Disneyland Day Three

We headed out early this morning to spend the day in Disneyland. Finley had Minnie and Mickey on her mind, but we started with a ride on the Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear and Peter Pan. Then it was Dumbo, the Teacups and Alice. It was on to Minnie and Mickey's house. Finley loves Minnie's house more than anything else at Disney. She loves to play in the kitchen the best. Finley met Minnie and Mickey Mouse, then we rode Gadget's Go Coaster and Toon Town Spin. We headed back over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain (no ghosts this time!), Star Tours and Buzz. We shared a soup lunch in the rain, grabbed fast passes for the Haunted Mansion and headed to Main Street to watch the parade. Sadly, the parade was cancelled due to the rain. Finley took a long nap and it was back out to Disneyland. We rode Winnie the Pooh about a dozen times, then had some dinner. It was on to the Haunted Mansion next. We tried to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but it went down with people trapped on the ride. We got a card that gave us Fastpass access to any ride we wanted and headed over to ride the Carousel and to see Small World all lit up at night. It was fireworks time and Finley thought some of the fireworks were a little too bright. We rode Buzz, Astro Orbiter and Finley and Clifton rode Star Tours while I rode Space Mountain with the special card that they let me keep =)

Disneyland Night One and Day Two

We arrived in Anaheim a bit later than we expected. We flew on the amazing Dreamliner (which had pillows...and blankets) but it was running about an hour late. Sadly, the United baggage folks decided our stroller didn't need to be handled properly, which meant it was returned to me in two pieces with a wheel that was crazy wobbly and looked like it was about to fall off. Not a great way to start things off. So we stopped at Babies R Us to get ourselves a new stroller. We ended up going out with the jalopy stroller last night because I didn't realize our new stroller had a basket, it just wasn't attached. The wheel was totally wonky, so we got the basket set up on the new stroller once I realized my mistake and used that one today...phew!

Last night we hit Disneyland. It was drizzling, so the fireworks were cancelled. It did "snow" on Main Street, which was pretty neat. Finley rode Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear and the Casey Junior Train. Then it was onto Mr Toad's Wild Ride just before Fantasmic. After Fantasmic we rode Pirates before we called it a night, Finley was exhausted.




We woke up bright and early this morning to head to California Adventure. Finley met Pluto and the Snowman car while I got Fastpasses for Radiator Springs Racers. We met back up for Toy Story Mania. Of course Clifton won and Finley got a new stuffed Bullseye after the ride. We rode Mickey's Ferris Wheel, Silly Symphony Swings (twice) and the Zephyrs before riding Little Mermaid (twice!) and Soarin. Then it was on to Cars Land for Mater's Tractors and lunch at Flos. We also rode a couple rides in Bugs Land. Finley was quickly losing steam, so we headed back to the hotel for a well needed nap. Back in California Adventure, we rode Monsters Inc (twice) and it was time for the Pixar Play Parade. Finley got high fives from nearly every character in the parade, we had a great viewing spot. We headed over to Cars Land to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater. We also rode Luigis Tires and Radiator Springs Racers. We met Goofy before grabbing a quick dinner and some hot chocolate before riding the Zephyrs and Silly Swings again. Then it was time for World of Color, which was beautiful and Finley was tiring out, so it was time to head home. The parks are all decorated for Christmas, which is just amazing. We rode nearly every ride today, only missing Ladybug Spin, Tower of Terror and Jellyfish Jump. I thought it would have been a lot more crowded, but it was busier when we visited in October. Let's hope the crowds stay low tomorrow.

Cute Reindeer

Polar Express

It's Polar Express day at Finley's school.  They are enjoying cookies and chocolate milk to celebrate.  All the kids got to wear their pajamas to class for the day and Finley was so excited (just like last year!)  They also brought in pajamas to give to children in need.

