Princess Play

It's truly delightful & satisfying to watch your child experience dreams come true. I didn't introduce Grace to Disney princesses...never thought I'd be one of those moms or have one of those kids all about the princess business. Alas, the day came when a curious two year shopper spotted a Cinderella movie at a garage sale. That was it...our Disney princess collection had officially ensued. Or maybe it was when good friend, Tina, bought Grace that very frilly Belle dress for her 2nd birthday. But somehow it started & blossomed into this "Mom, we HAVE to go see Cinderella's house; that BIGGGGG castle."

So here we are a couple of years later, making dreams come true with our 1st trip to Disney World. Anticipating we would need a good thaw in the throes of deep Chicago winter, Uncle Bob agreed to accompany us to Florida. Too bad Florida was in a cold snap - dog gone it & we wore jackets & coats for many of our days. Grace said it was cold but no snow! That was plus!

Not that the photo captures it, but my absolute favorite moment was in Ariel's Grotto. You know we waited for nearly an hour to have our face to face time with that mermaid. Wait..Gracie danced around in the spray ground with the other munchkins while the adults waited in line. Finally, our turn & Grace was in awe of her favorite princess - Ariel. They chit chatted about hairstyles (Grace had lovely auburn extensions in like Ariel) & transportation -"How did you get here, little starfish?" Taking it all in, Grace was simply enamored. At one point, she looked down at Ariel's mermaid legs/fins, then back up & down again. Slowly, she slid her little hand onto Ariel's legs...fully exploring that shiny, sequined fabric. Oh no, what's going happen now...talk about violating the personal space rules. Ariel threw her head back, giggled, then tickled Grace right back. It was just the cutest! I asked Grace later why she tickled Ariel. "Mom, her legs were so shiny & sparkle-y with all those sequin-y things, I just had to touch 'em." There you go! That's my fabric feeling, sensory seeking girl. :o)

Favorites include Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique-- oh, so charming! Later, Grace got to ring the bell & wake up tiny Tinker Bell. She flew in for a little hello before heading off to dust the park with pixie cheer. Other highlights included a Wonderland Tea Party with Alice & the Mad Hatter. " That guy has bad manners--he gargled his tea!"

We also were chosen as the family of the day at Chef Mickeys & Grace helped open the restarant with Mickey Mouse. He asked for HER autograph in his special book...nice, we've been working hard on writing our name.

Grace was Lumiere in Belle's storytime in the castle couryard. We earned our pilot's license on the Monorail & celebrated Gracie's half birthday at every turn - met with trinkets, stickers & cupcakes with candles at every sit down meal. The crowd sang Happy Birthday outside of Toon Town & she opened the park with a generous shower of pixie dust & wishes.

There was a bit of swimming on the hottest days - think like low 70's - indeed a far cry from -15 or so when we left Chicago. Thoroughly enjoying fun in the sun, Grace joined in the poolside games at Fort Wilderness & scored some cool prizes winning the hula hoop contest. And all those prizes from arcade play with Uncle Bob.

We did, of course, see all the princesses, Pooh & friends, those wicked step sisters; along with Mary Poppins & Jimminy Cricket. However, Grace was a bit irritated when,after a week of hugs & hellos, those princesses seemed to forget they had already met her. It wasn't until that sweet Alice noticed she already signed Grace's autograph book & declared it was good to see her AGAIN. :o)

All in all, we had a wonderous time & even Uncle Bob survived 8 days of princess play. We tried to work in a fishing excursion at Fort Wilderness, just to break the monotony for the guy among us...but the fish & the attendant revolted due to the "cold" weather. :o) So, UB & Grace fed the ducks while mom enjoyed a hot stone massage. Oh, yeah...sooooo nice.

Here's a little bit of pixie dust & magic from our sleepy heart (yes, it's 2:53 AM) to yours~

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