This last weekend Herb and I had the pure joy of taking Isabelle to Disneyland for the first time! Because our annual passes had expired we weren't sure when we'd be able to return but I had a few days left on a military pass from Thanksgiving and we gave Herb a ticket for Father's day. So off to Anaheim we went on Thursday. I was more nervous about the drive than I was about taking Izzy into the park. I wouldn't say the drive went smoothly but we only added an hour total to our usual journey and she didn't all out cry for more than 10 minutes total, so I would call it a success. Sadly she didn't sleep much in the car so when we arrived at the hotel she was SUPER tired! Sleeping in a new environment and under non-ideal circumstances had her awake at 7:30 Friday morning (despite going to bed around 1) OR perhaps she was just far too excited about Disneyland to sleep! I choose to believe the latter!
We arrived at the park, walked through those magical gates and took the all important family picture in front of Mickey and the train. Isabelle was enjoying just taking in the sights and sounds of Main Street. We introduced her to pin trading right away and even found a few pins she liked ;-) Then we went to get Space Mountain fast passes and found that the line was only 10 minutes! This Momma had not ridden Space Mountain in over two years so we left Izzy with Grandma and took off on our roller coaster type ride through space. It had been so long since I had been on the ride that I didn't remember the turns, which made the ride all that much more exciting!
When we got off we headed toward Peter Pan to Herb's chagrin and my great joy! I couldn't think of a better ride to introduce Isabelle to the joy of Disneyland than those flying boats. As we waited in the queue people looked adoringly at our sweet girl and she began to fade. By the time we reached the boat she had zonked out! She woke up briefly when Captain Hook reared his ugly head but continued her doze in the stroller for another half an hour. Meanwhile my mom and I rode Indiana Jones while Herb stayed with Izzy, and then Herb and I hopped on the Big Thunder and enjoyed the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! By the time we returned our Bean was wide awake. We went to the baby center to eat and Isabelle was far to interested in all of the other babies and pictures on the wall to eat. She just loves to take in everyone and everything! She's so observant and interested in the world around her! I think it was the perfect time for her first Disneyland adventure!
Before we headed off for lunch we made a quick stop at Buzz Lightyear. I'm pretty sure this was Isabelle's favorite ride! She kept looking around at all the lights and talking, talking, talking through the whole thing! Because the ride stopped I managed to get a pretty darn high score even with an Izzy on my lap, but sadly she was too little to show up in the picture :-( But we know she was there and that she had a great time!
For lunch we met my Aunt Kasey, and cousins Domo and Megan at ESPN Zone for lunch. We let Isabelle roll around on a blanket on the floor, which she loved, and she also had a grand old time watching the 20 sports filled TVs! Herb held her while we ate lunch--he figured his hamburger and fries were easy enough to consume with an Izzy on his lap. Lo and behold I look over to find that Isabelle has snatched up a french fry from his plate and is gnawing away at it! I wish we had snapped a picture before snatching it away from her! She had a sly look in her eye--she knew what she had gotten away with! Once the fry was pried from her hand she started reaching for Herb's Coke Zero. I'm pretty confident she's his kid ;-)
Isabelle fell asleep as we walked back to California Adventure, so we grabbed some Soaring fast passes and went to check out the new Little Mermaid ride. The ride was fantastic and beautiful! It really felt like we were Under the Sea, but sadly Ursala was a bit too loud for Izzy and she woke up again. My poor sweet girl was just too excited to nap!
Herb took Izzy to the room to let her roll around a bit while Mom and I headed back into the park to ride Splash Mountain in attempts to cool off. It was hotter than blazes both days, which was quite exhausting, and sadly we didn't get wet on Splash. I think that anytime you actually want to get wet on Splash you never do and conversely anytime you want to be dry you find yourself drenched! So we opted for a Dole Whip to cool off while we watched the new Soundsational Parade. I can't wait until Isabelle is old enough to watch the parade intently! I love watching the faces of little kids as the characters pass by!
When we went back to the room Isabelle was still super warm. So she and I took a bath swim to cool down. Boy did she have a great time in the bath tub! I'm pretty sure that the bath tub was her favorite ride at Disneyland! She splashed and splashed and splashed! After she had cooled down I tried to put her to sleep for the night so that Herb and I could head back to watch fireworks. Our sweet girl was just far too overtired to sleep, so we didn't make it to the night shows that evening, which was absolutely okay with me! My precious Isabelle is well worth it!
