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| Baboo's pretty awesome. |
We started our week on a rocky note due to some painful molars that forced me to exchange 6 hours of sleep for 6 hours of listening to Evie scream. Poor thing. Consequently, her initial reactions to Mickey were a bit more subdued than I had anticipated, but after a refreshing nap she was more of herself. The best thing about taking a small toddler to the Magic Kingdom is their earnestness in believing everything. Clearly, she doesn't know what an audio animatronic is, so she can be awed by an unpopular, outdated attraction like the Country Bear Jamboree. Well, there was initial awe, but it she was ready to go about halfway through, which is kind of hilarious. She expects a lot from mammals in the entertainment business.
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| Sleepy, Grumpy and Bashful |
Later that night, I stuffed Evie with funnel cake in order to keep her up past her bedtime to watch the Main Street Electrical parade. Initially she was bouncing off the walls from the sugar, but then that wore off and she was bouncing from the excitement of the sights and sounds. She was so wound up when it ended that she cupped my face in her hands and shrieked the happiest shriek I've ever heard. She promptly crashed within 5 minutes of the parade's end.
As has been stated, she is infatuated with Mickey. She gets excited to see the other characters, but she makes her favorite very clear. When she would spot Daisy or Pluto, she would wave her arms excitedly and put on quite a show until they got within 10 feet of her. If I would ask her to hug or greet them, she would always respond with a firm, "NAH." It was a different story for Mickey, however. He has a dedicated meeting spot in the Magic Kingdom, so we waited in line and the anticipation grew as we told Evie who she was about to see. Instead of quickly dismissing us when we asked her if she was planning to hug him, she seemed excited. When we got to the front of the line, she was so excited she was shaking. We walked up and while she definitely clung to me, she bravely leaned over and kissed his nose, trembling the entire time. As we took the picture, she reached her arm out and patted his ear, whispering, "Mamo." Adorable! Minnie made the mistake of thinking Evie was also there to see her. She won't try that again! Those mice might look similar to some, but Evie won't be fooled.
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| Seriously, guys. Mamo's awesome. |
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| Even Mamo makes mistakes, however. She was scolding him here for something he'll no doubt never dare to repeat. |
It was also really sweet to watch Evie's bond with my parents grow. She was so worried that they were going to go back to Charlotte that she would cry at the door whenever they would step out. It was sad, but there's nothing more precious than hearing her say, "Baboo? Baboo?" with little tears coming down her cheeks.
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| Teaching Nana a thing or two about makeup application |
I also got a chance to catch up with some close friends from my Orlando days, which is always a blast. Not really sure why most of my best friends are choosing to live so far away (I'm looking at you, 2 of the 3 readers of this blog), but one of these days they'll wise up and move to Raleigh.
I was worried about Evie's transition back into our daily routine after such an exciting week, but she was thrilled to see her Da and the animals. When our day started to feel a little mundane, we threw a couple of quilts over our kitchen chairs and Evie had the time of her life. She spent 3 hours pulling me into that thing. We would sit in there and whisper and taunt Jack. Whenever he would peek his head in to see what all the fuss was about, Evie would grab me and squeal her happiest, silliest squeal, pushing him back out.
Disney's mission is to entertain families and they're good at it, so it's no surprise we had fun. However, Evie laughed harder and was more excited when Jack poked his head between two blankets than she was by 3 million dancing lights or 150 enchanted singing birds and flowers. We'd better take advantage of this time before she grows up and realizes how incredible the Enchanted Tiki Room really is.
Evie has been more hilarious and full of personality than ever before, but it's not all been positive. She has begun testing her boundaries at every opportunity. She's been particularly focused on shoving her friends and loved ones (almost always accompanied by a forceful, "NAH, MOOF!"). It feels like I'm spending my days disciplining. Thankfully, her sweet post-scolding apology hugs and back pats nearly make it all worth it.
She's choosing an unseasonable time of year to misbehave! Hopefully Santa will be as warmed by her sweet hugs as I am!
