Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday, October 7, was the three month anniversary of court and the day Alivia and I officially became a family. We celebrated with a trip to Disney World and Alivia was a little trooper! My friends Justin and Gil went with us and we were able to take advantage of WDW's baby pass on all of the rides we wanted to go on. Baby pass is where some members of your party go on the ride while one or two members sit with the baby, then immediately after you switch off and the ones who sat with the baby get to ride while the others sit with the baby. Since there were three of us there with Alivia, Justin got to ride everything twice while Gil and I took turns sitting with Alvia. It made the day fun for all of us. And of course we went on several rides that Alivia could go on, too!

At the age of 15 months, Alivia didn't really understand the whole Disney thing, but she loved the music, the colors and the activity. She especially loved the Kabuki drummers in Epcot and danced during their whole show. The people around us were watching her more than the drummers. She was so cute! She also liked the concert that we heard by Starship at Epcot. In the Magic Kingdom we got some photos of her with Minnie Mouse, Pluto and Goofy. That was at about 8:45 p.m. and not a moment too soon--she finally passed out when we left the Toon Town County Fair character photo place. I was amazed she lasted that long! She didn't take a nap all day even though I tried to get her to do so. She just trooped right along with smiles and giggles for everyone the whole day. No tears, no fussing. It was wonderful to see--especially when we saw so many other families dealing with tantrums and tired, crying babies.

We picked a beautiful day to go--the weather was perfect (warm and breezy) and the parks weren't too crowded. I also took advantage of the baby stations in each park to feed and change her and to give her a chance to get out of her stroller and crawl around a bit. The baby stations are really nice. They have high chairs, padded changing tables, private nursing rooms, adult restrooms, a playroom for older kids with Disney cartoons playing, and a supply of diapers, formula and other baby needs in case you run out. They have a cast member on duty all the time to help you, too. It's really nice to have an air conditioned place where you can rest for a few minutes when you're there with a baby!

It was a fun day for all of us, I think, and we were all pleasantly exhausted by the end of it! We didn't get to spend enough time at Magic Kingdom, though. I'd like to take Alivia back there in a couple months and take her on Small World and a few other rides that I know she will enjoy. She's such a music lover! And I can't wait until she's old enough to understand where she is and to be excited about meeting Mickey and friends! Those will be the best trips!

~ Jeana