Havana's Many Very Happy Birthday Celebrations

Havana on her actual birthday with her new Anna doll that Big Sis got her. She also got an Elsa doll from Maria, a Jasmine doll with money from one of her bff's Addison and a kids version of Elsa with money from her pals Hana and Angie. I guess it's safe to say Havana loves dolls!

At the Princess Lunch where she met Ariel, Bell, Tiana, Snow White and Cinderella

Opening presents on her birthday day. That Amara was so excited for her sister made my heart smile a big smile.

Havana loved all her presents but she kept talking about  getting "...an Elsa dress" for weeks. Thankfully, this handmade dress (complete with tiara), which was made in South Korea, arrived in the mail before we left for Disney. Havana has been wearing almost every day since she got it.

This was about the 4th time Havana got sung 'Happy Birthday' to. She was so over it at this point, which was on her actual birthday when we stopped to eat off I-5 on our way home from Disney.

Havana celebrating at Kids Corner Preschool with Hopie (left) and Addison (right) here BFF's at school. Havana just loves these girls.

At her birthday party, which was a week prior to her actual birthday. We celebrated early due to our planned trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Of Course, we had to order a Frozen themed cake for Baby Girl!

Sweet Havana; so many celebrations for her birthday. Perhaps we overindulged; but Havana is our precious jewel and we wanted to honor and celebrate the sparking gem that she is.

First Sleepover

The girls recently had their first overnight.

Don and I have spent time away from the girls separately but never yet together. And it was looonnngg overdue that we had some extended time for ourselves.

So off to their cousins for the night they went. Ben and Theo are close enough in age (8&6) to make for fun times but the girls were still nervous.  From the reports from Mama Jen, that didn't last long and the four cousins had good times and even shared a room together.

Don and I got our much needed break (a slow eaten meal, an, uninterrupted adult movie at home, and some Self time in the morning...ahhh!) and the girls learned that they could live without us for a night. Havana's only complaint was "Why                                                                                                                     didn't we stay more                                                                                                                           nights?" !!!

We are much in gratitude to our family and we are looking forward to returning the favor with the boys spending the night with us sometime soon.

(a big thanks to Jen for texting me photos of the girls!)

Happy Girls

 Smiles.....

Happiness in Abun-Dance!.....

 Joy in their eyes....

 Excitement unleashed....

 Unable to walk.....

Skipping & dancing instead!

Frozen

 Frozen has invaded our lives as it has millions of others. The girls Love the movie and the characters. We have seen it so many times that Don and I both know all the songs by heart. I hear them in my head when I am work. The girls have now seen the movie more than a dozen times. And then, we were planning to go to Disneyland. Would we see Anna and Elsa? No.

The girls were given ample warning; The lines to see Anna and Elsa were hours long and we would most likely not get to meet them. "Will they be in the parade?" "No. I looked on-line and asked recent visitors. I don't want you to get disappointed so I am telling you now that you won't get to see them."

Well, being wrong can be a very good thing!

 Apparently, unbeknownst to me, on June 14th, Anna and Elsa made their debut in the Mainstreet Parade (to give more folks a chance to see them since the lines were up to 4 hours long.) And it just so happened we planned our first day in the park to coincide with the parade. We got there just before 4 p.m. and landed first rows seats by City Hall so we would get a good view of the regular cast of characters.

And then we heard the announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, making their debut from Arendell are Princess Anna and Princess Elsa." 

They say a picture speaks a thousand words:

 

Havana loves Elsa

Amara likes Anna

 When they heard the announcement the girls were besides themselves with excitement.  In the grand scheme of life this was something mundane but for Amara and Havana it was so real and such a big deal for them and as their earthly mother, I shared in their delight.

The next day I was proven wrong once more. When the gates to the park opened, we went to check out the Frozen chateau to see how long the lines were. We just had to see if there were a slim chance to actually meet Anna and Elsa. When we got to the line we were told it was only a 45 minute wait. That slim chance turned out to be a very doable chance. So Don and the girls went off to It's a Small World and a few other rides while I held our place in line. When they returned we had a short wait until the magic moment....

 

Our entire visit to Disney was jam packed with excitement but seeing the parade and meeting Princess Anna and Princess Elsa were highlights for sure and I suspect we will be talking about their meeting for some time to come.

DisneyLand

  After hemming and hawing about whether to go to Disney for Havana's 5th birthday we decided to go for it. We took Amara for her 5th birthday and Havana has been waiting two years to go for her fifth birthday (check out photos from that visit at http://twosmallgems.blogspot.com/2012/06/happiest-place-on-earth.html and http://twosmallgems.blogspot.com/2012/06/mickey-mouses-birthday-wishes.html) 

Wwe didn't want to not do for her what we did for her big sister so off to the Magic Kingdom we went!

 The girls being older, we did more things and as a result we had an even better time that our fist visit. At the same time, the girls were still young to believe in the magic of the characters they met and were captivated by the shows. We got to experience more rides now that the girls met height requirements. We stayed up late for Fantasmic which more than lived up to the hype. We also saw a few other shows including one where Havana was elated to see Stitch come out and dance and shake his booty. It was during that performance that I was reminded of what the magic of Disney was all about; Havana had no idea a character she loves would make an appearance or was even at Disney, for that matter. So when Stitch came on stage, those baby blues got as big as silver dollars. Havana couldn't help but stand up and start to dance too!

 

Amara was a little braver when it cames to the rides. She was fixated on the ferris wheel the moment she laid eyes on it (which was from our hotel.) On our second day, she and her Papa went for it while Havana and I did something more her speed.

  (the carousal was just right for Havana.)

 The whole family took an animation class where we were taught to draw the Cheshire Cat. Havana couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes two years ago and now, Baby Gil was engaged during  the whole fifteen minute class.

Cars Land wasn't open last visit. We found the rides to be super exciting and the setting nostalgic (well the adults did!

                               

The Birthday Girl wore her Elsa dress the whole morning!

 Amara wanted to return to the Haunted Mansion. Havana would have nothing to do with it this time around so Amara and I went so "a ghost could sit in our lap."

All in all it was a very fun few days. We may choose other destinations for future holidays but we will always remember our days at Disney with a smile.