Dayvia's First Trip to Disneyland

There's a reason they call it the "happiest place on earth". We have been planning this day for a while now. We knew we wanted to wait until hiatus so we could go on a weekday as a family. And once Day was 3, we thought she would enjoy it more. So finally the day came. We had been talking about it for a few weeks and she was EXCITED. First on her list was MINNIE MOUSE. It was the longest line we waited in but it was worth it. Her face when she saw Minnie- she lit up. And from there it was one magical moment after another. She met lots of princesses and rode some rides. My favorite moments of the two days were these.

1. Riding The Teacups

This was her first "ride" ever. We had a feeling she would like it. But I had no idea she would be shouting, "faster! faster!" the whole time! She loved it so much she wanted to go again. I think we have a roller coaster girl!

2. Meeting Jesse from Toy Story

We waited in line for a few minutes and when it was her turn- she threw her arms around Jesse and held the hug for what felt like minutes but was probably 30 seconds. It was so long that everyone in line started laughing. It was A LONG hug. And the lady playing Jesse was so wonderful- she just let the hug go on and followed Day's lead. It was something special. 

3. Riding the Monsters Inc. ride

We told her that the ride might be a little scary. She replied, "i like scary! Randall is my favorite." (he's the villain). So we went on the ride and in the first 20 seconds, her head was buried into me and she only looked up once in a while to see what was happening. She never cried or screamed, just kept her head down. When we walked out of the ride she looked at me and said with a smile, "that was a little bit scary!".

We were so proud of her. She was so brave, and communicated her fears so well. And when it was over- it was over. No drama about it. She did it! Such a cool kid.

We were at Disneyland for two days. We saw kids everywhere screaming and throwing tantrums. Not this kid. She was such a trooper, such a big girl, such a good listener and communicator. Even though she was over stimulated, over tired, getting over a cold, and sugared out. She was amazing. Our little Princess. 

I also want to write about Mike. Two days at Disneyland is no small feat. I love Mike for many reasons- I now add "best Disney Dad" to the list. He carted Day around on his shoulders, rode all the little kid rides and none of the Star Wars rides, kept us entertained and relaxed in lines, wore a "my favorite Disney Princess is My Daughter" t-shirt proudly, saved the day with the idea of room service for dinner Tuesday night... 

Man of my dreams. My real life Prince Charming. 

We are now annual pass holders and can't wait to go back in May!

Dayvia Hope's 3rd Birthday

Three years old is something special. Dayvia is still little, and soft, and feels like a "baby" to me. But she talks like a big kid. She asks, "why?". She has opinions and can communicate her feelings. She is our little buddy and loves going on "adventures".

We had a few celebrations for her birthday. First she celebrated at school with a 'Sun Celebration'. It was the most beautiful birthday celebration I have ever seen. Here is the link to watch- it's 15 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMneplzomj0&feature=youtu.be

For her birthday party- we invited her 5 best friends and their parents over to our house. Grandma Mary, Bubba, Grandpa Howard, and Aunt Rachel came too! We had a bounce house, food, and.. PRINCESSES. Dayvia has been waiting for this day for months. We had Princess Ariel and Princess Jasmine come to the party and Day was STARSTRUCK.

It was a wonderful birthday week. I love three years old!
Happy birthday angel!

Funny DayDay Stories

She is getting funnier by the day. Here are some funny conversations from the last few months. :)

1/5/16
I just had a convo with Day asking her how old she thought people are.
Mommy: "How old is Mommy?"
Day: "2"
Mommy: "How old is Daddy?"
Day: "2"
Mommy: "How old is Aunt Rachel?"
Day: "1"
Mommy: "How old is Bubba?"
Day: "84 plus tax"

2/10/16
She is naked after a bath, puts her backpack on.
Mommy: "Where are you going with your backpack?"
Day: "To space!"

2/11/16
Dayvia is playing with her princess dolls.
Day: "This is Belle's mom, and this is little girl Belle."
Mommy: "Oh. And how old is little girl Belle?"
Day: "92"

2/12/16
At bedtime- Day asks me to "get some steam"-- which means she wants to go to the bathroom and watch her iPad while I shower. She says it in the cutest way followed by a "pleeeeeeeeeeeeease". And I keep laughing. After the fourth time she says, "This is not a joke!"

2/21/16
We are outside in front of the house with the neighbors and their kids- ages ranging from 6-10. The group of kids is playing a Star Wars pretend game on someone's front lawn. There are 5 big kids. Dayvia walks right up to them- attempts to join in the game, even though she has never seen Star Wars and has no idea what they are playing. After watching for a few minutes and seeing that nobody is inviting her in... she says to them, "how about we play hide and seek?". And the kid all looked at each other for a second like, are we gonna listen to this 3 year old?? But then they said yeah!! And they were genuinely excited to switch games. And I thought it was so cool that she was so ballsy- she just told those big kids who weren't including her- hey- let's switch games to a game that I can play too!

After that they played that game for a while, two six year old girls went inside a neighbor's house to play in their room. Day wanted to follow them so I went too. I sat on the edge of the girl's room while they played. They were tolerant of her- not very inclusive- but they weren't mean. At one point Day asked, "what can I play with?". Lizzy said, any of those dolls over there. Day went to the basket of dolls and picked up a unicorn and said, "a pony!". Lizzy said with a little eye roll, "it's not a pony. it's a unicorn." What did Day do? Did she go along with what the big girl said? Nope. She replied, "it IS a pony. It's a pony that has magic powers and a horn. It's a MAGICAL pony."

(mic drop) You tell them kid!!!

3/2/16
Day saw a commercial with Eva Longoria and said, "Momma is that you?"

3/2/16
At bedtime tonight, Day and I were talking about our day and the fun we had "running errands" together. And then she said, "mommy... I love the world." I asked why. She replied, "because I get to go on adventures."
:)
It was like her first way of saying, "i love life."

3/11/16
She woke up in the morning--
Day: (spelling) B--A--D
Mommy: What does that spell?
Day:  DayDay!!!

hahahahaha.

3/20/16
(To Daddy, looking at his action figures collection)
Day: Can I play with your Wonder Woman doll?
Daddy: Uhhh.... (long pause)
Day: Yes? Or no?

Dayvia's First School Performance

The preschool puts on two shows a year. For the winter show, the kids are on a stage and they showcase all of the things they have been learning. They sing in Spanish and French and they dance and sing songs. I should have recorded the whole show, but I was also taking pictures. I was so overwhelmed with the cuteness I didn't catch everything. Here is the link to the pictures and videos.

https://narventures.smugmug.com/Dayvia-School-PerformancesFunc/Dayvia-At-School/

This was Dayvia's first performance- and we are pretty certain we have a performer. When she walked out on stage- her face LIT UP. I recognized the expression. The pure joy to be on stage in front of everyone. I have never seen her smile like that. Sure- she smiles and laughs hard all the time! But this was a different smile- this is the smile of someone who has just discovered a passion.

She walked down stage center, found her light, and did the robot dance. 

It was amazing. 

Dayvia's First day of Preschool

This post is long overdue. It's December 15th, and she started school in August!

Dayvia was SO excited to go to school. She picked out her own outfit, got her backpack on, and when we dropped her off- no tears, just ready to go!

So proud of her.