickets while they are flying around.  The 30 seconds started and Jake was really trying.  Julianna was just standing there frozen.  But for some crazy reason she was in the just right spot.  All the tickets were flying into her crown.  It was hilarious. 

It was such a fun day.  Thank you to all the family members who came to celebrate with us.  Jake said his party was "perfect, just perfect!" 

Jake is 5!

On February 23 our Jake turned 5!  I can't believe it, he is so big!  He has started taking karate three times a week.  It's a little hard for him but I think he is getting the hang of it.  He is also taking swimming lessons at the YMCA.  I bet by the summer he is going to be swimming like a fish!  As if that wasn't enough t-ball started last Saturday.  Brian said he was crushing the ball.  Who knows where he gets that?

He is finishing up his final year of preschool in the Panda class.  Jake learned to read this year.  It's crazy the words he knows.  Brian and I were playing Monopoly Jr with him and he got a chance card.  He read the entire thing including the word "otherwise."  He got a book for his birthday and I offered to read it to him.  He said "Na, I already read it."  He is a smart cookie!

On his birthday we were still a week away from his party so we surprised Jake and Julianna with a trip to the circus.  They had lots of fun. There were lions, tigers, elephants and clowns.  Jake liked the motorcycles in the iron ball the best.  Not sure what Julianna like the best, probably the snow-cone and popcorn.  Such a fun day!

Disney Day 5

Our last day!  We decided to go back to Hollywood Studios to ride you know what!  Toy Story Mania of course!  Once again we headed straight there and only waited 10 minutes.

We rode a few more rides and the girls watched the Little Mermaid show again.  We walked around and shopped for souvenirs.  We gave Minnie Mouse a quick hug goodbye.

And said so long to Disney World.  It was a wonderful trip, but now I need a vacation!

Disney Day 4

It was back to the Magic Kingdom for Day 4 but first we had breakfast with Chef Mickey!  Once again Julianna was tough to get moving...

But once we were seated and Goofy popped out she perked up.  We got to meet all the main characters and eat some yummy food before we headed to Magic Kingdom for a long day.

Once again I had a plan all mapped out and thank goodness I did!  We headed straight back to the new Fantasyland to do the Enchanted Tales with Belle. I loved it!  I must say Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favorite Disney movie!  But they did a wonderful job of having a story time with Belle and the kids get to play a part.  Jake said no but you know Julianna was raising her hand ready to participate!  She was assigned to hop, hop, hop like Chip.  She did a great job and got to get a picture with Belle at the end.  Very special!

When we walked out the line was 45 minutes!  Yikes!  Throughout the day the park got more and more crowded but we enjoyed ourselves. Julianna even took a little snooze in the stroller.   We watched a parade and road Big Thunder Mountain then it was time for Julianna and I to have dinner with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle.  She got all dressed up in her Cinderella costume.  She gother little moment with Cinderella and they compared dresses.  As we were heading up the red carpet stairs she said "Mommy Cinderella looks pretty just like me."

We ate dinner...and let me tell you she was hungry!  She ate pizza, grapes, cheese, tried my shrimp and grits, beef tenderloin, dessert and had a cup of ice cream.  Then the princesses started coming out.  First Snow White, Princess Aurora, Ariel and Jasmine.  She loved every minute and showed each princess her pretty necklace Daddy bought for her.

After dinner we found Jake and Daddy for the light parade.  It was really neat and they actually put a show on the castle.  It was amazing!  After that waited for the fireworks.  Jake was so worn out he fell asleep in the stroller.  Obviously it was a fun filled day!

Disney Day 3

Friday we spent the day at Hollywood Studios.  If you know Jake then you know he LOVES Toy Story.  Before we left he looked at maps and read all about the characters and rides.  So he knew Hollywood Studios is where he would find Toy Story Mania.

Now I am all about a plan and a little research into Disney will tell you to have a plan!  Toy Story Mania is the most popular ride and has long waits.  So we bee-lined to the ride and got on in 10 minutes and got a fast pass to ride later.  I will say even Brian and I really enjoyed this ride and looked forward to riding it again...and again...and again.

We spent the morning seeing more characters, saw some shows and rode some rides.  Brian scheduled a character lunch at Hollywood & Vine.  Jake and Julianna were very excited to see some of their favorites from Disney Junior.  This meal was even more fun because every 10 minutes the characters get up front and sing and dance.  Now you know Julianna did not miss any opportunity to entertain!  She was adorable!

After lunch we saw more characters, got yet another ice cream snack and settled in for the laser light show...which of course meant the needed light sabers!  Perfect end to another great day!