Disney World Day 3- Chef Mickey's & The Boardwalk

On Day 3, Mikey and Bpop went golfing while Gigi and I took the kids to Chef Mickey's to have breakfast and meet Mickey and all his pals. I heard this was a must so I made reservations shortly before we left for our trip. Luckily they had a spot for us!

On this day we wore our new Mickey and Minnie attire and I was so happy that Ava agreed to wear her Minnie ears that were from Bekah's party (thanks Jenny!).

I was so surprised that she was the only one in her complete Minnie gear considering this is THE opportunity to meet all of them and get their autographs. 

Have I mentioned how happy she was this entire trip? Seriously, never seen her happier. She was precious!

While we waited for our table Connor worked on his throwing skills. He thinks throwing a ball is dropping it behind him. (I'm guessing this is because he sees us bring our arms back before we throw him a ball). 

Overall score for Chef Mickey's, B+. 

The food was decent and seeing the characters was fun but I felt like we did a lot of waiting. We waited a while to get our table even though we had reservations and it took the characters forever to make it all the way around the restaurant and greet everyone. We were done with our food and Connor was getting squirmy before we saw even half of the characters. If I didn't have a toddler with me I probably wouldn't have minded the wait. 

Once again this was for Ava, and she seemed to have fun, so that is all that matters. 

We got all of the characters' autographs and pictures with each one. 

Goofy was the most energetic and playful. :)

Once Connor clued in to what was happening he grabbed goofy's ear (and Mickey's nose later on). 

Thought it was funny how close they had to hold the book up for them to see through their costume. 

Tired crazies kicked in about this moment

He saw one of his favorite "toys" and wanted to help the waitress

After what ended up being brunch we went back to the hotel for naps. That afternoon/early evening we stayed close to the hotel and walked over to The Boardwalk area. 

Posing in front of our hotel

It was a HOT afternoon, especially on The Boardwalk with no shade, so when I saw a sign for frozen margaritas I said "Yes, Please!". 

Went to a nice dinner on the boardwalk and Ava was giving her brother lots of smooches. 

Gigi and I took turns taking the kids out of the restaurant to keep them entertained. They loved playing in this grassy area. 

If he had more hair he would look like a 2 year old (at least!). 

My sweet, big boy :)

My crazy girl that I love so much

Attempts at a family picture with the phone

Ava had her first taste of cotton candy with daddy and Gigi.

Cotton candy mustaches

We watched a street performer do some magic tricks and juggling and then we headed back for bedtime. 

Stay tuned for Day 4 at Animal Kingdom! 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Mikey!

Here are the Top 10 reasons you are the BEST dad in the whole world (seriously convinced!):

1) you will drop everything to play with your kids and you give them your undivided attention always

2) you are awesome at playing dress up, barbies, and beauty shop.

3)when you come home from work, you are immediately ready to help me with the kids in any way that you can.

4) you take advantage of opportunities to spend one on one time with your kids and you take them on special outings

5)on the kids' birthdays you buy them a card just from you and write them a special message for them to cherish as they get older.

6)you realize the importance of having their mom stay home with them everyday (even thanking me for doing so!)  and you work so hard to make that happen.

7)if either of the kids wake up in the middle of the night you share the role of going into their room to check on them.

8)you can be super silly with them and make them laugh more than anyone else can (not counting your "tickle pinchers")

9)you have a talent for reading stories and "storytime with daddy" is one of our favorite parts of the day.

9)your wisdom in parenting is astounding and makes me a better mother because of it.


I love you more than you will ever know and I couldn't ask for a better father to my children.
xoxo, kristen

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Disney Day 2- Magic Kingdom and Pool Time

I forgot to include a few events from the night of Day 1. After the kids went to bed, Mikey and I had a little date night and went to a nice dinner at one of the restaurants at our hotel. Very yummy! Worth the long wait.

Around 2 am that night/morning Connor woke up for some unknown reason (probably noise from the hallway) and he decided it was time to party. If he ever wakes up in the middle of the night, which is very uncommon, I am always able to get him back to sleep easily but not this night. After about an hour of trying to get him to sleep I finally threw my hands in the air and told Mikey I was going to take him to walk the halls to burn off some energy. I didn't want to risk him waking up Ava. So hall walking we did...

I just smile and laugh at these pictures now but at the time I was NOT laughing.  (I mean how cute is he with his blankie and pj's?! He was walking with a purpose too!) This was about 3:30 am.

After our adventure of walking down the halls, going up and down the elevators, and looking out windows we went back to the room and I got him back to sleep around 4:30 or 5. I was whipped that morning but nothing a cup of coffee and adrenalin ,about our fun day ahead, couldn't handle.

We went back to Magic Kingdom because Ava had an appointment at the Bippity Boppity Boutique in the castle.

Before she got made over like a princess we stopped to watch a little performance on Main Street.

She had been wanting to ride the dumbo ride so she rode it with Daddy. 

Ava and I also rode the carousel :)

And then it was TIME! Upon arriving to the boutique she got an invitation to be "made over" and it was addressed to "Princess Ava". 

This was another special gift from Gigi and Bpop so as part of the package deal she got to pick out a new princess dress and shoes. She chose a Sleeping Beauty dress and shoes. 

She had her very own fairy godmother to transform her into a beautiful princess. There were only about 3 options for a hair do and she chose the one that looked most like a princess (and it was the best one so I was glad. The others had pink and purple crazy hair extensions with a rats nest on top...very surprised at their options but the little girls loved it) And let me just say that these "fairy godmothers" are trained to do a meticulous job! I think she worked on that high ponytail for about a good 10 minutes, combing every hair in place and making sure it was tight. Gigi and I just sat and smiled at the whole experience. Ava was so happy and I could tell she felt so special with all the pampering she was given. It was the best Disney experience for Gigi and I, just for that reason alone. (There was only room in the boutique for two adults per child so Mikey and Bpop pushed Connor around in the stroller so he could nap. I was sad that Mikey missed it.)

She got her nails and make-up done while her hair was being done. The ultimate girly experience!

She looked so "toddlers and tiaras" but was just as precious as she could be! Made my heart happy.

My beautiful Cinderella

They gave the little girls these shields to put over their faces while they sprayed their hair with hairspray and sprinkled sparkly "pixie dust" in their hair. As they did it they said "May all your wishes come true, Bippity.Boppity.Boo". A photographer was going around taking pictures too so that is who Ava is looking at in the video. 

That hair was perfection and not going anywhere! It was cute to see other little girls walking around the park with princess dresses and the same hair. :)

Bpop and Gigi brought this little girl's dream of going to Disney World a reality and we are so grateful! Love love love them!

Gigi and I got sparkles and pixie dust too!

Showing daddy her sash and pin. 

And showing him her make-up

I guess a plane or something flew overhead and was loud. Sadly she developed a sensitivity to loud things and did this for lots of shows and rides (even when we flushed toilets in public restrooms) because she thought they were too loud. 

All that excitement was enough for one morning! 

We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride before heading back to the hotel

Ava and Connor took really long naps that day so by the time they woke up it was too late to go to another park so we put our swimsuits on and went to the beach area and pool at our hotel. So fun and so nice to not have to get all our stuff together and make a commute to a park. (Disney World is a blast but definitely takes a lot of energy when you take two small children!)

Gigi and Connor in the pool

After Connor went to sleep that night Ava played fairy godmother to Gigi. (thank goodness for adjoining rooms!)

"May all your wishes come true, Bippity Boppity Boo"

Looking beautiful!! Well done, Ava!