Happy Birthday to YOU!

My baby girl turned three years old today! We had her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed birthday party on Sunday with a small group of family and friends - she wasn't overwhelmed and had a great time. We started out forcing our guests to watch all her birthday montages (just three of them, but they're probably 15 minutes each!), which I could watch over and over again. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. She's not a baby anymore! Anyway, after the DVDs, we had hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner, followed by present opening, swimming (for the kiddos) and then cake (a fantastic Mickey Mouse creation made by my friend Mandy). It was a great evening and Katelyn was thrilled. Of course, she knew it wasn't really her birthday yet - that was today, with a trip to Disneyland!

We picked up TeeTee on our way to the park this morning and got there and in the park in record time, though I did lose my pass briefly and ended up paying for parking even though I didn't have to! We met Aunt Amanda, Alysse and Jaden near the parking structure and rode in together. Katelyn got her first Disneyland pass with her own picture on it - quite exciting. Now that she's three, apparently she'll be doing SO much more in the park that she should have to pay the same as the adults do (I really can't believe that the kids annual passes are the same cost as the adults!). We went straight back to the Princess Fantasy Faire where Katelyn had planned to get her hair done with Alysse, but at the last minute, she freaked out and decided she'd rather have a new princess nightgown than get her hair done. Fair enough! Alysse's hair turned out adorably and Jaden got a blue dragon painted on his face - super cool! The kids went to the stage for the Royal Coronation Ceremony where they learned to bow and curtsy, dance and sing like princes & princesses. It was precious. Then we met with three Disney princesses and got pictures with them.

Katelyn had been talking about going on the carousel for the past few weeks, so we headed there next. As we waited in line, she enthused about "going up then down, up then down" and she eagerly looked for a horse to ride... however, once we got her on a horse, she freaked out and wanted me to ride with her. She held her hands over her ears the whole time. *Sigh* My sensitive little princess.

We then went to California Adventure to have lunch at Ariel's Grotto with the princesses (sensing a theme here, aren't you!?), but were turned away. Apparently they only seat at specific times, though this isn't mentioned anywhere online or in the brochures you can pick up at the park entrance. Very frustrating, especially as the day was REALLY hot and we were definitely ready to sit in some air conditioning and eat! To keep the kids from getting upset, we went to the Bug's Life land where there are some water fountains to play in. The kids all loved this, and we stayed there almost an hour. We moved on to have lunch at the Storyteller's Cafe at the Grand Californian hotel. This was a GREAT idea, as the place was quiet and cool, and we were seated immediately. The waiter brought ice water pretty much as soon as we sat down, including cool collectible cups for the kids. The menu was kid friendly, but great for us grownups too, and the breadbasket was kept full. What a blessing! At the end of the meal, Katelyn got a cute little chocolate mousse cake with a Mickey Mouse head in chocolate on top, plus two chocolate chip cookies for the other kids - all for FREE! I was amazed! This place really knew how to make you feel special!

It was getting close to rush hour traffic time, so we had to decide to either leave or stay another couple hours. Katelyn wanted to "run around", so we stopped in a grassy area at the hotel for a while, then headed to the car. She fell asleep 5 minutes into the trip and slept almost all the way home.

We met Mooma, Uncle Josh, Daddy and Jonathan at home and went to John's Incredible Pizza for dinner (at Katelyn's request). She barely ate, then dragged Daddy to the arcade/game area. We got home around 8pm - late for her, but it's only her birthday one day a year! - and she went down like a dream.

I just have to say:

• I love that Katelyn thinks that "Happy Birthday" is some sort of greeting. Every time a Disney castperson said it to her, she said "Happy birthday to YOU!"
• I love that, though Katelyn is very sensitive, she thinks nothing of stripping off all her clothes in the middle of the Bug's Life water play place (don't worry, I didn't let her, she just started to!)
• I love that Katelyn is talking about today like it was the best day of her life, even though she cried at just about everything we'd planned to do.
• I love that after John's Pizza tonight, I drove the car up to the door to pick up my family and Katelyn said "I missed you, Mommy!" and "I love you so much, Mommy" even though I'd only been gone for a minute.
• I love that Katelyn is a snuggle bug and that, even though she's three now, she still wants "to hold me" (her words).
• I love Katelyn Rose Marley!!!