Visit with Santa Claus

Finley went to visit Santa Claus this morning to request "silly socks" and a "Memory Game." Santa asked if she had been a good girl, she said she had been. Finley had lots of fun playing in the Bass Pro Shops with the trains and cars, there are so many fun activities for kids to do will one of the parents wait in line for Santa. The line did take about 30 minutes, but it wasn't that bad. I only have two snapshots of Finley with Santa from my phone due to some camera difficulties. I will scan and post the picture from Bass Pro Shops later.



Here is a look back at Finley's past visits with Santa Claus:
Santa Claus 2011
Santa Claus 2010
Santa Claus 2009

Cute Christmas Girl!

Happy Birthday Samantha!

Samantha's fourth birthday party was held at the Downtown Aquarium, same as Finley's third birthday party. The birthday parties there are so much fun. All the kids walk through the aquarium and then they have lunch with cake. After that it is off to ride the Shark Voyage train, Ferris Wheel and Carousel. Pretty much Finley's dream birthday party. Happy 4th birthday Samantha!

4 Year Old Check-up

Last week we went to the doctor for Finley's four year old check up. Finley was in the 87th percentile for height and 72nd percentile for weight. Her pediatrician said she is projected to be about 5'7" (same as me!) Finley is on track perfectly. Her vision is 20/25, which is normal for a kid her age since her eyes are still developing. We had quite a long wait before the visit because of some sort of mix up, but Finley was very patient. Finley had four shots this visit, she was quite a trooper. Luckily for Finley, this is her last round of shots until she is 11 years old. Thank goodness!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Finley's favorite food for Thanksgiving was definitely cranberry sauce. She mixed it with everything! Finley had a wonderful day hanging out with Grandma, Jack, Grammy and Grandad. And since she is the only kid, no kid table necessary at our place.  It was a fantastic day with lots of family, food and football.  I cannot believe this was Finley's fifth Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2011
Thanksgiving 2010
Thanksgiving 2009
Thanksgiving 2008

First Target Purchase

Finley earned a couple dollars at her lemonade stand at Grammy and Grandad's house. Finley also got two dollars from Aunt Sharon for Halloween. She was very excited to take her riches to Target to select a new toy. After going through the toy section, we soon realized that her $4.86 wasn't going to go far. Then we headed to the book department and things were even more grimm. Luckily the Dollar Spot came through and Finley found four books, two Cars books, one Christmas book and a Sesame Street book. Finley was so excited to make her very own transaction at Target and was so good with the cashier. What an adorable little shopper!

Fall Festival

Finley's school had a Fall Festival on her birthday again this year.  Finley had so much fun last year, but I think she enjoyed it even more this year.  There was a train ride, singers, corn kernel dig, dance party and a big bouncy slide.  So many fun things for kids.  I volunteered at the dance area, but I did take a break to snap some pictures when Finley's train ride was ending.

Birthday at the Aquarium

Last year Finley's birthday party was at the Aquarium.  This year she asked to go there for her birthday dinner.  Every time we drive by she asks to go on the ferris wheel.  She has a season pass from her party last year, so her birthday dinner was great!  Finley had so much fun riding the Diving Bell, Ferris Wheel, Carousel and the Shark Voyage.  She also got a new stuffed shark which we decided to name Jaws.  After dinner we came home to open gifts.  Finley received a Bernstein Bears Dinosaur book, a dinosaur floor puzzle, dinosaur bingo, a dinosaur pop game and a Rex doll all the way from Disneyland. I think Finley has a future in spokesmodeling, look at how she poses with her presents...cracks me up!

Happy 4th Birthday Finley!

Finley is four years old today!  I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by.  Finley had a cupcake party at school today, she requested chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting.  This morning at school the kids had a Fall Festival, so a lot of the kids had gone home at lunch time after the festival.  There were only 5 kids left in class to celebrate, but Finley enjoyed her party anyways.  Everyone sang Happy Birthday and we passed out cupcakes to all who wanted them.  Look at how Finley has grown:
Birthday
1st Birthday
2nd Birthday
3rd Birthday

Dentist Visit

Finley was due for another cleaning at the dentist and she was evry excited. She did amazing, just like last time. I had my cleaning done the same day, so now we are in synch for our dental visits.