Our Little Cinderella

I had heard fabulous things about Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  Little girls visit Cinderella's castle and are transformed into princesses--isn't that every girl's dream?  But I wasn't sure if Arden would care anything about it because she was not into princesses at all.  I'm pretty sure the only princess movie she has seen is Beauty and the Beast!  

But, we decided to go ahead and book an appointment for her and Santa was gracious enough to provide her with a beautiful Cinderella dress (Santa thought Cinderella would be Arden's favorite princess because she wears her favorite color--blue!)

Arden was super excited on Christmas morning when she found out we were going to Disney and that she was going to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!  But a few days before our trip, mommy started to get worried.  It dawned on me that Arden has never even had a haircut.  What if she flips out when it's time to sit in the beauty chair and have a stranger fairy godmother-in-training fix her hair!  

Needless to say, Arden LOVED every minute of her experience.  She didn't want the traditional Fairytale Princess look; instead she opted for the Disney Diva look---complete with blonde "extensions" (she wanted yellow hair just like Cinderella).  

We decided to let Arden keep her Cinderella hair up for the entire trip.  I definitely had to doctor it up each morning with lots of hairspray and bobby pins.  You can imagine what her hair looked like after a week of not washing it!  

I'm pretty sure that we've played "hair dress-up" every day since we've been home.  She asks me who I want to look like and gives me suggestions like Princess Aurora, Jasmine, and Belle :)  She absolutely loves playing "hair dress-up" and "princess dress-up"!

Arden, we are so glad you loved every minute of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!  You were a beautiful princess Cinderella :)  We just want you to know that you don't have to be all made up to be OUR beautiful princess--we love you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!  You are beautiful to us--inside and out and we hope you never forget that.  We love you sweet Arden!

Disney 2012

We had a fabulous time at Disney World!  While we were there, Geoff and I kept saying to each other "Now we know why people keep coming back!"  There is SO much to do and see---there's absolutely no way to get it all done in one trip.  

We started off our Disney adventures with a SUPER cold day.  According to the weathermen (even the day before), the 1st day was supposed to be in the 50's.  Boy, were they WRONG!  The temps barely made it into the 40's, and with the windchill it felt like it was barely in the 30's.  We were NOT prepared for that kind of cold.  Thank goodness we had packed some long-sleeved shirts and a couple of blankets because we definitely put them to good use that day!  

We quickly learned that Arden loved meeting the characters.  It didn't matter if she knew who they were, she was jumping at the chance to have her picture made with them.  Little did we know that this would be one of the highlights of the trip for her.  She wasn't a fan of riding anything (or even watching shows) but she was ecstatic to meet the characters :)   

Tucker was such a trooper!  The first day was brutal for him; thankfully my mom offered to take him back to the house mid-afternoon.  We had plans to stay until the park closed and we all knew that once the sun went down, the temps would fall quickly and he would be miserable.  We are so thankful Nonna was willing to help out and keep our little man as happy as possible!  The other days were definitely warmer and he hung in there the best that he could.  He enjoyed watching shows and seeing the characters, but did not care too much for waiting in lines.  We can't wait to take him back to Disney when he is older--we know he will love it!

We ended our trip with sunshine, warm weather, and some kid-free time.  Thanks to our parents for taking the kiddos so we could enjoy Disney on our own.  We really appreciate all you do for us and our kids!

Disney truly is a magical place and I can't wait to return when our kids are older and can experience so much more.  Who am I kidding?  I can't wait to return so I can experience it all again!

Enjoy the pictures! 

Waiting to enter Magic Kingdom--can you tell it was COLD?! 

Arden's 1st character meeting!

 Waiting to ride Dumbo...she wasn't a fan of the ride but we made her do it anyway!

Quite possibly my favorite picture from the trip :)

Tucker loved "It's A Small World"

She didn't keep these glasses on for long.  Apparently 3-D movies aren't her thing either!

someone's getting sleepy...

....and he's out!  What a trouper :)

Even Auntie April had some fun with the characters!

On TriceraTop Spin....again, she wasn't a fan (it was just like Dumbo).  This picture was taken when the ride was over so that's a smile of relief!

 Our last day @ Magic Kingdom 

Dancing with Goofy during the street party!

We love the princesses!

We LOVED the teacups!  I was the only brave soul that would ride with them :)

Enjoying some kid-free time!

 Stay tuned for pictures from Arden's Cinderella make-over!