Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday

Even before we went to Disneyworld Alyssa was in love with Mickey Mouse. Our trip just cemented her love for him. So, when it came time to plan her birthday party, what other theme could she want besides a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party?

I love hanging streamers for birthday parties. And I loved using three different colors. Mickey Mouse loves primary colors, so we had red, yellow and blue streamers hanging. Alyssa was a little disappointed there weren't any green streamers, because that is her favorite color. I told her next year we could have a jungle theme for a party, and then there would be a lot of green. My intrepid little girl of course reminds me of this every couple of weeks.

I don't know why I decided to make the cake myself. It would have been so much easier to have a Mickey Mouse cake made by someone, anyone else. But I do like doing special things for my beautiful girls. And it was nice to make her a special cake for her special day.

For those of you who know the show, there are always puzzles to solve, and mouskatools to use. One of our puzzles was the land of disappearing shapes. They had to dance and stop in a shape when the music stopped. A shape disappeared every time until there was one shape left, which became the "key" for the next part. Dan was O'Toodles, bringing us our mouskatools. But since he doubled as photographer I don't have any pictures of him.

And of course, opening presents is fun for everyone.

Overall, I think it turned out very well. Happy birthday, my little three year old girl!

Alyssa's Photo Shoot

We had to send a picture of Alyssa with her preschool application. So, we just did a little photo shoot in our living room. Not anywhere near a professional level, but here are some of our favorites!

Can you believe she is 3 already? We started her halfway through the school year at Mencius Mandarin Academy, a Mandarin Chinese immersion language preschool. She is having a blast, and it is nice to have some one on one time with Abigail. We are planning on having her translate for us in a couple years, whenever we make it out to China.

First Snow

It is a little funny to be posting about our first snow when we have SO MUCH of it now. But this is the first year that Alyssa has really enjoyed playing in the snow. This is a picture of our first snow right after Christmas. Alyssa is dressed in her snowsuit, complete with her shark hat under her hood. She often asks to go play in the snow. She loves it! Abigail, however, cries anytime she even catches a glimpse of her snowpants.

Christmas

We were a little late in putting up our Christmas tree because of our trip to Disneyworld, but Alyssa really enjoyed it more this year. She was thrilled to put the star on top.

We have a tradition where we get one new ornament every year to commemorate something important that happened that year. So for example, the year we lived in Phoenix we got a Kokopeli ornament. The year we went to Greece we got a minotaur. And of course, the years our girls were born, we got a special ornament for each of them. Alyssa loved her baby ornament when we showed it to her. She kept moving it around the Christmas tree. Abigail tried to move all the ornaments. Christmas trees are so magical for children. I still think they are magical.

Alyssa has been asking for a globe for a while. It was very sweet of her grandparents to send her one for Christmas!

We really enjoyed our first Christmas in Greenwich. And since we put the tree up so late, it stayed up until mid-January.

When You Wish Upon a Star...

I think Alyssa has been wishing to go back to Disneyworld since we got home. I had forgotten how magical a place it is for such little ones. We were able to go for about four days, and we really did have a great time. Here are some pictures. We didn't take too many, because we were too busy having fun!

Thanks again to Dan's parents for coming, so Dan and I could spend some date time at Disneyworld!

North Pole Express

The Essex Stream Train is an exciting train to ride on any time of the year. It is an old coal burning locomotive. But at Christmas time, it becomes the North Pole Express, going all the way to the North Pole!

Every car has an "elf" that entertains the passengers throughout the ride. They do a musical version of "The Night Before Christmas", sing carols, and play games with the kids. Elves even serve hot chocolate and cookies made by Mrs. Claus herself!

One of the best parts of the North Pole Express, is when it stops at the North Pole to pick up Santa Claus. He comes onto the train and gives the children a very special gift. Every year the sleigh is decorated with bells. Santa gives all the bells from last year's sleigh to the boys and girls on the train.

Alyssa and Abigail both love their bells. It was such a thrilling night for them. I hope we can repeat it next year!