Saturday we started our day with a super tired girl! So she and I walked to the park and back to the hotel so she could get a nap while Dad and Grandma rode Screamin'. When we got back to the park, we met Grandma in the Toy Story Mania ride and Isabelle had her first 3-D experience! She had SO much fun! I managed to keep the glasses on her for the whole ride and she just kept watching intently as we played the game! I loved it!
After a snack at the baby center we headed to meet my Aunt Kasey and Tara for lunch for Tara's birthday at Tortilla Joe's. Isabelle was just done at this point--she was awfully hot and tired and just couldn't fall asleep :-( So finally I took her upstairs in the restaurant to feed her and she fell asleep in moments. Of course she only slept for 20 minutes, but at least she woke up as a happy baby! She played with Tara and Aunt Kasey and gave them lots of giggles and smiles, but she clearly needed another nap. So Herb and I took her back to the hotel for another bath time swim and a nap. The swim was just as much fun as the day before and she conked out pretty quickly. She took two 40 minute naps but was still a weary little girl, but she was awake so we headed back to the park to do a few more rides.
Isabelle added Pirates of the Caribbean to her ride list. Her favorite part of the ride was the waterfalls at the beginning after the drop! They probably reminded her of her bath tub ride :-) Then we headed over to It's a Small World and she was enthralled with all of the colors and characters. She kept looking from side to side trying to take it all in! I even caught her singing along once or twice! Two rides, however, was her fun limit for the evening, so I took her back to the hotel while Grandma and Dad rode a few more rides. We stopped for a churro on Main Street and Isabelle fell asleep. The cinnamon and sugar did sprinkle all over her like fairy dust and away we flew back to Never Never Land!
After I fed her and put her down, Grandma and I traded places and I joined Herb to watch World of Color. It really is a spectacular show, but my body and mind were SO weary at this point! I think Izzy and I were having parallel experiences, I just wasn't allowed to cry about mine ;-) Herb and I ate and shopped on Main Street and then headed back to the hotel about as exhausted as we could be!
The next morning Isabelle was still SUPER tired, but we loaded her in the car and took off. She slept off and on on the way home and thanks to Grandma she watched a few episodes of Friends to keep her company. When we got home Isabelle learned how incredibly wonderful it is to sleep in her own bed! She slept for 12 hours, only waking to eat once, and this tired Momma slept for 10 of those 12!
I can't really explain how amazing it was to take my sweet girl to experience my favorite place in the whole world. It was so incredibly redemptive of the many broken dreams and heartaches I experienced in the days and months after we lost Hope and Joseph. Watching Isabelle's face as she soaked up Main Street and the sights and sounds of Peter Pan and It's a Small World brought such joy to my heart! Even though I know she won't remember this experience, I will remember for her. I will share these memories with her and be able to retell these moments as we return back year after year.
As Isabelle and I walked back to the hotel alone on Saturday evening I told her how much I appreciated that she came to share Disneyland with me. I told her that this was just one of the many times we would venture here as a family and that I couldn't wait for each milestone that she would have here--the pure awe on her face when she first watches the fireworks, the first time she asks to ride Dumbo, the first time she meets a height requirement for a ride, the moment when she holds on to Herb's hand with trepidation as she climbs the stairs to ride Screamin' and the complete joy of victory written all over her face when she walks off. These will all be great moments in Isabelle's life and in mine. And this, this trip, is where it all began. I told Isabelle how I had been dreaming about these moments for so long, and how incredible it was to finally be blessed with the chance to hold my sweet girl as I walked through those gates. "Isabelle, this weekend was a dream come true for your Momma. I just wanted you to know that." I think she heard me, I think she was listening, and if not, I know God heard my words of praise and thanksgiving for the amazing gift He had given me. My God is a God of redemption, of dreaming dreams far greater than I can ever imagine. I am so grateful for the Granter of my dreams. Words can't really express how I feel, so I'll leave it to Julie Andrews. As she so wisely says at the end of my favorite fireworks show, "Remember Dreams Come True".
