Ariel's Grotto

Disney Trip 2013 - First Plane Ride

We had told Alice that she had to be 5 years old before we would go to Disney. We wanted to make sure she was tall enough and old enough to enjoy all the rides and to be able to remember the trip. So, Alice turned 5 this month and for her birthday present, we went to DisneyWorld.

This was also Alice's first plane trip. We had American Airlines miles which were about to expire, so we splurged and got 1st class round trip tickets. Alice did so great on the plane.

 She entertained herself with her iPad, ate her breakfast on the plane like a world class traveler, and was very patient at our layover in Miami.

When we finally made it to Orlando, we boarded the Disney "Magical Express" bus which shuttled us to the Contemporary Hotel at Disney. Alice finally fell asleep on the bus. We had been up and traveling since 5 am!

We got settled in our room, went exploring, and even rode the monorail. We bought Alice a swimsuit (since mom forgot to pack it ;-) and took her swimming.

The last thing we did before bedtime was to watch the fireworks from our balcony looking out at Cinderella's castle.  It had been a long day but what a spectacular way to cap off the day!

City Dog and Country Frog

There is a sweet book we read called City Dog and Country Frog. The funny thing is as I read the book, Alice tries to read too, and copies every word I say. The funniest thing though..... She can't say the word country. She keeps saying City Dog and Crunchy Frog :-)

Alice's 2nd 5th birthday party

Alice was a little bummed that since her first birthday party was during the week and family would not be coming (ie. her cousins), she asked if we could have a party in Dallas with family. Since family members would have liked to come to the party too, we decide we could arrange this. We kept with the Powerpuff Girls theme for party #2.
The family party was attended by: Didi and Pop (at Didi's house), Gammy and Papa, Aunt Papa and Uncle Paul with Chris and Sean, Aunt Sissy with Joci and Juliette, Aunt Jen and Uncle Andy, Aunt Debbie and Jill, long time friend Allison with her SO Greg and their daughter Emerson...so it was a well attended party and Alice got to play with her cousins, and of course....got more presents which I think was the original goal of her request :-)

Alice's 1st 5th birthday

We had not planned on having a birthday party for Alice this year since we were taking her to Disney for her birthday. However, Alice really wanted to have a party with her school friends. I had received a free birthday party for 10 from a friend of mine who won it at work function so this year's party was at GattiTown.
We went back and forth on the theme for the party this year. iCarly.....Scooby Doo....and finally landed on PowerPuff Girls.
Alice had fun playing with her friends and introducing them to the Powerpuff Girls. Alice has said she wants her party next year at GattiTown, so I guess the party was a success!

Christmas 2012

Alice counted the days till Christmas all month long.
Christmas this year was in Dallas ( as usual ).
We drove in early on Sunday December 23rd and had our Meadows Christmas that evening. Alice got a new Cinderella wedding dress, a princess doll, a Dalmatian sweat suit, and a few My Little Ponies.
The next morning was our annual Christmas Eve trip to the downtown Neiman Marcus for shopping and lunch. Alice came with us this year and was a lot of fun. She got to sit on Santa's lap and got pictures. This was the first time for Alice to do this. We never pushed her to do this and she always shied away when we asked if she wanted to sit on Santa's lap. She was all for it this year though.
We ate lunch at the zodiac room, just mom, Aunt Papa, Didi and Alice. Alice ate really good and talked with the girls the entire lunch. She asked us to tell stories about when she was a baby and to relate stories about when we were kids. She asked Patra "tell me a story about when you got a spank" and Aunt Papa said, " hmmmmm, where to start".
After lunch Alice got to traverse the holiday tunnel they had set up for the kids and do a little shopping. We headed back to Gammy's house after we were done to get ready for Santa's arrival that evening. Later, Alice set out cookies she had decorated herself and a glass of milk, and she anxiously went to sleep.
Christmas morning, Alice woke bright and early. Santa had brought more Little Ponies and a few other presents. Alice got a lot of presents.....an iPad mini, more leap pad games, the scooter she had been waiting for, Mother Gothel and Flynn Rider, a swimming mermaid, some crafts and puzzles, and other things I can't even remember.
Another successful Christmas has come and gone. The day after Christmas Alice asked " how many days till my birthday?"

Backyard campfire

Last night we we lite our inaugural backyard chiminea. Alice declared we were having a camp out and that she was the leader, and insisted that we sleep outside all night. We were not ready or set up to have a real camp out in our backyard, so Alice conceded the all night sleep out for setting up her tent to hang out in. We toasted marshmallows, made s'mores, and told campfire tales. Larry was the best at the story telling....Alice wanted more, more, more.